Governor Calls for a Floor VOTE

Governor Martinez

SANTA FE - Late last week Governor Susana Martinez called for an up-or-down vote on the floor of the legislature for a bill that would repeal New Mexico’s policy of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The call came after the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee voted along party lines against approval of the measure despite overwhelming support from the people of New Mexico. “This critical matter of public safety deserves an up-or-down vote on the floor of the legislature,” said Governor Martinez.
“The people of New Mexico have made it clear that they disapprove of the policy of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, but their voices are sadly not being heard by some of their elected representatives. I am extremely disappointed that New Mexico’s citizens have been shut out of the legislative process and believe the entire legislature should give this bill an up-or-down vote on the floor.

No more hiding behind unrecorded tabling motions in committee – the public has a right to know where their legislators stand on this critical issue. “New Mexico could soon be the last state in the country that still issues licenses to illegal immigrants. The potential for abuse of this policy is far too high and it will only increase in the future. Our state has become a magnet for criminals around the world who wish to move freely around the United State without detection. I continue to call on our elected officials to uphold government’s most basic duty of keeping New Mexicans safe by ceasing the issuance of driver’s licenses to those who may pose a security threat to our state and our country.”

According to a poll taken by the Albuquerque Journal in September 2010, an overwhelming majority of New Mexicans oppose the policy of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants: “New Mexico voters…strongly disapprove of the state's policy of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Seventy-two percent of voters polled opposed New Mexico's driver's license law…” (Sean Olson, “Voters Support Strong Policy on Immigrants,” Albuquerque Journal, 9/5/10)

Governor Calls for a Floor VOTE

CNN: Even by Juarez standards, a deadly 72 hours

From CNN.com - Fifty-three people were killed in a 72-hour span in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, making it one of the deadliest three-day periods in recent memory, state attorney general's office spokesman Arturo Sandoval told CNN Sunday. Among the dead were four police officers from three different agencies, Sandoval said. "This is the worst violence we've seen this year," he said, referring to the three days from Thursday through Saturday. Read more

CNN: Even by Juarez standards, a deadly 72 hours

Santa Fe Emergency officials say city was ready for record low temperatures

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Emergency managers in Santa Fe say they were ready for the worst when record low temperatures precipitated a gas crisis in Northern New Mexico the first week in February. But at least one potential problem emerged: Santa Fe does not have many large buildings that do not rely on natural gas for heat and could serve as overnight shelters. When mercury began dropping and rural communities started losing natural-gas service, City Emergency Management Director Joyce Purley was making phone calls. Purley said she was surprised to learn that only the Santa Fe Community College and the Santa Fe Place shopping mall could fit the bill. But, while the mall was willing to allow people to hang out during business hours to escape the cold, management was not keen on the idea of being an overnight shelter, Purley said. "There were only two places where their heat did not run off natural gas. That was crazy," she said. "We are hoping that we can find more, especially now that things have died down." Read more

Santa Fe Emergency officials say city was ready for record low temperatures

Global Warming Explained

From Las Vegas Review Journal -At the Museum of Natural History in New Mexico, a display called "A Panorama of Time" explains the climate change of the Southwest thusly:  20,000 years ago: New Mexico had cooler summers and more winter snowfall. Resembled modern Wyoming.  10,000 years ago: The climate became warmer and drier.  5,000 years ago:  Warming and drying of the New Mexico climate reached its peak. The desert species entered New Mexico for the first time.  Today: New Mexico continues to dry out. Climate is only one of the many factors influencing these changes. How about that. No cars, no industrialization, no man. How in the world could Earth's climate change without greedy Republicans around to make it happen.  Yes, I'm askin' you man-caused global-warming believers. The Columbian Mammoth lived near Albuquerque 10,000 years ago. The climate turned on him. No cars, no industrialization. Al Gore can't explain it. Can you, and still keep a straight face about the myth of man-caused global warming?  More News New Mexico

Global Warming Explained

America's Worst Speed Traps

From yahoo.com -While this recession, and the gaping budget holes that resulted, have turned most cities into a jungle for motorists, there are some cities that have far more speed traps than others. And automated traffic cams have only egged them on. Now, they can snag just as many motorists for speeding, if not more, with less manpower.  It's hard to get this information from the police or the courts for two reasons: 1) Many tickets are negotiated in court and 2) speed limits, while originally designed to conserve fuel during the energy crisis of the 1970s, have grown into a cash cow for states and municipalities—and they don't want you to know how much they're making off of speeding tickets. "Speed limits are supposed to be based on factual studies of traffic and what the majority of motorists deem as a safe speed," said Chad Dornsife, director of the Highway Safety Group . "Now, the posted limit has become a revenue generator—not a safety device." The National Motorists Association, a drivers' rights group, estimates that speeding tickets are a $4.5 to $6 billion industry in America.  More News New Mexico

America's Worst Speed Traps

Obama Team in "Direct Talks" with Taliban

From nypost.com -The Obama administration has entered into direct, secret talks with senior Afghan Taliban officials, according to a published report.  The talks were characterized in the New Yorker magazine piece as an attempt by the administration "to assess which figures in the Taliban's leadership, if any, might be willing to engage in formal Afghan peace negotiations, and under what conditions."

Earlier yesterday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that only a political solution will end the war in Afghanistan. "We will never kill enough insurgents to end this war outright," she said during a speech in New York. Clinton voiced hope for splitting off rank-and-file Taliban from al Qaeda extremists in Afghanistan. 

Obama Team in "Direct Talks" with Taliban

O'Reilly: No Offense

Bill O'Reilly

Townhall - We live in a touchy age where any ethnic remark is a blowtorch. Your mom might have told you never to talk about politics or religion, but these days, mother should include race and ethnicity in her maternal guidance. Recently, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg showed up at the American Irish Historical Society to do a little schmoozing. After the beating the mayor took on the blizzard debacle, he is busy visiting just about every society that exists in order to do some good-will hunting. Unfortunately, Bloomberg pulled a Jackie Mason and told the Irish crowd that he lived nearby and was used to seeing "people that are totally inebriated hanging out the window" of the society's building. Did somebody say avalanche? Some in the crowd actually booed Bloomberg, which was unusual because the mayor stood just a few feet away from them. There were very few Irish eyes smiling, and the ensuing media reports made the situation even worse. Read full column here: News New Mexico

O'Reilly: No Offense

Europe Dumps Multicult

From americanthinker.com -Don't look now, but the cult of multiculturalism is finally crumbling into the vast dustbin of history. Multiculturalism is the left-wing fantasy that all cultures are equal, no matter how many millions of poor people are deliberately starved, mutilated, tortured or butchered by the Sudanese fascisti. The cult of multiculturalism is the feverish brainchild of our leftish professors, who prefer not even to read the daily newspapers for a sanitized version of reality in the Sudan, Congo, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Multiculturalism is the fantasy that Saddam Hussein had to be left in power in Iraq, but that Egypt's Mubarak had to go for unspecified sins against democracy.  More from News New Mexico

Europe Dumps Multicult

Driessen: Fraud and Manslaughter

Townhall - Many chemotherapy drugs for treating cancer have highly unpleasant side effects – hair loss, vomiting, intense joint pain, liver damage and fetal defects, to name just a few. But anyone trying to ban the drugs would be tarred, feathered and run out of town. And rightly so. The drugs’ benefits vastly outweigh their risks. They save lives. We need to use chemo drugs carefully, but we need to use them. The same commonsense reasoning should apply to the Third World equivalent of chemotherapy drugs: DDT and other insecticides to combat malaria. Up to half a billion people are infected annually by this vicious disease, nearly a million die, countless survivors are left with permanent brain damage, and 90% of this carnage is in sub-Saharan Africa, the most impoverished region on Earth. These chemicals don’t cure malaria – they prevent it. Used properly, they are effective, and safe.

DDT is particularly important. Sprayed once or twice a year on the inside walls of homes, DDT keeps 80% of mosquitoes from entering, irritates those that do enter, so they leave without biting, and kills any that land. No other chemical, at any price, can do this. Even better, DDT has few adverse side effects – except minor, speculative and imaginary “risks” that are trumpeted on anti-pesticide websites. In the interest of saving lives, one would think eco activists would tone down their “ban DDT” disinformation. However, that is unlikely. Anti-DDT fanaticism built the environmental movement, and gave it funding, power and stature it never had before. No matter how many people get sick and die because health agencies are pressured not to use DDT, or it is totally banned, Environmental Defense, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network, US Environmental Protection Agency and allied activist groups are unlikely to reform or recant. Read full column here: News New Mexico

Driessen: Fraud and Manslaughter

Latest from Wisonsin: Fake Doctors Notes

Maciver News Service - Madison, WI As tens of thousands of public employees skipped work this week to attend protest rallies outside the Wisconsin State Capitol, many wondered if they would face any disciplinary action for unexcused absences. On Saturday, a group of men and women in lab coats purporting to be doctors were handing out medical excuse notes, without examining the "patients." “I asked this doctor what he was doing and he told me they were handing out excuses to people who were feeling sick due to emotional, mental or financial distress,” said Christian Hartsock. “They never performed an exam–he asked me how I was feeling today and I said I’m from California and I’m not used to the cold, so he handed me a note.”

Another woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were handing out excuses like they were leaflets. “I asked if they were handing out doctors’ excuses and a guy said yes and asked me if I needed one,” she said. “When I told them I needed one for February 16 and 17th, he wondered if I wanted to come back here for the protests next week.” What happened next? “I said, ‘sure,’ and I received a doctor’s note for the 16th through the 25th of February, without a medical exam.” The notes read, Feb 19, 2011, Patient’s name______, Date of birth ____/_____/_____, To Whom it May Concern: This is confirm I have seen and evaluated the above named patient. Please excuse from work/school due to a medical condition from ____/____/____ through. Please contact me at badgerdoctors@gmail.com if additional information is needed. Thank you. Sincerely, Physician Signature: Physician Name, WI license number. Based on an examination of the signature and medical license number provided, one of the men handing out these notes was purporting to be James H Shropshire MD, a Clinical Associate Professor at the University Wisconsin Madison. At this time, MacIver News Service is attempting to contact Dr. Shropshire to see if indeed he was the one handing out the notes on the Capitol Square. Read story and watch video here: News New Mexico

Latest from Wisonsin: Fake Doctors Notes

Renewable But Not Reassuring

Capitol Report New Mexco - We’d all like to have a cleaner environment. We’d all like to have an energy system that’s reliable and pollutes less. And it may have been in that spirit that New Mexico politicians in 2007 updated the “Renewable Portfolio Standard” law requiring that regulated electric utilities must derive 15 percent of their electricity needs from renewable sources by 2015 and upping the requirement to 20 percent 2020. But lawmakers are worried if those standards can realistically be met (one commissioner at the Public Regulation Commission told me recently “there’s no way” the 20 percent mandate can be achieved within nine years) and at what cost. This past week, a study prepared by the Beacon Hill Institute as a joint project of the Rio Grande Foundation and the American Tradition Insitute estimated that due to the Renewable Portfolio Standard: Read full story here: News New Mexico

Renewable But Not Reassuring