First, let me note that I really don't get a chance to post to this blog often enough. There are a whole lot more stupid political things that happen in New Mexico than I have the time to write about. Unfortunately, not just on the left side of the political spectrum.
But, today, I want to tell you how much money I had to blow keeping the "tree huggers" happy.
My wife and I own a very old vehicle - over 30 years old to be exact - and it has all the pollution controls that were applied to the vehicle intact. I maintain it well, and it has passed the so-called smog test every time since the County of Bernalillo and the City of Albuquerque decided it had to be done. Today it cost me a total of $55 just because the gas cap rubber didn't pass. I mean it. This is a vehicle that had a complex system of vacuum hoses to capture and keep all traces of fuel vapor out of the atmosphere, but the fill pipe wasn't designed for a pressurized gas cap.
But the gas cap o-ring didn't seal on their little test thingy. So:
I paid for the first smog test, which failed.
I paid for a new gas cap.
I paid for the second smog test, which passed. Had to have them do everything over again and waste about 20 more minutes because they can't just test the cap. Hello? If everything else is all right, why not?
Yes, I could have driving 14 miles round trip downtown and gotten the second test for free, but that would have been at a "govermint" facility. The difference being that employees at Jiffy Lube are at least tactful, courteous, and conscious.
Now I can pay to register the vehicle.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Ugly Thing Politics
You can take my title with or without a comma after "thing."
In Bernalillo County, New Mexico, the county in which Albuquerque is the largest city, sits a commissioner named Michael Wiener. Mr. Wiener (whether he is appropriately named has yet to be determined) was recently photographed with four young ladies who are more than likely sex workers in an international red light district. Fortunately, this district is not in Albuquerque. Even our Republican governor has called for Mr. Wiener's resignation, but he says he's staying. This seems to be like any of a hundred other scandals where the person who gets caught resists taking his (or her) medicine. (See John Edwards, under "still resisting.")
We also have an ex-mayor of this town. His name is Martin Chavez. He's running in the Democrat primary for a congressional seat. He is admittedly the one-time- and allegedly now ex-boyfriend of a lady who is under indictment for embezzlement of considerable amounts of money from a Santa Fe hospital. When asked, Mr. Chavez says the only important thing is that he did not spend any public money on her. We think the most important thing to ask is whether she spent any embezzled money on him.
Ugly Thing, these Politics.
Anybody but Obama.
In Bernalillo County, New Mexico, the county in which Albuquerque is the largest city, sits a commissioner named Michael Wiener. Mr. Wiener (whether he is appropriately named has yet to be determined) was recently photographed with four young ladies who are more than likely sex workers in an international red light district. Fortunately, this district is not in Albuquerque. Even our Republican governor has called for Mr. Wiener's resignation, but he says he's staying. This seems to be like any of a hundred other scandals where the person who gets caught resists taking his (or her) medicine. (See John Edwards, under "still resisting.")
We also have an ex-mayor of this town. His name is Martin Chavez. He's running in the Democrat primary for a congressional seat. He is admittedly the one-time- and allegedly now ex-boyfriend of a lady who is under indictment for embezzlement of considerable amounts of money from a Santa Fe hospital. When asked, Mr. Chavez says the only important thing is that he did not spend any public money on her. We think the most important thing to ask is whether she spent any embezzled money on him.
Ugly Thing, these Politics.
Anybody but Obama.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Job Well Done - as in Fully Cooked
The New Mexico legislature finished their obligatory 30-day budget session this past week, and I can't help but think we would have been better off if they had all stayed home. Yes, they passed a budget. One that appears to be some sort of a compromise, but one that too readily depends on continuing sources of revenue that could easily dry up if the economy decides to stall. The left-wingers couldn't help themselves.
If the idea came from our Republican governor, it almost surely didn't have a chance, except in compromised form. I think that the local socialists have picked up on the tack taken by federal Democratic legislators, who ask for things so far on the left that any compromise looks better than what they are proposing. This also gives them the opportunity to chastise conservatives for not wanting to compromise. In the end, what conservatives are asking for is so close to the middle that we wind up swinging way over to the left.
Please turn right.
If the idea came from our Republican governor, it almost surely didn't have a chance, except in compromised form. I think that the local socialists have picked up on the tack taken by federal Democratic legislators, who ask for things so far on the left that any compromise looks better than what they are proposing. This also gives them the opportunity to chastise conservatives for not wanting to compromise. In the end, what conservatives are asking for is so close to the middle that we wind up swinging way over to the left.
Please turn right.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Inextricably Linked
Anyone who has lived in Albuquerque, NM, as long as I have would know that the politics of Albuquerque and those of Bernalillo County are linked in a way that resembles Siamese Twins joined at the back of the head and sharing a brain. (If you use the link to the county that I have posted above, please don't email and ask why the county seal is full of sheep. One day I'll figure that out.) Any way, to continue the metaphor, each twin has a set of arms and legs that it can use to take potshots at the other. This leads to monstrosities like the ABCWUA (Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority), and the Metro Detention Center.
By the way, Albuquerque is in Bernalillo County (pronounced ber-nuh-lee-owe), but Bernalillo, the city, is in Sandoval County. I'm sure there is a Sandoval, but I don't know what county it is in, but you better tell the Truth or (pay the) Consequences in Sierra County.
By the way, Albuquerque is in Bernalillo County (pronounced ber-nuh-lee-owe), but Bernalillo, the city, is in Sandoval County. I'm sure there is a Sandoval, but I don't know what county it is in, but you better tell the Truth or (pay the) Consequences in Sierra County.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Shooting for the Foot
New Mexico has beautiful southwestern scenery and magnificent climate. Just about everything except ocean front property. It also has national laboratories (Los Alamos and Sandia), White Sands Missle Range, and the Very Large Array. It is the home of some of the highest tech weaponry in our arsenal, and to some of the most far-reaching space science on the planet. All those tech jobs pay very, very well. And yet a number of so-called concerned citizens, environmentalists of the standard lot, would like to curtail some of these activities in the name of cleaning up our environment. If we do this, and get rid of oil and gas drilling, too, I'm sure we can celebrate the state centennial with massive unemployment, as well. Let's think about consequences, folks!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Will of The People
I'm not going to try to define my title. Let's just say that, nowadays, the will of the people is just something any adult New Mexico resident (or NMer) recognizes without explanation. It is also something, apparently, that any NM politician does not understand.
Take two recent examples: The recent special legislative session, and the recent Albuquerque city election.
Legislative Session.
Despite the clear will of the people that the politicians in our legislature cover more ground that just redistricting, and cover redistricting with fairness and within the bounds of the Constitution of the State of New Mexico, they chose rather to do nothing and create legislative boundaries that do nothing more than secure the jobs of current politicians. The will of the people be damned!
City Election.
Despite the clear will of the people that Albuquerque do away with red-light cameras and the public leaches that sold them to the city, as evidenced by the results of election, I predict that the city council will vote to retain them. And despite the clear will of the people that we do not need any more public money spent on frivolous pet projects, Mayor Berry, is expected to push on with The Plan for Albuquerque whether the voters said no or not.
It's examples like this that have young patriots camped out on UNM property. They may not have good ideas, and they may just be playing into the hands of the ultra left, but they know that something is going on in America, and it's not The Will Of The People!
Take two recent examples: The recent special legislative session, and the recent Albuquerque city election.
Legislative Session.
Despite the clear will of the people that the politicians in our legislature cover more ground that just redistricting, and cover redistricting with fairness and within the bounds of the Constitution of the State of New Mexico, they chose rather to do nothing and create legislative boundaries that do nothing more than secure the jobs of current politicians. The will of the people be damned!
City Election.
Despite the clear will of the people that Albuquerque do away with red-light cameras and the public leaches that sold them to the city, as evidenced by the results of election, I predict that the city council will vote to retain them. And despite the clear will of the people that we do not need any more public money spent on frivolous pet projects, Mayor Berry, is expected to push on with The Plan for Albuquerque whether the voters said no or not.
It's examples like this that have young patriots camped out on UNM property. They may not have good ideas, and they may just be playing into the hands of the ultra left, but they know that something is going on in America, and it's not The Will Of The People!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Chickens Come Home to Roost
None of us with any knowledge of the business of Passenger Rail think that it is a walk in the park. Start a passenger train, let alone a full schedule of trains, from scratch requires capital, hard work, luck and a loyal customer base. Preferably that base is a broad one, drawn from a variety of demographics. If you are running a train, you should also hope that both ends of your line originate traffic.
Readers of this blog will recall my skepticism and incredulity when then New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson went out of his way to fund rail passenger service for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, AKA MRCOG. This service, one of Gov. Bill's "legacies", from Belen, NM, through Albuquerque, to Santa Fe, is now known as New Mexico Rail Runner Express. Look on my second page to see some photos.
I wrote at the time that the route was too costly and that the whole project would eventually cost the taxpayers of New Mexico many millions of dollars in subsidies. Albuquerque just isn't the kind of metro area that you find in places like Seattle or Dallas. If done at all, the service could have used existing tracks instead of new ones, used DMUs instead of full-fledged communter rail equipment, and grown with demand rather than taking a "build it and they will come" approach. Even now, with heavy rail tracks built all the way into Santa Fe, the equipment could be owned and operate by another entity under subsidy. And New Mexico will now have the dubious distinction of trying to make BNSF Railway run the Lamy to Raton portion of the original Santa Fe Raton Pass line in order to keep just one long distance train, Amtrak's Southwest Chief, running.
In the future, if you hear someone ask, "Who killed the Chief?" the answer will be either New Mexico or Railrunner Express.
The Albuquerque Journal of Sunday, June 19, 2011, reports that the service averages "about" 4,500 passenger boardings on weekdays. That's not a lot. It's why the beginning of the whine has started, as the Rio Metro Regional Transit District board decided to cut weekends from the schedule. Passenger boardings on weekend days of only 1,000 make this seem logical, but the politicians on the board see it as a way to speak to current Gov. Susana Martinez. "Whine! We need more taxpayer money. Whine! The businesses who depend on weekend recreational travelers will lose money. Whine!"
Frankly, as a taxpaying NMer, I don't see why I should have to subsidize riders to the tune of an (estimated) $40 to $80 a boarding just so they don't lose the profit from that latte. I don't think we should let them eat cake, but let them adjust their business practices to take advantage of the business that remains. Or learn a lesson, which is: Don't depend on the taxpayer to keep you in business.
But the better lesson is this. When you're local politician starts to talk about his or her legacy, hide your wallet and your kid's wallet and your grandkid's wallet. The state will be picking their pocket for the legacy forever.
©2011 - C. A. Turek - mistertrains@gmail.com
For the full benefit of all the links in this post, please go to Passenger Rail.
Readers of this blog will recall my skepticism and incredulity when then New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson went out of his way to fund rail passenger service for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, AKA MRCOG. This service, one of Gov. Bill's "legacies", from Belen, NM, through Albuquerque, to Santa Fe, is now known as New Mexico Rail Runner Express. Look on my second page to see some photos.
I wrote at the time that the route was too costly and that the whole project would eventually cost the taxpayers of New Mexico many millions of dollars in subsidies. Albuquerque just isn't the kind of metro area that you find in places like Seattle or Dallas. If done at all, the service could have used existing tracks instead of new ones, used DMUs instead of full-fledged communter rail equipment, and grown with demand rather than taking a "build it and they will come" approach. Even now, with heavy rail tracks built all the way into Santa Fe, the equipment could be owned and operate by another entity under subsidy. And New Mexico will now have the dubious distinction of trying to make BNSF Railway run the Lamy to Raton portion of the original Santa Fe Raton Pass line in order to keep just one long distance train, Amtrak's Southwest Chief, running.
In the future, if you hear someone ask, "Who killed the Chief?" the answer will be either New Mexico or Railrunner Express.
The Albuquerque Journal of Sunday, June 19, 2011, reports that the service averages "about" 4,500 passenger boardings on weekdays. That's not a lot. It's why the beginning of the whine has started, as the Rio Metro Regional Transit District board decided to cut weekends from the schedule. Passenger boardings on weekend days of only 1,000 make this seem logical, but the politicians on the board see it as a way to speak to current Gov. Susana Martinez. "Whine! We need more taxpayer money. Whine! The businesses who depend on weekend recreational travelers will lose money. Whine!"
Frankly, as a taxpaying NMer, I don't see why I should have to subsidize riders to the tune of an (estimated) $40 to $80 a boarding just so they don't lose the profit from that latte. I don't think we should let them eat cake, but let them adjust their business practices to take advantage of the business that remains. Or learn a lesson, which is: Don't depend on the taxpayer to keep you in business.
But the better lesson is this. When you're local politician starts to talk about his or her legacy, hide your wallet and your kid's wallet and your grandkid's wallet. The state will be picking their pocket for the legacy forever.
©2011 - C. A. Turek - mistertrains@gmail.com
For the full benefit of all the links in this post, please go to Passenger Rail.
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