Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he gave it a set of rules. Beginning with the Ten Commandments, he spelled out a constitution for the new nation, a law by which they were to govern themselves. The New Testament calls this the “perfect law of liberty.” In this law of liberty, there were no entitlement programs. Neither businesses nor poor folks received any handouts from the central authority. (This is because there was no taxation. Without this, the government had nothing to “generously” give to anyone.) This doesn’t mean the new const...
You’ve got your standard New Mexico centennial license plate, your standard red and yellow plate and your standard chile plate. That last one’s really pretty and it won the America’s Best License Plate Award in 2017. But did you know the Land of Enchantment has almost five dozen sanctioned license plates, including one that just hit the road last month? Travel with me here … There’s the standard centennial personalized plate, the red and yellow prestige vanity plate, and the Las Cruces plate, because, well, we all know about Las Cruces dr...
There are probably many Americans who thought this day would never come. More than a few people, myself included, were skeptical that Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice possessed the strength and courage to overcome their traditional habit of risk aversion. Instead, the criminal justice system is going to do battle against one of the most devious and horrendous conspiracies in the history of the nation. The latest indictment of Donald Trump, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, are the results of a tedious, laborious,...
“In the eight years that my father was President of the United States I never once sat in the room with business associates and called him on the phone. If I had, the Democrats would have skewered me.” When I posted that tweet the other day, it got a huge response. As we know from last week’s big whistleblower news, over the course of 10 years – while Joe Biden was vice president and when he was out of power – Hunter Biden put his father on speaker phone at least 20 times during meetings he was having with foreign business people. That bombshel...
As with my last Quay County Sun column on July 19, this article is based on readings with complementary themes from books used for my daily devotion. One article was titled “The Holy Spirit: The Power of the Highest,” from “365 Ways to Know God” (Elmer Towns, Regal Books, 2004), and the other was from “The Best of the Bible” (Tyndale House Publishers, 1996) titled “Daily Life in the Early Church.” I’ve added some of my thoughts. The Towns article, based on Luke 1:35, emphasized that God is the highest authority/power. However, Jesus and the Hol...
I’m spending the dog days of summer complaining about the soul-sapping heat, and tweaking my teaching materials for the fall. Because of that, I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of sorts. I always reference my dad in leadership presentations, as an example of honor and integrity, and doing the right thing even when it’s hard. Memories flooded my mind while I worked on my slides. I take those unexpected moments as a gift, a hug from heaven. I’m grateful to have another chance to lose myself in these flickers from the past. The other evening as I wa...
The weekend brought news that several hundred Cannon Air Force Base personnel and seven MC-130J aircraft are transferring to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. That’s supposed to happen “in the upcoming fiscal years,” according to a news release from New Mexico’s congressional delegation. But Mayor Mike Morris said the announcement is no reason to worry about Cannon’s future. “(A)ny news that the Air Force is moving a squadron from CAFB is definitely troubling,” Morris said. “However, I understand that force structure and personnel numbers do tend t...
Recently I was asked how I voted on a bill in the Legislature. I was interested in why that person, a friend of mine, didn’t already know! So, I sat down and explained how they can watch how I voted on any piece of legislation or how I voted on bills in the past and how they can monitor my votes going forward. Every voter should have immediate access to their representative and senator’s votes. The website is: www.nm legis.gov. Anyone can search any legislator’s votes on any bill before the House or Senate and with a little work you can see how...
Despite the Republican Party’s routine claims it wants to increase its appeal with non-white voters, it often seems to find a way to impede any progress made. Such supposed attempts encountered a series of roadblocks last month when two GOP lawmakers made racially offensive comments, resulting in fierce condemnation from civil rights groups and further weakening the party’s message that it is a large and politically diverse tent. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Arizona Rep. Eli Crane made the racially inflammatory statements, prompting reb...
They didn’t understand what he was up to. When I say “they,” I mean all of them. The Pharisees and Sadducees (conservatives and liberals). The Herodians, politically loyal to King Herod, who suspected that Jesus might lead an armed insurrection. The revolutionary Zealots, who would’ve loved that. The 12 closest disciples of Jesus. Whatever it was that he was up to, it didn’t involve acting like a normal king. They knew kings. They were familiar. This Nazarene was not that. Many hope that when he returns, he’ll finally act like a normal king...
These song lyrics are the latest dividing line in the culture wars: “Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk “Carjack an old lady at a red light “Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store “… Well, try that in a small town “See how far ya make it down the road,” Jason Aldean sings. Aldean’s critics include rocker Sheryl Crow. “I’m from a small town,” Crow tweeted. “Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. … This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.” But Aldean...
Smarter, cheaper solutions to water problem Several weeks ago, I wrote a letter questioning the lack of common sense associated with the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority’s quest to build a pipeline to Ute Lake. It pointed out that ENMWUA was planning to spend a minimum of $800 million to build the pipeline to a lake that could be dry in two years. It provided as an example the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority that supplies water to Amarillo and Lubbock. Although CRMWA historically relied on water from Lake Meredith, it r...
Boy, it sure is hot today. How hot is it? It’s so hot I bought a loaf of bread and by the time I got home it was toast. It’s so hot my grandfather’s chicken laid an omelet. It’s so hot his cows are producing evaporated milk. It’s so hot the catfish are fried by the time you reel them in. It’s so hot the Statue of Liberty disrobed. It’s so hot I went to Congress just to be around some shady characters. It’s so hot I intentionally leave the toilet seat up to get icy stares from my wife. It’s so hot my children’s crayons are now watercolors. It...
This has certainly been an eventful spring here at Mesalands. I want to thank the students, staff, faculty, and community for their ongoing support of Mesalands Community College. We are especially thankful for our students returning this fall semester and our faculty and staff who have remained to continue serving our students. We have overcome many obstacles since the spring and while there are still several to overcome, we are looking ahead to the future. We ask for patience as we navigate a lean year and continue to serve our mission in...
For my daily devotional, I read through the Bible every other year using some reading plan and in the intervening years, I combine various devotional books to fit the same time allocated daily for my devotions. Occasionally, readings on the same day click, working together to make an excellent combined message. Last year, I used “Daily Discipleship” (Leroy Eims, NavPress, 1998) and “Devotional Talks for People Who Do God’s Business” (Warren W. and David W. Wiersbe, Baker House Books, 1986).” On one occasion, the devotion from “Daily Disc...
Did he or didn’t he? Only David Bryant knows for sure if he attended that Municipal League training last month. Bryant said he did. Clovis Mayor Mike Morris still says he didn’t and he wants Bryant to resign and pay back the city about $650 it spent on sending Bryant to Santa Fe. Bryant’s statement last week was not exactly clear about how much time he spent at the seminar. “I’ve attended every session of the program over my attendance at two separate offerings,” he wrote. … Huh? But Morris can’t prove Bryant wasn’t there. Nobody can, unles...
District Judge Fred Van Soelen of Clovis has until Oct. 1 to decide if the redistricting map that allowed Democrats to wrest control of the 2nd Congressional District will still be in place for the 2024 election. Recently the state Supreme Court sent a lawsuit filed by Republicans seeking to overturn the new map back to District Court, while also giving Judge Van Soelen guidance on what he should consider in making his decision. The order instructs that “a reasonable degree” of partisan gerrymandering is permissible, so long as it’s not “egre...
Don’t thank Hollywood for “Sound of Freedom.” The movie, about a former Homeland Security agent who goes to Colombia and rescues more than 50 kids from child sex traffickers, is an action-thriller – a drama. But it is based closely on the true story of Tim Ballard and his personal fight against one of the planet’s most evil and profitable criminal activities – human sex trafficking. “Sound of Freedom” was actually finished in 2018. But because it couldn’t get Netflix or a major studio in Hollywood to distribute it, it was independently financed...
Within American Christianity, we’ve seen the rise of “purity culture” in the last generation. At the heart of this movement are the best intentions. The goal was to keep our children from the devastation that results from sexual sin, including unwanted pregnancy and disease. Purity culture places a lot of emphasis on sexual abstinence until marriage. As a father who raised daughters, I did the same. One of my goals for them was to make sure they didn’t fall prey to charming scoundrels. Y’know, young men who are just like I was. Purity cu...
Did you know the region’s average high temperature was 95.3 degrees from June 18 through June 30? We exceeded 100 degrees twice in that spell, and hit 90 degrees or more on 12 consecutive days. Those are the numbers recorded at the Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis anyway. Halfway through our weather year, here’s a quiz: What’s the hottest temperature recorded this year at the Clovis ag center? a. 108 b. 103 c. 100 How many times has the temperature reached 100 degrees or more this year at the Tucumcari ag center? a. 3 b. 4 c. 6 Wha...
Last month, an Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit organization that advocates for “parental rights” in education, ended up apologizing and condemning Adolf Hitler after previously using a quote from the racist and anti-Semitic Nazi leader in its newsletter. “We condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions and his dark place in human history,” read a statement from chapter chair Paige Miller on the cover of the revised newsletter. “We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and express our deepest apology.” The group was recently labe...
What a welcome home. A topless trans person proudly flashing a party on the White House lawn. A mysterious bag of cocaine turning up in the West Wing. A news report saying that Hunter Biden was being investigated by the Justice Department for violating the Mann Act by transporting prostitutes across state lines – and being investigated by the IRS for writing off the costs on his taxes. Thanks to my wife’s job as a travel agent, I missed these latest national embarrassments by spending most of the last two weeks in sunny Egypt. Instead of wat...
Happy day after Independence Day! With the de-emphasizing of the facts of our American history and heritage these days and that our nation’s greatest holiday falls during summer when most schools are closed, I wonder how many young people actually know why we celebrate with fireworks and why July 4 is a holiday (we should never have started calling it by the date instead of “Independence Day,” which states its purpose)? It’s sad but true that those who don’t learn from their history (or, worse yet, don’t even know it) are doomed to repeat it....
The “dog days of summer” has an extra special meaning this year. This July 4 weekend marked an entire year with SassyPants, the great Pyr, patrolling the grounds. While just a pup, she would regularly come down the road to visit. The giant fluffball would saunter down for a cookie and a belly rub, and an occasional hot dog. She also had quite a crush on the senior dog in the front, OtterPup; and just like OtterPup, we fell in love with the fluffer the first time she ventured into the yard. OtterPup had been pretty glum in the months prior to th...
After decades of aggressive and strategic efforts from influential right-wing forces the Supreme Court outlawed race conscious admissions at universities throughout the nation. It dismantled decades of progress and crippled the potential of racial diversity and pluralism at our nation’s institutions of higher education. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking for the majority, argued that “the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.” He was joined by conservative Justices Clarenc...