Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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“When I was 24 years old, I was pretty sure I had all the answers.” So said one of my dearest and, I think, wisest friends. He’s the kind of guy I always enjoy talking to, not least because in the midst of our “shooting the breeze” laughter, he always gives me something to think about. He’s lived a lot of life and taken both its deepest joys and most difficult sorrows with the kind of faith in God that I aspire to have myself. After making the statement, or confession,...
I’m glad I grew up before cell phones were so much of a thing. I think the pressure of having every moment, good or bad, recorded for the world to see would be too much. I already have a blooper reel, in my mind, of all the less-than-smart things I did as a kid. Sort of like having a personal “Ridiculousness” of missteps, trips, and fails. I’m not a fan of having my own photo taken to begin with, especially when it’s for something goofy. Growing up, I would turn out my grandm...
OK, Nikki Haley. Sing along with me, the Republican Party and the great Kenny Rogers: You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away, know when (NOT) to run. It’s long past time for you to drop out of the race for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. You’ve been called repeatedly and you’ve still got a losing hand. Donald Trump has humiliated your political butt in primaries across the U.S. But you still don’t know wh...
Wayne Moore may be best remembered as the coach who led the Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team for 22 seasons - from the fall of 1980 to the spring of 2002 - amassing an impressive 318-259 overall record. But for those of us who grew up in Roosevelt County in my era, he's also well-remembered as a towering gentle giant of a coach who oversaw the boys' teams at Melrose High School - but who also never failed to offer an encouraging word to any kid who needed...
In the days leading up to the primary election in New Hampshire, several voters received phone calls from a voice that sounded like and claimed to be President Joe Biden encouraging them to stay home on election day. It was the first well-publicized use of artificial intelligence in a dirty tricks political campaign, but it undoubtedly will not be the last. The New Mexico Legislature took action this session to get in front of the problem. House Bill 182, which awaits the governor’s signature, amends the Campaign Reporting A...
When is a four-day school week appropriate? The answer is simple: When it meets the educational needs of the students, when it is supported by parents and educators and the community. Why does it have to be so difficult, especially when it works? I have said on the House floor that New Mexico has a hard time dealing with prosperity. When we have an industry providing over 100,000 great jobs, creating billions of dollars of revenue, what does the Legislature do? It attacks, taxes, regulates and imposes anti industry...
What’s a liberty lover to do? Authoritarian government seems to be gaining by leaps and bounds. Again. Did humanity learn nothing over the past hundred years? This time authoritarian government is using captured corporations to crack down on liberty in ways it can’t usually get away with, at least in America, due to that pesky Constitution. Authoritarianism also uses the lies of “safety” and “national security.” A variety of tools, all leading to one miserable place. There is...
I try and avoid writing about Donald Trump, even though I voted for him twice. But sometimes you cannot avoid the elephant in the room, literally. As a preface, I have to admit that I understand why Trump is particularly upset these days. He has been the target of prosecutions that in most cases seem stretched to the legal limits and designed to influence an election. Liberals reject that premise and believe that Trump incited a riot, that he paid “hush money” to a porn sta...
As of today, six states and the Virgin Islands have held their primary elections or caucuses. Early voting for the much-touted Super Tuesday primaries has begun. Fifteen states and American Samoa will vote or caucus on March 5 to determine who will be candidates for the general elections in November. I can’t remember a time when Super Tuesday was this irrelevant. Both the Republican and Democrat candidates have been nominally selected, if not actually chiseled into stone. T...
I never visited the Dan Buzzard Memorial Law Library. And now I never will. The seven-decades-old building behind the Curry County Courthouse was demolished Wednesday morning to make way for a new magistrate court. I've always wondered about that odd little building – what's a law library? – and the man for whom it was named. While looking for those answers, I discovered one far more interesting: The building for more than 20 years was home to Clovis' first real public lib...
Months ago, I jotted down a few words about, well, fools. It was probably a foolish thing to do, likely motivated by my foolishly reading too much news. But here’s what I wrote. “We all at times play the fool. “Only a fool will install each of the bars of his own soul-cell by flaunting freedom for license, trading love for lust, parodying self-less patriotism with mindless populism, mocking virtue’s civility with soul-rot’s untamed tongue, confusing strong opinion with eternal...
The Democrats are trying to put Donald Trump in jail. The Republicans are trying to put Joe Biden in jail – along with the rest of his extended political crime family. Both sides think the only way they can win is by putting their opponent in jail. Is this what our beat up republic has to look forward to as we head for the election in November? The country is not just going to hell in a handbasket, it’s already there. I’m watching an invasion of illegal immigrants parad...
For years, I’ve been calling Donald Trump a snake-oil salesman, but that’s such an antiquated term. Then I heard about the line of shoes and cologne he’s now promoting, and now I’m thinking he’s a telemarketer. And, I must say, he’s good at it. I heard on NPR that his red, white, blue and gold sneakers are selling out. Like the Trump brand itself, they’re getting terrible reviews, but he manages to sell them to his salivating suckers anyway. Trump may be bringing down our democracy, but hey, he’s one of the best pitchmen o...
It should probably come as little surprise that a majority of American millennial and Generation Z women identify as liberal. A Gallup Poll released earlier this month indicated the ideological gap between men and women across various generations has increased over the past few years, and that young women today are much more liberal than young men. Some of their findings: • Women aged 18 to 29 are now 15 percentage points more likely to identify as liberal than men of the s...
I was mindlessly surfing the Internet the other day, looking up this and that, this person, that person and I wondered about Bobby “Big Deal” Thompson, a fellow I knew long ago and far away. Well, he’s dead, he died a few years ago. He was 74. I mostly remember Big Deal for his wedding on the radio. It was back in a little town tucked back in the hills and hollows of Appalachia’s coal country. Bobby was what some might call a “character.” He was loud, he was boisterous, he was funny. Bobby made money in the mobile home...
When the Persian king Cyrus the Great established his empire, he divided his holdings into territories or provinces called satrapies. A satrapy was ruled by a satrap who served as a viceroy to the king, but had significant powers of his own. In medieval Europe, satrapies eventually became referred to as vassal states. A vassal state had a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire. Vassal states are generally called client states today. If King Cyrus returned to the...
Much of the American public is understandably stirred up over the suspicious prison death of Putin’s critic, Alexei Navalny. Yet America’s anti-American prison industry is also filled with political prisoners. More than anywhere else in the world, by a wide margin. Including political prisoners like Ross Ulbricht. This doesn’t even count heroes like Julian Assange, held by other governments to appease the U.S. government. Or those heroes living under asylum in other count...
Two news stories last week proved New Mexico has a working class and a ruling class. One was about Santa Fe’s minimum wage, which will increase to $14.60 an hour March 1. That’s a bump of 57 cents an hour. The second story mentioned New Mexico lawmakers approving a bill titled “Legislative Retirement Changes.” A more accurate heading would be: “50% pension increase for sitting legislators.” Our citizen legislators do not receive a salary, so you might wonder how they qualify for pensions. They make the laws, and they have c...
I’ve always said I would never want to live in a community without a college or a university. The coming weekend provides several reasons why, with a “triple play” of fine arts offerings at Eastern New Mexico University: a heartwarming play, a beloved musical, and an afternoon symphony complete with a visiting conductor. First the play. The ENMU Theatre kicks things off Thursday evening with a one-act show called “Native Gardens.” Written by Karen Zacarías and directed b...
Flat tires. I don’t know anyone who enjoys them. Does anyone enjoy the raucous rumble of tire rubber flapping against the road and your vehicle’s fender wells? Do you relish the opportunity to make the suddenly crucial decision as to how long to glide your once-smooth-now-loudly-limping ride to a stop? You’re actually faced with more than a few decisions that could well be discussed a bit — but not when you have scant seconds to make them. It’s clear that you’re stopping bu...
Pay too much attention to the goings-on in Congress and you’d think our nation is broken. But focus your attention closer to home and you’ll see an altogether different picture. Take the New Mexico Legislature as an example. It just went through a whirlwind 30-day session and got plenty done, and not just for the special interests. The people of our state, both left and right, might actually benefit from our lawmakers’ recent actions. Altogether, 72 bills were passed and now await Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s signatu...
From the Duchess of Sussex and actress Meghan Markle to former Harvard President Claudine Gay to Vice President Kamala Harris, Black women have been the target of severe attacks in recent months. The most recent example are the distasteful comments made by Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas toward his colleague, Democrat Cori Bush of Missouri. Nehls, an acid-tongued conservative, took it upon his shamelessly arrogant self to refer to representative Bush as “loud” and “mo...
As Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, told the floor as debate over this year’s budget wrapped up: “You’re not a poor state. Quit telling other people you’re a poor state.” He’s right. New Mexico is not poor. But what about the people of New Mexico? Among the citizens poverty remains high. According to World Population Review, New Mexico has the third-highest poverty rate in the US. Crime remains troubling and the education system is in dire straits. The state of New Mexico -- me...
I used to save notes I found on the street, on the sidewalk, tucked away in something. I was going to write something, maybe a short story or something, about them one day, but I didn’t. I did write about a few of them. For instance, the love note I saved after finding it in the street a few years ago. At least I think it’s a love note. “Hi Boo! Wot u been? 2 me nuthin. Just chillin –n- thinking bout u so bored. Miss u yo bad (redacted) is green. Did u tell Cheldra sumthin bout Keyshawn –n- dnt let Nekeyla read our notes cuz...
After 31 years of providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities, Konnie Kanmore has learned that sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that make the largest impacts. Kanmore is executive director of Absolutely You, a Portales-based organization with branches in Hobbs and Roswell, with a mission of providing “community, support, and assistance residentially and vocationally to individuals with developmental disabilities.” Kanmore contacted me recently askin...
