Posted 3/10/2005 05:08:00 PM by Douglas

I can't believe I first blooged this story almost two years ago, but it looks like New Mexico isn't done whining about it yet. Looks like Robinson (D-Albuquerque) is going to keep yammering about that three mile border dispute 'till someone listens. Problem is, he's not making a lot of sense. I know, that may seem strange, coming from a state legislator, but follow along with me.

Robinson said there are 603,485 acres of land along the north-south boundary with Texas that was erroneously appropriated to Texas due to a surveyor’s error. The bill directs the attorney general to sue for the return of land, as well as compensation for mineral rights, oil and gas royalties, property taxes and grazing privileges that have been lost due to the mistake.

“The purpose of suing Texas, it’s like a slap fight with your neighbor — you don’t want to do a heck of a lot of damage, but we do want to wake them up to the fact that Texas has not always treated New Mexico well,” Robinson said. “We’ve kind of been treated like a stepchild.

First of all, giving up New Mexico's claim to this land was a stipulation to their statehood in 1911, so if you want to blame anyone, blame your step-daddy. But we'll get to that in a second. Has this guy flown completely off his rocker? Eastern New Mexico is the kind of hell that Satan only slightly looks forward to for his vacations. It's so bad, it makes West Texas look like an oasis. Treating it like a stepchild would be an improvement, if only the beatings would stop during dinnertime.

“My home is less than eight miles from this line, and I can tell you that is some of the richest oil and gas country in Texas,” Leavell said. “If it wasn’t for that, the University if Texas would probably be a junior college.”

What an ignorant ass. First off, even if this was successful, the Texas/New Mexico line would only move 3 miles to the east, so his Noo Mexikan Publik Skewwl educated ass would still be in New Mexico. But I digress. The school sections that made over a billion dollars for the University of Texas' trust fund are in Reagan County, which isn't anywhere near any border with New Mexico. [So as a graduate from this glorified junior college, Mr. Shannon Robinson, let me be the first to tell you to suck it.] Still, there's more.

Robinson said El Paso the southern border between the states is based on where the Rio Grande was in 1850. He said when it was time for a water master to determine that boundary, Texas brought in several engineers, while New Mexico relied on the memories of sheep herders.

“The water master relied only on the data of the Texas engineers, and his statement in the report to the U.S. Supreme Court said, ‘the only evidence supplied by New Mexico was from some illiterate Mexicans who testified as to what they remember when they were 11 years old.’”

Texas, with its fancy engineers, and New Mexico, with its illiterate Mexicans and the memories of sheep herders. Is it any wonder New Mexico lost this one? Why are they brining it up again? Are they really that bored, or do they expect back-taxes from 1850?

Don't hold your breath on that last one, New Mexico.