News New Mexico: 10/08/10

Capitol Report NM - Rush and Powell Videos

Rob Nikolowski

From Capitol Report New Mexico - We’ve all heard the title “state land commissioner.” But what the heck does the land commissioner do? Well, the commissioner oversees more than 13 million acres of state trust land and collects revenue earned from energy production, farming and ranching, and business development on that land. Those dollars then go public schools, seven state universities, the New Mexico Military Institute, the New Mexico School for the Deaf, the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, three hospitals, correctional facilities, public building repair and construction, and water conservation projects. This past year, revenues totalled $537 million so we’re talking about a decent chunk of change. Read more and WATCH VIDEOS here:

Senator Pete Campos - Government is Big Business

Pete Campos (D- Las Vegas)

From NMPolitics.net - Government is big business in New Mexico, directly accounting for one out of every four jobs and supporting countless secondary jobs in our state. As the largest “industry” in New Mexico, it is critical that the industry’s leaders – local, state and federal government officials – recommit themselves to working together to improve government efficiency without compromising the delivery of needed services to New Mexicans. Government undoubtedly plays a vital role in the life of our state, including educating our children, ensuring our safety, promoting economic development and tourism, protecting our natural resources and providing vital services to our elderly, to the developmentally disabled and to those without food or a place to sleep. Yet those services must be provided in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Read more here:

Film - "Cruces Divided" Release Set for October 15th

Cruces Divided is the title of a new film we are hearing about. The film documents the historic rivarly between football programs at Las Cruces High School and Mayfield High School as well as the magnificent community event held each year we simply call Cruces and Mayfield. Film company J & M Productions and Director Charlie Minn are the key players in this project. News New Mexico. Of course, the LCHS versus Mayfield games are no secret to local sports fans. Reminiscent of the Army vs. Navy game wherein half the stadium pulls for one team and the other half pulls fo the other, the game routinely draws a crowd of 25,000+ fans.

In the extraordinary environment of the game, there are roars from the crowd on nearly every play. Momentum swings are common and emotions run high for the entire contest. The game offers citizens in our area some the highest quality entertainment money can buy. The film has Cruces Divided has a trailer that can be downloaded by clicking here: The film website page is crucesdivided.com

Earth to Pearce: Obama is a natural-born U.S. citizen

From NM Politics.net - Republican mastermind Karl Rove believes President Barack Obama was born in the United States, is a citizen, and is a Christian. He said so when he was in Las Cruces several weeks ago. At a Sept. 30 event in Los Lunas, a woman asked Pearce whether he is willing to support the subpoenaing of Obama’s birth certificate. She also asked whether Pearce believes Obama “is in fact a Kenyan-born, Indonesian Muslim.” Pearce said Obama “raised the most significant questions himself” when he said he had traveled to Pakistan – at a time when, Pearce claimed, it was not legal to go there with a U.S. passport.Just like George W. Bush won the 2000 election, Barack Obama won the 2008 election. He meets the constitutional requirements to be president, and he is president. End of story. Pearce is intelligent. I’m assuming, or at least hoping, that he knows Obama is a citizen. So I have to wonder if he was pandering to people whose votes he was trying to win with his statement in Los Lunas. If so, he’s irresponsibly playing with fire. If, on the other hand, Pearce actually believes what he said in Los Lunas, well, that’s an entirely different reason to be concerned about his candidacy for Congress. Read Commentary

Caroline Baum: Obama Sausage Making

President and Speaker Pelosi

From Bloomberg - “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, March 9, 2010. She wasn’t kidding. The public got to peek under the hood last week when the Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald’s Corp. wanted out: out of a requirement in the new health-care law that compels employers to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on medical benefits. Who knew? For McDonald’s mini-med health-care plan, a low-cost, limited plan covering about 30,000 hourly fast-food workers, the minimum medical loss ratio was economically unfeasible. The company asked for a waiver, according to memos provided to the Journal. Read more here:

Greenspan - "We're involved in a dangerous game"

Alan Greenspan

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. fiscal deficit is “scary” and the federal government needs to cut spending on entitlements. “We’re involved in a dangerous game,” Greenspan said yesterday at a foreign-exchange conference in New York sponsored by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News. “We’re increasing the debt held by the public at a pace that is closing” the gap between our debt and “any measure of borrowing capacity,” Greenspan said. “That cushion is growing very narrow.” Read more here:

Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment at 10.1% in September

PRINCETON, NJ -- Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September -- up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month -- the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September -- and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government's unemployment report on today. Read more here:

NEA Shoots at Martinez, Friendly Fire Hits Denish

From the Weekly Standard - A recent high-profile ad war in the New Mexico gubernatorial election, which has taken place on television screens across the state, involves GOP nominee and Doña Ana County district attorney Susana Martinez, Democratic nominee and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, and a teacher named Freda Trujillo. It’s a fight that started with a National Education Association (NEA) advertisement attacking Martinez on Denish’s behalf. The widely aired television ad from the NEA that blasted Martinez’s education plans and promoted Denish’s policies featured a seemingly random teacher named Freda Trujillo to be the face of its message. In response, the Martinez campaign produced a television ad of their own, which pointed out that a few years prior, Martinez and her office convicted Freda Trujillo’s husband of kidnapping, and that he is now in prison serving a 23-year sentence. Apparently, the choice of that teacher was not as random as some previously thought and the Martinez ad shot a gaping hole in the credibility of the teacher and Denish. Read more here:

Chinese dissident wins Nobel Peace Prize

NewNM - It will not be two years in a row for President Obama, he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize this year; it went to a Chinese dissident who is in jail. Comparison of the 2009 and the 2010 awards? We will leave that to others.

From MSNBC.com - OSLO — Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights" — a decision which produced a bitter reaction from the Chinese government. Thorbjoern Jagland, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman, said Liu was a symbol for the fight for human rights in China and that its government should expect its policies to face scrutiny as it has transformed into a big power both economically and politically. Read more

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