Sunday, September 30, 2007

CM PRESS # 215


DAILY PILOT NONSENSE (No, we didn't buy the paper. Yes, we did cancel our subscription)

The Daily Pilot says in an editorial today that Mayor Mansoor "should have been forthright about his ties to the Minuteman Project."

Actually, it sounds to us as though Mansoor was pretty forthright. He said he was an honorary member. What more should he have said?

Speaking of forthrightness, or lack thereof, Pilot publisher Thomas H. Johnson should be more forthright about why the Pilot is so illegal alien friendly.

According to Wikipedia, Johnson is a founder of the Latino Business Council. He also doesn't live in illegal alien infested Costa Mesa but prefers the more pristine surroundings of Newport Beach.

Hey, Johnson, the CM PRESS stands ready to help you open a job center in your Newport Beach neighborhood where you can go and sit and then write a story about how it's a great plus for Newport Beach.

Let us know when you're ready so we can begin talking to your neighbors about the project. Maybe we can name it the Thomas H. Johnson Job Center so all your Newport neighbors will always remember your community service.
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GANGS IN KATRINA FOLEY'S MESA DEL MAR NEIGHBORHOOD

The CMPD received a report of gang activity in the 1000 block of Mission Drive at around 10:20 p.m. Friday.

That's in the Mission-Mendoza slum in Mesa Del Mar and is across the street from the long boarded up neighborhood shopping center in that neighborhood.

It's also where Katrina Foley and her do-good pals recently planted flowers and where the city recently spent a lot of money paving an alley and repaving a street.

So, with all the do-goodism coming from the libs, why are there still gangs there?

You might as well ask why there are still alligators in a swamp after you've planted flowers around the place. The answer is because you haven't removed the swamp which is where alligators feel comfortable.

TEAR DOWN THE SLUMS AND THE GANGS WILL MOVE ALL BY THEMSELVES. LEAVE THE SLUMS AND THE GANGS ARE JUST GOING TO INCREASE. Fixing the slums just makes the gang habitat more comfortable for the gangs.

Is this brain surgery? Good grief!
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WE'RE WORKING ON A STORY ABOUT THE CITY OF COSTA MESA TRYING TO STIFF A TIPSTER WHO TURNED IN SOMEONE PUTTING GRAFFITI ON CITY PROPERTY. Stay tuned.

It appears, if we understand this correctly, that the cops are saying that because the tipster wanted to remain anonymous he can't collect a reward.

Huh?

That's pretty funny coming from cops who refuse to live in Costa Mesa because they're afraid that people they arrest might harm them or their families if the bad guys know where the cops live.

Cops want to be anonymous, but tipsters, who actually live in Costa Mesa and who try to turn in criminals, can't be anonymous?

The tipster says that he did everything required as set forth in the Municipal Codes about graffiti and collecting a reward.

Come on City Council, do you or do you not want citizens to turn in those destroying property and causing blight in our neighborhoods with graffiti? Isn't that why you came up with some special municipal codes and why you offer rewards?

Maybe the City Council should look into how the CMPD is handling these matters.

--Developing--
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NOT ALL COPS ARE GOOD COPS

We'd all like to think that every cop is a good cop and that all are trustworthy, but the truth is that some cops are not good. Some have personal, social and political agendas. Some misuse personal information. Some break the law. Some lie.

A few years ago, it was discovered that a high ranking cop in a California city was giving personal information to a private group that some people consider to be a hate group. He got the personal information from police computers and files.

Here's a story about some bad cops in Chicago. Click here.
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APARTMENT IN COSTA MESA WITH WHOLE BUNCHA PEOPLE BURNS

For the story, go HERE
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

CM PRESS # 214


WE CANCEL THE DAILY PILOT

We're news and reading junkies here at the CM PRESS.

We read everything, and we mean, EVERYTHING, right down to matchbook covers.

So, it was hard for us to cancel the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Pilot even though we've been fed up with the smears and illegal alien friendly crap we've seen in both papers over the last couple of years--but, today, we took the plunge. We quit cold turkey.

We called the Times at (800) 252-9141 and told the operator to cancel our paper as of today.

She whined and tried to keep us as a subscriber, but we told her that in our opinion the Daily Pilot is so lousy and so out of touch with citizens of Costa Mesa who want a nicer city that we can no longer in good conscience have this rag dropped on our doorstep each day.

Now that we're in the election season, we don't want a penny of our money to go to support the Pilot which always seems to back candidates who will make our city worse and which seems to go out of its way to try to smear Improver candidates.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

CM PRESS # 213


HEY HUGE HEAD!

Hey, CM PRESS, did you see the article in the Daily Pilot about the theory that people with bigger brains are smarter?

Man, if your head size is any clue about your brain size, you must be the smartest guy on the planet.

Cabeza Pinhead
------------------------------
Dear Mr. Pinhead:

Thank you for noticing the large size of our head. As you probably know, a big head means that one has a big...or was that big hands? Whatever.

Look, don't be fooled by the size of the package, Mr. Pinhead. There may be plenty of empty space within. We can assure you that there's plenty of empty space in this noggin. And, big heads aren't always the best things to have. They cause you to fall over and trip.

But, enough of the self-deprecating humor.

We figure, Mr. Pinhead, that 50% of our brain is given over to the autonomous functions such as breathing, etc. and the other 90% is given over to higher brain functions such as figuring out percentages.

C. M. PRESS
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

CM PRESS # 212

DOES CITY HALL NEED MORE LOOS FOR WOMEN?


When we saw Linda Dixon in this photo at an awards ceremony at City Hall, we were reminded of our call for the City to build twice as many women's restrooms as men's restrooms.

Apparently, this hasn't been done.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

CM PRESS # 211


LOS ANGELES TIMES SAYS RACE MATTERS

Link

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Thanks for reading the CM PRESS.

Friday, September 14, 2007

CM PRESS # 210



DID THE BELL CURVE GET CHEMERINSKY?


By now, everyone who pays attention has heard about Erwin Chemerinsky being offered the job as the first dean of the yet to open UCI Law School and then having his employment contract yanked out of his hands.

To us at the CM PRESS it looks as though the bell curve got Chemerinsky.

In every age and place there is an orthodoxy of opinion--it is what you find at the center of the bell curve. Go against that orthodoxy at your own peril.

It's our guess that the political views at the center of the bell curve (the center area is approximately 68% of whatever is being graphed) in Orange County, are conservative or to the right of center (i.e. that they are right of where the center would be in some other areas). Okay, now don't slap your forehead and say "duh," about this. We know that everyone says OC is conservative, but since we haven't seen recent statistics on this, we're going to stick with "It's our guess...."

If this were San Francisco, the political views at the center of the bell curve would be liberal or left of center.

It seems safe to assume that Chemerinsky, based on things that he has said and written, may be out on the left leg of the bell curve a couple of standard deviations away from center in many of his views.

In plain English, this puts him out of the mainstream of OC and it creates a problem in attracting the big buck contributions that the new law school will need.

Of course, it's not just that Chemerinsky is out on the left side of the bell curve that is the problem. If he were too far out on the right side, the result would be the same. The middle always wants the left and the right to move to the middle.

The center of the bell curve is where you'll find most of everything.

Since the bell curve is a statistical concept, it can be no other way. That crowded center is the comfort zone in life and politics. It's also the area of stagnation and the status quo. But, that's the way it has always been and always will be...statistically speaking.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

CM PRESS # 209


WESTSIDE BUSINESS CULTURE NAMES OFFICERS

There's a piece in the Daily Pilot today about a relatively new group calling itself Westside Business Culture, that is trying to help revitalize the Westside.

According to the Pilot, the organization has been around since earlier this year but has now taken the next organizational step by appointing its official leaders.

Steve Jones
, co-owner of home developer 1.7 Ocean, was named president. Dan Bradley, owner of the Detroit Bar and Memphis Cafe, became vice president. Pete Zehnder, who is Jones' partner, is chairman. Frank Gutierrez, owner of Mesa Framing, is the treasurer, and Julie Thompson-Dobkin, co-owner of Costa Mesa based wine producer Thomkin Cellars, is the secretary.

The CM PRESS is certain that Improvers wish the new organization well and that they will support the Westside Business Culture organization's efforts to bring in more of an arts/cafe society on the Westside.

On a cautionary note, many Improvers hope that the new organization will narrowly focus its attention on retail businesses--bars, restaurants, cafes, art galleries and the like--and even on improving the housing stock, but will not let the organization be co-opted by mostly out of town interests that don't want to see meaningful changes on the Westside.

If the Westside evolves in the right way, it can become an eclectic fun place to visit and be a major destination location for all of Southern California. Hopefully, this group will help hasten that day.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Monday, September 10, 2007

CM PRESS # 208



PEOPLE MAKE A CITY WHAT IT IS

There's an article in the Daily Pilot today about how residents in various areas that have been traditionally in Costa Mesa's sphere of influence want to be annexed not to Costa Mesa--that has been supplying the areas with all their infra-structure support over the years (police, fire, sewer, water, etc.)--but to Newport Beach.

Now, the quick surface answer as to why these folks prefer Newport to Costa Mesa is because their property values will increase with the new brand name. Hey, they're trading an old Chevy logo for a new Rolls Royce logo.

But, the deeper question is why has Newport become so much more desirable than Costa Mesa, and how can Costa Mesa close the gap so that it becomes the place to be and not the place to flee?

Again, the quick answer is that Newport is more desirable because it has all that ocean front property and Costa Mesa is completely land locked.

And, while that is a good answer, it's not the whole story. Beverly Hills has no ocean front property and it's desirable. Now, don't get us wrong, we at the CM PRESS believe that Costa Mesa needs to get an opening to the sea and that this will change things in major ways, but we're trying to make the point, here, that a city can be top drawer without an ocean.

The deeper answer about why Newport Beach is more desirable than Costa Mesa is because that while Newport has constantly upgraded itself over the years, Costa Mesa has not been as quick to do so.

Newport has developed the amenities that attract upwardly mobile people who have spendable income and who, by their very nature, take pride in their community and who work to make it nicer. If you want to attract bees, you put out honey. Newport has done this. Costa Mesa has not.

It's been many small decisions over the years that have caused the gap between the two cities to grow ever wider. For example, Newport has put homes on its bluffs. These homes attract people with the money who can afford to live there. Their presence in Newport is a plus for that city.

Costa Mesa, by contrast, has kept 60 acres of prime ocean close land on the Westside Bluffs mired in industrial uses. Instead of attracting upwardly mobile people to the Westside Bluffs, Costa Mesa has attracted paint shops and similar businesses--often owned by people who live in Newport Beach.

But, there's more...

Costa Mesa seems to have a love for slums that are chock full of people who work in the industries on the Westside Bluffs and in some of our shopping centers and office buildings.

Costa Mesa is too tolerant of gangs, of illegal aliens, of downscale conditions.

Costa Mesa is too full of people who are willing to defend things such as failing schools and other negatives. You've seen the letters, and even columns and editorials, from such people in the Pilot. They try to put a happy face on low student scores by saying that they're higher than they used to be or even that the kids have a good school spirit. What they fail to say is that these scores are below scores in schools in Newport Beach, which is in the same school district.

We should not be lowering the bar, but raising it.

The CM PRESS has talked to many people on the streets of Costa Mesa and we've found far too many who have a slum mentality. They actually take pride in having a down scale city. They won't put it that way, but they'll inadvertently reveal their slum mentality when they couch their feelings about the two cities in terms such as that they don't like "snooty" Newport Beach or the "phonies" who live there.

If we want upwardly mobile people to move to Costa Mesa and if we want whole neighborhoods wanting to be annexed to our city, then we have to make our city a desirable place to be.

There's no other way. We can't hold people captive here who want the best for themselves and their families and who know that it's important to be around others with similar attitudes. We need to attract the best and the brightest to our city and provide them with the things that will make them want to stay here.

In other words, we need to improve Costa Mesa and make it more upscale. Period.

And, know this, we can't stand still. The flow of time doesn't allow that. We either move up or we move down.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

CM PRESS # 207










ICE DETAINERS PUT ON 52 SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ALIENS IN AUGUST--SAME NUMBER, EXACTLY, AS IN JULY---HMMMM?

Back in CM PRESS # 199 published on August 23, we wrote this:

Sure, we have an ICE agent in our jail, but the CM PRESS keeps hearing a buzz from citizens who believe there are some within local law enforcement and local government who are resisting bringing some illegal aliens to the notice of the ICE agent.

Some have wondered whether or not there is some sort of informal quota system working whereby, for the sake of appearances, a few illegal aliens are arrested for serious crimes, while others get a wink and nod. Those who suggest this, point out that the detainers for illegals seem to be about the same each month (averaging approximately 50 per month). They wonder why the number seems to remain so constant.

With this latest monthly report showing that 52 ICE detainers were put on suspected illegal aliens both in July and in August, the buzz is sure to increase.

If someone is imposing some sort of informal quota, it should be easy to detect by examining internal documents (not available to the public) showing the who, why, what, where and when surrounding the details of the detentions of suspected illegal aliens. From these documents, one might expect to see certain patterns emerge if there is such a quota system in place.

As with most residents of Costa Mesa, the CM PRESS is a big supporter of the CMPD, but we've been around long enough to know that there is a small clique of hold-over officers in the department who are highly politicized and it wouldn't surprise us to learn some may be letting personal feelings that favor illegal aliens color their judgement in a number of ways.

We personally witnessed this when we were trying to keep grade school kids safe by having the CMPD stop allowing cars to park with engines running at a red curb at Davis School. Every day we would see little kids darting between these cars and we expected to see a kid hit by a car at any time.

When we tried to get the CMPD to do something about this, one cop laughed at us and actually told us that it was okay for motorists to park in front of the red curb and that the CMPD wouldn't do anything. Even after we read the law to him on this point he just laughed and said it was okay.

Our guess as to why this cop was acting this way was because most of those parking at the red curb might have been suspected illegal aliens.

We've experienced the same thing in other instances, and we get reports from around the city of similar things.

At the City Council meeting this Tuesday, a resident went to the podium and told the City Council that he and his wife can't sleep at night because of barking dogs in a nearby house.

He said the police wouldn't do anything about the problem and that the last cop who showed up actually told him that the "Dogs have a first amendment right to bark." This got a number of guffaws from those present at the meeting, and City Manager Allan Roeder shook his head and suggested that the resident speak to the Chief of Police who just happened to be sitting in the audience that night.

The resident and the Chief then spoke outside of earshot. We don't know the resolution of this issue, but from everything we've heard so far, Chief Shawkey is doing a good job as police chief and we're sure he is looking into this matter.

One important thing about this resident who was complaining about the barking dogs, is that we've never seen him at City Council meetings before. Our guess is that like most citizens he probably doesn't like going to such meetings and speaking out about problems and would prefer to handle neighborhood disputes out of the public eye.

But, in this instance he apparently felt so frustrated about the situation that he felt the only thing he could do was to come to an open meeting and discuss his problem publicly.

Now, we don't know if this barking dog situation involves illegal aliens or not. Not every situation does, but because we do keep hearing a buzz from citizens who believe that some cops are reluctant to take action on quality of life issues, when those who are impinging on the quiet enjoyment of our properties are suspected illegal aliens, it wouldn't surprise us to learn that the owners of the barking dogs may be suspected illegal aliens.
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IN THE DAILY PILOT ISN'T BIASED DEPARTMENT

The latest scribe at the Daily Pilot to tell readers that the paper--run by publisher Thomas H. Johnson of Newport Beach who was a founder of the Latino Business Council--is not slanted and doesn't favor Latino illegal aliens, etc. is Joe Bell. Ho hum.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
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REMEMBER, IF YOU GET THE CM PRESS IN YOUR EMAIL, THAT WE DO NOT EMAIL OUT ALL ISSUES. IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE MISSED, BE SURE TO GO TO: http://cmpress.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

CM PRESS # 206

THE COSMIC SANITARY DISTRICT

As Joey Bigears and I are walking down the street on the Eastside this fine day, a small ugly dog starts following us while nipping at my new imported five buck shiny shoes manufactured of all man made materials in China.

Joey Bigears asks why I do not just kick the noisy beast. Joey Bigears is like this. He is a man of the streets who packs a shiv in his belt and who has a tattoo of a green squid on his right arm. Now, do not ask me why Joey Bigears has such a tattoo of a green squid on his right arm. I do not know the answer to this question and I do not care to ask Joey Bigears about this subject. It is of no moment. I do not care. If Joey Bigears wishes to volunteer this information, I will, of course, perk up and listen attentively, as the polite person that I am. But I do not wish to disturb Joey Bigears with small talk questions about the green squid tattoo on his right arm as we walk down the street on this particular fine day.

Joey Bigears, you will understand, is a good fellow. But, he lacks finesse and refinement, as we say in the polite and genteel company to which I am more accustomed at Skosh Monahan's fine establishment for Bog Irish gentlemen. Joey Bigears does not know that this word Skosh is not Gaelic, but Japanese, and I do not choose to tell him this fact that I know, lest he think the joint may not be an authentic Irish pub. I do not often bother Joey Bigears with such dissertations of my extensive knowledge, for this would be a digression and I do not wish to be perceived as a know it all.

In addition to running this gin joint, the proprietor, one Skosh Monahan by name, also serves on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District where he recently voted to raise our sewer rates. I tell this to Joey Bigears and this does not make him very happy. I sense the loathing coming from Joey Bigears at having his sewer rate raised. Being that Joey Bigears is a man of action, often known for taking matters into his own brawny hands, I quickly tell him that he must not write bad words on Skosh Mohahan's bathroom walls about this troubling turn of events.

"Kick it?" I retort, as I finally deign to answer the most probing question that Joey Bigears asks me about this dog nipping at my shiny new shoes . "I will not kick this creature, my good Joey Bigears. This would be a most ungentlemanly thing to do. I pity this dog that is so ferociously but impotently nipping at my shiny new shoes. It is, I divine, trying to get attention to put some meaning into an otherwise meaningless life."

Says, Joey Bigears: "Boss, with all due respect to your superior and most excellent way of looking at things, I do not think that this mutt is doing that which you say that it is doing. I think that this mutt is just intent on masticating your new shiny shoes. I sense in my innermost self that this dog is not very existential. I believe in my being of beings that it may just be as nasty inside as it is outside."

"Joey Bigears," says I, "you must try to understand the finer points of the psychology of those who are born as losers and you must attempt to be compassionate toward them. We must treat this poor creature with all the noblesse oblige feelings that we can call up from our souls. It is indeed sad that nature has not been very kind to this canine that you see right before your squinty blue peepers at this very moment; which is most busy nipping at my shiny new shoes. This is obviously a stupid creature. It is most indubitably very ugly. It is clearly weak. It smells bad. It has a foul disposition and it is old. On the plus side of things, well, in truth, Joey Bigears, I cannot, at this moment in time, think of anything on the plus side of the ledger for this nipping dog."

"Now," says I, to Joey Bigears, after a few moments of silence, as we are continuing to walk down the street, "I happen to know the history of this particular dog. You see, in addition to the clearly visible problems of this most unfortunate mutt, it is also sterile."

Says Joey Bigears to me: "You mean it does not got no germs, Boss?"

"No, my dear Joey Bigears," says I, "and, despite your most unfortunate and uncouth double negative, this is not what I mean at all. I mean that Mother Nature has a way of keeping such problems from being passed on--Mother Nature has let this dog live, Joey Bigears, but has made it so that it can not reproduce to pass on its many afflictions. There are no more little nasty dogs born of its loins in its foul image. When this one is gone, it is gone for all eternity."

I continue: "This poor despicable mutt already has one paw in the grave. It is not, as we say, Joey Bigears, in the best of health. But, the real problem that I discern with this mutt, is that it has wasted its life in being bitter and hateful. Now, Mother Nature is coming around the corner with a handful of Karma to return the favor. Mark my words, Joey Bigears, there is a balancing in the universe that takes strange forms and surprises those who do not understand the unseen and interweaving forces as they work upon each other and flow and swirl eternally. The big wheel just keeps turning. What you put on it here, comes back around. Do not try to understand this Joey Bigears, I speak of physics and the subatomic particle world."

"You mean that it is like a Lazy Susan, Boss?" asks Joey Bigears

"Indeed," says I to Joey Bigears. "It is like a Lazy Susan or like a merry-go-round. Put something bad on it here and it'll come back around. Put something good on it and that will also come back around. You decide what you put on it in life. This most despicable mutt nipping at my shiny new shoes has put bad on the merry-go-round. Stand back, Joey Bigears, lest you receive some of that bad that is coming back around.

"You must remember, Joey Bigears, that I am a respecter of all life. This is why I will not kick this unfortunate dog as you have suggested. Even though it is not my fault that this mutt has so many things wrong with it; out of my most wonderful kindness, I will let it nip at the heels of my shiny new shoes and I will let it think in its tiny brain that it is important. But, just as I will not kick it, I will also not acknowledge it. I shall walk on and I shall do nothing to it.

"Mother Nature has a higher purpose for this mutt. The higher purpose is that it is a walking bag of fertilizer. That is its purpose and that is its only purpose. You do not think it would be fitting for Mother Nature to simply hike up her skirt and carry bags of fertilizer from one place to another so the earth would be fertile, do you Joey Bigears? That would be most unladylike. That is why she has designed mangy mutts like this. The mutts do the job for her and in return, she allows them to live out their lives, miserable though they may be. So, you see, Mr. Bigears, Mother Nature is the big Sanitary District in the sky, and she flushes all according to her own schedule and never raises the rates."

"You do wax very philosophical, and maybe metaphorical with a touch of allegory added in, Boss," says Joey Bigears.

"That, Joey Bigears, is why I am the Boss," says I.

"But Boss," says Joey Bigears, "what do you say to those who say this has no point?"

Says I: "That is the point, Joey Bigears, that is the point."

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Monday, September 3, 2007

CM PRESS # 205


IDIOT PRESIDENT OF MEXICO STUFFS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH

On Sunday, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico whined about the U.S. starting to enforce some of our laws against illegal immigration and said that [link>]"Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."

Calderon, makes no distinction between illegal aliens and legal immigrants. As arrogant and outrageous as Calderon's statement sounds, we're actually pleased that the moron said this.

It just points up what many U.S. citizens, who have been fighting against illegal immigration, have been saying about the Mexican establishment--they're trying to reclaim large parts of the U.S. for Mexico and they're trying to Latinize the U.S.

Those who pay attention, daily see the negative effects of having a large population of illegal aliens in Costa Mesa. As Calderon said, "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico." So, by that reasoning Costa Mesa is part of Mexico.

And, the proof is in our failing schools, our gangs, our high crime rate, our low property values, our growing chasm with our coastal neighboring cities.

Remember what Calderon said as we get closer and closer to the election in Costa Mesa next year.

We will probably have a clear choice once again. There will be the candidates supported by the Improvers who want Costa Mesa to be as nice as our neighboring coastal cities, and there will be the other side--those in the Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon camp--whose policies will lead to more illegal aliens, more crime, and more problems for citizens who want to live the American dream in Costa Mesa.

And, of course, you can expect the illegal alien friendly and out of touch with Costa Mesa Daily Pilot to support illegal alien friendly candidates as it has in the past.

As you read in # 204, the publisher of the Pilot, Thomas H. Johnson, lives in Newport Beach and, according to Wikipedia, was a founder of the Latino Business Council.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

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