Our view B-2 My view B-3, B-4, B-5, B-6
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 THE NEW MEXICAN
OPINIONS
Immigrants held in Artesia need help from Santa Fe. Page B-3
King: Foot in mouth disease strikes I
Discord in El Rancho forgets ties of the past
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t’s terribly disheartening to see the dissension between the residents of the Indian Pueblo of San Ildefonso and the village of El Rancho, made up of Hispanos and Anglos, over rights of way to El Rancho villagers’ homes and even county roads that supposedly had perpetual easements dating to when they were the original roads that led to Los Alamos. It’s particularly disheartening to a historian who has read and studied countless documents relating how Pueblo Indians and Hispanos could not have survived the realities of a brutal frontier existence if they had not just cooperated but become partners in wars against their Orlando common enemies. Romero Even during the Commentary Pueblo Revolt, the writing was on the wall. The Pueblos sent an emissary down to El Paso to bring the Spanish back. Why? Because without the protection of Spanish arms, the Pueblo Indians’ old enemies had returned to do battle, to raid, plunder and pillage and deprive them of their limited resources. Remember, the Pueblo people had destroyed everything European — orchards, gardens, vineyards, and animals and fowls — that reminded of Spanish rule. Read Charles Hackett on the revolt of the Pueblo Indians to learn more. After revolt leader Popay was deposed, Luis Tupatú from Picuris Pueblo sent Juan Punsilli to El Paso to try to bring back the Europeans. After the Spanish returned, conflict did continue until things settled down. However, both realized that neither Pueblo nor Spaniard could survive without each other. It was the Spanish who first recognized the Pueblo’s right to rule over their own people and thus the canes of authority were granted to them, which have been confused with canes of sovereignty. What is amazing is the number of skirmishes and battles where Pueblo auxiliaries and their Hispano counterparts died side by side. We have a rather romantic notion of “Spanish” New Mexico and its colonists, but the reality is that not only were the colonists surrounded by warring and marauding tribes, but so, too, were the Pueblo people. Even before the arrival of the Spanish, Indian warfare not only existed but also was a fearful reality that the Pueblos dreaded. Enemy tribes not only plundered but took captives as slaves. Read War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage, by Laurence H. Keeley, and Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest, by Steven A. LeBlanc, and also by the same author and Katherine E. Register, Constant Battles: Why We Fight. And it you don’t believe me that the Pueblos fought and died side by side with Hispanos against their common enemies, go and see for yourself the Segesser Hide paintings at the Palace of the Governors. The hides and their history document Hispanos and Pueblo Indians fighting the French in Nebraska. Read, too, Storms Brewed in Other Men’s Worlds: The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish and French in the Southwest, 1540-1795 by Elizabeth A.H. John. And unless you are totally ignorant of New Mexico history, Pueblo Indians and Hispanos also died side by side in the Rebellion of the Chimayósos in 1837 against the Mexican government and again in 1847, when they joined forces against the Anglo-American government. The point here is that ignorance and a lack of historical perspective are at the root of the San Ildefonso and El Rancho quagmire. We grew up together, married each other and survived together. With the world falling apart, do we need another Middle East or Kosovo? Besides, in my opinion, the Pueblo Lands Act settled the issue. To my knowledge, that act never intended to leave non-Indian residents with titles to their property landlocked, without access to roads that had been used by them for decades or even longer. And if the land title companies start canceling title insurance, leaving prospective sellers unable to sell their homes because of the dispute, it probably will take congressional action to resolve the issue. With Congress’ conservative attitude at the moment, it could be a decision the pueblo will regret.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Chip seal resurfacing is bad for bicycles
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anta Fe is a premier bicycle-friendly city. It has an excellent system of bicycle trails, first-rate mountain bike parks and an extensive system of bike lanes. But the recent decision by the Santa Fe County Public Works Department to chip seal Bonanza Creek Road is a significant step backward. Bonanza Creek Road is a popular route for bicycle riders and the only link between N.M. 14 and La Cienega and Interstate 25 frontage roads. Resurfacing the road with chip seal makes it so rough, it is virtually unridable for bicycles. In addition, chip seal is not a good road surface for motor vehicles. The roughness increases fuel usage, tire wear and noise. The only redeeming value of chip seal is that it is cheap. By going on the cheap, Santa Fe County Public Works is being penny-wise and pound-foolish. I hope that in the future, Santa Fe County commissioners and the Public Works administration will take a broader, longer view when considering road-surface alternatives and reduce or, better yet, eliminate the use of chip seal. Jim Stehn
retired engineer and avid cyclist Santa Fe
Fantasyland Gov. “Pinocchia” Susana Martinez believes in fairy tales. Her nose grows longer daily. The ogre, Attorney General Gary King, is guilty of all manner of villainies. Not to worry, our Fairy Godmother will save us all from a fate worse than death. Endless staged TV ads of her reading books to young New Mexican students are superfluous and downright annoying. The question remains, “What has the governor actually done for our children?” New Mexico is still at the bottom of the list when it comes to child welfare. We deserve the truth, not another four years in Fantasyland.
Serena deserves better So this is interesting: On Monday, Sept. 8, The New Mexican reported that Serena Williams won the U.S. Open Women’s Final. This was her 18th Grand Slam title, putting her in the company of such tennis greats as Steffi Graf, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Your story appeared on the second page of the Sports section, below the fold. On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the newspaper reported that Marin Cilic won the U.S. Open Men’s Final. This was his first Grand Slam title. This story appeared on the first page of the Sports section, above the fold. I’d be interested in hearing about story placement from your editors. For me, the Serena Williams win was by far the bigger story. Robert Oldakowski
Santa Fe
No doublespeak I won’t accept the Orwellian statements that Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center issues that there is not a link between better patient care and increased staffing. Just saying it over and over does not make it so. The 300 nurses who have left over the past three years and the words of the many nurses who have been fighting for better care, not higher salaries, speak truth, not doublespeak. Their bottom line is patient care, not profit. I am an older resident of Santa Fe, and while visiting friends at the hospital, I’ve witnessed the understaffing and the real pain and discomfort it causes. It might be legal, but it’s not right. Jasmine Stewart
Santa Fe
Marion Jackson
Santa Fe
Birds threatened
Operas stimulating
Nearly half our birds are threatened by global warming (“Global warming threatening birds,” Sept. 9). If we do nothing, many could disappear in our children’s lifetimes. Can you imagine New Mexico without piñon jays? I cannot — they are part of the fabric of our natural community. But the science is clear that we risk losing piñon jays if we do not act. Extreme weather, bark beetles, destructive wildfires, greater threats to our health — these are the warning signs of global warming. The birds that share our backyards are threatened, too. But we can act to secure a better future. We can reduce pollution, use energy more efficiently and continue our work to protect the key places that birds — and we — call home. It’s up to all of us to do what we can — and up to our congressional representatives to take decisive action. Piñon jays should always be a part of New Mexico.
I am writing in response to Duane Roller’s rather stuffy and dour comments about The Santa Fe Opera (“Operas straying off course,” My View, Aug. 30). I found his reference to “the ignorance of the audience” to be particularly offensive. Opera is a living art. It is not meant to be frozen in a museum for an elite few. Composers do not write operas for empty theaters. I attended many performances this summer, where I often saw the evening end with a standing ovation. One of the joys of the season was in observing the engagement of audiences. Roller saw a sports event. I saw people having an enthusiastic and meaningful experience. It was especially gratifying to see young people coming to the opera. I treasure The Santa Fe Opera because it strives to present productions that are not only entertaining but also stimulating and thought-provoking to today’s audience.
Tom Jervis
Robb Lucas
Santa Fe
Eldorado
We welcome your views Letters to the editor are among the best-read features of The New Mexican. We do our best to get every opinion in the paper. It doesn’t have to agree with ours. In fact, the wider the variety of ideas on the Opinions page, the better our readers are served. We try to run them in their turn. They’re all
edited — for language, spelling and length. To give all readers a chance to speak out, we limit letter submissions per individual to once a month. Please limit letters to 150 words. Please include your name, address and telephone numbers so we can verify that you wrote it. We keep numbers and addresses confidential. Email to: letters@sfnewmexican.com.
Orlando Romero is a historian and writer.
Editorial page editor: Inez Russell Gomez, 986-3053, igomez@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
t was a bad week for Gary King. And that’s in a campaign that hasn’t seen many good weeks. Once again the Democratic gubernatorial candidate had a mediocre campaign finance report. But even more discouraging was the fact that nearly 10 percent of the contributions he received turned out to be from companies connected with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After I broke this news, King said he would return these contributions. (Lesson for future campaign finance staff: When several checks come in, all having different company names but from the same address in the Caribbean, that should raise Steve Terrell some flags.) Roundhouse But the Epstein Roundup story didn’t get as much traction as another story King had to deal with. A national conservative publication called The Weekly Standard obtained a video of King at a fundraiser in Belen saying “Susana Martinez does not have a Latino heart.” Cue the outrage. This was even worse than the time that Pete Dinelli, running for mayor of Albuquerque, said Democrats who vote for Republicans were acting like “a bunch of pendejos.” To me, “gaffe-of-the-day” stories usually are the dumbest kind of “scandals” to cover. Quite often they boil down to poor word choice by a politician. Sometimes the offending rhetoric isn’t just taken out of context, it’s renditioned out of context. The people who are aghast at the unspeakable statement — who almost always are from the opposite political party — inevitably will defend, at least in public, the next politician from their own party who commits a similar gaffe. That’s just the nature of the game. Anyone who knows Gary King knows he’s not a racist. Just like anyone who knows Albuquerque Republican lawyer Pat Rogers, who lost his job because of a dumb joke about General Custer, knows Rogers doesn’t hate American Indians. King’s entire statement, made at a recent fundraiser, referred to a previous speaker there, famous Hispanic labor activist Dolores Huerta: “[Huerta] said you can’t go out there and just vote for somebody for governor because they have a Latino surname,” King said. “She said you have to look at them and find out if they have a Latino heart. And we know that Susana Martinez does not have a Latino heart.” I’m not taking sides in the race, but I was glad that King didn’t apologize. The typical next step in this dunce dance is for the gaffe maker to apologize “if I offended anyone.” Instead, King issued a statement saying, “I stand by my friend Dolores Huerta and her words that Susana Martinez lacks the empathy or commitment to the values we share in New Mexico.” Basically, King was saying what one of his primary opponents, state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said at an Albuquerque forum in May: that Martinez “does not have a heart or soul for this state.” Still, I don’t think it was wise for King to have stepped in the quicksand of ethnicity. As a Washington Post blog said last week, “Even if he was [quoting Huerta], it was probably not a good idea, since it has attracted negative attention.” It brings back memories of Patricia Madrid, running for lieutenant governor in 1994, telling a mostly Hispanic crowd in Las Vegas, N.M., that Republican Gary Johnson would “surround himself with nothing but Anglos.” Speaking to about 200 people at a Las Vegas restaurant, Madrid said, “The newcomers to this state don’t appreciate your values. They don’t appreciate Hispanics.” The candidate who suffered for that was Gary King’s father, Bruce King, who lost his re-election bid to Johnson that year. Actually, even though some of her people were pushing the “Latino heart” story, Martinez had a pretty classy reaction to the flap. In a statement to The Associated Press, she said, “I’m not sure what Gary King meant by what he said, so I’m not going to accuse him of racism. We certainly have different views on the issues, but I know what’s in my heart and I won’t question what’s in his.” Contact Steve Terrell at sterrell@sfnew mexican.com. Read his political blog at www.santafenewmexican.com/news/ blogs/politics.
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