A Female New Mexican's Political Point of View

Judges and Concealed Handguns

2012-01-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like lawyers who piss off judges might have more to worry about in the near future if House Bill 140 passes and is signed into law. Contempt and a few days in jail maybe the least of their worries if an outrages or out of control judge is unhappy with their behavior in the courtroom.

A sure way to win the general election in 2012

2012-01-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

Equal Pay Should be a Fact not a Dream

2012-01-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

Lilly Ledbetter

“In 1998, after 19 years of service at a Goodyear factory, someone left an anonymous note in my mailbox listing the names and salaries of my male coworkers -- who I learned that day were making at least 20 percent more than I was, even though many had less education, less training, and fewer years on the job.I went to court and won, but in an appeal, the Supreme Court claimed

I should have filed my complaint within six months of the first unfair paycheck. Of course, they didn't say how I was supposed to fight for fair pay when I didn't know I was being paid unfairly.

But that's not why I'm writing you. I'm writing because President Obama heard about my case and went to work fighting for legislation that would prevent his two girls, and an entire generation of young women coming up in the workforce, from ever being disrespected in the same way. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the first piece of legislation he signed into law as president, exactly three years ago today.

Before he was elected, the President said he'd fight for middle-class people like me, and he kept his promise -- not just on fair pay, but on so many other issues that matter to women.”

Marty Chavez, Candidate for Congressional District One

“The law that was signed three years ago to help close the wage gap that still exists in our country today was a significant victory for American women. But there is much to be done as women still earn just 77% of the wages their male counterparts earn. In Congress, I will continue the fight to ensure that women get equal pay for equal work.”

Is this the person we want on the PRC?

2012-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Really?

Bad news, Good news

2012-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

Senatorial candidates are too busy with the 1% to be bothered with spending much time with the 99%. I understand that campaigns cost a great deal of money these days. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United did the common voting public no favors when it comes to how much time they devote to speaking with the common man or woman.

The fact remains that our two senatorial candidates are not getting out and spending time with the 99%. The voting public feels left out of the process. The candidates are not providing leadership for the rest of the down ballot candidates. It has falling to the congressional candidates to take the lead.

Last evening was a clear example of that when it fell to a congressional candidate rather than a senatorial candidate to remind the other candidates to not unfairly attack their opponents. Ex-major and congressional candidate Marty Chavez gave a wonderful but short speech on the ethics of respecting democrats in all races.

Just when you think that Marty Chavez is out of the race due to personal issues; he makes a grand comeback. I understand that he and his partner have split due to ethical issues. We all feel for Chavez. He clearly had strong feelings for the woman. Chavez will be centering his future attention on his campaign for the rest of the year. Not a bad idea Marty.

Eric Griego, who is a family man with a child, is strongly showing at present in the congressional race. He is siding with the 99% people. Eric is known to be strongly progressive and has serious experience when it comes to educational issues. He was an active union member when he was teaching part-time at a local community college. His major problem may just be that he is too strongly progressive for a district that tends to be middle of the road.

Michelle Lujan Grisham is the only female candidate in the congressional race. She is up against two very strong male personalities. She concentrates on family and health care issues in her campaign. She still has her work cut out for her.

There were many judicial candidates at the county meeting last evening. I managed to start the process of setting up on camera interviews, so we have those interviews to look forward to in March. We have two very strong ethical judges running for the appeal court seat.

Governor Martinez made a huge mistake when her Pac took money from the republican she appointed to that seat. Judge Victor Lopez is a well-known workman’s comp. judge who has run in many races. Judge Monica Zamora is a children’s court judge with many years of experience. She did point out that the appeals court could use a few more females to balance out the numbers. She is a local with a strong family in the local community, which could add to her stability as an appeals court judge.

We have three seats up in the district court. Judge Ben Chavez is running against a republican so he has our support. Judge Zamora is also running for a different division seat on the district court. She has always had our strong support. Judge Alisa Hadfield was appointed to her district court seat last year. She had been doing a superb job. We should be working for and supporting these judges in order to keep our court system fair and just.

All the judicial candidates are working under difficult New Mexico Supreme Court rules that prevent their colleagues from speaking out in support of their campaigns. The new rules have clearly gone too far when it comes to judicial conduct. The only people they benefit are the republicans. Some of the justices on the state supreme court have shown just how out of touch with the public they have become over the years. Perhaps it is time to replace them.

Republican Presidential Candidates

2012-01-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

Freedom of Speech and Artificial Entities?

2012-01-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2012 Occupy the Courts is having an event at the Federal District Courthouse in the city to protest The Citizens United decision. It has been one year since that decision was made by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision changed the landscape of politics by giving corporations uncontrolled rights to freedom of speech and uncontrolled rights to the amount of money they could inject into political campaigns.

I have friends that are judges and justices. I do not hold them responsible for the decision made in Citizens United. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with big corporation in ruling that corporations had a right to free speech. I don’t think for one moment that the founding fathers ever envisioned that artificial entities would be given those rights.

Congress should pass a law, which clearly spells out the rights of artificial entities in this country. They should make it clear that constitutional rights only apply to living breathing human beings. After all we don’t give those same rights to cats and dogs in this country.

The voting public needs to make it clear to the one percent that foreign own corporations should not have a voice in our political process. We do not want to see capital going out of this country because the laws are weaken in favor of corporations. We want to see that capital reinvested in jobs here in this country rather than overseas. Until corporations are forced to reinvest their income in redeveloping old industries and creating new one our job market will not expand in the manner, which would create new jobs in this country.

First to Sacrifice and Last to Receive Benefit if at All

2012-01-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

When Governor Martinez ran for her current position she made it clear that she would avoid cuts to education. Nevertheless when times got hard she asked the state’s educational employees to sacrifice by not getting any pay raises over the last three years. These same employees had to pay more into their retirement fund while the state paid less. The retirement fund is mandatory so employees cannot just choose to not contribute to the retirement fund.

Now that the state has money to spend because of oil and gas; the governor does not wish to share the benefit with educational employees. The major reason this state has seen so many retirements as of late is because educational employees do not see their yearly income increasing anytime soon. Many educational employees are asking themselves why put off retiring if they only see a reduction in their yearly pay and there is no benefit from staying on the job?

Private sector jobs allow their employees to opt out of employee retirement plans. Not so with educational employees. Private sector jobs have higher beginning salaries than educational state jobs. Many people have to ask why sacrifice to work for a state that only dumps criticisms on their employee’s jobs performances while not paying for educational conferences.

Educational Administrators, who are highly paid employees, are the ones making all the trips to conferences while front line educational employees stay home and make due with less support materials. Some instructors receive zero dollar budgets for classroom materials. Teachers cannot afford to keep paying for the work supplies to do their jobs correctly.

Legislators and the governor will find out just how upset educational employees are with their behaviors when educational employees go to the polls this year. The one thing everyone knows about educational employees in this state is that they have long memories and vote often.

Marty Chavez has no luck in Love

2012-01-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 30, 2011, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Marty Chavez, our former mayor, is living with a woman who is facing allegations in a hospital fraud scam, which supposedly bilk a Santa Fe hospital out of 3 million dollars.

Chavez claims to have known nothing of the affair until it came out in the newspaper as of late. Still one can say that the first congressional district voters do not want their congressional representative living with someone who is facing federal charges for defrauding a hospital.

Therefore, the question is does he end the relationship or does he end his run for congress.

The Dignity of the Voting Public

2011-12-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

This year we have seen many times when our elected officials have failed in their duty to respect the dignity of the voting public.

We have a governor who put the Downs of Albuquerque’s business interest before local communities. If not local citizens, than who should be in charge of major decisions that would affect the safety and calm of local community life?

We have leaders of our police force who put property, personal interest, and money before the safety of the voting public.

These local police forces have taken away the lives of far too many non-convicted citizens. Their fatal behavior has resulted in making them judge, jury and executioner without the benefit of fair representation for citizens of our state.

We have republican presidential candidates who see no need to assist the poor and weak in our society.

Those same republican presidential candidates would make our elderly homeless and penniless in order to reduce the taxes of the top 1% of the richest in our population.

The republicans would remove illegal aliens from our country without regard for the destruction of families because they are foreigners. These are people who are only in search of a safe home and a better life for their own families.

These republicans politicians have turned a blind eye to the suffering of the many homeless families and would remove all support, which might aide them in attaining a better life for their families in the future.

These same republicans would remove all laws and rules that protect our environment. This does not make them good stewards of our lands. Our children’s future health and welfare may well depend on how we handle our current environment.

In 2012, the voting public has it within their power to prevent the republicans from taking control of the White House and the House of Representatives in our country. The voters must exercise their right in voting for people who would protect the moral values of our country. We simply cannot stay home.

While we must look upon these republican candidates with charity and benevolence, we simply cannot allow these misguided individuals to take control of our federal government.

Social Justice for All New Mexicans

2011-12-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow free associations between individuals and groups to obtain their just due. All individual in this state should be allowed their constitutional right to free association. This should apply to all voters and elected officials in this state including district court judges. To punish the many for the sins of the few is a shameful excess and a disrespectful use of power by those in authority.

Respect for the human person considers the other “another self.” It presupposes respect for the fundamental right that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person. People from other nations should be respected. Hate and fear of others is nothing more than self-hate redirected onto another individual because of there national origin. All New Mexicans should respect their long held diversity.

The equality of men concerns their dignity as person and the right that flow from it. It is wrong to deprive anyone that resides in this state of their own personal dignity because of race, creed, sex or national origin.

The differences among persons belong to New Mexican’s history, which wills that we should need one another. These differences should encourage charity. It should encourage our state to help people in need of support and information. The Mayor of Albuquerque saw fit to encourage a plan that would get homeless people of the cold streets and into safe housing.

The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of shameful and yes even sinful inequalities. The governor should work to reduce these inequalities in our state.

Solidarity is a virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods and intellectual goods even more than material ones. The sharing of intellectual and spiritual goods encourages the growth and development of jobs in our state that provide individual dignity for all New Mexicans. Both state and federal agencies should willing share intellectual goods in order to promote new job opportunities for all New Mexicans.

New Judicial Standards a disservice to both Judges and the Voting Public

2011-12-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Funny, I don’t remember as a member of the voting public agreeing to have our judge’s constitutional rights stripped by the state supreme court. Justice Richard Bosson is a man who is out of touch with the voting public. If he so desires a private life away from politics then maybe the voting public should grant him his wish in his next retention election.

Judges need to be active publicly so that the voters know first hand that they are fit to sit on the bench. There is nothing wrong with judges being at a county political meeting since they are elected official in this state. The party has always shown respect for their limits when it comes to issues. We don’t ask for their views on issues that might appear before the court. At the same time it is good and proper that they should know the feelings of the voters when it comes to issues that provide stability for our local communities.

There is an old saying that states “Render therefore to Caésar the things that are Caésar’s and to God the things that are God's. What this means for the voting public is that church and state stay separate so that our country is not ruled by any one church or any one ruling group. Justice Bosson would have the judges in this state separated from the communities they represent. He would have judges base their decision on laws created by the people, for the people, and with the people without the judge’s real life knowledge of what that means for the people of their communities.

The republicans of this state would be only too happy to remove every democratic judge in this state because they resent their views on constitutional issues. The most conservative newspaper in this state has made it clear that they want judges divided from the people they represent. This can be no good for the stability of our state and the safety of our voting public. We already have far too many problems with local police enforcement agencies. The last thing this city or state needs is for our sitting judges to be out of touch with the voters in this state. The last time I checked, our court system was a public one so that the public could ensure the fitness of those who work in that system.

New Rules from the New Mexico State Supreme Court Fatally Flawed

2011-12-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

On January 1, 2012, new rules will take effect that prevents judges from taking part both personally and financially in the political process. These new rules strip judges of their constitutional right of free association. It also strips them of their right to free speech. It encourages them to take part publicly in religious activities.

The New Mexico State Supreme Court has sent a very strong message that separation of church and state is not important in our legal system. It has sent the message that judges should not have to associate with member of the public unless they are members of there own churches. The end result will be a very limited world view on how the voting public views religious issues.

The Supreme Court has made it possible for third party groups to control elections for our state judge positions. Those third party groups with unlimited financial resources and an unnatural right to freedom of speech will be able to speak out during elections while judges are forced to stay silence and separate from the voting public.

It has not given any alternative such as bipartisan public education requirements on the legal system by sitting judges. It has handed the future judgeships in this state over to the Republican Party at the cost of fair and equal justice for the voting public. The voting public knows very little about our sitting judges even now. In the future judges will be totally unknown to the voters. The voters will not know their party affiliation or their views on issues that affect our whole state. Those views could be express in a general manner without commenting on any current case in non- election years if sitting judges had the right of free association.

Voters should express their outrage on these new restrictive overreaching rules that will only result in a negative result for our state’s legal system. The New Mexico Supreme Court has exceeded their ability to fix the problems in our current legal system until it is completely and totally broken.

The sad part is that the most conservative newspaper in this state clearly thinks that this is a great idea. What has happened to our state party’s respect for the rule of law in this state?

Congressional District 1 Candidate Eric Griego New Endorsement

2011-11-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

Today Eric Griego’s campaign announced that he has received one of the first endorsements from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Funds. The LCV is a national environmental group who spends large money on congressional candidates. Eric Griego received the endorsement of the Sierra Club earlier.

These two endorsements have to hurt the funding raising abilities of both Martin Chavez and Michelle Lujan Grisham when it comes to environmental groups.

Statement on the Super Committee | Marty Chavez for Congress (NM-1)

2011-11-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

Marty Chavez who is running for congressional district 1 had this to say about the super committee and its failures.

Statement on the Super Committee Marty Chavez for Congress (NM-1)

Chavez is known to be a strong negotiator. Not everyone has liked that about him at times. He could be a positive addition to congress. His stands on some issues follow along with that of the Democratic Party. He has been know to lean toward the middle when it comes to economic issues. Still there is much to be learned about how he views issues that affect quality of life for our children and our state.

Strong word from Congressman Heinrich on Supper Committee’s failure

2011-11-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

Statement Released by Congressman Martin Heinrich:

“Like many Americans, I'm angry and frustrated that the ‘super committee’ didn’t reach agreement on how to reduce the deficit. Sadly, they did not even come close. Democrats put hundreds of billions of dollars worth of spending cuts on the table, but republicans refused to compromise in order to protect the misguided Bush tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. They said ‘No’ because they value their pledge to lobbyist Grover Norquist over the commitment they have made to the American people."

“At a time of serious national debt, we cannot afford to extend tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires who aren't shouldering their fair share of our nation's challenges. We need to be clear on our priorities: cut waste and end tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires so we can reduce the debt, create jobs and protect Social Security and Medicare.”

Clearly not all of our members of congress are thrilled with the republican’s failure to bargain in good faith. The Republican Party will be the first to blame the democrats for no deal. The American people are sick of seeing the rich get richer while the poor and the middle class are paying the bills. We need to replace republican congressional representatives with people who are willing to bargain in good faith.

Politically Getting Educational Reform Right

2011-11-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

The problem with people who run for congress is that they tend to know very little about how our educational system in this country works. If they were among the lucky, they found a teacher who after hours of working in overcrowded classrooms and grading papers late into the night for slave wages made time for them during school hours. If they were one of the unlucky students, they found an overworked undertrained underpaid failure, who should never have been allowed into a classroom in the first place.

Should failures in the teaching profession be fired? Not everyone is destined to be a teacher. First all employees should receive proper training in their profession. Just because you have a special skill that you are good at does not make you a trained educator. They should be given the support by their administration. They should be given feedback about where they are doing well and where they can improve. They should be supplied with the materials and time they need to do a good job when it comes to our children’s education. If after all of this occurs then yes, fire someone who cannot or will not learn from their mistakes.

Paying our educators a good salary is important because it attractes higher skilled more knowledgeable employees. Anyone with a brain knows that educators are paid far too little for the job they occupy. The problem with this is that we spend millions of taxpayer’s dollars on educational salaries each year. Why are we not getting a bigger bang for our buck? The federal government like the state drops large sums of money into a pot and then tells local administration to spend it on educational salaries. As a result administration has six figure salaries while most school systems cannot afford to pay teachers who work in the classroom a livable wage. Yet the first thing you always hear out of a candidate’s mouth is that they will continue the practice on pain of death.

Educators know that this attitude will not change the system anytime in the future. At some point, someone with half a brain needs to understand that the best way to fix the problem is to split administrational salaries from educator’s salaries in the future. The school administration should keep control of the educational salaries at the local level while the administrational salaries are determined at a higher level in the system.

As for affordable, education should be cost effective. Students should be able to pay off their student loans within four years of graduating college. This means that anyone that graduates from a college should have the skills to get a job in the real world. Unless someone is so rich that they do not need the money, in which case they do not need student loans in the first place, then they should only be trained in marketable skills. Rich people or people supported by rich people should continue to be trained in fields that enhance our cultural development. Taxpayers should not be expected to spend their hard earned dollars on studies that do not contribute to the skill levels of our current or future workforce.

Governor Martinez and Republican Party Pay-to-Play at Expo New Mexico

2011-11-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Albuqueque Journal reported that Governor Martinez received campaign donations of $70,000 from the Downs of Albuquerque during her run for the governor’s seat. The Downs of Albuquerque won the bid for continuing to run the racetrack on the Expo New Mexico fairgrounds for another twenty-five years. We call that pay-to-play or at least the appearance of an impropriety.

Governor Martinez also appointed Garrett Hennessey, Charles "Chuck" Gara, and John A. Garcia to evaluate the bids for the contract summited by the Downs of Albuquerque. Darren White worked on the bid for the Downs of Albuquerque as a consultant. He also was appointed to the judicial standards commission by the governor, and was a strong supporter of the governor during her campaign for the governor’s seat. White resigned from his position after public outcry over an issue with how he handled his wife’s car accident. The voters have to wonder exactly what the governor considers arm’s length when it comes to state contracts.

The voters also have to wonder if all of the governor’s talk about pay-to-play only affects the Democratic Party and its elected officials. One has to ask what about the Republican Party and its elected officials. We need a grand jury to investigate exactly how close the governor was to the Downs of Albuquerque. What is the relationship between the Governor Martinez and the Downs of Albuquerque?

Local grassroots community leaders who live and work around the fairgrounds have voiced loud opposition to the Downs of Albuquerque running the racetrack because of the crime it attracts to the local area around Central. State Senator Tim Keller who represents the local communities surrounding the fairgrounds spoke out about the contract. He has been strongly representing his district when it comes to this issue. The Republican Party attacked Senator Keller with false mudslinging because of his push back on the idea of a twenty-five year contract with the Downs of Albuquerque.

Did Governor Martinez arrange for the Republican Party to attack New Mexico State Senator Keller who represents the local communities around the fairgrounds in an attempt to silence opposition to the new contract? Why is there such a rush to approve this new contract with the Downs of Albuquerque? Why does it not matter to the governor what the local communities around the fairground think about what should be approved for their communities? How is this open and honest government on the governor’s part?

Al Park Running for PRC

2011-11-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today state representative Al Park announced that he would be stepping down from his state house seat to run for the Public Regulations Commission seat, which is currently held by Jason Marks. Marks is term limited and will not be able to run for the seat a third time.

After all of the scandal with Block, it will be good to ensure an honest individual is running for the seat in Albuquerque. Albuquerque has been lucky with whom we have elected to the PRC. Our representative has been not only honest and how working, but Jason Marks has been one of the PRC members who knew the business best.

Al Park will make a qualified candidate for the seat. He is a family man who respects the law. As a lawyer, he understands the finer details of how to deal with large energy corporations. Al Park has the support of the voters in his district. He is a clear choice for the PRC seat in 2012. The voting public is lucky to have a good individual step forward.

Horseracing or economic development for the City of Albuquerque

2011-11-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Large cities around the country are moving toward such successful economic developments:

Expo New Mexico Fair Grounds--International Showcase:

Beyond the main gate, entering from the south at the Expo New Mexico Fair Grounds is the International Showcase area. The International Showcase area is a collective of pavilions that wrap around the International Showcase Lagoon. Each one of the pavilions represents the best of culture and cuisine from New Mexico’s Native Pueblos and other world cultures that live and thrive within the International District:

1. United States
2. New Mexican
3. Mexico
4. China
5. Japan
6. East India
7. French
8. Greek
9. African American
10. Isleta Pueblo
11. Navajo Nation
12. Zuni Pueblo

In each of the pavilions, you will find a mixture of restaurants, cultural gift shops, entertainment areas, and arts and crafts displays. Along the tree-lined shore of the lagoon is a lovely well-lighted brick boardwalk, which will lead you to the welcoming gateways of each of the international pavilions. On the lagoon is an Italian style water taxi service, which provide a romantic ride to the pavilion of your choice. The water from the lagoon is recycled to provide an eco-friendly environment for the City of Albuquerque while still encouraging an active nightlife and culturally diverse economic development.

Just one example of what could be with the right long-term city planning. It is a pity that the governor appears to have been bought out by some campaign donators.

9th Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler

2011-11-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Chandler

Link to written documentation here.

Tax Break for Corporations—Really

2011-11-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, large corporations may face a 35% tax rate but none of them pays that much in taxes. It has been reported that 30 corporations in this country pay no taxes at all and some even receive money back from the government like our poorest in this country. We call that corporate welfare. The republicans have done away with welfare for the poor so we should return the favor by doing away with welfare for corporations. We should limit the time to two years for any take break received from the government for corporations.

What we need is to change the tax code so that small companies receive those benefits while larger corporation who make billions of dollars each year in profits pay their fair share. The handouts to Corporate America are harming our economy by taking tax dollars away from small startup companies. Those small companies are the ones that produce the most jobs in our economy.

We can start this process by sending people to Washington D.C. who are willing to stand up and fight for the rights of the 99% who do not get corporate welfare in this country. Our children’s future depends on our finding a way to take the power back from the corporations. We need to show our support for local businesses in this country. We need to encourage startup companies, which will put our children to work.

Governor Tells Agencies to Put an End to Flex Schedules

2011-10-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

One has to wonder why the governor acts like such a fool at times. Efficiency is when your employees have time to deal with family issues. This is going to hurt women with children. Employers across the state should understand that children should always come first in this state.

A parent who cannot flex their schedule in order to either pick up or drop off their children on time is a distracted worker. It is a parent’s responsibility for always to be there on time for their children. What type of person would force a parent to abandon their child in order to keep their job? Men are guiltier of this behavior most times, than women are. However, our governor has failed to behave like a woman when it comes to this issue. How can she say that she is supportive of protecting our children when her own policies promote child abandonment?

Women in New Mexico should send the governor a strong message that this type of policy change is unacceptable for state workers. Only someone who does not care about our children would enact such a policy statewide. Mothers should be outraged at the governor’s lack of responsibility when it comes to issues like this one.

If even one supervisor of a state employee tells a mother that their schedule will not be flexed because of this policy then the state should be sued for child endangerment. Childcare workers make it clear to any parent in this state that if they are not on time to pick up their child that the police will be called. What kind of employer would put a parent in that kind of inexcusable position in the first place?

The governor should be publicly forced to explain her policy. She should explain to state workers who are mothers how this policy will ensure a safe and protected environment for their children.

Lilly Ledbetter Endorses Chavez for Congress

2011-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

New Information from the Chavez Campaign:

Women's Equality Activist Lilly Ledbetter Endorses Marty Chavez
“Marty Will Be a Voice for the Families He Represents”

Today, women's equality activist Lilly Ledbetter, namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, endorsed former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez in his bid to represent New Mexico’s First Congressional District in the House of Representatives.
“I'm proud to announce my support of Marty's candidacy for Congress, a true friend in the struggle for equality.

I know he will serve New Mexico's 1st Congressional District with honor and integrity and be a voice for the families he represents,” said Ledbetter.

“I’m honored to have the support of someone who has so significantly advanced equality issues in our time,” said Chavez.

Ledbetter added, “Together, we can make a difference by sending the right kind of representatives to Washington. I'm living proof that the right thing doesn't always happen automatically and that even today, equality and fairness can still be hard to come by. I hope you'll join me in helping Marty Chavez become the next leader for equality in Congress.”

Ledbetter’s announcement comes just days after United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta endorsed Marty’s campaign.

Ex-Mayor Martin Chavez is picking up some very high quality endorsements from women who care how other women are treated in this state. Chavez worked hard to make Albuquerque a good place to raise a family during his time in the Mayor’s office.

Further Questions for the Candidate:

Let us hope that he puts out a statement on how he would approach educational issues in the near future. As mayor, Martin tried but was blocked when it came to affecting the local educational system. Will he support teachers in a manner that helps them to provide a quality education to our children in this state? Will he encourage positive methods and theories of teaching, which will empower our children with the knowledge of how to learn? On the other hand, like most politicians will he simple be happy with further breaking no child left behind until it destroys public education in this nation? Will he protect the federal grant programs that help provide a path to higher quality jobs in this state for women?

Since leaving office, Martin Chavez has worked in the green jobs industry. Can he bring more green jobs to our state if he is elected Congressman of the first congressional district?

We still have a lot of time to ask all of the candidates for the first congressional district these difficult questions. Let us hope that we can find a candidate that can give us the support and the encouragement to vote for them on Election Day.

Is Communication Dead

2011-10-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

Communication is a two-way exchange of ideas between individuals. In today’s world, it is all about controlling the message. If you do not want to hear what other have to say on Facebook you simply, delete it. No one bothers to delve into hot topic any longer.

The idea of asking a question, in the attempt for further understanding someone else’s viewpoint, is outdated. Analyzing issues for common ground is unheard of in today’s political world. How can we begin to build a better world if we are unwilling or unable to questions ideas? What is wrong with asking someone for further clarification of a statement? What is wrong with asking the basic question of who, where, what, and why?

The questions we should be asking the tea party are:

Why do you not want to raise taxes?

How would raising taxes negatively affect your life?

Tell me more and explain where you get your facts.

How has big government affected your life?

Has there ever been a time when government did something right?

Why do you feel that government cannot help the poor?

Who else will help the poor if not government?

What would or could replace Social Security?

Do you understand that in the market system of stocks there are more losers then winners?

What would happen to the people who are losers in the Stock Market when it comes to their retirement funds?

Should we as a civilized society care about the elderly?

If we do not care, then how will that affect the middle class?

Do we expect young people to support their parents at the same time they support their children?

What affect would that have on our economy?

Next time you are faced with someone who is angry with the current government rather than attack ask questions. Look for common ground to stand on, and be willing to listen to the other side before making a judgment call. Communication is and has always been a two-way street.

The Republican Party

2011-10-19T12:32:00.001-07:00

Not the people to believe or to vote for in 2012!

Social Promotion in Higher Education

2011-10-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

The governor is against social promotion for grade school children as we all know. She has spoke loud and long on the subject. So why are we now faced with a system that would promote social promotion for adult learners who attend college? This issue is an outrage to every college and university educator across the state.

Saving money at the expense of closing colleges and universities in this state is the biggest mistake any governor could ever make for New Mexico voters. We need a system, which rewards educators for quality work without harming them for factors that are out of their control.

The governor needs to look at factors, which cause students to leave school or fail a class in the first place.

Factors Such As:

This state needs childcare for single parents. Because they cannot bring their children to class, since children in the classroom would destroy the learning environment for all.

We need reliable transportation for getting students to class on time everyday of the week. Missing classes can cause a student to fail a class.

Health care so students do not infect their classmates. Flu shots go a long way toward keeping students in the classroom.

Tutoring and basic education skills classes are needed for students that have been out of the system for long periods. How much do you remember from your fourth grade math class?

Socialization and mental health issues are a rising factor in the classrooms. Students need to understand how to communicate with others in a socially acceptable manner. Mental illness can cause major harm to the learning process for all involved. No one wants to see another Virginia Tech incident.

We should be training educators in methods that work when it comes to adult education. People are not born knowing how to teach adults. Pulling skilled workers out of the workforce to teach classes does not mean that they know how to teach other people those skills. Education is a learned skill just like all other higher professions. Do we really want them learning on our future workforce?

Education reform should be about dealing with the issues that cause students to fail classes and leave school. We can have the world’s best educators in our colleges and universities, but if a student is not prepared to learn then nothing we can do will fix it.

Punishing Educators for factors they have no control over will drive them out of New Mexico and further harm our educational system. Educators do not go into the field in order to get rich but the United States needs to understand that other countries, which are having success, are putting money toward helping educators. These countries have respected their educators, which is something that our country is failing in across this nation.

Occupy The Burque Not Welcome in Albuquerque Park

2011-10-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

In the dark of night while the public was fast asleep in their nice warm beds and unable to see, the Albuquerque Police forcible removed protesters from Yale Park. The group was not a large one. A republican, Mayor R. J. Berry, runs the police force of course. Berry does not care about the middle class in this city. He is too busy directing his police force to protect the upper classes property.

Occupy Wall Street is a growing movement of young people who want to change things for their generation. With the cost of an education becoming more expensive, the possibility of paying those costs with a job are not likely for the younger generation. People can see why their children are angry with the upper one percent of this country’s population.

Corporations and the wealthy in this country are not paying their far share. Tax rates may be high but loopholes are far too many. The result is that middle class Americans pay far more in taxes then corporations and the wealthiest one percent of our population.

Corporations are not investing profits back into endeavors that would create new jobs for the next generation in this country. The rich is sitting on their fortunes while people go hungry on Main Street in this country.

Class warfare is something that republicans fear most in this country, but it does not stop the elected republican officials for creating an environment that would lead to it in the end. They want to keep the population docile, while they rob the average voters of any hope for a prosperous future.

Hiccup! Are They Honestly Serious?

2011-10-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

The difference between how the county clerk and the city clerk handles elections is worlds apart.

The Bernalillo County Clerk, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, is a careful methodical well-organized county official. She does her homework, and she trains her employees well when it comes to elections. Ms. Oliver is very in favor of voting centers, which would allow easy access to voting locations. The idea of not having to drive all the way home to vote is very appealing to people who work in the city. With the right preparation, the new system of voting centers could work well for our city. The new system if run effectively could also save our county large sums of money, which could then be used to increase the number of people who vote in elections.

The Albuquerque City Clerk, Amy B. Bailey, is not what I would call a well-organized city employee. If her first election is any example, she will not be a great public servant. I would strongly suggest not attempting any down play of her mistakes. Voters hate long lines. They hate having their right to vote questioned based on ethnic origin. Discrimination carried out by a white woman from the east coast will not go over well in this state when it comes to the voters.

Ms. Bailey should be looking to Mrs. Oliver for sound advice on how to handle voters in the city.

I am sadly disappointed with the reaction from the local press when it comes to protecting voter’s rights. When we had a problem in the primary election a few years ago, the press hounded the party leader. They demanded he resign from his position.

So why down play the mistakes made in a city election now? Why is the local press not demanding answers from Ms. Bailey on the reasons why her employees were so poorly trained for this election? Why have they not demanded to know how many people were driven away by the failures of the voting machines? What affect did these problems have on the results of the city council elections? What areas of the city were most affected by the problems? Would the result have been different if there had been not problems? Where is the local press’ righteous outrage?

Rocky Start to First Republican Run City Vote

2011-10-04T11:32:00.001-07:00

Well the vote started out with less than stellar results. Machines were not working in polling places around the city this morning. Voters were being questions about their right to vote. While I was voting, one person who lived in the county but outside the city had to call the clerk’s office just to find out that their name was on another list.

The city clerk had not trained people well on how to conduct themselves. Machines had not been checked before the voting started. Otherwise, they would have known had they done their work. With fewer voting places, lines were long in some areas of the city this morning. I gave the person my voter ID card when I went to vote. I asked the person if I needed to show a picture ID. The person said no. I have a sold feeling the reason for that answer was that I am blonde with white skin.

The Mayor’s Administration is looking very incompetent at running the city voting after all of these problems at the polls. This is all coming on the heels of complaints by a group that says the Mayor's Administration violated the law against using their position to campaign for the Mayor’s pet project.

The pet project a sports field is not something that would improve the culture of our city. Then again, Major Berry is not known for being a very cultured man. He has little hope of ever reaching the same social status as Mayor Chavez.

Here are some suggestions for Mayor Berry. Rather than one large sport complex, why not provide nicer play areas around the city for our children. Why not improve the roads rather than just laying thin paving over old roadway in the older parts of the city. Stop dumping sex offenders in those areas of the city. Why not improve our city by providing reduced cost or free cultural activities for our children.

These big sports complexes do not provide access for our children because of the distance they have to travel just to use the new facilities. Neighborhood residents do not like the increase in traffic caused by these large sports complexes. Noise becomes a major issue for any family living around these sports complexes.

I would encourage voters get out and go vote for their city councilor today. Yes, Rey I voted for you. We need more democrats on the council to protect the city from a failed Mayor and his administration. The last thing we need is a rubber stamp republican majority on the city council.

Out in the Cold Without Any Hope of a Warm Greeting

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I had to remind my sixteen-year-old daughter for the one-millionth time that she needed to start wearing a jacket since the weather is getting colder.

This reminded me of a campaign event, which I attended seven years ago this coming spring. My daughter and I had been invited to an event just outside of Santa Fe to meet some of the candidates from the northern part of the state. The event was free for anyone. I was invited because I was a new political blogger who covered candidates from all over the state.

Like this morning, my daughter had forgotten to wear a jacket. The day started out nice. When we got to the Chile farm, it had started to rain lightly. We stayed under the tent. I spoke to candidates as we ate some food. I was waiting for the Governor to speak when my daughter started to complain that she was getting cold. I was more than a little upset with her. She had once more walked out the door without a jacket. This had been a long running battle between the two of us.

A gentleman came up to us. He noticed that my daughter was cold. This man with the boots and the cowboy hat appeared concerned for her. This softened my usual demander because my primary concern is for my daughter’s welfare. I had never met this man before that event. He introduced himself as Tom Udall. He asked me to vote for him for congress. I told him that I lived in Albuquerque outside of his district. He still was interested in my options on the issues. I liked him. I supported and worked his campaign when he ran for U.S. Senator.

A few months back the Senators and Congressmen of this state all except for Congressman Lujan said that they would not be attending any townhall type events because of safety issues. All of their events since that announcement have been small private fundraising events. The price tag for these events has not been cheap. Things that normal average voters can ill afford to attend in today’s economic environment. While safer for the candidates, I do not think these types of events are going to buy them enough votes to win in next year’s elections.

No amount of money can buy the hearts and souls of the voting public in this state. We have seen candidates in the past spend large sums of money just to loss at the polls. What matters is if a candidate is willing to listen and act on what the common people are saying to them. If candidates wall themselves off from the voters, they have no idea what matters to the voters.

Now they can say that they are working hard in Washington or Santa Fe for the voters, but how do they know what matters to the voters. As most people already know, polls can and often are wrong. Unless elected officials speak directly to voters, they seldom understand the concerns of the middle class or the working poor. More of our state’s voters fit those categories.

Elected officials have voted a number of times to cut the educational budget in this state, which has resulted in my income being cut. I have to pay more because my daughter’s school has less funding for classroom supplies. The cost of everything including food has been going up over the last seven years as my income has gone down.

President Obama has been sending out request for campaign donations. He says that in return for these donations to his campaign that you can be entered in a change to have dinner with him. The donations are as low as five dollars. Well the president is more than welcome to come have dinner with me and my daughter any times he likes. I have no desire or time to travel to the White house for dinner. If he wants my five dollars, he is going to have to come ask for it in person. We can have dinner at a fast food place where the common voting public in this state eat dinner.

The message from this blog is simple. If candidates want people to vote for them, they had better start getting out of Santa Fe and Washington. Candidates need to listen to common voters so they can start voting the public’s will. Yes, some voters are going to be very angry at first and with good reasoning.

Obama’s Job Insurance

2011-09-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Americans are wondering if the Obama plan will help the economy. The plan calls for 447 million dollars in new spending. The spending would help states keep teachers, police, and firefighters on the job. It will rebuild roads and schools that have long needed the repairs. It will lower payroll taxes.

The question remains, will the republicans pass a bill designed to help the middle class in this country. They have shown no desire in the past to help the middle class. The republicans only have a desire to help themselves and the very rich in this country. The democrats can expect a bitter fight over any bill that would help Main Street Americans. They will need the support of democrats all over the country, if they have any hope of passing this bill.

Republican candidates for president are already attacking social security. The republicans have already called it a “Ponzi Scheme” and a fraud. Republicans forget that government is not a business but a moral service. Republicans would rather see older Americans out on the streets. Alternatively, they would have their families burdened with the responsibility of supporting the parents at the same time they support their children. Most Americans do not even begin to know how to invest in the market. They do not understand that for every big winner in the stock market there are thousands of losers.

We need to send to the U.S. House of Representatives people who understand that Main Street Americans should come before Wall Street. We need representatives that vote for bills that will help our economy recover. We need to support representatives that will put green jobs before large oil companies. We need new people with ideas on how to put Americans back to work.

Our country cannot return to the past in a global economy. We need to find new way of using our skills, which will make us number one in the world when it comes to green jobs and intellectual capital. We have to begin to teach our children how to think for themselves at an earlier age. Without these changes in how we do business nothing will help our economy.

Large businesses and rich individuals have a responsibility to invest in research and develop along with education to benefit the whole country. They need to stop saving their money and start spending it on the future. Without this investment, the rich will only find themselves the victim of a failed state. The very rich need to open their eyes, and they need to understand that without a healthy middle class this country will only become another third world country. In the end they will find that their large sums of money has no real value.

South Eastern Side of City Needs a Clean Up

2011-09-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

This was a good report about the West Mesa killings. The report highlighted the need to clean up the ongoing problems on Central Avenue. We can all hope that the city will put more money toward this issue. We need new harsher state laws to punish the men who pay for sex. I would not recommend holding your breath on this issue since the male politicians in this city spend far too much time denying the problem. Or maybe they just use the serves too often...

Link to Dateline two-hour report

It would appear that as long as it is women killed that the Albuquerque Police Department will do nothing. The examples on the news as of late show just what their attitude toward women is in this city. We can only hope that the federal law enforcement agencies will find the need to investigate the lack of skilled law enforcement in this city.

Politicians must be held accountable by women voters for their willingness to turn this part of the city into a dumping ground for all types of sexual predators.

Job Hunters Boot Camp in Albuquerque

2011-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Congressman Martin Heinrich is getting tough on unemployment in the state of New Mexico. It is time for a booth camp to help the unemployed get a job. If you are unemployed or if you know someone who is unemployed, this is an opportunity to find a job.

The event will include seminars with helpful tips on how job hunters can more successfully market their skills, with presentations from Albuquerque VetSuccess, the University of New Mexico Career Services, and the Department of Workforce Solutions.

In addition to the seminars, more than 25 hiring employers will be on site taking resumes and answering questions. Employers include Sprint, Sandia National Laboratories, UPS, Farm Bureau Financial Services, and many more!

Job hunters can either register online or call 505-346-6781.

Economics 101: How to put Americans back to work—Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2011-08-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a novel idea on how we should put people back to work, let us start by making construction workers work on public works projects for their unemployment benefits. In the depression, they called it WPA. If voters start taking pictures of schools, roads and bridges that need fixing then federal representatives could use those as proof of what needs fixing in their states. Schoolchildren would then have safe schools, roads and bridges for the coming year.

Then we could look at courthouses and jails that need improving or built in the first place. Larger courthouses will need more staff and judges to work inside them so that justice can be done quickly therefore businesses will have a solid result in a shorter span of time.

Businesses will not have to deal with as much property crime if criminals are behind bars. It is hard to stop property crime when judges are forced to keep letting the same people go because of overcrowding in the prison system. With new prisons comes a need for more guards, which will provide more jobs. We could even force low risk prisoners, such as property criminals, to pick crops for the farmers thereby reducing the cost of the product, and increasing the farmer’s ability to bring their crop to market on time. It would also teach criminals a trade, which would reduce the likelihood of their reoffending. Not to mention, exhausted prisoners are less likely to cause problems within the prison system.

All of this work will increase demand for products and services, which will require more people at work to provide these products and services. In turn, those people once back to work will spend their income creating even more demand for products and services.

Where do we get all of the money to pay these government salaries? First, we make people who are on unemployment start working for their benefits. Then we start taxing large corporations and the ultra-rich who do not use their money to create jobs. If someone can prove that they are creating jobs with their income and not hording that incomes then they deserve tax breaks, otherwise they should be forced to pay the government to create those jobs. Government jobs should not pay wages that are higher than private industry jobs. This will encourage people who are on unemployment to seek public sector jobs. The government should not pay people to stay at home and do nothing either. Either the unemployed should be working in government jobs or they should be going to school to increase their marketable jobs skills.

Capitulating, Hording Not the Answer to Budget Problems

2011-08-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

If president Obama gives even one more cent of taxpayers’ money to the Republican Party this year then he can kiss his reelection chances goodbye. Democrats are outraged and sick to death of seeing our values walked all over by the republicans in Washington D.C. Social programs that the American public have come to see as their only hope at maintaining a middle class are being destroyed by the Tea Party representatives.

Repeatedly democrats have been forced to give far too much, and now the republicans are asking them to give an arm and a leg from grandma and grandpa in order to reduce a debt produced by republicans. One percent of all Americans and Corporations are hording immeasurable sums of money while unemployment is over nine percent. Stand and Poor’s downgraded the national credit rating for the first time in American history due to the republican’s unreasonable desire to enable hording by the ultra-rich. The result was a drop in the market of over 600 points of or 5.6% for just one day of trading. We all know the damage hording does to the community as a whole. The time has come to rebalance America’s wealth in order to get money flowing, and to reduce unemployment in this country. Simple put rich people refuse to spend money, and they refuse to create jobs in this country. Federal government action is the only way to correct this economic imbalance.

The ultra-rich take their money outside the country to spend and horde it in the banks of other nations. The ultra-rich spend their money on startup companies in other countries while getting the tax breaks in our country. Globalization has brought our country to the verge of bankruptcy. Yet the republicans are attempting to force more weak trade agreements that will only result in more lost jobs in this country.

Democrats are now talking about the possibility of a challenger in the democratic primary that could produce a stronger more stabilizing leader. Some are suggesting drafting Clinton to run. They want power and experience. They want someone who knows how to play hardball. Compromise is not a dirty word but capitulating is a dirty word because it has now harmed the middle class in this country to such an extent that it can no longer be tolerated.

The Unintended Consequences of a Good Law

2011-07-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

This statue was created to protect women and children from peeping toms. What it was not created to do was protect sexual predators from legal prosecution. The fact that a sexual predator would use it to exclude evidences from a criminal trial is just unthinkable and inexcusable. Clearly, this law must be amended to allow victims to legally videotape criminals in the act of committing a criminal offense even if that offense is happening in the privacy of their own home. We would not want sex offenders getting away with their crimes just because they commit them in their own bedroom or in a place where they reasonable expect privacy.

New Mexico State Statue 30-9-20. Voyeurism prohibited; penalties.

A. Voyeurism consists of intentionally using the unaided eye to view or intentionally using an instrumentality to view, photograph, videotape, film, webcast or record the intimate areas of another person without the knowledge and consent of that person:

(1) while the person is in the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room or tanning booth or the interior of any other area in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy; or

(2) under circumstances where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, whether in a public or private place.

B. Whoever commits voyeurism is guilty of a misdemeanor, except if the victim is less than eighteen years of age, the offender is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

C. As used in this section:

(1) "intimate areas" means the primary genital area, groin, buttocks, anus or breasts or the undergarments that cover those areas; and

(2) "instrumentality" means a periscope, telescope, binoculars, camcorder, computer, motion picture camera, digital camera, telephone camera, photographic camera or electronic device of any type.

Women's Court of Public Opinion for the State of New Mexcio

2011-07-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Women of New Mexico v. Judge Albert "Pat" Murdoch

Second District Court Judge Albert “Pat” Murdoch, How Shocking

2011-07-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

The news of a judge being taking into custody at the Second District Court house was shocking and very disappointing to all that follow the courts. For people who understand the legal system it is a fact that you must consider someone innocent until proven guilty. The voting public most likely will view Judge Murdock guilty from the start.

The shame is that Judge Murdoch worked on the bench for close to thirty years. People saw him as a tough but ultimately fair judge. They saw an individual who overcame his own handicap to lead a successful life, and he even played a role in helping young children with handicaps develop their own self-respect. Now people will question the ethics of his behavior and decisions. If found guilty of the things he is accused of he will have let down not only himself but the community as well.

The stress of being a criminal court judge must be great. They have heavy caseloads and long hours. In a short period judges observe more abnormal human behaviors then any normal person would ever likely see in a lifetime. They do not often see the kinder and gentler side of society at it best. The innocent people in their courtrooms are often the victim of horrific crimes. They present themselves as weak and with no control over their environment.

Without family and friends to support judges, and take their minds off their daily duties the strain can lead to the manifestation of unacceptable social behaviors. Perhaps the answer is for courts to seek councilors for these judges, so that they will have someone to communicate with when life appears unacceptable. Support groups that include not just legal personnel but normal everyday citizens could develop a sounding board for judges. The more often and longer judges secluded themselves from the public; the more likely they are to exhibit antisocial behaviors.

The Failure of Education in New Mexico

2011-07-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

You have to love the fact that leading republican politicians speak so loudly about the important of a quality education for our children when they fail to show how much they value it. They said no cuts to the classrooms but no one stopped them from cutting the pay of teachers in this state. They forced educational employees to make up the difference between what the state pays less into their retirement fund and what employees are forced to pay into the educational retirement fund. All the while, they were spending huge sums of money protecting the people who mismanaged the fund in Santa Fe.

With $360 million in new money available to appropriate for programs and services when the Legislature meets in January to start work on the 2013 budget what do you think the chances are of educational pay cuts going away? Gee, bet they won’t be replacing any of the pay cuts those teachers and educational employees are experiencing right now. You can downright forget pay rises when it comes to educational employees in this state.

Let’s talk about the fact that leading political figures on both sides could care less about graduation rates in this state unless it helps them get reelected at the time. I personally invited a number of leading politicians to my last graduation and to no surprise not one showed up or even sent so much as a graduation gift. What an example to be sitting for the children and the college students of this state. Could anyone think of a louder message that graduation just does not count in this state?

Lip service is all that our state’s children will ever receive when it comes to the important of a good education in this state. Reform lacks the reality that change starts with the people who work in the classroom and that without the salaries, education, books and material needed that our state will always be last when it comes to the quality of education. When an educational employee adds another degree to their list of job qualifications, you would think that every politician in this state would want to acknowledge that achievement long and loudly. It is sad to say not so in our state. I proved one thing to myself. Politicians use educators to get elected but once in office they fail to live up to their promised potential. Regrettably, our children and young people are the ones who have to pay the price for their failure to support a quality education in this state.

Texas, today some Americans sure wishing it really was “a whole other country.”

2011-07-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Starting today, Americans who travel aboard are sure to be wishing that the state of Texas were a whole other country. For any American accused of committing a crime in a foreign country, the danger increased yesterday. The freedom to contact the America Consulates may not be as ensured as it has been in the past because of Texas’ repeated violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Our President came out looking like he has not control over Texas when it comes to agreements reach by the federal government on international law. The federal legislature is responsible for fixing this issue before Texas sentences another foreign national to death in violation of international laws which as a country we gave our word we would follow.

Conservative Republicans worked very hard to put Constitutional Originalists on the highest court in the land, The U.S. Supreme Court. Their success has resulted in a major reduction in the safety of the American people. Conservative activists justices have in the recent past question past precedent on everything from women’s rights to the right to privacy. They have repeatedly sided with large corporate interests over those of the American people. Their views as Constitutional Originalists are that the wording of the U.S. Constitution should only relate to the meaning understood in 1789. At that time in our country’s history women were looked upon as property, children worked long hard days in unsafe working conditions, and African Americans were slaves.

New Mexicans need to be only too conscious of these trends because we have a republican governor. She appoints republicans to the bench in this state after close door meetings to decide the nominees by what hopefully amounts to a bipartisan committee. We need to make sure that our local courts stay progressive in their views of the law. We want judges that know that bonds are not a form of punishment because someone accused of a crime is not guilty until proven innocent. Clearly, the state carries the burden to prove someone guilty before the state can punish a defendant. We do not want to see junk science used in our courtrooms. We want judges who protect women’s rights, labor union rights, the rights of the poor, and the rights of minorities. We do not want to see republicans appointed to the courts by this governor reelected to those seats in the future, so the voting public needs to work hard to let everyone know who those judges are in this state. As the voting public, we must not support the people the governor appoints to the state bench because we understand the threat to our local freedoms for fair and balanced justice.

Now is the time to remove sitting republican judges to prevent them from moving into higher positions within our court system. Our Second Judicial District Court system has very few sitting republican judges but thanks to the conservative news media, we are now learning who they are, and what their changes are of the governor awarding them higher positions. Democrats need to understand that our duty and responsibility is preventing the reelected to the bench of these individual. Since republicans have started this war on our constitutional rights, it is up to the democratic voting public to finish it once and for all.

Texas’ Love of the Uncivilized Death Penalty May Cost Americans Aboard

2011-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

“It shocks the conscience and sense of justice of the people.” by Justice Marshall. Execution in another country of an American without that person’s freedom to contact the American Consulate surely would shock the American public. Assigning the case to the equivalent of an ineffective corrupt public defender likely would further shock Americans. Americans seeing unproven (junk) science used to convict the American would think it inexcusable. Americans executed after denial of every possible defense for the crimes committed in another country would cause public outcries of anger. Knowing the American Consulate could have provided highly skilled lawyers to defend that person would result in further anger. Therefore, why would we do the same to a foreign national in this country? We all know that the world follows our lead on these issues.

To no one’s surprise, Texas is attempting once again to violate the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The State of Texas tied, convicted and sentenced to death a Mexican National by name of Humberto Leal for the crime of rape and murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. He is due to be executed tomorrow. The man has no prior criminal history. He also suffers from brain damage and childhood sexual abuse. President Obama asked the Texas Governor to stay the execution for the time being until the issues surrounding the case are worked out but he unreasonable refused. The Bush Administration even asked for judicial review of the case along with the international community, but the Texas government flat out refused the request.

Clearly, Texas is running amok with the love of executions. Texas will violate international law tomorrow unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in to stay the execution and the results may force Americans to pay the consequences for their uncivilized actions in the future. The world will see America as barbaric and uncivilized.

Wall-Mart and the U.S. Supreme Court

2011-06-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

“Too big to sue and too big to fail” No one likes to say that the U.S. Supreme Court is capable of making a serious error in judgment when it comes to their rulings. The U.S. Supreme Court is the court of last resort for our country, and their rulings are final say for any case brought before our legal system. We would hope that the justices on that court could put aside political agendas for the sake of protecting the American Society as a whole. Their roll has always been to protect minority classes that are unable to speak for and defend themselves.

In cases such as Brown v. Board of Education they upheld the rights for all citizens to get a fair and equal education no matter what the past practice. Our court understood that equal but separate did more harm than good to our society. We are now left to wonder that if Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. had headed that court would we have seen the same results.

Women in general may outnumber men in this country but as a class it has been common knowledge that top jobs and top pay goes to the men in the corporate hierarchy. Just because everyone does it is not a valid excuse for discrimination of any type. The fact that one or two of our justices have publicly expressed the view that women are not equal to men, that they see nowhere in the constitution where women even have the right to be treated equally (“Equal Protection Doctrine,” Justice Scalia) and that it is perfectly acceptable for women to be treated as sex objects (I can see why you keep your mouth jammed shut, Justice Thomas) is shameful in our day and time.

When it comes to the case of Wall-Mart v. Duke the courts ruled in favor of a huge corporation at the expense of low income and often minority women; women who face the reality that they have no right to fair and balanced treatment in this country due to their sex and their race.

The courts clear conservative stand with a split between the conservative elderly white male justices and the women justices of the court (We understand that you are the exception and we respect you greatly, Justice Breyer.) only served to point out their inability to understand the discrimination these women faced in the business world. The “boys will be boys attitude,” and that it is perfectly “OK” in the view of the U.S. Supreme Court for them to act in that manner as long as a piece of paper states otherwise is a clear message to Corporate America.

The message is that Corporate America is free to commit open discrimination against women, and far too often minority women, as long as they have documentation stating otherwise. Not that they have to create policies and procedures that force their male employees to follow the rules stated in that documentation, or that there is any adverse effects to their careers if they don’t following the rules. Of course enforcing the rules would help, but with no negative consequences to the corporation as a whole; why even bother?

The fact that these Corporations have billions of dollars and are willing to appeal until they reach the U.S. Supreme Court which is sure to side with the Corporations on these types of issue gives low income and often minorities female employees no hope of fighting claims on a individual bases.

Since the highest court in the land does not like large class action lawsuits; perhaps it is time for our legislators to get to work to change the laws which would allow women to receive large settlements from these types of cases. So lawyers would be willing to spend the time and money to litigate individual cases. The incentive would be that lawyers would get paid fairly in the end for their service should they be able to prove the complaints.

Keeping up on how our Representatives Vote in Washington D.C.

2011-06-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

So what do we learn about this week when it comes to how our representatives voted on Capitol Hill? Congressman Steve Pearce voted against veterans, while Congressmen Heinrich and Lujan voted to protect veterans who come back from war with a desire to commit suicide. The republicans won this issue and defeated a bill to help veterans deal with the overwhelming emotional problem. We need Congressmen who protect and support of veterans. I hope everyone calls Congressman Pearce to explain that issue clearly and directly to the republican congressman. There can be nothing more shameful then not supporting in every way possible our heroes who fight for our country.

Next Congressman Pearce and the republicans wanted to take 85 million dollars away from mothers through the WIC program. The program educates women on the benefits of breastfeeding. This country has serious problems when it comes to childhood obesity and breastfeeding is one way to reduce this major problem for our children. So much for family values when it comes to the Republican Party. On the other hand Congressmen Heinrich and Lujan both supported this very important funding. It was a small win for mothers and democrats when it comes to family values in this state and around the country. The larger bill which passed sharply cuts overall spending for the Women and Infants program.

“Wall-Street before Main Street” is the battle cry of Congressman Steve Pearce as he won the vote to delay regulations on derivatives. Derivatives and the lack of regulations on these financial instruments are what caused the recession that took away homes and jobs for the voting public on Main Street. Both Congressman Heinrich and Congressman Lujan voted to not delay these regulations that would only hold accountable Wall-Street. Congressmen Heinrich and Lujan lost this battle for now. This should make voters very angry toward Congressman Steve Pearce.

Back to the Real Issues Like Children and Local Judges

2011-06-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

So now that the Weiner Mobil has left DC maybe we can get back to important issues like republicans attacking women and children in Washington D.C. What insane mind thinks it is ok to cut funding to babies in this country while they give tax breaks to rich corporations?

Republicans don’t want to balance the budget; they just want all the money and power for themselves. Ever notice that republicans talk a good game but when it comes to facts and real action they don’t care about the middle class and working poor in this country.

Now to local issues

Judges in this state are facing a major attack from the Republican Party. The issue at hand is campaign donations. A blog posted a listing of judges with how much they contributed over the past 8 to 10 years. They did not explain in a clear manner that the donations were for more than one year. What they did not do was break it down as to what was actually given to Governor Richardson on the front page of their listening. The whole thing was very misleading when it come to the basic facts in the matter.

Let me tell you most of our local judges are pretty cheap when it comes to giving out cash. Considering how much they earn each year they could have afforded to give much more to all candidates of our party. Some judges gave to their political party so as to not appear to favor any one candidate. Most judges only take part in local politics during the time they have to run in a partisan race for their office. I know many would love nothing more than to be appointed to office for long periods of time.

The problem with appointment is that they don’t have to face the voting public on equal ground. These appointment committees are political pits where only the in boys get to play. These committees are the black holes that anyone who supports open government detests the most. Government at the local level should never be a restricted spectator sport especially when it comes to our court system.

The major problem at present is that rules are being made behind the scene right now that will turn our local court system into a restricted spectator sport when it comes to the voting public. They would force candidates running for office to reject the public and only attend high priced private affairs. They would not allow these candidates to work with local groups such as unions that support our local judges. They would allow large corporations who act as third parties to attack judges publicly while restricting democratic judges from getting the support from the local communities.

The problem with this is that we don’t want what happened in Wisconsin to happen to us here in New Mexico. We want a court system that rules in favor of the common people and not the political elite republicans and large corporations. We want a court system that works to decide cases on the legal facts and not political conservative views.

We have republican judges that base their decision on the statues and past court cases, so why would we want conservative activist judges that would rule in favor of things like destroying the environment. All we have to do is look up at the smoky skies to see how republican run states fail to care for their local environment. The court system is our final resource to ensure that our laws protect society as a whole and not just the elite conservatives.

Judges and Honesty

2011-06-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is the committee commentary on how a judge should behave in public.

COMMITTEE COMMENTARY

Paragraph A

The commentary to Rule 21-100 NMRA also applies to Paragraph A.

Public confidence in the judiciary is eroded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges. A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. A judge must therefore accept restrictions on the judge's conduct that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen and should do so freely and willingly. Examples are the restrictions on judicial speech imposed by Subparagraphs (10) and (11) of Paragraph B of Rules 21-300 NMRA that are indispensable to the maintenance of the integrity, impartiality and independence of the judiciary.

The prohibition against behaving with impropriety or the appearance of impropriety applies to both the professional and personal conduct of a judge. Because it is not practicable to list all prohibited acts, the proscription is necessarily cast in general terms that extend to conduct by judges that is harmful although not specifically mentioned in the Code. Actual improprieties under this standard include violations of law, court rules or other specific provisions of this Code. The test for appearance of impropriety is whether the conduct would create in reasonable minds a perception that the judge's ability to carry out judicial responsibilities with integrity, impartiality and competence is impaired.

Now, I know that a small percentage of judges have not followed these rules in the past year. Their behavior has been inexcusable when it comes to both professional and personal issues. They should and were held accountable for their misconduct by the State Supreme Court. Others are being investigated at this point in time. Like doctors, judges are often judged harshly by the public for what a few rogue individuals may do while in office.

The public should remember that not all judges disregard the rules of conduct. Some judges hold fast to those rule, and yes a few even work to educate the public on those rules. Nevertheless, I myself have been sadly disappointed and even angered by the behavior of a few of these rogue judges over the past year. I can say that they gave no indication of their poor judgment while running for office. If any judges have behaved in a manner that disregards the above rules then they should be investigated thoroughly in order to either prove their incenses or guilt.

As we have seen on the national level not all misconduct is carried out by one party or the other. We must watch closely and question even more harshly any candidate that will replace one of the judges who were forced to retire over the past year.

There is a hearing in Santa Fe, which is open to the public, this month where candidates for the Appeals Court position will be interviewed. I must admit that holding this during a workday instead of a weekend does not show a great desire for encouraging the public to view these interviews.

I personal believe that the public should be allowed to question judicial candidates before they are placed on a short list for the governor. I don’t disagree that their peers should also have an opportunity to review their qualification and question them in an interview process. I think that a combination of both methods would produce a much more successful list of candidate for the governor to choose from in the future. The more open the process the less likely that a candidate with poor moral values will slip through and be picked for a position on our courts.

Growth in Government Jobs

2011-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Over the years republicans have all claimed long and loudly to stand for smaller government. But if you look at the statics then you will see that the states leading in government growth are controlled by republican governors. Republicans are going to have a hard time putting a positive spin on this report.

What republican governors want is to provide government workers with low wages and no benefits. They are willing to hire all the slave labor they can as long as they do not have to provide livable wages.

This is clearly not a report that the Republican Party wants spread around during an election cycle. The time has come to demand the truth from republican governors when it comes to the size of their administrations.

Every democrat in this country understands that without workers to run the government than the government cannot provide vital services to the voting public. Fewer police officers mean unsafe neighborhoods. Fewer teachers mean bigger classes which leads to lower levels of student achievement. Fewer fire fighters means watching you home burn down and higher insurance rates for homeowners.

Love Fest or Highest Level of Ethical Standards

2011-05-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Congressman Martin Heinrich and State Auditor Hector Balderas are refusing to get down into the mud and attack each other on a personal level. Both men have lovely families and are respected by the communities they serve. Both men have very high ethical standards when it comes to their own personal behavior.

So why does some in the political arena expect and even demand lies and mudslinging? The answer could be that republicans who do have questionable ethical standards in this state wasted no time in spreading lies and falsehoods about other republican opponents.

Democrats in this state sent a clear message at the state convention this year that they expect a higher standard of behavior from their representatives and their candidates. Democrats are turn off and stay away from the polls when they feel that their candidates have no real plans or policies in which to put forth to voters. Democrats expect spirited debates on issues, and they don’t want lies about a candidate’s personal life or political stands on issues.

I am sure that democratic voters are looking forward to hearing how each of our lead candidates views the issues that America faces. We will be happy to hear their plans and models for how to handle difficult issues. We will want to know what they view as the most important issues. We will want to know how they plan on listening to and communicating with the voters that will elect them into office.

When the final vote is cast in the general election for New Mexico U.S. Senator the voters will want someone of high ethical and moral standards to represent them in Washington D.C. Lies and mudslinging have no place in a elected body that has so few members to begin with and who the American voting public invest huge amounts of power and control over this country.

The Different Between Compromise and Bipartisanship

2011-05-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

Compromise is the task of taking strongly held beliefs from two opposing sides and settling on the ones that neither side finds most distasteful. It does nothing to move the country forward or to improve the lives of those who are affected by these compromises. It makes the voting public all that much more polarized in their beliefs toward politicians, and it polarizes the political issues which in the long run only make the government that much more polarized.

The purpose of bipartisanship is to come to the table with the concept of identifying what issues must be addressed and then using every resource at hand to provide the best results for the voting public. It encourages new ideas and new approaches to old problems. It is all about building a system with the input of the people being affected without overwhelming the current system in usage, and without overwhelming the people who must live within any system used.

Our government has failed to practice real bipartisanship in any successful way over the past few decades. In some cases you have to wonder if people even understand the difference between the two practices. We have some real economic issues that face our state and our country. We need our elected officials to put aside their political beliefs in order to work with the other side to improve the lives of all of their constituencies.

We need leaders that are willing to lead and not have meetings where they only visit with one side at a time. The time has come to bring or force members of both parties together to fight and hash out new ways to approach old issues. They need to reach out to all the voting public to look for new ideas that might help them solve old problems. One of the gifts Americans have is to be able to develop new systems when the need arises as long as they are asked to take part in the process.

We don’t need tea parties; we need think tanks of our best and brightest individuals. We need to find new ways of approaching old issues. Americans need to know that they will be part of the process and not just the recipients of poorly thought out plans brought about by compromise that fixes nothing.

Republicans Lost Seat over Medicare in New York

2011-05-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

The voters in New York sent a strong message to republicans yesterday. Keep your hands off Medicare. When democrats fight for the core values of this party they always come out winners.

It is not about attacking the republican in the race but standing up for and fighting for the American people. It is about making sure that our senior citizens are taken care of in their retirement years. It is about making sure our children receive a good education. It is about supporting the leaders of small businesses.

It is not about tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for the oil and gas companies or supporting large corporations who take their tax revenues out of this country.

Judicial Seats in New Mexico

2011-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

At present we have a system where a bipartisan committee reviews candidates for positions on the court bench in this state. Then they pick a short list that goes to the governor for the final choice. After they are appointed judges must run in one partisan race in order to keep the seat. There after they must run in retention elections to keep the seat. At present there are not life time appointments to our state benches.

Questions have arisen in the southern part of the state about the possibility that at least one judge though he could buy a position on the bench. This would require that the judge was able to corrupt the selection process by the bipartisan committee and then buy off the governor. Even with that done then he would have had to still run in a partisan race, so he would also have had to find a way to corrupt the election process to ensure that he was elected to office.

The idea of appointing someone to a seat on one of our courts has been a difficult issue because most judges don’t feel that they should have to run for office. Judges feel that they are above the people they judge and therefore should not be answerable to the general public when it comes to our legal system. Some of our judges drive fancy cars and only socialize with other judges and lawyers. At present the courts are trying to make a new rule that would only encourage that type of behavior because it forbids our judges from taking part in politics unless they are running for retention. This type of behavior only encourages a lack of respect from the general public toward the rule of law. If voters don’t see that the judiciary cares about the people then the judiciary has failed to respect the spirit of the legal system in this country.

The lack of education in this state when it comes to how judges are chosen is appalling to say the least. Judges run for election and then disappear for public view until the next time they are forced to run for retention. They have failed to provide public outreach where they teach the general public about the legal system. They leave that duty up to the jury division of the court system. The lack of education has allowed the public to think that one could just buy a seat on the courts by paying off one powerful political individual.

To thinks that some judges would hope to change the system so that it allowed the governor to appoint judges to the bench without any elections where the voters could have their say only fosters the view that judges are corrupt individuals who don’t care about the voting public. There is no easy answer to these problems since most judges are self absorbed workaholics who hate public life.

Is the Dream Act only a Hopeless Dream

2011-05-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

President Obama visited the border in Texas today to highlight immigration issues ahead of both houses reintroducing the dream act which would give a path to legal status to children brought to this country illegally.

Republicans love to spread the hate when it come to immigration but they are unwilling to fix the problem in Washington since to do so would stop senseless killings of illegal immigrate children in border states like Arizona.

Republican need someone to hate in order to drive their perverse causes into the homes of this country. Without the hated immigrates who would they blame for their inability to fix unemployment and rising cost. It was not immigrates who caused the economic downturn which has swept our country over the last few years.

With the republicans in firm control of the U.S. House and having a heavy presents in the Senate the laws needed to fix our country’s immigration problems have no hope of being heard in either house.

The further blocking of real immigration reform can only lead to the death of more children in this country who’s last names are Hispanic.

Gentleman Please Show a Little Respect for the Ladies of the Democratic Party

2011-04-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Bless his little pea picking heart but Sam Bregman is no southern gentleman when it comes to how he treats the ladies of the Democratic Party in this state. Now he might pitch a conniption fit for me saying so the evening before the election but this man does not know that it is not good to put off a southern lady when she asks for a sit down. I find his behavior very offensive and downright disrespectful.

I think I have had far too much of politicians who think they know what is good for the voting public without even beginning to listen to the voters of this state. Democratic Women make up the majority of the active voters in this state. We can pick a leader who can care about our issues without telling us that we don’t understand how busy they are in the first place. At this point we know very little about this man because he is far too busy to speak with us.

As such we are looking to find a party leader who cares about our issues of quality education for our children, fair wages that equal those of the men in this state, and an equal voice when it comes to small business development.

Now if this is how he begins his drive for party leadership then just how will he behave if elected to that position tomorrow evening? One does have to wonder…

We don’t want nor do we need some foul mouthed men who think they can just dismiss us because this state already has Congressman Steve Pearce who cares nothing about women’s rights or the environment for that matter.

I would suggest that the Ladies of the Democratic Party vote for the only woman,Letitia Montoya,in the race and teach these gentlemen that they need to learn some good old fashion southern manners before they can get elected to office.

The Economy, The Economy, The Economy Stupid!

2011-04-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

The republicans are trying to destroy Medicare for our senior citizens. They want to give large tax breaks to the richest Americans while cutting programs for mothers with babies and old people. They want to hand fragile untouched land to oil companies like BP who rake in billions in profit while on government public assistance and charge customers $4.88 per gallon at the gas pumps.

What is wrong with this picture? Someone in Washington start standing up for our values.

Democrats win races when they stop giving into republicans and start standing up for party values. Democrats need to start telling the voting public that we value teachers and a quality education for our children that do not include our teachers teaching to the test while having their pay and benefits cut.

We have to tell the voters that the environment is the only thing that we can truly give to our children and grandchildren. We don’t want the same future for our children that the Japanese will pass down to their children. We don’t want to see fishermen’s way of live destroyed any further than it already has on the gulf coast, and we don’t want our coastlines destroyed by oil that will only increase the damage done by future hurricanes. The wrong path on these issues will only result in death and destruction for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

We value education for all because it provides a way for poor children to become middle class in the future. We value freedom so that our population can dream the dreams that no other country can dream. Those dreams are what makes people from all over the world want to be American.

We want our children to be free to build a better life and not just be tied to their parents because their parents are too poor to take care of themselves in their old age. That is what Social Security and Medicare is all about in the first place. These are the programs that built the middle class in this country.

Democrats can do one of two things. They can either start standing up for party values or they can stand by and watch the republicans destroy the American Dream for all.

How to fix the Budget—End Corporate Welfare

2011-04-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Let’s start by ending corporate welfare. All businesses in this country should either pay their employees a wage that covers the basics expenses of food, housing, basic living needs, child cares, and transportation.

If a company of any size does not pay their employees this basic wage then they should have to pay the government in taxes the cost of these basics not covered plus the administrative fees to cover having the government do it for them. After all why should taxpayers have to support employees of dead beat companies and corporations such as Wal-Mart?

Next if a company is willing to provide health insurance to their employees and their family which an employee can afford to pay any deductibles and or co-pays without cutting into the resources to cover basic needs than that would do away with that needed social programs for their employees. This in return could lower everyone’s taxes.

Then if a company or corporation would supply wages that would allow them to deduct money for a retirement plan without cutting into the money needed to cover basic living expenses plus healthcare then could I see lowering their tax rate. The company or corporation should be required to deduct that money pre-tax and see that it is wisely invested for the employees being covered.

We are still going to need taxes to pay for roads that employees use to get to and from work each day. We will need taxes that cover the cost of repair and upkeep of roads that companies and corporations use to get their goods to and from market. We will still need public schools to ensure that companies have a skilled labor workforce. We will still need funds to support people who find after illness or injury that they are unable to work. And of course we will still need money to pay for employees who find themselves unemployed where it was not fault of their own. Lastly we will still need to pay for a standing army to protect the rights of the American people and to keep our country safe from out siders who might harm our employers when it comes to their freedom to run a business and make a profit.

Any companies or corporations who fires or lays of people, because they don’t have the money to pay all of these benefits to their employees without cutting into their huge profits, should be forced to pay even higher taxes. Any companies or corporations that take their production or supplies out of the country to avoid these expenses should pay the highest taxes for goods and services they sell. If they raise their prices in order to pay for the employee benefits without cutting into their mega profits then they should also pay much higher taxes.

The America people pay far too much in taxes to support dead beat corporations and companies in this country. These organizations have come to depend on corporate welfare. We need to reform our system to reward employers who do the right thing and don’t depend on the government to cover expenses that should be paid by private companies and corporations.

In the long run all of these reforms would reduce the size of government and reduce the taxes that every American has to pay.

Republicans Showing Lack of Desire for Current Candidates

2011-04-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

Gee, I wonder why… Republicans are all on board to lower taxes for the mega rich while putting the burden off onto the middle class workers in this country. How out of touch can one group of candidates get in an election year?

The people that are out there in the republican lineup are all the nutcases that no sane republican would ever want to vote for in the first place. Our own ex-governor Gary Johnson is now considering a run. This is the ex-governor who wants to make drugs legal so he can tax their profits. Maybe he would also want to impose a tariff on the ones coming across the Mexican—New Mexico border. Then again since they are so rich maybe he will want to protect the drug cartels from taxes all together since he promised no new taxes.

One does have to wonder what type of core values the Republican Party has of late when they take money from children and poor mothers with babies in order to hand it over to the richest individuals in this country. These are the people who want to take Medicare away from the elderly so they can put the tax dollars in the bank accounts of the already too rich.

Knowing the republicans they will probably next want to do away with social security so that they can then give large corporations larger tax cuts. The republicans don’t care what happens to the baby boomers that make up this country’s middle class as long as they get their tax dollars for the mega rich and the corporations in this country.

I wonder how long it will take all those middle class and working poor republicans to wake up and understand that their current crop of candidates don’t care about them. Then again maybe they already have and that is why they don’t want to vote for their own candidates.

2012 Campaign Season is Starting

2011-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

The race this year will be one where the republicans will try to control the message. The question for the State Democratic Party will be can they do a better job and does that mean acting just like the republicans? Nothing turns democratic voters off more than hearing their candidates attacking the republicans. Democratic voters don’t want attacks they want a message that says what their candidates can do in the future that will help the middle class and the working poor.

They want to know how they will vote when it comes to things like raising taxes on the top 2% of wage earners in this country. They want to know how candidates plan to reduce the price of gas and increase the number of jobs so people can afford to live in this country and this state. They want to know how they plan on reforming education in this state without driving out gifted teachers.

Candidates would do well to dismiss the negative messages being put out by the Republican Party as hate filled and harmful to our form of government. Then they should act more like Congressman Martin Heinrich who stands by his pass votes while telling the voters that he is willing to work with both sides to achieve the best results for the voters he represents in this state. This is a candidate that will perform well on the national stage as our next senator. We would do well to have more candidates like him at the state level. His example will be the one that guides our party to success in the future.

Later this month the state central committee will pick one of two men to lead our party into the next election cycle. At present we have two candidates running for the state party chair. They are Sam Bregman and Javier Gonzales.

Sam Bregman has promised to take the attack to the republicans. To be a forceful presents in the local media. He wants to organize the party by having district meetings where he works with the long established activists to organize the party. Now the state central committee members must decide if they trust his message and if it will not drive core democratic voters away from the polls. As of yet he has not explained how he will reach out to individuals who feel they have been cut out of the political process by long time operators.

The other candidate is well known State Party Chairman Javier Gonzales. He is known for his diplomatic style approach to campaigns. He is more of a behind the screens type operator. He has already done work to build the party from the ground up by organizing local activists. He knows the value of getting his message out to the voters in the nontraditional venues as most of the media is very right leaning in this state.

Javier’s problem will be to bring the outsiders into the party and to make them feel welcome. His first attempt in 2010 did not go all that well as most of those voters did not favor the negative message being put out by the lead candidates in the state elections. Can Gonzales convince candidates to keep their message about issues and to stay away from the negative attacks that cost our state the governor’s office in 2010? Gonzales has been endorsed by retiring U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. Senator Bingaman’s endorsement will carry a lot of weight since he has lead our party on the federal screen for the last few years.

The next move is up to the Democratic State Central Committee members. Will they chose wisely and will the approach of the next state party chairman work?

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Even for Republican Representatives

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mayor R. J. Berry is trying to get seventy-five of the most vulnerable homeless people off the streets and into a safe environment where they can be treated for their medical and mental conditions.

So far only 3 of those individuals have been helped but the process is a long one and finding placement is often difficult at best. The main difficulty for the people trying to place these individuals is the lack of medical facilities in the city that can treat mental illness and addiction.

Also there is the problem that no one wants a homeless individual moving into their neighborhood. These individuals usually have long criminal histories due to abuse of either drugs or alcohol. Their behavior is unpredictable at best and at worst could pose a potential danger to the people surrounding them.

Republicans are attacking Mayor Berry for wasting their few precious tax dollars on something as weak and unimportant as protecting vulnerable homeless people. With the summer heat coming those are the ones that will cost the city nine hundred thousand dollars in medical care and emergency services.

I see it all the time where the police are called to San Mateo and Kathryn for some homeless person who has passed out due to the heat or cold. It requires a few police officers and an ambulance to transport the individual to the nearest emergency room. All of these costs are paid for by the middle class taxpayers in this city. Very little of it is paid by the rich republicans who complain about the waste of helping these individuals the most.

It would help if the local convenience store would stop selling these individuals large cans of beer which they take to the local bus stop to drink since it provides the only shade in the area. These individual also go behind the local businesses to drink and do drugs which makes the local small business leaders upset because it discourages customers from visiting their establishments.

With over six hundred homeless individuals out on the streets and more to come this summer as the temperatures increase in the city I for one would hope that local government would do all they can to help these individuals. In the long run this will keep them and the good people of our city a lot safer on our city streets. It will also reduce the cost of caring for these people to the middle class taxpayers.

Still this one small program will not even begin to address the problems this city faces when it comes to helping the homeless. While the mayor is at it maybe he can do something about the dumping ground of sex offenders which has been building up in the southeast part of our city over the last ten years. This only encourages that part of our city from having safer neighborhoods. This in the long run attracts more of the homeless to that rundown part of the city.

The Lie Behind the False Truth—Cutting Government Spending does not Create Jobs!

2011-04-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Governor Susana Martinez refused to raise taxes and instead cut from education in this year’s legislative session. How does that affect New Mexico? First by cutting back teacher’s pay they managed to take that much more money out of the pockets of small businesses in this state. You can’t spend what you don’t have people.

Every time Martinez reduces government it means that other public sector jobs will also go away because those government workers will no longer have the money to spend in their local neighborhoods. Small town New Mexico is being hit the hardest because there are even fewer jobs in those areas to begin with in the first place.

So what should the governor of New Mexico be doing to fix the unemployment problem in this state? First close tax loopholes so that the money stays in the state. Second stop giving money to big oil and gas because their profits are already obscene.

Once we have that money how do we invest it back into the state to create jobs? First fix education so that the funding goes directly to teachers and support staff in the classrooms. Next we spend money on improving the classrooms with new textbooks, computers and supplies. We should spend some of it on educating our local teachers so that they can in turn improve their skills that they use in the classrooms.

Next we can start supporting small business growth in this state. Educate anyone and everyone who is willing to go out and start a small business. Encourage and promote new projects that are developed locally such as at the business park just outside Kirkland Air force base. Work with and encourage our National Labs to provide research and develop for local businesses.

All of this will put New Mexicans back to work and improve our economy.

Cutting funding to education and local government while keeping corporate taxes low is a sure way to cause our state to enter a second recession also referred to as a double dip recession which is something no one in this state wants to see happen. Not even the rich.

Governor Fails to Acknowledge Cuts to Classroom Education

2011-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Governor Martinez thinks that if she says it often enough that people will believe her when she says that she did not cut the classroom funding in this state. The reality is that when you cut teacher pay by 3.25% you cut funding to every classroom in this state. You also cut spending in the towns and cities of this state. Teachers often take money out of their own pockets to help support poor students in a state where a lot of children live near or below the poverty line.

Martinez has also cut school funding by 5% to K-12 public schools across the state which will result in even future cuts to instructor salaries. I fail to see administrators taking that money from their own paychecks.

You should make no mistake that community college presidents are getting ready to cut frontline workers pay at the same percentage rate they are forced to cut top administrators. Higher Education got a 7.5% cut in the state’s largest community college which I am sure will come out of the classrooms and out of teacher and support staff salaries. Why college presidents think it is ok to cut the salaries of people making less than $25,000 a year at the same rate they cut administration salaries is beyond my understanding. Clearly these people live a self centered it’s all about me and my money life style that has nothing to do with the reality of our current economic crisis.

People should call the governor so as to let her know that we do not buy the sugar coated lies coming from her and her less than honest open administration.

Smart Politicians Saying Stupid Things

2011-03-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

“A person who disagrees with you isn't necessarily unintelligent. Sometimes, smart people say stupid things simply because they haven't gotten all the facts.” Or in the case of Republicans like Congressman Steve Pearce they simply disregard the facts in favor of large corporations.

Well that about sums it up for Congressman Steve Pearce. He wants to cut down more trees in this state and drive some poor little owl into extinction just to provide jobs that will not last very long in the first place. I think he would have been just the right congressman for this state in the 1800s because they tried sanctuaries (Reservations) with Native Americans but it just does not fly presently.

Now for all of us who are dealing with high pollen counts this spring cutting down all of those trees does not sound like such a bad idea at first. Since our state is an arid environment with very little water how could that be such a bad idea but I don’t think the spotted owls would be very happy with the results. And I don’t think our children and grandchildren would thank us over the long run.

Once upon a time New Mexico had a lot fewer trees back in the 1980s but with the building of more homes has come more trees. Maybe the Congressman should have all of the trees in our cities cut down instead of the ones that are there naturally in the forests around the state. Who knows it could create jobs for people who cut trees down and make a lot of people much healthier at the same time. I am sure the spotted owls don’t live in the cities of this state so what harm could it do except to make some home owners a little unhappy. But if they did not have to water their non-native trees maybe we could also save some water at the same time which I am sure would make the republican mayors happy.

All sarcasm aside cutting down our forest to create jobs that will not last is no way to create long lasting jobs for New Mexicans. We need new green jobs that will last a lot longer and provide high paying wages that can support state government. Harming our environment is no way to fix the problem of unemployment in this state. Republicans have to stop thinking in the past and start working for a better future for all New Mexicans.

The Supreme Court case is Wal-Mart Stores Inc v. Betty Dukes, No. 10-277

2011-03-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

So will the U.S. Supreme Court side with women’s rights or large corporations in June? They will hear the case today of Wal-Mart Stores Inc v. Betty Dukes. We have seen a conservative court side with corporations far too often as of late. We know that at least one of the men of the U.S. Supreme Court would love to see women’s rights taken away since he has said that nowhere in the constitution does it state that women should be treated as equals. As he put it the founding fathers could not even have conceived in 1776 of women being treated as equals to men.

Yes, there are three women on the U.S. Supreme Court but they are outnumbered by five very conservative males at least one of which has shown that he is willing to engage in sex discrimination when it comes to female coworkers.

So, why must women put their faith in a court system which clearly sides with men and large corporations when it comes to equal treatment and equal pay? The fact is women in this country earn less pay for doing the same jobs as men. They are harassed in the workplace by men every day. Even one of the females on the U.S. Supreme Court has told women that it is best just to pretend to not hear sexual comments made by male coworkers if you desire to get ahead in this country.

How is this behavior a good example for our young women in this country? Why is it ok for men to stare at women and make unacceptable remarks during working hours just to intimate a female coworker? Why is it ok for women to make less money than men for doing the same job?

If the U.S. Supreme Court sides with this corporation which has a long history of abusing its employees then women in this country should no longer put their faith in the justice system to see that they are treated fairly as equals. We should fight back at the polls by putting women into power so as to see that no man ever is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court until we can make the men in this country feel the same level of discrimination that women are forced to face every day of their lives in this country on the job.

It is our responsibility as parents to make sure that our daughters are given a workplace free of discrimination in any form in the future. At no point should any women in power tell our young women that they should turn a deaf ear to unacceptable speech or treatment in the workplace just in order to make $.77 to every $l a man makes who is doing the same job.

Susana Martinez has lost her Ever Loving Mind

2011-03-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Of all the nutcases in the world to appoint to the Judicial Standards Commission how could anyone in their right mind appoint Darren White? Has someone in the governor’s office drugged that woman? Clearly our governor has no respect for the rule of law. She wants to turn the Judicial Standards Commission into a public joke.

Darren White is the man who cannot stay away from a TV camera if his life depended on it. He has shown no respect for the legal system in general, and has made comments to the local news sources that would cause any sane person to question his ability to be an unbiased voice when it comes to our judges. His own personal record has shown very poor judgment when it comes to ethical standards.

Martinez has crossed the line with this appointment and the State Supreme Court should demand that she remove that man for that commission at once. The only good thing about this whole issue is that the commission does not have final say over our judges. Thank god, the final say is left up to the State Supreme Court itself.

Governor Martinez--Rich Republicans and Corporations more important than our children

2011-03-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Governor Susana Martinez will sign into law a budget bill this year that will balance the state budget on the backs of educational employees. Make no mistake this is a 3.25% plus across the board pay cut to every educational employee in this state no matter how low their income. The governor made no attempt to direct those cost toward overpaid educational administration. The governor appointed Heather Wilson, a person of questionable character, to select her administration. She came out fighting for highly emotional issues this legislative session in order to draw attention away from the main issues of education and jobs.

Martinez has protected the rich in this state at the expense of our children’s future education and the future of our educated workforce. Clearly this governor, a woman, has broken the promise of protecting our children above all else in order to protect rich corporations and rich republicans. When will we get a governor who cares more for our children and their future then the well being of special interest groups.

Martinez and her republicans have shown that they like high paid lobbyists and will protect them over and above our children. She has shown where she places her priority and they don’t include the health and safety of our children in this state. She has shown that she likes republicans of questionable character and more than likely has hired more that a few of them to run her current administration. She has shown no respect for the rule of law when dealing with how she makes changes in her administration. She is a former district attorney who clearly has no respect for the laws of this state when it comes to dealing fairly with the voting public in this state.

All of this seriously calls into questions her intentions and her own personal character of fighting for our children and our state. She either does not know what she is doing and is letting corrupt individuals take control of our state or she is one of them and has managed to hide that fact up until now.

She was clearly a liar when she said that she would not harm our educational system. Teacher who are paid lower sums cannot afford to put their own personal income toward the classroom. She has cut funding to the classroom by taking that money from teachers salaries. She knows that the top administration will also cut classroom supplies before they would reduce their own income and clearly she approves of this behavior since she has now made friends with those in the top educational administration. Clearly her administration is now as corrupt as that of the top paid educational administration in this state. One has to wonder what her price was to sell out to the top educational administration of this state...

Does the City Council Feel Safer?

2011-03-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Albuquerque City Council and the Bernalillo County Commission spend $40,000 to build a bulletproof dais in its chambers. With murders and stabbings covering the local newspaper one does have to wonder about the mayor’s approach to fighting crime in this city. It would appear that even the city council does not feel safe in their own city hall otherwise why would they be spending large sums of money at a time like this to protect themselves from the general public.

Where is the republican lead tough on property crime police force when the city council or the residents of this city honestly need them? Oh that is right; they are all on central guns drawn arresting a thief for stealing copper. Or maybe they are out arresting prominent city lawyers. Clearly these are hardened criminals that deserve the most attention from our city police force. Makes you just feel oh so safe does it not? Shows just what a great safety director Darren White truly is…

The leaders of the police force are too busy investigating their own employees for comments made on-line to bother policing our city streets. Gangs are seeing the weakness and beginning to reemerge out of lack of fear of being arrested for committing violent crimes in our city. As long as they stay away from rich citizen’s property and copper then they are fee to commit any crime they want to in this city.

We need safety leadership that will stop mugging for the evening news cameras and start finding ways to prevent citizens from being mugged in their own homes or on our city streets. Property crime although a major source of crime in this city is not the only type of crime in a city this large. Which would you rather loss a car or your life? Why should any citizen in this city be forced to make that decision in the first place? Effective leadership would find a way to make our city safe for its citizens all the while protecting its property from real criminals who mean us serious physical harm.

Party Leadership the Best Defense is a Good Offense?

2011-03-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

In the near future the Democratic Party of New Mexico will be electing a leader. Will they stay with Javier Gonzales or go with Sam Bregman?

What do we know about Javier Gonzales?

Javier is a quiet polite kind individual who has conservative democratic views. He works well with middle of the road democrats and people who have been well established in the democratic party of this state. He is a family man with a wife and children. He is a real life cowboy who loves his horses and loves ridding. His style is not in your face attacking but more working in the back ground to get things done. He will not tell the party which candidate is best for the job or who to pick. He would rather see the party work for all democrats rather than the chosen few. He would never dream of backing a candidate down on an issue in public or demanding a stand on any issue that affects our state. His is not the attack style of republican politics.

The negatives to this are that his style lacks fire and passion. You will never see him out on the campaign trail getting the crowds all fired up but he will stand behind the candidates on the platform giving his quiet support. He talks about issues but never gives his own personal option on hot button issues. The Republican Party has taken advantage of this by using his lack of forcefulness to define issues in our state.

So what do we know about Sam Bregman?

He is a lawyer with a long history. He has a reputation of being very good at his job. He has been known to be very loud and outspoken on issues so don’t look for him to allow anyone to define his issues better then he can in public. He now has a Facebook page where he is posting his views on some of the issues and republican leadership.

The negatives are not much more is known about his at this time. Nothing about his personal likes or dislikes. Not an easy man to get to know in person at first meetings since he tends to be guarded. He is kind of standoffish at first meetings. He is known to be loud on subjects that at times can be good and at times can be bad. He is a lawyer which leads us to believe that he does not know how to admit when he is wrong on a subject. Some lawyers in the past have proven to be nothing more than little tin dictators. We all know the prime example of that when it comes to the City of Albuquerque.

So the race for party leader should heat up in the next few weeks and maybe we will get to hear why one candidate deserves support over the other.

Superintendent Winston Brooks Hiding Unacceptable Cost from the Taxpayers

2011-02-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

Even the Governor understands that the Superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools has something to hide when it comes to his over the top administration expenses. He would cut classrooms first before cutting into his top paid administration. He would refuse to hand over the facts and figure of the budget to the public for fear of cuts to his mushroom style administration. Well Mr. Brooks the head on that thing has gotten far too heavy for the system to bear and now even republicans can see that it is time to cut at the top.

Governor Martinez would be wise to demand a full accounting of the facts and figures of the APS budget before she approves any budget cuts for that system. It would look very shady of her if she was to meet with the Superintendent and then change her tune about how the cuts are made to this school system. Without the public having more information on if the money is being spent wisely how can any taxpayer be comfortable when it comes to this issue. APS should be open to a full audit by the state auditor and they should be forced to put their checkbook on-line in a sunshine type portal so that the voters can see firsthand what our dollars are paying for in the first place.

Taxpayers should not be finding out from the local news that our school system is paying for high priced public relation employees when we cannot afford to provide teachers and teacher’s assistants for our children in the classrooms. One does have to wonder what other types of expenses Mr. Brooks is hiding in his budget.

With more accountability comes the responsibility for the government to start spending our school funding for the classrooms and not the boardroom. Our children need more classroom supplies and more teachers not more public relations representatives.

Investment in Education / Are Legislators Drinking on the Job?

2011-02-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

Ask any business leader in this country how do you increase the bottom line and make your company more successful . The answer will be invest in the company so that they can produce a better smarter more competitive produce in a effective manner. Yet when it comes to education states are deinvesting in the system. Only companies that are going bankrupt get ride of assets and pay their employees less while paying their administration more.

Is our nations educational system bankrupt? Have we failed to provide enough investment in the correct areas in order to grow our educational system? Will public education for all be a thing of the past due to corruption in top educational administration and the state legislature? Why is the top educational administration in this state being protected by state legislators while our children pay the price?

Top educational administration is out of control and their lobbyists are buying the drinks that feed our state legislators their breakfast. Maybe we should require state legislators to take a breath test before they can cast a vote on DWI and educational issues on the roundhouse floor or in committee for that matter.

Lets see if State Senators Tim Jennings and John A. Smith can pass that test before school children have to face passing exams with over crowded classrooms and fewer supplies. Our children do not need legislators who are drinking their dinners and breakfasts with the enemy.

Slave Labor and Slave Wages

2011-02-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

If the republicans have it their way then unions will be a thing of the past and we will be back to slave wages for the working poor and the middle class. Work environments will become dangers and in some cases life threatening just in order to cut cost of production. In many states right now labor union members are taking to the streets to protest the republican’s uses of a corporate created financial crisis to force unions to give up rights hard won by our fathers and grandfathers.

Our parents and grandparents gave up their safety and in some cases their very lives in order to secure a more perfect Union where workers had rights to a safe work environment and a decent day’s pay for a decent day’s work. Now republicans would do away with those rights in order to balance state budgets on the backs of the workers while giving huge tax breaks to the very rich and large corporations who created the financial crisis in the first place.

Main street voters have now taken to main street avenues to protest for the freedoms and the rights won long ago. The republicans call union workers rich yet they are the ones receiving the tax benefits from corporations and the wealthiest voters in this country.

It has long been common knowledge that educators in this country are forced to take a pay cut in order to teach in the first place. Retirement benefits were the only saving grace that a teacher could look forward to after spending twenty to thirty years at a below industry wage. Now republicans are pointing out that industry employees do not have those same benefits yet they say nothing about the gap between what teachers are paid now and what people out in the industry are being paid who have the same level of education and the same number of years in a position. They don’t show graphs of the different between the amount earned over a working life time for teachers and people with the same level of education and work experience who work in the industry.

Voters need to ask themselves who created this mess and what is their reasoning for attacking the people who educate our children. Why are non-labor union employees in the U.S. industries forced to have no retirement benefits at the same time that large corporations are raking in millions of dollars in profits? Why are large corporations hording huge profits while employees go without jobs in this country? Are we really going to continue to allow republicans to destroy the American dream just to balance the current state budgets at the expense of the middle class and the working poor all the while the rich just keep getting richer?

Give the Republicans a Balanced Budget at the Cost of the American People

2011-02-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

Why fight it just let the republicans balance the budget on the backs of the American middle class and working poor. Let them do away with every single social program in this country. When young babies and mothers start turning up dead on city streets from starvation and exposure then maybe the people will rise up and take back control of our country. Let them do away with social security so that old people die from lack of food and shelter. Republicans know that without heat in the cold winters or cooling in the hot summers that old people will just die off and therefore there will be fewer voters at the polls for the next election.

Let the republicans do away with public education so that our country becomes the largest third world country in the world. When will people understand that without a good education our children have no hope of getting good jobs? Maybe we should just let them bring back children labor and do away with all labor laws so that they can pay them pennies on the dollar for their work.

”Freedom of Speech” is not for Government Employees?

2011-02-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

Government institutions where it is federal, state, or local are among the largest employers in the state of New Mexico. The local news services have been reporting that Mayor R.J. Berry, the mayor for the City of Albuquerque and an elected official, along with his administration is having a crisis. An employee using “Facebook” which is a social media internet site to express personal views toward his job that are not supported by the mayor or his administration is causing the mayor some public pains. The Firefighters are putting stickers on their uniforms that say “FMB” but the meaning of those stickers is unclear since union leaders say it means one thing while the rank and file says it means something else.

So the question is dose the government as a major employer here in the state have the right to control an employee’s freedom of speech when they are not on duty? Do employees have the right to wear stickers and other items on their uniforms that express personal views while on duty?

Government as a large institution has the serious responsibility to uphold the rights of the America people when it comes to the U.S. Constitution. “Freedom of Expression” and “Freedom of Speech” are among our basic rights when it comes to what is spelled out in the constitution. Republicans “cry foul” when it comes to interfering in the freedoms of large corporations but when it comes to big brother controlling their own employees they can be some of the harshest managers. I do find it very funny that republicans support Freedom of Political Speech for large corporations but not government employees. Can we say double standard…?

Should there be limits to what and where employees can express their personal views? Yes, of course information should not be released on some sensitive issues or if it puts individuals in danger of physical harm but when it comes to personal feeling and emotions toward the job then employees need an outlet for those emotions.

Firefighters should be allowed to place stickers on their own personal vehicles and apparel even if the administration does not agree with it but maybe they should take them off their uniforms and caps. Facebook is a personal social media site and as long as it is not the Facebook site for the government agency in question then government managers should have no say on what is posted by an employee. Only if an employee reacts to a member of the public at work in the same manner as is expressed on the site and that it can be proved that he/she is guilty of violating standards set for an employee’s work performance should they be fired.

The government can say that they hold their employees to a higher standard but if you cut off all lines of expression to an employee then you invite trouble in the future that can only harm the public, government employers and government employees.

Public Education in this state is failing so Fire them all

2011-02-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

Governor Martinez wants to shake up the New Mexico educational system. Maybe she should just fire them all and make the system private. She could then do away with the unions just by having no members in it. She could do away with the ERB since there would be no members. She could reduce every teachers salary to entry level since they would have to apply to privately run schools. Just think how many taxpayer dollars she could save by doing away with public education in this state. Privately run schools could make huge profits without having to provide a system that does any better then the current one and they could add more top paid administration to the system. They could spend all the money on themselves and make taxpayers pay more just to bail them out.

Of course the down side is that no teacher with any ability would work in our state ever again. Teachers would receive not benefits so they would have to apply for public assistance just to support their families. Major companies would move jobs to other states where there is a public educational system because middle class families care about their children‘s education which would reduce the tax base. Teachers would pay less in taxes because their incomes would be smaller which would reduce state wide revenues. Crime would go up because poor people could not afford to educate their children after the private schools raise their prices so it would be the only way they could make a living. Lawyers would sue the crap out of the state for failing to educate the public so the state would have to payout lots more money defending themselves for those lawsuits. We would have to build more prisons to house those children as they grow up in our state without jobs so that would cost taxpayers lots more money. Producing more ciminials would ensure more people die in this state from violent crimes.

So clearly the way to go is to do away with public education and make it private so only the richest of our state’s children can afford it in the first place. I would not want to live in this state if public education goes private would you?

All Big Gas and Oil a Big Mistake for New Mexico

2011-02-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Governor Martinez will have to face hard questions on the handling of first crisis in her new administration. Why was she not harder on the Gas Company of New Mexico from the very start of this crisis? Why after their total and complete lack of communication and their failure to plan correctly did she take their word that the problem would be fixed by last Sunday? Clearly this new governor has a lot to learn when it comes to dealing with large corporate interest and what they can deliver verses what they are willing to tell our state government.

Now, the question is will she see the need for our state to diversify when it comes to energy production? Will she stick with a policy of depending on gas and oil or will this change her views on how our state should provide energy to thousand that have been in the cold for over a week now? It is one thing to reject the science of global warming and a totally different issue to turn a blind eye to the fact that our state has all its eggs in one basket when it comes to how people heat their homes and businesses in this state. Will local businesses leaders demand a change in the future to protect their own interest?

Tao and the small cities up north in this state could turn to thermal energy by tapping into the volcanic energy that lies below their feet to heat homes and businesses. The energy produced by this method would be cleaner and much more reliable then natural gas from Texas. A garbage power planet just outside the City of Albuquerque could solve two problems at the same time. It could produce clean energy while doing away with the problem of waste disposal in this city.

We have two of the national labs in our state with leading scientist that could with a little encouragement provide a list of all the different ways our state could diversify its method of acquiring energy to heat our homes and businesses but will the governor even put the effort out to look at this issue and find answers to what could be a problems that just might lead to harm or even prove fatal to the elderly and the very young in this state.

Vote in the School Board Election Today

2011-02-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Of all days of the year to have a snow storm. I just voted and my vote was number 81 which just goes to show that today will be record low turn out at the polls. Let’s hope early vote was a lot higher this year.

I voted for Cheryl Harris from APS school board because she will be someone who cares about our schools and our children.

I did vote for the bond issue since it is for repairs but we need someone who is willing to lead at the college level and be accountable to students and school staff. To ask people making less then $25,000 a year to take the same percentage pay cut as someone who makes $216,000 a year is just unacceptable. The time for change at all levels is now.

As Sigmund Freud once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you reelect the same people then expect the same results so you better be happy with the current results when it comes to education in this state and this city.

Speculation

2011-01-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

We have all seen what speculation in the housing market has done to this country. We know that speculation in the oil market drives up the price of a barrel of oil making gas prices soar. Now the world market is facing speculation on food products.

So gas prices go up and you see $5.00 a gallon gas in the United States with higher prices in other countries around the world. Housing prices go up and you see a market crash that the United States has not experienced since the nineteen thirties. Now you see food prices climb and what happens? Instability worldwide is the future result if something is not done to stop or at least control the speculation of food products.

Speculation is not a good deal on any item that is so important that people around the world will starve if it gets out of control. It is one thing to speculate on things like technology but quite another to speculate on things that support basic human life in this world.

What next are we going to allow speculation on water supplies so that people would not be able to afford a glass of water? Maybe we should allow speculation on healthcare delivery or education? Oh wait we already do.

We need an end to uncontrolled market speculation worldwide. We cannot afford to keep putting out the fires produced by uncontrolled market speculation on basic products and services that support human life and the quality of human life.

Ben Lujan Speaker of the State House and Governor Martinez

2011-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

For the next two years republicans and our new woman governor will find that the state house of representatives is controlled by a kind gentle lion by the name of Ben Lujan Sr. Even with the new republicans in office it will be hard to change the direction of this state when it comes to humanitarian issues like immigration, capital punishment, and the environment.

Our new governor would do better to stick to balancing the budget on the backs of overpaid top educational administration. It will be only too interesting to see if she can cut some of those overpriced paychecks in state education without harming our children in the classrooms. Clearly Top Educational Administration feels that they are far too valuable to have their pay cut and will fight tooth and nail with their highly paid lobbyists to keep the governor from taking one feather from their well lined nest. After all what is more important to them their lobbyists and public image consultants or our children.

One APS high school science teacher put it plainly recently when she said I have a zero dollar budget this year for science supplies for my classroom. If we want our state to improve when it comes to our children’s education then we need to start by changing the value system of the people who are responsible for running that system. Clearly without instructional support staff and supplies teachers have little hope of improving how they deliver classroom instruction. Training for teachers is another area which is in bad need of support. Administration does not need to be the ones sent to conferences on taxpayer’s dollars. The time for luxury items for top educational administration is over and their pay needs to be cut in order to more wisely spend that money in the classroom where it should have been spent all along.

One does have to wonder why Martinez a catholic would oppose the Pope’s stand on Capital Punishment. The church has made it clear that they do not support this rather uncivilized form of punishment for criminals. After all the church and all of its members has a duty to protect the sanctity of life. Still this is an issue that divides us all because of the need to protect our brave police officers and our children. This was an issue that even Governor Richardson struggled with for a long time before ending the practice in our state.

As for illegal immigrants this is a difficult question for all New Mexicans since we just don’t have the resources at this point in time to support more people in our state. We have a duty to provide for our legal residents to start with who need the jobs and the money provided for by our tax dollars. Still we already have people in this state illegally who are working hard to get an education and it will not go well for anyone if we keep these people uneducated and restrict their ability to provide a living for themselves and their families. Clearly more must be done to force these individuals into applying for legal citizenship and forcing them to become legal workers in our country. Still this is a national issue that states should not be dealing with alone. It is far past time that our federal government got to work on this issue and gave states along the border some much needed relief.

Mayor Marty Chavez’s Mother Passes

2011-01-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

On Monday at the age of 92 Sarah Baca Chavez passed away peacefully in her sleep after what her son called a life well lived. She gave the City of Albuquerque one of its strongest leaders who worked hard to create a place well worth living in for its many citizens.

Let us all send our sincere condolences to Ex-Mayor Martin Chavez and his family at this time.

Broken Promises and Cuts to Education

2011-01-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

Over the years legislators have repeatedly told educators to trust them and they would support teachers and support staff. Yet education in this state is under funded and top administration is over paid. The new governor says that cuts will be to administration but administration is telling educational employees that the cuts will come directly from support programs and their personal paychecks before one dime is cut from administration. Educators have not reason to trust anyone in Santa Fe when it comes to funding.

Words are cheap and actions take courage which is something that is in very short supply in Santa Fe. Promises are broken freely without a care when it comes to elected officials. Their words means nothing to educators in this state. They say nice things to get elected only to have their word mean nothing when it comes to our children and their future. Why should anyone working in the field trust one single work from them. Martinez’s word is clearly nothing more then lies just like any other politician since she was willing to back down and cut education in the name of a balanced budget. Why should we believe her when she says that those cuts will come from administration when the administration has made it crystal clear that they are in control of education and that no one is Santa Fe can overcome their control.

Legislators should be held to their word and voted out if it proves to be untrue. Stand up for education or step down.

Political Rhetoric--Has it gone too far?

2011-01-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Even if yesterday’s attack on a member of congress was not directly linked to a extreme political group it is a loud wake up call for all Americans and especially those who work in political circles. Words are used because they have an real effect on human behavior toward others. We hope for the most part that words will inspire people to create change for the positive. Problems arise when we disagree with how to define positive change.

It is true that most people at one point or another in their life has off handed said that they would just love to kill someone for how they behave but in civilized society it is never a serious treat but just a strong expression of frustration on the part of the speaker.

Political Rhetoric is people expressing in harsh terms their extreme frustration and fears with a current issue or situation that they strongly disagree with and still feel they need to affect change on. Political Rhetoric is used to motivate people who would otherwise be disconnected from normal political activities and or actions.

The conservative party and the right wing groups in our society of today for the most part have used much harsher language in recent time when describing their opponents. They engage in personal attacks because they understand that words can incite strong emotional reactions that will motivate people to take action who would otherwise not react and take action on issues. Let us all hope that the unintended consequences of these actions are that mentally unstable individuals react in incorrect ways that include the taking of lives and the destruction of personal property. Sane people understand that these groups are expressing their own strong feelings of frustration when faced with a situation they disapprove of and have a strong desire to change.

The answer is to make sure that everyone in our society understands clearly that physical violence is never acceptable when directed toward elected officials and will only reverse any progress made toward a social goal. Physical violence has the effect of harming the group that encourages it toward elected officials. I can only hope that what happened in Arizona yesterday will encourage positive forms of political discourse when it comes to controversial political issues. More should be done in the future to bring groups together so that they can attempt to resolve their issues without encouraging violent behaviors especially toward public servants.

It is long past time that we learned to teach all individuals sane or otherwise in our nation to love thy enemy no matter how much you may disagree with their views on politics. Perhaps then finally the killing of public servants and innocents bystanders will stop in our society.

We pray for the well being of the people harmed in yesterday's attack and for the peace of mind of the families of those killed.

Arizona Congresswoman Giffords shot by Gunman

2011-01-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

Reaction by our Congressman Martin Heinrich:

"Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is a friend of mine, a tireless advocate for military families, and one of the most talented Democratic leaders of my generation. While we do not yet have all the facts, an assassination attempt of this nature is an attack on our democratic process itself. My thoughts and prayers go out to her, her husband and family and to all the victims and their families."

Congressman Heinrich is right about this being an attack on our democratic process and this is a direct result of attacks on members of congress for their votes. No one should ever think they have the right to attack an elected official just because they disagree with their voting record. Clearly this man was mental.

There is always a peaceful way to deal with elected officials if you disagree with their voting record. More should be done for people with mental health issues in this country.

Congresswoman Giffords looks like she will recover but U.S. District Court Judge Roll along with a 9 year old child was killed in the attack on the congresswoman

Community Legislative Forum

2011-01-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

COMMUNITY LEGISLATIVE

FORUM

Senator Tim Keller and Senator Cisco McSorley

Representative Gail Chasey, Representative Al Park and

Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton

Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011

Time: 6:00- 7:30 pm

Place: African American Performing Arts Center

Expo New Mexico Fairgrounds

310 San Pedro NE

*FREE PARKING*

A Female Governor

2011-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

While Susana Martinez is not a democrat and I am sure that we will disagree with her on issues that come up in this state over the next four years, I wish her all the best in office. I hope that she will set a higher standard for every governor male or female that has the pleasure to follow her in office.

Governor Martinez says that she wishes to put our children first. I look forward to seeing that put into action in our classrooms. We all know that larger classrooms are not good for our children so I hope that she will fight to protect our children when it comes to that issue. I also hope that she will not trust the top educational administration when it comes to how we spend our educational dollars. Now is the time to look closely at how government funding is being spent in our state when it comes to education. I also hope that she will encourage training for our classroom teachers on teaching methods that work for our children. If a teacher fails to encourage our children then they need training. I know that most teachers out there care greatly for our children and need the support of their new governor.

I am very pleased that Governor Martinez signed an order that will prohibit state agencies or boards from hiring lobbyists, The fewer lobbyists in Santa Fe the better off the voting public in this state. More ethics laws should be put into place that would deal with how much influence lobbyists have over our elected officials. No normal voter who makes the effort to travel to Santa Fe wants to be faced with a room full of lobbyists who representative large corporations and top educational administration. Least do they want their own voice drown out by those high paid lobbyists when it comes to important issues that effect our children.

As for small businesses I can’t disagree with getting rid of red tape when it comes to opening businesses in our state. Small business bring jobs at a time when our state needs those jobs. I hope she finds ways to make our state a very business friendly environment without harming the consumers in the process. Laws that are clear and easy to follow are less likely to be broken by honest business men and women. I also hope that if someone brakes business laws with the intent to harm consumers just to make higher profits that our governor will show those people why she was considers a good prosecutor in the first place.

Since Governor Martinez was a prosecutor I also hope she will see the need to fund the legal system in this state. We do not want criminals getting out of jail just because our state cannot be bothered to fund the legal system to the extent that it cannot efficiently do it job. Now illegal aliens is going to be one of those issues where we have to disagree strongly. I fear that if driver licenses are taken away that it could cause harm because it will result in more police chases of individuals that don’t have them even if the only law they have broken is one that the federal government has failed to deal with in a fair and just manner. If the federal government gets off it collective seat and does something about this issue then state governors will not have to deal with the problem in the first place. Immigration is clearly a federal issue and should be treated as one by border governors.

So we watch and we wait to see just how effective this new governor will be over the next four years. We also prepare to have a quality candidate ready for 2014. I hope that Governor Martinez remembers that she now represents all New Mexicans in this state.

Higher Education Administration Lobbies to Make Cuts to Classrooms First

2010-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

As Cabinet Secretary of Higher Education Viola E. Florez put it, “Clearly, New Mexico colleges and universities are willing to step up to the plate once again and do everything possible to assist with the immediate budget challenges we face this year. The only request made by the Cabinet secretary and the college and university presidents was to have the flexibility to make the cuts within their own institutional budgets if this occurred.” In other words don’t cut huge over priced administrative salaries but give them the freedom to cut from the lower paid workers that work directly with the students and the classrooms first.

The president of CNM has clearly stated that if cuts to salaries are made that she will make them to low income workers and that she does not care how that affects them directly. She like other college presidents will not allow cuts to top administration because that would affect their own salaries and standard of living. Never mind that people earning over two hundred thousand dollars a year can more easily afford salaries cuts.

The top administration of higher education in this state has made it clear that our children are the lowest on their list of priorities. Why protect the classrooms if it would mean that their pay would have to be decreased to something less than the top 5% in the nation. We all know that there are far too many vice presidents for our colleges and universities and that their salaries do not come close to matching the salaries of other business leaders in this state. The cost of living in this state makes college and universities presidents and their vice presidents very rich people who will harm anyone to protect their own standard of living even if that includes the state's future workforce.

Any smart business executive understands that if you cut too deeply into the frontline workforce then you destroy the company’s ability to product future profits. Top educational administration in this state have taken on the views of Wall Street executives where their own profit is put before the well being of the educational system for which they work in this state. How far is the voting public willing to allow this to go before demands are made to stop the harm done to the educational system and the children of this state who are its future workforce?

Front line workers are already facing paying in another .5% of their low income to their retirement fund which will only harm the state’s economy since that money would be spent by the workers earning above $20,000 but below $25,000 for daily needs. Yet nothing was done to protect those lower middle class workers from further harm in this round of budget cuts to colleges and universities.

Note to readers: This issue has nothing to do with the court system so since it is such an important issue that will be decided within the next few weeks it should be comment on before the New Year.

Christmas Holiday and Politics

2010-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

With the Christmas holiday season and the end of the year upon us we should all be looking forward to the next two years. In 2012 President Obama will be running once more and many democrats in the house and the senate will also be running for reelection.

Now is the time to define what we expect from our party leadership as Mr. Gonzales runs to be reelected to lead our party into those elections. We want it made clear that education should be about our children and not top educational administration. We would even take help from the republicans if we could just put an end to outrages salaries of these people while local colleges cut programs and support services to the students. When colleges and universities demand higher tuitions all the while making deals with coaches that they know they cannot afford. Paying school presidents outrages salaries while cutting the pay of the people who work directly with the students to ensure their success.

Now the ERB wants to raise the amount paid by people making less then $25,000 a year but more then $20,000 a year. These employees are forced to pay into a plan that may or may not pay them back when it comes time for them to retire. These are the working poor who struggle daily to keep a roof over the heads of their families, food on their tables and a car running to get their own children to school and home. Where is the Christmas spirit from the people running this board. The board was forced by an outraged set of teachers to hear from them on the issue of increasing their retirement age by 10 years. Most employees who have worked for 10 years would be back to square one if that retirement age was increased by 10 years but all the board cares about is paying their own legal fees for the mismanagement of employees retirement funds. Clearly State Senator Tim Keller is right when he says that reform is badly needed when it comes to that board and how it handles retirement investments.

Mr. Gonzales should be reminded that it is not all about making people vote for the wrong candidates but instead holding government accountable for protecting the voting public and its employees that provide valuable services. Our party will only take power if the voting public strongly believes in its goals, its missions and the candidates who represent those goals/missions.

Our party should be about leading our state into a position where people have a quality education, better pay along with job security. We need to produce jobs for all New Mexicans rather then producing jobs that will advance just one party or a small elite group of people who are well connected. The time has come to define what values matter most to all New Mexicans and not just a few fringe groups.

We need to support a strong court system to provide justice to all in order to protect honest hard working families. We need support services for the courts that work so that offenders do not repeat their past mistakes and harm innocent people. We need a District Attorney’s office which does not need to delay cases because of lack of funding. Bake sales are not the answer to the financial shortcomings for the courts and their related government jobs that form the whole state justice systems. Neither is raising court fees so that only the financially well off criminals can afford to bond out of jail.

We need to protect the environment from large corporations who could care less about the health of our children and the quality of our water. We need strict laws that protect our environment but that present a fair and straight forward method for companies to follow allowing them to make sound business decisions based on firm predictable laws that clearly spell out the consequences of violating those laws.

All of these goals will take money and tax dollars but in order to achieve this jobs from all sectors will be required that result in employees being able to pay taxes. It will need higher wage earners to pay their fair percentage share of taxes on their whole gross pay so as to benefit the community they live and work in while providing services to their families and their neighbors.

Personal Note: This is my last posting for the year because tomorrow I start an internship that will not allow me to speak out publicly on politics. I will finish the first part of it by the end of the year and be able to post at the start of the New Year. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my readers.

A Rose by Any Other Name

2010-11-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

Second District Court Judge Alan Malott is most likely not even interested in what anyone wants to call themselves in this county but it is the duty of a officer of the court system to place limits on how one individual can twist a system designed to help people to provoke specific individuals in this state. The local press does have the right to refuse to print offense language and pictures within its pages. In this case freedom of speech comes into conflict with freedom of the press both of which are major constitutional issues.

If the individual in questions wants to start their own newspaper, create a website or just stand out on the corner in a public place and scream such language there is little to stop them but because they are trying to force their poor language on to a company run by another individual they cross the line of free enterprise and the freedom of the press. No court should be allowed to force a newspaper in this country to print something that would offend their readers. Not that many people read those dead tree newspapers in this state any longer.

As for denying the name change request if it is linked to the ability to publish the name change request then there is a clear and present problem with the law because Bernalillo County has a very limited number of newspapers due to the decline in publishing companies. The local newspaper should not be the factor that determines where or not a name is acceptable. It is clear in the language of the law that if one county does not have a newspaper then the nearest one could be used so why not also a website. Clearly the law in this case has not been corrected as to reflex the current issues of limited sources of hard copy publishing. In a larger city with more papers there should be at least one that would be willing to publish offense material such as this individual’s desired name. Perhaps the state legislature should consider changing the law to say either a newspaper or a website that reaches individuals within the county.

This Tree is Bare!

2010-11-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

Believe it Only When I See It

2010-11-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday weekend my brother, who is a devoted republican, asked me if I believed that our new governor would reduce the salaries of educational administration in order to balance the budget without cutting support staff or teachers. I told him that I would believe it when and if I see it.

I am sure that the lobbyists have already been whispering in her ear about how we are not needed to help what one lobbyist called the “little brown children.” I found myself pointing a finger in his fat drunk face as I told him off for that remark. He may not use those exact words but the result lobbyists desire are just the same no matter what the language they might use to convince our elected representatives that our children in all their many colors don’t deserve the best education that we can afford in this state.

Cutting from the classroom like some legislatures along with the ERB board will only make us 50th in the country when it comes to education. Giving School Presidents big shiny costly toys and then explaining them away as needed is not the type of reports that we need to hear from the local press. No one should be getting new trucks or large new buildings at a time when we cannot afford to pay the salaries of current teachers and support staff who work in those glass castles. More vice presidents and administrators getting $100,000 salaries and calling it reorganizing is nothing more then lies sugar coated as reform. Rather then cutting programs offered to students maybe cuts should go through the top educational administration level in all of our school systems.

I had cancer and had to take eight months off without pay as I was treated so why should a president of our largest university be treated any different? It is not that I don’t feel for him as a person. I just think that family medical leave should be paid for all or for no one at all because that is only the fair way to provide that type of benefit.

Maybe educational administration in this state should take the Bill Gates pledge and start giving money back to the needy in this state. They can start by firing all their high paid lobbyists and doing the job themselves to start with so that I don’t get the chance in the future to point my finger in anyone else’s face. Must admit that it felt good.

Why Changes to ERB are so Upsetting to Educators and Educational Staff

2010-11-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

It was pointed out in the Albuquerque Journal today that not everyone has a retirement fund like the one educators and educational staff have in this state. This is true but what they forgot to say was that this is in return for a lower pay while working in the field. We all know that people working in the field of education take a pay cut from the very beginning and don’t earn the same salary or wages for their degrees that some would in the industry they are trained in.

I for one would be making a lot more money working as an accountant but instead I help train new accountants because our state very much needs honest hardworking people in that field of study. So why dose State Senator John A. Smith and State Senator Tim Jennings so much care for these changes in educational retirement funding? Maybe because they have no vested interest in providing our state with well educated employees and they have no vested interest in the public education system in this state. Perhaps they want our state to be 50th in the nation when it comes to education.

They won’t tell voters that this decision which they so whole heartily support is encouraging the most experienced instructors in our educational system to retire now so as not to loss out on their retirement benefits. After all would you want to be forced to retire at a later age knowing that you will not live long enough to collect any of the money you were forced to put into a retire fund? Educational employees don’t get to say no when it come to paying into their retirement fund even if it forces them to not be able to pay daily bills. How many New Mexicans earning far more each year decide not to have a retirement fund simply because they feel they cannot afford it?

Tell an educational employee who is a single mother making $22,000 a year that she will have to pay more into her retirement fund when she is having problems keeping a working car and putting food on the table for her own child. Tell her that some rich old white fat man in Santa Fe thinks that she is earning too much when she is already facing cuts to her pay from the budget and now even though there is not a current threat to the fund she will be forced to pay more to a retirement fund which is spending the money on outrages uncontrolled lawyer feeds for people who are being investigated for wrong doing. For double dippers who have already retired and are still allowed to work while not paying into the fund. For school presidents who make hundred of thousands of dollars each year just to tell their employees that they might not have a job in the near future.

How many educational employees who are too young to retire will be forced to move back into the industry to make ends met taking those jobs from less educated, less experience individuals while failing to properly educate our children for the future? Clearly fat old white men in Santa Fe don’t care about our state or our children but only about who buys their drinks at the country club and the local bars. Maybe the time is coming soon to replace those individuals in Santa Fe with people who care about our children and our states working poor.

Balderas Victory Party at the Albuquerque Country Club

2010-11-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

Democratic State Auditor Hector Balderas has come a long way from his poor beginnings in Wagon Mount, New Mexico to a victory party at the Albuquerque Country Club last evening which starts his second term in that state position. Unlike some Balderas has not forgotten the people who first got him to his position. He does not care about party connections or who has given him the most money. His job is to investigate corruption within our state government. His job is to stop financial waste of taxpayer’s dollars. Yet over the past four years when every other department was raking in huge sums of money his division was carefully overlooked when it came to funding.

The new governor could go a long way toward keeping her promise of honest open government and cleaning out Santa Fe by financing the state auditor’s office so they could afford to investigate more and work toward developing cases that would clean out government waste and corruption.

One of the first things that our new female governor will need is an honest accounting of exactly where the money in our state is going and where the waste is so that “the fat” can be cut before Santa Fe with all of its overpaid power drunken lobbyists are once more allowed to spin the heads of state representatives at the experience of our children’s future.

Already government leaders in Santa Fe are talking about cutting into teacher’s pay and retirement funding without even looking at the top heavy educational administration which has been a justifiable target of our hard working state auditor for the last four years.

How can the governor and state representatives possibly cut government waste when one of the very organizations designed to investigate such waste is so poorly funded? It would appear that the main weakness in this state is funding enforcement agencies that could prevent waste and corruption at the state government level. Stricter rules should govern the amount of influence lobbyists are able to have over state representatives in Santa Fe. Our state halls of government should not be echo chambers for what overpaid lobbyists whisper into elected official’s ears. If these problems are not dealt with by our new governor then the results can only be more waste of taxpayer’s dollars and even more corruption at a time when the voter public can least afford it.

New Mexico Democratic Congressmen to Honor Veterans Today

2010-11-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 11, 2010 – Veterans Day

Congressman Ben Ray Luján will be visiting local veterans in Angel Fire to celebrate Veterans Day and to speak about their service and the importance of honoring our veterans.

What: Angel Fire Veterans’ Day Celebration
Where: Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial State Park, 35 Country Club Rd., Angel Fire, NM
When: November 11, 11:00am-12:00pm

Congressman Martin Heinrich will give remarks at the Veterans Day ceremonies at New Mexico Veterans Park.

When: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: New Mexico Veterans Memorial Park, 1100 Louisiana NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

Then Congressman Martin Heinrich will give remarks honoring our nation’s veterans at the Sandoval County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

When: 1 to 2 p.m.
Where: Sandoval County Courthouse, 711 South Camino Del Pueblo, Bernalillo, NM 87004

Is Civilized Culture a Liberal Domain only?

2010-11-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

We all know that the finer things in life make for a more refined culture to live in which in turn makes it a safer place to live so the question is do liberals own those values or is it something that can be owned by both parties. One has to wonder that when our first female governor takes office will things change for our state.

Will Susana reach out to the more refined corporate individuals in this state in order to develop an active cultural community? Will she see the need for the arts in our communities and in our schools? Most women have more respect for the more refined activities in life and less so for major sports.

The arts such as music and theater are well known to smooth some of the rough edges off of a society and make them more caring for other individuals. I have to admit that one of the things I liked most about Mayor Marty Chavez was his respect for the arts in this city. He worked hard to bring that experience to all levels of society in our fair city. He knew the value of teaching a respect for the arts to our children. He worked hard to promote the arts by providing free events to our families and our children.

Our current mayor has done nothing to encourage the arts over the past few months. He has failed to think outside of the box when it comes to ways to encourage the arts in our city. He does not promote cultural events or encourage large businesses to spent time or money on these projects. Why not develop a corporate/school partnership that would support and promote the arts in our high schools.

We saw large corporations spend millions of dollars to attempt to buy the races here in New Mexico so why not spend some of that kind of money to provide up-to-day and state-of-the-arts performing arts centers for our schools, our city and our county. This would be a great place for corporations to place their name on cultural centers for the performing arts. This would be a great way for corporations to give back to the communities and the people who buy their products.

Why is our current mayor so ill refined and so rough around the edges? What will Susana bring to that mix? Are the Arts truly a liberal domain only in this state?

It’s the Economy Stupid

2010-11-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

I have to admit to being dumbfounded by all that I hear from the local media when it comes to their trying to figure out why some democratic candidates in this state won election this year while others lost badly when they started out so strong. You hear that it is the wave of anger from conservative parts of the Republican Party. Yet when we look at election results we see candidates on both sides who pulled votes from the other party. They blame it on Governor Richardson because his administration made the words pay-to-play a house hold word yet he was never convicted of any wrong doing during his time in office. Governor Richardson was also out of the state for most of the past two years while the lieutenant governor ran state government.

So if not those reasons then why would one elected official win while another loss this year. Voters are not so simple when it comes to how they vote. An elected official who fails to understand that fact will almost always loss. Voters look for people who represent their major issues. Someone who can show support for the middle class and the working poor especially when times are hard. They want someone who is willing to take responsibility for past votes and stands on issues. Someone who can voice the reasons in a intelligent understandable manner for why they voted for an issue or why they stood against any issue without becoming angry for being ask their reasoning. Voters want to feel that an elected official is listening to them and not defending the people or problems that they are trying to convey.

Candidates need to find ways to explain to the voters what they can and cannot do for them without making them feel like their issues don’t matter. The last thing voters want to hear is that democratic officials who failed to get elected this year learned nothing from their defeat and that they do not yet understand what issues and abilities they should work on in the future.

The Democratic Party has a lot of good people who care about the voters and want to make the economy better for all New Mexicans no matter what their sex, age, or race. The voters will be carefully watching all elected officials over the next two years to see how they put into practice their campaign promises. I hope that no matter which party they represent that they will work for the good of all New Mexicans in this state.

One reframe I head lately from a tutor who was told by their college president that a 5% cut was coming this year is; “Oh Susana don’t you cry for me, just help me keep my job so I can continue to support the students.” It will be interesting to see the effect of those president’s lobbying on their own behalf while justifying why they want to cut student support. If those presidents want to see bonds pass in the future then they should aim those moneys at supporting students and not at enlarging their current administration yet again .

Election Results

2010-11-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is a blood bath tonight as everything goes red in this state

Unofficial Results:

Governor:

DIANE D. DENISH and 26.0%
BRIAN S. COLON

SUSANA MARTINEZ and 73.5
JOHN A. SANCHEZ

Early numbers not looking good but still lots to come tonight.

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan will return to Washington for us. :-) Very happy for him and his family.

Congressman Martin Heinrich will return to Washington for us. :-) Thrilled and very happy for him and his family.

Election Day--It is the voting public’s turn to decide!

2010-11-02T04:56:00.000-07:00

The people I support this year are:

Congressman Martin Heinrich

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan

We could not ask for better representatives in Washington.

State Auditor Hector Balderas

State Attorney General Gary King

These men keep our state honest and protect our families from crime.

State Representative Al Park

State Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton

State Representative Benjamin H. Rodefer

Cornelia Lange

These individuals have shown that they will put our families first in the state legislature.

Judges:

State Court of Appeals Rob Robles

Probate Judge Willow Misty Parks

And the Metro Judges running for retention. Check out the link for who to vote for this year. http://www.nmjpec.org/court

We have some good judges so let’s keep them.
State Constitutional changes:

Not. 2 or 5 the rest are good

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

Governor’s Race: Skip it! No Democrat Worth Voting For in that Race!

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

2010-10-31T16:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

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.”

Debate: Congressman Heinrich verse Mr. Barela

2010-10-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2010-10-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

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.

20K Spent on K-12 Educational Administration

2010-10-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Debate: Denish verses Martinez

2010-10-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

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.