Martinez deserves to have a pay cut
If Gov. Susana Martinez’s only solution to the budget problem is to continue to cut critical services and benefits for New Mexicans, then she and her top advisers are not doing their jobs. They need to cut their salaries as well. No full services, no paycheck. Susan Steffy
Santa Fe
Ban Mar-a-Lago trips
Here’s an alternative to Trump’s travel ban that has cost various states so much in court time, and could cost the U.S. so much in construction, enforcement and other bureaucracy: Let’s have a travel ban on trips to Mar-a-Lago. It could save us billions. Albo P. Fossa
Santa Fe
Jumping the line
In recent Santa Fe New Mexican articles (“Martinez orders prisons to work with ICE agents,” March 11; “ICE raids in Las Cruces criticized,” Feb. 16), there is mention of “immigrant rights” and “breaking up families.” First, immigrants here illegally are not U.S. citizens. I don’t think they should have the same rights as citizens. So their “immigrant rights” should be limited to basic human rights like food, shelter and protection while being deported. As for “breaking up families,” parents cause a family breakup by illegally entering the U.S. That is not the fault of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S.-born children of immigrants here illegally can either stay here in the custody of the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families or they can return to Mexico. Immigrants who come illegally are line jumpers. Just as it is wrong to enter a grocery checkout line ahead of other folks, so it is wrong to jump the line of legal immigration. While I agree most people here illegally are contributing members of American society, they broke the law. They should return home and apply for legal immigration. Thomas J. King Jr.
Santa Fe
Greatly disappointed Coldhearted and offensive
Some things just stick in your craw. And that something is a remark, Michael Lonergan, a spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez, made in reference to the planned civic rally at the Roundhouse to protest respectfully, a likely, enormous spending cut to public education (“S.F. district considering ‘snow day for action,’ ” March 15). He used offensive language to describe this effort as a “blatant political stunt” and “despicable.” What is despicable is his choice of language to describe citizens, acting within their rights to advocate for the best possible educational outcomes for a child’s education. As such, he reveals the high-handed and coldhearted essence of the governor’s office. Maria Barcelona
Santa Fe
Tony Heller’s My View (“An environmentalist and a climate change skeptic,” March 19) was a great disappointment; I was a chauffeur and co-sponsor of the trip he mentioned, along with my wife, Mary Louise Williams, a teacher at Los Alamos High School. Fortunately, there were dozens of other students on our trips who rewarded our efforts to teach democratic participation and environmental awareness. Heller mentions Drs. William Happer and Harrison Schmitt with approval. I can’t understand how a scientist could applaud Happer, who published his work on the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal and tried to hide the source of its funding. We New Mexico Citizens for Clean Air and Water are proud to have helped defeat Schmitt’s return to the Senate after it became clear that he would not help us clean Southwestern skies befouled by the emissions from the Four Corners coal-fired power plant. Mike Williams
Santa Fe
Conspiracy theorist?
You could assume Tony Heller, aka Steven Goddard, is a legitimate climate expert (“An environmentalist — and a climate change skeptic,” My View, March 19), and buy his claims that climate scientists are hoodwinking us about man-made climate change. Should you dismiss his view as a conspiracy theory? If you search the internet you will find Heller/Goddard aligned with the birther movement. He denied that the greenhouse effect has a key role in heating Venus, as is widely held by astronomers. Your search will not turn up any qualifications in climate science or published scientific work on climate. Knowing this might help you decide how much weight to give his My View. Tony Ricketts
Santa Fe