News New Mexico

Four in Ten Say Marriage is Obsolete

From time.com - WASHINGTON — Is marriage becoming obsolete? As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, nearly one in three American children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never-married. More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family. A study by the Pew Research Center, in association with Time magazine, highlights rapidly changing notions of the American family. And the Census Bureau, too, is planning to incorporate broader definitions of family when measuring poverty, a shift caused partly by recent jumps in unmarried couples living together. More here

NM Legislative Report Questions The Use of Endowment for Economic Development Incentives

From canadienbusiness.com - SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Economic development investments by a state endowment fund have cost New Mexico $12 million a year that otherwise could have financed public schools and governmental services, according to a legislative report released Thursday. With New Mexico facing a budget squeeze, lawmakers seized on the report to question whether the $3.7 billion severance tax permanent fund should continue to make economically targeted investments, such as providing capital for startup companies in New Mexico or interest-free loans to film projects. "We need to make the decision, `Do we want to see this fund grow or live or do we want to have economic development?' I think to combine the two of them is probably not the most prudent thing to do at this juncture," said Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales. According to the report by staff of the Legislative Finance Committee, economically targeted investments account for more than $400 million, or 11 percent, of the severance tax permanent fund. More here

NEA of New Mexico: ERB and SIC Burned by Madoff

From the Santa Fe New Mexican - New Mexico's main teachers union says a Texas investment firm's connections with Bernie Madoff led to $25 million in losses from state investments and a teachers pension fund. The National Education Association of New Mexico accuses Austin Capital Management and related companies not only of failing to exercise due diligence, but also of maintaining personal and business connections to the Ponzi scam artist. "A key purpose of due diligence — and therefore a critical reason to hire a firm like Austin Capital — is to detect and avoid fraud," the complaint says. Austin Capital has ceased operations in Austin, Texas. Geoffrey Ritts of the Jones Day firm of Cleveland, which represents Austin Capital's Ohio-based parent company, KeyCorp, declined comment on the allegations. Read here:

Murdock: Stop Slamming China

Deroy Murdock

From National Review - President Obama should lay off China. The only thing keeping U.S. capitalism afloat these days is Chinese Communism. During his recent Asian adventure, Obama discussed China with journalists in Seoul. He said, “It’s very important that it [China] act in a responsible fashion internationally.” Obama added that the question of China’s currency “is an irritant not just to the United States, but is an irritant to a lot of China’s trading partners and those who are competing with China to sell goods around the world.” To Chinese ears, this must sound like a temperance lecture delivered by a man holding a pitcher of martinis. Read here:

Linda Chavez: Travesty of Justice

Linda Chavez

Not since the infamous acquittal of O.J. Simpson has the American jury system so utterly failed as it did this week in acquitting on all but one charge former Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Ghailani, an al-Qaida terrorist responsible for the deaths of 224 people. A New York City jury managed to convict Ghailani on only one charge -- conspiracy to destroy U.S. government property -- in the attack on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. But the failure is not just that of one criminal jury but of the Obama administration, which decided to try enemy combatants in American criminal courts. Instead of admitting their serious error in judgment, administration officials said they were "pleased" with the outcome because Ghailani would serve a minimum of 20 years in prison for his crimes. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, a Clinton-appointed federal judge who presided over the case, was even more reprehensible in his remarks after the trial. Kaplan complimented the jury on its verdict, suggesting that "American justice can be rendered calmly, deliberately and fairly by ordinary people, people who are not beholden to any government, not even ours." Read here:

Why Sarah Palin Should NOT Run

Mona Charen

From Townhall.com - By telling Barbara Walters that she thinks she can defeat President Obama, Sarah Palin has dimmed hopes cherished by sensible Republicans that she might decide against a run for the White House in 2012. Here are just some of the reasons she should not run. The Republican nominee should be someone with vast and impressive experience in government and the private sector -- and a proven record. Voters chose a novice with plenty of star power in 2008 and will be inclined to swing strongly in the other direction in 2012. Americans will be looking for sober competence, managerial skill, and maturity, not sizzle and flash. Read here:

Martinez Stock Rising in RGA

Susana Martinez

From NMPolitics.net - In a further sign of her rising national star power, Gov.-elect Susana Martinez was chosen by her Republican peers on Thursday to be on the Republican Governors Association’s leadership team. According to The National Journal, Martinez will be an at-large member of the leadership committee. There’s lots of new diversity among GOP governors, and they were quick to tout it at Thursday’s meeting. From The New York Times: “There was plenty of fanfare here for Ms. Haley and Ms. Martinez — and not just for their fiscal ideas. Mr. Pawlenty introduced them in a panel discussion, ‘The New Face of the G.O.P.,’ the group’s not-so-subtle way of highlighting a burst of diversity in its ranks. With Mr. Jindal, an Indian-American, and Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, there will be two Hispanic and two Indian-American Republican governors.
“… Later, Mr. Pawlenty called Ms. Martinez and Ms. Haley ‘clear stars’ in a new class of governors that reflected ‘different walks of life.’” Read here:

House Dems Can Forestall Coalition

State Senator Dede Feldman

From NMPolitics.net - The results of the recent election present tough choices for Democratic legislators, adding to the majority party’s task in dealing with a huge budget shortfall. The double whammy of lost seats and a slow recovery isn’t as bad as in some states, but it could make for some dramatic moments in the session to come. Ten years ago, in 2001, after another heartbreaking election in which Democrats felt cheated by a Supreme Court that handed the election to Bush, the New Mexico Senate opened with a bang. A coalition of three Democrats and the entire Republican delegation united to overthrow President Pro Tempore Manny Aragon. The surprise move came after several days of standoff, broken when then-Gov. Gary Johnson convinced Republicans to support Sen. Richard Romero. Read here:

Hawaii Leaves WAC, Joins Mountain West- HonoluluStarAdvertiser

After months of anxiety, the University of Hawaii's athletic future suddenly came into focus last night with the stunning revelation that it expects to leave the Western Athletic Conference to join the Mountain West Conference in football and place most of its other sports in the Big West Conference. Read more here.

Politico.com: Shaken senators start prep for 2012, Bingaman weighing retirement

From the Politico.com - By MANU RAJU - The 2010 campaign has so rattled senators up for reelection in 2012 that they’re already moving quickly to figure out how to survive. Veteran Democrats such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico are weighing retirement. Establishment Republicans such as Orrin Hatch of Utah and Dick Lugar of Indiana are already moving to fend off potential primaries from the right. Freshmen like Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jon Tester of Montana are stepping up fundraising, and red-state Democrats like Claire McCaskill of Missouri are talking up their independence from the party. “Of course, I’m concerned about a primary, but I would think my rivals would be even more concerned if they actually look objectively at the facts,” Lugar said, citing what he said were strong poll numbers and a flush war chest. Some senators are hedging a bit, uncertain what the 2012 landscape will look like after a brutal 2010 for Democrats. The 62-year-old Conrad said he’s deciding “whether or not I want to do this another eight years.” Some senators realize they’re going to have to make the case that they’re independent of a party that got shellacked in 2010. Read more

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