UNM football player busted on airplane, sparks debate over airline authority

From Capitol Report New Mexico.com - For some people, DeShon Marman got what was coming to him. For others, they think US Airways flight attendants went too far.The 20-year-old who plays on the New Mexico Lobos football team was arrested Wednesday (June 15) at the San Francisco International Airport. His crime? Baggy pants. According to SF police, during boarding for the flight from San Francisco to Phoenix, three airline employess told him to pull up his pants because they were exposing his underwear. After being asked a second time, police say that Marman responded by saying that he didn’t have to because he had purchased a ticket.
A spokeswoman for US Airways said the incident began with Marman’s attire but escalated when “he repeatedly ignored crewmember instructions.” Police say the crew alerted the airliner’s captain to the disruption and police were called in to assist. Here’s more from CNN:
The captain made a citizens arrest of Marman for trespassing when he refused to leave the plane, according to Rodriguez. The captain decided to deplane the other passengers when Marman would not immediately leave the aircraft, [SF Police Sgt. Michael] Rodriguez said.
After leaving the plane, Marman resisted being handcuffed in the jetway, Rodriguez said, injuring an officer in the scuffle. One comment on the http://www.cnn.com/ site read: “Since when does a citizen, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, have to obey the orders of some security person who doesn’t like his clothes, and then submit to handcuffs for his ‘resistance.’ This is stupid. No one on any airline is going to tell me how to dress.” Either way, this is most national publicity the 1-11 Lobos have had in a long time. Read whole story here

UNM football player busted on airplane, sparks debate over airline authority

Swickard: Old west scum and a forgotten old west hero

Commentary by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. - Years ago at an informal meeting of tourism planners I watched as they searched for money-making ideas. One said New Mexico wastes perfectly good weekends when there are no celebrations. The “Tourist to local ratio” turns heavily local. The group agreed that we already have the local’s money, we need more tourists. So they ordered another round of drinks and brainstormed celebrations. Here are a few of the “better” ones: Dust Days (March or April), Cow Chip Days (any month), Bow Tie Days, Horned Toad Days, Siesta Days, and my personal favorite, Hot Steering Wheel Days. But seriously folks... A while back a television crew from Phoenix came to Las Cruces to do a story on famed Old West Sheriff Pat Garrett. They called on me because the idea for the television story was inspired by one of my columns.

Pat Garrett was a real life hero who was honored and respected while Billy the Kid is a myth made up in the 1926 book by Walter Noble Burns. It is an insult to the Garrett family when people celebrate a myth and forget the real story. Over the last 30 years I write a yearly column because I feel we should not celebrate an outlaw scum, who rustled cattle, stole horses and killed unarmed people.Consider this: a celebration of Pat Garrett would get national attention and, even more importantly, send the correct message about gangs and outlaws to our children. It is true that Garrett had rough edges as did many people in those days. He was no saint, though comparing Garrett to the Kid is like comparing Charlie Sheen to Charles Manson. One is a bad boy while the other is a monster.In August each year there is the Lincoln Days Celebration in Lincoln County celebrating Billy the Kid. Each year I do not go celebrate an outlaw thug. Instead, I bore my friends and acquaintances with Garrett stories. Each year I bend every elbow and ear I can find by pushing the idea of New Mexico Pat Garrett Days in Las Cruces and at the same time to give tourists to our fair state a choice of who they want to celebrate. Read more

Swickard: Old west scum and a forgotten old west hero

China and Russia Warn Obama

Breitbart - "The sides believe that the search for settling the situation in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa should take place in the legal field and through political means," said the declaration signed by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Hu Jintao. "Outside forces should not interfere in internal processes in the countries of the region." Rather, the conflicts should be solved by "launching broad national dialogue about rebuilding stability and social order and the promotion of democratic and economic reforms," the statement said. The two presidents also expressed concern over the situation in Libya, calling for an end to hostilities between the forces of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi and the rebels. Read full story here: News New Mexico

China and Russia Warn Obama

Idiot Behavior at ATF "Fast and Furious"

Brian Terry

Washington Times - Federal agents testified to Congress on Wednesday that their superiors told them to stand down and watch as weapons flowed from gun dealers in Arizona to criminals and violent drug cartels in Mexico part of a now-discredited operation designed to catch gunrunners. Named Fast and Furious, the operation, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been disavowed by President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who said it was running without their approval. The program was halted after U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in a December firefight, and authorities say two guns found at the scene were traced back to Fast and Furious straw purchases. “We weren’t giving guns to people who were hunting bear, we were giving guns to people who were killing humans,” said ATF Group Supervisor Peter Forcelli, who said he objected to the program as soon as he learned about it after being transferred to Phoenix from New York. He and two fellow agents testified that the operation had little chance of achieving its objective of ensnaring Mexican drug cartels, since those buyers were so many steps removed from the U.S. purchases. That made OK’ing risky gun purchases all the more dangerous, they said. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Idiot Behavior at ATF "Fast and Furious"

Martinez Knows How to Beat Dems

From the ocregister.com -More than 1,000 of the most influential and loyal Orange County Republicans got two very different messages from their out-of-town speakers at the party's signature Flag Day dinner this week. One served them the red meat that those who idealize an Eisenhower-era party want to believe is a path to success, making his point by reaching back to blame early-20th century Ivy League Marxists for our nation's woes. The other speaker showed the GOPers the way they could actually succeed, making her points by using 21st century reality in the Western U.S. Whittle frequently tells audiences he has to leave California to find America. (He modified that for O.C., saying he had to leave L.A.) Martinez realizes California and its growing Latino population is the new America, that Latinos are going to usually register as Democrats and California Republicans had better figure out how to speak to them on their terms. The appearance of Martinez, who followed Whittle, was important for two reasons: 1) she demonstrated to those enamored with Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann what an electable future Republican presidential candidate sounds like; and 2) she articulated why bashing the Democratic Party is counterproductive for Republicans. More News New Mexico

Martinez Knows How to Beat Dems

Pearce Calls for Probe of Allegations of Racial Discrimination by NM Guard

From greenfieldreporter.com - New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce is calling on the Inspector General of the U.S. National Guard to investigate alleged racial discrimination within the New Mexico National Guard. Pearce says he called for the probe on behalf of Spc. Adam Jarrell. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a complaint on behalf of Jarrell earlier this month alleging he was routinely subjected to racial slurs and threats while he was deployed in Afghanistan, and that his superiors did nothing to stop it. The complaint says Jarrell -- who was the only African-American in his unit of 216 soldiers -- even found a noose hanging outside his barracks one night.

Pearce Calls for Probe of Allegations of Racial Discrimination by NM Guard