Albuquerque Spends $16K to Patrol Protests

KOAT TV - Since the (Un)occupy Albuquerque protest started at Yale Park on Oct. 1, Albuquerque police have spent thousands in overtime to keep the area safe and secure. Albuquerque police officers patrolling the demonstrations have racked up $16,600 in overtime. “It actually does take away from us using those particular resources towards other tact plans and things throughout the city,” Sgt. Trish Hoffman said. Officers will work overtime as long as the protesters are there. Last Friday, police arrested a man after they said he tried to stab demonstrators. Earlier this month, police arrested a protester after they said he walked into a business and started spitting on people. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Albuquerque Spends $16K to Patrol Protests

There Goes Another $43 Million

The Hill - A Massachusetts company that received a $43 million Energy Department loan guarantee last year filed for bankruptcy Sunday, a step certain to fuel criticism of federal green energy financing in the wake of the solar company Solyndra’s collapse. Beacon Power Corp., which develops energy storage systems, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
Beacon Power had received a federal loan guarantee to help build an energy storage plant in Stephentown, N.Y., that began operating in January. The Treasury Department’s Federal Financing Bank provided the loan. Beacon sought bankruptcy protection two days after the White House ordered an independent 60-day evaluation of the Energy Department's loan programs aimed at ensuring effective management and monitoring. The review, conducted by a former Treasury Department official, will include examination of how Beacon’s project is performing going forward, and whether there are additional steps that can be taken to protect taxpayers, according to the Obama administration. Read full story here: News New Mexico

There Goes Another $43 Million

Predictable Attacks on Cain Get Uglier as His Poll Numbers Become More Impressive

Herman Cain

Washington Times - Republican presidential contender Herman Cain on Monday rejected potentially explosive allegations of “inappropriate behavior” that threatened to derail his surge in national polls, saying the accusations of sexual harassment in the 1990s were “totally false.” Speaking first to Fox News and then to a packed house at the National Press Club, Mr. Cain, a former Godfather’s Pizza CEO who now sits atop many polls, said that after a “thorough investigation” of the cases, first reported by the Politico website, the allegations were found to be “baseless.”

Anita Hill

“I’ve never sexually harassed anyone,” he said. “And yes, I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association, and I say falsely because it turned out after the investigation to be baseless.” Read full story here: News New Mexico

Predictable Attacks on Cain Get Uglier as His Poll Numbers Become More Impressive

They Drove Off With it at the "Speed Limit"

KOB - TV - The Santa Fe Sheriff Department needs your help to find out who stole an expensive traffic trailer it used to monitor traffic on Old Santa Fe Trail. “It has been removed by unauthorized persons and needs to be returned,” the department said in a press release this week. Police think the theft occurred sometime between 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. Read full story here: News New Mexico

They Drove Off With it at the "Speed Limit"

New DOJ Rules Allow for More Intrusive Searches

Eric Holder

From biggovernment.com -It just got easier for the federal government to collect information about innocent Americans — and those Americans have had surprisingly little say in the matter.  On October 15, the FBI reportedly implemented new rules that relax restrictions on, and oversight of, the FBI’s intelligence collection activities. Although they are not available to the public, reports indicate the changes permit FBI agents to search an individual’s trash with the goal of finding material that might pressure him into becoming a government informant, grant agents the authority to search commercial or law enforcement databases without first opening an investigation, and reduce the type of investigations subjected to heightened oversight because of their relationship to protected First Amendment expression, association, or religious practice.  More News New Mexico

New DOJ Rules Allow for More Intrusive Searches

Attention Occupiers: You Are The World's Top 1%

From fool.com -The recent Occupy Wall Street protests have aimed their message at the income disparity between the 1% richest Americans and the rest of the country. But what happens when you expand that and look at the 1% richest of the entire world? Some really interesting numbers emerge. If there were a global Occupy Wall Street protest, people as well off as Linda Frakes might actually be the target.  In America, the top 1% earn more than $380,000 per year. We are, however, among the richest nations on Earth. How much do you need to earn to be among the top 1% of the world? $34,000.  More News New Mexico

Attention Occupiers: You Are The World's Top 1%

Investigative Report: Corrections Department is a Mess

New Mexico Watchdog - In the past two years, the department has accumulated a long list of real or perceived problems. The department’s problems for years have repeatedly been the subject of news headlines and media investigations.

A facilities manager was convicted of taking bribes. An audit found likely or potential procurement problems that went far beyond the bribes paid to that one facilities manager. In August, a senior parole officer was was indicted for child porn police found on a thumb drive and on his home computer. He claimed his interest was work related. Whistleblowers in the same department last year found threats scrawled on an employee bulletin board. Employees were instructed to falsify records. One probation officer alleges in a lawsuit she was beat up in an on-the-job training class after she complained she was instructed to falsify records. Another’s federal lawsuit alleges sexual discrimination. The director of the Probation and Parole division was suspended for leading employees on an out-of-town excursion to her birthday party in state vehicles. Undocumented and unauthorized use of state vehicles continued nonetheless. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Investigative Report: Corrections Department is a Mess

"Planning for Halloween"

  Courtesy of Conservativedailynews.com

"Planning for Halloween"

Gary Johnson almost misses filing for NH primary UPDATE: Johnson on video says “we screwed up”

From Capitol Report New Mexico.com - Gary Johnson’s bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has always been a longshot. But it almost became a “no shot at all” in New Hampshire when the candidate nearly missed filing for that state’s famous primary. From the Los Angeles Times Friday morning (Oct. 28): Friday is the final day of the two-week filing period for candidates to land on the New Hampshire primary ballot. The requirements are simple, and intentionally so: Just submit a one-page declaration of candidacy and the $1,000 filing fee. But as of Thursday evening, Johnson had not yet completed that task. State law says that the documents can be submitted by mail or by proxy. But if they are not received before the final day, the candidate must deliver them in person. Johnson was scheduled to start a three-day visit to Arizona beginning Thursday. But his campaign quickly changed plans when the embarrassing mixup was pointed out. “He’ll be filing in person,” Johnson’s New Hampshire coordinator, Brinck Slattery, said in an email. Read more

Gary Johnson almost misses filing for NH primary UPDATE: Johnson on video says “we screwed up”

Texas Sues Obama Administration Over 'Unjustified' Deepwater Drilling Moratorium

From the Huffington Post - HOUSTON (Associated Press) — The Texas attorney general sued the Obama administration Wednesday over its new deep-water offshore drilling moratorium, claiming it is unjustified and federal officials did not contact the state before issuing the ban. Attorney General Greg Abbott filed the 18-page suit in federal court in Houston against Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The ban halted the approval of any new permits for deep-water projects and shut down drilling at 33 exploratory ocean wells in the wake of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In his lawsuit, Abbott called the ban "an unjustified, arbitrary and capricious policy that will inflict harm upon coastal communities." Also, the suit said, federal officials did not coordinate with the state or consider the economic impacts before issuing the moratorium. Texas is one of the nation's most active oil refinery states. State figures show there were 86,900 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction in April and an additional 107,800 in support industries. Interior Department spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff defended the ban but declined to comment specifically on the Texas lawsuit. "The Deepwater Horizon/BP oil disaster has made it clear that we need better health, safety and environmental standards for drilling operations," Barkoff said in an e-mailed statement. "The temporary pause on deep-water drilling that Secretary Salazar has put in place is simply common sense, and we continue to stand behind it." The current moratorium replaced one that was blocked by the courts. The Interior Department says it's meant to give to give oil and gas companies time to implement adequate safety measures. The ban is in effect until Nov. 30, unless federal officials determine deep-water drilling operations have gotten safer. Read more

Texas Sues Obama Administration Over 'Unjustified' Deepwater Drilling Moratorium