Officials said an estimated 1,200 acres are currently burning. Approximately 100 firefighters are responding to the blaze. Aircraft are on order but due to windy conditions in the area they may not be able to fly. More
Crews battle wildfire north of Silver City
Officials said an estimated 1,200 acres are currently burning. Approximately 100 firefighters are responding to the blaze. Aircraft are on order but due to windy conditions in the area they may not be able to fly. More
Violating the Constitution with Affirmative Action
What makes this bad is that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution is clear: …nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
There is no wiggle room, “…the equal protection of the laws.” It does not say that United States citizens can be denied equal protection of the laws for a good cause.
The creatures of evil in our society immediately started trying to undo the guarantee of this Amendment to the Constitution. In fact, in 1868 when the Fourteenth Amendment was passed the United States nationally and each of the states should have allowed all women of age to vote since they have an equal protection of the laws. Sadly the male citizens of that age did not nor did any court affirm the Equal Protection.
In the 1896 Supreme Court case, Plessy versus Ferguson, petitioner Homer Plessy, a successful Louisiana businessman did not consider himself African-American since he was an octoroon, which means he had one grandparent who was of African-American heritage.
Mr. Plessy was one-eighth African-American but considered himself white. He refused to sit in the segregated area of a train therefore he was arrested and fined. This went through the courts in Louisiana to their Supreme Court and then to the U. S. Supreme Court. In the worst ruling by the Supreme Court of all time the Court said that segregation was legal as long as the segregation was separate but equal.
Further, they did not even rule what percentage of ancestry made someone an African-American which might have been of some use. Finally almost sixty years later a much better Supreme Court undid the harm.
Things were looking up and then something equally harmful happened. Years later the forces of evil made a ruling that to end discrimination it was imperative to discriminate against some Americans. That is like ruling to end murder we must kill some innocent people. This ruling also ignored the “Equal Protection” afforded all citizens. The idea of Affirmative Action has always been tragically flawed by it being a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Read full column
Is Sagebrush Rebellion 2 Moving to Otero County?
The key is that a conflict between the Federal Government’s US Forest Service/Department of Agriculture and Otero County, NM. The Sheriff of Otero County, Benny House has been instructed to unlock/open four fences that are limiting access to water by cattle on Forest Service lands in the County. Again, the specific issues and jurisdictions are complex, but it is another disagreement over who should manage resources in the West, the federal government in Washington or state and local governments.
Ultimately, we at the Rio Grande Foundation have endorsed state control as per the 9th and 10th amendments to the US Constitution, but it will take the intervention and activism of local government officials to spur the discussion and ultimately drive the shift in land management away from a far-off bureaucracy to the states.
It will be interesting to see if Sheriff House unlocks those gates and how the Forest Service responds. More
Changes planned for next Albuquerque council meeting
Protesters took over their meeting. “The word has to be disgusting,” Council Vice President Trudy Jones said, “It’s disgusting.” The protesters waved signs against APD’s officer involved shootings. They shouted at councilors demanding the recall of Mayor Richard Berry and the arrest of Police Chief Gorden Eden.
Council President Ken Sanchez ended up adjourning the meeting. “This is their forum, this is their venue but they need to respect the people who are there,” Sanchez said.
David Correia, an Assistant Professor at UNM, was the one who drafted a citizens arrest warrant for Chief Eden. “The families of victims and activists decided it’s time to seize our government back,” Correia said.
Councilors argue there were two charter amendments on the agenda that addressed how APD's chief would be selected. They say protesters stopped a vote from happening.
A special meeting is now set for this Thursday. Councilman Sanchez says there will not be any public comment unless it relates to specific agenda items. There will also be penalties for interrupting the meeting. That could include up to a $500 fine and jail time.. More
Marita Noon: To be successful, solar combines taxpayer dollars with deceptive practices
And, that’s the image Abengoa has burnished with full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal to encourage investment. However, rather than a “buy,” Abengoa should be a “sell”—sell quickly—as its American run could be coming to a close.
For nearly two years, with researcher Christine Lakatos, I have covered Obama’s green-energy, crony-corruption scandal. Our collaborative efforts have resulted in the biggest single body of work on the topic. I’ve written more than 30 columns on it and Lakatos’ blog: The Green Corruption Files, contains a book’s worth of research. The message has been magnified due to frequent citations by many media outlets and commentators including Rush Limbaugh andMichelle Malkin.
Funding for our green-energy work has always been a challenge but has been nonexistent in 2014. However, when, based on previous coverage, a whistleblower from Abengoa contacted me, we went into overdrive. With hundreds of combined hours of researching, interviewing, and writing, Abengoa became our grand finale—with the hope of leading to its not-so-grand end.
With the help of connections, such as board member and former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson and investor and former Vice President Al Gore, Abengoa received $2.8 billion in loan guarantees from Obama’s 2009 Stimulus Bill and then another $818 million grant from the Department of Energy—making them one of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) single largest recipient of taxpayer dollars.
Despite the largess, they couldn’t be successful within the confines of the rules. As I’ve addressed thoroughly in my Abengoa exposé published by the Daily Caller, and, with the help of additional whistleblowers who’ve since come out with their stories, documented by Lakatos, we show that Abengoa cheated its unwitting American investors. It broke immigration and employment laws, engaged in discrimination and favoritism, used expensive and/or outdated technology, and took cost-saving but dangerous shortcuts in design and construction.
Abengoa is now under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation. It is out of compliance with Davis Bacon regulations—which requires that employees receive “prevailing wage” and that the certified payroll is submitted weekly. And, the Department of Energy has just suspended disbursements of ARRA loan guarantee funding until a full audit can be done and Abengoa is found to be in complete compliance with all laws, regulations, and stipulations. Based on our work on Abengoa and our knowledge of the arrogant, above-the-law way it operates, an audit will likely uncover far more violations than those that we’ve discovered. Read full column
Funding for our green-energy work has always been a challenge but has been nonexistent in 2014. However, when, based on previous coverage, a whistleblower from Abengoa contacted me, we went into overdrive. With hundreds of combined hours of researching, interviewing, and writing, Abengoa became our grand finale—with the hope of leading to its not-so-grand end.
With the help of connections, such as board member and former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson and investor and former Vice President Al Gore, Abengoa received $2.8 billion in loan guarantees from Obama’s 2009 Stimulus Bill and then another $818 million grant from the Department of Energy—making them one of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) single largest recipient of taxpayer dollars.
Despite the largess, they couldn’t be successful within the confines of the rules. As I’ve addressed thoroughly in my Abengoa exposé published by the Daily Caller, and, with the help of additional whistleblowers who’ve since come out with their stories, documented by Lakatos, we show that Abengoa cheated its unwitting American investors. It broke immigration and employment laws, engaged in discrimination and favoritism, used expensive and/or outdated technology, and took cost-saving but dangerous shortcuts in design and construction.
Abengoa is now under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation. It is out of compliance with Davis Bacon regulations—which requires that employees receive “prevailing wage” and that the certified payroll is submitted weekly. And, the Department of Energy has just suspended disbursements of ARRA loan guarantee funding until a full audit can be done and Abengoa is found to be in complete compliance with all laws, regulations, and stipulations. Based on our work on Abengoa and our knowledge of the arrogant, above-the-law way it operates, an audit will likely uncover far more violations than those that we’ve discovered. Read full column
Cheech Marin shares his artistic passion with Las Cruces
On Friday, Cheech Marin lunched with artists, museum leaders, arts advocates and educators at the north Las Cruces home of Dr. Kent Jacob and Sallie Ritter, met with Alma d'arte Charter High School students and welcomed the public at the opening of "Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection" featuring 70 paintings by 29 noted Chicano artists, at the Las Cruces Museum of Art.
Along the way, he revealed that a new, long-awaited Cheech & Chong movie soon could become a reality. "Chong and I are talking about it, but then we've been talking about it for a long time. Probably within the next year. We've been touring together and trying to stay alive. I'm a Chicano. We have to have at least three jobs," Marin quipped.
He said he will soon travel to Bordeaux, France, to open an exhibit featuring another group of artwork in his extensive collection, and will continue to visit sites on the "Chicanitas" tour. His book about the collection, also titled "Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection" was published in September and is available on Amazon.com. More
Swickard: Paying Americans too much or too little
Lately, along with the push to increase minimum compensation, there is now a push to impose a maximum wage. Some Americans are getting too much compensation so the government must stop them.
I cannot lay my finger on the part of the United States Constitution that says the government can make me pay someone more or less than I desire. The founders thought that emancipated adult citizens had the right to make any deal for compensation if both sides agree. If they do not agree, they do not have to trade.
Economist Milton Friedman wrote, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business, to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”
All of the horror stories about workers being abused involve times in America’s past that are no longer germane to the argument. If someone is not making any money right now and wants to work for less than the minimum wage it is wrong to keep them unemployed. Further, they are not gaining productive skills. Read full column
Tesla to develop sites in two states
"They are considering New Mexico," she said. "We are one of those states that they're considering, but the site selector won't give us a whole lot more than that." According to Bloomberg News, Tesla will choose sites in at least two states. The company's CEO said crews will do everything short of breaking ground. Whichever site has less setbacks will be the factory's final location.
"We may not build it and see if they come, but we'll give them our word on anything we negotiated and we will follow through with that word because we want them here in New Mexico," said Martinez.
Timing is of the essence for Tesla. The car manufacturer wants to launch a line of affordable cars in three years. It'll need the battery plant to do that. "Whether it's infrastructure or roadways or anything that may help the plant be accessible, and make sure they're up and running as fast as possible," said Martinez.
Martinez does not know when Tesla will choose the two states. The plant will about cost $5 billion to build and will employ 6,500 people. More
"We may not build it and see if they come, but we'll give them our word on anything we negotiated and we will follow through with that word because we want them here in New Mexico," said Martinez.
Timing is of the essence for Tesla. The car manufacturer wants to launch a line of affordable cars in three years. It'll need the battery plant to do that. "Whether it's infrastructure or roadways or anything that may help the plant be accessible, and make sure they're up and running as fast as possible," said Martinez.
Martinez does not know when Tesla will choose the two states. The plant will about cost $5 billion to build and will employ 6,500 people. More
Golfer Notah Begay suffers heart attack
Begay, 41, is at home recovering from the heart attack at home and is expected to be OK. The attack occurred in Dallas, according to a statement from the New Mexico-based Notah Begay Foundation.
Doctors had to insert a stent to open up a blocked artery. “There is probably a genetic pre-disposition because he's extremely young -- I rarely see someone in this age group that doesn't either have diabetes or a strong family history,” said KOAT’s medical expert Dr. Barry Ramo.
Ramo expects Begay to make a full recovery. “This experience has reinforced, for me, the need to urgently address health and wellness issues among Native American youth,” said Begay.
His foundation was created in 2005. According to its website, its mission is to curb childhood obesity in Native American children through sports. About 50 percent of Native American children will develop Type 2 Diabetes in their lifetimes. More
NM ‘Field of Dreams’ becoming a reality
 |
| New Albuquerque Stadium. Photo - Albuquerque Journal |
The mayor is talking about 81 acres just west of Community Stadium off of Arroyo Vista. In 2011, voters approved $2.8 million to turn the mesa in to a sports megaplex. Monday, the city finally closed the deal on the land.
The goal is to eventually build 20 or so different fields for soccer, baseball and softball. Councilor Ken Sanchez says it’s about time. He says other city councilors were ready to move and scoop up land elsewhere since this deal took a lot longer than expected.
“I said we’ve got to get this done,” Sanchez said. “Taxpayers of this community went to the ballot, voted to make sure the money was secured for this location and you’ve got to get signed get this document signed. Today is one of our big days.”
The city will look to the community for ideas and input before they start building. Master planning for development will begin in the fall of this year. More
Posts
