Most people think of the Civil War as something that happened far from here—fought in places like Gettysburg, Antietam, or Vicksburg. But in the spring of 1862, New Mexico became the front line of a Confederate invasion.

I recently dug into this fascinating—and largely forgotten—chapter of our history, inspired by a local July 4th weekend reenactment of the Battle of Glorieta Pass here in Edgewood. It was a small event, but it sparked something bigger for me: a deep dive into the stories behind New Mexico’s role in the Civil War.

Here’s what I discovered:

• Confederate troops really did invade New Mexico, aiming to seize the Southwest and Colorado’s gold fields.
• Along the way, they occupied Albuquerque and Santa Fe, flying the Confederate flag over the oldest capital city in the United States.
• At Valverde Ford, a bizarre and tragic “kamikaze mule” episode unfolded—one of the strangest moments of the war.
• Hispano New Mexican fighters, many of whom had been Mexican citizens just 14 years earlier, defended their homes with ferocity—motivated by long-standing animosity toward the invading Texans.
• Kit Carson and New Mexico volunteers played a pivotal role in shaping the region’s identity, laying the groundwork for eventual statehood.

I tell the full story—including the battles of Valverde and Glorieta Pass, the Confederate retreat, and why this history still resonates today—in my latest Substack essay:

👉 Read the full essay here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/axelnewe/p/the-battle-for-the-far-west-new-mexicos

It’s more than just a war story. It’s about the layers of identity in New Mexico—how families that had been here for centuries shaped the territory’s future and fought to defend it. That same dynamic still echoes today, even if most people have forgotten it.

Sometimes, the most fascinating parts of history aren’t the loudest. They’re the ones hiding in plain sight, right under our feet.

Back in May, I wrote this blog post to share a white paper I had written on the quiet dismantling of America’s healthcare safety net—Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA.

At the time, I knew it was serious. I didn’t expect it to start moving this fast.

Since then, the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed, triggering new waves of cuts, privatization, and eligibility rollbacks—some hidden in plain sight, others buried in legislation that few people outside of Washington noticed. Even fringe healthcare proposals have started creeping into the mainstream.

So I’ve written a follow-up.

This new essay is far more than an update—it’s a deep dive into the accelerated erosion of Medicare, Medicaid, and VA healthcare, the growing risks for millions of Americans, and what we can still do to push back before it’s too late.

You can read it here on my Substack:
👉 Hollowed Out: How America’s Healthcare Safety Net Is Quietly Being Dismantled

I’m keeping this blog as a running record of these shifts—not because I think anyone’s sitting around reading my archives, but because these fights over healthcare are going to define the next few years in ways that many people won’t see coming.

If you’ve followed my writing before, you know this isn’t just a political exercise for me. This is personal. These policies affect veterans, working families, seniors, and anyone who depends on the healthcare safety net to survive.

I’ll keep tracking it.

Some ships are remembered for glory. Others, for firepower or fame.

My first ship wasn’t glamorous or fast. She wasn’t even armed.

But USS Merrimack (AO-179) was my first ship—and she taught me more than I ever expected about leadership, grit, and life at sea.

I recently wrote a full tribute to her, blending history with personal stories—including photos of her service and final days. You can read the full version here:

👉 Read the Full Tribute (with photos) on Substack​
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​Excerpt from My Full Tribute:
USS Merrimack wasn’t just another ship. She was a lifeline to the fleet, delivering fuel, supplies, and support wherever she was needed.

She also happened to be my first ship.

The U.S. healthcare and life sciences (HCLS) sector is entering a period of historic disruption. Policy upheaval, budget cuts, and aggressive regulatory changes—some embedded in the Senate-passed “Big Beautiful Bill”—are colliding with ongoing innovation in tech, care models, and data strategy.

We’re not just being asked to build smarter systems. We’re being asked to build them in a rapidly shifting—and often contradictory—environment. Eligibility systems are being pushed into surveillance territory. AI is driving opaque denial algorithms. Privacy frameworks are eroding just as new therapies and delivery models require more nuanced consent and record-sharing structures.

As a long-time consultant in this space, I’ve watched integrators, vendors, and health systems struggle to keep pace. But I’ve also seen glimmers of hope—low-code tools deployed quickly, ethical stances taken quietly, and modular designs that allow for faster adaptation. There are ways to navigate this. But they require not just new tech, but a new mindset.

✅ Design for uncertainty.
✅ Build modular.
✅ Align with real-world needs, not just margins.

This post is part call to action, part personal reflection. And while I don’t claim to have all the answers, I do know this: what we build now will shape how patients experience care, how clinicians work, and how public trust is won—or lost.

📖 Read the full piece on Substack:
Bridging the Innovation Gap: Preparing Healthcare IT for an Unstable Future

The Department of Justice has quietly revived a troubling policy: denaturalization. Once reserved for Nazi war criminals and fraudsters, it’s now being expanded to target naturalized U.S. citizens for vague “serious conduct” and “certain crimes”—terms left deliberately undefined.

This isn’t a trial. There’s no jury. No public defender. Just a federal judge and a civil case with a lower burden of proof.

For many of us who earned our citizenship—by serving, working, and contributing—it’s an alarming shift. One that redefines citizenship as conditional. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that bureaucratic power wielded without guardrails can be weaponized against anyone.
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⚠️ Read the full analysis and take action here:
👉 Denaturalization by Memo: When Citizenship Becomes a Target