Again, U.S. Supreme Court Decides Against Democracy
The Roberts Court today continued its drive to give Americans a government of, by and for big money. As you probably know by now, the US Supreme Court went mucking around in politics again this morning. Its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission struck another blow on behalf of the powerful and against the hundreds of millions of Americans whose voices can now be drowned out by the wealthiest 1 percent.
The high court interprets and enforces the law. But we the people can still change it...
Cesar is not a Museum Piece
As the life of Cesar Chavez hit the big screen in recent days, the media rediscovered the man who has become a symbol for the Chicano movement, non-violence and labor rights. And while the complexities of Chavez’s celebrated life were revisited by the pundits, the annual Cesar Chavez day events began unfolding across the land.
At a well-attended March 29 gathering in Albuquerque, New Mexico, another legendary farm labor leader and former colleague of Chavez had a message:
“Don’t put that cause in the museum. It doesn’t belong there. It belongs on the streets"...
Is Albuquerque Dying?
Cities, like people, are works in progress. They have life cycles. As Jane Jacobs elucidated in her path-breaking book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, they may fail or succeed. They are born and grow and thrive. And they shrink and wither and die. Once the process of disintegration gains momentum, a city may reach a turning point and its fate may become irreversible.
Has Albuquerque reached that turning point? Has it arrived at an irreversible point of disintegration? Is it dying? It is almost impossible to be certain of a turning point until it is in the rearview mirror. There are ample signs, however, that Albuquerque may be there...
Uniting Frontiers: The Cabalgata Binaciónal Villista
It’s early morning on March 8 and some thirty or forty Mexican riders and horses are working their way through US Customs at Palomas, Mexico. This is the fifteenth annual Cabalgata Binaciónal Villista or Binational Villa Cavalcade, an effort to unify a border that has often been in conflict, no more so than on March 9, 1916 when General José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known as Pancho Villa – ordered about 100 of his soldiers to cross the border and raid Columbus, New Mexico...
Driving on Alternating Current
I have been reading about the new Tesla Model S electric car, and its $62,400 price tag and I was drawn back to 1931 when Nikola Tesla, the man whose name adorns their car, took the gasoline engine out of a Pierce-Arrow and replaced it with an 80-horsepower alternating current (A.C.) air-cooled motor with no obvious external source of power.
At a local radio shop he bought twelve vacuum tubes, some wires and assorted resistors, and assembled them in a circuit box 24-inches long, 12-inches wide and 6-inches high, with a pair of 3-inch rods sticking out. Getting into the car with the circuit box in the front seat beside him, he pushed the rods in, and announced, “We now have power,” and proceeded to test drive the car for a week, often at speeds of up to 90 mph...
Enfranchisement: Right or Duty?
In June, 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down the most important aspect of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), thus paving the way for the flood of states that have since, either legislatively or judicially, opened to marriage equality. It was a pivotal moment for LGBTQ citizens and our allies. At the same time, in Shelby County vs. Holder, the Court gutted Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act, achieved through struggle and sacrifice at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in 1965. That decision was as disappointing as the other was joyous...
Only the Sane Love Susana
One of the most solid and fubsy accomplishments of our dear Republican governor Susana Martinez—the systematic destruction of social services, especially mental health services, is a sterling monument to the wider fulfillment of human potential and ethical greatness of heart, the fulfillment of holy prophecy to shrink government, and the fulfillment of divine law that each and every human should be identity chipped and examined as a potential profit center. Faulty chip sets must be eliminated. Anyone who hints “abnormal” must be destroyed...
APD Killing of Homeless Man Alarming & Heartbreaking
The release of a video showing the latest Albuquerque police shooting and killing of a homeless man camping in a restricted area in the foothills of the Sandía Mountains casts yet more serious questions about one of the state’s largest law-enforcement agencies. Two Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers each fired three shots at 38-year-old James Boyd, who police claim made threatening moves and refused to drop a knife in each of his hands.
The lack of resources and programs to help those who are struggling with mental-health issues is quite evident in incidents like these...
The Scorecard on ABQ Sprawl
The Albuquerque region has been engaged in an epic growth battle for at least the past decade. Much of the struggle occurs in the city council chambers, in the county commission public hearings, and in water and air board meetings. The combatants are large landholders, property developers and businesses (think Chamber of Commerce and NAIOP) on one side, pitted against neighborhood activists, conservationists, smart businesses, planners and good government folks on the other.
One side wants business-as-usual (BAU) where the levers of public power can be manipulated for private gain. The other side sees a very different future...
Never Connect the Dots
One of the things I never do is connect the dots. I also never follow the money, or listen for the other shoe to drop. This warm and numb attitude has made me the happy-go-lucky guy I am, a guy with an unwavering smile on my face even while I sleep.
This morning, after waking with my ever-present grin, I even laughed a little when I learned about Fantase Public Schools. They have started a new program up there called Engage Fantase to recapture students who have dropped out of school because they were bored with the public kind of education...