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Javajoe25

Javajoe25 is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

We were offered up to $70,000 at 0% interest for buying in City Heights

History, What in God's name are you talking about? These programs are designed to help people who might never get into a house, get into one. That is exactly what your (and my) tax dollars should be doing. Don't forget, once these folks get into a house, they will become tax payers like never before. I think all your ranting about these tax program giveaways, is just a load of crap because you are another one of those cheapskates who do not want to pay any taxes for anything, anytime! And it is morons like you who have lead this city and this country down the tubes to the point we are second rate to countries we once rescued. All this baloney about paying high taxes is nothing but greed complaining about what needs to be paid in order to make this society better than it is. I am so tired of hearing from people like you, whining about where your tax money is going when the fact is, you and others like you do not hesitate one second when it comes to taking advantage of government programs that add money in your pocket, or fudging on your tax returns to cheat the country in any way you can. Why don't you just move to someplace else; someplace where no one cares about the infrastructure of the country crumbling; someplace that could care less about who is starving on the street, or dying from lack of medical care. Maybe some nice third-world country where nothing is done; no improvements made; and conditions are worse now than they were 20 years ago. That seems to be the kind of country you want. That is not what many of us want here. Not the good people who provide these programs, and not the people who administer them, and not the people who thankfully, are able to take advantage of them and make this place a better place for all of us.
— March 23, 2012 11:55 p.m.

John Brizzolara’s Last Column

John, When I suggested you double-down on the antidepressants, I certainly did not intend for you to work your way through your entire medicine cabinet. In any case, whatever blend of prescriptive chemistry you happen to settle on, I sincerely hope you find the cure for what ails you. I too will miss your unique voice and commentary on life here in Dago. I will look forward to any future contributions you care to toss us and wish you well in your new digs with your son. Hopefully, he will enjoy and appreciate the wisdom his old man brings to the house--at least enough so to put up with your grumpy ass. Keep ém coming, Brizz...and we'll catch you after the ampersand.
— March 21, 2012 11:12 p.m.

The Marine recruiter in El Cajon loved me

Diego, Did not mean to ignore your comments--they are most appreciated. As you said, the situation is complicated...and yes, welcome back.
— March 20, 2012 4:16 p.m.

The Marine recruiter in El Cajon loved me

Refried: I hear that. Glad your boy made it home okay. Hopefully, he will be able to just file those memories in the back of his head somewhere. The problems start when they can't. And of course that nagging question of "why?" Why did his buddies die? Why did we have to bomb those people? I think WWII was the last good war, if war can ever be considered good. The objectives were clear; the enemy was clear; all the soldiers wore uniforms. It was a lot easier to tell where things were at. Now, the justifications are not clear; the enemy is undefined; and there are no permanent front lines or territory taken. When someone who has been through it, gets to thinking about these things, he starts to doubt who we are, and who he is, and what we stand for. Killing another human being is the most inhumane thing we are capable of. And regardless of how much you hate them, you can't help but realize they were probably somebody's boy too. It just goes against every fiber in your being to do such a thing; and it can stay with you. The military has always been a fine and noble tradition; but those who direct them and those who send them off to fight, may not have such fine and noble intentions. We do have people in this country that will send our men and women off to die simply to improve their business prospects. They're able to file things in the back of their head too. I sometimes think this war business will not stop until it is our warriors themselves who say "enough." Enough with the killing; enough with the dead women and children. There just has to be another way to resolve our differences. I think this is why some countries have military coups, as much as we frown on such things. It's just that politicians can be more deadly than the military--especially when they are controlling them. America is the greatest country in the world; but we have to get out of this business of death and destruction. We should not be the largest dispensers of arms in the world. We can, and have, lead the world in so many ways. Look at Microsoft; look at the Segway; look at the R&D going on in the medical professions. Surely we can lead when it comes to peaceful coexistence. Having the ability to kill people better than anyone else is not something we should be striving for. We can do so much better.
— March 20, 2012 11:21 a.m.

The Marine recruiter in El Cajon loved me

If you meant that, then thank you Surfpup. I wrote it alright. Could have written a lot more. Makes me mad to see what is going down. Young (and old) lives being wasted again. These military folks will come home and the magnitude of what they just went through will start to sink in, and that's when it will hit them. Hopefully, they will cope, but if you look at cases like the guy who is up on charges for shooting a bunch of civilians in Afghanistan for no apparent reason, it starts to become clear that this is not 1945 and this is not as clear cut as WWII was. I also think things have changed a lot since WWII and the young people going over to these war zones now are considerably more sensitive (you could say civilized), in spite of the intense training they go through, and when they experience the insanity that killing others requires, they don't quite get back to being themselves when they come home. It's a weird thing about being in a war; it's very hard to describe because it is like nothing else you've ever known. And it's hard for someone who hasn't gone through it to understand and appreciate what it is like because..well, it's just so far from anything that they might know. But what bugs me the most about all this is that we are once again left with the question of what is this war being fought for? Bin Laden is dead and most of his crew were from Saudi Arabia--a so-called friendly. Most of the current Taliban are people who signed up because they are pissed at us because we killed friends or family. And we probably killed them by mistake! You have no idea how many people get killed by mistake in a war zone. It's just a real mess and nothing that can be called a victory in any shape or form is in sight and so we will have to tuck out tails between our legs again and exit as gracelessly as we did in Nam and then pay a couple of hundred billion to clean up the mess and the only people who are going to benefit are the same bastards who make out well with every war: the munitions guys; the contractors; the oil companies and every other bloodsucking pig bastard who could care less if their money comes home soaked in blood. The red can run forever just as long as the green keeps coming home. This is why this country has become such a disgrace in the eyes of so many in this world. We've become a country that apparently can only thrive on death. Isn't that just Jim fricken dandy?
— March 19, 2012 11:44 p.m.

The Marine recruiter in El Cajon loved me

Oh, Tom will be scanning for IED's for awhile. Then he'll start scanning for some justification for what he went through; something that will show him the lives he saw lost and the lives he took and the risk of his own life was all worth while. But Tom won't find it. Maybe Tom will become an upstanding citizen and a proud Veteran of the military. Or, maybe Tom will not feel so good about the people that were killed and the puzzling explanations the counselors give him, and just maybe Tom will develop problems. Problems that result in alcoholism or drug abuse or all out mental instability and maybe Tom will decide to kill some more people because he is so upset about what has become apparent to him: he was used. He and a lot of others were used as expendable material on behalf of who-the-hell-knows what. Just like in Iraq, and just like in Vietnam--we were told we had to kill these people; that the communists had to be stopped. This boogie-man or that boogie-man, has got to be stopped or they'll destroy our way of life! And then you find out that maybe they don't. Maybe the communists aren't so bad after all and in fact, maybe we should just put them on the "Most Favored Nations" trading list and do lots of business with those wonderful folks who we had to kill or be killed by. Because the fact of the matter is, it's all business and poor Tom and thousands like him will be killed and slaughtered and have their lives turned completely upside down, and families will be shattered and children will be fatherless and now, motherless; mothers and fathers will become childless--all in the cause of big business; Big Important Business. But always under the flag; under the red, white, and blue. It's your patriotic duty, Tom. You've seen the movies. You have to serve; it's the right thing to do. And the benefits are wonderful. Just try not to think about it too much. Try not to remember those faces and those mangled bodies and don't think about the fact that it really was all a bunch of bullshit. And the ones who will really benefit will never be there with you. They're out on their yachts; putting away on the green. There's no mangled bodies on the seventh hole, Tom. That's for you to deal with. That's for vets like you and me to wonder about. What was it all for, Tom? What did they have us do? How could we have been so goddamn stupid?
— March 18, 2012 5:20 p.m.

Worse Traffic Delays May Precede Border Crossing Openings

Another wonderful example of international cross-border cooperation.
— March 15, 2012 8:05 p.m.

Neighbors have been calling the San Diego police for four years

I don't get the zoning law angle. Do you mean because the neighborhood is zoned "residential," and the crackheads are conducting "business," that they can be prosecuted based on that? My point was, for most people, it is not one big major criminal act that occurs and goes unaddressed. It is usually a series of petty crimes; none big enough in and of themselves to warrant a raid, but a seemingly endless stream of petty annoyances and misdemeanor violations. It detracts from your life in ways that no one notices until someone goes postal and then it's the aggrieved party that gets carted off in handcuffs. It should not have to end that way, and it doesn't have to--IF...the cops act in response to ongoing complaints. Why do things always have to get worse before they get better?
— March 8, 2012 8:53 p.m.

Neighbors have been calling the San Diego police for four years

So, the consensus here seems to be there is nothing to be done about it. Or, "try calling your local Council person and maybe they can make the cops do their job." I mean, isn't that what you mean when you tell someone to contact their local politician? The way I see it, the issue isn't what can we do when the criminals are back out on the street in 48 hours? The issue is whether the cop gets to decide which laws are to be enforced, and which are not. Just because the creeps are back on the street in 48 hrs does not mean the law should be ignored. This is a quality of life issue for the residents. If the cops arrested and re-arrested the occupants of the crack house, and also brought charges against the owner, I think the problem would go away quite soon. Why should the residents here have to put up with this because the law fails to do anything permanent? I wonder if the situation would be handled differently if this house were on the block where the cop lives? No one should have to accept conditions like this because the police feel it's just not worth their while to do anything about it. The police get excellent salaries and are in the exalted position of having their pension and benefits protected--they ought to quit making excuses and do something to help these people.
— March 8, 2012 11:14 a.m.

After Lynching Threat, Valle de la Palmas Residents Promised a Police Substation

I think the police ought to thank the good people of Mexico and let them decorate a few trees with some bad guys. Maybe it will give other criminals reason to pause. It's obvious the police, military, etc., are not able to rein in the crooks and the situation is getting out of hand. It's usually only after the criminals see that the locals are against them, that they pack up and head out. I don't usually advocate anarchy, but when all else has failed... it may be time to let the people handle it. Perhaps a few drug lord's heads on sticks might get the message across. Maybe it's time for another Mexican revolution.
— March 3, 2012 9:16 a.m.

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Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

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