I know you're all wondering where I went, my last post was more than a year ago. Please, please, please, one at a time. Everyone will get a chance to answer at least one question.
So since my last post I worked as a media consultant on various public relations campaigns here in Albuquerque. Oh and I went to Hungary for six weeks. I can't reveal all the details and don't have the time but the long story short, a New York political firm needed some help with a campaign in Budapest and I was the free agent they used to keep an eye on things there. Beautiful city in a beautiful country and I hope to go back one day on vacation.
After that I was a political hit man for a bit. People donated money and I came up with political ads to go after "unwanted" incumbents. No dirty tricks, just used the truth about their political records against them and made sure we targeted the right issues and the right voters. I can't tell you how important that last part is.
I'll try to keep this post updated for my millions of fans out there. Ciao kids.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, January 5, 2009
Bill Richardson: Out Before He's In
Well, lots to talk about today.
Everybody by now has heard about Gov. Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his nomination for a place on the Obama Cabinet. Then again you might have been living under a rock so here's a story or two for you. Lots of them out there by now but since Andrea Mitchell broke the story let's give NBC some props by directing you here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28493919/
Anyway, the gov's spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos, keeps saying it was Richardson's decision to make which was technicially true I guess. He made the decision to step down but you can be sure he was urged to do so. Someone needs to ask Gallegos this question, "Did President Elect Obama or any member of his staff ASK Governor Richardson to withdraw his nomination?" and see what he says. Chances are Gallegos' responses will either be "I don't know" or "No comment."
So what does Obama do now? Does he allow the present commerce head to stay on board while this all gets sorted out or does he appoint someone new? By the way I was suprised to see that there is already a Hispanic Commerce Secretary, namely Carlos M. Gutierrez, who studied Business Administration at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Queretaro, Mexico.
As for Richardson's fate it's too soon to tell. Depending on how the grand jury investigation goes this could either blow over and he could become Commerce Secretary eventually. Then again if the play or pay rumors are true he might not be New Mexico governor anymore either. As a former reporter who covered his share of politics I know a bit about funneling campaign contributions. A couple of firms in Honolulu had dozens of their employees make individual contributions to a former mayor's campaign so that they could get around campaign donation limits. Even their spouses made contributions. The mayor in question said he knew nothing about it of course but had to relinquish his run for governor in light of the controversy.
Of couse, the State of Hawaii has a Campaign Spending Commission that investigates these sorts of violations. Is there something similar here in New Mexico? If not there should be.
Everybody by now has heard about Gov. Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his nomination for a place on the Obama Cabinet. Then again you might have been living under a rock so here's a story or two for you. Lots of them out there by now but since Andrea Mitchell broke the story let's give NBC some props by directing you here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28493919/
Anyway, the gov's spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos, keeps saying it was Richardson's decision to make which was technicially true I guess. He made the decision to step down but you can be sure he was urged to do so. Someone needs to ask Gallegos this question, "Did President Elect Obama or any member of his staff ASK Governor Richardson to withdraw his nomination?" and see what he says. Chances are Gallegos' responses will either be "I don't know" or "No comment."
So what does Obama do now? Does he allow the present commerce head to stay on board while this all gets sorted out or does he appoint someone new? By the way I was suprised to see that there is already a Hispanic Commerce Secretary, namely Carlos M. Gutierrez, who studied Business Administration at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Queretaro, Mexico.
As for Richardson's fate it's too soon to tell. Depending on how the grand jury investigation goes this could either blow over and he could become Commerce Secretary eventually. Then again if the play or pay rumors are true he might not be New Mexico governor anymore either. As a former reporter who covered his share of politics I know a bit about funneling campaign contributions. A couple of firms in Honolulu had dozens of their employees make individual contributions to a former mayor's campaign so that they could get around campaign donation limits. Even their spouses made contributions. The mayor in question said he knew nothing about it of course but had to relinquish his run for governor in light of the controversy.
Of couse, the State of Hawaii has a Campaign Spending Commission that investigates these sorts of violations. Is there something similar here in New Mexico? If not there should be.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Rail Runner Woes
Looks like I'm not the only one who had a bad experience on Dec. 27, check this link:
http://www.newmexicoliberty.com/forum/topics/rail-runner-interruptus?page=1&commentId=2216122%3AComment%3A7646&x=1#2216122Comment7646
http://www.newmexicoliberty.com/forum/topics/rail-runner-interruptus?page=1&commentId=2216122%3AComment%3A7646&x=1#2216122Comment7646
Run from the Rail Runner
Just came across this New Mexico Independent article about the Rail Runner and have to add my two cents. I'll let you read it first:
My one nitpick with the new train to Santa Fe
The author paints a rosy picture and has but one nitpick (hence the title) about more trains running later so people can attend evening events such as concerts, dinners, etc. Not a bad thought.
In the meantime though I have a bigger concern about public safety, one which the author might not have noticed since she rode the day before Christmas, in the middle of the week.
Catch the Rail Runner on the weekends and you'll have to fight a mob that rivals crowds at most European soccer games. They are desperate and rude and not afraid to do whatever they need to do to get that free ride.
My experience comes from catching the 11:32 a.m. train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe on December 27, 2008. The platform was packed with people and I believe KRQE reported some 8,000 people rode the train that day.
When the train arrived at the Albuquerque station there was no organization, no plan and no consideration. People pushed and shoved my three and eight year old sons and my mother while those deboarding the train pushed their way off from the other direction. One woman next to us in line said "I have to get inside, my baby is in there!" so we let her through. I happened to be standing next to the same woman once inside the train and there she was with her "baby", her fiance, a grown man who even admitted that the couple had no children.
Inside it was standing room only, which is fine but where are those bars and handles that you find overhead in most buses and subways? What the heck are we supposed to hang on to? My sister in law adopted a karate stance that she held all the way to Santa Fe. Other people sat on trash bins and on the stairs. Is that even legal? Isn't that against some federal transportation law? Going to have to check into that at some point.
And what's the ridership limit for a train that size anyway? It seems the Rail Runner workers weren't counting, just eyeballing the situation and closing the doors when it seemed the cars were going to overflow. Gimmie a break.
Look, kudos for the free rides. It's a wonderful thing and we all appreciate it. But that doesn't mean you throw rules and safety out the window. Someone is going to get hurt during one of these free-for-all weekends if something isn't done.
My one nitpick with the new train to Santa Fe
The author paints a rosy picture and has but one nitpick (hence the title) about more trains running later so people can attend evening events such as concerts, dinners, etc. Not a bad thought.
In the meantime though I have a bigger concern about public safety, one which the author might not have noticed since she rode the day before Christmas, in the middle of the week.
Catch the Rail Runner on the weekends and you'll have to fight a mob that rivals crowds at most European soccer games. They are desperate and rude and not afraid to do whatever they need to do to get that free ride.
My experience comes from catching the 11:32 a.m. train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe on December 27, 2008. The platform was packed with people and I believe KRQE reported some 8,000 people rode the train that day.
When the train arrived at the Albuquerque station there was no organization, no plan and no consideration. People pushed and shoved my three and eight year old sons and my mother while those deboarding the train pushed their way off from the other direction. One woman next to us in line said "I have to get inside, my baby is in there!" so we let her through. I happened to be standing next to the same woman once inside the train and there she was with her "baby", her fiance, a grown man who even admitted that the couple had no children.
Inside it was standing room only, which is fine but where are those bars and handles that you find overhead in most buses and subways? What the heck are we supposed to hang on to? My sister in law adopted a karate stance that she held all the way to Santa Fe. Other people sat on trash bins and on the stairs. Is that even legal? Isn't that against some federal transportation law? Going to have to check into that at some point.
And what's the ridership limit for a train that size anyway? It seems the Rail Runner workers weren't counting, just eyeballing the situation and closing the doors when it seemed the cars were going to overflow. Gimmie a break.
Look, kudos for the free rides. It's a wonderful thing and we all appreciate it. But that doesn't mean you throw rules and safety out the window. Someone is going to get hurt during one of these free-for-all weekends if something isn't done.
New Year, Same Situation
Ahhh, 2009. Take a new president, add fumbling economy and a crisis between Israel and Hamas and what do you get? Surprisingly you get news that many Americans don't have time to read or watch because they're too busy looking for a job.
Welcome to the club my friends.
There was a time when dark horizons meant job security for me. Bad news keep me busy as I was once a reporter, 13 years in fact. Did some tv in my 20's and went on to writing for newspapers in my 30's. Then I took a chance on a political public relations gig and have been jobless since Election Day. That's what happens when you hitch your wagon to a falling star I guess. Ah, to have gotten that U.S. Senate job. Damn you George W. Bush.
Of course now trying to get back into the workforce has been a pain in the a$$. Even Target turned me down. Target for crying out loud! Years reporting on politics, crime, court, and everything else under the sun and now Target won't even let me wear their red shirts and stock shelves. A pox on them. Just for that I'm only paying the minimum on my Target card bill.
So now what?
Well, I keep looking for a job I guess. And watching the kids. And cleaning the house. And picking up the dog's crap in the backyard. My wife (we're actualy not married yet but have two kids and have been living together for 5 years now so technically we are in my book) got me a gym membership God bless her soul and I can at least do something about myself physicially. Just went this morning in fact.
And after that workout session it got me to thinking, that I should be using my writing muscles as well. So here we are.
Now to bring it all full circle, I did read a few articles on the Israel/Hamas situation between job searches. Here's a good one.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/a_real_ceasefire_needed_in_gaz.html
I just recently saw a group of people in downtown Albuquerque waving signs for peace in Gaza and demanding that Israel stop the attacks. I honked in support but realized later that the situation is not that simple. I pray that God give our new government leaders the strength, wisdom and whatever else they need to resolve the situation.
And God, I'll take a job while you're at it.
Welcome to the club my friends.
There was a time when dark horizons meant job security for me. Bad news keep me busy as I was once a reporter, 13 years in fact. Did some tv in my 20's and went on to writing for newspapers in my 30's. Then I took a chance on a political public relations gig and have been jobless since Election Day. That's what happens when you hitch your wagon to a falling star I guess. Ah, to have gotten that U.S. Senate job. Damn you George W. Bush.
Of course now trying to get back into the workforce has been a pain in the a$$. Even Target turned me down. Target for crying out loud! Years reporting on politics, crime, court, and everything else under the sun and now Target won't even let me wear their red shirts and stock shelves. A pox on them. Just for that I'm only paying the minimum on my Target card bill.
So now what?
Well, I keep looking for a job I guess. And watching the kids. And cleaning the house. And picking up the dog's crap in the backyard. My wife (we're actualy not married yet but have two kids and have been living together for 5 years now so technically we are in my book) got me a gym membership God bless her soul and I can at least do something about myself physicially. Just went this morning in fact.
And after that workout session it got me to thinking, that I should be using my writing muscles as well. So here we are.
Now to bring it all full circle, I did read a few articles on the Israel/Hamas situation between job searches. Here's a good one.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/a_real_ceasefire_needed_in_gaz.html
I just recently saw a group of people in downtown Albuquerque waving signs for peace in Gaza and demanding that Israel stop the attacks. I honked in support but realized later that the situation is not that simple. I pray that God give our new government leaders the strength, wisdom and whatever else they need to resolve the situation.
And God, I'll take a job while you're at it.
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