For some years now the decline of civil discourse in American society has been lamented by reasonable people. Political dialogue has only a few modes: gaslighting, personal attack, partisan huckstering and populist ooze. Honest discussion, with back-and-forth conversation and polite disagreement, has all but disappeared. This has resulted in the loss of self-restraint and basic […]
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Posted inOpinion & Analysis
On peace and projecting power to maintain it
Nobel Prizes are being awarded this week and one element of the award process that should be obvious to the world is that these prizes are not bestowed in a vacuum. Thousands of candidates are nominated for these honors and various interests, and often the nominees themselves openly lobby each selection committee for the ultimate […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Letter to the Editor: Vote Uballez to keep Darren White out of the run-off
This letter was submitted to City Desk ABQ by Sandra Ortsman, Albuquerque. She is a community planner and community member who cares deeply about immigrants rights, mom and small business owner who has lived in and loved Albuquerque since 2002. Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send it to pat@citydesk.org If there is anyone […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
On absolute power
A paraphrased and misquoted aphorism commonly bandied about in recent days goes along the lines of “absolute power absolutely corrupts.” It’s a powerful trope, and the phrase warrants original credit and context. John Dahlberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, a Catholic, wrote a letter to Anglican Bishop of London Mandell Creighton in 1870, challenging Papal infallibility and […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
My summer of AI
Among all the disruptors of 2025, artificial intelligence looms large. Even New Mexico, often on the fringes of major upheavals, if not completely ignored by them, is getting in on the action. Most recently in the news has been the selection of a site in Santa Teresa for Project Jupiter, a $165 billion data center […]
Posted inCommunity Content, Congress & Federal Gov.
Route 66 rabbit icon was born in Tijeras Canyon
By Rick Holben, East Mountain Historical Society If you traveled with family on Route 66 as a child in the 1950s and 1960s, you probably remember seeing jackrabbit signs that seemed to spring alongside the famous highway for miles and miles and miles, leading tourists to a trading post in Arizona. Turns out, that iconic […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov.
East Mountain: More than a high school, now a 6-12 community
Dear East Mountain Community, We’ve never been a school that stood still. We’ve built, we’ve grown and we’ve answered every challenge with the same conviction: our students deserve the best. Today, we take the next step. We are no longer just East Mountain High School.We are East Mountain. Because what we are building here is […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
A terrible week reminds us how America has changed
I’m writing this column on 9/11, a terrible day for America. I’ve written about it before, and what happened to me and my household that day. 9/11 also set in motion a concentration of power in the executive branch, a tolerance for Federal surveillance, and an expansion of emergency powers at the Federal and state […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
Seven special sessions in six years sends a message
This week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called a special session of the Legislature to convene on Oct. 1 to address federal funding cuts and potentially behavioral health challenges and their impact on community safety and criminal justice. This will be the seventh special session of the Legislature in six years. Regardless of partisan sniping over […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis, Westside Albuquerque
Letter to the Editor: Torrance County allows any event, any size, any time in conservation district
Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send your Letter to the Editor to editor@newmexico.news Submitted by Charlene Brown, Torrance County Torrance County’s Conservation District is not just a unique zoning area; it’s a promise—a promise to protect and preserve areas within Torrance County through limited access, minimal development, and limitations on water resources. The […]