APD releases names of officers injured in shootout

Albuquerque Police have released the names and conditions of the three officers wounded in Saturday's shootout.

 Ofc. Matthew Hannum was hired by APD in June 2004 as a PSA, and entered the police academy in July of 2006. Hannum was hospitalized and later released. 

Ofc. Eric Martinez was hired by APD in January of 2004. Martinez was grazed by bullet fragments and was treated on the scene. 

Ofc. Daniel Morales was hired in 2003. Morales remains hospitalized and is recovering from his injuries. 

BCSO deputy Robin Hopkins remains in intensive care as a result of her injuries. Doctors anticipate her to remain in the hospital for several weeks.

APD releases names of officers injured in shootout

Green Tea Not Welcome at Tea Party

Commentary by Marita Noon, www.energymakesamericagreat.org - Jobs. Enlarging the tax base. Market access. Energy choice. Fair compensation. Options. Make money. These words and phrases represent ideas or concepts that are attractive to Republicans, conservatives, limited-government and free-market supporters, and even fiscally minded Democrats—which is exactly why they are being used to get buy-in from these groups for something that is 180 degrees from their core values. This approach, I believe, is part of an organized plan by the left to hoodwink the right.
     If supporters of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, said it was heavily subsidized on both the state and federal level, had an artificial market created by government mandates, would help mitigate global warming, was the recipient of taxpayer dollars through Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill that funded projects like Solyndra, and was marred by cronyism, the right would run. Instead the wily tactics have won over a few Republicans with strong conservative résumés. Those sell-outs are working hard to bring their peers into the fold.
     Let this be a warning. While they may be hitting the right notes, they are singing the wrong song.
     I first became aware of this scheme back in July—then, I thought it was just an anomaly. The Georgia Tea Party Patriots, cofounded by Debbie Dooley, partnered with the Sierra Club in support of increased solar in the state. When I talked to her for a column I wrote addressing it, she told me it was all about choice. With a sneer, she called the utility company “a monopoly” and explained that solar would give them competition while consumers would get options. Recently Dooley found her way on to Fox News, where she touted the Green Tea Coalition and claimed to be battling “big energy.” Read full column

Green Tea Not Welcome at Tea Party

Three police officers wounded in shootout, suspect dead

From KOB-TV.com - By: Steve Mieczkowski, KOB.com - Two Albuquerque Police officers and one BCSO deputy were shot and wounded Saturday morning during a shootout. The events began when reports were received that a man was walking around with an AK-47 rifle near Broadway and Pacific. The man then shot an APD officer before leading police and BCSO deputies on a car chase through the North Valley.
Police report that the man continued to fire shots during the chase, wounding a second APD officer and a BCSO deputy. The suspected shooter was shot and pronounced dead at 4th Street and Montano.
One of the APD wounded officers has been released by police, and the other is still in surgery. The BCSO deputy is out of surgery and is in a medically induced coma. The identities of the three officers have not been released, and police have not identified the identity of the shooter. This has not happened at is available.
Also from KOB-TV
Governor Susana Martinez has talked to Albuquerque Police Chief Allen Banks and Sheriff Dan Houston to offer her support after Saturday’s shootout. The Governor told them State Police and the Department of Public Safety are on stand bye if they need any help.
In a statement Martinez added, "I ask all New Mexicans to join Chuck and me in keeping these officers and their loved ones in our prayers.” KOB.TV.com

Three police officers wounded in shootout, suspect dead

Swickard: Drink up America before the trouble begins

© 2013 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “The real goal should be reduced government spending, rather than balanced budgets achieved by ever rising tax rates to cover ever rising spending.” Economist Thomas Sowell
     A certain kind of spending makes our country go round. It is when one American reaches into his or her pocket and trades money for something of value. Commerce among Americans was described by John Kennedy as “A rising tide raises all boats.” America got rich in comparison to the rest of the world by this commerce.
     Sandwiched into commerce was government which was initially a small part of the total picture. The total bite of all national, state and local taxes at the start of the 20th century was about three percent. Today it is 30 percent or higher. For that increase Americans got a robust military, roads, hospitals, fire stations and a first rate judicial system. These things make America great.
     Sadly, in the midst of these great improvements there are also many do-good projects. We have so many of them that we have out of control spending. We reached a tipping point where our government is making the extra revenue needed out of thin air since America can no longer borrow that much money.
     How much? Currently around 40% of all government spending is make-believe money. There is a notion that dollars created out of thin air by our government do no harm. This make-believe money is now the coin of the realm. But consider the problem of owning dollars not backed by anything of value.
     There is an old joke: a man walks into a bar and says, “Give me a drink before the trouble starts.” The bartender pours a drink. The man gulps that down and says, “Give me another drink before the trouble starts.” So the bartender pours another drink. The man gulps it down and the bartender asks, “When is the trouble going to start?” The man says, “As soon as you realize that I don’t have any money.”
     Drink up America, because the trouble is just about to begin. Read full column

Swickard: Drink up America before the trouble begins

Reser's Fine Foods recalling meat products in NM

From KOB-TV.com - By: Elizabeth Reed, KOB.com A Kansas food company is recalling meat products from several states, including New Mexico, for possible contamination with listeria.
     Reser's Fine Foods is recalling around 22,800 pounds of chicken, ham and beef products. There have been no reports of illness at this time.
     Consumers with questions about the recall should contact the Reser's Fine Foods Consumer Hotline at 1-888-257-7913.
     Products regulated by FSIS bear the establishment number "EST. 13520" or "P-1352" inside the USDA mark of inspection. More

Reser's Fine Foods recalling meat products in NM

Former ABQ councilman running for 1st congressional district

Mike McEntee

Former Albuquerque City Councilman Mike McEntee says he will seek the Republican nomination for New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. 

McEntee is the first Republican to enter the race for the seat currently held by freshman Democrat Michelle Lujan-Grisham of Albuquerque.

 McEntee says he is running for the seat because he is "deeply concerned with the direction of our nation" and the partisan hostility that has gripped Washington. The former air traffic controller says he is "committed to presenting an alternative direction for our great state and nation." 

McEntee was on the Albuquerque City Council from 1997 to 2001. 

Former ABQ councilman running for 1st congressional district

SUPCO starts marriage equality hearings

Same-sex marriage will be at the forefront again in New Mexico as the state's supreme court takes on whether or not licenses should be legal statewide. 

Earlier in 2013, several county clerks came forward one by one deciding on their own whether or not to issue same-sex marriage licenses. A lot of clerks were ordered to do so because of lawsuits against them, claiming it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to wed.

As of October 2013, Dona Ana, Taos, Santa Fe, San Miguel, Valencia and Bernalillo counties allowed licenses. 

Each of the counties had a firestorm of couples show up the first day they allowed licenses. Yet, many people still felt it was necessary for the supreme court to make a formal ruling for New Mexico as a whole. 

The supreme court agreed, and decided to have the first of several discussions today. 

SUPCO starts marriage equality hearings

Could United States use a ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge now?

From Capitol Report New Mexico - By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog -  He never had his image carved on Mount Rushmore and he was best-known as a man of few words but thanks to a surprising best-selling book, Calvin Coolidge is getting an historical makeover. And with the United States staggering under a $1- billion national debt, perhaps “Silent Cal” can offer some lessons for modern-day politicians.
     “We can’t imagine having a conservative hero like Coolidge who would cut the budget but that’s because our interest rates are so low,” said Amity Shlaes, the author of “Coolidge,” which landed for seven weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. “When the interest rate goes back 6 percent, you know what? Americans will be looking for someone with the authority to cut the deficit, (with) the confidence, the willingness to do the hard thing and people like Coolidge will be models.”
     It seems every politician — whether in Coolidge’s times or today — is afraid to say no to increased spending. But the man from New England who became president during “The Roaring ’20s” afterWarren G. Harding died and handily won election in the 1924 presidential campaign, didn’t seem to mind if people called him parsimonious, tight-fisted or cheap. In fact, he relished it.
     Slaes points out that Coolidge vetoed some 50 bills during his five years in office and as vice president and president managed to slash the national debt from its post-World War I level of $27 billion to $17.65 billion by the time he famously announced, “I do not choose to run” for re-election in 1928. “He was a silent New Englander,” said Slaes, who appeared in Albuquerque on Monday, signed books and spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the Rio Grande Foundation. “The main thing to know about Coolidge is that he cut the budget as president. He didn’t just reduce the growth, he actually cut it and (he did) this over a long period. He’s an unknown president from the 1920s, but he did that thing that we want to do (now).” More

Could United States use a ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge now?

Goodbye OPEC, Hello Independence

Commentary by Marita Noon - www.energymakesamericagreat.org - October 17 was the fortieth anniversary of the oil embargo slapped on America by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). That action changed the entire geopolitical map—taking the power from the United States and giving it to the Middle East. As a result of the embargo, the price of gasoline quadrupled, gas stations had multi-hour long lines, and the stock market plummeted—kicking off a serious recession.
     My entire driving life has been impacted by OPEC’s actions. On October 17, 1973, I was 15—days away from turning 16. I got my driver’s license on my sixteenth birthday. It was a different world prior to the embargo. America was the dominant player in the energy market—supplying 63 percent of the world’s oil at the beginning of World War II—and had surplus supply. The surplus neutered OPEC’s previous embargo attempts in 1956 and 1967, as the U.S. was able to fill the demand gap OPEC created.
     It wasn't the embargo itself that changed the dynamic, but the timing of it. U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 and declined sharply in the subsequent years. When OPEC chose to use oil as a diplomatic weapon in 1973, America was no longer the swing producer with the ability to fill in the gaps. We’d become increasingly dependent on suppliers from the oil-rich Middle East. Scarcity was our reality.
     To punish the U.S. for supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War, OPEC banned oil exports to the U.S. and, eventually, other countries. OPEC then reduced production by 5 percent per month until the embargo ended in March of 1974.
     While the social, political, and economic impacts of the embargo have been harsh, there’s also a silver lining: North American producers were forced to find new ways to explore for and produce hydrocarbons—and those technologies and techniques developed by individuals and industry have, once again, changed the geopolitical equation.
     The 1973 OPEC oil embargo revealed a serious weakness in America’s energy and national security. Read full column

Goodbye OPEC, Hello Independence

Train hauling cars crashes near Socorro

Photo: Kevin Cobble/Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

From KRQE-TV.com - by Bill Diven - SOCORRO, N.M. (KRQE) - A freight train with new automobiles in its manifest derailed early Saturday scattering auto haulers along the main line south of Socorro. No injuries or hazardous materials were reported in the crash that happened on the BNSF Railway 18 miles south of Socorro around 5 a.m.
     New Mexico State Police reported early indications a broken rail may have caused the initial derailment with additional rail cars jackknifing against that wreckage. A railroad spokesman later said it's unclear if the rail broke before or because of the derailment.
     Photos from the scene show about 20 freight cars stacked up in the foothills above the Rio Grande floodplain and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve. Many of them are two- or three-deck auto haulers that can carry as many as two dozen smaller cars each.
     Battered Volkswagens were visible inside some of the cars.
      A refuge spokesperson said operations there were not directly affected although a section of State Road 1 leading from south of the visitors center to near Interstate 25 was closed.
     Refuge personnel also were working with railroad contractors to minimize environmental damage and any threats to wildlife from cleaning up the wreck and repairing the track.
     The train originated in El Paso on Saturday and was headed to the railroad's freight yard in Belen. More

Train hauling cars crashes near Socorro