Play by the House Rules

Mother thought I was too intelligent to be a woman. Translate that to "ever be married." Or as would sometimes add "to be happy."

At an extremely early age I saw that there were always at least two sides to every story and that is if there were only too people involved.

Maybe it was my very active and creative imagination but I immediately got that my reality was not necessarily your reality. College only made matters worse; specifically philosophy and debate. I understood Plato and Jean Paul Sartre and Kierkegaard. Dad thought I should have trained as a lawyer but it just seemed too black and white. But I worked as a court clerk for a while and came to understand the law.

But there is something wonderful about the logic of the law. But I do believe entirely too many people fail to understand it especially when it go against what they want. It does not matter who is right or wrong but who broke the law and can that be proved. And was their a clear and precise law to be broken. That can get rather muddled.

My father played poker and taught us kids the game. According to Hoyle and table rules were everyday phrases in my home. I was the kid at the neighbor's house that when the Monopoly game was pulled out I asked by what rules we were playing. If there are two people cheating in a three handed card game who is wrong if the non-cheater loses all his money. The one not cheating because he was too stupid to get up and leave.

I am one of those strange people that can see the argument from every side and defend it. Not like it. That is entirely something different. But if I take a side it is usually based on fairness. No one promised me fairness but does not prevent me from arguing for it. And fairness is not always equal or unchangeable. It can in fact be quite variable depending upon table rules if you will.

We are great at setting out table rules whether it is Hoyle for games or Roberts Rule of Order for meetings or the Constitution of the United States and the Supremes. We are a civilized country if we play by the rules as written down. Mob violence is not by the rules. Nor is it fair to try a person in the media either before or after the trial because it didn't go as you wanted it.

We have become a nation of whiners. Not a nation of laws. If our side loses we want the rules changed.

I think the Table Rules were followed in the Martin/Zimmerman case. I think the jury did a wonderful job even though they were picked for the belief that as mothers they would be biased. Now let's see who are whiners and who truly believe in the rule of law.

Remember Justice is blind. And so it does not always go the way us biased and illogical people want it to go.

I have made up my mind

I have no interest in the truth. I have made up my mind, is a dogma that fits an alarming number of my former friends. I say former because I have no interest in closed minds. It is an open and shut case with me.

I love diversity. And since being forced into speech class in college love debate. Too bad I was not born a boy in the time of Plato because I would have thrived on discussions of the noise a tree makes if it falls in the forest.

And I find nothing sexier than intelligence. My idea of an ideal date? A museum or series of Ted Talks in Oxford. Two of my biggest turn off's? Rush Limbaugh and Nancy Grace. Both are too darn sure they are right. And with every major news story it seems the lines are drawn from day one. Not all the facts are available and even if they were they have not been read because nobody wants to be bothered by the facts. Their minds are already made up. Picking an impartial jury must be next to impossible these days.

Never mind finding honest and open investigators. Let alone impartial reporters and media. Can you imagine what will happen if Zimmerman is found not guilty? Rioting in the streets no doubt. But the evidence on either side is so inconclusive. And  imagine what would have happened if O.J. Simpson had been found guilty even when the evidence said he was. There seems to be this collective unconsciousness which says THIS IS THE WAY I WANT IT and so it shall be. Certainly do not mess their minds up with any doubt or evidence or facts or, heaven forbid, truth.

All that said I think the title of this blog is wrong because there is no mindful thinking in this collective unconsciousness these days. They have not made up their minds because they have no minds. The title should be I HAVE MADE IT UP. And so shall it be.

Why should we mess up the west? Again

Mount Taylor by Dave Arnold

I lived and went to school in Albuquerque during the 1960's when the power brokers were beginning their destruction of the west with the building of the Glen Canyon Dam. They argued very few people went there and ergo who would miss it. And the greater good was to provide energy for the area and prevent the flooding of the Colorado River and build a great recreational reservoir. The fight to stop the Glen Canyon Dam and a proposed other three dams along the Grand Canyon was spear headed by Ansel Adams and the newly formed Sierra Club. It is Ansel's images which remind us of what is buried beneath the waters.

We did not stop Lake Powell, we personally get no power from it, and the Colorado never flooded below that point because the Grand Canyon controlled it naturally. But the environmental movement did stop the other dams proposed. I have heard rumblings on the net that the dam proposals are getting active again.

This is so wrong and so is the proposed largest US Uranium mine on Mt. Taylor. Thousands of people daily in Albuquerque watch the sun set behind this 11,000 foot peak which includes sacred lands for several First Americans. However, you hear the argument that nobody cares about the back side. I have seen the backside. My sister has off roaded on the back side. And it can be argued that the west central area of the state looks at dawn from its backside.

My sister took me to the San Mateo area behind Mt. Taylor in 2011. It is an area open to mining for coal and uranium even though much of it is government land. There are also huge ranches in the area and a sparse population.  It was formed by the same volcanic activity that made Mt. Taylor and is mineral rich. And it is beautiful! That seems to get lost in this whole argument about Canada and Japan needing our uranium. I cannot post pictures of the forests on the back of Mt. Taylor but I urge everyone that can to do so. Please link in a comment to this blog.

I can however personally post my photos of the mysterious and beautiful San Mateo landscape.

Goblins by J. Binford-Bell

Red formations by J. Binford-Bell

Sandstone cliffs by J. Binford-Bell

 This area held by the BLM is used for camping, hunting, grazing of cattle and protection of wildlife in the area. And photographers. It is abused only by geologists looking for mining areas. They obviously want to open new uranium mines even though we have not cleaned up the mess from the old ones mostly closed in 1990 and we still have not a clue what to do with spent uranium fuel rods, etc. It is relatively safe hidden in the earth so let's destroy the earth and dig it up.

Stock pond by J. Binford-Bell

Vista of the valley from one of the cliff walks

Another poly-chrome cliff by J. Binford-Bell

My sister recording the beauty of the area

It was so quiet the day were were there in October. It was the New Mexico of my youth when you could hear the ants crawl if you listened. And the sky was such a vivid clean blue. Mining roads up and down through here to the proposed biggest uranium mine in the world just across the valley would ruin that. And leave a patina of dust all over the beautiful rocks, choking the life out of vegetation that struggles with the arid environment.

Just because you have not been there do not let them destroy it. Or contaminate the aquifer for all the residents in the area and anywhere on the aquifer. The closed uranium mine near Milan just a few miles south is already doing that. And the uranium is not even for us.

The God Complex and the Jesus Scam

"Be humble, for you are made of earth, be noble, for you are made of stars." Serbian proverb.

My father used to say the only trouble with the word of God was how man interpretative it. And because of recent experiences I would have to add the only problem with Jesus is what people do in his name.

You probably have noticed all the WWJD - What Would Jesus Do - bumper stickers. Note they are on the back of the cars so you can ask yourself that question. I seriously doubt any of the drivers of those cars give it a single thought as they break all the rules of the road and risk your life. They think Jesus is on their side. And as a result of their prayer they get to do all they want to do. And if you do not pray to Jesus what they do to you is justified. 

Mother used to say you could not go wrong trusting in God faring people. I think you should definitely not trust them.  My last three tenants have thought they had Jesus Christ on their side. They used their respective churches to borrow money, enlist help, and beg forgiveness for their wrongs. But quite obviously they never asked God to make them an instrument of his peace. They do not know charity unless they are the beneficiaries. And they believe all they have to do is pray and everyone must forgive them. They work their Christianity as a scam while living a life that is anything but holy.

It used to be that this sort of behavior was limited to what Mother called the Sunday Christian. But now it seems to be all visible members of virtually any Christian sect though the fundamentalists are by far the worse. And they believe they are entitled to be spared from the floods, survive the fires, be forgiven for murders and thefts. They get to lie, cheat and steal and ask you WWJD.

The woman whose house was spared as a forest fire skipped through her neighborhood proudly announced to the world media that she was spared because Jesus answered HER prayers. The assumption being that anyone whose house burned to the ground was deserving of such disregard. Such a vengeful God Jesus has become. And Christianity is more like Zoroasterism these days.

Some years back I stopped using businesses that had the fish on their cards. I was always getting cheated by them. And now I am finding myself questioning applications for tenancy where a church is listed as a reference. Let your faith be known by your works. Not by your bumper stickers or words. Be humble and noble and charitable.  

Gun Control Is Not The Solution

James Bond's Gun

Social media has gone crazy since the shooting at Sandy Hook. And all my carefully bared down liberal friends are screaming for gun control. They do not understand why I am opposed. It's complex.

The following is a personal message I sent to an internet friend in response to her query of why I am not behind taking guns out of at least the hands of the mentally unbalanced.

It isn't as easy to identify the mentally unbalanced as you think. And they have to be identified to the point that there is a record of that mental problem. At the same time we have restricted mental health professionals with contradictory requirements that make them hesitant to put on the record things that may stick with their patients forever.

I have a friend who is a mental health professional and because of her liability and the chance of being sued sees only patients that can pay her in cash so she does not have to go by insurance demands for reporting. Meanwhile the profession to avoid trouble is coming up with new jargon that is like splitting and resplitting hairs. Lantz's DMI might be disassociative. That can mean anything from does not pay attention in class to excessively shy to serial killer. And will it even work?

The Aurora shooter did not have a mental health record until after he purchased all the guns and ammo. He probably went to a shrink just to see if they would stop him and the wheels ground so slowly that they didn't.

The mall shooter took a gun from a neighbor without permission and this last one used his mother's legally obtained weapons. And you all make it sound as if the guns are easy. And they just picked them up and began shooting so of course they would not take the time to make a bomb from instructions on the internet. The Aurora shooter amassed weapons for months and months and built bombs to booby trap his house. He took the time. The Columbine shooters spent months in their parent's garage stashing ammo and building pipe bombs. They took the time.

I am a liberal. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not ranting about the 2nd amendment. I am just saying that this banning of assault weapons or even a requirement of a background check to own a 10 gauge shotgun will not stop the killing. It will not even slow it down. The Brady Bill didn't work. Taking gun control out of the hands of the state and making it national will not work. Banning guns totally will not work. Mexico has the frame work to get drugs over our borders so they will just start bringing guns. Ooops they already do to those states that restrict gun sales. I live in a border state. I know.

You have a right to your own opinion too but I am tired of the meaningless rhetoric and it bothers me that you and the majority of my liberal friends are buying a "panacea" that will not work. We need to address why there is this much sickness in our society. And how to identify it and how to get those people the help they need before it is too late. 

Every time the United States has rushed to a quick fix on anything it has only made matters worse. My same liberal friends that are fighting to tighten laws on guns are also arguing for legalization of drugs. Two states made marijuana legal this last election. These states are flaunting national laws on drugs. States' Rights rule on guns and any federal action on gun control always runs counter to that. There is a huge difference between New York and New Mexico or Alaska. It is not just the NRA that will fight any move to outlaw or ban guns.

PS while Googling an image for this blog I ran into pages and pages and pages of sites for on line gun and ammo sales. I need a spare clip for my Walther so I book marked a couple. The opening image of the Walther came from Gun Auction.com. I bet if you ask politely they have a source for the kits that can change any semi-automatic rifle into fully automatic too. So are those that want gun control willing to cede internet control at the same time?

Mechanics Lien Laws in New Mexico

The mechanic's lien in New Mexico is being used and abused to the detriment of homeowners and contractors alike. With current New Mexico laws regarding the placement of mechanic's liens no proof is required before placing a cloud over an owner's title.

To file a lien in any court in New Mexico the person filing the lien does not have to prove they are a licensed contractor, had a legitimate contract with the person named in the lien, or are actually owned any monies let alone the amount claimed. The lien, once placed rightly or wrongly, clouds the title of the homeowner for two years making it next to impossible for them to refinance or sell without paying the sum named in the lien.

Removal of the lien before the two years requires going to court to prove they are innocent; a concept which runs counter of the belief that all men are innocent until proven guilty. When I sought legal advice as to the removal of a lien on my property by a contractor no longer licensed I was told to just pay him as the amount owed was less than the legal fees it would cost to go to court. This, in opinion, amounts to legalized blackmail.

A contractor can at any time within that two years move for judgment. And the homeowner can actually have their home foreclosed on and sold out from under them to settle lien even if it is a fraction of the worth of the house. The only recourse for the homeowner is to participate in a lengthy and costly legal action for which there seems to be no alternative or affordable path even if the lien was illegally placed, the contractor has no proof of the contract, or the amount owed. And until the matter is settled in court the title of the property is still clouded and the homeowner hog tied. In my instance the legal action took four and a half years. And extends beyond the license of the contractor or the legal standing of his now defunct company.

Regardless of the legal rightness of either side of the argument changes need to be made in New Mexico's Mechanic's lien laws to avoid the tying up of court time, the abuse by contractors, and the victimization of homeowners.

Other states have amended their mechanic lien laws to be more fair. But as the law currently stands in New Mexico it is merely a legalized form of black mail which damages everyone involved. I have lots of friends that have been a victim of the Mechanic's Lien and who, like me, would never, ever hire a contractor again. So this law damages the construction industry as well as homeowners and the real estate market. And the Construction Industries division does little to monitor this process and its abuse.

After a two and a half year deliberation on the court trial the judge finally found in my favor and released the lien on my property. He found that the contractor did not have a case. I fortunately was assisted in my battle by New Mexico Legal Aid because they saw this as a problem many homeowners that could not afford to fight had and were subsequently losing their homes.

I would be more than happy to meet with any New Mexico legislator willing to take on this miscarriage of equal rights before the law and testify before any committee or answer any questions as to my personal experience with this abusive law.

Whew!!!

The First Family Still

I was so happy last night when President Obama won re-election in record time against all predictions that we might not know for weeks or months because of all the dirty tricks and fraud and suspected voting irregularities.

Elections have never been easy for me. Much of my youth I seemed to always be voting for the least onerous candidate. And when I was deeply devoted to a candidate they seemed to lose. The 2000 election when Gore had the election stolen from him I was a wreck for weeks. I was so embarrassed for my country. We export democracy and yet we failed at it on our home turf. And when GW turned out to be a drunken fool that leaned on podiums and could not speak proper English I just tuned out.

When Kerry lost to GW in 2004, again by suspected voting machine manipulation, I seriously contemplated moving to Canada. Evidently one hell of a lot of Americans did the same thing. When Barack Obama won the nod of the Democratic party for the 2008 election I didn't dare hope he might win. It was a huge and historic victory. The first black man in the white house! Made up for not having the first woman president in Hillary Clinton.

Had I been the president elect in 2008 as GW Bush and policies pushed the United States off the financial cliff I would have moved to Canada. What an impossible task? There we were as not merely a nation but the world heading for economic free fall. And everyone seemed to believe he was superman. He was suppose to keep us out of the deepest depression the world had ever known and deliver on all his campaign promises. And all against a GOP subset that was determined from day 8 to make him a one term president. And yet he got us the ACA and signed into law a bill to help ensure equal pay for equal work for women. And slowly inch by inch the economy has been improving.

I would not have run again (see previous mentions of moving to Canada) but he did. But there was so very much at stake. With the economy beginning to heal we could not turn it over to a party and the same polices that broke it. And it was clear from the outset that the GOP wanted to return women to the '50's. The 1850's. It was so scary because losing was not an option but also not in our control. There were several indications the GOP was willing to cheat. That was taken so seriously the United Nations sent Election Observers to several key battle grounds. The polls kept saying it was too close to call. This has not been good on my stress levels. But Nate Silver's reading of polling data gave me hope.

I had voted early so on election day I could divert my mind and tummy with something creative with a friend - Nuno felting. And I was so exhausted when I came home I figured I would just go to sleep. But an election junkie I tuned in and watched. At ten o'clock it was all over and Barack Obama was still president of the United States.

I am not sure this will solve all our problems. This campaign has shown that we are a deeply divided nation. Maybe even more divided than the days before the Civil War. But at least we did not turn over the country to the people that broke it in the first place and seemed determined to do anything to get in power including lying, cheating, and bigoted/sexist slurs.

To my list of words I no longer want to hear I add - polls, polling data, cliff hanger, birther, Donald Trump, Romney, Ryan, and Republican. Not another word about 2016 until at least 2015. See campaign reform.