Laurapaskus

I can’t help but think about the 2008 election. Right?

I already have a candidate in mind, and I’ll vote for that person if that person makes it to the general election. But with all the hoopla about Iowa and caucuses and who’s ahead in one poll versus who is ahead in another poll, I can’t help but scream a little inside my head.

And I know it’s not just me. I met a friend for breakfast this morning, and he was freaking out about NPR’s coverage of Iowa. He couldn’t get over all the “man on the street” interviews…”Who cares?” he kept asking.

But I’m not here to criticize any outlet’s coverage, I just think there are some bigger issues to keep in mind this election cycle.

For instance, check out this report. The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office released it last month. In it, three teams of researchers evaluated the security of electronic voting systems used in that state. The three systems include Election Systems and Software (ES&S), Hart InterCivic and Premier Election Solutions (formerly called Diebold).

Their conclusion?

All of the studied systems possess critical security failures that render their technical controls insufficient to guarantee a trustworthy election.

Not only that, but:

The security failures present in the studied systems place incredible pressures on the physical election procedures. The review teams provide a number of procedures that mitigate or completely address issues throughout. However, in many cases, we could not identify any practical procedures that adequately address the limitations.

The state of Colorado has just decertified its ES&S system — which, by the way, is used by most precincts here in New Mexico.

(Today, in fact, Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, is hosting a public forum on “possible legislative solutions to problems following the decertification of electronic voting machines by Secretary of State Mike Coffman.”)

KUNM has done some great coverage of the issue here in New Mexico, which you can access on-line here. If you aren’t familiar with this issue, this story by Jim Williams is a fantastic place to start.

It would be nice if we could all move beyond the beauty contest in Iowa — where candidates will say whatever they can to win favor — and concentrate on some real issues.

update: Like I was saying….Here’s a story from Sunday’s NYT Magazine, titled, “Can You Count on Voting Machines?”

It’s going to be a big year around here.

Obviously, there’s the whole presidential election to bite your nails over, but there is a ton of stuff happening locally in New Mexico: Desert Rock Power Plant, drought, oil and gas issues (including in Santa Fe County), endangered species issues, the Abq Drinking Water Project will be coming on-line this summer (“how you feeling ’bout that, Rio Grande?” I had to ask when I was down at the river this morning), we’ll find out what’s going to happen in Datil….there’s just a lot going on. And then, of course, the planet is warming and New Mexico’s cities keep sprawling.

So send me your news tips, announcements of meetings, comments, etc. and since I’d like to start the new year off on the right foot, send me notice of good things happening, too.

After a Christmas-time conversation with two bright, young women now sort of related to me, I’m more convinced than ever that one person can make a difference and that a whole lot of people working together toward positive change can create better communities and a more sustainable, just world. And I’m also convinced that I need to spend less time in front of a computer, so who knows how frequent postings will be on this site…

Anyway, if you need a good new year’s message, check this out. (Thanks to Sharon, for emailing me the link.)

Oh, and one more thing: here’s a story in the Santa Fe New Mexican about the upcoming Santa Fe County meeting concerning the new oil and gas ordinance.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus has a story about the Forest Service’s upcoming Travel Management Rule meetings. Read the story here, and check out the schedule below:

The TMR Team has begun the planning process to include a series of public workshops to occur at the following locations:

Cloudcroft — Thursday, Jan. 10 at The Lodge;

Las Cruces — Saturday, Jan. 12 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum;

Alamogordo — Monday, Jan. 14 at the Sergeant Willie Estrada Memorial Civic Center;

Ruidoso — Wednesday, Jan. 16 at the Ruidoso Convention Center;

El Paso — Saturday, Jan. 19 site to be determined;

Carlsbad — Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the Carlsbad Public Library Annex.

Also, the Lincoln National Forest Web site will have the information posted on the Travel Management Rule Implementation Web page showing dates, times and locations.

Here’s that Travel Management Rule website, by the way.

Also, in uranium news, I’ve got a couple of stories for you. The first is from the NM Business Weekly:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Traveling Resource Center will visit Shiprock, N.M., and Kayenta, Ariz., this month to help individuals interested in filing claims under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

For more information on the EEOICPA, visit this site.

And over the holidays, the Telluride Watch started a series of stories on uranium mining on the Navajo reservation. (Read Part I here.)

And, if you’re interested in what’s happening with the proposed border wall fence, you can check out this short story in the The Monitor.