ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Letters To the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Letters To the Editor


Sick of Gubernatorial Cat Fight
        OK NOW, let's talk about MVD. No, not the Motor Vehicle Division — we're talking Martinez versus Denish.
        This cat fight is getting onerous as, according to each, the other is unfit for the office of governor.
        The entire election diatribe reminds one of an old Latin phrase: Argumentum ad hominem, which literally means, "Directing an argument against an opponent's character rather than the subject at hand."
        Politics are rapidly descending into, at best, the outhouse, and the wind is blowing. If this keeps up, balloting will be done on Northern tissue.
        Integrity and honor are on the block; if one cannot honor the opponent, then integrity is just a buzzword. There must be something worthwhile each has accomplished, but that something has become nothing more than a vague reference, silhouetted by a dim bulb, against a wall of scurrilous comments.
        It's as if the two were schooled in diplomacy by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
        "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott must have been thinking about New Mexico's race for governor when he wrote that.
        BOB HARPLEY
        Rio Rancho

Throw Bozos Out of Washington
        ISN'T IT IRONIC that none of the bozos that want to be re-elected has said one single word about what their platform is?
        They're good at bashing their opponents; however, all liberals are good at that. Why don't they brag about what they've voted for, like Obamacare? Probably because they know it's not about health care, it's about government control and more money in their pockets.
        How about the cap and tax bill? Again, probably because they know it's not about helping the environment, it's about more government control and more money is their pockets....
        Something these bozos don't seem to understand: They work for us, not the other way around! I don't want the government making my health care choices, I don't want the government controlling my utilities; and mark my words, they want to control every single aspect of our lives!
        It won't be long and all our rights will be out the window. ... I don't want the government interfering with my life any more than they do already. I really hope the people wake up to what they're trying to do to us. Let's go green, and recycle Washington!
        RON ROSS
        Albuquerque

Candidates Bypass Water Issues
        I'M PUZZLED. Water is the essence of life in New Mexico, yet candidates for statewide office are silent on the subject. I guess they will not address this knotty problem until the electorate demands it.
        Therefore, I urge the voters of New Mexico to demand that candidates make their views on water transfers and other water issues known.
        Citizens of Catron and Socorro counties are faced with a water grab of mammoth proportions. This is in the form of a proposal to pump 54,000 acre-feet of water annually from the San Augustin basin, primarily to send it to the Rio Grande. This proposed groundwater mining will destroy the sustainability of ranches, towns and national forests over a very large region.
        The San Augustin Water Coalition, numbering close to 1,000 members, was formed to address grave concerns for the future of rural New Mexico's land, culture and environment. However, this organization needs broader support if politicians are going to hear us. All of us should know the candidates' position on water issues, such as water mining for commercial profit, and basin-to-basin transfers.
        Transfers of water from rural to urban areas may mitigate some problems, but it also creates new problems. Most important, such water transfers have impacts on the people and communities from which the water is taken, even though they are not parties to the transaction. Many states have enacted "area of origin" protection statutes. New Mexico should consider enacting such a statute.
        I urge that all citizens raise the questions of New Mexico water policy to candidates for elective office. The consequences of not doing so could leave us high and dry.
        CAROL PITTMAN
        Datil

Keep Democrats in the Capitol
        LET ME GET this straight.
        Obama and the Democrats are voted into office with a message of hope that by pulling together we can solve the problems we face as a nation. The Republicans, however, reject this and decide to put the interests of their party over the American people.
        They refuse to join the Democrats in finding the compromises that under our political system are necessary to pass law. Instead they launch a "just say no" strategy to thwart the president's legislative agenda at every turn.
        Then, having succeeded in making the government just about ungovernable, using the threat of filibuster more times in the Senate than at any time in U.S. history, the Republicans blame the Democrats for being ineffective and "out of step."
        Sound about right?
        The Republicans and their Tea Party brethren, however, offer no solutions to our problems, just sound bites: cut government, slash spending, repeal health care.
        So what do we do without? Who makes the sacrifices? They won't say.
        As New Mexicans we are being asked to vote for Republican House candidates so the party can take back control of Congress. And do what exactly? Bring back the good old days of policies that have hurt the middle class for so many years? That made the rich richer and everyone else poorer?
        I don't think so. Ben Ray Lujan, Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague are doing just fine and I expect that with more time and continued support they will help to heal our wounded economy and put in place the programs our state and nation desperately need.
        No need to reward the Republican Party for its bad behavior. This November, I'm voting Democrat for Congress, and you should, too.
        DAVID CUSHMAN
        Rio Rancho

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