Would it be expecting too much to hope that privately New Mexico’s congressional delegation is embarrassed by its unanimous vote for the scandalous “stimulus” spending bill? Probably.
As loyal Democrats, they could hardly be expected to go against their leadership in congress for fear of reprisals but surely they must have had some private doubts about this bill as more and more of the idiotic “earmarks” become public knowledge.
One can only guess that not one of our five read the bill other than to make sure his personal “earmarks” were included. They brag of their close relationship with their constituents, but if they had asked their constituents about that “stimulus” bill would they have still voted for it? Probably.
Shame, guys.
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The controversy in the Taos school system apparently is not about testing scores, budget problems, dropout rates or such nonsense but rather what kind of tortilla the students are served in the hot lunch program. You would almost think it was happening in the Española system.
Someone made the mistake of serving tortillas made with whole wheat flour rather than white flour. This, of course, prompted charges of racism as traditional tortillas are made with white flour and to use anything other than white is pure racism.
One school board member declared that serving whole wheat tortillas to the students was “killing his culture and Hispanic heritage.” A cafe owner scoffed at the idea that serving wheat flour tortillas was racist. If you want to eat a whole wheat tortilla, eat one. If you want a white tortilla, eat one. “I think they’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
Then there’s the argument up there about how a basketball player’s lunch money was handled. In the ensuing dispute, exchange of e-mails and telephone calls somehow a burrito entered into the argument and two coaches resigned. Lawyers were hired, threats exchanged and one official, asked to explain what was happening simply said, ”You know what, you just wouldn’t understand.” How true.
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California, which has some really weird laws prompted by its system of putting any strange proposal on the ballot only to sees them approved, now is concerned with hit-and-run dog killers. The state, remember, is in such dire financial straits it is asking United States taxpayers to send it a few billion dollars to tide it over.
So while Sacramento burns, legislators fiddle. According to the Los Angeles Times a lawmaker is proposing “slapping California motorists with a fine and possible jail time if they flee the scene after hitting a jaywalking dog, cat or any other pet or farm animal.”
Since lawmakers seem to have little else to do, one wants to crack down on dog fighting, another proposes a ban on docking (i.e. clipping or cutting) the tails of dairy cows, and another hopes to make animal adoption fees tax deductible. Others want to curb puppy mills at flea markets and make it illegal to let a cat older than six months run free unless it is spayed or neutered.
Animal control officers are taking a wait-and-see-approach. Have New Mexico legislators become aware of all these legislative possibilities?
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Affordable housing? Affordable should be in the eyes of the person writing the check. Santa Feans Tuesday voted on a tax to help bring affordable housing to Santa Fe. New Mexico is getting $50 million from the federal government “to build affordable housing, improve public buildings and renovate public housing.”
The tax Santa Fe was contemplating (results unknown at this writing), would produce a couple hundred thousand dollars a year, if approved, so it wouldn’t have much effect on the market. No one seems sure just how it would be spent.
The $50 million from the Feds can be spent on pretty much anything. When they say public buildings, that opens up a whole can of worms. And how would renovating public housing provide any “affordable housing.”
Politicians who favor motherhood, apple pie and the American dream love throwing around the term “affordable housing.” Will Española or Rio Arriba County see any of that $50 million? Probably not.