Posted inColumnists

On The Golden Rule

The lightning-quick second special session of the State Legislature, Nov. 10, to allocate state funds to fund SNAP in the event of longer Federal delays led me down a path of interesting research this week – about the history of public welfare in New Mexico and who uses SNAP in our state.  There is some […]

Posted inOpinion

On civil discourse

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 […]

Posted inOpinion

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 […]