“Violence is unacceptable – and un-American.” (Hear! Hear!)

Kudos to Heath Haussamen. Absolute madness has seized many extreme conservatives.

Violence is unacceptable – and un-American | NMPolitics.net – Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics

At least 10 House Democrats have reported “death threats or incidents of harassment or vandalism at their district offices over the past week,” the Washington Post is reporting. Bricks have been thrown through windows. Calls for the president’s assassination have gone out on Twitter.

The violent acts and threats against the president and members of Congress who supported health-care reform legislation are not only unacceptable – they’re simply un-American.

We are a nation of fierce independence, and I know many who believe the health-care bill threatens that. But we’re also a nation of laws. The bill was approved through a Democratic process that started with the election of a Democratic majority in the House and Senate and of a Democratic president.

The pendulum swings. It’s been doing that since our nation was founded. It should be no surprise to anyone that Democrats would try to pass reform many conservatives don’t like, just like the previous administration succeeded in securing the approval of legislation that’s abhorrent to many, such as the Patriot Act.

Violence is unacceptable – and un-American | NMPolitics.net – Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics

loco

You Should Care About This Judicial Contest

Sun 03/21/10 mjh

Judicial Candidate Faces Ethics Complaint
By Mike Gallagher
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Investigative Reporter

Most appellate court election campaigns in New Mexico are understated and don’t generate much buzz in the legal community or beyond, and it is rare for a judicial candidate to run while under the cloud of ethics charges and a malpractice lawsuit.

But that is the case with attorney Dennis W. Montoya, a lawyer with offices in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho who is seeking to unseat Appeals Court Judge Linda Vanzi in the Democratic primary election.

The election contest isn’t their first confrontation.

Vanzi, while still a state District Court judge in Albuquerque, filed a complaint against Montoya with the board that investigates allegations of attorney misconduct. …

Vanzi and Montoya will face off in the Democratic primary June 1. There is no Republican in the race, so the winner of the primary wins the seat on the Appeals Court. …

The case also highlights an unusual aspect of New Mexico’s merit selection system of judges.

Before her appointment to the district or appellate court positions, Vanzi submitted her name to a judicial nominating commission, which screens applicants, reviews credentials and recommends several nominees to the governor to consider for appointment. Questions include disciplinary complaints.

But legislators insisted that any appointed judge stand for election in one partisan contest after that appointment. Judges face only retention votes in subsequent elections.

As a candidate in the partisan race, Montoya has not gone through the same vetting process as Vanzi. …

ABQJOURNAL NEWS/STATE: Judicial Candidate Faces Ethics Complaint

Lawyer Draws Rebukes From Federal Judges
By Mike Gallagher
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Investigative Reporter

"The conduct of Mr. Montoya in the case at bar, like his conduct in the three above referenced cases where Mr. Montoya was personally sanctioned or his clients were sanctioned as a result of actions taken by Mr. Montoya, fell well below the professional standards expected of attorneys who practice in federal court," Johnson wrote.

"Having failed to learn from the experiences of being sanctioned by Judge Parker, Judge Armijo and Judge Garcia, Mr. Montoya can now add me to the list of judges who have sanctioned him."

Johnson ordered Montoya to pay the more than $12,000, plus interest to the opposing attorneys.

Montoya appealed, and the appeal was denied.

He declined to comment for this story, saying it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about matters pending before the disciplinary board that handles professional complaints against lawyers.

ABQJOURNAL NEWS/STATE: Lawyer Draws Rebukes From Federal Judges

It’s my personal opinion that Montoya is running against Vanzi to punish her. It’s strictly personal. That might be fine if they were equally qualified for this office. They are not.

media

The Albuquerque Journal Website

Sun 03/21/10 mjh 1 Comment

Over at NewMexiKen, there has been a discussion about the Albuquerque Journal’s awful, awful website. Someone called it an embarrassment to the community, and I agree. I’m not going to waste time collecting screenshots to make my point. I’ll just add here that my latest effort to read a couple of articles online reminds me – if I could only forget, but cannot – just how freakishly awful the Albuquerque Journal website is.

Check it out for yourself. Scan the first page. Notice how it loads in fits and starts. Try to grasp the layout – what’s important on this page? Can you figure that out? Can you relate this page to the front page of the paper itself? Follow a link – any link. Have you ever seen another site like this one?

As a blogger, I like to quote directly from sources on the Web. The Journal website makes this very painful, in part, because it uses linefeeds instead of paragraph codes – quoted text runs together badly. Yeah, it’s a nerdy gripe and the Journal could not care less about pleasing bloggers, but it contributes to my belief that whoever works on this site has never seen another website anywhere. I’m reluctant to beat up a 14-year-old who gets minimum wage, but the Journal could and should do much better than this, especially after so many years of the same awful stuff. Send that kid to classes. Buy him a Dummies book. (Sorry, kid, I know your bosses don’t give a shit.)

photos

Trip to Guatemala 2010 – Journal and Photos

Fri 03/19/10 mjh 1 Comment

I’ve posted my Guatemala trip journal on Ah, Wilderness! The journal features photos not found in the online photo album (which has an option for full-screen slideshow). Check out both.

Trip to Guatemala 2010
(130 photos)

photos, Picasa

Trip to Guatemala 2010

Wed 03/17/10 mjh

Eight friends traveled for 12 days in Guatemala at the end of February and beginning of March, 2010. Our trip was organized and lead by Dr David Mehlman, ornithologist & friend, with the help of Bitty Ramirez-Portilla and Miguel Marin, among other local guides and hosts. Our primary motivation was, ostensibly, birding plus visiting some Mayan ruins. Read my journal and see other photos: http://www.mjhinton.com/wild/?p=627 .

Location: guatemala
Date: Mar 17, 2010
Number of Photos in Album: 130

View Album

photos

Bosque del Apache, New Mexico

Sun 02/14/10 mjh

Bosque del Apache is a magical spot not quite 100 miles to the south from our door. Bosque is located close to the Rio Grande but is a largely artificial wetlands, capably managed to attract tens of thousands of bird in the winter, including massive flocks of snow geese and sandhill cranes. The cranes and geese, in particular, fly out at dawn and in at sunset in wave after wave of birds. Even without the birds, the bosque is beautiful, surrounded by mountains in every direction.

Merri and I went to the bosque at the beginning of December, 2009, with our neighbors, Joe and Sally. We didn’t take our annual expedition and moveable feast with other friends at the end of December. We did return to the bosque on a perfect day, February 1st, 2010. For the very first time in 25 years of trips several times per year, we walked one of the 6+ mile loops, which offered us even more birding opportunities than the bosque does on a slow drive. Of the 300 plus pictures I took, here are 35.