Leslie Rules and Solar

Leslie Lithicum of the Albuquerque Journal is a jewel.  She had the most heartfelt column this morning on the demise of old Hispanic names that I wish the Journal would run it again.  As the old ones die so do many of the names they carried their whole lives.  I want to add a couple to the list she had this morning.  My great grandfather's name was Esquipula. A great Aunt was named Lucinda.  My aunt 'Pelta' who died in September was born with the name Rupertita.  My father's name was Fermin.  The list could go on as I look at the family tree on the Baca side.  Thank you Leslie for doing this story.

On another note the Journal had a good story on making homes more energy efficient this morning.  There was one glaring mistake in it however that left the impression that Home Owners Associations have approval rights on the placement of photo voltaic systems on roof tops.  They do not have those rights after a law was passed in 2007 that negated all covenants in deeds that prohibited or controlled placement of solar systems on roof tops.  It was the right thing to do since dealing with HOA's can be a real detriment to energy efficiency.  The journal needs to do a story on this one issue so everyone understands it.  The city and state must also try to clarify it.

Misc.

The New York Times had a fascinating story on its editorial page today about American's awareness of how things work in congress and how ignorant many people are about how their representatives vote.  Only 26% know how many votes it takes to break a Senate filibuster.  And, only 32% know that no republican senators voted for the health care bill.  The numbers are even more dismal in the 18-29 age demographic.  I would bet many more people know how much money the movie 'Avatar' has raked in!  Time for the schools to fire up those Civics classes.  I know that immigrants who become citizens know much more about how our government works than the rank and file American.

The Albuquerque Journal negativity columnist Thom Cole outed me as a retired official of the Richardson administration in the paper today because I criticized the Journal in this blog for wanting people to come up with new negative slogans for our state.  I guess being a retired public servant is a bad thing in his mind.  Well, I still like him although I do get tired of his continued rewriting of stories that are aimed at the Governor. I mean, how many times can your rearrange the facts to make it look like a new story?  I would like him and his editors to actually find some new facts to enlighten us with.  Maybe start at the State Land Office.

I have one idea for the Journal.  Maybe they could do a daily factoid on the comics page about how our government works.  They could become a civics teacher and it would be a great public service.

Sanity and Insanity

The jury has convicted the murderer of the abortion Doctor in Kansas.  It took the jury just 37 minutes.  The religious fundamentalist catholic justified himself saying he needed to perform murder to save lives.  Thanks to the sane jury in Kansas.

State Senator Stuart Ingle of Portales has introduced a bill in the legislature to eliminate the requirement of refresher training every two years for those paranoids who carry concealed weapons.  Does that make you safer?  Or does it endanger you and your loved ones?  This is insanity.

Life goes on.

Misc.

The Albuquerque Journal this morning had its top item on the front page a banner on the Lobos victory  over BYU.  Second was a story about former Mayor Marty Chavez being responsible for an inflated salary for the Fire Dept. union Chief.  (Surprise, the union endorsed Marty.)  The third story down was President Obama's State of the Union address with a nice picture.  I think overall this was a 'populist' front page.

Senator Mike Sanchez of Belen is making waves about using state Permanent Fund monies to help erase the deficit.  These fund have always been referred to as rainy day funds but no one has ever dared to use them for those rainy days.  There might be some innovative ways for this to be done.  Perhaps setting an unemployment level threshold would work.  In other words, when the unemployment rate exceeds 9% then the fund could be tapped to support bonds for stimulus and government operations.

The cities are rightly worried about the state raising its share of the gross receipts tax to cover its deficit.  That means the cities, who have no permanent funds, will find it impossible to raise their rates.  Cities provide the most basic services to citizens and they could be hard pressed to keep up.

Revenue Enhancer

Senator John Sapien has a really bad bill in the Legislature that would put a 25% excise tax on medicinal marijuana.  He would also charge patients a gross receipts tax when buying it.  Sapien is just being a populist politician.  Meanwhile those patients, with terminal diseases and suffering, would have to offer up what little they have left under our health care system to make Sapien look tough on drugs.  He should go have a chat with some of these poor folks.

But in the spirit of things here is a revenue enhancing idea for the law makers.  They already want to raise taxes on soft drinks, chips, cookies and foods that are 'bad' for you.  So why don't we just legalize marijuana and heavily tax its sale for everyone but medical patients.  We all know what would happen then.  Everyone would pay their taxes on the grass, we would save taxes on criminal justice time wasting on marijuana prohibitions, and we would send millions of new tax dollars to the treasury from the new tax on munchies.  Everybody wins.

Bunglers

Unbelieveable. Click Here

Census Games

The ten year census has started.  Quietly.  It will count us and categorize us and possibly shake up politics on a national and local basis.  Some Red states will gain Congressional seats and some Blue states will lose them.  Mostly because so many people move to the southern and western parts of America for better climates and job opportunities.

On local levels there could be big changes in state legislative seats.  But the most interesting changes could hinge on the future of Congressman Harry Teague in southern New Mexico.  If he wins his reelection he will pressure the legislature to not fool around with the alignment of his district.  That includes strong democratic vote areas in Dona Ana, Socorro and Grant Counties.  But if he loses the race to the right wing wanna be again congressman Steve Pearce,  then the democratic legislature could move to make sure that two of the three New Mexico congressional seats are permanently democrat.  How?  They could reapportion the boundaries of the district in such a way that puts Teague's strong Democrat areas into Martin Heinrich's district and they could move the Albuquerque North East Heights voters into a district that includes Hobbs, Carlsbad and other ultra conservative areas.  It could happen and it could pass the straight face test using census data for the reapportionment.

Chew on that for a while.

Bric a Brac

I watched the NFL playoffs on Sunday.  The games were enjoyable, except for the asinine behavior of the players beating their chests. doing jive and pointing at opponents and mocking them.  I hate that crap, but we should expect it because our country is often doing it without knowing how bad we look.  I got a good feel for that after attending a lecture on Brazil on Friday afternoon at the Museum of Albuquerque.  It was put on by the Albuquerque International Association.

It is part of a series on what is known as BRIC.  That stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China.  Those four countries are leaving the USA and Europeans in the dust as far as economic development goes. They sometimes do it as the expense of their environment, but they are learning to deal with it.  They are investing in themselves and their infrastructure while America invests in $200,000 missiles to shoot from drones at mud huts in Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Those don't provide any return on investment for sure.)  And unless we do something about it we are going to be a member of the third world economy sooner than later.

I was watching another program this weekend on the construction of the Stone Cutters bridge in Hong Kong.  It is a magnificent structure and is incredibly expensive.  It is the kind of thing we don't do in this country anymore.  Because it won't pay for itself.  Just look at the grousing about the fact the the new Rail Runner doesn't cover its expenses. Well, neither do hell fire missiles and you can only use those once.

The Rail Runner is still a forward looking project and it could wither on the vine because a few whiners and bloggers who may convince the legislature to stop funding it.

I know, I am just doing a Monday morning rant.  but this is real.  It will affect our children.  They are going to have to get angry and take control of this country, and do it real soon.

Trial by Camera

There are a couple of lawyers in town who really work the media system.  One is Sam Bregman.  You always see  him on TV as he argues his cases outside the court room.  The TV stations are always obliging.  The other lawyer who is good at this is Victor Marshall. He is suing the state for his whistle blower client Frank Foy.  Victor knows how to work the media too.  He was Channel 7's lawyer for many years.  In the middle of his protracted legal proceedings on this case he takes time out to get his client Frank Foy in front of a legislative committee and summoned TV cameras and reporters in Santa Fe to complain about the Governor.  Everyone in the media piles on the story and once again a prospective jury pool listens to accusations outside the court room while a judicial process is in ongoing.

I am not saying that Foy and Marshall shouldn't get to the bottom of this issue.  I hope they find out one way or another what, if anything, led to the firing of Foy from his investment managing job with the state.  However, these dramatic appearances and news conferences will have an effect on a jury pool.  The aim is certainly one that will hopefully increase any cash award to Foy.

Democracy Earthquake

The Supreme Court's ruling today, on a 5-4 decision to let corporations spend as much as they please to elect candidates, will rattle our democracy as sure as Haiti was rocked and destroyed by an earthquake.  Make no mistake about it, the special interests and especially the oil and gas industry will now control our elections.  For sure.  Without a doubt.

And think of this company who put scripture on our soldier's rifle scopes.  They can now influence elections with the profits from their billion dollar contracts from the Pentagon.  Soon you may live in a theocratic/corporate nation.

Naivete

Sometimes I wonder about the naiveté of of aspiring political candidates.  This morning the Journal had an article asking the republican candidates for Governor how they would fix the budget.  They all said they would cut back on the number of appointees in state government.  Okay, that adds up to $3 million max.  Now comes the hard part.  None of them had a concrete proposal for how they would deal with it, as far as I could see.  They also blame the Governor for all of these problems and once again conveniently forget that the legislature is just as responsible for the spending free for all.

The bad news at Albuquerque City Hall just gets worse.  Finance Guru Lou Hoffman, who was brought in by Mayor Berry, says the short fall for this year from Mayor Marty's and the councils actions will be $20 million.  And next year $55 million.  This is worse than I had thought.  Mayor Berry and CAO Dave Campbell will have to extract some real concessions out of the special interests that rule city hall.  That means the police and fire unions especially.  Will they help?  Or am I being naive?

Eyeopener

So, while the fundamentalists work against Gay marriage, I notice a report from the Brookings Institution.  Maybe the religious could better spend their time.  The report finds that:

• In 2008, 91.6 million people—more than 30 percent of the nation’s population—fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.  
• In 2008, 39.1 million people—13.2 percent of total population—were below 100 percent of the federal poverty level.
• Poverty also increased in small metro areas and rural areas at faster rates than in cities.
• Western cities and Florida suburbs were among the first to see the effects of the Great Recession translate into significant increases in poverty between 2007 and 2008.
  

Saving Us

The Vatican and the Bishops are at it again.  Now, the Vatican is weighing in on the movie "Avatar".  Yes, they think its message is bad.  They opine that it worships nature!  Oh.  Please save us.  Actually, what they dislike is what I did like about the movie.  So much so that we went to see it a second time just to look at the created nature of the movie.  It does send a powerful message about living in harmony with your surroundings.  So how can the bishops be against that?

And then of course the bishops are once again beating up on the state's Gay population.  They have come out against Gay marriage although they are not supportive of a state constitutional amendment to ban it.  As I said in my weekly comments for the New Mexico Independent,

"What is wrong with this picture?  A state constitutional amendment to deny the pursuit of liberty and happiness by a segment  of our citizenry.  All because the people behind this plan think that God, a guy who lives in the clouds with long flowing hair and robes, thinks it should be that way?  If we let this happen then what is next?  Denying women the vote?


This kind of constitutional amendment should promptly be killed in its first committee hearing and relegated to the trash heap of bigotry."

Many people think the Pope dresses kind of Gay.  But I am proud of the work the church is doing with Catholic Relief Services in Haiti.

Recall Religion?

I contribute to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation which is headquartered in Albuquerque.  They have fought the Christian fundamentalist attempted takeover of our military.  Their story is a good one.  But now they have uncovered an outrageous story which you will find hard to believe.  The contractors on this military contract should recall all of these 'sights' immediately and replace them.  And their contract must be cancelled as soon as practicable.  Read it.....you wont believe it.  This kind of thing is why I believe our country is in danger.  Especially after starting to read a book called "The Family" by Jeff Sharlett.

Tit for Tat

So, the New Mexico Republican Party Chair, Harvey Yates Jr., is trying to connect Lt. Governor Diane Denish to the troubles at the New Mexico State Investment Council.  This is a large stretch since Denish has no authority at the SIC.  She is not a member and has never attended a meeting.  Her only connection is that a friend has contributed to her campaign.

So, in that spirit let us talk about Mr. Yates of the GOP.  He gave a lot of money and raised a lot of money for State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, a republican.  Mr. Yates owns Yates Petroleum, one of the biggest independent oil operations in the U.S.  How many favors has Lyons done for the Yates outfit?  Unitizations of land leases?  Suspending drilling deadlines?  Etc.

And then there is GOP Governor candidate Alan Weh.  He was a big giver to George Bush.  How much money did his aircraft chartering business make from the administration during the Iraq war?  Millions?  Tens of millions?  Had to keep those rendition flights going you know.

And then there is the new GOP Governor candidate Pete Domenici Jr.  Lots of natural resource and oil and gas companies gave lots of money to his dad's campaigns in return for protection from fair royalties and environmental issues.  Did Pete Junior's law practice get business from these same folks?  He has removed his client list from his law practice website in hopes no one noticed.

Will these questions ever be looked into by mainstream media?  Don't hold your breath.

As an aside, did you notice the most viewed stories last week in the Journal all concerned sex!  You wonder if anyone reads these corruption stories sometimes.  I have the idea that one in twenty readers of the Journal will read them.  Then they stand around the water cooler at work and miserate about it with their co workers.

Noelle's Race

Noelle and her significant boy friend Lucas ran their first marathon Sunday in Phoenix's Rock and Roll Marathon.  They finished in 4 and a half hours or so which is not bad I am told for a first time.  Bobbi was out there in Phoenix to administer to the patients after the race.  She sent this picture just after they crossed the finish line.  Running 26 miles is not a natural thing to do for a human being.

Tax

I am a well known Liberal and I think government is a positive force if used correctly.  I am left of center and proud of it because if we all don't prosper then society fails.  If that means giving people a leg up with government aide then okay. The current stimulus funding and unemployment benefits are an example on a national scale.

Having said that I will also say I am against raising the New Mexico gross receipts tax to help balance the budget.  It is just horribly regressive.  I cant see any value in having this tax routinely hover between 7 and 8 percent.  Not when the rich are still paying absolutely too little in taxes. The current rage over the so called 'tax lightening' in property taxes is really based in the inequity of the system.  People with equally valued houses are paying vastly differnt amounts in taxes.  Just like the gross reciepts tax, some people are paying a larger amount of their income (the poor) than others who bank away large chunks of cash.

Times are hard and we need to deal with it.  I know that is easy to say but I also know from my career that there is indeed inefficiencies in government, just like any large business.  We let the good times roll over the last ten years and didn't pay to much attention to growth of government.  Now we have to do so.  That includes concessions by organized labor, businesses with tax breaks, and tax payer subsidized non profits.  This doesn't require a meat cleaver, just some thoughtful trimming and sacrifice.  I hope the legislature and Governor can come up with solution.  It certainly won't be easy.  I think the task force that sent recommendations to the Governor had some great suggestions.  That is a starting point.

El Camino Real

These are the flags of the U.S, Mexico, Spain, New Mexico and Texas that fly over the Camino Real International Heritage Center which is about 30 miles south of Socorro on I-25.  I had been wanting to go there for many years as I was helpful on the project when I was Director of the Bureau of Land Management at the Department of the Interior.

So, John Koontz and I traveled out there today.  I would highly recommend everyone take the little side trip to view this great state museum.

We also stopped by the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

And just marveled at our beautiful landscapes.  We then stopped at the Owl Bar in San Antonio for Green Chile Cheeseburgers.

Prayers?

The Haitians don't need prayers.  They need medical help, food, water and shelter.  Yesterday that great man of God, Pat Robertson, said that the Haitians were being punished for making a deal with the devil. The deal was that the Haitians would throw off British rule and gain freedom.

Can you believe this is from a guy who ran for President?  I am sure he is trying to raise money on this catastrophe.  My advice is to send it to secular groups who will not give aide tied to any form of religion.  At least it will get there without being subject to preaching and such.

Send Money

About all I can say today is send relief money for Haiti.  I  gave some to Doctors with out Borders.  This poorest of Nations is really on its back.  We floated by that country on our cruise a few weeks ago.  It certainly is not on any cruise destinations because of the raging poverty there.  I have been watching some video from there and you see all these people with so little already trying to cope.  They really need help.

Meanwhile while these poor people try to endure, America's top bankers are being grilled by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.  This story of the greedy and rich has been moved to second place in the news hole because of the Haitian tragedy.  The poor suffer publicly and the rich sit in front of a commission saying the financial calamity was like a hurricane.  What bull shit.  Sometimes I think these guys need to be marked on their forehead with a 'G' for greed

City Finances

I feel sorry for Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry.  He will now experience the full force of his predecessor's folly and struggle to juggle a disastrous budget legacy left him by Marty Chavez.  I had written more than once in this blog that the budget deficit would be enormous.  It stands at over fifty million dollars now.  Mayor Marty and the City Council spent like drunken sailors and poor Berry will have to deal with the hangover.  It won't be pretty and it could well get worse.

Guns and Liquor

So some stark raving mad pol thinks it is good to mix alcohol and pistols.  Yes, a bill will be floated to allow concealed weapon carriers to take their hidden pistols into restaurants with beer and wine licenses.

Who is behind this bill?  Really!  Someone who wants to kill a wine steward for serving corked wine?  Someone who wants to protect a wine steward who serves corked wine?  All of this is obscene!  

I find it amusing to watch the local TV stations making a big deal out of the fact that someone took a loaded pistol into a movie theater.  The recent incident at Century Theaters is nothing new, except for the fact that some guy accidentally discharged his weapon.  I doubt he had a permit.

 People with a little training, under a useless law, can carry concealed weapons into just about any place of business or public place.  Except for the State Legislature that is or the Govnernor's office.  Apparently our gun loving legislators think their safety is more important than your children's in a movie theater or mall.  It really does not matter if  a law makes it legal to do so.  It is stupid.  I would also invite folks to ask whether or not the thousands of weapon carriers we have are keeping up their certifications?  I think not.  Are they still carrying?  Maybe a call to the the New Mexico Department of Public Safety would answer that question.

So the next thing we need to do is distribute signs to all private businesses saying concealed weapons are not allowed on their premises.  Or visible ones too.  Could that be part of the new law?  Do business owners have a right to keep concealed weapons out of their stores and cafes?  I bet the managers at Century 24 Theaters would like to have a choice.  I am betting a lot of them don't want them in their places.

I own guns and I am not against gun ownership.  Just lunacy.

A Letter to the Kids

I want to send a letter to my kids suggesting it might be wise to consider an emigration strategy to Europe or South America or Asia.  I say this after reading the New York Times this Sunday morning.

Roger Ailes, the spawn of Rupert Murdoch and Fox News this morning said his first qualification is that he didn't go to the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.  So, the cat is out of the bag.  Roger Ailes doesn't think much of journalism, or education for that matter.  And he is running the most dangerous media organization in the country.  The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism is looked at as the lighthouse for ethics in Journalism. ( I was a student at that school in 1970 by the way as a result of a Ford Foundation Grant.)

Another article by Tom Friedman in the NYT today laments while we try to fix Afghanistan that China is propelling itself into the lead for global domination of new renewable energy sources.  They just signed the biggest solar deal in history in less time than the US Department of Energy takes to review the first stage of an application for a small solar plant in New Mexico.

And the robber barons of the finance and banking industry, as evidenced by Frank Rich's column, say they are okay guys because they give money to charity.  My brother law Dave said people who make $30K a year give money to charity too, they just don't greedily hand out bonuses to themselves with taxpayer money and then tell everyone to butt out.

Anyway, this all points to real problems in this country.  Everything seems to be upside down.  I think they will remain that way as long as people like Roger Ailes are running things and feeding a diet of hate and misinformation to gullible Americans.  Of course, we get what we deserve.

So half seriously, I think the kids might want to look for greener pastures, or at least start planning for when this country is truly a has been.

Bigger

Comcast wants to buy NBC.  I can't think of anything worse than media companies getting bigger.  Think Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes of Fox.  And, especially these media companies that control so much of the hardware that provides us with that great Democratic institution, The Internet.

I have loved to hate cable companies for a long time.  They seem to be out of the reach of any regulators and can do whatever they please.  In Albuquerque, Comcast operates under a franchise agreement with the city.  The city has done a very poor job of controlling rates and demanding decent service.  Yes, Comcast is better than it used to be overall, but they still have a real strangle hold on providing broadband service.  You could always use DSL from Quest, but that company also is horrible. Which is why I don't use a land line from them any longer.

Frankly, some smart Mayor or city councillor should make sure that Comcast does not raise their rates in Albuquerque because they are shelling out  billions for NBC.  Fat Chance!

Meanwhile, there is a fascinating article from Pew Research on News stories vs. what the public was interested in hearing about in 2009.

Make No Mistake

Pete Domenici Jr. for Governor?  The Albuquerque Journal said today that he worked on environmental and natural resource issues as an Attorney.  But make no mistake about it.  He worked against good environmental policy and natural resource policy by representing the oil and gas and mining industries.  I can not think of a worse thing to do than to elect someone like him during these times.

You can think what you want about Bill Richardson, but as Governor he has been one of the most progressive leaders in the country on environmental issues.  It would be a complete 180 degree turn for New Mexico and the Intermountain west to elect someone like Domenici Jr. as Governor.  It would be a dream come true for the neocon extractive industries in our region.  He once invited a friend of mine to attend a dinner on climate change issues.  It turned out to be a pep rally of energy people on what a large hoax climate change was.

Misc.

Sanity prevailed and the South Valley Voters gave a lopsided vote against incorporation for that area of Bernalillo County.  It would have been a disaster for the taxpayers in the area.  One wonders why this ever got to the ballot. I believe it is because a small group of activists scares and pressures local leaders into reluctantly signing on to such efforts in the name of local control.  Those leaders just wasted $330K of taxpayer money on this election.  Incorporation makes sense in some places for sure, but not in this case.

Bobbi and I went to get our vaccinations this morning for our cruise in South America in March.  If you are traveling to Brazil, which is our entry way to the ship, then you have to get a yellow fever vaccination.  That cost $260.  Our Visas into Brazil will cost close to $500.  Its the little things that get you.  We certainly don't want to get yellow fever, but does Brazil really want Americans to come and spend money in their country?  Not with these kinds of entry costs!

After dumping on Albuquerque Journal Columnist Thomas Cole last week I have to give him a thumbs up for his take on the gun toting tea party crazies in Alamogordo this last weekend.  He pretty much nailed it when he said, "Flashing firearms and fear-mongering on the gun-rights issues aren't effective means for change."

Profiles in Courage?

Profiles in Courage was one of the first political books I ever read.  It still sticks with me.  It's author was John F. Kennedy and allegedly a ghostwriter.  It is about lawmakers in the Senate who did the right thing for the country even though it was not a popular thing and they were willing to take the consequences.


I am thinking of this book as the New Mexico State Legislature begins to think about plummeting revenues and ways to quick fix the budget.  I believe they can not effectively deal with budget problems unless they are willing to endure sacrifice on their own part.  It is easy for them to say there should be an across the board cut of 2% on state salaries.  However the real issues of efficiencies are left on the cutting room floor.  Case in point (and I know I will take flack for this) is the bloated and unnecessary system of numerous branch colleges, institutions of higher learning, and duplicative administrations caused by this wasteful system.  Fewer branch colleges would mean better education in this day and age of the internet and modern transportation.  Legislators will never go down this road, or others like it, because it means losing patronage jobs in their own districts.  So they opt for other easy ways out like across the board salary cuts.  Meanwhile, tens of millions of dollars are wasted on these programs.  This is a perfect time for the heavy lifting to be done.  Just don't count on it from our wimpy legislators.

Six Hours In

So, I can look forward to not having my blood pressure rise because of work related stress.  However, reading multiple news sources can make you a little crazy.

Case in point.  Fox newsman Brit Hume suggested Tiger Woods should switch from being a Buddhist to being a christian.  He says that christians will forgive him for cheating on his wife.  They sure forgave all those TV ministers that were screwing around.

Another article describes how christian missionaries went over to Uganda to demonize homosexuals.  As a result Uganda now outlaws it under penalty of death.  How is that for forgiveness?

Life it too short.

Three Hours In

So, I am three hours into retirement.  So far it feels pretty good.  I am going to spend the next few months exercising and generally getting stress levels down.  I bought some books this weekend on how to fully utilize my Mac computers.  I am going to sign up for a course or two at Continuing Education at UNM.  I am looking for some courses on digital arts and editing.  I will start spending time on golf driving ranges and courses.

I have time to spend at the legislature and will try and look into how things are working there.  I will continue my volunteer efforts with The Wilderness Society, The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Wyss Foundation.

I will also spend time doing crosswords and writing my blog.

A New Low

Albuquerque Journal columnist Thomas Cole and his editors have hit a new low. They want to have readers send in insulting names for the State of New Mexico's image. This is because of the state's problems with corruptions cases. I guess this is their contribution to the well being of the state. Maybe one of the insults will stick and the rest of the world will no longer hear about the "Land of Enchantment", but rather some other derogatory term that will represent the people of this state.

I actually don't think this is funny. But in the spirit of things we need to come up with some new insulting names for the Albuquerque Journal. I invite everyone to make a comment and give us their best shot. Don't include one that says, "The Albuquerque Urinal." That has been done before.