Erhard pledges to focus on ‘the plight of the people’

Evelyn Madrid Erhard, Candidate for Congress
From NMPolitics.net - by Jeff Berg - “I’m running for congress, and I’m a Democrat,” Evelyn Madrid Erhard offers strongly and convincingly. I ask Erhard, why now? Here’s what she says:“I came to Las Cruces in 1975, and for most of that time the district has been Republican. First it was Joe Skeen and now it is Steve Pearce. They’re always with the Republicans – there was the ‘Contract for America,’ Skeen was there for the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Halliburton incidents and so on. Now the Republicans are bringing the U.S. close to failure and deep poverty.” Her website includes this note: “Their agenda was always to take care of their own interests and the interests of the top 1%. They have supported laws that created corporate loopholes and stripped American workers of pension and health insurance benefits.” Because of those concerns, and having received leadership recognition from the Democratic National Committee and being invited to participate in Hispanic leadership conferences, Erhard felt that her time to try and make a big difference had come. Although always a long time political observer – “I remember having an interest in politics starting about the time that JFK was assassinated,” she said – Erhard never really had an opportunity to get involved until the Obama campaign of 2008. “My husband really encouraged me, even though I was busy all the time,” she said. “He knew that I listened to other people’s stories, and when the Obama office opened here in 2008, he told me to go there.” She did, and found herself busy as a volunteer from the first day. She helped sign up more volunteers and assisted in arranging campaign events locally for Obama and former U.S. Congressman Harry Teague, who lost to Pearce in the last election. Her efforts did not go unnoticed, and in 2009, she was one of a handful of supporters to be chosen to meet President Barack Obama at a rally in Rio Rancho. “He did a talk and there were some pictures of us taken with him,” she said. “He called me and encouraged me to continue to work hard, and recently has given me his support for my campaign.” Read more
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PolitiFiction

Pants On Fire
From National Review Online - he website PolitiFact is going to be truth-squadding the Republican convention speakers this week, delivering verdicts on which claims are “mostly true” and which deserve a “pants on fire” rating. Our advice: Pay no attention to those ratings. PolitiFact can’t be trusted to get the story right. Its recent rulings on Medicare have demonstrated the point thrice over. PolitiFact said that Romney’s comment that Obama had “robbed” Medicare of $716 billion to pay for Obamacare was “mostly false.” Among its reasons: “The money was not robbed in any literal sense of the word.” So if Romney led anyone to believe that Obama had held Medicare at gunpoint and ordered it to hand over its wallet, they can now rest easy, because PolitiFact is on the case. PolitiFact’s other arguments are that Medicare spending will continue to rise and that Obama’s spending reductions are “mainly aimed at insurers and hospitals, not beneficiaries.” Leave aside the economic naïveté of that argument, and focus instead on the irrelevance. Romney said that Obama had taken money that was going to be spent on Medicare and instead spend it on Obamacare, and suggested that this was a bad thing. In other words: an absolutely true claim, and an opinion based on it. If PolitiFact disagrees with that opinion, let it publish its views under a different name. Read more

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Obama Team Rejects Catholic Request to Participate, But Will Host 2 Hour Muslim Prayer Event at Convention

The Blaze - The Democratic National Committee is raising a number of eyebrows after choosing to proceed with hosting Islamic “Jumah” prayers for two hours on the Friday of its convention, though it denied a Catholic cardinal’s request to say a prayer at the same event.
The event is being promoted on the official Charlottein2012.com page. You can watch the promotional video, via the Bureau of Muslim Affairs, which is partnering with the DNC for the event.
The first two minutes are rather dry, but around 2:04 a muezzin sings the call to prayer with an American flag background, and the video “picks up” considerably:
Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the Friday prayers and Jibril Hough, a spokesman for the Bureau of Indigenous Muslim Affairs (BIMA), said the purpose of the event is to hold political parties accountable for the issues faced by Muslim-Americans.
In particular, the event will target the Patriot Act, the NYPD, the National Defense Authorization Act, and anti-Shariah sentiment.
Imam Siraj Wahhaj
And while Muslim-Americans undeniably face distinct challenges, those who are well-informed on the dangers of radical Islam are expressing their doubts about the event. Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, wrote: “The leaders of this event – Jibril Hough and Imam Siraj Wahhaj are not moderates. They are radicals. These individuals embrace Islamist supremacy and have demonstrated support for radical ideologies.

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Obama's Ohio Military Vote Strategy
courtesy of http://www.conservativedailynews.com/

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Expect More Emboldened Voter Fraud Schemes

Eric Holder
Newsmax - Voter fraud will become “more brazen” with Attorney General Eric Holder in office because the Justice Department aims to block states and local governments from enforcing the law that’s been on the books for decades, Cleta Mitchell, president of the Republican National Lawyers’ Convention, told Newsmax.TV in an exclusive interview.
Mitchell said Holder’s policies emboldens vote scheming, which, she points out, is a felony. “I think they get more and more brazen and because they know that Eric Holder, the Attorney General, rather than trying to enforce federal laws that would protect us from voter crimes, Eric Holder and his Justice Department have done just the opposite,” she said.
“They have tried to block states and local governments from enforcing the law that we have operated on for decades. I mean it’s illegal. It’s a felony under federal law for someone to register to vote or to vote if you’re not a citizen. But instead of enforcing that law, the Justice Department under Eric Holder is suing the state of Florida to keep them from enforcing it. So that’s why I think that that emboldens those who would concoct schemes to have illegal votes cast.”
Mitchell’s group has been working for several years to help states “adopt procedures and laws that will guard against voter fraud,” she said. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Consumer Confidence Falls to Ten Month Low

Bloomberg - Confidence among U.S. consumers fell in August by the most in 10 months as households grew more pessimistic about their employment prospects and the economic outlook.
The Conference Board’s index decreased to 60.6 from a revised 65.4 in July, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. The 4.8-point decrease was the biggest since October. The reading was less than the most- pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey in which the median projection was 66.
Rising gasoline prices, a jobless rate that’s been above 8 percent since the start of 2009 and limited income gains are keeping consumers glum. Persistent pessimism raises the risk of a pullback in household purchases that account for about 70 percent of the world’s biggest economy. Read full story here: News New Mexico

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Solyndra: There's More

(Reuters) - Two investment firms could walk away from the bankruptcy of solar panel maker Solyndra LLC with hundreds of millions of dollars in future tax breaks, the U.S. government said in court papers seeking more information on the arrangement.

Units of Argonaut Ventures and Madrone Partners could end up with "significantly more" than $500 million in tax benefits as part of Solyndra's bankruptcy, the Department of Energy and the Internal Revenue Service said in a bankruptcy court filing on Friday.
Under the bankruptcy plan, the U.S. government is unlikely to recoup much of its $528 million loan to Solyndra.
The government agencies asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, to reject Solyndra's "disclosure statement," which describes its plan to repay creditors, unless the company provides more details on the tax benefits.
Under the proposed plan, tax benefits such as "net operating losses" would be preserved for Argonaut, which is controlled by a foundation linked to billionaire George Kaiser, and Madrone. Under a 2011 restructuring, the two firms committed to investing $75 million to keep Solyndra afloat with the condition they would be repaid before the U.S. government.
"Argonaut and Madrone could potentially use Solyndra's net operating losses to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in future income taxes that they would owe on income generated by business ventures wholly unrelated to the debtors," the government agencies said in the filing.
Debra Grassgreen, an attorney with Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, which represents Solyndra, declined to comment beyond saying that the company would file a reply with the court.
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City of Las Cruces Demands Photo Identification, For Children Who Want to Play in City Programs

Commentary by Jim Spence - Progressive Democrats dominate the Las Cruces City Council. Most businesspeople agree it is the most anti-business council in the history of the City of Crosses. One of the defining policy positions of all progressives is vigorous opposition to efforts to require photo voter identification to prevent voter fraud. The hypocricy in city hall in New Mexico's second largest city is reaching epic proportions. Here is the latest press release:
The City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will now issue individual activity identification cards for all youth who participate in Parks & Recreation programs. The card will contain a photo, I.D. number, birth month and year, grade level as of school year 2012-2013 and issue/expiration dates. The initial card will be free of charge.
This card will help streamline the administration of Parks & Recreation programs and assist in getting children placed on teams and receive information on upcoming events.
"Every child that participates in a program sponsored by the City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will be required to have an activities identification card," said Parks & Recreation Department Director Mark Johnston. For a child to obtain a card, parents or guardians, along with the child, must appear in person at Meerscheidt Recreation Center, 1600 E. Hadley Ave., to fill out the permission form, provide proof of child's age and grade level, and to have the child's photo taken. Cards will be issued Monday thru Friday between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
The implications of this rule are pretty clear. Preventing voter fraud is not a priority but preventing unidentified children (with no photo ID) from playing is. Incredible.

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NMSU Tries to Close Barn Door at DABCC Nursing Program With "Free" Scholarships

The horse left the barn at Dona Ana Community College. Several years after deficiencies were identified in the nursing program that raised the spectre of lost accreditation the hammer finally came down on the management team at DABCC and NMSU. Earlier this month the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission denied accreditation for the Dona Ana Community College nursing program.
New Mexico State University and DABCC finally made a much too late effort to close the door to barn yesterday when it issued this statement: "NMSU will provide scholarships to cover tuition and fees for DACC nursing students who transfer into the BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program and the scholarship can be renewed through the duration of the program if the student maintains a 3.O (grade point average).” No mention was made of tuition refunds to current students.
In effect the university is encouraging existing and future students to gamble that NMSU and DABCC will regain its credibility and obtain accreditation at some point in the future. The "free tuition" offered in the wake of the breech will only have real value to students if accreditation is regained.

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Land Office Takes in $7.4 Million on Oil and Gas Leases

The New Mexico State Land Office reported sales of oil and natural gas leases brought in nearly $7.4 million for August.
A total of 26 tracts of land covering more than 8,000 acres were sold. Revenues from the oil and gas industry represent 97% of all income brought in by the Land Office. The revenues are used to support public schools, universities and hospitals.
The highest sealed bid of $466,140 was made by Ronald Miles of Roswell for about 163 acres in Eddy County who also placed the highest oral bid - $2 million for about 640 acres in Lea County.
Experts wonder how much more money might have come to the State Land Office if it had not tried to retroactively change the formula for how royalties are calculated on productive leases.

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State Land Office Loses Bid to Retroactively Change Oil and Gas Royalty Rules to Increase Revenues

Santa Fe New Mexican - New Mexico’s highest court has ruled in favor of the oil industry in a dispute over whether two companies owed the state nearly $25 million in royalties for natural gas and oil produced on state land.

The court’s unanimous ruling last week was a setback for the State Land Office, which contended that producers have shortchanged New Mexico in what they pay for producing gas and oil on land owned by the state. The decision could affect several other pending royalty lawsuits potentially involving tens of millions of dollars.
Wally Drangmeister, a spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said Monday the court’s ruling “reaffirms the common sense interpretation and application of lease provisions that the industry has employed for decades.”
One of the central issues is whether companies should be allowed to continue to deduct certain expenses for making natural gas marketable after it’s produced at well sites. Those so-called post-production costs include removing water and other impurities from the gas, and then transporting the gas to plants for additional processing before it’s shipped in pipelines for commercial distribution.
Royalties are paid on “net proceeds” and the Land Office sought to limit costs that can be deducted by producers. Some gas is produced from oil wells and the ruling also involves royalties paid on that. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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