I'd like to thank Sen. Tom Udall and the other members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee who took the first step toward moving our country toward a sustainable future by passing clean energy and climate legislation out of committee despite a Republican boycott of the mark-up.

This bill promises to be generation-defining legislation that would for the first time put a cap on carbon emissions and invest heavily in renewable energy and green jobs, paving the way for a cleaner more secure future. As this bill continues through the Senate, bipartisan support will be necessary, and I hope Republicans will engage, because what is at stake goes well beyond partisan politics. This is no time to let fear of change stand in the way of real progress that will protect our environment, wildlife, and health while investing in long-term stability for our economy.



I was frustrated by the Nov. 6 Generation Next report about college applications, which included discussion of students taking a year off before attending college, and an interview with one student who was whimsically imagining winning the lottery to pay for college — with no mention of the fact that graduating New Mexico seniors and new GED recipients have already won the lottery.

Too many students and parents in our state are unaware of the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship (nmlottery.com), which pays 100 percent of tuition for up to eight semesters for students to attend a public, state college or university — but not if they go out of state or take a year off.

Please consider an article about this wonderful program, which gives all graduating New Mexicans an affordable option to attend one of 25 excellent, in-state colleges.



Problems with the American health care system go deeper than runaway costs and insurance company scams.

Allopathic medicine blindly follows protocols despite medical research that shows some of them are wrong. For example, almost without exception, men with high free-testosterone levels don't get prostate cancer, while those with low free testosterone do. Testosterone supplementation — practiced widely in Europe — improves cancer patients' chances, yet the American Urology Association prohibits it.

Doctors blindly follow a false protocol on "faith" without valid scientific proof that high testosterone induces tumor growth (the opposite is true). They even work to lower testosterone levels of men already suffering from levels that are too low.

With 130,000 American men dying from prostate cancer annually, this looks suspiciously like a "death panel" that gleans huge unearned profits (at least $2.6 billion annually) from victims of medical negligence, killing them before their time, rather than curing them.



The Nov. 5 edition of The New Mexican printed a front-page story about Santa Fe's spiffy new "photo enforcement vehicle," apparently the latest technological development designed to trap speeding drivers.

The paper also noted that Santa Fe police will be providing daily notices stating exactly where this vehicle will be located.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I have to wonder why the police department is providing information that can only serve to make this vehicle ineffective. A department spokesman has stated that the purpose of publishing this information is "so people have no excuse."

No excuse for what? For not taking alternative routes?



Why don't we call the Walmart board of directors to see if they will agree to take over our health care situation? Walmart is transparent, closely monitored, and seems to be fairly honest.

We can not say the same for the bunch of ninnies we have elected to represent us. Public option? Single payer? Let the Walmart people decide. Walmart will want a profit; power to them!!

Maybe we can count on a discount for the old people like me (everybody has an agenda!!!) on our arthritis pain medicine.