EPA may OK 15 percent ethanol blend for older cars

From The Hill - by Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, the national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry.

With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the turmoil in the Middle East, the continuing concern with greenhouse gases and the need to generate jobs in cutting-edge industries, President Obama has called for a “national mission” to end America’s addiction to imported oil. This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce a crucial decision about the future of the only fuel currently available to replace and reduce oil imports: American ethanol. After almost a year of delay, the EPA will finally release a ruling on whether to increase the ethanol content allowed in gasoline blends from 10 percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15). Unfortunately, EPA has hinted it will limit the use of E15 to newer vehicles — those made more recently than 2001 or perhaps even 2007. Read more:

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A pilot at low level slams into four buildings

A pilot at low level has no control over his aircraft. It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the airshow and slams into four buildings.

One can only imagine the horror of the occupants in those buildings.


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Progressive: Its All About Win-Lose

Matthew Rothschild
Whenever Republicans are at risk of not getting their way for their millionaire constituents, they cry “class warfare.” So it was that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor just whipped out the old accusation again in the Wall Street Journal, blaming the Democrats and “the progressive left” for “provocative class warfare rhetoric.” What Cantor doesn’t like is the rhetoric. But he’s content with the class warfare, because his class keeps winning, battle after battle, war after war. Read more here:

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Dr. Alveda King: Beck Helped Honor God

Jillian Bandes
Dr. Alveda King
From Townhall by Jillian Bandes - MLK, Glenn Beck, and racism: these themes are still echoing long after the conclusion of Beck's monumental rally on the anniversary of King's "I Have A Dream" speech last month. Dr. Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, has been under fire for her participation in the event, with fault lines running not only from liberal critics but also from the black conservative Christian movement and in the conservative movement at large. Alveda King is both defensive and realistic about her involvement. Dr. Alveda King “The principles of faith, hope, charity, love, honor – we are taught to honor God, to honor our families – and love our neighbors… and I believe the message that Glenn delivered helped us do that,” she said in an interview. Read more here:
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Green Activist Prophet or Profit?

Danny Kennedy
As a former environmental activist, Danny Kennedy, 39, says he is “probably more missionary than mercenary” when it comes to clean energy. Still, the founder of Sungevity, a Berkeley (Calif.)-based company that sells solar power panels for homes, is “entirely comfortable with the fact that we’re going to make a killing in this industry.”
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Lisa to Joe - If I Can't Have It Maybe You Can't Either

Lisa Murkowski
Senator Lisa Murkowski’s attempt to win reelection through a write-in campaign in Alaska will test the staying power of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party amid a debate over the role of federal spending in that state. “I’m going to give them a choice,” Murkowski said yesterday on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “If the people on Nov. 2 say, well, we don’t like her, that’s fine.” Murkowski lost last month’s primary to Joe Miller, a lawyer from Fairbanks and a former U.S. magistrate judge. She had been the Senate’s No. 4 Republican before she was forced by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to resign her leadership post following her write-in announcement. Read more here:
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Feldstein: We Should Commit Now to Two Years

Martin Feldstein
Harvard University economics professor Martin Feldstein said raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans could push the nation back into a recession and urged that all Bush-era tax cuts be extended for two years. Feldstein, a member of the committee that dates the beginning and end of recessions, said President Barack Obama’s proposal to allow tax cuts for the wealthy to lapse “is going to slow the economy down and could push the economy into recession again next year.” “We should extend all of the Bush tax cuts for two years and we will have a clean slate and see where the economy is,” Feldstein said today in a radio interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene. “We should commit now to two years -- and nothing beyond the two years.” Read more here:
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Republicans Gain Ground Among Independents

From SRO Blog - A new comprehensive national survey shows that independent voters—who voted for Barack Obama by a 52%-to-44% margin in the 2008 presidential election—are now moving strongly in the direction of the Republican Party. The survey, conducted by Douglas E. Schoen LLC on behalf of Independent Women’s Voice in late August, raises the possibility of a fundamental realignment of independent voters and the dominance of a more conservative electorate. Today, independents say they lean more toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, 50% to 25%, and that the Republican Party is closer to their views by 52% to 30%. This movement comes in spite of independents’ generally negative views of the GOP—a majority of independents (54%) view the Republicans unfavorably, compared to 39% who have a favorable impression. (The poll also revealed that 48% of independents were either “sympathetic to or supporters of the tea party.”) Read more here:
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Wilderness on the Border - Outdoor Fun

Sometimes a write-up about "Outdoor Fun" and some on location pictures are worth a thousand words. This is an idea that is coming to the drug and human smuggling theater near you......in southern Dona Ana County if Senators Bingaman and Udall get their way. Read more here:
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Hall and McCamley Race Summary

Ben Hall
Bill McCamley
From the New Mexico Independent - Former Republican state legislator Ben Hall and former Democratic Doña Ana County commissioner Bill McCamley both want to clean up the powerful and scandal-plagued state Public Regulation Commission (PRC), which regulates the state’s electrical, natural gas, and water utilities and insurance industry. Both men told The Independent this week that if elected to the PRC, they would not meet with corporate lobbyists during while hearing cases about companies’ rates or interfere with bureau chiefs’ staff hiring decisions. Read more here:
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Crystal Burns Named WAC Offensive Player Of Week

Crystal Burns
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State sophomore forward/midfielder Crystal Burns was named Verizon WAC Offensive Player of the Week, for the week of Sept. 13-19. This is her first career honor, and she is the third Aggie to earn the recognition this season. Burns scored four goals and added three assists in a pair of wins for the Aggie soccer team over Alabama A&M, 8-0, Sept. 17, and Lamar, 4-0, Sept. 19. Against Alabama A&M, she scored two goals and added an assist, including her second game-winning goal of the season. It was her first-ever multiple-goal contest at NM State. In a 4-0 win over Lamar, Burns tallied two goals and two assists. She posted an impressive .833 shots on goal percentage in the final two non-conference matches of the season, and currently leads the team with six assists and 16 points. "Crystal had a great weekend," head coach Michael Needham said. "She did a lot more than score goals, her work on the defensive side of the ball gives her teammates a lot of energy, and was important in both games this weekend." The Aggie soccer team concludes non-conference action with a pair of matches on the road. NM State meets Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. and Wyoming, in Laramie, Wyo., Sunday, Sept. 26 at noon.

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Herb Denish Lobbying Fees? A Private Matter

Herb Denish
From NMPolitics.net - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish won’t reveal how much her husband, Herb Denish, has been paid as a lobbyist and consultant during her tenure as lieutenant governor. “Herb is a private citizen who owned his own business. Diane and Herb have always kept business and personal separate. He did not lobby the state,” Denish campaign spokesman Chris Cervini said. “Therefore, this is not a question of increased transparency, it’s a question of a private businessperson being able to expect a modicum of privacy.” Read more here:
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Dissecting Progressive Viewpoints Part II

Yesterday we began our review of what appeared to be a local "progressive" column in the Sun-News on September 18th by Bill Varuola. You can read his column by clicking here: The list of what troubles Varuola is long. “Immigration is not inherently a bad thing,” he asserts. We have no idea what he means by simply stating this self-evident fact. Does anyone with an ounce of credibility argue otherwise? This statement appears to be thinly veiled code. Is it there to help convey the message that anyone who decides they are in favor of border security somehow harbors latent anti-immigrant sentiments?
It is getting harder to divide people into "groups" based on ethnicity, gender, and race in this ever more color blind world we live in. Maybe this is troubling.
What else is troubling Varuola? He says “Christianity is not by nature first among not-quite equals.” Without getting him to expound on this puzzling statement, it is virtually impossible to even imagine what he means. Is this a diplomatic way of labeling Christians in a vaguely negative light? Maybe other things he says later in his column will help us connect the dots on his view of American Christians.
Here’s some more of what bugs Varuola? He says, “….the United States are a function of the Constitution and our economy. The traditions we cherish are best lived as examples to those we would have adopt them, not made compulsory without demonstrated value.” Say what? This assertion is another vague stream of consciousness. Perhaps it simply contains far too much nuance for dumb clucks (including those at News New Mexico) who try to discern its meaning.
Varuola says “We are not behaving well.” What does this mean? Does he have a mouse in his pocket? He follows this statement with lamentations on the widening use of profanity. In this area we have some common ground with Bill. We must confess that we too fall into the temptation from time to time of letting those darned expletives fly. Maybe we should all spend more time in church (we don’t attend) so that there is more pressure to reform our profanity habits. However, we seriously doubt that more frequent church attendance would be the Varuola recommended solution to the proliferation of society’s profanity problem. Maybe psychotherapy is the answer.
The Varuola biography at the end of his column indicates he cashes a government paycheck. This was duly noted after we perused his troubles with attitudes towards taxes. Let’s summarize. What our attitudes should be about paying taxes is simple according to Vauola. He says paying taxes levied on us from Washington and Santa Fe is “an exceptional way to participate in the government.” We would argue that paying taxes is not so much “participating” in government as it is a process of FUNDING government. We have many cancelled checks and unfulfilled hopes to support this assertion. And further, if merely tendering currency to another entity constitutes “participation” we want everyone out there to participate with News New Mexico by sending your participation contributions to us. Checks can be made out to “Participating in News New Mexico.”
Weighing the impact of tax burdens and managing their impact, does not appear to Varuola to be the act of a prudent steward of resources. In Varuola’s mind, these activities seem to be the selfish reduction of one's “collective responsibilities.” And it seems clear that the term “collective” is the operating word in the phrase we reference regarding “responsibilities.” Varuola manages to severely pervert the language of finance in his discussion of resource management and economic policies. “Right now,” he writes, “…the Obama administration's tax plan wants to indebt us $3 trillion in tax cuts over the next 10 years.” This is some of the most nonsensical gibberish regarding fiscal policy that has ever made it into print. President Obama is proposing no such a thing. The numbers Varuola tosses around come out of thin air. Further Varuola writes, “….the Republicans would burden us $4 trillion in tax cuts.” Again it is the choice of words that reveals the fact that when it comes to finance and economics, Varuola is extraordinarily naive. Where to begin? First, President Obama has NOT proposed a reduction in tax rates. He is weighing the idea of raising rates. Varuola’s claim that tax cuts burden “us” is silly. Who is “us.” Does everything belong to the government? Do "we" belong to government thus becoming "us?" Should any money that the government does not confiscate be accounted for as a cost, debt, or burden? Not confiscating money from citizens is not a “cost.” Only people who think everything and everybody belongs to the government use this sort of language. Unfortunately, the financial language contained in the Varuola column pretty much defines the fundamental economic illiteracy of many seemingly well-informed people in America today.
There are many more completely bogus assertions in the Varuola piece. He says “American corporate chief executive officers make as much as 1,000 times what they pay their production workers while paying lower tax rates.” The claim that higher income earning citizens pay lower tax rates than lower income workers is an absurdity. There is simply no basis for making an absurd statement like this. Frankly we are embarrassed for Varuola. That he would make this silly assertion on print is amazing. It is the intellectual of equivalent of pulling one’s pants down in public.
Mercifully, Varuola finally begins to get to the heart of the problem in America when he says, “I would like to have seen the Obama administration approach not only the tax structure, but the pending disaster that is Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.” And later he says. “They've simply been abused by the congressional class to the point where they're not solvent. This is unconscionable.” Unfortunately, the significance of his own observations escapes him.
What does Varuola mean by the phrase “….abused by the congressional class.” Does this mean he thinks elected officials waste money by the hundreds of billions? Does the fact that spending is completely out of control to the point of causing the destruction of the solvency of these programs mean spending might be considered open for the bulk of the discussion? Perhaps this segment of his column is an intellectual bone or perhaps an olive branch to those in the Tea Party. We actually found it beyond amazing that Varuola never used the phrase “too much government spending” in his entire editorial piece regarding what troubles him about taxes and the national debt. Tomorrow we will explore the commentary Varuola made on America setting up a "Christian State" as well as some amazingly contradictory and inconsistent views on education.

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Las Cruces BLM office has issued border safety warnings to visitors

From the Westerner - by Frank DeBois - The Las Cruces office of the BLM has produced a brochure titled Borderland Safeguards which contains border "watchouts" for visitors to the federal lands. The "watchouts" deal mainly with dangers from drug smuggling and human trafficking on federal lands in the district.The BLM's Eddy Guerrero said other BLM districts in California and Arizona with lands along the border with Mexico had produced similar brochures, but the Las Cruces District's version was prepared to "make it relevant to our situation in New Mexico." Guerrero said the brochures had been available for over a year. Since these documents have been available for more than a year, that means they were available before Senator Bingaman introduced S.1689, his wilderness bill. The "Fact Sheet" which accompanied the introduction of S.1689 says Bingaman consulted with the Las Cruces BLM Office. This leads to some interesting questions: Was Bingaman's staff aware of these documents, and if so did they advise the Senator of their existence? Did Bingaman introduce the bill knowing of these concerns? Why would a U.S. Senator introduce a bill that would make the situation even worse?Personally, I would find it hard to believe Bingaman's staff didn't know of these documents existence. You take it from there. Read more
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El-Erian: Fed to Cut Growth Forecast - Europe Faltering

Mohamed El-Erian
The Federal Reserve will cut its growth forecasts and Europe’s economic bailout is failing, said Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief executive at Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s biggest bond fund. U.S. central bankers may wait beyond their meeting tomorrow to announce additional steps to sustain the expansion, El-Erian wrote in an opinion piece on Pimco’s website. Slower-than- expected economic growth has fueled speculation the Fed will expand its program of Treasury purchases as it tries to keep borrowing costs low. Industrialized nations are eager to let their currencies weaken to aid their economies, he said. Read more here:
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Doan: Addicted to Stimulus

Lurita Doan
Democrats in congress have become addicted to stimulus-type legislation as the cure to all ills. The Senate recently passed another stimulus, the Small Business Jobs Act (H.R. 5297) that is unlikely to create jobs, and shows that Democrats understand little about government contracting and even less about the needs of small businesses. But the small business stimulus drug sure makes Democrats feel good. Democrats view a $30Billion dollar facility to subsidize bank loans to small companies as the legislation’s centerpiece. But, the problem isn’t a shortage of legislation allocating funds for small businesses; the problem is a shortage in confidence in legislators who have proven themselves hostile to the business community. Read more here:
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Fishing For a Few New Mexico Votes?

President Obama Fly Fishing
President Barack Obama will visit Albuquerque on September 28th "to meet with local families and discuss the economy," the White House announced Friday afternoon. There were no other details released by the White House regarding the president's visit to New Mexico. In recent days Obama has spent more and more time out on the campaign trail in places where the Democrats think he might be able to assist local candidates.



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Phillips: The Absurdity of the Racialist Playbook

Joseph Phillips
The absurdity of race continues to rear its ugly head and once again, the succubus appears in Mississippi. The folks in the Magnolia state can’t seem to get it right on race even when they use the liberal racialist play book. A few weeks ago the Nettleton Middle school in Nettleton, Miss., came under fire when it was discovered that the school was dividing offices on its student council by race. The offices open only to black or white students rotated each year. In addition, the school maintained separate racial titles for its prom and homecoming kings and queens. Read more here:
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Six Law Enforcement Officers Found Dead in Mexico

In Acapulco, Mexico, the bodies of six kidnapped police officers were found in a ravine in the Mexican State of Guerrero on this weekend. Mexican authority’s state that many of the bodies had been dismembered, a signature act of violence associated with local drug cartels. A warning note to the authorities was also left with the police officer’s bodies. This brings the death toll to eight in the current rash of drug cartel related kidnappings. A survivor was found at the popular beach resort, according to Fernando Monreal Leyva, Director of the State Police. The area once known for its beautiful beaches and posh resorts has now become a battleground for drug cartels fighting for territory. Two additional bodies were found on Saturday. The discovery of the two bodies accounts for all nine of the officers kidnapped after going to identify a body on the town of El Revelado, 165 miles south of Mexico City. Read more here:
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Star Parker - Realism of the Tea Party

Star Parker
Those who dismiss or disparage Tea Party candidates as ideologues really miss the point of what is driving this movement. An ideologue is someone motivated primarily by a set of ideas and clings to them despite facts and experience. The Tea Party movement was not launched by and is not driven by theory but by a healthy sense of realism fueled by practical experience. Consider, for instance, Gallup’s annual survey of most and least trusted professions. In the latest one published last December, rock bottom on the list was Members of Congress. Fifty five percent gave them low/very low ratings on honesty and ethics. Members of Congress beat car salesmen by four percentage points as the professionals the American public finds most ethically challenged. It’s not theory or dogma that earned Members of Congress this distinction. It’s experience. Read more here:
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Prediction: Mexico's Violence to Continue

President Felipe Calderon
From the El Paso Times - The violence that's forced about 230,000 Juárez residents to flee their homes is likely to continue for several years, experts said. A recent Mexican government report said 28,000 people were killed in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón began the crackdown against the cartels in December 2006. In Juárez, 6,400 people have died in the brutal spate of violence that has forced thousands to flee the border community. According to a study by the Autonomous University of Juárez (UACJ), about 230,000 people have left Juárez, and 45 percent of them (124,200) moved to El Paso and the vicinity. Read more here:
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Cash for Clunkers - Classic Government Folly

Cash for Clunkers Founders
IN THE market for a used car? Good luck finding a bargain: The price of “pre-owned’’ vehicles has climbed considerably over the past year. According to Edmunds.com, a website for car buyers, a three-year-old automobile today will set you back, on average, close to $20,000 — a spike of more than 10 percent since last summer. For some popular models, the increase has been much steeper. In July, a used Cadillac Escalade was going for around $35,000, or nearly 36 percent over last July’s price. Why are used-car prices rocketing? Part of the answer is that demand is up: With unemployment high and the economy uncertain, some car buyers who might otherwise be looking for a new truck or SUV are instead shopping for a used vehicle as a way to save money. But an even bigger part of the answer is that the supply of used cars is artificially low, because your Uncle Sam decided last year to destroy hundreds of thousands of perfectly good automobiles as part of its hare-brained Car Allowance Rebate System — or, as most of us called it, Cash for Clunkers. That was the program under which the government paid consumers up to $4,500 when they traded in an old car and bought a new one with better gas mileage. The traded-in cars — which had to be in drivable condition to qualify for the rebate — were then demolished: Dealers were required to chemically wreck each car’s engine, and send the car to be crushed or shredded. Read more here:
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Pearce and Teague to Appear on Radio at 9:00am

Steve Pearce
Harry Teague
From NMPolitics.net - U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., and his Republican challenger Steve Pearce will jointly appear on the radio on Monday in the Las Cruces area to discuss border security issues. The hour-long event, which begins at 9 a.m., will be broadcast on KRWG 90.7-FM. According to the Pearce campaign, it will also be webcast on KRWG’s Web site. KRWG is calling the event a “border issues conversation” with the two candidates. It won’t be a debate – according to the Pearce campaign, no rebuttals will be allowed. Read more here:
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