Gold! Gold From Santa Clara!

THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT

-- George Santayana

In 1849, there was the California Gold Rush. The most famous quote from that time was by Samuel Brannon, a San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant. "Brannon strode through the streets of San Francisco . . . shouting 'Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!'" [1]

In 2009, the San Francisco 49ers want free money from Santa Clara. The Mayor was recently quoted: "We're in it for the money." [2]

"The largest group of forty-niners in 1849 were Americans, arriving by the tens of thousands overland across the continent and along various sailing routes . . . It is estimated that almost 90,000 people arrived in California in 1849. . . . the huge numbers of newcomers were driving Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking the miners. This provoked counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered." [1]

It is estimated that the proposed stadium would be filled on game days with 68,500

people, 75,000 for special events such as the NFL Super Bowl. [3] The crowd would gradually increase, but all would be released when the game is over. Just imagine: "And they're off!" The jockeys are pumped with adrenalin, some have been drinking, and they're riding vehicles that have more horsepower than the entire starting lineup at Bay Meadows.

"When the GoldRush began, California was a peculiarly lawless place. . . . There was no civil legislature, executive or judicial body for the entire region. Local residents operated under a confusing mixture of Mexican rules, American principles, and personal dictates. While the treaty ending the Mexican-American War obliged the United States to honor Mexican land grants, almost all of the goldfields were outside those grants. Instead, the goldfields were primarily on 'public land,' meaning land formerly owned by the United States government. . . .The benefit to the forty-niners was that the gold was simply 'free for the taking' at first." [1]

Free money! But this time it won't be so easy. Santa Clara is not a lawless place but functions within a region that has a judicial body and a city government. Some of the money, our money, will have to be spread out amongst the powers that exist here before any is granted to the San Francisco 49ers.

Ahead of that, there is an inconvenient legal requirement. The land upon which the stadium would be built is public land belonging collectively to the citizens of Santa Clara. Our land and our money will not be used for this purpose until we vote on the matter. Unlike the Native Americans in 1849, who were outgunned, we can effectively protect our neighborhoods from a flood of people, noise and traffic without firing a shot. We may be out-moneyed, and we will be the targets of a media blitz, but we outnumber them. Let's pull togther and get out the vote, show everyone what democracy is really about.

[1} California Gold Rush, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[2] " S.F.s game plan on 49ers is wrong approach", C. W. Nevius, San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2009

[3] Planning Application, City of Santa Clara Planning Division, for project address 4900 Centennial Blvd. Santa Clara, CA 95054, DATE IF LIST 4-17-98

SAVE tax dollars

keep traffic OUT

No stadium!

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David, the gardener

dreams of a sleeping rock

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