Somebody is sending letters to Latinos in SD-34, the matchup between Lou Correa and Lynn Daucher.  You’ll remember that Daucher was standing behind Arnold as he told all Mexicans that they need to assimilate better.  And those letters that are being sent?  Yeah, not exactly friendly and neighborly:

The mailer – sent on letterhead from the California Coalition for Immigration Reform – warns voters in Spanish that those who do vote could end up in jail. It also says federal officials are keeping a searchable database – available to anti-illegal immigration groups – that tracks people casting votes. (OC Register 10/17/06)

And some actual text from the letter from the LA Times:

“You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time …,” the letter says.(LAT 10/17/06) 

CCIR is a well-known anti-immigrant group that has frequently used racist tactics in the past.  You can view a video of one of their events over the flip. While it is not clear that CCIR actually sent this letter out, it would not be surprising.  But whomever sent the letter, it is clearly disgusting.  This letter is seeking to decrease turnout by threats.  It is clearly illegal, unethical and racist.  There is no place for this in our election system.

The best part: “Go Back to Mexico! You are the Racist! You want everything for the white race!” Umm…yeah, who’s the racist again?  CCIR actually put this video up on their website, as an example of what I don’t know.  I’m guess it’s to get them some street cred with the other racists.

So, this seems to becoming a regular habit for me.  I hope it’s useful.  So teasers from today’s scouring of the Internets: LAT: Pombo must go, Schwarzenegger undermining AB32 already, Workers’ Comp, the ACLU

• The LA Times says that Pombo is an embarassment:
  

  Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), a seven-term congressman who appears to have a vendetta against the environment, has tried repeatedly to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act. He has proposed selling federal wilderness for a pittance to mining interests. His latest bill wouldn’t just open up vast stretches of the coast to drilling, it would slash the royalties that companies must pay for shale-oil leases, potentially costing taxpayers billions of dollars. And then there’s his tarnished ethics record, which earned him a spot on a watchdog group’s list of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress last year. … With congressmen like these, California’s reputation for eccentricity is unlikely to suffer. All the same, it’s the kind of behavior the state could do without. Better to have our wackiness expressed in, say, our vegan cuisine, where it can do less harm.(LAT 10/17/06)

  Vegan cuisine wacky? Well, I put forward that vegan food is far less wacky than the congressman from CA-11.  The editorial also called out Duncan Hunter (R, CA-52) for the Santa Rosa Island affair, the lemon chicken incident, and generally being a ninny.

• Arnold is working at undercutting the global warming emissions law already.
  

  Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and some environmental groups charged Monday that an executive order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign today undermines an agreement the governor struck with Democrats on the state’s landmark global warming law.
  {snip}
  Núñez said that the executive order gives more power to the executive branch than the law calls for and that the governor’s emphasis on a market-based approach to lowering greenhouse gas emissions ignored other aspects of the law. He suggested the governor was reinterpreting the law based on proposals he had suggested to lawmakers during negotiations over the legislation this year but that had been rejected by the Legislature. (SF Chron 10/17/06)

  This is the man we are supposed to trust with our environment?

• The worker’s comp program that Arnold is so proud of? Yes, it reduced insurance premiums.  But it is best dubbed “compensation”, because it forgot about the workers.  The LAT says that workers have been hurt by the current workers’ comp scheme
• The Pacific Justice Institute opened an office in the OC. Dana Parsons at the LAT thinks the ACLU is cowering.
  

  You probably wonder how the ACLU is taking all this.

  I put in a call to them Monday afternoon to assess the state of their trembling, but didn’t hear back by the time I was finishing this column.

  You want my guess as to what they’re doing?

  Once they got wind that the Pacific Justice Institute was around, they began packing up their files, donning disguises and high-tailing it out of town.

  First of all, the ACLU isn’t about being conservative or liberal. Ask Bob Barr.  Attacking the ACLU only makes one look ridiculous (see Doolittle, J).

In the rematch of Brian Bilbray and Francine Busby, Francine has clawed her way back into the race.  Survey USA released their poll today:

49% (54) Bilbray (R)
46%(40)  Busby (D)
2%  King (L)
3%  Clark (PFP)
1%  Undecided

Bilbray lost 5 points since the last poll, and Busby gained 6.  Additionally, there is some movement on the grand jury investigation.  This might also gain some traction in the next 3 weeks.  No media has officially confirmed the investigation, but the papers have started reporting on the rumors that have been flying. Here’s the San Diego U-T’s version. It primarily lambasts Busby’s campaign for promoting the rumors.  The campaign states that some neighbors have contacted them about testifying in a grand jury. If this comes out in a more official form, it could be the nail in Biblray’s coffin.

And oh, by the way, Bilbray still hasn’t shown himself.  Will he show up to talk to the Chambers of Commerce? Words Have Power says that’s scheduled to appear. The intrigue continues…