Opinion

Letter To The Editor: Gun Buy Back Farce

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By ROBERT VISEL
Los Alamos

The New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV) and Los Alamos Police Department will be holding their first, and hopefully last, “ever” Guns To Gardens Gun Buyback event on Saturday, Oct. 28.

First of all, they can’t “Buy Back” something they never sold in the first place! So, this onerous title is already misleading.

Second, if people have been paying the least bit of attention to these Gun Control schemes they would find out that these so called “Buy Back” programs do absolutely nothing to deter violent crime not just here in the United States but around the world.

If Read More

Letter To The Editor: Stop Wild Horse, Burro Slaughter

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By NANCY TEAGUE
White Rock

I believe our New Mexico lawmakers are opposed to the round up and slaughter of wild horses and burros, but some in congress are not. I’m not sure with everything that is happening in our nation at this time that people are aware of the urgency of this situation and of the necessity of contacting their representatives on this issue.

In 1971 there was a law enacted to protect wild horses and burros. These animals are symbols of our Western Heritage. Eighty percent of Americans are opposed to the provisions now being proposed  that would allow the Bureau of Land Management Read More

Letter To The Editor: Resolution Of Sheriff’s Office Legality

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By RICHARD NEBEL
Los Alamos
 
We’ve heard a lot lately about what’s legal and what isn’t with respect to the Sheriff’s office. We’ve heard from a paralegal, some attorney’s, and the Sheriff himself what they think the law is.
 
There is a simple (and free) way to resolve this without filing lawsuits. Any public official (like the Sheriff) or governmental entity (like the county) can request an opinion from the Attorney General. While these opinions are not legally binding, they are admissible in a court of law and the Attorney
Read More

Attorney General Balderas On President Trump’s Decision To End DACA

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Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Office of the Attroney General:

ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas released the following statement in response to President Trump’s decision to end DACA:

“With the decision to end DACA, President Trump is compromising the safety of our communities and our nation, and he is putting the security of thousands of New Mexicans who contribute to our classrooms, public safety and economy at risk.

“Losing hundreds of thousands of future police officers, members of the military, doctors and teachers will create an unacceptable public Read More

Letter To The Editor: Failure Of Corporate Trade Policy

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By ED SCOTT
Taos

Corporate America only succeeds if Capitalism works. Capitalism cannot work if the middle class is in debt, shrinking and can no longer be consumers.

America is still the wealthiest nation in the world and in world history … and America also has the greatest wealth disparity in the world and in world history. These are unsustainable conditions … and yet Donald Trump and much of the Republican Party want increase wealth disparity by decreasing federal income taxes for the wealthy class and corporations, resulting in even greater CEO salaries.

This will make American Corporate Read More

Letter To The Editor: ‘I’m In, Let’s Close The Door’ Is No Way To Maintain America’s Fundamental Character Of Openness And Generosity

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By TERRY GOLDMAN
Los Alamos

In her recent column, Lisa Shin objects to ‘an undercurrent of obstructionism’ that she detects in the County’s immigration proclamation. This concern is puzzling since America is the paramount representation of a country that adores obstructionism — it comes with freedom of speech and association. Of course, you may not like racist obstructionism or women’s suffrage obstructionism (to consider extremes that have been objected to on both sides) but you are free to so obstruct. 

I have a multitude of objections to the opinions expressed, but let’s focus on Read More

Letter To The Editor: Response To Lisa Shin

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By JIM NESMITH
Los Alamos

Ms. Shin, you seem to operate under the same premise that President Trump does, that immigrants are not screened (link). You are sadly uninformed and totally wrong.

They are screened extensively and they are screened in a manner that is much more effective and sophisticated than that advocated by you. The simpleton’s approach to Immigration contained in the RAISE Act will result in huge backlogs for legitimate immigrants, be a huge deterrent to highly desirable immigrants and open numerous doors for huge levels of fraud and abuse. In other words, it will have precisely Read More

Letter To The Editor: FOS Thanks Sheriff’s Posse

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By WENDEE BRUNISH
Friends of the Shelter

Friends of the Shelter (FOS) would like to extend a huge thank you to the Los Alamos Sheriff’s Posse (LASP) for inviting us to co-host the August Pancake breakfast at the Posse Lodge.

Several enthusiastic FOS volunteers joined the very experienced (and patient) LASP folks who showed us the ropes and kept everything running smoothly. The breakfast was a big success, and we thank all of the nearly 400 folks that turned out to enjoy the wonderful food that was provided. It was great to see seniors, couples, and families with kids of all ages enjoying the breakfast Read More

Wadt: A Guide To School Grades … Real Or Noise?

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By BILL WADT
Los Alamos

The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) just released the grades for all of the schools in the State. Gov. Susana Martinez advocated for a simple grading system, similar to the one used in Florida, to improve communication with parents and other community members as to how well your local school is doing with a focus on student proficiency in reading and math. That was a very good idea. 

The next question is how do you measure student proficiency in a way that allows you to compare performance from school to school, district to district, and state to state? The Read More