Autocrats Under Siege

Civil unrest and revolution have spread from Tunisia to Egypt, across the Arab world and now to the northern Mid-West in the USA. Names like Mubarak, Gaddafi, Walker, and Reyes (in Taos) are slowly turning into images of Wily Coyote in the public mind. Overburdened taxpayers, underpaid workers, and underrepresented citizens are fighting back against the Corporate–State oligarchs and autocrats, who promote the trickle up.

(We don’t know if the unidentified Trustee is from Jemez or Taos. Japanese Connection confirmed below.)

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will be in Taos Tuesday, February 22, 2011. He will acknowledge the more than $100 million Abeyta Water Settlement, 10:30 a.m. at the Taos Pueblo Senior Citizens Center located on Rio Lucero Road (next to the Taos Pueblo Police Department). At 2 pm, Sen. Bingaman will address the natural gas outage at the Town of Taos Town Hall Training Room located at 400 Camino de la Placita. The Town of Taos Mayor–Council will be present at these gatherings (but promise to behave).

Keep up with KCEC at http://www.kitcarson.com/

In “Business Outlook, “ Monday’s Journal used language like “gamble” to characterize the KCEC’s controversial Broadband gambit. Little evidence of job creation exists outside statistical surveys and anecdotal evidence, according ot the article. The studies referred to in the article didn’t compare existing Internet access to improved access or faster service, when operated by less competent managers.

The unknowns seem to outweigh the knowns but the gamblers i.e. KCEC CEO Reyes and his rubber stampers have approved the $19 million bet with members’ credit and money. See the web site for Broadband installation schedules. Meanwhile, members protesting the request for increased electricity rates at PRC hearings are considering a number of non-violent actions, including recall petitions, boycotts, and requests for the Trustees travel expenses.

WINTER SHUT-OFF PROTECTION NOTICE
(From KCEC)

“Protection from winter shut-off begins Nov.15.2010. To avoid potential disconnection of services please contact the Human Services Department for eligibility information for the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at 1-800-283-4465. Your service will not be disconnected from November 15, 2010 through March 15, 2011, if you qualify for LIHEAP and you remain current on any payments that you owe under a payment plan, or as of November 15, 2010, you have no past due amounts. For more information call the Human Services Department at 1-800-283-4465 or your local electric cooperative. The phone number for the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative is 575.758.2258.”

In the fuzzy photo below re: smart meters, “Mr. Mitsutoshi Hirono, Corporate Vice President of Fujitsu Limited and Mr. Luis Reyes, Chief Executive Officer of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, shaking hands after an executive meeting in Taos, New Mexico, which underlined the plans for the joint field test project.” Due to his sympatico personality, Trustee Francis Cordova is expected to be named representative from KCEC and will attend conferences in Tokyo to manage the “Japanese Connection.”