Six days before the California primary, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will be coming to Palo Alto to hold a free rally this Wednesday, June 1.

The rally, “A Future to Believe In,” will take place at the Cubberley Community Center fields, at 4000 Middlefield Road. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are “strongly encouraged,” an event description reads. Admission is first come, first served.

The event description advises attendees against bringing bags to the rally and limit what people bring in to small, personal items like keys and cellphones. Items like chairs, signs and banners will not be allowed through security.

On-site parking will be very limited; carpooling and the use of public transportation are also encouraged.

The Palo Alto rally will follow others in Santa Cruz, Emeryville, Monterey and Oakland starting Monday.

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85 Comments

  2. Here’s the future you can believe in……Bernie won’t get the nomination but will win California. Hillary is shaking in her boots as more corruption associated with her time as Secretary of State is revealed. Her supporters continue to blindly defend her while her favorable numbers nose dive and her negatives soar. The words most associated with her continue to be liar, dishonest, trustworthy and criminal. And she wants to be President? The above the law mentality that follows the Clintons like flies follow garbage trucks has finally seen its day.

  3. This seems like a *much* too small venue for the purpose.
    Also, I notice the article mentions a door time, but not an event time. Do we know when he will actually be speaking?

  4. Traffic gridlock all day with media and helicopters. Yes school kids and high school graduations will be affected. Just what we need.

  5. This guy’s ego is insurmountable. When he struggles with delegate support, he cries foul. It’s not about Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, it’s about votes you’ve failed to achieve, Bernie. You lost fair and square. So, come to our town and plead your futile case on one of the most important days to families. He’s an independent. It’s a free county. But, to come here on this day reeks of hubris and poor planning.

  9. To those Feeling the Bern:

    Don’t flatter yourselves to think that this little gathering in PA will be disruptive.

    It’s time for you all to get a grip on reality. The Liberal version of Trump Suckers.

  10. Just to be clear about things, i want to go and show peaceful support for what Bernie is trying to do. He has an important message and its one that has taken a long time to come to the forefront. He’s been willing to fight for this message knowing he has a very small chance of winning his party’s nomination. The emotionalism of this election has gotten out of hand at times. Hopefully there won’t be anything to regret afterwards and all who attend will conduct themselves responsibly. I’m sure there are many who feel as I do.

  11. I am so fed up hearing about how wonderful Bernie is by people who are to foolish to read ALL the facts about him. He is a liar and a hypocrite: (1) College is not “free” in Europe. Tuition is free to those brilliant enough to score in the top 1%-2%. AND students graduate on average with more debt than they do in the US since parents are unable to help foot the bills. Would you still love Bernie if you kid couldn’t even get into college because they didn’t test in the top %?? ; (2) He talks on and on and on about how the “wealthy” need to pay their fair share. Did you know that he has an income over $300k, but thanks to taking ALL possible tax deductions he can, he has lowered his tax bracket to 13%?? Do as I say, but don’t do as I do. He really is the perfect little socialist; (3) He is on a youtube video saying he likes people being on food lines for food since at least everyone is equally hungry. My mother lived through WWII in Europe. Food rationing is NEVER good. (4) He says our corporations should pay their “fair share” of taxes. BUT he forgets AGAIN to supply all the true facts. The truth is that the US corporation tax rate is already the highest of ALL the OECD countries. Only 2 countries in the world have higher tax rates. One is Chad. Do we really want to use Chad as our goal?? I have more evidence of his lies and hypocrisies, but if the above 4 items don’t sway you, you are unfortunately too naive to help.

  12. Right on Bernie! I hope he wins the Democratic nomination. The Establishment in both the Democratic and Republican parties needs to get das boot. Donald is taking care of that on the Republican side, and Bernie can reform things on the Democratic side. A contest between the two would be worth voting in more than most.

  13. As a softball parent, it would be nice if the attendees to this event completely stay off the softball fields. There could be a risk of injury if the infields get trashed by people trampling through/over them. Hopefully the city will rope off the infields to keep people off. In addition kids play soccer in the outfields, hopefully no items will be left on the fields that could cause injury. We ask that the Bernie Sanders campaign leave Cubberley in the same shape as before your rally, and that attendees to this event realize that Cubberley is actively used by multiple youth sports teams.

  14. Glad to hear Bernie is coming to Palo Alto. What an honor. Wow, so many negative nay-sayers. I wonder if u all are Palo Altains? Doubt it. Bernie’s platform on no-cost public colleges is great (without any percentage quota). Overturning citizens united is critical to an eventual campaign finance reform movement to include publically financed campaigns in the future. We also learned about the role of superdelegates this time around. And if Trump wants to visit (or Hiliary), that would be great too.

  15. I wasn’t going to comment on this subject, greatly respecting the right of individuals to express their opinions, but the final “Palo Alto Native” a resident of College Terrace, has me responding.

    I quote: “Wow, so many negative nay-sayers. I wonder if you all are Palo Altains? Doubt it.”

    Once again that Palo Alto exclusivity seems to imply that any protest must be from the Unwashed Masses of elsewhere!

    It reminds me of many years ago when our son was a 4 year old in a Pre-School Class in Palo Alto, though we lived in a neighboring community. My husband attended a Dad’s night, and one Palo Alto Father explained that residents of other communities would need to spend twice as much time with their children as did he because his family lived in Palo Alto!
    This has become one of our family’s classic stories over the years and never ceases to bring gales of laughter.

  16. Fed Up With Bernie’s Lies
    a resident of Old Palo Alto
    6 hours ago
    “I am so fed up hearing about how wonderful Bernie is by people who are to foolish to read ALL the facts about him. He is a liar and a hypocrite: (1) College is not “free” in Europe. Tuition is free to those brilliant enough to score in the top 1%-2%. AND students graduate on average with more debt than they do in the US since parents are unable to help foot the bills. Would you still love Bernie if you kid couldn’t even get into college because they didn’t test in the top %?? ; (2) He talks on and on and on about how the “wealthy” need to pay their fair share. Did you know that he has an income over $300k, but thanks to taking ALL possible tax deductions he can, he has lowered his tax bracket to 13%?? Do as I say, but don’t do as I do. He really is the perfect little socialist; (3) He is on a youtube video saying he likes people being on food lines for food since at least everyone is equally hungry. My mother lived through WWII in Europe. Food rationing is NEVER good. (4) He says our corporations should pay their “fair share” of taxes. BUT he forgets AGAIN to supply all the true facts. The truth is that the US corporation tax rate is already the highest of ALL the OECD countries. Only 2 countries in the world have higher tax rates. One is Chad. Do we really want to use Chad as our goal?? I have more evidence of his lies and hypocrisies, but if the above 4 items don’t sway you, you are unfortunately too naive to help.”

    Dear “Fed Up With Bernie’s Lies”

    Your above post suggests you’ve bought into the ‘dogma fallacy’ pushed by the establishment. Wages in the US haven’t gone up since 1967. Guess where all that saved money is? Yes, that’s right, in the pockets of corporations. Guess who’s the only one who sees it? Bernie Sanders.

    Free state college tuition? Had that till Reagan.

    Universal health care? The Federal Gov already spends as much per person as Canada does for all health care, gov and personal spending.
    Fair trade? Again we had that before the Reagan/Bush Conservative wave that promised prosperity if we just privatized everything.
    Limits to money in politics? Check, we had that,more or less until Citizens United.

    Every president since Nixon has promised more renewable energy. We could afford ALL that stuff, as well as low unemployment, good jobs, and lower deficits till Reagan gave our money to the 0.1%, and it’s still flowing that way due to tax policy. Prove me wrong if you are old enough to remember all of the above. If not Stop being dogmatic and open your eyes or google the damn thing before is late.

    Bernie Sanders is the first truly moral, ethical, and highly principled man to run for president in my lifetime, and yet he is vilified in the most absurd ways, rather than praised as the prinipled exception that he is.

    His ideas are considered highly moderate in Europe and big part of our civilized world, but since he challenges the excesses of our declining system, a lot of those conscripted into our predator system resent those who will stand for the people and say they are not livestock to feed from.

    It is unfortunately that people quite often do not know what they want, or do not want what they know, or they simply want the wrong thing. When are you going to realize that the vast majority of politicians are bought and owned by corporations? You don’t honestly believe this is a democracy. No, you can’t be that stupid.

    I will vote for the candidate who shares my values. Right now, that is Bernie. He is the most likely to support the USA I love.

  17. Dear Sisyphus,
    I won’t even attempt to refute all your impassioned “DOGMATIC” statements above, statements that you express with such smug, assurance. I truly believe in your right to state them and would never stoop to calling you stupid (What a scurrilous, ugly word!) in any case.

    I will quote your words however: “You don’t honestly believe this is a democracy. No, you can’t be that stupid.”
    No Sisyphus, for your enlightenment, our country is a Republic.

    When delivering your pseudo-intellectual diatribes please try to respect your audience as well.

  18. My vote would be for anyone other than Bernie Sanders. I don’t think poorly of him personally, but his narrow world view represents to me the death knell of USA as a land of opportunity . Nothing worth anything in life is “free”. Both Bernie and Trump are the result of the past ~8-10 years of playing the politics of blame. Rather than work ethic, problem solving, and grit held up as the American ideals, blame someone else for your problems … those nasty rich people, those illegal immigrants, those Chinese, those gay people, those evil corporations… everyone is to blame except you. This has created the toxic political environment that lets Bernie and Trump win votes. Then you have Hillary who can barely defeat a “democratic” socialist. She is the lesser of the evils currently, but only barely because she would do less damage.

  19. This is great! Big Bernie Supporter here.

    HOWEVER — why haven’t we heard from the CITY or the POLICE Dept. as to how this is going to be organized? How is this going to be managed? There will be thousands who come for this rally — traffic will be a nightmare! What about the people and schools who use Cubberly/Greendell School? What about the fact that school gets out at 1:15 (or so) on Weds. at Hoover, JLS and Fairmeadow? I can only imagine the impact this will have on Alma, Middlefield, San Antonio, Charleston, etc.

    The City and the Police are really letting the community down here!

  21. So happy to hear he is coming to the E. Palo Alto Surrounding area. To all those people complaining about traffic. SUCK IT UP ITS ONLY FOR A DAY… use your bike or God given feet. Bernie can’t wait to hear you speak and represent the WORKING CLASS whose voice is diminishing by the day. Lets make America a place we can be proud of again. BERNIE WANTS TONSEND YOUR CHILDREN TO COLLEGE NOT WAR… imagine an inexperienced individual Trump with access to our 5000 nuclear weapons…. (plus Russia and China taunting us in the midst of not all)

  22. Fed up with Bernie should stock up on the facts about present Europe, instead of long ago, during WWII stuff.

    University tuition is indeed free or nominal in Europe for everybody. Whereas the wisdom of such largesse for the well off can be discussed, it is nevertheless a fact. Fed up with Bernie is at least more than half a century wrong.

    In order to repudiate Bernie’s arguments it’s not necessary to lie.

  23. Plz… Plz… If u r a berner: 1)Look up the history of socialism. 2)review supply and demand, and realize he is lying to u about min wage raise or doesnt understand economics 3) college is already free for low income students… 4) he is pandering to get the uninformed vote using 3 & 4 and has done so for years. 5) consider diseconomies of scale and consider free college… Yes it was free before at a time when our pop was 1/3 of the current size. 6) free healthcare is NOT free, what ever is in life? I could go on, but why bother. :

  24. “3) college is already free for low income students…”

    California State Colleges and Universities, including the UC system, are tuition-free. They work around that by charging registration fees, which are anything but free. I had to pay hefty registration fees when I went to college, and they have increased greatly since then. I was dirt poor at the time,as were many other students. Although the some students got grants and other subsidies, most of us were on our own. With the increase in registration fees greatly exceeding the salary increases since then in typical student jobs, a college education is beyond the means of many. There are a lot of people whose parents can’t or won’t pay for their education.

  25. Palo Alto is a particularly ironic place to speak out for the working class. They can’t afford to live here anymore…

  26. My real question for all the Bernie Supporters. . . is the vote for Bernie really ‘anyone but Hillary’? Bernie’s not perfect and neither is Trump. Both have really loony ideas. So does anyone think that the support for Bernie or Donald really just motivated by the ‘anyone but Hillary’?

  27. Dave,
    Bernie has another event in Davis on 6/1 at 5 PM, so I imagine he’ll need to leave by 2:30 PM if not before.

    Both Paly and Gunn graduations are that day (starting at 5:30 PM and 6 PM respectively).

    Tomorrow’s a great day to BIKE PALO ALTO!

  30. First I will say that as a person, hands down Bernie is the better of the big three.

    But,

    With him as President we can rename Independence Day to Dependence Day.

    Our country was not founded on Bernie’s philosophy. History has shown us that his basic philosophies eventually takes more from humanity than it gives. It’s a slippery slope.

  32. To “Fed up with Bernie”

    Having lived in Europe, I can tell you that you are 100% wrong in your first assertion. Not even going to bother with the rest of your completely incorrect averrals; with that kind of record, you’re matching the Drumpf in untruthfulness.

  33. “Both Paly and Gunn graduations are that day (starting at 5:30 PM and 6 PM respectively).”

    Students must report at 4pm. So, yes, they will be impacted.

    Band must wear black tie, black jacket, and black slacks – not good biking gear on what I’m told will be a very hot day.

  34. See Fed Ups comments. This guy is a liar and a hypocrite. Those were the two words that this liberal website removed from that post.

  35. Dear “look before leaping” – my first assertion is completely true. 50% of my family lives in Europe and one of my parents is from Europe. Just because you briefly lived in Europe, you think you know what you are talking about?? You are 1000% wrong. AND all my other assertions can be easily proven by Googling it all. The facts are the facts. They won’t change simply because you want them to.

  36. Great day for democracy.
    Sure, there will be lot of crowds
    Our school children will have a glimpse of elections; it does not hurt our bubble.
    I commend the city manager, school district, Police, fire Chief and Council that allow this.

    Bernie is as golden as our Cubberley center; an old but golden community park/hall. It fits us well.

    I had a chance to see Hillary last week in San Jose; and am looking forward to hearing what Bernie will bring to us.

    Respectfully.

  37. As a Bernie supporter I am ecstatic that he will be holding a rally right here in Palo Alto and furthermore that it’s not some swanky fund raiser (at $2500 a head) that completely leaves normal folks like me out of the political process.

    To those persons that believe Bernie should have dropped out long ago you don’t understand that for a Bernie supporter in CA it’s been excrutiating to watch everybody else cast their vote while waiting patiently for my turn. I gladly paid my $27 to fuel my candidate’s campaign and if he had dropped out sooner he wouldn’t be the candidate we believe he is. I am not a political pundit – that is not my job. My job is to vote for the candidate I believe will best lead our country. So win or lose I am proud to cast my vote for Bernie Sanders. I hear it’s tough voting for a candidate just so the opponent won’t win.

    Traffic happens!

    See you guys at the rally tomorrow =)

  38. To Fed up with whatever

    Googling something doesn’t make you right, especially when you’re picking the headlines you like, or engaging in selective interpretation of what your relatives may or may not have told you. You are 100% wrong about college in Europe.

    Furthermore, comments on his income tax rate are irrelevant until Drumpf releases his tax returns.

  39. Bernie is a social democrat. All of western Europe is based on social democracy, the most humane and successful system of government. Many Americans, due in part to our deplorable public education system, ignorantly equate anything with the word “socialism” or” social” in it with communism soviet style, and nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, public universities in Europe are free, and their societies greatly benefit from it. If we can spend 750 billions a yearn the military and trillions of dollars on stupid wars that actually make us less safe and more hated around the world, surely we can support free public universities that will make our society more educated and competitive.

  40. “the most humane and successful system of government”

    Hmm, in the eye of the beholder, no? And we’ll have to see how it sustains over time. And of course having another country serve for many decades as the primary guarantor of its security against a large and difficult neighbor has been helpful with meeting non-security goals.

    Single payer healthcare and tuition-free community college would be fine with me, probably better that what we have now. But those are single programs, not a system of government.

  41. Hope it’s OK to repost here:

    Traffic Advisory: Expect Significant Delays for Bernie Sanders Public Rally on Wed, June 1 3h ago
    Palo Alto Police Department from City of Palo Alto
    Photo from Palo Alto Police Department

    We anticipate significant traffic delays in the southern end of Palo Alto on Wednesday, June 1, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. as a result of a public rally by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders being held at the Cubberley Community Center.

    The public rally will be held on the Cubberley athletic fields at 4000 Middlefield Road between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., but we anticipate large crowds arriving early to gain admittance to the site. We will post live traffic updates on our Twitter account, which anyone can access at http://www.twitter.com/PaloAltoPolice.

    While no major roadways will be closed for the event, we expect significant delays in the area, especially along Middlefield Road, San Antonio Road, East Charleston Road, and Alma Street.

    While there is a small public parking lot at the Cubberley Community Center itself, that will be filled quickly. There are no additional public parking lots in the area.

    We recommend that you avoid the area if at all possible to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Please allow extra time to get to and from your destination if you live or work in the area.

    If you are planning on attending the rally, we recommend taking alternative transportation to avoid contributing to the traffic delays. Walking, bicycling, or public transportation are all good options. For more information on regional bus routes servicing the area, visit http://www.vta.org and click on “Maps.” For more information on the free Palo Alto “Crosstown Shuttle,” visit http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/….

    Please also note that both of Palo Alto’s public high schools are holding graduation ceremonies on Wednesday, June 1, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Visitors attending those ceremonies, especially the one at Gunn High School, are advised to budget extra travel time out of an abundance of caution due to possible residual traffic from the rally at Cubberley.

    Alternative arrangements for the pick-up of students from nearby Greendell School have been made, and the school has been communicating those arrangements to affected parents.

  42. Sanders is a good man with good ideas. So was Nader in 2000. Nader led with his ego, split the progressive vote, and put W in the White House. Let’s hope Sanders doesn’t similarly put Trump in.

  43. ” But those are single programs, not a system of government.”

    I suppose you consider our system of government, in which one party that controls one branch of the government forces government shutdowns, threatens to default on the national debt and prevents the executive branch from carrying out some of its duties is superior. Indeed, in the eye of the beholder.

  44. @mauricio, we could laugh at the european government follies as well (Burlusconi is probably the closest thing to Trump), but that’s not the point, as I’m sure you agree. Separation of the executive and legislative branches has served us generally well the last 200+ years. Bernie is more of a old-style New Dealer, pushing for large scale social programs with some anti-business regulation tossed in, not a new “system of government.”

  45. What city official gave permission for this event? How come the neighbors, Glendell school kids, Foothill college studentsand others who use the community center were given no warning and still have no idea of the complete schedule? When will it be safe to go back home, and if after 5:00, who will let my dog out to pee?

  47. @ Interested Observer / a resident of another community:

    What a spouting nonsense! Why not trying to just argue your points without resorting to insults? I am a thoughtful citizen, nonviolent and committed voter. I have worked in relatively senior positions in the media, in political campaigns, and in government. I was there when the “neo-liberals” hijacked the traditional New Deal Democratic party and began to reshape a sweet deal for themselves, consisting of enormous financial benefits from corporations and the uber-rich.

    This nation is a train wreck. We’ve allowed the decimation of the middle class, the obscene enrichment of the wealthy class, and the complete disenfranchisement of the working and poorer classes. We are no longer healthy, innovative, admirable, educated, or sane. We are destabilizing regions, destroying the planet, and turning our young people into collateral damage for unchecked greed.

    Bernie Sanders had the guts to stand up and say, “Enough!” Have a look at his rallies, if you are too far gone or too dense to understand his logic and common sense. Those tens of thousands of committed, peaceful, enthusiastic supporters who turn out in city after city reflect a national zeitgeist the corporate-owned media and the wilfully blind establishment loyalists refuse to acknowledge. And if rational thought has become the enemy, then critical thinking is the devil’s tool. Too bad for all of us.

  48. Just to confirm what others have said, Bernie will be speaking at (around) 2:30, I’ve heard at the track/soccer field behind Cubberly, and for those interested, here’s the link to RSVP:
    https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/rally/gpgvyy

    There’s a lot of parking at Cubberly, but it will almost certainly fill early, so good luck to later arrivals.

    (No official connection to Bernie, but my son came up with the link)

  49. Look Before Leaping, The best defense is that googling something leads to biased headlines? How little education do you have?? I was referring to researching these topics. You will find actual data to back up EVERY claim I made, including my comments about taxes. I am a tax attorney. I know for fact that everything I said was completely accurate. Of course, unlike you, I also know how to research issues…..

  50. Bernie supporters should look at the Republican party to see what happens when you don’t a practical plan to get things. Saying outrageous things to excite the masses will just delay the reforms this country needs. Trump and Sanders have no hope of achieving any of their headline proclamations.

  51. At least there is a discussion going on, and that is the benefit of Bernie staying in the race. Keep talking, people, and do it civilly.

  52. A vote for Hillary is a vote for the status quo. Its a vote for appeasing Saudi Arabia and Israel and ignoring Palestine. Its a vote for more arms, more armed involvement, lip service to improving the economy and further protection of wall street interests.
    A vote for Bernie SPEAKS for what so many of us want. It SPEAKS for a redistribution of wealth to restore the middle class, it SPEAKS for a more humane role in the world.
    Listen to the man and then SPEAK for yourself.

  53. So glad and honored to have Senator Sanders (the senator with the highest approval rating of any U.S. senator) come to our town and speak at the great high school I graduated from in the 70’s! He is such an honest person and devoted to helping our country. I only wish I weren’t working! This is a great town for Bernie to visit because every town in the U.S. is a great place for him — he cares about everyone, period. I welcome him and hope I can see him another time when I can get off work. Enjoy this historic event you all who get to go!!!

  54. Great entertainment value. Any bets on which city council members show up? Seems that traffic jams were predicted for Super Bowl festivities and never materialized. Is this crying wolf again? Will there be any attempts to actually quantify the congestion? Might be a good indicator of what traffic will look like permanently when all the new development planned along San Antonio is complete.

    No air traffic restrictions as far as I can tell. Expect the news helicopters. I saw one scouting the area on Tuesday.

  56. For a guy with such bankrupt discredited ideas it is amazing how much
    the establishment and mainstream media had to put their thumbs on the
    scale of our democratic process.

    The statistic was that to the end of last year Trump got 80 minutes of airtime
    to Bernie Sanders’ 20 seconds … or 240 times more coverage.

    The primaries held first were mostly in southern states where Bernie even
    got less coverage. Then there were the 400 added super-delegates that
    pledged for Hillary before anyone else was even in the race. Add to that
    the wacky rules and outright cheats and provocations that Bernie supporters
    had to face to promote their candidate, and still Bernie holding his own in
    this race.

    It pretty much says that without powerful negativity from the establishment
    that Bernie Sanders would be our next President.

    His message is simple and clear … look a the rest of the world, and then
    look at what we have been told by our leaders and the media. For an
    entertaining look at this, check out the Michael Moore movie “Where To
    Invade Next” now streaming at a streaming service near you … Amazon
    or Apple … probably more.

    Bernie has the message right. He is not some Libertarian gold standard
    nutcase, nor is he a Israel hating anti-Semite, or an ineffective dove
    demanding that we pull back from the world or halt America’s mission in
    the world.

    Bernie essentially says … we are doing plenty well, we just need to fix
    the fraud and abuses that have been lobbied by money into our system
    such that currently America compared to the rest of the developed world
    actually now has the smallest percentage or its citizens in the middle class,
    in the mid-20 percentage.

    Bernie has stuck to the facts. 400 real economists including 5 Nobel prize
    winners signed a letter supporting Bernie’s approach to fixing the economy,
    that is rebalance things to put more money lower in the economy to get
    demand going again and create growth by raising the velocity of money.

    If the rest of the developed countries in the world can do these things, and
    have superior results to the US … why is it our media and leaders are spending
    so much time telling us the opposite?

    People can see with their own eyes, and Bernie has been the focus of that.
    Bernie Sanders is a courageous guy who has been a Mayor of Burlington,
    Vermont, a Congressman from Vermont, and a Senator now. He is one of the
    best liked and most down to Earth people in our entire government, not to
    mention honest and competent.

    I hope I can hear more or what he has to say tomorrow.

    GO BERNIE !!!

  57. How could the City forget that the High Schools have graduation this day? How could the City allow for such grid lock on such an important day for families?

    Couldn’t this rally be planned for a different day?

    The City for all its great salaries – show that they cannot plan or have a master calendar with other important City groups.

    Very disappointed…

  58. @ Graduating Senior. Even though the City owns only a part of Cubberley, and most of it is owned by the School District, the City approved the use of Cubberley for the rally without even coordinating with the School District to see if they had any objections. That’s how well the City and Schools work together?

  59. Having lived in both Germany and the Netherlands, I wish we had a Social Democracy. The standard of living is better in Germany, Scandinavia, Austria, and the Netherlands than it is here in the US–by far.

    No crumbling infrastructure, nice smooth roads, special protected bike lanes, free or inexpensive medical care, free or inexpensive college education–all the way to PhD level–for kids who qualify, more vacation time, more paid sick leave, more paid maternity/paternity leave, etc…..

    AND, Japanese and Korean cars are rare to be seen. Cool European cars we can’t get over here, like hydrogen fueled, clean diesel, electric Mercedes, etc. No one buys clothing made in China, either!

    Nor do Western Europeans buy Chinese drywall, or steel, or Chinese solar panels–these countries make their own. Costs a little more, but the quality is worlds better.

    We don’t know what we are missing out on because everyone fears Social Democracy equals Socialism, or is a “gateway drug” to Communism or totalitarianism. As a result, America is slowly becoming a third-rate power. We are frighteningly behind in so many areas. Due to the fact that most people can’t afford to educate their kids, and a college degree is as necessary as a high school one 50 years ago, this country is importing higher-educated immigrants from countries that DO pay for higher education (even if they are educated here in the US).

    BTW, a higher percentage of Western Europeans own their own homes than Americans do. And our statistics are woefully inaccurate because they don’t allow for all of the non-citizens who own multiple homes here.

    A vote for Bernie is a vote to raise us back up to the level of the rest of the of the developed world!

  60. Unfortunately while Bernie’s rhetoric sounds good reality will be different under a socialist president. Good intentions of government policies are abused leading to bloated government budgets and stifled economic growth. I’m not sure we should envy European models of high unemployment (especially among their youth) in places like France, Spain, Italy etc.
    Here is a real example of government welfare and entitlement programs gone awry and as a result tax payers like us suffer the consequences

    http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21699486-laws-meant-help-disabled-have-had-unintended-consequences-frequent-filers

  61. Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, and Greece have a different work either. They also tend to place less importance on education.

    In Brussels, they speak often of the lagging of what they call “The FPIGS”; France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain. The rest of Western Europe often wonders why they were allowed to join the EU inn the first place, because they have historically been some of the least productive countries in Europe.

    I don’t think that it is right to include them as Social Democrats such as Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liuchtenstein, or Belgium–who all have similar values as ours and have even higher work ethics (for example, when I lived in Germany, the average German employee worked an average of 51 hours per week–which I am told has increased since I left in 2010).

  62. What Bernie fans don’t realize is that the lack of media scrutiny means that his whopping lies have mostly gone unchallenged. Can you imagine what Donald Trump would do to him in a general election? At least the Donald’s whopping lies have been exposed and his supporters don’t care. Bernie doesn’t have the level of support that would be able to withstand a withering attack on his empty ideas and promises.

  63. Here is a hint to Bernie fans:

    If you want to avoid antagonizing the majority of the community who are not going to the event, ride your bike or take the 35 bus.

    Better yet, don’t go. You should already know every word he is going to say.

  64. Anything is better than Hillary. After all her and fearless leaders disruptions to this community has been 10 fold to Bernies one visit.k

  65. Footnote:
    1 Bernard “Bernie” Sanders, AKA: ‘Mr. Burns’ Angry finger waving elder man associated with failed attempt to introduce socialism into 2016 presidential election campagin

  66. Oh my Sisyphus – I think if you re-read my remarks on May 30 @ 9:26 p.m. you will see NOT that I “resorted to insults” or “spouting nonsense” but exhorted you – with your right to your own opinion – to be more respectful of those to whom you expressed yourself.

    Insulting readers who don’t agree with you as being “S—-d” (My Quote of you using the real word was edited out of my original comments quoting you) is a demeaning approach to take and very disrespectful. I urge you to just state your case for Bernie and not let us know why your self importance and experience make it more valid than others. Thank you.

    I do need to thank you for arousing my curiosity however! I looked up Sisyphus to find the following: He was a king in ancient lore who was punished for his self aggrandinzing craftiness and deceitfulness (Hmm) by being forced to roll an immense boulder up the hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeating this action for eternity.” Could there be a moral in this? 🙂

  67. Posters keep confusing socialism, which they associate with soviet style state controlled economics, with social democracy, the kind Scandinavia, Germany, the UK, Holland, Belgium, etc, practice. They have dee market with a safety net, we have crony capitalism that’s based on corporations and very wealthy individuals buying politicians and dictating public policy. Which is closer to real free market? Bernie Sanders is definitely a social democrat. Travel in nations who practice social democracy, and you will find out that they are highly democratic and advanced societies with much more social justice we can ever hope to have in the USA. Their public transit is ultra modern, state of the art, their highways, bridges, dams, are in terrific condition, because they invest in their infrastructure. In many ways, we are decades behind them. Bernie wants us to be more like them, and we should.

  68. Mauricio, I don’t think posters are confusing socialism with democratic socialism, social democracy or New Deal Liberalism … this has been a conscious effort at deception that has worked on the American public with what are basically multi-level lies.

    There are so many lies told daily about this issue. You bring up what amount to talking about some efforts towards social and economic justice and dishonest people start talking about the USSR, North Korea, China or Venezuela on the one hand and wave the flag on the other. The idea that Bernie Sanders’ idea of positive change to enhance the middle class and curtail corporate political abuses is about trying to turn the US into Venezuela is unbelievable and preposterous. Everything Bernie has done in his career has empowered the people. He did not at gunpoint take money from the rich and throw it at gangs of criminal poor … yet that is what we hear at worst, and at best Bernie is called a well-meaning fool. Well, look where we are, and listen to the 170 economists including Nobel prize winners that conclude Bernie’s plan to reform Wall St. will work while Hillary’s and Trump’s do not.

    The Dodd-Frank bill …. 20,000 pages of complex legalistic BS will likely never be used because no one can figure it out, yet this is what Hillary Clinton backs. Who knows what Trump believes, and it changes from hour to hour anyway.

    As Grrr point out:
    ?? BTW, a higher percentage of Western Europeans own their own homes than Americans do.

    Reality and metrics do not count in the kinds of discussion allowed in our “free” media. As I mentioned earlier, America is dead last in the percentage of citizens actually in the middle class, and these lies that we hear, and are merely echoed with words, not facts, not research, not experience are reinforced by cherry-picking selective voices in the media that we all know are not scientists or even very bright.

    The liars have presided over the destruction of the country under the assumed righteousness that they are capitalist and democratic and supporting those values around the world with military force. Why is it than US interventionism has not created one democracy since WWII?

    No, the real system that is too big to fail in the US is the lying, wasteful unjust, fraudulent status quo that just gets worse as it continues to try to expand special privileges for those who already have more than they have merited and devote more and more resources and energy into trying to hide the mess we are in.

  69. When you guys talk “social democracy”, you think “Sweden”….but what you’re more likely to get is “Venezuela”.

  71. Average Prostate 5 Year Survival Rate for Prostate Cancer by Country:

    US 91.9%
    Germany 76.4%
    Netherlands: 69.5%
    Sweden: 66.0%
    Finland: 62.9%
    Norway: 63.0%
    UK: 51.1%
    Denmark: 38.4%

  72. Posters keep confusing socialism, which they associate with soviet style state controlled economics, with social democracy, the kind Scandinavia, Germany, the UK, Holland, Belgium, etc, practice. They have dee market with a safety net, we have crony capitalism that’s based on corporations and very wealthy individuals buying politicians and dictating public policy. Which is closer to real free market? Bernie Sanders is definitely a social democrat. Travel in nations who practice social democracy, and you will find out that they are highly democratic and advanced societies with much more social justice we can ever hope to have in the USA. Their public transit is ultra modern, state of the art, their highways, bridges, dams, are in terrific condition, because they invest in their infrastructure. In many ways, we are decades behind them. Bernie wants us to be more like them, and we should.

  73. Really Mary … point out a few similarities between Bernie Sanders and Hugo Chavez?
    Chavez took over the Venezuelan government from inside the military. Do you fear
    Bernie Sanders is going to take over the government.

    The previous government in Venezuela and their backers tried to assassinate Hugo
    Chavez at least twice for trying to help the poor people who have no hope, no education,
    no health care.

    If there is any trend I see here is that without democracy and social justice we will
    be more like Venezuela than if we have Bernie Sanders.

    What I don’t think you realize is that the US has taken all the trends that were useful
    in the past for building large scale industry and let them run too far, irresponsibly
    consolidating too much power, buying our government and using it to disempower
    whatever democracy we have left.

  74. >> Average Prostate 5 Year Survival Rate for Prostate Cancer by Country:
    >> US 91.9%

    That could just as well mean the US is doing a lot of unnecessary prostate treatment.

  75. @Mary: European homes are far more space efficient. Cabinets and closets are extremely so. But you don’t have huge rooms or wide halls because heating is very expensive, cooling even more so.

  76. “That could just as well mean the US is doing a lot of unnecessary prostate treatment.”

    Breast Cancer Survival Rates:

    US: 90.5%
    Sweden 86.1%
    Finland 86.0%
    Denmark 82.4$
    Norway: 81.9%

    Bowel Cancer Survival Rates:

    US 65.5%
    Sweden:60.1%
    Norway 57.8%
    Denmark 54.4%
    Netherlands 55.1%
    Germany 51.6%

    Overall Cancer survival Rates:

    Men:

    US 66.3%
    Sweden 60.3%
    Finland 55.9%
    Norway 53.0%
    Germany 50.0%
    Netherlands 47.1%

    Women Overall Cancer Survival Rates:

    Us 63%
    Sweden 61.7%
    Finland 61.1%
    Germany 58.5%
    Norway 58.4%
    Netherlands 58.3%

    Lotsa unnecessary cancer treatment going on in US, I guess

  77. “…But you don’t have huge rooms or wide halls because heating is very expensive, cooling even more so.”

    Do you think there is any chance that this high energy cost phenomenon might be related to the fact that these countries all have “social(ist) democratic” economic policies of the kind that Bernie wants the US to have?

  78. Kazu and Berners, I will try to explain the college thing again so people can understand…

    it applies to getting the most benefit($) for the cost of producing graduates. You can break it down to per student, at a certain point when you ad another student it becomes increasingly more $$$$$$ to produce another graduate, the business goes into the red and shuts down. So even if you grab ALL the money from the Defense budget, we will be flushing a larger and larger portions of that cash down the toilet as you add students, similar to paying 20 bucks to make a pizza that would normally cost 2 bucks to make, keep in mind graduation rates, for those not graduating your tax dollars would go down the toilet, or at best towards a student who may want a degree in kinesiology.

    i suggest working pt and saving up to go to college, and leveraged some grants… there is also the option of armed services… then your education is FREE after (defense budget? someone?)

    You cant ignoring pricing… People want an education so they pay for it.
    this circles back to the min wage hike btw, raise min wage lose jobs, firms will be less willing to pay or hire natural talent work force and pick grad students instead, like the guy i met working at CVS the other day who had a masters degree in marketing. You tell me who you would hire if you were the manager at CVS? Johnny Pizza face, or the guy in the suit who has a masters and experience. You could also do something like toss in some self checkout stands ;]. you bit on an ebay item that keeps climbing and climbing at some point you tap out, unless you have the budget and its worth the buy.

    The Marketing guy above is also a great example of a fallacy also… i think its called composition. Someone can correct me if i am wrong. if you flood the market with specialized people with bachelors degrees in pizza making, there will be plenty of people who can fill the job and eventually the pizza firms will hire only people with masters in pizza making and 10 years experience, so they dont have to spend money training them and they are the best at what they do. The above may be kinda whats happening to the highschool degree. Now think about h1b visas as a similar ouch. Google “disney h1b lawsuit”

    anyways… college is not free and shouldnt be… we need incentives to do stuff, brownie points are an incentive as well.

    i read somewhere it is shown that free school isnt worth the cost after… drum roll plz…
    12 grade…

    HAPPY GRADUATION PA FRIENDS!!!

  79. Mary, those statistics for the US appear to be grossly optimistic or inflated. I KNOW PERSONALLY THAT THE CURE RATE IS NOT THAT HIGH!!!

  80. “Like just to say my ‘example’, I remember from Germany, when I was 12, 13, you could go and join these community sports clubs, on your own, no parents, or money. Table tennis, basketball, handball and football of course, waterpolo and wrestling, etc. they had everything, all outside of school, school was for school, and you had different ‘levels’ and leagues, depending on where your skills were at, it was very nice.
    And you pay a little bit, a fee, very affordable, but it goes by income, so if you can’t pay, you don’t have to, if you are like on welfare, they just let you in, no problem.
    Damn those European socialists.

    So like at 12, 13, I joined a table tennis club, after 2 years of outdoor park playing, and it was great, they had coaches, adults, kids, all training, playing, teaching you, different levels, and it was free. And it was the same with other sports, I was about to start playing either waterpolo or handball, that was my ‘dream’, and then I came to the US, my visa ran out. “

  81. All the self righteous intellectuals and technocrats that favor social democracy need to spend less time going to summits and more time getting in tune with the working class in Europe. They have it worse there than here in the US. (Un-employment rates, decreasing standard of living, uncontrolled immigration, restrictions on personal rights and freedoms)

    The EU experiment is imploding. The UK will leave shortly via elections and the PIGS via economic collapse. Five years from now it will be unrecognizable as the remaining wreckage will be either a satellite of the renewed Soviet Union or the Sunni Caliphate.

    Now we want to jump on that socialist ship just as it is sinking?

  82. The rich and intellectual classes in Europe favor socialism because it cements their position of power. For the working class, taxes are too high to save their way to financial freedom or a better life.

    The best jobs are (not surprisingly) in government, consulting firms that cater to the government or management in family dynasty-owned corporations. Of course, the only way to get one of those jobs is by attending an exclusive school system or nepotism.

    The bureaucratic burden is so high that there is little access to capital for the masses. Thus, the ability to create wealth through entrepreneurship and innovation is stifled. They must remain content to plod along in a dreary and static birth right oriented society while the wealthy frolic above them and continuously lecture them on how to live, what they can say and what they should think.

  85. @ Softballdad

    “As a softball parent, it would be nice if the attendees to this event completely stay off the softball fields. There could be a risk of injury if the infields get trashed by people trampling through/over them. Hopefully the city will rope off the infields to keep people off. In addition kids play soccer in the outfields, hopefully no items will be left on the fields that could cause injury. We ask that the Bernie Sanders campaign leave Cubberley in the same shape as before your rally, and that attendees to this event realize that Cubberley is actively used by multiple youth sports teams.”

    There are bigger issues at stake than your precious softball field. Remember there are other people out there that have the right to use the playing fields, besides you.—– Cubberley Alumnus and Taxpayer

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