Swickard: What it takes to get my vote

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “This is a frightening statistic. More people vote in ‘American Idol’ than in any US election? Rush Limbaugh

     It is frightening when more Americans vote in television shows than in real elections. Something must prompt them to do so; to make American Idol more important to them than Congress. There must be some reward to be so taken in by television and not real life. Trouble is I cannot for the life of me guess what that is.

     We have 545 politicians (Congress, Supreme Court and President) who are running rough-shod over the American public while most Americans do not notice. One reason they do not notice is that the media operates as part of the ruling class and not as a watchdog to freedom. Politicians love it. Why our citizens allow the media to enable politicians to lie and cheat the American public, I cannot understand it.

     In the coming mid-term elections our nation teeters on the brink of disaster far more than at any time after the Civil War. We are a nation so disconnected to the news that Man-made Global Warming is believed more than that Americans landed on the Moon and returned safely. I cannot for the life of me guess why.

     As to the elections, we have people professing to have the best wishes for the teens who cannot get jobs. These same people want to raise the minimum wage even higher. The minimum wage does not let employers pay for what someone can trade productively.

     That is exactly why low-skilled young people cannot find work and yet it is the very thing some political leaders are pushing. These politicians are running on raising the minimum wage which will keep more of our young people unemployed. And, go figure, most of the young people vote for them because a higher minimum wage sounds like they will be making more money. No, they will still be unemployed and unemployable.

     What unemployed workers need more than anything is to get a job, any job for any wage because any wage will be more than they are making now. But their elected leaders seem to want to keep them jobless and in poverty. Worse, the media conspired to obscure the result of minimum wages: joblessness. Read full column

Swickard: What it takes to get my vote

Documentary about WWII prisoners of war to be screened, with guest stars, in Las Cruces

From the Las Cruces Sun-News and El Paso Times - By S. Derrickson Moore - LAS CRUCES >> Two Emmy Award winners — filmmaker Jan Thompson and actress Loretta Swit (of "M*A*S*H" fame) — will be in Las Cruces this week to present screenings of Thompson's documentary "Never The Same: The Prisoner of War Experience" at the Rio Grande Theatre.
     The film is narrated by Swit and features the voices of Alec Baldwin, Ed Asner, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Robert Loggia, Kathleen Turner, Robert Wagner, Christopher Franciosa, Christopher Murray and Sam Waterston.
     Thompson was inspired by the experiences, journals and artifacts of U.S. servicemen held as POWs by the Japanese during World War II. She said she worked to convey their use of "ingenuity, creativity and humor to survive one of the most notorious times in history."
      It's particularly appropriate to show the film at the same time as an annual event that honors soldiers who were involved in the Bataan Death March, said Thompson, whose late father, Robert Thompson, was a prisoner of war after his capture on Corregidor.
      "The film tells a story we all should know," said Jerry Schurtz of Las Cruces, whose father and uncle, Deming natives, were both on the Bataan Death March. His father, Paul W. Schurtz, died. His uncle, Gerald B. Freeman, survived and became a surrogate father to Jerry and his siblings.
     "It's a really outstanding documentary, based on the experiences of Jan's dad and other guys who were prisoners of war and slave laborers in Japan, and it also talks about their travel in what they called the Hell Ships, two of which were sunk en route to Japan," said Jerry Schurtz, who thinks the film is especially significant "for those of us who are POW kids. Almost everybody knows something about Bataan, but they don't know about the other 3½ years when these men were starving and brutalized at the whims of the Japanese. They don't realize a lot of these men watched the Nagasaki (atomic) bomb from a distance in unmarked hospital ships and prison ships."
     Swit, Thompson and Schurtz all expressed concerns that the returning World War II POWs have never really had a chance to come to terms with their experiences. More

Documentary about WWII prisoners of war to be screened, with guest stars, in Las Cruces

Study ranks NM among highest sales tax rates

From KOB-TV.com - By: Elizabeth Reed, KOB.com - New data released by the Tax Foundation reveals that New Mexico's combined state and local sales tax rate is among the highest in the country.
     According to the Albuquerque Business First, New Mexico's combined average totals 7.26 percent, which is the 16th highest in the nation. Tennessee had the highest combined rate at nearly 9.5 percent. Alaska had the lowest at less than 2 percent.
     The Tax Foundation's report also found that differences in sales tax rates caused some consumers to shop across borders or buy products online.More

Study ranks NM among highest sales tax rates

New Mexico special session for Tesla eyed

Tesla Roadster

NewsNM: Swickard - So far none of the "Green" energy projects anywhere in our nation has made any money. Be careful New Mexico with the enthusiasm for Tesla since battery cars are still just an expensive fad. It would be better to get proven manufacturers to move to New Mexico. 
     From KOAT-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says a legislative special session to help the state win a Tesla Motors facility is a possibility.New Mexico is one of four states that Tesla's Fremont, Calif., assembly plant has identified as finalists for a battery factory. Others are Arizona, Nevada and Texas.
     According to the Albuquerque Journal, Martinez says her office is evaluating whether a special session is necessary to complete a package of economic incentives being crafted to help make New Mexico more appealing to Tesla.
     Martinez wouldn't discuss details of the negotiations with Tesla, but she said New Mexico is in the running for the project in part because of taxation changes that the state has made. She made her comments Monday after she made a speech in Albuquerque. More

New Mexico special session for Tesla eyed

State to study Amtrak future

New Mexico plans to study whether to help pay part of the cost of keeping Amtrak's Southwest Chief on its current route. 

A state budget signed by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez allocates $50,000 to the Legislative Council Service to study a proposal by Amtrak for New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas to share the costs of maintaining and improving more than 600 miles of track through their states. 

John Yaeger of the Legislative Council Service said legal issues will be considered as well as the costs and economic benefits of the proposal. Details of the study are still being worked out. 

Amtrak has suggested the three states share maintenance costs with it and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the track. Each would provide about $4 million annually for a decade.

Information from The AP. 

State to study Amtrak future

Fire in Lea County

A fire broke out in Lea County along Highway 508 Monday. 

The fire is estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000 acres in size and has moved into Roosevelt County. 

Though it is actively burning, the burn has slowed because of cooler evening temperatures and lighter winds.  It is burning in the open prairie, and no structures are threatened at this time.

Today is expected to be windy. In the area of the Lea County fire, winds will reach at least 20 mph by the afternoon. 

Again, with winds slowing down during the overnight hours, the blaze isn't expected to grow very much.

Fire in Lea County

NM unemployment rate remains unchanged

New Mexico's unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged in January at 6.6 percent.  

The state Workforce Solutions Department said Monday that the unemployment rate in January was down from 6.9 percent a year ago. The state agency says jobs have shrunk by 0.5 percent, a loss of 3,700 over the year. State officials say seven industries lost jobs, four added employment and two remain unchanged. 

The largest employment gains were reported in the mining industry, which added 1,700 jobs since January 2013. Retail trade added 1,200 jobs while the financial activities industry added 1,100 jobs and construction added 500 jobs. 

Government employment reported the largest jobs decrease at 3,200 jobs while manufacturing declined by 1,500 jobs. 

Information from The AP. 

NM unemployment rate remains unchanged

Three Hours of Waterboarding with Jon Stewart

Commentary by Marita Noon - Energy makes America great - On Thursday, February 27, I received an email that said: “I'm a producer at theDaily Show with Jon Stewart. We're working on a segment about fracking & I wanted to reach out to see if you'd be interested in participating. I read your column in Town Hall a few months ago & it's just what we're looking for—we'd like to have someone dispel a lot of the myths & untruths about fracking.” I responded that, yes, I was interested. After doing my research, I agreed to participate.
     On March 6, I flew to New York City for a taping on March 7. I knew that the Daily Show is a comedy show masquerading as a news program. My peers told mehorror stories of how the show had treated others whose views didn't mesh with those of Jon Stewart—not that the guests were personally abused, but that the final product didn't represent what was really said during the taping. 

     I weighed the pro and cons and decided to take the risk. I figured that no matter how good I might be, I was unlikely to change the opinions of the young audience that watches the Daily Show and thinks it is real news. Additionally, my audience doesn’t generally watch it—and if they do, they’ll know my comments were heavily edited, as my views are well known. 

     What really pushed me to accept the invitation was the fact that the following week, March 10-13, I was scheduled to be in Southern California speaking on college campuses and my Daily Show taping would enhance my “street-cred” with the potential audiences. Read full column

Three Hours of Waterboarding with Jon Stewart

New report looks at oil and gas in NM

A new report detailing New Mexico's reliance on oil and gas shows diversifying the state's economy could prove challenging. 

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the New Mexico Tax Research Institute found even counties where there is little oil and gas development have benefited from those industries. 

According to the institute, $1.7 billion of $5.5 billion of the state's general fund last year was from oil and gas revenues. Much of the funding helps support schools and colleges. The tax report was partially funded by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Officials say it includes data from the state Taxation and Revenue Department, the State Land Office, the Board of Finance and other agencies.

New report looks at oil and gas in NM

New Mexican named National Science Foundation Director

France Cordova

An internationally recognized astrophysicist with ties to New Mexico has been tapped to serve as the next director of the National Science Foundation. 

The nomination of France Cordova was approved by the U.S. Senate this week. 

Cordova, a Santa Fe resident, is a former president of Purdue University. She's also on the governing board of the Smithsonian Institution and she worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory between 1979 and 1989. 

With an annual budget of more than $7 billion, the foundation provides funding for more than one-fifth of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities.

New Mexican named National Science Foundation Director