Swickard: Surprise, you’re in the Army now

© 2013 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Last week two young college men were in front of me in a grocery store line. I asked them, “What do you think about the conflict in Syria? Is America about to get embroiled?” One student shrugged, “I don’t know or care since it doesn't concern me.”
     “Really,” I exclaimed, “Did both of you register for the Selective Service when you turned eighteen? They both nodded a bit puzzled. I continued, “The whole reason for Selective Service registration is so they can draft you if our country needs you to serve in the military.”
     After a pause, one said, “You can’t get college financial aid unless you register.”
     “So you had a good reason to register with Selective Service,” I said. “That’s the same Selective Service I registered with in 1968. They registered me so that later then President Richard Nixon sent me greetings.”
      I had their attention. “Didn't it occur to you that if our country gets into a big shooting war young men like you are just what our Army needs?”
     One student protested, “No that is not right. Our country has an all-volunteer military. Our country does not conscript people against their will into war.”
I smiled, “Then why did your country need you to sign up for Selective Service in the first place? They spent years pushing you to do so when you turned eighteen. They made sure you knew bad things would happen if you did not. The way I see it, our country has two more draft eligible soldiers if needed.”
      Panic crept into their eyes and I went on. “I’m 63 so they do not want me. They need young men.” I sang a verse from long ago, “You’re in the Army now, you’re in the Army now… you’ll never get out, you’ll never get out, you’re in the Army now.”
     Two geezers behind me laughed loudly. They sang that same verse again.
      Finally I asked, “Did you vote in the last election?” Both shook their heads no, “We not registered.”
      I could not help observing, “Then there is no political reason for any politician to save your butts.”
They paid at the register and hurried out. The geezers behind me laughed, “Bet they now pay attention to the world news.” Read full column

Swickard: Surprise, you’re in the Army now

Helicopter rescues Artesia residents from flood

From KOB-TV.com - By: Lauren Hansard, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - Rain flooded SKP RV Park south of Artesia, leaving the people living there with no way out. Local runoff from storms caused the camp to be surrounded by water on all sides.
     Sixty residents were airlifted from the camp, three at a time. Altogether, 73 people were evacuated. KOB Eyewitness News 4 was there when the residents arrived on safe ground. One evacuee said it was an uncomfortable journey. "My husband had surgery last weekend. They evacuated the medical people first. He would have rather stayed in our rig, laying on the bed. He's quite uncomfortable in the bus now," Marg Schinke said.
     The evacuees were placed on buses and sent to Carlsbad, where the Red Cross has set up an evacuation center. More

Helicopter rescues Artesia residents from flood

NM Law Enforcement Academy changes rules

The board that oversees the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy has adopted a new curriculum that will mean trimming the academy to 16 weeks for basic police officer training. 

It was a unanimous decision by the boarding during a meeting Wednesday in Santa Fe to approve the new curriculum and trim six weeks from the current program. Officials say the new academy will feature more dynamic training and less redundancy to create a more fluid learning environment for cadets. They say this will help agencies around the state get their officers trained and on the street in a more efficient manner. 

The next basic training academy will begin in January. Classes are limited to 50 cadets.

NM Law Enforcement Academy changes rules

Railrunner ridership is down

Ridership on New Mexico's commuter rail system dropped last year, and officials attribute part of that to the weak economy and job losses reducing the pool of passengers. 

Rio Metro Regional Transit District Director Terrence Doyle told a legislative panel Tuesday that Rail Runner Express ridership declined by about 9 percent in 2012, but fare revenues grew 10 percent because of higher ticket prices. He said lower gasoline prices and the higher fares contributed to the ridership decline. 

About 1.1 million riders boarded the train last year and 734,000 through August of this year.  

Rail Runner officials said they're looking for ways to boost ridership, such as shortening travel times.

Railrunner ridership is down

NM reaches settlement with Chevron

New Mexico officials say Chevron Corp. will pay $5.2 million to settle the state's claims that the energy company improperly applied for money from a state environmental cleanup fund. 

The state says the company allegedly said it didn't have and didn't collect on insurance to pay for cleaning up petroleum contamination from Chevron's leaking underground storage tanks at gas stations around the state. 

According to the state, those statements were untrue because the company got payments from insurers through secret settlements and didn't tell the state. The state says it paid $4 million to Chevron. 

The settlement was announced Wednesday by the offices of Gov. Susana Martinez and Attorney General Gary King and by the state Environment Department.

NM reaches settlement with Chevron

Loving football calls it quits

From KOB-TV.com - By: Lauren Hansard, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - Across New Mexico, high schools are preparing for Friday night football, but one high school has cancelled its’ varsity program just weeks into the season. For the Loving High School varsity football team, last Friday was their last game under the lights.
     “Somewhat kind of expected it, but I didn't expect to not have any more Friday night lights," said senior Gabriel Morales. “I just feel a little disappointed knowing like we have so many people in our school that aren't willing to play football."
     The team only has 22 players, half of them freshman. After losing 51-0 to Hagerman last Friday, the school district decided to call it quits. They said it’s for the player’s safety. “I think coach made a decision, and he did what was right for the team and what’s going to keep the boys healthy, so injury free," said parent Sonia Guzman.
     But the boys will get to keep playing. The rest of the season they will play against JV teams on Saturdays. “I just feel a little depressed knowing that this is my last year, and I’m basically going to be playing JV all over again," said Morales. More

Loving football calls it quits

Remembering Alfred Marchand from Alamogordo

While almost 3,000 people died in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and every life lost was a tragedy, many in Southern New Mexico were especially saddened when they learned that Alfred Marchand, 44, of Alamogordo was a flight attendant with United Airlines.

     Marchand enlisted in the military after graduating from Shanley High School in Fargo, N.D. A year later, he left the service, when his father died, and became a police officer in New Mexico. He spent 21 years in law enforcement.      When he retired he became a flight attendant with United. Rest in Peace Alfred Marchand as we remember you this day.

Remembering Alfred Marchand from Alamogordo

Los Alamos couple finds bear in kitchen

From KOB-TV.com - A Los Alamos couple went to investigate noises coming from their kitchen and came face to face with a bear on Tuesday morning. The incident happened around 9 a.m. in the area of Barranca Mesa Park. According to the New Mexico Game and Fish Department, the bear broke through a screen and came into the homethrough a window. The bear then started eating garbage in the kitchen.
     When the homeowners entered the kitchen, the bear fled out the window as they retreated into the bedroom. Game and Fish wardens are setting up a bear trap due to the nature of the interaction. According to officials, the bear is known in the area for breaking into another house. More

Los Alamos couple finds bear in kitchen

Solar: Obama’s proxy war in the desert

Commentary by Marita Noon - Syria isn’t the only battle into which President Obama is injecting himself where he doesn't belong. True, on a global scale, Arizona’s fight over net metering seems insignificant. However, on a personal scale, what is taking place in Arizona’s sunny desert has the potential to directly impact far more Americans than the shots being fired in Syria’s desert.
     Syria’s conflict is often called a proxy war in that it is an indirect confrontation between superpowers via substitute actors. To understand Obama’s proxy war in the desert, you have to understand the intentionally confusing term: net metering.
     Simply, net metering is the process through which homeowners with rooftop solar panels are paid by the local utility company for the excess power they produce. In its report on net metering, the Institute for Energy Research defines it this way: Net metering “allows people who generate electricity on their homes and businesses to sell electricity back to the grid when their generation exceeds their usage.”
     Net metering has been around since the early 80s when solar panels were expensive and few people had them. But the dynamics changed drastically when states began passing renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that required predetermined percentages of electricity be generated from renewable sources—some even specified which sources are part the mix and how much of the resource was required. To meet the mandates, utility companies agreed to pay, what essentially amounts to, full retail rates for the excess electricity being generated by the solar panels. Often the combination of the electricity the homeowner buys from the utility (at night) and what they sell back (during the day) gives them a utility bill of nearly zero. 

     Yet they are still using power from the electric company; they are still plugged into the grid. Grid maintenance, transmission lines and transformers, customer service, and other costs that are part of providing consistent, steady electricity to homes and businesses have historically been borne by everyone using it. Most people don’t think about it; it is just part of the bill.
     Anyone who has ever owned a business, knows that you won’t survive for long when you are buying your product at retail and selling it for retail, as there are many additional costs between wholesale and retail. Yet, this is what utility companies are being forced to do through the net metering agreements that were made back when solar was in its infancy and customers needed to be incentivized to install solar panels so that the utility could purchase the power to meet the mandates.

       When there were only a few solar installations, the loss to the utility had a very small impact. But now, with the numbers increasing, the loss is larger. That loss is being carried by the entire rate base and taking money from family budgets. Read full column

Solar: Obama’s proxy war in the desert

NMSU Aggie Football home opener

News New Mexico -from Michael Swickard who attended the NMSU Aggie home opener.

It was a good Aggie game. I've been watching Aggie Football since 1967 which was Woodson's last year at the helm. 

Sitting next to me was my uncle Eugene McKim has watched the Aggie Football since coming to NMSU out of the Navy in 1946.

Gosh sitting in section H row 22 was 113 combined years of Aggie Football games. 

Again, good game. More thoughts Monday on News New Mexico.

NMSU Aggie Football home opener