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
Bearded Man Denied Entry into U.S.
Reply to #9 ====== If you like Codevilla's book, a couple of other books that I found extremely interesting and thought provoking were written by Lee Harris: "Civilization and Its Enemies" and "The Suicide of Reason." Although Civilization was written in response to the 9/11 attacks and Suicide uses the threat of radical Islam as a starting point, both books provide a historical/philosophical perspective on current society. I thought Mr. Harris' analysis objective and informative. Given my limited knowledge of history, I learned a lot.— April 6, 2010 9:50 p.m.
Bearded Man Denied Entry into U.S.
I have long proposed that activists wishing for a true barrier between the two countries concentrate on investing in a Mexico that is somewhat more equal to the U.S. in terms of income and standard of living. ======= The big challenge is how do you make other countries prosperous. Each country's culture is unique and, along with natural resources and geographical location, has an enormous impact on the society and its resulting prosperity. Depending on your political and economic perspective, either internal or external factors have the greatest impact on prosperity. I personally believe each country has the primary responsibility to improve its society. Other countries can assist, but they cannot overcome the culture and investment environment of the host country. However, if you ask Mexican immigrants in this country, many, if not most, will say that the US is responsible for Mexico's poverty. An excellent book about how a culture affects each country is "The Character of Nations" by Angelo M. Codevilla. Even if you do not agree with its premises or conclusions, it should at least make the reader think. Much of the resistance with immigration in this country has far more to do with class and lack of education on the part of the immigrants than with discrimination. This is really a middle-class country and if you happen to have middle-class values and behaviors but not money, most people, or at least in California since the 1970s, are very welcoming and friendly. I base this on my personal experience.— April 6, 2010 1:18 a.m.
Bearded Man Denied Entry into U.S.
I was not sure about the point of the post and I was waiting for someone to comment on it before I said something. Immigration, both legal and illegal, is an extremely important issue where there is rarely honest debate. Emotion, hyperbole or personal attacks are used to discredit those with opposing views. The "facts" presented can be very contradictory because of the underlying assumptions used to reach a desired outcome. There can also be very different and legitimate opinions that depend on ones background or what is considered to be desirable. The Spanish media, on both sides of the border, presents a view of this country and latin immigrants that is often very different than the English media, or what I experience in my daily life. Immigration is likely to continue because of the vast differences in income between this country and most of the world and the lack of enforcement of existing laws. Minimum wage in Mexico is about $5/day and the cost of staples is not much lower than here. The social services in this country may seem like subsistence to many here, but it depends on where you are coming from. Heather McDonald has published several articles in City Journal that discussed social impacts by immigration in California. They are fairly harsh, but probably accurate. Victor Davis Hanson's book from a few years ago, "Mexifornia," provides a conservative, first-hand perspective on immigration. He is a third generation farmer in Selma, CA who grew up with Hispanics being the majority.— April 4, 2010 11:05 p.m.
Bearded Man Denied Entry into U.S.
Assuming that the SENTRI card had not been stolen, the valid owner of the card will lose her privilege of crossing the border without the massive delays. It is my understanding that they do a fairly thorough background check to get the SENTRI card. I have no idea how much they check the cars as they pass on the SENTRI lane. The weekly Zeta newspaper in Tijuana, which in some ways is similar to the Reader in its anti-establishment reporting, wonders how known cartel members are able to cross the border with impunity. I have not crossed the border in more than two years, when unknown to me at the time, my cousin's brother-in-law had been kidnapped and they were negotiating the ransom for his release. Border security, or rather the lack of it, is an enormous problem that most levels of government ignore to the detriment of American society and particularly to those who are near the border. Illegal immigration and the related consumption of social services in California is the elephant in the room about the California budget deficit. Nobody wants to talk about it, but I wonder how long it can continue. One of my cousins is a teacher in the Sweetwater School District and she says that a significant number of students are not legal. Likewise, many family members of the patients at the UCSD ICU in Hillcrest only speak Spanish. A nurse at Thornton Hospital told me that about 80% of the patients in Hillcrest do not pay anything and she wondered how the hospital stayed in business. I do want to add that the hospital staff at both Hillcrest and Thornton are extremely competent and pleasant. From a human perspective, we should provide services to all who need it. However, in the real world resources are limited and priorities have to be established. Antes que me acusen de "anti-imigrante", quiero aclarar que aunque no soy mexicano, tengo familia en Tijuana. Las leyes tienen que ser respetadas o la sociedad se desintegra, como esta pasando en Mexico. Les deseo a todos una Feliz Pascua Florida.— April 3, 2010 9:48 p.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
I forgot to thank you for this blog. It provides good information that is often not available elsewhere. There is also well reasoned and reasonably civil discussion.— March 15, 2010 12:10 a.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
the public must become aware that these conspiracies are underway. And that awareness will only come from the Reader, in my opinion. Incidentally, I formed that opinion while I was still writing for the U-T. ======= The Reader provides a very valuable service. It has always relished poking the establishment, which is a good thing because no one else does it, or at least in a responsible manner. I also like the U-T. On many things I happen to agree with them. However, they are the local establishment and will not question what is being done. All decision makers need to be challenged in a responsible manner and should respond to the issues raised. It is very easy for groupthink and arrogance to dominate decision making--even if the decisions are well intentioned. If the decisions are not well intentioned, then...we are where we at today.— March 15, 2010 12:07 a.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
I support Prop 13. Like everything in society and politics, it is not perfect and nothing else will either. It creates a set of rules that benefits some more than others. The best aspects, in my opinion, are: - Government has to ask the voters to increase taxes. They cannot increase taxes automatically and without accountability. - Property taxes are ~1% of assessed value and "only" increase 2% per year. It is important to understand that property taxes are still increasing and are about average nationwide. - Buyers know what their property taxes will be and can budget for them. This is particularly important if you plan to stay in your house after retirement, when your income is likely to be significantly lower--unless you retired from government. It is unfair to be forced from your home because you can no longer afford property taxes that doubled or tripled in a few years, as was occurring when Prop 13 passed. - Particularly as it applies to a primary residence, the income of the homeowner may have little relationship (i.e. much lower) than the current value of the property would imply. A couple of negatives regarding Prop 13 are: - The percentage of property taxes paid by residential property owners has increased and by commercial property owners has decreased. Commercial real estate generates income from the property and is probably in a better position to pay higher taxes. - Development fees have increased the cost of new houses and indirectly the value of existing homes. This has made homes more expensive and is an indirect benefit to property owners protected by Prop 13. - Has reduced the percentage of total taxes that property taxes represents. Since property taxes are more stable than other taxes, it has increased the variability of tax revenues. It is important to understand that, according to the Howard Jarvis Tax Association, the property tax funding of education on a per-pupil, inflation-adjusted basis has INCREASED by about 30% since Prop 13 passed. Some people feel it is unfair that comparable homes do not pay the same amount of tax, yet receive the same level of services. But does the owner of an oceanfront home in La Jolla receive more services than the homeowner in Pacific Beach? I am not saying that the La Jolla property owner should not pay more, but that the argument of services received is not valid. I am totally opposed to changes in Prop 13 for the primary residence. Although it is the single biggest asset I own, I do not see my house as a piggy back but as security and a roof over my head. You can go to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, http://hjta.org/, for information. It is obviously not balanced, but there are many sources that will give you the other side. In California, we do not have as much a revenue problem as an expenditure problem. If the Gann Amendment were still in effect, I believe (though no data) that the state would have a budget surplus and not a deficit.— March 14, 2010 3:11 a.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
This blog for me is a start, because my liberal reflex was to defend unions and blame the developers and proposition 13, until I looked at the pension figures presented by Surfpup and others. We need coherent policy backed by an energized voting public to stop these powerful groups. We need candidates. ++++++ My first choice in most elections is "None of the Above," which unfortunately is not on the ballot. All of us are to different degrees self interested. Our values, such as honor, integrity, sense of fair play, religion, etc. can temper our selfishness. The assumption that government is not self-interested has been exposed as invalid by the compensation packages and privileges the political class (politicians and bureaucracy) has given itself. I am not saying that government employees are either better or worse than the rest of us, only that they are just as self-interested as individuals in the private sector, but do not face competition. The only "competition" to what government does is a free, principled and inquisitive press and a skeptic and well-informed electorate. Unfortunately this is rare today. The power of the unions comes from the effectiveness in electing the politician. If most voters viewed a public union endorsement as a reason to not vote for the candidate instead of believing the half-truths in the slick mailer. The same applies to other groups pushing an agenda, though it may not be obvious from the name of the organization. The internet can assist in finding which group is behind the organization with the attractive name. No matter how attractive something may appear, if it involves granting favors or financial benefits, someone who stands to benefit will be supporting it. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this, they are just acting in their self interest, which may or not be in agreement with ours or the majority of society. I am just saying that transparency and information will lead to better decisions. The political mail we receive is very targeted to the group we have been "assigned." Probably the registrations that will put you into the most partisan categories is if the female in the house is a Democrat and the male is a Republican. Assuming you even receive mail from the "other side," the contradicting information can be enlightening and informative.— March 14, 2010 1:54 a.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
I completely agree that military personnel are paid significantly less than their value to society. Society takes advantage of the fact that patriotism is a strong motivator for those who serve in the military. Education benefits is a form of deferred compensation. Without the protection from a strong and effective military, what we call civilization would not exist. In Jean Kirkpatrick's final book, "Making War to Keep the Peace," she bases some of her concerns about the Iraq war on the need to have security before a democracy can flourish. Most of those of who are "overpaid" have managed to define their competition narrowly, generally to others in their exclusive club. They often have significant influence over those who establish their salaries, who also personally benefit by being "generous." Wall Street owns the federal government and has created all these complex investment vehicles to generate income. Some of these investment vehicles may make capital markets more efficient, but most of us do not really know and the ridiculously high compensation continues. When things go wrong, they are "too big to fail" and the federal government steps in to save these crooks. Unfortunately for city and state employees, their gravy train appears to be ending because the total cost of their compensation (salary and benefits) is unsustainable and their employers cannot print money like the federal government. Economic reality has intruded into the cozy relationship between public sector unions and the political class. There is a limit to how many taxes they can collect before people rebel or move and revenues decrease. The monopoly that they thought they had did not really exist.— March 13, 2010 1:28 a.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
I just read Victor Hanson's latest column and, since it discusses California, it is appropriate for this discussion. Save the State Worker? http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson030910…— March 9, 2010 11:43 p.m.