News New Mexico: 09/16/10

Menzies Releases Men's Basketball Schedule


Marvin Menzies

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Sept. 16)-With a WAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, the New Mexico State men’s basketball team returns to the court in 2010-11 with 17 regular season games in the Pan American Center. Currently, the Aggies have two nationally televised games on ESPN2 at San Jose State (Feb. 23) and against Utah State in Las Cruces (March 2). Fourth-year head coach Marvin Menzies said he was pleased with the schedule that includes a trip to Arizona (Nov. 18) and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Springfield, Mass., (Nov. 20-21.)

“I’m happy with the level of competition that we will have in the non-conference especially with the marquee games against USC, UMass, Arizona and Saint Mary’s,” Menzies said. “Of course, our rivalry games will give us an additional lift in our RPI against UNM and UTEP.”

Below is the schedule. Date Day Opponent

Nov. 8 Monday Eastern New Mexico (Exh.)

Nov. 12 Friday at Louisiana Lafayette

Nov. 15 Monday Western New Mexico%

Nov. 18 Thursday at Arizona

Nov. 20 Saturday vs. UMass^

Nov. 21 Sunday vs. Southern California^

Nov. 23 Tuesday at UTEP

Nov. 30 Tuesday UTEP

Dec. 4 Saturday New Mexico

Dec. 11 Saturday at New Mexico

Dec. 13 Monday Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Dec. 16 Thursday Oklahoma Panhandle State

Dec. 18 Saturday Pacific!

Dec. 21 Tuesday Louisiana Lafayette

Dec. 23 Thursday Saint Mary’s

Dec. 29 Wednesday at Idaho*

Dec. 31 Friday             at Boise State*
Jan. 8 Saturday              Fresno State*
Jan. 13 Thursday           Hawai’i*
Jan. 15 Saturday           San Jose State*
Jan. 20 Thursday           at Nevada*
Jan. 22 Saturday           at Utah State*
Jan. 27 Thursday           Boise State*
Jan. 29 Saturday          Idaho*
Feb. 3 Thursday            at Fresno State*
Feb. 7 Monday           Louisiana Tech*
Feb. 12 Saturday           at Louisiana Tech*
Feb. 19 Saturday           ESPNU BracketBuster
Feb. 23 Wednesday      at San Jose State* (ESPN2)
Feb. 26 Saturday           at Hawai’i *
March 2 Wednesday      Utah State* (ESPN2)
March 5 Saturday       Nevada*
March 9-12                   WAC Tournament

* = WAC games
% = Hall of Fame Tournament (Las Cruces)
^ = Hall of Fame Tournament (Springfield, Mass.)
! = Lou Henson Classic (Las Cruces)

Geithner Tries to Manage China Treasury Department

Tim Geithner

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. will use every available tool to urge China to let its currency rise more quickly, including congressional pressure and a twice-yearly report on foreign- exchange markets. “The pace of appreciation has been too slow and the extent of appreciation too limited,” Geithner said in congressional testimony today. “We have to figure out ways to change behavior.” Geithner showed renewed frustration with China’s control over the yuan during a pair of congressional hearings totaling four hours. The Treasury chief said the administration would take a careful look at proposed legislation on trade sanctions that companies could pursue in response to China’s currency policy, including a bill proposed in the House by Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan and Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy. Read more here:

Under Siege

Oliver North - Under Siege - TUCSON, Ariz. -- "We're under siege," said rancher Ed Ashurst as he pointed to where he had tracked the killer of his friend and neighbor to the U.S.-Mexico border. "Five years ago, we didn't even bother to lock our doors. Now my wife and I carry firearms everywhere we go." John Ladd is a fifth-generation cattle rancher in southern Cochise County, Ariz. The southern boundary of his family property is a 10-mile stretch of steel fence erected by the U.S. government. On the other side of the fence: Mexico. He told us, "Mexican drug cartels are running this part of America."

The poet Robert Frost posited that "good fences make good neighbors." From what our Fox News' "War Stories" team documented this week, that's not the case here in southern Arizona, where "the fence" on the U.S.-Mexico border remains unfinished. According to many levelheaded, beleaguered Americans here, the fence is little more than a "speed bump" for drug couriers, killers, human smugglers and lesser criminals flooding into our country.
Wednesday night, just hours after Barack and Michelle Obama and their doting supporters dined on Martha's Vineyard, our team, accompanied by members of the Cochise County sheriff's Border Interdiction Unit, walked up a quiet hilltop a few hundred yards north of the "fence." There we watched through night-vision devices as a group of individuals approached the Mexican side of the steel barrier, timing their movement with the passing of U.S. Border Patrol vehicles. Read more here:

Sound Familiar?

After the largest U.S. pension fund lost $70 billion and got embroiled in an influence- peddling scandal, new investment chief Joe Dear says the only way out of this mess is to take more risk. Joe Dear is giving a pep talk to more than two dozen colleagues at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. As Dear paces before his people on this July afternoon in Sacramento, he implores them to shake off the funk of the pension fund’s recent troubles. For the next three hours, he says, they’re going to figure out how to solve some of the most daunting problems dogging Calpers, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., with $200 billion in assets. Dear, its chief investment officer since March 2009, wants results on his desk in 100 days. Read more here:

Monolingualism is for Dumb Gringos

Michael Swickard

At a local gas station the customer at the counter spoke to the clerk in Spanish so the clerk replied in Spanish. A man in line commented to no one in particular that Americans should speak English and there should not be any other languages ever spoken in the United States. Most of us shrugged. A man behind him in line asked loud enough for all of us to hear, “Do you know what it is called when someone speaks three languages? Trilingual. When someone speaks two languages? Bilingual. Do you know what we call someone around here who only knows one language?” The man squirmed and indicated no. “We call that person a dumb Gringo.” Read more here:

Jeff Steinborn to Appear on NewsNM

Jeff Steinborn

District 37 NM State House of Representatives member Jeff Steinborn will appear on News New Mexico at 8:00am Friday morning. Steinborn will share his dreams for our state and offer his views on a wide variety of issues including the controversial wilderness proposal for land in Southern Dona Ana County near the Mexican border. Steinborn is opposed by Dr. Terry McMillan a local surgeon. Read more about Jeff Steinborn here:

Home Game T.V. Blackouts Increase

The San Diego Chargers’ home opener won’t be shown on local television after the team failed to sell out a game for the first time since 2004. More than 7,000 tickets remain available for the Sept. 19 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Qualcomm Stadium, the National Football League team said in a news release. That ends a 48-game streak of home sellouts dating back to a Nov. 7, 2004, contest against the New Orleans Saints. NFL rules require a game to be blacked out within a 75-mile radius of a team’s home market if all the tickets haven’t been sold 72 hours prior to kickoff. There are more than 12,000 tickets available for San Diego’s following home game, against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 3. Read more here:

China a "Full Service" Economic Super Power

Arnold Schwarzenegger

China can offer a “complete package,” including financing, as it competes to build a high-speed railway in California costing more than $40 billion, according to the nation’s railway ministry. “What other nations don’t have, we have,” He Huawu, the ministry’s chief engineer, said in a Sept. 14 interview in Beijing. “What they have, we have better.” He declined to elaborate further on how much financing may be available.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week rode on bullet trains in China, Japan and South Korea as the state seeks contractors and financing to build the planned network linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. China is competing for the high-speed line and for one in Brazil as it works to boost high-technology exports and pare its reliance on low- wage production. Read more here:

Corn - George W. Bush Helping GOP

David Corn

George W. Bush is doing a lot to help the Republicans this campaign season. By doing nothing. Ditto for Dick Cheney. At a time when congressional Democrats would love to be running against Bush-Cheney Republicans -- rather than explaining why they and President Obama haven't in 20 months fully repaired the economy and created 8 million new jobs to replace the ones lost during the Bush-Cheney crash -- the former president and vice president are not providing the Democrats much of a target. They've been keeping out of sight. Read more here:

Teague Opposes Income Tax Hikes for All Americans

Harry Teague

Democratic Rep. Harry Teague, in a close race with former Republican Congressman Steve Pearce, has signaled his support for extending the Bush tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans. Teague this week signed a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Cali., along with 31 other conservative Democrats, expressing their opposition to letting tax breaks for the wealthy expire on time. “In recent weeks, we have heard from a diverse spectrum of economists, small business owners, and families who have voiced concerns that raising any taxes right now could negatively impact economic growth,” Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill., wrote in the letter Teague co-signed with Teague. Read more here:

Ken Blackwell - Delaware GOP Rumblings

Ken Blackwell

During post-election analysis, Republican luminaries stumbled badly in discussing Christine O’Donnell on the night of the Delaware senatorial primary. But Delaware Republicans had just voted. They had given their support—rather convincingly—to the clearly more conservative O’Donnell in a hotly contested primary election. Where was the unity that night? Her opponent, Mike Castle, is surely a prominent Delaware Republican. A veteran of the Governor's Mansion and the holder of the state’s only seat in Congress, Castle should have won in a walk. But restive conservatives rebelled. Read more here:

Mesquite Historical District "Camino del Atre"

Jim Harbison

Sometimes you get it right and that’s what happened last weekend in the Mesquite Historical District. Last Saturday was the first monthly “Camino del Arte” event and the grand opening of Nopalitos Galeria. The Galeria is located in an old adobe house adjacent to Nopalito’s restaurant. This was the official introduction of the Mesquite District Art corridor and the historical district itself to many residents. Mesquite Street was originally part of the old El Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe. This is part of one of the longest, oldest, and most historic trails in the Americas and it passed right through the center of Las Cruces. Most of us who participated in this opening event were pleasantly surprised about the number of galleries and restaurants that are located in this corridor and each made everyone feel welcome. It was quite amazing.

There was a horse drawn trolley that seated about two dozen people that took everyone for a ride through the district and identified all the galleries and restaurants located within the corridor. It is my understanding it was fairly expensive to hire the trolley and that the costs for it were shared by the various businesses and galleries in the area and the Las Cruces Arts Association.

Most of us drive through town every day and never really see what’s around us. We are so focused on driving and all that it entails that we are oblivious to what lies beyond the boundary of the streets. The horse drawn trolley offered an excellent opportunity to actually take in all the beauty and history of the district. We could finally observe all the things we had never had the time to see before. The round trip from any of the multiple stops was approximately 25-30 minutes.

One of the more enjoyable parts of the ride was that there was a member and resident of the district who narrated the trip and answered questions about the district. They explained the historical significance of many of the buildings and the influential people of New Mexico who lived there. It was informative, relaxing and very enjoyable. You could get off at any gallery or stop and visit one of the galleries or restaurants and then reboard at your leisure. Everyone we encountered was friendly and pleasant and expressed that this was a wonderful new experience in Las Cruces and it made them even more proud of their city

Business and Gallery owners as well as the residents of the district are rightfully proud of their district and are working hard to preserve, renovate, revitalize and protect the Mesquite Historical District. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge those businesses. The galleries included Unsettled Gallery and Studio, Mesquite Street Studios, Mesquite Art Gallery, Studio 308 #1, Gabriella Denton Studio, Nopalitos Galeria, Joyce T Macrorie Studio, Tony Pennock Studio and Michael Ponce Contemporary. The restaurants were Nopalito’s, La Nueva Casita, La Guadalupana”s, El Tiburon Mariscos, Kiva Patio Café, Tacos Santa Fe, Roberto’s Mexican Food, El Sombrero Patio Café, Church’s Chicken, and Lujan Bakery.

The Las Esperanzas organization is continuing its efforts to highlight this area as a great place for residents of Las Cruces to appreciate and enjoy and a must visit spot for tourists. They are hoping the public will continue to support the Camino del Arte and enjoy the hospitality of the galleries, businesses, and restaurants in the district.This is a citizen’s driven effort (no tax dollars were used) to revitalize our City and its businesses and I encourage everyone to visit the Mesquite Historical District.

NMSU Softball To Host NPF All-Stars

LAS CRUCES - The New Mexico State softball team will host the National Pro Fastpitch All-Stars at the NM State Softball Complex October 5^th at 6 p.m.

“We are very honored that the NPF chose Las Cruces as one of their fall exhibition game sites,” said NMSU head coach Kathy Rodolph. “I know the community and softball fans from the area will be excited to see our Aggies compete against some of the very best players in the world. This event will kick off our fall campaign.”

Players such as Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Jessica Mendoza are on the All-Star roster. Many of the All-Stars will be returning to Las Cruces as they were on the US National Team when they played the Aggies in an exhibition game in April 2008 leading up to the Beijing Olympics. Extra bleachers were brought in and filled for that event as fans surrounded the entire field. Osterman who is a former University of Texas standout is confirmed to attend the game. Other headliners scheduled to play in the game include 2008 Olympians Vicky Galindo, Andrea Duran, and Lauren Lappin. The list is expected to grow as the team continues its tour.

“Our team and staff are excited to compete against the NPF All-Stars and test our mettle,” said Rodolph. “This is an opportunity for softball players and fans of all ages to see some of the best players in the world so I look forward to showing the NPF what a supportive and welcoming community we have here in Las Cruces.”

The All-Stars will make the trip to Las Cruces from Tucson, Arizona as they will play the University of Arizona, a perennial power on October 4^th. The contest against the Aggies will be one of fifteen stops on the NPF “Back to School – College Tour” presented by the USSSA.

The Aggies finished the 2010 season 27-28 after a leading the nation in team batting average at .341 in 2009.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students. Tickets are available at the Pan-American Center ticket office or by calling 646-1420.

It’s time to get serious about eliminating fraud

From NM Politics.net - by Kelly Sweetser - At a time when the United States is in a recession and individuals, business and governmental agencies alike are feeling the economic crunch, there is a pool of additional money available right at our fingertips. No; it is not to be found in the form of higher taxes, but rather in the elimination of fraud. We hear about fraud continuously, almost to the point where we have become accustomed to its occurrence. Fraud is a political issue in virtually every election, including our current gubernatorial race. Fraud is more rampant during an economic downturn because the person committing the fraud often “rationalizes” his/her behavior and the need to commit the fraud is based on financial need and/or desperation. In the current economic crisis, many of our citizens are finding themselves in an economic need. Unfortunately the government, both state and federal, are not doing enough to recoup funds that have been obtained fraudulently. Read more

NM Public Pensions: Solvency Task Force Digging

Bill Richardson

From Capitol Report New Mexico - On the heels of a study conducted by two Chicago-area economists that places New Mexico among 31 states predicted to run out of state pension fund money within the next 16 years, the state legislature’s Retirement Systems Solvency Task Force met Friday (Sept. 10) at the Roundhouse. Members listened to two officials from Buck Consultants, who gave the task force a general overview of the fiscal health of the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) and Educational Retirement Board (ERB) funds. The consultants told members that “benefit and funding policy changes are needed” but backed away from determining how urgent and deep the changes need to be. When asked point-blank by one member of the task force, “What level of crisis are we in?” principal and consulting actuary David Slishinsky replied, “You have to ask yourself, what do you mean by solvency?” The Buck report painted a mixed picture: on one hand, the actuaries didn’t seem overly alarmed by the relative health of the two state funds but on the other, they pointed to tables that projected larger unfunded liabilities that they expect to grow over the next decade. Read more here:

Thomas Sowell - Money of Fools Part III

Thomas Sowell

Among the many words that don't mean what they say, but which too many of us accept as if they did, are those staples of political discussion, "liberals" and "conservatives." Most liberals are not liberal and most conservatives are not conservative. We might be better off just calling them X and Y, instead of imagining that we are really describing their philosophies. Moreover, like most confusion, it has consequencees. Read more here:

Elder - Obama Asks Thug Nations to Judge America

Larry Elder

Does America engage in massive and widespread violations of human rights? The Obama administration thinks so. That's the takeaway of the "Report of the United States of America Submitted to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights." The introduction says it "gives a partial snapshot of the current human rights situation in the United States, including some of the areas where problems persist in our society." What human rights problems? One is the higher unemployment rate for blacks (15.8 percent) and Hispanics (12.4 percent) compared with that of whites (8.8 percent). Unemployment is directly related to education. Blacks and Hispanics drop out of high school at a higher rate than whites. Some Asian-American groups, on the other hand, have unemployment rates similar to that of whites. Read more here:

Four More Murders in Juarez

From the El Paso Times - JUAREZ -- A family of four was killed yesterday morning in Juárez, state police said. Marco Antonio Barraza Hinojo, 45, his wife, Norma Delia Ramírez Leyva, 39, and their teenage daughters Rosa Aidé Barraza Ramirez and Norma Margarita Barraza Ramírez, were shot dead about 6:30 a.m. in a southern neighborhood near the Juárez airport. Read more here:

Mexico's Bicentennial Celebration Big in El Paso

From the El Paso Times - Mexican flags waved, children tooted horns, fireworks boomed and mariachis played as a crowd of up to 10,000 people celebrated Mexico's 200th birthday Wednesday night in Downtown El Paso. The festivities in San Jacinto Plaza were larger than last year because it was Mexico's bicentennial and because many revelers preferred to celebrate the traditional "grito," or cry for independence, in El Paso rather than in violence-plagued Juárez. El Paso police, who had a heavy presence at the event, estimated the crowd to be between 9,000 and 10,000 people, compared with about 6,000 to 7,000 a year ago. The Mexican Consulate sponsored the festivities. In Juárez, the patriotic holiday was practically ignored Wednesday night. Most residents stayed at home, scared of violence. Read more here:

Martinez Discusses Mallot Scandal

Bruce Mallot

From NMPolitics.net - By Susana Martinez - In an article published by The Albuquerque Journal, the author reiterated what many New Mexicans are calling for in the wake of several recent, high-profile ethics scandals that have been revealed within the Richardson/Denish Administration – a new level of transparency and commitment to battling abuse in state government. It was shocking to learn that Bruce Malott, the chairman of the Educational Retirement Board (ERB), had a direct financial interest with Marc Correra, who made millions from finder’s fees related to ERB investments. It also raises another serious question – how many other members of these powerful boards in the Richardson/Denish administration had direct financial interests in taxpayer-funded deals they considered? New Mexicans deserve immediate answers. Read more here:

Weil - Zombie Banks Have Us Right Where They Want Us

Former Treasury Sec. Hank Paulson

Two years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and what rightfully should have been the death of American International Group, U.S. capital markets face a crucial question. How long will it take before we see some semblance of robust free-market capitalism return, where the value of an asset is based on what bona fide market participants will pay for it, the cost to borrow money is based on a company’s fundamental financial strength rather than its ability to access a government safety net, and corporations are free to fail no matter what their size? Read more here:

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