Category: Commentaries

Walt Rubel Commentary: CPAC shows GOP has lost its common vision

3/3/2021

“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.

Walt Rubel Commentary: The high cost of saving money on full display

2/22/2021

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.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Some changes forced by pandemic worth keeping

2/16/2021

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.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Congress can’t protect voters from themselves

2/10/2021

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.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Risking it all to get to the Big Game

2/3/2021

I’m not sure if the Super Bowl this Sunday is a testament to our persistence and ability to overcome challenges, or more evidence that our priorities are all screwed up. But I will admit that I’m surprised they made it to the finish. When Major League Baseball stumbled out of the gate in July, with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals both having to shut down in the first week, I didn’t see much hope for the NFL being able to complete its season.

Walt Rubel Commentary: An empty start to 2021 legislative session

1/27/2021

Today I can report that the state of our state is … TBD.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham broke with tradition last week and skipped the state of the state address, which has always been given by the governor a couple hours after the start of each legislative session. And I’m not sure why. If you go to the governor’s website and look at the recent press releases, as of Monday there was one on the inauguration of Joe Biden, but nothing on the start of the session, her decision to skip the traditional speech or what she would have said if she had delivered it.

Walt Rubel Commentary: A legislative session without all the hoopla

1/20/2021

If they get the technology right, this could be one of the most productive 60-day sessions in the history of the New Mexico Legislature. It will undoubtedly be the least ceremonious. Most years, a legislative session is much more than just updated budgets and new laws. It is a celebration of our culture, an educational eye-opener for students and a gathering spot for local leaders from throughout the state. The Roundhouse rotunda is filled with booths from groups throughout the state. There’s a different theme every day. Everybody’s favorite is Ag Day, which always comes toward the end of the session and features a meal of New Mexico meat and dairy products.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Historic lame-duck executions should spark debate

1/6/2021

COVID-19 has temporarily saved the life of Lisa Montgomery, but the Trump administration is working furiously to see that she dies before he leaves office. Much has been written about the last-minute pardons being granted by Donald Trump during his final days as president. Nicholas Slatten, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of 14 unarmed civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, was one of those who benefitted from Trump’s decision to circumvent normal procedures for reviewing and granting pardons.

Walt Rubel Commentary: A salute to the helpers in this horrible year

12/30/2020

This is the time of year when people all over the world join in a collective wish that next year will be better than this one. Never in my lifetime has that bar been set so low. Former children’s TV host Fred Rogers famously passed along the advice his mother gave him when he was a child and images on the TV news were frightening and confusing. Always look for the helpers, she said. In any disaster, there will always be people helping others get through it.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Udall’s optimism shaken by 12 years in Senate

12/16/2020

Tom Udall entered the U.S. Senate in 2009 as an idealist with big plans to make dramatic changes. He’ll leave 12 years later as a realist. Or, as he put it in his farewell address, a “troubled optimist.” “The Senate is broken. It’s not working for the American people,” Udall said. “We are becoming better and better warriors. We’re good at landing a punch - at exposing hypocrisy and riling each other up. But we aren’t fostering our better angels.”

<<Previous