For the past four years, our nation’s immigration policy was the equivalent of a “Keep Out” sign on the front yard. That didn’t stop desperate migrants from seeking refuge. The border wall was the physical embodiment of that policy. It was the top priority for the previous administration, and the most motivating issue for the Republoican base, who were promised that Mexico would pay for construction. Former President Donald Trump routinely battled with members of Congress, including those from his own party, over funding for the wall. That dispute led to a 35-day shutdown of the federal government in 2018, the longest in our nation’s history.
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I realize there are other issues higher on his priority list, but I hope President Joe Biden clarifies the federal government’s position on the enforcement of marijuana laws before legal sales begin here next year. New Mexico was the 18th state to legalize adult marijuana use, and all of those states have a conflict with the federal government. But the situation in southern New Mexico is unique because of the Border Patrol checkpoints along all of our highways.
I’m scheduled to get my second COVID-19 shot Friday, meaning I’ll be fully vaccinated in a couple of weeks. The pandemic, for me, is almost over, and I’m incredibly grateful to the brilliant men and women who developed these safe and effective vaccines. But this doesn’t feel like victory.
The government has no right to tell me what I can eat, drink, smoke, snort or inject.
It can prevent me from doing those things in public. And it can hold me responsible for any crimes I commit after having done those things, including driving. But that’s all. Rodeo may be the only college sport that isn’t knee-deep in hypocrisy. That’s because rodeo is not part of the NCAA, and has never held romanticized notions about the purity of amateur athletics. The sport has always been about prize money. The PRCA champion each year is the one who wins the most money. Marginal athletes in rodeo don’t get cut or put on waivers. They know it’s time to quit when they can’t earn enough gas money to get to the next event. And so, college athletes in rodeo compete for prize money. The ones who do the best earn the most. And, they all will have the chance to try their hand on the pro circuit if they want to.
I did not like Green Eggs and Ham
I thought the book to be a scam. I knew that it could not be right for all the eggs I’d seen were white. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
The above quote is attributed to Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat, but the first time I heard it was in a George Harrison song, and it stuck with me. I could hear George singing in my head this weekend as I watched the CPAC Convention. The Republican Party is operating without a platform. That’s not an opinion. At the 2020 Republican Convention they decided not to update the party platform. Everybody loves deregulation, until their kid gets sick from drinking the water. And for good reason. Deregulation is always good for business, at least in the short term. Dumping toxic chemicals into the river, or onto the ground, is always going to be better for the bottom line than safe treatment and disposal. And it’s not just business. Government has found that deregulation is a surefire way to increase its own “efficiency.” The superfund site at Griggs and Walnut was the result of cleaning solvent used by the National Guard being dumped on the ground.
The Australian Open Tennis Tournament is being played without line judges this year to reduce the number of people in the arena. And it’s much better. A computerized camera system shows exactly where the ball bounced. There’s no more arguing about the call, so the game goes much faster. And we don’t have to worry about those poor folks lined up against the wall with 150 mph serves whizzing by their noggins. Which makes me wonder if we’ve seen that last of line judges, at least in the big tournaments where they can afford the technology.
Some little kids will heed your advice and never touch the hot stove; others need to find out for themselves. It’s the kid that touches the hot stove twice that you’ve got to worry about. Those supporting this week’s second impeachment of the disgraced former president argue that it is necessary to ensure that he can never run for office again. I disagree. Before continuing with that argument, I should acknowledge that the disgraced former president was responsible for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building. The rioters would not have come if he hadn’t called on them to; and would have shut it down sooner if he had called on them to.
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