Freedom of Expression in 2018

Freedom of speech is endangered, but not only because of Mr. Trump. 

 

He attacks journalists verbally. He encourages folks to [body] slam reporters. When CNN gets a pipe bomb, Trump blames CNN. 

 

Divisiveness, discord, and incivility are encouraged and utilized by politicians – on both sides of the aisle, though most dangerously from one. We got angry when ISIS beheaded a journalist; but now it's acceptable if the killers buy weapons from us. And murder a mere Muslim. 

 

IF we manage to save our country, history will mention this period as it does McCarthyism -- or the Red Scare, with its Palmer Raids, soon after the Great War. 

 

This moment seems different. In earlier difficult times, people disagreed passionately, even violently; but we shared a reverence for our country's ideals. Both sides wanted to do right and thought they were; and at some point, as more and more members of the public began to learn that McCarthy was a con artist or the Viet Nam war was unjustified and counterproductive, opinion shifted. Based largely on facts. 

 

Now, it's less clear that many of us are just missing some facts and could change our minds if we learned more. Imagine trying to use facts and logic to convince a passionate Michigan fan to root for Ohio State. Besides, in the midst of this information explosion, we can find “support” for any position.

Free speech also faces new and subtler challenges. Its venues and enemies have changed. 

 

We can speak our minds at city council meetings, but much of our so-called political discourse occurs online, in privately-owned “town halls” – out of reach of the First Amendment. Billionaire owners of those fora don't like to be taxed and don't want economic equality. 

 

Meanwhile, the natural allies of free expression, the weak, are trampling on it. Progressives, including many women and ethnic minorities, are threatening free speech rights. It's not just politicians and evil capitalists. People with excellent motives, such as protecting the vulnerable from hate speech and verbal harassment, argue, quite reasonably, that we must protect people we've wronged. 

 

But vetoing a moot court topic because it involves racists burning crosses is absurd. Yeah, our past and aspects of our present are painful to contemplate; but you don't make real change by pretending racism and violence against women are ghosts under a kid's bed. Strengthening young minds to confront this world's madness makes more sense.

I favor universities imposing rules to prevent people from being targeted by hate speech or bullying; but when it comes to more general public speech, I stand with free speech. Not merely because I'm old, and have said and written unpopular things; but because booting Alex Jones from major Internet communication sites or keeping Richard Spencer from speaking this week could mean banning you or me next week. Yeah, some incredibly hateful and ridiculous things are getting said; but fifty years ago many thought that demanding ethnic equality or opposing the wanton destruction of Viet Nam was loony and dangerous. 

 

At the same time, let no one discredit the important concerns motivating these folks. Curtailing free speech is the wrong remedy, but their complaints are real. 

 

Today's brand of censorship by progressives and the legalities of cyber-speech are complex matters reasonable folks could disagree on.

Trumpitis is an acute illness we can heal – if we begin treatment by voting his enablers and sycophants out of office.

                                                 -30-

[The above column appeared this morning [ 28 October 2018] in the Las Cruces Sun-News and on the newspaper's website, and will shortly appear on KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air during the week on both KRWG and KTAL (101.5 FM / www.lccommunityradio.org ).]

[These ideas were particularly on my mind because when I sent in this column Friday morning, I was scheduled to discuss freedom of expression with the Southwestern New Mexico ACLU chapter in Silver City several hours later.  The folks there were sharp, committed, and extraordinarily welcoming, and I hope they enjoyed the discussion as much as we did.  We thoroughly enjoyed Silver City and the many interesting people we met, at the ACLU and wandering around town the next day.]

[Of course, the "pipe bombs" and Mr. Trump's reaction to those punctuated my thoughts as I was preparing for the Silver City event.  His handlers must be tearing their hair out again.  They got him to say a few "unifying" sentences; but he still couldn't resist saying, essentially, "Too bad CNN got attacked, but they should tell the truth as I see it more often."  Like saying we sympathize with Charlie Hebdo but those folks shouldn't have said things offensive to Muslims.  When someone shot Republicans on a Congressional softball team, I don't recall Democratic leaders saying, "That was reprehensible, but then again Scalise shouldn't have opposed health care and lied so much about it." 

The guy seems just absolutely incapable of even a moment of grace or real compassion.  But, even so, no one should shoot at him.  Not because he lives in the Casa Blanca; but because he's a fellow human being, and we are all comical, absurd, and thoroughly imperfect.]

Steve Fischmann rather than Ben Hall for the PRC

Our choice between Steve Fischmann and Ben Hall for the Public Regulation Commission is clear.

Fischmann is a smart former state senator who's spent years working for the public good on regulatory matters and fighting usurious interest charged by payday loan companies.

Hall, 82, has “good ol' boy” charm and a welcome bluntness. 

 

Fischmann understands our desperate need to use more renewables and for a functioning utility system that's fair to both the public and businesses – and considers environmental consequences.

Hall agrees we should move toward more renewables, but he's not so sure human activities have much to do with climate change.

Fischmann has a positive record as citizen, legislator, and businessman.

Hall's record is so full of financial and legal trouble that it won't all fit here. (Today's blog post has more details.)

Hall has littered his life with bankruptcies (one personal, and a business he denies he controls), liens (more than a dozen state and federal tax liens, and others filed by subcontractors or other creditors), and judgments. In 2015, Hall's ex-son-in-law won a $53,916.83 judgment against Hall, charging Hall never repaid a loan. Hall immediately declared bankruptcy. (Hall says the man lied, there was no loan, and Hall went bankrupt “so he wouldn't get a damned dime.”)

 

In 2013, the PRC paid $200,000 to Jocyln Gonzales, who in 2011 was standing by her car and was hit by a PRC vehicle Hall was driving. He admitted fault but said he was driving slowly.

Hall says the tax liens were forty years ago (despite significant liens in 1998 and 1999, and one in 2007 against Sierra Blanca Construction). He says Sierra Blanca Construction wasn't his company. (His wife and daughter were President and Secretary.) He added no one could be a contractor for forty years and not have some disputes. 

 

His 2014 PRC campaign apparently paid him and his lady friend. He reportedly claimed the Secretary of State had okayed paying himself. Secretary of State Dianna Durbin wrote him that Hall's campaign couldn't legally pay Hall. In October 2014 Hall told the Albuquerque Journal he paid Maria Cottom and himself $25 per hour, but paid himself only for campaign work after 5 or on weekends. To me, he said, “I didn't pay her any money, I didn't pay me any money,” and “I never paid anyone $25 per hour in my life, so I don't know where he got that.” The reporter stands by his stories, adding that Hall never sought or obtained a correction. 

 

Hall claims his initial campaign reports were wrong because “the girl who filled out my forms” was inexperienced. He says that once he filed amended reports omitting the self-payments, Durbin cleared him of wrongdoing. 

I also asked Hall if it was true that he gambles a lot at Casino Apache Travel Center. He replied, “I don't know as it's a lot,” adding, “I used my own money.”

Hall's extraordinary history of financial and legal difficulties doesn't qualify him to handle a bunch of our money, or make important public decisions. If he's “a thief and a liar” as one former adversary called him, that's a problem. If he's thoroughly honest but mismanages money, that's a problem. If it's all just bad luck, I'd still worry that his bad luck could affect the PRC. 

Fischmann's a strong candidate. Someone we need, as our climate changes. Hall's problems only make our choice even clearer. 

                                                    -30-

[The above column appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News this morning, Sunday, 21 October 2018, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and on KTAL (101.5 FM).]


[Near as I can tell, Hall was untruthful or inaccurate with me on several points:

He said his tax liens were "40 years ago," which would be 1978.  In fact, he had tax liens in the 1980's and in 1991, 1992, 1998, and 1999; and Sierra Blanca Construction had one as recently as 1997.  (He denies that Sierra Blanca Construction is his company, and says he's just the qualified contractor.  His late wife, Wanda, and his daughter were listed as Sierra Blanca's President and Secretary, respectively.)  Hall's  one-time opponent, Bill McCamley, alleged that:

“ • From 1983-1998 there were 14 tax liens placed on Mr. Hall and his construction company totaling $356,233.89.

“ • 10 of these liens were for failure to pay Federal taxes, and 4 liens were for failure to pay State taxes.

“ … • From 1983-1998, there were 7 liens placed on Mr. Hall by individuals, subcontractors, and the Ruidoso State Bank totaling $112,681.59 for failure to pay for completed contracted services.]

[Hall denied paying himself or his significant other $25 per hour for campaign work in 2014.  He denied paying himself at all.  These statements contradict numerous campaign filings (eventually amended) with the New Mexico Secretary of State, a letter from the Secretary of State commenting on his paying himself, and his comments quoted in two 2014 Albuquerque Journal articles.

He denied making those comments, adding "I don't know where he got that."  The reporter, Thomas J. Cole, said the quotes were accurate, adding that Hall had not requested or received any kind of retraction or correction.  Further, the articles have indicia of accuracy.  "I don't see what the big damn deal is" is just the way Hall would phrase his response.  Secondly, there's an extra level of detail beyond what Cole would be unlikely to invent, in that he quotes Hall as saying he paid himself and Cottom but only paid himself for work after 5 p.m. or on weekends because of his PRC job.  It seems highly unlikely Cole would have thought to make that up.  He also quoted Hall as claiming the Secretary of State had told him it was legal to pay himself for campaign work.  (In a letter dated 29 October 2014, then Secretary of State Deanna Duran bluntly denied her office had told him any such thing.) That's another detail Cole wouldn't have likely invented.  (In addition, there were two separate articles . . ., suggesting more than one conversation -- without, apparently, any criticism of the first article; but that's my speculation.)  At any rate, Duran apparently absolved him of legal wrongdoing after the amendments.]


[Hall blamed the filings that mentioned payments to himself on "the girl who filled out my forms for me," saying that she was new and made mistakes.  That seems unlikely; and the filings persisted through several amendments, and correction was only made after the election and after earlier amendments (including Nov. 17 and Nov. 21] didn't make the change.  When he amend again on November 22, some put in entries claiming the payments to Cottom were reimbursements for expenses she'd paid.  But with other entries, there was no such change.  For example, the October 4 and 5 entries originally had payments of $500 (10/4) and $465 (10/5) to Hall and Cottom for "Campaign Work" (which at $25/hr. would have been 16 hours, or 8 apiece, of going from house to house campaigning).  The final amendment eliminates mention of Hall, keeps the amounts the same, and replaces "Campaign Work" with "Door-to-Door Advertising."  Unlike the 10/2 entry, for going door-to-door in Deming, where the entry switched from paying them both for "campaign work" to paying her but included the notes "Campaign Forum" and "paid to helpers," the 10/4 and 10/5 entries have the campaign paying her for going door-to-door  -- for 16 hours on the 5th and a little more than 12 on the 4th.  And the mention of the "forum" adds a new mystery.  The earlier entry seems to be paying him, in part, for attending the campaign forum.  But now with him out of the payment picture, the amount is the same, and part of what the campaign is paying for is her attendance at the forum.  A further amendment might be in order.

"The girl wasn't experienced and made mistakes" sounds a little like "the dog ate my homework"  -- or, as one of Grant and Tenya's grandkids had it on a T-shirt yesterday, "the unicorn ate my homework" -- and if I'd been employed at the secretary of state's office in 2014, I might have suggested an investigation. note: see below for images of the actual entries mentioned]

[He seems also to be lying either when he says he owns Sierra Blanca Construction or when he denies that!
In a 2018 candidate profile in the Albuquerque Journal, Hall says he "owned and operated a construction business for 40 years."  I think he's said that elsewhere.  And it seems probable: three construction companies, including Sierra Blanca, list as addresses either his residence or another address he's associated with.  (The other two are or were Hall Brothers Development, Inc. and ABC Building Corporation.)  To me, when I asked about Sierra Blanca's lien and bankruptcy, he said it wasn't his company, he was just the required "licensed contractor" associated with the business.  (His late wife was listed as the President and his daughter as the Secretary, I think.  He was not listed in the filings I saw.)   Without his years with Sierra Blanca Construction it's not clear how he'd have 40 years owning and operating a construction business. 
But maybe he lent his name to his wife's business, and worked for her a little, but also owned and operated something else for some of those years.]

2014 Second General Report -- October version

2014 Second General Report -- November 22 version

Please VOTE! Our Tattered Democracy Depends on It

Please VOTE!!!

This national election seems pivotal. 

 

The survival of our democracy as we know it could easily depend on Democrats controlling the House. Fortunately, our own Xochitl Torres-Small is a dream candidate for Congress: a smart and levelheaded young water lawyer.

I understand the feeling that all politicians are crooked, big corporations really run everything, and own the politicians, and our democracy died long ago.

But. Please!

Financially, we're speeding merrily toward a cliff. Trump and the Republicans, notably through tax changes, have significantly exacerbated two major problems: inequality and debt. The breaks mostly helped the rich. Profits are up, but not wages. We will soon be crippled by interest payments. Military officials say the huge increase in our debt weakens our national security, dangerously. 

 

Administratively, Trump has no knowledge or interest in much of what goes on. Positions consistently go unfilled, while top posts go to incompetent and/or dishonest pals. Probably no president has ever seen so many appointees and advisers resign in disgrace or plead guilty to crimes in his first two years. Even if Trump left now it'd take years to get some offices functional again.

The dysfunctional White House sideshow distracts us from serious problems. 

 

He's filling our courts with extremists who meet an ideological test but sometimes haven't even tried a case. They're appointed for life. Many are young.

He loathes our democratic allies, but loves autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong-un. Even some Republican leaders are worried (but don't dare speak up).

Climate change? It's too late to prevent warming, but we could try to limit the damage some. Most nations see the urgent need for action. Trump removed us from the Paris Agreement. He's undone or weakened existing environmental regulations. He repealed the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, rolling back greenhouse gas rules for cars and easing methane pollution standards for oil and natural gas drillers. The U.N. recently reported that it's worse than we thought. Trump says “look at the source.” (U.N. members laughed at him when he bragged to them about his greatness.)

Even his supporters recognize Trump lies constantly. Maybe all politicians lie some; but Trump wallows in his dishonesty. One recent example: “As a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.” Actually, Trump made this promise, but broke it. He supported Republican efforts to weaken protections for folks with pre-existing conditions. The Obamacare provision letting people with pre-existing health conditions buy insurance has survived despite Trump. Premiums have kept rising. Experts say that without Trump’s moves to weaken the Affordable Care Act, premiums would be even lower in many states.

Russian hackers affected the 2016 election. Trump's people, including his son, met with Russians about the election. Several have admitted to lying about their Russian contacts and those meetings. Yes, Robert Mueller is investigating. But his report goes to the Administration. Trump and his AG could keep it secret if it's ugly. A Republican House might not demand to see it. A Democratic House would.

Xochi's a native Las Crucen who cares about us and our desert home – and has the skills to be effective. Her opponent speaks well and seems a good person -- but fully wholeheartedly Trump's agenda. The choice is clear. Please vote.

                                                                 -30-

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 14 October 2018, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and on KRWG's website.  If I can muster the energy today to create it, a spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and on KTAL, 101.5 FM.]

[This was a particularly hard column to write because theirs just too much material.  The list of Trump pals in jail or facing jail or rolling over, and the list of Trump appointees who've misused funds or broken laws or otherwise disgraced themselves is extraordinarily long.  (Two years into Obama's Administration, I'll bet no appointee or adviser had been convicted of a felony. )  And both lists are exceeded by the list of Trump appointees who are plainly incompetent, inclined to destroy the departments they head, or otherwise appalling.]

[I think for many of us Trump's election startled and dismayed us.  It felt rather like someone had died.    Then, as one does with a death, we resolved to live with it, and began to see that we could; and, since this was not a death, many who hadn't been paying much attention resolved to get more deeply involved in resisting the worst excesses as best we could.  And some days we thought it couldn't be as bad as it seemed like it would be.  But it could.  Now it has been.  In too many ways to fit into 570 words.  The saddest part is that so relatively few Trump supporters have seen him very clearly.  Although many like aspects of his program -- border wall, anti-choice, ignoring gun problems, even ignoring climate change -- they can't have wanted a chief executive who idolizes Putin and is so bizarre that his own people hide things from him or start talking about the 25th Amendment.]   

[Below is a random list of other recent moments, not nearly the most important problems, but individually pretty appalling.  None, perhaps, is as serious as Trump's tweets trying openly to obstruct justice; his complete disdain for the environment; his vicious attacks on a free press; and dozens of other things we're learning to take for granted.  But they further symptomize a mind-set.  I'm trying to urge people who share my concerns to get out and vote for Xochi Torres-Small for Congress.  I Yvette Herrell Friday and interviewed her for an hour.  Couldn't help liking her.  She's a nice person, I think; but on all things Trump, she supported him.  I'd be voting for Xochi in any case, because I think she's a superb candidate; but what adds the extra urgency is that she'll help keep an eye on Mr. Trump, whereas I fear Ms. Herrell will cast a blind eye to Trumpian conduct and support the dangerous policies discussed in the column.]

[Even U.S. citizens who consider adultery a sin, and gay folks sinners and somehow imagine freedom of marriage undermines their own heterosexual marriages don't want to kill all the gays.   But some countries do.  Adulterers, homosexuals, and blasphemers can be executed.  A United Nations resolution condemned "the imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery, and consensual same-sex relations." Sounds good to me.  Shit, I could be executed for my youthful dalliances with married women or even my loss of adulterous conduct, The resolution passed handily; but the U.S. was one of just 13 countries that voted against that resolution.  As did Iraq and Saudie Arabia.  Reflecting on it this morning, I recall that last night, at the SWEC Gala, I sat at table with one heterosexual couple I've known for 50 years and some gay couples, acquaintances or close friends.  They were people who do a lot of good for their adopted community, and/or do creative work; one's a retired minister; they are long-time couples who love and care for each other; and I'm appalled to recognize that under Trump we can't even condemn laws that would let the police come and take them and execute them, if we were in some other country.]

[Trump's National Park Service Director now wants to inhibit free speech by charging fees for protesters who assemble on the mall -- and would close much of the sidewalk north of the White House to protestors.  Public comments are due Monday.  This would prevent spontaneous protests.
The fees are clearly aimed at curtailing protests.  But protests are a central feature of our culture.  Remember the Boston Tea Party? Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream!' speech?  (I have a nightmare.)  The excuse for the fees is to save money.   They say cleaning up after the 2012 Occupy encampment cost $500,000 or something; but Trump wanted to spend tens of millions on a military parade, to stroke his ego and show our military might.  In any sane value system, we need both a strong military and a strong freedom of expression policy; but we don't need to spend on a military parade enough money to clean up all the protests from now until 2099.]

[The Consumer Protection Bureau just appointed a high official who had (anonymously, suggesting he knew his views would be received as they now have been) questioned whether racist hate crimes were really hate crimes and suggested that using the word "Nigger" isn't necessarily racist.  Well, that's a tough view to depend, although as a private citizen he's certainly entitled to hold it; but should he be making decisions about consumers, many of whom are not white Anglo-Saxons?]

[Whether you believed Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanugh, or neither, or didn't know what to think after they spoke so passionately, the U.S. Supreme Court is important to all of us.  Kavanaugh demonstrably lied about his drinking, and (stupidly, I think) perjured himself by pretending several well-known sexual references in his prep school yearbook were each something else.  Classmates said otherwise.  The FBI investigation was so strictly limited -- by Mr. Trump -- as to be meaningless.  That's one more unnecessary way to undermine the Court's credibility.   Certainly Trump could have found an equally conservative nominee who had a more judicial temperament, didn't perjure himself so obviously about little things, and hadn't -- perhaps -- mistreated women.  Or the FBI could have investigated fully and perhaps cleared Kavanaugh.]

[The bottom line is that Trump is a dangerous buffoon being used by the wealthy and by conservatives, who figure his personal popularity with his base can help them get through policies that will hurt most of us.  Sounds familiar.  Conservative German industrialist and politicians saw Hitler that way.  Fortunately, Trump does not have the deep, well-considered program of hatred and bitterness Hitler had.  He's an almost childish narcissist, and a casual racist; but seems highly unlikely to embark on a program like Hitler's, despite the neo-Nazis' passionate support of him; but he's doing us serious harm every day, in dozens of ways, and we need folks in Congress who'll function as a loyal opposition, not folks who'll rubber-stamp his every move.]

PLEASE VOTE!!!

Why New Mexico Is Improving Guardianship Laws - a Case History

A new AARP Magazine article reminded me of the day I said farewell to a delightful, courageous Japanese lady named Kise. 

A year earlier, her stepson approached me in the market and asked me to help free his Japanese stepmother. She was “like a second mother.” When he first went to Japan at 14, she not only welcomed him but effected a reconciliation with his father. 

She'd moved to the U.S. with her husband, who died in 1993. She loved her garden and her cat, but she was aging, and her stepson lived in California. They'd discussed her moving there when living alone got too hard. He'd arranged home-help for her here, but she fired the help.

It was a shock when a neighbor called: authorities had put her somewhere -- for her own safety.

He and his wife came to Las Cruces. They wanted to take her to California. They couldn't. The guardians and their lawyer vilified him.

I helped them awhile, as a lawyer, then referred them to a firm. 

As a columnist, I've learned from other sources of heartbreaking abuses of New Mexico's guardianship laws. I was even advised that “clients” were in the charge of a woman who had been fired, allegedly for questionable treatment of clients. (An October 2017 New Yorker article detailed abuses of Nevada's law, which was especially favorable to guardians taking over people's lives, even where family was willing and able to help.) 

New Mexico's Supreme Court created a commission to look into abuses and make recommendations. The Commission heard many horror stories. It recommended that when someone is in danger of being committed, family must be notified and given a voice. It also recommended making hearings public. While we'd like to keep such proceedings confidential to protect the person involved, confidentiality allows guardians to abuse their power. (In Nevada, there were numerous cases of an agency taking over a person's life, collecting handsome sums from the person's bank account, and refusing families' efforts to help – or even visit.) Sometimes, though, guardians do wonderful and essential work. 

In January 2017, Judge James T. Martin ordered the guardians to try to help Kise move to California. They made excuses. (They'd made clear to me that they had no intention of moving her.) They kept her living with people far less functional than she; and their willfulness cost her and her stepson lots of money. (During one visit, a lady who was intently watching a TV show for young children kept confusing Kise and me with characters in the show. Kise whispered, “You don't get smarter in here.”)

In February 2018 the Judge ordered them to comply with his 2017 order. 

We celebrated with lunch at Aqua Reef. We were so relieved that Kise could finally move to a facility near her stepson's home, join them for meals, and go to their house to garden. She called them “a godsend.” 

I wished I had a videotape of our conversation to show her “guardians.” What was remarkable about our good-bye lunch was that it wasn't remarkable. Kise was charming and quick-witted. Her stepson and his wife treated her with the love and respect she deserved.

As I hugged everyone, I realized how moved I felt.

It seemed incredible that for over a year her guardian and court-appointed lawyer (perhaps well-intentioned), had charged Kise big bucks to keep her locked up and away from her family.

                                                          -30-

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 7 October 2018, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website (New Mexico's Guardianship System Raises Serious Questions).  A spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and on KTAL, 101.5 FM (streamable at www.lccommunityradio.org,]        

[I can't say much more about Kise's case, except that when I've had a chance to talk with her and her stepson, things sound so much better than when she was here.  Nothing against the facility in which she was kept, where the people who worked with her seemed to genuinely like her and be liked by her.  The key problem is that operating in relative darkness, guardians have pretty absolute power over their charges, particularly since in any disagreement a competent-appearing professional has a pretty significant credibility edge on a person who is or may be approaching dementia.  And we know what Lord Acton said about absolute power corrupting absolutely.  Perhaps it's a wonder that some -- perhaps the majority of -- guardians are honest and caring and thoughtful.]

[In California, Kise read this column and appreciated it.  She commented that "you don't normally read something in the newspaper so truthful."  Thursday is her birthday -- she'll be 87 -- and I'll be thinking of her.]

[Again, I do not mean by this column to indict an industry.  Or anyone.  I mean to join the chorus warning that there are dangers here.  Kise did need some kind of intervention.  But the guardians, in my opinion, dug in too deeply when faced with a loving family.  Her stepson became the Enemy, and battling him seemed to become their mission.  I'm told that under the new rules, they would have been required to serve him with papers right from the start, which would have helped here.]

[By the way, although stories have also appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, the AARP Magazine piece (by Kenneth Miller), which sparked my publication of this column, is in the October/November issue and is entitled "AARP Investigates: A Legal Hostage" and subtitled, "A court-ordered guardianship nearly shattered the life of Kise Davis in a trend that now too often leads to isolation and exploitation of older Americans."  (I'd written the column months ago, but not thought it appropriate to publish it while the case was in the courts and before the information in it had become public.)]

Larry and Kise -- from the AARP article

Random Recent Images -- Garden and Mid-Autumn Festival

Haven't been doing much visual play recently, let alone posting anything.  But after I played around with this image of a Maximilian Sunflower hosting a bumblebee, I liked it; and when I'd left it on the screen and then returned to the room and saw it at a distance, I liked it better.  Nothing special, I know, but fun:

A Quiet Sunday

Then I thought about the poisoning of the bees and the vulnerability of plants and people to the climate change our leaders deny exists, and liked the image a little more somehow.

Saturday as the shadows lengthened and the sun descended, I stopped by the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and shot a few pictures -- with sun behind performers -- that I played around with for a moment this morning.

It was sponsored by our old friend the Confucius Institute.  Elvira said some of the performers were from Las Cruces Academy -- and I saw Vince Gutschick there shooting video.

Pleasant to see such a varied assortment of ethnicities represented in the performers and the audience. 

And here are a couple more images from the garden. 

Bird Bath w Blossoms

Self-Portrait w Rain Chain