Posted inColumnists, Commentary

What Do You Stand For? What Time Is It?

So it’s been a pretty exciting week in Washington. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s legislative package for the most part passed on a bipartisan vote, with the exception of the border security piece. The Senate rejected the impeachment articles against the Secretary of Homeland Security. The howler monkey caucus wailed and gnashed their teeth […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

Polling is a Sketch, Not a Painting

In the U. S. there is something called the polling industrial complex. It’s a description of how polling has changed over 50 years. It has grown and become more complex and less understandable. Researchers define polling as the ability of organizations outside of government to gather, interpret, and publish information about voter views on issues […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

Smoothing Out the Capital Outlay Process

Wesley Billingsley will soon be able to say, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” He will tackle one of the most stubborn problems in state government. Billingsley is the first director of the new Infrastructure Planning and Development Division (IPDD). While that sounds boring and bureaucratic, the IPDD’s proud parent, the state […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

A Better Way to Run a Railroad

There’s nothing like a road trip to make you appreciate another mode of transportation – trains. They keep motorists company along many a New Mexico highway. Before we left the federal Department of Transportation unveiled a new railroad rule, so I was paying more attention to trains. On April 2 DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration began […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

A Medical Cost You Didn’t Know About

Most of us have never heard of independent medical examinations. We might need to know a little more about them.  An independent medical examination (IME) is an exam performed when there is litigation related to a sick or injured person’s medical condition that requires more than the opinion of the treating physician. A doctor is […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

American Global Resolve is Shaky

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, trying to simultaneously do the right thing, not trigger former President/current GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, and keep Congressional howler monkey Marjorie Taylor Greene from formally moving to remove him as Speaker (a “motion to vacate”), announced on April 15 his intent to split the Senate foreign aid package […]

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Opinion: Parents, students have opportunity to help choose high school graduation requirements

Submitted by Mandi Torrez, educator With the governor’s signing of a new law updating the state’s high school curriculum, New Mexico families now have a prime opportunity to shape your local high school course requirements in a way that will reflect your community’s values while ensuring that your graduates are college and career ready.   While […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

Politics Two Ways

Two New Mexico political groups are using opposite tactics to reach a common goal—elect Democrats. While the West Side Democrats in Albuquerque focuses on personal activism, Blue CD2 New Mexico uses data and remote messaging techniques to reach new voters. Both groups say their specific methods are helping win elections. The West Side group is […]

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Is It Good PR, or Russian Propaganda?

You might have missed it. On April 7, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Turner (R-Ohio) announced on two different Sunday news programs that members of his caucus were repeating Russian propaganda in their arguments against foreign aid for Ukraine. Just let that sink in for a minute. Turner said […]

Posted inColumnists, Commentary

Regulating Yourself Doesn’t Work

On October 29, 2018, a passenger airliner crashed into the sea less than 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia. A few months later, a second plane crashed over Ethiopia. In total, 346 people were killed. Both planes were the brand new Boeing 737 Max. Investigation placed the responsibility squarely with Boeing, the manufacturer. As […]