Category Archives: Valerie Maez

This year’s school board elections in Montezuma County have been decided by the time you read this column. I am not go­ing to speculate on who won the two con­tested seats. One of which was in the Dolores School District, … Continue reading →

In the political world, the great unknown are a group of Americans called the unaffil­iated active voter. They prefer not to swear allegiance to any one party, and these days, who can really blame them? Here in Montezuma County they … Continue reading →

For the readers of the Free Press who may be unfamiliar with the TV character Dobie Gillis, you can educate yourself through You Tube and Google. Suffice to say, the character was based on a small-town coming-of-age Ameri­can boy instilled … Continue reading →

School boards are facing increased scrutiny across the country partially due to the inclusion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) into curriculum that is mandatory for all students. I know several people who serve on our local school boards and on … Continue reading →

June 20th we celebrate Father’s Day. A few years ago, I dedicated a May column to my Mother, and this year I decided to write one for my Dad. He passed away while I was still in college, but the … Continue reading →

The complexity of America has always been its people. This unparalleled experi­ment in a constitutional republic relies on its citizens to absorb complex information and reach consensus as to how we move forward as a nation in a violent, often … Continue reading →

Weekly, sometimes daily, a news report is generated that election integrity of the U.S. election of Nov. 3, 2020, had meddling and fraud. Predictably, the slant of the news re­ports run the gamut from unproven, de­bunked accusations of fraud by … Continue reading →

National sovereignty and the legitimacy of our justice system versus the United Nations and the World Court was decided in Medellin v. Texas by the Supreme Court in 2008. In a 6-3 ruling the court made clear that no President … Continue reading →

Catherine Austin Fitts has been shedding light in the dark world of global economic elites for over three decades. Her credentials are impressive. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from the Wharton … Continue reading →

Willful blindness is a disease that destroys civilizations. It is the enemy within. You can choose to be blind to the outrageous actions of Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Media, and their public ally, Big Government, and all their really … Continue reading →

People don’t expect the 2020 Presidential election to be settled on November 3rd. They are probably correct. Every morning a new unbelievable news item that concerns the election in one way or another greets us. Today, it’s the news, filed … Continue reading →

At the August meeting of the Board of Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company, there was an interesting conversation. Our representative on the Southwest Water Conservation District detailed how he is against demand management of our Division 7 water, which incorporates our … Continue reading →

If you own shares in the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company, I know how much your water means to you. Just like the land you own, under Colorado Water Law, it is a property right. As a shareholder in a company … Continue reading →

The 1960 presidential election saw the power of visual media over an auditory based medium. A majority of those surveyed who saw the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon on television said they felt that Kennedy “won” the … Continue reading →

Conventional political wisdom advises that any given candidate should run to their respective political base in caucus and primary elections, then, pivot to the center so as to broaden their appeal to a diverse electorate for the general election in … Continue reading →

Lauren Boebert, a restaurant owner from Rifle, is challenging Scott Tipton for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in a GOP primary on June 30. She was campaigning in Cortez on Feb. 7th and 8th. I had an opportunity to sit down … Continue reading →

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open…” — Luke 8:17 “Tell the truth and stand your ground, don’t let the bastards get you … Continue reading →

The Cortez City Council will be deciding whether or not to adopt a proposed new land use code at their Jan. 28 meeting. To say that the massive 442-page document is deeply flawed would be an understatement. The good citizens … Continue reading →

Well, it’s November. That means elections, football, and Thanksgiving. Off-year elections like this one tend to be tax-oriented. Of course the schools need more money. The schools always need more money. They ran out of the can-do spirit years ago, … Continue reading →

Everybody wants to talk about the weather these days. Especially as it pertains to climate change. A more honest discourse would entail a serious discussion about the movement of Earth’s magnetic poles and the consequences of not mounting an allout … Continue reading →

President John Kennedy often interlaced the Catholic teaching, Men of Good Will, into his public statements. At the end of the Cuban missile crisis he reflected on how the conflict was not a win for either side, but rather that … Continue reading →

This July, we celebrate 243 years of American independence. All countries honor their origins, but let’s be honest. No country comes close to what the United States has achieved. Our founding declared us to be free. It is our tenacity, … Continue reading →

The first trip I took on Amtrak was so bad, I swore they couldn’t pay me to take another trip. When fiscal hawks in Congress started looking at slashing Amtrak’s subsidies to help reduce the deficit I couldn’t disagree. This … Continue reading →

The month of May is full of promises. Usually, the weather is very agreeable, especially after a long winter like the one we just finished. Abundant sunshine, green grass, and a kaleidoscope of floral blooms bursting forth from flower beds … Continue reading →

Most of us would like to believe it would be difficult to graduate high school or be granted citizenship, without a thorough understanding of the three branches of the United States government and the foundational documents from which they are … Continue reading →

Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France, has been credited with the saying “let them eat cake.” There is no proof that she actually said that, but her opulent life style and complete indifference to the winds of social change … Continue reading →

The failure of highly educated and highly compensated CEO’s, along with their corporate boards, to manage their companies’ future is stunning. It is more of an indictment of the status quo business model that some corporations have embraced than it … Continue reading →

Marshall McLuhan was a man ahead of his time who had a great deal of insight on the issue of how media is the message rather than a benign conduit. As such, its power to transform cultures should be consciously … Continue reading →

These are some thoughts on Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC) acquiring ownership and developing land that was originally placed into a conservation easement. MLC is a nonprofit whose mission is to keep open space in perpetuity through the use of conservation … Continue reading →