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January 5, 2011 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • Are you ready for 2011′s first SCV political scandal? Well, ready or not, here it comes and it’s about illegal immigration again. Last month, at the end of her Mayoral term, Councilwoman Laurene Weste penned a letter -on City letterhead- to Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman, imploring the Congressman to support comprehensive immigration reform, border enforcement and “a pathway to citizenship.” The emotional letter, written with several exclamation marks in it, ends with Weste telling Sherman “You are amazing.” The SCV Tea Party got the letter and they’re hopping mad, asking why it was sent on City Letterhead and advising readers to show up at next week’s Council meeting. Last year, Bob Kellar penned a letter to Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, in support of that state’s anti-immigration law. SCV TEA PARTY
  • Once built-out Newhall Ranch will involve “filling of the Santa Clara River and its floodplain on a massive scale; filling or concrete lining of nearly 20 miles of tributary streams; unearthing and desecration of Native American burial sites, sacred places and cultural natural resources such as the California condor; and the destruction of about one quarter of the San Fernando Valley spineflower population — a species found in only one other location — on and around the Newhall Ranch site, all in order to accommodate development at Newhall Ranch that has not yet been approved,” according to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of five environmental groups -including SCOPE and Plambeck, who gets a quote in the press release- against the State’s Department of Fish and Game. Big media coverage on this one from the VeCo STAR, to the Times, to SIGNAL & KHTS. Marlee Lauffer calls the suit “disappointing but not surprising” and says Fish & Game will prevail in court.
  • As he takes the reins of the Armed Services Committee today (and its authority over the Pentagon’s $760 billion budget), Buck McKeon will hold a post swearing-in press conference with 25th District reporters. McKeon will highlight new rules the House GOP is implementing to carry out their pre-election promises.
  • Revenge of the suburbs: Also, McKeon is part of a group of California Congressman from suburbs or rural areas who are taking over the Chairmanships and positions from California Democrats who live in larger urban areas, says the SF CHRONICLE
  • Former State Senator George Runner has been sworn in at the Board of Equalization, and two candidates have filed to run for his seat in a special election to be held on February 15. Sharron Runner, George’s wife, will run as a Republican for the 17th Senate seat, and a real Democrat from the AV (like with credentials and party responsibilities and stuff) named Darren Parker will run against her for the seat.  On a small part of the SCV will vote in this election.This will be one of the first elections held under the state’s new “top two” system, says the LA TIMES KHTS
  • Castaic woman enters her home, only to hear someone rummaging through an upstairs bedroom of hers. She flees, calls the police, who swarm the area but arrive too late to stop the four men, who then drive south at speeds up to 100 mph before finally being stopped in LA. SIGNAL, LA TIMES
  • Castaic High has to be the longest-running story in the history of the SCV. Here we are in 2011 with the first of a series of stories on the long-delayed high school and how, once built-out, it may enhance development opportunities in the area SIGNAL
  • The go-live date for Ventura County’s handoff of the Camarillo County library to LSSI has come and gone, and so far the process has been smooth. Though if you read the comments on this VeCo Star story, library privatization is just as controversial there as it is here. We’re six months from our go-live date.
  • Fascinating NYT article on how the City of Beijing -once a city of bicycles and shabby alleyways- is coping (or not coping) with an explosion of automobile ownership NYT
  • Dave Bossert promises “unvarnished truth” and continued criticism of the Signal and the City in 2011 WRB
  • Not surprised : Steve Lunetta, right wing columnist for the Signal, is a birther who doesn’t have the courage of his convictions and blames Obama for the controversy. SIGNAL
  • Good column from Gary Horton on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell SIGNAL
  • For all you library fans out there, I present this great “Libraries will Survive” tribute video, a remix of the popular “I will Survive” empowerment song YOU TUBE

Comments

89 · as published
  1. KLBJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:14 am
    OH-EM-GEE, a Daily Brief. YAY!
  2. ReaderMamaJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:24 am
    I’m feeling a little faint . . . I thought the Daily Brief was dead! Welcome back!
  3. IHeartSCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:57 am
    I don’t find the content of Laurene’s email the stuff of scandal. If I recall, sending a letter to local reps was one of the actions that the Council decided to take once they finished holding meetings on illegal immigration in the SCV. And she doesn’t exactly advocate making illegal immigrants citizens–she says “A pathway to citizen *could* be implemented”, saving her “musts” for penalties for those who enter the country illegally. I know a pathway to citizenship is what is implied by comprehensive immigration reform, but the clear emphasis is on how illegal immigrants are stressing the prisons, food stamp system, etc. Things that are shocking/scandalous: 1. The size of her signature, the lasso of a line with which she crosses her “t”. 2. Typos (e.g., “$22,000,000 million in welfare benefits”, which translates to $22 trillion, almost double the GDP). 3. The “You are Amazing!” Seems a little gushy for a political letter.
  4. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 9:29 am
    I wonder how Weste’s signature would be explained by an expert. She definitely likes herself. She’s amazing!
  5. Coastal SageJanuary 6, 2011 at 4:55 pm
    I’m on vacation, and generally not internet accessible. However, I have a “tale to tell out of school” relating to Councilwoman Weste’s schmoozing Congressman Brad Sherman. I’ve heard, not through Ms. Weste, that our Congressman Buck McKeon “cannot carry” the bill to resolve the problem with the Cemex Mine in the next Congressional session. I haven’t heard an intelligent reason why. As a result, I am told the City needs to find another Congressman to carry the Cemex Mine resolution bill in the House of Representatives. Looking around, within driving distance of Santa Clarita, it seems that all of the neighboring congressmen are, gulp, Democrats. As a result, to get them to carry a bill helping Santa Clarita, a whole lot of bipartisan “being nice” is required. That’s a skill Councilwoman Weste has times ten. So I hope Santa Clarita’s Tea Partiers will calm down and understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Sometimes getting good things done for one’s constituents involves co-oping the enemy. Just look at yesterday’s and today’s television of House Speaker Boehner giving Nancy Pelosi a hug.
  6. Petz2January 5, 2011 at 8:14 am
    Gary Horton’s piece is so full of lies and distortion that one does not know where to begin refutation. He is entitled to his opinion , but he lies and distorts the facts surrounding DADT.
  7. navigatorJanuary 5, 2011 at 9:33 am
    “good column” and Gary Horton don’t belong in the same sentence.
  8. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:10 am
    Start at the beginning if you can.
  9. CCJanuary 5, 2011 at 8:20 am
    I thought we already established that Councilmembers can write whatever they damn well please on City letterhead. As to Marlee Lauffer, anyone who wants to preserve some modicom of natural habitat in California was more than disappointed but not surprised as to Newhall Ranch’s plans for the development. The Santa Clara river is the LAST wild river to run in Southern California.
  10. MikeJanuary 5, 2011 at 9:38 am
    Hell yes! The brief is back!
  11. MikeJanuary 5, 2011 at 9:47 am
    Time was, I thought if the brief ended, I’d get back to digging through the paper every day. Instead, in its absence my interest in local news has nearly evaporated. But today, I’m fulfilled. It’s like the first rainfall on a parched prairie.
  12. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:05 am
    Oh yes, this is a GREAT Day indeed. Adults are back in the house and Nanny Nancy is riding in the back seat along with her liberal cronies. Happy days are here again! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7imejrYNqyA
  13. MikeJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:28 am
    Bill, did you just out yourself as a birther in The Signal comments? Nice move, smart guy.
  14. CastaicClayJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:56 am
    Who didn’t think “Billary” wasn’t BR
  15. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:13 am
    Bill the Birther, I wish I was surprised. What is next death panels? 9/11 the inside job? Net Neutrality allows FCC to regulate webpages?
  16. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:34 am
    Amen brother! And no one shed a tear! The first women speaker worked hard at destroying our country as we know it, but with her eyes pulled wide open, she still took credit for her good deeds (in her mind) to the very end. Stubborn I would say, along with good riddance.
  17. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:38 am
    What a GREAT DAY IT IS! Gibbs is out – Boehner is in! Let the spending cuts begin and begone with Obamacare. Happy Days are here again. Oh, and so is global warming…
  18. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:45 am
    A,A,A,A,A is gone as well. Two dummies down and one to go!
  19. The real King of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:27 pm
    Thank you guys for being such good sports. This is for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6UpBD0OS0&feature=related
  20. navigatorJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:32 pm
    I’m all choked up now. This video broke my heart! snicker
  21. MikeJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:44 pm
    Commandeered student loans? What a hoot!
  22. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:17 am
    Weste’s letter is juvenile; it reads like a high school assignment, with all the generalisms and culled statistics to “prove” her point. There is nothing thoughtful, or original, or compelling in her letter: this laundry list of complaints is as old as the hills. I find Weste’s rhetorical statement, “is this a better life than exists in their home country?” embarassingly ignorant. Hopefully, it is no surprise to anyone that our first world ammenities and economy provide a hugely better life than what exists in the so-called third world. I suggest that Weste take a drive down to Tijuana, and skirt the city to one of the colonias, to appreciate how much of a “better life” we have here, remembering that Tijuana, as a border town, has a higher standard of living than the majority of México. If one is serious about immigration reform, we must look at our economic system, where profit margins are increased by paying workers less. There has always been, and will always be, work for immigrants in our economy, and no amount of walls or legal punishments can keep an immigrant parent from obtaining a job that will feed his/her children.
  23. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:35 am
    We have a council of losers, Kellar notwithstanding. It is an embarrassment.
  24. Daddy Joe GJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:55 am
    The solution to illegal immigrants is really quite simple. Make it a capital offence to hire one.
  25. The real King of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:41 pm
    Hmmm
  26. Kevin D. KorenthalJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:34 am
    “The Letter” does not reflect the incredible outpouring of comments that were made by citizens at various meetings last year. No one (other than some out-of-town La Raza activists) called for a “path to citizenship” for illegals. What is expected of government in relation to this issue is what has always been expected; ENFORCE OUR BORDERS. Anything else, including the remote possibility of a guest worker program will be NONSTARTERS until the government of the U.S. can prove it is protecting this country from the murderous, drug-fueled cartels and human smugglers that have resulted from decades of kleptocratic, graft-prone rule by the Mexican elite. My family and I would have loved to cruise to Mexico this summer but because of the ongoing violence (which has spread to the vacation towns) we opted for a much more expensive Caribbean Cruise. I have never been on a cruise and this is my first vacation (rather than staycation) in more than 9 years. I would have liked to go back to Mexico where I had such a great time in 2001.
  27. JeffJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:51 am
    I’m sorry the drug violence and death of 30,000+ Mexicans over the last several years forced you to change your vacation plans. How terribly inconvenient for you.
  28. AlpinerJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:05 am
    Jeff, I know you are being sarcastic with the vacation comment, but with the horrible violence, tourism is down in Mexico significantly and it is one of the nation’s prime industries. Sadly, Mexico is really paying for the violence in more ways than the obvious.
  29. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:20 am
    WRONG. Thanks for playing.
  30. JeffJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:05 pm
    I don’t know what to do with this comment. They’re selling the drugs from us and buying the guns from us so that they can protect the drugs they sell to us. For four years Mexico has deployed the military against cartels. What would you have them do instead?
  31. Whiskey Tango FoxtrotJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:33 pm
    “What would you have them do instead?” Are you kidding me Jeff ? Long before there was narco terrorism in that country, there was RAMPANT corruption amongst public officals. It was / is standard operating procedure within Mexico. That way of life lead to what they have now – an out of control situation and no one there to put a stop to it. Your point about our appetite for narcotics sent from Mexico is well taken but don’t be so naive as to think that the authorities in Mexico didn’t contribute to this problem in an enormously significant way by acquiescing to this true culture of corruption.
  32. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:19 am
    I spent thanksgiving with that family at our house in mexico… we brought the babies and the dog. Kevin you might wanna get educated… it is quite obvious you are clueless about the state of things in Mexico.
  33. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:38 am
    A prudent decision KDK. I stopped going to Mexico and parts of Los Angeles for the same reason. Why take the risk!
  34. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:02 pm
    Yes Bravo! for being ignorant and ruled by irrational fear.
  35. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:16 pm
    Mexico is the pitts without the killing.
  36. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:11 pm
    Stay here… I will be sure not to care or think about you when I am chilling at the family beach house
  37. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:09 pm
    Chilling! Now I get it. Have your dad write when he has time.
  38. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:40 am
    My wife and I, along with several friends, took a cruise to Mexico last month and we had a terrific time…. no problems whatsoever.
  39. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:42 am
    Did you get off of the boat! And if you did, were you sober! My last trip to Cobo showed the place is going downhill. The once very nice marina is a dirty mess.
  40. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:09 pm
    Yes, we were sober – at least when we left the boat. We visted Puerto Vallarta & Cabo and had a very pleasant time. One bar in Cabo even had Fox News on their TV. I have to say the cartel gangsters were on our mind but we saw no probelms whatsoever.
  41. Timothy Myers SRJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:00 am
    Those comments on the Camarillo privitazation are surreal. They could have been lifted from this blog! It is true there is nothing really new under the sum
  42. NickelDimeJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:43 am
    I’m watching you, Mr. Myers. “Willfully ignorant” you shall be !
  43. Kevin D. KorenthalJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:04 am
    Yeah Jeff, I am sorry too. I wish I could feel safe and confident enough to spend my very precious vacation dollars in Mexico. But I will not put my family in harms way and I will not contribute money to the Mexican regime which gives nothing back to the people.
  44. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:26 am
    Nothing back? You really don’t have a clue what you are talking about. The new “Regime” has been dumping billions into infrastructure. No wonder you couldn’t get elected to run a popsicle stand.
  45. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:40 am
    Nate, Mexico is the pitts. The once popular resort towns are becoming slums.
  46. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:55 am
    Thanks you spent how much time in Mexico this year? Oh Right… but you are the expert.
  47. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:25 pm
    Stopped going in November 2009. Sold my timeshare.
  48. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:20 pm
    HAHA Timeshare… Well that must make you an expert then. You are tourist.
  49. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:54 pm
    Why would anyone in their right mind want to live in Mexico? It’s the pitts. Even the Mexicans leave by the millions each year!
  50. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:15 pm
    Really Millions? Must be a recent trend since their are about 11 million or so. When the economy slowed 1 million went back… http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/11/national/main6197466.shtml Odd how supply and demand works with a commodity like cheap labor…
  51. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:55 pm
    A positive trend influenced by citizens that are tired of the illegal drag on our economy and life quailty.
  52. navigatorJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm
    Try Atlantic City
  53. Kevin D. KorenthalJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:33 am
    The new regime has no chance of making any meaningful inroads to either infrastructure or security because Mexico has a puppet government that operates below the surface and have veto power over anything the Mexican President wants to accomplish. An Oligarchy exists in Mexico that is completely disinterested in improving the country. It has instead passed the problems that it’s people face off to America. And what gratitude have we received for being salvation for so many immigrants? We’re called racists because we believe that people who want to come to this country should wait their turn in line and learn our language. This is bullshit!
  54. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:59 am
    LOL Oligarchy exists in America, and you are doing everything in your power to make sure is stays like that.
  55. JeffJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:59 am
    For a big-balled, brash, and bold conservative, you sure get bitch-slapped and victimized a lot. Seriously, it’s as if conservatives think everyone in Mexico wakes up every day thinking about how they can screw the Yanquis out of greenbacks.
  56. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:05 pm
    HAHAHA So true. It is the Blame everyone else for America’s problems crowd. i.e. don’t own up and take responsibility
  57. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
    It’s as though liberals wake up every day wondering how Americans can funnel more entitlements to illegals.
  58. Jim FarleyJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:03 pm
    This article about the California Central Valley appearing as a third world country says it all about the effect that illegal immigration is having on our state. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/255320/two-californias-victor-davis-hanson?page=1
  59. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:17 pm
    No, that article does not say it all. The article does not outline what would happen to California agriculture if all illegal farm workers were deported, namely, grind to a complete halt, and force agriculture costs way up. Nor does the article address why such appalling living conditions are allowed to continue: invisible workers, required to sustain our economy, must are paid a pittance, and must make do in a society that is vocally antagonistic against immigrant society. Are you angry that people are forced to live this way, or are you angry that there are, as the article implies, two codes of regulation in CA? Because as our economy stands right now, you cannot have it both ways. So, do you want cheap agriculture, or do you want to make favorable living conditions for all?
  60. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:25 pm
    I love how it is the Illegal Immigrants fault and not the Americans who pay them almost nothing to work here. This couldn’t be an American problem… it has to be something from outside. American are totally willing to pay more for their food.
  61. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:46 pm
    This is a laundry list of complaints, without any supporting evidence, or clear understanding of the history of Mexican politics, culture and current events, topped off with a political rant. Is there something in here that you would wish to discuss? As it stands, it is like speaking points for talk radio, intended to incite rage, but devoid of discussion.
  62. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:02 pm
    There is no discussion. Illegals and those that hire them are breaking our laws. We get a ticket for using a cell phone while driving, and illegals and those that hire them get a free pass! Something is wrong with this picture. Illegals caught using a cell phone while driving, without a license yet, even get a free pass! The drumbeat in favor of illegals is fading!
  63. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:27 pm
    Yet we have seen first hand how the drop in available work caused 1 million illegals to go back home and still conservative go after the individuals rather then regulation and strong enforcement of business. Then tell people to zip it when their food bill doubles and triples and they are paying more taxes to pay for all the enforcement needed to chase all the cheap labor away. This is all Econ 101… not rocket science. Try taking a pragmatic realistic view of the way our country and world work. Your idealistic catch phrase riddled machine gun rhetoric looks dumber by the minute.
  64. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:03 pm
    Nate, the food price doubling rant has run it course, try finding another reason that is believable. Not all farm workers are illegal and not illegals work the fields. What all illegal have in common is that they are a drag on our economy in may ways. Economics 101 does not educate us to accept law breakers and it does not promote illegal immigration.
  65. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:42 pm
    There is plenty of discussion, cash, but if you chose not to engage, then I will not comment on your above posting.
  66. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:11 pm
    Not looking to engage anyone that support law breakers. End of discussion.
  67. NickelDimeJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:37 pm
    Now that I think about it… shades of gray are way over-rated!
  68. The real King of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:04 pm
    Lori It’s just how things are. It’s not talking points. It’s reality. You can’t change corruption buy simply labeling Kevin as a ranter. This is not a place where you can debate as if you could verbally spar with time, clarity, and a volume of information. Perhaps you should call Kevin and discus the issue and see if you can change the very things he has stated. Knowing “The history of Mexican politics, culture and current events” doesn’t change the facts that evil and wrong doing is the fundamental unchangeable pillar of their society now and for many decades past. However having millions of beautiful, wonderful, well meaning people who are trying their best with horrible people at the helm.
  69. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:49 pm
    Reality is backed by facts, and based in real life, which is why I asked Kevin for references for his talking points. Without substantiating evidence, it is not reality, but opinion. And I didn’t call KK a ranter; I said he topped off his post with a rant. I do not wish to speak privately with KK, as I engage here for group discussion. I think electronic boards are a superior place to debate, as I can gather my thoughts, research my evidence, and compile a statement, all in my own time, as opposed to verbal, F2F debates, which require encyclopedic knowledge, and being on your toes at every moment. I’ve never heard anyone argue against understanding history. That is a new one.
  70. The real King of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:53 pm
    Kevin, you are right. There is no greater, giving, or come to the rescue nation on earth, and we as a nation are the ones B@%&* Slapped continuously. And that includes even Jeff. It’s our promise, hope, and freedoms that make us great in the world… Even for those who don’t like or want exceptionalism.
  71. Daddy Joe GJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm
    I believe that it’s time to stop complaining about the actions of the city council. They are only doing what politicians always do: whatever they can get away with. It’s time to limit what they can get away with, and for that we need help from the county and from the state.
  72. Phil EllisJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:32 pm
    I guess the Mayor of Rosarito Beach was ignorant when he bemoaned the drop in tourism due to trug trafficking and related shootings.
  73. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:17 pm
    How was he ignored?
  74. Phil EllisJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:42 pm
    The word I used was “ignorant” not “ignored.”
  75. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:57 pm
    This is clearly the case.
  76. NateJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:17 pm
    Clearly a case of perception… not reality. Just like your world view is all perception… having very little to do with reality.
  77. cashJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:33 pm
    Nate you talk like someone that has not lived life and have little to from which to draw. The Mexico problem is not a perceptions, it is real. Resorts in near Rosarito Beach are having a very difficult time staying afloat because smart people are staying away. This is not perception this is a fact. If you like Mexico that is your privilege. Other than the fishing, I find nothing attractive about the pass.
  78. Phil EllisJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:46 pm
    Exactly, why would the Mayor of Rosarito have bemoaned the drop in tourism if it wasn’t real. As the owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel he would certainly understand the reality of a drop in tourism. Please tell him that it is just perception (and not reality) and the drop in his bottom line is just a figment of his imagination.
  79. Cheryl PhillipsJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:33 pm
    OMG – Am I in the movie INCEPTION?
  80. JaneJanuary 5, 2011 at 3:55 pm
    Runners – I am shocked that we’re going through this again with the Runners. What is the deal with these two?
  81. Timothy Myers SRJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:13 pm
    This is one of the footnotes of term limits that husbands and wives bequeath offices to each other until they run the table. The more entertaining couple is Audra and Tony Strickland. Audra recently ran out of juice when she first contemplated running for Treasurer of Ventura County, but then could not because the Supes had passed an ordnance stating that to stand for Treasurer one had to have some actual financial education and/or experience. Instead she ran for Supervisor against a more moderate Repub and lost.
  82. The real king of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 5:59 pm
    Lori, With all do respect, and I mean that, are saying that Mexico is not consumed by corruption from head to foot throughout political offices and every police station. Not to mention gang/ mofia control in every single town along with cartels fighting and killing for every lawless path they can creat to traffic narcotics and pot? Have u been watching the plethora of news by tv & print covering the lawless infestation of the whole political structure and law inforcement organizations? Are you familiar with detectives and chiefs being guns down and or beheaded so as to stay off the trail of evil crime? How about the countless lawmakers who are ambushed by drug cartels in Bonnie & Clyde style for steeling launderd drug money or for wanting to stop corruption. Have you ever taken your car and driven through Mexico. Even just past the boarder? See what happens. You’ll be lucky at the very least to make it without having your plates taken by a cop so you can come to the station to pay a bribe to get then back. It’s quite foolish to even write on a blog that this is not a reality in Mexico as we type away in comfort of our homes in the greatest place on earth. Those willing to bump a human life in Mexico is plentiful and is very sad. We don’t need a sivics lesson to explain away the current conditions in Mexico.
  83. Lori RivasJanuary 5, 2011 at 8:56 pm
    King, No, I do not, not would I, argue that Mexico is without corruption and violence. I am not ignorant of current or past events. Maybe you are confusing me with Nate, who takes his family to Mexico on holiday? My husband and I decided not to visit my father-in-law in Rosarito a number of years ago, based on US travel advisories, and the mayor of Tijuana asking American tourists not to come down, as he could not guarantee their safety. Granted, these warnings are about 3 years old, but my husband and I still choose to meet my father-in-law in San Diego, rather than travel to Rosarito.
  84. The real King of SCVJanuary 6, 2011 at 12:15 am
    I understand. I apologize if I was making a point to you that you didn’t need me to make. I will call myself out on that. Nate… that’s another story.
  85. The real king of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
    You ate spot on Bill.
  86. The real king of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
    Sorry Bill, can’t tell what key I hit on this phone of mine. Tried to say you are right about your assessment of the young inexperienced Nate. I’m sure he’ll feel different in a few years when he starts looking at his pay stub deductions and realizes he can’t pay his bills and needs to keep more of his hard earned money.
  87. Gang FangJanuary 5, 2011 at 9:36 pm
    Get off my lawn!
  88. The real King of SCVJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:02 pm
    you need to mow your lawn.
  89. Bill ReynoldsJanuary 6, 2011 at 2:29 pm
    He doesn’t actually own a lawn… it’s against his liberal religion to use water for lawns and planters.
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