Opinion

Eastern New Mexico News CLOVIS — Noah had lots of warning and detailed instructions from the highest authority on how to prepare for the Great Flood. Folks in New Mexico and Texas recently haven’t been so blessed. The scenes of flooding in Ruidoso caused by heavy rains on the recent burn scar are looking a might Biblical and heartbreaking to residents of that fair community. The rains came so quickly after the fires swept through that folks were unprepared even though they probably knew it was coming at some point. I haven’t been in Ruidoso since the fires, but I was working in the Glenwood Springs area when the South Canyon Fire swept across Storm King Mountain above that city. I remember how in pretty short order, flood and erosion control measures were put into place. They never had as serious a flash-flooding event after that fire and the rains they did have were managed well by the work they had done. The South Fork fire on the other hand didn’t give the community much of a chance to get prepared for the inevitable. Almost before the evacuations were lifted and the workers had a chance to get a good shower and night’s rest the rains hit. I think the community was aware of what could happen because they got to see it just outside the community after the Little Bear Fire but the volume of water coming down the Rio Ruidoso in town and then eventually watching U.S. 70 turned into a river was shocking and heart-rending. Another flooding event this past week distracted me a bit from Ruidoso’s woes as Hurricane Beryl came onshore across Matagorda Bay. For two years I lived in the largest community, Bay City, near where it made landfall.

We, the family of Richard A. (Richie) Granados, would like to take the time to thank everyne for the food, the flowers, the kind words and prayers during the loss of our beloved. Words cannot describe how thankful we are for everyone that bought taco plates and all donations that you, our friends and family, helped us with to grant Richie’s last wish of being cremated and laid to rest next to our dad. We were truly blessed to have had so much help during this time. Thank you very much for all the love and support.

By JOSE GARCIA For over a year, polling has indicated that most voters don’t want Trump or Biden in the White House next year. But just as human-produced CO2 pollutes the atmosphere, the political biosphere —contaminated by bipartisan gerrymandering; campaign finance laws that invite corruption; wacko leaders in Congress; media platforms that profit hugely from the political spectacles they encourage and then cover, and then lament; a Supreme Court that discredits itself more each day as it loses all connection to fair play — has rigged things to make it likely both Trump and Biden will be imposed on a frustrated electorate that desperately wants new blood. In other words, public opinion be damned. The attack on democracy did not begin with Trump or the Supreme Court or the Clintons— they just moved it along. It began with the termites of gerrymandering, campaign finance, and media deregulation half a century ago. Then it moved on to create rigged nominating rules that whisper loudly: public opinion be damned.