Protecting citizens from their protectors

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status.” – David Alan Mamet, Pulitzer Prize winning writer I routinely walk up to members of law enforcement to say, “Thank you for your service to our community.” I still do so despite having some concerns about law enforcement oversight. It is a complicated relationship between citizens and members of law enforcement. Our country was founded to protect citizens from foreign and domestic bad people. Those protections are of the most violent kind because it is the currency of bad people. In many communities there is an uneasy balance of respect and suspicion for the police. Continue Reading

Helping Generation Me at Thanksgiving

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.Americans have many different ways of viewing Thanksgiving, depending on when they were born and how they were raised. I am a baby boomer, the son of a military soldier, so I grew up with plenty of training and reinforcement in the act of being aware and thankful. My world from the very beginning was one of “please and thank you.” The world I was born into, while appreciative of my talents, did not see me as the be-all end-all; rather, I was a part of something greater. I was raised to know and care about the history of our great country from the very first Thanksgiving to now. That history is an integral part of my profound thanksgiving. Continue Reading

The way the old football bounces

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Note: How about something non-political for once? Or look at it this way: In many small towns, there’s nothing more political than football.© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?” – Jim Bouton Football is a New Mexico passion, much like green chile on eggs and driving five miles an hour over the speed limit. The fans include those who quote Bill Shankly: “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” Other fans stand up in the stands and shout, “Kick a homerun.” I am of an age where I can honestly say I do not remember my high school football team ever losing a game. Continue Reading

Chisme: NM Public schools could need to let staff go

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.” – former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Chisme has it that there is a financial crisis due to hit the next New Mexico Legislature. Where I grew up in New Mexico, the Spanish word “chisme” means something said as an unconfirmed rumor, perhaps gossip, provocative in nature, and not necessarily untrue. While it has not been announced officially, several analysts told me New Mexico has taken a big hit financially in the last couple of months. The projected $400 million surplus is a lost dream and instead there will be a huge shortfall next year which appears to be about to affect all New Mexico government services. That is, unless we find a solution as quickly as possible. Continue Reading

Mama said there’ll be days like this

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “The Republicans all went home last night and slept like babies… they woke up crying every two hours.” – Gloating coffee shop comment the morning after the 2008 election The morning after the election, the first song I heard was the 1961 Shirelles hit, “Mama said there’ll be days like this.” No, my Mama never told me there would be election days like this. At the coffee shop my Republican friends were way past despondent. In the local, state and national elections the Republicans, Greens and independents were whipped like rented mules by the Democrats. The debates, the facts, the ads, the individual campaign efforts put into each race did not matter; in every case only Democrats won. Naturally, my Democratic friends could not stop smiling and hugging themselves with delight. Continue Reading

The vote-early-and-vote-often state

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “The time has come for all good men to rise above principle.” – Former Louisiana Gov. Huey Long It usually gets a wry laugh when people say that we should “Vote early and often.” Some think it describes New Mexico. Chicago Mayor William Thompson said it around 1920, and it was repeated by Chicago Gangster Al Capone and, in the 60s, by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. My Chicago friends laugh about the quote and then quote from the movie Lonesome Dove: “A man who wouldn’t cheat for a poke don’t want one bad enough.” And W. C. Fields: “Anything worth having is a thing worth cheating for.” The underlying principle is, “The ends justify the means.” These people feel they cannot trust “The Citizens” to elect the “right” candidates. Much like in Lake Wobegon High School, as Garrison Keillor writes, where the homecoming queen is elected by a secret vote that is counted by the teacher who discards the “wrong votes” so the “right” candidate wins. We Americans have a pristine view of elections in the abstract and a Chicago view in the practical. Continue Reading

Bumper stickers one year from now

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. In 1976 I fell under the spell of presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. His message of “change” seemed a breath of fresh air from the Nixon years. Looking back I realize the media created Carter, sustained him and ignored all conflicting data from the notion he was the best. As a journalist I could see that the national news departments were not doing a balanced job reporting on Carter. Still, I put aside my journalistic concern to embrace what I saw as the “greater good” that Carter represented. Continue Reading

Being happy through thick and thin

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!”- Daniel Webster The above is such a lovely sentiment. All Webster needs to add is a land least impacted by fear. Some people seem completely happy despite the media-spread fears. Maybe they pay no attention to the media. Others say those who are unconcerned just have brains of custard. Continue Reading

Washington, Lincoln and Bin Laden united Americans

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln The flan has hit the fan. We Americans are financially in the sewer due to the misdeeds of Congress and the president. Both parties are to blame and, sadly, we allowed them to propose the solution, which turns out to be more of the same “waterhead” thinking that making the government bigger will solve the problems big government created in the first place. But that is not what is so bad about our current crisis. Despite the enormous dangers our nation faces, no one of either party is trying to unite us as a nation. Continue Reading

Getting tough when the going gets tough

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” – Joseph P. Kennedy We, as a nation and individually, are in for tough times. There are two types of people in America: those who have survived tough times and know what to do and those who have not. Some of us geezers have lived through tough times and know how to make the best of bad situations, while most young people have only experienced easy times. Even when times are easy, some people back into a light pole, get fired from a job or someone they love leaves them. These are momentarily personal setbacks. Continue Reading

Wrong weasel questions cause wrong weasel answers

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.” – Thomas Pynchon Jr. A grave crisis in our nation is the proposed congressional bailout making headlines this week. It has the potential to be the proverbial 100-year-flood in our financial markets, taking much of the wealth of our nation and leaving our nation crippled for at least 20 years. Given the threat level, it would be nice if the partisans would lay down their swords for a few days while keeping our nation’s wealth from evaporating. Alas, that is asking too much. I have said many times that we must not use political solutions for non-political problems. That is, as Pynchon says, asking the wrong questions. Continue Reading

Someone might be the… like… first dude

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. With Sarah Palin suddenly on the ticket, the media are scrambling to deal with something unlike anything they have previously seen. Not that the media in general are handling this well. An example is the “concern” that Sarah Palin’s husband will be the “first dude.” Actually, Sarah is the VP candidate, so if elected her husband will be the “second dude.” And the “concern” that her husband cannot take care of the children, yada-yada-yada. For the record, I was a stay-at-home dad in the mid-1980s. As a full-time writer working out of our house, it made sense for me to assume the home duties. Continue Reading

The Obama/Palin effect in this election

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. A real change has occurred in our presidential election. The race has become personal to Americans on both sides. Many Obama supporters already have had a personal epiphany that they really like him, first as a person and second as a candidate. Now, with the introduction of Sarah Palin, many Republicans have gotten into the election in the same way. I am really happy that we have a presidential race where people will be voting because they care rather than as a “civic duty” of just pulling the lever. Continue Reading

Not the same crime without evil intent

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Three recent New Mexico items caught my attention: First, an 80-year-old man and his 68-year-old wife were arrested because he became irate at the police. Second, a 79-year-old man was arrested because he showed attitude to an officer. Third, a husband and wife who have never been in trouble were publicly arrested, handcuffed, humiliated and charged with multiple felonies for animal-rights violations. In all three cases there is no evil intent on the part of the offender; rather, these are normal citizens who got crossways with our laws. They have been lawful their entire lives, until now. Continue Reading

Give a red light to red-light cameras

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” – Ansel Adams My town will soon have red-light cameras. The automated “Robocop” red light and speeding cameras are either a blessing or a curse depending on who you talk to. Which will it be? The issue has three parts: First, do the cameras do what they set out to do, namely, stop T-bone accidents? Second, are mailed tickets a legitimate action of our government? Continue Reading