Election, loco

Vote! Now, the problem with the voting process …

Today, I voted early. Kudos to Maggie Toulouse for distributing numerous early voting sites. (Remember: You can vote at any location now and in the fall.) I was greeted at the door by one person who lead me to a clerk who asked me for information. He printed the application for early in-person voting, which I signed. Then, he printed my ballot, which he told me he was not allowed to touch, so I took it off the printer. Another person pointed me to the booths. I filled the short ballot. Another person pointed me to the machines that read ballots. I was the 60th person to use the 3rd machine; over 200 had used the first and 99 the second. That person said, “I want to see you again in the fall.” You bet. Finally, I was shown the door (in the nicest sense). The process was quick and easy.

My gripe? Filling in ovals with a pen. Seriously, I hate that laborious process, which is made worse by a rickety booth that oscillates with my efforts. Can’t I have an oval stamp – one press per race?

Better: Let me use a computer to make my selections, and then review them all before printing the completed ballot. I’m not talking about electronic voting. The entry computer would not create a record. I would still carry my ballot to the machine. No ballots would be rejected for improper completion – that would be eliminated.

Election, loco

Why women support Eric Griego for Congress | NMPolitics.net

I will add here that people who know Grisham professionally say she presents herself very well without delivering on the implied promise. Based on comments from people I don’t know personally, I gather she’s very difficult to work with, to say the least.

Why women support Eric Griego for Congress | NMPolitics.net

By Dede Feldman and Mimi Stewart ? 5/24/12, 8:54 am ? Commentary

Eric Griego is the one Democrat in the 1st Congressional District race with a long, consistent record of taking on the status quo and powerful interests to fight for our core Democratic values.

We have three experienced and accomplished Democrats running in New Mexico’s Democratic-leaning 1st Congressional District. However, if the person you wish to support for Congress is a proven progressive reformer who has a long, consistent record of fighting for women’s rights, we believe Eric Griego deserves your strongest consideration.

Eric Griego is a lifelong advocate for women. Eric grew up watching his single mother who worked two minimum-wage jobs struggle to balance work and family. He believes that women and men should not have to choose between their jobs and their families in time of need. …

The difference between Griego and Grisham

Some say women should automatically support Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham because she is a woman. As women who have spent our careers leading the fight in New Mexico’s Legislature to promote a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions and for pay equity and paid family leave, we respectfully disagree.

The Republicans are waging war on women – and we believe that both Eric and Commissioner Lujan Grisham will be outspoken champions for women in Congress. But the Republicans are waging war against not just women; they are also waging war against teachers and other public employees, against Social Security and Medicare, against clean energy in favor of Big Oil, against middle class taxpayers in favor of millionaires, and against ordinary voters who want to have a voice in our democracy in favor of billionaires and big corporations that can spend unlimited money to influence our elections.

To take on these fights, we need someone like Eric, who is the one Democrat in this race with a long, consistent record of taking on the status quo and powerful interests to fight for our core Democratic values.

That is why we enthusiastically endorse Eric Griego, and encourage everyone – men and women – to support him for Congress.

State Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, chairs the Senate Public Affairs Committee and the Interim Health and Human Services Committee. Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, chairs the House Health and Government Affairs Committee.

Why women support Eric Griego for Congress | NMPolitics.net

Read all of the comments for the following article.

Attack on Grisham solidifies my support for her | NMPolitics.net

May 23, 2012 • 2:16 pm

[Comment from someone named Hemingway] Former controversial Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham has been described as a “loose cannon” by the UNM President David Harris. In another article she is said to have “a bizarre micromanagement and manipulative style of leadership that is very destructive to the health of the public and the morale of the department.” You judge for yourself her performance. Here are articles on her:
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/464485nm05-31-06.htm
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/29113618metro06-29-08.htm
http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/editorials/545370opinion03-11-07.htm
Ms. Denish acts like Ms. Grisham was a saint! The best assessment of her performance as Health Secretary is substandard at best. You will realize she is not a team member after you read these articles on her. So Ms. Denish don’t exaggerate Ms. Grisham’s so-called accomplishments.

Attack on Grisham solidifies my support for her | NMPolitics.net

poetry

Thinking of me

My buddy, WalkingRaven, emailed me the following, including appropriate highlighting. (I added one highlight.) Hall describes the ideal life that is not all that different from my life with Mer, if one substitutes ‘blog/blogger’ for ‘poem/poet’. Little does WR know that Donald Hall is a favorite poet of my oldest friend, John Stewart. I recommend you follow the link to read Church Fair, by Jane Kenyon.

Church Fair by Jane Kenyon | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor

It’s the birthday of poet Jane Kenyon (books by this author), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (1947). She married fellow poet Donald Hall, whom she met as a student at the University of Michigan, where he was a professor. They lived in his family farmhouse in New Hampshire. Hall wrote: "[W]e got up early in the morning. I brought Jane coffee in bed. She walked the dog as I started writing, then climbed the stairs to work at her own desk on her own poems. We had lunch. We lay down together. We rose and worked at secondary things. I read aloud to Jane; we played scoreless ping-pong; we read the mail; we worked again. We ate supper, talked, read books sitting across from each other in the living room, and went to sleep. If we were lucky the phone didn’t ring all day. In January Jane dreamed of flowers, planning expansion and refinement of the garden. From late March into October she spent hours digging, applying fifty-year-old Holstein manure from under the barn, planting, transplanting, and weeding."

She published only four books of poetry before she died from leukemia at the age of 47. She was the state poet of New Hampshire at the time.

Church Fair by Jane Kenyon | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor

Ah, Wilderness!, photos

Birds and more in Alameda Bosque, north of Albuquerque, New Mexico

We visit the area around Alameda frequently. There is a large free parking area just southeast of the bridge. This area is the northern end of the miles-long Paseo del Bosque bike trail through the bosque. Within an easy walk are the old bridge, now closed to cars but used by walkers, cyclists, and equestrians, as well as unpaved trails radiating east, south, and north along both sides of the river. In fact, there are multiple levels of trails along the acequias and closer to the riverbank. What a fabulous area to hike, especially early in the day. (The shade is great but may not be cool enough by late afternoon, even in late spring.)

Birds are an an added bonus to the other natural beauty of the area, which includes wonderful views of the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande river,

On our most recent hike, we saw blue grosbeaks and summer tanagers, among other birds. On previous occasions, we’ve seen hawks galore, as well as porcupines and a camel.

Birds and more in Alameda Bosque, north of Albuquerque, New Mexico is a post from Ah, Wilderness! . Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

Uncategorized

Eat more sugar?

Eat more sugar! | Wheat Belly Blog

What’s the point of avoiding wheat if you don’t have celiac disease or gluten-sensitivity? Many reasons:

1) You avoid the gliadin protein of wheat, the opiate in wheat that stimulates appetite and increases calorie consumption by 440 calories per day. (Eliminate gliadin and calorie consumption drops by 440 calories per day.)

2) You avoid the lectin in wheat, wheat germ agglutinin, that is directly toxic to the intestinal tract and causes abnormal intestinal permeability that Trojan horse’s foreign substances into the bloodstream, causing multiple inflammatory diseases. You may also restore leptin sensitivity to restore the capacity for weight loss.

3) You avoid the amylopectin A of wheat, the “complex carbohydrate” that accounts for the fact that two slices of whole grain bread increases blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar.

4) You avoid the alpha amylase inhibitors that trigger wheat allergy, likely the trigger for the boom in wheat allergy among kids.

There’s more, but you get the idea. Wheat is a perfectly crafted poison to humans.

Eat more sugar! | Wheat Belly Blog

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." — Sam Adams