By Chris Hedges

Joe Sacco and I spent two years reporting from the poorest pockets of the United States for our book “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.” We went into our nation’s impoverished “sacrifice zones”—the first areas forced to kneel before the dictates of the marketplace—to show what happens when unfettered corporate capitalism and ceaseless economic expansion no longer have external impediments. We wanted to illustrate what unrestrained corporate exploitation does to families, communities and the natural world. We wanted to challenge the reigning ideology of globalization and laissez-faire capitalism to illustrate what life becomes when human beings and the ecosystem are ruthlessly turned into commodities to exploit until exhaustion or collapse. And we wanted to expose as impotent the formal liberal and governmental institutions that once made reform possible, institutions no longer equipped with enough authority to check the assault of corporate power.

What has taken place in these sacrifice zones—in postindustrial cities such as Camden, N.J., and Detroit, in coalfields of southern West Virginia where mining companies blast off mountaintops, in Indian reservations where the demented project of limitless economic expansion and exploitation worked some of its earliest evil, and in produce fields where laborers often endure conditions that replicate slavery—is now happening to much of the rest of the country. These sacrifice zones succumbed first. You and I are next.

Corporations write our legislation. They control our systems of information. They manage the political theater of electoral politics and impose our educational curriculum. They have turned the judiciary into one of their wholly owned subsidiaries. They have decimated labor unions and other independent mass organizations, as well as having bought off the Democratic Party, which once defended the rights of workers. With the evisceration of piecemeal and incremental reform—the primary role of liberal, democratic institutions—we are left defenseless against corporate power.

The Department of Justice seizure of two months of records of phone calls to and from editors and reporters at The Associated Press is the latest in a series of dramatic assaults against our civil liberties. The DOJ move is part of an effort to hunt down the government official or officials who leaked information to the AP about the foiling of a plot to blow up a passenger jet. Information concerning phones of Associated Press bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Conn., as well as the home and mobile phones of editors and reporters, was secretly confiscated. This, along with measures such as the use of the Espionage Act against whistle-blowers, will put a deep freeze on all independent investigations into abuses of government and corporate power.

Seizing the AP phone logs is part of the corporate state’s broader efforts to silence all voices that defy the official narrative, the state’s Newspeak, and hide from public view the inner workings, lies and crimes of empire. The person or persons who provided the classified information to the AP will, if arrested, mostly likely be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. That law was never intended when it was instituted in 1917 to silence whistle-blowers. And from 1917 until Barack Obama took office in 2009 it was employed against whistle-blowers only three times, the first time against Daniel Ellsberg for leaking the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The Espionage Act has been used six times by the Obama administration against government whistle-blowers, including Thomas Drake.

The government’s fierce persecution of the press—an attack pressed by many of the governmental agencies that are arrayed against WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and activists such as Jeremy Hammond—dovetails with the government’s use of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force to carry out the assassination of U.S. citizens; of the FISA Amendments Act, which retroactively makes legal what under our Constitution was once illegal—the warrantless wiretapping and monitoring of tens of millions of U.S. citizens; and of Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which permits the government to have the military seize U.S. citizens, strip them of due process and hold them in indefinite detention. These measures, taken together, mean there are almost no civil liberties left.

A handful of corporate oligarchs around the globe have everything—wealth, power and privilege—and the rest of us struggle as part of a vast underclass, increasingly impoverished and ruthlessly repressed. There is one set of laws and regulations for us; there is another set of laws and regulations for a power elite that functions as a global mafia.

We stand helpless before the corporate onslaught. There is no way to vote against corporate power. Citizens have no way to bring about the prosecution of Wall Street bankers and financiers for fraud, military and intelligence officials for torture and war crimes, or security and surveillance officers for human rights abuses. The Federal Reserve is reduced to printing money for banks and financiers and lending it to them at almost zero percent interest; corporate officers then lend it to us at usurious rates as high as 30 percent. I do not know what to call this system. It is certainly not capitalism. Extortion might be a better word. The fossil fuel industry, meanwhile, relentlessly trashes the ecosystem for profit. The melting of 40 percent of the summer Arctic sea ice is, to corporations, a business opportunity. Companies rush to the Arctic and extract the last vestiges of oil, natural gas, minerals and fish stocks, indifferent to the death pangs of the planet. The same corporate forces that give us endless soap operas that pass for news, from the latest court proceedings surrounding O.J. Simpson to the tawdry details of the Jodi Arias murder trial, also give us atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that surpass 400 parts per million. They entrance us with their electronic hallucinations as we waiver, as paralyzed with fear as Odysseus’ sailors, between Scylla and Charybdis.

There is nothing in 5,000 years of economic history to justify the belief that human societies should structure their behavior around the demands of the marketplace. This is an absurd, utopian ideology. The airy promises of the market economy have, by now, all been exposed as lies. The ability of corporations to migrate overseas has decimated our manufacturing base. It has driven down wages, impoverishing our working class and ravaging our middle class. It has forced huge segments of the population—including those burdened by student loans—into decades of debt peonage. It has also opened the way to massive tax shelters that allow companies such as General Electric to pay no income tax. Corporations employ virtual slave labor in Bangladesh and China, making obscene profits. As corporations suck the last resources from communities and the natural world, they leave behind, as Joe Sacco and I saw in the sacrifice zones we wrote about, horrific human suffering and dead landscapes. The greater the destruction, the greater the apparatus crushes dissent.

More than 100 million Americans—one-third of the population—live in poverty or a category called “near poverty.” Yet the stories of the poor and the near poor, the hardships they endure, are rarely told by a media that is owned by a handful of corporations—Viacom, General Electric, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Clear Channel and Disney. The suffering of the underclass, like the crimes of the power elite, has been rendered invisible.

In the Lakota Indian reservation at Pine Ridge, S.D., in the United States’ second poorest county, the average life expectancy for a male is 48. This is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere outside of Haiti. About 60 percent of the Pine Ridge dwellings, many of which are sod huts, lack electricity, running water, adequate insulation or sewage systems. In the old coal camps of southern West Virginia, amid poisoned air, soil and water, cancer is an epidemic. There are few jobs. And the Appalachian Mountains, which provide the headwaters for much of the Eastern Seaboard, are dotted with enormous impoundment ponds filled with heavy metals and toxic sludge. In order to breathe, children go to school in southern West Virginia clutching inhalers. Residents trapped in the internal colonies of our blighted cities endure levels of poverty and violence, as well as mass incarceration, that leave them psychologically and emotionally shattered. And the nation’s agricultural workers, denied legal protection, are often forced to labor in conditions of unpaid bondage. This is the terrible algebra of corporate domination. This is where we are all headed. And in this accelerated race to the bottom we will end up as serfs or slaves.

Rebel. Even if you fail, even if we all fail, we will have asserted against the corporate forces of exploitation and death our ultimate dignity as human beings. We will have defended what is sacred. Rebellion means steadfast defiance. It means resisting just as have Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, just as has Mumia Abu-Jamal, the radical journalist whom Cornel West, James Cone and I visited in prison last week in Frackville, Pa. It means refusing to succumb to fear. It means refusing to surrender, even if you find yourself, like Manning and Abu-Jamal, caged like an animal. It means saying no. To remain safe, to remain “innocent” in the eyes of the law in this moment in history is to be complicit in a monstrous evil. In his poem of resistance, “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay knew that the odds were stacked against African-Americans who resisted white supremacy. But he also knew that resistance to tyranny saves our souls. McKay wrote:

If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

It is time to build radical mass movements that defy all formal centers of power and make concessions to none. It is time to employ the harsh language of open rebellion and class warfare. It is time to march to the beat of our own drum. The law historically has been a very imperfect tool for justice, as African-Americans know, but now it is exclusively the handmaiden of our corporate oppressors; now it is a mechanism of injustice. It was our corporate overlords who launched this war. Not us. Revolt will see us branded as criminals. Revolt will push us into the shadows. And yet, if we do not revolt we can no longer use the word “hope.”

Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” grasps the dark soul of global capitalism. We are all aboard the doomed ship Pequod, a name connected to an Indian tribe eradicated by genocide, and Ahab is in charge. “All my means are sane,” Ahab says, “my motive and my object mad.” We are sailing on a maniacal voyage of self-destruction, and no one in a position of authority, even if he or she sees what lies ahead, is willing or able to stop it. Those on the Pequod who had a conscience, including Starbuck, did not have the courage to defy Ahab. The ship and its crew were doomed by habit, cowardice and hubris. Melville’s warning must become ours. Rise up or die.

Recent revelations of the IRS—enemies’ list is hardly surprising. Presidents have been using the IRS as a domestic political tool for years to undermine their opposition. Obama’s protests seem disingenuous at best. The IRS and the FBI are mandated to keep track of protesters, who would undermine not the American Way of life but the American Government.

During the last decade local, state, and federal police agencies have formed “fusion” groups to avoid laws that limit the police surveillance when it comes to dissenters. Keith McHenry and the “Food not Bombs” crew are undermining the food chains and the corporate state by nourishing the poor and underfed. Even the county commission has joined in opposing Corporate America by turning down the Family Dollar store in El Prado. Now they are suspect.

Though the National Security State with some 850,000 plus employees and contractors, who have “top secret clearance,” say they are keeping an eye on terrorists, the real targets and enemies of the state are American citizens. According to the whistle blowers, we all have an electronic file squirreled away on giant servers in Bluffdale, Utah.

The Obama A.G., Eric Holder, is going after, not The Nation, or Truthdig, or Taos Friction but the mainstream American news source, the Associated Press. The justice department wants to read reporters’ phone records and question them about aiding and abetting the public’s knowledge of foreign and domestic enemies. Damn press.

Google Chris Hedges at Trudthdig.com for commentary about WikiLeaks maven, Julian Assange, who is hiding out in the Ecuadoran embassy in London and Bradley Manning, who leaked info on American war crimes and hypocrisy. The latter, after being slightly tortured, is undergoing an inquisition behind closed doors under the aegis of the so-called code of military justice. An unprecedented number of whistle blowers and leakers have been jailed or prosecuted by the Obama administration.

There is hope but in other countries. Just as Ecuador has stood up to power in London and Washington D.C., so Guatemala is bringing dictators and progenitors of genocide to justice. As Amy Goodman notes on Democracy Now and Truthdig, “Former Guatemalan President Efrain Rios Montt was hauled off to prison last Friday. It was a historic moment, the first time in history that a former leader of a country was tried for genocide in a national court. More than three decades after he seized power in a coup in Guatemala, unleashing a U.S.-backed campaign of slaughter against his own people, the 86-year-old stood trial, charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. He was given an 80-year prison sentence. The case was inspired and pursued by three brave Guatemalan women: the judge, the attorney general and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.”

The 80s genocide in Guatemala was backed by the Reagan administration, his military advisors, and CIA operatives. Reagan could be indicted by the Guatemalan justice system in absentia, which does not bode well for the future of other alleged American war criminals like George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Similarly, Barack Obama, the assassination boss, could be subject to indictments for war crimes, given the execution of American citizens sans due process and collateral damage—the killing of innocents—in the greater Mid-East.

It’s difficult for liberal democrats to acknowledge the truth and swallow their hopes. But we elected a wolf in sheep’s clothing and now, speaking with the advantage of hindsight and barnyard metaphors, the fox is in the henhouse. Totalitarianism is on the rise and the police state is being implemented.

Here in Taos, the FBI during the Hoover years, used to assign agents to keep an eye on alleged communist sympathizers in San Cristobal, Craig Vincent and friends as well as New Buffalo communards. One of the leaders of the famed commune then told me about a conversation with FBI agents, how they revealed to him exactly “who was sleeping with whom.” He said the agents knowledge of their doings surprised him.

I “assume” we Taosenos, who, more or less, merely fight with each other, are considered part of the lunatic fringe, hardly a threat to national security–except for Keith McHenry, who is surely a threat to the corporate state—free food? OMG. Keith was part of the opposition, the fellow travelers, who successfully lobbied the county commission to reject the Family Dollar Store. The airport expansion, Homeland Security Command Center, and Broadband project are all part of the National Security Administration aim to keep you under surveillance.

Maybe the cops can’t catch the robbers at the Coop or in Penasco but by golly they can name disagreeable citizens who protest against the government and oppose Corporate America. I mean Applebee’s failed but the Outlaw Garage survives. Eh?

(Editor’s Note: Commissioner Blankenhorn emails these concise reports regarding the county’s business, which we constituents appreciate. The remarks below regarding the E911 operation and request for an audit from DFA are particularly noteworthy. Currently, the county is doing its best to provide checks and balances on town government, wherein the Mayor, Council, and staff seem to be as “out of control” as the KCEC Coop.)

By Tom Blankenhorn
May 7, 2013

Public Hearing

The Board considered a proposed ordinance to regulate outdoor live music events. The purpose of the ordinance is to insure public safety and welfare without stifling the economic and recreational advantages that such events create. The proposed ordinance included a provision to limit outdoor events to 3 permits per year per property owner. Kate and Shannon Black, who own and operate KTAO, informed the Board that they were planning 18 outdoor concerts this summer and that they have been working with the Upper Las Colonias Neighborhood Association to allay neighbors’ concerns regarding noise levels. The Board voted 5-0 to adopt the Ordinance without the limitation on number of events, but included provisions that would allow the Planning Department to monitor the noise levels, parking and other health and safety aspects of the concerts.

Presentations

The Arts Committee, represented by Bill Whaley, informed the Board that their presentation would be the highlight of the Board’s day; and they were right. The Board and audience were treated to a large screen display of black and white photos taken by several renowned photographers between 1939 and 1941. The subject matter included school, church, farming and fiesta scenes, which captured the spirit and uniqueness of Taos during those years. The Board approved a $15,000 budget from the the Judicial Complex building fund to frame and hang the photos to complete the first part of the Arts Committee’s appointed task to adorn the Judicial Complex walls and courtyard with art and artifacts. We look forward to the results.

Contracts

The Board approved a 3 month trial contract for Rick Bellis to act as both the Town and County Planning Director. The purpose of the contract is to save both entities money, and to form a partnership between the Town and County for joint planning and economic development. The Town, which had originally floated the idea, has publicly stated that they are no longer interested in the contract, but the Board decided to put it out there in case they change their minds again.

Letters

The Board approved the County Manager’s plan to draft a letter to the New Mexico Department of Finance seeking an audit of the Town’s handling of E-911, which has resulted in bloated costs and sub-par service. The purpose of the audit is to obtain a transfer of the fiscal agency from the Town to the County. This is all part of the on- going dispute regarding the re-location of the E-911/Dispatch operation from its current location on Civic Plaza Drive to the Kit Carson Command Center.

Resolutions

The Board approved a resolution to create a County Fire Marshall position. The purpose is to centralize the training, equipment purchases, and grant writing for the 12 fire departments within Taos County. This is an eminently sensible step for Taos County, which is long overdue.

Executive Session

The Board went into executive session to discuss the appeal of the Outlaw Garage. This issue began with Keith Randall’s construction of a large garage that was originally intended to house his private car collection, but which morphed into a commercial operation. Mr. Randall was granted a cottage industry permit several years ago, and his neighbors appealed that decision to District Court, which overturned the Board’s decision. Last month, the Appellate Court overturned the District Court stating that the traditional Taos practice of mechanical operations located in residential neighborhoods coupled with the Taos Land Use Regulations lack of specificity regarding the definition of cottage industry required the court to uphold the original Board’s decision. The current Board voted 4-1 to decline to join the neighbors in their effort to get the New Mexico Supreme Court to hear the case. The dissenting vote was cast by Commissioner Romero.

In executive session, the Board also discussed the County Attorney position in order to air out some differences within the administration. No action was taken.

Taos County Board of Commissioners Hearing: Family Dollar Store Application for El Prado Location

May 14, 2013

The Board heard the appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to grant a Special Use Permit to the Family Dollar Store to construct an approximately 8,000 square foot retail store at the site of Silva’s Excavation, just south of Orlando’s Restaurant in El Prado. The basis of the appeal was that the store was neither visually nor traditionally compatible with the neighborhood.

Alex Abeyta, representing Family Dollar, made numerous concessions on the architectural design, including promises to add traditional portals, to tone down the signs, and to choose colors more consistent with existing El Prado commercial operations, However, 2 hours of testimony from community members, all of whom vigorously opposed the construction of the store, made it clear to the Board that the compatibility standard, which states that the use must be “sensitive to the existing traditional and historic uses in the environment of the site and the neighborhood and/or shall be consistent with the values, vision and current growth pattern of the community” could not be met. The Board voted unanimously to reverse the ruling of the Planning Commission and to deny the permit for construction of the Family Dollar in El Prado.

Regardless, Blankenhorn’s motion to overrule the planning commission and Gabe Romero’s second preceded the unanimous vote to reject the metal box and merchandise operation. But the commissioners did more than just stand up to Corporate America, they reinforced the notion of democracy and gave the public some much needed hope in an otherwise corporatized America.

By recognizing the spirit of local culture as an intangible and important asset, more important than revenue and gross receipts taxes, the county and the public took a look back at the importance of history and forward at the values that make greater Taos a worthwhile place in which to live. Furthermore, the commission recognized the hard work of organizers and folks who took the time to show up and speak or just sit and listen to the discussions. I am reminded of Hegel’s concept of history, as the spirit of art, religion, and philosophy work their way through consciousness and reach equilibrium in public acknowledgment.

We, in the community, haven’t had such reason to celebrate since Mayor Bobby Duran broke the tie to reject the proposed Super Walmart back in 2003. Duran, like Blankenhorn, listened to his constituents and reflected the spirit of democracy, the best in representative government at that moment. Give kudos to the commissioners and the activists, who got the public to turn out and protect the local culture against exploitation by shortsighted and callous entrepreneurs.

Over at the Kit Carson Coop, members voted, as they had in Questa last week, for the status quo: borrow and spend. We congratulate the winners yesterday, incumbent trustees David Torres and Manuel Medina as well as CEO Reyes, whose policies have been rubberstamped by the majority of members, who showed up. The Coop is intent on helping itself maintain market share and continue policies that serve, not the members, but Reyes and the Trustees. As utility bills continue to increase, those of us who disagree with current Coop policies must work “behind the meter” to reduce our dependence on coal and on the financiers who fancy our pocketbooks to support their dreams.

Taos Friction reminds readers that the next battle concerns the Town of Taos attempt to annex six miles of highway through El Prado to the airport. The same folks, who wanted to bring a Family Dollar to El Prado, are among the boosters who are seeking more GRT at the airport and aim, ultimately to annex businesses along Highway 64 to the airport. We don’t know when District Court Judge Jeff McElroy will hear the case but we urge the public to pay attention.

Contrary to claims made about economic development and the suckers who side with the Mayor and council, the town cares more about enriching its patrons and politicians than the larger community. Airport investments amount to silly attempts to satisfy boosters and private interests with taxpayer money. You can call it annexation but the real name of the shoestring leap to the northwest should be called “exploitation.” Similarly, the dirty deal proposed between the Coop and the Town at the Command Center is a feast for the good old boys, i.e. those who would prey upon ratepayers and taxpayers.

But we have hope because the county has thrown itself into the battle against annexation—exploitation–and refused to join, so far, in the Command Center follies. Viva los commissioners.

Though many of us have always liked Trustee Manuel Medina, we can’t understand his turn toward the spendthrift ways, the support for Propane losses, the open check book during the last decade for trustee travel to Las Vegas, New Orleans, Disney Land, and Hot Springs, Arkansas. Why Manuel, why?

We members understand why Manuel and Luis find a worthy opponent in Tri-State but deplore the displacement of revenue from Coop budgets to line items for attorneys, attorneys. These same attorneys benefitted to the tune of $500,000 in the recent KCEC request for rate hikes from the PRC, in which the Coop’s solicitors were deployed against more than 300 members who protested against rate increases. The PRC would have given the Coop a rate increase regardless, just to keep it solvent. The trustees seem to think the members are the enemy.

Now the Coop wants to force not only rate payers but taxpayers into supporting the folly at the Command Center, a poorly designed and expensive bit of architecture and appeal to public safety—as if Taosenos were under siege by terrorists. The only serious threat to Taosenos, besides a declining economy and increasing public-private debt, is Mother Nature. Historically, the Taoseno has survived destructive storms and floods, drought and fire, due to experience and tenacity despite the disorganization of utility management and overlays of government bureaucracy.

Incumbent trustee David Torres told The Taos News “I have made it my business in life to take on bullies, tyrants and heavy-handed companies.” If that’s true, Torres need look to the left and right and across the semi-circular seating arrangement at monthly KCEC board meetings for a tyrant or a bully. We have yet to hear or see David in action.

For the Coop can be seen as “bullying” the Town of Taos and its taxpayers into signing a lease…someday…at the Command Center. There is no other explanation of the financial folly—no matter what the Mayor or CEO say. And the electric Coop is a monopoly, the perfect home for the bullies, who prosper, due to political gerrymandering and the inherent bias of power against transparency.

Vote today for Andres Vargas, a fiery outspoken attorney, who represents a voice with questions for the overseers of the Coop. We members are constantly told we own the Coop but a majority of the Trustees and management, who occupy the chairs, have removed the Coop from public purview and oversight. As Trustee Virgil Martinez, a member of the minority, has said, “We can’t take care of our money or our loans.”

Forget about outages; deposit the members’ money in the bank. What could be simpler? Then ask yourself, “How many trustees does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “None. They ask Luis to do if for them.” And therein lies the rub.

Today, the tribe will celebrate Larry McLaughlin’s “Finissage at Bareiss” from 4—6 pm and Bill Gersh from 5—8 pm at 203 Fine Art. The spring began with Hank Saxe’s inimitable ceramic sculptures and burst into bloom with Wagner and Warm Day last week at Rancho Milagro Productions on Bent St—where more than 500 aficionados of the arts gathered as if in a homecoming celebration of the lyrical and impish practitioners of the arts in Taos.

And what could make one feel more at home than revisiting the wild visions and assemblages of El Gersh, junk man and painter, whose conceptual icons embodied an era of exuberant aversion to conformity. Perhaps the era of consideration began last fall at LACMA with the Ken Price show, where Frank Gehry remarked on the exhibition and gathering of LA—Taos souls, saying, “This is so fucking great.” And one senses, regardless of dullards and regressive politics, that the artful experience inspires us, whether the artists are alive or dead because the spirit lingers in anecdotes and in their own objects of desire, which memorialize our friends forevermore.

Ah, Gersh, the image-maker–image-breaker. His wild eyes stare out at you from Paul O’Connor’s Taos Portraits above, a photo that catches not him but you in the headlights of his eyes. Is there an artist who has more visceral impact on the viewer than Wild Bill? Even the ladies, his light o’ loves, will tell you no.

We don’t know if this moment in the merry month of May will last but next week the Harwood’s curator, Jina Brenneman, will bring us more, including Wagner redux, Fritz Sholder, and the Navajo magician, R. C. Gorman, who wore a headband to keep his hair from falling out like the white man, and who made the bumper sticker—Who is R.C. Gorman?” famous and made memorable those El Patio seminars–lo’ these many yeas ago.

And so we miss the Saturday doings and the days when we were young enough to drink, and smoke, fight and shoot, while participating in the feuds among the realists and modernists, the struggles among the Hollyhockers and the denizens of the Stables. But still, thanks to luck, a good constitution, some of us, like Wagner live . We gather together today not to bury but to honor Gersh, as we have Ken Price and will R.C., all of whom were friends first, and artists second. In the greater scheme of things it doesn’t make a dime’s worth of difference what line is drawn between art and life– except for whose buying the drinks and surely that’s when we miss R.C., generous soul, the most. And so Fine Arts 203 carries on in the memory of lovely Tally Richards’ Gallery of Contemporary Art, once again, her photo on the right appears, thanks to Paul O’Connor.

In 2002, I attended a similar celebration for Virgil’s victory in the county commission race and saw Mr. Vox Populi, the voice of the people, at work as host and gracious winner, seating folks, helping them with their platos, bringing them cups of coffee and soft drinks. Last night’s frito pies were finished off with about the best red chile I’ve had in years: I skipped desert and went back for seconds. I don’t remember the cook’s name but she can cook red chile like nobody’s business.

In The Taos News of May 9-15 by J.R. Logan, “Candidates share thoughts before Kit Carson elections,” you can get a pretty good grasp of the character and the challenges at the Coop. I highly recommend the piece. In simple language Virgil states the problems: “They’re out of control. There’s been a lot of bad management at the co-op…A lot of lies have been told to people and there’s no reason to lie to get something done.”

Despite the enthusiasm generated by Virgil’s victory, the re-election of Bobby Ortega means the status quo prevails at the Coop. According to an election observer, CEO Luis Reyes was as nervous as a cat among dogs at the Questa election. Bobby’s win, however, means Luis’s policy of “borrow and spend” can continue. Regardless of what happens in District one, Taos on Tuesday May 14, the die is cast and the current majority will rule—meaning more losses in Propane and more ratepayer and taxpayer subsidies for Luis’s folly at the Command Center.

Incumbent Trustee Manuel Medina is expected to win in Taos, and, unfortunately, Manuel supports the Ortega—Reyes cabal. In Logan’s Taos News piece, the trustee says how he is “looking for this (Tri-State) fight for years. I believe that Tri-State has made a lot of promises that they didn’t keep.” Yeah, and how much is the Coop spending on attorneys for this battle? Million dollars?

Manuel also says, “As for the command center that was to be built for Kit Carson alone. At the time, the city and the county wanted in. But now, all of a sudden, that’s not the case. I think people forget about a lot of things that happen.” Well, Manuel, I think you have either forgotten or believe in another one of the myths generated by Luis.

Both the town and the county repeatedly treated Luis’s proposals regarding the Command Center with skepticism. Despite his entreaties, they refused to buy a pig in a poke. The KCEC CEO would never give either the town or county a firm figure regarding operating costs for the command center. Luis was rebuffed time and again by Mayor Duran and the town council, the town manager Gus Cordova, the county commission, and county manager Sammy Pacheco. They politely replied that it might be a good idea they also said they needed to understand the protocols and operating costs—none of which were forthcoming until late 2012 or early 2013—ten years after the project began. And the protocols are still not in place.

When I first started covering the Coop more than ten years ago, I admired Manuel’s attention to detail, how much the Coop paid for tires and gas, truck repairs, etc. I still like Manuel and his campaign manager, Teresa. But Manuel, like the majority of the board members, has lost his way at the Coop. In Virgil’s words, “They’re out of control.”

Dad Speaks

(Taos) At the District Court emergency hearing on Thursday, May 18, the Town of Taos attorney Brian James asked Judge John Paternoster to clarify his previous court order regarding the judicial supervision of town intern Jeff Northrup. Mr. Northrup is prohibited from making contact with Mayor Darren Cordova and his family, personally or at their places of business. Northrup is allowed to attend public meetings of the town. Now Mr. Northrup wants to attend the Mother’s Day event: a public event sponsored and paid for by the town and county to the tune of $11,000, which takes place at a county park but under the auspices of contractor DMC Broadcasting. Mayor Darren Cordova owns DMC broadcasting.

The wise man from Raton, a former D.A., the current district judge, John Paternoster, expressed his chagrin and disappointment, regarding the ongoing issues, at the hearing, saying, “Since I’ve become the Dad of these two separate and distinct families,” he had decided to hear the emergency request. Referring to his 20 something years in El Norte as both a transient and part-time Taoseno, implying some familiarity with the local culture, the judge acknowledged James’ quotation of an email from Jeff Northrup, who referred to potential trouble if he attended the event. On the other hand, Mr. James, repeatedly emphasized his lack of familiarity with the local culture by repeatedly mispronouncing “Cordova” i.e. putting the stress on the last syllable.

Northrup alerted town officials via email to let them know of his plans. According to Northrup at last year’s event, he was denounced from the stage by the Mayor’s brother, Daniel, and escorted from the premises by the Mayor’s cops. Northrup and witnesses claim he was doing nothing but carrying his ubiquitous camera, a companion that accompanies him as silent bodyguard.

Both James and Paternoster acknowledged that they were stepping gingerly around constitutional issues regarding public places and the right to peacefully assemble. Paternoster referred to his attempt to come up with a “uniquely Taos type remedy” that included the cultural background of El Norte, a backdrop that draws folks to Taos: freedom, diversity, energy, acceptance, and tolerance. (Caveat: With rare exceptions, Taos tolerance tends to go out the window if outsiders get involved in local politics.)

At the same time the Judge acknowledged the sacrosanct character of Taosenos and the Mothers Day fiesta. He apparently took his cue from Northrup’s attorney Justin Lea, who mentioned the schedule of bands and, specifically, the Cordova clan’s scheduled performance as musicians among others, and suggested Northrup could restrict himself from attendance during said Cordova performance. The judge, whose demeanor resembles Ben Franklin, deliberated as if he were channeling Solomon.

Dad said Northrup could attend the concert, sans signs or camera, but must vacate the grounds when the Cordova family performed and also maintain an appropriate distance from family members during his attendance. Dad noted that while Northrup was on probation for a prior criminal trespass conviction involving the same family, he also must realize that his liberties are restricted, pending a potential appeal. In a cautionary note, Dad noted that Northrup might not be familiar with all the members of the Cordova family but certainly they knew what he looked like. Dad made it clear that given the spirit of the event, he wanted everyone to “quiet down.”

Peace be with you, Father, er, Dad.

While the water flows downhill in the Rio Grande, money is flowing uphill to Questa during the current Coop election. According to trustees and selected members of KCEC, checks for cuates are being distributed throughout the Coop area, generally, and bags of greenbacks specifically in Questa. Apparently, old-fashioned “vote buying” is being used to stimulate the economy and shore up support for CEO Luis Reyes’ “borrow and spend” policies.

The Coop managed to send out about $300,000 to selected members, calling the checks “capital credits,” or rebates but timing the reimbursements to coincide with elections in order to call attention to the “good works” of incumbents Bobby Ortega and Manuel “Parking Lot” Medina. If you haven’t gotten your check or iPad, you’re not expected to vote in Questa or Taos.

As well, according to the “voice of the people,” Virgil Martinez, candidate Ortega’s supporters have been promising members more relief and even dropping dollars and checks off to private and public parties, who will benefit from the re-election of Coop President Ortega. Virgil says Questenos are enjoying the entertaining spectacle.

Polls opened today at 7 am and Questa. Northern Taos County residents will choose two of three candidates among Virgil Martinez, Bobby Ortega, and Marty Martinez. The results should be known shortly after polls close at 7 pm. Enlightened locals are voting for Martinez y Martinez.

Virgil says he’s getting a kick out of the Ortega-Reyes maneuvers, which he says shows how desperate the trustees are to rubber stamp the CEO’s doings. Virgil, the “rock breaker,” who works at the Chevron Moly Mine, says he was also threatened by Ortega and his bro last Sunday but had gone to Church in the morning and chose to turn the other cheek. The extension of discussion and diplomacy by other means is a practice first instituted by Trustee Manuel Medina, who grew frustrated with Robert’s Rules of Order and challenged Virgil to step out into the Parking Lot a few years ago.

One can only wonder if the alleged bandidos, who mugged a Coop employee for $200,00, were working for Recycle Taos (RT)—as in recycle your elected officials.

Legal Mugging

A rapid-fire exchange of emails obtained by Taos Friction, lays out town policies below. Town Intern Jeff Northrup engaged in an electronic mail colloquy with Town Manager, Oscar Rodriguez, Chief Ken Koch, and Attorney Brian James. Northrup has peacefully complied with Judge John Paternoster’s order to do community service and is rotating among town departments, taking notes, and preparing a summary of his activities for the judge. Furthermore he has announced his intent to resume picketing corrupt practices despite the threats and lack of protection from the Tow Truck Gang, who Northrup claims stole his signs and tried to run him over.

Here’s Rodriguez:

“You and all citizens are free to exercise your 1st Amendment right. However, you are not entitled to a personal security detail of Town Police officers that will be at your beck and call to keep other citizens from exercising their right to lawfully manifest their protest against you or to intervene on your behalf every time you choose to provoke somebody. To give you or anybody else this attention would indeed compromise the integrity of public service.” – Oscar

After the Taos Police Department cited Amos Cohn and the Tow Truckers for pinching Northrup’s signs, the town’s attorney Brian James dropped the charges, alluding to the “no man’s” line of the state highway right away, the right away the town is trying to pinch in order to annex the airport. Prior to Northrup’s victories in Muni court over the town, which cited him several times for violating the sign code, James claimed the town had jurisdiction over the right away. Now they say, “No.” Cohn claimed he was working to “beautify” the town.

Northrup has announced that he will attend the Mother’s Day event, an event sponsored by the town and county on county property but James is seeking a restraining order in Judge Paternoster’s court, alleging that Northrup is a provocateur, today at 4 pm.

Northrup also contacted Taos County Commission Chair and asked the burly commissioner, Dan Barrone, to act as his personal bodyguard. Last year when Northrup attended, he was denounced from the stage by the Mayor’s brother and run out of the park by town cops. According to Northrup he did nothing but show up with his camera.

Northrup has visited, he says, with DA Donald Gallegos re: the Tow Trucker’s alleged attempt to run him down but the sign man says nothing has happened in the way of investigation or prosecution. Northrup says his signs, alluding to “corruption” in the political community have been stolen from displays at his south side copy shop.

Despite the animus expressed by Rodriguez, James, and Koch toward himself, Northrup says if elected Mayor next year he will give the three musketeers an opportunity to reclaim their integrity and their jobs.

Coop Trustee Virgil Martinez and Sign Man Northrup can be seen as the last of a dying breed, willing to place life and limb on the line in the interests of the U.S. Constitution and the American tradition of free speech. In northern New Mexico El Mitote is equally prized. We understand why the Coop is afraid of Virgil, the most popular politico in El Norte but we don’t understand how Northrup, a frail white-haired senior citizen, an outsider, is seen as a threat. Maybe he will become the next Mayor.

Quien sabe, mis amigos?

Close to home, KCEC members are in a desperate fight with the Coopsters, a gang of trustees and their CEO, who exploit a near monopoly on electricity to secure federal loans for diversified adventures in everything from Propane gas and, now, the Broadband market on entertainment, information transfer, and “intelligence gathering.” As the Coopsters transfer federal dough from taxpayers to their own private pockets, they aim to raise rates and the salary of the CEO—as well as the income levels of their own majority—all at the people’s expense.

The people’s trustee, Virgil Martinez, says, “we need some honest people at the Coop.” According to Virgil, CEO Luis Reyes, is actively campaigning against Virgil and others who want to see a new era of accountability installed at the Coop.

Vote for Virgil and Martin, Los Martinez (es) in Questa on the 9th of May and on May 14th for Andy Vargas in Taos.

If tiny Mora can call out the oil and gas industry, we Coop members can call out and vote out the Board of Trustees of KCEC. While these trustees cash checks and turn a blind eye, local muggers—no video surveillance here–go undetected with the people’s purse—some $200 grand, lost. Remember when the muggers beat up Coop clerk in Penasco? It’s not the first time lax security has turned into injury and loss for members.

We need honest management and well-trained employees—like the guys who promptly corrected an electrical problem at my meter recently and did it quickly with no fuss or muss. (Most trustees can’t change a lightbulb without calling Luis!)

Aqua es Vida!

Abroad, we Americanos are in a fight with the corporate fascists of democratic capitalism for the very air we breathe and the water we drink or with which we nourish our animals and vegetables. Yesterday at Moby Dickens Book Shop on Bent St. in Taos, author Jack Loeffler, who wrote a book about Ed Abbey, discussed his new collection of essays, Thinking like a Watershed. (The patron saint of “monkey wrenching,” see below, Edward Abbey, edited El Crepusculo, the predecessor to The Taos News.)

During the Q&A, Taos’s own John Nichols and Loeffler, two old friends, writers, and activists, lamented the exploitation and ubiquitous failure of capitalism as the global combine gobbles up the remaining resources on the planet.

Nichols asked, seriously but rhetorically, whether there are any thinkers today on whom to focus, like, say Karl Marx, someone who might, he implied, have ideas that could turn people’s heads and hearts away from capitalism. Loeffler mentioned Wendell Berry and speakers for Native American traditions, who embody what we might call the “small is beautiful” way of life, so peculiar to the Southwest, especially Pueblos, Hopis, and Navajos, who observed the limits of Mother Nature in the years before Manifest Destiny and big capital got hold of the tribes and traditions.

The surviving exemplars of the Southwest might serve as guides during the coming “die-off” of humanity–as billions perish due to climate change and capital’s out-of-control appetite. The “die-off” seems like a promising if difficult solution. We can see the precedent at Chaco and the subsequent diaspora as evidence of history repeating itself.

As the Boy Scouts up at Philmont might say, “be prepared.” Dig a grow hole, put in a grid garden, build a rock’n cairn catchment system (condensation at night, water in the morning). While we’re surfing the drought here in New Mexico and tiny Mora is fighting back, the flow from the Rio Grande and the San Juan-Chama rivers is diminishing.

The “Call” has been made on the Colorado and the trickle down is going to the urban monsters in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern Cal.

Modern Monkey Wrenchers

Activist Tim DeChristopher is the award winning monkey wrencher, who was indicted for “paper monkey wrenching” at BLM oil and gas lease sale in Utah and thrown in jail for bidding on oil and gas leases in an effort to call attention to the “illegal” sales of the peoples’ resources during the Bush era. Subsequently, the Obama men prosecuted and jailed DeChristopher—though he raised the money to pay for his successful bids.

Recently, DeChristopher recounted his experience and the hypocrisies, a familiar tale, of the anti-constitutional practices of the US justice system, on Amy Goodman’s radio, television, and Internet show. A documentary on the case is about to go nationwide.

Now, according to a press release, like DeChristopher, mighty Mora County, only forty miles east of Taos here in northern New Mexico, has thrown down the gauntlet and stood up to Gas and Oil America. To wit:

“The County Commission of Mora County, located in Northeastern New Mexico, became the first county in the United States to pass an ordinance banning all oil and gas extraction. Drafted with assistance from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), the Mora County Community Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance establishes a local Bill of Rights – including a right to clean air and water, a right to a healthy environment, and the rights of nature – while prohibiting activities which would interfere with those rights, including oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” for shale gas.” Contact: Thomas Linzey, Esq. (978) 282-0110 tal@pa.net for information.

Whether its oil in the gulf or natural gas everywhere, coal in West Virginia or data mining and storage in Bluffdale, Utah, the ubiquitous capitalists and Homeland Security cops will stop at nothing to mine the earth and disturb your peace of mind–as the operatives pluck your voices from phones and text messages from your computers.

Surveillance and Stool Pigeons

A recent book, Subversives (et al), by Seth Rosenfeld and reviewed by Adam Hochschild in New York Review of Books, discusses Ronald Reagan’s rise to power, due, in part, to his role as stooge for J.Edgar Hoover’s FBI—he named names and came down hard on free speechers and dissenters. Though the right wing loves the legendary illusionist, who played the president, Reagan won no academy awards.

How long does any candidate for president or leadership last in America—think Kennedy, Malcolm, Martin, Kennedy: if said leaders represent popular reforms and criticize the National Security State or Capitalism’s mandate for profits and subsequent imperial adventurism? Eh? You can bet your life on that one.

A former FBI counterterrorism agent, Tim Clemente, acknowledged this week on CNN that every telephone conversation that takes place on American soil “is being captured as we speak.” Commentator Glenn Greenwald said Clemente’s remarks mean “‘[N]o digital communication is secure.’ ”— “To describe that is to define what a ubiquitous, limitless Surveillance State is,” Greenwald adds. (Truthdig.com)

If you’re reading this, the FBI knows it. Soon, Luis, Manuel, Bobby and Los Cuates will have access to your email, phone, and your private viewing habits. Make your thoughts public and vote the rascals out! Speak truth to power. They can only turn out your lights! Candles are cheap and plentiful at the Dollar Store. 

(For background please review http://www.taosfriction.com/?p=6364 )

Thursday April 5th, 2013

Renewable Taos (RT) visited Blue Sky Solar’s Array, on Highway 64 West, accompanied by PRC Commissioners Valerie Espinoza and Karen Montoya, Johnny Montoya Chief of Staff for the PRC, representatives of Chevron Mining, and the Kit Carson Electric Coop (KCEC). Blue Sky generates 1.5 Megawatts of electricity using solar photovoltaic panels, (enough for 500 homes) within a three-mile radius of it’s location near Taos Mesa Brewery, the Regional Landfill, Waste Management headquarters for Taos, and the residential region of Tune Drive. The array pushes electricity back onto the grid and provides local energy and local jobs.

The Blue Sky Solar Array is owned and operated by Kenyon Energy and sells energy to KCEC via a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA). PPC Solar maintains and built the site.

Blue Sky Array

The CEO of PPC Energy, Dan Weinman, believes this array should be eliminated from the renewable power cap of 5% agreed to by KCEC and its Generation & Transmission provider, (GT) Tri-State because Blue Sky is privately owned. But according to KCEC and Tri-State, the Blue Sky, Chevron, and Amalia arrays count against the Tri-State cap for renewables though none of the newest arrays are owned or operated by KCEC. In a recent interview with Luis Reyes of KCEC, he disagreed with Weinman’s assessment, and saying since KCEC uses the power, the point becomes moot.

The Blue Sky site took seven weeks to build. Weinman says he has worked with LANL consultants on the project. Apparently, the technicians have determined that if the 12 megawatt range of distributed generation is attained (the amount of local energy consumed), back up power in the form of natural gas or localized energy storage would be required. Again, Blue Sky generates 1.5 megawatts.

Right now local solar provides roughly 6 megawatts (4.5% according to Luis Reyes, CEO of KCEC) of the electricity demand for the KCEC service area. Four more projects like Blue Sky are plausible according to Weinman. Large commercial voltage arrays like Blue Sky work on a single-axis tracking system, wherein solar panels facing east in the morning track the sun by rotating on a north-south axis throughout each day. The system provides 25% more energy than a fixed tilt array where panels face south. The array is set on 22 acres in an industrial area, north of the state highway and barely visible from the highway 64 corridor, which mitigates the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) effect.

Pushing power back from coal fired plants in northwestern New Mexico affects the Navajo Nation and San Juan County, (San Juan County is rated in the top 10 counties with the worst emissions in the US). That negative point could turn into a positive talking point for approaching local Pueblos, which could generate power themselves for the community.

According to Weinman, Taos could theoretically produce 100% of local needs and export power, via the substation on the southern end of Blueberry Hill or the Tres Amigos substation currently in construction.

Chevron Array

After visiting the Blue Sky array, the group visited the concentrating solar photovoltaic array at the Chevron site just south of Questa. First Chevron administrators reviewed safety procedures, at the Questa Mine site, which included the assignment of hard hats, safety goggles and a checklist to be filled out. Indeed, Chevron officials said that a drug test could be administered if safety administrators suspected inebriation. The array, some miles from the mine near Questa, is made up of large panels covered with special lenses that concentrate solar radiation on the solar cells beneath heliostats.

The heliostats are separated from each other, and some were malfunctioning (not aimed at the sun). The Chevron array is a demonstration project designed to test the feasibility of using concentrating lenses and heliostats. The particular site is somewhat dreary, built on a poisonous tailings site, and produces 1 megawatt of power, which Chevron sells to KCEC. Unlike the Blue Sky system, which operates on a single tracking system, the Chevron system does not, increasing the likelihood of failure.

Estimates suggest the Chevron Array cost roughly twice as much as the Blue Sky array. Where the Blue Sky array requires maintenance once every month, the Chevron site requires a 20 hour/week site manager. Some of the Chevron array’s inverters were down. Given the sheer amount of wind in the valley, one might ask, why not build a turbine farm? Critics of the Chevron array say the place is simply a green public relations attempt to divert attention from the tailing site and the management of waste and pollution at the environmental site.

April 8th 2013

At a recent RT meeting, KCEC Trustee David Torres reported that on a visit with the Executive Vice President of Tri-State he was told the 5% renewable cap could be adjusted upwards by the Member Relations Committee. Remember that letter to the Rural Utility Service written by delegation members Sen. Udall, Sen. Heinrich, and Rep. Lujan asking for clarification regarding the 5% cap (Policy 115)? Well, Renewable Taos got the answer already, and it has nothing to do with RUS, but Tri-State itself. BUT in a recent interview with Reyes of KCEC, he stated that in fact the “Contracts Committee” makes the decision on bumping up the ceiling past 5%. Confused yet?

Other issues were discussed included retailing wheeling, visits from other PRC Commissioners like Patrick Lyons, legislative efforts to give the PRC more power to allow retail wheeling that occurs already via Community Solar KCEC. Retail wheeling uses Tri-States lines to transfer locally generated energy. At the meeting David Torres, KCEC Trustee discussed constituent interaction regarding bills, as well as presenting on energy management, community resources like Rocky Mountain Youth Corps energy efficiency program.

Torres discussed the coop culture and how some Tri-State board members had served for 20 to 40 years. Torres said Tri-State’s Ken Anderson said the “legal department has been instructed to vigorously defend the coop model of governance.” Accordingly, Anderson says Tri-State is not accountable to any government regulations and legal department are ready to argue the case. Torres also mentioned that Tri-State executives groom the board members by giving out perks like Denver Broncos tickets for fundraising or trips to conferences in San Francisco or Washington D.C. The coop culture responds to manipulation. Torres, who has been appointed to the KCEC board of trustees, is running for re-election.

Torres noted that some Tri-State board members abstain from voting in order to protect themselves from adverse effects re: their fiduciary responsibilities to Tri – State, which creates a conflict of interest, given their representation of a local Coop like KCEC. Similarly and locally, the majority on the KCEC board has marginalized Trustee Peter Adang.

RT has agreed to support for Torres in the Taos upcoming election, May 14th (Questa takes place May 9th).

Two seats in Taos are up for election, including Torres and incumbent Manuel Medina (about 24 years). Term limits have been reset according to Torres.

According to Torres, Policy 115 (5% renewable cap), can be discussed by the Tri-State Member Relations Committee in January of 2014. Who is on that committee remains to be seen and this information still conflict with Reyes stating a Contracts Committee takes this on. At the April 8th RT meeting, Torres reported that Tri-State is very emphatic about not letting states regulate their activities.

Oh, and remember that rate increase the PRC recently denied? Tri-State has already appealed it and it’s going to go before the PRC again. In Colorado legislation is still on the table to force Tri-State to provide 25% renewable energy to the state. The Colorado legislation passed their Senate and is expected to pass the House and be signed into law by the Governor.

Tuesday April 30th 2013

According to an email sent by Bresnahan, “We made a 45 minute presentation to the Country Commission which was followed by a long discussion. The upshot is that we will probably seek a grant to do a County plan for renewable energy. We also gave them our joint resolution on renewable energy, a fairly ambitious resolution that we hope to get passed with the County and Town. What a day! We’re all exhausted.”

County Commissioner Gabriel Romero suggested Renewable Taos should head a Renewable Energy Policy Planning Group to create a development plan that would be part of developing the local economy as well. RT is also attempting to get joint resolutions among county municipalities like Questa and the Taos Pueblo as well.

Others in the group are considering the recent ban on fracking by the Mora County Commission and a community bill of rights that effectively nullifies legal tactics used by corporations to get whatever they want. Those people are poised to work with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund who drafted the county ordinance passed in Mora County that received much press earlier this week since they are the first county in the United States to ban fracking outright.

Renewable Taos should be exhausted as this weekend they attended the Solar Fiesta in Santa Fe this taking place at the Community College. They are coordinating with statewide renewable groups to concert their efforts such as New Energy Economy and the Sierra Club. In addition to this they were also present at the Home Expo in Taos AND attended the BLM meeting last week concerning new transmission lines that are slated to run through the recently proclaimed Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. It remains to be seen where they sit on this soon to be contested issue, but it according to RT the BLM manager is not in favor of allowing those lines to pass through the monument.

To keep up with Renewable Taos visit their website at www.renewabletaos.org or attend one of their meetings on Mondays at 1:30pm at the Valverde Commons.