1-7 Tsunamis

SANTA FE – The Southeast Asia tsunami is a reminder of the awesome power of Mother Nature that dwarfs any mayhem we are able to inflict on each other.
While we worry about al-Qaida attacks, North Korean missiles and weapons that Iraq might have had, Mother Nature hiccups and hundreds of thousands of human beings perish and millions are left homeless.
Scientists estimate the destructive force of that event equaled a million atomic bombs of the type we dropped on Japan – inflicting the most destruction humans have ever caused. We also are told the planet’s rotation was jolted, causing it to wobble a bit.
That jolt was felt halfway around the world in New Mexico. Seismologists at New Mexico Tech in Socorro say the 9.0 earthquake knocked their instruments off the scale to the point that they couldn’t tell where the peaks were or how big they were.
Although the quake was one of the four biggest in the past century, the ocean waves it created were much more destructive. Let’s face it, living near water is much more dangerous than living up here in the high desert. Most loss of life and destruction of personal property comes from water-related catastrophes.
Forest fires are probably our biggest danger here. We have some earthquake zones that haven’t given us any trouble, some flooding in the summer from mountain thunderstorms, and a modest tornado occasionally. Our only impact from hurricanes is a soaking rain. Tidal waves and tsunamis we don’t have to worry about.
Since the birth of the human race, large bodies of water always have been an attraction, For many good reasons, population has clustered around them. But it’s also the most dangerous place to live. Those fearing terrorist attacks would be smart to move inland because the possibility of death by water is much greater than death by terrorists.
And what self-respecting terrorist would want to spend much energy ravaging the sparsely-populated heartland? We should probably all give ourselves a big pat on the back for our foresight in living where we do.
Remember all those meteor disaster movies a few years back? The meteors always crashed into big cities, usually New York, although one did hit Phoenix. With two-thirds of the planet covered by water, it is much more likely a meteor would plunge into the ocean, causing tsunamis on every surrounding coast and much more devastation than if it landed on a big city.
The coming of the new year always seems to bring prophecies of an approaching Armageddon. Actually many Democrats began fearing that way back on November 3. Expect to hear that the flooding was the final sign that the end is coming or is a punishment for the affected countries.
We are hearing much about the tremendous need for aid to countries around the Bay of Bengal, a popular tropical destination for winter tourists from northern Europe. Hundreds of tourists are missing from Germany and every Scandinavian country.
But we are hearing very little about the devastated countries on the east coast of Africa. They were hit hard too, but don’t have the media coverage or political clout of Southeast Asia and so may not receive commensurate aid.
The world will be watching who comes to the aid of which countries and with how much help. The United States and others of the world’s richest nations already have been criticized for being pikers with our financial donations. Watch for our $35 million to be compared with our daily spending in Iraq and with the cost of the Jan. 20 presidential inaugural.
Speaking of the president, he has been roundly criticized for taking four days to publicly express his sympathy for the people and countries that are suffering. That will provide our detractors with much ammunition.
This was one of the world’s great disasters. Its impact will be felt for years in ways we have not yet imagined.

The Battle of Bataan Begins

SANTA FE Gen. MacArthur had nearly 80,000 troops on Bataan, but only 27,000 were trained soldiers – 15,000 Americans and 12,000 Filipinos. The rest were untrained, ill-equipped locals.
Trained or not, those 80,000 had to be fed and so did the 26,000 civilians packed onto the peninsula. Food was trucked in from the other bases but much had to be left because of the urgency of staying one step ahead of the Japanese. Supplies quickly ran low.
On Jan. 5, everyone went on half rations. They also were short of ammunition, medicine, clothing, shelter, mosquito netting, vehicles and the gasoline to drive them. But morale was high. They were through retreating. They were ready to fight.
MacArthur sent a request for submarines to run the Japanese blockade. A few ancient vessels made it through. It was enough to spark hope among the embattled troops and enough to prove that a properly mounted operation could have broken the blockade.
But the decision in Washington still was to get Hitler first. And still, no one told MacArthur. Some military historians say I’m being too rough on Washington officials. They contend our forces simply didn’t have the strength to defend the Philippines and that soldiers in the field didn’t have the big picture. But we are telling their story here and this is the way they saw it.
On Jan. 9, the Battle of Bataan began. Initial Japanese thrusts failed. Once again, Gen. Homma had underestimated his enemy. But Japanese reinforcements and air bombardments began to take their toll. Across Bataan, our line of defense began to crack.
On Jan. 22, MacArthur ordered a pullback. The following day, Gen. Homma, desperate to end the Philippine campaign, began a series of amphibious landings to attack our forces from the rear.
But it didn’t work. Over the next three weeks, a series of furious battles pushed the Japanese back into the sea with tremendous losses. Gen. Homma was humiliated. The Japanese war plan had been phenomenally successful, except in the Philippines.
Of all Tojo’s commanders, only he had been halted. The disgraced Homma requested reinforcements and ordered a withdrawal to rest, regroup and await fresh men and arms.
Meanwhile, MacArthur too, was waiting for fresh men and arms. On Jan. 13, Philippine President Quezon had charged America with abandonment. Washington replied that thousands of troops and hundreds of planes were on their way.
On Feb. 8, with no relief for the Philippines in sight, President Roosevelt broadcast to the nation that thousands of planes were destined for Europe. The infuriated Quezon replied that he would request immediate Philippine freedom, and then surrender, disband the army and neutralize the Commonwealth.
Roosevelt’s response was a promise of immediate relief. He enjoined Quezon to remain on Corregidor and forbade MacArthur to surrender. MacArthur replied that he had no intention of surrendering. But Gen. George Marshall in Washington already was quietly suggesting to MacArthur that he evacuate, along with all officials.
Throughout the rest of February and March, conditions rapidly worsened. Food ran out and the troops had to live off the land. Since they were in a jungle, it wasn’t too bad for awhile. The desert-bred New Mexicans figured it was a natural for them. But before long, they had killed most of the animals and stripped most of the edible trees bare.
But they held on. They began calling themselves “the battling bastards of Bataan. Soon it became a chant:
We’re the battling bastards of Bataan;
No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam;
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces.
And nobody gives a damn.
Nobody gives a damn.
It caught on among the troops. But it got no further because it was embarrassing to Washington. Three years later, after we repulsed Hitler’s final big thrust at the Battle of the Bulge, the battling bastards of Bastogne were immortalized. And no credit was given to the men of Bataan.

Billy & Jackie

SANTA FE – News reports about the lawsuits over Jackie Spencer’s estate are exceeding the coverage of the Dow Jones heiress’ death in May 2003. They rekindle memories of her influence on Lincoln County politics and remind us of recent Lincoln County maneuverings.
Spencer and her husband Hugh Bancroft, Jr. moved to New Mexico in 1948, after he purchased a ranch near Capitan. Jackie had three children during the next five years. When her husband died in 1953, Jackie became the beneficiary of a very large estate, now valued at over $50 million.
The following year, she married Dr. A.N. Spencer, a Carrizozo physician. Jackie Spencer quickly became involved in charitable projects in the area. She built a community center and a golf course in Carrizozo and she sponsored ski programs for students from area school districts.
Her philanthropy was appreciated, but public officials say it came with strings. Although she had given her money to public bodies, she wanted a say in how it was spent.
That got her in many battles with town councils and school boards, which noted that when her money became a part of public funds, elected public officials would decide how it was spent. It also meant her money must be accounted for in local government budgets.
Fast forward a half-century to 2004, when three sheriffs from the area conducted a criminal investigation into whether Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid and how Billy got the gun with which he shot the first deputy sheriff in the Lincoln County Courthouse.
A fair amount of money appeared to be spent on the official investigation, but not out of public coffers. When public officials asked where the money was coming from, the sheriffs said it was private money so it didn’t have to be revealed.
This case differed from the Spencer situation because she gave her money to a public body, likely for tax purposes, and then wanted some control over how it was spent. The private money used by the sheriffs didn’t come from checks written to a public body, thus they contended, it didn’t have to be reported or tracked.
It seemed to me there was a need for more sunshine on the process. But the sheriffs stuck to their guns and the attorney general was of no help in clarifying the situation.
Possibly what the sheriffs did was technically legal. But it still bothers me that an official criminal investigation can be conducted totally with private money. That was the sort of thing that happened in Billy the Kid’s time, when the Santa Fe Ring, a cabal of lawyers, politicians, judges and law enforcement officers ran the state, including Lincoln County.
Or maybe this was just a fun thing the sheriffs had going on the side. Maybe they just wanted to help tourism in the area and get a little notoriety for themselves. They did succeed in getting a History Channel program produced on Billy, although its main theme seemed to be to question the circumstances of his death and burial.
Silver City is now promoting the Billy legend, which it never did before. The sheriffs say tourism has increased in Billy the Kid Country, but a state Tourism Department study disagrees. And Lincoln’s Wortley Hotel, as we reported recently, has closed.
The effort to dig up Billy and his mother for a DNA match was misguided. DNA science can’t handle remains that old. A failure would have put in doubt the Fort Sumner and Silver City grave sites and shot a hole in the Billy legend.
A public poll by True West magazine showed respondents favoring exhumation, but the towns of Fort Sumner and Silver City had to fight it. They own the cemeteries and history is on their side.
That’s not to say everyone in Fort Sumner and Silver City opposed exhumation. A few weeks after Fort Sumner officials presented Billy the Kid bolo ties to the leaders of the anti-exhumation movement, the three sheriffs were presented with Billy belt buckles, reportedly by someone in Fort Sumner.

Christmas 1941

SANTA FE – On Dec. 22, 1941, after two weeks of Japanese naval and air bombardment, the full-scale land invasion of the Philippines began.
Two large forces landed on the northern and southern coasts of Luzon and began a giant pincers move to converge on Manila, where the Japanese expected Gen. MacArthur to concentrate his forces. But MacArthur had other ideas.
The general’s strategy was to fight delaying actions while his main troops retreated to the Bataan Peninsula across Manila Bay. From there and Corregidor, an island sitting at the entrance of Manila Bay, he would “cork the bottle of Manila Bay” until reinforcements arrived.
By Christmas Eve, the Army Air Force headquarters was evacuating to Australia and the Naval headquarters was headed to Borneo. Traffic began to surge toward Bataan like a tidal wave.
The 515th, composed of New Mexico guardsmen, was ordered to protect the vital bridges over which all northbound traffic had to pass into Bataan. The 200th, also composed of New Mexico guardsmen, protected the bridges for all southbound traffic headed onto Bataan.
The orders were to have everyone onto Bataan by 6 a.m. New Year’s Day. For a week, the two undermanned, thinly-stretched anti-aircraft regiments held off the Japanese aircraft.
A few well-placed bombs could have ended everything, but our troops successfully held all bridges and major crossroads. The 515th chalked up thirteen confirmed hits, the 200th, twenty-three. For this and subsequent actions, the New Mexico regiments would one day receive the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations.
Besides the American and Philippine troops and equipment, there were refugees. The civilian populace fled along with the armies. The traffic jams stretched for miles, completely exposed to attack from planes overhead.
But the Japanese planes had orders to strafe and bomb Manila. Japanese Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, still intent on taking Manila, had not yet figured out MacArthur’s strategy.
At 6:15, on New Year’s morning, the order came to blow up the bridges. The New Mexicans had accomplished their mission. MacArthur’s army was safe and intact for the moment, with deep rivers between it and the advancing enemy.
The general was optimistic, confident that his detailed knowledge of the peninsula would offset Japanese superiority in weapons and numbers. And Washington was still reassuring him that reinforcements were on the way.
On Jan. 2, Gen. Homma entered Manila and began to realize his miscalculation. But he still figured the troops on Bataan were merely the weak remnants of a disorderly flight and a chaotic rout.
In reality, it was a masterful withdrawal. American and Filipino forces had gained the strongest defensive position on the island, blasting 184 bridges behind them. The peninsula was a natural fortress. It was a well-chosen bulwark and MacArthur knew the terrain intimately.
The withdrawal had fooled the Japanese completely. They thought the Americans were cowards at the time, but later came to realize it was a great strategic move.
The New Mexico troops shared MacArthur’s optimism. The holiday season is never a good time for troops engaged in battle. But MacArthur had a plan, and it was a good one. Prospects were good for holding out until the promised reinforcements arrived.
They drove stakes, stretched barbed wire and planted mines. They dug gun emplacements and foxholes. And where they lacked shovels and picks, they dug with bayonets and scooped with helmets. They were ready for the enemy. Bring him on.
The Battle of Bataan was about to begin.
Once every two weeks, we will continue the story of the brave New Mexicans in the South Pacific, during World War II, culminating with victory in August 2005, the 60th anniversary of that event.
This part of the story is taken mostly from the award-winning book, “Beyond Courage,” by Dorothy Cave of Roswell. It’s a great read.

NM Leads in Space

SANTA FE – A commercial space flight bill, passed in the final minutes of the recently-adjourned Congress, has Gov. Bill Richardson very excited.
The governor says the legislation is designed to help promote the emerging commercial space flight industry by putting it on a more solid regulatory footing. Since New Mexico is very much a leader in that cutting-edge industry, it is a real victory.
Personally, I’m not sure how much “solid regulatory footing” we really need. We were already doing quite well, having attracted the X Prize Cup competition, and thereby, the attention of numerous space-related businesses without having the regulation the governor is so happy about.
But Richardson thinks the government regulation amounts to a federal acknowledgement that private space flight is now legitimate, and thus, the communities now recruiting space business can be off and running. Communities mentioned by Richardson are the counties of Sierra, Otero, Dona Ana and Chaves.
The Governor’s Office also announced it will introduce legislation in the upcoming session to establish the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. It probably will issue regulations too. New Mexico currently has an Office of Space Commercialization that encourages space-related development. Peter Mitchell is the latest in a long list of directors of that agency.
We also have learned that the X Prize event to be held next summer at White Sands Missile Range will be called a Public Spaceflight Exposition and will be a week-long event. X Prize Cup competition will begin in the summer of 2006, when it is expected other companies will be ready to provide some competition for Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne that captured the $20 million X Prize this year.
New Mexico hopes to have its Southwest Regional Spaceport, adjacent to the missile range, ready for that competition, which also will run a full week.
Meanwhile, almost next door, Holloman Air Force Base, in Alamogordo, celebrated the 50th anniversary of Col. John P. Stapp’s first rocket sled ride. The sled was fired down a 3,500-foot track, reaching a top speed of 632 miles per hour in 5 seconds and then slamming to a stop in 1.4 seconds, sustaining a deceleration force of 43 Gs.
The test earned the Air Force doctor the title of the fastest man on earth. He took 29 of those rides over the next two years, providing engineers the data necessary design crash protection for automobiles, aircraft and space vehicles. The sled is now on display at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo. Last week’s reenactment used a dummy.
Also in space news, Congress included the full amount requested by President Bush in the gigantic appropriation bill passed last month. The president requested more than $2 billion to begin implementation of his ambitious space-exploration program that would result in moon bases and manned exploration of Mars.
Unlike the commercial space plan, which will move quickly and with an eye on costs, the federal program is projected at hundreds of billions of dollars and to take 30 years. Burt Rutan may make it to Mars before NASA.
In a rare display of global mindedness, the president is seeking foreign partners for his project in order to cut costs and avoid needless duplication of effort. Seventeen countries were convinced to send representatives to a planning conference in Washington last week. How much participation in decision-making Bush is willing to give other countries may determine their willingness to join the effort.
At present several countries already are working on a space program. These include the European Space Agency, Japan, India and China, all of which have designs for moon bases.
Many in the scientific community do not share NASA’s enthusiasm for manned space flights. They believe too many resources are devoted to using astronauts to do jobs robots can do better. They would rather see that money spent on basic research.

Fighting About Cockfighting

SANTA FE – As predicted here last month, the war on cockfighting has escalated.
In late October, former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson wrote Gov. Bill Richardson -- with copies to the media -- warning him that Hollywood is watching and suggesting that film companies may not want to do business with a barbaric state that permits cockfighting.
Since then, former Golden Girl Rue McClanahan visited Santa Fe and held a rally on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. And now, the Humane Society of the United States is weighing in.
Last week, Wayne Pacelle, head of the national organization that claims 8 million members, visited Santa Fe to meet with reporters and legislators. “We really believe that 2005 will be the end of legal cockfighting in New Mexico,” Pacelle said.
His organization was very active in ending cockfighting in Oklahoma two years ago. That leaves New Mexico and Louisiana as the only two states where the practice is still legal. Both will be targets next year, and reportedly New Mexico is in the bull’s eye.
Gov. Richardson is still officially undecided on the issue, but says he is reacting negatively to the implied threats form Hollywood types, which he calls “condescending and insulting.”
Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, of Las Cruces, announced last week she will introduce legislation to ban the practice. Garcia recently was re-elected majority whip in the Senate, so her clout will be felt. Sen. Steve Komadina, a Corrales Republican, who carried the Senate version of a cockfight ban last year, announced earlier that he will do so again this time.
Sen. Garcia, also has introduced cockfighting legislation previously. Usually once is enough for any lawmaker. Most end up shaking their head in amazement, saying they never knew they had so many cockfighting constituents.
Often it is an unsuspecting first-year lawmaker, whom animal rights groups convince to introduce their legislation. Those who have been around to witness a cockfighting debate know it is somewhat overwhelming for the sponsor.
It isn’t that the bill’s opponents are threatening, but there are so many of them and they feel so deeply that cockfighting is part of a family heritage they don’t want destroyed. One report estimates there are 10,000 game fowl breeders in New Mexico. That seems high, except when sitting in a committee hearing room with them.
Another recent addition to the effort to ban cockfighting is Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez. He says it doesn’t help his efforts to attract high-tech companies when cockfighting arguments are being bandied about in the news. Chavez calls cockfighting “knife fights with roosters.”
Chavez argues that cockfighting has nothing to do with Hispanic culture and that he cringes when he hears that claim. Some cockfighters, however, believed it strongly enough that they claimed it is protected by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which pledged to allow the traditions of the Mexican people annexed by the United States to continue. New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, however, opined that the treaty didn’t go that far.
Maybe cockfighting is not a legitimate part of Hispanic heritage, but it is a rural tradition. I grew up in a rural community where there was plenty of it happening out on the farms. Those people were my friends and many still are. And they are the best people you’ll ever meet.
I spend quite a bit of time discussing biennial cockfighting controversies in our Legislature because they are very much a part of New Mexicana, more than most people realize – until a 60-day legislative session rolls around.
Gov. Richardson says he doesn’t think the subject merits the attention it receives and it distracts from more serious issues affecting our state. That may sound as though he would like to ban cockfighting in order to get it out of the way.
But cockfighting opponents had better not get Big Bill too riled up.

SNAFUS

SANTA FE – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may not give as many pep talks to our troops in the future. Or if he does, he’ll want to screen out reporters planting questions.
Past appearances before the troops by the Defense secretary and President Bush have been heavily-engineered love-ins. But when a Tennessee newspaper reporter helped a courageous enlisted man phrase a question that was in the minds of many soldiers, a national uproar ensued.
It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Will all convoy vehicles now be equipped with armor at the factory? Will factories be allowed to produce at capacity? Will the patriotism of the press be questioned once more? Will the reporter or soldier suffer retaliation? Or will we learn that the controversy over unarmored vehicles is overblown and everything is really OK?
Rumsfeld obviously was unnerved by the question. His eventual statement that “You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have,” sounded like a slap at the Tennessee National Guard and Reserve soldiers who comprised most of the audience.
The Pentagon has insisted that the Army it has is all it needs and that more troops are not necessary. The White House chose the time it would go to war. It knew what kind of Army it had and what kind of equipment. And it keeps insisting that it isn’t surprised by what is happening. So it must accept responsibility for what is occurring in the field now.
This isn’t the first time the United States has blundered into war unprepared. The current situation bears many resemblances to what was happening 63 years ago when our nation entered World War II.
Those who have been following this column’s series on the New Mexico National Guard in the Pacific Theater in 1941 have read that we entered that war unprepared, despite Hitler having ravaged Europe for over three years and Japan doing the same in the Pacific.
In fact, we were much more unprepared than we are this time. And we were fighting a much bigger enemy then. Our troops face a very unpleasant situation, but conditions have been worse.
In 1941, our soldiers on all fronts were pretty disgusted. Except for airplanes, much of the equipment and ammunition were World War I leftovers as we went into battle around the world.
A word was coined by the troops that year that will forever be in our vocabulary. The acronym SNAFU means situation normal all fouled up, in sanitized language. My 11th Edition Webster’s says the word was first used in 1941 as a noun. By 1942, it also was being used as an adjective and in 1943 it became a transitive verb.
The moral to this story is that we aren’t very good at being prepared for war when we send troops into harm’s way. In World War II, we amazed everyone with the speed of our eventual mobilization. Roosevelt convinced Americans to make sacrifices. They accepted higher taxes, a rising national debt, scarcities and rationing.
In this war, mobilization hasn’t been as fast. And the nation hasn’t been asked to accept sacrifices, except a rising national debt. Otherwise, we’ve had tax cuts and have been urged to buy, buy, buy, thereby increasing personal debt, also.
Both wars dipped heavily into the National Guard and Reserves. When countries go into war unprepared, that’s usually what happens. National Guard units already are organized and have some degree of readiness. And reserves often have had previous experience.
One problem with sending National Guard troops into foreign wars is that the National Guard is intended to guard the nation. Sending them to another nation to fight a war requires some sort of declaration of a special circumstance. Presidents usually just go ahead and do it and Congress goes along with whatever is asked. But the legal grounds are probably a little shaky.

Find the Leakers, Not the Press

SANTA FE – Here’s a slant on the game of leaking of information that might not have occurred to everyone.
The nation currently is in an uproar over the possibility that the single-season Major League Baseball home run record, and soon the career record, will belong to a player who has admitted to taking steroids.
The focus currently is on how much drug testing the powerful players’ union is willing to allow. And soon the focus will shift to whether Barry Bonds should have an asterisk by his name in the record books, as was done to Roger Maris, when he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in a season that was eight games longer.
But there will be no focus on the lawbreakers who allowed us to know this information. The grand jury testimony of Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi was secret. They had both publicly denied taking steroids but thought this testimony was protected from public revelation.
Not that the information shouldn’t have gotten out. It should, through proper channels. But leaking of grand jury testimony has become very common, as have other governmental leaks of confidential information.
In this case, the leaks likely were engineered by prosecutors wanting to smear the subjects. We saw almost daily leaks during the Whitewater and its peripheral Lewinsky investigations, likely by a special prosecutor’s office wanting to smear the president.
Other leaks come from different governmental sources. Ongoing cases include blowing the cover of a CIA operative married to an ambassador who revealed information inconvenient to the White House and Wen Ho Lee’s request for information on who leaked false data to smear him during his prosecution.
Both the ambassador and Dr. Lee have asked the government to reveal the leakers and punish them. But it isn’t going to happen because it would expose misconduct by government officials.
The government’s solution in all these cases is to go after the reporters who received the information. In the case of leakers the government doesn’t want exposed, going after reporters diverts attention from the real crimes. And in the case of leaky culprits the government would like to find, the easiest way to get them is by threatening reporters with jail if they don’t reveal their sources.
Either way, reporters lose. Some sort of federal shield is needed to protect investigative reporters, because usually the information they uncover serves the public good. Leakers made possible revelations of government misconduct in such affairs as the C-5A swindles, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, Iran-Contra and countless cases of wrongdoing at state and local levels.
Some states provide protection for reporters who uncover government misbehavior. New Mexico doesn’t. A few years ago, a reporter for the Rio Grande Sun in Espanola spent some time in jail for not revealing a source. And that is often the solution. Throw reporters in the jug for awhile and don’t require them to bare their sources.
That is likely what will happen in the CIA exposure case. One or more reporters will spend a little time in jail and nobody will learn who blew the operative’s cover as revenge against her husband for telling an embarrassing truth. And millions in taxpayer dollars will have gone down the hole.
And it is very unlikely Wen Ho Lee will ever get the information he needs to bring his defamation case against the federal government. It was either the office of the U.S. attorney for New Mexico or the FBI, whose agents who questioned him at such length. The government is not going to want to incriminate either of those agencies.
The problem is with a government that loves to leak information, including false information, in order to gain an advantage against someone it is after, but finds it a capital offense for someone to leak information government leaders find embarrassing.
The public loses either way.

Punish the Leakers, Not the Press

SANTA FE – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may not give as many pep talks to our troops in the future. Or if he does, he’ll want to screen out reporters planting questions.
Past appearances before the troops by the Defense secretary and President Bush have been heavily-engineered love-ins. But when a Tennessee newspaper reporter helped a courageous enlisted man phrase a question that was in the minds of many soldiers, a national uproar ensued.
It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Will all convoy vehicles now be equipped with armor at the factory? Will factories be allowed to produce at capacity? Will the patriotism of the press be questioned once more? Will the reporter or soldier suffer retaliation? Or will we learn that the controversy over unarmored vehicles is overblown and everything is really OK?
Rumsfeld obviously was unnerved by the question. His eventual statement that “You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have,” sounded like a slap at the Tennessee National Guard and Reserve soldiers who comprised most of the audience.
The Pentagon has insisted that the Army it has is all it needs and that more troops are not necessary. The White House chose the time it would go to war. It knew what kind of Army it had and what kind of equipment. And it keeps insisting that it isn’t surprised by what is happening. So it must accept responsibility for what is occurring in the field now.
This isn’t the first time the United States has blundered into war unprepared. The current situation bears many resemblances to what was happening 63 years ago when our nation entered World War II.
Those who have been following this column’s series on the New Mexico National Guard in the Pacific Theater in 1941 have read that we entered that war unprepared, despite Hitler having ravaged Europe for over three years and Japan doing the same in the Pacific.
In fact, we were much more unprepared than we are this time. And we were fighting a much bigger enemy then. Our troops face a very unpleasant situation, but conditions have been worse.
In 1941, our soldiers on all fronts were pretty disgusted. Except for airplanes, much of the equipment and ammunition were World War I leftovers as we went into battle around the world.
A word was coined by the troops that year that will forever be in our vocabulary. The acronym SNAFU means situation normal all fouled up, in sanitized language. My 11th Edition Webster’s says the word was first used in 1941 as a noun. By 1942, it also was being used as an adjective and in 1943 it became a transitive verb.
The moral to this story is that we aren’t very good at being prepared for war when we send troops into harm’s way. In World War II, we amazed everyone with the speed of our eventual mobilization. Roosevelt convinced Americans to make sacrifices. They accepted higher taxes, a rising national debt, scarcities and rationing.
In this war, mobilization hasn’t been as fast. And the nation hasn’t been asked to accept sacrifices, except a rising national debt. Otherwise, we’ve had tax cuts and have been urged to buy, buy, buy, thereby increasing personal debt, also.
Both wars dipped heavily into the National Guard and Reserves. When countries go into war unprepared, that’s usually what happens. National Guard units already are organized and have some degree of readiness. And reserves often have had previous experience.
One problem with sending National Guard troops into foreign wars is that the National Guard is intended to guard the nation. Sending them to another nation to fight a war requires some sort of declaration of a special circumstance. Presidents usually just go ahead and do it and Congress goes along with whatever is asked. But the legal grounds are probably a little shaky.

Don't Rush Pre-Kindergarten

SANTA FE – Numerous meetings are being held around the state this month to consider Gov. Bill Richardson’s ambitious proposal for pre-kindergarten programs for four-year olds.
Gov. Richardson will ask the Legislature for nearly $10 million to get the programs started, but some lawmakers are asking whether New Mexico may be biting off more than it can chew at this time.
Requirements and sanctions contained in the No Child Left Behind Act have states scurrying to keep pace with constantly increasing standards for student achievement. One of the solutions to meet the rising goals is to bring children into the learning process earlier so they will test better.
But that solution has early childhood educators asking many questions. Some contend that since 90 percent of a child’s brain growth occurs between the ages of 0 and 5, that it isn’t very smart for 90 percent of public spending for children to be after age five.
Others ask whether it is academic education that children really need at these early ages while they still are developing. They argue that taxpayer money is better spent after children are ready for academic learning rather than pushing it on them before they are ready.
One of our children is a case in point. We put him in programs for three- and four-year-olds and then in kindergarten. But when he was age-ready for first grade, he still was not developmentally ready to sit for long periods of instruction. After another year of kindergarten, he caught up quickly and excelled academically throughout graduate and post-graduate education.
The main consideration seems to be whether the very high investment to add another grade to the school curriculum could be better spent strengthening education programs at higher grade levels. New Mexico already has spent many years phasing in kindergarten in all school districts and had to ask voters for additional money in last month’s election to finish building classrooms for all those students.
Think New Mexico, a think tank composed of leading residents of our state, worked hard for full-day kindergartens for all five-year-olds. It now is advocating for pre-kindergarten education and realizes that money is a major obstacle in reaching that goal.
The organization has issued a report suggesting how to pay for a pre-kindergarten grade level without raising taxes. It wants to re-allocate resources from administrative and support services into classrooms.
The recommendations are sound. New Mexico ranks last in the nation in the percentage of public education expenditures used for instruction. Think New Mexico proposes to remedy that by taking advantage of economies of scale through cooperative purchasing among districts and streamlining administrative duplication, restructuring of districts, revolutionizing energy efficiency, and re-engineering the state’s new Public Education Department.
The total amount of savings possible would be $95.8 million. The solutions involve much more of a centralized state school system. The tradition in New Mexico and the nation is for locally-controlled school districts.
In New Mexico, those districts are operated almost entirely on state money because of lawsuits requiring every student be backed by an equal amount of funding regardless of the financial resources of the district. New Mexico was a leader in education equity. All states will soon have equalization formulas similar to ours.
Eventually that may mean more state control and economies of scale. But it won’t come without a great amount of deliberation, controversy and pain.
And neither will pre-kindergarten education. While we are occupied with trying to find the money for this new grade level, perhaps it would be wise to talk a little longer about its effects and implementation, while monitoring the experience of other states that are starting down this road.
Early indications are that research results on the cost-benefit of this approach are unclear and that initial programs have resulted in many lawsuits. We don’t need school money being spent on legal disputes.

NM Blue Book

SANTA FE – The current New Mexico Blue Book, packed with new topics and new information, beats them all.
I usually get to give you a preview of what the new edition offers so you can be one of the first to order yours. But this time delays and administrative glitches delayed my copy until nearly the end of the biennial period it covers.
Nevertheless, the 2003-2004 edition of New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron’s Blue Book is another treasure. Although I have a rather extensive bookshelf of reference books on New Mexico, this one publication supplies me with probably 90 percent of the background material I use in writing this column.
When I ask myself where I might find a piece of information, I always first turn to the Blue Book, hoping there is a section with that information that I have neglected to notice. I’m often delighted to find it there. And when I don’t, I often call editor Kathy Flynn and suggest the new category of information.
This edition contains all the new departments created by Gov . Bill Richardson and all his new appointees. It also has the e-mail and Web addresses for its extensive lists of the people to know in and around state government. And just in time for my yearlong tribute to the New Mexico National Guard is an expanded National Guard section in the Blue Book.
In every edition, editor Kathy Flynn weaves a new theme among the section dividers of the Blue Book. This year it is prominent pioneer women of the state. Many of them were the first women to crack into the men’s worlds of politics, public service, business and science.
And some are a selection of the most colorful women of New Mexico’s past – women such as La Dona Tules, Mabel Dodge Luhan, the Harvey Girls and even Mildred Clark.
Why is a book containing information about state government called a Blue Book? The first known annual government report ever published was in 17th century England. It was printed on blue paper and thus became known as the Blue Book. The practice passed down through many countries and political subdivisions.
New Mexico’s Blue Books aren’t printed on blue paper but they almost always have blue covers. “Blue Book” may seem a very unimaginative title for an important government publication, but it isn’t the only case of an often-used document getting a nickname.
The federal government publication listing all appointive jobs, their qualifications and pay range, is called the Plum Book. It’s cover is a plum color, which may lend its name, however, the fact that it also lists the plum jobs in a new administration may have something to do with the name.
Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron puts a lot of effort into her Blue Books. Each year she adds some new information and deletes anything that is dated or hasn’t created much interest. And she welcomes your suggestions.
This is the third edition in which she has had a Trivia Section at the end of the book. She compiled the first set of trivia questions, herself. For the next edition, she asked editor Kathy Flynn to enlist some other longtime New Mexicans to make additions. Charlie Cullin, a former columnist for Inside the Capitol, and I were two of those she corralled. Over coffee at Tiny’s Restaurant, we came up with some great ones.
For this edition, Vigil-Giron asked for trivia suggestions from readers. I want to compliment all of you who sent suggestions because this expanded trivia Section is first-class. It could give you hours of pleasure and should be developed into a game. Vigil-Giron wants more trivia items suggested for the next edition. Call 800-477-3632, 505-827-3600 or 505-476-0353 with your ideas.
For a free copy of the Blue-Book, call the Secretary of State’s Office at 800-477-3632. If your address in-state, there is no charge for mailing.

1941 Attack on the Philippines

SANTA FE – Our New Mexico National Guard troops in the Philippines knew the Japanese attack was coming.
They saw the reconnaissance planes fly over every day, but had orders not to fire. Our reconnaissance planes saw the huge buildup on Formosa. Japan had captured everything to the north, including China. The Philippines were the last major obstacle on the way to Australia.
Our men just didn’t know when the attack was coming. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, it was about 4 a.m., on December 8, in the Philippines, on the other side of the International Date Line. The attack on the Philippines was planned for 8 a.m., but clouds over Formosa delayed it until noon.
That gave eight hours advance notice. During that time, rumors of the attack spread among various units of our troops, but they received no orders to mobilize. Some of the delay was attributed to sabotage.
Clark Field was a prime target of the air attack. Tommy Foy at his post was unable to get through to Clark Field. Neither could anyone else. The warning never got through. The planes and trucks, lined up with military precision made perfect targets for strafing runs.
Washington had not shared everything it knew with its military commanders in the Pacific, but many still wonder why Gen. MacArthur wasn’t better prepared for alerting his troops. The 200th Coast Artillery still hadn’t gotten all its guns and equipment unpacked. That task had to be finished under fire.
The story of the equipment was the same as before. It was either defective or outmoded. The ammunition was corroded and most of the shells were duds. As box after box was opened, our men realized that these were their rejects from Fort Bliss, where they had trained outside El Paso. Much of it was left over from World War I.
But despite only one out of 10 shells being good, they scored five confirmed hits the first day. Four years later, in a speech at Deming, Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright confirmed that that the 200th had been the first unit in the Philippines to fire on the enemy.
It didn’t take long for the competence of the New Mexico guardsmen, who comprised the 200th Coast Artillery, to be noticed. That first night, the undermanned 200th, too small to defend Clark Field, was split.
A third of the regiment was sent to Manila and christened as a new regiment, the 515th. It was America’s first war-born regiment, composed of only 500 men, instead of the usual 1,800. The following day, another 200 men were transferred to other units in need of their expertise. “The old 200th” was now down to only 1,100 men.
The equipment situation was just as bad in Manila as it had been at Clark Field. Nearly everything, including communications equipment, was World War I vintage. But our guys got everything working well enough to go into action within 24 hours of their arrival.
As our troops were approaching Manila on December 9, the Navy was pulling out, headed south to the Dutch East Indies. But reinforcements for our anti-aircraft units were on the way. Seven ships and a heavy cruiser were headed to Manila with planes, artillery and ammunition.
Later that day, however, Washington redirected the convoy to Australia and turned four troopships, bound for Manila, back to San Francisco. MacArthur was not told, nor was he informed of the secret Roosevelt-Churchill accord to “get Hitler first.” Instead Gen. George Marshall radioed him to “expect every possible assistance.”
On December 10, Japanese assault forces began landing, preparatory to a full-scale invasion, and Japanese bombers and fighters began massive assaults on air fields and Manila Bay.
And thus commenced a nightmarish four months, holding the line to disrupt Japan’s quick advance to Australia, and control of the entire Pacific.
In the coming weeks, we will follow our resourceful New Mexicans’ efforts to hold off an entire army.

Security Lines Shorter at ABQ?

SANTA FE – There may be hope that the Transportation Security Administration is cleaning up its act at the Albuquerque airport.
On Wednesday before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest air travel day of the year, TSA reports that no person had to wait longer than eight minutes and that the average wait was 2.5 minutes. That is much better than the 90-minute waits, and sometimes longer, many of us have had to endure on normal air traffic days.
TSA attributed the improvement to eleven management personnel working the lines and the addition of one extra lane. That’s a pretty big improvement for such a small tweak. Possibly the fact that cameras from Albuquerque television stations were on hand to film the expected disaster had something to do with the improvement.
Now that the TV cameras are gone, have the snake lines all over the upper and lower concourse also disappeared? Several readers have reported that the posts and ribbons weren’t present the last time they were through the airport.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman tells me he had a meeting with TSA officials in Washington a week after Thanksgiving and was assured the problems had been ironed out and that things are going very smoothly. The senator says that when he went through the airport after Thanksgiving, there were no lines.
TSA officials told Bingaman there is now new management in Albuquerque and that seems to have made all the difference.
A few months ago, Bingaman was caught in one of those 90-minute lines, after which he fired off a stormy letter to Washington TSA officials. Evidently the problem was solved just before the Thanksgiving crush and 15 additional screeners will be hired and trained before the Christmas season.
But just in case, TSA is recommending that passengers continue to allow 90 minutes to get through security. That sounds ominous. Maybe they still aren’t completely confident they have their problems solved. If you have a problem, please let this column know. You can also contact Sen. Bingaman’s regional office nearest you.
Obviously there have been times since TSA took over airport security that the wait at Albuquerque has not been bad. Bob Trapp, owner and publisher of the Rio Grande Sun in Espanola, says he has never had a problem in Albuquerque and named a few other airports around the country that are much worse.
My guess is that all airports have long waits at one time or another. The quality of management and employees is likely not to be too different anywhere. Poor training also is a problem. When employees aren’t sure how to handle an unusual situation, they likely will overreact because it has been drummed into their heads that anyone may be a terrorist. And they can’t profile.
The government’s strategy must be that harassing the taxpayers will make us feel our government is keeping us safe. The reality is that no amount of harassment or vigilance will prevent future terrorist acts. Some risks come with living in a free and open environment and they aren’t very big.
There is an extremely small risk that you may be the one affected, but we face many greater risks every day. For example, if you decide to avoid the long security lines and drive to your destination instead, your life is in much more danger than if you get on the plane.
The media is also at fault because threats of tragedy are big news. An “investigative” report on an Albuquerque TV station attempted to shock us with the news that Mesa Airlines, a small regional carrier, was not screening its passengers in Albuquerque.
TSA responded that because the threat level is so small, the screening isn’t warranted. Finally, a realistic assessment by TSA. But the Albuquerque TV station treated it as a horrible scandal it had uncovered and promised to stay on top of it.

Be Careful of Pork Stuffing

 

Trial Lawyers Take Legislature

SANTA FE – Trial lawyers are headed back to the top of the state legislative food chain after recent party caucuses to pick new leaders.
Following the departures of Raymond Sanchez and Manny Aragon from the top leadership posts in the New Mexico Legislature, trial lawyers found themselves out of control going into the recent party caucuses. But suddenly they are back working the levers of power.
Sanchez and Aragon, both trial lawyers, ruled their respective chambers with iron fists for many years. During that period, lobbyists for trial lawyers found it easy to guide desired legislation through the process and to defeat anything they didn’t like.
Then four years ago, Sanchez was defeated in his Albuquerque North Valley legislative district. Two months later, Rep. Ben Lujan, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, replaced Sanchez as speaker of the House.
On that same day, over in the Senate, Aragon suffered a surprise loss to retired educator, Richard Romero, for president pro tem of the Senate. At that point, trial lawyers were shut out of all 14 leadership positions in the Legislature. But in the late November party caucuses, they returned with a bang.
Trial lawyers now find themselves with colleagues serving as majority floor leaders of both the House and Senate. Both victories were a surprise to many Legislature watchers. Neither Rep. Ken Martinez nor Sen. Michael Sanchez had been in a leadership position before and both had stiff opposition.
Rep. Martinez, a Grants attorney, figured to be in a leadership position sooner or later. His father, Walter Martinez, was speaker of the House back when the Mama Lucy Gang took over in 1970. The elder Martinez groomed young Albuquerque attorney Raymond Sanchez to take his place someday.
And that he did. Sanchez frequently expressed his admiration for Martinez and his gratitude for the help he received while working his way up to leadership positions. Before becoming speaker, Sanchez was House majority floor leader.
When the younger Martinez was elected to his father’s former seat, Sanchez returned the favor by taking the rookie lawmaker under his wing and letting everyone know that Ken Martinez eventually would follow in his Dad’s footsteps to the speakers chair. Martinez took the first step by successfully challenging incumbent Rep. Danice Picraux for the majority leader’s slot.
In the Senate, Belen attorney Michael Sanchez beat out stiff opposition to become that chamber’s majority leader. And, yes, you guessed it. He is Raymond Sanchez’s brother. So even though the former speaker no longer is in the Legislature, there is a fair chance that he will have considerable influence at the Capitol.
Sen. Mary Jane Garcia of Las Cruces retained her majority whip position. She traditionally faces tough opposition, but comes out on top. Sen. Lidio Rainaldi of Gallup was elected Democrat caucus leader.
The Republican side of the Senate stayed steady as you go. Stuart Ingle of Portales retained the floor leader’s spot he’s held onto for several sessions. Sen. Lee Rawson of Las Cruces retained his Republican whip seat, also without opposition. Caucus Chair Dianna Duran of Alamogordo retained her position against a challenge from Sen. Sen. Steve Komadina of Corrales.
House Democrats picked Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque as their whip and retained Rep. John Heaton of Carlsbad as caucus chair
House Republicans retained Rep. Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque to lead them for another session. For many years, House Republicans used to change leadership every two years in an attempt to find someone whom they felt could stand up to Speaker Raymond Sanchez. They finally found that person in Hobbs. They also picked Reps. Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo as whip and Anna Crook of Clovis as caucus chair.
Sen. Ben Altamirano of Silver city was nominated by Democrats to run for president pro tem on opening day of the session. Republicans nominated Sen. Joe Carraro of Albuquerque. House Democrats nominated Rep. Ben Lujan of Nambe for speaker.

Trial Lawyers Take Legislature

SANTA FE – Trial lawyers are headed back to the top of the state legislative food chain after recent party caucuses to pick new leaders.
Following the departures of Raymond Sanchez and Manny Aragon from the top leadership posts in the New Mexico Legislature, trial lawyers found themselves out of control going into the recent party caucuses. But suddenly they are back working the levers of power.
Sanchez and Aragon, both trial lawyers, ruled their respective chambers with iron fists for many years. During that period, lobbyists for trial lawyers found it easy to guide desired legislation through the process and to defeat anything they didn’t like.
Then four years ago, Sanchez was defeated in his Albuquerque North Valley legislative district. Two months later, Rep. Ben Lujan, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, replaced Sanchez as speaker of the House.
On that same day, over in the Senate, Aragon suffered a surprise loss to retired educator, Richard Romero, for president pro tem of the Senate. At that point, trial lawyers were shut out of all 14 leadership positions in the Legislature. But in the late November party caucuses, they returned with a bang.
Trial lawyers now find themselves with colleagues serving as majority floor leaders of both the House and Senate. Both victories were a surprise to many Legislature watchers. Neither Rep. Ken Martinez nor Sen. Michael Sanchez had been in a leadership position before and both had stiff opposition.
Rep. Martinez, a Grants attorney, figured to be in a leadership position sooner or later. His father, Walter Martinez, was speaker of the House back when the Mama Lucy Gang took over in 1970. The elder Martinez groomed young Albuquerque attorney Raymond Sanchez to take his place someday.
And that he did. Sanchez frequently expressed his admiration for Martinez and his gratitude for the help he received while working his way up to leadership positions. Before becoming speaker, Sanchez was House majority floor leader.
When the younger Martinez was elected to his father’s former seat, Sanchez returned the favor by taking the rookie lawmaker under his wing and letting everyone know that Ken Martinez eventually would follow in his Dad’s footsteps to the speakers chair. Martinez took the first step by successfully challenging incumbent Rep. Danice Picraux for the majority leader’s slot.
In the Senate, Belen attorney Michael Sanchez beat out stiff opposition to become that chamber’s majority leader. And, yes, you guessed it. He is Raymond Sanchez’s brother. So even though the former speaker no longer is in the Legislature, there is a fair chance that he will have considerable influence at the Capitol.
Sen. Mary Jane Garcia of Las Cruces retained her majority whip position. She traditionally faces tough opposition, but comes out on top. Sen. Lidio Rainaldi of Gallup was elected Democrat caucus leader.
The Republican side of the Senate stayed steady as you go. Stuart Ingle of Portales retained the floor leader’s spot he’s held onto for several sessions. Sen. Lee Rawson of Las Cruces retained his Republican whip seat, also without opposition. Caucus Chair Dianna Duran of Alamogordo retained her position against a challenge from Sen. Sen. Steve Komadina of Corrales.
House Democrats picked Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque as their whip and retained Rep. John Heaton of Carlsbad as caucus chair
House Republicans retained Rep. Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque to lead them for another session. For many years, House Republicans used to change leadership every two years in an attempt to find someone whom they felt could stand up to Speaker Raymond Sanchez. They finally found that person in Hobbs. They also picked Reps. Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo as whip and Anna Crook of Clovis as caucus chair.
Sen. Ben Altamirano of Silver city was nominated by Democrats to run for president pro tem on opening day of the session. Republicans nominated Sen. Joe Carraro of Albuquerque. House Democrats nominated Rep. Ben Lujan of Nambe for speaker.

Don't Count Gov Out Yet

SANTA FE – Gov. Bill Richardson may look like dead meat, but don’t count him out just yet.
A great many prognosticators have been writing his epitaph ever since the Nov. 2 election when he failed to deliver the Hispanic vote by a wide enough margin to carry the state for Democratic nominee John Kerry.
But Richardson doesn’t knock out easily. He has bounced back with a flurry of activity. Picking up on dissatisfaction with vote-counting procedures, he has announced an ambitious election reform package as part of a packed legislative agenda that includes more tax cuts.
Sensing a desire on the part of Los Alamos National Laboratory employees to keep the University of California running the lab, he has flown to California to urge the Board of Regents to bid on the contract again. He has gone to Little Rock for the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center. And he is getting ready to plunge into his new responsibilities as chairman of the Democratic Governor’s Association.
Richardson also takes care to keep us reminded of national publications in which he appears. Last week, former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes mentioned our governor quite positively in Forbes magazine as someone who would have given Democrats more firepower on the national scene in the past election.
In a section titled, “Imagine: A Democratic Tax-Cutter,” Forbes mentioned Richardson’s tax cuts, his efforts to improve public schools, his aggressive pursuit of new businesses and his ability to turn ideas and goals into hard realities.
Richardson also reminded us that the state was cited earlier this year by the Wall Street Journal for an attractive and improving tax climate. The Journal article noted that New Mexico moved from 10th to 29th in the nation in the amount of tax burden.
Richardson’s endorsement of the University of California to continue its management of the Los Alamos lab came as a surprise to many. When he was degraded by Congress for security lapses at the lab, it was essentially the University of California that let him down as secretary of Energy.
But what Richardson saw in the recent presidential election convinced him that the way to Los Alamos voters’ hearts was through the University of California. Scared that a vote for President Bush was a vote for the University of Texas taking over the lab, somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand Republican votes that Bush normally could have expected, went to Sen. Kerry.
Richardson will be running again in two years and he hopes some of those Los Alamos voters will remember their gratitude to him for backing the University of California.
The president actually has given mixed signals about his support for the University of Texas taking over LANL management. The president is a major supporter of privatization and may likely prefer to see that bid go to private industry, as is the case with New Mexico’s other national lab at Sandia in Albuquerque.
Richardson should like that idea too because a private contractor would pay taxes, which the University of California does not. And Richardson needs all the extra money he can get for his tax cuts and new programs.
The governor’s election reform proposals also have some surprises. For instance, after seeing the public polls, he has indicated a willingness to work something out with Republicans on voter identification.
After New Mexico took so many knocks for its slow vote counting, Richardson jumped on that bandwagon and voiced his displeasure too. Last year, he appointed a bipartisan task force to study election law reform and make recommendations. But the committee’s effort melted down to not much of anything due to partisan bickering.
This time around, there is no time for a study committee so the governor has come up with seven major recommendations, which he will push in the 2005 Legislature beginning in January.

Trial Lawyers Take Legislature

SANTA FE – Trial lawyers are headed back to the top of the state legislative food chain after recent party caucuses to pick new leaders.
Following the departures of Raymond Sanchez and Manny Aragon from the top leadership posts in the New Mexico Legislature, trial lawyers found themselves out of control going into the recent party caucuses. But suddenly they are back working the levers of power.
Sanchez and Aragon, both trial lawyers, ruled their respective chambers with iron fists for many years. During that period, lobbyists for trial lawyers found it easy to guide desired legislation through the process and to defeat anything they didn’t like.
Then four years ago, Sanchez was defeated in his Albuquerque North Valley legislative district. Two months later, Rep. Ben Lujan, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, replaced Sanchez as speaker of the House.
On that same day, over in the Senate, Aragon suffered a surprise loss to retired educator, Richard Romero, for president pro tem of the Senate. At that point, trial lawyers were shut out of all 14 leadership positions in the Legislature. But in the late November party caucuses, they returned with a bang.
Trial lawyers now find themselves with colleagues serving as majority floor leaders of both the House and Senate. Both victories were a surprise to many Legislature watchers. Neither Rep. Ken Martinez nor Sen. Michael Sanchez had been in a leadership position before and both had stiff opposition.
Rep. Martinez, a Grants attorney, figured to be in a leadership position sooner or later. His father, Walter Martinez, was speaker of the House back when the Mama Lucy Gang took over in 1970. The elder Martinez groomed young Albuquerque attorney Raymond Sanchez to take his place someday.
And that he did. Sanchez frequently expressed his admiration for Martinez and his gratitude for the help he received while working his way up to leadership positions. Before becoming speaker, Sanchez was House majority floor leader.
When the younger Martinez was elected to his father’s former seat, Sanchez returned the favor by taking the rookie lawmaker under his wing and letting everyone know that Ken Martinez eventually would follow in his Dad’s footsteps to the speakers chair. Martinez took the first step by successfully challenging incumbent Rep. Danice Picraux for the majority leader’s slot.
In the Senate, Belen attorney Michael Sanchez beat out stiff opposition to become that chamber’s majority leader. And, yes, you guessed it. He is Raymond Sanchez’s brother. So even though the former speaker no longer is in the Legislature, there is a fair chance that he will have considerable influence at the Capitol.
Sen. Mary Jane Garcia of Las Cruces retained her majority whip position. She traditionally faces tough opposition, but comes out on top. Sen. Lidio Rainaldi of Gallup was elected Democrat caucus leader.
The Republican side of the Senate stayed steady as you go. Stuart Ingle of Portales retained the floor leader’s spot he’s held onto for several sessions. Sen. Lee Rawson of Las Cruces retained his Republican whip seat, also without opposition. Caucus Chair Dianna Duran of Alamogordo retained her position against a challenge from Sen. Sen. Steve Komadina of Corrales.
House Democrats picked Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque as their whip and retained Rep. John Heaton of Carlsbad as caucus chair
House Republicans retained Rep. Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque to lead them for another session. For many years, House Republicans used to change leadership every two years in an attempt to find someone whom they felt could stand up to Speaker Raymond Sanchez. They finally found that person in Hobbs. They also picked Reps. Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo as whip and Anna Crook of Clovis as caucus chair.
Sen. Ben Altamirano of Silver city was nominated by Democrats to run for president pro tem on opening day of the session. Republicans nominated Sen. Joe Carraro of Albuquerque. House Democrats nominated Rep. Ben Lujan of Nambe for speaker.

Presidential Libraries

SANTA FE – We now have 12 presidential libraries, each one grander and costlier than its predecessor. That means the Clinton Presidential Center, in Little Rock, tops them all, at $165 million, 300,000 square feet, and 80 million presidential items.
You paid for much of that, just as you paid for the previous libraries. But it’s not all money down the drain. These are 12 impressive museums, six for Democrats and six for Republicans, so no one should get partisan hackles up over that.
Jeanette and I have been to most of them and intend to get to the rest. Historians get a little edgy about all the self-promotion, excessive adoration and unmitigated praise, considering we are a democracy founded on the disavowal of kings.
But for those of us in the general public, they are quite an experience. I’m sure we all enter them well aware that we will receive that president’s slant on the events of his term and are prepared to filter that information just as we would treat presidential campaign ads.
If the Clinton Center sounds as though it would be too much for you, a Counter Clinton Center is planned for just down the street, courtesy of the folks that were after him throughout his two terms. Since they didn’t receive any federal funding for their museum, its opening has been delayed.
Some think it was more than coincidence that the Clinton Center opened just two weeks after a Democratic presidential candidate had lost an election and the party was looking for someone to rescue it. Hillary was featured prominently during the opening ceremonies and in the exhibits.
The opening of the center had been scheduled for November 2004 since early in the planning phase, but that doesn’t mean the Clintons didn’t have this in mind. It might also be noted that the Bush Presidential Library and Museum prominently features his son, George W. Wouldn’t it be something if the 2008 presidential race featured Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush? The clash of two dynasties.
Meanwhile Hillary has to win re-election to her Senate seat in 2006 and Republicans are looking hard for the strongest challenger possible. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and current New York Gov. George Pataki are prominently mentioned as is former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Any of those pairings could be a prelude to a 2008 presidential match up.
Officially, these showcases are known as presidential libraries. The purpose is to safeguard presidential papers, which long were thought to be private property, and which for most presidents are scattered far and wide.
Franklin Roosevelt didn’t want that to happen to his papers, so he arranged for them to go to the government. Harry Truman followed suit and urged his friend Herbert Hoover to do the same. Thus, the official libraries begin with Hoover.
But now it is the museums that have grown to great importance. The last few presidents have added the word museum to their library. And Clinton has done them one better by calling his a center.
The next time you are traveling in the vicinity of a presidential library, think seriously about stopping. We have found each one to have a very special feel about it and lasting memories. I have never been able to find a list of all of them and their locations, so here is what I have compiled. Our favorite so far: the Reagan Library.
* Herbert Hoover – West Branch, Iowa
* Franklin Roosevelt – Hyde Park, New York
* Harry Truman – Independence, Missouri
* Dwight Eisenhower – Abilene, Kansas
* John Kennedy – Dorchester, Massachusetts
* Lyndon Johnson – Austin, Texas
* Richard Nixon – Yorba Linda, California
* Gerald Ford – Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Jimmy Carter – Atlanta Georgia
* Ronald Reagan – Simi Valley, California
* George Bush – College Station, Texas
* Bill Clinton – Little Rock, Arkansas