How Should We Interpret the Constitution?

From americanthinker.com -The Constitution is plainly written. It was intended to be easy to understand. The Constitution is also short. Why do we need a process for interpreting the Constitution? If we have such a process for divining the meaning of the Constitution, why should that process be secret deliberations of nine judges who are effectively unaccountable to the people? The issue, after ObamaCare, has become more than academic. Idaho has passed a resolution of nullification, which removes from the federal bench ultimate power to reject congressional actions as unconstitutional. The Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden advises that nullification is unconstitutional, but he has no power to prevent the Idaho Legislature from passing its resolution. What happens if a number of states pass similar resolutions? More here

How Should We Interpret the Constitution?

Record Low Temps Shattered in Wichita and Elsewhere

Energypublisher - The images and news reports from Chihuahua, New Mexico and Texas were gripping. Last week's sub-zero temperatures grew sheets of ice on the walls of unheated homes. Water lines froze and burst, wells clammed up, natural gas shortages left towns without heat and the normal functioning of schools, business and factory production was thrown into chaos. On both sides of the US-Mexico border, governors issued disaster declarations and troops were called out to assist with emergency relief. "We can call this historic", said Dave Novlan, meterologist for the National Weather Service in the border town of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. In neighboring Ciudad Juarez, a city already battered to the bone by extreme criminal violence and economic crisis, 90,000 families were reported without water the first weekend of February. Next door, in El Paso, Texas, the city water utility took the extreme step of ordering residents not to shower, wash cars and clothes and otherwise restrict water usage until further notice. In Aldama, Chihuahua, nearly three dozen animals-parrots, snakes, crocodiles and a monkey, froze to death at a private zoo, while the epic freeze was suspected in the death of a $30,000 giraffe at a zoo in Clovis, New Mexico. Read full story here:

Record Low Temps Shattered in Wichita and Elsewhere

Elder: Reagan 100 Year Old Racist?

Larry Elder

Townhall - Ronald Reagan "tortured" blacks. Tavis Smiley, the PBS television host, once said this about the former president. NBC's Bryant Gumbel and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, among many others, consider Reagan a racist. "There they go again," as Reagan might have said. The economic lot for blacks and Hispanics improved far more than it did for whites after Reagan's steep tax cuts.

In late 1982, Reagan's second year in office, the unemployment rate for blacks was 20.4 percent. By 1989, his last year, the black unemployment rate had fallen to 11.4 percent -- a 9 percent drop. In late 1982, the unemployment rate for Hispanics was 15.3 percent. By 1989, it had fallen to 8 percent -- a drop of over 7 percentage points. White unemployment, by contrast, fell "only" 4 percentage points. What about black-owned businesses? In 1982, according to the Census Bureau, there were 308,000 black-owned businesses. By 1987, the number had increased to 424,000, up 38 percent. The number of all U.S. businesses was up "only" 14 percent. Receipts for black-owned businesses went from less than $10 billion to nearly $20 billion -- a 100 percent increase. Read full story here:

Elder: Reagan 100 Year Old Racist?

Saudis Can't Pump Enough Oil to Keep Lid on Oil Prices

From guardian.co.uk -The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%. The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand. More here

Saudis Can't Pump Enough Oil to Keep Lid on Oil Prices

AOL Stock Sheds $315 Million Since Huffington Deal

From nypost.com -You pay for what you get. Arianna Huffington and Ken Lerer, co-founders of the Huffington Post, are said to be walking away with a combined $80 million to $100 million from an original $2 million per person investment -- but so far AOL stockholders aren't seeing that kind of return. Since Feb. 1, the price of AOL shares has dropped from $23.85 to $20.89 at yesterday's close. With 106.7 million shares outstanding, that means AOL has shed $315 million in value over the last five trading days -- which happens to be exactly the same price AOL agreed to pay to acquire HuffPo. More here

AOL Stock Sheds $315 Million Since Huffington Deal

Poll Shows Bingaman is a Lock for Re-election

From newmexicoindependent.com -Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who has not yet announced his decision on whether to run for re-election, leads major potential Republican candidates in a poll released by the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling. PPP showed that Bingaman had an extremely high approval rating: 56 percent approved of his job performance while just 27 percent disapproved, the fourth highest among senators polled in the last year by PPP. The poll shows that Bingaman would lead former Gov. Gary Johnson 51 percent to 40 percent, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce 54 percent to 37 percent and former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson 56 percent to 37 percent. The poll showed that Democratic U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich would be in strong positions against Pearce and Wilson though would narrowly be behind Johnson in such a race. “Jeff Bingaman is a near lock for reelection,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Gary Johnson could be competitive in an open seat situation but whether some of his unorthodox views would allow him to get the Republican nomination is a different question.” More here

Poll Shows Bingaman is a Lock for Re-election

Efforts to Kill Cap and Trade? Not Dead Yet

Capitol Report New Mexico - Like that scene in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the fight to undo cap and trade in New Mexico isn’t dead yet. Two pieces of legislation aimed at reversing regulations passed by the state Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) have been tabled in recent days, but that doesn’t mean more attempts won’t be made in this 60-day legislative session – or even, that those attempts won’t be successful. There’s been plenty of three-dimensional chess-playing at the Roundhouse when it comes to the EIB regulations, which were passed in November and December of last year before Bill Richardson left the governor’s office. Read full story here:

Efforts to Kill Cap and Trade? Not Dead Yet

A.G. King Wants Richardson Docs UNSEALED

Gary King

Capitol Report New Mexico - The state Attorney General’s office wants Bill Richardson’s documents unsealed. The AG’s chief deputy released a letter Tuesday (Feb. 8th) it sent to the head of the State Records Center and Archives, saying that Richardson and the records center are improperly interpreting a statute in which the former governor’s public as well as personal records can remain under seal for the next eight years. Read full story here:

A.G. King Wants Richardson Docs UNSEALED

Martinez Names Spaceport Board

Susan Martinez

SANTA FE – Governor Susana Martinez announced today that she has made appointments to all positions on the Spaceport Authority Board of Directors. The appointments come as the Martinez administration continues to review all boards and commissions to make necessary adjustments and ensure that New Mexico’s taxpayers receive the best possible return on their investment. Each member has agreed not to conduct business with the Spaceport for two years after leaving their position on the board. “I believe that with the right leadership and the right approach, the Spaceport can be a successful venture that brings jobs to New Mexico,” said Governor Martinez. “New Mexico’s taxpayers have made a significant investment in the Spaceport project. It’s time to see the project through to completion by bringing in private funding. In order to let taxpayers know that their government will operate in an open and honest manner, I have also asked each board member to make a commitment that they will not conduct business with the Spaceport for two years after their tenure on the board ends. I look forward to working with the new board members to ensure that we responsibly develop the Spaceport to its full potential, bring new jobs into New Mexico, and give taxpayers a healthy return on their investment.” The members of the Spaceport Authority Board of Directors are listed here:

Martinez Names Spaceport Board

Richardson's Seal Efforts Facing Full Assault

Bill Richardson

Capitol Report New Mexico - Here are a couple updates on the fight to unseal Bill Richardson’s public records from his eight years in the governor’s office: First, in light of the state attorney general’s opinion that Richardson’s records should be unsealed, the Albuquerque Journal quotes a statement coming from the office of the State Records Center and Archives saying that records administrator Sandra Jaramillo, “will honor requests for those records as advised by the attorney general.” Second: Does that mean former state investment officer Frank Foy and his attorney Victor Marshall will start requesting — and receiving — Richardson documents as soon as possible? Not necessarily. Read full story here:

Richardson's Seal Efforts Facing Full Assault