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| Thanksgiving 1942 - Office of War Information Photograph Collection |
Thanksgiving for a dog who has lost his bite
Our nation has changed in my lifetime from these feelings of thankfulness to the point that some people feel entitled to Thanksgiving. They forget being thankful. Rather than pleased, they are bored since they are supposed to get everything they want.
Our nation has gone from some who look at their glass to see if it is half full to those who are stuck just looking for a glass. The majority do not dialog the glass half empty or full, they maintain they are entitled to the glass so hand it over.
Some will spend time on Thanksgiving remembering Thanksgivings past when glasses were held by loved ones who are long since gone. It is the consequence of age to live beyond people we have loved. In my lifetime so much has been gained in our society and so much lost.
Like Paul Simon there are times when I think I am a dog who has lost his bite in today’s world. That is a common thought to those over the age of sixty in a world that worships youth. When I was young old people were revered. No longer. Knowledge is not even revered, only political advantage.
It is Thanksgiving week and as usual I am thankful. However, none of what I really hold close to my heart is material. There was a time when I was younger that all I could think of was Martin guitars. Forty some years later I still have those two guitars, a six string and a 12 string Martin. They have traveled with me for decades and they mean less to me than a granddaughter’s smile.
While I do occasionally have a smooth ride in life, compared to others, I have never become accustomed to a smooth ride. No, this life of mine has always been stormy, just as I have liked it to be. Early in my life I found that a placid ride held no interest for me.
In the storms of life I am captain of my ship, though I cannot control the weather. So I must adjust to the changing weather of life. While I habitually am not much to worry, the future of this nation does worry me because of the challenges, not to me, but to the next generations.
In fact, I am worried not because of what our leaders are doing, rather, because of what my fellow citizens are not doing. This Thanksgiving is a good example of this change in America. Years ago we got down on our knees to give thanks to Almighty God for that which we were given despite being flawed humans. We were honestly and completely thankful. It was not just a photo-opportunity, it was what we felt.
Today many Americans rise from their Thanksgiving table saying, “I certainly deserve this and more.” Rising from the table with the butter from the rolls still on their lips many citizens do not see the thanks in Thanksgiving. For these modern American citizens the holiday does not resemble what it has been in the past.Read full column
Our nation has gone from some who look at their glass to see if it is half full to those who are stuck just looking for a glass. The majority do not dialog the glass half empty or full, they maintain they are entitled to the glass so hand it over.
Some will spend time on Thanksgiving remembering Thanksgivings past when glasses were held by loved ones who are long since gone. It is the consequence of age to live beyond people we have loved. In my lifetime so much has been gained in our society and so much lost.
Like Paul Simon there are times when I think I am a dog who has lost his bite in today’s world. That is a common thought to those over the age of sixty in a world that worships youth. When I was young old people were revered. No longer. Knowledge is not even revered, only political advantage.
It is Thanksgiving week and as usual I am thankful. However, none of what I really hold close to my heart is material. There was a time when I was younger that all I could think of was Martin guitars. Forty some years later I still have those two guitars, a six string and a 12 string Martin. They have traveled with me for decades and they mean less to me than a granddaughter’s smile.
While I do occasionally have a smooth ride in life, compared to others, I have never become accustomed to a smooth ride. No, this life of mine has always been stormy, just as I have liked it to be. Early in my life I found that a placid ride held no interest for me.
In the storms of life I am captain of my ship, though I cannot control the weather. So I must adjust to the changing weather of life. While I habitually am not much to worry, the future of this nation does worry me because of the challenges, not to me, but to the next generations.
In fact, I am worried not because of what our leaders are doing, rather, because of what my fellow citizens are not doing. This Thanksgiving is a good example of this change in America. Years ago we got down on our knees to give thanks to Almighty God for that which we were given despite being flawed humans. We were honestly and completely thankful. It was not just a photo-opportunity, it was what we felt.
Today many Americans rise from their Thanksgiving table saying, “I certainly deserve this and more.” Rising from the table with the butter from the rolls still on their lips many citizens do not see the thanks in Thanksgiving. For these modern American citizens the holiday does not resemble what it has been in the past.Read full column
Green Energy: The Rotary Dial Phone of the Future
Today, that entire paradigm has been upended and OPEC’s power has been virtually neutered by increasing domestic oil production and decreasing gasoline consumption.
Jay Lehr, Heartland Institute science director, likens continuing “as though our new energy riches did not exist” to “ignoring our telecommunication revolution by supporting operator-assisted telephones with party lines.”
Instead of growing our gas, we need to be growing food that can feed a hungry world and balance out the U.S. trade deficit.
In a November 17 editorial, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) perfectly sums up the current renewable resource status: “After 35 years of exaggerations about the benefits of renewable fuels, the industry has lost credibility.” Similarly, on the same day, the Washington Post (WP) went a step further, stating that ethanol “has been exposed as an environmental and economic mistake.”
It seems that ethanol is an idea whose time has come—and gone. Read full column
Storm makes driving a challenge in Grants area
, the icier the roads became.Semi-tractor trailers weaved in and out of traffic trying to stay on the road. KOB found near white-out conditions near Laguna and snow packed icy-roads near Cubero. State Police and road workers helped a semi-tractor trailer that ended up stuck in the median.
"I’m coming from the west from Shiprock. It's been pretty good til I got here. It's starting to sleet and getting windy here,” said one truck driver. Before long, Grants
cleared up a bit.But the howling winds did not let up, which forced drivers to take a break. "It’s hard (laughs) to keep control of your car especially if you go under the bridges and stuff,” one woman said.“It wips ya. We almost saw a semi jack-knife in front of us."
This might just be the beginning of more wind and snow coming to the area over the next couple of days. More
Swickard: What do you believe in the news?
So some stories are just a matter of facts. An example would be: Bif Largecrash drove his rust colored 1986 Ford truck off the side of a hill last Saturday. He did so while trying to tune the radio to a different station because he said the song playing reminded him of his ex-wife’s lawyer.
He was thrown from his truck and rescuers found him still clutching the aforementioned radio knob. An ambulance took him to the Emergency Room where he received 17 stitches and a stern lecture. Police chief, Al L. Blanks said, “It sure was good thing that the ground broke Bif’s fall or he could have been hurt.”
Others stories contain more conjecture. Example: At the recent Town Council meeting Town Councilor I. M. Shady called Mayor Dee Power
a cheater and stupid. “Am not,” replied Power. “Which one?” asked Shady. “Let me think,” said Dee.In the second example there is a conflict of opinions. We all have had those conflicts of opinion. It would be nice in the newspaper to have a section where the “conjecture” stories were all listed so that readers could indicate if the person is a cheater and stupid or just one. We need to know this.
Here are some examples of facts and conjectures. Rate your confidence in the statements from 0 to 100. A rating of 100 means you are completely confident of it being true, like something your mother told you, whereas 0 means you do not believe it at all, like something politicians promise on the campaign trail.
1 - President Richard Nixon was a crook. _____
2 - Americans did land on the moon. _______
3 - Aliens crashed a space ship near Roswell. ______
4 - The police arrive quicker than pizza delivery. _____
5 - Van Gogh was an artist because he had no ear for music. ______
6 - Eight out of every five people cannot do math. _____
7 - Outlaws are more interesting than in-laws. _____
8 - Elvis is still alive. _____
9 - Japanese remember Pearl Harbor better than Americans. _____
10 - If taxes are outlawed, only outlaws will have taxes. _____
11 - The Marquis de Sade is an ObamaCare Administrator. _____
12 - 81% of American schools are below average. _____
13 - The number 13 is unlucky. _____
14 - If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three. _____
Read entire column
NMFA hires new CEO
The governing board of the New Mexico
Finance Authority on Wednesday approved Robert Coalter as its CEO.
Coalter has
been executive director of the Texas Public Finance Authority since 2012, and
worked for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts from 1991 to 2011.
Former
state budget director John Gasparich has been interim CEO since last year when
Rick May was fired after the discovery that a financial audit had been faked. NMFA
ex-controller Greg Campbell pleaded guilty to forgery and securities fraud.
The
New Mexico
Coalter's
starting date and salary is to be negotiated.
Lawrence Rael announces gubernatorial candidacy
“I’m running for governor because, with the right leadership, I believe we can turn potential and possibility into real opportunity for every New Mexican -- by growing quality jobs, investing
in quality education and ensuring access to quality health care for citizens in every corner of our state. I believe I can be that leader for the state that has given me and my family so much already,” Rael said.Rael was born in Santa Fe and raised in the town of Sile. He has served in local, state and federal government as well as spending time in the private sector.
“Over the next year, I am going to fight to earn the vote of every New Mexican -- to win the Democratic primary next June and defeat Susana Martinez next November,” Rael added. “But my promise to the people of New Mexico is that I will fight just as hard for your future if I have the honor of being your next governor.”
He has been chief administrative officer of Albuquerque, deputy secretary of Transportation for the State of New Mexico and director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, serving Bernalillo, Valencia, Torrance and Sandoval counties.More
Gov. Martinez proposes $112 million capital investment to NM water infrastructure
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| Gov Susana Martinez |
The total proposal would be $112 million, which amounts to 60 percent of the outlay funding that will be available when the legislature convenes in January.
With many communities in New Mexico on the brink of a water shortage, the governor says the time to act is now.
"While we cannot dictate the duration or the magnitude of the drought that we face, we can dictate our response. I'm proposing one of the largest investments ever made as a state in water infrastructure projects throughout New Mexico."
Governor Martinez says the money should be used to improve state watersheds, provide repairs for communities that may go dry, and make critical repairs to dams.
She considers water security a critical need for New Mexico communities, which is why she says that capital funds should be used to address those needs. More
, the governor says the time to act is now."While we cannot dictate the duration or the magnitude of the drought that we face, we can dictate our response. I'm proposing one of the largest investments ever made as a state in water infrastructure projects throughout New Mexico."
Governor Martinez says the money should be used to improve state watersheds, provide repairs for communities that may go dry, and make critical repairs to dams.
She considers water security
a critical need for New Mexico communities, which is why she says that capital funds should be used to address those needs. More
Sec. of Education happy with stipend program
New Mexico Education
Secretary Hanna Skandera says the state is "off to a good start" with
15 teachers each approved to receive a $5,000 stipend for transferring from a
top-graded school to a low-graded one.
The teachers worked for the Las Cruces , Taos , Las Vegas City ,
Espanola, Estancia and Gallup
Teachers qualifying for stipends must have worked full-time
at schools with A or B grades last year and they must now teach full-time at
schools with D or F grades. And they have to stay at the D-F school through the
2014-2015 school year.
The state began the program in September but Skandera
says all the teachers receiving the stipends had transferred before the
announcement.
Gov. Martinez in AZ for GOP meeting
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| Gov. Martinez |
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez plans to travel
to Arizona
The meeting of Republican
governors ends Thursday, but McCleskey said the governor may stay longer to
spend time with her husband, Chuck Franco, and his seriously ill aunt, who
lives in Phoenix
The governors' group is paying for Martinez
The RGA was the top contributor to Martinez
A new RGA chairman will
be elected at the meeting.
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