OPINION: Greed Is (Not So) Good

Magdalena Potluck
By Don Wiltshire

"The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.”
-Charles Kuralt, American radio and television Corres-pondent and Journalist, 1934-1997.
Way back in ancient times (pre 1980), greed, along with its cousins wrath, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony were considered to be the seven deadly sins. Today, however, they are all featured and glorified on just about every network and cable channel (except perhaps PBS and LINK).
It was Gordon Gekko (not to be confused with Martin Gecko from the Geico ads who wants to save you money), Michael Douglas’ character from the 1987 movie Wall Street, who blatantly spoke the phrase “greed is good.” So popular was this movie that Oliver Stone could not resist making a sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, to be released in September of this year.
So, “just what’s wrong with greed,” you might ask. Is it not one of the major motivating forces behind our Capitalist Economy? Well, in a word, in today’s world, “Yes.” Today, it all seems to boil down to a question of the degree of greed that is inflicted upon us. When does “Maximizing Profits” cross the boundary between good business sense and ruthless “bottom line ism?” When is it OK to shut down US manufacturing plants in favor of cheaper Mexican or overseas facilities? Will all of that water to the west of us in the San Augustin Basin go to any useful purpose other than to enrich the coffers of one Bruno Modena? When will he stop pumping? When ALL the water is gone? When will we stop having to deal with cutbacks in jobs, in schools, in healthcare, in social programs? When ALL of our money and resources are gone?
The rapidly expanding inequity of wealth and power in this country is enough to make our collective heads spin. The richest 1% of Americans now hold more than $2 trillion in wealth more than the bottom 90% of us combined. Meanwhile, we’re all trying to figure out how to keep our schools, our roads and our social programs from tanking.
Here’s a resource that might prove enlightening on this subject: Sam Pizzigati’s book Greed and Good: Understanding and Overcoming the Inequality That Limits Our Lives. It has gone on my “absolutely must read next list.” There simply must be a more equitable and democratic way to restructure the American Workforce. One solution that Pizzigati offers is that of a “maximum wage” cap on an individual’s annual income that would go up if and only if the minimum wage rose first.
Michael Moore also hints at solutions to this problem in Capitalism: A Love Story. He shows us several companies that are operating in a cooperative, democratic framework, where the CEO and the line worker get roughly equal pay and an equal vote in the operation of the business.
In earlier films, Michael freely admits that his viewpoints evolved from his early Catholic teachings encouraging the creation of an economically and socially just democracy. This is not the ugly word “Socialism” that the Tea-party attendees are bantering about, but a sustainable, more humane way to “do business” without degrading the worker or harming the Earth.
Personal greed is also a study with much fruit to bear. We all have our own personal over attachments to material things and pleasures. My personal weaknesses are Pistachios, books, rusty bits, green chili cheese bagels and clutter. How can we find the proper balance of providing what our inner-selves need and avoiding the selfish drive to attain more than is good for us?
Books about these and other questions can be found at the Magdalena Public Library. The Library will be celebrating Library Day on Saturday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come, enjoy food, friends, books, videos and public access computers. If we don’t have the book that you’re looking for, we’ll order it for you. Satisfaction guaranteed! Does it get any better than that?
Yes, it does! The Magdalena Eggsibition opens this Saturday, April 3 from 2 - 4 p.m. The show will run through the month of April at the Bear Mountain Gallery, Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. Come see ways to decorate an egg that you’ve never dreamed of!

If you have any Comments? Problems? Solutions? Up coming Events? Other Deadly Sins? Contact me at mtn_don@yahoo.com or (575) 854-3370.

OPINION: Greed Is (Not So) Good

Magdalena Fire Dept. Contains Small Wildfire

By John Larson

MAGDALENA – A quick response by the Magdalena Fire Dept., along with the Hop Canyon Fire Dept. prevented a small wildland fire from spreading Friday afternoon. The fire was contained along a 40 foot stretch on the east side of Highway 169, about one and a half miles north of Magdalena.
Magdalena Fire Chief Arthur Rauschenberg said the fire was possibly started by a tossed cigarette. He said the call came it at 12:20 p.m. by a passerby.
“Someone driving by had a shovel and tried to help contain it,” Rauschenberg said. “There also was a woman who had a case of bottled water, and she stopped and was pouring water on it.”
The Magdalena Fire Department responded with a brush truck and pumper, and Hop Canyon volunteers arrived with one pumper.
Village Deputy Marshal Ed Sweeney and two U.S. Forest Service personnel were assisting, Rauschenberg said.
“This could have really spread quickly, with the winds so high,” he said. “It could have been acres and acres, but it was out by one o’clock, and had burned less than one acre. I think we were extremely fortunate.”
Rauschenberg said residents should start becoming aware of the danger of fires getting out of control during windy and dry conditions.
“Be extra careful when burning trash at your house and burning off fields,” he said.
High winds and dry grass fueled several wildfires across the state.
Last Friday, Mar. 26, firefighters battled four other wildland fires: the Brewer Fire in Capitan; the Buckhorn Fire near Hondo; the March Wind Fire near Buckeye between Hobbs and Lovington; and an unnamed fire in Chaves County 20 miles north of Roswell.
Also on Friday, Socorro County Deputy Fire Marshal Jerry Wheeler and firefighters from Abeytas Fire Department put out a small fire in La Joya.
Coincidently, Governor Bill Richardson has proclaimed this week as Wildfire Awareness Week.
According to the Governor’s press release, in the first three months of 2010 New Mexico has had more than 60 wildfires that burned approximately 11,000 acres, a significant decrease from last year at this time when there were 264 fires that burned 63,589 acres.
“Wildfire can occur in New Mexico at any time during the year, depending on conditions,” Deputy State Forester Tony Delfin said in the release. “We must think smart and not let wildfires start.”
Fire officials also expect the potential for fires along the Rio Grande Valley to increase in Bosque areas as the drier spring and summer months progress.
Wheeler said the potential for wildfires could be higher in the next few days.
“We’re keeping track of what the weather bureau is telling us, and right now we are in a critical period,” Wheeler said. “With winds predicted to continue through Easter weekend and humidity around 15 percent, we’d like to remind people to be extra careful.”

Magdalena Fire Dept. Contains Small Wildfire

OPINION: This Budget Item Always Seems To Be Off the Table

The Pencil Warrior
By Dave Wheelock

“The statesman who yields to war fever is no longer the master of policy but the slave to unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”
– Winston Churchill

“In the world we have entered the only path to safety is the path to action.”
– George W. Bush

As U.S. citizens labor to get their 2009 tax returns finished and posted by the April 15 deadline, solutions to the most pressing dilemmas of our economically crippled society are largely drowned out in corporate media by the Republic mantra of small government and (since their fall) limited spending.
Meanwhile the proposed spending freeze advertised by the Administration of Change is carefully phrased as "non-security discretionary spending," allowing a call for roughly the same amount of military expenditures as the rest of the world’s nations combined. In the United States, military expenditures equal about 50% of all federal discretionary spending. At around $741.2 billion, the defense appropriations bill poised for passage next fall provides for more military spending than in any single year since World War II.
For those of you keeping score at home that’s about $2,400 for each man, woman, or child.
Setting aside wearisome ideological battles over the proper role of government in society, a lunar visitor would surely be amazed at how rarely the connection is made between stretched budgets and our bloated military spending.
The American devotion to war (the term “defense spending” fails to adequately describe where our tax dollars go) is deeply ingrained, far beyond the level of need. The recent nuclear reduction treaty agreed to by the U.S. and Russian governments calls for a cut in the number of missiles stockpiled by each nation during the Cold War. If ratified the treaty would leave each country with a paltry supply of 1,500 warheads to defend itself against the other. What ever became of the so-called Peace Dividend promised by Ronald Reagan’s claimed victory over the Soviet Union?
According to non-profit economics publisher Dollars and Sense, each $1 billion spent by the Pentagon produces about 11,600 military jobs, while the same amount invested in an urgently-needed new clean energy sector would net 17,000. $1 billion applied to health care would equal 20,000 jobs, and the same amount put to use in public education, 29,000.
Many readers are aware of the prescient warning contained in the 1960 farewell speech of President and former 5-star general Dwight Eisenhower. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.”
Sadly, Ike was right, and we didn’t listen. Rather than directing the nation’s wealth toward yawning crises at home, we are on course to continue squandering our collective future on the fortunes of war.
The National Security Council report handed President Truman in 1950, dubbed NSC-68, defined the threat of Soviet communism in terms starkly apocalyptic for a government document. “With the development of increasingly terrifying weapons of mass destruction, every individual faces the ever-present possibility of annihilation should the conflict enter the phase of total war.” Among NSC-68’s more clairvoyant prescriptions: “A large measure of sacrifice and discipline will be demanded of the American people. They will be asked to give up some of the benefits which they have come to associate with their freedoms.” With Truman’s signature on the document, the well-known power of fear to captivate a population was renewed as official (though classified) policy.
Presidents ever since have found it that much easier to govern. When insistence on social or economic justice gets uncomfortable at home, there are always plenty of trouble spots in the world where national attention can be shifted (sans Africa). This course has the added benefit of serving the insatiable demands of the military-industrial complex - a subject seemingly immune to the prying eyes and ears of American journalism.
The latest version of this tragic strategy is the Quadrennial Defense Review of 2006, which declared future wars will be against those “who seek to destroy our free way of life.” The so-called “Long War” of the Pentagon “may well be fought in dozens of countries simultaneously and for many years to come.” We’d best pack a lunch.
PhilosopherReinhold Niebuhr, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, wrote “To the end of history, social orders will probably destroy themselves in the effort to prove that they are indestructible.” A country’s embrace of false exceptionalism cannot end well.

Dave Wheelock, a member of the Oneida Nation, holds a history degree from the University of New Mexico. Reach him at davewheelock@yahoo.com. Mr. Wheelock's views do not necessarily represent those of the Mountain Mail.

OPINION: This Budget Item Always Seems To Be Off the Table

Trinity Site Atomic Blast Rocked The Seismographs

Guest Commentary
By David Medcalf

The world's first atomic bomb was exploded July 16, 1945 at the Trinity Site, on the White Sands Proving Ground (now White Sands Missile Range), 37 miles southeast of Socorro.
When the bomb exploded at approximately 5:30 a.m. MWT (Mountain War Time), the light given off was so bright it could be seen 250 miles away.
Sound waves from the blast could be heard 50 miles away. Manhattan Project scientists had an array of instruments recording the event, including high-speed cameras and radiation detectors, but another group of scientists was watching the phenomenon as well.
Harvard professor L. Don Leet was an expert at recording seismic waves from explosions and was brought to the Trinity site to record "explosion tests." For security reasons, he wasn't told what he was really supposed to measure until after he arrived in New Mexico. Leet set up a portable seismograph of his own design at San Antonio, 30 miles from Trinity. The machine's recording of the atomic blast exhibited evidence of a new type of earth motion that was later dubbed a "hydrodynamic wave." The graph also confirmed the existence of a so-called "coupled wave" which had been recorded only once before. In a 1946 paper, Leet was to write that from the test ". . . one of the most important records of earth motion in the history of seismology was obtained."
But seismologists farther afield detected the strange event as well. Seismographs at Tucson, operated by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and at the California Institute of Technolo-gy's geophysical observatories at Palomar and Riverside, logged the episode. Using these recordings, Caltech seismologist Beno Gutenberg was able to determine the time of the detonation as 5 hours, 29 minutes, 21 seconds MWT with an error of no more than 2 seconds. This turned out to be particularly helpful because the precision timing equipment at the Trinity site had failed, leaving the time of the blast uncertain by plus or minus 15 seconds.
Gutenberg was also able to measure low frequency sound waves from the explosion using microbarographs.
The Trinity Site will be open to the public this Saturday, April 3.
Further information is available at the White Sands web site.

Medcalf is a biologist at New Mexico Tech.

Trinity Site Atomic Blast Rocked The Seismographs

Mercury Can Be Found In April Skies

April Skies
By Jon Spargo, Tech Astronomy Club

During April, the tiny Planet Mercury will probably put on its best show for 2010. From the 1st through the 15th it can be found about 10 degrees above the western horizon starting about one half hour after sunset. During this period, it will slowly fade from magnitude -0.9 to +1.4. By the 15th binoculars may be necessary to see it.
Brilliant Venus will be easy to spot as it blazes away at magnitude -3.9. During the first two weeks you can use Venus as a guide to finding Mercury. On the 3rd, the two planets will be separated by only 3 degrees, Mercury being a bit lower and to the right of Venus.
Mars is high overhead in the early evening and continues to fade as the Earth continues to put more distance between Mars and us. From the 16th through the 18th Mars will be just one degree north of the center of M44, the ‘Beehive Cluster.’ This will be a good time for viewing both through binoculars and small telescopes before the waxing Moon arrives in the neighborhood on the 20th and 21st.
Recently passing opposition, Saturn will be visible just about all night long for the entire month. The rings will continue to close during the month heading for a minimum of just 1.7 degrees in mid May. Because of this and the increasing distance from Earth, Saturn’s magnitude will fade slightly as the month progresses.
This month, we welcome Jupiter back to the early morning skies. You will find it low in the east about 1 hour before sunrise. By the end of the month it will rise 2 hours before sunrise making it a bit easier to find shining at magnitude -2.
The Moon will be last quarter on the 6th, new on the 14th, 1st quarter on the 21st and full on the 28th. Beginning on the 2nd about one hour before sunrise, the Moon will make yet another impressive pass through the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius. On the 3rd the waning gibbous Moon will be a mere 1 degree above the bright orange star Antares which is said to be the “heart” of the scorpion. Antares is also known as the ‘rival of Mars’ because of its orange color. On the western horizon, the crescent Moon will be found just one degree above tiny Mercury on the 15th about 1 hour after sunset. On the 21st, shortly after dark, the Moon, Mars and M44 (the Beehive cluster) will form a nice little group of objects

Mercury Can Be Found In April Skies

Lady Warriors Roll On

By John Severance

SOCORRO – For the third straight tournament, the Socorro girls golf team secured a qualifying leg for state.
This time, though, the Lady Warriors did it on their home course at New Mexico Tech as they rolled to victory in the Seery Invitational.
Socorro scored 371 as a team, outdistancing Bosque School (391), Ruidoso (430), St. Michael’s (440), Ruidoso (453) and Belen (454). The qualifying score was 405, which means Bosque also earned a qualifying leg for state.
Even so Socorro coach Margaret Stanley was not satisfied and she does not expect her team to be either.
“I’m expecting a lot more from them now,” Stanley said. “I should have two girls shooting in the 70s and another in the 80s and my fourth player should be breaking 100.”
The Lady Warriors were led by medalist Kristen Cline, who shot an 84, one stroke better than Jamie Palermo of St. Michael’s. Socorro’s Shania Berger was third with an 86 folowed by Taylar Jaramillo of Belen (87) and Bella Sanchez of Bosque (88).
For Socorro, Brittani Webb added a 100 and Mirijana Gacanich had a 118.
“It was disappoint for my top three players. They have to play better,” Stanley said. “Each of the players have something to work on. With one, it’s driving. With another, it’s chipping and putting and with another, it’s course management. So we have a variety of things to work on.”
One positive for the Lady Warriors is they have qualified for state as a team and Cline and Berger have qualified individually.
“We’re in so that’s a little pressure off,” Stanley said. “We just have to get better though.”
Socorro will be back in action in Ruidoso Friday for the Great Eight Tournament.
“It’s supposed to be 43 degrees with rain and wind,” Stanley said. “It should make for a Good Friday.”

Lady Warriors Roll On

Baseball Team Looking For Answers

Mountain Mail Reports

The Socorro baseball team fell to 7-7 on the season after dropping four games in the past week.
On March 30, the Warriors traveled to perennial power Sandia Prep and dropped a doubleheader 5-4 and 11-5.
On March 26, the Warriors, playing in windy conditions, fell to Estancia 25-4 and 11-3.
“It’s been a rough stretch,” Socorro coach Alan Edmonson said. “We have played a lot of games in a short amount of time and that taxes our pitching and takes a toll on us.”
Edmonson said the Warriors played better against Sandia Prep. The Warriors gave up five runs with the four of the runners initially reaching base by a walk and the other by an error. “Our pitchers are just walking too many batters,” Edmonson said.
The Socorro coach was not about to make excuses for his team when it came to its performance against Estancia.
“Both teams had to play in that wind,” Edmonson said. “I am the last guy to make excuses for my team or myself. We just have to play better.”
Socorro will be on the road Thursday at Tularosa and will face Valencia on April 6 before starting district play the following week.

Baseball Team Looking For Answers

Warriors Golf Team Struggles At Seery

By Nicky Romero
For the Mountain Mail

The 2010 Seery Golf Invitational team winner was St. Michael's High School, who shot 331. The tournament medalist was Lovington's Taylor Arreola, who shot a 77 for the day.
Visiting teams were from Robertson, Los Lunas, Lovington, Bosque, Belen, Hope Christian, St. Michael's, Capitan, Ruidoso, and Valencia.
The Socorro golfers did not take advantage of their own course on this beautiful and sunny day. As a team, they shot 347 and placed 4th in the invite. Freshman Willie Schaffer shot a team-best 84. Ryan Romero was right behind shooting an 86. Zane Lam had an 88. Randall Romero and Joe Carilli both posted an 89.
SHS Coach Russ Moore said, “Today we had excellent weather, one of the best days for scoring this year. Unfortunately, we probably had our worst day of the year as far as playing. We just did not perform as well as we liked to. However, we have seven other tournaments that we can play in and have an opportunity to have three legs.
“I have full faith in my team's ability to come through. Everybody has a bad day. The teams we had here today were probably the best 3A competition that we will play all year long in any tournament. The other teams didn't play as well as they wanted to either. In fact, we only had one team that picked up a leg today and that was St. Michael's and they barely picked up their leg by one stroke.
“It's early in the year and everybody's still a little bit rusty. The kids haven't been able to practice as much they want and they just don't quite have the confidence and trust in their swings right now. That is what is hurting us right now. As we keep on practicing and the weather gets better, I think we're going to come along and go a long way in the month of April.
“We have a week off to reevaluate and practice and try to get our five best players and try to get a leg.”
Behind St. Michael's first place team finish was second place Lovington, who shot a 333. Hope Christian finished in third place with a 336.
Trailing Arreola for medalist honors was St. Michael's Parker Ashton who posted an 81. Third place and fourth place finishers were Hope Christian's Tannon Davis and Austin Lopez who shot 81. Fifth place was taken by Miguel Macias of St. Michael's, who also shot an 81.
This was Lovington's Arreola second medalist win in the last two days. He hopes to keep the streak going.
Arreola said, “It was a good win. I didn't play as well as I wanted to. But I putted really good and that saved me. It's a tough golf course. You got to hit it straight, place the ball well, and got to hit it solid. Fortunately, I played well enough to recover from all that.”
The Socorro JV Team finished with a total of 378. Individual scores were as follows:
Nathan Vega (84), Robert Smith (92), Eric Mitchusson (100), Ray Chavez (102), and Bryan Melanson (109).
Socorro's next tournament will be on April 8th at the Sierra Del Rio Golf Course at the City of Elephant Butte.

Warriors Golf Team Struggles At Seery

Socorro JV Off To 4-4 Start

The Socorro Junior Varsity Baseball Team is off to a 4-4 record this season.
Fourth year Coach Kenny Gonzalez is proud of his hard-working team.
His team split a double-header with the Magdalena varsity team on Saturday. Socorro lost the first game 8-7.
Gonzalez said, “In the last inning, it was actually very close. We had two guys on base with one out. We had a batter, Gabe Torres, a young freshmen, who hit a line drive that Bryce Milligan caught. He was able to get a double play. If that shot goes through, it will probably land up being a standup triple. Gabe's a pretty fast kid and the two guys on are fast kids. We could have won the game, but it was a great play by Milligan.
“Ignacio Chavez pitched the entire first game. He did a wonderful job on the mound.”
The Socorro JV won the shortened second game 7-6 in six innings called because of the two hour game rule.
“Actually, we scored the winning run in that last inning. All my boys did great, because we're a young JV with eighth graders and freshmen and a couple of sophomores. We're playing varsity teams. We played Pecos and Magdalena's varsity. I think our JV has an up and coming future.”
The Warriors host Magdalena Thursday.

Socorro JV Off To 4-4 Start

Softball Team Struggles Against Laguna

By Nicky Romero
For the Mountain Mail

SOCORRO -- The Socorro softball team was swept in a home doubleheader 8-5 and 13-10 by the Laguna Lady Hawks on March 25, dropping its record to 7-6
In the first game, Socorro jumped on Laguna in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Gina Rico and Maureen Trujillo both hit two-run singles.
Laguna (5-5) came back in the third inning to take the lead 5-4. Pitcher Maureen Trujillo finally finished the inning with three straight groundouts.
In the fifth, Socorro tied it with a two-out double by Brittany McDaniel, who scored on a double by Rico.
Laguna scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on an unearned run. The Hawks added on two more runs in the seventh for the final 8-5 margin.
“It was very disappointing,” Socorro coach Gary Apodaca said. “Defensively and offensively, we couldn't do anything. It's like we reverted back to a team with no experience. It was a disappointing game all around.”

In the nightcap, Laguna scored five runs in the first inning. Four of the five runs scored were unearned on two Socorro throwing errors.
The Lady Warriors got one back in the first on a triple by Trujillo and a sacrifice fly by Vanessa Jojola. Laguna scored two more runs in the second on a home run for a 7-1 lead.
Socorro's bats came to life in the third and tied the game at seven. Kristen Gonzales and Courtney Edmister both hit doubles early in the inning to help score three runs. Rico hit a line drive into right, which the fielder dropped for two unearned runs. Chantilly Gallegos tied the game with a single and scoring the run from second.
Both teams battled back and forth the rest of the way. Socorro took a 9-7 lead in the fifth on singles by Amberli Benavidez, Gallegos, and Trujillo.
Laguna tied the game in the seventh on a single and two doubles. In the bottom of the inning, Socorro had a player on second base with one out and a chance to win, but she was thrown out stealing at third.
Both teams held steady in extra innings. Trujillo's pitching seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.
Socorro's defense and pitching tired in the 11th inning. Laguna scored on three consecutive singles and took a 10-9 lead. They scored three more runs on another single and a double over the head of the left fielder.
McDaniel and Rico were able to get on to start the bottom of the 11th and hoping for a comeback. Benavidez singled down the left field line to bring in the runner from second. The other runner was thrown out trying to reach third for the second out.
Socorro threatened with bases loaded, but a fly out to left ended the game.
“We played one inning that was really good,” Apodaca said. “ We had good defense and hit the ball well and got seven runs in one inning. We couldn't do much after that. ”
Socorro traveled to Estancia on Monday and won 16-9.

Picture: The Socorro softball team discusses strategy after losing the first game of a doubleheader against Laguna-Acoma last week.

Photo by John Severance

Softball Team Struggles Against Laguna