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Opinion

  • Wake up, America

    Several alarming things are happening in our country.  As we go about our daily work, Congress continues spending money that we don’t have.

  • Owning a piece of the American dream

    For many of us, sleeping every night in a safe and comfortable home is something we take for granted — but that’s not the case for all families. However, for those families there are opportunities to buy a house to call home — even in these trying economic times.

    Several Federal agencies have proclaimed June National Homeownership Month. This month we recognize the role homeownership plays as the foundation of America’s economy and how it provides stability in our communities.

  • N.M. doesn’t need a Plum...

    SANTA FE — “If I’m elected governor, I’ll fire every single political appointee.” Sound familiar? You’ve likely heard that promise from every single gubernatorial candidate for almost a year.

    We’re down to only two candidates now and this is one campaign promise you can expect either of them to keep. Governors always do. They want their own trusted individuals around them, not the former governor’s buddies.

  • Screaming doesn’t always...

    SANTA FE — Last week a truly amazing event occurred in the world of sports. Detroit’s Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game. He threw to the minimum 27 hitters and didn’t let anyone get to first base. It had only happened 20 times previously in the 134-year history of Major League Baseball.

    There was only one catch. Umpire Jim Joyce called the final batter safe at first. Baseball doesn’t have instant replay as pro football and basketball do, so the decision stood.

  • Trinity Place project update

    The Trinity Place development project is moving into a new, more public phase in the coming months.  Since Los Alamos County terminated its exclusive developer arrangement with the Boyer Company last fall, many people have assumed that the project was “dead” or that work on the project had ceased. 

    That has not been the case, although the difficulties being experienced throughout the U.S. economy have made for slow going over the winter.

  • Cerro Grande fire: 1992 to 2010

    When Fire Chief Douglass MacDonald came to Los Alamos in December 1992 what he noticed first was the dangerous wilderness/urban interface that surrounded the Hill.  Having come from a wildlands fire background, he decided to work to mitigate the imminent danger posed by the overcrowded forest.

    In 1994, Los Alamos held an Interagency Fire Symposium. In 1995, the U.S. Forest Service attempted a controlled burn around Western Area, but the community wasn’t ready.  People complained about the smoke and cutting down trees.

  • Suffering from Triskaidekatwinkia

    Twelve trillion bottles of beer on the wall, 12 trillion bottles of beer. You take one down and toss it around and before you know it, you’ll see 13 trillion bottles up there!  No, no, no, I shouldn’t use beer in this analogy.  The last thing I would ever want to do is bad mouth beer.  

  • Illegal immigration healthcare...

    The national spotlight is on Arizona for doing what the federal government and previous Gov. Napolitano refused to do: rein in an invasion of illegal aliens bankrupting Arizona.  At an August 2009 healthcare town hall in Phoenix, legislators said that more than half of Arizona’s $4 billion budget deficit was the result of paying for three areas of services to illegal immigrants: education, healthcare and incarceration.  

    What does illegal immigration have to do with your costs and your access to medical care when you need it?  

  • It’s time to take a stand

    When I got the news about Israel’s armed attack on the Gaza Flotilla at 2:30 a.m. May 31, I felt sick. I immediately called a friend in Jerusalem, one of the most committed activists I know. 

    Across the ocean, I could hear in her voice that she was in tears. “The worst part about it,” she said, “is that nothing will change.”

    “No,” I replied. “I can’t believe that can be true.  Things have to change.”

    “Well,” she said, “then it is up to you, the internationals.”

  • Barking dogs need to be controlled

    It has been my observation over the last several years that the barking dog issue is, at best, difficult to address. This is primarily because many (if not the majority) of dog owners are oblivious to the fact that their dogs bark — and/or believe that it is their right to let them bark at anything (or nothing), any time of the day … “for protection.” There is even one person in our neighborhood that drives around in a pick-up, with his dog constantly barking all the way — setting off most of the others along the way. How insensitive can one be?

  • Take a trip down Route 66

    SANTA FE — New Mexico followed the national trend of tossing out the old in favor of the new in the recent primary elections. Doña Ana County Republicans will present a fresh face to the rest of the state in the person of Susana Martinez for governor.

    Martinez has been district attorney in the county for some 13 years but not known much in the rest of New Mexico despite the efforts of state party leaders who wanted to entice her into running for state offices years ago.

  • Questions about butterflies

    Stories about butterflies are legion. There are scientific stories like the phenomenal 2,500-mile migration of some Monarch butterflies. The butterfly is often seen as a symbol of the soul (and indeed the Greek word for butterfly is “psyche”).

  • The wages of offshore drilling

    That off-shore calamity that erupted in the Gulf of Mexico 50 miles south of Louisiana has demonstrated anew humankind’s capacity for self-deception.

    Start with all those expressions of shock and dismay emanating from off-shore drilling enthusiasts and their political agents that such a thing could come to pass. Who’d-a thought!?

    My guess is that even such erstwhile boosters as the now-chronically agitated Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal knew deep down all along that not only could such a catastrophe occur but that it inevitably would.  

  • Incomplete analyses create...

    On May 27 in the Monitor, a commentary by Jeffry Gardner referred to President Obama as traitorous due to rhetorical remarks the President made in a welcoming statement to Mexican President Calderón at the White House. The president said in remarks, “In the 21st century, we are not defined by our borders, but by our bonds.” The president was talking about the increasing interdependence of nations, not inviting Mexican nationals across the U.S. border. Mr.

  • Terrorists continue to target the U...

    The recent attempted car bombing in New York City by Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen who was born and raised in Pakistan, reveals the susceptibility of this country to acts of terrorism.

    Although the explosive devices planted in New York City did not work, this event serves to point out that New York City continues to be a target for terrorism. Other cities could be potential targets for Taliban and al Qaida terrorists emanating from Middle East countries or by a minority of U.S. citizens with loyalties to these groups.

  • Your mother has a smooth forehead

    Back when I worked at Bell Labs, we brought in a candidate for an opening on our database team.  Upon reviewing his resume, I couldn’t understand why my interview team had selected him for an interview. The guy had no relevant experience and his degree was in chemistry, not computer science. Well, it turns out that he had put “Klingon” on his resume as a foreign language in which he was fluent.  (Klingons are a warrior race in the 24th century, kind of a cross between an iguana and Dick Cheney).  

  • Hey candidates, what about the $716...

    The immediate attention of the next governor and, therefore, the attention of the general election candidates, should focus on a number: $236 million. That’s the difference between forecast general fund revenue for the next budget year, fiscal 2012, and the amount needed to maintain current service levels. (The general fund is the principal source of money for state government.)

    The $236 million figure was unveiled May 20 by Tom Clifford, chief economist for the Legislative Finance Committee. Clifford spoke to a conference held by the New Mexico Tax Research Institute.

  • A threat to the world’s...

    If you like eating hotcakes or bread (or my own personal favorite, huckleberry muffins), you might want to pay attention to a problem that’s looming over wheat worldwide. It’s a new type of “stem rust” caused by a fungus that cripples wheat plants.

    Throughout history, stem rusts have created major famines. Even in the United States, wheat harvests in parts of the country were hit hard by stem rust in 1903, 1905 and 1950-1954. Localized outbreaks affected American wheat as recently as 1985-1986.  

  • Applied and political science hook...

    Environmental progress begins at the confluence of applied science and political science. The more we know about each one and the mixture the faster the progress.

         In what ways do applied science and politics differ? What happens when they come together?

         The two paths of endeavor diverge by as little as word meanings. The end results are amazingly far apart.

  • Roads to better health

    I just had an amazing time hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail located on the east coast. In the past I have hiked sections of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) and others across the U.S. As I reflect upon my recent experience, memories of my youth return from the times I adventured into vast forests and feeling overwhelmed when sighting wildlife, hearing bubbling brooks, admiring the exotic beauty of wildflowers, and picking delicious wild berries.