Welcome to Triple Spaced Again

CORRECTION ON JUNE 12 COLUMN:

The column published the week of June 12, 2023,  contains an error.  Rep. Gail Armstrong is incorrectly identified as a Democrat from Albuquerque.  She is actually a Republican from Magdalena.  The error was introduced by an editor. The error has been deleted from the version posted here.

The PTD project:

When you have an extra minute, please click on the Workers’ Comp tab and read about the PTD project.  PTD stands for Permanent Total Disability.

The project is something that I should have done 20 years ago, so I did it this year – making sure a certain group of disabled workers find out that they might be eligible for a break on their property tax.

The year 2023 opened with the promising news that journalism in New Mexico is doing better than we might have expected.  In many places, small community newspapers are shutting down.  But here, not only do we have several nonprofit online news services, we also have a few small community newspapers surviving and – we hope – thriving in the Albuquerque metro area. This column will be published in them — as with all our subscribers, at the editor’s choice.  Many thanks to Pat Davis, who has saved the Corrales Comment, Sandoval Signpost and Edgewood Independent by buying them.

To see our latest columns, go to Recent Articles on the right-hand side of this page.  The latest postings are at the top.

Thank you for visiting!  Comments are always welcome.

The section called Governance — added September 2018

A friend was planning to run for the state Senate in 2020.

He said he’d like to read the columns I have written on issues directly relevant to New Mexico state and local government, especially about management and administration.

So I have developed an easy way for anyone interested to read the columns that are relevant to long-standing issues of public policy.  I have created a new subcategory called  Governance.

If you click on the word Governance in the menu bar, you will find those columns, starting with the most recent.

I invite you to look through these columns and feel free to pass on the link to anyone interested in New Mexico public policy – especially anyone who is in or running for public office.  Thanks!

The column and your comments

I am Merilee Dannemann and this is the website where I post my newspaper columns and other current articles. The newspaper column, Triple Spaced Again, is published in several newspapers around New Mexico.

Your comments are welcome!  However, there is a delay in posting the columns online.  To give our newspapers primacy in publishing the columns, we wait two weeks before posting them here.

If you would like to comment on a column you read in the newspaper, and it’s not posted yet, please send your comment to this homepage.  When the column is posted we will move your comment to the right place.  Thank you!

About Triple Spaced Again ….

Merilee Dannemann is a contributing columnist with the New Mexico News Services syndicate, writing for community newspapers throughout New Mexico.  As a champion of small business and local focus, she is proud to be a print journalist once again, writing for locally owned newspapers.

Merilee was a reporter and columnist with the Taos News more than 30 years ago.  With other miscellaneous adventures between, she spent most of the intervening decades working for the State of New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration as a public policy specialist, speaker and educator.

Merilee also writes in miscellaneous other places and for various causes and interests, including small business and workers’ compensation.  She trains her attention on issues that are not in the limelight and that most other writers are not writing about, such as the effects of regulations on small business because — well, somebody needs to be paying attention!

So here it is: Triple Spaced Again.  Please get yourself a fresh cup of coffee, come hang out with Merilee, and do send your comments.

The workers’ comp section is where you’ll find articles about the New Mexico workers’ comp system.  Workers’ comp affects almost everybody, and it is one of the most complicated areas of our legal system, but it is usually outside the limelight of public attention.  It’s a hidden cost of doing business, affects business opportunity and job growth, and dictates what happens when people get injured at work, so it is worth watching.

You can still purchase a copy of Merilee’s very old book, Taos by the Tail, selections from the original Triple Spaced, direct from the publisher (Merilee) from the last remaining original box, with original Taos News cartoons by the inimitable Chuck Asay.   Here on the site, read a column from the counterculture days of the 1970s, and see one of Chuck’s great cartoons.

The story of Triple Spaced Again

Many years ago, my very popular column in the Taos News was called Triple Spaced.  This name was based in part on the way we wrote all our copy in those days:  on IBM Selectric typewriters that were set to very wide spacing so that we could edit our work by inserting changes between the lines.  I still think of Triple Spaced as my brand.

I was going to call this website just plain Triple Spaced.  But when the site first went live, I discovered that if you type one letter wrong, you are taken to a website so offensive I will not describe it.  Hence the longer name!

Thank you.  Enjoy.

30 Responses to Welcome to Triple Spaced Again

  1. LoARSqred says:

    Hey Merilee! Congratulations and well done! I look forward to many interesting articles and conversations.

  2. sunny Weiner says:

    good luck mer

  3. Mary Alice Dickenson says:

    Good work on the blog! Great to visit with you in Angel Fire!

  4. carole osman says:

    Merilee is back in town!!!

    I am happy to see that you are back in the saddle. It was wonderful reading in the Taos News and I look forward to reading more from your point of view.

  5. ELEANOR KELLY says:

    Won’t this private health insurance become unnecessary if the Obama care passes and continues? Maybe even single payer will happen. Maybe by next year only persons who need private supplemental health insurance will be admitted high risk behaviors, i.e.
    smokers and skydivers, bungie jumpers and extreme glacier skiers, obesity, etc.
    E. Kelly

  6. Howard Bradley says:

    Merilee,
    Thank you for your balanced approach in “Rethinking humane treatment of horses”. I’ve written our governor and others who have taken the opposite, extreme anti-slaughterhouse opinion and asked them to be more open-minded and allow the slaughterhouse, so horse owners and the BLM will have more options for dealing with unwanted and overpopulated horses. You many have already read Ted Williams article in Audubon on the costs and problems associated with feral horses in America. If not, please do. Unfortunately, the discussion has been waylaid by the “horse mafia” and hysteria prevails over reason. Living in Bloomfield, close to the “wild” horse santuary in the Carson NF, I have no doubt some horse owners have released their unwanted horses there to exacerbate the burden and co-mingle with the Jicarilla horses that have wandered over from the rez.
    Jane Goodall has stated there are no wild horses in America. Horses are beautiful animals when well cared for and where they belong, which is not loose on public ground! I wish more of our political rule makers were more open to a reasoned horse discussion as you are. And I hope your article stimulates this by opening their minds and eyes to America’s horse conundrum.
    Thank you.
    Howard Bradley
    member Audubon, Nature Conservancy, Nat’l Wildlife Fed, Albq Wildlife Fed, NM Wildlife Fed, DU, Delta Waterfowl, NWTF, PF and others.

  7. Reed Weimer says:

    Best wishes!

  8. Judy Miller says:

    Thank you Merilee Dannemann! I read your article today in the Farmington Daily Times titled “Would You Post Your Salary On Faceboo?” Umm NO! When this all first came about, I responded to the mayor of Farmington with my thoughts and thought that the issue had been settled, then lo and behold there they were on the Rio Grande website. I have family members who work for the city. One is a very skilled position and the other having their information out their compromised them and their family. I was furious and had many people tell me they agreed. I had several comments on the Rio Grande website to which I sent a email. One person told me to stop looking at the glass half full. I wrote what I thought of that remark, but delelted it before I sent it. I asked how they would feel, now that the information was out there and it cost someone in a certain occupation their life or a member of their family was compromised because of it and injuried or killed because of being “outed?” No repsonse from Paul Guessing at all. I asked them to remove me from their email list as I wished to have nothing more to do with them if that was the kind of things they thought the world should know. One person I know was told that their name could not be posted, but their salary and rank could be, but it all went out there. So I thank you for saying what I have said since day one. A government employees name should not be listed and no other personal information added. If that info needs to be out their for whom ever is looking for it, most cities have a public information office, go look. Most bad guys won’t, but they can find it on the web. Sure hope none of my family or friends who are posted out there are ever affected by this. So glad my husband had all ready retired before it came out!

  9. Judy F says:

    Great editorial in the Ruidoso News re workman’s comp and alternative meds!!! Thank you for sharing that info; it’s past overdue and thankfully finally coming into being more and more!!!!

  10. Bernie M says:

    Submitted 3/4/13 in response to Guns column

    As conscience sinks, violence rises.
    Hi. I read your column with great interest in the local Trinidad paper. I’m
    a former Trinidad resident who can remember with great pleasure growing up
    in a mountain community. When I was a boy, we could buy firecrackers and
    fireworks at the local stores. We would sometimes use them to fight with
    each other. We’d light them with a cigarette.
    No eyes were put out, no fingers were blown off.
    Somehow, both of those items have been outlawed, yet GUNS, seem to be more
    prevalent every day. Please write how many of the rights we used to have
    now are replaced with having a gun. I had access to guns at every level
    growing up, but we only thought necessary when we went into the mountains.
    Now, you cannot enter a sports event with a covered soft drink with a
    STRAW!!

  11. Ms Dannemann
    Interesting editorial this morning in RDR re children in need of intervention. We’re on the road traveling and I don’t feel I have time to compose a rebuttal. Please let me say that as much as those little children you mentioned – and who knows how many others just like them – desperately need intervention, the government, state or federal, is the last thing they need. Why not give a faith-based organization or other non-profit the opportunity to reach into the lives of those families, helping not only the child but all involved. Maybe the adults aren’t doing their job because they also grew up deprived of love and attention. Government is not the answer to everything.

    • Dorothy Danfelser says:

      This post is dated June 6, 2013……and is appropriate for the current situation with immigrant/refugee children being dumped in Texas and Arizona….and likely New Mexico!

  12. Sara Whitaker says:

    Hi Mrs. Dannemann,

    Just wanted to say that the article that was published in todays Roswell Daily Record (Aug, 29th), in reference to the horse slaughter debate, well said…

    Thank you!

  13. Dan Gage says:

    Your piece “a better idea than slaughtering horses?” in the Roswell Daily Record
    on Aug 29 2013 hit home with me.
    I made similar points in a recent letter to the editor of the RDR and would like
    to send you a copy via postal mail or email. Am I out of order asking for a mailing
    address? If so I’ll paste it into this venue. Thanks

  14. Leora says:

    Congrats on your awards !!!

    Triple Spaced Again, has just won two national awards from the National Federation of Press Women: second place column and first place blog.

  15. Jessica Bryant says:

    Lost opportunities in hemp production
    Liked your article. Totally agree with you. The reason for the veto was ridiculous & weak. Especially liked your nail in the coffin….where is Gary Johnson when we need him…….

    Enjoy your day

  16. Kelvin Graves says:

    Firearms restrictions
    Most of you obviously have not been to a Gun Show but I have.
    When it comes to licensed dealers they do background checks.
    When it comes to private owners I will be honest I don’t know.
    Another thing is if terrorist and criminals if they do want firearms everyone know there are a lot of ileagal firearms available if your money is right.

  17. I have gotten resolutions supporting 2 person crews on trains from Valencia County, Cibola County do far. Monday City of Albuquerque, Grants, and Belen. I have not left out the Pueblo Isleta, Sandia, and Santa Ana still working on. Please contact me at my email address I have additional information and will provide you with my phone number. I represent SMART-TD as their State Legislative Director….I could use your help.

  18. Stephanie Holland says:

    Re: Do we believe in free and fair elections?
    Dear Ms. Dannemann,
    Thank you for your commentary in the Hobbs NewsSun today. I agree with you 100% and wish we could persuade everyone that voting should be EQUALLY available to EVERY citizen. Making voting more difficult for some than for others should be seen for what it is–unAmerican.

  19. Marian F Bock says:

    Dear Ms. Danneman,

    This is a belated THANK YOU for your article in the Link, “Churches Sacrifice to Offer Sanctuary.” You must have attended one of the Sanctuary forums at the Center for Spiritual Living or St. Michael’s. You got everything right — the personal and the political. We (Justin and I) weren’t expecting anything in the Link and we are very happy about it.

    Marian Bock
    Albuquerque Quakers

  20. BA says:

    Hi Marilee

    A friend sent me your commentary about the Jemez Thunder’s closure in March of this year. Robert Borden retired, and has moved to Denver. I often wrote for the Thunder and when it closed I decided to take up the torch. I named the new paper Jemez Valley Alley published alongside Robert in Jan and Feb, got shut down by covid Mar Apr and May, but when things began to open again, restarted the paper in June. I very much liked your commentary, thanks for letting the public know how important small town newspapers are. The Alley focuses locally, with village meetings and local problems the focus, news and humor with classifieds and my newspaper is in color! It has been well received, and is growing steadily. I have chosen to remain luddite at this time, shunning national politics and the internet and social media generally. But if you would like to check up on us, the email is. thejva@outlook.com. Thank you and God bless! BA

  21. jose villanueva says:

    on expanding gambling …………….casinos are feeling the political advantage with the nomination of haaland……………….!

  22. DONALD DECKER says:

    I read your column about windows in school houses in the Roswell Daily Record and just had to relate my story. I attended a small one-room grade school in rural NE Washington State in the late 1930’s. It was built in the late 1800’s with windows on both sides. The West windows faced a small forest and the East windows faced a dirt road. When the local farmers started to get automobiles, cars started using the road. Of course the kids ran to the windows to see the cars. Solution: Board up the East windows to stop this disruption. You can guess how early in the 1900’s when that was done.

  23. Richard Stephens says:

    I was reading your thoughts of Yazzie in the Carlsbad paper and one simple idea comes to mind that might help both recruit better teachers for the states native population and increase funding for schools. The state should treat them as they do Hispanic students. Today in NM a Bilingual certified teacher makes more then the base line pay and the district gets more for each student they teach from the state. As it stands now only Spanish is recognized for such funding. NM needs to add all native languages to this funding matrix. This one simple change would encourage our tribal members to become teachers and to encourage people with skills in other languages to teach in NM and serve the needs of all our diverse communities.

  24. Perry Toles says:

    Interesting thoughts on your recent article “Reinventing the state school board.” Unfortunately, I have to agree with you that “we” do a terrible job of electing top state officials. For the same reasons, we do an equally bad job of voting on state constitutional amendments, some of which disbanded our education commissions in favor of cabinet secretaries. I can’t speak to the Public Education Commission, but I did serve on the NM Commission on Higher Education back in the 1990’s. It was a wonderful experience and I was proud of the executives that we hired and the job that we did. Unfortunately the higher education governing board also was tossed in favor of a cabinent secretary to run the HED just like the PED. I’m pretty keen of proper governance. Can’t have proper governance when you don’t have a governing board for the CEO (cabinent secretaries) to answer to. Also, thanks for your GOVERNANCE SECTION on your webpage – looking forward to spending some time there.

  25. Paula Cadiente says:

    What was your point of the cannabis story? Don’t you think the state is already tracking sales.

  26. C K says:

    Thank you for you piece on “Sometimes you have to get rid of the guns”.

    I appreciate your interest in this topic, and the exercise of your first amendment rights to voice your opinion in the matter. There are many days I go to work as an FFL Dealer, and sometimes, not all the times, we run into red flags being waved in our face from potential purchasers. At several levels, the duty to keep firearms out of the hands of those that would do harm to themselves or others falls on dealers, and with new regulations put in place by current administrations, it is very much a “bad if you do, bad if you don’t” scenario when we make that choice to deny someone a firearm for sale due to the customer displaying the interest to do harm, to themselves or others, or having no interest for the firearm and buying for someone else who is restricted or prohibited.

    Likewise, it also falls on the NICS system operators to inform us if the purchaser is restricted or prohibited, as both the 4473 and DOJ forms state in small letters how to answer the questions that help us deny firearms to the wrong people. Which itself is a failure of ATF and DOJ for coaching those on how to bypass the forms and answer as told instead of being truthful. If we are to solve the issue of the mass shooter threat, then let’s focus on bringing the ATF and DOJ accountable for improperly writing the application forms, to stop harassment of legal gun owners following the system in place when someone else breaks that system to do harm, and continue funding mental health services to make it more affordable, more appealing and help those with suicidal risks to prevent the needless loss of life that will happen, regardless of the presence of a firearm or not.

    These few and small steps will cause leaps and bounds to preventing suicides in America of all types, not just by firearms, and help those that are seeking to do harm to others to see therapists, psychologists on an affordable and approachable level to make those tendencies less viable, to prevent some from lashing out on others. In my opinion, humans have a tendency to seek to break free when told they cannot do something, like placement of an ERPO on them. Telling someone they cannot have firearms because they’re deemed a threat may escalate them to seek alternative and illegal means of possession. So instead of placing more chains on someone, help them with a path out and to a healthy and normal mindset to break out of that temptation to do harm or break the law.

    Still, if after reading this you wish to give away your firearms, do so in a more positive manner than allowing them to be destroyed as a result of a gun buyback. Instead sell them to a local, trustworthy and responsible FFL who, like myself, is trained to look out for warning signs on who to sell a gun to or not. This way, antique firearms, rare curios and other firearms can find a new home with a responsible owner, one who will treat it better and with more care than you can if you do not want it in your home anymore.

  27. Douglas Barrett says:

    Thank you for your tho ughtful and well-balanced commentary in the 9/22 addition. Although a registered Democrat, I would fully support Mr.Burgum in the Republican primary were I allowed to do so. I’ve enjoyed listening to his discourse on the practical matters of government and I appreciate you bringing this to the attention of others. Be well and keep writing. Doug Barrett, Placitas resident.

  28. A Reader says:

    Regarding the ‘Bogged Down at the Border’ Commentary of 11/17/23…I kept this column around for several days in case I missed something but it still doesn’t make much sense. You took a very controversial topic and pinged at it in a small amount of space without really saying much at all. I like your writing but not your scattershot way of doing it; when you write a commentary like this on a far-reaching topic write about a portion of it in depth so that it makes sense without introducing a lot of other variables.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *