ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- Beware of those who complain about broken promises. They sometimes get carried away and start to think they're entitled to certain things when no one owes them anything.

Here's how life works. People make half-baked assumptions about how their lives are going to turn out. They convince themselves that a project, venture or decision...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- What's really going on with Julian Castro?

There are two conflicting narratives. One suggests that the presidential bid of the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development -- who is trailing in fundraising and barely a blip in the polls -- is dead in the water. The other predicts that Castro could surprise everyone -- like, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- I confess that it took me awhile to convert to the Church of Pete. But now, I'm listening to the sermons. And I'm becoming a believer.

This is not to say that the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana -- who recently entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination -- is my choice. It's too early to pick a horse in ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Zip it, Mitt. As the junior senator from Utah -- the area previously known as "Northern Mexico" -- you may feel that the debate over immigrants and refugees needs your perspective.

It does not. It's not that you -- Mitt Romney -- don't have anything to offer. In the past, you've been a moderate on the prickly question of what to do...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Before we talk about Donald Trump and the U.S.-Mexico border, let's catch up on the contradictions.

Having been elected president in large part because he promised to take charge and end illegal immigration, Trump is now in retreat. Whereas he once boasted that border crossings were down, Trump now claims that the border is being ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Let's cool it with the criticism of Joe Biden.

But let's turn up the heat on his defenders with their doubletalk and double standards about how men treat women.

The 76-year-old former vice president may simply be a throwback to a bygone era in politics when voter outreach meant literally reaching out to touch voters. The ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Robert Francis O'Rourke doesn't claim to be Latino. But the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate goes by "Beto," and he doesn't seem to mind if you think he's Latino.

When The Associated Press covered O'Rourke's recent campaign-kickoff rally in El Paso, the reporter noted that the former congressman "spoke at length in his native...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Elitism, meet thy sworn enemy: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Other "-isms" often get more attention, but it is elitism that is the major threat to America in the 21st century. We all know that our country is divided to the point of dysfunction. But how many people realize that a big reason for the division is that many Americans aren't...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- At a time when we "unfriend" those we disagree with, and when we're only interested in opinions that reaffirm what we believe, is it still possible to acknowledge the value of someone we don't particularly like?

It is. Because it happened to me.

When I heard that special counsel Robert Mueller had finally submitted his report, the...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- It's not easy to see a friend struggle. And it's even harder if that friend is running for president in a crowded field of Democratic contenders -- and not getting his fair share of the spotlight.

You get frustrated because, while voters in Iowa and New Hampshire try to figure him out after meeting him for only 15 minutes, what ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- I learned some important life lessons in Harvard Yard. And so, three years ago, when I found myself back there with my then 11-year-old daughter, I gave her one.

We were touring the college, and my daughter expressed interest -- even though only about 5 percent of applicants to Harvard get accepted.

"But do you think you're ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The Enigma has entered the building.

In politics, if the media agrees with your views and you play nice with them, there springs forth a benevolent narrative that you're a "blank slate" where people can write whatever story they like. (See Barack Obama.)

But if the Fourth Estate opposes your policies and you pick fights with ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Seven years ago, long before she arrived in Congress, Ilhan Omar tweeted: "Israel has hypnotized the world. May Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

I'm not Jewish, but I'll admit to being hypnotized by Israel. When I visited with a group of Latino journalists seven years ago, through a program ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- You want to talk about a border emergency?

Grab your passport, and take a quick trip with me around the world. Look at the tensions between Israel and Syria. India and Pakistan. Iraq and Iran. Colombia and Venezuela. South Korea and North Korea.

Now, closer to home, look at this relationship: United States-Mexico.

Thank goodness...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Is it too much to ask that those who are sworn to enforce the laws actually follow them? After all, when laws are broken, other people pay the price.

You may have heard that California is running out of money.

This is true.

You may have also heard that the Golden State is home to an estimated 2.5 million illegal immigrants, and ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- There is a thin line between experience and ineptitude. And, I'd argue, seasoned politicians cross that line all the time.

I'm grateful to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for reminding me of this important life lesson. Whether she realized it or not -- and I'll put my chips on "not" -- Feinstein has sparked a discussion about how ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Furious Democrats demand that I stop complaining and learn to love The Beto.

My criticism of a Texas-sized cultural enigma who changes his schtick like other people change cellphone companies has enraged both white liberals and Latino lefties. Beware the Beto Bots.

The white liberals prefer that Mexican-Americans serve up chips ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Whoever said there is no such thing as bad publicity never met Jussie Smollett.

Ask your HR director. There must be easier ways to get a salary bump.

In a dizzying turn of events, the star went from alleged victim to criminal defendant. The actor has now been arrested in Chicago and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Welcome to The Beto Show!

Running for president ain't no spelling bee. The top job doesn't always go to the smartest person on the ballot. If it did, Adlai Stevenson, Jerry Brown, Al Gore, Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton would have all ended up in the White House. They didn't. Because they couldn't perform.

You see, running for ...Read more

EDITORS -- Note language in final sentence of 7th graf and in kicker.

SAN DIEGO -- I have a confession. I filed this column late -- about 20 years late.

My brother, a Los Angeles-based marketing specialist who came out as gay two decades ago, often urges me to write more about the LGBTQ community. I'm missing a big story, he says.

But, I tell...Read more