Lawmakers, who along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have apporved pay cuts for state employees, ironically battled against their own pay being reduced. That brought on criticism that the legislators were being hypocritical -- asking everyone but themselves to sacrifice during the state budget crisis.

They even put up front-men to do their anti-pay-cut dirty work. The lawmakers' backers contended that the citizens commission did not have the authority to cut the pay in mid-term. They sought a legal opinion from the attorney general on the legality of the commission's action. Legislators could challenge Brown's opinion in court, but that would really be bad form as they approach the 2010 elections.

Here's part of Brown's opinion:

"In response to your question as to whether the California Citizens Compensation Commission can reduce the salaries of legislators during their terms of office, the short answer is yes."

That suggests big problems for Democrats in next year's mid-term elections. Politico.com points out that just 14% of independents approve of the job Congress is doing. That's a referendum on the Democrats because they control the House and the Senate.

Here's more from Politico.com:

Mounting evidence that independent voters have soured on the Democrats is prompting a debate among party officials about what rhetorical and substantive changes are needed to halt the damage.

Following serious setbacks with independents in off-year elections earlier this month, White House officials attributed the defeats to local factors and said President Barack Obama sees no need to reposition his own image or the Democratic message.

Since then, however, a flurry of new polls makes clear that Democrats are facing deeper problems with independents--the swing voters who swung dramatically toward the party in 2006 and 2008 but who now are registering deep unease with the amount of spending and debt called for under Obama's agenda in an era of one-party rule in Washington.

A Gallup Poll released last week offered a disturbing glimpse about the state of play: just 14 percent of independents approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest figure all year. In just the past few days alone, surveys have shown Democratic incumbents trailing Republicans among independent voters by double-digit margins in competitive statewide contests in places as varied as Connecticut, Ohio and Iowa.

The biggest downside to traveling south from Fresno by train is that you must take the bus from Bakersfield to Los Angeles' Union Station. But the trip from L.A. to San Diego is along the coast and you get a great view of the ocean out of your window. The photo above was taken with my cell phone out the train window.

It costs $48 each way so the train is close to what you would pay for gas from Fresno to San Diego. That's a drive I've made many times, and the train was a nice change. You can connect your computer or just enjoy the scenery. Now I'm sounding like an ad for Amtrak. That's OK. I'm a believer in train travel.

"On a typical weekend, I type more words to my younger son than I speak to him."

Yeah, they have phones, but they don't always answer them. But my son in college in Nebraska will almost always text me back within minutes.

I will use any tools at my disposal to try to keep lines of communication open. Over the years, we've progressed through e-mail, Yahoo messenger, texting and Facebook. Whatever works.

With three adults, two teens and an elementary student in our house and a young adult halfway across the country in college, things can get a little crazy. You can't always count on them seeing a note stuck on the refrigerator.

The water bond passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to repair California's water system. Most Californians don't think there's a water crisis because they can turn on their taps and sprinklers and out comes the water. But one break in the crumbling water infrastructure could end the endless water supply for many Californians.

The problem is most water users are in urban neighborhoods and they seldom grasp the gravity of the issue. These are the same folks who don't understand where milk comes from or think their produce magically shows up in the grocery store.

The !11.1 billion water bond isn't perfect (there's $2 billion in pork), but disaster is ahead if we ignore the water crisis. The bond would fix the Sacramento-San Joaqun Delta, an estuary that is crucial to water flowing south to the San Joaquin Valley and into Southern California. We also need dams to store the extra water we get in wet years to be used in dry years, such as the recent drought. There are other water system plumbing fixes.

Yes, there's pork in this bill, but the vast majority of the bill is crucial to California's economic survival. If you think $11.1 billion is costly, wait until the Delta fails, the levees break and we can't move water south. Now that will be costly.

I write about the bond's political problems in my column today. Click here to read the column.

Here's part of one of the letters:

"In response to V. Diane Corbin's question, "What would you tell your child about police officers?": I tell my children that they are brave and courageous women and men who put their life at risk every day to protect our community."

Click here to read Corbin's letter.

Here are the passages from Corbin's letter that caused the reaction from other letter writers:

"In the good old days, when I was in first and second grades, our books had stories about the nice, helpful policeman, and even had pictures of a small child holding the hand of the policeman. Do any of you remember those pictures and stories? "Our friend, the policeman."

"How life changes. Would we now encourage our children to run up to the policeman and hold his hand? I would tell my child, "Run for your life!" What would you tell yours?"

Here's more from the SacBee story:

Schwarzenegger previously visited troops on United Service Organizations-sponsored tours in 2002 to Bosnia to preview his movie, "Collateral Damage," as well as in 2003 to Iraq to show "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

"He's been wanting to visit the troops for the last few years but hasn't had the opportunity to," said Schwarzenegger communications director Matt David. "He thought now would be a good time to make a short trip over there."

The governor will be in the Middle East for a couple of days, David said. Asked whether Schwarzenegger planned to make any other stops, David said it was possible but that the governor had no further plans at this point. He said he could not provide more specifics for security reasons.

On this day, I give thanks to all who have served our nation.

Serve Fresno Day ushers in the holiday season of giving and is a reminder that giving back to our community makes us all better. More than 500 volunteers and at least nine charities will participate in projects that include preparing 10,000 meal boxes for Thanksgiving, volunteering at a local retirement home, sprucing up the Marjaree Mason Center and collecting food for the Catholic Charities' food drive.

The kickoff on Saturday will be at Macy's north parking lot at the Fashion Fair shopping center. Mayor Ashley Swearengin and representatives from HandsOn Central California will be there to thank the volunteers prior to them going to their various projects.

I just spent the weekend there, the second one I've spent there in the past month. The first trip, I travelled there by charter bus, got around mostly on foot (literally, as I was there to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon) and didn't miss my car one bit.

I returned this past weekend with my 6-year-old daughter, for a 49ers game. After the game we spent Sunday night at a hotel near Union Square. After a harrowing 15-minute drive (I'm not a good big-city driver) from Candlestick to downtown, I left the car with the valet and never looked back, until we were ready to head home yesterday afternoon.

Besides charm and price, I specifically chose the hotel I did for its proximity to public transportation and some sights I wanted to share with Katie. From there, we walked to dinner Sunday night, then Monday caught a subway/bus to Golden Gate Park, where we visited the California Academy of Science, took a cable car from Powell and Market to Fisherman's Wharf, then walked back to our hotel via North Beach.

I wish public transportation options were as ideal here. Things are just too spread out to make walking as attractive an option. The bus/bike flexibility offered by FAX helps improve the commuting options, but I think we built out for too long to ever achieve that big city, pedestrian friendly vibe. The tradeoff, I guess, is that our traffic isn't as bad -- for now.

It sounds fascinating, although I admit to getting my engineering expertise from the movies, just like the governor. He said there is technology available involving sophisticated tunneling machines. "We used it in 'Total Recall,' one of our movies, a machine similar to that."

So Schwarzenegger was tunneling in a movie and now it's one of the peripheral canal alternatives. You gotta love the convergence of movies and state politics. The governor said his staff is studying which alternative is the most cost effective. He also said that if farmers won't sell their land for an above-ground canal, the underground canal could be the only other option.

It would be an engineering challenge. Lester Snow, the governor's water expert, told the editorial board that the underground canal would be 110 to 150 feet below the surface and 33 feet in diameter. There would actually be two tunnels that would transport the water under the Delta.

"It bores through the land and cements the wall as it goes," said Schwarzenegger. He said this machine is bigger and better than the one used in his movie.

My first thought is how can that be cheaper than an above-ground-canal, which is not totally encased in concrete like an underground canal would have to be? Then there's the possible earthquake risk to an underground canal.

But I like the tie-in to a movie. Maybe the governor could do a reality film about building an underground canal and bring back the "Total Recall" tunneling machines. Proceeds could pay the debt service on the $11.1 billion water bond.

You can watch the video, which is embedded in this posting. Click on the arrow.

Click here to read an Associated Press story about the earmarks in the bond measure.

The Sierra Club is opposing the bond because it contains money for dams. Click here to read the Sierra Club statement.

Click here to read the complete editorial.

"The system failed miserably with Phillip Garrido, with tragic consequences for Jaycee Lee Dugard. The inspector general's report offered valuable ideas on where parole agents fell short.

"But we also have to take a hard look at the system in which they work. It's needs reforming."