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Honor Martin Luther King by volunteering

Our nation will pause once again on Monday to celebrate the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his legacy of nonviolent resistance to injustice and his promotion of peace around the world.

His legendary "I Have a Dream" speech has inspired millions to rethink how they treat their fellow citizens and still encourages each of us to look for the best in others first.

King's words will never fade — but more importantly, his example of selfless service to the greater community is something we can all follow each day of our lives.

The movement led by King relied extensively on the efforts of young people and college students who were committed to making a difference in their communities.

The need for young people to serve remains strong in today's America, and a great way to stimulate more student involvement is for them to serve through service learning in our schools; use of their college work study benefits to work with service organizations in their communities; or commit up to a year of service in programs such as AmeriCorps.

Here in New Mexico, there are numerous opportunities to make an immediate and measurable difference in the lives of others through these kinds of service. It's an effort we should all support by encouraging students we know to pursue the idea that they'll be glad they did so for the rest of their lives.

On behalf of the New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism, I would like to extend an invitation to every New Mexican to start your own tradition of service in our communities. There are several ways of doing that for all ages, and you can learn more about how you can make a difference today by logging on to www.newmexserve.org.

You'll be glad you did.

Gregory Webb, Executive director N.M. Commission for Community Volunteerism

Albuquerque

• • •

Help us blaze Rio Grande Trail

Gov. Bill Richardson and our state legislators have a wonderful opportunity during the legislative session to do something truly positive for New Mexico: help fund the Rio Grande Trail.

The Rio Grande Trail will be a multi-use recreational trail running alongside the length of the Rio Grande through New Mexico. Once constructed, it will be one of the longest trails in North America and will benefit tourism, economic development, recreation and conservation across the state.

The Rio Grande Trail has widespread support throughout New Mexico. During the last legislative session, a joint memorial — HJM 49/SJM 44 — was passed in support of completing the Rio Grande Trail. Unfortunately, this support has not translated into financial support, and now trail funding is running dry.

The governor and state legislators need to take hold of this opportunity. Help fund the Rio Grande Trail and blaze a new trail for New Mexico.

Zack Schultheis

Albuquerque

• • •

What Venezuela president Hugo Chavez is up to now

Re: "Venezuela's Chavez slows socialist reforms," Tribune, Jan. 8.

On Dec. 2, Venezuelans narrowly voted against constitutional reforms backed by Hugo Chavez in a referendum. These would have eliminated the president's term limits, as part of a broad pattern for constitutional reforms.

His personal defeat seems to have persuaded him to shift his focus on more humble but critical issues, such as litter and good government, rather than nurturing his inclination for spotlighting tomorrow's visions and his cornucopia of mega-socialist projects.

Chavez's surprise defeat now compels him to begin strategizing for the 2012 presidential elections.

Now that Chavez has moderated his approach to transforming society by striving to alleviate the lingering problems of economic inequality in Venezuela, he finds himself in a strategic encounter of a most serious nature. This involves the recruiting, training and endorsing a candidate for the 2012 Venezuelan presidential elections.

From Chavez's perspective, his anointed successor will be selected by the citizens to uphold Chavez's socialist agenda. Chavez's newfound humility could significantly contribute to the sustainability of democracy in Venezuela, which he previously seemed to obstruct, by faithfully using the current democratic electoral system to approve, or not, his socialist plan.

Chavez has appointed a new vice president, as well as several Cabinet members, whom he may see as being more sympathetic to his socialist movement. By specifically exposing these officials to the day-to-day hardships confronting ordinary Venezuelans, Chavez may be signaling that these senior public officials must have the necessary grass-roots experience if these men are to run for elected office in 2012, including for the presidency.

Ruben Sierra, Research associate, Council on Hemispheric Affairs

Washington, D.C.

• • •

More surveillance of Internet is near

On Jan. 15, Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence, announced that he is drawing up plans for expanded surveillance of Internet traffic.

The plan would give the government authority to examine the content of any e-mail, file transfer or Web search. All they need is the usual rubber stamp from Congress.

The infrastructure to implement the plan is already in place. The National Security Agency has been illegally monitoring Internet traffic for years. The Bush administration has been conducting illegal wiretapping for years. They have demanded, and from some providers received, records of telephone traffic in the country and now expect Congress to retroactively legalize their actions and exonerate the cooperating agencies.

When the year referred to in George Orwell's "1984" came and went without ubiquitous surveillance and thought police, I breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, 1984 came about 20 years later, and my relief was premature.

Adele E. Zimmerman

Embudo