Being There

One of my commenter's has stated I am overly leftist on the decision in which the White House over ruled the Federal Drug Administration Scientists and said Plan B morning after birth control could not be made available to those under 17 years of age with out a prescription.  Certainly, I don't like the idea of 14 year olds getting this over the counter, but when I look at the problem of teenage single mothers I think it makes sense.  If the parents of these boys and girls don't do their job on instruction for use of contraceptives then we end up paying the freight on unwanted kids.

This is the second time that the Obama White House has told scientists and experts to go screw them selves in the name of electoral calculations. Think of the clean air regulations that Obama halted from going into effect.  Whats a little global warming compared to electoral votes?  It makes one wonder what motivates the Cabinet Secretaries to stay on.  Both Lisa Jackson of the EPA and now Ms. Sebilius of of Health and Human Services have been gutted by the campaign managers for Obama.


During my tenure as a Senate confirmed appointee in the first Clinton Administration it became apparent to me that for the most part, people who took those positions really wanted to just be there.  It over rode their own best instincts and they were willing to do anything to hang on to their jobs.  I quit my job after having around in DC for about 18 months because of Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt's continual caving in to the oil, gas, and livestock industries.  What was the point of sticking around?  I think I was the only one who did this at Interior.  Clinton's White House did some good things in the second term but none of it meant stepping on the fossil fuel industries feet or messing with the cowboys.

Maybe one just feels better in being there, but I can guarantee you that it isn't all that it is cracked up to be.

Obama

I had been hopeful that the Obama administration had a Plan B.  I just didn't know it would still require a prescription!  This was a White House call completely and another huge disappointing sell out to fundamentalism.

Confirmed

I got a surly note from the New Mexico State University Foundation about its acting as a pass through for the Domenici Institute.  They said my answers would be found in a large list of news releases they provided.  Period.  They could not take the time to provide me with just a link to the specific document.  I found it easily though.  My suspicions were confirmed that Yates Petroleum was the source of a $500,000 gift to the Domenici Institute.  The money was given to the Foundation directly and they were instructed to send it on to the institute.  Why not just give it to the  institute?  Of course the Institute is supposed to do oil and gas economic studies and it might have been embarrassing to easily find out the studies are being funded by the oil and gas industry.  And why didn't the institute give me the information instead of saying they were not allowed to do so.  If there was a press release why camouflage the funding?  One can only wonder if this is the just part of the story.

Since the NMSU Foundation did a news release back in 2008 they were not being secretive.  If anyone ever wrote a story about this I never saw it and I looked into a few archives to find it.

The Albuquerque Journal's Thomas Cole this morning did a piece on where the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senator are getting their money.  That is fair game.  He says it indicates how they might govern.  But when a U.S. Senator's legacy institute gets a huge donation from an industry he carried water for, you hear little about it.  Domenici gets a free ride on this one.  Maybe because he is a republican?

I can not imagine what kind of press there would be if former Governor Bill Richardson's favorite institute were to collect half a million bucks after leaving office from the operators of the racino at the New Mexico Expo.  It would run on the front page of the Journal for years.

I don't disrespect Pete Domenici.  I disagreed with his energy policies and blind support of the military industrial complex.  He did good things too.  Like his concern for mental health issues.

Tumbled

It was very cold out on the Bosque today.  These tumbleweeds have probably tumbled their last after the big wind last week.  They blew into the Rio Grande and stuck!  They look homeless and huddled.  It will have to blow even harder to get them out of their watery grave.

The Bosque looks devoid of life, except for a fat coyote that didn't stop for a picture taking session.  I much prefer it in the fall when there is color.

Who needs Excellence?

It is just amazing to me that the media and a majority of the business community do not see any advantage to showing leadership and vision in the Land of Enchantment.  All we hear about is that trying to achieve excellence in the fields of energy conservation and protection of the planet will do nothing but cost jobs.

Currently, the home builders are trying to get Albuquerque's forward looking energy efficient building codes eradicated.  Why?  Because it will add to the cost of housing.  The costs of housing have already dropped pretty dramatically due to the financial meltdown caused by, well housing and mortgages.

And then there is the Governor and her minions in the oil, gas and coal industry trying to take apart New Mexico's national leadership in climate change management.  After all, why would we want to keep our air clean, water clean and landscapes in pristine condition.  Oh, thats right, it might cause a drop in the fossil fuel industry profit levels.

It just wouldn't do to have us looked at as a progressive, smart, ready for the future state.  We will be happy just following the lemmings over the cliff.  That is the kind of leadership we have in New Mexico right now on the state and local levels.  Even some of our smart democratic congressional delegation still believes in tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry.  Makes one want to register and an independent.  But that would just cost the ability to vote in a primary.

P.S.   It has been two weeks since the New Mexico State University Foundation said they would get back to me on who is funding the Pete Domenici Institute on the school's campus.  The foundation is beginning to look like a money launderer if they fail to provide us with that information.  If it didn't involve state tax dollars in supporting the institute in it's studies then I would not care.  But it does.

Flakes

We didn't get a real flake of snow at our home in the North Valley last night.  Other parts of Albuquerque were under a nice blanket of snow.  Apparently the flakes destined for us were blown away by canyon winds blowing into the center of the city.

Speaking of flakes, Newt Gingrich is the flake of the month for the GOP.  Flakes flitter back and forth.  Just last summer Newt's open accounts at Tiffany's in New York blew him back into the clouds but he is now floating down around our necks again.  His supporters call him a great idea man.  He had an idea he could be a high priced lobbyist earning millions from the healthcare conglomerates, but all the while calling  him self a citizen who just helps people.  He is an evil man.

I will soon think the editors at the Journal are flakes if they don't look into Mickey Barnett and Pat Rodgers influence on the Martinez administration and their connections to the recently rushed through lease for the racino at the Fair Grounds.  These two extreme right wing GOP operatives seem to be mostly invisible to the media.  They are running the show for Susanna Martinez and ought to be profiled.  When this racino at the Expo was nurtured by the Richardson administration there was no lack of coverage.

Double Standard

On Page B-1 of he Albuquerque Journal today is a story about how our Congressional Delegation supports continued subsidies for the oil and gas industry.  They cite the need to help out the little independent producers.  That would be the guys that donate a lot of money on a state level to politics.

On Page E-1 there is a story about the shortage of food assistance for the poor and homeless because the Congress is cutting back food aid programs.  These are the poor folks who can not donate a lot of money to state level politicians.

On Page A-1 there is an excellent story on a rightwing mega church pastor who uses the pulpit to endorse candidates but whose church pays no taxes even though this endorsement process is illegal for non profit entities.  The County of Bernalillo should immediately put this church on the tax rolls and the IRS should start collecting income taxes.

Leslie Lithicum's column on how the police have treated the "Occupy" movement versus the "Tea Party" movement was right on.  One of her best ever.  I have opined ad nausea on the police being trained like Marines rather than public servants.

The Journal had a good day and deserves a pat on the back for some good journalism.

SiriusXM Corporate Assholes Update

After using up an hour of my time I finally cancelled our SiriusXM service.  They turned of our radios immediately even though we had several weeks left on our subscription.  They did this so I might call again and get hammered with special deals to enroll again.

A note to our Congressional delegation.  Any business in the US that provides account services through the internet must provide the ability to cancel such services in a simple and effective way.  Introduce that bill and win thousands of votes.

Misc.

I am sitting on the phone waiting to cancel my Sirius XM satellite service to our two cars.  The prices seem to have doubled from last year with no explanation.  You can do everything you want online except cancel service and I have been shuttled back and forth in my efforts to do that on the phone.  I have turned from a customer into a victim once again by corporate America.  I like the radio service with no commercials.  Now I will just download podcasts to play in the car via blue tooth.

It is like Comcast.  It seems every time I get a bill from them it goes up.  It is time for the city of Albuquerque to allow a new franchisee into the mix.  My son has a choice of providers in upstate New York and his fees are much lower. And he has fiber optics right up to the home.  If I have any regrets from my term as Mayor in Albuquerque it is that I did not try harder to have the city council, a very reluctant group who got freebies from Comcast, to do it.

That wind yesterday in Albuquerque was tremendous.  It blew a nice tiled name plate that sat over our porch for seventeen years right off its hooks.  The only tile that survived was the B for Baca.  Strangely, the piles of leaves in the front yard disappeared and it now looks to be manicured.  Those leaves and many more ended up in the back yard and the currents caused a three foot high pile on our porch blocking access to the hot tub.  I had to cut a pathway in order to take my early morning soak.

Misc.

The Big Lie has always amazed me.  Newt Gingrich says he was acting as a citizen and not a lobbyist when putting  the corporate health care crowd together with the congress.  His company made millions doing it.  And he thinks he is just a citizen.  Sometimes the Big Lie can work.  Gingrich is following the lead of Herman Cain.  He didn't do anything with that woman he saw for thirteen years in a long drawn out relationship.  He was just trying to help her financially.  It seems to me the GOP candidates for President are trying to see who can tell the biggest lie and get a way with it.  Clowns.

The Albuquerque Police Department and Mayor Berry want the public to vote on the new color of police cars.  Any thing for them to ignore the real issues of police violence and lack of jobs in this community.  I vote to keep the cars in the red, white and blue configuration.  The black and white looks a little sinister and are harder to see.  The Mayor is following the lead of Governor Martinez in trying to distract folks from real problems.

The Governor makes a big deal out of saving money on cars and cell phones but never says anything about jobs.  The only things she seems to talk about positively now is the movie industry and the Space Port in our state.  Both of those were created by Bill Richardson.  Last night on the SciFi Channel the Space Port and New Mexico had great exposure on a biography of Arthur C. Clarke.  He was a visionary and author.  His book Childhood's End is the first SciFi book I ever read.  It is a Masterpiece.

Looking a Long Way Ahead

It is just never to early to look ahead to Gubernatorial elections.  As Governor Susannah Martinez's first year inches to a close there is plenty of reason to think she could be vulnerable in a few years.  But I don't see much in the way of anyone wanting to take her on.  A lot can happen between now and then but so far as I can see the Democrats are not thinking strategically on the possibility of getting this Governor out of office.  I have always felt deep down she could be a good Governor, but it seems her strings are totally controlled by the right wing elements of the GOP.  Guys like Pat Rodgers and Mickey Barnett.  Those are pretty heartless people I think when it comes to any sort of notion that some people could use assistance during these tough times.

There is grist for the mill in that campaign against Martinez.  Job creation is certainly one area where she has shown no creative thinking or even sympathy.  She has not convinced me she has put this on her agenda as a priority.  Even if it is hard to do I can not figure out why she isn't putting on a show.   And where are the Democrats response to this disconnected administration?  There should be people at everyone of her public appearances waving signs saying..."Where are the jobs?"

You don't see any prospective candidates out there muttering criticisms of the current administration's failed economic growth efforts.  Are there none?  It wouldn't hurt to become vocal if there are.  Given the governors ratings in the polls it is obvious little work is being done in the Northern part of the state where her non policies are hurting people the most.

Misc.

Rep. Barney Frank is ending a decades long career in the House.  He was a champion of fiscal responsibility and gay rights.  He essentially said he was sick of the no compromise attitude that consumed the House.  I have always said that the one person most responsible for this mess was Newt Gingrich.  Frank said the same thing and singled him out as the main cause of the hateful atmosphere in DC.  And now the republicans have switched their allegiance to Gingrich in the latest GOP primary poll.  At least for this week.

Now the GOP and the Governor are New Mexico is starting a destructive approach in the current reapportionment lawsuits they have filed. They want a list of all communications between Democrats and Brian Sanderoff who was hired by the Legislative Council to work on designing new legislative and congressional districts.  He has carried out this task for almost thirty years with absolutely no indication of any favoritism.  They are doing nothing but trying to defame a respected Sanderoff and painting conspiracies where there are none.  What if they find more communications from email savvy republicans?  That would be funny. The Governor is nothing more than another Gingrich.

Albuquerque Journal Columnist Wynn Quigley wrote a good technical analysis this morning about energy subsidies and taxation.  His point I believe was that subsidies for renewable energy systems was really no different that oil and gas subsidies.  He said the economics favored oil and gas.  He is probably correct to a certain point, but he leaves out the most important issue.  That would be the fact that fossil fuels are killing our planet and the continued use of them are disastrous.  That makes the economic issues the least of our worries.

That Latin Mass

This is a picture of me in 1957 in front of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Albuquerque.  It is located at the intersection of Lomas and Morningside in Albuquerque.  At the time it was under construction and really was the nicest church in the city once it was completed.  At that time I was an altar boy.  We had to undergo instruction in rote memorization of the Latin responses to the priest during mass.  Also, a lot of training in the rituals of the Mass.  It was all pretty easy except for the meaningless latin recitations which most of us never really mastered.  Especially on cold winter mornings when we had to get  up at 5:45AM to bicycle over to the church for 6:30 mass.

Pretty soon the mass was changed to english  and it became more understandable even though we didn't pay much attention at that point.  My doubts on religion all started when we were celebrating May Day in our school, known as Heights Catholic School.  The class 'princess' was crowning the Virgin Mary statue when the ribbons and garland ignited into a conflagration after brushing one of the candles.  Some holy water was used to suppress the fire and the ritual proceeded though the crown looked pretty crummy.  I wondered how an all omnipotent god could let that happen.  The rest of my religious up bringing just started peeling off in onion like layers.  In fact the other day a friend and I started reading through an old Baltimore Catechism and were astounded we ever bought any of that stuff.  Go online and read it.  It is pretty funny.

Now I see that the church is retranslating the english verses in the mass to more closely follow the original Latin scripts.  Not so dramatic in the scheme of things the church has done.  Like the changing of the mortal sin of eating meat on Fridays or the admittance that there is no Limbo for little babies who die before being baptized.

Although I am not a believer any longer I will admit that the Catholic education, aside front the god stuff, did good for me in that I try to follow most of the acts of mercy that were enunciated by the church.  I liked Heights Catholic School and St. Pius X High School.  The one thing they did for me was teach me to read and I was a champion speller.  They pretty much failed to instruct me in anything more than simple arithmetic.

However, they inadvertently molded me into a progressive political person.  Now, they may regret that.

Misc.

Why would anyone stand in line in cold and snow at midnight to get into a store to buy stuff?  They are slaves to consumerism foisted on us by corporate America I guess.  Remember when the economy melted down in 2008 and President bush said that people just needed to go out and shop some more?  As if that was going to fix things when everyone was already in debt up to their lower lips.  I suppose some people get some fulfillment from buying stuff and apparently deals can be abundant.  It just seems over the top.

In my old double standard dilemma I do my consumer overspending from the comfort of my I-Mac.  Maybe I should join the social madness and get a little more exercise and combat training.  It might be good for me.  Who knows?

This is a picture of our daughter Noelle at Christmas time back in 1992 with our Christmas tree.   Now the big debate around here is whether to buy a new artificial Christmas tree.  Our old one was, well old.  The lights were not working and it was a labor intensive thing to put up.  A new one would have to be an easier one to haul out and set up.  Bobbi has been shopping around for a new one but they are pricey.  Since we may not be here for Christmas I suggested we wait for the last minute sales prices and get one for next year.  We still put up many other decorations. With few kids around this year I wonder if it is even necessary.  I probably won't win this argument.

Children

This is Emma, Anya, and Maya.  All children of family in and around these parts.  They kept Thanksgiving boisterous at our home.  Hide and Seek, shrieking, eating, going to the park and generally having a good time.  So much energy while eating teensy portions of the feast.  Why can't I be like that.

Looking for Turkey

Ajax our predator cat has pretty much chased off all the the pigeons that were hanging around the neighborhood.  His strolls around the perimeter of our roof everyday has been witnessed by the flocks that were starting to roost on a few houses around here.  They took one look at him and split for good last summer.  We are thankful for that.  So are our neighbors.  Now as Thanksgiving approaches maybe he is expecting a Turkey.

Let's see, what can we be thankful for this year.  Here are a few things.

1. Our kids are doing great.  Justin and his wife Karly sent  us video of our grandson Simon taking his first steps just before his first birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Noelle and her fiancé Lucas are gearing up for their wedding next May and have just bought a home in Fort Collins, Colorado.  It is good they are into snowshoeing.

2. We continued our great travels this year with our Spain, Portugal and France cruise.  We have now booked a river cruise next September between Moscow and St. Petersburg.  It will be different from a large cruise ship and we are looking forward to it.

3.  We are thankful for our continued good health.  With the exception of golf shoulder and golf elbow pain we are holding together pretty good.  Bobbi has a bum knee but will get that fixed up soon.  She still does five Jazzercise classes a week.  I play golf, lift weights, and spend time on the elliptical trainer.  I am still fat.

4.  We are thankful that ever so slightly people might be seeing some good in protecting our planet.  The Obama administration and Congress might not agree through their actions, but the media is starting to pay attention.

5. We are thankful that the 'Occupy' movement has not died a quick death.  Many say it is unfocused and rambling, but really the whole thing is about economic justice.  Next summer will be interesting if this group holds together that long.

Domenici Institute Says 'Go Fish'

I had asked Sara Patricolo of the Domenici Institute to provide the name of the 'private company' that donated $500,000 to the Institute.  She said she could not provide the information because the money is  held at another foundation.  That would be the NMSU Foundation.  One could only wonder why there is a shell game here where money for one group is held by another one.  Would it be to hide the name of the donor?  Is this money laundering?I will now contact the NMSU Foundation to find out who the donor is that seemingly wants to be invisible.

Misc.

Portales, New Mexico, self proclaimed peanut capital of the world, will erect a new sign to replace one taken out by a car accident. The humorous sign welcomes people with the statement, "Home of 12,000 people and four old grouches."  Now that the super committee has failed  its work and peanut subsidies are to be cut it might be 12,004 grouches.  The Feds have spent $80 million in peanut subsidies in the first six months of this year.  Much of it in New Mexico and Georgia.

The Albuquerque Journal said this morning that the State Congressional delegation was divided on the deficit fix.  Divided is a creative word here.  Since the score is really 4 members for raising taxes on the wealthy and one against it.  But that is the Journal's peculiar way of describing a land slide.  Congressman Steve Pearce, who represents Portales Peanut Farmers, says no to taxing the rich.

Governor Martinez got what she wanted in extending the casino lease at New Mexico Expo.  Golly, it is like she morphed into a pay to play politico in awarding her donors with a quick and fat contract to run a gambling operation.  How will she explain this?  I think this is one even the morning newspaper will have to question.

Deficit Failures

I hope  you read the blog from Saturday about the $10,000,000 in Defense Department funds that were handed over to the Domenici Institute at New Mexico State University.  And then reflect on the abject failure of the deficit super committee in Washington.  That failure was caused by republicans insisting on keeping the tax breaks for the rich from the bush administration in effect.  They seem to be living in another dimension where low taxes for the wealthy solves all woes.

This is all going to end very badly for our nation.  Soon, events will spiral out of control in the streets and pepper spray will be replaced with more lethal controls.

The Domenici Institute

On Saturday there was an article in the Albuquerque Journal about a local anti domestic violence organization losing its federal funding.  Enlace, a group that works on those issues as they affect immigrants, was recently the recipient of a national award for its excellence.  Keep this in mind for a moment.

Some time ago I was wondering aloud why the media has not looked into the funding of the Domenici Institute which is a partner with New Mexico State University and is housed on that campus.  After a few days of waiting on the Journal to look into it I decided to find out for myself.  I wrote an email to the Institute's program manager Sara Patricolo asking her about the funding sources.  She was very responsive. I received a reply after about a week.  Here is her explanation of the funding of the Domenici Institute.

"The Institute was the recipient of  a U.S. Department of Defense grant(awarded March 31, 2010) in the amount of $10,000,000 for a term from March 31, 2010 through September 30, 2014."

She also said a $500,000 grant was made from a "company" which she did not identify.    I had asked her to identify the source of any funds coming into the institute.  I can only assume it is from a fossil fuel based corporation because  of the work that the institute will carry out studying this polluting energy source.  I have asked her again to identify the mystery corporation.  Much of the institutes tasks will involve studies of the fossil fuels and uranium industries and their impact on our state.  How can we expect these studies to be independent if energy industry money is helping to fund them?  And is the defense department  mingling their funds with this work and why?

Some of the work the Institute will do is fine.  Its educational and mental health work can be positive.  However its investigation of health care reform effects seems a bit befuddling since reform hasn't really begun.  It is also peculiar that defense money will fund development of student programs to "advance free market and entrepreneurial models of economic development."  Does that mean working to cut regulation and public safety?  Who knows why Defense would think this is important?

These are valid questions that the main stream media should investigate since all of this effort ultimately costs New Mexico taxpayers.  New Mexico State University will use state tax dollars to fund overhead and other expenses.  It would be interesting to know how much former republican governor Garrey Carruthers is being paid to manage this program along with his other duties at NMSU.

Finally, think again about the small group, Enlace, that just had its funding pulled.  Think again about $10,000,000 being funneled by the Obama Defense Department, in the middle of a recession, to an institute built to honor a great supporter of the Defense and fossil fuel industries in New Mexico, former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici.  It all seems a little strange.  I will be asking for regular accountings of how all of this money is spent.

And to the media, you are all about transparency in government.  How about using your fervor on this strange expenditure of public money.