Up in smoke: Gary Johnson loses Willie Nelson endorsement
Posted by
Michael Swickard
on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Labels:
National News,
U.S. Politics
1 comments
From Capitol Report New Mexico - One day after the former New Mexico governor touted the country singer’s endorsement of Johnson in the 2012 presidential race, Nelson posted Wednesday (May 18) that he’s changed his mind. Nelson e-mailed the National TeaPot Party, which the singer is a co-founder of, writing: “My bad. Sorry. I still think he is a good guy but so Is Dennis [Kucinich] and if he decided to run I would personally vote for him. If it came down to either him or Gary I’m already commited to Dennis.” Kucinich received Nelson’s support in the race for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008. When one of the National TeaPot Party organizers pointed out that the Johnson endorsement was only for the Republican ’12 nomination, Nelson still wouldn’t change his tune, saying, “This will blow over and the world moves on. No harm done. We sound like a bunch of pot smokers, that’s all… The more I get into politics the more I realize that I am a guitar player.” You can read the entire recantation account here on the National TeaPot Party blog page. Read more
Don't Endanger the Economic Life of NM
Posted by
Jim Spence
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Commentary
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Dennis Kintigh |
Don't Endanger the Economic Life of NM
Riordan Defended and Sued by State
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
New Mexico News
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Kate Nash |
Riordan Defended and Sued by State
Write Your Congressman (Or Congresswoman)
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
National News
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We ran across a very interesting website earlier today. It is called National Write Your Congressman. It provides citizens with non-partisan, unbiased information and makes it easy for them to communicate with their lawmakers. National Write Your Congressman claims to be the leading source of constituent mail received by Congress. We test drove some of the features and liked what we saw. They seem to have established a site that allows responsible Americans to use their site to influence Congress, by letting their voices be heard. It is worth checking out. Visit site by clicking here: News New Mexico
Write Your Congressman (Or Congresswoman)
Apple Crop Was Ruined by Record Cold Temperatures
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
New Mexico News
2
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KOB - TV - It's hard times for New Mexico's most famous apple orchard - bad winter weather has almost completely destroyed this year's crop at Dixon's Apples, near Cochiti Lake. Growers blame the terrible deep freeze cold snap of early February for strangling the crop before it even blossomed. Dixon's has only about 5 percent of its usual crop this spring. Old Man Winter gobbled up the other 95 percent. Dixon's Apples owner Becky Mullane said it's only the second crop wipeout since she started working there with her grandfather, Fred Dixon, 25 years ago. Dixon started the orchard in 1944 on the site of an old dude ranch. Read full story here: News New Mexico
Apple Crop Was Ruined by Record Cold Temperatures
Will Vigil-Giron Walk Without a Trial?
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
New Mexico News
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Gary King |
New Mexico Watchdog - In an Albuquerque courtroom Monday, a defense attorney accused Attorney General Gary King’s office of procurement violations. Another said attorneys working for the state’s top prosecutor flouted a judge’s order and ignored a deadline. Yet at the end of the day, it was the Attorney General’s office that got what they asked for. Second Judicial District Judge Albert Murdoch on Monday gave the AG’s office another 30 days to find a replacement prosecutor to argue charges against former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and three co-defendants. Defense attorneys want the case thrown out because they say their clients haven’t received a speedy trial in the August, 2009 grand jury indictment.
Rebecca Vigil-Giron |
Vigil-Giron’s attorney on Monday noted that the AG had not asked for a stay that would have set aside the April 29 deadline Murdoch had set for the AG’s office to find someone else to take the case. No replacement prosecutor has yet notified the court they will handle the case. Vigil-Giron – a former two-term Democrat secretary of state – along with Elizabeth Kupfer, Joseph Carl Kupfer and Armando Gutierrez are charged with fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and giving, taking or soliciting kickbacks. News New Mexico
Will Vigil-Giron Walk Without a Trial?
Like Sardines and Heading to a Border Near You
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
Border
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UK Daily Mail - Packed together in the tightest of cabins, with little air to breathe and no space at all in which to move, the migrants in this picture show just how far some will go to try to sneak into America. Mexican police found the 513 agonisingly squashed together in two trucks just outside Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas - an eye-watering 18-hour-drive away from the nearest US border. They were caught when the trucks sped through a vehicle scanner at a police checkpoint. After the astonishing X-ray image came up on screens, police gave chase, finding 240 people in one truck and 273 crammed into the other. Read full story here: News New Mexico
Like Sardines and Heading to a Border Near You
Williams: The Law of Lower Class Culture
Posted by
Jim Spence
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Commentary
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Armstrong Williams |
What they need most is a check, a reality check. Lower class value systems do not believe in planning for the future. They do not believe in sacrificing today for your own benefit tomorrow. There is a conflict between delayed gratification and the high that comes from fulfilling fleeting desires. As a result, lower class culture suffers from an epidemic of immediate gratification regardless of future consequences. Prudence, patience, and planning are not lauded enough, if at all. And yet, these are the very facets of character that allow a person to grow, accomplish, and, should they persevere, achieve excellence. Read full column here: News New Mexico
Williams: The Law of Lower Class Culture
Williams: Income is Earned Not "Distributed"
Posted by
Jim Spence
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Commentary
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Walter Williams |
Williams: Income is Earned Not "Distributed"
Malkin: Need Full Disclosure on Waivers for Favors
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
Commentary
1 comments
Michelle Malkin |
Malkin: Need Full Disclosure on Waivers for Favors
Letter From Udall: A Non-Response Response
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
Spence Columns
4
comments
Jim Spence |
We continuously offer each and every elected official that New Mexico voters send to Washington an open invitation to appear on News New Mexico. Our hopes are they will explain what they are doing to solve the nation's enormous spending addiction. Since we have yet to secure an appearance by Senator Tom Udall, recently I corresponded with him and asked him to support Paul Ryan's budget plan (recently passed in the U.S House). I suggested it is the only credible budget reform proposal I had seen in my entire adult life.
Tom Udall |
* * *
As you know, Congress faces many tough decisions as we begin work on the budget for FY12. (LAST YEAR MY PARTY CONTROLLED CONGRESS AND WE NEVER PASSED A BUDGET) Two wars that we have not paid for (MAKE IT THREE WARS WITH THE PRESIDENT'S RECENT LIBYAN INCURSION), a trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy (I HOPE YOU DON'T REALIZE 51% OF ALL AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS DON'T PAY ANY FEDERAL INCOME TAXES), and a severe economic slowdown took us from a budget surplus in 2000 to the staggering levels of debt we now face as a nation. To put our nation on a sustainable path of fiscal responsibility, every federal program will be on the table for scrutiny. (BUT DON'T LOOK FOR ANY SPECIFIC SCRUTINY HERE) However, we also must work to ensure that any budget passed by Congress does not harm our still fragile economic recovery (I DON'T CARE IF WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS DAMAGING CONFIDENCE, IT IS ONLY WHAT WE MIGHT DO THAT WE NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR BECAUSE THAT MIGHT CAUSE POLITICAL PAIN FOR ME) and includes provisions to keep America competitive in the long-run. Since we did not get in the hole overnight, to dig out, it will take both time and difficult choices in the future. (I HOPE YOU AREN'T EXPECTING ME TO NAME AT LEAST ONE DIFFICULT CHOICE I AM WILLING TO MAKE IN THIS LETTER BECAUSE I WON'T DO IT)
Bernie Madoff |
Specifically, the president's budget would invest $6.5 billion in renewable and clean energy to spur the creation of high-value jobs and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. It also would continue support for the Pell Grant award and programs that support teacher training in addition to $1.4 billion for new, competitive initiatives to strengthen and reform early childhood education. (I SURE HOPE YOU WON'T REALIZE THIS IS ACTUALLY JUST MORE SPENDING IN THE BUDGET). While the president's budget blueprint makes a dent in our national deficit and stays true to our national priorities, I do not agree with every recommendation. (DON'T ASK ME FOR ANY SPECIFICS ON WHAT I DISAGREE WITH BECAUSE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE AFTER 2012, I WANT OBAMA TO BE PRESIDENT AGAIN AND I WANT NANCY PELOSI TO BE SPEAKER AGAIN) It is important that we take a hard look at our commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have cost our nation more than $1 trillion since 2001.
In Iraq, I am pleased that operations appear to be moving smoothly towards President Obama's timeline for withdrawing all troops by the end of 2011. As operations continue in Afghanistan, I hope that the president also will stick to his plan for an "accelerated transition" to the Afghans. In a very real sense, this is their fight, and we need to let them begin to take the lead. (SINCE GEORGE BUSH IS NO LONGER PRESIDENT POLITICALLY SPEAKING WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE MISSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS......SO OBVIOUSLY I DON'T REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHY WE ACTUALLY NEED A "TRANSITION") Related to this issue, you may be aware that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (WI) released a budget proposal, H.Con.Res. 34, that includes, among other provisions, a blueprint for changes in government spending on health care plans over a ten year period (FY2012-FY2021).
Paul Ryan |
Additionally, this proposal would gradually increase the Medicare eligibility age to 67 and would convert Medicare to a premium support- or voucher- system. Under this new system, Medicare would pay a portion- adjusted for age, health status, and income of beneficiaries' health insurance premiums. CBO predicts that Medicare beneficiaries participating in this system would bear a much larger share of their health care costs than they would under the current program; as much as 43 percent more than under the current system. Some estimates show the additional out of pocket costs would be $6,350 per senior. Representative Ryan introduced H.Con.Res. 34 on April 11, 2011, and on April 15, 2011, the House passed H.Con.Res. 34 by a vote of 253-193. (I FIND IT USEFUL TO TALK ABOUT ENTITLEMENT REFORM....AND CRTICIZE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY VOTE FOR IT)
It is imperative that Congress tackle our budget deficit, but (I HOPE YOU NEVER REALIZE THAT ANYTIME I MAKE A STATEMENT FOLLOWED BY THE WORD "BUT," THAT THE STATEMENT I JUST MADE WAS ACTUALLY ONLY A DECEPTIVE SMOKE SCREEN) we must do so in a way that protects strategic investments to ensure America remains competitive for generations to come (THIS MEANS I REALLY WANT TO KEEP SPENDING AT THE SAME LEVELS WHILE I USE THE TERM "TOUGH CHOICES" SO I CAN MAINTAIN THE ILLUSION THAT I AM SERIOUS ABOUT DEBT). I also am committed to protecting and strengthening the Medicare and Medicaid programs for all New Mexicans and will do so as the Senate begins the process of crafting our version of the budget for FY12. (THIS MEANS I AM OPPOSED TO CONGRESSMAN RYAN'S ENTITLEMENT REFORM PROPOSALS, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE COURAGE TO OFFER YOU ANYTHING AS AN ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE I THINK I CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS TACTIC POLITICALLY AND MY PARTY CAN WIN IN 2012)
Letter From Udall: A Non-Response Response
If Only New Mexico Had Democrats Like These Two
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
Energy,
U.S. Politics
0
comments
Mary Landrieu |
Redstate - Democratic politicians once ruled the energy-producing states, but they are becoming quite a rare breed. Republicans scored strong electoral gains in the Congressional elections of 2010, particularly in Texas. Here in Louisiana, both houses of the state legislature have swung red, by a combination of election and defection; it’s no secret who owns the moratorium and a host of other energy-hostile policy initiatives. Sen. Mary Landrieu remains the sole remaining Democrat in a statewide elective office in the Pelican State.
Mark Begich |
Mary and the other energy state Dems know upon which side their bread is buttered. Democrats in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana have a long history of working cooperatively with the oil and gas industry as a engine of jobs and economic growth in each of their respective states. But now, an openly hostile regime in Washington puts a strain on those historic ties. And back home, the energy state Dems must distance themselves as far as they can manage from Obama, Reid, and the national party leadership. Read full story here: News New Mexico
If Only New Mexico Had Democrats Like These Two
Richardson Denies "Pay to Play" Appointments
Posted by
Jim Spence
Labels:
New Mexico News
1 comments
Bill Richardson |
Richardson Denies "Pay to Play" Appointments