Category Archives: loco

As Tip O’Neill never said, “All politics is loco.”

Impeach Otero County Commission Chairman Ronny Rardin for violating the NM and US Constitutions

During a public meeting, Ronny Rardin chastised a citizen for failing to worship Jesus. This is a flagrant violation of the US and New Mexico constitutions. All elected officials swear to uphold these constitutions. Rardin should be impeached. If not impeached, he should be recalled by the voters. If not recalled, he should be pelted with rotten tomatoes at the next public meeting. What a turd in the public punchbowl.

Otero County Commission: Women, Jesus and whispers | Albuquerque Journal News By Thomas Cole / Of the Journal PUBLISHED: Monday, March 16, 2015 at 12:05 am

After commission action on other items, it was time for public comment.

A man who identified himself as a Lutheran pastor and former military chaplain said he objected to Rardin saying “in Jesus’ name” during the invocation at the beginning of the commission meeting. The man said prayers in public forums should be nonsectarian.

“Why?” asked Rardin, longtime pastor of Saving Grace Independent Baptist Church in Alamogordo.

“Because not everybody here may be a Christian or share the same sentiments,” the man responded.

Rardin said he doesn’t expect others to believe as he does but added, “I’m going to give it (the invocation) under my opinion. … If you think I’m not going to say ‘Jesus,’ you’re wrong.”

The commissioner also told the man, “I’m really ashamed that you don’t want to say ‘Jesus.’ Shame on you, but that’s your problem.”

Rardin said the raising of such “trivial stuff” made him want to strike public comments from the commission’s agenda.

He didn’t do that. But at the next commission meeting, on Feb. 12, Rardin limited public comment to three minutes and to urgent matters. No one spoke.

Otero County Commission: Women, Jesus and whispers | Albuquerque Journal News

Note that Rardin also acted like a sexist ass and pushed the limits on public meetings. Then, unhappy with the public he was elected to serve, he imperially curtailed comments. He is the one who should be beyond ashamed.

Two months ago, Rardin was involved in an appalling act of nepotism and favoritism. Our new Land Commissioner, hardly a stellar public servant, gave Rardin a sweetheart deal of a contract. Rardin, in turn, wanted to share the wealth with the son of said Land Commissioner, who already suckles the public teat. Double-dipping, double-dealing, ethics-lacking scammers. Republicans determined to prove government doesn’t work and can’t be trusted. And Good Christians!

Official tries to give work to land commissioner’s son | Albuquerque Journal News By Thomas Cole / Of the Journal, PUBLISHED: Monday, March 9, 2015 at 12:05 am

Effective Jan. 2, Otero County Commission Chairman Ronny Rardin began work for the office of newly elected state Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn under a short-term $7,500-a-month contract.

Six days later, Rardin tried – but failed – to give Dunn’s son Blair more of the county’s legal work.

Official tries to give work to land commissioner’s son | Albuquerque Journal News

Nusenda? No thanks.

If you’ve heard of Nusenda, you’ve probably heard of the controversy attached to the name. I’ve been a member of the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union since 1984. This week, members were told abruptly, “Here’s the new name: Nusenda. Ta-da!” Along with the name, we’re told that it’s still the same CU and we’re still the owners. Name another company where the owners came in one day to find the name had changed without warning.

We’re told the old name was too hard for people to remember. Boo-hoo. The old name confused people — they thought you had to be an educator. Isn’t marketing supposed to explain that anyone can join? How does “Nusenda” say that more clearly? You can’t even guess what kind of business Nusenda is. 

Potential members confused by the name might also think you have to live in New Mexico and with that tidbit we get at the truth: Nusenda has larger ambitions than New Mexico, than educators, than its current members. Nusenda means self-serving greed and expansionism. No thanks.

Two brilliant right-wingers

Speak Up! | Albuquerque Journal News

IF IT WASN’T for low information voters, there would not be a Democrat Party! – J.K.A. …

THE PROBLEM WITH the wacky left – i.e. environmentalists and evolutionists – is that they are obviously educated above their intelligence. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools – Bible. – J.C.

Speak Up! | Albuquerque Journal News

A key part of the Conservative Lie is self-deception: to believe Fox and Lush Limbaugh (is he still alive?), ad nauseum, that the lies they repeat endlessly are facts and no other source is to be trusted. Well, except for the Bible. Here are two stars who have swallowed the lies and washed them down with the kook-aid. God save us.

Talk of the town | Albuquerque Journal News

I admire this writer for responding to angry nonsense with reason. At the time, my only response was ‘Wow’.

Talk of the town | Albuquerque Journal News

Name-calling is not acceptable rebuttal

LAST WEEK IN SpeakUp! there were two violently anti-environmental submissions. They contained six sentences, one of which was totally false, one was a rhetorical question, and four amounted to name-calling.

The only sentence of substance claimed that “we have millions of miles of pipelines and railroads that carry oil and gasoline without incident.”

On pipelines alone, a Wall Street Journal review found that there were 1,400 pipeline spills and accidents in the U.S. in 2010-2013 – 350 per year, and four of every five pipeline accidents are discovered by local residents, not the companies that own the pipelines.

As far as I can determine, there’s a little over 300,000 miles of major natural gas pipelines, with another 1.8 million miles of lines that come off those and deliver to cities. There are only about 100,000 miles of gathering and distribution pipelines for oil.

Unfortunately, that’s the only sentence of the six that can be fact-checked, because all the rest are name-calling or extremely obvious exaggeration. For example, I consider myself an environmentalist, but I don’t think we should go live in caves, just that we should be a bit more careful with our surroundings.

Another sentence claims environmentalists have used “falsified science and pagan Gaia mysticism.” Wow. Science and mysticism.

If you want to rebut the arguments of environmentalists, you might try:

a) Getting your facts straight, and

b) Actually giving reasons for your views, not resorting to name-calling and nonsensical claims.

JERRY STAUFFER

Albuquerque

Talk of the town | Albuquerque Journal News

DA files murder charges against officers in James Boyd shooting | Albuquerque Journal News

This is huge, surprising news. It will outrage many. I think the shooting of James Boyd was unnecessary and unjustified, but I am uneasy with a murder charge. We need a word for the institutional failure that leads cops to kill citizens. I don’t think sending these two cops to prison will do that, although it is better than doing nothing or sending them on to another police force. We need to stop this before it happens again. Training and a change in attitude at every level of law enforcement will do that. In that respect, this may be part of that change in attitude.

DA files murder charges against officers in James Boyd shooting | Albuquerque Journal News

Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg charged two Albuquerque police officers each with an open count of murder on Monday in the fatal shooting of a homeless camper in Albuquerque’s foothills last March.

Brandenburg’s office filed a criminal information that charges former Albuquerque police Detective Keith Sandy and SWAT team member Dominique Perez with murder in the death of James Boyd, a 36-year-old homeless man who was shot in March 2014.

Brandenburg said her office charged Sandy and Perez with an open count of murder because “we have probable cause.”

She would not discuss the specific facts of the case and said it would be up to the judge hearing the case to determine which charge — ranging from
1st degree murder to aggravated assault — would apply in the case.

The charges are the first against an Albuquerque police officer in connection to a shooting. APD has been involved in more than 40 shootings since 2010, resulting in 27 deaths.

DA files murder charges against officers in James Boyd shooting | Albuquerque Journal News

Angry, lying idiots

Speak Up! | Albuquerque Journal News

WITH ALL THIS talk about renewable energy replacing fossil fuels, I can hardly wait to see wind-powered cars with their little propellers on top. Oh, what traffic jams we’ll see when the wind stops blowing! – L.M.

DO WE HAVE worse enemies than ISIS, North Korea, and Russia? Yes – environmentalists. They have done a good job screwing up our lives over the last twenty years based on falsified science and pagan Gaia mysticism. Beware of them. – A.L.V.

TO P.K.B.: We have millions of miles of pipelines and railroads that carry oil and gasoline without incident. You are just one of the 1 percent of environmental wacko idiots that needs to go live in a cave, while the rest of us enjoy the wonderful world that we live in. – W.D.L.

Speak Up! | Albuquerque Journal News

Termination recommended for officer who shot woman | Albuquerque Journal News

I can’t call this justice, especially since too many fired officers show up on other police departments or private security. Still, it is appropriate to get this guy out of APD.

Termination recommended for officer who shot woman | Albuquerque Journal News

By Ryan Boetel / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 12:02 am

Police supervisors have recommended that the officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old woman be fired, according to the officer’s attorney.

Albuquerque police Officer Jeremy Dear is facing termination, said Thomas Grover, Dear’s attorney. The recommendation is the result of an internal affairs investigation into several issues surrounding Dear, including his history of lapel camera policy violations. …

The Hawkes shooting wasn’t the first time there were questions about the Dear’s lapel camera. [Mary Hawkes was the homeless teenager he shot repeatedly.] He was involved in two arrests in 2013 during which he used force against a suspect and no recording of the arrest was made, according to Journal archives.

And KOAT-TV reported that a review of Dear’s personnel file found other incidents in which Dear’s lapel camera didn’t record an interaction that should have been taped.

Termination recommended for officer who shot woman | Albuquerque Journal News