Why Dems Need Not Fear Much From GOP's Electoral College Reform

Because, in the end, it will hurt them just as much as it helps:

What’s going to stop these changes to the electoral system is not law, but politics. Republicans have a lot to lose by going down this road, which is why Florida’s legislative leaders have already balked at it. It’s also why you don’t see Republican legislatures simply reallocating Electoral College votes to themselves.

...The Obama and Romney campaigns would have campaigned very differently in these states if they were under a district system, targeting not voters across the state, but voters in the key districts needed to win the election. Yes, Republican gerrymandering of districts would have given the GOP some advantage, but it is far from clear it would have been enough to defeat the Obama campaign machine.

Think about it: The last thing Republican legislators want is national Democratic campaigns scrounging for every vote in conservative-leaning districts. Fewer Republicans will win legislative and Congressional seats because Republican districts will become more competitive by design. Why would Republican legislators vote for a plan that will make it harder for them to keep their jobs?

Further, adopting such a system immediately turns a battleground state into a less important state. If all that’s up for grabs in Ohio are the three or four marginal Electoral College votes, then the presidential campaigns pay less attention to Ohio, and Ohio gets fewer promises and benefits from presidential candidates coming through. Such a plan is not good for those states that cherish being crucial to presidential election outcomes—states like Virginia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

In addition, the districting plan adopted in most of the swing states is a kind of unilateral disarmament. It is a sign of defeatism, an admission that the Republican Party no longer expects to win presidential elections in the state. Giving up on capturing a state’s full complement of Electoral College votes will make it harder in close elections for Republican presidential candidates to put together the number of votes they need to win the election. Do Republicans really want to give up on Virginia and Wisconsin? It might make sense on these grounds for Republicans to adopt this plan in Pennsylvania, but all of the other states are just too competitive to take this risk.

And finally, there is the risk of backlash, and this is where the Democratic freak-out comes into play. Republicans seem to have overplayed their hands in the 2012 election, adopting controversial voter identification, voter registration, and early voting rules intended to make it harder for Democrats to vote. To some extent these efforts in the voting wars backfired, subjecting Republicans to public criticism and some judicial reversals, and inspiring increased Democratic turnout to the polls. If Republicans proceed with these plans, any “rigging” or “gaming” of the Electoral College rules will be played up the same way by Democrats: Republicans can’t win fair and square, so they have to manipulate the rules.

Bad Weekend For Air Pollution Coming This Weekend in Fairbanks, AK

Cutting edge tool says one stagnant weekend coming up.

Taking Inspiration From Monica

Marc ("Monica") Valdez

I was feeling a bit discouraged about my weight (183 pounds, and, if anything, going up). So I took inspiration about weight from my Filipino Doppelganger, Marc Valdez, also known as "Monica" (I have two Facebook friends in the Philippines who may have believed, at least initially, that I was this particular Marc Valdez):


Marc Valdez ….known in the entertainment industry as MONICA VALDEZ, mesmerized music lovers with her kind of music that makes her a Diva of her own. An International Performing Artist, T.V and stage personality, she earned for herself a niche in the music industry, as soul, pop and jazz belter and one of the most in demand stand–up comediennes in the Philippines today. ....

“I believe each and every person is gifted with his/her own talent. It is up for that person to discover and cultivate it for him/her to succeed in life” a bottom line of Monica Valdez enhancing herself, her knowledge in her own craft- MUSIC.

...This pretty and charming diva soon invaded the much awaited opportunity to show her talent and gained admiration of varied audiences in the land of the Rising Sun. After winning a competition in GMA Channel 7 Eat Bulaga’s 1995 Super Sireyna impersonating actress MONICA HERRERA, she went to Japan, and captured the hearts of her audience. With her admirable and impressive performance, this Diva easily won first prize at the Tokyo Music Festival held at Kids Box, which sponsored the Search for Singing Star- a talent and beauty contest, in KINSICHO, TOKYO JAPAN.

...It was a very remarkable evening, for she was asked to join a comedy singing group The FATLUCK, which made her more busy in her career, getting more bookings, guestings, and appearances in TV shows and corporate socials functions in town.

...For more than two years she was back in Japan to finish her remaining contract, after which was back again in the Philippines with another FAT groups like The Heavy Weights, SJ Divas and FAT4. No wonder, you hear it! They are all fat:

“I don’t regret being fat, because I find this a blessing and it gave me big break in my career, as it showered blessings too for these groups. The groups are very interactive with their audience, as well as positively reciprocating their demands for entertainment, anchored on ultimate High, zestful Comedy done in the spirit of fun and good music.

...It isn’t just her charming Aura, Voluptuous size, powerful voice and stunning stage persona that have gained for her a consensus, that this MONICA VALDEZ, is the one of the Country’s most important Divas.

James Gang - "Walk Away"

The Idiot From Carlsbad

Unbelievably stupid. A total moron, and a disgrace to the New Mexico State Legislature. The co-sponsors have even less excuse:

Republican state lawmaker Cathrynn Brown says she's reworking legislation she introduced Wednesday calling for felony charges related to abortion in cases of rape and incest. Her proposal, House Bill 206, created a firestorm of hate email and phone calls, she said.

The bill reads: "Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime."

Brown, a Carlsbad resident and a board member of the Carlsbad Right to Life organization, conceded her bill was poorly written. She said her intent was not to charge incest or rape victims with a felony if they terminate their pregnancy.

"I missed this one," she said, explaining that when she reviewed the draft of her bill, she missed the language problems that led to misinterpretation of her bill.

...Nine House Republicans, all women, signed on as co-sponsors. They are Jane Powdrell-Culbert of Corrales; Dianne Hamilton of Silver City; Anna Crook of Clovis; Sharon Clahchischilliage of Kirtland; Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo; Monica Youngblood of Albuquerque; Kelly Fajardo of Belen; and Nora Espinoza and Candy Spence Ezzell, both of Roswell.

...Even Comedy Central's "Indecision Now" website got in on it, suggesting New Mexico was trying to "out-clown" Arizona.

...The first to publicize Brown's bill was the liberal political action committee Progress Now New Mexico. "In addition to being blatantly unconstitutional, the bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state," said Pat Davis, the group's executive director.

...Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, also moved to distance herself from HB 206. Responding to a request for a comment, Martinez's spokesman, Enrique Knell, said Martinez, as a career prosecutor, always tried to be a strong voice for crime victims. "She would never support a bill that re-victimized rape survivors," Knell said.

La Femme Panache

I think this is the group....



At first, I misunderstood Krystle Morales when she said she danced for a group in San Francisco. I thought she said "La Femme Pennage".

What is pennage? According to the French dictionary, as subsequently mangled by Google translation into English, it's a term from Ornithology:

Plumage of birds of prey is renewed at different ages. Hawk pennage second.

Adolescent hawk feathers? Doesn't make much sense.

What makes more sense is "La Femme Panache", which, according to mangled Google French means:

1.) bundle of feathers for ornamental headdress, or above a canopy, a hearse, etc.. Which overcomes something waving. Plume. 2.) Which is spectacular and brilliant. Have the plume love. 3.) Archit. Triangular surface part. the roof pendants. 4.) Make panache, says of him falling over the horse's head, a car hood, etc..

Which sounds closer. "La Femme Panache", a San Francisco burlesque group. Indeed, that looks like Krystle in the YouTube screen shot, just right of center.

Sounds like a trip to the City is in order.

Cautious Optimism Regarding Rains In The Southwest

The weather forecast over the next week suggests a new paradigm is setting up, featuring a steady stream of cutoff lows across the Southwest. It'll be a better setup for some rain. Probably not much rain. But some rain is sure as hell better than none, and none is what we've been seeing for far too long. (What we need is tons of rain, but baby steps; baby steps.)

Fighting Air Pollution With Chocolate

I remember a Sierra Club press conference in 1990. We were standing on the steps of the Utah State Capitol. I made a dramatic televised prediction that Salt Lake City would become the next Los Angeles in twenty years, if something wasn't done soon about the air pollution.

Once they got the Chevron refinery under some modicum of control in the early years of this decade, things improved. (In 1990, we once flew through the Chevron refinery plume in a small plane. Gag!) So, Salt Lake City didn't become the next Los Angeles.

More like a Beijing wannabe:

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of Utah doctors is declaring a health emergency over the Salt Lake City area's lingering air pollution problem.

Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment planned to deliver a petition Wednesday demanding immediate action by elected officials.

The group wants Gov. Gary Herbert and mayors of northern Utah cities to cut the pollution.

The doctors suggest lowering highway speed limits, making mass transit free for the winter and curbing industrial activities. They want a permanent ban on wood-burning. And they want large employers to let people work from home.

The doctors are advising people to avoid the outdoors. They say people can help their bodies fight toxic exposure by introducing anti-oxidants in their diet, like fish oil or chocolate.

So Romantic

Did Not Realize That Sean Twomey Had Passed Away

Finally stumbled across a blog comment from Bob Rabinoff (lost in the blog spam) that Dr. Twomey passed away. May well have been the smartest man I ever met. A true inspiration!

There is an on-line guestbook (valid till 11/04/2013) on legacy.com:

TWOMEY, SEAN ANDREW Dr. Sean Andrew Twomey of Tucson, Arizona and San Diego, California has passed away following a brief illness in Tucson. Born in Cork, Ireland in 1927, Dr. Twomey graduated from University College Cork in 1948 with a Master of Science degree and was awarded a Doctorate degree in Physics by the National University of Ireland in 1955. He accepted a position with CSIRO in Australia, where his research and papers rapidly established his reputation as one of the world's preeminent atmospheric physicists. During his move to Australia, he met the love of his life, Marie McInerney, on the deck of an ocean liner making its way across the Indian Ocean. In the late 1950s, Dr. Twomey joined a team of researchers and physicists developing a payload for the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard project. Shortly thereafter he was hired as a research scientist at NRL, and he relocated his family to Oxen Hill, Md. While there, he played a crucial role in the development of weather satellites launched by NASA and other research institutions around the world. In 1962, a tragic car accident claimed the life of Dr. Twomey's son, Patrick, and resulted in his hospitalization for over a month as he battled life-threatening injuries. In 1967, Dr. Twomey returned to CSIRO, and the family relocated to Sydney, Australia. In 1974 Dr. Twomey published a paper (Pollution and the Planetary Albedo) that significantly changed the understanding of the impact of pollution on the climate and was a precursor to the scientific community's concern for global climate change. In 1976, Dr. Twomey accepted a research professorship at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he moved with his family. Dr. Twomey's passions were physics, mathematics, and horse racing. He enjoyed tennis, sailing, horseback riding, public transportation, and classical music. He was preceded in death by his father Tadhg O'Tuama and his mother Lil(Walsh), his wife of 56 years, Marie, and his son Patrick. He is survived by his brother Fergus (Dublin, Ireland), sister Ide (Dublin, Ireland), daughter Adele (Geelong, Australia) , sons Timothy (Cobb, CA), Kieran (San Diego, CA) and Damian (Tucson, AZ), and grandchildren Kenneth (Long Beach, CA), Bridgid (Santa Barbara, CA), Linda (Geelong, Australia), and Sofia (Cobb, CA). A memorial service will be on Wednesday the 21st of November at 3 p.m., in the winner's circle at Del Mar Race Track. low.

Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on November 18, 2012

Dr. Twomey was always an inspiration - the smartest man I ever knew. I helped him grade freshman meteorology exams, and found myself surprised that what he thought simple often befuddled poor grad student me.

I suspect that Dr. Twomey often thought with images as much as did with text or equations. His most-famous work regarding planetary albedo started with an examination of fax copies of weather satellite pictures showing ship tracks in the stratus cloud deck often found southwest of San Diego. What caused these tracks, and what did it portend for climate?

Dr. Twomey was always approachable. When I had a question he would mull it over for a second, gesture towards the library, and reply "Have you looked in the big black book?" (meaning Pruppacher & Klett), or sometimes the "big red book" (meaning Abramowtiz & Stegun), or "the big book" (meaning Gradshteyn & Rhyzik). An extraordinary man.

After class, he would sometimes repair to the bar, often in the company of E. Philip Krider and adoring graduate students, to discuss (and eventually publish about) the rate at which bubbles in the beer rose to the frothy surface.

I remember he once told the story of how he was working alone on a weekend on some problematic equipment that had, in the recent past, generated small electrical shocks, when suddenly he received a very powerful shock. He stood back in surprise, and realized he had stopped breathing. Alone, and before he lost consciousness, he methodically taught himself how to breathe again.

I remember him discussing how he was roped into a panel concerning the complete failure of one of the early U.S. Explorer satellites. The expensive multi-million-dollar satellite had gone wildly out-of-control just as soon as it was released from its rocket booster. NASA demanded to know why.

The book-shaped satellite was to achieve stability by rotating about one of its three solid-body axes: in this case, not its longest axis, or its shortest, but the in-between one. Dr. Twomey, and several other physicists on the panel, immediately grasped the problem. Every undergraduate physics education includes a discussion of rigid-body rotation as part of its mechanics curriculum, and every student must demonstrate that rotation about the second axis of a book-shaped object is inherently unstable. Only rotation around the longest and shortest axes is stable. The engineers who designed the satellite had apparently never received this education, or forgot it, because they missed this glaring design flaw in their satellite. So, after about a ten-minute forehead-slapping session, the panel was able to adjourn with its conclusion.

Dr. Twomey didn't always interface well with some of the early PC technology. He was too impatient with floppy disk drives, that were being used for the new system to download data from the Mt. Lemmon Observatory to Tucson. He opened the disk drives prematurely, to the exasperation of the computer support people. But he understood technology, and science, better than just about anyone.

I think Dr. Twomey had trouble adjusting to campus politics in the late 80's. National Science Foundation shifted its funding priorities to emphasize climate change, and in a fair world Dr. Twomey's program stood to benefit. Nevertheless, the University instead chose to try to emphasize the burgeoning field of numerical climate forecasting rather than prioritize its funding for its deserving but underfunded home-grown aerosol research program. Like other decisions the University administration had a hand in, like entering the high-prestige competition for the Superconducting Super Collider, this eventually proved to be a bad decision. Aerosol behavior is crucial to understanding climate change, and the University could have gotten a head start had it only understood. Alas, it was getting harder and harder for simple but gifted physicists to gain funding. Increasingly, only entrepreneurial scientific politicos got the bucks, to science's and society's loss.

Dr. Twomey came along at the right time, after World War II, when science itself was most-prized. We live in a darker age now, but an age that is still lit by his example, and the example of other pure scientists.

Utah Sleazeballs At Work

Sounds like a boycott is in order:

The head of a Utah forensics company says it's only fair that two liberal employees were let go because liberal policies are costing his business.

A Utah business owner says he fired two employees in large part because they supported President Barack Obama.

“They were Obama supporters. We just knew they were," Terry Lee, owner of Terry Lee Forensics, a Cedar City, Utah, digital forensics company, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday.

Lee first mentioned the firings in the comments section of another story in the Tribune about a Vernal, Utah, smoothie shop owner charging "liberals" a higher price than "conservatives" for drinks. That shop owner said "liberal programs" are costing his business more, so it’s only fair that left-leaning customers should pay more.

According to the Tribune, Lee showed his support for the tactic by writing:

"Love it. We had to let two employees go to cover new Obongocare [sic] costs and increased taxes. Found two Obongo supporters and gave them the news yesterday. They wanted the idiot in the Whitehouse [sic], they reap the benefits.”

Lying Paul Ryan Lies Again

No shame:

Last seen blaming “urban” voters (you know who he’s talking about) for his and Mitt Romney’s bitter November defeat, Rep. Paul Ryan returned to the prevaricating ways he made famous throughout the campaign on Tuesday. ... It’s hard to know exactly what words to use to describe his campaign appearance “helping” at a soup kitchen that turned out to be a photo-op showing him scrubbing already clean pots and pans, but “honest” isn’t one of them.

...But now Ryan is complaining that Obama is being unfair, and that he never included Social Security and Medicare recipients in his attacks on “takers.” On the Laura Ingraham Show, he told a guest host that those programs “are not taker programs.” He accused the president of a “switcheroo” and said he had decided to “shadowbox with a straw man” and misrepresent the GOP position on those programs.

The problem, as Mother Jones points out, is that Ryan is on record in several places saying that the 60 to 70 percent of Americans who receive some sort of government assistance are making us “a society where we have a net majority of takers versus makers.” He says he got those numbers from a Tax Foundation study — which included Medicare and Social Security recipients to get that number.

Ryan is also on record supporting plans to voucherize Medicare and he was a point person for George W. Bush’s failed plan to privatize Social Security. He’s shown his hostility to those programs, and by extension, to those who rely on them, many times over the years.

...Oh, and by the way, Ryan voted against Hurricane Sandy relief. Maybe he’ll find some way to whine that Obama’s reference to “a home swept away in a terrible storm” is unfair, too.

An Awesome "Breaking Bad" Birthday

Friend Juan Mendoza from Salinas, CA shared a photo from a birthday party that his family threw for him last year. Addictive chocolate coffee cake, complete with blue rock candy, and a porkpie hat as a gift.

Nehemiah Griego Had Bigger Plans

The plans which, fortunately, were thwarted. The closest Wal-Mart is at Rio Bravo and Coors, and I'm sure they are relieved:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico teenager accused of gunning down his family over the weekend had reloaded his guns after the attacks and planned to go to a Wal-Mart and randomly shoot people, authorities said Tuesday.

Instead, 15-year-old Nehemiah Griego texted a picture of his dead mother to his 12-year-old girlfriend, then spent much of Saturday with the girl, they said. The two went to the church where his father had been a pastor, and Griego eventually admitted killing his parents and three younger siblings.

...Griego told detectives he also contemplated killing his girlfriend’s parents, Houston said at a news conference.

...The teen later confessed to shooting his mother because he “had anger issues” and was annoyed with her, the charging document said. He said he killed his siblings after they woke up and became upset, then grabbed his parents’ assault rifle and waited in the downstairs bathroom to ambush his father.

After killing his father, Griego said he reloaded the guns so “he could drive to a populated area to murder more people,” according to the statement.

His plan, the statement said, was to “shoot people at random and eventually be killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.”

Marriage Of Eleanor And Gabriel McAuliffe - Reception

Turn Verein Banquet Hall, a few blocks away from Sacred Heart Church.

"Hello Kitty" Wedding Cake.  Eleanor's idea was implemented, whereby a different cake was placed as a centerpiece on each table, inviting socialization among the guests.  (I was at the 'Carrot Cake' table:  the 'Chocolate Orange' table was to die for!)

Banquet Hall.

Eleanor and Gabe address their guests.

Eleanor and Gabe start the feast.  The food was partly-American, but emphasized Filipino food.

Gabe McAuliffe.

Eleanor (nee Pingul) McAuliffe, and Heather Mendoza.

A welcome visitor at the feast.

Best man Vijay Singh leads a toast.

Eleanor and Gabe cut the cake.

Gabe recites a Shakespeare sonnet to an appreciative audience.

The 'Carrot Cake' and the Mendoza family.

Marc Valdez and Juan Mendoza.  Though Juan and myself both have known Gabe for many years (Juan went to seminary with him), Juan knew me before primarily through reputation (both he and his wife Heather are huge 'Breaking Bad' fans).  Now, we are all friends!

A bouquet at the Head Table.

Marriage Of Eleanor And Gabriel McAuliffe - Wedding

Sacramento's Sacred Heart Church

Gabriel McAuliffe

Beautiful church interior

Cantor Ingrid Penney sings

Monsignor Robert P. Walton

Monsignor addressed the Sacrament of Marriage, illustrated on the eastern stained glass window, at the 1:00 o'clock position.

1. This visual approach worked in the Middle Ages. It still works today.

Placement of the Bouquet to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the chapel on the west side.

The happy couple.

Weather Forecasts Getting More Optimistic About Rain In The Southwest

Boy, that NOGAPS model is sure pessimistic! These days, it never seems to have good news. Nevertheless, it's getting a little more positive for rain in southern California and Arizona, and maybe northern New Mexico, over the weekend.

Lush - De-Luxe

One of the things I most liked about the Sixties was the willingness to try the craziest things. The counterculture, in particular, was a hotbed of innovation.

One crazy thing that happened in the Sixties was the rage for psychedelia. Multimedia was explored as well.

I remember seeing a Beatles multimedia retrospective show that toured the country in the early Seventies. I was fairly-disappointed in it, because it just couldn't capture the right mood. The space was too big. The technology was lacking, among other things. But, as disco music demonstrated, technology can improve.

Around 1981, when I lived in Tucson, I remember attending a multimedia freeform participatory dance. This was better. Over hours, dancing can put one in a trance. The space was the right size for multimedia. But the technology still lagged.

Last night, I saw this video. I was shocked, really. I'd never seen the video before, but it is everything I ever wanted. The apotheosis of psychedelia: the technology, the mood - everything. But it dates from 1990!

So, it figures. Paradise came and went in the early Nineties, and I was not informed. The band Lush had bad luck and dissolved in 1998. Lush is now considered by musical historians as a forerunner of Britpop.

Now, I live in a stony, post-paradise wilderness. Nothing but death to look forward to. But at least I was belatedly informed about paradise, 23 years after the fact.

Maybe not all is lost. There are always raves. Raves are very similar to what I wanted. If I'm nice, they might even play Lush's De-Luxe at a rave.

Toss a bone to the oldsters....

Dreamliners Grounded

These lithium ion batteries are new, powerful and lightweight - my AR 2.0 Drone operates on them - but there is a curious warning in the manual: DO NOT OVERCHARGE! LIKE, EVER! Don't even think about it!

Didn't know what to make of the warning. But my understanding is that they are blaming the Boston fire on overcharging.

This important overcharging warning apparently hasn't filtered down the airlines:

Lithium batteries that can leak corrosive fluid and start fires have emerged as the chief safety concern involving Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, a problem that apparently is far more serious than company officials acknowledged less than a week ago.

The Federal Aviation Administration late Wednesday grounded Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced jetliner until the risk of battery fires is resolved.

...The two incidents resulted in the release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage and smoke, the FAA confirmed. The release of battery fluid is especially concerning, safety experts said. The fluid is extremely corrosive, which means it can quickly damage electrical wiring and components. The 787 relies far more than any other airliner in operation on electrical systems to function.

..."Unfortunately, what Boeing did to save weight is use the same batteries that are in the electric cars, and they are running into the same problems with the 787 as the problems that have shown up in electric cars," said Paul Czysz, professor emeritus of aeronautical engineering at St. Louis University.

The lithium-ion batteries in several Chevrolet Volts used for crash-testing caught fire in 2011. General Motors engineers eventually figured out that the fires were the result of a battery coolant leak that caused electrical shorts after side-impact crash tests. GM retrofitted the car with more steel to protect the battery. No fires were ever reported on real-world roads.

...The lithium-ion design was chosen because it's the only type of battery that can take a large charge in a short amount of time.

On The Ramparts Of Liberty

The Penguin is skeptical about the plans of our patriots.

End Process

Image from Lumpbucket at B3ta.

Mega

(Picture via the LA Times) Authorities said a teenage boy fatally shot two adults and three children at a home in southwest Albuquerque. (Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / Albuquerque Journal / January 20, 2013)

We tend to do things big in America.

Death too.

Bad news out of Albuquerque. A slaughter:

Sheriff's investigators combed through what one called a "horrific" crime scene Sunday after the shooting deaths of five people, three of them children, at a home outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A well-known local pastor and four of his relatives were among the victims, according to those who knew him.

Each victim was shot multiple times, said Lt. Sid Covington of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, and one of the weapons used was what he described as an assault rifle. Sheriff Dan Houston said a 15-year-old boy, who "may be a family member," was charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.

...Griego was also a former pastor at Calvary Church, where the family still attended services, church member Brian Nixon told CNN affiliate KOAT.

Calvary Church, of course, is a megachurch: one the biggest megachurches in the Southwestern United States. My sister and her husband are members. A lot of people in Albuquerque are members!

Identities are available now:

In a statement late Sunday, the sheriff's office identified the victims as Greg Griego, his wife Sara, and the children: Zephania, 9; Jael, 5; and Angelina, 2, the Associated Press reported.

Sheriff's spokesman Aaron Williamson confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the suspect is 15-year-old Nehemiah Griego, who has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.

..."It's a large crime scene with a lot of physical evidence, and because there's an offender in custody, we're doing our best to be thorough and complete in gathering any potential evidence, and so we're going slowly, methodically, through the entire residence," Covington told CNN.

...One of those killed was Greg Griego, who was identified as Nehemiah's father in a biography that has since been removed from the website of the Albuquerque Calvary Church. A church leader told KOB-TV that Griego, a pastor, had taken a leave of absence from the church last year.

According to the biography, Greg Griego and his wife had 10 children.

Neighbor Peter Gomez told the Albuquerque Journal he often saw the family on walks through the neighborhood, adding that Nehemiah Griego “wore nothing but camouflage stuff."

My other sister is frustrated by the news coverage, so far. She is worried that 'assault rifle' may be misidentified by an ignorant press, and thus get caught up in the frenzy related to assault rifles nationwide right now. She has a point. It's too early to assign responsibility and blame.  We barely know any details.

Greg Griego has been heavily involved in prison ministries, particularly at Albuquerque's large, new Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), located on the remote mesa southwest of Albuquerque ("Breaking Bad" fans have come to know the bright orange jumpsuits emblazoned 'MDC' that have been featured so prominently in Season 5 of the show). A summary:

Jail Ministry – Pastor Greg Griego
o Metropolitan Detention Center
o God Pods – 2 male and 1 female Pod
o Preaching the gospel
o Transforming the culture
o 220 inmates reached on a weekly basis
o 6000 folks commit their lives to Christ annually

Mega-family living in a mega-compound; mega-jail; mega-church; mega-ministry - maybe mega-problems too.  And now, a mega-tragedy.