News New Mexico

Jay Miller: New Year Looks Murky

Jay Miller

Santa Fe New Mexican - We're into another unpredictable year in the world of politics. Gov. Susana Martínez comes almost completely unknown, Her inauguration ceremony was outdoors for the first time since 1975 and away from the current capitol building for the first time in memory. She hosted the first children's inaugural ball ever and that evening held her "bold" inaugural ball. It is the first time anyone around here can remember an inaugural ball with an adjective attached to it, or with an invitation required or with a steep price. Read full column here:

Republican Showdown?

Thomas Sowell

Townhall - They say that, in politics, "overnight is a lifetime." In other words, the journey from triumphant hero to discredited scapegoat can be very brief. In the wake of the Republicans' triumphs in last November's elections, great hopes are being held out that Republican control of the House of Representatives can slam the brakes on Barack Obama's march toward a completely government-controlled economy and ruinous deficit spending. The first big step toward that goal could be forcing the Obama administration to cut back on spending, as the price of raising the national debt ceiling, which will be necessary early on in this new Congress, if the federal government is not going to be forced to shut down for lack of money. Read full column:

Austerity Now or Never

Armstrong Williams

Townhall - We are a week and a few days into 2011, but it’s not simply a new year. The end of 2010 marked the passing of the first decade of this new century. It’s only fitting we look back and look for lessons learned. There’s no question this nation and the world were rocked early on. 9/11 caused many to question just what age of man we were truly entering. A new era of fear? An era of power centers shifting to meet this terrorist scourge?

911- Rescuer

In the wake of that horrific day came a simple yet powerful thought - a motivation to prevent another attack on American soil, no matter the cost. Quickly, that mindset spread to other sectors in our government, and our own way of life. Not surprisingly, the U.S. and, indeed the world’s, economy was turned upside down. President Bush and opponents alike were quick to reassure the public. The calming words? “Whatever it takes.” Read full column here:

State Senator Steve Fischmann on NewsNM

State Senator Steve Fischmann from District 37 will be on News New Mexico in the 8 o'clock hour today. He has been quite vocal about improving education in New Mexico and is on the State Senate Education Committee.

January 11, 1989... President Reagan's Farewell Address

On this date in 1989 Ronald Reagan gave his farewell address – “I'm (still) out there stumping to help future presidents - Republican or Democrat - get those tools they need to bring the budget under control. And those tools are a line-item veto and a constitutional amendment to balance the budget…

And how stand the city (Washington, D.C.) on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after two hundred years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home…”

Reagan’s 100th birthday is February 6th “Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.”

Martinez budget spares Public Safety, teachers

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Gov. Susana Martinez proposed Monday to cut state spending by about 3 percent next year to balance a $5.4 billion budget for public education and governmental services. In releasing her budget recommendations to the Legislature, the Republican governor proposed that public schools find $30 million in savings in administrative operations. However, she said school districts should be able to find the savings without cuts in classroom spending, which she had pledged to protect during last year's gubernatorial campaign. Martinez also recommended that government workers and some educators pay more for their pensions. It's a change that would trim take-home pay for public employees, although part of that would be offset by lower federal payroll taxes. No tax increase would be required to balance the budget under Martinez's plan, which would trim state spending by about $179 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1. A budget proposal by the Legislative Finance Committee calls for cuts of about $194 million. Like the legislative panel, Martinez gained much of her proposed savings by requiring state workers and some educational employees to pay an additional 2 percent of their salaries for their pensions. The state would reduce its pension payments by a similar amount, saving about $39 million next year. Read more

Progressive: Blame Game Beat Goes On

Matthew Rothschild

Progressive.org - His web postings reflect “a jumble” of far right views. And some anti-Semitic white nationalists shed no tears over Gabrielle Giffords. The alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, has links to the far right. On My Space, he acknowledged he had political motives. “I define terrorist,” he said, adding he was using violence “as a political weapon.” In his rambling messages on the web, he railed about the U.S. currency and the need to return to the gold standard, which are views that often circulate among the tea party crowd and other on the far right. He also, according to the Guardian, was anti-abortion. Read full column here:

Blame Game Won't Work

Carol Platt Liebau

Townhall - As the nation reeled from news that a gunman had shot a group of Arizona citizens including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, an all-too-predictable response emanated from some on the left. Despite news reports suggesting that the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, was simply insane – a devotee of Karl Marx and Adolf Hitler, who believed in mind control and “conscience dreaming,” and who was convinced he would become the treasurer of a new currency – many left-wingers sought to attribute his despicable acts to a conservative political agenda. Read full column here:

A Tale of Two Target Lists

In the wake of the horrifying shootings in Tucson, and the predictable opportunist finger pointing that began soon after, it didn't take long to find many examples of political "target" lists out there in cyberspace. Both CBS News and ABC selectively chose to only report on a target list of Sarah Palin on the Sunday talk show circuit. Both networks referenced Palin's target list of house members on sarahpac.com. However, what these news outlets did not bother to mention was all the other congressional "target" lists posted by various competitors and interested parties in the political space.

In two minutes we found an article and list using the term "BULLS EYE." One can read a 2008 article contaning one such list from the popular progressive website Daily Kos. Listed along with many other "blue dogs" as a legitimate target for defeat is Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Is this list or this article that was posted on Daily Kos significant? Not really. The only thing significant about this list and article is its omission by once reputable news agencies like ABC and CBS in their atrocious reporting on the horrifying acts of a madman.

Daily Kos: Scrub Site and Point Finger

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga

Worldnet Daily - Shortly after news broke of the attempted murder of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., the left-leaning blog Daily Kos was swift to scrub its post from a Tucson writer explaining how the congresswoman was now "dead to me." One of the blog's diary writers, identifying himself as BoyBlue, had written a post only two days before the shooting titled "My CongressWOMAN voted against Nancy Pelosi! And is now DEAD to me!" Read full story here:

News New Mexico

Total Pageviews

Archives

Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico