Jul 9, 2021Member-onlyThe New Mexico Supreme Court Brings a Family Peace Five Years After a Brutal MurderIn a June 24, 2021 opinion by Senior Justice Barbara Vigil, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the conviction of Alejandro Azamar-Nolasco for the brutal 2016 murder of Mandy Vanlandingham in Raton. Chief Justice Michael Vigil, Associate Justice C. Shannon Bacon, and Retired Justice…True Crime5 min read
May 14, 2021Member-onlyComing Around AgainBernhoff eased his car into the parking lot before speaking into his earpiece. “This is Charlie One Actual, I’m pulling up with him at…” Bernhoff looked up at the sign and snorted. “Fuckin’ Sugar Daddy’s burger barn… I don’t know. Fuckin’ burger stand. Let’s get One Two and One Three…Fiction13 min read
Nov 25, 2020Member-onlyThe Unique Challenges Facing Small Businesses in Rural Economies.The ongoing population and business declines in rural America are undeniable, but they need not be inevitable. Those who say that rural America is destined for perpetual decline forget that this was the prediction for large urban centers in the 1970s. — Neil A. Belson, Promoting Rural Entrepreneurship and Rural…Business7 min read
Sep 30, 2020Member-onlyCandidates I would Prefer Over Donald Trump and Joe BidenBill Weld Bill Nye Gary Johnson Jill Stein Andrew Cuomo, current governor of New York Chris Cuomo, television personality Rivers Cuomo, lead singer of Weezer ADM McRaven (US Navy, ret.) GEN Mattis (USMC, ret.) GEN McCrystal (US Army, ret.) Colonel Potter (US Army, fictional) Sen. John Thune (R-SD) Sen. Dick…Politics2 min read
Dec 5, 2019Member-onlyContritionThe Unbearable Silence of God “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” the man began. “It has been… six years, I think, since my last confession.” “Go ahead, son,” Monsignor Rybeck responded. The confessional was little more than a woven fabric screen on wooden legs between two metal folding chairs…Fiction4 min read
Aug 23, 2019Member-onlyThe Comet“Harry, you know as well as I do that the Representative needs this money or he will not be able to compete on the television market.” The Tune Inn was a staple in Southeast Capital Hill. Harry had been coming here since his law school days, wandering home drunk and…Fiction8 min read
Aug 21, 2019Member-onlyThe Sound of Suffering: Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, a Masterful Exploration of Personal Tragedy… the world is a world of tears and the burdens of mortality touch the heart. Virgil, The Aenied, Book 1 (Robert Fagles translation) On August 21, 1875, in the (then) Austro-Hungarian city of Prague, 35 year old composer Antonin Dvorak (1) looked down into the crib of his two-day…Music7 min read
May 9, 2019Member-onlyPeace in the Desert, Veteran Paranoia, and the Hills of PalousePeace In The Desert I spent last week visiting the Desert Southwest, a place near and dear to my heart. I don’t normally talk about my personal life here, but the trip itself was beautiful. The desert in May is in full bloom, not desolate like many assume. …Short Story5 min read
Dec 27, 2018Member-onlyHow I Look At What I Read Each Year (2018 in Review)I try to avoid cross-posting from my blog these days. I tend to think that the blog is for business, and Medium is for stuff that I can’t claim is related to work (or wouldn’t want clients looking at and saying, “Is he touched in the head?”). However, reading is…Books6 min read
Oct 12, 2018Charlie MikeBegin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness — all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the…Stoicism7 min read
