I encourage you to read Don Harris’s column in today’s Albuquerque

Journal. Regardless of your political views, see what Harris has to say for himself. Draw your own conclusions. Then come back here and

let me share mine with you (use comments to respond).

A few years ago, Don Harris ran for a judgeship. His platform was “Take Back

the Courts,” a part of that nasty Republican argument that the courts are full of failure, corrupt, lax — full of problems only

Republicans can fix. Harris ran as a hanging judge, ignoring the fact that it was family court, for which he has no particular

qualifications.

Now it seems, at the same time he was the law and order candidate, he was having a surprising number of encounters

with the law. He readily admits to being stopped for 6 moving violations in 12 years. How many times were you stopped in the last 12

years? I’m no saint, but I haven’t been stopped once in nearly 20 years. Am I a better person than Don Harris? Well, who cares. I’m

not running for office.

You have to wonder if someone has been caught so many times, just how many times they actually got away

with something. Admitting to 6 violations carries with it an implication of dozens more. But, let’s not go that way, let’s stay with

what Harris admits to and how he handles his admissions.

You have to read his whole piece to really appreciate this guy;

note the segue from traffic violations to his failure to file finance reports. My take is he is selfish and self-centered. Like most

speeders and traffic law violators, he’s not a hard criminal bad guy, but he probably regards everything on the road as an impediment to

his own progress. He surely mutters “get out of my way” countless times a day. Just the kind of guy who will have no trouble whatsoever

getting along with the rest of the council, the mayor, the staff, the citizenry. A cool-headed, thoughtful, cautious and pleasant fellow,

I’m sure.

Oh, but I’m reading too much into this, aren’t I? What about the fact that he readily admits he was stopped without

his license or proof of insurance more than once? I never drive without both — do you? How difficult is it to carry your driver’s

license around? After all, Harris’s ilk says that very thing about voting — why not about driving?

At the heart of this, I’m

seriously pissed off by the posturing of Republicans as the party of “personal responsibility,” one of innumerable public virtues they

have hijacked and copyrighted as being only theirs. Here’s a guy at the far, far Right. Let Don Harris show some personal

responsibility, some contrition, some slight embarrassment. He won’t. The entire city should be embarrassed he’s close to winning a

public office. mjh

ABQjournal: City Council Candidate Wonders How 7 Stops Add Up to 19 Charges By Don Harris, City Council Candidate

I was stopped for moving violations six times in 12 years….

I was charged with not having a driving license in my possession

and speeding. …

The police officer thought I drove carelessly, and Metropolitan Court Judge Frank Gentry agreed. I did not have

my insurance card with me ….

I also had two parking tickets in Metropolitan Court. I am not proud of those … [mjh: unlike all

the other charges?] …

I believe I only failed to file one [campaign finance] report, although I was fined for two such

failures and for the tardy Oct. 21 filing. I may appeal the fine for the Oct. 3 filing. The statement that I missed three in the article

was inaccurate. I am currently in full compliance with the law. …

Every election should include an option for “none of the above”. If you want to see voter turn out

increase, add this option; countless disaffected voters will turn out. At this stage, someone receiving 50 percent of the vote can talk

about a landslide, even when only 30 percent of the eligible voters participated, given that victor all of 15% of the possible votes.

Imagine the humility that would come with winning but knowing that 30% couldn’t support you or your opponent.

The latest example

of this is here in Albuquerque in District 9. We have the odious, whacko Don Harris versus the real estate tool, Tina Cummins. These two

are now trying to shame each other over each one’s past encounters with the law. So, what’s a Democrat to do with these two

Republicans; most I’ve talked to refuse to vote. What about Republicans who can’t support either? Stay at home? That’s democracy in

action. mjh

ANDERSON SCHOOLS HOST PRE-ELECTION DEBATE ON MINIMUM WAGE BALLOT
INITIATIVE

(Albuquerque, NM) On October 4, 2005, Albuquerque voters will have
the opportunity to decide on an increase in the local minimum

wage to
$7.50/hour. The proposed increase, which has sparked considerable
debate in the Albuquerque business community, will be

the subject of a
discussion hosted by the Anderson Schools of Management at the
University of New Mexico.

WHAT:

Anderson Issues Forum: Albuquerque Minimum Wage Debate

WHO: Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque City Councilor

Melissa Binder, UNM Economics Professor
Allen Parkman, UNM Business Professor
Jerry Easley, Chairman,

Albuquerque Employment Growth
Initiative

WHEN: Tuesday, September 27, 7:30-9:30 pm

WHERE:

UNM Continuing Education Auditorium
1634 University Blvd. NE

ADMISSION: Free and open to the public

Duke City Fix »

Politics: Kerfuffle Shuffle by Marston Moore

[F]or my money, give me an ideological struggle any time – a real battle for the

Soul of a party! Behold, the Republicans. . .

Curiously, most of the voters in Albuquerque’s City Council District 9 probably

don’t realize they’re at the epicenter of a showdown between two factions of the GOP – the Religious Right and the corporate

wing. On November 15, a run-off election pits challenger Don Harris against incumbent Tina Cummins.

At the national

level, the God and Mammon factions coexist quite comfortably at the heart of George Bush’s coalitional base. And for that matter,

devotees of the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” cult seem to have obliterated doctrinal differences, banishing the blessed poor from the

kingdom altogether.

But here in Albuquerque’s District 9, the two factions are duking it out, although it’s all under the radar.

…

After all, it might be interesting to place someone on the City Council who just might harbor thoughts unthinkable to most of

the rest of us – that George Bush is not doing ENOUGH to establish a state religion in America.

And while we’re at it, let’s

give the local GOP a big hand for offering the voters of District 9 such an intriguing choice: Shall it be Harris or Cummins? God or

Mammon? The total wacko or the little bit wacky?

Compare

the following stories and note that wolves were re-introduced in Yellowstone 10 years ago. In that whole region, they number around 900.

Wolves were released in New Mexico about 5 years ago. We’re supposed to believe that 6 pairs will sustain the population. Nonsense.

mjh

Feds study gray wolf delisting – billingsgazette.com

By

MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff

Federal officials on Monday said it may be time to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky

Mountains from the endangered species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will begin an in-depth look at the wolf

population and decide whether to propose delisting the wolf. …

In order for wolves to be delisted, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming

need approved plans to manage wolves once responsibility is passed to the states from the federal government. …

Wolves

were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and portions of Idaho in 1995 and 1996.

Today, the population is

latest numbers. The population appears to be still growing in Idaho, Bangs said.

ABQjournal: Mexican Gray Wolf Treated for Injuries After Being Hurt by

Trap By Tania Soussan Journal Staff Writer

An endangered Mexican gray wolf was being treated by a veterinarian

Tuesday after she was spotted running around in the wild with a steel leg-hold trap stuck on a front leg. A researcher

working with the wolf reintroduction program saw the alpha female of the Luna Pack with her mate and two 6-month-old pups feeding on an

elk carcass in a large meadow southeast of Reserve on Saturday. He tried unsuccessfully to shoot her with a tranquilizer dart.

On

Monday, a helicopter with a professional gunner aboard was able to catch her in a net gun, said wolf recovery coordinator John Morgart of

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque.

"She was very mobile," he said. "She was running around and

dragging this trap." The wolf was tranquilized and the trap removed, but there was extensive damage just above her

paw. She is being evaluated by a vet in Arizona and likely will be returned to the wild soon. Even if her paw or leg has to be

amputated, she could go back to her pack, Morgart said.

"Canines in general do adapt very quickly to life on three

legs," he said. The trap could have been set legally to capture a coyote or other animal, but Fish and Wildlife Service law

enforcement officers are conducting a routine investigation to make sure there was no foul play involved, Morgart said.

ABQjournal: Wolf Releases May Be Restricted Next Year
By Tania

Soussan Journal Staff Writer

Releases of endangered Mexican gray wolves likely will be severely

Southwest. The Adaptive Management Oversight Committee adopted a moratorium on releases and several program

rules during a meeting Thursday in Arizona, said wolf recovery coordinator John Morgart of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in

Albuquerque.

If there are at least six pairs of successfully breeding wolves in the wild at the end of

this year, no new wolf packs without experience in the wild will be released in 2006 In addition, a controversial new

rule says wolves that have killed livestock three times must be permanently removed from the wild, either by trapping or shooting.

Some people will read the following and dismiss it as small town politics. I see it as a tale of

using police to intimidate citizens. Note the mayor took this police tape and gave a transcript to the paper’s major advertizer — he

could only have wanted them to stop advertizing, in hopes of damaging the paper financially. So much for a free press.

Sure, this

mayor is a pissant and the cop a willing stooge, but this is a story being played out all across the New and Improved AmeriCo, where the

police are merely the security guards for those with power. mjh

ABQjournal: Publisher: Taping, Report Payback
By Martin Salazar

Journal Northern Bureau

Wood was never brought in for questioning over the comments that she says

were made in jest. And the Colfax County District Attorney’s Office in Raton declined to pursue any charges against Wood after reviewing

the information, said Bill Kitts, chief of the Angel Fire Police Department.

"I think they were taping me to harass

me," Wood said in an interview Thursday.

Kitts denies the taping was politically motivated.

This

isn’t the first time the village government has been accused of retaliation.

Earlier this year, the village severed

ties with the local Chamber of Commerce in part because the chamber refused to sign a contract that would have banned it and

anyone associated with it from criticizing the village or its officials.

The latest incident occurred Sept. 22.

Marcia Wood had gone to Village Hall that afternoon in hopes of getting information for a story the paper was working on. Wood claims

Village Administrator John Pape told her he would never talk to her. Wood then went to see Mayor A.L. "Bubba" Clanton. She said

she complained that the village had been stonewalling the paper for months, and at some point told the mayor, "Bull(expletive),

Bubba." The mayor called for an officer, and officer Christina Roth showed up. The Sept. 23 report, which describes

the office visit and the recording later that night, says Wood called the mayor a liar and was escorted out. …

The report does not say why the conversation was being recorded. … Kitts said the two weren’t told they

were being recorded, and under state law, there was no obligation to do so. …

Wood said a few

chief executive officer. The resort is the paper’s major advertiser, she added.

Wood said she

got a copy of the report from the resort CEO.