NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/category/commentary/page/125/)
Instead of trying to recover lost money, the State Investment Council has spent huge amounts to respond to subpoenas and pay for employees’ and council members’ attorneys. Why must the state rely on federal investigators and whistleblowers to defend taxpayers? Continue Reading
Republican Chairman Harvey Yates’ recent, baseless attack on Lt. Gov. Diane Denish serves only to highlight the lack transparency and openness from his own Republican candidates for governor. Continue Reading
My criticism is not of our military; it is of our political leaders, who are to blame. We need to speak with one voice to our political leaders to impress upon them that our country needs to have concrete military goals that have an endgame, or we must pull the troops out now. Continue Reading
With what’s going on across the state, there is no sound reason for ethics reform to leave local governments and school boards outside the jurisdiction of an ethics commission. We owe it to our hard-working teachers, school employees, students and citizens to act. Continue Reading
The state finance and personnel departments, like the governor’s office, say they have no information about the 59 political appointees who are losing their jobs Friday. I remain skeptical.
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If Dems can find the backbone to support four reforms that benefit almost all Americans, and the GOP can find the decency to resist fear-mongering against workers, gays and immigrants, 2010 can be a golden year of bipartisan reform. Continue Reading
Doing what is right is not a voluntary action, it is mandatory for every elected, appointed or other public official. Taking an oath of office commits a public official to act ethically, morally and legally. Continue Reading
Big campaign contributions to Bill Richardson and Diane Denish. A $30 million investment from the state. And an investment adviser who has admitted to recommending investments that were pushed on him by politically-connected individuals who stood to benefit. So the question: Has Denish been complicit in corruption? Continue Reading
It was Will Rogers who said, “Last year we said, ‘Things can’t go on like this,’ and they didn’t, they got worse.” 2009 was a weird year. I imagine an even weirder year coming. Stay tuned. Continue Reading
Yes, for many, 2009 was just one of those years — and, then, there was the atrocious economy to compound it. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Maybe it was the atrocious economy of 2009 that aggravated everything else into a difficult and complicated mess-of-a-year. Either way, it was rough. Continue Reading
This nation, for better or worse, is reflective of the majority letting a minority dictate to them how the nation is to be run and what the identity of the nation will be. This is easy to see, since Christian ideals are being removed from our society bit by bit. Continue Reading
It’s nothing short of hypocritical that Gov. Bill Richardson has talked about the importance of “open, accessible and accountable government” and then flagrantly disregarded the requirements of the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. Continue Reading
As 40 Republicans and one Joe Lieberman dig in their heels to protect big insurance companies, it’s becoming clear that health reform is going to be watered down significantly. There’s one major exception though, and it’s called “guaranteed issue.” Continue Reading
Society needs full-time journalists who have the time to dig for the big stories. Don’t get me wrong; bloggers and citizen journalists play a role. But newspapers proportionately come up with the most important investigative pieces, even in our reduced form. Continue Reading
For newspapers and television stations to avoid becoming like those payphones, I believe they must embrace the Internet and merge with the technology, even to the point of making their Web sites as much a priority for exclusive content. Continue Reading