Happy

A Beimer Christmas Photo

Guessing this Christmas Day morning 1958 at our home on Valverde Street in Taos.
That would be my sister Bunny and my brother Sammy inspecting the scene.
I would be taking the picture.

2015
Sammy's having Christmas in Heaven
Bunny's having Christmas in Guernsey,Wyoming.

And to all, a good night!

New York Times Editorial - End the Gun Epidemic in America

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 EDITORIAL

End the Gun Epidemic in America

DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

DECEMBER 4, 2015

All decent people feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest slaughter of innocents, in California. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are searching for motivations, including the vital question of how the murderers might have been connected to international terrorism. That is right and proper.

But motives do not matter to the dead in California, nor did they in Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut and far too many other places. The attention and anger of Americans should also be directed at the elected leaders whose job is to keep us safe but who place a higher premium on the money and political power of an industry dedicated to profiting from the unfettered spread of ever more powerful firearms.

It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection. America’s elected leaders offer prayers for gun victims and then, callously and without fear of consequence, reject the most basic restrictions on weapons of mass killing, as they did on Thursday. They distract us with arguments about the word terrorism. Let’s be clear: These spree killings are all, in their own ways, acts of terrorism.

Opponents of gun control are saying, as they do after every killing, that no law can unfailingly forestall a specific criminal. That is true. They are talking, many with sincerity, about the constitutional challenges to effective gun regulation. Those challenges exist. They point out that determined killers obtained weapons illegally in places like France, England and Norway that have strict gun laws. Yes, they did.

But at least those countries are trying. The United States is not. Worse, politicians abet would-be killers by creating gun markets for them, and voters allow those politicians to keep their jobs. It is past time to stop talking about halting the spread of firearms, and instead to reduce their number drastically — eliminating some large categories of weapons and ammunition.

It is not necessary to debate the peculiar wording of the Second Amendment. No right is unlimited and immune from reasonable regulation.

Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective way and, yes, it would require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens.

What better time than during a presidential election to show, at long last, that our nation has retained its sense of decency?

This editorial published on A1 in the Dec. 5 edition of The New York Times. It is the first time an editorial has appeared on the front page since 1920.

Too many guns

When will it ever end?  When will it ever end?

From the Los Angeles Times editorial pages today, December 3, 2015:

Enough. This nation's infatuation with guns — inflamed by the ludicrous stances of the NRA, and abetted by Congress' fear of that powerful but irresponsible group — is suicidal. There are too many guns, too easily obtained. Often they are in the hands of those who should not have them at all, such as the mentally ill.

It's absurd that one of the richest, freest, and most advanced societies in world history endures such a scourge with such equanimity. But there is hope. A Gallup poll in October found that 55% of Americans support stronger gun control measures, and other surveys have found that even a majority of NRA members support mandatory background checks — something the NRA itself has assiduously opposed. There is broad political support for stronger laws to address the nation's gun addiction, but gun control advocates have so far been unable to counter the money and organizational heft of the NRA. It's obscene that a single interest group is able to endanger an entire nation's safety.

The Supreme Court lent credibility to the fully-armed-America crowd in its 2008 Heller decision, which held that the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual's right to bear arms for “traditionally lawful purposes,” such as self-protection in the home. It's a wrongheaded interpretation of wording that for decades was rightly understood to mean that organized military units, such as the National Guard, have a right to keep and bear arms.

We're stuck with the Heller ruling for now. But thankfully, the court also said the right to gun ownership was not absolute, and that the nation's history of gun ownership has also been one of gun regulation. So let's get at it. There is no need for civilians to own military-style weapons, or magazines that hold large numbers of cartridges that maximize carnage. There is no justification for selling or transferring a firearm to anyone who has not passed a stringent background check, whether it's a father turning over a gun to a daughter, or a gun shop selling to a stranger. We need to get rid of most concealed-carry laws and make sure there are no guns on school campuses. We need more trigger locks, locked cabinets and gun buybacks.

This crisis in American society must be combated through the ballot box, and through lobbying to loosen the iron grip the NRA holds on Congress and many state legislatures. That is where the pushback against this culture of death needs to occur. And it needs to occur now.

I grew up going deer hunting every year.  It was the thing to do.  I quit after some yay-hoo came bounding through an arroyo and inquired if I had seen anything (a deer) come out of the bushes at the bottom of the canyon.  This guy said, "I took a few shots into there because I thought I saw some rustling around."

A few minutes later a deer fawn emerged, badly wounded, and I had no choice but to put the little thing out of it's misery.   That was the last day I ever went hunting!  

If it takes target practice, or blasting a bird out of the sky to prove one's manhood...I guess that's OK.  In my opinion, the proliferation of firearms in the wrong hands in wrong and allowing people to conceal carry a firearm is way beyond the norm!  

England allows gun ownership...otherwise how could those folks go on a fox hunt?  But, you have to have a license to own a gun.    In our country we must pass a test to drive a car, and then we get licensed.  Shouldn't something like that be required to own a weapon?

Seems to me!!!!! 

Thanksgiving 2015

Somebody has to do it!

Here's our view of Banderas Bay the week of Thanksgiving.  Another one of those sunsets.  They never get old!

This is the view from the balcony of our condo - looking west - if we could see that far,and if the world was flat - we could probably see Hawaii way out there!

And this was Thanksgiving Dinner at La Terraza - Vallarta Marina!

Pumpkin pie and stuffin' is comin' one of these days.


Report on Connie's victorious 10K run coming soon.  Stay tuned!

Paradise

Vive La France

Veteran's Day

Rest In Peace Zallie Beimer

Zaleace Marie Johnson Beimer

August 27, 1918  -  November 9, 2015

Together again!

The Johnsons

Clinton, Sid, Louise, Zallie

Kiowa, NM - about 1930

Cheesy Problem

Amidst all the furor over baseball playoffs, Hurricane Patricia, shootings and stabbings comes this, an issue that must be resolved:

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania manufacturer is accused of selling imitation Parmesan and Romano cheese that actually contained other cheeses, including cheddar and Swiss.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (http://bit.ly/1QTknrC ) Universal Cheese & Drying Inc. and International Packing LLC were charged Tuesday with conspiracy.

Prosecutors say the cheeses labeled as "real" Parmesan and Romano didn't conform to U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards and contained trims of other cheeses.

Michelle Myrter, president of Castle Cheese Inc. and a corporate officer in both of the other companies, is charged with the misdemeanor of aiding and abetting the introduction of misbranded and adulterated food.

Her attorney, Stephen Stallings, says Myrter has a plea agreement that involves probation for her and $500,000 in restitution and forfeitures for each of the companies.

USS Albuquerque

The USS Albuquerque is headed for the dry dock.

Decommissioning for the ship is just around the corner.

A number of Albuquerque folks have been on board the "boat" since she was commissioned in 1983.

Among them, Connie Beimer.

On this Throwback Thursday, here are a couple of photos from that visit as "the boat" was docked in Florida.

At the controls

Person the torpedoes

City of Albuquerque Election

One of the great gems of Albuquerque and New Mexico is the Rio Grande Biopark - which includes the zoo, aquarium and botanic gardens.

Congratulate yourself, Albuquerque voters, who approved the miniature little tax that goes into effect next July to help build the zoo into an even bigger and greater thing.

By voting yes on the little ol' tax that none of us will even realize is there, the voters have once again said, good job at the zoo!

We also approved massive capital outlay proposals for roads, bridges, and other things like that.  It should have been 4 times bigger. Our companies need the business and people need the jobs that result from these projects.

Who says government doesn't create jobs?

Relax - enjoy the zoo!   It's worth every penny!

More Shootings More Guns

Bob Stover, RIP

Saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Stover, former Albuquerque Police Chief, former Bernalillo County Sheriff, and one helluva guy.

Bob Stover and I were related, somewhere down the family tree.  My great grandmother was a Stover - and it has been told that Bobby Stover, the tough talking cop, would, on occasion, sneak a chocolate candy to her.

When Stover was Chief of APD, I was a reporter.  It meant no special access, or accomodation.

Case in point:

My personal car was the recipient (I guess I was, not the car) of a parking ticket - having spent too much time at a meter without contributing to the coffers.

In those days, getting a parking ticket, often times meant heading to see Municipal Judge Harry Robins, who would make time to "help" the media, and quickly dismiss the parking ticket.

On this day, I chose to go see Chief Stover, parking citation in hand.

Upon my request to the Chief to "take care" of the ticket, Bobby reached into his pocket and pulled out $3 and inserted it into the envelope.

The Chief "took care" of my ticket - and I never went back to ask a similar favor.

Good times, Chief.

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Throwback Thursday

Fifty years ago the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge was dedicated during a spectacular ceremony.  I wasn't there.

Working at KKIT in Taos, my responsibility that day was to flip the switch to put the remote broadcast of the ceremony on the air.

Well...it was somewhat of a challenge.   Our remote unit was a pretty much line-of-sight unit, that sounded great when the "line-of-sight" was real... When the signal had to skip along the ground to get to our studios in the Kachina Lodge, look out.

That day our remote unit, and General Manager Don Boston, were at the bridge ceremony - which was a little below grade, and provided a scratchy signal.

But, it worked...and we were able to provide live coverage to the people of Taos during this most significant news event.

A lot of people had worked really hard to get the bridge built.  It was the view of the future construction of US 64 stretching from Clayton to Farmington and beyond that helped make it a milestone.

I'll post more, including some photos, when I get thru the dusty box.

Here's a photo of the plaque that is still at the bridge:

And, I recall one thing reported to me upon completion of the bridge ceremony.  When the townspeople walked across the bridge, thousands of them, the bridge accepted the weight by expanding and contracting.  When that happened, some people fell to their knees and prayed.

Those prayers worked - the bridge still stands - and is one of the many sights that one must see when visiting New Mexico.   If not in person, look for images of the bridge in some wild and crazy movies.

Here, Andrew Oxford for The Taos News has an excellent article.

Popejoy Hall Presents Book of Mormon

It isn't that book you find in Marriott Hotels...It sure was fun, and UNM's Popejoy Hall never looked or sounded better at last nights performance!

And Alexandra Ncube was outstanding

Throwback to 1939 State Fair

It's State Fair Time

New Mexico Movie Industry Pay Attention

OK folks... Don't let New Mexico lose our advantage.  Nice scenery ain't enough.  The South is Rising!

Read this ---

NBC News reports Georgia is #3 and climbing fast in the world of movie and film production..

I notice one of my favorite TV watches, Family Feud, is video taped in Atlanta.  Each show concludes with a graphic of a Georgia Peach and a little chorus..."Made in Georgia"....

Hey New Mexico...WAKE UP!

Morning Chuckle

My blog postings for the summer have deteriorated to things like this.  A good chuckle never hurts - unless you have stitches... 

UFO

Zallie Beimer Birthday

Today, August 27,2015 is my mother's birthday.   Zallie Marie Johnson was born in 1918, and she's still around.  This photo was taken in Taos - I have no idea when - 1940ish.  Cowboys amongst you will recognize it's my Dad's saddle - Mom's feet don't reach the stirrups...

Jimmy Carter Reflection

President Jimmy Carter stories come to mind as I learned of his cancer battle.

#1 – The New Mexico Amigos – The Official Goodwill Ambassadors of New Mexico – were on the 1973 trip that included a stop in Atlanta.   Governor Jimmy Carter was a guest at the luncheon held at a downtown hotel.  It was not uncommon for the media to cover a visit of The Amigos  - 120 guys in grey slacks, white shirts, gold ties, and blue blazers walking down a sidewalk turned heads.  

At this luncheon in Atlanta, the media was there to cover us and New Mexico Governor Bruce King and Governor Jimmy Carter.  That night, the only mention on TV was not of The Amigos, but rather the parking ticket the limousine for the Governor of Georgia had received while he was visiting the Amigos. 

#2 – Again in the mid-70s as part of my news responsibilities I was briefed by a couple political operatives who were working on getting Jimmy Carter elected President of the United States.  That meeting was held at the airport hotel, and there were maps, schedules, plans, strategies, etc.   It wasn’t until years later that I realized (perhaps in my own mind) those political operatives were really testing me, perhaps not as a reporter – but perhaps as a staff person to help during the campaign.  Opportunity missed.

#3 – As News Director at KOB-TV in Albuquerque I was invited to a briefing in The White House cabinet room with President Jimmy Carter.  It was special.  Apart from realizing that I was really in The White House, I remember two things a) sitting next to me was the Publisher of The Denver Post, and I don’t think he’d ever been to a news briefing in his life, and b) I headed out from The White House without saying hello to Tim Kraft, a New Mexico guy who was the top ranking scheduler for POTUS.  As I’m leaving the grounds, security stops me and escorts me to a meeting with Tim in The Roosevelt Room across the hall from The Oval Office.

Point of Highway Clarification

In the local newspaper there is an explanation from the New Mexico Department of Transportation that purports to answer a question involving an uneven portion of a recently completed overpass.

Here’s the quote as it appeared in the paper…

”the concrete pavement has a grade break at the ramp gore – where the loop ramp lanes separate from the westbound PDN lanes – which redirects storm water runoff and reduces the amount of drainage that would otherwise cross the loop ramp lanes at that location. The grade break is minimal and is within acceptable tolerance even though it is visible as a driver approaches the ramp. The variation in the concrete pavement addresses a drainage issue that needed to be mitigated while staying within the physical constraints of the bridge, the mainline PDN lanes, and the diverging loop ramp lanes.”

Thanks for the clarification!

70th Birthday Celebration

Throwback Thursday to an evening a few weeks back.

Dining and dancing with some pals. 

Taos Golf

There will be a lot of talking this week in the golf world about St. Andrews, THE Open Championship, etc.

Here's my golf story.

This is a picture of my Dad and a couple of his buddies playing golf at the Taos Country Club about 1960.  It was a private 9 hole golf course carved out of sagebrush (duh - just look at the surroundings) and a clubhouse where lots of the business leaders ate, drank, played poker, and watched 16mm black and white movies of famous golf matches.

This is a picture of the golf course taken last week.  What once was the Taos Country Club, on the road to Taos Ski Valley, became the Quail Run Resort and the home to condos, etc.

I actually worked at a golf course when I was in high school.  It was developed by two of my uncles, Sid and Clinton Johnson in an area east of Taos known as Tienditas.   It is part of a beautiful valley, and the development was ahead of its time.  It remains a hidden valley.

And the golf course remains open.  The summer rains have helped keep it in nice mountain condition. I recall working there - slip sliding around the dirt roads after a summer rain - driving the road grader and dump drunks. And I remember having the responsibility for pin placements on the greens.

This pond - which we called a lake - was right outside the front door of Uncle Sid's first cabin on the site.  The pond remains.

Valley Escondido remains hidden - there are some locals and some Texans who have vacation cabins there - and I can certainly see why.  A beautiful place to get away from it all - and I mean that!

PGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America Should Dump Trump

It's about time the leadership of the major golf organizations in the USA (and abroad for that matter, like Scotland) dump any tournaments that are held on golf courses owned, developed or managed by the Donald Trump organizations.

I am sure it is within the abilities of the PGA Tour, the United States Golf Association, the PGA of America and the Royal and Ancient in Europe to find locations for golf events that don't further the growth of that red mop of hair.

What Trump has said with regards to the Mexican immigration issue should be reason enough - say nothing of his other spout offs.

Anybody with any sense at all knows that much of the labor in his hotels, at his resorts, in his businesses and on his golf courses is done by people who are immigrants.  They are probably offended too, but afraid to say anything for fear of losing their jobs.

I'm waiting for the major media outlets to start reporting on the misdeeds of Mr. Trump and his organizations.  It can't come soon enough!


Update -  The Dump Trump parade is organizing:

1)   Los Angeles school district officials have canceled plans to hold a fundraising tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in response to comments made by Donald Trump about immigrants.   The L.A. Unified School District asked the club to return its $7,500 deposit. So far, the club has declined to refund the money, according to the school system.

2)   The ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic was scheduled for Trump National Golf Club on July 14 but has been switched to Pelican Hill near Newport Beach.

 3)  The PGA of America announced Tuesday that the 2015 Grand Slam of Golf scheduled for this October at Trump National Golf Club will be moved to another location. 

Tom Watson - you are not alone!

Watching a leader in a professional golf tournament on TV,  sometimes it seems like they're taking a serene and pleasant walk down an isolated fairway.

Not!

This photograph was of Tom Watson as he approached the 16th green at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento.  At the time he was the sole leader in the US Senior Open and getting most of the attention from the TV boys. 

I can tell you I counted 9 different cameras pointed at him for the shot, including one atop a movable robot pillar pushed (or pulled) into position from the edge of the fairway.

The player in this group on the left of the picture wasn't in the hunt.  It was one of those lonely walks for him, kind of!

Some of these guys get a little upset when a butterfly flutters in a nearby bush.  Can you imagine the distraction from this traveling band of video chroniclers?   

Jeez....

US Open Chambers Bay & Tesla too!

A report on a road trip--

It was year 3 for your reporter at a US Open golf tournament.   This trip to Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington - which is near Tacoma - which is near Seattle - was spectacular.

First they had to open the gates

Where to go?

View from the top looking toward Puget Sound (Pew-jet - not puh-get)... 

See the train?

Down the hill...looking up to the Trophy Club.

 Your intrepid US Open adventurers - Ed Mahr & ...

And we saw a Tesla:

WOW!

And so it goes!

Coyote and the bunny

Here are a couple of pictures I snapped with my phone during a round of golf at the UNM Championship Course this Monday.

This big fellow was just lumbering along in front of the first tee - and we all agreed he was stalking a mid-morning snack.   He was not one of those scrawny coyotes, he appeared very healthy.

And, then a few holes away we spotted this charming little fellow.   Hope he got out of the way of wylie coyote!