Articles for the ‘Opinion’ Category

Letters to the Editor 5/2/2013

by | May 2, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

SEC bylaws should be carefully considered
Editor:
The trio of board, management and attorney are making it hard for members to attend the Socorro Electric Cooperative Annual Members’ Meeting (May 15, voting 1-3 p.m.; business meeting at 3 p.m.), refusing to put the properly passed District 5 proposed bylaw amendments on the ballot, insulting the members by placing the defeated trustee proposals back on the ballot this year, confusing the items up for vote, and shortening the turn around time for vote-by-mail ballots, two weeks.

May skies offer planet trio

by | May 2, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

This month we are offered an amazing trio of planets in the early evening sky. As the month progresses, Jupiter begins sinking toward the western horizon while Venus slowly begins to climb in the western evening sky. Beginning around mid-month, Mercury joins in on the fun as it rises above the western horizon. On the 19th, the three bright planets form a line less than 13 degrees long.

Getting, spending

by | April 25, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

America is all about freedom. And President George W. Bush made clear what that freedom means in a document called "The National Security Strategy of the United States of America" in 2002.

‘False Impressions’ leads a thinker’s collection

by | April 25, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

"False Impression," by Jeffrey Archer, is set in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Anna, the heroine, escapes by hurrying down the stairs as she and many others are urged to do. Her employer, Bruce Fenston, escapes too. When his assistant finds a spare room in an unscathed building, they can proceed with their occupation.

Shoddy editing is not freedom of the press

by | April 18, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

Here is the first paragraph of a story published in a New Mexico college newspaper. The words are exact except for the last two, which I have changed to "you know." They refer to oral sex and I am betting my readers, bright devils you are, will get the drift.

Did the Iron Lady help kill capitalism?

by | April 18, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

The recent news of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death affords an opportunity to open the issue of who will be remembered as significant players in the death of capitalism. Mrs. Thatcher's image as a beacon for freedom may seem secure among mainstream media for the moment but to objective observers it is looking increasingly likely that in the long term the blind passion for "free markets" she shared with the global plutocratic class she abetted will be understood as the beginning of the final chapter for the most productive economic arrangement in history. (Use of the term "productive" here is not necessarily equivalent to "good.")

Letters to the Editor 04/11/2013

by | April 11, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

SEC needs to notify members of mapping
Editor:
Last week I discovered a young man that was attempting to climb over our fence. When I approached him, he informed me that he had to get to the power poles on our property and all he wanted to know was if the hot wire on the top of the fence was on. He did not ask permission to come on our property or explain why he needed access to our property until I questioned him.

Preventing Steubenville

by | April 11, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

Two teenagers were convicted of rape in Steubenville, Ohio, on March 19. They drugged and raped one of their classmates in August 2012. Their conviction was certain, at least in the court of public opinion, after a hacker group called KnightSec released video depicting a friend and former classmate joking about what he'd seen on the night of the incident. The now-convicted rapists felt they were untouchable, going so far as to call themselves a "rape squad."

If you pray for peace, why pay for war?

by | April 11, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

If you think the war in Iraq was justified because Sadaam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was collaborating with al-Qaida, today's column is not for you.

Letters to the Editor 4/4/2013

by | April 4, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

Community needs headway with loose dogs
Editor:
I think it is important for readers to get a follow-up of my late February letter, which reported my being attacked by loose dogs and bitten by one.
The owner of the dogs was cited and pleaded “no contest,” thus avoiding having to face a judge and myself, since I showed up at the appointed day. She paid a $99 fine for the loose dogs and was given a $30 fine for the dog that bit me. This was suspended for 30 days; if she keeps the dogs under control, she pays nothing. This does not seem fair to me and other citizens of Socorro.

There are things you just don’t understand

by | April 4, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

The late, esteemed Sen. Joe Gant slowly shook his head while waving his finger back and forth, saying to the young man at his Roundhouse desk, the quiet whisper of his voice forever in memory, "There are things you don't understand."

April brings comet, meteor shower , Jupiter

by | April 4, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

As April begins, comet PanSTARRS is still hanging around in the western sky just after sunset. It has faded to magnitude +3. Look to the northwest about 45 minutes after sunset and at about 10 degrees above the horizon. A pair of good binoculars will be helpful in finding PanSTARRS. For more information I refer you to the chart on page 51 of the April Sky & Telescope magazine or go to www.skypub.com/panstarrs.

Who was Hugo Chávez, really?

by | April 4, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

When the president of Venezuela succumbed early last month to cancer, we heard one tired litany over and over. Our State Department must have dished out this press release weeks before, eager for Hugo Chávez's demise: "The 58-year-old strongman was leaving his country in political and social turmoil." (Translated: Perhaps now, the U.S. could reassert its control over Venezuelan oil production.)

Gnats come in many varieties

by | March 28, 2013 | Filed under: Opinion

I want to discuss some small gnats that are frequently found in homes or businesses. Most pest control companies won't control flying insects, but they should let you know if they are present so you can take care of them if they are found in your home or business. The following four groups of flies are very common in New Mexico. If you have a food service facility, you don't want them around and you probably don't want them in your home.