SANTA FE – On Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941, New Mexico's National Guard troops, deployed to the Philippines, knew the Japanese would attack them the same day.
They had been watching reconnaissance planes fly over every day, but had orders not to fire. Our reconnaissance planes [...]
SANTA FE -- Herewith are some random thoughts that crossed my mind while floating on the Amazon last week.
When the University of New Mexico hired football coach Mike Locksley, it obviously wanted to hit the big time with more wins and national recognition it never has received.
That [...]
SANTA FE -- Expect the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to be the most fun ever. Brazilians know how to party. Even if Brazil doesn't deliver on all the promises it made to win the bid, Rio will show everyone a good time, including television viewers. [...]
SANTA FE ? On Veterans Day let us pause to remember those who have served our country. Many of the thoughts and words that follow come from Dave Clary of Roswell, a loyal reader and an abundant source of information, inspiration and ideas.
All those who heeded their call to [...]
SANTA FE ? Political correctness has not been able to kill Halloween. Despite efforts to portray it as satanic, pagan, religious, frivolous, dangerous, scary or bad for our teeth, Halloween is second only to Christmas as the biggest holiday of the year in terms of sales.
According to a [...]
SANTA FE -- The closing gavel of this year's special legislative session also served as the opening gavel for next January's 2010 Legislature.
The first round has been completed. And as in any heavyweight fight, the budget cutters and tax increasers spent their time feeling each other out.
Now [...]
SANTA FE -- This is a highly unusual special session. It might be over by the time you read this. But if it is, it will be because lawmakers gave up on solving the total problem.
The state is faced with its biggest deficit ever. Gov. Bill Richardson [...]
No New Mexican has had a greater effect on this state than Thomas Benton Catron. No discussion of Spanish or Mexican land grants is complete without his mention. Almost everything written about Billy the Kid casts T.B. Catron as the evil manipulator behind the group Billy was fighting.
Catron was [...]
SANTA FE -- Every governor candidate and most legislative candidates next year will be placing a high priority on education. In fact every governor in New Mexico's past has made education a top priority.
And yet not much has happened. We still rank near the bottom in many [...]
SANTA FE -- Tomorrow, September 17, is Constitution Day. How many of you knew that? Two years ago, a survey of 5,500 high school students revealed that 51 percent had ever heard of Constitution Day.
The vice-president of the foundation that commissioned the survey announced his worry [...]
SANTA FE -- My wife and I just finished celebrating our 48th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas, Nevada. We honeymooned there in 1961 and decided not to wait until our 50th to return since that is a time for family celebration.
Despite its efforts to the contrary, Las [...]
SANTA FE -- Here he comes. There he goes. As quickly as Nathan Krekula, of Hobbs, got into the New Mexico gubernatorial race, he was out. Blogger Heath Haussamen was about the only person in the news business to catch a glimpse of him on the way [...]
SANTA FE -- The originals of two Billy the Kid's letters to Gov. Lew Wallace have been located and now are on display at the state History Library in Santa Fe.
The Kid wrote the first letter, probably in 1879, proposing to trade testimony for freedom and [...]
SANTA FE -- Rep. Harry Teague may be helped in his effort to retain his 2nd Congressional District seat by having Lt. Gov. Diane Denish on the ticket with him.
Denish grew up in Hobbs and still seems to consider it home base. Her father was Jack Daniels, [...]
SANTA FE -- Tough economic conditions sometimes require imaginative, even desperate, solutions. Budget crunches have hit our neighboring southwestern states with a vengeance. Arizona, California and Nevada have suffered budget deficits of 20 to 25 percent.
New Mexico has come off relatively easily with a four [...]
SANTA FE -- What candidate would call a press conference to announce his choice of political party? For most candidates, that would be a dull ho-hummer. For Adam Kokesh, it's a major announcement.
In what promises to be an out of the ordinary 3rd Congressional District campaign, Kokesh [...]
SANTA FE -- What candidate would call a press conference to announce his choice of political party? For most candidates, that would be a dull ho-hummer. For Adam Kokesh, it's a major announcement.
In what promises to be an out of the ordinary 3rd Congressional District campaign, Kokesh [...]
SANTA FE -- Ah, the memories. In what Gov. Bill Richardson called "One of the biggest sports announcements in the history of the state," we learned that the U.S.A. Track & Field Indoor Championships will be held in Albuquerque the next three years.
The last time [...]
SANTA FE -- The 10-year study of chemical and radioactive releases from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Trinity test has been completed.
A draft of the final report is available at www.LAHDRA.org. Click on "publications." The bulk of the report is on releases from [...]
SANTA FE -- The Pentagon plans to shut down the proud New Mexico Air National Guard. The fighter pilots of the Air Guard have served the nation honorably in wars since the 1950s.
But as methods of warfare have changed, fighter planes are no longer needed [...]
SANTA FE -- The Pentagon plans to shut down the proud New Mexico Air National Guard. The fighter pilots of the Air Guard have served the nation honorably in wars since the 1950s.
But as methods of warfare have changed, fighter planes are no longer needed [...]
SANTA FE -- Manny's finally in jail. But that hasn't been the big news. The party thrown for him before he went has caused tongue wagging around the state. What gall. How inappropriate. Who would throw such a party? Who would go?
Well, quite a few people went. [...]
SANTA FE -- The pen is mightier than the sword. The adage has been used for decades, especially by journalists. It makes us feel good. But does anyone believe it? Certainly today's warmongers don't.
Evidently President Barack Obama doesn't, either. Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy [...]
STILL WAITING
When is that grand jury investigating the Governor's Office going to release its findings? Whether good or bad, the findings might affect what Gov. Bill Richardson does next. If he were to leave before his term ends, that could affect many state employees.
Meanwhile life goes [...]
SANTA FE -- Is the 65th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, worthy of a major commemoration? That question is at the heart of a big international controversy this year.
Usually major observances are held every 10 years but this year, the British Normandy Veterans Association thought there was [...]
SANTA FE -- There I was, just the other day, sniveling in a column about how New Mexico never gets any respect and then my cousin Margene Harris, from San Antonio, NM tells me that Food Network star Bobby Flay had a crew in town for three [...]
By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Did you know that Memorial Day is commemorated in different ways and on different dates throughout our nation? The observance had its beginnings during the Civil War, which is a good hint that there would not be uniformity.
[...]
SANTA FE - A recent report speculated that actor Val Kilmer is cooling on the idea of running for governor of New Mexico. But on its heels came more reports that that Kilmer is still talking excitedly about the prospect to friends and political consultants.
And get this, some [...]