President Tapes "View" Sends Tape to Boy Scouts
Officials: Lost signal caused Predator to veer off runway
From the Clovis News Journal - Officials at Cannon Air Force Base said they’re not sure why they lost the link from ground control to an MQ-1 Predator, but that’s why the $4.5 million aircraft turned off the runway and plowed through a fence Wednesday morning. Col. James C. Slife, 27th Special Operations Group commander, said all personnel involved with the unmanned aircraft’s operation are highly qualified. He said while the aircraft has multiple fail-safe options should there be a disconnect between ground controllers and the plane while in the air, none of those options are available to personnel while the plane is on the 
ground. Slife said a safety investigation is continuing and no one was injured in the crash. Predator crashes have plagued the Air Force for some time. In a March 2009 New York Times story, the Air Force acknowledged more than a third of their unmanned Predator spy planes had crashed, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cannon officials said in a Wednesday afternoon the plane was assigned to Cannon’s 3rd Special Operations Squadron. Read more
The End of Wishful Thinking
by Ben Stein - in the American Spectator - I am sixty-five now. I have lived through many recessions. The first one I remember clearly was in 1958 and the worst one, by far, until now, was the one in the late 1970s stretching into the early 1980s, when we had double-digit inflation and double-digit unemployment simultaneously. That should have been impossible, but thanks to union Cost of Living Adjustment contracts and skyrocketing oil prices, it was indeed possible. But the current recession, which really started with some very tense days in late 2007 and began in deadly earnest when Hank Paulson, possibly the most incompetent Treasury Secretary of all time, allowed Lehman Brothers to fail, has been the most upsetting for several reasons. Read more
N.M. Supreme Court Denies Insurance Company Request on Rate Increase
From the Albuquerque Journal online - Ruling clears way for state regulators to hold public hearing on rate hike for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico. The state Supreme Court has cleared the way for state regulators to give another look at a double-digit rate increase for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico. The court turned down in Santa Fe on Wednesday a request by the insurance company to keep a rate increase agreement in place. The state insurance superintendent suspended a 21 percent average rate increase for the company last month and scheduled a public hearing on it in late August.Read more:
Hey, Young Voters!
From Wizbang - by Jay Tea - You voted for Obama in overwhelming numbers, didn't ya? How's that working out for you? When Congress was getting ready to raise the minimum wage, a lot of us said that this would kill the job market for youth. Because, quite frankly, young workers aren't worth $7.25 an hour. The businesses that traditionally take on the newest members of the work force have very low expectations and, usually, very low profit margins. When the minimum wage shot up, most of them they didn't just bump their payroll proportionately -- they simply made do with fewer workers. Further, when the economy started tanking, a lot of us noted that this would result in workers taking lower-paying jobs. This had the effect of shifting the workforce down the pay scale -- and the people at the bottom would just get shoved off. Teenagers seeking out the traditional jobs find themselves now competing with applicants in their 20s, 30s, even 40s and up. And when given a choice between an 18-year-old rookie and someone older, with more experience, maturity, and skills, employers more often than not do the smart thing. So, kids, can't get a job flipping burgers because Uncle Bob beat you to it? Landscapers ain't interested in someone who hasn't been doing it for several years? Movie theaters choosing Mom and Dad instead of you to sweep the aisles?That's what you voted for, kids. Elections have consequences.
Karen Perez a Guest On NewsNM
Denish and Martinez Hesitant About Casino
The two candidates to become New Mexico's next governor have been staking out positions on a variety of issues, from guns to ethics. There's one topic, however, that both Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, the Democrat (left), and Doña Ana District Attorney Susana Martinez, the Republican (right), say they need more time to think about. Read more here:
New Mexico Notes
Susana Martinez, GOP nominee for governor, said Wednesday July 28th that she will definitely sell New Mexico’s state jet. “The jet will be sold,” Martinez said at a press conference. “No one in state government is above the law. It’s this attitude of being above the law that we need to get rid of in state government.” Martinez seemed to be responding to a report by KRQE television in Albuquerque that her opponent Diane Denish had run up more than $367,000 in costs to the state using the aircraft.
On News New Mexico Tuesday morning Representative Mary Helen Garcia of Dona Ana County called for a "change in the speaker position." It is another sign of the growing rift between speaker Ben Lujan of Santa Fe and other members of his party. Garcia indicated other elected officials in state government were also interested in re-tooling the speaker position which is considered by many observers to be the most powerful position in the state.
Susana Martinez Announces Anti-Corruption Plan
From the New Mexico Independent - Public officials convicted of corruption would lose their pensions and a new State Police unit would crack down on crooked New Mexico politicians under a plan announced today by Susana Martinez, the Republican candidate for governor of New Mexico. The drumbeat of guilty pleas, new criminal investigations and allegations of still more questionable behavior by New Mexico public officials since 2005 has thrust public corruption and how to deal with it into the bright glare of the 2010 governor’s race. Read more here:
Torres - LCPS Was "Disappointed" by City Council
Earlier this month the outcry from nearly every councilor except the mayor was immediately evident just after News New Mexico reported that City Council's decision back in April to shelve a carefully planned, privately funded major road project was going to cost Las Cruces Public Schools dearly. However, a series of interviews culminating in an extended interview with Herb Torres of LCPS yesterday on News NM confirmed virtually everything that Mayor Ken Miyagishima said regarding the colossal waste of the people's money. After conducting dozens of hours of interviews with city officials and staff, public school officials and staff, and the developer who was actually going to pay for the two miles of major arterial roadway, News New Mexico will provide a summary of our findings on this ongoing saga of waste and bad practices and post them on this website over the weekend.
Thomas Sowell - How Smart Are We?
Albuquerque to Host 500 International Diplomacy Event
All keynote addresses and education sessions will be held at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque, 330 Tijeras Avenue, NW
Posts
