Yes, the end of calendar year 2012 is near and like the Mayan calendar most New Mexicans will live to see the beginning of 2013. I guess this is as good a time as any to look back over the top political stories of the year and what impact they will have for the future.
The Top story would have to be the passing of New Mexico Speaker of the House Ben Luján. Speaker Luján had a profound effect on this state. He was a strong fighter for the people of New Mexico. He was a very gentle soft spoken man. I remember holding hands with him during one political event. We were speaking about our children and how proud we were to be their parents. Life gives you many things but family is the best of all. Speaker Luján was proud of his family and especially his son U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján. He was also very active until the end in helping other people take care of their families.
Number two would have to be the retirement of U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. Senator Bingaman has worked hard for our state. His values have been to help our children and our environment over his long career. He has faced many different combinations of political influence during his career in the senate. Perhaps the most difficult has been in the last few years where senators no longer work together for the benefit of the American people. Senator Bingaman has always been a strong supporter for the “Rule of Law.”
Number three would be the reelection of President Obama. With the reelection of a democratic president women do not have to fear republicans rolling back the rights of women in this country. President Obama is not going to put corporations before people in Washington. The Fiscal Cliff is all about him fighting to protect Middle Class Americans from the greed of the very rich. It is a pity that the House of Representatives has to be controlled by republicans who are unwilling to see sensible reason when it comes to the budget.
Number four would be the issue of gun control and the safety of our children in this state’s schools. With the killings of twenty children on the East Coast we are now forced to look at our own schools both K-12 and college level. New Mexico schools were built to be open with many points of entry. Our colleges are completely open to entry at any point. Security for these institutions are at best a joke.
The local community college allows entry to anyone including convicted killers, the mentally ill, sex offenders and common thieves. Ankle bracelet devices are a common sight in the classrooms. Our children could be sitting along side the next mass murder in any of their college classes. There is no plan in the event of a mass shooting on these campuses. Security is unarmed and untrained. They have limited access to most of the buildings. Employees and students don’t even know what to do in case of a fire. Top School Administration is too busy putting funding into their own paychecks to bother with funding for school security. The boards have no control over spending when it comes to Administration.
Number five would be the republicans total lack of ability at job creation in this state. Governor Martinez has not just failed at private job creation but has managed to drive away jobs with her short sighted views on the movie industry and the space industry. Mayor Berry is no better will his lack of control of his police force, which only drives away potential businesses. No business owner is going to want to relocate to a city where they see heavily armed police pouring out of large buildings during the middle of the day on the local news even if it is only to arrest a copper thief. Mayor Berry needs to get his act together and hire a real police chief before something major happens in the City of Albuquerque.
These are the top five news events of the year and how they will affect 2013. The next year, and yes there will be a next year, will be most interesting for our state. The governor and the mayor of Albuquerque are both facing reelection in the next two years, so will we keep them or will we replace them? Only the voting public knows for sure.
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Quotes:
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Teddy)
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
The O'Coilean (O'Collins)
'A great host with whom it is not fortunate to contend, the battle-trooped host of the O'Coileain."
Abraham Lincoln
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
From NPR Radio
"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Obama could run.
Obama ran so our children can fly!"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."
Unknown
"Friendship is loving someone no matter what is in their past. It is accepting the fact that they are human and that they have made their share of mistakes over a life time. Trust is being able to tell your friend the most private secret knowing that they will not judge you. A life is not lived well without that one true and trusted friendship."
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones
"My job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"
Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
Will Rogers
"I don't belong to an organized party--I'm a democrat."
President John F. Kennedy, Democrat
“If by a ‘liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Lora O'Brien
"All I can do is share one person's experiences on her own path, not tell you how to walk yours. If a guru is what you are looking for, find another! If I am a teacher, it is because I am already walking the path that you, Dear Reader, may wish to be on. Although each of us must make our own way, I can put up signs at least, and make the way slightly less hazardous for those who wish to walk a similar path."
C. S. Lewis
"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
The O'Coilean (O'Collins)
'A great host with whom it is not fortunate to contend, the battle-trooped host of the O'Coileain."
Abraham Lincoln
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
From NPR Radio
"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Obama could run.
Obama ran so our children can fly!"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."
Unknown
"Friendship is loving someone no matter what is in their past. It is accepting the fact that they are human and that they have made their share of mistakes over a life time. Trust is being able to tell your friend the most private secret knowing that they will not judge you. A life is not lived well without that one true and trusted friendship."
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones
"My job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"
Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
Will Rogers
"I don't belong to an organized party--I'm a democrat."
President John F. Kennedy, Democrat
“If by a ‘liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Lora O'Brien
"All I can do is share one person's experiences on her own path, not tell you how to walk yours. If a guru is what you are looking for, find another! If I am a teacher, it is because I am already walking the path that you, Dear Reader, may wish to be on. Although each of us must make our own way, I can put up signs at least, and make the way slightly less hazardous for those who wish to walk a similar path."
C. S. Lewis
"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."
A Female Democrat
1/1/10 A new year and a number of future elections to cover. The budget will be a major issue this year and we must work hard to protect the core values of our party.