Naysayers

The city has let out a planning contract for looking at the possibility of building a new arena complex downtown. This photo is of the old Civic Auditorium near old St. Joseph's Hospital.I remember I was in the place one night with my dad at the boxing matches when it was announced the Russians had just orbited Sputnik. No one quite knew what a satellite was.

The naysayers are already at it in the local newspapers saying a new arena is all a waste of money. Why, because it might not make a profit. If we follow that thread a little more, here are other things that don't make a profit for cities. Libraries, senior citizen centers, parks, community centers, summer day camps, after school activities......well, you can see where we would be if all we concerned ourselves with was what made a profit.

I am not sure any arena can make a profit, although the Isotopes park is certainly doing so. Maybe the best we can hope for in an arena is a small subsidy or break even situation. If we are going to be all that this city should be then we need a multi purpose arena for everything from music events to indoor football games. This is the kind of thing that great cities do. We did it once before in 1957 when Albuquerque opened its Civic Auditorium. It was torn down 30 years later and it is time to build a new one.

Ouch

So, this is an awful self made photo of my face fixing. Don't let it scare you. It will get rid of the precancers on my face, or so I am told. It is an ordeal but it will be pretty much over in about three weeks.

It is somewhat uncomfortable but endurable. The cream I have to put on my face twice a day essentially will eat away all the sun damaged areas before it erodes the good cells, which as you can see are a minor part of my face. Just four more days of applications and then it will start healing, but will actually look worse for a week or two.

I am putting this gross thing on the blog to encourage others to get checked for these precancers. They are common, especially at this altitude with lots of ultra violet rays shooting around. Melanoma is not good

Another George's Idiocy Resulted in this Document

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

An Honest Republican

Thomas B. Evans, Jr. is a former U.S. representative from Delaware and former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. I wonder how long he would last down in Steve Pearce's oil patch because of his honesty and frank words. Here is what he has to say.

Red Meat

Bobbi took one look at my face this morning and said it looked like I had smallpox. I would describe it more as a finely marbled steak. My skin treatments to eradicate pre-cancers are kicking in big time. I feel like if I sneeze my whole face will end up on the floor. So if you see me, don't run away but do cover your children's eyes.

Speaking of red meat, I think there may be some available to use against republican Senate candidate Steve Pearce, New Mexico's own version of Atilla the Hun. Pearce's philosophy of pillage is right up there with Atilla's, although Pearce isn't bringing any lasting cultural progress as Atilla actually did.

Pearce is insisting that more lands be made available for leasing for oil and gas. Now remember, there are already 35 million acres of public land that are already leased in the Western U.S. but have never been developed.(Does Pearce have any interests in these leases?) So, what is going on here. Simple really, its greed. Just like bush's friends in the oil industry getting leases in Iraq over the deaths of so many young Americans and Iraqi citizens. Just six more months of these people running things. Can we outlast them?

Justin and Friends Save the World

Our son Justin graduated with his Master Degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University this week.  He talked often about a class in climate change studies.  Now, it will be up to him and his bright young friends to fix our energy, environment and climate woes by working for sensible policy in this country.  It will be a great boost to them that a new administration will be in place in six months.

Justin has accepted a job in Washington, DC with the Solar Energy Industries Association.  Justin has made a great landing in the right place.  He and his wife Karly, also a holder of a Masters degree in Social Work will be moving from Syracuse to the DC area in a few weeks.

Vet Plates

This was the scene outside the Rio Grande Blvd. Starbucks today. I have been seeing more and more cars with veterans plates on them, which this truck had, that are showing their intentions.(I didn't want to show the full license to protect the truck owner.) That should infuse a burning sensation in the guts of republicans this fall.

My brother Tom is a retired Army officer and he often gets together with other veterans who were Helicopter pilots in Viet Nam. I listen in. Five years ago they all, except for my brother, were bush supporters. Recently, all they can do when bush comes up in conversation is shake their heads, look at their shoes and then change the subject.

My weekend hiking buddy and I were into our three mile walk on Saturday when we decided to try and think of one thing that bush/cheney did right. I couldn't think of anything and my friend thought they did fine for the first six months after 9-11. Then it all went bad and stayed that way.


When you see scenes like the one above you realize it truly is sinking in to the general public. This inset was part of the plate where this Veteran added an additional editorial comment.

Divine Justice

You just gotta laugh sometimes. About ten years ago as Mayor I was working my self to death in trying to pass a transportation tax that would fund street improvements in older parts of the city and expand the bus system. My biggest opponents were the right wing city councilors, like Greg Payne and Mike McEntee. They and the republican party did everything could to defeat the proposition at the polls by saying putting any money into bus infrastructure was a waste. We passed the 1/4 cent tax by 750 votes and I took a political beating. The tax, thanks to Greg Payne, was to sunset in 10 years.

Flash forward ten years. Bad Boy Greg Payne was hired by Marty Chavez to run the transit system. Now he is out seeking support to continue the tax because of the great things it has done for transit in this city. (He and Marty take all the credit for that.) I have thought Payne has done an okay job, much to my surprise.

In the meantime, Marty dropped a 1/8 cent tax in times of trouble for city finances so he could look good to the right wingers prior to running for Senate. We all know it didn't do him any good as he was humiliated in the first opinion polls on the race and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee told him to get lost in favor of Tom Udall.

I do feel this tax needs to be extended and a larger portion of it put into transit services. Currently only 20% of the tax goes for transit. We had wanted that share to increase every year until in reached 50%. The republican councilors back then, think Payne again, put 80% of it into roads, much of it siphoned off I suspect to new construction for developers. No one in the media seems willing to look into how the money was really spent. Still, the tax has had a positive effect on our city's transportation infrastructure needs.

The Gun Ruling and My Face

Every elected official or candidate in the country seems to be issuing statements saying one thing or another about the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling on the DC handgun ban. First off, before the NRA armed lobbyists come looking for me, I was really not that disappointed on the ruling. I would have been if it had allowed everyone a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons or assault rifles. I own firearms and don't think any ruling by a Supreme Court would be effective in lessening the amount of handguns or sporting guns. There are a gazillion of them out there and we can see how ineffective any controls would be by just looking at Iraq. That place has a hell of a lot more guns since bus\cheney went in there to make the place peaceful.

I am still trying to figure out why the NRA thinks it is a good idea to let people carry loaded weapons under their coats into movies and churches. I still marvel how the New Mexico Legislature, under the guidance of now vanquished State Senator Shannon Robinson, passed a concealed weapon law but made it illegal to carry them into the Capitol building. I guess they wanted protection from someone who might go postal, but it was okay if weapons went into the showing of a kid's movie.

I am starting a treatment to essentially dissolve my face so precancerous thingies will disappear. Apparently in about two weeks I will be the color of a lobster, but not as good looking as one. All those years of golf induced sunburns have caught up to me. Things could be worse.

Matt

This guy has gotten more done in International relations than bush/cheney have done in eight years. Of course, bush/cheney did lots of bad things. Governor Richardson, you should appoint him ambassador at large if you take over the State Department. Thanks to my daughter Noelle for sending it to me.

Stop It with the Casinos!

I did not attend the big event last night to honor all of the living Democratic Governors which raised money for the Democratic Party. I have made it a policy not to attend any fund raiser that is held at a Casino. The reasons are simple, I don't want to be gassed by cigarette smoke. I don't think it is generally good policy for so many Democrats and party officials to be in Casinos because it looks like they condone gambling. I don't like fighting the parking lots and crowds of soon to be poverty stricken 'players'.

I am not a prude and I have been known to feed the slots once in a while. Overall, however it is just a bad image for the politicians to hang out in these places. Sooner or later someone will start asking if favors have been done.

And besides, the party bosses should realize that if I do go to a casino for a fund raiser some of my political donation budget might disappear into the maws of the slots.

County Commissions

All over the western U.S. County Commissions seem to be amongst the biggest obstacles to public land reform. I am talking about Wilderness designations, watershed protections and landscape conservation. Many rural commissions are run by exploiters of public lands, like livestock operators, oil and gas businessmen and mining interests.

A case in point in obstruction is wolf protection. By a large margin a recent poll showed most people really want those critters in the wild. The reaction of the Catron County Commission was that essentially, "people are stupid" and it is only an opinion anyway. Well opinions are what people believe and they do believe by a large majority that the wolf introduction program is worthy of continuance.

Now, switch over to the Commissioners in Lincoln county. These folks, many who are involved in one way or another with the economic well being of Ruidoso and its beautiful surroundings, just voted to support reform of the 1872 mining law. That law was passed when Grant was President and he may have rolled over a little in his grave when this Republican Commission opted to reform this outrageous law. These Commissioners have seen the future of the west and know protection of their landscapes and the good economies they engender are the right thing to do.

Most rural counties depend on public lands for their resources of forage and minerals. Currently they are losing population and their economies are hurting because they are still in a boom and bust mode. Their big hope is to cash in on the beauty of the land and its watersheds for tourism. That takes some protections. Let's hope the Commissioners see the light!

Uniformed Politics

I don't watch much local TV News anymore since I don't need to hear about grown women having sex with 13 year old boys, nor do I need to see anything with flames in it unless it is threatening lives, nor do I need to see a uniformed law enforcement officer running for congress and using his position to get free publicity. I am talking about Darren White, the george bush pick for a congressional seat in this district.

While serious crimes are being committed it could be argued that the Sheriff is pursuing crimes not for their importance but for their P.R. value and the chance it will make the 6PM news. Case in point is the Sheriff doing a news conference about finding 60 fighting roosters. Of course the local media obliged him even though much more serious crime occurred on the same day.

Apparently the Sheriff's handlers, think Karl Rove types, have gotten him to start wearing suits at his news conferences, but that doesn't lessen the fact that he is the chief law enforcement officer for Bernalillo County and that his job is more important than getting 40 seconds on the news.

I think the Sheriff needs to step down from his position, or at least let the under sheriff run the show until this campaign is over. We don't want real criminals skating while the Sheriff goes after more chickens..

Bad Acts

A Federal District Judge has said that prior 'bad acts' can be considered in the trial of Senator Manny Aragon etal. in the Metro Court Scandal. One of the key players in that affair was Mayor Martin Chavez' friend, Architect Marc Schiff. If those bad acts are considered, one of them should be the whole process around the design and execution of the construction of the Albuquerque Balloon Museum. I got a rather long letter from a long time employee of the city who laid out some incredible actions that were taken on that project. Here is an excerpt.

"When Marty came back after Jim Baca’s term, it was open humor around City Hall that “Marc(Schiff) got back his key to City Hall.
Here’s how it works, if you have an unethical architect.
It’s best to start with an architecturally naïve client.
(This describes the majority of clients and the Balloon
Museum board was certainly that in spades.) Pay little
attention to program. This, many experienced clients and
good architects will argue, is perhaps the most important
part of any successful project. (The Balloon Museum board
had no experience here, and largely rejected or ignored
things I and others suggested. They were ripe for the
pickings."

Funny

I am busy today, but this is funny.

Good Analysis

I like to read this blog from an ex-pat living in England. Today she had a great analysis.

Domenici Screws New Mexico and the World

I have had it with our departing U.S. Senator.  He once again voted against us to protect his oil and gas buddies.  He voted no on extending tax credits for the renewable energy industry.  This hurts New Mexico and it hurts the efforts at cooling our climate.  Domenici tries to explain it away as saying it would increase taxes on other industries.   What he really means is the profit gouging oil companies who are receiving tax subsidies right now!

Call Domenici's office and give them hell for endangering New Mexico's emerging renewable energy industry.   It is time to be angry with him.

Real Issues

It is like a breath of fresh air. Our presidential candidates are talking about foreign policy! The media is covering it tonight. It is not covering who you would rather have a beer with or who looks good in Spandex. This is really a hopeful sign that, just maybe, the broadcast journalists may redeem them selves. I have had a glass of wine. Maybe everything just looks better. How will it all sort out in the morning?

Sacrifices

I see that the Albuquerque City Council folded to a few neighborhood representatives last night and said no to a high density condo project in a near downtown area. It is a shame. Now the people that could have lived close to work and public transportation will stay commuting in their cars adding to global warming. I am sure the project could be tweaked a little or scaled back, but once again the good of all takes second to a few.

Yes, it would have required some form of sacrifice for the people in the neighborhood to allow this development. Maybe, that sacrifice wouldn't be needed if this country were not in an unparalleled energy meltdown and global warming situation. But we are in a mess and all of us have to give a little for the good of everyone. This is one small example of where that hasn't happened. The city council is supposed provide leadership on this kind of thing, and they fell far short of doing so. Tsk Tsk.

This is the same city council that hasn't provided much leadership on waste at city hall. One thing you probably have noticed is the giant SUVs that our police officers are now driving around town. Was this a decision that was made by Marty Chavez or the Chief? How much will fuel costs soar because of placing these behemoths (think macho man) into service instead of backing down a little to smaller and more traditional cruisers? Some one in the media ought to look at that one!

Erik in Hawaii

Many people involved in Albuquerque Municipal Government will remember Erik Pfeiffer who served as City Economic Development director for many years. Erik has been a friend of mine ever since he first showed up to help in my Land Commissioner race in 1982. He was a numbers guy who could always let you know where your votes could be obtained.

Erik retired from City Government at the end of my Mayoral term. Some of the biggest employers in Albuquerque were assisted in locating here by Erik and his hard work. He labored tirelessly to get Eclipse Aviation here and I think that is a feather in his hat. Anyway, Erik and his French Wife Canoe went to live in Mexico for a few years. They bought a big boat and lived well. Then they up and moved to Hawaii, the big Island.

Erik is funny because he just can't totally leave New Mexico and Albuquerque politics behind. He always finds time to call me about the latest news. This weekend it was about Marty Chavez firing his Chief Administrative Officer, Bruce Perleman. Erik wanted to talk details but I knew very little about what happened. I am surprised anyone could last as long as Perleman did with Marty. They Mayor is going through a lot of CAO's. What is that all about, really?

The new CAO is Ed Adams. He was they guy I picked to build the Albuquerque Isotopes Stadium project before I left as Mayor. He oversaw the whole process for the city and brought it in on time and on budget. He then put Marty Chavez' name on it even though Marty had nothing to do with it. It showed me he was learning how to please Chavez early. It still upsets me, but he is a good administrator. That makes me wonder how long he can survive in the CAO position. I give him 10 months max.

Meanwhile, Erik swims a mile every day and throws coconuts into the Pacific for his dog to chase. Sounds like a good life to me!

Funny Card & True

Noelle is visiting for the weekend.  She came in from a 7 mile run and presented me with my Father's Day Card.  It is funny and true!  Click to read it.

Cactus

We have a cactus that I planted two years ago in the front yard. It had three petals on it. Now it has over a hundred and this year it decided to bloom. I whipped out the Nikon and racked it for a macro shot of a bloom. A honey bee came by to swim in its nectar. Click on it for a closeup!

Hooray for PNM--So Far

Public Service Company of New Mexico has told the knuckleheads who want to burn our Pinon trees to generate electricity that they are no longer interested in purchasing that power. That company, Western Water and Power Production Inc., had not been able to get financing so far for their tree burning generating plant in Torrance County. This scheme was enabled by State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons giving out a no bid contract to harvest the trees from state land. Let's hope PNM sticks with this decision. I pay an extra $10 a month for their wind generated electricity. It would seem to be counterproductive to their efforts at being green to start negotiations up again with the knuckleheads to buy from them.

Just like the Desert Rock Coal Fired plant near Farmington, this concept is a bad idea all the way around. The Governor is standing firm on fighting Desert Rock. If constructed it would negate this state's ambitious efforts at reducing green house gases.

Mayoral Election in ABQ

I am starting to hear lots of names being bandied about on who is running for Mayor next year. Of course Mayor Marty's name is one of them since we all know he has no where else to go, just yet anyway. I can't help think that Marty is pretty much burnt out on what I think is the hardest job next to being a President of the United States. (although bush never thought it was hard because he is an imbecile.)

Most Mayors leave their jobs after one or two terms. They usually get defeated after one term if the do the right thing and after the second term if they don't do the right thing. I think that makes sense.

We all know that Councilor Mike Cadigan wants to run, as does Councilor O'Malley. The one name that I have heard that might be a real challenger is County Commissioner Deanna Archuleta. I have been especially impressed with her even handedness and cool head. Although she rarely agrees with many developers they seem to like her since she will always listen to them and at least try to reach a consensus.

These three people all have about zero name I.D. with the general public. One of them will certainly rise to the top and I would put my money on Deanna. She is smart, fair, and personable.

Before it is over, I think there will be at least 10 people in the race.

Domenici and the Republican Staff

I can only assume that Pete Domenici's vote to continue tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and then tax increases for the Solar industry was manipulated by his staff and others close to him. Surely, if Pete was 100% mentally capable he wouldn't have done this. Right?

We should keep a close eye on where Pete's staff ends up working after the Senator leaves office in January 2009. Shame on them! That will tell the tale. I bet Pete's staff wont be working for the Solar industry which can be a really big part of New Mexico's economy in the future......if Pete would just vote for his constituents instead of the fat cats.

What about the other Republicans in the Senate who voted the same way? At the end of the day we can only assume one thing. They are corrupt----morally and fiscally. The country is on the rocks and they vote for oil and gas once again. Where is the outrage on the part of the public? Why cant we put people in the streets like the Koreans did yesterday who were protesting problems in their government?

Meanwhile the bush administration is hell bent on leasing to oil and gas companies a lot of public land treasures like the Roan Plateau in Colorado. All of this is kind of hard to soak in!

City Hall Fighting

The Teflon is falling off of Mayor Chavez. Now, he is being seen for what he really is. A typical Mayor like the rest of us that have served in that position with a hostile and ambitious City Council. I have always marveled at how Marty has escaped the scrutiny that the rest of us had from the media and pundits. Mainly, he would just hold an adoption news conference for dogs and diffuse any criticism because he liked warm and fuzzy critters.

Now things are more normal where he has to defend himself from the council's slings and arrows. He shouldn't be upset, nor should anyone, because this is the way the system is supposed to work. It means that compromise must be reached. However, we all know Marty likes things done his way completely.

Much Ado

There seems to be a media frenzy over the fact that a lot of extra paper ballots were printed and then discarded by the Bernalillo County Clerk last week. I really don't care if so many extra ballots were printed as long as people got to vote and the votes were counted in an efficient, timely and honest way. County Clerk Maggie Toulouse did just that. The absentee ballots were counted by 8PM and the whole process was finished by 11PM. A record that will be hard to beat.

She was following guidelines set by the Secretary of State for printing of ballots. Some in the media thought it was a big waste and perhaps the SOS did a poor job of projecting what was needed, but this really was a good vote counting process, the first in many years, and Toulouse and her staff deserve a pat on the back.

Veterans for Udall

Military Veterans from WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq 1, Iraq 2 and Afghanistan rallied around Congressman Tom Udall Saturday in his bid to win the U.S. Senate. They pretty much had a central theme. See the Movie shot at Bataan Park in Albuquerque.

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Time Marches On

I have been finding lots of old photos as I document family albums and make movies out of them. I went into my old Air Force foot locker and found a picture of my heartthrob girl friend from 1966. Her name was Gladys Monnerau. She is Dutch/Indonesian and I was gaga over her. I would often ask her to let me take her picture. I still didn't get to first base!

I had been carrying around a bunch of her photos and slides in the trunk of my car because I occasionally see her around Old Town where she sells jewelry. Today while a friend and I were having coffee at Starbucks she wandered in for a cup. I got her to pose one more time with one of the original photos I took of her. She still looks great after 42 years.

I gave her the photos and slides.

Retribution

We need a witch hunt. Lets find the oil speculators and chop off their heads. Yes. I mean it. They are absolutely hurting a lot of people because of their greed.

Other Election Day Losers

Besides the veteran New Mexico Legislators who bit the dust in Tuesday's Primary Election, there are other losers.

They are lobbyists. Quite often lobbyists in Santa Fe will latch on to one veteran legislator who Chairs a committee. This is their main contact for getting things done to their satisfaction. It shows they have clout and that leads to more and more clients. Then when their guy is defeated, retires or passes away their gravy train goes with it at the same time. There was one lobbyist in the recent past who had a plethora of clients and when his guy passed away the lobbyist practically disappeared from the Capitol.

Don't get me wrong, lobbyists are not necessarily evil and they can often be quite helpful in providing information, but in Santa Fe some of them who work for oil and gas, mining, real estate interests and the like have way to much power in swaying their committee chairs. Especially when those legislators have no other visible means of support other than being a legislator.

Big Winners

One of the biggest winners in Tuesday's Primary election was the Conservation Voters of New Mexico (CVNM) group. This political group which operates under a 501C-4 status with the IRS endorsed 16 candidates. Twelve of them won, including Eric Griego over James Taylor for the Senate seat in the South Valley, Tim Keller over Shannon Robinson for the Senate seat in the Southeast Heights, and Eleanor Chavez over Westside Representative Dan Silva. All of these candidates who lost had decades of seniority. They all had also turned to the dark side by accepting huge amounts of money from the NRA, oil and gas, mining, real estate interests to the detriment of their constituents.

CVNM is ably run by Sandy Buffet and they are now going to be recognized as a savvy and effective group. Their mission statement says, "Our mission is to make sensible conservation policies a top priority for elected officials, political candidates, and voters across the state."

Good for them. Send them a check to keep up the good work.

Hillary's request

Lastnight Hillary requested that her supporters write to her about what to do next. This is what our good friends in Austin wrote to her.

" You asked to hear what we think. I hope you meant it.

I urge you NOT to make the Republican mistake of listening ONLY to those who support you. When George W Bush took office, one of the immediately egregious things he did was insist that his version of bi-partisanship meant that "if there are democrats that agree with us, we'll listen to them." That's not the way to move the country forward.

Instead, please consider listening to those who have, over the years, dealt with you honestly. People who you respect, but who don't have any ulterior motives. Many of these people may be superdelegates -- those are the people whose task it is to safeguard the country to forward the Democratic agenda. Please pay attention. For all of us."

As Expected

The returns came in last night pretty much as expected. The only surprise for me was that some veteran legislators actually went down the tubes. Eric Griego's win over James Taylor was complete and stronger than I could have imagined. Senator Shannon Robinson, who brought us concealed weapons, went down to a new comer. Representative Dan Silva bit the dust too.

This may be more a victory for the Progressive wing of the Democratic party of the party than anything else. I think it is great.

Senator Domenici and his staff must be feeling pretty silly right now for holding back an endorsement for Heather Wilson for so long. It cost her the race and makes it easier for Tom Udall to win a second seat for the Democrats in the Senate.

Martin Heinrich now needs to order up some two headed dolls to distribute to voters in his race against the County Sheriff. The doll would have the head of george bush and Darren White. They are the same thing and White, who was bush's campaign chair in this county, cant run away from his idol. This is the race to watch. Send money to Martin Heinrich asap.

Election Day

I have always thought one of the most useless persons around is a candidate on election day. If you haven't won it by the time the people go to the polls then you are out of luck. About all I ever did on election day when I was running was ride around in a car all day long visiting polling places.

After watching the local news last night for the first time in a long time I felt bad about what the voters have endured in the way of nasty negative TV ads. But they work even if people decry them. The TV stations don't care what is aired as long as the campaigns pay their bills. Truth is second to revenues. As I have said before, campaign accounts are merely pass through accounts that move money from special interests(especially oil and gas corporations) to TV and other media outlets.

We must gird ourselves for the next five months now as the oil and gas industry and the NRA funds character assassinations of any candidate that doesn't agree with them on every single issue. It will be brutal.

Think About This

Today, two F-22 Raptor fighter jets will arrive at Holloman Air Force Base where they and others like them will be stationed. These fighters cost $361 million each. Yes, that is a correct number when you average the total costs of development and number of aircraft to be produced. Astounding, especially when one can easily argue that these fighters will face no competitors from other countries. Also consider the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management budgets for resource protection and law enforcement on Public Lands are being reduced this year by about the same amount it takes to buy one of these capable but unneeded air craft.

This is simply a program that enriches the defense industry. It is a lot like the $110 million V-22 Osprey aircraft that is being manufactured despite its dubious ability to do anything meaningful, except look weird. You have probably seen them flying around Albuquerque.

I remember when President Carter wisely cut the procurement of the B-1 Bomber because it was already obsolete and compromised. We probably ought to do the same thing with the two planes I described above. I say this as an Air Force Veteran and big fan of all things that fly.

We just shouldn't invest this kind of money on these manned aircraft any longer when robotic drones can do just about everything we need to do at great savings. Of course, the real answer to all of this is to just stop bombing countries in unnecessary wars.

This blog will not go down well with the Defense Industry employers and employees. I know they can find other great work to do in the area of renewable energy and manufacturing. They are all smart people. Yes, we still need a defense industry capability, but it should be geared up only as a last resort.

Sniffing Around

I got a decent picture of our marauding raccoon last night. Bobbi wants to give him a name and so we will call him "Attilla the Coon" in honor of his raiding ways. He was sniffing around the cat food supplies again. Much like all of the candidates are spending this weekend sniffing out last minute votes for Tuesday's Primary Election. Bobbi and I already voted so all the last minute TV ads will mean nothing to us.

I kind of chuckle at the last minute endorsement of Heather Wilson by Pete Domenici. An awful lot of people out there just don't care who is running to go to Congress as a bush loving supporter, and that is what Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce are. They are both right wing war mongers who don't deserve our trust or support.

I think Pearce will win the Primary handily. I think he will have a hard time getting a lot of Albuquerque votes that Heather might have received had she been the nominee. Tom Udall will have an easier time of it with Pearce. It should all be interesting.

Pat & Rebecca and Expo

Three cheers for State Auditor Hector Balderas deciding to audit the Pat Lyons 'sweetheart' deals at the State Land Office. Lyons says it is obviously a partisan Democratic plot to get him. That is the same tact that Democrat Rebecca Vigil Giron is taking on the Federal audit that found millions of unaccounted for dollars spent by her while Secretary of State. She says it is a plot by the Republicans to keep her from being elected to Congress. Paranoia is apparently non partisan.

I was thrilled to see that the New Mexico State Fairgrounds are being considered for some real redevelopment. I was proud to see that the Governor's office thinks the effort should be modeled after our efforts as Mayor to revitalize downtown Albuquerque. This is something that has been needed for that area of the city for a long time and I think only good can come from it. The effort will need buy in from a lot of special interest groups but as in the downtown area, it can happen. The effort will also need a knowledgeable and strong executive to pull it off.

Waste

This is a site worth visiting to get an idea in graphic terms about waste in American society. Bobbi found this!

Mystery Solved

No, it wasn't the mystery of where several million dollars in missing government money spent by former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron ended up.

Our cat food bandit has been exposed. When the weather gets nice we keep the garage door cracked open about six inches for ventilation and access to Jerry the Cat's favorite sleeping place next to the water heater. Last summer the large bag of cat food we keep nearby kept getting raided along with the cat food dish. We knew that our neighbors cat, Ninja Cat, came in to sup once in a while along with some other kitties. But we thought they couldn't be eating as much as they seemed to be. Sometimes the 25lb. bag of food had been dragged ten feet towards the garage door.


Last night I set up my wildlife camera and got this picture. The rear end of a Raccoon. Mystery solved. I had suspected it was a raccoon since we live in the valley within a stone's throw to the Rio Grande. I have always liked these critters. Do they eat cats?

No Pictures of bush and White

Just as I thought. No one has been able to come up with a picture of george bush and Darren White standing together at a fund raiser yesterday. It is actually phenomenal that the President of the United States is so disliked that the people he supports want no evidence of it. Darren White can not run away from the fact that he was bush's campaign chairman here in Bernalillo County. It makes no difference that White now tries to mildly criticize the President when just a couple of years ago he felt bush walked on water.

We went to a really nice fund raiser for Martin Heinrich last night. The interesting thing was that many of the folks there were not the party regulars or political junkies, (like me) who usually turn up at these events. There were many new faces that indicate new involvement in our party. That is a good thing.

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama had a standing room only fundraising crowd at Yanni's on Central Avenue in Albuquerque today. She spoke for 45 minutes and had the crowd's attention the whole time. She said one thing that I think we all need to remember. I know I should. She said that "The things that unite us are bigger than the things that divide us." She has the makings of a great first lady!

She spoke of Governor Richardson as a good friend and how he had always shown such good grace when he was on the campaign trail before he retired from the race. The big guy sat and listened today to a great speech.

$100 Reward

I will pay a $100 reward for the first person who sends me a good quality photograph of Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White and President bush standing together at White's fund raiser today. It will be the single most powerful image of that campaign. Don't forget that White was bush's campaign chairman in this county and we certainly want everyone to remember it.

Picnic Photos As Therapy

We just finished watching HBO's "Recount". It is about the counting of votes from the election in Florida that stole the 2000 election from Al Gore and gave it to george bush. It was a good tale and I am sure it will open old wounds. It has with me. I got so angry with it all over again I decided to work on these photos as a means of therapy. I love taking pictures of kids. I took along my Nikon to my brothers for Bar-B-Q today. I wanted to get some new pictures on John and Lisa Newell's kids. They are really photogenic. John and Lisa are my brother's wife sister and husband. He manufactures great jewelry and she is a hotshot computer programmer. These photos turned out great.

Anya-7 years old

Ian-10 years old

Amanda-12 years old

Crimes Against Humanity

It was bad enough that bush and his crowd started an unnecessary war that has caused countless deaths. It was bad enough that they eroded our civil liberties. It was bad enough our national policy now includes torture. It was bad enough they ignored the imminent energy crisis and climate change. But now these incompetent and criminal leaders are imprisoning desperate people for merely trying to work to provide for their families. The 270 illegal immigrants who were found working in a meatpacking plant in Iowa will now be carted off to five months hard time in federal prison, all because they wanted to send money home to feed their families. (How much has been spent by the prosecutors and then the prison system to pay for this? $100K each?)

Has this country and its Justice system lost all sense of right and wrong? Yes, I think it has. War profiteers run free. War criminals are immune. Poor working people are imprisoned. If we are going to send a message, lets start with the people at the beginning of this list. We have little time to rebound from eight years of chaos under the republicans and complacent democrats who have allowed this to happen.

I feel ashamed for my country right now. I used to be a proud American but things have gotten so out of balance that I think our country is on the path of certain ruin as a renegade state. The only solution is to vote entirely for liberal to moderate candidates in November. No bush supporters or campaign operatives should be given any chance what so ever of attaining office. No republican or democrat who voted for the war should be allowed to stay in office without some scrutiny. Period.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day is mainly a holiday to remember things or go to the new block buster movies that usually start the summer season. I will be doing both this weekend. We will go see the second Narnia movie. I liked the first because it really denoted Christianity as an inclusive religion, although it really doesn't seem like it in real life.

I decided to try and remember some random good things. So here are a few.

I remember my grandfather and grand mother Delfin and Lenore Baca. This is their wedding picture taken in 1913. They were such good people and they lived in Pena Blanca. My grandfather was incredibly generous. When he had a good apple crop he generally gave his money away to those who needed help.

I remember my good friends from my childhood years and the fact that we still stay in touch from time to time. This is Bob Salazar, Rodger Burnett and me with my Man in the Moon Kite! I remember taking my first picture of Bobbi shortly after we met. This is her peeking out from around a wall in 1976. What a babe! I was a cradle robber. I was 30 and she was 23!

I remember my big sister Carlota always bossing my twin brother Tom and me around. We gave her so much crap that I am surprised she talks to us anymore. She still gets a little critical of us. I guess that is a big sisters job. This picture pretty much protrays her attitude towards us.

I remember the joys and stamina required of Bobbi and me in raising our children Justin and Noelle. They have both turned out so well. 23 year old Noelle works for Intel and Justin gets his Masters in Public Administration at Syracuse University in June. He has accepted a job with the Solar Energy Industry Association in Washington, DC starting in July.

I remember our parents Fermin and Dixie who worked hard to provide for us.They divorced after we all graduated High School.

I remember our joy at my brother surviving mortal combat as a helicopter pilot to return home to his family after two tours in Vietnam.

I look forward next year to remembering that the most evil and incompetent administration ever to lead our country will be out of office.

End of an Era

I have made a momentous decision. I will no longer service my own swamp coolers. I have been doing it since I was 15 years old. Now that I am approaching 63 I will change my ways. I am now hiring professional swamp cooler servicemen to deal with the descaling, lubrication, pad cleaning, copper tube preparation, trips to the hardware store, and those million other little details that I have come to loathe about swamp coolers. Last year I replaced two old and rusted swamp coolers with new shiny ones that were not held together by corrosion. It was then that I realized I would never again subject myself to the Memorial day rigors of 'startup'. With all due respect to those who toil on with the annual time consuming chore I have only one thing to say. Life is too short.

However, I will still do the landscaping work during the summer. I can cut the grass in the front and back yard in 12 minutes. Bobbi handles the weed eater and we hire Gavino twice a year to do the heavy lifting in the autumn and spring. I watch over the tomatoes along with Bobbi and she goes out and tells the dwarf peach tree that it is loved. That little tree puts out a ton of peaches.

This is the kind of blog I like to write. It is more uplifting than talking about the sexual lives of congressional candidates.

P.S. I dedicate my blog today to Jim Belshaw of the Albuquerque Journal, AKA Dr. Swamp Cooler.

My Worthless Endorsements

Here is who I want to see elected in the upcoming Congressional and Senate Races in New Mexico.

First, I hope Steve Pearce beats Heather Wilson for obvious reasons. He will be easier to beat in the General Election in November. He is truly a right wing radical. I think Tom Udall will make a great Democratic Western Senator and I know he will be forceful on all issues regarding renewable energy, landscape protection and climate change.

I want Martin Heinrich to win his Congressional seat because he is simply the best person to serve us and he will put up a great campaign against Sheriff Darren White who loves all things george bush.

I am going with Ben Ray Lujan in the Northern District because of his outstanding record on environmental issues while a member of the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission. He got the New Mexico Conservation Voters Alliance endorsement, as did Martin Heinrich.

Down South I am torn between Harry Teague and Bill McCamley. They are both good people although Teague probably has a better shot at winning the General Election.

What I do not endorse is the nasty campaigning by Congressional candidate Benny Shendo in which he tries to out Ben Ray Lujan as being gay. Who cares? We should never forgive Shendo for this. Shame!

The New Campaigns

It is a fact of life anymore that most media involved in coverage of political campaigns is not about issues but about the latest TV ads the candidates put up. This morning the Albuquerque Journal served up several stories about candidate's TV ads and one story about the Congressional CD-1 candidates positions on Iraq. Republican Darren White was willing to say we need more time to do the impossible. He should go here and ride a Humvee around the cities if he feels things are on a right track. By the way, it will be interesting to see if White will release pictures of him and bush next week when bush comes to town to raise money for his former campaign chairman and unabashed supporter. Any bets?

In the northern Congressional District Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan are slinging mud. In fairness to Lujan he had to respond to Wiviott's nasty ad about Lujan being a black jack dealer and a recipient of a boost from his dad, Speaker of the House Ben Lujan. (Aren't dads supposed to help their kids?)

But, I have to say that Lujan's theme of Wiviott's being a millionaire and intimating that is bad leaves me pretty cold. I think it is a mistake given that there are lots of millionaires living in Santa Fe who have given Ben Ray some money and will give more. They won't if Lujan turns this into a class war.

In the meantime a really good story on former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron appeared in the New Mexico Independent last week. Why cant the mainstream media pick this stuff up? Just because they didn't originate it doesn't mean it is unimportant. She is running for Congress and this stuff should be known.

McCain, Republicans, Oil, and New Mexico

The biggest contributor to the Republican party in New Mexico is the oil and gas industry. That is a fact. Now, John McCain says that he will rely on the Republican party for most of his fundraising for his presidential campaign. Ergo, the oil and gas industry will be largely funding his campaign, along with Lockheed Martin, Boeing and the rest of the military industrial complex. Gee, just like they did for bush and cheney. Do you think many people will notice this. I don't think they will, or if they do they wont care. One thing I have noticed in my political career is that people seem unusually complacent about where politicians raise their money.

I would sure like to see that change this time. If Steve Pearce, the oil and gas guy who might end up beating Heather Wilson faces off with Tom Udall for the Senate we should not let anyone forget who he really is. He is a right wing ultra conservative who made money in oil and gas, voted to support a horrendous war (like Wilson), and he will not change his stands of support for that now dishonored oil and gas industry. While his industry gets tax subsidies real people in New Mexico suffer with energy costs.

Marty Chavez and Marc Schiff

This is the story I had hoped the Journal would do. Instead Pulitzer Prize Winner Eileen Welsome did it on the Clearly New Mexico Website. It is a must read.

Wilderness Society

This first picture denotes why we in the Wilderness Society enjoy our work. This is a picture from our host's home near Snowmass, Colorado. A picture is worth a thousand words.

We had a great reception and dinner at our host's elegant house. Eighty folks showed up including Congressional candidates, grass roots organizers as well as the Council of the Wilderness Society.

This last photo is taken near Alamosa, Colorado. Rodger Beimer insisted I take this picture on the way back today in honor of New Mexico Political Blogger Joe Monahan. Apparently, there are alligator farms all over the Alamosa area due to the abundance of hot springs which they supposedly thrive in. Rodger has visited them. I don't know why but the next time you see him ask! I want nothing to do with them ever since I was chased by one at a Texas Wildlife Refuge. It was 11 feet long. I really thought I was a goner and then found myself on the other side of a six foot fence. I never remembered having jumped it.

Colorado Highways

The Colorado highways I spent many hours on yesterday are in bad shape. Add to that the website for their highways didn't show that Independence Pass was closed made for a long and rough trip to Aspen. I was 33 miles from Aspen and had to take a detour of 118 miles. But, it was a pretty drive. I dread having to go back the same way but it will be a pretty drive again!

Snow Ahead

I am traveling by car to Aspen, Colorado this morning.  In the snow.  In May.  I had been looking forward to the drive but now I am just hoping it wont be miserable.  This will be a three day meeting of the Wilderness Society.  It should be fun.

Rail Runner

I read in the Journal this morning that it still hasn't been decided to put Rail Runner Stations at the Pueblos between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. This should be decided immediately in favor of the Pueblos who want a stop. Especially at Domingo, New Mexico which would serve Santo Domingo, Cochiti, Pena Blanca, Sile, and Cochiti City. The old Trading Post at Domingo now sits in ruins along with the old Rail Station. Let's put them back in the mix!

I cringed when I saw that some neighborhood associations objected to a great infill project along Silver Avenue close to downtown. The dense condo project is exactly what we need to be doing. Usually, these associations are run by three to five people who lean on city councillors to lean on the planning commissioners to stop anything that would change their neighborhoods at all. These associations look inward so much sometimes that you wonder if they live in a micro universe.

Bobbi's Turn

I met Bobbi in an elevator at City Hall when I worked for Mayor Harry Kinney in 1975.  She was 23 years old.  I was 30.  She was an intern in the Planning Department.  Now a days that would be a scandal to many in the media, you know the whole intern thing.  But we have been together now for 33 years.  She is still an incredible woman with three college degrees.  One in Architecture and Planning, one in Civil Engineering, and a Masters of Business Administration.  

Her parents were not big on photography so we don't have a lot of pics of her as a child, but the ones we have are great.  This one is five minutes long.

11 Dimensions

Sometimes I feel so stupid. I read about this 30 year old Physicist who may set the world on its head and I wonder why people like me came out on the short end of acquiring any math genes. Or any genes that make you less dumb as some of my friends would say.

After reading this article ask your self if the reason Hillary is staying in the race has something to do with vibrating in 11 dimensions. I think something like that must be going on.

Justin Grows Up

Justin Andrew Baca, our son, is now 28. This is his video album. You will see a lot of pictures with his sister because she was his shadow. It drove him crazy, but they are very close now. Noelle was his 'best man' at his wedding.

Tinkering

Ever since I got my new Apple Mac Pro I have been tinkering with the software. It is amazing stuff that even a brain cell deprived aging guy like me can get into easily. Herewith is my first real attempt at putting together a Ken Burns style movie of our family scrapbooks. This is my daughter Noelle's life so far.  I am doing one of my son and a compilation of albums from as far back as 1930.  Enjoy!

Woo Hoo

It is always nice to see something turn out better than you thought it would. Obama's speech last night was inspiring. Clinton's speech last night was somewhat subdued with an undercurrent of inevitability. If reason prevails then this contest should end in a matter of days. I actually think her trying to turn herself into a whiskey drinking blue collar type who dissed economists probably hurt her. It wasn't who she was and more people saw through it in Indiana than I thought would.

I think Hillary would like to continue but it looks like her campaign is flat busted and that is the core problem. I hope everything is done graciously and that the party comes together. Those working class folks that vote for Hillary need to look one more time where we are right now before staying home in November or voting for McCain and his war like tendencies.

Three People

I was reading somewhere the other day that in a persons lifetime they are really three different people. We change personalities. I believe that is true. I think that is what has happened to Hillary Clinton. I am sure her first personality was as a bright and intellectual young woman from good Ivy League schools. Then she became a smart political ally of her husband Bill and saw to it that he was elected President. Now in her third personality she has become a pandering, below average, desperate politico who feels nothing is too low to stoop towards to win her election. She started high and is ending low. Real low. I say this because of her pandering on the gas tax relief that will do nothing but harm. She is attacking Obama for not doing the same. It is disgusting and it will probably work. Not what I was looking for in a leader.

So, my prediction is that she will win Indiana but not by much and she will lose North Carolina to Obama. This means her new low personality will endure for a couple of more months and that her negativity will continue to hurt the party. I hope I am wrong.

Constitutional Questions

I have been paying a few compliments to the Albuquerque Journal recently. Today I am perplexed by them, especially with their Editorial on opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. It seems they are buying into the myth that there are environmentally safe ways to do this with new technology. What that myth really means is that the amount of damage that occurs to wildlife, landscapes and water will not be as bad. But, be assured it will still be horrendous, on a slightly smaller scale.

I also had to wonder about the headline story in the Sunday Journal making a big deal about the Governor being out of state and the Lt. Governor not knowing about it. The story does point to an obvious issue however, and that is the outdated New Mexico Constitution. It was written in the 1910/1912 years. It was adopted upon statehood. It never envisioned cell phones, satellite phones, computer networks, the Internet, modern highways, and jet air travel. It was so concerned about timely communication back then that all statewide elected officials were required to live in Santa Fe so they would be close by. It may be the only statewide elected official who does live in Santa Fe is the Governor. The rest of them just can't afford a home in Santa Fe. Yet reason dictates that although all of the officials are required by the constitution to still live in Santa Fe, there really is no problem in them living elsewhere because of modern communications. Certainly, the Governor was only seconds away from communication at all time while he was out of state.

It really begs the question of holding a Constitutional Convention in the next few years to update and modernize our Constitution. The last time it was attempted was in 1970. That attempt failed because they Game and Fish commission didn't like the document and they scared sportsmen into voting against it.

We need some brave young politico to start pushing for such a Convention. Maybe some one like State Auditor Hector Balderas could take that on. I saw him at Starbucks this weekend. He now lives in Albuquerque and commutes to Santa Fe like the many of the elected officials.