The Road to Tyranny

The greatest threat to our freedom isn't some Islamo-Facist group training in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan (although they remain a threat to our security), it's the internal threat created by good intentions. Whether it's global warming or healthcare these crises of convenience are serving to render liberty a quaint reminder of our past.

Our individual liberties are being consistently eroded by our good intentions. As a country and a society we are a generous people who want to see those less fortunate provided with an opportunity to better their lot in life. We also want to be good stewards of the environment in which we live. Our response is to give ever increasing authority to government eschewing our own responsibilities and delivering our liberties to those who are the most likely to abuse them and us.

Gov. Bill Richardson has issued an executive order today that contains a slew of new emission reduction directives designed to combat climate change, which the governor described as "the most critical environmental issue of our time."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

In addition, the executive order specifically calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that stem from coal-fired power plants and mining operations.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Never mind that the global warming "scientists" are far too willing to substitute consensus for evidence. Never mind that the historical record indicates periods of global cooling and warming long before man's discovery of the useful nature of carbon based fuels. Ever increasing regulation will strangle innovation and for a state dependent on oil and gas revenue that has regulated itself into a $600 MILLION deficit, more regulation equals economic disaster.

American success is built upon American freedom. Whether it's regulating a gas created by every mammal on the planet in the name of saving said planet or creating a new health insurance system that will inevitably lead to poorer care and fewer choices, our personal and economic freedoms are under attack.

The Tea Party movement is a direct response to our government's attack on freedom. They understand that when government spends our money and binds us to financial commitments that cannot possibly be repaid for generations. Each dollar spent by government, each financial obligation incurred necessarily our economic options - our economic freedom.

If we continue down this road of empowering government rather than insuring liberty we will achieve the ends that are the goal of our country's Islamo-Facist enemies, economic collapse and governmental tyranny.

First You Laugh, Then You Cry

"There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth." Victor Borge

Saturday Night Live has received widespread acclaim for their recent skit called "China Cold Open, China would like their money back." (Google that it if you have not seen it.) NBC's website features page after page of praise for the great skit. One calls it an “instant classic.” Another proclaims that with this skit, SNL has been “reborn.” Surely, they hit the ball out of the park with this one. It has been talked about around water coolers, posted on FaceBook and passed around via e-mail.

It is truly laugh-out-loud funny. However, after you laugh, you cry. Like the Victor Borge quote, it is truth. SNL knows to base humor on truth. The rest of us need to acknowledge China's prominence as truth.

Unfortunately, as the skit highlights, America is in no position to lecture China on their shortcomings. We are borrowing their money, but have no way to pay it back. As the skit makes clear, we cannot pay it back in “clunkers.”

In the current economy, China holds all the cards.

Some important news items relating to China have been buried by all the noise about healthcare.

One is in regard to rare earth minerals— things most people are totally unaware of, but things that are essential to modern life. Rare earths include names that most of us cannot pronounce like neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. (Perhaps that is why no one talks about them.) But these unfamiliar words represent essential components of things as everyday as computers, cell phones, and television as well as less obvious necessities like magnets, CDs, and infrared equipment. The China connection is that China controls 97% of the world’s rare earth market and is working to take over more—a move that was struck down by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board as they realized the geopolitical danger of China's control. Add to that the fact that China just announced that they will discontinue the export of rare earths as their own needs are exceeding production. This means that all items requiring rare earths will have to be manufactured by China—giving them full market dominance. Unless, America quickly moves forward on accessing our own rare earths that we have in abundance. An important thing to note is that China’s rare earths are essential for the widely touted "green energy."

Next, China is rapidly moving past us when it comes to energy. We hear a lot about how many new coal-fueled power plants China is building and we hear about China's pollution. But we are not reading between the lines of those two news tracks. Yes, China has polluted their skies and waters—much like we did in the early seventies. And, like we did, they are now working to clean them up. However, unlike America, they understand the direct connection between energy, manufacturing, and economic development. So, while they know they need to clean up, they are investing in clean energy that works. They know they need the large-scale power that comes from coal and nuclear and their new power plants are multiplying like rabbits. We all know that nuclear provides clean energy, but what most do not realize is that coal has cleaned up its act. The power plants that are being built in China—and that could be being built here—are now as clean as a natural gas-fueled power plant. The difference is that China is building them and in America we are busy demonizing coal. Professor Michael Economides, author of the new book Energy: China's Choke Point, says “If China and America decided to do something on the same day, two years later America would still be mired in the permitting process and China would have it done.” They now have the “can-do” attitude and America keeps saying we “cannot.”

While China is building the power they need, America is trying to move off of what works and hopes supplemental, intermittent energy can carry the load—when many of the parts needed for wind and solar energy and hybrid cars come from China.

China is loaning us money that we have virtually no hope of paying back. China will also be holding all the cards when it comes to energy. They'll have all they need and we won't have enough. China will be laughing and Americans will be crying. First you laugh, and then you cry.

Marita Noon is the executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE), a nonprofit organization that operates from the platform of “Energy Makes America Great” and supports all domestic energy development. She can be reached at marita@responsiblenergy.org or www.responsiblenergy.org.

A New Beginning

Today the City of Albuquerque will experience something that we have something we haven't had in 8 long years... a new beginning. Marty will be handing over the keys to the city and taking many of his merry band of minions with him.

We've been critical of some of Mayor-Elect Berry's choices - particularly Chief Schultz and David Campbell. However, they are Berry's choices for good or ill. The major difference between the outgoing mayor and the incoming mayor is that R.J. Berry is making choices that he believes are good for the city - people who can keep the governmental lights on and keep the buses running on time.

Monday, the Albuquerque Journal ran what can only be described as a puff piece - fortunately the final puff piece of the Chavez tenure. Predictably, the Journal's focus was on the Chavez Legacy.

"I think, when all is said and done, people will say Mayor Chávez got things done," Chávez said Friday in a telephone interview. "The city is dramatically different than it was, I believe, when we started."

He added that he had help from city administrators: "I can't take full responsibility for everything."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The article goes on to list water conservation, the Montaño Bridge, the Paseo extension, graffiti removal, blah, blah, blah. Marty said himself that he couldn't take full responsibility - and that's probably the first absolutely honest quote we've read in a very long time. And one other thing... the mob gets things done too.

The fact is Marty had a lot of help from a lot of different elected officials. Moreover, how many of his legacy accomplishments would have been accomplished under another mayor? (Ok, maybe not Jim Baca.)

Marty's true legacy will be one of self-service and ever-increasing tyrannical behavior. Which brings us back to our new beginning.

If you'll remember, the Chavez campaign ran a whole slew of misleading commercials trying to portray Berry as less than honest. (Berry's new Chief of Police participated in a similar attack on Berry's character implying that he was somehow responsible for the crimes perpetrated against him.) The fact is the reason Marty was attacking Berry's honesty is because Mayor Berry is an honest man and as such he will honestly administer city government and we're all better for it.

Don't kid yourself... government is never pretty. Generally speaking, governments are made up of competing interests, beliefs, and agendas. Some feel that the ends justify the means and will do anything to advance their agenda. As a result, there will be bumps in the road and embarrassments for the new administration. The difference will be in how those bumps are handled by the mayor himself.

In October, the voters restored integrity to the mayor's office. We have high hopes for the future and for the new beginning that Mayor Berry brings with him.

The Blue Barrier of Fear

It's been a very bad couple of days for Chavez' old chief now Berry's new chief. Tuesday, Sergeant... uh, Chief Schultz received the bad news that his five years of serving as Albuquerque's top has earned him the dubious distinction of overseeing the metro area's rise to number eight on the list of the nation's most dangerous cities (read it here).

For Mayor-Elect Berry the news was an embarrassment because candidate Berry ran on a platform of fixing the crime problem created by the Chavez administration and presumably Marty's Chief Minion, Ray Schultz. In point of fact, the selection of Schultz itself made Berry look rather less than honest and both the media and the public can easily spot hypocrisy and/or political expedience.

[Sidebar]
A new mayor has not only the power but the duty to surround himself with "his" people. Chief Schultz was but one of the early missteps made by an inexperienced but ultimately honest politician.

Berry's mistake? Listening to his soon-to-be Public Safety Director. Darren White has been working with Schultz for more than just the past 5 years, but since he was a new APD patrolman and young Darren's first sergeant. Our Eyes tell us that White promised his first boss that he'd be staying on within hours of the election.

In his naiveté, Berry failed to realize the very real political implications of the Schultz choice - implications that should have been readily apparent to both White and Berry's other top appointment, David Campbell. It appears that both White and Campbell are busy following their own agendas.
[End Sidebar]

Late Wednesday afternoon things got even worse for the new chief (same as the old chief). For the past two weeks a lightly covered law suit was going forward in U.S. District court in Santa Fe. In it former Officer Sam Costales was suing APD and Chief Raymond Schultz for retaliating against Costales for giving testimony for the defense in the case of State of New Mexico vs. Unser.

Costales claimed that Schultz and the department created an atmosphere where he feared for his life and was ultimately forced to leave the department. Wednesday afternoon the jury found for the plaintiff and Costales was awarded $662,000.

The jury found that Chief Ray Schultz personally violated Costales' civil rights as did the Albuquerque Police Department. In addition, the jury found that there is a "blue wall of silence" and that the actions of Chief Schultz were retaliatory.

The lawsuit also named Sheriff Darren White and police union official James Badway, but claims against them have been settled.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The jury finding makes it look like the entire department acts in unison to close ranks and protect their own even if the "offender" is one of their own. The reality is a little more subtle than that and a hell of a lot more dangerous.

Our observation is that while rank and file officers are regularly drawn and quartered publicly, while the favored few - the good ol' boys - are regularly protected from the consequences of their own screw-ups and misdeeds. Our Eyes even tell us that some of Ray's Favored have even been protected from allegations of criminal conduct.

It's no surprise that when Sheriff Darren White called Schultz to complain about Costales' testimony in the Unser case, Chief Schultz sprang into action to punish the officer who had the temerity to testify against the Sheriff's deputies. It's not a "blue wall of silence" as much as a blue barrier of fear where the mighty Favored Few are protected at all costs and the rank and file never know when they might be sacrificed to "prove" that the department is capable of policing itself.

All of which brings us to another of Berry's campaign promises... transparency. How can APD operate transparently when officers fear retribution? Transparency requires honesty and honesty is the first casualty of fear. Officers shouldn't face retribution for telling the truth, speaking their minds, or doing what's right. They should be rewarded not retaliated against.

[Sidebar]
It's telling that there was only one currently serving officer courageous enough to testify for the plaintiff. Our Eyes tell us that Sergeant Paul Heh testified yesterday much to the chagrin of Chief Schultz. Part of his testimony was that he feared 5th Floor retribution simply because he was called to testify.

If you're on the street and run into Sergeant Heh, tell him thank you and watch his back. You can bet that Schultz and crew will be looking for some payback.
[End Sidebar]

Until December 1st, Chief Schultz, his cronies and his cover-ups belong to the little vindictive outgoing mayor. Before Mayor-Elect Berry has even taken office, Chief Schultz has become an embarrassment to his administration. That's two strikes in as many days. After December 1st, the mess that is the APD 5th Floor will be owned by Berry.

The only questions remaining are how many strikes will Berry allow Schultz, how much more political capital is Darren White willing to burn on his favored friend, and how long will it take for the new mayor to figure out his mistake?

Give Thanks for Energy

by Marita Noon

During a recent trip, a flight attendant asked me where I was going. She smiled and asked, “Vacation?” “No,” I said, “I’m giving a speech.” She wondered about my topic. "Energy," I replied. "Great, I used to be a nutritionist," She responded. I told her that it wasn’t that kind of energy.

As we head into Thanksgiving, you may think you need lots of her type of energy—and you’d be right. But without my kind of energy, you’d need a whole lot more of her kind of energy to create the "old fashioned" Thanksgiving that so many of us picture when we think of the nationwide holiday.

One of the big traditions of Thanksgiving is the entire multi-generational family gathered around the table. Back in the day of the picture perfect holiday, travel meant hitching up the horse and wagon. Today, to accomplish this, family members often have to travel great distances to get to the site of the big meal. Thanksgiving is reported as the busiest travel season—whether by auto or air. But even before the travel takes place, energy is a big part of the picture.

The travel has to be planned. Air travel takes a visit to one’s favorite travel website. Travel by land often requires a Mapquest search for the best route. Both need energy to function. Then when the actual travel takes place, regardless of the method or distance, fuel is needed to make the trip possible.

Even the big meal takes more energy than one might assume. First the turkey has to be raised (I’ll not belabor each phase of energy used there). Then to get it to the store in a safe and sanitary manner, requires refrigeration and transportation—both are energy dependent. Once at the store refrigeration is, again, important. To go to the store to make your selection demands fuel.

Let’s jump to the big day. Most people stuff the bird and cook it in the oven—though the fried turkey has increased in popularity. Either way, energy is required for cooking—natural gas, electricity or propane. And, that does not include the veggies, the mashed potatoes (that need a mixer), or the freshly baked rolls. The Thanksgiving feast typically includes some sort of salad. At my great aunt’s home in Massachusetts, salad was green Jello with chopped celery and a dollop of mayonnaise. In modern homes the salad is usually lettuce based. Again energy is needed to keep things fresh and cool.

Once the meal is ready, many people use an electric knife to cut the turkey and a hot plate to keep things warm while the final preparations are made. Both need energy.

Around the table, the ambiance may be created the "old fashioned" way with candles and a flickering wood-fueled fire. But even fire is energy—the first used in civilization. But maybe you have music playing on the stereo—tunes downloaded from iTunes (thanks to energy).

Post meal, fat and happy, many households will retire to the sofa to watch the big game of the day. Once again energy is a central feature. It gets all the on-site participants to the stadium—lit by energy. Energy powers the television cameras. Perhaps the image gets to your home via satellite or cable. Neither is possible without energy. Once in your home, that flat screen TV needs electricity and rare earth to give you that great picture. Whatever you are drinking is hot or cold thanks to energy.

But it is not over yet. In most homes, while the men watch the game, the women clean up. Whew! The dishwasher makes it so much easier. And the hot water coming straight from the tap is expected. Once again, energy.

If you are the cook, by the end of the day, you are ready for all of those people to head home. You are lacking energy and are ready to crawl under your electric blanket—all warm and snuggly.

Once you start thinking about it, you can see myriad other ways that energy makes your Thanksgiving the picture-perfect event of which you’ve dreamed. Maybe your digital camera was used, your computer to view the shots, your printer to print out copies for everyone. You get the picture.

When you come to the table and bow your head to give thanks for the family, friends and food—don’t forget the energy that made it all possible.


Marita Noon is the executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE), a nonprofit, membership-based organization working to educate the public and influence policy makers regarding energy, its role in freedom and the American way of life. She can be reached at marita@responsiblenergy.org or www.responsiblenergy.org.

Ghosts of Mayors Past

On election night we were thrilled when The Almighty Alcalde went down to defeat and the city chose a new mayor in R.J. Berry. We believed that the new administration would bring with it a whole new crop of leaders who would - that the very least - open up the doors of government and let a fresh breeze blow through the stagnant recesses of city hall. Barely a month and a half later, one of the chief architects of cronyism and cover-up was introduced as the new chief of police.

Yep. The new is old again and like Dickens' Ghost of Christmas Past, Ray Schultz appeared at last night's news conference dragging his chains of scandal and was introduced as the new - now old - police chief. The chief's links of cronyism, cover-up, spin, and scandal are plain for all to see - except it seems the mayor-elect.

When asked about the obvious contradiction between campaigning against The Once Almighty Alcalde on crime and hiring Marty's top cop, Mayor-Elect Berry answered that he'd "sit down with his team" after December 1st (KRQE.com). Huh?!

Meanwhile, The Ghost of the Chief Just Past (and apparently future) indicated that he " look[s] forward to is having the opportunity to sit down and talk to him about what we are doing for property crimes" (KRQE.com). In other words, Chief Schultz is planning to drag his chains of propaganda back into office and try to convince his new boss that property crime is down when property crime is up, less is more, and the sky is green.


The truth is that keeping Chief Schultz makes about as much sense as keeping Marty on as CAO (or Ed Adams as COO for that matter). Further, our Eyes tell us that the decision to keep Chief Schultz was never vetted by the team that was in charge of the APD "seven hour grilling" as Monahan put it.

[Sidebar]
It appears that Ed Adams will be staying as the new/old COO. Apparently, Adams has a clause in his contract that stipulates that he has to be kept around at his full CAO salary of almost $150,000 a year. If true, it's yet another example of one of Marty's despicable deals. But while the city may have to pay Adams, Mayor-Elect Berry doesn't have to give him any real authority.

How about sending him over to the pound to clean up cages, or make him low man on the totem pole in Council Services? Councilor O'Malley would more than likely loooove to order Ed Adams around and the pound always has some s#%t that needs cleaning. Hell, he's been waist deep in Marty's muck for years.
[End Sidebar]

It seems like Mayor-Elect Berry is taking advice from a very small group of individuals - each with their own agenda, each with their own motives and all with various working relationships or ties to the Chavez administration. So it's no surprise that Berry's choices are looking more like the old and less like anything new.

Appointments like Chief Schultz drag with them the weight of the chains that they have forged with the previous administration. Each link was created either at the direction of the previous mayor or through their own bad acts. The full weight of these Ghosts of Mayors Past will be firmly attached to the new administration on December 1. Worse, those who carry those chains have no interest in opening the doors of government and ushering in a new and open administration.

Days of Diego

A little over a week ago, The Albuquerque Journal did a front page story on AFD union boss Diego Arencón (Subscription). According to the Journal, Arencón pulls down $81,000 a year as a Firefighter First Class.

The increased salary was negotiated as part of union agreements adopted in 2008 and goes to whoever serves as president.

It's intended to motivate rank-and-file firefighters to try for the job, said Diego Arencón, the union president. He's held the position for the last 2 1/2 years.

"It's an incentive for the lower ranks to get involved," he said.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The article implies that Arencón's super salary is part of the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Albuquerque and the firefighter's union. The problem is that the CBA does not address the salary of the union president. Our Eyes tell us that Diego's enhanced pay is the result of a side agreement with Mayor Martin Chavez - an agreement that Chief Ortega refused to sign.

Our Eyes also tell us that Arencón makes a bit more than the $81,000 revealed by The Journal. Once longevity pay is added to the mix, Arencón pulls down right around $90,000 - a tidy little sum by any standards.

In addition, Diego is given a Monday through Friday 8 hour a day schedule. More importantly if you have a fire at your home or business while Mr. Arencón is on duty, you can be sure that the Firefighter First Class won't be there to fight it. Diego's days are spent exclusively working for the union.

But wait... it gets better!

The President of Local 244 also receives a stipend, all expense paid trips, and a union debit card. This is where it really gets fun because our Eyes got a look-see at Diego's debit card.

In addition to having a sweet double your paycheck deal from the city, in 2008 Arencón spent over $41,000 on his union debit card - over 42% on food alone. Yannis, Starbucks, Imbibe, The Q Bar, Flying Star, The Gold Street Cafe, Maloney's Tavern, McGraths - they're all on the union dime. Even Lowe's was listed as a food expense and that's just too weird to contemplate. There were even a few unexplained MasterCard reimbursements (view the report here - credit numbers redacted).

Some of the expenses were justified like dinners with The Almighty Alcalde, Imbibe-ing with Commissioner Archuletta or the Mayor's office assistants, and Sushi with Lawrence Torres. There were also a few expenses justified for various fire stations and individual union members. There was even a "labor relations expense" for "mediations" incurred at Jubilation Wine and Spirits for $55.56 (that's one way to lubricate negotiations).

Starbucks was by far Mr. Arencón's favorite caffeinated watering hole visiting the coffee outlet over 152 times. What's concerning about the repeated Starbucks expense, or the bar tabs at Imbibe or the over $4,300 in credit card reimbursements, is the overwhelming lack of expense justification.

A review of the expenditures makes Mr. Arencón look like he's living and partying on the union's debit card - which means that his $91,000 taxpayer funded salary is subsidized by a union stipend and as much as $41,000 in union debit card purchases. That's over $132,000 in potential income. And remember, anything that's not directly attributable to union business could be considered income by the IRS.

Look... as a taxpayer we have a real problem with Martin Chavez buying a union president by doubling his taxpayer funded salary for union only work. This may sound funny, but we kind of expect firefighters to well... fight fires. It may be legitimate to allow the union president to have time to do union business, but we certainly shouldn't be paying him more than other firefighters to do it - that should be the responsibility of the union.

On the union side... What the hell?!! Over $41,000 on the union debit card?! Most disturbingly, there's little justification for many of the expenditures.

IAFF Local 244 members elect their board and their president. We haven't seen the organization's bylaws, but we'd bet that spending by the board has at least a few restrictions. More importantly, anyone who spends union dues for any reason has the responsibility to its members to justify each and every expense. You know... dates, times, who, what, when, and where.

We'd bet that days of Diego's sweet mayoral deal are about to evaporate like a number of Marty's Minions' city jobs. But it's up to the members of IAFF Local 244 to hold their leaders accountable and to demand justification for spending their dues.