It's All Happening at the Zoo

At 10AM this morning folks were pouring into the Albuquerque Biological Park.  

Us Included.

Grandma Bobbi and Grampa Jim got to spend time with Grandson Simon.

Simon's parents Justin and Karly were there.

Simon has a double crown and a cowlick for life.

Meanwhile our daughter Noelle and her husband Luke enjoyed the little guy.

Stretch

A beautiful morning.  On the first tee.  Little warm up swings at Santa Ana because the range was closed.  Hit a 240 yard draw down the middle of the fairway.  And felt like some one stabbed me in the lower back.  Totally pulled a muscle of some sort and then played four more holes before the knife twisted.  Now, several days recuperation with ice, heat, and some pretty good pain killers!

Note to self.  If you cant warm up on the range then stretch for 10 minutes you imbecile.

Write a Letter Mayor Berry

Mayor Berry should show some backbone and write a letter to Governor Martinez asking her to veto the tax bill that was passed in the last moments of the session which will absolutely screw his city and the people who live in it.  If he doesn't make this effort he may well open himself to a weakened reelection effort.

Here is a commercial I would script for TV.

While the Corporate lobbyists pushed through another state tax break for their clients at the expense of working people in our city and counties, Mayor Richard Berry sided with the CEO's of the nations biggest corporations.  The tax break will be paid for by the city's residents.  He has betrayed his duty to his city and the citizens who live in it by siding with the corporations and the right wing chamber of commerce.  All so the bottom lines result in even bigger bonuses for corporate executives.  Why did he remain silent?

The video for such an ad would show working people at their jobs and then at home trying to make ends meet.

Letter from the Amazon

My sister Carlota from Santa Fe has been in Peru and the Amazon for the last couple of weeks.  We had not heard from her for a week and I sent her an email asking if she had been eaten by an Anaconda.  Here is the reply I received when she flew into Cuzco for a trip to Machu Picchu.  I thought it was timely after reading John Fleck's article on John Wesley Powell in the Journal this morning.

Well, I am alive, but I did see a giant anaconda! A guy had just caught it

in a village on the Amazon where we stopped to visit with the native

people. SCARY!!

Spent the whole past week on a barge on the Amazon and on

smaller boats in the tributaries.  The boat was great, but the trips up 

the smaller rivers and some hikes in the jungle were so (expletive deleted) difficult

that I almost gave up.  But I would do it all again!!  The Amazon portion

of my travel was the hardest trip of my life, but I now realize how

everything is connected.  Climate change will really screw up the ¨major

two Pacific Ocean currents, which will have an effect on the rainforest

(the lungs of the planet), which will be diminished, and that will affect

the whole world.  Brazil is tearing down its amazonian jungles like crazy,

but Peru has made the entire Amazon basin a protected region and it's

huge! I have learned so much!

The Amazon Rainforest, which was very difficult to live in, has so many

flora and fauna....just magnificent and the River itself is almost

unbelievable!  The volume of water and the heavy current towards the

Atlantic simply cannot be described!

I flew from Iquitos in the jungle to Lima yesterday and from Lima to Cuzco

this morning.  Cuzco is sublime. There was a big procession here as this

is la Semana Santa-- Holy Week.  Today it was the procession to honor

Nuestro Senor (Our Lord of the earthquakes). Tomorrow we go to some remarkable Inca ruins and then we are traveling to Machu Picchu where we will stay for a couple of days.

This week is my 70th birthday and it will be in Machu Picchu during the

full moon.  It is all so thrilling!!  I just can't believe I'm here.  One

of my best adventures ever.

Love,

Lota

Simon

Our grandson Simon arrived on Sunday and immediately went down the street to play in the sunshine.  They haven't had so much snow in upstate New York where he is from, but they do lack those Vitamin D inducing sun rays.  He is two and a half years old and is typical in converting every bit of intake into copious amounts of energy.

You Are Screwed

As a former Mayor I now have to say that I have no faith in Mayor Berry at all.  For him to sit and take such a screw job from the Governor and Legislature on the last  minute tax package shows he cares more about party line than the people in his city.

The legislature and Governor dropped taxes on corporations and the rich.  Don't you doubt it.  And to make up for it they are taking away dollars from the cities and counties in New Mexico by phasing out revenues that made up for the removal of gross receipts taxes on food some years ago.  (A victory there for Governor Richardson.)

Now the chicken democrats and right wing Governor and republican legislators have done something that raises taxes, (you guessed it!) on the poor and working people of New Mexico.  And our Mayor says he is hopeful that the lower taxes on business and the rich will translate into a revenue neutral situation.  What a load of crap!  What a huge load of crap!  The cities and counties will be forced to raise their gross receipts taxes to make up for the difference.  In Albuquerque it is already 7%!  It was just 5.5% when I was Mayor.  It is without a doubt the most regressive kind of tax.

And what does the Governor say?  She said it was something didn't want to do but it was done in a spirit of compromise.  That is her way of having her cake and eating it too. How much longer will people continue to let themselves be screwed?

Hanging

Ajax and Casper are waiting out of the commotion as we get the house ready for our son and daughter and families to get here for an Easter week visit.  We have cleaned their old rooms.  Got in a little cot for our grandson to sleep on.  Bought another humidifier so our daughter in law won't be uncomfortable.  This dry air and high altitude gets to those upstate New York Girls.  This will be the first time we are all together in 20 months.  It should be fun!  They are lucky too. They will miss today's  terrific winds.

A Monument

The pending designation of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is a wonderful addition to our Land of Enchantment's protected landscapes.  The 240,000 acre designation is the result of the hard work of many organizations and funders in New Mexico.  Thanks to former Senator Jeff Bingaman.  Martin Heinrich did some hard work on this too prior to being elected to the Senate.  Governor Bill Richardson heavily supported it from the beginning.  The Wilderness Society, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and many other groups worked diligently on this and in a very smart and political way.

This is a magnificent area north and west of Taos.  It includes the Rio Grande Gorge.  Its preservation is a gift to future generations.

Priorities

I am sort of speechless and more than normally stupefied by the news in the Journal this morning.  They didn't do anything wrong.  They just reported priorities these days.

The big headline story is the new 10 year contract that pays our UNM basketball coach over $100,000 a month with the possibility of a lot more if certain things happen.  I know most of this money comes from ticket sales and boosters and side deals.

Another story below the fold is about pending furloughs of thousands of military civilian employees at Kirtland Air Force Base just a few miles from the Pit.  Their pay checks will be getting smaller as they are forced to take time off every week without pay.  All due to the lack of job performance on the part of Congress to manage the budget.  That will hurt the already battered local economy and I can't imagine what those workers are thinking of the Coach's pay raise.

And then on the Metro page is an article about how funding cuts for higher education in New Mexico has exceeded the US average.  Spending per student has fallen 36% while tuition for those students has risen 22%.  That really stings!  Why are these kids not occupying the state capitol?

Roman Emperors used to use the games at the Colosseum as a way of distracting the public from a slowly failing empire.   Things haven't changed.

The Cop Out

An apt title for this entry.  The Chief cop is out(in a few months) and the new Chief cop is out too.  Until after the Albuquerque City Mayoral election.  And so, until at least the end of the year there will be no new leadership at APD.  Poor timing due to politics all the way around.  The Mayor and Council dithered on the severe problems at APD for at least 18 months.  And then a decision is made to replace the Chief in an election  year, but it doesn't make sense to do so because the new Chief might have such a short tenure if the Mayor is not reelected.  And of course this is all welcome by the Mayor because he wont have to make a tough decision before the October election and perhaps a December runoff election.

And the inertia of a disjointed police department will continue.  This is poor management all the way around.

Lunch

Yesterday I went with a friend on their "Meals on Wheels' route into the South Valley.  I give a monthly donation to the program which sends lunches out to the poor, elderly and shut ins.  It was a gratifying two hours as we delivered 11 meals to some of these folks.

One comes to the realization that for many of these folks the knock on the door by the meal delivery volunteer might be the only interaction for them during their day.  You can tell that this little communication means a lot to some of them.

One also comes to the realization that many of these recipients of a meal are poverty stricken in a permanent way.  Some of the better off ones do pay for their lunches, but others would not be able to eat a decent meal daily  if it weren't for donations coming in.  $15 bucks a month would feed one of these folks for a week or so.  You can donate here.

There is also a program that delivers dog food for these people's pets.  Pretty cool thing to do.

Yawn

The insiders at the Legislature may or may not be happy with the outcome of the session.  Mostly, I am just glad it is over.  I followed it more than most.  The average citizen doesn't follow it at all.  They may form some kind of overall impression of the yearly congregation as a result of news coverage.  This year it might be an impression that everyone compromised at the end.  These days that looks good for all part time observers but the legislators and Governor probably don't like it.

The biggest failure is to approve background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows.  The lines for buyers remain safe for paranoid schizophrenics to buy the assault rifle of their choice.

The corporate tax cut over a period of years is questionable.  But it is hardly a sell out by the Democrats who got their own tax cuts of sort in the film incentive program.  I am sure there are some other special interest laws that were passed that we don't know about, but that is the way it all works.

The overall winners here are the Governor, Speaker of the House Ken Martinez, and special interest lobbyists who got tax breaks for their clients.

Of course, all of this is eclipsed by the Lobo mania and the Governor being invited by Obama to represent the US at the Pope's inaugural.  One would have to say that was a bipartisan move.

GOP and Gays

A lot of people I know think it is a huge step in the right direction that Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman has come out in support of Gay marriage since his son came out last summer.  It is a good thing.  At the same time it really shows me that the GOP care about only themselves and their mostly archaic beliefs.  Until those beliefs affect them negatively on a personal level.

While it is admirable that the Senator is supporting his son it is also very telling that he hated the idea of Gay marriage until his own family was involved.  If his own son had not come out then he would still be objecting to anyone else's son or daughter being allowed to participate in a Gay marriage?  A selfish and backward view would have prevailed.

Slowly but surely the GOP is being forced to come into this century.  They are being forced to do so by their own kids and other relatives who no longer are willing to stay quiet.  At the end of the day this is the only important thing.

They Got Their Man

The Albuquerque Journal did it.  They got their man.  Their dogged pursuit of Police Chief Ray Schultz finally hit pay dirt.  Day in and day out for the last couple of years they have had the ink barrels pouring into the problems at the Police Department.  And finally there was too much for the Mayor to wash away.  The Journal did what they did best and forced the issue.  (And this time it wasn't even a Hispanic democrat.)

Well, they did the right thing in this case.  And that is a good thing.  Now will they have an even and non right wing editorial about the importance of finding a new chief from the outside so that no particular entrenched faction at APD steps in?  Stay tuned.

GOP and the Pope

My friend Dennis Jett wrote this for the McClatchy newspapers yesterday.  I was going to do the same thing today, but really, he is a much better writer than me.  Think of Susannah Martinez going to see the Pope as you read this.

Commentary: Six ways the Catholic Church is just like the Republican Party

One might think that a political party and a religious organization would not have that much in common. But the Republican Party, in the wake of its failure to retake the White House, and the Catholic Church, in the aftermath of a series of scandals, actually have a lot in common. Here are at least six similarities:

1. They both select the oldest white guy in the room as their standard bearer.

2. They have a fundamental policy of denying certain rights to gays and women. 

3. They are convinced they have a monopoly on morality. 

4. They believe putting a Latino face on their product will increase sales to that important demographic. 

5. They cater to their base and could care less about public opinion or interest writ large. 

6. They think to prevail in today’s world all they have to do is change the messaging without making any change in the meaning of their message.

Go National

Dear Mayor Berry,

Now that the inevitable has occurred and Albuquerque Police Chief Schultz has stepped down, you must not make the mistake of promoting a new Chief from within the department.  Start a national search for a highly qualified crime fighter and administrator to run this incestuous department.  Bring in a guy or gal who will make meaningful changes in training of officers.  Bring in a someone who can stick to a budget so the cop shop doesn't drain away resources from all other city departments.  Set up a search committee immediately to make a bipartisan effort to get this done efficiently and ask them to suggest at least three finalists.  Don't be afraid to spend a little extra money for a really qualified candidate.   It will pay off in the future.

I would also like to thank Chief Schultz for his service to out city.

Sincerely,

Jim Baca
Former Mayor

The Governor's Race

I opined a little on the Governor's race recently.  I am hoping for some real talent to step forward and take on Martinez.  I have decided that another Martinez might be the answer.  That would be Speaker of the House Ken Martinez.  Most people feel he is the smartest guy in the capitol building and that he  is capable of non partisan cooperation to advance policy agendas.

Republican Susannah Martinez, a child of the right wing wackos, got a lot of votes in the traditionally northern part of the state.  From Democrat Hispanics.  Could she hold those votes against a well respected and centric democrat like Ken Martinez?   I don't think so.

I know that the Speaker would have a lot to lose politically by running for Governor.  But sometimes a good politico has to sacrifice a bit and do what is right for working people and working poor.  They are more important than that Speaker job.

Everyone I know thinks Martinez is a brilliant and fair minded man.  Now they have to convince him to run for Governor.  Some say he isn't well enough known.   Well, who was Susannah Martinez before she became Governor.  No one had ever heard of her.  Just like Gary Johnson when he ran.

Wait a Minute

I have to admit I was kind of mesmerized as they waited to announce the new Pope.  As a person raised in the Catholic faith and schools you never really get away from the dogma.  Especially the guilt, but I digress.  Although no longer a church member I love to watch the drama involved in the operations of the 1 billion member religion.  The Pope thing has always interested me quite a bit because of the seeming democratic process for appointing a new one.  That is about all of a democratic process  you will see though in this organization.  It is pretty much top down management.

The new Pope is the first Jesuit, the first South American, and the first non European in the modern era to be elected.  But wait a minute, isn't Bergoglio an Italian name?

He looked to be a pretty down to earth guy with some vigor in him.  He looks like a Pope.  His job will be the toughest in centuries as the church tries to grapple with modern day life.  If he can't find a way of liberalizing then this church will be on its way out.  Since he is on top, then maybe this is one time when the church can change.  If he wishes it.

I bet it would be fun to be in Buenos Aires tonight.

Candidates

I am beginning to get worried about the number of Democrats that are willing to become candidates in the Mayoral and Governor's elections.  So far we have Pete Dinelli in the Mayor's race and Gary King in the Governor's race.  Probably, Dinelli will be the only one to consider in the local race.  Most of the people I speak with think he is a good guy with little chance of winning if he sticks to the public financing effort he is putting forth.  If he doesn't gather that 3500 donations of $5 each then he will be set adrift into a sea of special interest financing aimed at keeping Mayor Berry in office.  If he does make the threshold, then he limits himself to that amount of money and will be further inundated with opposition from special interest corporate Pacs, thanks to the Supreme Court.  He is in a very difficult spot.  Most other possible candidates probably have come to the conclusion that it is a no win situation.  So they opted out.

Gary King called me yesterday while I was kind of busy.  He is looking for early support and money. I like Gary and have known him for years.  I worked for his dad, Bruce King.  I think he may be the only person that will run against the Governor in the upcoming cycle.  If he does I will send him money and support him, but I am waiting out the entry into the Democratic Primary of other candidates who I think could stand a better chance of winning.  I am probably not alone in that predicament.  Most of my friends feel the same way.  They are torn between their like of Gary, but feel a stronger campaigner is needed.  One friend says that Gary feels he is entitled to run because of his dad.  I wonder if that is true.

I think the Democratic Party needs to come up with some new strong leadership and candidate recruiters.  Sam Bregman says he will be that person.  Right now, he looks pretty good to me.

Lawn

This morning I dropped by Lowe's to buy some spring fertilizer for the back yard.  My mission was to find fertilizer with out any pesticides or herbicides in it.  It took a while but I found a bag.  Fully 95 % of their stuff were full of chemicals that kill things.

When I got home I received a note about this Forum that will take place here in Albuquerque in April.  It is being sponsored by a group called "Beyond Pesticides." I hope the media will throw a little attention towards it.  I know this stuff can sometimes help farmers and I can deal with it.  But we don't need to throw it on our yards and own gardens.  In our little garden we regularly hunt down the squash bugs and tomato worms and assassinate them with a stick.  It works well.

The Winner

The real winner in the tally of the Albuquerque City Mail in Election will be future Mayors who will be able to claim, unlike me, that they won with a majority of votes now that winning 50% is required under the city charter.  Yes, that means a run off election most of the time.  But so what.

The real losers on this are the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board(The Editor and Publisher in other words.)  They are the surrogates of the GOP in this town.  The didn't want this to happen because working people would have to much say in the outcome.  Yes, people in unions.  Another loser is the Berry administration's ham fisted running of the election in which the mail in ballot was a piece of confusing junk.  This should be an embarrassment to him, the city clerk and city attorney.  Where is the professionalism?

Strangely though, I think it is quite possible for Berry to win with out a run off since there are so few people willing to run against him.  People perceive Berry to be a decent guy who has not done anything dishonest and treats people with respect.  That is true and I feel that way too.  But, he seems to be weak in some areas, especially his handling of his police department.  But the general voting public will give him a 'bye' on that one.  Mostly that is because the media has given him a break on this and not badgered him as a responsible party.  That has been heaped on Chief Schutlz who Berry should have put out to pasture a long time ago.   

Send Some Stories

I am hoping some of you will send your favorite political stories to another blog I set up called NM Political Lore.  So far I have only one submission.  I know you all have a story tucked away in your head.

Bobbi and I have started to watch "House of Cards" on Netflix.  It is engrossing and a little over the top.  But stories it tells about political maneuvering have some basis in fact.  I know any reader who reads political blogs will have stories of their own.  Send one along.

I gotta think some legislators who will be finished up in a couple of weeks would like to send along some stories from years past.  Just send the stories to nmpoliticallore@gmail.com

I will post them.

It is Coming

As the sequester on federal funding falls into place everyone in New Mexico should take a giant cleansing breath and prepare for some shocks.  Especially if one is employed by a military base in our state.  As the New York Times and others are reporting this situation will give the Obama administration some real leeway in reducing our military spending.  There might be little in the way of protecting ourselves from it.  And in the long range it may not be all bad, but in the short range it will hurt mightily.

So, what needs to happen is a concerted effort by the Martinez administration to start some real stimulus spending to take  up the slack.  An obvious place to start is our transportation network.  If we do indeed take big cuts from the Feds, then the Governor along with out DC delegation needs to get some sort of recognition that our relatively poor state will deserve some recognition from Obama that we will need a little extra help.  The state may have to be ready to do its share.

Lets wait and see if Martinez and  her minions can get a program together.  Or will she simply sit by the sidelines and let the largely democratic DC delegation take all the blame?  That is probably what her mascot McClesky will advise.  Let's hope she ignores him.

Holocaust Hospitals

The only word I can think of after reading the Time Magazine article on Hospital charges is Holocaust. Even if the hospital is a so called 'non profit'.  The people who run all of these groups are the most unethical people alive.  Their greed is monumental.  You really need to understand they they are the new modern day equivalent of a slave holder in their disdain for human beings.  I am serious.  Read it.

How can a non profit hospital and insurance companies possibly defend themselves against this pricing for healthcare?  Take Presbyterian hospital for example.  They send these bills to the insurance company to be paid.  The insurance company is owned by Presbyterian and it just folds all of that into their rate structure.  It is the old shell game.  Same with the profit making Lovelace hospital system.  They send their bills to their own insurance company.  The only time charges are negotiated is when the hospital and insurance company are not related.  Or when Medicare is involved.  But, if you are underinsured or uninsured then you enter slavery.  You pay many times what Medicare would pay.

No wonder health care is devouring so much of our national wealth.  I don't blame the Docs, nurses, and other employees for this.  I blame the CEO's and Boards for having only profit in mind.  

Silly

Why are the democrats in the New Mexico Senate acting like the republican in the US Senate?  Because they are all living in their own little worlds where they get some sort of orgasmic high out of not confirming the executive's cabinet appointments.  It is silly, time consuming and accomplishes nothing except wasting time.

The Federal Senators need to approve some Federal Judges.  The State Senators need to approve Skandera as Education Secretary.  Get over it.

The Journal

Albuquerque's daily Journal today gave more space to a story about an injured puppy than to a group of democrats assailing the Mayor and City Clerk for a botched mail in election.

It is happening.  They are turning in to a TV Newscast.  Well, maybe not yet.  Their saving grace is a doggedness about going after the problems at the Albuquerque Police Department.  That is showing some semblance of real journalism.

I do have a suggestion for the Journal though.  They keep putting a sticker ad on the front page of the paper right over the masthead and teasers for stories.  Would it be possible to put that sticker over the editorial on the Opinion Page.  Most people aren't reading that craziness any more anyway.

Frustration

Sometimes folks don't understand why I get frustrated with Obama on some of the issues involving public Lands.  This chart pretty much sums it up.  What protected acreage he is given credit for in this graph was actually put together during the bush administration.  His performance in this arena of protecting watersheds and ecosystems is very strange.  Maybe his new Interior Secretary can help after she is confirmed.  It is said that he will let his appointees run with policy initiatives in this term of office.  Let's hope that pubic land protection is one of them.  

Embarrassing

It used to be when I was in appointed or elected office and consumed with some policy or initiative that I would be driving down the street and look at the person in the car next to me and realize the last thing on their mind was the public policy I was wrestling with.

For example,  no one drives around and thinks about the legislature debating permanent fund payout rates.  Or who is running the Motor Vehicle Dept. Or about whether they should worry about  the upcoming city election on runoff elections.  They just want the people who should be running things to do their jobs.

One can only wonder if anyone in the city clerk's office, Mayor's Office, or City Council in Albuquerque were doing any oversight on the upcoming mail in city election.  Did anyone of them even look at the ballots that were to be sent out to the public through the mail to see if they were understandable and user friendly?  I am betting not one of them did so.  Now, the election is suspect because so many votes will not be counted, even after voters were asked to come in and sign their ballots if they had overlooked that little important task.

 The signature requirement and signature line on the ballot envelope were not well done.  If they were then this would not be happening.  Unless, someone wanted to sow a little confusion.  Like that would ever happen.

This is what it should have looked like.

This is an embarrassment for the Mayor's Office, City Attorney's Office and City Clerks Office.  But, no one driving down the road is probably thinking about that.

Must See

This is a video that one should watch about the distribution of wealth in the USA.  It doesn't condemn anyone.  It just shows what people's view of reality is compared to the real economic situation.



Thanks to Bubba for finding this.

Water

We drove back down from Fort Collins on Sunday.  I was simply amazed at the condition of the grasslands in Northern New Mexico from Las Vegas to Raton.  Although there had been a little snow, the land is beginning to resemble a desert.  Especially where grazing is not being curtailed.  If there are not spring rains up there then ranching as a business will cease to exist.

Here in our neighborhood of Albuquerque I continue to be impressed with the amount of xeriscaping being done at everyone's homes.  More than anyone it seems that city dwellers understand that there is only so much water to be had and that everyone has to pitch in to help.

In the meantime, some of the irrigators in the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District continue to say they shouldn't make any sacrifices. Do they they deserve some sort of special consideration even in this era of extreme drought?  I am not sure.   Everyone has to do their part.  I know the MRGCD has made some strides in efficiency, but flood irrigation in the current era may no longer be wise. The picture above is an irrigation gate that leads into our property in Pena Blanca.

However, I will say that in one area Albuquerque needs to wake up.  Our neighborhood park is getting as bald as I am.  There has not been an ounce of water applied to it in months and it looks worse than it ever has.  Normally, there is enough winter rain or snow to get the parks through, but not this year.  The response to this has been non existent by the city and it will show soon.  Parks should be green for visitors.  The neighborhood is giving up sodded lawns to save water but green spaces are still very much needed.  

Luke and Noelle

We are visiting our daughter Noelle and son in law Luke in Fort Collins, Co.  They are doing great here and are well employed and super active as athletes too.  They like to sit on their front porch swing and soak in the winter sun.

They made a great decision in moving here from Phoenix.  The summers are mild and the winters are for skiing!  The restaurants are incredible in Fort Collins' Old Town.

Meet Your Constituent

I can't wait to see what happens the next time republican congressmen conduct a town hall.  It may be that a whole new group of folks show up, with tar and feathers, to discuss the loss of their jobs due to the meat cleaver job cuts that will occur in the next few weeks due to the 'sequester.'

I wonder if any of these guys would really hold a town hall.  It would be both a foolish and courageous thing to do.  I hope they do it.

Will we hear from Governor Martinez and Mayor Berry on what they will do to help New Mexico through this?  It will affect us more than most.  Could a public works job program be funded while the legislature is still in session?  Over and above the normal capital improvements spending which will take a long time to generate jobs.  But that would take some real effort and leadership and political skill.  Do they have it in them?  Things can happen quickly when needed.

We are still up here in Fort Collins, Co.  I watched TV news up here and it was actually pretty good.  Informative.  No sex story of the day.  Or rescued puppies.  Or dash cam video.  At least in the show that I watched.  They even got the Governor on camera for an interview that wasn't limited to specific topics.  Like we will ever see that in NM with our feeble journalistic efforts in TV these days.

Mail In Ballot

I can say that the current mail in ballot election of the city of Albuquerque is poorly executed.  Thousands of people are not signing the ballots and that is because the instructions and ballot are so poorly done.  I had to look hard for the signature line before I sent in my vote.  I voted for run off elections in city government.

Now, someone will undoubtedly file a law suit on this ballot process.  Mayor Berry and his folks should have done this right.  We did a mail in ballot back when I was Mayor and it went smoothly.  I don't recall a problem with signatures on that one.

Could it be that mail in balloting bothers the Republican Party?  I think maybe it does.  More people might vote.

I am up in Denver for a meeting of the Governing Council of the Wilderness Society.  The drive up yesterday was pretty.  However, the snow on the ground was surely more pronounced in Colorado than New Mexico.  Everything just north of the state's border just looks less pounded down by the drought.

A Sad Loss of History Archives

Get in  your wayback machine mode and transfer back to the 60's and 70's in the Albuquerque area. Back then there were only three TVstations.

 I started my journalism/political public service career at KOAT TV Channel 7 as a weekend news photographer after completing training as an Air Force photographer in Denver.  I was a member of the NM Air National Guard.

I had always dreamed of being a TV Newsman since I was in the 8th grade.  The dream started one night when construction crews were hauling a giant office building down Marquette Avenue near Quincy Street where I lived.  The weight of the building caused the pavement to buckle and the dollies carrying the structure sunk in to their hubs.  I thought that was interesting and called Channel 7 to let them know and they showed up to film it.  Little did I know that just eight years later I would be working there.

Albuquerque and environs were pretty different back in that era.  There were lots of interesting things going on as the region grew.  I progressed up the ladder at Channel 7 and became a reporter and assignment editor and weekend anchorman.

 Dick Knipfing, Rodger Beimer, and I even had our faces put on to milk cartons as promotional advertising for our station.    We actually took our work seriously.  The above photo shows Dick Knipfing and recently deceased Fabian Chavez in 1972's election coverage.

Because there were only 3 TV stations then most people would recognize you everywhere you went.  It was all very exciting and the work was the most fun I have ever had.  We worked even on our days off because we enjoyed it so much.  And of course, to this day I think we did a much better job of covering real news.  Yeah, we did lots of car wrecks and shootings, but we also covered meaningful politics on all levels.

Now the sad part of this story.  On a regular basis we would send our 16mm film and scripts to the New Mexico State Archives.  They carried valuable information and history about our community and we and the archivist thought it was worth preserving.  I thought about that information about six months ago and wanted to start a new blog, 40 years ago today in Albuquerque, and use the scripts and films.  Channel 7's General Manager Mary Lynn Roper liked the idea and gave me the go ahead to use the material.  But guess what?  The New Mexico State Archives, supposed protector of history and data, had thrown all of the scripts and films out.  They said they just could not find them anywhere.  They said no one could remember ever having them.  But, I know they had them because I personally took a few loads up to them and then later in the 70s went and retrieved some stories for some court cases that required them.

So, think twice before trusting valuable things to our State Archives. 

Misc.

Well, the Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Party, and the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board think that having City run off elections costs to much.  So screw Democracy.  Especially when a Democrat might win.  So, the Mayor's race election might cost an additional 500k with a runoff.  Why would this bother the funders of Super Pacs who routinely spend millions of dollars to defeat anyone who is center or left of center in politics?  Because it would be easier to get one of their nutcase wackos elected whose only vision is to not tax the rich.

All of a sudden the Governor and Mayor are showing concern for the sequester issue and they are trying to look reasonable on getting a solution.  Have they finally figured out that the sequester will further devastate our state's and city's economy?  Yeah, maybe.  After all this time.  But, do not kid yourself, they are doing this for solely political reasons because they want their party to look like the reasonable ones.  Just a few months ago all they could talk about was tax reduction.  It turns out the voters have figured that one out, so on to something else that will help them stay in office.

The cattle industry is on the skids in New Mexico.  There has been a 14% reduction in their herds due to the prolonged drought.  And yet their political arm in the GOP continues to deny that climate change is real.  They will figure it out when they no longer can sustain their operations at all.  That won't be long I think.

Where are the Candidates?

As I watch the chaos caused by the Supreme Court's decisions on Citizens United where corporations mysteriously were construed to be human, I really shouldn't ask this question.  But where are the candidates for Mayor of Albuquerque?  Could it be that all the smart and talented people that should be running have figured out it would be no fun to run against SuperPacs funded by corporate America's deep and endless pockets?

I think so.  There are some decent people running who seem surprisingly naive in thinking that public funding will get them anywhere close where they need to be.  I suppose that some candidate could eke out a slim victory, but I think it is unlikely.  So, where does this leave us?  Other than a rich person with ethics running.

We are screwed.  I just don't know what else to say.  Mayor Berry might or might not be a recipient of some of this money.  He is the most likely at this point.  But it is not guaranteed.  Some really connected person could come out of no where and become blessed by the likes of the Koch brothers and take away the office.  Who knows?

The real danger here is not voter apathy and poor turnouts.  It is the lack of smart people who could do government some good by running for offices which now seem unattainable.  They are evaporating away from the public service careers that used to be respected and who can blame them.

Corporate War Crimes?

With the revelation in the New York Times this morning that Bank of America, Chase Bank and others are enabling and participating in so called 'pay day loans' that can charge up to 500% interest, it might be time for us to consider a new piece of legislation that would create something on the level of a war crime for banks.  These usurious rates are somewhat akin to a crime against humanity in my mind.

Meanwhile, while all the corrupt bankers who still aren't facing prosecution for stealing billions of dollars, can now rest easy because first in line for a date with the Justice Department is a doper bike racer named Lance.  The Justice department is going after him because that was such a serious crime?  How is his peddling more important that banker's peddling investments while betting against them?

Damn!

America Once Led

We are being left in the dustbin of history as a world power and leader by a pragmatic China.   It will remain so until we rid ourselves of the influence on political races by the fossil fuel industry.  You must read this.

As someone who I know says,  "The Chinese have a plan and they can implement it.  The U.S. has no plan and couldn't implement it if we did."

Sunsets

I have always thought the legislature wastes immense amount of time on memorials and fluff during their sessions.  It is like they are not busy enough to do real work.  Besides, memorials etc. really are nothing more than pandering to little constituencies to make them feel important.  I can remember when the Governor's Aide de Camp certificates were given out en masse.  They were meaningless mostly, but something that everyone thought put them a step above on the political ladder.  Feel good stuff.

If the Legislature needs to stay busy on things then there is an automatic way of assuring it.  Just put a sunset of 10 years on every bill that they pass.  Revisiting a law every ten years makes sense anyway as times and attitudes change.  If 10 year sunsets were attached to every law then the lawmakers would have real work to do as the legislation's turn for reconsideration comes along.

Ten years is a long time.  But even if it were 15 or 20 years it would make sense.

Misc.

One of the Albuquerque Journal's right wing nut case columnists, Victor Davis Hanson, is condemning left of center rich people.  For being rich I guess.  Those rich leftists are doing a lot of good.  My new blogger favorite, David Brin, wrote a really good piece about those rich liberals, and what they can do.  Read it here.

Thanks to Bubba

The El Paso Times had this in their newspaper today.  Would something like it appear in the Journal?  Happy Reading.

Misc.

The Liquor Industry and their lobbyists are having a great time in Santa Fe killing a tax that would help with alcoholism problems.  I am not going to debate if the tax would do any good.  I don't think it will, but it might be worth a try.  Just put a sunset on it.  But what is amusing is that the lobbyists have convinced some legislators that each county having the authority to levy such a tax would cause much confusion for the industry.  They say having to keep track of which counties are opting for the tax would not be possible.  What crap!  They seem to have no trouble in tracking the thousands of products, inventory and deliveries they are responsible for.  They have computers that do well in that task.  Oh, but it just wouldn't work to track 33 counties in New Mexico.  Any legislator who buys into this argument is suspect.

Speaking of legislators, the story on Domenici having a son out of wedlock is getting legs nationally.  Well, just for a day or two.  The story being spun now is that Domenici followed the wishes of the mother in keeping this a secret all these years.  He said he honored that.  Good story, but when agreeing to that do you think they might have been thinking about his political career?  Just a little?  Back in the 80's this revelation would be a show stopper for sure.  Did he do an honorable thing?  Well he even kept it a secret from his wife and eight other kids.

The Albuquerque Journal continues its kid glove treatment of Domenici.  They have a gaggle of folks saying he is a great guy in the paper today.  But really, he fathered a child who never had a dad around to guide him along the way.  Not exactly part of the Character Counts program that Pete promoted in the schools.

oops

One of my alert readers caught a large error on my part where I mixed up two incidents that APD officers were involved in.  The officer who hit the car killing a young woman after allegedly running a red light had not been drinking at a bar with other cops prior to the accident.  It was another officer in a separate incident who went home and beat his wife that was drinking.  My mistake.  Sincere apologies.  But it does point out there are sure a lot of incidents at APD that all sort of blur into one thing.  And it isn't good.

And now a District Judge has ruled that the shooting of a man at a convenience store was not justified and violated the constitution.  That will cost us dearly.  

St. Pete

Okay, we  have to take the word Saint off of Pete Domenici's name now that he has admitted to having a child out of wedlock when he was a U.S. Senator.  He  had eight other kids with his wife Nancy.  He was a good Catholic for sure.

Also, maybe we could rename all the buildings named for Domenici.  They can be known as Domenici and Son.

And we might ponder why there are so many unanswered questions in the Journal Story this morning.  It is evident that Domenici went to them to get a story on his terms.  Can you imagine hard questions being not asked of someone like Bill Richardson in the same predicament.

But at least the Journal did the story.

Cop Out

Mayor Berry is having difficulty with the term 'cop out.'  He should practice it in the manner that would have him throw some cops out of the force.  Like the Chief and a few Deputy Chiefs.  Things just keep getting worse at APD after an officer kills an innocent girl with his patrol car after hanging out in a bar with other cops for a few hours.

No, the Mayor's definition of 'cop out' is to not enforce the new minimum wage ordinance.  He says he can't really do it because his City Attorney doesn't think he should.  Berry says though that he wishes folks would just pay the minimum wage.  He thinks minimum wage employees should just hire lawyers to get the boss to follow the voter mandated new wage ordinance.

Does this mean that if a burglar comes to my house I can't rely on government to prosecute?  Or will the city attorney not go after zoning law violators?  This attitude on the minimum wage is dangerous because it opens the door to selective enforcement of laws.

The Mayor also says that although he hires the City Attorney, he cant really tell him what to do.  As a former Mayor, I can tell you that is the biggest load of b.s. I have heard in at least a few days.

Current Reads and TV, Prophesy?

I am into this new SCIFI show called Continuum.  It is about the future being run by corporations instead of governments.  It paints an ugly picture of where we are and where we are headed by using time travel.  It is a Canadian series and producers aren't afraid to tell it like it is.

The last couple of books I have read both have similar themes about corporate power and class divide.  They are titled 'Kill Decision' by Daniel Suarez and 'Existence' by David Brin.

The other day we were talking about who is reading newspapers and some friends say that their kids won't go near them because they think it is all corporate inspired coverage that in the end tries to sell something that really isn't good for anyone.  So, they all read blogs and internet news services.

Case in point, the Albuquerque Journal's continued tirade, at the behest of the Chamber of Commerce, against a minimum wage.  Also, their editorial stand against run off elections which they must feel helps  solidify corporate power.  Although, the front page columns by Wynn Quigley and Leslie Lithicum still are helping them sell newspapers to me.

I wonder if this deeply submerged frustration with income disparity and lack of social justice will erupt into full scale political action soon.  After watching the feeble and leaderless 'Occupy' movement one can only wonder.  But if a real leader and visionary were to come along, that would be extremely valuable and a game changer.

How Not to Win

Here is a list of ways to not win a Mayor's election in Albuquerque.

1. As Pete Dinelli will find out using an issue that absolutely no one cares about to launch your campaign is not a good idea.  That would be the amount of money city law suits cost.  It would be better to talk about jobs.

2. Relying on pubic financing to win a race after the right wing leaning U.S. Supreme Court says that corporations are really people.  The $362,000 you might get for your campaign isn't worth spit once Mayor Berry's PACs start their 'independent campaigns.'  Thanks to the Governor's right wing hit squads.

3. Using all your time and organizational effort at getting $5 from 3500 voters, along with their signatures on a petition, will pretty much take you out of talking about issues for a while.  And most who go this public financing route will fail to get the required numbers.

4. As a candidate, don't think the Albuquerque Journal will give you fair political coverage when compared with any candidate that is further right wing than you are.  And forget the TV station's news departments who will concentrate on whose yard signs are being torn down by one candidate or another.

5. Thinking anything matters except for job creation in our city.  Except if you are the Mayor who, along with his Governor, has failed miserably at economic development.  Since he gets a break from the media on this most important issue, the rest of the candidates will sputter about wondering if it is important.

6. Not talking about the importance of Federal jobs to New Mexico and Albuquerque.  That is the backbone of our economy.  Has the Governor or Mayor gone to DC even once to lobby for protecting these historically important and well paying jobs?  Nope.  Maybe a Mayoral candidate could do so.  Just go see our Senators and Congressional members and say you are ready to help.

The only hope is that voters will vote to have a runoff election so that everyone can concentrate on that second election.  Then the visions of the candidates will be much more discussed.  At least let's hope so.

When it comes to Mayor Berry, the incumbent, I have been trying to put my finger on exactly what he has accomplished in his four years.  Although I think he is a decent guy I think he has failed to put into action any vision for our City.  In the four years I was Mayor I started reinvesting in downtown, passed a transportation tax to fix the city streets and bus system, found a new Triple A baseball team.  Passed an election to build a new profit making stadium for the city, and oversaw a very active economic development team under the leadership of Eric Pfeiffer.  Can one look at Mayor Berry's term as see much of that kind of on the ground action?

Yeah, I am blowing my own horn here, but those things are important to a city.

All Manner of Crazy

The Albuquerque Journal today editorialized against Mayoral runoff elections saying they cost to much.  Why don't they just say the don't want it because their editor knows they only way to elect right wing crazy nut jobs is to not have run off elections.  This newspaper editorial page is turning into a really bizarre opinion purveyor.

Now, I will certainly upset my left of center friends, but if the legislature passes a constitutional amendment to take more money out of the permanent fund for education, then what it is really doing is foisting a giant tax cut for the rich.  Because, if the public voted for the amendment then the conservatives in the legislature will just lower taxes by the same amount of new money provided by the permanent fund raid.  Certainly, I think this funding for education would be good.  But this is one of the biggest bait and switch cons ever.

Has Ray Powell, our mostly invisible but decent Land Commissioner, succumbed to the idea that stealing federal public lands is a good idea?  He seems to think the Feds should turn over 1,000,000 acres of land to the land office.  The land office is a great department that does little in the way of land management.  It currently has no more that 15 or so land managers out on the ground to watch over 8 million acres of surface land and 13 million acres of mineral rights.  How could they manage more when they don't have the resources to manage what they already have?  Of course the oil and gas industry would love to see more land less protected.

And finally, maybe the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney should look into the dealings between the state and Yates Petroleum.  Is there undue influence being exerted on the Martinez Administration's Energy department to illegally lessen oversight on drilling?  I have to say it looks that way after reading a surprisingly good story on this issue in the Journal this morning.  Sometimes, I think that the newspaper is schizophrenic.  Kind of like the Wall Street Journal where there is all manner of craziness on their editorial page, but the news side is okay.

Hubris

The NM oil and gas industry is actually encouraging the Martinez administration to deny state capital improvement funds for any county that wants to protect themselves from unsafe drilling practices.  Thirty oil and gas mascot legislators have penned a letter to the Governor, who in a rare exhibition of governance, had her spokesman say it probably wasn't a good idea.  But just the fact that fully 25% of state legislators could even suggest this is an indication of the true wickedness and control the oil boys have in this Land of Enchantment.  To them it is a Land of Profit at any cost.

One can only wonder if the Tea Party minions see the meteor over Russia as a giant scientific hoax.  If  you follow their climate change denial then this would fit right in with their paranoia.  Could they think this was a planned event to get more funding for NASA to practice Science?  Ha Ha!  I think.

XGR

When I was in the news business many years ago when ever we put an assignment up on the assignment board in the TV newsroom about coverage of an item at the legislature we would abbreviate it as XGR.  That way it would fit on the low tech marker board.

I remember the days when all of the stations had full time cameramen and reporters assigned to each session. There were guys like Rodger Beimer who knew how politics in the roundhouse worked and who reported on complex issues rather than the 'he said/she said' kind of stuff they do now.  One gets the feeling now that the reporters don't know what the difference between the House and Senate is, nor how a bill gets passed.  For the most part the TV coverage is abysmal.  Have you noticed how the news departments don't even interview folks on video anymore, but merely call them on the phone and then put up inaudible audio for an interview?

One bill in the legislature that should get killed is a law that would get the legislature involved in picking Regents for the state's institutions of higher learning.  The legislature will always try and take power from the Executive but this is a bad idea and will cause the same kind of paralysis we see in Washington.  Senate confirmation is enough.  What is next?  Part time legislators selecting janitors for state buildings?

UPDATE:  Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver yesterday called me and got information to remove our son and daughter from the voting rolls here.  They have been kept on the rolls for years despite our efforts while registered in their homes in New York and Colorado.  But Maggie took it on personally and got it done.  Thanks!  I hope she runs for Secretary of State in Santa Fe.

Albuquerque Mail In Election

We have received our mail in ballots to vote on whether Albuquerque should have run off elections.  We will vote yes.  When I was elected Mayor in 1997 it was the first time run off elections were not used because of a court case.  I received just 1/3 of the vote and it was a hindrance during my entire term because I could never really claim to have won a majority.

The downside to all of this is that it gives one more election for corporate right wing committees to attack democracy with huge amounts of money.   Governor Martinez's hack, Jay McClesky, will work around any law to get his folks elected, even if they don't know about it.  He will be working for the Mayor this year.

We got five ballots in the mail yesterday.  Bobbi and I got one as we should have.  Our son and daughter got one each as well as another person who stayed with us back during the Kerry presidential run.  We have notified the Secretary of State, the County Clerk, and City Clerk on numerous occasions that these people were no longer registered to vote in New Mexico.  My kids wrote letters too.  But they are still on the voter rolls.  How many more times do I need to do this?  Are the voter files unfixable?  I am beginning to think so.

Ominous

The signs are all there.  And anyone who plans on running for Mayor or City Council should beware of their upcoming ordeal.  The next Albuquerque Mayor's race will not be funded legally by public financing or candidate fund raising within legal limits as envisioned by the city charter.  No, it will be overwhelmed by right wing political committees spawned by corporate America and right wing nut cases.  Among them will be Governor Martinez's rabid political advisors.  All of this enabled by the US Supreme Court's decision to let corporations be recognized as persons.

These are the same folks who flexed their muscles in the recent Albuquerque School Board race.  They were not that effective, but they showed a real affinity for not obeying election laws and just practicing a blitzkrieg of political corruption.

I don't know if Mayor Berry will let his City Attorney turn a blind eye towards this practice as we approach election day, but if he doesn't take a proactive stance against this kind of democracy killing campaign he will be a disappointment.  But then, I think he will most likely be the benefactor of such practices.

It is interesting right now to see that Karl Rove has his hands full with the Tea Party.  They aren't playing ball with him.  Even though his tactics, and those of Fox News, has created this modern day schizophrenic and psychopathic political organization.  They even have an army.  The NRA.

APD Response

Yesterday as I drove down Rio Grande Blvd. near Indian School Road I noticed a guy walking along the street stealing mail from every mail box.  It was about 10am in the morning.  I called the non emergency Police Department number to get a police officer after him.  I was told that there were no officers available.  I gave a full description of the guy, a tall african american, 180 lbs., white sweat shirt, blue jeans.  A blue backpack into which he was stuffing the mail.  And a white jacket draped over his shoulder.

An hour later the police called back and wanted to know if I needed to see an officer.  I said no because the guy was long gone along with everyones mail.  I know this was not a violent crime but the fact is that there should have been an officer available.

My brother Tom caught another guy stealing mail out of mailboxes near his home a few weeks ago.  The police told him they couldn't do much about it, even though he had video of the thefts.

Just another factoid to consider during the next city election.

Misc.

It is official.  The Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce is in league with the extreme right wing apparatus of the Republican party, the Rio Grande Foundation.  Today they took out a full page ad saying that the new minimum wage will ruin us all.  Maybe, if the Chamber started to work a little on job creation and recruitment of new business then they would not have time for this nonsense.  And of course the Albuquerque Journal chose to do a story on how much the minimum wage would cost UNM's student job program.  Gee, maybe the could follow it up with a story on how it might help our working students to stay in school.

The Pope is resigning.  Let's all hope we get a new leader of the church that lives wholly in modern times.  I had to chuckle watching Downton Abbey last night because the servant class and its leadership showed more compassion for a gay guy than the catholic church does today.  Of course one is just a TV show and the other is based on faith that illiterate fisherman had figured out the secrets of the universe some 2000 years ago.  But seriously, this is an opportunity for the church to start reinventing itself.

Our first interesting and well written political story has been posted on NewMexicopoliticallore.blogspot.com.  Please make your contribution to it soon.

A New Blog for You Politicos

All of us who are interested in politics have a favorite story about a politician or an event.  It could be historical or recent.  It might be humorous or very traumatic.  But most of these things are very entertaining and educational.

I propose in a new blog to publish from you, the reader, some of  your favorite political stories.  I only ask that you mail them to me at NMPoliticalLore@gmail.com.  I will not edit them nor change them, but this process will allow for some discretion in keeping away some crazy stuff.  You may have a byline or not but the comments page will be open for other views.

This could be fun.  To see the new blog just go to http://newmexicopoliticallore.blogspot.com

We are open for business.

Misc.

I just finished reading Daniel Suarez's new novel "Kill Decision".  It is about the future of autonomous weapon drones.  It is a timely read right now as the morality of  using drone attacks against enemies is being debated.  The writer is an expert in IT and former contractor for the intelligence infrastructure of the U.S. Government.  His knowledge of the technology and the direction it is headed paints a very frightening future.  I suggest  you pick it up to see what a game changer this new technology will be.  The problem is that anyone can build one with off the shelf technology and they can blow you up.  This is not just going to be a U.S. weapon.

I ranted yesterday about the efforts of the extractive industries to use P.R. and lobbyists to get New Mexicans to believe it is possible to take over federal public lands.  Think of the oil companies taking over Chaco Canyon.

At times like these it's worth remembering a few key things:

* Article IV, Section 3 of our Constitution gives Congress the exclusive, "Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;..."

* Exercising its prerogative under this provision of the Constitution, Congress admitted all of the western states to the Union on condition that they disclaim "... all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries" of each state.  In other words, the western states are creatures of Congress, which under our Constitution and the enabling acts of each state is responsible for the administration of the federal public lands therein.

* In further exercise of its responsibilities under Article IV, Section III of the Constitution, Congress in 1976 passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which among (many) other things states that, "... it is the policy of the United States that the public lands be retained in federal ownership,..." (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)((1))

In other words, theories propounded by various "states' rights" proponents that somehow the federal lands within the various western state boundaries by right belong to the states are completely contrary to our Constitution, the state enabling acts (and often state constitutions) themselves, and the most recent iteration of general Congressional policy with respect to the federal public lands codified in FLPMA. 

Eastbound

This is a view at dawn on I-10 East of Benson, AZ.  It was a pretty morning.  And then I had a call that lobbyist Dan Weaks in Santa Fe has been pushing a bill that would have the state take over ownership of federal public lands.  Of course this is unconstitutional, but that doesn't bother the right wing oil boys and greedy lobbyists.  However the gun enthusiasts who partner with the right wing use the constitution to argue for their rights to carry assault rifles.  They do this because they are paranoid the government will attack them.  Also because they thinks it prove they have big uhhhh, you know.

Tucson

I'm in Tucson playing golf. Last night the city Council in Tucson voted to require registration and background checks of people buying guns at private Gun shows. And then I looked in the Albuquerque Journal website today and find out the gun nuts are carrying assault rifles into the state legislature. I wonder if New Mexico's becoming crazier than Arizona.

Sent from my iPhone

I-10

This is a roadside stop between Deming and Lordsburg. There is no wind and the skies are blue with some clouds. A very pretty scene.

Warned

There are warning signs everywhere. I wonder what kind of accident you could can have in a small restaurant in Hatch New Mexico. Lawyers are with us everywhere.

Sun Shine

I will be gone for a few days to play golf with friends near Tucson, Az.  It is supposed to be in the mid 70's.  Woo Hoo!  

Earth to Cowboys

This is earth calling cowboys.  Your state of New Mexico is in a record drought.  You should not be suing the Forest Service for cutting back your grazing allotments if you want the landscape to survive.  You sound like a bunch of mewling kittens when you complain the Forest Service Ranger in your district doesn't like you because you don't respect her.  And don't forget, the state's water supplies come from these forest watersheds and they are not yours to devastate.  Grow up and be responsible.

Earth to oil and Gas industry.  Why would anyone in their right minds object to revealing what potentially dangerous chemicals are being injected into the ground during fracking?  Yet you are trying to kill Brian Egolf's bill in Santa Fe to require you to fess up!  Here is a compromise.  Any oil man who supports killing this bill should allow the Sierra Club to inject the same chemicals under said oil man's home.  If it is good for everyone else then it is good for you!

3%

C'mon Albuquerque!  We can do it.  Let's show our kids we really do believe in democracy and endeavor to beat the 3% turnout for the last School Board and Bond election.  That will take place on Tuesday and there is early voting available.  I will vote today since I will be off to Amado, Arizona for a few days of golf on Monday.

I got an email from a democratic precinct chair warning me that the Tea party is trying to take over the school board.  Sure enough the Journal endorsed one of them this morning.  I for one do not want any of those folks in charge of curriculums for the school districts kids.  Creationism, gun mania, and right wing lunacy should not be pounded into our kids.  Although it would be hard to imagine most of the teachers allowing that to happen.