Our criticism of Sen. Martin Heinrich for boycotting the presidential speech before Congress this week and Rep. Melanie Stansbury's behavior at the joint session brought reader reaction. Like the nation it was quite divided. 

And with that we kick off this edition of the always popular Reader Vox Populi. 

First up is reader Freddie Lopez;

Hi Joe, I must say, this is probably the best blog you’ve written so far. The behavior displayed by the Democrats during the President's Congressional speech was truly embarrassing and ridiculous. Everyone knows where the Democrats stand with President Trump so why the pointless theatrics? If the Democrats simply showed maturity , they could slowly rebuild momentum to possibly retake the House in 2026. But if this continues, Republicans will expand their majority. As you rightfully mentioned, showing respect for the Presidential office does not mean showing respect for the current occupant. Perhaps Melanie and Martin should read your blogs more often. Outstanding analysis! 

 Reader Diane Ochoa sees it differently: 

Yeah right, "respect for the Presidential Office" you say. Where were those words when Trump was being disrespectful to a war torn Ukrainian leader!? Or Republican Reps Green or Boebert yelling out at Democratic Presidents during their speeches? I could go on ad nauseam. Perhaps a little protest sign is more effective than Trump's so called third grader "sharp arrows", you say. Thank you Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury for your tasteful protest against this felon! No respect for this abnormal person has become the norm in my mind and many others that refuse to be brainwashed by this grifter. 

Reader Ron Nelson comes with this: 

 Great job, Joe. However, I take issue with this one statement - “Stansbury is the brightest bulb in the entire congressional delegation”  What amazes me is the top Democrat pundits were warning them “don’t do anything stupid” at the speech.Y et here we are. They have created a file called “stupid things from our legislature representatives” for the next midterm election. So far their voting record goes against core family values - all 5 voted against the Liken Riley Act and all of them voted against males competing in female sports. That made it through the House but allthe Dems in the Senate shut it down. 

Roberta Winchester writes:

Dear Mr. Monahan, I disagree with your statements about Senator Heinrich and Congresswoman Stansbury. It is great to finally have some Democrats with a backbone. Let’s talk about showing respect. Was it showing respect for DT to call Senator Warren "Pocahontas?" Was it showing respect when Republicans shouted “Liar” during Obama’s speech, or for the toddlers Marjorie taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert to stand up and yell during Biden’s speech? Did they get thrown out of the chamber? No, of course not because Republicans are hypocrites

THE NM GOP writes of Stansbury holding her sign at the Trump speech that read, "this is not normal": 

--Allowing Transgender Surgeries for Kids – Supporting irreversible medical procedures on minors without their full understanding or consent—is not normal. 

--Stripping Away Parental Rights – Advocating for policies that remove parents from critical decisions regarding their children’s education, healthcare, and upbringing—is not normal. 

--Ignoring Women’s Rights – Failing to protect biological women by allowing men to compete in women’s sports, undermining fairness and safety—is not normal.

 RIGHT TO KNOW

One of our Legal Beagles writes with reaction to the continued media and public blackout at those plea hearings in ABQ US District Court in the DWI scandal involving numerous APD and Sheriff's deputies admitting that they took bribes from attorney Tom Clear. From the Beagle:  

Joe, Friday February 25 the US Attorney's office announced that Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Hammerel had pled guilty to charges resulting from the DWI Enterprise. I immediately went to the Federal Court's online search engine (Pacer) where all court records and dockets are posted. Hammerel's name resulted in nothing found. This was at 7 p.m, on February 25. Once the court opened on February 26 I checked again for Hammerel and his entire case was now available, stating every document was filed with the court late on February 25. None of this information was made public prior to Hammerel appearing in court, so therefore no media outlet and no one from the public was in the courtroom.  

The NM US Attorney with the cooperation of federal magistrates seem to be holding “star chamber” proceedings regarding the DWI Enterprise. Where, outside of public view, they charge defendants, do plea deals with them, get release conditions and guilty pleas all at the same time with no one in the media or public given prior notice. The Albuquerque DWI Enterprise is bad enough, we don’t need the US Attorney and federal courts acting in secret.  These dockets should be announced 24 hours in advance on Pacer so the media and interested citizens can be in the courtroom. It causes more harm to the local criminal justice system when the US Attorney and federal judges act in secret. The US Attorney and federal magistrates would do well to remember that the public's right to attend court proceedings are enshrined in the 1st and 6th amendments of the Constitution. 

Previously we reported of at least one media outlet complained to then-US Attorney Alexander Uballez about the lack of notification of the plea hearings. Now the plea to open up the pleas in the scandal falls to Acting US Attorney Holland Kastrin. 

In the meantime there are no "perp walks" of the convicted felons on TV, no reporters questioning them outside the courthouse and no reporting or drawings of the criminal proceedings from inside the court in the largest public corruption scandal in ABQ area history. 

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