Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The next four years are going to be especially tough for MSNBC’s Joy Reid. The always angry host of “The ReidOut” has spent the last four years ranting about Donald Trump and the danger he poses to democracy – and he wasn’t even in power. She’s already politically insane. She regularly calls Trump a gangster and a Putin puppet. I can’t imagine how she’ll deal with the next four years as Trump and his salvage team try to get America on the road to being great again. Reid is so...
If you ask me, the election of 2026 is shaping up to look like 2010, at least at the top of New Mexico’s ticket. In 2010, then-Gov. Bill Richardson was being term limited out after two terms in office. His Democratic Party nominated his lieutenant governor, Diane Denish, who became saddled with Richardson’s growing unpopularity at the time. She lost the election to Republican Susana Martinez, who went on to defeat Denish in the general election with 53% of the vote. Look ahead to 2026 and a similar scenario may be sha...
For years, New Mexico has been seriously short of virtually all doctors: primary care, pediatricians, dentists, eye doctors, and other specialists … and all the people who help them take care of patients. It can take months to see a specialist and weeks to see a primary care physician, if you can find one. We are short almost 13,000 healthcare workers to serve our 2.1 million residents. That includes every kind of healthcare worker like EMTs, pharmacists and physical therapists as well as physicians and nurses. This s...
What does a time machine look like? Your guess is as good as mine. Probably better. Whatever blurry images are filed in my mind under the category for “time machine” seem to be mostly of the science fiction sort, an amalgamation of parts and pieces, bits and bytes, digital readouts and antique clockfaces. Gears of all sizes. Bright (probably Bakelite) knobs and shiny brass levers. Hoses and wires and a classic collection of spinning, buzzing, whirring, and otherwise eye- and...
My Aunt Minerva and Uncle Brian from Jal went shopping in Hobbs the other day and they saw something they hadn’t seen before: A panhandler with a handmade sign that read, “Why lie? I need a beer.” “He deserves points for honesty and humor,” Uncle Brian posted on Facebook. Their traveler’s tale reminded me of panhandlers, street people, their signs and my encounters with them over the years. My favorite was the long-haired dude standing by a Pensacola, Fla., boulevard a few years ago with his sign: “Need cash to repair spaces...
Among the numerous economic policy areas that hold New Mexico back is its heavy regulatory burden. Unnecessarily heavy regulations on business can make it harder than necessary to start and grow a business in New Mexico. The good news is that at least some regulatory reforms show real potential for bipartisanship in Santa Fe. New Mexico could (and should) take a step toward regulatory reform by embracing what are known as “regulatory sandboxes.” In 2023 Albuquerque Dem...
There have been some interesting discussions about birthright citizenship, intensified by Donald Trump’s election a few weeks ago. A number of people who are angry at the chaos at the border have jumped right over the normal processes and procedures that would guarantee illegal border crossings are limited, and hit right at one of the core principles of our nation, one embedded in the 14th Amendment – if you are born here, regardless of the status of your parents, you are a U...
Thanksgiving is our second-most conflicted holiday, behind only Memorial Day, when we somberly honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country by pounding 24-ouncers at the backyard barbecue celebrating the three-day weekend. During this season of Thanksgiving, we humbly express our gratitude for the mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey and pie we’re about to eat, then rush to the stores and body check an 84-year-old grandmother into the dress rack to be first in line for the latest hot, new gizmo. That process u...
Tbilisi is the capitol of Georgia. Not where the Atlanta Falcons play, the European country. Along the same line, Bucharest is the capitol of Romania. These countries recently held elections. Both countries’ elected leaders who are not enamored with the European Union and their current leaders are not happy. Georgia has suspended its bid to seek membership in the EU and, as a result, finds the capitol, Tbilisi, in the midst of riots. Current President Salome Zourabichvili, w...
President Biden was right to pardon his son, Hunter, after his conviction on gun and drug charges. Where President Biden went wrong was when he then failed to pardon everyone else who has been convicted on similar charges. People are sitting in prison today for the same acts. All such charges are bogus, regardless of who is facing them. Everyone entangled in the justice system because of similar charges is a political prisoner. America is apparently trying to beat the old...
The winter holidays can be a wondrous time for us, but they can be difficult for our companion animals to handle and adapt to the chaos and change in routine. Training specific behaviors like mat-stay, sit-stay for greeting people, and general manners are important. If behaviors like these are not already in you and your animal’s repertoire, some simple management tips can help save the day. Here are some tricks to make this holiday season more seamless and stress-free for your pets, yourself and your visitors. 1. Provide p...
I ran across a printed list last week that claims to be a guide to cleaning one’s home, sorted by frequency of how often particular tasks should be tackled. The categories in this list included “every day,” “every week,” “every month,” “every three to six months,” and “every year.” Nowhere did I see my category of choice: “When company is coming.” I’m not saying I don’t do some of the things on the list on a fairly regular basis, like making beds and washing dishes. But I can...
Donald Trump kept telling us he’d be a threat to democracy if re-elected president. Now he’s showing us. Several months ago on his Truth Social website, Trump threatened to “expel” and “cast out” government workers who oppose his radical views, describing them as a “sick political class” that hates the country. The 2024 election, he wrote, “is our final battle.” He is wasting no time acting on his promise. Trump, who has endured his own accusations of sexual harassment and ele...
As a Baby Boomer, I looked on with bemusement; but Dec. 10, 1974 was a cultural milestone for the oldest members of Generation X. That’s when ABC premiered the Rankin/Bass Productions animated Christmas special “The Year Without A Santa Claus” (a.k.a. “Scary Title, Kids, But Tell Mom and Dad That Hasbro and Mattel Are Still Here for You Even in a Worst-Case Scenario”). Showcasing the voice talent of Shirley Booth and Mickey Rooney (“Hey, kids, let’s put on a show – one without that nerve-wracking ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas...
I was working at a place a few years ago when, one day, the manager was yelling, sending someone home to change clothes. “You are dressed totally inappropriately. Go home now and change clothes,” Mr. Manager commanded to the female staff member. I hadn’t heard or seen someone getting sent home like that since junior high school. Yeah, junior high. I don’t know when or why this “middle school” stuff started. I come from a time when kids got sent home for skirts that were too short or hair that was too long. Such things were...
Christmas brings out the best and worst of our way of life. Crass consumerism runs rampant this time of year, as if owning things equates to happiness. If that’s the case, why are there so many miserable rich people? Sure, it’s the season of giving, but it’s also a season for getting. People buy things for their loved ones, and then a little extra for that special something for themselves. You know you do. I do too. Christmas used to be a religious holiday, but if that’s still the case for you, it’s because you’re go...
As I’m writing on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, most of us still have a bit of turkey left. No wonder a giblet or two of the news earlier today focused on a warning. Great Thanksgiving memories are worth holding on to, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture cautions that leftover meals shouldn’t be kept too long. At our house today, we still have a bit of turkey left, but we’re well past the “My, what a wonderful bird!” stage and have moved into the “Let’s slap a hunk...
I must admit the blessings I feel gratitude for are embarrassingly mundane this season of Thanksgiving. I mean, I am thankful for weekends, babies, walks in the rain, comfy sofas, random acts of kindness, the fact that I pay so little attention at work, I am permanently exempted from having to sign a non-disclosure agreement… I am thankful that the descendants of Abraham have been blessed to be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore, although they do fall short of the number of a...
Public safety will be on the agenda in the upcoming 60-day legislative session, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s attempts to arm twist lawmakers on the issue last year won’t serve her well as she enters the lame-duck portion of her eight years in office. Lujan Grisham is the second consecutive Democratic governor who likely envisioned resigning early for a much loftier position in the federal government. Bill Richardson had been tabbed for commerce secretary in the Obama administration, which would have made him the fir...
You know the old song lyrics “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am?” I’ve been hearing that on a loop in my inner ear over the past two weeks since Donald Trump pulled off what some have called a surprise landslide but which, after the votes were counted, seems to be more of an anti-Kamala “boy are they blue” wave. In other words, I doubt that America has embraced Trump because he’s received a lower popular vote percentage than almost every prior winne...
Otto von Bismarck, known as the “Iron Chancellor,” is arguably Germany’s greatest statesman and was responsible for transforming a collection of small German states into the German Empire. Bismarck was its first chancellor and served in that position from 1862-1890. He once said, “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards and the United States of America.” If Bismarck could watch the evening news today, he’d be saying, “I told you so.” On Thanksgiving, families all ov...
Once again, I’ve been told, by someone who is very serious, that every human interaction is inherently political. Few approaches to life are more tragic than this one. If you believe every interaction between people involves a political element, you’re doing it wrong. Politics is cheating. It’s what you resort to when you can’t persuade others to cooperate. It’s the method of the mugger, not the person offering products or services. It’s the use of force, coercion, a...
Donald Trump won 46% of the Latino vote, according to some exit polls highlighting the complexity and nuance of this demographic, which pundits too often mischaracterize as monolithic, or worse, an aggrieved minority. Against most expectations, a significant portion of moderate to conservative Latinos turned out for Trump, delivering critical margins in states such as Arizona and Nevada and exposed cracks in the Midwest’s blue wall. What gives? Progressive critics claim racism, misogyny, self-hate and even trauma rooted in 5...
As I was working on my side hustle last week (the events calendar for this newspaper), I couldn’t help but notice now many wonderful music events are on the near horizon. It got me to thinking about our old friend Wayne Crume, who provided a bulk of the live music our family listened to for some memorable years. Wayne was born in Kenna and grew up in eastern New Mexico, but lived away from here from the early 1950s to about 1980 when he and his wife, Carol, came back home t...
Somebody once told me if a memory, apropos of nothing, pops up in your head it means the brain cell that was holding it died and the memory is floating around in your head looking for a new cellular home. Sounds plausible to me. I figure that’s where a weird memory, weird words, came floating into my head the other Saturday morning. “Wadat in chew, Wadat in chew. Ishbilly oaten doaten, bobo ske deet in doten Wadat in chew…” These are some of the words to a hand clapping, foot stompin’, call and response song we scouts sa...
