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 […]
Columnists
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Calling the Governor
People who live in cities need to get away from each other and enjoy a bit of nature. The public park, a leafy green space in the urban landscape, has provided relief for centuries. We love our parks so much that proposing changes can become heated. But not so heated that one individual, former Lt. […]
The 21st Century Elmer Gantry
Holy Week and the Easter season in New Mexico is a special time. While the rest of the country dyes eggs and buys chocolate, New Mexicans go on pilgrimages. Every Good Friday, thousands of New Mexicans either walk to El Santuario de Chimayó in the village of Chimayó or climb Tomé Hill between Los Lunas […]
Interesting Matchups in Primary Filings
It’s election year. This year all 112 seats in the New Mexico Legislature are up for grabs. That isn’t totally accurate because 37 of those candidates have no opposition in either the primary or the general. No one else is “grabbing” for those seats. On the Republican side, nine House seats and nine Senate seats […]
War Veterans Join the Public Debate Over Monuments
On Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 in broad daylight, a mob of vandals tore down the 154-year-old Soldier’s Monument in the center of Santa Fe Plaza because it was offensive to some Native Americans. Now veterans groups are demanding it be restored. The destruction followed months of controversy that was notable for its absence of historical […]
The Hiring of Talking Heads
This spring, Ronna McDaniel of the RNC needed a job. As national chair since 2017, she needed to replace the $400,000/year income loss resulting from her forced resignation as Donald Trump clinched the GOP presidential nomination. There’s quite a bit to unpack in that lede, but there really isn’t column space for it. Let’s just […]