It All Makes Perfect Sense

Let's try to sort this out and make sense of it all. Based on a philosophical approach to policies on international human rights and the administration of international criminal justice, it is the policy of the U.S. under President Obama that the U.S. is completely opposed to the process of water-boarding prisoners captured in the pursuit of the war on terror, even high ranking members of al Qaida like Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM).
Eric Holder
And additionally, it is also the policy of the U.S. administration that trials held for radical Muslim extremists accused of masterminding the 9-11 attack (like KSM and others) before military tribunals would not be sufficient to satisfy the new high benchmark for the FAIR administration of justice. We know this is the administration's view because just a month ago U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder explained that it was Congressional action (not the president's) that actually thwarted efforts to move Khalid Sheik Mohammed to New York City where the Obama Justice Department prosecutors were fully prepared to try him in civilian criminal courts.
OK I think I have grasped the guiding philosophy on information gathering and the presumption of innocence in civilian courts. With these principles in mind we are told that it is perfectly acceptable to the Obama administration to issue an order to U.S. military forces to cross into sovereign Pakistan without permission, storm into the private compound of another alleged criminal, and shoot him in the head. Hmmm. What are we to make of these seemingly contradictory policies? If not completely hypocritical it would seem that we can draw only one unmistakable conclusion. Thank God our Navy Seals were judicious enough to NOT water-board Osama bin Laden instead of simply putting a bullet through his head. If those military servicemen had resorted to water-boarding instead of killing, they would have been subject to court martial for such a horrifyingly barbaric transgression. And of course, instead of adulation and congratulations from the president, they would have been simply locked away in the brig. OK…….I think I got it. It is logical, consistent, and it all makes perfect sense.

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Feds Warn States About Medical Marijuana But Not NM

From newmexicoindependent.com -Several states — but not New Mexico — have received warnings from the Department of Justice over their medical marijuana programs, leading them to reassess their programs, according to the Associated Press. The “ominous-sounding letters” have gone to the states in recent weeks. The letters — sent to Colorado and Washington, among other states — are perhaps a signal that the federal government is further abandoning its stated hands-off approach to medical marijuana in the states. More News New Mexico
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Coulter: Next Time, Use FedEx

Commentary by Ann Coulter - The CIA stepped up the search for Osama bin Laden last week after becoming as sick of royal wedding coverage as the rest of us. American intelligence operations located Osama by following his trusted couriers, whose names were given up by al-Qaida members during harsh interrogations at CIA black sites under President Bush. Yes, the same interrogations endlessly denounced by the entire Democratic Party (save Joe Lieberman), the mainstream media, and an especially indignant Jane Mayer in The New Yorker. The most-wanted terrorist in the world was living in a moldy, million-dollar mansion in a gated community just outside of Islamabad. It took the CIA five years to figure out the four-digit code to get in. One important missed clue was that Osama was living at 72 Virgins Way. He might still be alive today if only he hadn't borrowed his neighbor's shoulder-mounted rocket launcher and never returned it. Read more
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Jeff and Lovejoy Offer Kind Words for Martinez


Sandra Jeff
NMPolitics - Though many Democratic lawmakers aren’t impressed with the job Gov. Susana Martinez has done thus far, two Democratic state lawmakers who represent an area that’s often forgotten have a different take. The praise for the Republican governor comes from Sen. Lynda Lovejoy and Rep. Sandra Jeff, Democratic lawmakers from Crownpoint who are both Navajo. It follows the appointment by Martinez of a Navajo to be the state’s Indian affairs secretary, and a legislative session in which both found some common ground with the governor. 
Lynda Lovejoy

“I do admire her willingness and her openness and her accessibility,” Lovejoy said in a recent interview. “I’m not going to say Navajos are going to change their party affiliation and vote for her. It’s too soon. But it’s a good start for her, in my point of view.” Jeff heaped even more praise on Martinez, saying she’s done such a good job of reaching out that some Navajo Democrats are considering becoming Republicans. “There’s a common ground, and they see it in her,” Jeff said of Martinez. Read full story here: News New Mexico

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Fake Bureaucrats Hitting Restaurants

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has received multiple reports from food establishments across the state of individuals impersonating health inspectors. The individuals often call the food establishment and utilize multiple techniques to convince owners of the validity of the call including providing names and inspector id numbers. The callers often state a new inspector has been assigned to the establishment and then attempt to set up an inspection time that may require food establishment owners to call a number and enter a pin to confirm the inspection time. Food establishment owners should never give business or personal information to callers or visitors claiming to be health inspectors.
NMED would like to make food establishments aware of the following criteria which will help identify legitimate inspectors:
· Inspectors must present a state-issued photo identification before conducting an inspection
· Inspectors never accept cash payment for inspections. Permit fee must be paid by a check or money order made payable to the “New Mexico Environment Department.”
· Inspectors do not charge for grade emblems, permits, or food safety signs
When in doubt, NMED encourages food establishments to verify the identity of health inspectors by calling the nearest environment department field office. Food Establishment owners are also encouraged to call their local law enforcement agency if the validity of a call or visit is in doubt.
NMED Field Office contact information can be found at: http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/contact.htm

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A Partisan Tale of Two Captures

Commentary Magazine - NewNM note (Spence) - We get two views from the same woman, the woman New Mexico house members Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich swear their leadership allegiance to. Nancy Pelosi offered her views on a capture and/or killing of Osama bin Laden during the Bush presidency during a press conference on September 7, 2006: [E]ven if [Osama bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But, in fact, the damage that he has done . . . is done. And even to capture him now I don’t think makes us any safer.
Nancy Pelosi
And here’s Nancy Pelosi yesterday: The death of Osama bin Laden marks the most significant development in our fight against al-Qaida. . . . I salute President Obama, his national security team, Director Panetta, our men and women in the intelligence community and military, and other nations who supported this effort for their leadership in achieving this major accomplishment. . . . [T]he death of Osama bin Laden is historic. . . .
What changed? Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Harbison: Politics of Denigration

Jim Harbison
In this age of constant bitter political mudslinging, casting any doubt or putting a negative moniker on your opponent is the rule of the day. As soon as someone learns that an individual is running for an elected office the volley of nasty bitter partisan attacks begin. They start with name calling using terms such as racist, environmental wacko, tea-bagger, conspiracy theorist, Christian zealot, or some other type of extremist. Now that we are beginning another campaign cycle at both the National and local levels we can anticipate that these slanderous attacks and character assassinations will begin with ever increasing volume and viciousness.
Seldom is a contemporary political race without negative campaigning. It is not usually done by, or at the direction of, the opposition candidate. Negative attacks are normally launched by someone or some group that has no direct links to the candidate or their organization. Their only apparent connection is that they are generally of the same political affiliation and oppose the other candidate’s platform. This is a deliberate opposition tactic to derail the candidate’s campaign strategy, cast doubt on their character or integrity, and avoid any meaningful discussions on the actual issues that separate them from their opponent. Many negative campaign activities occur without either candidate ever knowing who did it or who funded it.
Unfortunately, once a candidate is identified all protections against slander seem to disappear. They have instantly become a public figure and are no longer protected by the same laws that protect the private citizen. They are immediately forced to defend their reputation from these malicious allegations rather than focusing on the important political issues. It isn’t important or even relative that the slanderous and malicious remarks lack any creditability. This is truly unfortunate because it takes a lot of personal courage to run for any political office and many highly qualified and talented individuals refuse to have their reputations and character sullied and damaged by the irresponsible comments and accusations made by supporters of their political opposition.
 Often the slanderous comments continue to haunt the candidate long after the race is over and the damage to their reputation is irreparable. These unwarranted and destructive personal attacks have changed behaviors. As an example, many men will no longer stop to assist a stranded female motorist because of the potential of a false accusation of some type of sexual misconduct. Falsely accusing political candidates of misconduct is similar to calling someone a racist, bigot, conspiracy theorist or extremist. You are assumed, by the public, to be guilty until you can prove yourself innocent and even when you do, many will still have doubts about your character and credibility.
Regrettably, our political process is not concerned with civility and mutual respect but is focused on winning at all costs. We all acknowledge that the quest for political power and control is all consuming. Power and greed will always make winning the most important objective and that some candidates will resort to any means to win. When will we demand more from our political system and the candidates? As voters we must demand that all candidates repudiate this type of character denigration and insist there will be consequences if it occurs. We cannot be so focused on winning that we willingly accept or condone malicious attacks that can become destructive to the candidate, the political process or our community. We need to keep this in mind as the political season descends upon us and try to keep focused on the issues and not be distracted by the malicious and slanderous comments made about the candidates.

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Williams: Speculators is Code for "Market Pricing"

Walter Williams
Townhall - Here's a non-rocket science question: If you expect a reduced harvest of wheat, corn, rice or any other commodity some time in the future, what would be the wise thing to do about your consumption today? I bet that the average person would answer: Consume less now so that more will be available in the future. But how in the world can people be encouraged to consume less now? Enter the futures market, which consists of a worldwide group of millions upon millions of traders, often called speculators. Speculators, betting on a future shortage, buy up wheat, corn and rice today in the hopes of making money selling it for a higher price when the bad harvest hits. As speculators buy more and more wheat, corn and rice, they drive up today's prices. As today's price gets higher, people consume less, but more importantly, people do the intelligent thing without bureaucratic edicts. The vital role of the futures trader, or speculator, is to allocate goods over different time periods. And, it's not just wheat, corn and rice that must be allocated over time but all commodities including oil. Read full column here: News New Mexico
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Record Cold Temps BLAME GAME

KOB TV - The blame game continues for the February gas outage that left thousands of New Mexicans in the cold, but a new report in Santa Fe could clear New Mexico Gas Company of any possible wrongdoing. At a Public Regulation Commission hearing Tuesday, KOB Eyewitness News 4 obtained a staff report from a PRC engineer that basically says the gas company followed policies, regulations and the law when it cut off gas to thousands of customers. During the hearing, New Mexico gas officials went over presentations they have been using to justify cutting off large parts of northern and southern New Mexico from natural gas during a severe cold snap.
One of those slides showed a world map of average temperature fluctuations for the storm right before the outage. On the slide, parts of New Mexico and Antarctica experienced the most severe temperature fluctuations. The report from PRC staff says New Mexico Gas tried to get large customers to voluntarily reduce their gas use before they were forced to take communities like Taos and Espanola offline in order to avoid a system wide crash. It also says the company tried to buy extra gas before the cold snap but the supply was interrupted by shortages. Company representatives said they based their decisions on which areas could be shut off the fastest. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Russell: Is Heinrich Too Sexy?

Brigette Russell
Capitol Report New Mexico - Last week state auditor Hector Balderas announced his candidacy for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in this video that highlights his professional accomplishments and his humble roots in Wagon Mound. A few weeks earlier, Rep. Martin Heinrich released an announcement video showing him at home with his wife, children and chickens. Almost immediately, a parody video of “lost footage” appeared (hat tip to Joe Monahan) in which a Heinrich impersonator says, “I’m the sexiest man on Capitol Hill. I’m Martin Heinrich, and I’m going to be your next senator.” In 2009, Heinrich topped the list of The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill. The Huffington Post joined in the fun, proclaiming the young freshman one of Washington’s hottest. It seems obvious that being physically attractive is an advantage for a candidate, but academics have written articles and books documenting it. The 1960 Nixon-Kennedy race is the archetypal example of sex appeal winning an election, after radio listeners thought Nixon won their debate, while TV viewers gave the victory to the more attractive Kennedy. The advantage of beauty, like that of wealth, can, however, cut both ways. Read full column here: News New Mexico
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Sowards Loans Campaign $150k

Greg Sowards
NMPolitics - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Greg Sowards has loaned his campaign $150,000, which he says is “seed money” to jumpstart his campaign. Sowards confirmed the loan in an interview with NMPolitics.net. It isn’t the first time he’s backed a run for office with his own cash. Sowards ponied up $325,000 for his unsuccessful 2008 U.S. House campaign – a race in which he was up against better-funded and more prominent candidates. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Gary Johnson Part of 1st "Debate"

Gary Johnson
NMPolitics - The first debate for Republican presidential candidates of the 2012 election cycle will be held Thursday, and former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson will participate. Johnson’s campaign confirmed today that he’s attending. The debate will be televised by Fox News starting at 7 p.m. MST. It’s being held in South Carolina. Johnson’s campaign had to pay $25,000 to get on the ballot in South Carolina and be eligible to participate in the debate. This will be Johnson’s first real chance to show a wide audience what he’s about as a presidential candidate. Some of the most high-profile candidates and potential candidates – including Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump – aren’t expected to participate in Thursday’s debate. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Why "TAX the RICH" Polls Pretty Well

Accounting Today - A new analysis by Congress’s nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that 51 percent of U.S. households did not pay any federal income tax in 2009. The report was unveiled during a hearing Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee on the distribution of tax benefits and burdens in the Tax Code. “American taxpayers are skeptical that the answer to our fiscal problems is for them to sacrifice more, when almost half of all households are not paying any income taxes,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the ranking Republican member on the committee. “Those who promote higher income tax rates in the name of equality and deficit reduction need to come clean about what this means. With the income tax base so narrow, meaningful reductions in our deficits would require far more than taxes on the rich. Those tax increases would squarely hit the middle class, which the President and others have said is off limits. In short, the quest for social equality results in fewer resources and worse outcomes for the nation as a whole and the poor in particular.”
According to the JCT analysis, 51 percent of all households, which includes filers and non-filers, had either zero or negative income tax liability for tax year 2009. The committee also found that 30 percent of tax units actually made money off the income tax system for the 2009 tax year. “We are in a situation where people are talking about increasing taxes on higher income people because, supposedly, they can afford it—and probably they can afford it,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “But I get sick and tired of the demagoguery that goes on in Washington of taxing higher income people. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s latest analysis, 49 percent of households are paying 100 percent of income taxes coming into the federal government, while 51 percent of the people in this country don't pay any income tax whatsoever. Read full story here: News New Mexico

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Lt. Governor Sanchez to Appear on NewsNM

John Sanchez
Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez will appear on this morning's show in the 8:00am hour. For several weeks Sanchez has been widely reported as likely to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by retiring U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. Though we have received no indications, it is possible Sanchez might make his intentions official this morning. Listeners and site visitors can use the contact page to send Lt. Governor Sanchez. Several candidates have already announced their intention to run for the U.S. Senate seat in the 2012 GOP primary including: Heather Wilson, Greg Sowards, and Bill English.

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