SPEAK UP!!?!

Speak Up Rules

If you want to gripe, grouse, whine or bellyache about a generic topic, submit your message at www.abqjournal.com/letters/

speakup. The same goes if you want to dish out praise or thanks. Either way, you have to do it in close to 50 words. Keep it clean. No cursing, please. We don’t need your name, just initials. And it’s cheaper than therapy.

THANK YOU to a kind gentleman — Roger who lives in the East Mountains — for standing by me on Oct. 22 while a loony tunes screamed, spit and virtually danced his hatred at me because I was holding a sign that said “No Panhandling” at Central and Tramway. SD

IT SEEMS our law-and-order president thinks that the way to stop shootings or other mass killings in schools and churches is more guns, or, as he puts it, “armed guards inside!” Welcome to the gulag where there is an armed guard on every corner and in every building; if you get caught in the crossfire, that’s okay with him too! ...RLE

WHY WORK for over 50 years paying into Medicare, then the Democrats want to let everyone into it for free, then (they) will call it single payer after a while. Just not right for seniors after all these years; shows how much they care. JPS

WHY IS “due process of law” important in regard to accusations of criminal activity? 1692 Salem, Mass., witch trials caused the execution/murder of 14 innocent people after being falsely accused by a bored teenager. After the murders/executions were carried out, the teenager recanted the false accusations. SB

METHANE EMISSIONS are down, natural gas production is up. We have a huge surplus and our near-last schools are funded. It’s time New Mexico wakes up: natural gas is the key to educational and economic freedom! WC

LIMITING VEHICLE noise, both exhaust and music, would help revitalize certain areas of the city. Central is noisy almost 24 hours a day. After-market car amplifiers pump out so much power they not only annoy those around it, but probably agitates those inside. The city needs (to enforce) limits on noise emanating from vehicles. CS

FORGET THE Mountain West for the Lobos. Maybe UNM should join a YAFL organization. They would save lots of money by not traveling by air, students would not miss as much class, the roster could be cut to 100 or maybe lower, and they would be able to win some games. JB

I READ a saying “your gun is a tool, your mind is the weapon.” So is true with cars, buses, planes, boats and trains. So what’s the difference? They’re all responsible for mass killings! So why are we not petitioning to ban all of them? Because we need them? I need my gun. First rule of gun safety; buy a gun. EP

WHAT IF people in maybe Boston or New York learned that a ship loaded with 4,000-5,000 people from maybe Guatemala or Nicaragua was headed for their city and (they) planned to land and enter illegally with no documentation, no source of income, no support of any kind? What would they think? What would they do? Just wondering. DH

WHOA! HISPANIC Washington Post columnist, a “Never Trumper,” has an interesting read: Lest ya missed it (in the Oct. 28 Sunday Journal): Google “Navarrette: Latinos not automatic lock for Democrats.” E.g. “... more are waking up ... refusing to stick up for a party that won’t stick its neck out for them.” BM

MAGGIE TOULOUSE Oliver wins the best political ad contest. The turquoise stiletto squishing the cockroach said it all! JR

AFTER SPENDING time recently in Las Cruces, it was noticeable that there were no homeless individuals or panhandlers on any of the streets there. Traveling back to Albuquerque, we noticed the same in Hatch and Truth or Consequences. Why are there so many panhandlers on the streets of Albuquerque but none elsewhere? CA

OK, I have seen it all. I have complained about people taking their dogs into doctors’ offices, grocery stores, department stores and now in restaurants. Was at a West Side restaurant when, lo and behold, two dogs wearing sweaters (and) no emotional support tags on (came in) with their owners. I am seeing more and more of pets without those tags; we had to leave for my daughter has bad allergies. Please stop; leave them home. AC

NEW MEXICO would have less poverty, and people would be more successful, if they followed the “success sequence”: education, full-time job, marriage, children. Having children early often means that taxpayers will end up paying for social services for the family, and the parents will not reach their full potential. PW

ANYONE WHO wants universal health care need to look at the way our public schools are run. Low pay, shortage of teachers and decrease in quality. Who wants that for healthcare? KS

RE: SATURDAY’S front-page, abovethe-fold headline, “Militias showing up in NM.” Your own article variously describes your so-called militias as “a small band of men,” “less than a handful of volunteers” and “two old men with guns.” If I want sensationalist headlines meant to frighten me, I will tune in to Fox News. But I expect better of New Mexico’s flagship newspaper. JHG

THE MIGRANT “caravan” wanted buses but didn’t get any. Our mayor should have given them the ART buses, which he doesn’t want. Hizzhonor missed a great opportunity to both rid Albuquerque of ART — or at least start from scratch — and add to his “immigrant-friendly” bona fides! BL

FOR ALL the lifers who insist a woman carry to term regardless of any reason: How many unwanted, severely handicapped, terminal babies have YOU adopted? How many times have you spent all of your mad money to support the baby and family living on the street? How do you voluntarily support the care of desperately handicapped children? Support others before you go to church weekly to get forgiveness for your constant sins. Week after week. JH

VOTE BY mail! Three states, Oregon, Washington and Colorado, conduct all elections by mail. A ballot is automatically mailed to every registered voter in advance of Election Day, and traditional in-person voting precincts are not available. Higher voter turnout and lower cost! Can N.M. get into the 20th Century? Let’s hope so! GMR

IF NEW Mexico really wanted nonpartisan judicial elections, we would have a ballot with no Rs or Ds next to the candidates’ names. Primaries would also be non-partisan: the top two votegetters would run in November with no party affiliation. From the start, all candidates for judicial office would have to run unaffiliated with any party. RB

WERE YOU disappointed when Mayor Tim Keller promised not to raise our taxes without a vote, then broke that promise? Now you know how Sonny “Tex” Gilligan felt when his dog shot him. MS

CONCERNING THE recent deaths of kids at school bus stops: I grew up in California, and if a student needed to cross the road at the bus stop, the bus driver escorted him/her across the road. I was surprised to learn that is not standard practice, so I checked to see if that was still done in California. From the California vehicle code: school bus drivers must “escort all students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or any grades 1 through eighth who need to cross the highway or private road where the school bus is stopped. The driver shall use an approved hand-held “STOP” sign while escorting all pupils.” DF

BARBRA STREISAND threatened to move to Canada if the Republicans keep their hold on government. I am a Canadian citizen. Barbra, we have enough socialist communists trying to destroy what is left of our freedoms. I offer you a pre-paid one-way ticket to your communist nirvana, Venezuela. You will be so happy there. JCG

with the ART buses! First the batteries failed to hold a charge so the new mayor wants charging stations at ART stops. How does a bus maintain a schedule if it keeps stopping to recharge? Now, the brakes don’t function properly. Let’s send the buses back where they came from and find another vendor . ... MBB

MY 12-year-old grandson said, “the president can’t change the Constitution on his own, can he grandpa?” I said, “you know from civics class that the president can’t do that. But see the president has never taken a civics class son, so he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” JL

SO ANOTHER Albuquerque business succumbs to the unmitigated disaster that is ART. So long 5 Star Burgers, a place we liked a lot. Sad. I hope all of former Mayor Berry’s buddies in the construction business made lots and lots of money by participating in this boondoggle. I bet he can’t even be sued for his responsibility in so many lives being ruined. Too bad. EJG

NOW THAT the holiday season is near we will be inundated with requests for toys for kids. They’ll get more than they need. How about our forgotten senior citizens who are on fixed incomes and could use warm clothing and toiletries. Seniors have paid their dues and don’t deserve to be forgotten. AK

I NEVER thought I would yearn for the day that ads for diarrhea, psoriasis and hemorrhoids will return. Much more palatable than the political ads. BA

ANGELS STILL walk among us. Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, I was buying vitamin D at Sprouts on Lomas. Forgetting my wallet at home after a disappointing cancer appointment, I was leaving empty-handed when a lovely lady insisted on paying. She has renewed my faith in mankind. I hope she reads this as I didn’t get her name. VLH

IT’S BEEN over 70 years since the end of WW2 and the revelation of the Holocaust and my country is still infested with anti-Semitism of a most virulent and violent kind. How could this persist over almost three generations? Think of this line from South Pacific: “You have to be taught” JDW

I JUST saw where Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich both support Medicare for all. I wonder what the people who get their insurance through their jobs, and will lose it under that plan, would say. I wonder (what) the unions, think teachers and government employees, who have some of the best plans, will think when they lose them. SS

I DON’T understand. Why would someone who is less than a mediocre contractor who doesn’t complete his projects, who doesn’t pay his subcontractors and has no idea about being a United States senator, think that we want or need a “Hard Hat” in Washington? What does that even mean? MR

(Debra) Haaland plan to get the state to 100 percent renewable energy? It’s scientifically impossible but makes a great talking point. The only way it can be achieved is if the citizenry are okay with only having intermittent power when the sun’s out and the wind blows. Oh and (be) prepared to give up cars, trucks, deliveries and air travel. BC

WHY DOESN’T the law school just admit that it cancelled the Ken Starr lecture because it doesn’t want the controversy of diverse viewpoints? What does this teach the students? BAB

IF THERE is any doubt that Fox News is NOT an objective news source, one only has to watch one of their “stars,” Sean Hannity, on stage with Trump stumping for a Republican candidate. The sad part of this is that the people at Fox think this is perfectly fine. Can anyone say “TASS” or “Pravda”? JG

UNM COO (David) Harris, the Forrest Gump of UNM scandal, he’s popped up in virtual(ly) every issue that has plagued UNM; he should not be allowed to retire with a six-figure pension until his roles in these issues can be investigated. BC

ART PROJECT: Alright let’s just bulldoze the middle-of-the-street bus stops and go back to the old and proven way. If we ever were to re-start such an endeavor a light rail would make more sense. Cars can drive over rail tracks. CAP

RE: THE letter from the educator from Fairview (Nov. 5 Journal). I agree there should be more early educational opportunities. But the common thread through that letter was one thing, single mothers. The writer and her daughter are both single mothers who needed help. It has been well proved that children do better in two-parent homes. SS

GREAT EDITORIAL Oct. 29 “Keller Wasting Political Capital.” Mayor (Tim) Keller is a poor steward of taxpayer money. Growing government with unnecessary duplication of departments/positions; high paying jobs; campaign paybacks; controversial hiriings — the list goes on. How about the use of city resources/personnel by the mayor’s wife for doing volunteer work? It’s fine she volunteers, but not on my dime. How about a truthful answer about who funded their trip to the border wall? KCS