CBS's Lara Logan Raped/Beaten By Egyptian Protesters

Lara Logan

From atlasshrugs - CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a "60 Minutes" story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy. CBS reportage on this is ... interesting. Logan was brutally raped for a sustained period of time. I find their mealy-mouthed reporting appalling. Imagine if this were ..... Israel. Or a tea party?  She was saved by "a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers." Color me skeptical, but methinks it was more soldiers than women.  More from News New Mexico

CBS's Lara Logan Raped/Beaten By Egyptian Protesters

Petraeus to be Relieved From his Command?

General Petraeus

From hotair.com -General David Petraeus, the most celebrated American soldier of his generation, is to leave his post as commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. The Times can reveal that the Pentagon aims to replace General Petraeus, who was appointed less than eight months ago, by the end of the year. Sources have confirmed that the search for a new commander in Kabul is under way. It forms part of a sweeping reorganisation of top American officials in Afghanistan, which the Obama Administration hopes to present as proof that its strategy does not depend on the towering reputation of one man. “General Petraeus is doing a brilliant job but he’s been going virtually non-stop since 9/11…More from News New Mexico

Petraeus to be Relieved From his Command?

1 US Immigration Agent Dead, 1 Injured in Mexico

From insidebayarea.com -A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded while driving through northern Mexico Tuesday, in a rare attack on American officials in this country which is fighting powerful drug cartels.  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said one agent was critically wounded in the attack and died from his injuries. The second agent was shot in the arm and leg and remains in stable condition.  "I'm deeply saddened by the news that earlier today, two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents assigned to the ICE Attache office in Mexico City were shot in the line of duty while driving between Mexico City and Monterrey by unknown assailants," she said.  U.S. and Mexican officials said they were working closely together to investigate the shooting and find those responsible.  "Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel—or any DHS personnel—is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety," Napolitano said. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders."  More from News New Mexico

1 US Immigration Agent Dead, 1 Injured in Mexico

Obama's Trump Card on Oil Subsidies

From businessweek.com -President Barack Obama's call to eliminate tax breaks for profit-rich oil companies was a Democratic crowd pleaser during last month's State of the Union address. He had already proposed curtailing the $4 billion-a-year subsidy twice in the last two years, only to be turned back by industry lobbying and lawmakers in both parties. So his decision to mention it again raises the question: Can Obama make it happen this time?   More from News New Mexico

Obama's Trump Card on Oil Subsidies

The Pirates Are Winning

From captainsjournal.com -I talked with one Marine Scout Sniper (on the 26th MEU, before this incident) who had a boatload of pirates in the sights of his Sasser .50 sniper rifle from a Helicopter, and he refused to take the shot because, well, “Hell, who wants to get tangled up with the lawyers when he gets back to the ship?”  In fact, taking the shots to save the Maersk Alabama required approval of the POTUS.  Folks, pirates aren’t that hard to find.  The Marines of the 26th MEU did it frequently in the Gulf of Aden.  While in the Persian Gulf, they also had an Iranian helicopter virtually land on board the deck of the USS Iwo Jima with Iranian gunners laughing at the Marines, and the U.S. Navy ordering the Marines NOT to engage for fear of creating an “international incident” (how’s that for “rules of engagement”?)  One of my points was that with aircraft, radar, LCACs and other sea-based craft, there is adequate means of locating and interdicting pirates, regardless of the size of the Gulf of Aden. The problem isn’t finding them.  The problem is what happens then.  Now with that background, let’s cover recent data concerning pirates.  More from News New Mexico

The Pirates Are Winning

Egolf to Convene Follow-up Hearing

House Energy Committee Chairman Brian Egolf (Santa Fe) is going to hold a "follow-up" hearing on Wednesday to learn more about the "causes" of rolling blackouts and natural gas shortages during the days when record low temperatures hit New Mexico two weeks ago. Observers say it is unlikely that Egolf will take a long look in the mirror before the hearing. No doubt the terrible effects of the micro-managing of energy supplies by the federal government, Governor Bill Richardson, the Egolf committee, and an army of state regulators will not be a topic for discussion. 

In prefacing the hearing Egolf said, "This is an important next step in our effort to learn what caused the recent outage and how to prevent a future crisis. I am very happy that we will have a panel of experts to help our work." No doubt Egolf and others on his committee who control energy policy in the state will continue to gloss over the lack of temperature data to support their global warming theories for the last fourteen years. And observers we spoke with suggest that even in the face of the coldest winter in decades, Egolf is certain to make sure the state stays on a global warming theory-driven policy path that virtually assures future rolling blackouts and gas shortages.

The looming shutdown of three economically viable electricity generators in the Four Corners region (not too mention the lost jobs and tax revenues) speaks much louder than any of the rhetoric that might be offered up for consumption by the uninformed during the hearings held by the House Energy Committee on Wednesday.

Egolf to Convene Follow-up Hearing

Out of State Owners Control NM Gas Co.

From kob.com -After New Mexico Gas Company’s outage caused over 30,000 residents to lose heat and hot water during record-low February temperatures, KOB Eyewitness News 4 took a look into the company’s background.  While New Mexico Gas Company is headquartered in Albuquerque, its owners are based in Michigan and New York.  In 2008, PNM sold its natural gas operations to Continental Energy Systems, a holding company based in Michigan for $620 million.  Continental Energy Systems, according to its website, owns two other energy companies along with New Mexico Gas.  More from NewsNM here

Out of State Owners Control NM Gas Co.

Sarah Palin Finds Presidential Support in NM

Sarah Palin

From thestatecolumn.com -Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has found at least one state that will support her run for president: New Mexico.  A poll by Public Policy Polling shows Ms. Palin would receive significant support in the Republican presidential primary in the state, before losing to President Obama in the general election.  Ms. Palin tops the Republican field in a presidential primary in New Mexico with 20 percent of the support among Republican primary voters. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney trailed with 17 percent support. The poll is the first to place Ms. Palin ahead of her Republican counterparts and it follows an announcement from Ms. Palin’s political action committee, SarahPAC, that the former Alaska governor has hired a chief of staff.  More from NewsNM here

Sarah Palin Finds Presidential Support in NM

Williams: National Anthem Irrelevant?

Armstrong Williams

Townhall - I've read (and maybe even said) some incendiary things through the years that were designed to elicit a response or stoke the ire of readers in order to initiate a frank conversation. But a recent piece by national columnist Kevin Blackistone makes even the seasoned political watcher cringe. In his recent missive entitled, "Time to Turn Off the National Anthem Before Sports Events," Mr. Blackistone argues that the singing of the National Anthem at sporting events has outlived its purpose.

He submits that very few Americans even know the song, and suggests that still fewer can recall why the words were written in the first place. There's nothing about playing T-ball that should hearken memories of a lopsided British attack on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. "Sports," Mr. Blackistone writes, "have and continue to ritualize [the Anthem] with barely a shred of relevance." Singing a song about soldiers raising a flag following hours of cannon bombardment may have little to do with the indoor soccer game parents are watching, but that same song does remind everyone at that game that they stand there because of American sacrifice. Read full column here:

Williams: National Anthem Irrelevant?

Sowell: Learning Tactics From Marciano

Townhall - Rocky Marciano was the only heavyweight champion who never lost a single fight in his whole career-- and, at the time, he seemed the least likely fighter to do that. In many a boxing match, he was battered, bruised and bleeding. One of the reasons Marciano took so much punishment in the ring was that he had shorter arms than most other heavyweights. It was easier for others to hit him than for him to hit them. In a sense, Republicans today are in a similar position in the political arena. With most of the media heavily tilted toward the Democrats, Republicans are going to get hit far more often than they are going to get in their own punches.

Rocky Marciano

The difference is that Rocky Marciano understood from the beginning that he was going to get hit more often, and prepared himself for that kind of fight. His strategy was to concentrate on developing punches powerful enough to nullify his opponents' greater number of punches. Republicans take the opposite approach from that of Rocky Marciano-- and often with opposite results. That may be why they managed to lose both houses of Congress and the White House in recent years, in a country where there are millions more people who call themselves conservatives than there are who call themselves liberals. Read full column here:

Sowell: Learning Tactics From Marciano

Alexander: GOP Split Over Patriot Act

Townhall - Rachel Alexander - A vote in Congress to extend three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act through December 8 failed last week, but it was primarily over procedural issues. Those technicalities should be resolved this month, permitting a new vote that will result in passage. 26 House Republicans voted against the extension, joining 122 Democrats to defeat it by seven votes. The final vote came to 277-148, which was not enough since the Republicans brought the bill up under a special expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority. The Republicans had miscalculated and assumed they had two-thirds of the votes required for a rush bill that bypasses House rules. They did not expect the majority of Democrats to switch their votes this year and vote against an extension. Republicans have until February 28th, when the Patriot Act expires, to bring it up for a simple majority vote without the special expedited procedure. From there it goes to the Senate, which has three competing bills to consider.  Read full column here:

Alexander: GOP Split Over Patriot Act

The Nazi Origins of Apocalyptic Global Warming Theory

From americanthinker.com -One of the primary pioneering theorists on apocalyptic global warming is Guenther Schwab (1902-2006), an Austrian Nazi. In 1958, Schwab wrote a fictional novel built off of Goethe's (1749-1832) Faustian religious play entitled "Dance with the Devil."  While a few scientists since the late 1800's had contemplated the possibility of minor global warming coming from industrial pollution, Schwab used Goethe's dramatic approach to convert the theory into an apocalyptic crisis.  The book outlines many looming environmental emergencies, including anthropogenic global warming.  Guenther Schwab's very popular novel was an apocalyptic game changer.  By the early 1970's, it had been translated into several languages and had sold over a million copies.  At one point in his novel, Schwab opines on the fragile relationship between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.   More here

The Nazi Origins of Apocalyptic Global Warming Theory

Gonzales Begins 2014 Governor Campaign

Javier Gonzales

Albuquerque, NM - KRQE - Not even six weeks after the republican governor took office, and so much for working together. State democrats unveiled a new website bashing Susana Martinez, which could be a bad omen for the rest of the legislative session. The website, basically claims she's lied and hidden her actions from the public. “It's an effort to hold Susana Martinez and her administration accountable,” said Javier Gonzalez. He is the head of the state democratic party, and the mastermind behind the website. Read full story here:

Gonzales Begins 2014 Governor Campaign