It’s the Concussion Crisis, Stupid

From beyondchron.com -Senator Tom Udall’s proposed bill on football helmet safety, announced last week, is a step on the road to national sports concussion reform. An analogy might be the scandal over the quality of the body armor secured for our troops in Asia. Policy questions are rarely about hardware. They’re about software – the human decisions to put our military in harm’s way abroad, or to expose our youth to unacceptable risks in fun and games at home. We seem headed for helmet hearings in Congress in some form, on either Udall’s initiative or that of Democrats at the House Commerce Committee. What’s important at this point is to make sure these C-SPAN exercises don’t just scapegoat the manufacturers, which are almost certainly producing progressively improved helmets. Nor is the villain of the piece NOCSAE – the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, an overmatched trade oversight group. The root problem is that there’s no such thing as a concussion-proof football helmet.  More News New Mexico

It’s the Concussion Crisis, Stupid

Community Organizer's Economic Espionage

Stephen Lerner

Business Insider - A former official of one of the country's most-powerful unions, SEIU, is detailing a secret plan to "destabilize" the country. Specifically, the plan seeks to destroy JP Morgan, nuke the stock market, and weaken Wall Street's grip on power, thus creating the conditions necessary for a redistribution of wealth and a change in government. The former SEIU official, Stephen Lerner, spoke in a closed session at a Pace University forum last weekend. The Blaze procured what appears to be a tape of Lerner's remarks. Many Americans will undoubtely sympathize with and support them. Still, the "destabilization" plan is startling in its specificity, especially coming so close on the heels of the financial crisis.

Lerner said that unions and community organizations are, for all intents and purposes, dead. The only way to achieve their goals, therefore--the redistribution of wealth and the return of "$17 trillion" stolen from the middle class by Wall Street--is to "destabilize the country."

Lerner's plan is to organize a mass, coordinated "strike" on mortgage, student loan, and local government debt payments--thus bringing the banks to the edge of insolvency and forcing them to renegotiate the terms of the loans. This destabilization and turmoil, Lerner hopes, will also crash the stock market, isolating the banking class and allowing for a transfer of power. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Community Organizer's Economic Espionage

Udall Wants "Drunk Proof" Cars

Tom Udall

From consumeraffairs.com -

It's been talked about for years. Congress could make it a law. You would not be able to start your car if you've consumed too much alcohol. Two members of the U.S. Senate, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, have take a step, sponsoring the ROADS SAFE Act, which would authorize $12 a year for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop technology that would prevent an intoxicated person from driving a vehicle. The objective, of course, is to prevent drunk drivers from getting on the road and causing fatal accidents. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Bob Corker (R-TN) co-sponsored the legislation, expressing hope their bi-partisan approach will help secure passage.  More News New Mexico

Udall Wants "Drunk Proof" Cars

Bingaman Bashes GOP Gas Price Claims

Jeff Bingaman

From thehill.com -In a lengthy floor speech, Bingaman began by noting a wonky briefing the committee hosted this week with several experts, including federal Energy Information Administration chief Richard Newell, and the head of the energy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Bingaman’s takeaways?  EPA greenhouse gas regulations and the pace of Gulf of Mexico oil-and-gas permitting — two pillars of GOP attacks on the Obama administration over energy costs — are unrelated to crude oil prices that drive gasoline costs.  Bingaman notes the effects of turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa on oil markets. His speech notes that while increased U.S. oil production in recent years plays a role in world markets and aids energy security (he likes oil, noting “we need to keep drilling — we’re good at it”), it’s not significant enough to bring prices down.  More News New Mexico

Bingaman Bashes GOP Gas Price Claims

Say No To Obamacare Health Insurance Exchanges

From nmpolitics.net -Obamacare presumes that states will establish “exchanges” to limit the health-insurance choices of many of their residents. A bill passed both the House and Senate in the recent legislative session that would create an exchange in New Mexico. Governor Martinez should not force us to swallow this poison pill; she should veto it.  To be sure, the letter of the law prescribes states’ “flexibility” in structuring exchanges, and some believe that it is possible to design an exchange that increases consumer choice. Two states, Massachusetts and Utah, already have exchanges. Some claim that the Utah Health Exchange is a consumer-friendly model that can blunt the most harmful consequences of Obamacare.  More News New Mexico

Say No To Obamacare Health Insurance Exchanges

Richardson Joins Abengoa’s International Advisory Board

Bill Richardson

From solarserver.com -The former Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, has joined Abengoa’s (Seville, Spain) International Advisory Board, which is chaired by the lecturer Jose Borrel, former President of the European Parliament, and currently comprises six other members with recognized experience and knowledge in the fields of both economics and sustainability.  “We are extremely fortunate to have former Governor Richardson join our Advisory Board. His extensive knowledge of the renewable energy sector and his background in public policy will provide Abengoa with significant insight and help advise our leaders on global opportunities in the clean energy sector,” said Manuel Sanchez Ortega, Chief Executive Officer of Abengoa.   More News New Mexico

Richardson Joins Abengoa’s International Advisory Board

Story of 11th Hour Shenanigans in House

Sandra Jeff

Santa Fe New Mexican - It all started late Friday night, with less than 24 hours to go in the 60-day legislative session. The House's tax-writing committee convened a late-night meeting in which members added projects to Senate Bill 218, the capital-outlay legislation, including $7 million for critical water and wastewater-treatment facilities and $11 million to address completion of projects around the state. Also added was $180,000 for a project on Superman Canyon Road in McKinley County for Rep. Sandra Jeff, D-Crownpoint. Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, was bothered by the secrecy surrounding the late-night additions, she said Monday. "All I knew was that there were big chunks of money in that bill, and no one knew how it would be spent," Lundstrom said. She wasn't the only one. "A lot of us didn't know that there were amendments until afterward because we were on the floor," said Sen. Lynda Lovejoy, D-Crownpoint. "Those were the shenanigans pulled in there in the 11th hour, always in the House." Read full story here: News New Mexico

Story of 11th Hour Shenanigans in House

John Sanchez to Appear on News New Mexico

John Sanchez

New Mexico Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez will appear on News New Mexico Tuesday morning. We will discuss the turmoil that defined the final hours of the 2011 legislative session along with all of the challenges the Martinez - Sanchez administration faced in attempting to reform corruption-plagued Santa Fe. Topics for discussion will include assumptions built into the 2011 budget, education reform, energy policies, film industry subsidies, driver’s license issuance to illegal aliens, and efforts to reform voter I.D. laws. We will also talk about the upcoming re-districting process as well as the possibility that Sanchez might well enter the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman. The Lieutenant Governor will join us at 7:30am.

John Sanchez to Appear on News New Mexico

Progressive Furious with Obama

Progressive - Our founders would be appalled that a President of the United States could launch the country into an armed conflict half a world away without a formal declaration of war by Congress, much less barely any discussion of it by the House or by the Senate. Article 1, Section 8, of our Constitution is unambiguous: Only Congress has the authority “to declare war.”

James Madison warned that allowing the President to take the country into war would be “too much of a temptation for one man.” At this point in the warping of our system of checks and balances, a President can wage war almost whenever he feels like it — or at least whenever he can cobble together some “broad coalition,” as Obama put it, or a “coalition of the willing,” as his predecessor put it. Read full column here: News New Mexico

Progressive Furious with Obama

Energy Policy in Brazil

Investors - Energy Policy: While leaving U.S. oil and jobs in the ground, our itinerant president tells a South American neighbor that we'll help it develop its offshore resources so we can one day import its oil. WHAT?!? With Japan staggered by a natural disaster and a nuclear crisis, cruise missiles launched against Libya in our third Middle East conflict and a majority of U.S. senators complaining about a lack of leadership on the budget, President Obama decided it would be a good time to schmooze with Brazilians. His "What, me worry?" presidency has given both Americans and our allies plenty to worry about. But in the process of making nice with Brazil, Obama made a mind-boggling announcement that should make even his most loyal supporter cringe: We will help Brazil develop its offshore oil so we can one day import it. We have noted this double standard before, particularly when — at a time when the president was railing against tax incentives for U.S. oil companies — we supported the U.S. Export-Import Bank's plan to lend $2 billion to Brazil's state-run Petrobras with the promise of more to follow. Now, with a seven-year offshore drilling ban in effect off of both coasts, on Alaska's continental shelf and in much of the Gulf of Mexico — and a de facto moratorium covering the rest — Obama tells the Brazilians: "We want to help you with the technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely. And when you're ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers." Read full column here: News New Mexico

Energy Policy in Brazil