I have followed the incident between the American Legislative Exchange Council and Occupy Santa Fe. I am astonished at the various responses out of the Legislature. The very presence of our legislators in and with such a group is the only proof needed to show that our "government" has become a sham. We don't pay our "legislators" to "carry ALEC's water" for them. Or, actually, I guess we do.

If the legislators are incapable of carrying legislation for their constituents (real people, not corporate "citizens"), then they ought to go home and stop "playing" government. Our Legislature (as well as many others) has sunk to being nothing but a greedy money receptacle. Frankly, I would welcome moving the New Mexico capitol; Kabul's level of graft would be a good fit.


ALEC 'ghostwrites' bills

Be aware that the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC, is a front group that pushes anti-democratic legislation through the use of so called "model bills" written by corporations and presented by member state legislators. By example, ALEC is behind efforts to privatize public institutions, reduce and/or remove voting rights from populations not likely to vote Republican and allow mineral extraction without regulation or review. When one understands what ALEC does, outrage is necessary for us who value clean air and water, funded public education and the ability of all citizens to vote.


Issue affects nation

Sixteen of the 19 Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers who plowed airplanes into the World Trade Center had fraudulent driver's licenses. New Mexico remains one of two states that issue driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants that can be used for travel on most airlines. Your newspaper recently published articles confirming fraudulently obtained licenses in this state. The 9/11 commission recommended, after exhaustive study, "documentation of legal status and a Social Security number" before issuing a license to protect national security.

If Real ID legislation is ever activated (now scheduled for January 2013), federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, will not accept New Mexico-issued driver's licenses for use in boarding commercial aircraft. This issue is not local. It will eventually affect our national security. It's wrong to issue illegal immigrants a driver's license.


Illegal? No license

Hello! Think about it: If they are here illegally -- doesn't matter if they swam in, trekked through the desert, hid in somebody's car trunk or came down the chimney like Santa Claus, what would make them think they deserve a driver's license?