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FREE WEBSITE
THROUGHOUT
Welcome to Desert Journal Online, established in May 2001 in New Mexico. Our website
offers our true crime book,
Satan's Den Exposed - The David
Parker Ray Story, and poetry and photo collections,
Bombshell
Liberation and
Interference, and provides free access to
our featured columns, photos and news archives.
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EXTRA! EXTRA! READ THESE!
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2012 began in 1999
by Peter Appleseed
of the Kyyboa Tribe
Book about true revolution, civilogy and creating positive alternatives. |
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Satan's Den Exposed
The David Parker Ray Story
True crime book about a
criminal sexual sadist and cohorts busted in kidnap, rape and sexual
torture cases in New Mexico
By the Desert Journal's award winning investigative reporting team of Bill
Johnson, Fred Mramor & David Pierre
SPECIAL OFFERS EXTENDED
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HIS NEW ROCK SONG, rallytime!
ALSO, SEE OUR NEW WEB PAGE
ANTI-WAR SONGS!!!
VISIT LEO DAILEY'S NEW WEBSITE -
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BOMBSHELL LIBERATION
&
INTERFERENCE
Poetry & Photo Collections
By Leo Dailey
NEW RELEASES OCTOBER 2006!!!
Electronic Books - $2.95 each ($2 off)
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Desert Journal Online
Contact Information
Bill Johnson
Editor, Publisher & Webmaster
Vic Arvizu
Honorary Web Guru
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Electronic mail
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desertjournal@hotmail.com
desertjournalonline@yahoo.com
poet@leodailey.com
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Location
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We are an electronic
submissions only website located in Albuquerque, NM, and have no
physical business address.
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Copyright ©
2001-2008 Desert Journal Online
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Last modified:
April 14, 2008
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…Beads
& Colors
It
was red, white and blue, and the numerous strands of beads that colored
the “Mardi Gras on the Rio Grande” Fiesta Parade in downtown T or C
last Saturday morning. Click on either photo above to see many more photos
of the Fiesta Parade.
DJ
photos by Bill Johnson
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Desert
Journal – forget me not!
A
driving force with honors
By
Bill Johnson
Editor
& Publisher
This
issue is the last weekly Desert Journal and this is my tribute to the tiny
newspaper that made a huge difference in many lives.
I’ll never forget
the day when one of our subscribers told me that our paper saved her life,
or the day when a couple of city employees approached us after the other
two local newspapers refused to listen to their allegations of contract
fraud.
I’ll never, never
forget the bullet that was fired through the window and inside wall of our
office when we were on Austin Avenue, lodging into a 2x4 beam just inches
away from my desk; and I’ll certainly never forget how the prosecution
and judicial system failed justice.
I’ll never forget
the 34 New Mexico Press Association Better Newspaper Contest awards the
Desert Journal won for journalism excellence between 1997 and 2003. These
honors consist of 19 first place and 15 second place awards including two
first places for public service, two first places for supplements and
special editions, the first-ever best website award (2002) and best
website for 2003, one first
place and two second places for creative design and typography, two first
places and two second places for investigative reporting, one first place
and three second places for in-depth reporting, one first place and two
second places for editorials, one first place and one second place for news writing,
two first
places for columns, two first places and one second place for sports
columns, two second places for sports writing, one first place and one
second place for photo series, one first place for feature photos, one
first place for sports photo, and one second place for general news photo.
But the one award I
will most cherish and never forget is the one presented to me and my wife
Teresa at our first anniversary open house at which then-mayor Lois Reaver-Black,
on behalf of our readers, presented us with a plaque for “honorable
journalism recognition.” That was before we won any of the NMPA honors.
I’ll never forget
the day my primary care physician called me “nothing” to my face. So,
here’s to nothing in return.
I’ll never forget
the wrangling with competition and local government officials over the
Desert Journal’s struggle to do business in a place where the people
allow mob bosses to run their lives.
I’ll never forget
the countless hours of blood, sweat and tears at attempts to make the
Desert Journal the best newspaper possible considering all of the unlawful
interference and restraint on our trade.
I’ll never forget
how the Desert Journal was the driving force that got Bob Tooley of The
Herald nominated and inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame and how the crowd
of newspaper people cheered as the award was being presented to his widow,
Maureen Tooley.
I’ll never forget
how a friend eight years ago told me how I should start a newspaper, how
we were this friend’s favorite newspaper until the war on Iraq split
that friendship apart. I’ll never forget how newspapers that tell the
truth lose their friends.
I’ll never forget
the great experiences covering the news in Sierra County, including the
controversial murder of Sheriff’s Deputy Kelly Clark, the infamous David
Ray trail of sexual torture case and the Cortez Gas Co. propane tank
explosions that rocked the town. I’ll never forget that night during the
Cortez incident when our then-photographer David Pierre crossed the fire
line and put his life at risk to capture some of the best nighttime flash
photography on film.
I'll never forget
how our news reporter Fred Mramor exposed Truth or Consequences City
Manager Sam Isom with great scrutiny and confirmed the lesson good
journalists already know, "A newspaper that tells the truth has NO
friends."
I’ll never forget
the faces of gratitude beaming from the faces of local students winning
awards in our annual holiday greeting card design contest. My wife Teresa
created the contest and the supplemental publication for showcasing the
students’ art entries, for which we won the two first places for
supplements and special editions.
I’ll never forget
the support given us by family, friends, readers, advertisers and truth
seekers who made sure the paper would continue to roll hot off the press
every Friday for a total of about 400 weekly newspapers since we were
established Sept. 15, 1995.
I’ll never forget
the sacrifices, the loss of sleep, the constant worry that go with running
a business, never mind a weekly newspaper, and most of all I’ll never
forget the endless miracles that kept the newspaper going.
I’ll never forget
any of these things because our website will serve to remind us and our
readers that we will continue to be a driving force in the community. Stay
tuned and visit us often
for frequent updates.
If you don’t have
access to the internet, the computer lab at the Civic Center offers it and
I will be happy to spend a little time showing our readers how to use the
internet and visit our award winning website. It’s easy and I’ll have
more time to share since the weekly newspaper won’t be occupying all of
my time.
God bless all of our
readers, advertisers and supporters – you made the difference all of
these years. But now it’s time to move onto different horizons and hope
for the best to come.
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(revised 8-10-06) |
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…Mardi
Gras on the Rio Grande
The
2003 Truth or Consequences Fiesta Parade last Saturday morning featured
the theme, Mardi Gras on the Rio Grande. Numerous beads adorn this
boater's neck In the true tradition of Mardi Gras. Scroll down to see more
photos of the Fiesta Parade.
DJ photos by Bill Johnson
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Fiesta Parade snapshots by Bill Johnson
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More
public meetings
to discuss
lakes’ levels
The Bureau of Reclamation announced Thursday
it will hold public meetings in several cities this month on its annual
operating plan for the Rio Grande Project, including Elephant Butte and
Caballo Reservoirs.
The Bureau will present the latest
information concerning the water supply of the Rio Grande Project and the
operational plan for the reservoirs.
The public is invited to attend any of
the following meetings:
Monday, May 12, at 7 p.m. – Hot
Springs High School Gymnasium, 1801 N. Pershing St. in Truth or
Consequences.
Wednesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. – Hatch
Valley High School Band Room, 305 Main St. in Hatch.
Monday, May 19, at 6 p.m. – Farm and
Ranch Heritage Museum Conference Room, 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las
Cruces.
Wednesday, May 21, at 6 p.m. –
Chamizal National Memorial Conference Room, 800 S. San Marcial in El Paso,
TX.
As drought persists in the upper Rio
Grande Basin, Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs of Reclamation’s Rio
Grande Project are at their lowest storage levels since 1979.
Farmers of the Elephant Butte
Irrigation District, El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, and
Mexico will receive less than a full supply, anticipated to be about 45
percent, this irrigation season because the Rio Grande Project water
supply remains low and spring runoff predictions continue below average.
Reclamation revises the allocation on a
monthly basis. The current allocation for the Rio Grande Project water
users is 31% of a full supply for irrigation.
The increase from last month is due
primarily to the State of New Mexico relinquishing 122,500 acre-feet of
credit water in Elephant Butte Reservoir to Texas as per the Rio Grande
Compact.
Reclamation is the largest wholesale
water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in
the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western
States.
Its facilities also provide substantial
flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.
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he
Hot Springs High School Band Junior ROTC cadets and Color Guard participated in the
Fiesta Parade last Saturday.
DJ photos by Bill Johnson
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Boiler Fire
progresses favorably
The Boiler Fire, which is burning 40 miles
northwest of Truth or Consequences on the Black Range Ranger District of
the Gila National Forest, was estimated at 14,550 acres on Thursday.
It is located west of Forest Road 226
on the south side of Highway 59, and west of Forest Road 521 on the north
side of Highway 59.
The fire, which was started by
lightning on April 17, is being managed as a Wildland Fire Use Fire by a
Gila National Forest Wildland Fire Use Team.
On Thursday, weather permitting, the
Gila Hotshots, along with other Gila personnel, were to perform a burnout
along Forest Road 521 to contain the fire at that point.
“We are very pleased with the job
this fire has done to clear the forest floor of accumulated debris,”
said Lawrence Garcia, the Fire Use Management Analyst on the incident.
“The burnout operation is our initial
action to ensure that there is no threat to the residents of Poverty
Creek,” Garcia said.
It is anticipated the burnout will
proceed with the same low intensity that the fire has demonstrated the
last several weeks, with flame heights from 6 inches to 2 feet.
Fire personnel and equipment will be
traveling along Highway 59. Hunters and campers are urged to avoid this
area during the burn, as smoke, falling snags and active fire create
numerous hazards.
For more information concerning current
fire activity, please contact the Boiler Fire Information Officer at the
Gila National Forest, Black Range Ranger District, at (505) 894-6677 in T
or C.
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Fuel break near
Pinos Altos
hampers spread of wildfire
A wildfire was reported at 6 pm Thursday. It
appeared to be a person-caused fire that started just west of Pinos Altos,
NM.
Gila Las Cruces Zone Dispatchers in
Silver City responded quickly to mobilize firefighters and other support,
including an air tanker to the fire. The fire moved in a southwesterly
direction, towards several communication towers.
Air Tanker 21 ran three loads of
retardant to the fire, dropping about 6,800 gallons of retardant on the
head of the fire to slow its progress. The fire’s spread was also
hampered as it tried to make a run through a fuel break.
The Bureau of Land Management has been
working on a fuel break around Pinos Altos for the past two years. The
objective of the fuel break is to minimize fire behavior.
“The project proved successful, as
the fire behavior was moderate, allowing firefighters to quickly contain
the fire,” commented Gary Benavidez from New Mexico State Forestry.
Incident Commander Toy Sepulveda of the
Forest Service directed firefighting resources which included Forest
Service engines; Silver City Hotshots; Pinos Altos, Fort Bayard and
Whiskey Creek Volunteer Fire Departments; and a New Mexico State Forestry
engine.
Crews gained the upper hand on the
five-acre fire as night fell and about six personnel were assigned to stay
on scene until morning. “Mop up operations will continue through Friday,
until the fire is extinguished,” said Sepulveda.
The cause of the fire is under
investigation.
Several concerned citizens called in to
report the fire at the first sign of smoke. Homeowners are reminded that
they should continue to create and maintain defensible space around their
homes to help minimize threats of wildfire, this is especially significant
during the next few months, when the wildfire season is at its peak.
For more information about current fire
activity, please contact Loretta Ray, Fire Information Officer at (505)
388-8245.
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Prescribed fire projects
get underway this week
SILVER
CITY – U.S. Forest Service fire crews this week implemented two
prescribed fire projects on the Gila National Forest in the Silver City
area.
The
Schoolhouse Prescribed Burn is located about 19 miles west of Silver City.
Crews were igniting the fire on Wednesday and Thursday.
The
Avalanche Burn is five miles north of Ft. Bayard. This is planned as a
one-day project, and is scheduled for ignition today (Friday, May 9).
Light
to moderate winds are expected in the area and will encourage
effectiveness of the burns. The winds will also help to disperse smoke
that will result from the projects.
Some
residual smoke may be visible for several days. For more information about
the projects, call the Fire Information Officer at (505) 388-8245.
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| Fiesta
snapshots by Bill Johnson
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Can You Get Published?
…Desert
Journal expands challenge
The Desert Journal has expanded its challenge “Can You Get Published?”
as a result of its offer to and acceptance by Scott LaFon’s eighth grade
Language I Arts class at the Truth or Consequences Middle School.
All
youths of the community – Truth or Consequences, Sierra County and New
Mexico – are invited to write on any subject of their interest, whether
it be the war with Iraq, home or school life, pets, friends, or whatever
they so desire as long as they don’t slander or defame anyone. Articles
must be typed, double-spaced and use proper language with a 250-word
limit.
This
youth literacy publishing project is the brainchild of local writer Chris
Wortman, LaFon and Desert Journal editor Bill Johnson. The following is
the fourth installment of articles found publish worthy among Mr.
LaFon’s students.
Future Homemakers
By
Abhay Kumar
Home economics is a subject that goes by some new names these days:
Life-Management Education, Work and Family and Consumer science.
It is
not only the names that are changing. There are some new attitudes towards
home economics as well.
All
across the country in high school and junior high, more and more boys are
enrolling in these courses, which have traditionally been regarded as the
domain of girls.
In
1993, for example, over 40% of home economics students in grades 7-12 were
boys; in 1968, the figure was less than 5%.
This
trend is likely to continue because boys are recognizing that these
subjects are interesting and valuable. Our school should offer a variety
of home economic courses and should encourage both boys and girls to
enroll in them.
The
most important reasons for expanding our curriculum in this area is that
everyone, both male and female, will be a homemaker for the future. As
Nick Rotan, the 1993 president of the Future Homemakers of America, has
said, “Home economics isn’t just a class; it shows how live in your
society.”
Social
and economic trends make it increasingly likely that both partners in a
marriage will participate in running the home.
If and
when we become parents, we all will appreciate the chance we had in school
to take courses in childcare, nutrition, family, finances, and
communication skills.
Single
people, with no partner to help them, will depend even more on knowing the
basics of home management.
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Fiesta Parade snapshots by Bill Johnson
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The
Shadow Advisory |
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By
Bill Johnson
Editor
of the Desert Journal
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…President
& Congress
should
be held accountable
This
week I received the following e-mail from a Truth or Consequences mother.
I am leaving her name out for the sake of preserving her anonymity.
“Dear editor:
“Thank you for the opportunity to submit an
editorial to your paper. After much contemplation, I am unable to do so at
this time.
“My choice is based on the fact that I have a
small child with very limited family. If I am taken by the government for
speaking out in dissent, I am not sure how she would be cared for.
“It is so very unfortunate that citizens of the
United States of America must live with this type of fear, very realistic
fears if one does just a bit of research into some of the events during
the months since the Patriot Act was put into law. Even a student at the
State University of New York was interrogated by the FBI for writing an
editorial in a school newspaper asking Jesus to smite President Bush.
“Again, I express my disappointment that your
paper will not be available in print after this week's edition. You did a
lot of good work in order to print the truth.”
/s/ Concerned Mother of T or C, NM
PS - Maybe you could print this quotation:
"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding
of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are
being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." -
Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg Trials
I
wrote back to thank the mother for her efforts and told her that We the
People have a lot of work to do to hold Congress and the President
accountable for their imperialistic war mongering actions in Iraq.
They put thousands of American troops at danger
over a lie and spilled the blood of hundreds of innocent people, including
our soldiers.
The truth of the matter is that they are afraid
to be held accountable for their actions because they spell TREASON or
high crimes against We the People of the United States that warrant
impeachment and criminal prosecution.
The big, national news media are guilty too for
disseminating lies and even smaller media – like a TV station in New
Mexico – has stained its hands. According to a highly reliable source, a
TV news team in Albuquerque willingly gave (without court-ordered
subpoenas) completely copied videotapes of the March 19 anti-war
demonstration on the UNM campus to Albuquerque police so the police could
see who the “trouble makers” are.
Homeland Defense has become Homeland Witch Hunt.
Anyway, a member of the United Nations weapons
inspectors in Iraq, a U.S. Marine Major (retired, I think), says the
Congress should hold President Bush accountable for NOT FINDING ANY
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION in Iraq.
The inspector's statement is predicated on the
fact that Bush, despite inspectors' efforts and findings in Iraq, said his
Administration knew and was absolutely certain about the presence of
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The inspector (I think his last name is Ritter -
I'm not good at remembering names) said Bush lied and should be
scrutinized, even impeached with a finding that he committed treason, a
high crime, against the People of the United States.
Furthermore, we the people should hold Congress
accountable and demand answers since they abrogated their constitutional
duty to declare war and passed the buck to the President. Why did they
believe a lie? Why did they allow American blood to spill for a lie?
They can't use the moral issue of Saddam
Hussein’s madness and tyrannical rule to justify this lie by the Bush
administration because Saddam’s behavior in Iraq IS NOT A THREAT TO THE
SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES.
The Bush Administration persisted that weapons of
mass destruction would be found in Iraq to convince Congress that war with
Iraq is imminent. So, Mr. President, where are these weapons of mass
destruction now that you have conquered Iraq and have military dominion
over its people and have had plenty of time to find these destructive
monsters that were the basis for your war?
As for the rest of the American people who
believe lies, their hearts follow the master of deceit, the creator of all
lies, Satan. They also value their safety over their freedom; they deserve
neither one.
The Patriot Act is unpatriotic and shall be ruled
null and void by a court of law that prides itself on practicing the
principles and rules of law as spelled out in the Constitution of the
United States of America.
Congress abrogated its duty by refusing to
declare war (a duty spelled out in the Constitution) and passing the buck
to the President in the form of a resolution. Then the president and his
men lied to Congress about the safety of the USA being at stake because
Iraq allegedly was harboring weapons of mass destruction that they
purportedly planned to use against us and our allies and/or the
"free" world. These weapons have not been found although Bush
people said they were absolutely certain that Saddam Hussein had
possession of them.
And yes, Satan is the father of ALL lies and he
who believes them are just as guilty as the teller of them because they
were told the truth (though it may be obscured by the technocrats and spin
doctors).
Furthermore, Bush has divided this country and
created great polarity by disenfranchising Americans who chose to speak
out against him and his imperialism. Eisenhower, a general in World War II
and president after Truman, warned Americans to never create a ruling
military industrial complex - well, that's what we got now.
I say if I cannot live in freedom, then shoot me
right now - but I'll be shooting back.
Lastly, a lot more people like the weapons
inspector are needed to tell the truth in order to counter the propaganda
of the technocrats and spin doctors, and ultimately to remove Bush from
power.
Bush must be impeached for violating the American
Trust. Or if Congress refuses accountability of its actions, we should do
everything in our power to impeach Congress too.
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