SPEAK UP! !?!

SEN. (KIRSTEN) Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and others have said that the Senate Judicial Committee (is) bullying Dr. Ford into testifying about her sexual harassment claim. I think whoever outed Ford is the bully. They leaked the letter to the press, which caused her to come forward. Only the Democrats had the letter. Maybe they should look at themselves. SS

NEW BLACK-market opportunity rises: providing plastic straws to California restaurant customers. Will be able to hide them in packages of marijuana samplers. GWT

THE 56 percent of the people in the recent poll that do not want a border wall, I presume they do not lock their homes. JPB

MAYOR (TIM) Keller has disappointed quite a few hotel owners and restaurant owners by stopping the National Police Competition. (Michael) Bloomberg’s antigun ladies must have gotten to him. He should ask the citizens for an opinion. Next, he will take away Albuquerque Police Department officers’ guns. But not his security detail’s guns. BP

WHEN OUR jail is half empty, our crime rate is up. When it was full, our crime rate was down. Dismissing this simple truth with select data is killing ABQ. JB

I AM sure there are many residents of New Mexico who, like me, have decided to initiate a new career: criminal activity. I am well into my 70s, but the opportunities in this state are unlimited. You will probably be arrested at some point, but will certainly be released on your own recognizance. If I may offer one piece of advice, change your voter registration to Democrat; that way, you will never even be investigated. RDH

WONDER IF our two senators will ever explain their opposition to Judge Kavanaugh. Other than their hate for the POTUS. JEH

MAYBE KAVANAUGH gets confirmed, maybe he doesn’t. But after (Thursday’s) meltdown, there’s no way anyone but the blindest, most hard-core partisans can claim that he has the temperament, selfcontrol and judgment to sit on the highest court in this country. BF

IT DOES not matter who is elected in office at any level; they all promise this, that and the other thing, and we end up with the same thing, not going nowhere, in the merry-go-round of life, with the big fat elephant in charge, Donkeys just sit there doing nothing, just one big circus with different clowns. REV

BLOCK-BY-BLOCK in the Nob Hill area is doing a fantastic job to beautify the area. Thanks folks! CS

DO YOU know what happens when you drain the swamp? You’re left with the slime. RB

AMERICANS ARE hanging onto their old cars, even 20 years or more. I am. Trump and his Republican minions say they want to make future cars “more affordable” by making them less efficient and more expensive to drive. Why buy new? The way to encourage Americans to trade in and buy new cars that cost less to run, and make new cars more affordable, is to quit paying Americans slave wages and pay them a living wage. JHH

I SAW a commercial for (U.S. Rep.) Michelle Lujan Grisham stating that, if elected governor of New Mexico, she would use money from the permanent fund to “invest” — don’t you just love that word used in the context politicians use it — to improve our schools. That would be what my farmer ancestors would call “eating your seed corn.” You might be very well fed this year, but might starve to death next. If the money was there to “invest,” why did they call it the “permanent” fund? HLK

THE MAYOR and his wife rightly promote a volunteer force of citizens. But their ideas seem more of the feel-good variety. Practical programs that would be highly visible to us all, plus giving volunteers physical exercise, would be to pull the nasty goathead weeds I see on the walking path and soccer fields, and in picking up trash along the embarrassingly cluttered Paseo del Norte. CW

INNOCENT OR guilty, Judge Kavanaugh’s angry screed about the 2016 Trump election, the Clintons and leftwing groups reveals his partisanship and inability to rule impartially on the SCOTUS. LWG

TO ALL thinking adults: past president Obama just endorsed a declared Socialist for Congress. If you’re over 50, you’ll probably be okay. But, if you value the future for your grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, vote Republican in the upcoming election. DZH

N.M. REPUBLICANS complain about the state’s woes, yet Gov. Susana Martinez and former Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry were Republican failures. Martinez gave massive tax cuts to the wealthy with the trickle-down promise of many jobs — sound familiar? — but N.M. is last in job creation. Even Trump called her a failure. N.M. and America need Democrats to bring back some sanity and decency from this GOP Trump Reality TV World of alternate facts — blatant lies — and Trump’s non-stop insults via tweets. PN

SO SORRY to hear of the passing of Norman Bugg. For many years, his Christmas display was the highlight of the season! His yard was pure magic. Bugg family, thank you for your years of service and for making the Christmas season brighter. LW

RE: THE City Council agreeing to shared transportation. Chief of Staff John Ross says the department is ready to enforce any laws on the books — then do it! There are dozens of laws concerning vehicles on the books, and very few of them are enforced. I assume these “vehicles” will have all the rights of the road and none of the responsibilities. MB

RECENTLY, THERE has been some bloating about the U.S. being the leader in oil production in the world, even ahead of Saudi Arabia. The traveling season is over; the price of gas this time last year was at $2.39 a gallon. Why is a gallon of gas near $3? JFG

I WAS recently accosted by a male wanting me to buy him alcohol at 7 Eleven, 3801 Central Ave NE, at the bus stop. Apparently, he’d been denied access. I will encourage everyone to carry a gun when riding the city buses. Convenience stores near bus stops are a nuisance and are dangerous. ST

IN THE Oct. 1 Journal, Deb Haaland says she wants to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will just increase our already tremendously high crime rate. In addition, she is in favor of “Medicare for All.” Did she notice where it will cost over $32 trillion over 10 years to pay for it? Where is she going to get all of that money after all of us taxpayers are broke? DW

I WAS concerned when the Alert section of the newspaper showed that the six captured offenders had committed 40 felonies in the last three years, so I called my representative for an explanation, but wasn’t able to talk to her because she was in court charged with DWI. MB

TDK BLAMED the Democratic Party rule of New Mexico for the state’s 48thplace ranking in U.S. News and World Report. What a typical political knee-jerk reaction. What about the states that surround us in that same ranking: No. 45 Arkansas, 46 Alabama, 47 West Virginia, 49 Mississippi and 50 Louisiana? All five … have state Houses controlled by Republicans. All five … have state Senates controlled by Republicans. Four of the five — exception: Louisiana — have Republican governors. The problem is not which party is dominant … all of the states share common problems. Hopefully, whichever candidate wins our state’s governorship will look to the higher achieving and improving states for ideas. … HDL

CARS WITH one bumper sticker are acceptable as long as it’s humorous. Two or more means you’re someone people ignore and find boring or obnoxious. CS

U.S. SEN. Martin Heinrich, (D-N.M.), moved his wife and children to Silver Springs, Md. If his family prefers Maryland over New Mexico, why doesn’t he run for the Senate from Maryland, where he actually resides? Wouldn’t we be better served by a senator who actually lives in and understands the problems facing New Mexico? MS