New Mexico in Focus is the best of all possible political opinion shows—five very smart informed opinionated people discussing issues that impact each of us in one way or the other. Gene Grant, the moderator, is simply perfect in his role; articulate and quietly firm, he effectively leads a diverse group of people week to week, community leaders all—in reasonable and intelligent talk. Tonight, the panel includes one of my favorite politicians of all time, former state senator Dede Feldman, unabashedly liberal and too bright to refute unless you’re really out of touch or frightfully conservative. First topic this evening: Gary King (NM Attorney General) has issued an opinion that NM law probably does not permit same-sex marriage. King is a supporter but his job is as a lawyer, not an advocate, in this case. If we still had a Democratic governor maybe the leadership could manage to figure out a way to move ahead with this silly issue—silly because of course it should not even be a question of whether people who love each other and want to create a legal union can do so.

Next a sobering discussion on the water crisis described by the NMIF website as follows: NMIF begins a series of interviews on water and the crisis of drought in New Mexico, as author William deBuys sits down to discuss the state of water and climate change in the Southwest. The New Mexican authored the book “A Great Aridness” and keeps close track of the policies and politics that go alongside the changing climate in the American Southwest. I’ve been in the Sahara Desert and the bordering Sahel and, while I love being there, it is not a happy thought to think that is the future of the southwest.

New Mexico is a BLUE STATE—thank you gods of (modest) rationality. But we do elect Republicans like Pete Domenici (from that almost-disappeared school of good Republicans) and our current governor, Susana Martinez, who seems generally to be well-liked—who knows why? When I watch NMIF which I try to do each week I am always reminded to pay more attention to the state’s political life—it’s too important to leave to the people who elect Republicans.

MY STREET. LOOKS LIKE RAIN…WON’T.