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| Don Bratton |
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| Bill Gray |
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| Brian Egolf |
Chair Brian Egolf Puts Gag on Bratton
License renewals could change for elderly drivers
From KOB-TV.com - State lawmakers will soon consider a bill that would affect license renewals for elderly drivers. Democratic state Senator Peter Wirth is proposing that drivers 75 to 84 would have to renew their license every two years, ages 85 to 89 would have to renew every year, and drivers 90 and older would have to renew every six months. The renewals would be free. Wirth's measure also calls for anyone over 75 to undergo tests of reflexes, reaction times, motor skills and coordination with each license renewal. Drivers over 90 would take eye and reflex tests twice a year. Read more
On This Day In New Mexico History - February 1
On this day in New Mexico history February 1, 1896 – One of the most enduring mysteries of New Mexico occurred on this date. Albert Fountain and his eight year old son Henry disappeared on a trip from Alamogordo to Las Cruces in a buckboard wagon. They were never found. Fountain had gone to Lincoln New Mexico to testify against cattle rustlers and was returning home. He brought his son along in the mistaken thought that no one would harm the boy. It is widely accepted by historians they were killed on the trip and their bodies disposed of without record. Fountain was both loved and hated, equally, his friends were legend and his enemies numerous. As an aside, he was the attorney assigned to defend Billy the Kid when he was tried in Mesilla and then sentenced to hanging when found guilty. That was fifteen years earlier. Famous lawman Pat Garret was brought in to solve the mystery as were the Pinkerton detectives, to no avail. There are a number of websites and books about this subject that are worthy of your interest. I have posted a couple websites to get started on what happened to Albert Fountain and his son Henry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Jennings_FountainThe good people of New Mexico were outraged at this murder and it was one of the moments that delayed statehood until 1912. The lawlessness of the territory in those times knew no bounds.
Pearce Talks Problem Solving
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| Steve Pearce |
Parker: No More Debt Until Spending Cuts
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| Star Parker |
DNA Testing Bill Introduced
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| Al Park |
Under the provisions of that law, DNA samples in New Mexico are collected for certain felony arrests. Those include sex offenses, death, great bodily harm, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, larceny, robbery, aggravated stalking, the use of a firearm or an explosive or violation of the antiterrorism act. HB 256 would require anyone over 18 years of age arrested for any felony to provide a DNA sample. The bill alters the original DNA restraints of the current law. “We hope that this bill will remedy some of the state’s cold cases and provide justice and closure for families,” Rep. Park said. HB 256 heads to the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. 
Governor Martinez Ends NM "Sanctuary" for Illegals
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| Governor Martinez |
Judge Vinson: Obamacare is UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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| Judge Roger Vinson |
Judge Vinson said President Obama can continue to enforce the law while the case winds its way through the courts toward an eventual Supreme Court showdown, but said in his ruling that if the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the entire law must fall. “I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the act with the individual mandate,” Judge Vinson wrote in his 78-page ruling, adding that while Congress can do some things to address health care, “the principal dispute has been about how Congress chose to exercise that power here. Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void.” Read full story here:
Excerpts from Today's Obamacare Ruling
Gaza Militants Fire Barrage of Missiles at Israel
Ban Ki-moon: World's Economic Model is 'Environmental Suicide'
From The Guardian -The world's current economic model is an environmental "global suicide pact" that will result in disaster if it isn't reformed, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, warned today. Ban said that political and business leaders need to embrace economic innovation in order to save the planet. "We need a revolution," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on how best to make the global economy sustainable. "Climate change is also showing us that the old model is more than obsolete." He called the current economic model a recipe for "national disaster" and said: "We are running out of time. Time to tackle climate change, time to ensure sustainable … growth." The Guardian revealed yesterday that Ban is ending his hands-on efforts to reach a global climate deal through UN negotiations, and move to focus on a broader sustainability agenda. More here
Napolitano: “It’s Just Plain Wrong to Say Border Is Overrun With Violence and Is Out of Control"
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| Janet Napolitano |
Sustainable Growth – A Threat to Private Property (Part 1)
This editorial is based on an article from the American Policy Center and is the first of two parts. In his book “Earth in the Balance” Al Gore warned that a “wrenching transformation” must take place to lead America away from the horrors of the Industrial Revolution. The process to do that is called Sustainable Development. The objective of Sustainable Development is to integrate economic, social and environmental policies in order to achieve reduced consumption, social equity, and the preservation and restoration of biodiversity. Sustainable Development calls for changing the very infrastructure of the nation, away from private ownership and control of property through central planning of the entire economy – often referred to as top-down control. Truly Sustainable Development is designed to change our entire way of life. It is a form of wealth redistribution. It is a masterful mixture of socialism (with its top-down control of the economy) and fascism (where property is owned in name only-with no control).
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| Jim Harbison |
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| Al Gore |
Locally, the operative term is Sustainable Growth. The language which the City Council now uses includes such terms as “community development,” “historic preservation,” “public-private partnerships,” ”visioning,” “open space,” and “consensus.” These terms are all necessary to implement Sustainable Development which has come to mean denied use of and protection of resources from the people. It has become a code word for “social justice.” Accepting the perception that Sustainable Growth is simply good environmental stewardship is a serious and dangerous mistake. It insists that society be transformed into feudal-like governance by making nature the central organizing principle of our economy and society. Every societal decision must be determined by how it might affect the environment. To achieve this transformation sustainable growth initiatives focus on three components: global land use; global education; and global population control. Private property is incompatible with the premise of Sustainable Growth especially when you consider the UN’s report from the Habit conference which said “Land … cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principle instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth, therefore, contributes to social injustice.” Read rest of column here:
House Members to Conduct Border Study
Las Cruces, NM (January 30, 2011) This week, Congressman Steve Pearce will join other U.S. Representatives in a congressional delegation studying border security in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Mr. Pearce is expected to be the only member of the delegation from a border district, and is eager to draw a spotlight of national attention to the violence and exploitation that occur along the border.
“For too long, Democrats and Republicans in Washington have given lip-service to the disturbing situation at our borders,” said Pearce. “Their response has been inadequate and it is time to act. I look forward to joining my colleagues to see firsthand the changes we face along our borders. Ideally, these visits and meetings will help to bring about focused and responsible solutions from Washington. I want to help get beyond the beltway rhetoric of border security, and work toward solutions that reflect the complexity of the problem. Lives are at stake on the border, and lives have already been lost.”
Drug cartels operate in the area with increasing power and boldness, feeding a culture of rampant violence. Illegal drugs and weapons flow across the border each day. Human traffickers, too, thrive on inaction, preying upon countless innocent victims. Our nation’s enemies, including terrorists, are known to exploit our weaknesses at the border. For the sake of national security, policies are needed that address every aspect of the crisis. In addition, the millions of undocumented immigrants who take advantage of weak border security must be addressed. The issues created by a porous border range from vast administrative and safety issues in the United States to environmental damage in heavily-travelled areas.
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| Steve Pearce |
The delegation, led by Rep. Phil Gingrey from Georgia, will tour border sites in El Paso before visiting Columbus, New Mexico, to discuss border security with local ranchers, residents and business owners in a public hearing to be held at noon on Tuesday, February 1 at the Columbus Community Center, 500 N. Broadway Ave. The group will also visit Playas, New Mexico, to review training methods for border security personnel. The delegation will meet with members of both the Retired Border Patrol Officers’ Association and local officials, including Hispanic civic leaders, while touring sections of the border.
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