[RE: Letters, “Call it Querky,” Aug. 2-8] Sorry, Jenny DeBouzek, but you obviously have very ignorant neighbors. For the record, ‘Burque was not invented by the Alibi , nor was it developed in some marketing firm. Burque (pronounced Burr-que, not Burkee) is the very soul of what makes my city so beautiful. Burque is our home, our place, our center. Burqueños know that as long as we have the Sandias by our side, we’re gonna be alright. Burque is a feeling, not a catch phrase. Burque is where we’re from, not where we live.I’m not sure who said it first, but I am sure that for many of us, Burque is sacred. In the simplest terms, Burque is a cariño (an endearment) that we use to show our affection for our beloved, beautiful city. Burque is our identity and I take offense at Ms. DeBouzek’s slight of our beloved name … only to say that "Keep It Querque" is somehow better (talk about marketing gimmicks)!Burque has survived three terms of Marty Chavez, we can certainly weather the storm of ridiculous gimmicks such as "Keep it Quirky" and "The Q."
Super Salary
[RE: Council Watch, “The Mosquito and the Elephants,” June 14-20] Ken Sanchez definitely gets my vote as funniest of all City Councilors! To say that a 300 percent increase in salary will encourage "ordinary people" to run for City Council is hysterical! As if people sat down with a list of expenses on one hand and a list of jobs and their pay scale on the other to determine which jobs they will be trying out for.There is a reason those types of jobs are called "public service sector" jobs. People should try out for those jobs not with the notion of enriching themselves (though let’s face it: most people who do occupy public service jobs do eventually enrich themselves!) but with the notion to serve the public office and get elected. It is an established clique of business and political interests that decides a person’s suitability for public office and determines whether that person will have an honest chance by the size of their contributions and whether or not they will openly and enthusiastically get their endorsement.Given all the publicity of the unending Cavalcade of Corruption here in New Mexico, it becomes obvious to anyone that even when people are drawing a retirement pension, plus the salary of their new office, they still embezzle money from the taxpayers. Salary does not determine the quality or fitness of a person for office. In fact, voters should be suspicious of anyone whose desire to hold public office is based on the monetary rewards, and other perks of that job.If we really wanted to have the best candidates competing for the job, we should outlaw all private campaign contributions and have all candidates receive the same amount of funds from a government trust; the same amount of publicity, etc. It is only then we will see truly motivated and dedicated people trying out for public office on a level playing field.
Animals For Votes
[RE: The Real Side, “Chimps are Cool!” Aug. 2-8] Politicians use animals for votes. It is great to see that Jim Scarantio can see that the politicians are supporting anything that deals with animals to win sympathy and votes. The alleged case against Dr. Lee is an abuse of the legal system and a waste of taxpayers’ dollars! The Animal Protection of New Mexico animal right group gave Patricia Madrid and Scot Key and award for drumming up the bogus charges. Isn’t it interesting that Patrica Madrid was running against Heather Wilson for a Congress seat at the same time and the district included Santa Fe where the animal rights group is based? The law protects those whose profession deals with animals so that unlawful prosecution does not take place. If you consider that a large portion of the jobs in New Mexico are either government related or involve animals, then why do the politicians want to spend an inordinate amount of time and hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to prosecute a veterinarian for doing his job to care for government-owned animals? The answer is simple: Gov. Richardson, Patrica Madrid, Mayor Chavez and other politicians need the attention and votes! Why don’t they spend their time and the taxpayers’ dollars to improve the health care, reduce crime or deal with poverty of people in the state instead? It’s time for letter writing campaigns to them for real issues. If every veterinarian has to be on site all night and weekends to monitor animals in their clinic, nobody will be able to afford to take their animal to the vet. Also, vets could be convicted for sending the animal home to be monitored by the owner who is not a trained technician. This malicious prosecution would set a horrible precedence and waste more taxpayers’ dollars. Who’s next? Ranchers, rodeos, hunters or zoos?
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