Water schemes and New Mexico themes A4 Tuesday, April 24, 2012
OPINION
In New Mexico, like that trick of light that makes a highway look wet when it’s not, things are not always as they seem. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the state engineer’s denial of an application to pump an ocean of water fr om wester n Catron County because it was “vague, over broad, lacked specificity, and the effects of granting it cannot reasonably be evaluated.” I now lear n that two of the contractors, including a hydrologist who won an Ethics in Business award, have recently quit the project, and reportedly there were issues about getting paid. Apparently, the project has two sets of professionals, an arrangement that would support consensus unless the land owner is shopping for opinions. It’s odd that in the five years from the announcement in 2007 until the present the promoters
EDITORIAL
SHERRY ROBINSON
ALL SHE WROTE
have remained vague about uses for the water. It can’t be that hard to find customers. What do we know about the promoters? Not much. Augustin Plains Ranch is owned by Bruno Modena, an Italian businessman, and his son Vittorio. Their agent is Everett Shaw, of ERS Consulting in New York, plus an occasional New York lawyer. We share a similar dilemma — and the Modenas — with Maine. In 2008 the same parties announced plans for a 3,300acre, eco-friendly resort abutting Acadia National Park. The
Roswell Daily Record
Winter Harbor area has been economically depressed since a Navy base closed in 2002. The project might have 100 homes or 1,000, along with hotels and a golf course. That project also sparked an upr oar. And two Maine companies hired to plan the resort quit the project over differences in philosophy and dif ficulties in getting paid, according to the Bangor Daily News. A Florida-based spokeswoman in 2008 said Bruno and Vittorio Modena, father and son millionaires from Milan, Italy, led an ownership gr oup of some 20 partners, most of them in Europe. The project stalled after a public meeting, but the Modenas still own the land, and locals still fear they’ll develop it, said the Portland Press Herald last year. So we see secretive owners
operating through New Yorkers, who hold their cards close and don’t necessarily work well with the locals. We might suspect that they’re up to no good, or that their agents are inept, or that their hazy plans are intended mostly to drum up investors. Maybe the New Yorkers chose rural sites in poor states and dangled the possibility of economic development, assuming the rubes would swoon. On the other hand, maybe they’re on the level but keep a low profile until they have financing in place to begin their ambitious projects. All we can do is nurse our suspicions because we lack the information to do anything else. On the subject of outsiders, the ad campaign, “New Mexico True,” created by a Texas agency for the state Tourism Department, is out. Here’s what the
state’s own film community had to say on their listserve: “This cookie cutter looks exactly like the tourism videos for Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia (and) generated no interest in visiting their fine states.” “I’ve seen worse. A little bit out of central casting, which clashes with the super fluous ‘what is truth?’ storyline, but it might work for the intended audience.” “A lot of money to spend to just get average.” “Who on Earth approved that music? Are they trying to coax people to come out and smoke a joint?” “I think aesthetically they’re fine with crisp visuals and a current tone that’s likely to make New Mexico seem like a safe bet for a vacation if you don’t know much about the culture.” © New Mexico News Services 2012
Another flawed Internet bill
In January, Internet users rose up and defeated the so-called Stop Online Privacy Act, H.R. 3261. Joined by Google, Wikipedia and other Internet companies, people across America protested to their senators and representatives that SOPA would have allowed the government easily to shut down websites simply because a company got a court order, with little or no proof, of an alleged copyright infringement. Congress didn’t learn its lesson and is taking a bead on the Internet again. The latest law has been dubbed “SOPA 2.” Actually, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is somewhat different. It’s H.R. 3523, by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. In the CISPA bill’s words, “The Director of National Intelligence shall establish procedures to allow elements of the intelligence community to share cyber threat intelligence with private-sector entities and to encourage the sharing of such intelligence.” So your private Internet information — emails, medical charts from your doctor, even lists of Web sites you visit — could be given to the government without a search warrant. And get this. The bill also says — excuse a little government-speak — “Exemption from Liability — No civil or criminal cause of action shall lie or be maintained in Federal or State court against a protected entity, selfprotected entity, cybersecurity provider, or an officer, employee, or agent of a protected entity, self-protected entity, or cybersecurity provider, acting in good faith — (A) for using cybersecurity systems or sharing information in accordance with this section. ...” So, your Internet company could shift your private, personal information around to the government, or any other private company, for any reason it deems for “cybersecurity.” And it would face no “liability” if you object, or if the information harms you. “As with SOPA, Congress is not asking Internet users what they think,” Jim Harper told us; he’s the director of information studies at the Cato Institute. “Instead, Rogers is just talking to all the usual suspects in the computer industry, government and content providers,” such as Hollywood movie and record companies. “As if that were all he needed to do. And that’s just not the case. The Internet is ours. It’s not theirs. And it’s not industry’s.” By “theirs,” he meant Congress’s. “That’s something that needs to be beaten into Congress’s heads if they haven’t learned it already.” Mr. Harper said that, if CISPA becomes law, “It would have serious consequences for the Internet and its users.” CISPA currently has 106 co-sponsors, twice as many as SOPA ever had. We suggest that they take the text of the bill, quoted above, read it to their constituents, and see if there’s any support for it. And wasn’t the GOP swept into majority status in the House in November 2010 by voters demanding less government? Protests are scheduled this week to stop CISPA. People are being encouraged to contact their members of Congress on Twitter, letters and phone calls. Once again, the people they claim to represent need to teach Congress a lesson: Hands off the Internet. Guest Editorial The Orange County Register DEAR DOCTOR K: I used to gamble once a year, on a trip to Vegas. But lately my lifelong battle with anxiety has gotten worse — and so has my gambling. Are they related? What can I do? DEAR READER: Gambling and anxiety do often go hand in hand. People who gamble report feeling less anxious while gambling because the excitement masks anxious feelings. This relief can become addictive, and the impulse to gamble can become overwhelming. So for many gamblers, reducing anxiety by some other means is necessary in order to control the urge to gamble as a way of dealing with anxiety. There are several
There is no such thing as an illegal person
I have a question for the justices of the Supreme Court as they get ready to hear arguments on Arizona’s restrictive immigration law known as SB 1070: What is it about illegal that you don’t understand? There is no such thing as an illegal human being, and as lawyers, this should be the basis from which you start as you look into this law. Please understand, dear justices, that this has nothing to do with being Latino, an immigrant or not having proper visas and permissions. No, it has to do with a terminology that has been allowed and
Doonesbury
ASK DR. K UNITED MEDIA SYNDICATE
techniques that can help. One of the most powerful ways that people can counteract anxiety is by lear ning relaxation techniques. Relaxing means more than just sitting on the couch watching TV or a movie. Unless the show is completely absorbing, anxious thoughts can keep breaking through. Relaxation exercises can
MARIA HINOJOSA
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
encouraged by a mainstream media that looks for simplistic ways to address complex problems through catchphrases or words. But there is no such thing as an illegal human being. A person may have committed a crime or, in the case of immigration, a misdemeanor — that person
teach you to identify worry triggers. Then you can defuse them and break the cycle of anxiety. It’s best to do them every day. The more you do them, the more positive effect they will have. There are many types of relaxation exercises, from the deep breathing exercise I describe below, to mindfulness meditation, to exercises such as yoga and tai chi. The goal of these exercises is to bring about the relaxation response, which is the opposite of the stress response. By regularly practicing techniques that evoke the relaxation response, you can help your body reduce the cumulative effects of stress. Relaxation-response techniques slow down your heart-
may have trespassed a law, but it does not make him or her an illegal person. If it does, then follow this logic: If you have ever gotten caught speeding or not wearing your seatbelt — i.e., breaking a traffic law — then you would always be referred to as an illegal driver. If you ever missed an alimony payment, then you would always be referred to as an illegal parent. If you ever made a misstatement or mistake on your taxes, then you would always be referred to as an illegal taxpayer. Justices, all of you know someone who is in your circle
beat and breathing. Your body uses less oxygen and blood flows more easily throughout your body. One way to relax is through deep breathing or breath focus. Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit or lie down. Begin by taking a slow, deep breath. The air coming in through your nose should move downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully. Now breathe out through your mouth (or your nose, if that feels more natural). Put one hand on your abdomen, just below your belly button. Feel your hand rise about an inch each time See DR. K, Page A5
who has broken a law at some point. Are you prepared to refer to these lawbreakers as illegal human beings forever? You can’t tell, just by looking at a person, that he or she has broken a law. A lawbreaker does not look like any one type of person. Think Jeffrey Dahmer, Bernie Madoff and Richard Nixon. You are too smart, justices, to encourage legalized racial profiling. Thanks to media people like Lou Dobbs, an image has been created of what an “illegal” person looks like — an immigrant, a Latino,
See HINOJOSA, Page A5
25 YEARS AGO
April 24, 1987 • Louetta McCarty of Roswell has been awarded a $500 scholarship from the New Mexico Society of Certified Public Accountants. McCarty, 31, is a student at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell. Her scholarship was among the 16 totaling $6,000 the Education and Scholarship Committee of the NMSCPA awarded to New Mexico college juniors majoring in accounting. Similar $500 scholarships were also awarded to Robert J. Durham, Mark W. Fordyce and Jayna A. Mathews, all students at New Mexico State University. The $1,000 Bryan Stephenson Memorial Merit Scholarships were awarded to Leroy A. Chavez and Belenda Clark Melton, both students at the University of New Mexico.