Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Heartless

I have decided that GOP gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez is really just a heartless human being.  Her big issue now is repealing the medical marijuana law.  Screw the cancer victims who depend on some good cookies or tokes to feel good.  I wonder if Susana has ever seen any one slowly waste from cancer.  Could she actually take away a substance that helps people feel better as the end nears?  Or does Susana just see this as a vote getter and to hell with people's suffering?

This whole thing makes her a hypocrite.  As a republican she hates the federal mandates that come down the line.  Except when it gets her votes.  The feds don't want medical marijuana but the states are passing laws allowing it.  And she sides with the feds.

I was wrong in my first impressions of Martinez.  I thought she might be a moderate when she appeared on the scene.  It turns out she is just a career right wing prosecutor who wants to unbridled power to carry out the wishes of people like Mr. Perry from Houston who gave her $450,000 during the primary.  That is the largest campaign donation in the history of New Mexico.  And she fights pay for play and corruption?   Arghhh!

Update:  A very pissed off republican sent me an email saying Ms. Martinez's parents both suffered from cancer.  So I guess she has seen it.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Gail Ryba

The new bicycle bridge across the Rio Grande was dedicated today in the name of Gail Ryba.  She was absolutely one of the nicest people I have ever known.  I met her shortly after becoming Mayor of Albuquerque in 1997.  She was on a mission to beef up our bike trail system in Albuquerque and she never let up.  I had so much respect for her and her ability to stay patient, work with all factions, and successfully reach her goals.  She moved up to Santa Fe a few years ago and carried on her work there as shown in this tribute to her in the Santa Fe New Mexican.  She died prematurely from cancer last May.




It is so great to see this structure named for her.  She deserved it. It doesn't happen many times that a good person's memory is honored in an appropriate way.  This time it was.  Here are some photos of the impressive structure which was constructed with stimulus funds.

MISC.

I am always amazed by politics, even after having been in it for so long.  The one constant in this game in America is that while people usually hate the U.S. Congress, they almost always vote to reelect their representatives.  So, it was good news for me as a Democrat that Congressmen Harry Teague and Martin Heinrich are leading in the Journal poll.  Congressman Lujan from the Northern district is a no brainer to win at this point.  At the same time many Americans  have given a thumbs down on the Congress as a whole.  Maybe a change in leadership would be good and these young members like Heinrich and Lujan should all band together and demand reform.

I was talking with a friend yesterday who thinks that Glen Beck has finally overstepped his popularity by trying to 'lead America back to God'.  This former DJ with a gift for gab in now encroaching onto a another long time con-game.  That would be Christian TV Evangelism and its money sucking machine.  I am sure these TV hucksters will start fighting each other for the faithful's meager cash reserves.

The Albuquerque Journal had a good article on an immigrant family who moved from Arizona to New Mexico because of a fear of deportation by the Arizona pols.  I like to see these kinds of stories because it puts a human face on these people instead of a label.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Kitten Dreams

Pol Gathering

We had a nice group of people come to our home last night to chat with Democratic Governor candidate Diane Denish.  She spent 90 minutes with the crowd after a full day of campaign stops.  She understands that she is slightly behind in this race and has a lot of work to do as evidenced by the Journal Poll this morning showing her 6 points down.  It certainly is very winnable with 65 days left until the election.

One can only wonder why her opponent uses the mantle of being an outsider to politics when she has taken the single largest political contribution in the history of the state.  Remember that $450,000 donation from a Texan real estate magnate and ultra conservative!  I fully expect he will be sending even more and Susana will be owned by him.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Goofiness or Stupidity

I just got off the phone with my good friend Steve Cobble in Washington.  He always has a good way of putting things into perspective.  We were talking about the possibility of the House of Representatives going republican in the next election. Essentially, we concluded that some voters are acting pretty goofy, or dangerously showing a lack of critical thinking, when they want to put back into office the same guys they were so happy to get rid of just two years ago.  How does that make sense?  Do we really want a guy like John Boehner, a dim bulb at best who speaks in bumper sticker phrases, to be running the House?  Do we have such short memories that we forget bush, who wanted to privatize social security, was a disaster?  Think about Katrina five years ago and the disastrous economic policies that brought us low.

At the same time, why aren't the Democrats out saying they are standing for something....just anything would do, but Social Security would be a good thing to rally around.  That is one area where the GOP stepped off the deep end and the Dems are just letting it slide by.  Jeeesh!

At the same time the republicans are still the party of no.  Don't do anything.  How hard is that to run against? Life is too short!

"In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing." ..Mark Twain

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Kitten Wisdom

The Governor's Race

Everyone is coming on with different and conflicting polls in the New Mexico Governor's race.  They only one I will look at with confidence is the Albuquerque Journal Poll from Research and Polling Inc.  Brian Sanderoff's track record there is impressive to say the least and I don't think his poll has ever missed calling a Governor's race.  But this is a pretty weird year with people's angst ruling their decision making, rather than logic.

One piece of logic that needs to be parsed is how Susana Martinez would deal with a democratic legislature.  Libetarian Gary Johnson dealt with them by doing nothing but vetoing legislation.  If he had any sort of program for the future of the state it was based on doing nothing.  So he couldn't really be seen as a complete failure, because he did nothing. Now Susana, if she wins, would have to do the same thing because she will get nowhere with a hostile legislature.  She can only wield power with vetos.  Hardly a positive thing.

Right now a platform of doing nothing for a sitting Governor would be disastrous for your state.  I believe government can be a positive force in helping people.  Especially in these times.  And that is why I like Diane Denish and the Democrats.  But, when Sanderoff's poll hits Sunday I suspect that this race will really heat up along with the Congressional contests.  Anything can happen.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Other Races

As everyone holds their breath for the Sunday Albuquerque Journal Poll on the Governor and Congressional races I am left wondering what, if anything, is going on in the other statewide races.  I have a feeling that the reason we are not hearing much about them, from the Attorney General contest, Land Office race and others is because they are not raising any serious money and so they can't get much attention.

I don't see that changing much except maybe in the Land Office race.  It won't be long before the oil and gas boys start spending a lot of money on their anointed candidate for the GOP.  Republican Matthew Rush will get the lion's share of that tainted money.  Democrat Ray Powell might get a few dribbles, but because the GOP is run by the oil and gas industry in this state Ray will be facing an onslaught of money from dirty oil.  No matter who wins I don't see much in the way of change at the Land Office except for an improvement in ethical behavior.  (How could it get any worse?)  I don't know Rush at all so I can only assume he is an okay guy on the honesty front.

What you wont see happen at the Land Office is true Constitutional reform of the way the office works.  Ray is not a big agent of change and Rush will be leashed by those who profit from the Land Office resources.  If either of these candidates would come out and say, 'we need to amend the constitution to make environmental protection of water, air and landscapes a factor in decision making', then I would vote for that candidate. (Oh, really I will vote for Ray.)

Come on you guys!  Show us some deep thinking about the future!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Admit It

I actually think that Lt. Governor Diane Denish may be scoring some points on constantly pointing out that her opponent Susana Martinez supported school vouchers, until she didn't.  Once again, this isn't an issue that people sit around fretting about, but it is reveals a peculiar trait in many politicians.  That trait is not having the courage to admit you were wrong.  Susana continues to deny she was ever for school vouchers even though there is video of her supporting vouchers very strongly on more than one occasion.

She could defuse this thing by just saying, "you know, after some reflection I have decided these vouchers wouldn't really be good for public schools."  That would end this conversation. But she just can't admit that she has changed her mind and it is hurting her from the standpoint that some undecideds will think there is no strategic thinking going on in her head...just talking points from the extreme right.  Everyone changes their mind many times.  Why not a candidate?

Another thing that now must be admitted is that the editorial cartoonist at the Journal, John Trever, has now totally lost it.  His cartoon on Sunday showing a first amendment tractor riding over a '9-11' victim is just too much for me.  It is an anti NYC mosque cartoon. I used to so respect his wit but he has turned into one more right wing tool on the Journal editorial page.  Just ask your self if he would ever do that same cartoon on the second amendment with that tractor running over the victim of an assault rifle.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Kitties in Repose

Ahh....Saturday in August with Cats napping.

Hermes Whiskers
"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain



Ajax Nose
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

Here is a funny link.  Read it all!

Friday, August 20, 2010

OMG

Rodger Beimer sent me this heavenly picture from the Des Moines Register today to remind me the NM State Fair is just around the corner.  Readers know I am a corn dog connoisseur and that I seek out the best one every year at the fair.  Now that the fair will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during its 16 day run, I wonder if they keep the grease hot.  I wonder if it will be the same grease that cooked up this dandy treat at the Iowa State Fair.

You will notice I wrote about a corn dog today and not the first so called debate between our gubernatorial candidates. No knock out blows were landed since there was no televised proceedings.  In reading the paper I would say that both candidates did okay with Diane Denish showing experience.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Scary Stuff

I just concluded reading a two novel SciFi series by a new author, Daniel Suarez.  The novels, "Daemon and Freedom", are set in the near future and revolve around an artificial intelligence taking control of the world.  The A.I. was designed by a gazillionaire game programmer to wreak justice on modern society.  (It also kills every spammer it can find...Yeah!)  Its basic premise is that our governments now are really comprised of the corporate powers that fund politics and the media to their own ends.  The corporates field their own private armies.  It is a fascinating read and somewhat realistic in these times.  Maybe I am just getting paranoid as I approach the age of 65.

Especially when one reads a little noticed article that as American troops pull out of Iraq they will be replaced by private 'security services' funded by our government.  A mercenary army that will make big bucks for an unknown corporate presence in America.  This is a really dangerous thing.  Why would a corporation that fields a mercenary army want Peace to break out?  Wouldn't that cut into profits?

The Obama administration needs to think this through a little better.  It is the military industrial complex in spades.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Misc.

GOP candidates Steve Pearce and Susanna Martinez say they don't think human caused emissions can cause climate change.  These are far right wing political candidates.  They know better than scientists you know.  They love the oil and gas industry you know.  They are funded by the oil and gas industry you know.  They scare the hell out of me you know.

The first joint appearance by the New Mexico gubernatorial candidates will take place tomorrow night when they meet to discuss their positions on education.  This is a worthy issue but one that will get little attention or spike many emotions.  But, since there is a strong lobby, the teachers unions, that want to talk about this issue, that is what will be done.  Once again, it is not an issue that is at the forefront of the voters mind with less than 90 days to election time.  Peoples concerns revolve around the economy and not much else.

I keep waiting for the candidates to get into the real meat of this campaign.  Job creation and a diversified economy are not that hard to talk about.  When will they start suggesting some concrete ideas?  Time is running out.

Blogger Joe Monahan says today that there are murmurings that the state permanent funds, about $14 billion, are beginning to look like a piggy bank to some legislators.  They might want to break into that bank to help fuel the budget shortfalls.  The wisdom of that is debatable, but I believe a constitutional amendment might be needed to do so.  That couldn't be voted on until 2012 and with a little luck we could be on a road to recovery by then.  Better to raid unspent capital improvement monies first.  If that is constitutional.  There are hundreds of millions in stalled projects that could be scrapped.  That money should be put to use in some capacity even if it means just saving some state jobs.  They help fuel the economy too.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

60

Sixty people died in drug violence this weekend in Juarez, Mexico.  Just 250 miles from where I sit in Albuquerque's north valley.  It is unbelievable this kind of slaughter is the result of Americans wanting to dose themselves into euphoria on any number of drugs.  We are one of the main causes of this warfare because we can't see any sense in the decriminalization of drugs in this country.  Well, we might see sense in it but the judicial and law enforcement complex would see most of their business disappear with legalization.  That is lots of jobs and they are a strong lobby.

My old boss from the mid 1970's, Mayor Harry Kinney, once proposed that Albuquerque build what the media termed a 'drunk park' where hopeless alcoholics could go sleep it off every night.  The media really tarred and feathered him on his idea.  It was just common sense and we could  use more of that right now in this useless war against drugs.  It has never been effective and it will never be effective.  There is just no way for it to succeed and we should recognize it.

Monday, August 16, 2010

New Mexico Election

We all sat around the back yard last night after a nice dinner party and parsed the upcoming general election in the Land of Enchantment.  We pretty much decided that the candidates for Governor have not garnered the public's attention yet and a summer of opportunity has passed them by.  This is bad news for the GOP's Susana Martinez.  They only real ruckus she has raised so far is winning her primary election and losing her corruption fighting credentials because of sweetheart deals with employees on the purchase of office supplies.

The candidates are talking a lot about budget cutting, efficiency, and education but we decided that just wasn't getting peoples emotions triggered.  Just ask yourself, what do I sit around and worry about?  School vouchers?  I doubt it.  Most people are still sitting around worrying about having a job, or their kids having a job, or seeing their savings disappear as they help unemployed children and or parents.  Once again it is the economy and so far the state level campaigns in New Mexico don't seem to see the over arching issue.  Maybe it is just too big of an issue to tackle.

This will be an interesting election in that people will have to decide if they like government or hate it.  Right now there are a lot of people who might be homeless if it weren't for the government's stimulus spending and unemployment benefits.  How they vote could be a deciding factor in November.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Changing Your Mind

I can't understand why some politicos can't just admit they were wrong on some issue, admit their mistake and change their minds about it. GOP gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has been caught on video in support of school vouchers.  Now that issue is out of vogue and she is denying she ever supported vouchers.  The evidence is overwhelming against her, but she just thinks she doesn't have to admit being wrong about something.  If she did she might seem more human.

Why do her campaign managers think they can get away with this?  Well, they have done it before I am sure and are willing to throw truth out the door in hopes that everyone is a moron.

In the meantime, unless I have missed it, I am waiting for the next shoe to drop on Martinez's no bid sweetheart deal with her employee at the DA's office.  She bought government office supplies from her and it now turns out according to the Santa Fe New Mexican that the employee also got tens of thousands in unscheduled pay raises.

I am also waiting for the Albuquerque Journal to do an editorial on this.  I am pretty sure if Diane Denish had done this there would have been one by now.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Hating the Dead

I actually think worrying about Billy the Kid and Geronimo is a waste of time.  Some are doing that in New Mexico a lot right now.  We have descendants of those two historical figures still worried about how history will see them or where their bodies should be buried.

I learned as a grade schooler that Billy the Kid was a criminal and that Geronimo was a great warrior and chief.   Why do folks find it necessary to try and change this stuff that no one would care or think about if not reminded by this silly bickering?  I think all of this is trumped up so the History Channel can do a 30 minute documentary in order to show case 30 minutes of commercials for car insurance and drugs with side effects that would scare the bejesus out of anyone.

We should care more about how history will consider our current leaders on this planet rather than fight over reputations of long dead people.  Lets get a good history written about bush, cheney and the gang right now.  An no Fox news sources allowed.  The same with the Clintons.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Ozzie and Harriet

This is a great column by my high school class mate Dennis Jett.  He is a retired diplomat who now gets to say what he feels in the newspapers.  I beg you to read it all.

Future historians will have plenty to argue about as they analyze today’s politics through the lens of time. One debate might be about whether 2010 was the year conservatism died. In the days of Dwight Eisenhower and Nelson Rockefeller, conservatives were those who wanted limited government and low taxes, but still found room to accommodate a range of beliefs under their tent. And they even had a degree of tolerance for those who were outside it.

Now intolerance is in and anyone violating any of the core conservative beliefs is branded a heretic. The political landscape is littered with the bodies of politicians who were deemed insufficiently ardent. Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Utah Senator Robert Bennett all demonstrate that, for conservatives, moderate has become as dirty a word as liberal.

But it is not just intolerance that is the hallmark of today's conservatives. They have become little more than the sum of their fears and their hatreds. What they fear most is the modern world and its pace of change. For them, the natural order of things is a country run by white, Protestant males. Today they are confronted with a black man in the White House, a woman as House majority leader, no Protestants on the Supreme Court, gays asserting their rights, and a Muslim immigrant winning the Miss USA crown. It is all too much to bear.

Instead of dealing with the world as it is, conservatives prefer to feel victimized and be victimized by politicians and pundits who promise a return to an Ozzie and Harriet era that never existed. Reconstructing a nonexistent past includes rewriting history and asserting that only they can channel the real intentions of the founding fathers. That allows them to deny anything is different from when the constitution was written by that collection of wealthy, white, male, Christians. Back in those good old days, blacks were property, women were in the kitchen, and Native Americans and Latinos were people from whom God said land should be stolen until the Pacific was reached.

To support their history, conservatives have their own facts. They whine constantly about being over-taxed ignoring the fact that the total tax burden is now lower than it has been since before Eisenhower took office. They also have their own science to support the facts they invent. Their answer to evolution is a biblically-based fairy tale. In their version of economics, tax cuts always pay for themselves by creating so much growth that the new tax revenue generated exceeds that lost by the cuts. No matter that no study has ever shown that to be true and that George H.W. Bush once referred to that theory as voodoo economics.

Conservatives today turn away from reality and prefer to swoon over the media stars that validate their worldview. The irony is that, while people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly claim to be standing up for the little guy, all they really do is put the con in conservative. While standing tall for the small, they all take home eight-figure annual incomes and laugh all the way to the bank.

Their formula for success is consistent. They stoke the homophobia, xenophobia and Islamophobia of their listeners by using language that would embarrass George Orwell and name-calling that would turn Joe McCarthy's stomach. Their response to the racists in their midst is to accuse others of racism. Politicians they don't like are compared to Hitler and Stalin and any government initiative is socialist if not communist. They make allusions to using violence to protect the imaginary world their listeners live in. And in the meantime, they sell them books, videos and gold.

When the conservative cheerleader is a woman she has to be sassy and glib with far more bile than brains. She also has to be pretty. The audiences that gather to hear Palin are enraptured by her rap and unbothered by the fact that her train of thought derailed before it left the station. And they would pay no attention to her if she were as attractive as someone like say Meg Whitman, the Ebay billionaire who spent 90 million dollars of her own money buying the nomination for governor in California.

There will always be people suffering from a psychic crisis due to their inability to deal with the world. And there will always be those who will be ready to make a handsome living exploiting that condition. So 2010 probably won't be considered the year that conservatism died. But it may be the year that it became recognized as the ideology of the impaired.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Not So Miscellaneous

CNN front webpage headlines on Sunday around noon.

1. Hundreds more wildfires burn in Russia
2. Flooded out Pakistanis live on freeway
3. Hundreds missing in China landslides
4. Huge ice sheet breaks off glacier
5. Floods in Europe kill ten.

And the U.S. Senate can not pass an energy and climate change bill.


This photo is a metaphor for all the above.  It is a scene at the once thriving Winrock Shopping Center in Albuquerque.  Just mostly debris left.



Saturday, August 07, 2010

Susana Martinez and Ethics

The Journal revisited the story on GOP Gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez today.  Martinez defended herself through her campaign spokesman saying everything she did was legal when she bought office supplies from her friend, employee and campaign supporter.  Maybe it was legal, but I am betting it wasn't.  I also know when something isn't ethical and this was not ethical.

Here are a few more questions for someone to follow up on.  Was the DA's office the only customer of this home based office supply store?  How much money did this employee donate to Martinez's campaigns?  Was there any apparatus set up in the DA's office to look at the ethics of transactions there?  Were all taxes paid?  Did any sales from this store go to the Dona Ana County Sheriffs office where Susana's husband is undersheriff?  Just asking!

Friday, August 06, 2010

misc.

The New York Times front page this morning was classic.  Most people may not have noticed the irony.  In the print edition of the NYT there was a dramatic photo of forests burning in Russia as that country experiences its worst heat wave in recorded history.  Under that photo is a story on progress of getting human tissue to rejuvenate itself.  Think about that.  We are striving to renew the  human body while ignoring our small planet's health.  What is the point of renewing ourselves if we won't have a habitable Earth to live on?  I wonder if many U.S. Senators made this connection?  In your dreams!

GOP Gubernatorial candidate Susanna Martinez got a taste of the Journal's tenacity this morning that puts her whole anti corruption persona in doubt.  As District Attorney she gave no bid contracts for office supplies to a friend and employee at the DAs office in Dona Ana County.  She says the deal saved money and red tape.  We will never know since the deal didn't go out to bid.  And, isn't one of the reasons for red tape to keep corruption out of government business transactions?

This is more than a minor disaster for her and it will be interesting to see how she handles it.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

For the Life of Me

That was something I used to hear my mom say.  "For the life of me" I cant understand.......

I feel the same way about a couple of things right now.  For the life of me I can not figure out why the American voter thinks Obama should have fixed everything in 20 months after we had 96 months of bush and his boys screwing things up so badly.  I know people have short memory spans, but right now stupidity seems to be controlling.

I can't for the life of me figure out why squabbling religious sects are getting media attention about whether or not a Mosque should be build near the World Trade Center.  Its that whole christian versus moslem thing going on, with the the jews jumping into the fray.  Haven't all of these folks done enough damage in the name of their particular gods without now getting into holy war over a zoning issue?

I can't for the life of me figure out why we can't just quit these judicial, religious and social debates over two people who love each other getting married!  Well, maybe I have figured out this one.  These fights on gay marriage are really about politicians, churches, and activists getting funding from the people they have duped into thinking gay marriage is the end of civilization as we know it.

Actually, civilization will possibly end for this country if we don't get a U.S. Senate that can even get to a vote on an energy bill.

I turn 65 in a few weeks.  Maybe I am getting more crotchety.  Except when we have a cat sitting nearby.  Hermes the Cat is now about five months old.  He and Ajax the other Cat yesterday discovered the wonders of the doggy door in the office.  They are now going out unsupervised into the garden.  Hermes now has discovered that sitting on the photo  printer is a good place to stay warm.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Hermit's Peak



I stopped by the side of Highway 518 yesterday on the way to Pendaries to play golf.  I have always marveled at Hermit's Peak.  It sits between Las Vegas and Mora.  Summitpost.org says, "This peak was once called El Cerro del Tecolote, "The Hill Of The Owl" by early Spanish settlers. In the late 1800s; however, the mountain became known as Hermit Peak. Supposedly, an Italian missionary named Juan de Agostini lived in a cave on the summit in the mid 1860s. He established himself as a kind of holy man, trading carvings and trinkets for food. Folks would hike to the top to recieve blessings and healings. In the late 1860s, de Agostini left the mountain and was later killed by Indians. Pilgrimages by religious followers to the cave at the summit continued up until the 1960s. Near the summit, there are still the hermit cave and remnants of religious gatherings."


Northern New Mexico at this time of year is the best place in the world to hang out.  The golf games were great in beautiful weather.  Last night a bear was hanging around the cafe and this morning some mule deer joined us on the tee box.



Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Gone

It is another two days playing golf for me up at Pendaries, NM.  It has been raining up there so the course will be in great shape.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Agreement?

The Journal, bloggers, and online newspapers are starting to do a decent job of showing where the New Mexico Gubernatorial candidates stand on issues.  This is refreshing.  I  have been critical of the media for doing easy coverage of non issues, like the state airplane status, but I have to be honest that I see some journalistic responsibility emerging too.

In reading the issues articles I suddenly realized that I have never seen any thing written about where the candidates are in agreement on something.  There must be some agreement, somewhere, right?  Or is it possible that the campaign handlers are just to controlling for these two ladies to get together on something publicly?  Perhaps domestic violence issues, or childhood health issues?

I sometimes wonder if there should be a requirement that that two opposing candidates must sit down in a one on one meeting for two hours just to get to know each other.  I think that would often take the edge off the nastiness in the campaigns of this era.  No one else could attend the meeting,  just the candidates.  Not even a fly on the wall.  I would bet that the candidates would come out feeling that their opponent is a human being.

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Good for the Goose-Good for the Gander


This is an image of the the FAA registration of the Falcon Jet owned by the Corporate arm of the Albuquerque Journal.  As you know the Journal is experiencing bad economic times, like most newspapers.  They called on the State to sell its Jet plane because of bad economic times.  Maybe they should do the same.  Yes, I know that there is a difference between government and corporate entities, but where corporate interests buy jets to make them more efficient in moving their personnel around, the Journal implies when government buys a jet it is wasteful, corrupt or unethical.

The Journal cut its retirement programs for its employees, but its jet still sits in the hangar.