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Columns

  • Work of Art: But you ordered taquitos

    For a man who’s younger than I and who doesn’t make a posh living through the manipulation of language, Mayor Alfonso Ortiz appears to have broad knowledge of terms we use in Spanish and English.

    He said that “some day” we’d get together, where he could brief me on terms his and my ancestors used in their prime.

    A while back, I’d written about the diminution of terms in Spanish, used by my parents, especially Mom.

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  • Another Perspective - What does Gov Martinez have against unions?

    By Ellen Bernstein

    If you haven’t heard by now, Susana Martinez is trying to prevent public sector unions from collecting membership dues.

    The governor’s conversation may be about dues, but the deeper context is about something much greater: the existence of unions, the right to organize and workplace democracy.

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  • Nuestra Historia - San Miguel was Port of Entry to New Mexico

    By Jesus L. Lopez

    For the Optic

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  • Editorial Roundup - April 4, 2014

    Compiled by The Associated Press

    The Dallas Morning News on religious freedom challenge to Affordable Care Act (March 30).

    Religious freedom is a personal freedom, not an employer choice
    It is hard to imagine anyone, from conservative to liberal, who would want their employer’s religious beliefs imposed on their workforce or insurance coverage. Religious freedom is a personal freedom, not an employer choice.

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  • Work of Art: Is it a couch, divan, sofa?

    “Moooonnn River, wider than 1) a mile, 2) the Nile. Well, thanks my listening to trivia on Martha Johnson’s early show on KFUN, I know the answer: It’s No. 1 above, and my miss was wider than a mile.

    In my medieval torpor upon waking a few days ago, I heard a radio conversation with a caller about how easily we misunderstand lyrics to songs, in this case Nile and mile, but I wasn’t awake enough to let it register.

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  • Another Perspective - One-dimensional healthcare

    With a doctor in the family, I’ve learned some interesting things about our current approach to healthcare. I must mention that the following is based on conversations with three doctors and information from just one healthcare insurance company though I’m told others are doing similar things.

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  • Nuestra Historia - We settled San Miguel del Bado

    By Jesus L. Lopez

    Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the Optic on Jan. 14, 2011.

    In their petition seeking to secure the San Miguel del Bado Land Grant in 1794, the 52 colonists stated as their primary reason that there was not sufficient water in Santa Fe to sustain the growing population and livestock there. (It appears that drought and an adequate water supply were problems even then.) The petitioners also stated that many of them owned small parcels of land in Santa Fe, but they were not sufficient to support their large families.

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  • Editorial Roundup - March 28, 2014

    Compiled by The Associated Press

    The Augusta Chronicle, on government transparency (March 19):
    The Obama administration has never lived up to the president’s inauguration day pledge to be the “most transparent” in history.
    Sadly, it’s getting worse.
    An Associated Press analysis of federal data found that the administration has grown more secretive over time, last year censoring or outright denying Freedom of Information Act access to government files more than ever since Obama took office.

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  • Work of Art: A two-piece baseball bat?

    “Where do you get all your ideas?” Readers of Work of Art ask me occasionally. The main thing is having a good memory, although all my siblings insist that accounts I relate about our childhood favor me.

    Except for obvious, grotesque exaggerations, I go by what I remember. And no, the many nuns I’ve Christened in my almost 600 columns might not have had exactly those names, but that’s part of legitimate editorial puffery.

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  • Another Perspective - Rural NM not forgotten

    By Terry Brunner

    The recent economic recession hit New Mexico’s rural communities especially hard. Its impacts are reflected in New Mexico’s frequently reported grim social and economic statistics. The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Mission area, the only federal agency with a specifically rural mission, is working hard to help rural communities help recover of from the recession.

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