I am sure if you are reading this, than you already read my commentary this morning where I take the Governor to task (as a supporter of his) for what he said at a campaign stop in La Mesa yesterday, "Never get mad at anyone that is trying to come to this country. I understand people wanting to be part of this state."

Over on his weblog, Sacramento Bee reporter Dan Weintraub had some thoughts after reading what I had to say:

My take is that illegal immigration, in and of itself, is a victimless crime. If people come here to work, which most illegal immigrants do, they are going to engage in a voluntary exchange of their labor for someone else’s money. They are not stealing, and, as a group, they are helping our economy, even if a few people at the lower end of the wage scale see their wages bid down. Illegal immigrants are also not harming legal immigrants or anyone

Senator Tom Harman narrowly won (by less than 300 votes) his Special Election contest earlier this year against Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey (a Probolsky client).

Now it seems that he is trying to reach out to the community by hiring some known quantities like Councilman Mark Leyes and Cynthia Determan, a former Morrow staffer.

I have been an outspoken critic of the Senator in the past, given his electoral success has come at the expense of the GOP Primary process twice (he was first elected in the one ‘open primary’ that was later deemed illegal) and this last time won in a Special winner-take-all Election.

But I am keeping an open mind with my new Senator and his staff choices seem to indicate that he is too. Leyes is a well known conservative leader in his city and countywide. I also credit Duane Dichiara of Coronado Communications (his consultants) with helping Senator Harman reach out to parts of the party that have not traditionally been supportive of the Senator.

I… Read More

Takes One to Know One

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made his clearest statement yet that he isn’t going to use illegal immigration as a campaign issue this year. He told a Spanish language newspaper that his support for the anti-illegal immigrant Proposition 187 back in 1994 was "wrong" and refused to repeat his earlier praise of the Minutemen, a group of private citizens who have set themselves up as guardians of the U.S.-Mexico border.

San Jose State political scientist Larry Gerston said the governor is trying to appeal to centrists without alienating his conservative base. "Where are the conservatives going to go? They’re either going to Arnold Schwarzenegger or they’re going to sit it out. You weigh that against accommodating votes not only… Read More

As someone who strongly supported Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor in the 2003 special recall election, and as someone who has endorsed and supports Schwarzenegger for re-election this year, I was extremely frustrated to read this quote attributed to the Governor today in several major newspapers, when he was questioned by opponents of illegal immigration at a campaign stop yesterday in La Mesa in San Diego County:

While I certainly am ‘mad’ at the federal government for not securing our borders, why in Earth would I NOT get mad at "anyone" trying to come into this country, if they are coming here in violation of the law? Such a statement has as its natural extention that there is no moral relevence between those who legally immigrate into America, following our nation’s laws, versus those who sneak/smuggle/trespass into America by flaunting or ignoring our laws.

Let me… Read More

As someone who strongly supported Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor in the 2003 special recall election, and as someone who has endorsed and supports Schwarzenegger for re-election this year, I was extremely frustrated to read this quote attributed to the Governor today in several major newspapers, when he was questioned by opponents of illegal immigration at a campaign stop yesterday in La Mesa in San Diego County:

While I certainly am ‘mad’ at the federal government for not securing our borders, why in Earth would I NOT get mad at "anyone" trying to come into this country, if they are coming here in violation of the law? Such a statement has as its natural extention that there is no moral relevence between those who legally immigrate into America, following our nation’s laws, versus those who sneak/smuggle/trespass into America by flaunting or ignoring our laws.

Let me be… Read More

I’ll post more on this later, as I’m off to a city council meeting (hey, what do you want for free….we’re volunteer bloggers, not reporters….although sometimes were better than some reporters).

But I did want to get some photos up of Arnold’s campaign stop in lil’ old La Mesa’s Harry Griffin Parkthis morning. More on this "Town Hall in the Park" later.

Below are photos ofLa Mesa Mayor Art Madrid, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, and the Gov engaging the crowd……

… Read More

When Proposition 187 was on the California Ballot in 1994 (you’ll remember it as the measure to cut off government services for foreign nationals illegally in California), Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently supported the measure.

Today in an interview posted on the La Opinion website (click through here and you can click on the audio file), the Governor says (about his decision to support 187) "I think, looking back, if was the wrong decision."

Sigh. If I have my facts wrong, someone let me know or post a comment.… Read More

With the Sacramento County Supervisors set to cast their first of two votes today on putting the arena tax on the ballot, I thought I’d share a personal story about how basketball teams add value to communities other than what can be counted in the cash register.

I attended a small Jesuit university that very few people had heard of until about 8 years ago. I would meet with people, go to job interviews out of college and I would always have to explain where it was and yes it was accredited.

The learning environment was one of the best in the nation and anybody who knows the Jesuits will attest to the rigors they like to impose on their students — heavy on philosophy, ethics and of course religion.

About 8 years ago when my little university "made a run" in the NCAA basketball tournament — Gonzaga (pronounced like zig-zag) became a household name throughout the country. Since their repeated success in the tournament (dont get me started on our loss to UCLA this year), the value of my diploma has increased dramatically — not because I learned more in my 4 years there but because… Read More