bleedCrimson.net Report
The Aggie volleyball team survived a bit of a challenge from the Fresno State Bulldogs overcoming a fourth set deficit to take home a 3-1 victory on Thursday night. The Aggies won the first set 25-20 but fell in the second set 25-22. The Aggies rebounded to crush Fresno State 25-15 in the third set and then overcame a late 18-15 deficit to take set four 25-21.

The Aggies' four All-Conference performers carried the Aggies as Kayleigh Giddens recorded a match-high 23 kills. Whitney Woods posted her best match of the season finishing with 15 kills and a .522 hitting percentage. Kelsey Brennan added 11 kills and setter Jennah DeVries recorded 53 assists, six digs and a service ace.

The Aggies finished the match hitting .273 behind a .387 attack percentage in the third set and a .395 attack percentage in the fourth set. The Aggies recorded at least 16 kills in each of the four sets.

The Aggies return to action on Saturday night when they host San Jose State at 7:00 p.m. in the Pan American Center. Click here to read more.

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Give Young People Option to Get Out of Social Security, Say Former BB&T CEO

From CNS News.com - By Terence P. Jeffrey - John Allison, the former chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation’s 10th largest bank, told CNSNews.com that one of the solutions to the long-term fiscal problem facing the U.S. government is to let younger people opt out of the Social Security system. "What we need to do is get rid of the long-term program,” Allison said of Social Security in an “Online With Terry Jeffrey” interview. "And the way to do that, even though it may create some short-term funding problems, would be to offer people privatized programs for retirement and effectively offer people under a certain age the option to get out of Social Security.” Allison said he believed Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R.-Wis.) proposal to allow workers to put part of their payroll tax in a personal retirement account that they would convert into an annuity when they reached retirement age was a good practical solution for Congress to pursue on Social Security, but that personally he would like to see people entirely liberated from the entitlement program, letting them plan and save for their retirement free of government compulsion. "You know, if you look at what killed democracies in the end, it’s always lack of personal responsibility,” said Allison. “And it’s when 51 percent of the people find out they can vote a free lunch from 49 percent, and then 60 percent want a free lunch from 40 percent, and then 70 percent want a free lunch from 30 percent, and that’s the end of the party. Read more
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Reports of our death were greatly exaggerated

From the American Thinker - by Clarice Feldman - Sam Tanenhaus, editor of the New York Times Book Review, last year published a quickie book, "The Death of Conservatism," based on a February 2009 piece in The New Republic. "As Tanenhaus sees it," National Public Radio's Robert Siegel explained in introducing an interview, "American conservatism has degenerated into a hollow echo-chamber of movement die-hards and talk show hosts, disconnected from the broad public, which until recently it spoke for." NPR put the interview on its website under the headline "Author: Liberals Should Lament Conservatism's Death." This week's election results make clear beyond doubt that conservatism is alive and well. So liberals don't have to lament after all! Of course, not all liberals were lamenting conservatism's putative death. In "40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation," published in May 2009,James Carville gloated: "Republicans have no hope of making serious inroads into Democratic advantages in 2010, or likely in 2012 and 2014 and so on. It's time to call TOD on the GOP." We think TOD stands for "time of death." Read more
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New Gov Martinez and her transition team; criticizes cap and trade decision

From Capitol Report New Mexico - Governor-elect Susana Martinez announced Thursday (Nov. 4) that former Congresswoman Heather Wilson will lead her transition team that will work with outgoing Governor Bill Richardson while also saying that she and her advisers are looking at ways to reverse the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board’s decision to have the state take part in a regional cap and trade program. As Thursday’s news conference, Martinez addressed the EIB’s decision to adopt a regional cap and trade program — something Martinez strongly opposed while campaigning for the governorship. Read more
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Harbison: Incompetence or Illegal Election Activity?

Jim Harbison
The elections are finally over and as always there were winners and losers. To preserve the integrity of the election process the State of New Mexico has clearly written statutes that are supposed to preserve these fundamental voting rights of US citizens. Each County Clerk is charged with this responsibility. I had the privilege of participating as an Election Challenger. In the precinct I worked in not everything was perfect and some minor mistakes were made but generally everything went smoothly and according to the statutes. I was confident that no one “stole the election or tampered with the process.” Other precincts could not make the same comments.
Lynn Ellins
According to challengers at a different polling site they had the opposite experience.
First, the Presiding Judge was unfamiliar with the opening procedures and was not paying much attention to what was going on all morning. The Clerks and Judges - all Democrats, were not asking voters to state their name, address and year of birth as required by the New Mexico Election Code. When the Republican Election Challenger told the Presiding Judge about it she told him they did not have to. When he persisted in his challenge someone called the Las Cruces Police to remove this “disruptive individual”. He was exercising his legal rights and responsibilities to insure fair elections but at the request of the Presiding Judge was removed by the police. While this was a potentially illegal act by the Presiding Judge it was not the most egregious act at this particular polling site.
In addition to calling the Police, Mr Lynn Ellins, Dona Ana County Clerk (and de facto elections supervisor) was called because another Republican Challenger was complaining about being denied access to the roster to record the information about Provisional Ballots issued. Mr Ellins arrived at the precinct and informed all the Presiding Judges and the Challengers that the Challengers could not review the roster. A Challenger told him the rosters were public records and as a Challenger they had the right to see but not touch the lists. He again told the Challenger she was wrong. At which point the Challenger showed him the publication from the Secretary of State (Bureau of Elections, Handbook for Elections Challengers and Watchers) that verified what she said was correct and that denial of that right according to State Law was a petty misdemeanor. He finally relented and returned to the Presiding Judges table and told them the Challengers had the right to see the list but could not touch it.
The person who was sent to replace the dismissed Republican Challenger arrived at the polling site and was immediately confronted by Mr Ellins and told “you better not cause any trouble here.” Was this a subtle attempt to intimidate the replacement Republican Challenger?
The most troubling issue with this situation is that Mr Ellins is the County Clerk and is charged with the supervision and conduct of the election process. He is to insure all aspects of the Elections Code are administered and enforced correctly. It is not an unrealistic expectation that he be well versed in the appropriate election procedures. This incident indicates he is either incompetent or intentionally tried to influence the outcome of the election process. How many other precinct polling sites were influenced by Mr Ellins irresponsible and improper instructions because of his apparent lack of knowledge of the election statutes and the associated duties that he is charged to perform?
His activities certainly are cause for the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to investigate and take appropriate actions to insure similar discrepancies do not occur in any future elections in Dona Ana County.

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Martinez will have to get practical, Dems say

From NM Politics.net - Republican Gov.-elect Susana Martinez opposes tax increases, cuts to education and Medicaid, and taking money from the permanent funds to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis. That leaves cuts to the other 40 percent of state government as the way to balance the budget. But two fiscally conservative Democratic lawmakers say Martinez’s plan is not realistic, and they expect her to shift gears soon. “I think once you get the campaign people away from her… I think she’s going to look at it in a different light and recognize that we’re in a serious situation,” said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming. “I don’t know that she’s going to want to go around to the district attorneys and tell them that prisons are going to have to be closed.”
Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, agreed. “Having known Susana for almost 20 years, I am confident that she’s going to approach the job pragmatically,” he said. “If she takes a pragmatic and constructive role, I am confident we can find the best balance for the state, but that balance is going to mean a prompt re-evaluation of promises made during the campaign.” Read more
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Towery: President Obama Still Doesn't Get It

From Townhall.com - Those who've followed this column over the years know that when President Obama was first elected, I tried valiantly to give him the benefit of the doubt. I believed for the best that his promise of "change" would be an exercise in moderation and sound judgment. But that didn't happen, and this past week's elections were a comprehensive rebuke of the first two years of his presidency. What amazed me most was his press conference following the elections. The White House press corps finally found the courage to ask some tough questions. And the president? He seemed not to comprehend -- or at least not to acknowledge -- the message the American people had just sent him, courtesy of a resounding electoral defeat for Democrats nationwide. Read here:

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Hanson: America Checks Into Rehab

From Townhall.com - by Victor Davis Hanson - On Tuesday voters rejected President Obama's attempt to remake America in the image of an imploding Europe -- not just by overwhelmingly electing Republican candidates in the House, but by preferring dozens of maverick conservatives who ran against establishment Washington. Why the near-historic rebuke? Out-of-control spending, unchecked borrowing, vast new entitlements and unsustainable debt -- all at a time of economic stagnation. So what is next? Like the recovering addict who checks himself into rehab, a debt-addicted America just snapped out of its borrowing binge, is waking up with the shakes, and hopes there is still a chance at recovery. Read here:

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