Convictions, CC Solutions, Political Hope
Leaker Bradley Manning has been convicted of embarrassing the Obama—Bush Administrations on multiple counts. Manning apparently revealed that war crimes were committed and covered up by the USA military. He made public diplomatic cables that affirmed the duplicitous nature of back-door deals and hurt the feelings of both our Arab and Jewish allies. In an ironic revelation of his own, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has promised the Russians that the U.S. has no intention of torturing or seeking the death penalty for Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker. Snowden’s revelations have caused uproar among intelligence professionals and congressional leaders, who have been caught lying to each other and the American people.
In a nation-state where the gap between the upper and lower classes grows wider, you can’t have arrogant low-level workers substituting their judgment for the judgment of their betters, whether in government, the corpocracy, or at major news and television stations in the cultural capital of New York City and the political capital of Washington D.C.
The Obama administration rightly exemplifies how a firm hand can administer justice to the backsides of dissidents abroad and at home, lest chaos reign and the children act out.
Command Center
Finally, Commissioner Blankenhorn has come up with a solution for the testy Command Center problem. He recently wrote to a constituent, “You can’t make important policy decisions based on comments by politicians. The fact is that there is not a whole lot of trust on either side, but a good JPA will alleviate the suspicions, and eventually trust will build as we operate.”
A Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), written and designed by a board, composed of public safety professionals from Taos County, the Town of Taos, Questa, Red River, Taos Ski Valley, Taos Pueblo, and potential participating federal agencies, should be appointed to audit the sites for costs, safety service, and technical access. The board could then present their findings to the various entities and the community at large. Researchers say the San Juan County/Farmington E911—Dispatch operation is a model operation so Taos doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Perhaps erstwhile diplomat Bill Richardson could be persuaded to return to northern New Mexico and help the warring parties while sitting at the table. Hey, we supported John Kerry for president over George Bush in Taos; the Secretary of State owes us one.
Political News.
Hope springs eternal as three businessmen and a veteran public servant are considering a run for mayor against incumbent Darren Cordova. At least three smart well-educated people are considering a run for council. Incumbent Rudy Walmart y Rudy Asbestos barks plenty but folks are getting tired of looking for the moon. Incumbent Mr. Contracts, Michael Silva, might find that folks expect more of public servants than peddling influence for the sake of dirt deals. The campaign for prestige and power at town hall promises to be vitriolic and dirty: fix your windshield wipers. Of the four candidates (potentially) challenging the mayor, two could beat him easily, according to Flavio.