NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/category/commentary/page/105/)
Merit pay doesn’t work in public education because what works in competitive contexts and cultures does not work in non-competitive ones. No one becomes a public school teacher expecting to get rich, and none is disappointed! Continue Reading
Two features in the Sunday edition of the New York Times point to the dramatically perilous future we might face if we don’t start seriously addressing the challenges before us. Continue Reading
The election has come and gone, but on Tuesday evening, Albuquerque’s Journal Theater will host New Mexico’s biggest campaign rally of the year. It’s about breathing some new life into the discredited cause of net neutrality. Continue Reading
The governor-elect, let’s call her M., is struggling to gain access to the mysterious financial authorities of a castle known as the Capitol, who govern the state budget using unknown and surrealistic accounting methods. First the deficit is $260 million; now it’s $450 million. What’s it going to be next? Continue Reading
One narrative was clear on election night: Those of us who won did so by having the courage to stand by our legislative decisions – to run on, and not away from, our records. Continue Reading
We need a neutral organization with impeccable credentials to tackle deciding the exact moment the first candidate goes negative, and then we must have the resolve to punish that first person going negative by withholding our vote and money. We might get their attention with that. Continue Reading
Budget numbers are getting dramatically worse, leadership positions are up for grabs, political appointees are moving to classified jobs and the incoming governor is threatening to fire them all. The next couple of months are going to be very interesting. Continue Reading
I think too often the sacrifice that our military families make is overlooked. Today is also an appreciation for the sacrifices of the military parent, military spouse and the military children who are the most vulnerable to the tough military lifestyle. Continue Reading
Why do the “fiscally conservative” Repubs who swept back into power last week want to foil implementation of the health reform law when it cuts the deficit and creates jobs – the very things they convinced the voting public that they stand for? Continue Reading
In New Mexico’s statewide races, Facebook seemed to be both an influencer and a predictor. With the exception of one, the candidates with the strong Facebook presence won their race. Is Facebook becoming the social media equivalent of the exit poll? Continue Reading
At this time, when both our economy and our students are struggling, smaller schools represent an effective reform that costs nothing and that will improve our state’s shamefully low graduation rate. Continue Reading
The 2010 election was historic for a few reasons that should be recognized, starting with the obvious: Susana Martinez is not only the first woman to be elected governor of New Mexico, but she’s also the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor of any state in the country. Continue Reading
Perhaps it is time to do away with all cash so that every transaction is visible. How would drug lords run their lives when everything they own is within the eyes of the authorities? Continue Reading
Here are my thoughts on the national races, the local races, and what the failure of what a bond issue for universities says about taxpayers, who I think are voting to starve the beast. Continue Reading
I voted for Susana Martinez. But I did not vote for all Republicans on the ticket. Never have and never will. I vote for the person, not the party. Continue Reading