Trump Caves on Wall Shutdown -- Belatedly

For weeks, Donald Trump has behaved like a sulking rich kid who'll take his football home if he doesn't like how the game was going. 

Before he suddenly blinked Friday, Trump's pointless and devastating shutdown did us deep and lasting damage. I hope he got sufficiently burned that he'll approve whatever compromise his Republican pals and the Democrats reach in these three weeks; but there's no guarantee!

Trump owned this shutdown. He welcomed it, and admitted to owning it, before walking out on Democratic Congressfolk one day. He's refused to budge from “$5.7 billion for a border wall” even though experts and most border residents find that simplistic, even counterproductive. 

Needed or not, the wall was certainly not the “Emergency” Trump may declare it to be. In fact, whether it's here or in Calexico, California, border towns aren't into Trump's wall. Nationally, only about 22% see it as an emergency, and 70% say a wall's not worth the shutdown. More U.S. citizens see the shutdown as an emergency than call the wall one. Texas Congressman Will Hurd (ex-CIA) called the crisis “a myth” and the wall “the most expensive and least effective” solution. 

But Trump's gotta do the craziest things Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh dare him to do. That too reminds me of boyhood. In fourth grade, I had to do whatever mischief the other kids dared me to do, even if it was stupid, just to keep up my “rep.” 

We can't yet see the full extent of the harm the shutdown did. After the 2014 shutdown, just 16 days, Standard and Poor's estimate of the damage to our economy was $24 billion. 

It isn't just middle-class office workers having to dip into savings, or your passport being delayed; or even New Mexico's Workforce Solutions Department shifting all resources to help furloughed federal workers.

It's unnecessary pressure on air traffic controllers, airport inspectors, and others whose competence we rely on daily. Career controllers admitting they're making mistakes they've never made. (Friday, LaGuardia stopped flights to LaGuardia, for safety.) Trump could “own” an airliner crash. It's the FBI complaining that child sex-trafficking investigations and other important cases are stalling. (Friday the Trump-appointed Director confirmed he was angry over the shutdown.) It's a woman getting thrown out of the home she just found where a fence keeps her two autistic kids off the street getting thrown out. It's seeing furloughed federal employees, embarrassed, line up for meals or groceries in the Community of Hope.

It's also the disruption. Because government is so complex, and does so much, it's not like closing a factory for six weeks, then re-opening it. People were suffering lasting harm. Skilled government employees were leaving for better-paying and steadier jobs with corporations.

The shutdown symbolized our inability to compromise; but it might have made Trump the greatest unifying force since September 11. 

So why did Trump cave? 

His troops were wavering. Congressional Republicans saw that the madness was hurting them. Six Republican senators voted with Democrats to open the government, creating a majority but not a 60-vote majority. Then came the bipartisan move toward a “clean” three-week re-opening, with government open during a discussion of border security. (Initially, Trump rejected that too, then accepted it hours later, denying he was backing down.) 

Possibly even Donald realized his tantrum was hurting him. 

And some Italian kid's mom quietly but firmly told him “No!” and stuck to it.

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[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 27 January 2019, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and on KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air during the week on both KRWG and KTAL, 101.5 FM (www.lccommunityradio.org).]

[This was an odd column to do, because I basically wrote it before Friday's sudden end to the Shutdown, sent it in for Sunday's Sun-News, then quickly revised it.  It seemed that either Trump's recalcitrance would force the U.S. Senate to reach a compromise, and embarrass Trump further, or he would retreat.  My predictions for the next three weeks are that we'll be looking at a budget keeping the government open but nothing like what Trump has been demanding as far as border-wall funding.  Although he's recently adopted some weasel words to prepare to save face -- such as that we don't need a big shining wall the whole length of the border and that technology can do better than a wall in some places, all things Democrats have been saying all along -- I think he may try the "Emergency" route to convince rabid wall fans that he's doing the best he can.  That'll get tied up in court.  If it does, that's bad -- not for right now but because the resulting Supreme Court decision is likely to be a bad precedent.  Even Republicans who know anything don't want to see it, lest the next Democrat in the White House declare a National Emergency over climate-change!] 

Three Promising Bills on Water

“New Mexico is faced with, but has not faced up to, important water resource limitations.” That accurate statement comes from a group that, pursuant to House Memorial 1 (2017), has thought long and hard about our water situation. (Some of these folks have been thinking about New Mexico's water management for more than a quarter-century.)

They recommend three bills the Legislature should adopt this session. All are in committee.

HB174 directs the state engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission (“ISC”) to prepare to administer water rights and water use by priority (as required by law), ensure compliance with the Rio Grande Compact if necessary, and encourage local water-sharing agreements.

HB186 would amend ISC statutes to require addressing hydrological realities through science-based planning. Those realities include unsustainable water use, watershed health, water-conservation needs, and climate-change impacts. (We need to consider these realities, and only a science-based approach makes sense.) 

HB187 seeks reform of important unresolved issues in water law. The bill wouldn't presume to dictate answers, but would direct the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at UNM to make recommendations. Utton would evaluate in detail five aspects of water law, including general stream adjudications of water rights, protection of supplies, and preparations for supply and demand changes triggered by higher temperatures and climate change. 

New Mexico's water laws need review and improvements. At least three other western states have adjudication laws and processes that are more productive and less adversarial than ours. 

Water laws created for an unpopulated desert to which the government wanted to attract people and development are as ill-fitting for a highly-populated desert with competing water needs as the striped suit I wore at my 5^th birthday party would be for me now. We need to face up to the harsh realities of our Land of Enchantment. We need to make some damned difficult decisions, which will leave no one completely happy, but at least start providing for future generations. We need to adjust old systems to the new world without either giving some people huge windfalls or simply deleting anyone's legal property rights. 

These bills don't do everything we'll ultimately have to do. But they would make our decision-makers sit down and face the problems, then get to work. New Mexico leaders from all political persuasions have kicked this problem down the road too long.

The bills' proponents note that we could lose the U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit, drastically cutting our future water use from and near the Rio Grande; groundwater around the state is being depleted or rendered unpotable; and the state has treated water administration as I used to treat car radiators: ignore 'em til they blew and be sad when the engine cracked.

Some might say language in the bill sounds like an admission against New Mexico's interest in the lawsuit; but the state's lawyers can easily massage references to a possible loss, to avoid any apparent concession of any position taken by Texas. Separately, the state has strong counterclaims: Texas's unregulated groundwater pumping is a big part of the problem.

Some could argue that the new governor will appoint a savvy state engineer and topnotch ISC Director; but given decades of neglect by both parties, it'd be prudent to enact most of these proposals into law. This should include making the ISC non-partisan and clarifying its urgent message; and we need clear and reliable data for decision-makers, as well as funding.

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[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 20 January 2019, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website website and on KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and on KTAL-LP, 101.5 FM (or stream at www.lccommunityradio.org)] 

[IF YOUR WANT YOUR VOICE HEARD this legislative session, please read this.  

1. The folks at Retake our Democracy (Paul Gibson, Roxanne Barber, and others) up in Santa Fe have put some useful resources on their website:   Paul will also be reporting regularly during the session on KTAL-LP's "Speak Up, Las Cruces!" (which I host) Wednesdays 8-10 a.m.  He'll be calling in as and when that fits his schedule and what's going on in the show, so I can't say just when he'll call.

2. www.nmlegis.gov is a great way to find out what's happening with bills you care about, and which committee(s) are looking at them or will soon be doing so, as well as reading the full and accurate text of bills.  This is a nonparisan governmental site.

3. The Secretary of State's Office site offers ways to check which legislators and causes got money from whom, or whom the NRA or Planned Parenthood or New Mexico Foundation for Open Government contributed to.

4. I'm hoping we'll get regular calls from folks who are either legislators or up in Santa Fe observing events closely]  Paul Gibson's one, but I've talked to several others.  Again, the show is 8-10 a.m. Wednesdays, on 101.5 FM (or streamable at www.lccommunityradio.org]

[David Gutzler's January 17 presentation to the House Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Committee

was excellent.  One thing he said was,  “My plea is that we need to modernize water policy in New Mexico as best we can and as equitably as we can but in recognition of a changing climate in which surface water supplies are diminished across the state.  I think we have no choice but to do that.    Please don't ignore what is happening with the supply of water in our state and what is likely to happen in the future.” ]

[The three bills discussed above have all been sent to the House Ag and Water Resources Committee.  Our own Micaela Lara Cadena (from Dist. 33) is one of the members of that Committee.  Feel free to email or call he with your view on these bills.  Other members include Raymundo Lara (Dist. 34) and Chair Derrick J. Lente (Dist. 65, and Vice-Chair Candie G. Sweetser.  If you happen to know any of them, and particularly if you  live in his or her district, please communicate on this.  Thanks!]

Here Comes New Mexico's 2019 Legislative Session!

What should we expect – or want – from the 2019 state legislative session?

It's an interesting year: there's more money than usual, and both our governor and legislative majorities are Democratic.

More money means we can do some things we need to; but more money could tempt us to make promises we might not be able to keep. Reason and restraint are essential. 

The source of the extra funds brings to the fore a key dilemma: our financial health depends on an oil-and-gas industry that (a) is inherently mercurial and (b) will and should decline as we try to save what we can of our environment. Our legislators should recognize this in evaluating energy and environmental matters. We must act to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels, but try to prepare realistically for how that could affect our state. We must diversify our income sources, and build cleaner ones, such as renewable energy and outdoor activities. Given our sunlight, developing solar energy could be an important opportunity for our state, not merely practical.

Party power means party responsibility. With power and adequate funding, we can do what's right – if we can figure out what's right. “We tried, but she vetoed it,” won't be an excuse this year.

That said, what should we hope to see – and plan to keep an eye on and advocate? 

Timely bills regarding water planning and administration, but those deserve their own column, and more. Without water, we aren't here.

Legislatively and administratively, we need to turn around education – including early-childhood, and focus particularly on the under-served kids addressed in the Yazzie/Martinez decision. And while the outgoing administration provided examples of what doesn't work, I've seen no clear blueprint of what will work.

The Health Security Act. A ban on coyote-killing contests. Ending the marijuana prohibition, increasing both fairness and profit. 

The Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Act. If you're mentally competent and terminally ill, you should be free to leave the party when you choose, with a doctor's help. What decision could be more personal -- with less reason for government interference?

Decriminalization of abortion. This too is a deeply personal decision. (We men can't imagine how it feels to carry and give birth to an unwanted baby.) That some religions forbid it means that some adherents to those religions will decline to have abortions. There's a recognized constitutional right to choose; thus the law is ineffective clutter. If ever the Supreme Court withdraws federal protection of that right, New Mexico should start from a clean slate and decide in today's world what to do – not be hamstrung by an old law.

Adding teeth to the law requiring background checks for gun-buyers. 

Sensible environmental regulations. The Trump Administration is bent on letting every business poison our environment if a buck can be made that way. Governor Martinez was owned by oil-and-gas, and her eight years weakened some important regulations. Legislatively and administratively, we must repair what damage we can, and correct what we must, even if keeping an oil company from poisoning neighbors' water wells could slightly reduce the company's handsome profits. 

Meanwhile, escalating hyper-partisanship is a threat to our democracy, one Trump has fed but did not start. I hope our Democratic friends in Santa Fe treat our Republican friends with the courtesy and civility Democrats would have liked to enjoy during the past four years.

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[The above column appeared today, Sunday, 13 January, 2019, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and on KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and KTAL, 101.5 FM (www.lccommunityradio.org)] 

[I discussed the Elizabeth Whitefield bill in another recent column, The Freedom to Live, the Freedom to Die, (23 December 2018) I've also recently interviewed several of our state representatives on radio recently, and think we've sent to Santa Fe an excellent set of people, generally, to deal with the opportunities and problems under legislative consideration.]

[Something I hope many will take a look at on the paper's website is the obituary of Arturo Flores, a remarkable man who died 1 January, 2019, a few months after his 100th birthday.  His longevity is the least of the reasons he was remarkable.  One of the major reasons will be understood by anyone who's seen the film, Salt of the Earth, which focuses on the courage and heroism of Mr. Flores and others in the 1951 strike against a mining company in southwest New Mexico.  The obit has links to discussions with him and others about those events.  (One thing I greatly regret is that I didn't get an interview recorded with him during the past couple of years.  His hearing difficulties and limited mobility were problems, as was my schedule, but until near the end he was cogent and interesting, and I should have gotten it done!  Another reminder that our time is limited and we should get the important things done!)  In addition to having been a remarkably smart, resourceful, and courageous gent, he headed a fine family -- and I was startled to realize at his birthday celebration that people I already knew and respected were related to him and/or has been influenced by him.  The paragraph below is from a website concerning the best labor films of all time, on which list this film is second:

Salt of the Earth (US, 1954)

Directed by Herbert Biberman, Salt of the Earth is famous in film history because nearly everyone involved in making the movie was blacklisted by Hollywood as part of the Red Scare of the 1950s, also known as the McCarthy Era for Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. The film tells the story of a 1951 strike in New Mexico against a zinc mining company. The story is unusual for the time in that most of the workers are Mexican immigrants; in addition, a major aspect of the story is the struggle between the male workers and their wives. The striking male workers want their wives to stay at home, cook and take care of the children. The women want to help the men win the strike. Guess who wins that argument? When the mine owner obtains an injunction against the striking workers, the women step up and maintain the picket lines.]

Welcome to 2019!

In 2019, I will be more mindful, contemplative, grateful, and kind.

Mindfulness? Hitting a tennis ball, I know to keep my head down as long as possible. Driving, I try to be aware of everything around me, and how fast it's moving. 

Can I manage that same mindfulness in all that I do? Be as wholly present washing dishes or watering the vegetables as I am playing ball? 

Contemplation is good, both for itself and for its results – although best when I neither seek nor even envision “results.” The gift is to stop for a moment: stop doing, saying, planning, resenting. Just be. Breathe. Stopping the rush, externally and internally, creates space for an insight, a memory, even a poem to wander in. It frees me to appreciate what I really like or enjoy, or hear what may be crying out for change, inside or around me.

Gratitude is important. That dawned on me even before the current slew of books, articles, and studies telling us gratitude is good for us. In 2019 I will be more grateful – even “blessed,” without feeling any particular need to figure out by whom or by what. Not just because feeling and expressing gratitude is healthy, but because so much demands my gratitude.

I am grateful for – well, above all, my wife. I lack space to list all that we share and laugh about, and all that she teaches me.

I am grateful for: the Organ Mountains, especially at sunset or in snow; our caring, thoughtful Congresswoman, Xochitl Torres-Small; many wonderful coffee houses and other local businesses that deserve our support; the more tolerant spirit I hope to feel among us, perhaps because we are seeing clearly where acrimony and hyper-partisanship lead; the surprising courtesy Las Cruces drivers extend to us as we bicycle about town; KTAL 101.5 FM (Las Cruces Community Radio) and KRWG; our deep well of talented artists, poets, and musicians; our community; Arturo Flores, 100, a WWII vet and courageous labor leader, who died this week (I'm grateful that we had him so long, and for his fine family and his influence on his many friends); people who read and respond to these columns; my invigorating poetry workshop; Bob Diven and Mark Medoff; the talented, tireless growers and craftspeople at the Saturday Farmers' Market; Camp Hope; our longstanding local theater groups, movies at the Fountain, and the Las Cruces Symphony; good health; and the abandoned Doña Ana County Courthouse, haunted by memories of this long-haired young newspaper reporter. (With its adobe walls, it looked great in this week's snow.)

I'm also grateful for a sense of wonder, which children (like great-grandson Teddy) and snow restore to me when I misplace it. 

If I were making real “Resolutions” they'd include being more kind (doing some unexpected good turn for someone each day), of course, but also: wonder often; and do only what I can do with joy. That last is tough. But I guess if I can't choose only activities that spark joy, I need to find what joy there is in all that I must do. And, last, I will not judge others, let alone complain about the speck in their eye without first dealing with the beam in mine. 

Finally, gratitude to Bear, our esteemed cat, who helps me sit up straight by occupying most of the chair from which I scribble this.

Happy New Year!

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[The above column appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News this morning, Sunday, 6 January 2019, as well as on the newspaper's website and on KRWG's website and here.  During the week a spoken version will air on KRWG (Wednesday and Saturday) and KTAL-LP 101.5 FM, streamable at www.lccommunityradio.org (Thursday).  

Someone asked me about this yesterday: the spoken version is shorter and re-edited to be heard rather than read. It's shorter because reading the entire 570-word column would take a longer time than the radio station wants; and minor changes improve it for being heard: for example, if there's no reason not to, I'll change "difficult" to "hard" because whereas each counts a word in the column, one's three times as many syllables as the other; I'll rewrite a long sentences, or one that has a long dependent clause at the start, to be two simple, declarative sentences; and there are a few things that just sound better than they read.  Then too, sometimes as I've reflected on the column during the days after sending it in, or there have been new developments if the column concerns a breaking story about Donald Trump or the sheriff's department, I may change the column to reflect those.]

[Arturo Flores died after I'd drafted the column but before I sent it in.  I'd wanted to write a column about him at the time of his 100th birthday, in October; but that was also right in the middle of election season, so I delayed it.  I'll hope to write one on him next week.    

I knew him; and I knew his story -- grew up in New Mexico, served in World War II,  returned to the U.S. to face the kind of ethnic discrimination that showed this country's hypocrisy, and was a courageous labor leader in the situation over near Silver City best shown in the classic film, Salt of the Earth (1954).  He wasn't in the film because he was too busy dealing with some other urgent labor situation.  I learned at his birthday celebration that many of his friends and family-members were in that film -- including, I think, Emily Guerra, then a small child.  I'll hope to write a column on him next week.  He was a good, smart, and courageous man whom our community should honor.]