An Alternate Reality

An Alternate Reality exists on the 7th floor of Albuquerque's City Hall.  In response to a couple of devastating articles in Rolling Stone and the New Yorker Magazine, Mayor Berry's reactive quote in the Journal today was,

“No one likes or wants bad press for their communities, yet all cities receive it from time to time,” Mayor Richard Berry said. “Our goal in Albuquerque should be to write our own story instead of letting others write it for us … We live in a wonderful city with a rich history and a bright future, and we need to build our city up rather than letting outsiders and those in our very own community tear it down.”

"OUTSIDERS?"  I don't think outsiders were the ones giving quotes and information to the magazines.

I am not sure at this point if Berry and his aides and advisors fully understand the legacy they are leaving in their wake.  It is just denial on their part. On the good side of all of this is Senator Jerry Ortiz Y Pino really stated clearly that the leaders and even general public in our city are hardly engaged in the seriousness of this problem.

They Mayor might want to write a history here that he likes better than reality.  But to the economic development teams and CEO's who must decide where to place their next site, that will hardly matter.

Here is a quote from a former high school classmate yesterday.  It is very upsetting to me that anyone would think this way, but they do.  "Albuquerque is too big, too dangerous and too polluted to consider moving back there but it's ok to visit for the great New Mexican cuisine and especially to see family and old friends."  

Gathers No Moss

Now Rolling Stone Magazine is out with its investigative piece into the Albuquerque Police Department.  Mayor Berry and his minions have run out of eyes to blacken.  Does anyone care?  Apparently not enough.  But more and more former Mayor Marty Chavez is also getting some scrutiny in this disaster as well as Darren White, that GOP operative who ran public safety for Mayor Berry.

State Land Commissioner

Newly elected State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is proving himself not only an enemy of renewable energy, but also an enemy of the future.  He is delaying, after five years of negotiations between all parties, the SUNZIA renewable energy transmission line across New Mexico.  The Federal government in cooperation with the Defense Department approved the line last week, as did former State Land Commissioner Ray Powell. Dunn's rightwing stalling of a project that will benefit our state's economy is the result of his closeness to the fossil fuel industry and livestock operators.  Would he have stalled an oil pipeline across the same right of way?  Doubtful.  The line will invest Billions in the state's economy through construction and additional jobs for maintenance and further renewable development.

If Dunn is serious about using state lands as something more than subsidy providers for the extractive industries, then he better get this approval back on track, and quickly.  I am hopeful that some brave career whistle blower at the Land Office will let us know exactly what is happening here.

Fox and the Journal?

Well, maybe not the ABQ Journal just yet.  But surely Fox.  And maybe MSNBC.

Just Asking

The infantile temper tantrum disguised as an editorial in the Journal this morning condemning the Bureau of Land Management's decision to allow a renewable energy transmission line near White Sands Missile range was really over the top.

In fact I kind of wonder who really wrote that hit piece on the BLM and Senator Martin Heinrich.  I am guessing it was ghosted either by the right wing Rio Grande Foundation or the oil and gas industry PR squad.  What do you think?

Don't forget that just earlier this week the Journal wrote an article on how renewable energy was the big economic star in New Mexico's otherwise dismal jobs performance.  It is like the newspaper's general hatred of good paying federal jobs.  Kill the sectors that keep us just above disaster!

The Last Publisher

Bill Lang is taking over the title of Publisher of the Albuquerque Journal from his ailing and eccentric brother Tom Lang.  One wonders if Bill will be the last ever Publisher at that diminishing institution. I am thinking he will be unless there is some sort of dramatic changes made, starting with the Editor.

I just love reading an ink on paper publication everyday.  Both the New  York Times and Journal go a long way at taking up an hour or two in the day along with two good cappuccinos from my cool machine.  But as people like me get older the newspaper game is a goner.  When was the last time you saw anyone under 30 reading something besides a smart phone or tablet to get their news fix?  While the Journal arguably has the highest website visits in New Mexico, that certainly is not going to pay the bills of supporting anything like a good roster of serious journalists.

Someone needs to do some serious recruiting to replace the leadership at this newspaper.  New ideas and less partisanship are needed if it is to last another 5 years.  Times are changing for sure, but the Journal folks are sitting on their hands.

P.S.  I noticed that the Journal had nothing to say about that New Yorker Magazine article on our city's APD and Mayor.  At least not  yet.

Kill Zone

Once again I will link this article on APD.  It is an incredibly strong indictment of APD and local leadership by the New Yorker Magazine.  

GOP Rhetoric

No matter that the public lands in Alaska do not belong to just Alaskans!  The Alaskan Governor has said that the President has declared 'WAR' on the people of the state because he is pushing Wilderness Protection of pristine landscapes for future generations.  US Senator Merkowski has said it is an "ASSAULT" on the state.  Big rhetoric from small minds in a big State.  It is laughable and scary at the same time and signals that the GOP remains on the fringe of American political history.

And then there is the GOP mascot Albuquerque Journal this morning.  They just hate regulation and trampling on corporate ability to steamroll water conscious local residents on fracking in New Mexico.  This horrible system threatens clean water in the area of such drilling operations.

At the same time the Journal wants the legislature to enact regulation on women's right to abortions.  No, I don't like the idea of late term abortions either, but if the archbishops in their funny clothes get their way then no good reason would be good enough for such procedures.

And sadly, here is another incredible black eye for Mayor Berry and APD.  National coverage like this is horrible, as is the reason they had to write it.

Labels

The Albuquerque Sunday Journal story on the Bernalillo County financial mess was informative.  Except for the labeling.  Every single time a quote was made or reference to an elected official the Journal seemed to think it was important to state whether the person was a democrat or republican.  It just jumped out at me this morning for some reason.  As if the Journal needed to label everyone mentioned as a politically charged person rather than an elected official.  So, I went and reread the article and pretended the words republican and democrat were not there.  Suddenly, it seemed like a pretty good debate on how the county ended up in the chaos it is enjoying right now.

All of the Commissioners are to blame.  They just spent too much money.  

Sun Zia

The Sun Zia renewable transmission line was approved by secretary of Interior Sally Jewel today at a ceremony at Sandia national labs. Sen. Martin Heinrich and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan along with the Secretary and Defense Department representatives announced the decision much to the chagrin of Congressman Steve Pearce who for some reason thinks renewable energy transmission will threaten our national defense.

This transmission line across hundreds of miles in New Mexico will inject close to 1000 jobs in construction and 100 permanent jobs upon completion.  The power transmitted will come from renewable energy sources, solar and wind, and will be sent to markets across the southwest.

The announcement was  held at the large solar complex south of the Sandia National Labs.  Between the bright day and reflected solar arrays....everything looked slightly blue to the camera.

Heinrich on the Keystone Pipeline

I would recommend everyone watch this Senate Floor speech by Senator Martin Heinrich today.  It is 16 minutes long and incredibly informative.  If  you ever had any doubts about stopping the Keystone Pipeline, this should clear them away.

Heinrich has really improved his speaking capabilities.

Misc.

I hear that the new Speaker of the House of the State Legislature, republican Don Tripp(a decent guy) had wanted to keep long time House Clerk Steve Arias on an advisory contract to help the new GOP majority run things properly.  Arias alleged said, "No Thanks."  The reason being that he had been treated so disrespectfully by Republican bad boy legislator Nate Gentry.  The result is yesterday's total confusion on now to handle committee reports on the floor.

APS School Board member Kathy Korte's latest outburst and bullying of an APS employee makes it seem that her serving on the board is more about herself and not the schools.  Many appreciate her pushing back against the Governor, but her juvenile fights with other board members and staff really hurt her credibility.  I was known to do that myself, it really is not helpful.

Playing golf with all my buddies and listening to their comments has led me to believe that the Bernalillo County Commissioners who voted for that gross receipts tax hike last week have finished their careers.  I have to agree.  These progressives turned regressive on the tax front.

Logic

Fiddle is to Nero as driver's licenses are to...........?

Tijerina

I was on active duty with the New Mexico Air National Guard at Camp Douglas Wisconsin in 1967 when Reies Tijerina  pulled off his courthouse raid in Tierra Amarilla in his quest to get Spanish Land Grants restored to northern New Mexicans.  (I doubt they would have agreed to go back in history a little more and give those lands to the original Native American residents.)

Governor Cargo had just visited our summer encampment and returned via Air Force Jet to 'manage' the crisis by sending anti aircraft tanks into the state's northern forests.  A bit much even in those days.

I always thought Tijerina was a mixed bag.  He seemed a loose cannon to me, although his charisma and rhetoric were impressive.  I ended up covering him as a news man a few years later, before his anti semetic era, and couldn't help finding myself admiring his skill in calling for social justice.

At one point Tijerina started something called 'Brotherhood Awareness Week.'  I was supposed to moderate a half hour TV discussion between Reies and the Albuquerque Chief of Police at the time. The tension was so thick in the studio between Tijerina's supporters and police officers that I thought there would be trouble.  We started the videotaped show and it was pure hell getting those two to say anything to each other.   After 30 agonizing minutes as the show was about to wrap up, a production assistant ran in from the control room and said, "We forgot to roll the tape!"  It was like being told we had to walk through the gates of hell for a second time.   It actually provided a little comic relief and when we started over again the words came a little easier for everyone.

Tijerina was a man of his times and one that continues to fascinate people to this day.

The Invisible Happening

Tuesday the New Mexico State Legislature will convene.  Men and women from across the state will show up for this sixty day session with some ideas on passing new laws or repealing old ones.  They are all very busy but won't accomplish much because of special interest groups who spend money on friendly lobbyists who take said lawmakers to lunch everyday.  It has always worked that way, but now the influence of money is even more pervasive.

But the real issue here is that more than ever our citizens, even the 20% who might vote, will be mostly ignorant of what goes on there.  I think they just don't care or remember that the session is even occurring.  And the local media will only cover the hot button issues, like so called "Right to Work".  These are manufactured attention getters to keep people in the dark about other more important issues.  Those few journalists who are around that know how this all works will not be enough to keep us informed.

Speaking of journalists, a great has one died.  Eric McCrossen was an old-time reporter and editorial writer who believed in getting facts correct, being fair, and keeping the public interest in mind.  He always treated people with respect.  Something that is now rare at the Albuquerque Journal where he labored for so many  years.  In those days the opinion pieces, which he edited, stayed on the opinion pages and didn't leak over into the news pages.  But these are different times at that publication.

Eric was a genuinely good guy.  In today's brand of journalism there are fewer and fewer of his type around.

bush cheney rumsfeld

Watching Saturday evening news can be enlightening for the mix of commercials you will see.  Laxatives, drugs that you should ask your Doctor about, hard-on enhancers, and veteran charities.  It is that last one that is the most disgusting.

Some redneck crooner is telling us to give money to the Wounded Warriors charity.  Another commercial is from a large law firm that wants to represent the veterans who want disability payments.(and the law firm gets a third.)  A TV News story features a charity run by a priest that makes veterans into bakery cooks.

What is missing here?  Any explanation on how bush, cheney, rumsfeld and their minions were able to spend one trillion on a war with out spending adequately on returning human wreckage from the 'war for profit.'  Why is the government relying on charity to to take care of veterans?  Because spending money on that doesn't give wartime profits to the defense industry and the likes of Blackstone mercenaries.

Watch those news commercials.  They are pretty revolting.

What?

2014 was the hottest year in recorded history.  As the oceans heat up they may be in danger of dying according to new scientific studies.  And the leadership of the Republican party sees the most important issues as building the Keystone pipeline and repealing health care insurance for Americans.

Where does this all end?  I ask this as our two new twin baby granddaughters get ready to head home after 82 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit in Fort Collins.  Science has done wonders for Alex and Katy after they were born 11 weeks early.  We can see that scientific research and development can accomplish much.

If only it could enlighten profit motivated politicians and corporations.  But, astonishingly it doesn't.  And so the only hope left are the enraged parents and grandparents of the world who see the decline in quality of life for their kids and grandkids. 

Getting it done

We had a leak in the water main in front our our home.  The crews got on it within hours and are incredibly efficient and friendly.  I wonder if they would like to go run the Police Department and Mayor's Office.

Food for Thought

My friend Dennis Jett contributed to the New Republic Magazine today.  This is a must read if you have plans for seeing the Clint Eastwood movie 'American Sniper."

What is Worse?

I am having trouble deciding which was the worse news in governance yesterday.  Here are the candidates.

1. The Albuquerque Police Department has proven they really don't give a damn what  anyone thinks of them.  Their action, in throwing out from a police shooting  incident briefing yesterday, a representative from the District Attorney's Office because the DA charged  two officers with murder will go down in history as a 'Fuck You" moment.  Essentially they have said the law and legal direction applies to everyone but them.  I am flabbergasted that this could happen and if the US Department of Justice doesn't march in by the end of the week to take over the department, then we are in trouble.  What must the honest hard working beat cop think about this?  And where is Mayor Berry and the City Council?  Their first order of business this week is to fire the Chief and find someone who can run the department as a professional law enforcement agency.

2. The Bernalillo County Commission went to the most regressive tax, the sales tax, to make up for their incompetence in managing their budget.  The poor will pay and the rich will laugh.  And our sales tax will now be 7.25% in the city of Albuquerque.  Every commissioner who voted for this made a decision that they don't want another elective office in the next ten years.  Let's hope.

The winner between these two disasters in leadership has to be the APD descent into madness.