GO WEST
Regarding the Jan. 23 cover story, �
Is the Wilderness too Dangerous for Skiers?
�
You left out one critical piece of gear in the �Backcountry Basics��A COMPASS.
If you have a compass you cannot be lost at the Santa Fe Ski Area. If you simply go west, you will eventually hit the highway, a hiking trail or end up in town or Tesuque. Should you not remember which direction you came from, you can always count on finding a highway or town to the west. If you�re smart, check which direction you are skiing (or boarding) down first, so that you can simply reverse direction should you get lost. Remember, a map will do you no good in a storm because you can�t see anything to get a bearing. You need a compass.
I have to wonder why the cell phones don�t come with a compass built in. It would be an easy feature to add.
DAN STIH
SANTA FE
MAKE IT COUNT
Thank you for your coverage of Colorado�s decertification of the voting machine vendor ES&S, which is the sole provider election management software and voting machines in New Mexico [
Outtakes, Jan. 23: �Ballot Busters�
].
The decision by the Republican secretary of state in Colorado, Mike Coffman, to decertify ES&S was based on the findings of 700 tests that revealed programming errors that could result in votes being miscounted or not counted at all.
And this shouldn�t surprise New Mexico�s election officials who, after the 2006 elections, received auditor findings that recommended more pre-election testing be performed on the state�s election systems, stating �some problems were noted in re-generating accurate canvass reports...�
New Mexico cannot afford even the slimmest margin of uncertainty when it comes to ensuring every vote is counted and counted accurately; in 2000 the presidential election was decided by 366 votes, less than half of 1 percent and in 2004 by 5,988 votes�less than eight-tenths of 1 percent and in 2006, Heather Wilson was re-elected by 861 votes in CD 1, approximately four-tenths of 1 percent of the total votes cast, all well within the margin of error for electronic vote counting technologies.
New Mexico�s election officials have a duty to ensure votes are counted accurately, not conveniently. Colorado�s decision needs to be taken seriously in New Mexico and thorough testing that is open to public inspection needs to occur immediately, while remedies can still be implemented before the first votes are cast in the 2008 primary elections.
GIDEON ELLIOT
SANTA FE
THE REAL STORY
I read this article [
Outtakes, Jan. 23: �Shot in the Dark�
] and watched the video with interest. Of particular note was the reporter�s comment that the execution of Karl Chamberlain will affect so many lives.
Maybe the reporter should come and interview the parents, brother and son of Felicia Prectl, the woman raped and murdered by Chamberlain. Her 5-year-old son found her body in the bathroom in a pool of blood, pants still down around her ankles. A quick perusal of the trial transcripts will contradict the claim that Chamberlain became a model citizen in the five years between the crime and his capture.
This story that you published is newsworthy because [his mother] lives near Santa Fe. But the investigative element, the problem is not with the death penalty or the Texas justice system or with Karl being misunderstood and under-appreciated for the finer qualities of his character. This story is actually the sad, grim and protracted ending to a terrible crime that Karl committed in 1991, that robbed a young boy of his mother and her parents of their only daughter, and her brother of his only sister. It caused trauma to all the people that knew her, that lived around her, that worked with her, and those who have had to deal with her family and the residual affects of that terrible crime since that day in 1991.
It caused trauma to Karl�s parents, to his former wife who was forced to testify at his trial, to the other witnesses who had to participate, and to the jury, who had the unpleasant obligation to render a life or death verdict. The crime is what affected many lives. The execution is the long-awaited closing of the book on the story.
M. WIDNEY
DALLAS, TEXAS
WHAT YEAR IS THIS?
Not to belabor this thread, but Nathanael V Miller (in response to my letter) is, I think, stuck in another decade [
Letters, Jan. 23: �Missed Point�
]. The statement �few women feel safe taking part in any traditional feminine activities or displaying traits associated with femininity, while seeking or working in a traditional male position,� is just no longer true.
It may well have been true in the 1970s, when women were routinely denied opportunity for advancement in their jobs. The process of dealing with workplace gender segregation was not smooth or easy. If some women looked down upon �traditional� women�s roles, it was probably because of our frustration at being looked down upon ourselves as we tried to integrate the professions. Now that there are plenty of women in positions of achievement, hand-wringing about women being too much like men has greatly abated. Today professional women have children, cook, sew and wear dresses (though, not, I assure you, while doing roof repair, Mr. Miller, because we�re too practical).
As for what �femininity� (or �womanliness�) means: Well, a few activities can really be labeled masculine or feminine�large-game hunting and breast feeding come to mind. But ultimately femininity is all about Eros, which can manifest in any activity at all, and just won�t be confined by traditional roles.
MARY-CHARLOTTE DOMANDI
SANTA FE
THE TRUE COST
Just wanted to say I appreciate Suzin Daniel�s ad in last Wednesday�s issue [Jan. 30]. Truth in advertising. Crime is a problem here in SF. And it is costing our city every day especially when crime happens to a visitor (and former resident). Tourist-friendly in SF? The mayor needs to realize how much this is costing us all by not having enough police on the streets.
Glad the Reporter is a venue for truth in advertising. At least with one of your ads.
CLIFFORD SCOTT
SANTA FE
Clarification:
In last week�s Pop Quiz for District 1 City Council candidates, question #9 was referring to the city�s Ethics & Review Board, not the Ethics & Rules Committee.
