Weaponizing Children
It has been done before—weaponizing children. Of course in the US we aren’t talking about explosive belts but about the use of children to undermine public education and further political ambition. The term “social conservative” is a case of contradiction—what is being conserved has not to do with society at large. What is being conserved and expanded is wealth for a relative few while the remainder of society is being disenfranchised and impoverished—slowly perhaps but inexorably. And the impoverishment goes beyond money as it destroys dignity and self-respect. Taking over public education is an instrument of impoverishment, a weapon directed against children...
Goodbye, Tony
Albuquerque, New Mexico, the world of justice, and poetry lost E. A. “Tony” Mares just after noon on January 30, 2015. Tony was gentle and kind but tough and righteous when the situation called for those qualities. With deep roots in this land and its people, his scholarship extended to Spain and Mexico in search of early events and figures of relevance; and showed up in his prolific poetry, articles, and in the memories of generations of grateful students...
We’re Number One!
The affluent and prosperous First World United States where everybody regardless of color or creed can get stinking rich proudly records more kids needing food assistance than any other civilized country except… Romania.
New Mexico, since we’re by most measures second poorest state in the U.S., does the United States proud. We here in NM in every way equal Romania. We are tied for number one! New Mexico and Romania have more starving children than anyplace where there’s a Walmart, except Romania doesn’t have a marketing tzar to head its skeletal child welfare services. We do!...
Fool’s Gold: A Love-Hat Relationship
I recently treated The Darling Fiancée to a staging of Chicago, the classic and ever-popular musical. The evening’s performance had everything a girl wants: friendship, love, danger, well-coordinated outfits, a rousing finale.
Oh, and Chicago was pretty good, too.
A gentleman never discloses the details. But mere gentlemen don’t pull off date nights like I do—so I am spilling. Hear ye, all people (gentle or otherwise) interested in wooing a woman, this is my recipe for how to roll...
Susana’s Trojan Horse
Here we go again, more of the relentless pursuit of public education, public school teachers, and the future of New Mexico’s children. The Governor’s empty meme about ending social promotion is intended to appeal to an audience that knows nothing about teaching and learning. Holding kids back is not educating them—it is humiliating them and nothing more. Public humiliation of children is not and never was, a proper or true pedagogical method...
Yucatán Journey, Part I: The most beautiful beach in the world
On a warm, bright morning, with high white clouds scudding over the dense tropical forest, four Frenchmen, four Germans, a Dutch couple, an American couple and three Mayas, jabbering in half a dozen languages, including Spanish and Yucatec, puttered slowly down a canal dug 1,500 years ago by residents of the Mayan city of Muyil.
For centuries their descendants stubbornly fought off the Spanish and Mexican governments with the result that the canal is still there and so are the Maya, as well as the magnificent ruins of their old city. Soaring above the jungle panoply, it is a victory over time and endless tribulations...
Assimilation in Europe and the American Response
With the terrible killings in Paris, attention has finally turned to the thousands of North Africans who have not been assimilated into those societies, live separate lives, and do not feel that they are a part of the future of those countries. We saw it repeatedly in both Spain and France.
Europeans will talk about discrimination in the United States. This is understandable because our issues are open and public, always making the headlines. In France and Spain, however, the problem is much worse because it is hidden – or at least has been hidden until now. Outsiders, whether they have come from Algeria or Morocco or are gypsies, are simply forgotten...
Who Controls ABQ’s Public Airwaves?
Eighty-one years ago Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934, which stated that, “the airwaves belong to the people,” a syllogism that does not stand the test of time. Corporate ownership of the airwaves is a labyrinth of holding companies and monopolies that control almost all aspects of electronic communications in this nation.
In Albuquerque, for instance, there are very few viewers who can tell you who owns the local commercial broadcast entities, like Hubbard Broadcasting, Hearst Television, or Lin Broadcasting. Who are these media conglomerates? And what do they offer in return for permission to exploit our airwaves?...
Anniversary of Citizens United is No Cause for Celebration
In his heyday nearly a century ago, Will Rogers made Americans smile with an observation that our country “has the best politicians money can buy.”
This week, on the fifth anniversary of what might be characterized as the Supreme Court’s initiative to help us buy better ones, it’s fair to say the justices have increased the cost of our politicians without improving the quality.
Since January 2010, when the court ruled 5-4 in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations, trade associations, labor unions, and other groups have a constitutional right to spend whatever they like to influence elections...
Off the Charts
Until you REALLY master social media, #KeepingTabsOnYourFavoriteCelebrityIsTough. #IGetIt. That’s why you, my dedicated readers, deserve to hear it straight from me, with normal punctuation and spaces: I am a rock star.
You have likely not heard my greatest hits yet. That’s only because I’m not a MODERN rock star, selling out to any worthy cause with a benefit show. But I have all three primary qualifications for being a GREAT rock star...