Thursday, August 07, 2014Colorado: Only A Couple Of Hours Drive But Another World, Plus: Bigots And Microwaves, Snarky Blogging And Tucumcari Panhandlers Denver ranks No. 4 on the latest Forbes list of the nation's best places for business, and Fort Collins comes in at No. 5. Greeley places at No. 20 on Forbes' list of 200 U.S. metro areas, while Boulder comes in at No. 23 and Colorado Springs at No. 29. "Both [Denver and Fort Collins] feature highly educated workforces and strong net migration patterns," Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen reports. And now besides having good jobs and good educations, they are getting stoned legally up there in the Rockies. Heck, they even seem to be getting more tolerant: Colorado will begin issuing driver's licenses and identification cards to immigrants regardless of their legal status, underscoring a sea change in a state that less than a decade ago passed strict immigration enforcement laws. Legendary ABQ real estate mogul Peter Parnegg is one of those who are finding the lure of all this too much to take. He's closing up the real estate business his father began in the 50's and moving to Fort Collins. Hey, Peter, let us know if something strange happens once you get through Raton Pass. A BAD GAMBLE? Reader Janet MacKenzie writes: I enjoy reading your blog, Joe. Thanks you for keeping the real issues in front of our eyes. This is regarding your post, "It's a Gamble," concerning Pojoaque Pueblo's wish to lower the age for gambling to 18 and serve alcohol on the gaming floor. With the desperate state of mental health, and mental health services in this state, exposing more people to gambling at an earlier age is bound to addict some percentage and there will not be services available to help them. BIGOTS AND MICROWAVES Reader Joe Martinez (pseudonym?) doesn't much like what he reads around here, but he keeps reading. . . and writing. This time it's about GOP US Senate candidate Allen Weh who we wondered if he is prepared to "bring home the pork" from DC given his anti big government stance: I'm sure you know Weh is retired military and very much pro-defense no doubt. Sandia and Los Alamos labs are both mostly defense related labs. Weapons research--not production--is the primary mission at LANL. Sen. Udall is a green bigot and not at all interested in weapons. He would like to see LANL focus on the dangers of microwave ovens in 7-11's. But, of course, Weh is an R and automatically on the shit list. I don't know Weh but I admire him for providing some competition in a hopeless cause. Udall is liked and that's all you need if you're a Dem. He doesn't need to "bring home the pork." A "green bigot" and "microwave ovens in 7-11's?" Now that's over the top. Allen, we think we just found you a copy writer. . . TOO SNARKY  OK, Joe. Enough with the snarky Tanoan comments. I'm a lifelong, yellow dog Democrat and have lived here for 25 years. We have plenty of progressives behind the white walls. Not nice to characterize folks by their neighborhoods. Otherwise, the blog is great. Keep up the good work. Several readers remembered that it was Beatle John Lennon who most famously used the phrase "rattle your jewelry." He did so when the Beatles performed at a 1963 London concert at which the Queen and other royal family members were in attendance. . . And Richard Randles writes in from Tucumcari upset about what he recently saw at the grocery store there: Here in Tucumcari there were two panhandlers who would take turns at the Flying J / Loves Truck Stop. I would see them at our only grocery store. They had the EBT card (food stamps) for food. However, when they paid for the food with their card, they would pull out--I am not kidding you--a huge wad of fives and tens they received panhandling, to pay for beer, cigs and whiskey. Amazing. Not just a pack of cigs and a six pack but cartons and 30 packs. How many are panhandling on the exits so they have $$ for cigs and beer? Tucumcari panhandlers are scoring five and ten dollar bills? What happened to the recession?. . . THE BOTTOM LINES Reader Ernesto Baca says you don't have to spend a hundred bucks if you want to read the autobiography of NM Governor Arthur Hannett--just go to the library. We noted this week that his book "Sagebrush Lawyer" was out of print and going for a C note on Amazon, but, duh, we didn't think of the library angle. Ernesto reports "Sagebrush Lawyer"is available at several of the UNM libraries as well as others around the state. We've been behind this computer so long we thought Starbucks wi-fi was the library. . . This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2014. Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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