As a citizen of the State of New Mexico who has watched both parties in this state’s deeply dysfunctional so-called Government for decades, I question huge portions of what I’m hearing and seeing in the mainstream media’s coverage of recent events.
Thank goodness for independent media outlets, because they seem to be willing to seek out the actual truth behind events, and to report situations in ways that sound far more plausible than the counter-intuitive drivel and nonsense that citizens are tired of seeing pushed by “The Usual Suspects” within the overall US news reporting business.
Do I personally believe that the National Guard may end up operating within ABQ’s or NM’s borders at some future point? Yes. Do I believe that the officials who are currently taking credit for that type of change asked for anything like those changes to take place? No! Sorry, but I can’t believe that actually happened. Logic makes me wonder out loud if various officials ever asked for the National Guard? Or if various officials are trying to save face: to protect themselves by taking credit for things that were forced upon them?
Are we citizens really supposed to unquestionably accept that the personalities and track records of certain high-ranking Public Figures in New Mexico are suddenly changing? For example, the contrasting and conflicting “Word Salad” of ideas that tell us this State’s Governor suddenly wants the National Guard to come to ABQ – while at the same time, not looking or even remotely acting like they’re the National Guard? Huh? While not wearing their usual and customary uniforms? Or using their own marked vehicles? And not carrying any kinds of weapons? Huh? None of that makes any consistent sense. It sounds more like trying to sabotage an “Intervention” that’s being forced upon ABQ!?
Are we citizens supposed to believe that ABQ’s current Mayor truly wants things like the National Guard to be present in the city he’s in charge of? To me, he looked massively scared when he was up at the podium, when this was first announced – like it was not his idea for any of that stuff to be happening. It looked more like it was the last thing that man would ever want! For an encore, will he try to convince NM’s cynical citizens that it’s a great idea for officials to support external and far reaching RICO Act investigations into whether or not multiple former NM State Auditors ever did their jobs in the way that citizens would have wanted them to – that is, for NM’s State Officials to have jealously defended every dollar of taxpayer’s funds? Instead of ignoring acres of Red Flags?
Are we citizens really supposed to believe, beyond any reasonable doubt, that despite all of the “DWI Enterprise” findings against Law Enforcement Officers who once worked for multiple troubled agencies in NM, and all of the officers whose credibility in court is no longer a thing, that any individual or group within ABQ’s overall Law Enforcement community suddenly desires groups as powerful as the National Guard to be lurking in or around Albuquerque? Huh? And to be doing it for many months? Really? Sorry, but some citizens have brains that function, so we’re not buying any part of the idea that Badge Wearers in or around ABQ would welcome any type of outside scrutiny. Sorry, but we citizens earned our rights to be cynical over far too many years! Has APD been totally peachy keen with the idea of the DOJ looking over their shoulders? Or has it looked more like APD has been squirming under external scrutiny all of this time?
News Flash! From the point of view of the public, the moment the Powers That Be at APD decided it was a six-figure necessity to hire a Chief Gas Lighting Officer, whose job duties apparently include being a rude and snarky social media bully, while attempting to deflect blame away from governmental under-performers and onto serial victims of crime, was probably when Outside Authorities decided your organizations were overdue for additional interventions – such as but not limited to sending in the National Guard.
Some citizens in NM can think critically, and observe closely, so we do not believe that the National Guard showing up was planned by any of NM’s high-ranking officials. This citizen feels it’s insulting to the public’s intelligence that tales like those are even being floated. NM can run such stories up a flagpole all they want, but we won’t be saluting it.
What would convince citizens like myself that those NM Public Figures, or ones like them, were truly the sources of requests for a National Guard presence in this state?
Maybe a well-established track record of those officials having repeatedly done things like trying to get this state’s “Tort Claims Act” abolished and thrown out, on the grounds that it has always been unconstitutional. Or if those officials had long questioned why the Municipal League even exists – because that agency looks to many cynical citizens like it’s another added layer of protection for a very sick Status Quo. And while I’m raising questions: if the NMSIF did not exist and most cities in this state had to go to for-profit companies for all of their insurance needs, could any municipality afford to pay the rates that for-profit insurance adjusters would claim make it worth that company’s risks?
While I’m okay with believing that this state needs as much independent, high-level, well-funded, external oversight as New Mexico’s citizens can obtain, I do not buy into the odd notion that foxes who have long gotten away with guarding henhouses, would ever ask, let alone demand, that any of their self-serving situations should change.
Political Animals tend to be very consistent – right up until they are not. For some of us, it’s easier to believe that experienced Political Animals will say whatever occurs to them on any given day, in attempts to retain their income, their position, and/or their status.
If NM’s elected officials believe they have public support, testing that theory would be very easy: simply put “None Of These Persons” on every ballot, to find out how much faith and trust we citizens actually have in the officials we continue to be stuck with.
Your mileage may vary, but for these reasons (and others) I personally find it hard to believe that the same Public Figures who have recently claimed it was their idea to ask the National Guard to show up in this state were actually the powerful entities who put those plans into motion. I believe that grown-ups, above them, may be forcing oversight? If that’s the case, that’s one of the first signs of hope I’ve seen in many years, or could imagine, which implies there may be some hope for fixing this state’s many problems.
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In the end it’s on Keller, he ran on beefing up APD to 1200-1400 officers and he didn’t and flat out probably just didn’t want to or it would have been done, so him assuring everyone that soldiers won’t even be armed or in uniform is a cowardly way to pass the buck.
This piece is garbage, please stick to reporting and leave the brainwashing to the politicians and fake news.
A wonderful and depressing editorial about NM and ABQ.
A few statistics highlight how bad it is and why it is:
1. In the 1930 census, our neighbor Arizona’s population was just 12,000 larger than NM (435,000 to 423,000). Today, it’s 5.2 MILLION larger (7.3 million to 2.1 million) Why did NM experience such anemic population growth compared to AZ over the last 90 years?
2. the last time Republicans held a majority in both houses of the NM Legislature at the same time was 1930, and the last time Republicans held a majority on the NM Supreme Court was in the 1920s. Our Court of Appeals was formed in 1966 and has NEVER had a Republican majority.
3. NM has the worst ranked public school system in the U.S. The NM Coalition for Literacy estimates that an astonishing 46% of all New Mexicans over the age of 16 are functional illiterates https://nmcl.org/literacy-facts/
4. After nearly 90 years of single party Dem rule, NM has an enormous welfare population and an enormous public sector work force. Those two groups, when combined, comprise over 50% of the electorate. Generally speaking those two groups are satisfied with the status quo and will continue to vote the Dems into office.
5. The most recent FBI crime statistics for 2023 indicate that NM has both the highest rate of violent crime and property crime, per capita, in the US. Among NM’s five largest city, Albuquerque is the most dangerous city. Albuquerque’s number of crimes far outpace those of El Paso, even though El Paso has 120,000 more residents.
6. One can’t blame Republicans or independents for the current state of affairs in NM as neither has had any significant role in governing the state for most of the last 90 years.
Thank You!
Right on point have lived here in NM since 1954 I’m considering moving out of state if my fellow New Mexicans keep voting for the same BS
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For standing up and saying what way too many people in this city believe but are afraid to say! I am in total agreement with you and do not believe our higher powers to be were behind any of the decisions to get our beautiful city back in order for us to be able to enjoy!! If they were, they would’ve fought to get the laws of this city changed and stronger penalties instead of all of the wrist slapping that is going on, just to allow the violators back out on the streets.
I agree 100%
Too long. I’m not reading all that. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Wrap it up using memes.