A4 Tuesday, April 26, 2011
OPINION
Roswell Daily Record
Johnson could inject some reality into campaigns
A comment I used to hear a lot during Gary Johnson’s two terms as governor was, “Gary is just Gary.” Gary being Gary made him an ineffective governor, but as a candidate for president? Bring him on! That’s because, in these times of the coached, coifed and vacuumsealed candidate with the entourage of handlers and spinners, the candidate who manages to be just himself is a breath of fresh air. When Johnson makes a statement, we know it’s his honest opinion and not the product of focus groups and polls. Johnson doesn’t pander. His contribution to the next election cycle could be his willingness to tell us what we don’t want to hear and challenge other candidates who take the easier path. That’s either brash or brave. The real irony in Johnson’s campaign is that in not trying to be all things to all people, in just
SHERRY ROBINSON ALL SHE WROTE
being Gary, he does offer a little something for everyone — after his own fashion. Always described as “libertarian-leaning” and not outand-out libertarian, his smorgasbord of views will find support and brickbats across the political spectrum. Johnson’s positions, to date: He would cut taxes and shrink government, legalize marijuana, establish a guest-worker program for immigrants (who would pay income taxes and have health insurance), get out of Iraq and Afghanistan “as soon as effectively possible.” He supports states’ rights, abortion rights (but would
leave abortion laws up to states), a clean environment (but not cap and trade), and civil unions for same-sex couples. He opposes the death penalty. Blogging about the latest standoff in Washington, Johnson said, “We are facing a financial collapse under the weight of more than a trillion dollars in deficit spending, and Washington is pretending to wage a budget battle royal over whether to cut spending by 1 percent or 2 percent.” In speeches, he’s targeted Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense for cuts. He’s championed marijuana legalization since 1999. Recently, Johnson wrote that “the current drug laws are contributing to an all-out war on our southern border — all in the name of a modern-day prohibition that is no more logical or realistic than the one we abandoned 75 years ago.” We’re fueling a massive black market economy and losing the drug
wars, he says. Johnson doesn’t take the easy way out on immigration, either. “Congress and the federal government have failed, due to political cowardice, to do anything meaningful about immigration reform,” he wrote in a newspaper commentary. He wouldn’t have signed Arizona’s immigration law, but he understands the frustrations that produced the law, and thought the administration erred in its court challenge. Each state should work out problems its own way, he says. “Someone needs to ask the obvious questions about why the federal government insists on doing so much, spending so much, and attempting to ultimately control so many local issues,” he wrote. Speaking in Hobbs last July, Johnson said that deporting 15 million illegal immigrants “would be equivalent to an economic 911. They are here working, renting
and buying.” GOP candidates, he has said, want to keep throwing money at the war on terror and secure the borders “when they don’t seem to have any idea how much that would actually cost. Although the rhetoric sounds good, the reality of what they’re saying really isn’t going to reduce spending.” During his administration, Johnson asked for a cost-benefit analysis and learned that the state received more in tax revenues from illegal immigrants than it was paying out in benefits. On the website Our America: The Gary Johnson Initiative — “You Say You Want a Revolution” — he calls his campaign “the liberty movement.” He’s not expecting hugs from conservatives, but he believes his message will appeal to independent-minded Republicans, Independents and anybody else who’s fed up. And that’s just Gary being Gary. © New Mexico News Services 2011
EDITORIAL
Privacy in the Cloud
We Americans value our privacy. It’s enshrined in the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, with its guarantee that “(t)he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Things have become much more complicated in this digital age. Whereas the government once had to physically raid your home or business to grab “papers, and effects,” today it can access digital information with a few mouse clicks and keystrokes in a government office. Those subject to such searches often are not aware that their privacy has been violated. Fortunately, Congress is moving to protect digital privacy rights much the same as traditional rights. Unfortunately, the Obama administration is opposing such moves. Which is ironic because President Barack Obama, a former professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, campaigned in 2008 for more personal privacy for Americans. Wired magazine reported, “As the law stands now, the authorities may obtain cloud email without a warrant if it is older than 180 days, thanks to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act adopted in 1986.” The “cloud” refers to information — pictures, emails, audio files — stored on remote computer servers, rather than someone’s personal or business computer. Cloud computing keeps increasing. Wired continued, “A coalition of Internet service providers and other groups, known as Digital Due Process, has lobbied for an update to the law to treat both cloud- and home-stored email the same, and thus require a probable-cause warrant for access.” On April 5, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on updating the law. Testifying before the committee, James A. Baker, an associate deputy attorney general, cited national security as why the Obama administration opposes tougher rules on searches. He said, “Congress should recognize the collateral consequences to criminal law enforcement and the national security of the United States if ECPA were to provide only one means — a probable-cause warrant — for compelling disclosure of all stored content.” It’s the same argument that has been used too often since the 9/11 attacks nearly 10 years ago to limit our liberties and curtail the Bill of Rights. But just as in the pre-digital era, it is not too onerous for the government of a free people to get a search warrant to look at the cloud equivalents of “papers, and effects.” “More of our lives are moving online,” said Jim Harper, director of information studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. “Under traditional analysis, such digital searches without a warrant would be a violation of Fourth Amendment rights.” We urge members of Congress to support this reform. With even more digital wonders coming our way, Americans’ sacred right to privacy is more essential than ever. Guest Editorial The New Bern Sun Journal DEAR DR. GOTT: While watching television, I saw an article on a new form of bug that has invaded our country. Can you elaborate on what they refer to as CRKP? DEAR READER: Actually, it’s not so new. The CDC began tracking CRKP in 2009. CRKP stands for Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. It is a gram-negative bacteria known to cause infection in the bloodstream, at surgical or wound sites and in cases of pneumonia and meningitis in healthcare settings, specifically nursing homes and long-term-care hospitals. This bacterial infection is emerging as a major challenge for control because it is resistant to almost all available antimicrobial agents. Infections have been linked with high rates of morbidity and mortal-
Tears from Mexico over people leaving AYOQUEZCO, Oaxaca state, Mexico — Eva Vazquez Garcia, 48, looked me straight in the eye when I asked her to tell me how it feels when the people in her village — often men and boys — leave. “I cry for them,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I cry when they disappear.” I didn’t understand her tears. Why does it matter that her townspeople leave? It’s not like they are her family. I wouldn’t cry if my neighbor moved someplace else. “I feel impotent when they leave. I saw them when they were born. I went to school with them, grew up with
Doonesbury
ASK DR. GOTT UNITED MEDIA SYNDICATE
ity, particularly in people with central venous catheters or on ventilators. The bacteria live harmlessly in human intestines. “Superbugs” only occur when bacteria mutate to the point where antibiotics that were once effective are no longer working. According to ABC News, the CDC has indicated that the bacteria are more difficult to treat than MRSA
MARIA HINOJOSA SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
them,” she says. With her answer, I understood. The day before, I had been to the ancient ruins of Mitla and Monte Alban. In the U.S., we don’t quite realize that in the valley of Oaxaca is another cradle of civilization. Eva’s ancestors, the Zapotecs, have been here for 10,000
(methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) and that healthy people are not in danger of the bacteria but the aged, frail and otherwise ill patient is. The bacteria have been reported in 35 states at the time of this writing, but I am sure that number will rise before things are brought under control. It appears the hardest-hit area is Los Angeles County, Calif., with more than 350 reported cases. The situation is further complicated because many patients have numerous other health issues to deal with. Columbia University Medical Center reported that of the 42 percent of those patients in New York who were infected, half had organ transplants. The bacteria are most easily spread by hand-to-hand contact,
years. So when a member of the community leaves, it is as if a part of you dies. “Worse,” she says, “sometimes you never hear from them again.” Did they make it to the U.S.? Did they die in the desert or by a bullet on the streets of Phoenix? Violeta Cruz is 29 and sassy, with tight jeans, wedge heels and a fearlessness born from a desire to never have to leave her homeland. She didn’t cry when she thought of the ones who have left. She threw her long hair over her shoulder and said coquettishly, “I just worry I am never going to find a hus-
such as from shaking hands with a physician or other healthcare professional. Oddly enough, there isn’t much of a threat from using a telephone, touching a doorknob or bed linens, or from a doctor or nurse touching and reviewing a chart. Person-to-person contact is the primary culprit. All infected patients should be treated with caution, and strict guidelines must be adhered to. At this stage, intervention for rapid control of recognition is vital. DEAR DR. GOTT: We’ve just returned from a visit with our son, who is currently living in China. He is experiencing extreme numbness in the tip of the long middle finger of his right hand. This happened once before and lasted a few days. See GOTT, Page A5
band!” I met Eva and Violeta at the small-business collective MENA — Mujeres Envasadoras de Nopal de Ayoquezco. The name means “Women Bottlers of Nopal (cactus leaves) from Ayoquezco.” The women created the collective in an attempt to make 10-year-old boys stop talking about going to El Norte. Violeta is committed to fighting against the pull from the U.S. “I want to create a reason to stay,” she says. Then she talks about “romperte la madre,” which
See HINOJOSA, Page A5
25 YEARS AGO
April 26, 1986 • Joy P. Coleman of Roswell is among 35 pharmacy students from New Mexico named to the fall semester dean’s honor roll at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Coleman, daughter of Ruby A. Coleman, is a 1982 graduate of Roswell High School. • Angela Jones, Heather McDaniel, Heather Oglesby and Erik Oldrup were named to the fall semester honor roll at Berrendo Elementary School.