Stomp the Worker

City Councillor Pat Davis is calling for support to squash Mayor Richard Berry's support for a bill introduced by his GOP handlers in the Legislature that  would lower Albuquerque's Minimum Wage.

I have been mostly a critic of Berry for his inability to handle tricky issues like APD's shooting sprees and hiring weak leaders for the department.  I think he is somewhat lost on many issues that require a Mayor's touch.  But, I had never really suspected that he would do something that could harm those people who work hard for minimum wages.  How does he think this helps our city?  While most jurisdictions debate raising the minimum wage, our Mayor supports lowering it.

We pretty much know who pulls the Mayor's strings.  The business community, the right wing GOP, the editor of the Albuquerque Journal, and his own Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry.  One might think they have no consciences.

Quite frankly, if New Mexico doesn't start electing some smart and compassionate leaders it is doomed to the cellar in terms of decency and prosperity.

Another Fall

The Land of enchantment used to be higher rated as a place for retired people to live.  This latest Kiplinger report has us at 3rd worse place for retirees in the nation.  Another Susana Martinez failure.  She dropped taxes for corporations, but not the elderly.  Click on the graphic to make it larger.

Pants on Fire

Is the New Mexico State Police Chief a liar?  Chief Pete Kassetas lashed out at a critic of Mayor Berry's plan to rehire police officers who retired and let them keep their pensions during a legislative committee hearing.  He said his department was not fully staffed.  But this letter says otherwise just a few months ago, and he had graduated a new academy class since then.  Apparently someone is not truthful here and could it be a GOP mandated lie to help a republican Mayor Berry get his legislation passed?   And, is this all an effort to weaken the Public Employees Retirement Association permanent fund so that future legislators can try and gut public employee pensions?

Susana's Legacy

Of course all of this isn't Susana's fault.  She didn't cause the great recession.  But in the six years in office she hasn't done anything to show she is working to improve things.  (This graphic appeared in the Journal this morning.  Their graphics person is very good.)

Take for instance the Coca Cola plant in Portales, NM.  It has been there since I was a kid.  We used to look on the bottom of the bottles of coke to see if they were from Portales.  Coke would do that to show you where it came from.  Has Susana been over there to chat with her supportive base to ask what she can do to help those 60 laid off employees?  Has she called Coca Cola and asked for a reprieve?  

Rainy Day

Many lawmakers in Santa Fe have always called the State Permanent fund, valued somewhere north of $13 billion, a 'rainy day fund.'  That was always the reason they gave for never wanting to pull more money out of it to use on improving education.

The rainy day is here with the admission that new money this year in Susana Martinez's disastrous economic meltdown amount to only $30 million.  Huge shortfalls have occurred because of oil prices sinking to new lows and the Governor and Legislature giving tax breaks to the richest.  Her long time support of the fossil fuel boys has done nothing but help them on bad environmental decisions and continued kid glove treatment.  Her antigovernment stands have hurt government jobs, at all levels.  She continues to be silent on the continued job losses and falling population in the Land of Enchantment.  To be fair, the legislature deserves some of this criticism too.

Now, it is time to tap in to that Permanent fund to help education and job creation.  No time to waste. Will the Governor and Legislature deal with reality?  Or will they continue to dick around on unimportant issues like drivers licenses.  It is time to take names.

Heavenly Father

Bundy and his gang in Oregon were apparently caught with their special Mormon underwear down as they traveled to a meeting near their militia clown posse headquarters.  One of them who professed he would fight to the death got what he wanted.  The others were arrested.  This whole thing happened because the  Mormon Bundy family said that god wanted them to do this whole occupation thing.  Looks like 'Heavenly Father' changed his mind.

Apparently their deity decided that Teddy Roosevelt's dream of an America with abundant public lands was a mistake.  He even told them to take up assault rifles to threaten wild life biologists and scientists at the Wild Life Refuge they invaded.  Just another weird religious sect I suppose, but dangerous when mixed with weapons.

Sounds of Silence--Updated

So, we have incarcerated hundreds of children at Holloman, Air Force Base in Alamogordo.  These central American children, yes children, have travelled thousands of miles on their own to find a better life.  Think of your middle school kids doing that.  Talk about desperation and courage.  And yet, has the Governor or a group of legislators said, "Let's go down there and make sure these kids have what they need?  Surely someone in Santa Fe ought to take a look at the situation from merely a parental view.  But the Sounds of Silence rage.

Update....It appears that the Health and Human services people are handling this well.  This story was just posted on the web.  

Silence emanates from the 4th floor of the Capitol building in Santa Fe in the wake of Sprint's summary firing of 400 New Mexicans from their jobs in Rio Rancho.  Two weeks notice with a go screw yourself attitude.  But, lets face it, that is corporate America's approach to it's employees.  But, government leaders should say something and it is silence we are greeted with by Susana Martinez and the economic development team in Santa Fe.

The only noise being made is on drivers licenses for undocumented workers who fix your roofs, clean  your houses and mow the yard.

MISC.

Sprint put another finger in the eye of the region's economy by their late Friday afternoon announcement that 400 New Mexicans lost their jobs.  That late PM announcement is always done before a weekend in order to lessen the media attention over Saturday and Sunday.  It is corporate America at its worse and if I had a Sprint phone I would dump  them.  And of course, where was the Governor and her minions as this happened?  Were there any entreaties from them to reconsider?  Did the Governor hop in the jet to go to Sprint HQ and camp out in the lobby  to get them to give a reprieve? Hell no, she sold the Jet and she doesn't give a shit.  She is busy with divisive and unimportant issues like driver's licenses.

And when will Mayor Berry and the media start paying attention to the upcoming franchise renewal for Comcast to provide services to this city?  Will anyone pay attention to the way this Corporate monster treats the population on internet prices?  What kind of sweetheart deal has been done to keep this in stealth mode?  Will anyone ask?  Where is the Journal on this?  Maybe a business reporter could do some comparisons around the west to see how we are faring in this non competitive market.

Science

Quigley's front page column in the Journal this morning laments the lost of luster in the pursuit of pure science.  It is a thoughtful piece.  Meanwhile, his newspaper's editor banished the new science facts on global warming to the third page.  This new report from  world scientists is ominous, but true to the fossil fuel boys the Journal, unlike just about every other daily newspaper, thinks that it doesn't deserve above the fold front page position.

It is pretty evident that the powers at be at the Journal fall into the group of American corporate leaders that think science is only good when it supports profits.

The continuing saga of the lead poisoned water in Flynt, Michigan is a perfect example of corporate funded pols, like the Governor there, denying science in the favor of saving tax dollars.  And now, all Americans have to pick up the tab for this SOB's corporate thinking.   They should take money from him personally until he is digging ditches.

Magnificent Obsession

The Editor of the Albuquerque Journal is on a mission to destroy the Albuquerque Public Schools, the few remaining construction jobs in the area, and the chance for replacing crumbling school infrastructure in our school system.

The Journal did more front page yammering on the schools recently than they did on the Governor's misuse of power in dealing with law enforcement officials investigating her infamous peeeetza party. The Journal Editor has decided the half billion dollar bond issue aimed at giving kids a better learning environment needs to fail for some odd and unknown reason.  It is a magnificent obsession for sure.

And one can only wonder what those few construction workers and companies who remain in Mayor Berry's crumbling economy can think about this newspaper's attempted gutting of a stimulus of school reconstruction.  Will they weigh in?  Will our horrible Chamber of Commerce say something in a sustained and positive manner?  Do they even give a damn about our students?  The silence is deafening.

Reality

Here is the reality.  There is not much the Governor or Mayors can do to staunch the slide of oil and gas revenues into the state.  That includes the royalties which are a payment for  the actual oil or gas taken from public and trust lands.  Prices are totally out of their control and are set by world events.

But what can be done is some serious work on economic development other than new taprooms and donut chains.  And still, there is nothing being done in the way of investment in the basics by these leaders.  Mostly I am thinking about higher education and access to it.

Last night on Channel 13 most of the news was about Donald Trump and drivers licenses.  But there was one short meaningful story about a bill in the legislature that  would redirect funds from alcohol taxes away from student lottery scholarships.  This is the dumbest damn thing that  could happen.  It would force more kids out of universities.  This is incomprehensible from the standpoint of building a diversified economy.   Of course, a republican is behind this.  Rep. Jason Harper wants the money sent back to fighting DUI in NM.  But, lets face it.  The  payoff on keeping kids in school is much better that the typical GOP flag waving on fighting crime.  For them spreading fear trumps higher education every time.

Sunshine

Back in the sunshine after a cloudy five days in upstate New York with the grandkids.  The kids were great but gray skies are not good for us New Mexicans.

Secretary of State Diana Duran is out of jail and will pass into the care of probation officers.  One can argue her punishment was light, but I think since her career is pretty much down the crapper and she has to humiliate her self in giving speeches about her corruption then she is paying a debt.

But wait, I hear that former SOS Rebecca Vigil Giron is trying to run for that office again.  Her career was over too, wasn't it?  After millions went missing in a federal program under her control, she was lucky to have had an incompetent AG investigative team never get a case together on her.  The one thing that comes to mind is the definition of the word, 'delusional'.

And, our  Albuquerque Journal managed to compare environmentalists to the assault rifle armed militia at the wildlife refuge in Oregon.  The usually solid Wynn Quigley let a former BLM manager who now is the head of the NM Oil and Gas Association make that comparison, with no pushback.  Mission Accomplished from that former public employee who accepted this job seconds after retiring from the BLM.  He had been head of the BLM in the Farmington area, which includes all the oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin.

All Inside

I don't know how they do without sunshine on the East Coast. All soccer practice for our grandsons are inside giant structures. But it is very nice.

Misc.

President Obama's speech last night really took those tea party congressional reps to the wood shed.  They probably didn't even get it.  The only thing that will save us from those folks is true reapportionment at the next census.  And a Supreme Court that will decide that entities created on paper aren't really persons.

After 100 years of not saying anything about public labor unions being able to collect dues from non members, it looks like that Court will deal another blow to the working men and women of this country.  This is where corporate personhood has gotten us.  The dam will break soon.

We are sick of the cold.  So we are off to upstate New York to visit our son and his family, just as  their first snows of the winter hit after having balmy weather there while we froze.  So we decided to also go down to Puerto Vallarta in February and hope that some freak El Nino event doesn't make it cold there.

Cue Card

Governor Susana Martinez recently showed the reason for her reluctance in holding open news conferences.  I am told she performed poorly at the recent Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce luncheon.  As she prepared to speak she opened a file folder before her, and there was no speech in front of her.  She was lost and stumbled around for a full minute before asking her staff if anyone had a copy of that speech.  Someone came forward and gave her a copy which she then read verbatim and never got a round of applause during her oration.

Then, at the question and answer panel session, every time she was asked a question she would pause a moment to look through some three by five cards for the answer.  It was obvious all of the questions had to be submitted to her staff before the function to be vetted.  This process speaks volumes about her ability to think on her feet and show she is on top of things.  It is also embarrassing for the Chamber to have to submit for pre approval such questions.  Even worse is, they did so.

At the end of the day our Governor is a coward.  She is scared to death of showing to the citizens her lack of depth and ignorance on the most basic of issues other that immigrant drivers licenses.  She will become a legend, right up there with Sarah Palin.

Shortfall

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, who admittedly  has a difficult job, has decided to throw his lot in with the peeeetza lady, also know as Governor Susana.  Let me explain.

Susana pushed through legislation giving her corporate buddies a big tax break a few years ago.  It was paid for by screwing the cities and others out of revenues from the state that were to make up for lost income from taking the gross receipts tax off food and medicine.

And now, our cities are hurting with Albuquerque facing a $10,000,000 shortfall. And this will only get worse in the coming years.  And yet this Mayor has done absolutely noting in pushing back against the Governor on this rape of the cities.  He would rather be known as a guy who didn't upset the GOP apple cart.  Because of this he will leave the city in a couple of years in dire straights.  TSK TSK!  A Mayor should at least put up a fight for his city.

ODD

Let's see, there is a shortage of life saving vaccines for babies in New Mexico.  Certainly  there can be no excuse what so ever from state officials.  But of course there is no comment from the Governor of our state.  "Let them eat Peeeetza!"

And then there is a great shortage of public information emanating from the Albuquerque Police Department where it seems a favorite pastime is culling important facts from requests for information from the press and public.  "Let them eat Puff!."   Which the media is doing by not asking more questions from the Mayor on why this is happening.

On a serious note we had some interactions with the beat cops from APD recently after we found Dave Miller dead from heart problems lin his home.  These officers, a female and male, were so very professional and caring after what we had been through.  We thank them.

Bundy Welfare

This graphic says it all about the criminals in Oregon occupying the Wildlife Refuge.  I have never understood during my entire public land career why we put up with this.  Every President and Interior Secretary have failed us on this.

Silliness

Many of our legislators, mostly GOP types, are once again taking up the banner of harsher DUI laws. It is silly.  The problem is the laws we have on the books are falling victim to a broken criminal justice system that dismisses way too many DUI cases before they even go to trial.  The underfunding of the DA Offices, Police Departments,  and other involved agencies lead to the abysmal conviction rate of drunk drivers.  And it is the GOP and Governor who want to continue to kill agency funding while things just get worse.

As for more silliness during the New Year, the News Media has been in spitting distance of the Governor numerous times over the holidays and failed to take advantage of the situation by asking some really important questions relating to economic conditions, and her plans for stimulating job growth.  I have never, ever, seen such a worthless journalistic wasteland in New Mexico as we now have.  It is pathetic.  The media should be demanding weekly open mic news conferences with the Governor and her Cabinet Secretaries.  Has there ever been such a news conference?  No.

In some ways the Governor is like those yahoo cowboys who occupied government offices at a wildlife refuge in Oregon but had no real idea of what they hoped to accomplish.  She has done the same thing in the Capitol Building 4th floor in Santa Fe.

Bundied

The extreme right wing defenders of free stuff from the government for them, and them only, have banded and bundied together again to threaten public land employees by taking over citizen owned federal public land facilities in Oregon.  These militia wackos are truly dangerous and armed to the teeth.  They are tweeting they will kill this time and be killed.  They are a multiplied Clive Bundy, a cowboy who wants  your public land for himself.

The United States has shown its wisdom since the time of Teddy Roosevelt on the dream that some lands belong to all of  us.  These assholes in cowboy boots toting assault and sniper rifles want to steal the land from the rest of us.

The Feds have to surround them and contain them for the dangerous terrorists that they are.  As a former Director of the Bureau of Land Management in Washington I can tell  you these people are really dangerous.  They  are uneducated, mostly white, NRA extremists, and corporate welfare recipients who want  you to think they are really John Wayne.  They have come in different flavors over the years.  They called themselves "The Sagebrush Rebellion", "People for the West, "  the Wise Use Movement",  and now they are just plain violent people.  Did I say they are dangerous?