Cranes

This gaggle was hanging out on the riverbed in the Bosque this morning.  They were pretty unconcerned about nearby dogs and people who stopped to take a look.  At first I thought they were Blue Herons, but after going on the bird sites I am pretty sure they are Sand Hill Cranes.  Beautiful creatures.

Failure to Launch

Will the legislative session that begins on Tuesday be reminiscent of the famous first attempt by America to launch a satellite?  Remember that?

Will there be any sort of effort by legislators to do something innovative to light some economic fires in New Mexico?  Will a leader emerge to rally enough smart and caring legislators  in a bipartisan effort to get this state out of the pits of hell economically?  There has to be someone that can do it, right?

Or will we just watch silly efforts like the tax cuts given to corporate big shots that have done exactly zero in creating jobs?  Of course time will be spent by the Governor on her drivers license bigotry and other wedge issues.  But it will be at her own peril as I am sensing her fall in the polls as being real and possibly accelerating.  Even if the Journal tries to protect her in their daily editions.

Here is a fascinating story I heard.  When Jay McCleskey, the Gov's political rightwing advisor, heard  that a poll by the respected Research and Polling Inc. would show her with a 14% drop in favorability he immediately commissioned a poll that showed her still sailing high.  That poll was completed at 10pm in the evening and appeared in a Washington Post article less than eight hours later. This gave the Martinez supporters some leverage to have it included in the Journal story on the poll for Common Cause that Research and Polling conducted.

If I were the Journal I would stick with the guy that does their own polls.  His track record is second to none.

Amending the Laws of Robotics

Isaac Asimov came up with the famous laws for robotics.  A guy named Larry Hart and others on David Brin's blog commented a reworking of those laws to benefit mankind.  Here is what he came up with.  It is perfect really.

"First Law: A corporation may not harm a human being/human community/life-sustaining environment or by inaction allow a human being/community/life-sustaining environment to come to harm .

Second Law: A corporation must act to fulfil the mission for which it was incorporated to the extent that such action does not violate the First Law.

Third Law: A corporation must maximize its profits to the extent that such action does not violate the First or Second Laws."

The Cafeteria is Closed

I spent two thirds of my life while a student at UNM hanging out in the Aquinas Newman Center.  While I was already drifting away from religion I found it to be a great center of intellectual debate on all the issues in the 60s.  My friends hung out there.  They had a great little cafe where one could get breakfast and lunch pretty cheaply.  There was always a card game to be had and I fell in love with three or four good Catholic girls there.  The center was staffed by Dominican priests who seemed pretty darn liberal even in those days.

Now the Archdiocese of Santa Fe under the iron fist of Archbishop Sheehan has told the Dominicans they have six months to get the hell out of the parish, in so many words.  This came as a complete surprise to the 750 parishioners who attend services there.  A 'go screw yourself' moment from the rightwing Archbishop.

I asked one of my good friends who is active at the Newman Center what the reason was for this unilateral move from Sheehan.  Here is his quote.

 "His biggest concern is that we're "Cafeteria Catholics" because we don't campaign against abortion and even worse, we're Pope Francis Catholics. He's also mad that we let women speak from the pulpit."

Decisions

Should I continue working on my taxes or go play golf?  If only all of life's decisions were this easy.

Invisible

The Governor's latest favorability numbers are down.  Susana Martinez's vulnerability is up.  And her democratic challengers are invisible.  There is so much to do and so little time that one wonders why some of those folks aren't making a little more noise right now.  That noise could be heard even if the oblivious media won't help.

The only thing I have received from any of the candidates via email and phone calls are requests to become a delegate at the pre-primary nominating convention, or an appeal for money.  Sure that  has to be done.  But where is the social media and internet communications on the sorry state of our economy and dwindling hope under the leadership of the Martinez administration.

There are more than a few issues one could beat up on.

1. People moving out of New Mexico instead of moving in.
2. Our state's dismal economic status compared to our neighbors.
3. The failure of Susana's administration on helping lift children out of dangerous situations.
4. The lack of adequate training for the State Police which culminates in opening fire on a van full of children.
5. The obvious lack of a plan to deal with job development in NM.
6. The existence of a non state employee running the governor's office in the form of Jay McCleskey.
7. The failure of the Governor's tax cuts to do anything but enrich the rich.

The list could go on and on but these are some basic things the candidates should be screaming about.  The candidate in the primary who can intelligently and effectively debate these issues has my vote.  But they need to get off their butts and start doing so right now.

Misc.

Watching the Governor emote on the tragic school shooting in Roswell was nauseous.  I think she sincerely felt bad about it, but the only time we see this Governor is when she sets the stage.  Did anyone think to ask her about her NRA affiliations?  Well, maybe it is early for that but certainly she is going to have to defend her mutual admiration society status with those folks.  I wonder if she was carrying her gun at that news conference.  None of our reporters would think of that these days.

The internet service providers are about to have us by the throats.  A federal court decision yesterday guarantees higher prices and poorer services.  This country is already in the crapper for the quality of its internet speed and cost.  This will make it worse.  There is a solution and that is for the FCC to declare that internet providers are utilities.  Our congressional delegation better get to work on that and force the FCC to make that designation.

This is a comment I got on my blog yesterday from Vicki.  It is concise and true.

"The airport is just mirroring the lousy economic environment in Albuquerque.  Yesterday's newspaper had more depressing news about the economy here. The Four Hills shopping center is rapidly becoming a ghost town as we are losing Albertson's grocery store next month (along with 3 other Albertson's in ABQ), the United Artists' movie theater closed last month, even he Burger King is closing inn thos area.  Baillo's in Santa Fe is closing and so many restaurants are going under with this bad economy.  The rural arras are particularly devastated.  Governor Martinez, how are those tax credits thingies doing? "

Misc.

We are back from the visit to our kids and grandkids.  Our flights were cancelled at the last minute and we got an extra night with them.  Jet Blue was an experiment we probably won't repeat out of Albuquerque.  They couldn't get us out for two more days because of their problems so we had to pay for tickets on another airline and now I will spend hours on the phone trying to get a refund from Jet Blue.  I wish the media would look at Albuquerque's deteriorating air service.  Fewer flights, longer days and wait times, and much higher prices.

There were a few stories that caught my eye while out of town.  One was the arrests of former firemen and policemen who received bogus disability payments costing taxpayers millions.  The government swooped down on them quickly because they deserved it.  But stop and think for a moment, why was the same thing never done to the bankers and criminals who put our nation's economy in the crapper for the last six years.  They were thieves too. The  more you steal the more you can get away with it I suppose.  I hope those con artists, both wage earners and bonus divers go to prison for stealing.  If you rob an Allsup's convenience store clerk for $50 you will spend lots of time in jail.

I was happy to see the Albuquerque Journal finally do some work on the Governor's handler Jay McCleskey and his pimping for the casino operators at the NM Expo facilities.  His performance reminded me a little of Governor Christie's minions in his traffic terrorism against his political enemies.  The real difference is that Christie fired his minions when they were exposed. Christie is finished for sure though because you don't screw with commuters.

 I don't see the Martinez administration taking such striking personnel action.  I wonder why?  These political leaders always set the bar for their staffs.

Last Hugs

Only a couple hours left for hugs from grandma Bobbi. Then airport hell.

Christie

Watching this thing with Governor Christie is an awesome thing.  Stop and think about it.  He isn't in trouble for GOP rightwing policies.  He is in trouble for screwing with commuters.  So, he is not only messing with the unemployed and downtrodden, he is also messing with those who have jobs.

This will go down as one of the all time classic self inflicted demolitions of a political career.  Right up there with Nixon's resignation.  I can assure you if you crawled into Christie's head right now you would enter the 7th level of hell.  It would like being entering another dimension where there is no longer a sense of up and down.

History in the making.

Heinrich in Ascent

This article shows the quiet emergence of a man who will become a well known Senator.  Good news for New Mexico.

Lunch

Bobbi on duty with Finn while his mom went shopping.

Jim and Finn

My new grandson Finn Baca has an international name!  He is a really good natured baby at four months and is quite an observer of things around him.  

Red Eye

We flew the Jet Blue red eye into New York Wednesday at midnight on the heels of the polar vortex.  A visit to our new grandson, Finn, is in order.  Looking forward to seeing his brother Simon to have conversations in full sentences with him.

Last evening I had to marvel at the republicans in congress trying to pretend they care about poor people and the radical division of wealth in the USA.  You just know that Karl Rove and the other GOP manipulators have been studying their polls and know they must do some fancy footwork to show people they 'care'.  It is surreal.

Outside View

I got an interesting comment from a former New Mexican.  I thought I should put it on the main page.  I guess I like it because it agrees with me.

"Jeez, Jim.  I just read your blog.  Why are the Big Shots in the Roundhouse and the Mayor's Office so completely out of it?  Why are the people of NM just letting this all happen?  I remember hearing, when I first moved to NM, that there was some kind of a "Patron Hacienda Priest" syndrome in NM, where the people believe the leaders can't be challenged and must be allowed to make the decisions and do what's right for them, and maybe it will all trickle down.  I thought it must be horseshit.  But how come people won't fight back?  How come there aren't leaders who say (like Richardson did, really, even though he was a Patron Deluxe) "I am going to fight, really fight, for good jobs, good education, and a good future for our people"?  That graph last week showing how much the NM recovery was behind other Mountain states was revealing – even with all the oil and gas boom, the NM economy is in the trash.  I wish it was better in NM.  It is a state full of hardworking people, with great resources and a totally unique identity – it could be the southwest version of Vermont, which has 4.1 per cent unemployment right now.  Just get the "Made in New Mexico" thing going, quit relying on the Federal largesse alone, build up a stronger community.  Why are they cutting back on lottery college scholarships?  The state needs educated kids.  It is such a failure of leadership. " 

Economic News

Irate union workers in France have released their managers at a Good Year Tire plant after holding them hostage.  One wonders if this is something that would be more common in the future as workers feel the frustrations of ever increasing workloads and lower pay.  (French workers are sort of over the top though in their demands.)  It is just nice to see some civil disobedience.  Pretty soon it could spill over to consumers taking hostage CEOs in America's most villainous corporations.  Let's start with the airlines.

Home prices fell another 2.3% in the Albuquerque area.  Just another bang of the hammer into the nail sealing the coffin of Albuquerque's economy.  Meanwhile the Mayor and Governor concern them selves with non economic growth issues.  They do that because they  have absolutely no plans in operation to fix things.

The Senate passed another extension of unemployment benefits.  That is a pretty good indication that Albuquerque and our state continue to rely on federal dollars.  It is one more proof of the Governor's and Mayor's ineffectual leadership compared with the states around us.  Of course, the corporate media we depend upon says nothing that would harm the GOP.

Dunces

It is never-ending.  The far right went apoplectic when those trashy duck dynasty guys outed them selves as homophobes and extolled  sixteen as a good age for marriages for female.  The were pissed because they were criticized.  Free Speech they said should not result in their bearded reality show from being dissed.  (Even though their critics were just being into the free speech thing themselves.)

Now we find that a long time gun advocate and Guns and Ammo magazine columnist has been fired at the behest of the gun manufacturers for saying the U.S. Constitution doesn't mandate a lack of gun regulation.  He lost his job and the far right is being silent.  It is one of those sweet moments in time where the nut cases back themselves into a corner.

Native Intelligence

I  used the term 'Native Intelligence' yesterday in my post about Democratic Governor candidate Alan Webber.  I don't want to leave the impression that he is not intelligent, because he is.  That term, coined by former Albuquerque Journal political reporter David Steinberg some 25 years ago, refers to an understanding of the complexity of New Mexico's political make up.

And that make up is changing in some ways.  Yesterday I had a discussion with an astute observer who said they recently attended a meeting of the Santa Fe County Democrats.  Apparently the party up there is no longer a hispanic power center, but rather much more wide ranging with non hispanics pretty much in most of the official positions.  Of course, that doesn't mean the county is any less democratic.  It probably means it is more left of center.  Additionally, our extreme right wing republican governor enjoys the support of many of those hispanic democrats.  Otherwise she would not be the Governor.

So, will they support her again next year?  The northern part of the state has always been mired in poverty, but now it is more severe than ever.  Could a democrat go up there and take those votes?  I think they are there for the asking, but who can get them in the democratic party?  That is the real question.

Governor's Race

It is like everyone has been asleep and are now just awaking to the fact that the democrats in New Mexico will elect a candidate in about six months who will take on our right wing republican governor, Susana Martinez.  Her big accomplishment so far in four years is having a protective media that no longer does their job or, as in the case of the Albuquerque Journal, goes out of their way to keep her safe.

So the democrats will have to choose wisely in June.  I am beginning to think that no matter how much favor Martinez and her handler Jay McClesky get from the media, the abysmal economic meltdown in our state will make her more vulnerable that anyone thought.  But only the strongest candidate with a knowledge of New Mexico, a strong background of economic development and some experience in maneuvering our states multiple and sometimes weird constituencies can win this race.

I have said before that Lawrence Rael and Alan Webber were the ones that could win the primary election next June.  Now, I am beginning to see that Webber may not have the wide ranging native intelligence required to pull this off.  So, here is an idea at this late stage.  Maybe he should consider running for Lt. Governor.  It would help in that he would give a good financial backing to the Governor's and Lt. Governor's races by being on the team.  Rael, with his superior knowledge of New Mexico and Webber with his successful business background could mount a solid challenge next November.

Things can't remain quiet much longer.  Since the media are incapable of dealing with current economic issues the candidates are going to need to innovate ways of getting out their message.  It can't wait.

Left of Center Mostly

It should be no surprise to anyone that I am left of center.  But not so far left that I fall into extremes.  For example, I am disgusted with the amount of people in this country claiming Social Security disability, and I am tired of the government giving them benefits for the rest of their lives.  That is killing the real safety net for senior citizens.  This has to stop.

Although I hate assault rifles and concealed weapons, I don't object to guns for sport and home protection.  The far left would gather up every gun in the nation and melt them down, but of course you would never get them all and the whole process would be a joke.  You could pass effective laws on military style weapons and the repeal of concealed weapons would be possible if lawmakers were reasonable.

And,  12 months of unemployment benefits should be a top limit.  Sadly, many people will not find the kind of job they used to have or will they be able to stay in their field.  Sometimes, you just have to start over and a year is probably enough time to do that.

The one place where I might be called an extremist is in the area of people's religious dogma messing around in government and my life.  A New York Times piece today suggests that the republican party is falling deeper into the abyss of religious fundamentalism.  The good news is that in 20 or so years those fundamentalists will mostly be in 'heaven'.  So will the GOP if they don't cast a wider net.  It is truly amazing to watch a one time respected party melted down by extremist dogma.

Happy New Year!