Columnists

During the holiday season there is always a focus on charitable giving or philanthropy. Recently you might have been asked by your local non-profits or organizations to give generously on Giving Tuesday. This is charitable giving. Philanthropy is something different. Although Giving Tuesday sometimes seems like a commercial effort, it was the brainchild of NYC […]

During the holiday season there is always a focus on charitable giving or philanthropy. Recently you might have been asked by your local non-profits or organizations to give generously on Giving Tuesday. This is charitable giving. Philanthropy is something different. Although Giving Tuesday sometimes seems like a commercial effort, it was the brainchild of NYC […]

Some 30 years ago, around a Thanksgiving dinner table, a gentleman in my family stated this opinion: Gay people should not be allowed to be schoolteachers because they wanted to recruit children into their way of life.  The gentleman was then about 50-ish and had never had more than a superficial acquaintance with anyone he […]

In Roswell’s newly opened FEMA office, people who lost homes and vehicles in October flooding and people who are still trying to get the mold and muck out of their living quarters hope the government will help them get back on their feet.  In Ruidoso FEMA ensnared flood and fire victims with red tape. And […]

In 1984 New Mexico voters took a turn to the right, sending more moderates and conservatives of both parties to the Legislature. Back then the parties entertained a greater range of ideas. After voters had spoken, conservatives had a new opportunity take back the House. Rep. Jerry Sandel, a conservative Democrat from Farmington, became the […]

Billionaires’ and multi-millionaires’ increasing presence in the Senate and in the Trump Administration? Yes, it’s true.  First up is Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Scott’s net worth is near $350 million, making him the richest U. S. senator. He made his money in for-profit healthcare when he was CEO of Columbia/HCA hospitals. Part of his […]

About once a month, several volunteers from Albuquerque and Santa Fe travel to one of New Mexico’s immigrant detention prisons.  They are from VIDA, Volunteers for Immigrants in Detention Albuquerque (abqvida.org). They go to provide comfort and solace for incarcerated asylum seekers who are mostly abandoned in a prison where conditions are miserable. They are […]