BUSH BANDWAGON
When did the New Mexico Legislatur
e decide to unanimously jump on board the Bush bandwagon [
]? By passing the Voter ID Law, they have done exactly what the Bush administration wants: to throw as many hurdles in front of Democratic voters as possible, thereby maximizing the chance of keeping them away from the polls. Voter ID cards have absolutely nothing to do with protecting the voter. Rather, they have long been known to specifically target a slice of the population most likely to vote Democratic, with the specific intention of thwarting their effort to vote; hence the Bush administration's strong support of the ID number.
If Gov. Richardson, who signed this bill into law, and our state Legislature truly cared about upholding what little is left of democracy in this country, they would be throwing all their efforts into ending the fraud and corruption that is rampant in our voting process. That is where the voters need protection.
LANL LIES
While it is good to info
rm people on LANL [
], I***image2*** think you missed a major point, which is that LANL lies to us constantly. DOE Secretaries Watkins and O'Leary, 1988-1996, both tried, with some success, to address this problem.
"Incident reports" were once available to the public and press; they are now hidden. LANL policies, including environmental policies, ditto. Hiding their operations has grown even worse under the new LANL manager. We must demand a return to openness, at least to the level of 1996. Until then, they will lie and spin as it serves their purpose. Our mantra should be, "No info, no money." Until then, believe NOTHING that LANL says, especially their PR-paid liars.
CHANGE MISSION
Thank you for your feature article "
."
Our nation is clearly facing new nation
al and global challenges like nuclear nonproliferation, port security, global warming, protecting national infrastructure, pandemic response modeling, environmental cleanup and renewable energy research and development, to name just a few. Los Alamos should be directing its scientific excellence to meeting these challenges. But instead, LANL's "patron saint," Sen. Pete Domenici, would rather see LANL become the nation's permanent site for plutonium pit production (Rocky Flats II). By lobbying for a $1.5 billion pit manufacturing facility, Plutonium Pit Pete is opening the door to environmental degradation and effectively blocking the opportunity for LANL to change its mission and meet the national security challenges that really benefit our state and the nation. It seems that Sen. Domenici is stuck in a Cold War mentality and out of touch with what constitutes real national security in today's post-9.11 world.
SANTA FE
NUCLEAR FUTURE
Kudos to reporter Laura Paskus for helping the public better understand Los Alamos Lab in "
." The Lab is now at a crossroads, with decisions pending that will perma
nently impact its future. Lab managers and Sen. Domenici are banking on nuclear weapons forever, in order to ensure future appropriations. That will dictate expanding plutonium pit "trigger" production and new nuclear weapons (the so-called Reliable Replacement Warheads). In contrast, the House of Representatives has cut all funding for RRW and a new major plutonium facility at LANL, and cut pit production by nearly half, all of which Domenici is aggressively seeking to fully restore in the Senate. If he is successful, that will likely shut the door on serious alternative Lab futures.
House and Senate differences in next year's nuclear weapons funding will be hammered out in conference beginning this September. Rep. Tom Udall sits on the House appropriations committee, Domenici on the Senate committee and Sen. Bingaman has strong influence on federal spending in New Mexico. Tell them what you think about new nuclear weapons and the prospect of LANL becoming the permanent pit production site. Please do it soon.
Call Sen. Pete Domenici: 505.988.6511; Sen. Jeff Bingaman: 505.988.6647; Rep. Tom Udall: 505.984.8950. Or see a suggested constituent letter and current Lab priorities by funding at
. The Lab wants two-thirds of its funding to be for nuclear weapons and .002 percent for renewables. Is that right?
RECLAIM PARKS
I would like to thank Zane for keeping up with what is happening at City Hall and for providing the pu
blic with consistent reminders that most of the things we take for granted are vital to the local economy, things as ordinary as-most specifically and recently discussed-a walk in the park [
]. Public spaces and how they are used are key factors in determining the mental health of a community. Constructing and implementing fear-based reactionary rules makes things worse.
People need to come together with a shared vision to reclaim public spaces that have been impacted by negative or dubious activities. Intentional events that fill a space that has been marred by vandalism and violence recreate a context for more life and positive experiences to happen. When people come together and take pride in an area, we find community. The city would do better to listen to constructive ideas about how to reinvigorate and reclaim public spaces, and get behind those ideas, than to close the parks after dark. Remember, we are trying to make this a more appealing place for young people-who right now can't wait to get out of town-to stay and raise a family and contribute something back to the community.
And speaking of open spaces, the Second Street Experience did not happen this year-no closure of the street for the public to play in for lack of leadership on Second Street. The good news is that the producers of the Santa Fe Muzik Fest have stepped in to fill a longtime void known as the Santa Fe Downs. It simply takes bodies inhabiting a space, celebrating the creativity that is necessary for community mental health, which stimulates the economy. (It's the opposite of depression.) Pride rooted in place has absolutely nothing to do with closing the parks after dark.
SANTA FE
Santa Fe Reporter