Santos Brazil

Santos Brazil today.  I was up early to watch us enter this beautiful port.  I will post pictures this evening.  I read the Journal online today and see that the political party conventions are over.  Now everyone must understand that they are meaningless and it is time to go to regular every day voters.  Any candidate who did not get the 20% delegate vote should get additional signatures and stay in the race.

Paraty

Bobbi wrote the blog today.

Paraty is a proposed UNESCO World Heritage site well known for its cobblestone streets.    The architecture in the historic area has very little alteration.  Paraty was abandoned twice in its history.  Originally it served the gold trade route until a nearby road to Rio was built and then as a coffee route until the railroad was built.  Paraty (pronounced pa rah CHEE) was not accessible by road until about 1970.  Thus the great architecture.  As we arrived the cobblestone (very large stones) streets were beginning to flood with the high tide.  They were designed to wash the streets of waste.  The colors were so vibrant in this town where the  Free Masons had a great deal of influence.  After walking around for about 2 ½ hours we stopped for some Cachaca tasting.   It is a strong liquor derived from sugar cane.  Then to restaurante Arapoador, we were the only ones in the restaurant for the most AMAZING meal of local shrimp and fish.  A fantastic day.  

Abrajjo, Ihla Grande

We were  up early for a tender ride from the Veendam to Ilha Grande, Brazil.  This is the third largest  Brazilian island and it has been virtually turned into a nature preserve.  It was warm and humid but very bearable on our hike to the beaches and waterfalls.  After being out for a few hours hiking away we stopped at a beach dive for the best beer I have ever had.  When we got  back to the ship some creature that crawled up (way up if you get my drift) my pant leg to take a chomp out of me.  Ouch!  It was a great stop.  There may not be many more here since there is some thought that too many people are coming to the island.  

Rio

We had an easy flight into Rio after a late flight into Atlanta.  We took a bus tour while waiting to embark on the Veendam.  This is Ipanema Beach.  It is hot here and we will leave in a few hours to start visiting historic towns all the way down to Buenos Aires.  More tomorrow!

Misc.

The City of Albuquerque's budget is as bad as I predicted it would be and Mayor Berry's administration is the one that has to deal with it.  City residents and city employees just need to pony up to this situation which is the culmination of over spending by Mayor Marty Chavez and his councils and the general meltdown in economy.  It will be the most harrowing budget year ever.

I will be gone during the Democratic pre primary convention.  Just remember that the delegate votes for the candidates mean very little to the eventual outcome of the Primary elections.  The Lt. Governor's and Land Commissioner races will be interesting to watch at the convention.  But once the delegate voting is over and counted it is meaningless and the real campaign starts.  In every pre primary nominating convention in which I was a candidate I came in last in delegate votes and then I won the primary. Those conventions are nothing more that knife fights.

We are leaving in early afternoon for Atlanta and our flight to Rio de Janeiro.  We cant wait for some warmth after that cold front roared through here last night.

Packing

I am finally around to packing for the South American Cruise.  This will be our second cruise on Holland America's Veendam.  It was refit last year and it will be interesting to see what they have done to it.  Here is hoping that Delta airlines does their part in getting us to Rio on time for departure.

I will post from the ship when I get photos worthy of it.

Students

I for one am happy to see University students protesting again.  It is about time they got off their collective butts.  They have finally figured out that they are being had by their schools raising tuitions and their banks charging usurious interest rates on those loans they need.  I wish they would protest things, like the patriot act, that affects others and not just themselves, but this is a good start.

We have heard much from the media on the problems at UNM between the administration and the faculty.  That has kind of died out while the mania over the Lobo basketball team while they ascend to being a great team.  But during all this press over the last year or so we have heard nothing from or about one group.  The Students.  Where do they fit in?  Between the arrogance of the faculty and administration I guess.  I have always said that Academe is the toughest kind of politics there is.  (My sister Carlota actually told me that years ago and she was right.)  Someone better start thinking about these students real soon or maybe we will get lucky and they will get really mad and move to the streets and cause a little havoc.

When is a Tax New? and Misc.

Everyone in the media and the right wing says we have new taxes now that the Legislature passed about $230 million in levies.  But these can't really be said to be new in the strictest sense.  The legislature cut these same taxes, along with the Governor over time since 2003.  The Governor proudly points to the fact that $1 billion in taxes were cut including the food tax.

So now we are in very difficult times and the lawmakers and Governor have done what the Congress and President have failed to do, raise taxes to help balance the budget.  They have acted responsibly overall in getting the budget in order.  Certainly the return of some food tax is a blunder and should  have had a sunset provision.  Hopefully, the Governor will veto that part of the bill and call the lawmakers back into session to find other revenue sources later in the year.

The media is on to another 'easy' story concerning politics.  They are trying to embarass democratic Congressmen and women into giving  back any money that the now disciplined Representative Rangell gave them from his PAC in years past.  What a non story.  But it is easy to do because it requires no work and takes up column inches.  I guess democratic congressman are supposed to be able to look into the future and discern if some one who donated might get in trouble.

Five days and counting now to our South American Cruise.  Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires and back with many stops in between.  We have our walking shoes broken in and packing lists sitting on the night stand.

Land

I am getting very frustrated with the Department of Interior's inertia on finding good state level directors for the Bureau of Land Management.  Many of the directors who were appointed by the bush administration and who willfully carried out suspect land, oil and gas transactions are still sitting pretty.  We are now 14 months into the new administration and there seems to be little movement in bringing on new people.  I am being told that there is just not enough talent within the Bureau to do so.  In the meantime some of these bush people continue to block changes that have been initiated by Secretary Ken Salazar.  If there is not talent within BLM then Salazar should start looking outside to other federal agencies that have talented and untainted employees who could do the jobs.  These are not easy jobs but they are important ones for the health of the western landscapes we love.

In the meantime New Mexico State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons suspect land swaps with wealthy ranchers are now the topic of Supreme Court deliberations.  I don't know what the outcome of the arguments by the Attorney General will be, but I can tell you Lyons has done a great disservice to the people of New Mexico by trading off some of the best hunting areas that northern New Mexicans have.  Major constitutional changes must be instituted so Land Commissioners like Lyons can't unilaterally do this kind of thing again.  Of course, the people who own the land office, the oil and gas boys, miners and ranchers, will fight this tooth and nail.  When I suggested this some time ago Lyons stood up at an oil and gas convention and said, "Baca wants to take away your land office."

Movie Star

You can bet that Governor Richardson will take that job as the movie industry's lobbyist in Washington in a heartbeat. Who wouldn't.  He can flee the state's nagging revenue mess, the Albuquerque Journal, and his sagging approval ratings all at once.

I hope he gets the job because he could continue to make New Mexico a great place for the film industry.

I have been trying to figure out if the move would help or hinder Lt. Governor Diane Denish's chances of being elected Governor.  She would certainly become a full time target for the numerous right wing GOP candidates.  When they are not fighting each other that is.  Certainly Diane would get thrust into real decision making on managing the state's fiscal problems.  If she does a proper job then she will upset some people which possibly weakens her in the eyes of some constituencies.  She would face this on July 1 as the new budget takes effect.

This will all be interesting to watch if Big Bill gets the job.

Regressive Buck Passing

Well, I just have to say the proposed tax hikes by the legislature just are horrendous.  We need tax hikes but we don't need regressive ones.  And the most regressive is the sales tax.  And the cowardly leadership pounded out a deal that absolutely screws the cities in New Mexico by making them the ones to reimpose a tax on food.  The Mayors in New Mexico should descend upon the Capital to let the legislators know how they feel.  Mayors can be a thorn in the side for these lawmakers who are seeking reelection, and they should use their offices to point out who deserves oblivion.

The legislature has always been somewhat unkind to cities in their deliberations.  I think it is because most city politicians are so busy trying to deliver services.  Filling potholes and having the fire department arrive on time are full time jobs.  The legislators just don't see it that way and it is sad.  I think the Counties fare much better in the legislature because they are more politically active in the legislative game.  Also, they are somewhat invisible and the media pays little attention to them because it is easier to beat up on a visible Mayor in some city.  How many people know who their county manager is?  It is harder to scrutinize five county commissioners than it is one Mayor.  Laziness in the media once again.

I would hate to see gridlock in the special session, but this might be the time to take a stand on tax fairness.

Bank of America Gougers Redux

I went to clean out my deposit box today at Bank of America.  As I said before the rates on the little metal container had gone up 300% in three years.  I had the box there since the 80's.  When I asked the young bank manager why this was done he said, "All the banks are doing it.  That is how the economy works."

I might ask have asked  him what other things had gone up 300% in price, but it would have been seemed as condescending as his remark to me was.  Bobbi and I need to decide if we will leave any accounts open with these guys at all.

What Goes Around Comes Around

The City of Albuquerque has a big bill to pay off as a result of a US Supreme Court refusal to hear the City's appeal of lower court rulings.  It is about a long running case involving down zoning of property near Winrock Shopping Center by the City Council in the first Chavez administration. (This was not Mayor Chavez's fault.)  But now it is Mayor Berry's headache.


When I served as Mayor I had reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit for 2.8 million dollars but the city council did not approve of the settlement and ordered the suit to continue.  They just didn't want to look bad to the public.  Pure hubris!  Now it is costing us big time.  The total bill could come to 13 million with interest.  That is something Mayor Marty Chavez could have lessened but he didn't like the lawyers for the plaintiffs so he added to the problem by not settling.

Does the city have enough in the Risk Fund to cover this?  What will most likely happen is that the cost of the lawsuit will be added to the property tax rolls to be paid for by the city tax payers. 

Bank of America Gougers

Okay, no one trusts the stock market any more so they take their cash to the bank.  Sometimes it goes into a worthless rate of return on a Certificate of Deposit but the more cautious might go and rent a safety deposit box and squirrel away some cash for emergencies.  So, what does Bank of America do?  Why they raise rates 300% on the smallest boxes that they have.  In 2007, I paid $31.00 for a box.  In 2008, I paid $64.00 for a box. Now in 2010 I am asked to pay almost $90.00!

This is the smallest box there is.  I would estimate it has about one third of a cubic foot.  Maybe.  And they want $90.00 for me to keep some papers in.  Screw them.  I am going to go get those papers and digitize them and store them in numerous places and Bank of America can lower their CEO bonuses by the amount of money I keep out of their grubby hands.

Misc.

The South Korean skater Kim-Yu Na was poetry in motion last night at the Olympics.  I think she is a metaphor for the rise of the Asian countries.  She was trained by westerners and then took the prize from us.  Well, she certainly deserved it.

Bobbi and me are getting excited now.  In about ten days we will be taking off for Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina on another Holland America Cruise.  That makes two cruises in five months for us after our Caribbean sojourn with friends in November. It is kind of reckless for us to do this so quickly again but this cruise looked especially inviting to a region we  have not visited before.  We will spend two full days in Buenos Aires and will get a tour from a good friends daughter who is living there.  I look forward to some Argentinian steaks. This will be our fifth cruise.  We probably wont consider another one for at least 18 months.  Maybe.  You know, you just gotta do this stuff while your healthy and able.  Life is too short.

Shameless

The poor New Mexico oil and gas industry.  They are so picked upon that they are spending millions on TV along with their national counterparts saying that if they get taxed they will just take it out on you.(Don't forget they paid no windfall taxes when gas was $5 a gallon.)  I am as weary of those commercials emceed by unemployed busboys as I am of this constant Apolo Ono thing on the Olympics.

Now the acting director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association is quoted in the Albuquerque Journal as saying "people are getting very wound up right now"  and the "Obama administration should be more sensitive."  Or what?

This is all because of a possible National Monument designation on Otero Mesa in Southern New Mexico by the Interior Department.  This place is considered to be one thing by New Mexico oil and gas people.  A profit center.  And they want it.  No matter that  it is mostly public land owned by all Americans.  They always will fall back on the line that (even though all Americans own it) they know better as New Mexican oil and gas guys how it should be used.  And they scream once they get these resources that they get taxed to much even though it isn't really theirs in the first place.

Once again the state's republican party, led by oil and gas magnate Harvey Yates, is attacking the Obama administration because they don't bend over like the bush administration.

I am frightened that many folks fall for this paid oil and gas infomercial drivel.  It sounds like it makes sense.  But it is all a lie.

Udall

Senator Tom Udall really shined in an interview last night on MSNBC.

He made an eloquent and clear headed argument for getting rid of the filibuster in the U.S. Senate.  The U.S. House of Representatives has passed 290 bills on to the Senate, many with republican support, and they now sit there because of threats from republican Senators to filibuster.  This interview is worth watching.

Counting the Days

Governor Bill Richardson, my old boss, must truly be counting the days until he leaves the Governorship.  After his latest poll numbers show him in the tank for popularity with the state's citizens he must wonder what has happened.  I can say, from experience, that the Albuquerque Journal is what happened.  Between the paper's constant repetition of stories on State Investment Council problems which have never convincingly been connected to the Governor, and the papers increasingly republican/negative editorial views it is a wonder he is still standing at all.

I endured the same treatment as Mayor for four years.  Some of my problems were self inflicted combat with city councillors, but mainly I was dead meat at the Journal for wanting smart growth principles to take root in our planning efforts.  That didn't serve the Journal's advertisers well.  So I suffered the slings and arrows of their editorial board for four years.  It added up, just like it is for the Governor now.  It should be no surprise.

There is also something at work here I call personality fatigue.  It happened with Mayor Marty Chavez when the voters just decided he needed to go.  That may be as big a factor as Journal ranting.

Misc.

I finally found out what the total student loan debt load was in this country.  It is 527 billion dollars.  Less than the bailouts we gave to Wall Street but a burden that our young people will carry with them, along with the deficit, into their senior years.  What enrages me most is the interest rates that these kids need to pay. 7% and more.  Yet I can go buy a new car for 1.9%.  What the hell are the Congress, bankers and financial institutions in this country doing to these kids futures?  And the Universities bear lots of blame too.

Speaking of buying a new car, that is what I need to do soon.  I have leased my last four cars and have decided most likely I will buy the next one since I am retired.  I am struggling with buying a small SUV I will need because of some planned photo essays that will require a little off highway travel.  Their mileage is not great.  We own one hybrid now but the SUV Hybrids are very expensive.  What to do?  The Subarus, Hondas and Toyotas are all nice so picking one is difficult.  My one vice in life is insisting on all the bells and whistles in a new car.

I need to get busy today and write Governor Richardson a letter asking him to veto the guns in liquor licensed restaurants bill that is on his desk.  As a former state liquor director I can state unequivocally that this is a stupid thing to allow.  I asked a waitress yesterday at such an establishment what she thought about the law and she was dumbfounded anyone would pass a law like that.

Busy Bankers

I think there are a lot of busy bankers out there today.  New regulations for credit cards have gone into effect.   Bankers are busy because they will work hard to find ways around the new regs and stick it to Americans.  I kind of look at it like I look at the airlines right now.  They will make a buck anyway they can no matter how badly they have to put the screws to their customers.  Yes, their customers who pay to get from one place to another.  Now if you are a senior citizen who gets chilled easy you get to pay $8 for the use of a bacteria soaked blanket from the airline.

I wonder if corporate America really understands how fed up consumers are getting with these 'gotcha' tactics.  I know that I am trying my best to book any international travel on foreign airlines that still seem to think a customer is a valued commodity.  I am thinking about leaving Bank of America who took my mortgage payoff a few months ago and hid it for two weeks and refused to say where it had been.  Maybe it is time for a local credit union membership again.

And our republicans say we don't need to regulate the banks and airlines.