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| Muammar Gaddafi |
Middle East Turmoil - Market Turmoil
Rawson's SIC Reform Motion Passes Unanimously
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| Lee Rawson |
Apparently, recognizing their roles as fiduciaries, the SIC members are putting the legislature and the executive on notice that it does not intend to make any film loans without a clear and formal direction in statutes. It would seem that the action taken today by the SIC was done to allow the legislature 30 days to pass legislation if the legislature and governor so choose.
Getting the Checkbooks OPEN for Public
Martinez Seeks Disaster Funds
State officials and FEMA personnel have been inspecting damaged government buildings, roads and other infrastructure in order to qualify for a Presidential Disaster Declaration. These federal funds supplement $750,000 in emergency funds the Governor has already authorized as well as a $1.1 million fund created by the Department of Finance and Administration through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). This DFA fund, announced yesterday, will provide disaster relief specifically to low-income New Mexicans and will be overseen by New Mexico Regional Planning Districts throughout the state. 
Inspections have been conducted in the counties of Taos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Socorro, Sierra, Otero and Lincoln. In addition to widespread natural gas outages across the state, Lincoln County suffered a massive water outage due to frozen water mains in Ruidoso and other communities as temperatures plunged to lower than -30 degrees in some areas of the state. The Pueblos of Taos, Santa Clara, San Felipe, and Santa Ana, as well as the Mescalero Apache Tribe, have also suffered infrastructure damage. The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will coordinate all requests for assistance from New Mexico counties and cities once the disaster declaration is approved.
Inspections have been conducted in the counties of Taos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Socorro, Sierra, Otero and Lincoln. In addition to widespread natural gas outages across the state, Lincoln County suffered a massive water outage due to frozen water mains in Ruidoso and other communities as temperatures plunged to lower than -30 degrees in some areas of the state. The Pueblos of Taos, Santa Clara, San Felipe, and Santa Ana, as well as the Mescalero Apache Tribe, have also suffered infrastructure damage. The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will coordinate all requests for assistance from New Mexico counties and cities once the disaster declaration is approved.
The Force Behind BIG Government
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| Union Boss Rich Trumka |
When Democrats win elections, they vote for bigger government. As government gets larger, union bosses are afforded more union dues. Over time the growth of government in nearly every state has become a geometric progression. Unfortunately, this circular relationship has continued to this day with state budgets in deficit virtually everywhere. Suddenly in November of 2010, voters in many areas demanded fiscal responsibility. And since Democrats had been in charge of the vast majority of governments around the nation they became the obvious targets. After smashing national and statewide GOP victories in November, policies to limit the size and scope of both government and public employees unions were laid on the table. How will all of this play out in places like Madison, Wisconsin and Santa Fe, New Mexico?
Private sector workers and employers are forced to be spectators. They can’t descend on the state capitol and chant slogans. They have to show up for work each day. At best private sector workers might take a minute or two to read the news to see what happened that day or listen to News New Mexico. In the meantime tens of thousands of union organizers and activists have simply walked off their government jobs. Once they arrive in seats of government like Madison or Santa Fe they scream and holler, essentially demanding there be a continuation of the vicious bigger government cycle.
The good news is now that change is being attempted and the opponents of change have exposed themselves, connecting the dots and identifying the conflicts of interest is simple. Accordingly, counter protests have been organized. But of course the numbers of citizens participating in the counter protests are smaller. The trouble is most people with a real stake in stopping this fiscal death spiral are busy doing their jobs each day. They are glued to their work stations because they must please their customers each day or lose their jobs. Public union members have no similar pressures to deal with.
Unions: New Mexico Next
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| Striking AFSCME Workers |
They carried signs with messages like, "Don't Balance the Budget on the Backs of State Workers," "We're With Wisconsin Workers," "Solidarity with Tunisa, Egypt & Wisconsin," and "Say No to Republican Tyrant Governors." But while some speakers said New Mexico could be the next battleground for state worker unions, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez downplayed any similarities between Wisconsin and New Mexico and stressed Martinez's appreciation of state workers. "There is a huge problem in the United States of America," Christine Trujillo, president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, told the crowd. "The infection has started in Wisconsin. But what's happened in Wisconsin could happen to any of us. And we're here to make sure it doesn't happen in the state of New Mexico." Read full story here: News New Mexico
Public Unions Must Go
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| Jonah Goldberg |
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