More Letters to the Editor

• Letters to the editor: Feb. 23
• Letters to the editor: Feb. 16
• Letters to the editor: Feb. 9

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Udall will be a great senator

(Re: "Udall joins crowd, enters Senate race," Tribune, Nov. 12.)

It seems as if many politicians will change their views, depending on whether they are politically convenient — whether it's going back and forth on an issue, suggesting new programs based on how popular they might be instead of how effective they might be, or just going along with the flow even when their decisions will have enormous impact on many people.

Personally, I find it upsetting and scary that sometimes it seems as if the people in charge don't even know how to think for themselves.

But, thankfully, not everyone with power is like that. Congressman Tom Udall is currently serving the people of Northern New Mexico and the rest of the state, for that matter, in his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is one of those people who renew your hope for the future of our state, our country and our government.

He has proven over and over that he is not afraid to stand up for what is right, even when others around him are afraid. He proved this many times as the attorney general for New Mexico, and he continues proving it every day in the House.

Something that I really admire about him, and I know many others do as well, is that he was not afraid to stand up against the Patriot Act when others supported it, because they didn't want to look unpatriotic. But Udall, along with only 65 other representatives, protected our civil liberties when others did not. And since then, Udall has been instrumental in making sure that the suggestions of the 9/11 Commission are implemented, that we do not blindly throw our money and our young men and women into the war without a plan, and that our veterans are given the care and benefits they need and deserve.

This kind of courage to stand up for us is so admirable, and is why Udall is not only a good person, but a great representative. And he will continue to serve as a great U.S. senator.

Kelly Seibert

Albuquerque

Pilgrims are good - Indians, too

In your Thanksgiving edition, only cartoonist Glasgow remembered the American Indians whose land the Pilgrims occupied.

Columnist Betsy Hart ("Pilgrims' devotion, Puritans' intellectual vigor — these gifts I seek," Insight & Opinion, Nov. 22) properly praises the fortitude of Pilgrims and Puritans but fails to mention the vital help given them by the Indians. Nor does she mention how the colonists turned on the Pequots in bloody wars of conquest.

We should give thanks to American Indians for their help to our European ancestors, who too often responded with land grabs.

John M. Pickering

Albuquerque

Fire police who lose lawsuits

Every time the city has to pay out a lawsuit because of the wrongful acts of police, it is marvelous to me that 99 percent of the time, no one is ever fired.

After all, in business, if a person causes the company to lose money, goodwill and damage to the company's name and reputation, the person is usually fired. Also, any time a person is rude or abusive to those who sign the paycheck, that person is fired.

Yet, with the Albuquerque Police Department, this never happens. . . .

I also am sick of APD officers strutting around like Navy SEALs or Army Green Berets who have fought Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan or have been in Iraq in Anbar or Baghdad. Most of them have never been anywhere but Albuquerque for any significant length of time. . . .

My fundamental belief is that when the city loses money because of these clowns, and therefore there is less money for roads or after-school programs, two things need to happen.

First, the offending officer is terminated permanently, and it is placed on record for any potential employer to learn about.

Second, the city, through subrogation, is now a judgment creditor and takes every action it can to recover the money paid out. If that includes eminent domain and attaching everything the officer has, so be it. They cause the city to be short of cash — they can pay. After all, people who steal from their employers must make restitution, so I do not see why this cannot be applied to the public sector.

I believe only by sending a loud and clear message will we see a reduction in lawsuits and screw-ups. It is time for Mayor Martin Chavez and the City Council to grow a spine, stand up to the police union and tell them the party is over.

Brandon D. Curtis

Albuquerque