Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, via Michael Corkery and The New York Times, gives Duck! City Mayor Tim Keller a little sumpin’-sumpin’ for Christmas.
The New Mexico governor’s mansion sits on a hilltop in Santa Fe, roughly 7,100 feet above sea level.
The air smells of pine needles and sweet meadow grass. An original Georgia O’Keeffe painting greets visitors as they enter the foyer of the elegantly appointed home.
Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat entering the final few years of her governorship, has been spiffing up the grounds of the residence to showcase her state’s rich culture and immense beauty. But for all its splendor, New Mexico faces some grave problems, she said. “Have you ever been to Albuquerque?”
Hoo-boy. And you thought socks from grandma were bad. I wouldn’t expect a thank-you note.
Mad Blog Media 
That is downright frigid, but it’s clever. You been coaching her?
“Nobody knows you when you’re down and out.”
That reminds me of Marvin.
Read it a while ago today. Though it was pretty good. Old Michelle certainly doesn’t owe any aloha spirit to her own Donk party, does she?
That article certainly didn’t belong in the Tourism section of the Times. Unless one’s idea of tourism is along the lines of Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner.
Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Redstate Gun
With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done
The deal was made in Idaho on a dark and stormy day
So he set out for The Duke City, to join the bloody fray
With apologies to Warren Zevon
Actually, Mother Times buried that one in the Business section. It’s not what I’d call a typical business story, though homelessness and crime obviously affect business.
Zero discussion of crime in Fanta Se — just Las Cruces and ’Burque. I know you folks up there can’t keep up with us when it comes to quantity and quality of offenses against man, beast, and God, but still, damn.
Meanwhile, the piece bounced right off the homepage into obscurity overnight. I had to check the URL to see where they’d hidden it.
The article showed up pretty prominently when I was doom-scrolling the home page of the NYT yesterday. Her familiar face just popped out. Now, I had to work to find it buried in the business section.
I think on a bad year we have five homicides in Fanta Se. Some of those are bad guy v bad guy, too, not just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You guys seem to have a slow year if it is 120-140 killed in action. I think even on a population basis, we are running way behind the “Duck City”. Our property crime rate is getting ugly with the drugs and homelessness.
This stuff frustrates me. I had an online chat with a guy recently and didn’t know who he was at first. Apparently, like me, he was working with Rep. Pamelya Herndon on the gun storage bill that is now law (yep, I was working on a gun control bill!), in his case, trying to get money into the safe storage bill for P.R. and tax breaks for things like lock boxes and gun safes. Said the D’s and R’s were in another room, fighting over wedge issues (his words not mine) and the bill died in committee.
I have little respect for the Dems in general here, and the Progressives from these parts in particular (with apologies to Herself, who I realize is some sort of ward chair or something). Seems the D’s are more likely to go after whatever will get them those fat campaign contributions rather than deal with reality on the streets. Some of the Gov’s ideas were tough love, just as those of Sam Bregman, your DA, and he got shot down in the papers up this way. Too tough for our legislators. Trouble is, if there are no consequences to breaking laws, then the bad guys with guns, like the bad guys with cars, will just go on business as usual, which is why we lead the league in killing pedestrians as well as shooting people. So I’m sure the legislature will be coming for my guns again…..which are all locked in a heavy safe that is bolted to a concrete slab. They won’t be making it tougher on the folks who abuse their rights and privileges. It is, after all, NM.
Yeh, ’Burque is an actual middling’ city of sorts, while Fanta Se is more of a theme park (“Visit colorful AdobeLand!”). Half million peeps in the ’Burque, twice that in the metro area. Fanta Se has 87K in town and twice that in the metro. More shit’s gonna go sideways here for a variety of reasons, but the numbers sure help.
Crime is on a loop and fuck me if I know how we get off the merry-go-round. Cops don’t help (see the DUI scandal). Courts don’t help (right, off you go, released pending trial). Slammers don’t help (go in bad, come out worse, and sooner than anyone expected, too).
The Donks are no worse in these matters than the Elefinks. Both camps talk the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk the prefix “street” should be attached, as in “Hel-lo, sailor, you like short-time?” For all the talking we do there’s only one Voice that carries, the one belonging to The Money Power. Citizens United Über Alles!
The Elefinks are functionally worthless. Even if they had a good idea (what’s that line about a broken clock being right twice a day) they don’t have the numbers to do anything. Yep, especially since Citizens United, it is “One campaign check to rule them all, One check to find them, One check to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them”