We should all be very supportive and proud of public representatives like County Commissioner Art De La Cruz. Clearly Art De La Cruz understands that parents and children should come before a overpaid non-responsive educational administration.
When will people like APS Board Member and President Martin Esquival start listening to parents and children in this city. Martin Esquival is in my district and will not return phone calls. His board which he leads is sickening to parents for its lack of accountability to parents and children. This man needs to be replaced. I am ashamed that he represents me on the school board.
We should not vote for or support anyone that puts this board member or his educational administration before our children’s needs. I have had people tell me that Esquival will have people from his own party run against him in the next election. I look forward to replacing him as soon as possible.
As for Art De La Cruz, we need more representatives just like him in public office. There can be no room for representatives who will not take care of our children and put their needs first.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
No Fool Like an Old Fool
You know I was feeling very sorry for Judge Bob Schwartz. I just started a new medication myself that maybe makes me react a little more emotionally then I would like so at my age I can completely understand dealing with new medications.
But now I don’t have even one ounce of pity for that man. The word dirty old man come to mind. Also foolish, stupid, childish, immature, irresponsible and silly old man come to mind. Why on earth is it that men around my age think with the little head instead of the bigger? Any girl that age is only looking for power and money when they date older men.
I have not problem with the Supreme Court giving him sixty days off for his bad behavior. I don’t think a sexual harassment class will do even one bit of good. The men around him are slapping him on the back and giving him smiles of admiration at this point. A little public humiliation is called for in this matter. I think he should go in front of a group of women, none under the age of forty five, and he should have to make a public apologies for being an old fool.
There is more than enough single women in this city around his own age that he does not need to date a girl young enough to be his daughter. The problem with most men Judge Schwartz's age is that they are superficial. These men want the perfect body image and don’t give a crap about a real relationship with a mature woman. My mother use to say that men my age that are single are that way for a reason. In other words they are damaged goods.
But now I don’t have even one ounce of pity for that man. The word dirty old man come to mind. Also foolish, stupid, childish, immature, irresponsible and silly old man come to mind. Why on earth is it that men around my age think with the little head instead of the bigger? Any girl that age is only looking for power and money when they date older men.
I have not problem with the Supreme Court giving him sixty days off for his bad behavior. I don’t think a sexual harassment class will do even one bit of good. The men around him are slapping him on the back and giving him smiles of admiration at this point. A little public humiliation is called for in this matter. I think he should go in front of a group of women, none under the age of forty five, and he should have to make a public apologies for being an old fool.
There is more than enough single women in this city around his own age that he does not need to date a girl young enough to be his daughter. The problem with most men Judge Schwartz's age is that they are superficial. These men want the perfect body image and don’t give a crap about a real relationship with a mature woman. My mother use to say that men my age that are single are that way for a reason. In other words they are damaged goods.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
OMG! A Free Political Event
Don’t tell me that someone finally listened... Better late than never I guess. If you want to fight the good fight for low income people like teachers and parent the first step is to get to know them by showing up at community events where they can vent their anger. Yes, at you… These people are not VIPs and they don’t have hundreds of dollars to hand out like candy to politicians at invitation only events.
They spend most of the few dollars they had this month on back to school supplies. They work 40 plus hours a week just to put food on the table and a roof over their children’s head. Administration takes every opportunity to cut their pay while hiring yet another a new vice-president.
The second step is to listen, really honestly listen to what they are saying and then reach out to help them on issue that get killed through normal channels. They already know that administration does not care about what works for them or their students. They have been dealing with a failed overpaid administration most of their adult life. When .39 cents out of every dollar spent on education in this state goes to paid overpriced administration what else can you expect. Our system should be about the students and what is good for them. Not a new shiny building too far away to help them or to provide services. Not yet another level of administration who never even speak to a student during the day.
Hearing and listening are two entirely different activates. Politicians should learn the difference between the two activities. Just a few short weeks ago I had someone tell me that he was listening but the truth was that although he heard what I said, he was far from listening to what I was telling him. Still he did manage to help out a little.
We need people running our state government who listen and act on the issues that hold this state back everyday. We need someone that will support people from the ground up and not from the top down.
They spend most of the few dollars they had this month on back to school supplies. They work 40 plus hours a week just to put food on the table and a roof over their children’s head. Administration takes every opportunity to cut their pay while hiring yet another a new vice-president.
The second step is to listen, really honestly listen to what they are saying and then reach out to help them on issue that get killed through normal channels. They already know that administration does not care about what works for them or their students. They have been dealing with a failed overpaid administration most of their adult life. When .39 cents out of every dollar spent on education in this state goes to paid overpriced administration what else can you expect. Our system should be about the students and what is good for them. Not a new shiny building too far away to help them or to provide services. Not yet another level of administration who never even speak to a student during the day.
Hearing and listening are two entirely different activates. Politicians should learn the difference between the two activities. Just a few short weeks ago I had someone tell me that he was listening but the truth was that although he heard what I said, he was far from listening to what I was telling him. Still he did manage to help out a little.
We need people running our state government who listen and act on the issues that hold this state back everyday. We need someone that will support people from the ground up and not from the top down.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Candidate for Sell just $100 to be called a Friend
Growing up in a republican family I learned at an early age one thing . You cannot buy friendship or love for that matter. Money can get you a lot of things in life but when the going gets tough the bought get going elsewhere. The people who stand by elected official during the difficult times are the ones that don’t spend hundreds of dollars in support of candidates.
Now like all individuals I have learned the cold hard facts that politicians in both parties sell themselves to the highest bidder in this state. They need the money in order to run for office. I have to say that nothing disgusted me more because the people who are willing to pay high dollar to be called friends and supporters of local politicians expect big favors in return that will only harm the working poor in this state.
Our system needs reform or we can give up any hope of ever electing honest hardworking public servants who care more about ethics then where their next donation is coming from. The current crop of politicians are only too willing to sell out people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from to individuals who have no souls.
I limit my donations to any candidate and look for ones that show respect to low income voters and the working poor. I can’t say that I have not been fooled once or twice by people who claimed to care about the disadvantaged in this state but at some point you do have to give someone a chance to prove you wrong.
We need to demand that candidates start showing up for community events for free and stop demanding outrages sums of money just to be called a supporter or a friend of any candidate in our party. Candidates need to show that they care about the working poor and show their support by standing up to rich individuals. People who earn more then $200,000 a year and are control freaks when it comes to their employees in this state. Those individuals should be called out in public by our elected official so that they know that money exchanges at private parties cannot and will not effect the way our candidates cast their votes or run our government in the future.
I have no hope of this happening when it comes to the current list of people running for public offices in our state this fall. These individuals have already shown who has paid for their friendship and support over the next four years in our state. I cannot bring myself to campaign for or support any candidate who puts money before ethics in this state during this summer of our discontent.
Now like all individuals I have learned the cold hard facts that politicians in both parties sell themselves to the highest bidder in this state. They need the money in order to run for office. I have to say that nothing disgusted me more because the people who are willing to pay high dollar to be called friends and supporters of local politicians expect big favors in return that will only harm the working poor in this state.
Our system needs reform or we can give up any hope of ever electing honest hardworking public servants who care more about ethics then where their next donation is coming from. The current crop of politicians are only too willing to sell out people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from to individuals who have no souls.
I limit my donations to any candidate and look for ones that show respect to low income voters and the working poor. I can’t say that I have not been fooled once or twice by people who claimed to care about the disadvantaged in this state but at some point you do have to give someone a chance to prove you wrong.
We need to demand that candidates start showing up for community events for free and stop demanding outrages sums of money just to be called a supporter or a friend of any candidate in our party. Candidates need to show that they care about the working poor and show their support by standing up to rich individuals. People who earn more then $200,000 a year and are control freaks when it comes to their employees in this state. Those individuals should be called out in public by our elected official so that they know that money exchanges at private parties cannot and will not effect the way our candidates cast their votes or run our government in the future.
I have no hope of this happening when it comes to the current list of people running for public offices in our state this fall. These individuals have already shown who has paid for their friendship and support over the next four years in our state. I cannot bring myself to campaign for or support any candidate who puts money before ethics in this state during this summer of our discontent.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Top Down Style Government Does Not Work
Take it thought channels. Do what I say and don’t ask questions. This is my order so just follow it. I don’t want to hear your point of view because it does not fit in with my plans. If you are not a VIP then your observations don’t count with me. Don’t ever try to think above your pay grade. Tell me your view that I don’t agree with, and I will only show you anger then I will show you the door. You want my attention pay me for it.
On the other hand are those people who always have a question in mind. Why! How! What will work best for all concerned. Governor Richardson is a man who listens and works with people from all levels of society. He does not even begin to care where ideas come from or how rich the person is who gives him a suggestion. Now don’t count on him to enact anything before everyone has their say on the issue and done expect him to force anyone into a box that does not fit or work for that matter because that is not who he is or how he works.
Good government is one where a leader leads but does not force people to follow them. It is one where a leader listens to everyone and works with everyone to get solutions that work. It is where government leaders go out of their way to listen and take into account all views even those that don’t fit into their neat little boxes of pat answers.
At present I don’t see that in either of our candidates for governor. I see anger and resentment with views that don’t fit neatly into their points of view. I see attack after attack for anyone who don’t agree with them . I see no areas for common ground when it comes to how government works.
One of these women is going to end up governor in the near future. They will run into great difficulty during their one short term in that office unless they come to an enlightenment in office. My way or the highway does not encourage buy in from the people who do the work in this state. Change is not something that is forced on individuals from the top down but something that must be worked out over a period of time.
Governor Richardson has done a lot of good things for this state especially in the field of education because of his style of governing. He took a state eight years ago that needed a lot of work and has had some successes over the years. Not everything he has tried has worked but that does not mean there have been no achievements.
If Governor Richardson is remembered as anything it will be the governor in this state who made government for the people, by the people and with the people at all levels. He will be remembered as a tough negotiator who listened, worked with people and had some successes during his terms in office.
There is a lot more that needs to get done in this state in the future and our current leaders have a lot to learn if they hope to leave the people of this state with any successes that have buy in over the next four years.
On the other hand are those people who always have a question in mind. Why! How! What will work best for all concerned. Governor Richardson is a man who listens and works with people from all levels of society. He does not even begin to care where ideas come from or how rich the person is who gives him a suggestion. Now don’t count on him to enact anything before everyone has their say on the issue and done expect him to force anyone into a box that does not fit or work for that matter because that is not who he is or how he works.
Good government is one where a leader leads but does not force people to follow them. It is one where a leader listens to everyone and works with everyone to get solutions that work. It is where government leaders go out of their way to listen and take into account all views even those that don’t fit into their neat little boxes of pat answers.
At present I don’t see that in either of our candidates for governor. I see anger and resentment with views that don’t fit neatly into their points of view. I see attack after attack for anyone who don’t agree with them . I see no areas for common ground when it comes to how government works.
One of these women is going to end up governor in the near future. They will run into great difficulty during their one short term in that office unless they come to an enlightenment in office. My way or the highway does not encourage buy in from the people who do the work in this state. Change is not something that is forced on individuals from the top down but something that must be worked out over a period of time.
Governor Richardson has done a lot of good things for this state especially in the field of education because of his style of governing. He took a state eight years ago that needed a lot of work and has had some successes over the years. Not everything he has tried has worked but that does not mean there have been no achievements.
If Governor Richardson is remembered as anything it will be the governor in this state who made government for the people, by the people and with the people at all levels. He will be remembered as a tough negotiator who listened, worked with people and had some successes during his terms in office.
There is a lot more that needs to get done in this state in the future and our current leaders have a lot to learn if they hope to leave the people of this state with any successes that have buy in over the next four years.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Top Down Debate-No reason to vote in November
I always vote in elections because I want to support my party and the people who represent us. This year I have no reason to vote for any of the current candidates on the Democratic ticket.
Can’t begin to afford their high priced get togethers. As one person put it yesterday evening I hope all that money buys them some votes because it does nothing for either a liberal or a progressive voter in this state.
Liberal and progressive voters have a real hard time with the issue of chain of command as any administrator can attest to in this state, but that never stopped Governor Bill Richardson from stepping outside of the chain of command to listen to our concerns and to voice our issues at the very top of our state government.
At present we have no representatives who are willing to put aside the money and just talk to voters. You had to have a special invitation from the educational administration just to attend last evenings debate. They did not even begin to address issues that matter to liberals or progressives in this state.
At this point in time I honestly see no difference between the two candidates. I get the feeling neither one cares where or not I turn out to vote in November. Candidates need to remember that that support thing that I am so good at is a two way street and that it will not come with a price tag. Especially one which cannot be afforded by most of the voting public in this state.
Can’t begin to afford their high priced get togethers. As one person put it yesterday evening I hope all that money buys them some votes because it does nothing for either a liberal or a progressive voter in this state.
Liberal and progressive voters have a real hard time with the issue of chain of command as any administrator can attest to in this state, but that never stopped Governor Bill Richardson from stepping outside of the chain of command to listen to our concerns and to voice our issues at the very top of our state government.
At present we have no representatives who are willing to put aside the money and just talk to voters. You had to have a special invitation from the educational administration just to attend last evenings debate. They did not even begin to address issues that matter to liberals or progressives in this state.
At this point in time I honestly see no difference between the two candidates. I get the feeling neither one cares where or not I turn out to vote in November. Candidates need to remember that that support thing that I am so good at is a two way street and that it will not come with a price tag. Especially one which cannot be afforded by most of the voting public in this state.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Visit to the Courtroom of Judge Robert (Bob) M. Schwartz
With all of the press around how Judge Schwartz handles his courtroom as of late, I thought today would be a perfect opportunity to drop by and checkout how the judge is dealing with matters.
He appeared well capable of handling himself in the courtroom. His demeanor was sane but a little harsh at times. A few of the attorneys were pushing the edge a little bit but when is that anything new?
Judge Schwartz had a good understanding of the cases and had a busy courtroom. He was able to enumerate to a defendant all of the rights he was giving up in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office before he sentenced the young man to a long probation for drug charges.
Gone was the more relaxed atmosphere of his courtroom that he had earlier in the year replaced by a matter-of-fact no nonsense business attitude. The judge was clearly moving through his caseload on a faster bases since one or two of the attorneys ended up outside the courtroom when they should have been ready for the next case in line.
The new healthier, balanced, Judge Robert M. Schwartz will fit right in with all of the other criminal court judges who don’t have the time for being polite or any niceties in the courtroom and could careless about most of the stories they hear from defendants with long criminal histories.
Like so many other criminal courtrooms Judge Schwartz’s courtroom has falling into the same state of daily life which is nothing more then a boring routine of one case after another with criminals who have long histories of drug and alcohol abuse that leads defendants into a life of crime with little hope of redemption.
The social and criminal problems that come along with drug and alcohol abuse clearly will not be solved in a courtroom but can only be fixed with a solid economical plan that gets these defendants treatment long before they end up as hopeless hardened adult criminals who can only be locked away in overcrowded jails to protect the general public.
The likelihood of that happening anytime in the near future is slime to none since most legislators in Santa Fe are only looking at short-term measures that look hard on crime, and don’t provide long-term benefits that would reduce the jailhouse population of low income minority individuals who frequently abuse drugs and alcohol as a way of self medicating untreated physical, emotional, and mental problems.
He appeared well capable of handling himself in the courtroom. His demeanor was sane but a little harsh at times. A few of the attorneys were pushing the edge a little bit but when is that anything new?
Judge Schwartz had a good understanding of the cases and had a busy courtroom. He was able to enumerate to a defendant all of the rights he was giving up in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office before he sentenced the young man to a long probation for drug charges.
Gone was the more relaxed atmosphere of his courtroom that he had earlier in the year replaced by a matter-of-fact no nonsense business attitude. The judge was clearly moving through his caseload on a faster bases since one or two of the attorneys ended up outside the courtroom when they should have been ready for the next case in line.
The new healthier, balanced, Judge Robert M. Schwartz will fit right in with all of the other criminal court judges who don’t have the time for being polite or any niceties in the courtroom and could careless about most of the stories they hear from defendants with long criminal histories.
Like so many other criminal courtrooms Judge Schwartz’s courtroom has falling into the same state of daily life which is nothing more then a boring routine of one case after another with criminals who have long histories of drug and alcohol abuse that leads defendants into a life of crime with little hope of redemption.
The social and criminal problems that come along with drug and alcohol abuse clearly will not be solved in a courtroom but can only be fixed with a solid economical plan that gets these defendants treatment long before they end up as hopeless hardened adult criminals who can only be locked away in overcrowded jails to protect the general public.
The likelihood of that happening anytime in the near future is slime to none since most legislators in Santa Fe are only looking at short-term measures that look hard on crime, and don’t provide long-term benefits that would reduce the jailhouse population of low income minority individuals who frequently abuse drugs and alcohol as a way of self medicating untreated physical, emotional, and mental problems.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Judge Robert (Bob) Schwartz and the Judicial Standard Commission
Earlier this year Judge Bob Schwartz took a leave due to medical problems. He was concerned with a new medication he was taking and how it was affecting his ability to be a judge. He reported himself to the judicial standard commission because he was unwilling to continue with his job because he did not want to settle for less then appropriate abilities and decision making capacity in his courtroom.
The first thing that the general public should be concerned with is how will this affect the behavior of future judges and their willingness to self report when a medical condition is affecting their ability to do their job correctly.
We want our judges to have the type of ethics that would encourage them to self report without fear of losing their jobs or having to face disciplinary measures for them being human. We have all faced medical problems in the past at work that have affected our ability to perform our jobs at the desired level so why should judges be any different?
None of our Second District Court Judges are young men or women because we the public demand experience in the law from our judges. With age comes basic medical problems. Inexperience could and would do far more harm to the voting public then a older judge with high ethical standards, years of experience in the law and yes the medical problems that come with age.
I hope that the Supreme Court with their hearing aides and other medical problems that come with age will take into account the fact that Judge Schwartz had the ethical standards to self report himself when a problem with his health arose that could affect his ability to provide fair and balanced judgments in his courtroom.We should all be asking the Judicial Standard Commission how this is an issue that would require disciple and not praise for doing the right thing?
The first thing that the general public should be concerned with is how will this affect the behavior of future judges and their willingness to self report when a medical condition is affecting their ability to do their job correctly.
We want our judges to have the type of ethics that would encourage them to self report without fear of losing their jobs or having to face disciplinary measures for them being human. We have all faced medical problems in the past at work that have affected our ability to perform our jobs at the desired level so why should judges be any different?
None of our Second District Court Judges are young men or women because we the public demand experience in the law from our judges. With age comes basic medical problems. Inexperience could and would do far more harm to the voting public then a older judge with high ethical standards, years of experience in the law and yes the medical problems that come with age.
I hope that the Supreme Court with their hearing aides and other medical problems that come with age will take into account the fact that Judge Schwartz had the ethical standards to self report himself when a problem with his health arose that could affect his ability to provide fair and balanced judgments in his courtroom.We should all be asking the Judicial Standard Commission how this is an issue that would require disciple and not praise for doing the right thing?
Friday, August 13, 2010
Do Principles Matter When It Comes to Public Education for K-12 or Higher Education?
Yesterday the Board of Finance voted to cut our state budget across the board by 3.2%. The only person to vote no was Diane Denish when it came to education, in either K-12 or higher education. I must admit to being very disappointed by James B. Lewis since educators supported him.
The two year colleges and four year universities in this state will decide how to cut their own budgets after this cut in state funding. State Legislators say that colleges and universities are over funded but the public is not holding them accountable for how they spend that money. Too many college and university presidents feel free to spend huge amounts of our taxpayer’s dollars on sports and administrative salaries while cutting the salaries of the lowest paid individuals who work directly with students.
The Legislature refuses to do anything to put a stop to this behavior and because of that more low income individuals and students will be harmed because of this cut. The problem appears to be that those high paid administrative professionals have paid off our elected officials and they don’t give a crap about those of us who can’t afford the ticket price for admission to their high dollar parties. It does not help when college administration finds ways to cut our annual pay without even having to tell the voting public about it. So must for being valued by anyone in a position of power in this state.
Maybe it is time to start thinking about staying home from the polls if this is the treatment we get from the people we elect to office. Or better yet maybe we should start being more selective about who we vote for in the future since the only one that appears to support us on a consistence bases on that committee is Diane Denish. At times even I get sick and tired of hearing one thing during a campaign year and then seeing quite another behavior by our elected representatives for the next four years. Candidates count on the voting public having short attention spans when it comes to what they vote on while in office if the voting public has any questions about that just look at Susana Martinez’s record on Education.
The two year colleges and four year universities in this state will decide how to cut their own budgets after this cut in state funding. State Legislators say that colleges and universities are over funded but the public is not holding them accountable for how they spend that money. Too many college and university presidents feel free to spend huge amounts of our taxpayer’s dollars on sports and administrative salaries while cutting the salaries of the lowest paid individuals who work directly with students.
The Legislature refuses to do anything to put a stop to this behavior and because of that more low income individuals and students will be harmed because of this cut. The problem appears to be that those high paid administrative professionals have paid off our elected officials and they don’t give a crap about those of us who can’t afford the ticket price for admission to their high dollar parties. It does not help when college administration finds ways to cut our annual pay without even having to tell the voting public about it. So must for being valued by anyone in a position of power in this state.
Maybe it is time to start thinking about staying home from the polls if this is the treatment we get from the people we elect to office. Or better yet maybe we should start being more selective about who we vote for in the future since the only one that appears to support us on a consistence bases on that committee is Diane Denish. At times even I get sick and tired of hearing one thing during a campaign year and then seeing quite another behavior by our elected representatives for the next four years. Candidates count on the voting public having short attention spans when it comes to what they vote on while in office if the voting public has any questions about that just look at Susana Martinez’s record on Education.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Hispanic and Innocent Until Proven Guilty In Albuquerque?
Note to Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White not everyone arrested in this country is guilty of a crime. If as Darren White asserted they were then we would not need a court system to try people in the first place. What ever happened to the idea that people in this country are innocent until proven guilty of a crime?
150 people accused of a serious crime in this city have been identify as illegal immigrants so even if any of these people are innocent of the crime they have been accused of they are still going to be deported with the help of the Berry Administration.
Why would anyone want a Chief Public Safety Officer who sees everyone as criminals in this state? Clearly the man has no respect for our constitution. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty. Why not only fingerprint and check the legal statue of those individuals who are found guilty of a crime after a trial and a verdict. After all what does a accused individuals legal status have to do with where or not they are guilty of a crime in our city?
Clearly we need statewide uniform laws for dealing with when you can send fingerprints to the federal government to check for legal status that will protect individuals from people like White and Mayor Berry in this state unless we want to become another Arizona, republican controlled city by republican controlled city.
One does have to wonder if more Hispanics are not being arrested in our city over the past two months just in order to check their legal status. 150 plus individual who are Hispanic have been arrested in our city just over the past two months so how many whites have been arrested in the same time period? What are the exact numbers and what are these people being arrested for in the first place? Bet we don’t get the answers to these questions from the Berry Administration or Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White any time soon. Maybe some of those highly skilled investigated reporters who get paid to report the news should start finding out the answers to these questions.
150 people accused of a serious crime in this city have been identify as illegal immigrants so even if any of these people are innocent of the crime they have been accused of they are still going to be deported with the help of the Berry Administration.
Why would anyone want a Chief Public Safety Officer who sees everyone as criminals in this state? Clearly the man has no respect for our constitution. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty. Why not only fingerprint and check the legal statue of those individuals who are found guilty of a crime after a trial and a verdict. After all what does a accused individuals legal status have to do with where or not they are guilty of a crime in our city?
Clearly we need statewide uniform laws for dealing with when you can send fingerprints to the federal government to check for legal status that will protect individuals from people like White and Mayor Berry in this state unless we want to become another Arizona, republican controlled city by republican controlled city.
One does have to wonder if more Hispanics are not being arrested in our city over the past two months just in order to check their legal status. 150 plus individual who are Hispanic have been arrested in our city just over the past two months so how many whites have been arrested in the same time period? What are the exact numbers and what are these people being arrested for in the first place? Bet we don’t get the answers to these questions from the Berry Administration or Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White any time soon. Maybe some of those highly skilled investigated reporters who get paid to report the news should start finding out the answers to these questions.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Political Education—Civics 101
One of the biggest problems in this country is the lack of education when it comes to the political process and how our government functions.
If I were going to teach a class on government and political science, which is something that every high school student should be required to take, I would include the following basics.
- What is in the constitution both state and federal?
- What are the basic three branches of government?
- How do the three branches of government function in relationship to each other?
- What is the basic party system, and what are the basic platforms of local active parties in New Mexico?
- How are political platforms created for political parties?
- What is the definition for liberal and conservative and how does it affect the way government is run in today’s society?
- Define socialize, capitalize and how the two forms of government are combined to create the current American governmental system.
- Who are your political representatives in New Mexico and Nationally?
- What are their stands and how do they approach governing?
- What are the responsibilities of elected representatives to the voting public?
- What are their job duties and responsibilities?
- How dose state government agencies work and who runs them?
- What are your legal rights and responsibilities as an American Citizen and a resident of New Mexico?
- How does one go about registering to vote?
If every New Mexican understood these basic concepts then our state would be a better place to live and work. At present the voters of this state let elected official and special interest groups represented by lobbyists run our state rather than the voters controlling the process. A failure of the voting public to control this process can only lead to mismanagement and corruption. The voting public of New Mexico only has themselves to blame if our state government is not run in a correct manner because it is every citizen’s responsibility and duty to manage the way the government controls our society. They don’t call elected official "public servants" for no reason.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Federal Court Ruling on Prop 8
When reviewing the ruling handed down yesterday from Federal District Court Judge Walker the ruling was constitutional right, but that is because the wrong arguments were made to begin with when it comes to this issue. Our constitution does not now or has never supported the creation of an underclass of individuals based solely on the grounds of anyone’s religious views and yet that underclass already excise in our country.
The term marriage as the government sees it has nothing to do with religion, but is in fact a legal contract between consenting adults that entitles them to social and economical resources. If we are to view civil marriage in those terms then all citizens should have the right to marry no matter their gender or for that matter how many individual they wish to marry. The problem is the economical cost to allowing a section of our current population that has up until now been disenfranchised to be entitled to the same benefits of those citizens who are not currently disenfranchised.
The biggest losses when it comes to legalizing marriage to nontraditional couples will be business leaders who will be forced to pay more in benefits to employees and the government who will also have to pay more in benefits to spouses. The question should be will that harm outweigh the benefits to disenfranchised individuals. In the past individual citizens were limited to one spouse in order to limit the cost incurred by business owners and the government when it comes to providing benefits to employees.
The vital question in this issue is can our country currently withstand the adding of these individuals to people already receiving benefits from government and businesses? Is there a way of providing some of those benefits without going too far too fast?
California is already bankrupt and now with this change more individuals will be encouraged to get married and demand of their employers and the state government the benefits that up until present they have had no right to because they could not call their partners spouses. All anyone who is married has to do is think of all of the benefits your spouse is entitled to in order to understand the cost that will be incurred in the future if nontraditional marriage is allowed country wide.
The only other issue is will these individuals be entitled to sue churches if they refuse to marry individuals because of their gender. The answer is that government should not be allowed to force any individual’s beliefs on to a church and that the free practice of spiritual beliefs means that the government cannot force any member of a church to commit a sin. In other words they would have the right to marry if they can find someone to perform the marriage which does not appear to be a problem in California.
The term marriage as the government sees it has nothing to do with religion, but is in fact a legal contract between consenting adults that entitles them to social and economical resources. If we are to view civil marriage in those terms then all citizens should have the right to marry no matter their gender or for that matter how many individual they wish to marry. The problem is the economical cost to allowing a section of our current population that has up until now been disenfranchised to be entitled to the same benefits of those citizens who are not currently disenfranchised.
The biggest losses when it comes to legalizing marriage to nontraditional couples will be business leaders who will be forced to pay more in benefits to employees and the government who will also have to pay more in benefits to spouses. The question should be will that harm outweigh the benefits to disenfranchised individuals. In the past individual citizens were limited to one spouse in order to limit the cost incurred by business owners and the government when it comes to providing benefits to employees.
The vital question in this issue is can our country currently withstand the adding of these individuals to people already receiving benefits from government and businesses? Is there a way of providing some of those benefits without going too far too fast?
California is already bankrupt and now with this change more individuals will be encouraged to get married and demand of their employers and the state government the benefits that up until present they have had no right to because they could not call their partners spouses. All anyone who is married has to do is think of all of the benefits your spouse is entitled to in order to understand the cost that will be incurred in the future if nontraditional marriage is allowed country wide.
The only other issue is will these individuals be entitled to sue churches if they refuse to marry individuals because of their gender. The answer is that government should not be allowed to force any individual’s beliefs on to a church and that the free practice of spiritual beliefs means that the government cannot force any member of a church to commit a sin. In other words they would have the right to marry if they can find someone to perform the marriage which does not appear to be a problem in California.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Good Leadership Shares in the Pain
Good successful leadership knows to share in the bad times as well as the good times. In our state we see both occurring. Today we can pat the State Supreme Court on the head and say “good supreme court, good supreme court” because they have come up with a way for judges to share in the pain of pay cuts.
Contrast that with school administrators who want to sue a state with no funds while they hire more administration and raise salaries for administration and sports coaches while cutting services to our children and cutting the pay and jobs of those directly working with students. School administration is out of touch and out of control when it comes to school reform and budget issues in our state.
Legislators refuse to control or deal with educational administration because they say they can’t because of constitutional issues yet that did not stop the state supreme court from finding a way. School administration uses public money to lobby legislators so they will tell voters that our constitution has tied their hands and that only school administration can control the dollars given to each school district.
Real reform cannot and will not start until these issues are dealt with in our state. School administration should not be in control of setting their own salaries. There should be caps on how much a school administrator can earn per year in salary. There should be limits on how many school administrator jobs each school district can have that is based on enrollment. Lobbyist should not be allow to lobby for salaries for top school administration which includes all levels of state funded education.
We need good leadership that cares more about successful positive school reform that shows care for frontline jobs and our children. We should be very pleased and proud of our elected judges and our state supreme court.
Contrast that with school administrators who want to sue a state with no funds while they hire more administration and raise salaries for administration and sports coaches while cutting services to our children and cutting the pay and jobs of those directly working with students. School administration is out of touch and out of control when it comes to school reform and budget issues in our state.
Legislators refuse to control or deal with educational administration because they say they can’t because of constitutional issues yet that did not stop the state supreme court from finding a way. School administration uses public money to lobby legislators so they will tell voters that our constitution has tied their hands and that only school administration can control the dollars given to each school district.
Real reform cannot and will not start until these issues are dealt with in our state. School administration should not be in control of setting their own salaries. There should be caps on how much a school administrator can earn per year in salary. There should be limits on how many school administrator jobs each school district can have that is based on enrollment. Lobbyist should not be allow to lobby for salaries for top school administration which includes all levels of state funded education.
We need good leadership that cares more about successful positive school reform that shows care for frontline jobs and our children. We should be very pleased and proud of our elected judges and our state supreme court.
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