Recent news from China tells of the awful conditions faced by the Uighurs, including forced abortions. Think of that: a government with the power to force a woman to have an abortion. But how different is that from a government that has the power to prohibit a woman from getting an abortion. I don’t think any government should have that power. So-called pro-life folks should think about that: a government that can prohibit abortions could someday require them. I hope New Mexico will end the law prohibiting abortions.
Robert Garcia
Santa Fe
Texas shots
Recently, my wife and I drove to Amarillo, Texas, and received COVID-19 vaccines. We had signed up when they opened the Department of Health website and had received no communication from that site. We are over 75 with underlying conditions and we’re very concerned about our vulnerability to the virus. We are fortunate in having Dr. Josh Brown as our physician. Recently Brown heard that some of his clients had received shots in Amarillo and gave out a telephone number. I called, and a young lady said they were open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. or until the vaccine runs out. We drove to the Amarillo Civic Center and were overwhelmed with the professional organization that was delivering shots in a safe and efficient manner. We were in and out in about an hour. Thanks, Texas.
John Mikkelsen
Santa Fe
Keep Rosemond
You have published several letters demanding The New Mexican drop John Rosemond’s column. Please do not bend to these writers who demand you publish only advice with which they agree. If these letter writers think he is demonizing children, they are not understanding his advice. Children are born as culturally empty vessels. It is a parent’s obligation to fill them with expectations on how to behave and how not to behave. Rosemond gives commonsense advice on how to do this. Please keep him.
Susan Nilsen
Santa Fe
Trash town
I’ve lived here for 40 years, and I, too, have seen more recently how the trash and weeds have become so prevalent in Santa Fe. It seems people have stopped even trying to keep up. Drive down any street in any neighborhood, hike along the green space in the river areas and along the railroad tracks, and you will see the ugliness that littering is. And if you don’t see litter, it might just be because the weeds are giving it cover. Sadly, littering in public places has become as much of our culture as art in public places.
Two recent articles (“Trash eating into budget,” Jan. 28, and “Trashing of Franklin Miles Park,” Jan. 31) point out just a part of the cost to our state. In cleaning up, the Department of Transportation spends 90,000 hours and $3.2 million along the highways. I wonder what the city’s budget is. How many better ways could that time and money be spent? And in not cleaning up, Little League might forfeit opportunities for games and tournaments, good for both our youth and our local businesses. Besides the missed “time and money” opportunities, we are also missing the opportunities of teaching by example, of good citizenship, pride of place, respect for our neighbors and stewardship of our beautiful home. We need a change of heart and a change of habits. We can do better than this.
Nikki Harnish
Santa Fe
Admiring the beauty
I would like to share a quick thought with regards to the article complaining about how “dirty” the highways are here in New Mexico. I have been impressed for some time how free of debris the highways and roads are that I travel. I appreciate the effort the city and county put into maintaining the beauty of this area.
Maureen McCarthy
Eldorado
Walk and grab trash
My suggestion on trash: As a daily dog walker in the Guadalupe District, I take a plastic bag with me to pick up trash. It is no big deal but may help just a little. Other dog walkers may see us and think — “What a good idea, I can do this also.” Every little bit helps. I love this city!
Cathi Haga
Santa Fe
More swimming
Now more than ever, physical fitness is important for our physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, both public and private fitness centers have had to scale back operations to comply with New Mexico Department of Health guidelines. Many, including Santa Fe Community College, have moved fitness classes to online platforms. We are grateful for our awesome outdoor playgrounds in the mountains; however, they are not accessible to all. The Genoveva Chavez Community Center has managed to reopen in a COVID-19-safe manner for its patrons and staff. Congratulations and thank you. We are happy to announce that Santa Fe Community College will reopen the William C. Witter Fitness Education Center lap swimming pool by reservation (visit https://www.sfcc.edu/aquatic-facilities/ or call 505-428-1751). Exercise encourages us to practice more discipline and patience in our daily lives — habits that help us navigate these trying times. We need more fitness, more sanity and more COVID-19-safe opportunities to exercise.
Ute Jannsen-Kerr
Santa Fe Community College
academic director, School of Fitness Education
We need two parties
The Republican Party no longer exists. There are Republican members of Congress who believe the world is run by a secret cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles. There are others who believe the recent California wildfires were caused by Jewish-funded space-based lasers. And many Republicans truly believe massive voter fraud occurred in the 2020 election when not a scintilla of evidence has been found despite multiple recounts, audits and court cases.
American democracy depends on two functioning political parties. I am a lifelong Democrat, but I mourn not having a political opponent who believes in fact-based reality. Discussing policy and solving the daunting problems of the nation is fruitless without at least that.
Ira Agins
Santa Fe
Help the vulnerable
What a heady feeling it must have been for Milan Simonich to team up with one of Santa Fe’s finest to evict a couple of homeless people (and based on the photo, their dog) from the one safe, dry, semi-warm place they’d found this winter amid a raging pandemic. He declared that he sent an email and only a day later, our mayor took action. I hope that action included finding a safe refuge for our least fortunate fellow Santa Feans. Somehow I doubt it. But hey, at least next year we’ll have a chance of hosting a mini-convention of Little League teams. It’s shameful this is how our police leadership, mayor and Simonich are spending their time. In these trying times, we should be helping rather than picking on our most vulnerable.
Isaac Green
Santa Fe
Keep working on it
Regarding Mayor Alan Webber’s commentary (“Three hard things: Public health, social healing and midtown,” My View, Jan. 31): Where on santafenm.gov do we sign up for updates? I couldn’t find it. And when do we receive our “code?” I preregistered on the state website for vaccines, but it doesn’t work until the government sends you a “code.” Nice start but still needs work.
Jenny Johnson
Santa Fe
Preserve our history
Santa Fe has experienced a major dereliction of duty at an unprecedented level. Allowing the catastrophic destruction of the obelisk and failure to persecute the perpetrators constitutes wanton disregard for Santa Fe. The failure to respond to the attack and failure to prosecute lay at the feet of Santa Fe’s mayor and the chief of police. At a minimum, the officer in charge should have simply submitted the list of perpetrators on time, instead allow them to go free. The mayor and the police chief have failed the citizens of Santa Fe and should resign.
The mayor’s simplistic solution is to create a panel that can only further erode our heritage. The only criterion is someone finding something objectionable. For those of us who love this town and have our roots here, the mayor and the chief’s inaction is unconscionable. They rather than sacrificing our history, they should be gone.
J.D. Vasquez
Santa Fe
Replace Rosemond
When will you have had enough rebuttals to John Rosemond’s baseless claims that ADHD does not exist and terminate his syndication in your paper? Our kids need a knowledgeable, science-based understanding of their behaviors. In contrast to Mr. Rosemond’s beliefs about ADHD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quite a bit to say about it. “ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood ... . In addition to genetics, scientists are studying other possible causes and risk factors including:
Brain injury
Exposure to environmental (e.g., lead) during pregnancy or at a young age
Alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy
Premature delivery
Low birth weight
Research does not support the popularly held views that ADHD is caused by eating too much sugar, watching too much television, parenting, or social and environmental factors such as poverty or family chaos. Of course, many things, including these, might make symptoms worse, especially in certain people. But the evidence is not strong enough to conclude that they are the main causes of ADHD.”
I urge you to keep New Mexican children safe and replace his column.
Leslie Zane
Santa Fe
No, we need him
John Rosemond’s Sunday column is one of the first things I read. His philosophy is based on the theory that children need discipline and predictability in their parenting. He believes parents should parent, which includes teaching them basic moral concepts. He realizes children can be wily and manipulative — they are human beings, after all. He is an advocate for authoritative parenting, rather than permissive parenting, which has been in fashion the last half-century or so. His voice is a much-needed counterpoint to the prevalent philosophy of permissive parenting. Please keep the column. We need it.
Patricia Mason
Tesuque
