Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Female New Mexican’s Political Point Of View blog removed from Party links

Well it did not take long for the Leaders of the Democratic Party of New Mexico to remove my blog from their listen of bloggers. I must now believe that if you do not agree with them then you are faced with censorship by the State Democratic Party. Thanks Mr. Gonzales! I will remember this in the future. It looks like they do not respect our constitution in this state when it comes to freedom of speech. That is ok since I have no respect for them any longer.

Then again they keep telling the voting public that they are winning when in fact the polls have Denish/Colon 10% behind the republican candidate because they do not want to hear what voters in this state are saying. All they care about are the rich people who have donated to their campaign.

I can now see why there are so many independents in this state. Sad that my own party is so out of touch with the voting public in this state. Funny but their tactics will not work this election year. Got to say that I have never been very good at lying to the voting public for anyone. Dear god what kind of people have taken over control of our state party?

Change? That Benefits the Voting Public

It never ceases to amaze me that politicians don’t understand that what the voting public wants is not just change but ‘”Change” on Main Street that makes their lives better off. Over the past two years my life like most other voters in this state has only become that much more difficult. The already rich overpaid president of my college moved more money from front-line worker’s wages such as myself into her own paycheck. This is not life getting better; not when I have to fear something breaking or needing to see a doctor because of the reduction in my income. What I don’t want to hear is Denish/Colon will stand up for their rich friends against single mothers just because they think those people will give them more money and help them win a political race. How does that help those of us struggling everyday to make ends met?

What I see in ads where Denish promises to stand up for families just has not happened over the past two years where she has spent more time in the governor's chair then Bill Richardson. We know that her promises are empty and untrue, and that she will never fulfill them if she takes office. What we do know is that she will fight for more money for education which will just get funneled into top administration’s salaries while we watch our jobs go away and where students continue to fail because of a lack of support. Just yesterday I hear that our two year college wants to reduce its summer terms to eight weeks so that they can save more money by cutting front-line workers wages to add yet more money to the administration. Because of behaviors like this more teachers are retiring or going out to work in the public industry. How does this make our higher educational system better? How can this possible benefit our struggling students?

Change should be for the good where students and frontline workers in the field of education benefit from that change. I want to see my income returned to the level it was just two short years ago. I want to see where my students needs come before those of top educational administration. I want to see a return of jobs in this state that will put people back to work so that they do not fear having to look for a job after they finish school. I want to see “Change” that improves the lives of New Mexicans who need it the most. What voters are looking for is people who want change that will improve the lives of themselves and their families. Why is that so hard to understand? The voting public wants “Change that improve the lives of the voting public on Main Street and not the rich.”

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Debate: Congressman Heinrich verse Mr. Barela

Jon Barela needs to take ownership of the failures of the federal republican representatives of the past which he openly supported. He is not one to speak about adult behavior. Congressman Martin Heinrich has fought hard over the past two years to bring federal dollars to New Mexico and without his support our local economy would be in far worse shape at this point. He has listened and actively worked to keep the voting public in the loop when it comes to the issues he voted for in Washington with programs like “a congressman on your corner.”

Congressman Heinrich works hard to fix the problems that veterans faced because of a past republican representative that would not support our troops once they got home. I for one would not want to see our veterans benefits cut because of a man who does not care about them.

As for our air force base Congressman Martin Heinrich has worked hard to bring new missions and more green missions to our base that will ensure that we keep Kirtland Airforce base active, open and thriving in the future. Barela would only take us back to the past which would ensure that the next round of base cuts would surely close Kirtland base.

As for heathcare, Barela would again take us back to the problems of the past where insurance corporations make huge profits and large numbers of New Mexican don’t have insurance for their families. Congressman Heinrich wants to protect families and he wants to put people not HMO’s in charge of their healthcare. Mr. Barela would throw New Mexicans on the train track without health insurance just to pander to large healthcare corporations.

Congressman Martin Heinrich will close his campaign with positive commercials. Barela like most republicans will attack Congressman Martin Heinrich to the very last. Mr. Barela only fears that he has nothing to say that will make the voters want to vote for him. It is true that Barela is a lobbyist and he needs to honestly admit that and accept the fact that the voting public does not want a corporate lobbyist pretending to represent us while he makes backroom deals with large corporations.

Congressman Martin Heinrich is working hard in Washington to secure out borders and to give immigrates that are honest a fair chance at becoming Americans. Barela would put larger and more weapons in the hands of border patrol and make it open season on immigrate families. Barela would also give a guest worker program that would take jobs from unemployed New Mexicans.

The choice in this race is clear Congressman Martin Heinrich needs to be sent back to Washington D.C in order to protect the interest of New Mexican families. We need a congressman in our corner and not a corporate lobbyist.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Where Am I Going And Why Am I in This Hand Basket!?

This is the questions asked by the voting public as we watch the hate filled commercials being broadcast every minute of every day for the next week. Voters are sick of all the out and out lies being told. For example how many people know that TARP was signed into law in 2008 by President George W. Bush? This is true but not to be heard on commercials aired by out-of-control corporations that are trying their very best to buy their way back into power in our federal government. Thanks to a decision made by our Conservative U.S. Supreme Court that treats corporations as if they were real people with all of the same constitutional rights of a human being.

I can’t honestly say that the democratic candidate running for governor in this state is any better since she is close friends with educational administration. She has run her own share of hate filled bigoted commercials that misrepresent the stand of her opponent. She had stood by over the past eight years, watched and yes even encouraged her personal friends to drain cash from the classrooms to put in their own over inflated salaries. She is married to a lobbyist who has profited from deals made while she was in office. Husbands and wives of political leaders should not be allowed to lobby while their spouse is in office. If they want to work then they should spend their time working to support not-for-profit groups since it is clear that a conflict of interest can easily occur.

Any registered Corporate Lobbyists should be restricted from running for at least 10 years after they stop lobbying before being allowed to run for a federal position so that they cannot influence our national policies that directly affect the voting public in this country. The funding for commercials should be made public so that we know who is giving financial assistance for any issue so as to understand their reasoning for that support. You have to wonder when a corporation pays big dollars what the benefit will be for them since they don’t tend to do much out of the kindness of their hearts when it comes to national policies.

I am absolutely sure that the voting public will be only too glad when this election cycle is over and done with in this state. Win, lose or draw the only people sad to see it over with is the people selling all of those perverse commercial ads. Let all hope and pray that whoever is elected will do everything they can to keep the voting public out of that hand basket.

Friday, October 22, 2010

20K Spent on K-12 Educational Administration

Parents are looking at having their children in larger classrooms and teachers are looking at pink slips but Diane Denish’s good friend Winston Brooks is taking his vacation in Tampa Florida on the taxpayer's dime. Just one more example of a system where their values are all wrong.

Top heavy educational administration in this state has a “me” first attitude which will only get worst if Diane Denish is elected governor. Word is that tutoring will go away at the two year colleges if she is elected governor so that she can ensure a raise for her dear friend Kathy Winograd at the end of 2011.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Debate: Denish verses Martinez

Angry debate may only turn off more liberal voters. When Denish and Martinez spend more time attacking each other rather then telling the voters what they want to do for our state then they turn off voters. Name calling should be below the dignity of a candidate running for our highest state office.

My mother once said that if you have nothing good to say about someone then say nothing at all. I can’t and won’t support Denish for governor so I will say nothing since I have nothing good to say about her.

Martinez is a republican but she does have some ideas that clearly come from her values as a lawyer when it comes to justice for our college students. I like her idea about forcing educational administration to cut from their ranks to support our college classrooms. Clearly the money must be used to support students and not overpaid administration. As I have said before educational administration cannot be a pathway to getting rich in this state.

Our only hope at this point should be that liberal voters turn out for our federal candidates and simply skip over voting in the governor’s race. We need people like Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan in Washington D.C. fighting for our children and New Mexico’s voting public.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Congressman Martin Heinrich-Ethics and Energy

Understanding Constitutional Amendments that are on the Ballot

If you are interested in educating yourself on constitutional amendments on the ballot here is a link that give each issue and both the pros and the cons of each issue.

http://www.sos.state.nm.us/pdf/NMVotersGuide.pdf

With the current sentiment of kick the jerks out I can not see supporting the second proposed Constitutional Amendments.

As for amendment three to the state constitution the wording could be clearer. I understand the need to do away with titles such as idiots and insane voters. Still I would not support mentally disabled persons, who could be far to easily convinced to vote when they have no ability to understand issue, being allowed to vote. I do think that judges should be able to determine if a felony offense rises to the level of doing away with a persons right to vote since some youthful mistakes can last a long time. This one issue harms mothers who made mistakes before they settled down and start a family. It also punishes them for being in a relationship with men that take advantage of them when it comes to drug related crimes. A one size fits all solution is more harmful then helpful in this instance. So while I would like to see the language on this amendment more clear the original idea behind it is not wrong.

As for amendment five I oppose it completely we already have a problem with the Appearance of impropriety in this state when it comes to political people getting jobs in this state so to lower the bar is just an unacceptable idea in the first place.

Debate: Martin Heinrich verse Jon Barela

Let’s address the elephant in the blog room first, I don’t like corporate lobbyists or anyone married to corporate lobbyists! Lobbyists spend all of their time supporting large corporations at the expense of small business owners and the voting public in this state. Intel may bring lots of jobs to New Mexico which we do value but they also pay large dollars to lobby the state and national legislatures both in Santa Fe and in Washington DC to acquire valuable water rights in this state. I find it hard to believe in the coming years someone who worked hard in Santa Fe for this corporation would have the voting public’s best interest at heart when it comes to the issue of water rights in our state. When we talk about ethics one of the major issues that always arises is the appearance of impropriety, and I can think of no better example of that then a lobbyist running for a publicly held office.

Now as for healthcare, I just spent the entire day yesterday in line with my 15 year old child just to get free dental care. I was one of 1,000 New Mexicans who cannot afford dental care for their families. My child got 5 filings and I got a far overdue cleaning which just might save my gums and teeth. Jon Barela may not support national healthcare reform but he is not faced with taking off from work all day just to stand in line with 1,000 other New Mexican families who cannot afford healthcare for their children and themselves in this congressional district. Congressman Martin Heinrich is right that the current reform is far from perfect but what we started out with two years ago is not worth going back to just to watch large HMOs reap huge profits while the New Mexico workforce goes without healthcare for themselves and their families.

As for energy and the environment both candidates had good points. We need to support our national labs when it comes to developing new technologies that will support the growth of a sound diverse energy policy in this country. We need to invest in promoting the development of many different types of energy so as not to be far too dependent on any one source of energy. The military needs sound systems so that if something did happen that they would not loss power and be unable to support the voting public. Our economy in this city depends on our Airforce base, Sandia National Labs and the revenues they deliver to our local economy. We know that both candidates will support that system.

Education is an issue, I believe neither candidate fully understands this issue to the point that I would like in a U.S. Congressman. Throwing money at the issue is clearly not the answer since it does go to all of the wrong people while our children, our teachers and our state’s workforce pay the price for a failed system. Mr. Barela is dead wrong about just handing control of that money back to the educational administration at a local level. To hand back control of money to local educational administrators would be like giving money to a drug addict and asking them to go pay the rent. We need statewide and national reforms that puts teacher and not educational administration back in control of their classrooms and how they teach our children.

Yes, I believe that teacher should be held accountable as should parents, and society in general for the education of our future workforce. I think educational administrators should know that their paychecks should come last not first when we are faced with a tight budget. Suing the state when we have a losing coach who earns $750,000 a year while programs fail from lack of funding is just one example of a failed values system in this state’s educational administration. I am at this point not so sure that firing all educational administration in this state and starting over again with administrators who put our children’s education first and hold teachers accountable for individual children’s educational progress would be such a bad decision. If administrators cannot get their act together and put our children‘s needs before their own like most well-trained teachers who sacrifice a high paid industry paycheck just to educate our children every day of their lives do then what are we paying administrators for in the first place? Working in the educational system as a administrator should not be a pathway to getting rich at the expense of our children and their future or for that matter state taxpayers.

I am supporting Congressman Martin Heinrich for congressional district one because the other candidate is just far to unsuited for the job and would not do a better job if elected. We need someone in Washington who will work for the best interest of our children, the voting public and not a corporation that he spent time lobbying for in the private sector. We don’t need a congressman who would suck up to yet another large corporate interest just to land a new highly paid lobbying position in the future at the expense of New Mexican families.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Debate: Congressman Ben Lujan verses Tom Mullins

In a very civil debate held last evening by the local public broadcasting station candidates for the northern congressional district debated the major issues facing both our country and our state. Topics covered were: No child left behind, taxes, the environment, and healthcare.

When it came to “No Child Left Behind” both candidates agree that the current system of teaching to the test had resulted in total failure. Congressman Lujan pointed out that teaching to the test had caused damaged to our educational system nationally. Mullins who had work with a private school also pointed out that when tried by a privately run school that it was an unworkable test. Congressman Lujan was quick to stand up for affordable public education for all of our children and would not back down on the issue. Mullins supported private schools that would only end up increasing the amount of Educational administration and therefore his policy would take money from the classroom which could only harm middle class children and their hope to better this country in the future.

Taxes was a problem revisited by three questions on the issue. Mullins is supporting an old idea first studied by the Bush Administration. The system would create a flat tax for all. As Congressman Lujan pointed out a number of times that this approach would raise taxes for the middle class by from as mush as 23% to close to 50% while reducing taxes for the very rich which Mullins was quick to defend. Mullins was very supportive of that upper class group and would be a protector of the very rich by supporting pure capitalism at the cost of raising the middle class taxes.

When it comes to the environment the issue of energy came up. Mullins is a denier of changes caused by pollution and a strong supporter of the oil companies. He would reduce or do away with laws that protect the environment which would result in harm to our children’s health. He would support laws that would allow large foreign oil companies to pollute our ground water in this state. Congressman Lujan is approaching this issue with common senses. He wants to use our national labs to promote new technologies that could allow us to use many different types of national energy resources safely in this state and around the country. Congressman Lujan’s approach has increased the number of jobs at our national labs which is good for the state economy. Congressman Lujan is working to make New Mexico a new center of clean green energy. Mullins was right when he pointed out that our state’s economy is based on the permanent fund which is provide by revenues supplied by the oil companies. Until our state finds a new source of revenues any harm to the oil companies will result in loss revenues that support things like education, law enforcement, and health care in this state. Clearly our next governor needs to work out a way to tax new energy sources so that our state does not go bankrupt.

Last was healthcare reform. Mullins would roll back healthcare reform taking away any hope that the middle class would have in being able to afford healthcare insurance for their families. We all know that the current bill is by no means perfect and does need changes but a step back to the past that would allow large profits for the healthcare companies would only be harmful at this point in time. Congressman Lujan is working hard to make sure that his district is protected in the process of reform. He made sure to stand up for rural areas by getting funding for technologies for those small hospitals and healthcare centers.

All in all I would say that Congressman Lujan clearly showed that he is a skilled congressman for our state and a strong defender of the voting public. So while there were no single got you moment in last evening’s debate Congressman Lujan was the winner by a strong measure of common sense approaches to issue facing our state and our nation.

Diversity in New Mexico’s Politics

I am a handicapped single mother and I have experienced hate because of my handicap as of late. Just last term a former supervisor of mine called me lazy because I cannot spend long periods of time on my feet. The past supervisor was also displaying stalking behaviors which made me very fearful for my safety at work. I am not able to get up and down many times during the workday without it resulting in great amounts of pain because of my hip replacement and a bad back that resulted from my limping for the past 20 years. I was told by doctors at the young age of 29 that I had bone cancer. I am now faced with dealing with a school that throws up every form of paperwork that they can find to refuse accommodations. It has not been easy for me lately when it comes to work since a new manager took my desk away and has told me to work with what I got which is less then other employees at my college.

I am taking a law class this term that deals with the issue of diversity and ethics. The law is based on what we call professional responsibility which states that even if you do have biases that you have a duty to never show those biases while dealing with the general public at work. Work being the court system. Our top state candidates are lawyers so I would think that they understand these ethics and professional responsibilities.

You don’t spend much time thinking about your own biases until you take a class like this one. I was raised back East in West Virginia by Irish American parents. They taught me to hate the English as a people because of what we call the troubles in Ireland. Because of that I know to guard against that bias. Growing up in the Old South I also know to guard against the bias of how we treat African Americans. What I did not think to guard against is a bias pickup in the many years I have lived in New Mexico. Like most New Mexicans I over many years have learned not to trust people from other states like Texas. Ok, mostly Texas although Arizona is coming in as a close second nowadays. Politically Texas is considered a very conservative state but even I know that there are some democrats in Texas. Bias Alert!

When I first meet Brian Colon the candidate running for lieutenant governor one of the things I most loved about him was his ability to accept people from other states like myself. I was told by him that he grew up in Belen so I naturally assumed that he was born in New Mexico. Never did I think for one minute that he was born in New York. Being at Brian’s home during social events over the years I saw people of all races, national origins, social backgrounds, economic backgrounds, disabilities, and even sexual originations. Brian often spoke about including people from all 33 counties in the state in our political party which I found to be a wonderful idea of fair and balanced justice for all democrats in this state. I had the idea that diversity and ethics were core values of his.

To my great disappointment I have lately seen a man who only wants to win this race at all cost. He refused to help me when I ask him to help standup against my work because of my disability. He attacked Susana Martinez for being born in Texas. My only question is where is the man who welcomes people of diversity into his home over the last few years. Why is he turning his back on the values that he has displayed over the years I have known him? What kind of person calls their opponent a hateful name in ads because of the state where they were born. Where is all of this anger and hate speech coming from? Can this all result for the hateful influence of Diane Denish and their close personal friend Katy Winograd? It does make me sad to see all of this hate coming from our candidates for state offices. How can we begin to trust these candidates in the future? Where has my friend gone who loved ethics and diversity?

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Stop Whining! State Candidates Start Listening and Caring!

Until democratic candidates in this state stop talking at the voters and start listening to what they are saying then they will loss the November election. Until state democratic candidates stop siding with the top paid individuals in this state and start caring about issues faced by low paid and middle class voters then they will loss. We need someone who will truly fight for our issues in this state.

Saying I am listening to you but not wanting to hear what is being said or telling us that they are your friends is a fast way to loss an election in this state. Telling someone that your issue is not important and that you are trying to win an election is also a fast way to loss an election.

State democratic candidates are coming off as callous, uncaring and insensitive to voters core issues. Liberals and progressives will stop attacking when their voices are being heard and their issues are cared about in this state. If we want someone in office that does not care about our issues then we will let a bloody republican win the race in November. After all why vote for the lesser evil when we can let the greater evil win this election.

The problem is some of the republican candidates are listen and caring more then our own candidates. So maybe it is time to let them win and in four years we can lead a revolt with real progressive candidates that do care about our issues. Candidates that are willing to stand up to the rich powerful overpaid in this state and do what is right for the voting public.

So maybe it is time for voters to stop “whining” and let our silences speak volumes about the way we honestly feel about this election year with all of its hateful attack ads.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Retired Second District Court Judges to Hear Probation Violation Cases

Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Candidate and Public Communications Officer for the District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque Pat Davis thinks it is an “awesome idea.” Retired Judges Woody Smith, Diane Dal Santo and Michael Martinez will be hearing probation violation cases so as to speed up the process. The end result will be faster justice for all parties concerned and fewer inmates clogging up the county jail system.

The State Supreme Court lead by Chief Justice Charles Daniels working with both the county and some very gifted Second District Court judges have come up with a cost effective method to deal with a number of related problems in Bernalillo County which by the way is one of the largest court districts in the state. The county will be picking up the price tag for these part-time retired judges since they have more money then the state due to careful financial planning and a more stable revenue tax base.

Credit for this plan should be shared by all three entities for their ability to effectively work together to come up with innovative solutions to resolve issues facing our cash strapped county court system and our over populated county jail system.

The Second District Court system was just forced to layoff 11 employees to increase the number of workers in the clerk’s office in order to alleviate massively unacceptability long lines to file legal documents. The issue of how best to deal with dwindling financial resources for the court system have weighted heavily on the minds of the court’s administrative staff and judges as they work to continue to met their constitutional duties and responsibilities to the public in Bernalillo County.

Now if only the city government could learn to work as effectively with the state government when it comes to the DNA labs. But then again what are we to expect from a republican lead city government. You have to wonder if the State Supreme Court members could work their magic on that problem as well? Probability not within their jurisdiction.