Executive Privilege? Where Have We Heard That Line of Bull Before?

Richard Nixon

NewsNM note (Spence) - Are there similarities between the Fast and Furious scandal and the botched burglary of Democratic National Headquarters back in 1972, better known as Watergate? Fast and Furious is much worse. Why? There was no harm done in the Watergate break in. The thieves were caught redhanded by hotel security and local police and taken directly to jail. What the Watergate scandal did do was expose a horrific coverup of crimes. It also exposed the lengths to which Nixon administration operatives would go in terms of breaking laws, including U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell.

John Mitchell

Fast and Furious makes Watergate look like child's play. Fast and Furious led to the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. With Fast and Furious we don't have two-bit crooks arrested during a botched political burglary, we have our own U.S. Department of Justice running guns to drug lords who used those guns to kill our law enforcement officers. Richard Nixon made a terrible mistake obstructing justice in 1972 . Eventually the Washington Post exposed him. Barack Obama has started down the same obstruction path exactly forty years later. Instead of cutting Eric Holder loose, Obama has claimed "executive privilege" to block the truth-seeking process. Just as Nixon did, Obama is tolerating trash in his midst. And accordingly, he is now starting to behave like trash himself.

Newsmax - The President Barack Obama granted an 11th-hour request from Attorney General Eric Holder to exert executive privilege and withhold documents related to the Fast and Furious gun probe, but the maneuver appeared unlikely to head off a contempt vote against Holder by House Republicans. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its chairman Rep. Darrell Issa forged ahead Wednesday morning with a meeting on the contempt resolution in spite of Obama’s move.

Brian Terry

After Holder made the request to Obama in a letter on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote to Issa on Wednesday informing him that the president has granted the request. "We regret that we have arrived at this point, after the many steps we have taken to address the committee's concerns and to accommodate the committee's legitimate oversight interests regarding Operation Fast and Furious," Cole wrote. "Although we are deeply disappointed that the committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the department remains willing to work with the committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues." Read full story here: News New Mexico

Executive Privilege? Where Have We Heard That Line of Bull Before?

PNM Proposes Renewable Charge

Albuquerque Journal (Subscription) - A hearing examiner has recommended state regulators approve a Public Service Company of New Mexico request to add a new renewable energy charge to customer bills — and for the first time include a line item about the cost. Until now, renewable energy investments have been recovered through base rates approved by the PRC and invisible to ratepayers, and the proposal to specifically identify the charge for renewables drew the ire of environmental groups. “Line-item treatment of renewable energy on bills creates a target for customer dissatisfaction,” said Steve Michel, chief counsel for Western Resource Advocates. “It singles out renewable energy for extraordinary treatment, and we think that’s being done by design.” Peter Gould, general counsel for Industrial Energy Consumers, said environmentalists want to hide renewable energy expenses from the public. “I think they don’t want ratepayers to see the costs,” Gould said. “It’s the commission’s decision, but we will always come down on the side of price transparency.” PNM had recommended a special charge of 2.1 percent to cover the cost of investment in renewables such as wind and solar since 2011. The rider would have raised about $7.9 million this year and $23.2 million in 2013. Read More News New Mexico

PNM Proposes Renewable Charge

Hearing continues on changes to pit rule

Santa Fe New Mexican - rancher Irvin Boyd has made his living off the oil and gas industry for three decades, supervising pipeline construction. He thinks New Mexico's pit rule is a good thing for ranchers, industry and the environment. The 4-year-old rule governs the disposal of oil and gas well drilling and production wastes. Under the rule, most of the waste now must be removed and taken to a permitted disposal site. "There was a lot of work and planning that went into that rule on the part of industry, the environmental community, the ranching and farming community and nonprofit groups," Boyd said. "It is not 100 percent for anybody, but I believe that it is good." Some in the oil and gas industry have problems with it. The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico requested revisions of the rule from the Oil Conservation Commission. The hearing was conducted for four days in May. It continues beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday for at least another three days of testimony and comments. The pit rule grew out of concerns that thousands of old, unlined drilling waste pits, below-grade tanks and even newer lined pits were leaching contaminants, salts and chemicals onto soil and into water. Read More News New Mexico

Hearing continues on changes to pit rule

Judge: Ex-U. of New Mexico president’s website, linked to prostitution ring probe, was legal

F. Chris Garcia

Washington Post  - A state judge has ruled that the website of a former University of New Mexico president accused of helping run an online prostitution ring was legal. The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/LBgbfj ) District Judge Stan Whitaker ruled this week the website, an online message board and a computer account of former University of New Mexico President F. Chris Garcia did not constitute a “house of prostitution.” He also said the website wasn’t “a place where prostitution is practiced, encouraged or allowed.” The case was scheduled to go before a grand jury this week. The ruling means that prosecutors will now have to decide how to proceed with a case involving Garcia, Fairleigh Dickinson University physics professor David C. Flory and others who were arrested last June on a criminal complaint charging them with promoting prostitution. Read More News New Mexico

Judge: Ex-U. of New Mexico president’s website, linked to prostitution ring probe, was legal

Fire Burns Ruidoso Hospitality Businesses

KOB TV - The Little Bear Fire has consumed nearly 40,000 acres, but not one square mile was touched in Ruidoso. However, merchants are fighting the perception from out-of-towners that air quality in Ruidoso is bad and it is no longer a good tourist attraction in lieu of the fire.
"You know, we're still 10-20 degrees cooler than a lot of places around us, come up and sit in the cool pines and relax, that's the best thing people can do to help Ruidoso," said Gina Kelley, director of tourism in Ruidoso.
There was hardly a cloud in the sky on Tuesday and smoke from the Little Bear Fire was minimal and blowing north of Ruidoso. Kelley said the Ruidoso Chamber of Commerce answers over a hundred calls each day asking about the air quality in the village.
She said the biggest impact has been with lodgers in the area. "Lots of lodgers tell me that they've lost business for last week and this week. We're hoping that's going to bounce back soon," Kelley said.
Riker Davis works for Condotels in Ruidoso. He said his company is making a public relations campaign to alert their clients that Ruidoso is not being threatened by the fire. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Fire Burns Ruidoso Hospitality Businesses

Courtesy of Conservative Daily News

     

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