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The Long Arm of the Law
There are a lot of nice places to live in this country, although the list is dwindling. I look for little bits of good news about various communities in the Southwest to keep my spirits up, but it is getting more and more difficult as Californians spread out and bring their politics with them. I’m a California refugee living in New Mexico and It is only a matter of time before I have to get on the road again.
Small town life is not for me anymore, especially progressive places like the town I live in where so few people share my views and values. So where then? I don’t know for sure, but this morning I read something that got my juices flowing.
Last May, a mob of thieves and vandals broke into the toney Scottsdale Fashion Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, and looted businesses, most offering high-end products. The damage was extensive, as was the looting. Unlike many communities throughout the country, the Scottsdale Police Department started to methodically investigate and bring to justice as many of the “peaceful protesters” as they could lay their hands on, which couldn’t be easy since the perps were obviously out-of-towners.
Yesterday, the SCP announced that two more of these “peaceful protesters” were arrested and felony charges filed. Is that news? Yes, it is. So far the Scottsdale police have apprehended 57 of these criminals and have repatriated nearly a quarter of a million dollars of high-end merchandise to businesses in the Scottsdale Fashion Mall. I wonder how many police departments around the country are still trying to bring these criminals to justice? Probably more than you would imagine, but it is obvious that even a year later those engaging in criminal acts in Scottsdale are not beyond the long arm of the Scottsdale PD.
I know of places that never lifted a finger to protect their citizens and businesses during those dark days – Scottsdale isn’t one of them. Whenever another “peaceful protester” is apprehended, you will find their mug shots on page one.
Good job SPD.
Published in General
My impression of New Mexico is that it is like a socialist nation propped up by oil revenue. I am wrong about that?
That’s pretty close. Oil and gas is the “goose that laid the golden egg,” but many NM politicians are anxious to eat the goose.
Is there a Scottsdale in NM, or are you referring to the one in AZ?
Bellevue Square, in the Seattle suburbs, was also looted during riots last May. (An event that solidified my decision to move out of WA.) I believe some of the perps were arrested and charged, but I’d be shocked if the lefty King County DA bothered to do much more than that.
I should have been more precise. Of course it is Scottsdale, Arizona.
Yes, in Arizona we still have (for now) actual functioning law enforcement. It’s one of the many reasons I moved here.
New Mexico is an odd state, a desiccated banana republic in a lot of ways. It’s top-heavy with government, and the state government has a distinct crony aspect to it, an entrenched bureaucracy of lifers calling the shots from their marginally functional sinecures. (At least, that’s how it seemed when I lived there two-thirds of a lifetime ago.)
My brother John (who joined Ricochet this week; say hi to him if you get a chance) runs a business in Albuquerque. Don’t get him started on the topic of the governor unless you like hearing diminutive petty tyrants besmirched by frustrated businessmen. (That’s probably a TV gameshow in Japan.)
The widespread failure of local law enforcement to effectively deal with rioters in 2020 is an indictment of state and local governments and their fecklessness, cowardice, and disregard for their citizens. It’s always nice to hear of a jurisdiction that takes civil society seriously. So my hat is off to Scottsdale.
I will. If you want to share his business either publicly or privately I could drop in and support him.
It is an odd state. I’ve been here six years this go around and it can be tough to figure out. I was told that Governor Grisham uses her maiden name because it’s one of those dynasty names and people would vote for her just because of it and might not if they didn’t see it. It has made for some catchy slogans during the lockdown. Her maiden name is Lujan, which happened to rhyme with Wuhan and Gov. Wuhan started showing up as early as March last year. It also makes her initials MLG. Yesterday I drove by the second strip mall I’ve seen with a big NO MLG sign on the strip mall sign. I don’t know if they are announcing their displeasure or that they don’t follow her edicts in their businesses.
As terrible as she’s been during the last year, she’s been overshadowed by many others; California, Michigan, New York, Washington, Oregon, etc. When her sexual harassment payout made the news last week, one of the guys on the Ruthless podcast said that he’d never heard of her before. Way to suck the oxygen out of the room Newsom, Whitmer, Cuomo, et. al.
I hope you catch up before too long, I moved OUT of Arizona last July. :-)
So is Biden. Apparently NM thought they would get a drilling/fracking exemption, because they’re “lefty enough” or something. Hah!
Hard to believe this is going on in AZ. I’d have thought AZ was all in for CRT.
WHAT sexual harassment lawsuit? I’m only one state away, and I follow the news pretty closely. First I’ve heard about this.
I’m leaving Chicago- put in my notice at my school. My family lives in Indiana and I’d like to be close to them so that’s where I’m headed. Indianapolis interestingly enough has a Democratic mayor who is a flake and in typically flaky fashion allowed for the sparsely populated downtown to be wrecked, but the state itself remains sane. And it is not Illinois with both Pritzker and Lightfoot which is almost too much for one state to bear.
She settled with a campaign worker after she pulled the old oops-I-spilled-something-on-your-crotch-here-let-me-help-clean-it trick. Trying to keep up with Cuomo I guess.
Oh, that old stunt. Can’t tell you how often that happens to me….
Not often enough. Obviously.
Good! Have you checked into the Conservative Migration group?
I was raised in eastern New Mexico (Clovis, self described cattle capital of the Southwest). Since it’s so close to Texas, most people there tend to shop or visit Amarillo or Lubbock rather than Albuquerque or Santa Fe.
I left in 1979, with occasional family visits from time to time over the years. As an aside, living in Alaska, I remember driving in the eastern part of NM, and seeing my first tumbleweed in years.
When I left the state, Manual Lujan, a (liberal) Republican, was still a member of the House of Representatives. Bruce King was serving his second non-consecutive term (he served 3 non-consecutive terms, with term limits keeping him from running for consecutive terms at the time), and Pete Domenici was one of the U.S. Senators.
Harrison Schmitt, the former astronaut, was the other U.S. Senator and I met him during one of his campaign appearances in 1976.
Joe Montoya was the senator he defeated for re-election, best known for embarrassing himself on nationwide television during the Watergate Committee hearings. It was likely a factor in his defeat, especially since he was one of the few Democrats defeated that year.
I don’t watch New Mexico politics that closely anymore, but I do keep an eye out.
I have heard how New Mexico handled the Covid crisis.
New Mexico governors generally don’t have that much authority. Their influence is mostly indirect, by making appointments to various regulatory agencies. That’s part of what makes New Mexico politics so byzantine.
Under those circumstances, giving a Democrat emergency powers and a chance to use them, is going to be too much of a temptation.
Oil is the devil’s excrement.
No! What is this group?
https://ricochet.com/groups/conservative-migration/
It may not be a big deal for you since you already know where you’re going etc, but still a useful resource.
There’s no doubt that oil economies do have a temptation towards the corrupt. Some places handle it better than others.
For example, my present home state, Alaska, has had some oil related scandals. Norway seems to have it under control, but I’m not familiar enough with them to say for sure.
Texas has an economy that’s more diverse, so while oil is a big part, it’s not dominant. African countries with lots of oil suffer from corruption, and Venezuela is mentioned in the above link.
Before oil, there was sugar cane.
Worldwide, a sugar cane economy up until the end of the 19th century, meant a slave economy. The United States was known for cotton which was bad enough, but slaves in sugar cane economies had a lower life expectancy. In South America they were literally worked to death, with life expectancy in the fields lasting around 7 years.
Sugar cane has a worse history than oil.
I found it! I’m thrilled! thank you for the tip:)
Best wishes, neighbor-to-be. I like going next door to visit Indiana.