Bobble Heads

The group that wants a huge increase on the alcohol excise tax reminds me of those bobbleheads on a automobile dashboard.  They just keep nodding.  They think this can solve the state's fiscal problem.  Really, it is a silly notion.

First off, while alcohol no doubt costs society a huge amount of grief and money, right now it pales in significance to the addiction to oil and its effects on climate change.

So if we want to solve some state fiscal problems we just need to do a couple of common sense things.

1. Raise the gasoline tax 15 cents per gallon for the next five years.

2. Legalize marijuana sales and tax them for a hefty shot in the arm to state revenues.

3.  Okay, if we could do those two thing first, then raise the excise tax on booze.

Revelation

New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment.

Earthquakes?  Nope

Hurricanes?  Nope

Rising Sea Water? Nope

Tornados?  Hardly ever.

Biblical floods?  Not since dinosaurs sailed Noah's Ark.

What have you got to lose?  Move yourself and business to New Mexico and Live Longer and Better.

I have had a revelation, of the political kind.  Susana Martinez is actually trying to get some economic development in New Mexico.  It is a long term plan.  She is making sure  that  the fossil fuel boys get everything they want in New Mexico and elsewhere. Then,  climate change will force everyone with high salt water invading their space to consider a move to the Land of Enchantment.  Also, she figures we can get all those Oklahomans and Dakotans to relocate because of those fracking induced earthquakes.   And as those hurricanes and tropical storms spin up, well everyone on the Gulf Coast and Southern states might look more favorably on living in the high desert.

IRS

I sent off my third quarter estimated taxes to the IRS and State Tax and Revenue department today.  Bobbi and I pay a lot of taxes because we have good retirement income, no debt and no rental properties.  And so we pay.

I am willing to bet that we pay more taxes than Donald Trump, who says he is a billionaire.  Even Trump's supporters pay more taxes than their exalted and most likely insane candidate.  They are the quintessential suckers.  Everyone of them.

Sooner or later we will find out about Trumps taxes and charitable contributions.  But most likely it will be after the election.  He needs to hide that information for as long as possible.

Drug Court

I heard an interesting statistic today on my dog walking session.  In the wake of the unfathomable crime against that young girl we can be sure that the Legislature, City Councils and County Commissions will all rush towards unenforceable new laws.  Why not use some current capabilities?

Like the Drug Court.  In the Bernalillo County Judicial District there is a Drug Court.  Guess how many families are in that court?  Two.  Just two, or so I am told by someone who is familiar with the Court.   And why isn't Susana Martinez's Children, Youth and Families Department making any referrals to this court?

Can anyone in the media track down our hapless Governor and ask her?

An Opportunity

There is an opportunity in the resignation of State Economic Development Director John Barela.  I am not sure what that is, but something good could come out of his departure.  Maybe the business community could start pressuring the Governor for setting qualifications for the next Director.  Maybe they could insist she reach into successful businesses to see if they  could help write those qualifications.  Maybe look for track records of candidates?  Find someone that will be nonpartisan and able to reach consensus on where to steer New Mexico's economic future?  Stop relying on fossil fuels for instance.  They will be a minor part of things in the next 30 years as far as energy production goes.

A lot of this will fall to our business community with its odd and peculiar way of protecting the status quo.  I know they could do it if they tried.

Revenge Soup

We came back into ABQ today from a wonderful golf outing to Pendairies.  It was cool and foggy there last night after hard rains.  Otherworldly and beautiful.  Much in contrast with the horrific murder of that young girl this week.

And I get back to a gaggle of comments on my blog  promoting an atmosphere of revenge.  Kill those child murdering scumbags.  Yes, they are scumbags.  But how does killing them help.? Better they spend the rest of their lives in prison for sure, in general population I think, rather than solitary.

  Why do people think that executing criminals will stop them from this kind of drug addled insanity.  While they were committing this act did they stop and think, 'better not or I will be executed?'  But of course our right wing pols love this kind of infamous crime, right along with the local media who can milk this for the next six months.  They figure it is good for ratings and revenues.  The scene presented on the Journal website this a.m. of cameramen trying to get a picture of one of the killers was almost Keystone Cops.

Not long ago after the young Navajo girl was killed on the reservation, I don't recall the Governor or Mayor of Albuquerque wanting the death penalty for that  killer.  Was there a difference between the girls?  Mostly, that Navajo girls murder fell off the radar quickly.  I have a feeling this one will be around a lot longer.  Why?  Because it is close by?  Because she was a pretty little girl?  Could the media answer these questions.

One hapless commenter on the Journal website said this was Satan at his worst.  I would like to think it was God/Allah/etc.  at his worst.

More

Pendaries Golf

Killing

The Albuquerque Journal wants the state to start executing certain people again.  Kind of like they have executed fairness in Journalism.  They have fallen into the anger zone.  The editors and publisher are cheering for killing, when it is pretty much settled policy that capital punishment deters none of these crimes.  And, why is a police officer or child's life worth more than a working mom in a convenience store who gets  gunned down by a meth addict seeking money for their habit?  You see, the Journal thinks, like many ignorant citizens, that only some lives are important.

This state, under its current political leadership and right wing media, continues to pursue everything that  is wrong.  We are so out of step with progress that our future as a great place to live is in danger.

Misc.

The state budget continues the slide into the crapper as Governor Susana Martinez puts in photo op times as she voices no real solutions to the state's dire economic circumstances.

However, in another indication of the Governor and Mayor Berry's great economic strides forward, I saw an actual item on the opening of Albuquerque's first head lice clinic.  I don't think I dreamed it. I wish I had missed the item, because it just something that catches you flatfooted. Tell me I dreamed it.

Movido

Yeah, she finally resorted to the idea of killing people.  The Governor wants the death penalty back and will fight for it in the legislature.  She is appealing to those base supporters of hers who just might be wandering away into the wilderness of failed right wing policies.  Maybe this gets them back on the ranch.  Who knows?  But she is bucking the trend of the world, except her enemies in the middle east.  Most everyone else on the planet have long ago realized that the death penalty is silly.  Especially when incompetents like her self are in office and often execute innocent people because of power hungry prosecutors.  Oh, she was one of those!

Somehow, even this won't cover up her failures as an economic and government leader.  

Silliness

Native Americans and Hispanics fighting over 500 year old grievances in Santa Fe!  Some tribal and Hispanic activists and allies, including the Mayor there, seem to think those things are important.  These were battles fought by the ancestors of current folks who can't seem to understand that there are more important things to work on in the year 2016.  Most of the folks probably wouldn't even like their ancestors.  They were products of a different time.   Needlessly violent in nature and somewhat ignorant.  Two bit pols leading the fights to get attention off more important tasks.

Misc

We have been watching a lot of the Olympics around here.  What is so cool is the ethnic makeup of the American contingent.  My God!  Muslims, hispanics, white people, black people!  What  is Trump to do?

Played golf with a bunch of Lobbyists today who seem to think that the Legislature will force the Governor into some fiscal house cleaning that will include tax break rollbacks and other revenue enhancements.  Susana is losing control of her ability to trash state government.  Lets hope so.

Quote of the Month

From the new Woody Allen movie "Cafe Society",  'Live every day like its your last.  Eventually you will be right.'

Reminds me of  his famous quote, "Success is eighty percent showing up." Now that is something Governor Susana Martinez should consider.

While the Governor is in Texas

Brain Deader

If you have been watching that hilarious political satire, "Braindead", then you will realize that Trump, after his assassination suggestion on Hilary, had more than half his brain eaten by those alien brain bugs.

And after that comment, any republican elected official who sticks with Trump should also be assumed to be brain dead. 

Misc.

I don't like some of the things that PNM tries to do in its rate hearings.  But one thing I do admire them for is providing service with very little interruption.  Last night's power disruption due to a lightening strike has some folks apoplectic.  All I can say is that  they should be happy they don't live back east where power disruptions are routine and sometime disastrous.  When we lived in Virginia you could count on a power outage every four of five days.  Most were less than an hour, many were much longer and some times harmful.

My golfing group at the Albuquerque Country Club is made up of conservatives to liberals.  There is about a dozen of us that meet for Tuesday and Friday 10am Tee Times.  Of course, we never talk about politics.  Right?  But I have to say that we are all starting to agree on a few things.  Like raising the gasoline tax as a way of fixing our infrastructure.  Say 7 cents a gallon for three years running.  It would be reasonable.  Also, I don't see any of the republican members going out of their way to say anything positive about Trump.  But, these are educated old time GOP members.  One of them who originally said he would vote for Trump now says he won't vote in the presidential race.  I believe him. He was a combat veteran in Viet Nam.

Cue the Tumbleweeds

Corrections Corporation of America is pulling out of Grants, NM since federal prison populations are dropping.  That is $20 million in economic input into that boom bust uranium town of the 50's.  As cartoonist John Trevor of the Journal Editorial page said when I left as State Land Commissioner to head the BLM in DC for Bill Clinton,  "It is like seeing  your worst enemy drive your brand new car with no insurance right off a 1000 foot cliff".

I don't think that private corporations have any justification for running prisons.  They make profit from long prison sentences.  But  despite that it was one of the few places a decent paycheck could be had in the Grants region.  And our Governor, who hates federal largesse must be just pleased as punch in seeing this federally funded lockup disappear, leaving 300 New Mexicans unemployed.  Well, really, who knows what she thinks.  It is a mystery.

Soon, Grants will be a tumble weed infested ghost town with a few gas stations and Allsup's burrito counters.

Fantastical

GOP Land Commissioner wants our Congressional delegation to introduce a bill that  would try and get the federal government's publicly owned mineral rights under private land given to the state land office.  It would never happen, but it is one of those right wing fantasy dreams that is bandied about by the dying fossil fuel industry.

But aside from that.  Think for a moment what that would mean in New Mexico and specifically Albuquerque.  There are a lot of those mineral rights scattered around our metropolitan area, as in other developed urban areas.  Now think of the joy that you will have as a massive drilling rig shows up near your home, like around San Mateo and Central for instance.  Does that sound like a reasonable thing to you?  And of course our fundamentalist Dunn says  he wants to do this to increase dollars for education, which I assume means he will gladly lease the acreage under thousands of homes and businesses. And if you were really unlucky think of a compressor station and tank farm in your back yard.

Only a crackpot could figure this one up. Kind of on a level of Trump in attempting to get free p.r.

What Could Go Wrong

The Governor is still adamant about no tax increases or roll backs in face of a $600 million state budget deficit.

The University of New Mexico is sweating bullets on how their budget will be affected, while at the same time having a big deficit in the jock city known as Lobo Land.

New Mexico has just been rated as having the worse educational system in the country.

And belatedly, the Governor condemns Trump for dissing a Muslim mother after she lost a son to combat while he was serving as a US Army Captain.

Does the Governor have any common sense at all?  Or is she just the perfect example of an authoritarian automaton run by the corporate right wing?

Off to take the new puppy for a walk.