Educational Reform and Four Year University Regents

Each of our state’s universities has it own appointed board of regent. Half of which are too busy to be bothered to even show up for meetings on a regular bases. The universities have overlapping course offerings that only cost more in state educational funding. Some of the regents care while others see the position as a stepping stone toward public office. It is a vehicle for political appointees that only cost the state in funds that could be better spent on classroom support.

Perhaps it is past time to create one board of regents for all of the state’s four-year universities. You could have one regent representing each of the four-year universities in the state. It would be wise to have that regent living in the area of the university that they represent. Why have someone from across the state represent a university just because they graduated from that university at some point in history?  

Since each university has a student regent perhaps the board could have two or three student regent positions which rotate between universities every few years.

Why would this be good for state’s four-year universities? First regents would have to work together to create common goals for all of our universities. This might encourage them to consider the types of degrees offered by each of our universities therefore eliminating overlap. It might encourage them to recognize courses statewide.  Spending for buildings would have more oversight as a regent would have to achieve support from other regents.  Smaller universities would get a fairer hearing when it comes to what is best for their local communities as far as funding of construction projects were concerned.  

We must remember that regents are not the ones who make day-to-day decisions for our universities. The presidents they hire set the policies and oversee the universities daily business. Regents are there to hire universities presidents and set broad objectives for the progress of the universities. Lobbying is done by individuals hired by the universities who are well trained in that field. Most often regents are nothing more that blind individuals who follow the requests made by universities presidents.

The cost savings of having one board of regents for all of the four-year universities as apposed to a five or seven member board for each university would be better spent on helping  our children get their degrees.  With a more limited number of individuals more responsibility could be attributed to individual regents for attending meetings and making good decisions for their university and the communities they are attempting to represent. It would also give regents a better understand of how each university fits into a complete system that educates our children statewide.

How to Reform the Republican Party

Republican Party’s American Dream nothing more than a nightmare for American Women and their families. The Republican Party has a lot of work to do if they want to win back the support of the women in American. Republicans are old, white, and male.

Their problems start with demeaning women in this country. The Republican Party says that they want big government out of people’s private lives but somehow that does not include women in this country. I no more want a democrat male calling the shots in my private life than a republican male. I got to admit that most democratic men are too well trained. They will not even give their opinion about an issue when asked outright. This is not about hating on men because most of us kind of love them. They help us to create successful families and they make great partners in life.

Next the Republican Party says that they want people to take responsibility for their selves. Yet, they refuse to ask the richest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes. They refuse to force corporations into taking responsibility for paying their workers an income that would cover basic needs such as health insurance, childcare cost, food, or even housing. If corporations stepped up and paid good wages to all their employees and most especially women than most social services would be unneeded. Low wages does not drive the demand for more durable goods to be manufactured in this country.

America has an aging population. We all know that it is the contributions made by current workers that support the benefits provided to the retired individual in this country. Well educated women are not having large numbers of children at present. If we want our seniors to be provided for than we need to import more young people. Immigration will provide the workers that will support our seniors in the future. We have lots of room for growth in this country so why not fix the immigration problem. Self-deportation is the wrong answer at the wrong time for this country. It attacks the very foundation of immigrate families.

The federal legislature is facing some difficult decisions in the near future as they approach the fiscal cliff and those decisions will affect middle class women in this country. It is up to women to demand that the message sent during this election year be heard by the current legislators. For the Republican Party to simply dig their heels in and demand cuts that will harm working women and their children rather than increasing taxes on the rich in order to increase revenues is totally unacceptable.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Victory Party

Great, packed party. Too many people to count and lots of joy and noise.

Election Party Night 2012

A Woman’s Right to Chose

It is here. Time to cast your vote! No greater right or responsibility in this country. The only way to waste your vote is to not cast it. Just remember no candidate is perfect. We chose the best one for the job. You may not love every response the candidate gives but better to vote for someone you disagree with the least then let the other candidate win knowing that you totally disagree with their stand on issues.


Women in this country out number male voters at the polls therefore we have the power to force our issues to the forefront. Women must send the message that discrimination against women in the workplace is not acceptable in this day and time.

Women have the right to be treated equally by their coworkers. It is not rude to demand that our voices be heard. Women have the right to earn the same as men in this country. Women have the right to lead companies and work at the top levels of Corporate America. Women have the right to ask for assistance with childcare. Women have the right to expect an employer to make flexible schedules that would allow them to meet their family obligations both to their parents and their children. Women have the right to make their own decisions about their bodies. This is the twenty first century and we have rights that men have not right to take away from us.

We have the right to express those views with our vote today. We have a right to demand that elected officials stand with us rather than against us.

Congressman Martin Heinrich at UNM Campus

This is a link to a video taken at UNM Campus today:

 http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/photo.php?v=3309778242948

It was a Question and Answer with local reporters. Both Martin Heinrich and Michelle Lujan Grisham addressed questions on the election from other reporters. They answered questions about working women who have gone back to college to further their degrees that I asked. I want to thank who ever found my wallet and returned it.

Republican Super PACs are Back

Like a bad horror movie that just keeps replaying on an endless loop the Republican Super PACs are once again, in the last few days before the final day of the election, filling the airwaves of New Mexico with harsh and misleading attack advertisements. It is a last minute attempt on their part to cut the margins of victory in states that are considered to be leaning toward the democratic candidates.

With Republican Super PACs renewing their efforts to undermine President Obama’s lead in New Mexico, Democratic Party of New Mexico State Chairman Javier Gonzales is asking local democrats to give all they can afford to ensure that they can push back hard against all of the negative attack advertisements.

Voters are not able to get away from the relentless attack ads. Even young children are beginning to display adverse reactions to the uninterrupted bombardment of negative ads much in the same way that most adults wish they could openly display their emotional reactions. The answer is turning off the attack ads by either watching on demand movies or turning off the television and reading a good book.

Voters can end a great deal of the ceaseless attention directed at them by voting early at one of the many local early voting centers around the state. After which it is just a matter of the voters limiting their and their children’s exposure to the general media outlets.