Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • A15

BY FRANCISCO A FIGUEROA SANDIA PARK RESIDENT Enough is enough. Our elected officials are so fixated over the word that they have effectively para- lyzed the government. They are acting like pouty juveniles instead of esteemed adults. They would rather sink the ship we are all riding on than seek common ground and com- promise to reopen the government. We can solve this problem.

Right now. look at our common interests. Everyone wants effective border security. Members of both parties have voted over- whelmingly for it. So why not include this funding in the budget bills and get on with more important matters? I was born on the border and know for a fact that there are some places where a physical barrier is effective and other places where it is not.

Anybody been to the border understands this. The simple compromise is to include funding for enhanced border security and give the president the discretion to implement a physi- cal barrier where it makes sense. After all, he is the chief executive, like him or not. The Democrats can avoid using the word if they want. The president and the Republicans can use the term if they wish.

What word they use for enhanced border security really matter. Does anyone think that those on furlough due to irrespon- sible elected official actions care what they call it? I hardly think so. Everyone wants an improved immigration system, one that attracts the finest from all over the world and that provides a reasonable pathway for desperate souls suffering from economic deprivation or physical harm. Inher- ent in such a reformed system is dealing with the a group caught in limbo due to the ineptness of our current immigration system. So why not incorporate a provision in the budget bills that we will have a bipartisan solution on the desk no later than July of this year, or no elected official gets paid after that date? We have to start from scratch.

There are several proposals that our congressional representatives can use to fashion a reasonable compromise that the President can sign. what they are supposed to be about: Doing their jobs. There is much more to be done, such as deal- ing with the national debt and rebuilding our critical infrastructure. But these border security and immigration issues are enough to start with. do these things and quit dancing on the head of a pin over a four-letter word.

put the broad interests of the country over the narrow interests of individual party interests. get the government back open and get on with the important business of the nation. Enough is enough. BY MARK ALLISON NEW MEXICO WILD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR As I write, we are now in the longest gov- ernment shutdown in American history. A recent study by WalletHub determined that New Mexico has been hit harder by the federal government shutdown than any other state.

The shutdown is particularly problem- atic for the outdoor recreation econo- my, which generates $9.9 billion in consumer spending annually and directly employs 99,000 New Mexicans. New public lands are threatened by this shutdown, as is the safety. The reduced or absent oversight and law enforce- ment increases the likelihood of incidences of vandalism, destruction of historic and cultur- al resources, and harm to fragile ecosystems. New Mexicans are rightly concerned and sad- dened by this. They are also upset that their access to public lands is being limited.

This predictable reaction underscores how much we as New Mexicans value our natural heri- tage and our public lands. Some public lands in New Mexico remain open during the shutdown, yet those that are managed by federal agencies, such as the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are severely understaffed due to employee furloughs, meaning the agencies cannot provide the usual level of service and oversight. New Mexico Wild is calling on members of the public to help document the federal government impact on our pub- lic lands and wild places. Individuals are encouraged to post photos and updates on public lands they visit to social media using the hashtag The posts should tag on Facebook and Instagram, and on Twitter. New Mexico Wild will use the images and testi- monies submitted to update the public on the conditions of public lands throughout the shutdown.

Those who do not use social media may email their photos and stories to nmwild.org. Additionally, we have launched a govern- ment shutdown website the public can use as a resource to stay up to date on how the shutdown is affecting New public lands. The website will be updated as more information is gathered. The public can go to www.nmwild.org. Federal employees are dedicated public servants, and they deserve our respect and support.

They want to carry on the impor- tant work of protecting our public lands, but they are being told not to show up for work. To show our support, we are offering federal government employees who have been fur- loughed due to the shutdown a free, one-year membership to New Mexico Wild. And while the public is being prevented from enjoying their public lands, learned that the BLM continues to process oil and gas leases on public lands during the shutdown, all while not responding to public records requests. New Mexico Wild believes that this action is illegal and is call- ing on the Department of Interior to postpone oil and gas lease sales and the issuance of drilling permits until the BLM can conduct legally compliant environmental reviews, and resume regular comment and protest periods. Meanwhile, a public lands package with nearly unanimous support was reintroduced in the United States Senate on Jan.

8, includ- ing eight new wilderness areas totaling 241,067 acres within the Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks National Monument in Ana County and two new wilderness areas totaling 21,540 acres within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in Taos Coun- ty. The 116th Congress should quickly pass the bipartisan lands package and send it to the president. Reopen the government. Get federal work- ers back to work. Pay them.

Let the public enjoy their public lands. Cease processing of oil and gas leasing unless and until the gov- ernment reopens. Pass the public lands pack- age. Stop the nonsense. The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance or Mexico is a nonprofit 501(C)(3), independent, homegrown, grassroots, conservation organization dedicated to the protection, restoration and continued respect of New wildlands and Wilderness areas.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL OP-ED WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019 A15 Put broad interests of the country over narrow interests of the parties We need maturity to balance border security with humanity Oil, gas leases being processed while usual service, oversight on hold THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Our public lands getting hit hard IN HISTORY, walls were built for protection of a nation. When Roman armies occupied England about 1,000 years ago, the Romans built a barrier called Wall across the island to keep the Picts and others out of England. The Great Wall of China was built nearly 2,000 years ago to keep out invaders from the West. The section south of the Great Wall is called China proper one third of the country. After WWII, Israel became an independent republic under the United par- tition plan to divide Israel and Palestine.

Today, Israel has a wall that effectively stops invasion of its territory from any who would attempt illegal entry. President plan to construct a wall on the southern border in order to preserve the sovereignty of the United States and protect the citizens of our country is a necessity. The open border attracts illegal (immigrants), the criminal element of the drug cartels, terrorists from around the world, and is a great drain on the forces of the border and the economy of the United States. History validates the effec- tiveness of a border wall. MARY CATHERINE FULLER Las Cruces Walls have worked for centuries get on with U.S.

business BY STEPHAN HELGESEN FORMER CAREER U.S. DIPLOMAT, TIJERAS RESIDENT Government shutdown, interruption of ser- vices, government held hostage. the sit- uation where one-quarter of the or 800,000 workers, are affected, and while a number of them have been deemed and are still working for the past three weeks, they been collecting a paycheck. Depending on who you talk to, there are three possible reasons for this deplorable situation. They can be: 1.

The insistence on building a several hundred-mile wall at our southern border, 2. The wish to deny the president the fulfillment of a campaign promise or 3. The sincere belief that a wall necessary to protect us and willingness to push back on the president in order to save the taxpayer money. Two of those are real and one leave it up to you to decide which is which. Either way, stuck in what can only be called a For those of you never heard the term, it is not an ethnic slur.

It is an appellation that has been used since the 19th century to describe an argument among two or three individuals or groups that cannot be resolved an impasse where all parties are dug in, well-armed and are unwilling to compromise. Some historical accounts trace it back to March 19, 1876, to the newspaper the New York Sunday Mercury in which F. Harvey Smith says, We will call it a stand-off, a Mexican stand-off, you lose your money, but you save your There are other sources that attribute it to conflicts in Mexico among bandits, vaqueros, charros, chinacos and pisto- leros. It was a method of settling problems and proving masculinity by standing face-to-face and gambling on death with loaded guns. Both parties stood opposite each other with their guns in their holsters waiting for the right opportunity to draw and get off the first shot.

Whichever historical reference you choose to believe, a Mexican standoff is precisely the right term to use to describe what is happen- ing between the president and Congressional Democrats. Each is in possession of deadly political force, is daring the other to draw, and well aware that a wrong move will have a disastrous effect on their political fortunes. Unfortunately, neither side seems to be very concerned about the real victims. Again, there is a difference of opinion on just who the real victims of this standoff are. If you are a Demo- crat, you see the 800,000 federal workers as the victims.

If you are a Republican, you see all Americans as victims because of the influx of illegal immigrants forcing their way across our border. There is a third group that sees both Demo- crats and Republicans as victims, but thinks they have only themselves to blame for their victimhood. Furthermore, they are disgusted that either side would play politics with our national security. There are also non-human victims of this Mexican standoff that hover over the conflict like spirits. They are: the rule of law, which should be stronger than any man-made wall or barrier on our border, and our confidence in our ability to solve such disputes.

The great Mexican Standoff of 2019 can be solved without incurring further pain, but it would require something that is in short supply in our capital maturity. Both parties would need to come to grips with the sober reality of their positions, that they are playing fast and loose with our border security; that they are endangering their own chances at the 2020 ballot box; and that they may be turning off the very voters they need to ensure that America remains a destina- tion that any immigrant is willing to risk life and limb to reach. A cessation of hostility and intransigence can only come from realization we all drink from the same well. If we allow it to run dry or let it be poisoned by special inter- ests, we all lose. Our nation is stuck in a standoff Workers need Senate to vote SEN.

MITCH McConnell (needs to) do three things: 1. Lead the Senate for the people, subordinate it to another branch of the government, 2. Receive the funding bills passed by the House of Repre- sentatives, and 3. Allow (the) Senate to vote on the funding to open the government. (The senator) may not have heard 800,000 federal employees plus additional federal contractors will not receive their salaries.

Should each of those employees have a spouse and two children, almost 4 million people will be immediately and adverse- ly impacted. (His) state of Kentucky has almost five million people. Imagine all of our federal employees were in that five million. The result would be nearly all of them four- fifths would be without jobs. One day, they would have had a good-paying job with benefits, the next day, they had a job with no pay.

(McConnell) may be grate- ful Kentucky has only about 22,000 non-military, federal employees. Quadruple that to get the family-amplified number impacted, and close to a fifth of (his) population. These salaries cannot be replaced by baby-sitting gigs, as our heartless govern- ment leaders have suggested, and if their salaries could be replaced by baby-sitting not paying them enough. As (McConnell) collect(s his) salary this month, (he should) remember the equal- ly loyal American employees who are working full-time, doing their jobs and not being paid OR standing by to return to the jobs needed by the government for the safety and security of the American people. The crisis I feel we face is a crisis in ethics, a crisis in compassion, a crisis in loyal- ty to the American people.

SUZANN OWINGS Albuquerque BY JACOB KOLANDER ENGLISH TEACHER, SOUTH VALLEY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL As I read Gov. Michelle Lujan recent memo regarding replacing the PARCC exam, I was disheartened to see this decision made so quickly, and with so little consideration of the teachers in New Mexico. As a member of the New Mexico Teacher Leader Network (NMTLN), I was empowered to have my voice heard by PED, and the novelty of having around 700 teach- ers around the state, from every district, represented at the table through volun- tarily working alongside PED to discuss educational policy was something of which other states were envious. Consider that six states attended our 2018 Teacher Sum- mit to see how New Mexico could get so many teachers excited to share their years of experience in the classroom with those who make policy and funding decisions. I can tell you, because the NMTLN gave them a voice.

It gave a voice to teachers with 30-plus years of teaching experience, nationally recognized educators, teachers who are Milken award winners, the New Mexico teachers of the year, charter school leaders, administrators, and parents of children who attend these schools. Every- one had a seat at the table to work alongside PED in making decisions that impact the classroom. Then, Gov. Lujan Grisham signs an executive order to end PARCC. As a teacher in the classroom, I can tell you that parents were seeing their children improve, and they understood that the bar being set in New Mexico was rightfully comparable to the bar set for children all over the country.

Where did the NMTLN come in to the deci- sion to end PARCC? It We asked, there was no meeting held to hear our opinions and experiences, and in one swipe of the pen, we were ignored. Then the governor issues a memo on Jan. 10. PARCC will be replaced with New Mex- ico Standards Based Assessment in Math and English Language Arts. A step back.

A loss of worth of longitudinal data no, just because based on Common Core does not make it equivalent to PARCC. A loss of untold hours of training, prepara- tion, celebration and alignment. A pass on learning from states like New Jersey and Tennessee, which moved away from PARCC only to spend tens of millions of dollars searching for a replacement. Where did NMTLN come in? It There was no discussion on the replacement test nor consideration of what we had to say about PARCC. There is a lot to say about the validity of the PARCC test and the lowering of standards represented in the NMSBA, and many will say it more eloquently than I can.

But I cannot ignore that hundreds of teachers across New Mexico have given their time, their money and their passion to being heard about education policy, and in just 10 days, they were all forgotten or willfully ignored. We need to remember those whom policy has impacted. We need to hear the supporters of PARCC, as well as the critics. We need to listen to the teachers who give up their evenings and weekends to join the NMTLN venues to share their experiences on issues exactly like these, which impact our classrooms, our stu- dents and our state. All of the stakeholders deserve to be heard, not just those with an elite early access to the governor.

Teachers deserve to be ignored and I ask that Gov. Lujan Grisham remember us as she moves forward with what is sure to be an exciting legislative session. Jacob Kolander is a 17-year veteran teacher in New Mexico. Gov. ignored 700 teachers with stroke of a pen.