OPINION: Talk of the Town

Rural hospital closures a matter of life, death

In his Opinion column in the July 3 Journal, Dr. William H. Brady makes many good points concerning the devastating effects of deep Medicaid cuts to New Mexico’s health care system, such as low income families’ loss of coverage and the cost inefficiency of increased emergency department usage. However, he barely touches upon an issue of much concern to me and countless others: possible closure of rural hospitals. My wife and I live in Socorro, and the future of Socorro General Hospital is at risk. Without SGH, our nearest hospital would be over an hour away. This is literally a matter of life and death. Legislators, dead people won’t vote for you.

Janet Goldstein

Socorro

Protect workers from extreme heat

As we enter another summer of soaring temperatures, one thing is resoundingly clear: Climate change is already disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable members of our communities. For decades, faith communities across the globe have named this threat, and today it is at our doorstep. As exposure to extreme heat is increasing for workers across New Mexico, we have a collective moral responsibility to do something about it for the common good of all.

In early June, a rulemaking process with the Environmental Improvement Board intended to strengthen protections for workers in New Mexico who are exposed to extreme heat was delayed. The hearings, initially scheduled for July 2025, will now be held in January 2026. Voices from industry continue to claim that adopting these rules would be too hard, too fast and too burdensome.

The core tenet of my faith is to love your neighbor as yourself, and in the United Methodist Christian tradition, the first rule is to do no harm. In that vein, asking employers to ensure sufficient protections for human health and safety should not be a burden; it should be a responsibility rooted in our shared humanity. Providing shade structures and water access for agricultural workers, providing working air-conditioning units for delivery drivers, and ensuring that all employees have adequate breaks at specific temperature thresholds are common sense and attainable, and we should all strive for them for one another.

As people of faith and conscience, let’s take collective action to protect the workers who are our neighbors and who are woven into the fabric of everything we cherish in New Mexico. Join me in doing no harm by raising your voice in support of strong heat standards. Please visit safework4all.org.

Andy Stoker

Albuquerque

Iran could pursue nuke program in secrecy

What’s next?

Israel suppressed Iran’s air defenses and killed crucial military personnel, clearing the way for U.S. cruise missiles and bunker buster bombs from stealth bombers. The strikes either severely damaged or destroyed the facilities Iran needed to complete a nuclear weapon. The results clearly established Iran’s inability to compete in a modern conventional war. Regrettably, current discussions generally focus on degrees of destruction, but regularly omit Iran’s remaining options.

Regardless of Western powers, the ayatollahs — or their successors — are surrounded with Middle East and European/Asian neighbors that would not hesitate to feast on a weakened Iran. Funding terrorist entities such as the Houthis, Hamas or Hezbollah does not appear to be any longer an effective strategy. Iran is left to choose a vulnerable second class role in the Middle East or continue to pursue an even more secretive nuclear weapon program.

Iranian and Persian history is millennia of armed conflict fueled by religions, cultures and national ambition. That Iran would or even could accede to U.S./Israeli dominance and transform into a subservient and vulnerable non-nuclear Middle East regime smacks of Putin’s delusion that Ukraine would cut and run before a few Russian tanks.

Craig Roepke

Albuquerque

Stansbury stepped up against kidney disease

Thank you for publishing the recent op-ed I wrote entitled, “Bill would save people with kidney failure” on the End Kidney Deaths Act . We were thrilled to see Rep. Melanie Stansbury step up as a co-sponsor following its publication. Her support sends a powerful message to the thousands of New Mexicans impacted by kidney failure: Your lives matter, and change is possible.

Now we urge Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich to join her by cosponsoring, or better yet, co-leading, the Senate version of the bill. And we call on Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Gabe Vasquez to join Stansbury in making this life-saving, cost-cutting legislation a top priority.

The End Kidney Deaths Act is a smart, bipartisan solution. It would offer a refundable $10,000 annual tax credit for five years to living donors who give a kidney to a stranger, especially to those waiting the longest. Experts estimate it could save up to 100,000 lives and reduce taxpayer spending by $37 billion over the next decade.

We applaud Stansbury’s leadership. Now it’s time for the entire New Mexico delegation to follow her example and champion this historic opportunity to end needless kidney deaths.

Alex Fischer

Albuquerque

Bill funds ICE better than most militaries

The part of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that congressional Republicans have just passed that has gotten the least attention is perhaps politically the most consequential. It will make the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement larger than most of the world’s militaries. The bill spends over $150 billion — that’s billion with a B — over four years for immigration enforcement. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller refers to this as an opportunity to save Western Civilization. This will essentially give Donald Trump his own private army. Alligator Alcatraz in Florida will be the first of many new detention camps for immigrants. The irony is that ICE was created as part of the post-9/11 “war on terrorism.” It turns out the terrorists are domestic, not foreign. Wake up America.

Gary Anderson

Albuquerque