A Little Break and Reflection

Ok, I hadn't planned on taking a blogging break, but I'm glad I did. Like State Representative Joseph Cervantes, I spent some quality time with my family and reflected on what's important. This upcoming year is undoubtedly going to be busy on the political scene, and there is no question that balancing politics and kids can be a difficult task.

But, at the same time, I strongly believe that giving our kids an introduction into politics at an early age is a good thing. Too many adults are apathetic when it comes to politics. They just don't take an active role. Maybe they believe that their vote just doesn't matter, or maybe they just believe that the system will be just fine without their involvement.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Take the upcoming elections for the open Congressional seats. Because of a change in the law, those voting in their party's pre-primary convention will be the first and last word who gets on the ballot for the primary election (although that might change). In the 2nd Congressional race on the GOP side, that would be less than 200 people.

Still think your vote doesn't count? When you make your New Year's Resolutions this year, I hope you'll consider including a commitment to take an active role in what is sure to be a historic political year.

Art Street - Mudhouse Holiday Spirit

For every unique view this video draws during the holiday season
Mudhouse Advertising will donate $1 to Art Street and Albuquerque
Healthcare for the Homeless.


This contribution (up to $10,000) will be made on behalf of
all the clients and vendors who have given Mudhouse's art a home.

Special thanks to the generosity of:

Rebecca Elise Productions
Luis Molina
Half-Life Digital

For their donation of time, talent and resources
in the production of this video.

Watch, learn, and help us spread the holiday spirit!

Governor Richardson Violates State Constitution

I know what you're thinking, this isn't news. Governor Richardson's tenure, when visiting the state, has been chock full of state constitution violations, but this is the most recent:

Gov. Bill Richardson's administration probably violated the state constitution when it asked the state's two largest universities to pick up part of the salaries for three high-level appointees this year, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Some other recent example of the Governor's disregard for the laws of the land include:

1. Richardson appointed regulatory body supplants legislature and creates law.
2. Richardson threatens to cut legislature out of the process
3. Richardson has a pattern of overstepping authority.

Well, at least it looks AG King is going to enforce the law of the land as opposed to rewrite it like his predecessor.

No-Knock Ordinance

Criminals commit crimes. Now the City of Albuquerque has thought of a new way to infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens (subscription) because of the actions of two criminals:

Lee and Rowley were each charged with two counts of murder in connection with the Dec. 4 killings of Tak Yi and Pung Yi at the couple's home. They remain in the Metropolitan Detention Center in lieu of $2 million cash bond each.

Integrity Program did not obtain a permit, according to the lawsuit.

The city will seek monetary damages of an unspecified amount and an injunction prohibiting the firm from soliciting here.

"All we have to show is that (Integrity Program) violated our ordinance," said Assistant City Attorney Greg Wheeler.

The proposed ordinance would allow residents to sign up for a city no-knock list, similar to the no-call list barring telephone solicitors. The city would also issue a "tasteful" sticker and yard sign homeowners could post indicating they are on the list.

"It would make it illegal to solicit a household with a no-knock sign posted," Chavéz said.

The ban would not apply to political, religious and nonprofit solicitors, such as Girl Scouts, officials said.

This is just absurd. I wonder how many business leaders got their start knocking on doors to sell a product. As I recall, when I was about twelve or thirteen, I went door to door offering to mow my neighbors lawn for a couple of bucks a week.

More Interesting Media Spin

Governor Richardson is pushing a single payer healthcare system for this legislative session (read: Government Run and Mandated Healthcare). So, we can expect to see more and more articles popping up in the press regarding health insurance.

However, beware of the spin. For example, an article in today's Albuquerque Journal has the misleading headline, Small Businesses and HR Offices Explain What's Wrong With the Way We Pay (subscription) and begins:

University of New Mexico public health researchers asked human resource workers and small business owners what is wrong with the way health care is financed.

Among their answers: The present system encourages injustice and inequity.

Business people who took part in a UNM Institute for Public Health series of focus groups earlier this year said they don't feel qualified to choose the right health insurance plan for all employees and say they have very little leverage when negotiating with insurance companies.

Now, I read the article all the way through because I'm a small business owner, and I found it hard to believe the picture that was being painted here. Namely, that small business was supporting the Governor's efforts.

You see, most small business owners don't like anything mandated by the government. Actually, we don't like "mandates" in general, government or corporate - it's just part of the entrepreneurial spirit.

Ok, back to my point...

It's not until the last paragraph of the article that the real sentiment of small business comes through:

Wiese detected no groundswell of support for a government takeover of health care.

That's the journalistic equivalent of burying the facts in the fine print. The paper is showing their bias. That important fact should have been headline (i.e. Small Business Does NOT Support Government Health Care Takeover), instead of being buried at the end of the article.

Watch out for more shenanigans on this issue in the weeks to come.

It's All in the Spin

Thanks to Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico provides illegal immigrants an opportunity to get a driver's license. So, the Karina Acosta situation in Roswell is kind of ridiculous:

The school-based police officer, Charlie Corn, stopped Roswell High School senior Karina Acosta at the school for a parking violation in late November and then learned she was not carrying a driver's license, Balderston said. Corn could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Acosta told the officer she could produce the driver's license and he allowed her several days to do so, Balderston said. Balderston said Corn felt he was being lenient.

When Acosta did not produce a driver's license, the officer had Acosta pulled from class.

In the course of trying to confirm Acosta's identity, the officer learned the student was an illegal immigrant and subsequently contacted immigration authorities, Balderston said.

Now, here is the thing. The Journal and other news outlets who covered this story are pandering (or making their bias VERY clear) to all of the amnesty/immigration reform activists by making the headline read "Pregnant Roswell Student Deported." This is just another fine example of reframing the facts to play on our natural human compassion.

However, if you read the facts, you realize that the headline is misleading. The facts as outlined in the the article are simple:

1) The young woman, after all she is 18, is in the country illegally.
2) The young woman is breaking the law by driving without a driver's license. [Speculation on my part: she also doesn't have car insurance].
3) The young woman shows complete disregard of authority and the law by failing to produce a driver's license despite being given several days reprieve to do so.
4) As a result of items two and three, it surfaces that the young woman is in the country illegally, and she gets deported.

Based on the facts, there are several alternate headlines that would have been more apropos:

• Disregard for Authority Results in Deportation
• Officer Gives Woman a Chance to Avoid Deportation
• Driving Without License Results in Deportation
• Notice to Illegals: Break the Law Get Deported
• Officer Enforces Law Without Bias
  

I could go on, but it's time to go to work.

Ben Ray Lujan Compensation Issues

Looks like Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan has a problem with the salaries paid to CEO's of the utility companies serving New Mexico (subscription):

The Public Regulation Commission wants to know if the pay packages of top utility executives are "reasonable and prudent."

The commission on Tuesday ordered Public Service Company of New Mexico, Zia Natural Gas Co., Raton Natural Gas Co., Southwestern Public Service/Xcel Energy and El Paso Electric to report pay packages of top executives by Jan. 11.

"Not all of the utility executives' compensation is in rates, but a portion of each executive's salary is in rates," said PRC Chairman Ben R. Lujan.

"It's important for us to understand whether the decisions made in awarding those packages are reasonable and prudent."

You've got to love the irony here. A young man without a college degree, has a powerful father who gets him paid political appointments and then works with a Governor Richardson to clear the primary field so he can get an elected position that pays over $90,000 per year.

Gov. Bill Richardson is going to bat for a handful of fellow Democrats in contested primary races this year, but other candidates are questioning the appropriateness of his actions.

Richardson has provided a statement -- a three-sentence quote -- in support of Ben R. Lujan of Santa Fe, a former worker in Richardson's congressional office and the son of House Speaker Ben Lujan. The younger Lujan is running for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission.

Oh, and did I mention that prior to all of these shenanigans the guy's previous job experience was limited to being a casino dealer? I'm sorry, but the last person that should be questioning the "reasonable and prudent" nature of anyone's compensation package is Ben Ray Lujan.

Qualifications of a Congressional Representative

It sort of blows my mind that in 2007, the Speaker of the House of the New Mexico State Legislature has enough power to get candidate after candidate to step aside in an effort to clear a path for his son to run for Congress.

But Solano — who is serving his second term as sheriff and prohibited from seeking a third term — said he's concerned that a small group of Democratic Party officials could effectively choose the next Northern New Mexico congressman before any votes are cast.

And that candidate, he said, likely would be State Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján, mainly because of the influence of his father, state House Speaker Ben Luján.

Now, I guess I could understand if Ben Ray Luján was an impressive candidate in his own right with a long list of accomplishments, but that sure doesn't seem to be the case:

By Karla Duarte
(Submitted: 12/05/2006 12:25 pm)

Please get your facts straight: Ben Ray was appointed to be the chief financial administrator for the state cultural affairs department without a college degree and after previously being employed as a casino dealer. Then the full weight of the governor and the legislature went to promoting him and discouraging other qualified candidates for the PRC. I'm sure he is a fine young man, but the point is that government should not work that way.

From casino dealer to Congressional front runner... only in New Mexico.

Flying the Grey Line

This is just classic Bill Richardson. Governor Richardson twice spends hard earned taxpayer money to put together an ethics task force to devise recommendations to keep government officials acting ethically, and then Governor Richardson ignores the intention of the law he signed (subscription):

What about the state's restrictions on gifts to public officials— which Richardson signed into law earlier this year with considerable fanfare?

Would it prevent the law firm from hauling the governor to Mexico for free or at a reduced price— such as the cost of a first-class airline ticket as allowed under the old federal rule?

Apparently not, because the Branch firm would not appear to be a "restricted donor" covered by the new gift ban, which limits gifts to $250.

One definition of a restricted donor is someone seeking to do business with a state agency that employs the public official receiving the gift.

If the state gift ban applied, the governor arguably would have had to pay the same full $20,000 or so that he would have had to pay as a federal candidate on campaign business.

While not officially confirming who took the governor to Acapulco, Reynolds said "no one considered a restricted donor has provided any kind of transportation for the governor without being properly reimbursed."

The Attorney General's Office said the Branch firm wouldn't fit the definition of a restricted donor based on information provided by the Journal.

The firm does some business with the state, but lawyer Turner Branch said last week his firm has no contracts with the Governor's Office.

You're kidding me, right? They do "state business", but have "no contracts with the Governor's Office." Hmm, I wonder if any of the state business contracts, which the Branch Law firm is enjoying, come under the supervision of a gubernatorial appointee, who serves at the pleasure of the Governor?

How Not to Make a Decision

So, you'd think that Congressman Tom Udall, who would like to join Senator Bingaman in the United States Senate, might take heed when he is told by the junior, soon to be senior, Senator that something is not a good idea (subscription), but that does not seem to be the case:

On Monday, Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said they opposed Pelosi's decision to package the tax repeals and the utility mandate with the broader energy bill because it could doom the entire bill in the Senate.

Ok, a bi-partisan recommendation from two guys who definitely know a little bit about how to get energy bills passed in the Senate. And, what does Congressman Udall do:

Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said Wednesday he supports a massive energy bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to bring to a vote today, in part because he crafted a key provision in the legislation.

You're kidding me, right? Congressman Udall is ignoring Senator Bingaman's advice "because [Udall] crafted a key provision in the legislation."

This self-serving approach to decision making helps explains why Congress has an 11% approval rating.

Why Do I Feel Like I've Been Here Before?

Well, it looks like Governor Richardson is committed to making sure that his legacy to New Mexico is a budget crisis (subscription):

Gov. Bill Richardson's proposed universal health coverage plan would require $590 million in new general fund spending over the next five years, with business picking up most of the tab, Human Services Secretary Pamela S. Hyde said Tuesday.

Thankfully, at least two Senator's are showing some fiscal sense:

Legislative Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, told the Journal the Health Solutions budget assumes significant new federal matching funds for the state's Medicaid program— which would be in addition to the extra money collected from employers and other new revenue sources.

"That's a sort of ostrich with its head in the sand," Smith said. "Congress is trying to slow Medicaid spending."

The administration's budget counts on additional federal funds to help pay for the program.

"I don't think we're going to buy the governor's numbers," said Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, who is a member of the committee. Rawson also told the Journal he opposes giving Richardson more power by authorizing a new health care authority that is part of the governor's package.

We'd be wise to heed these two gentlemen. After all, it wasn't that long ago that Senator Rawson was warning us about another spending fiasco of Governor Richardson's administration:

Four years ago this month, in ... a special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Richardson, lawmakers passed a mega-bill to improve 37 roads at a cost of nearly $1.6 billion.

Tucked into the legislation was a phrase that authorized one of New Mexico's most expensive and controversial transportation projects— not a road but a commuter rail system from Belen to Santa Fe.

Back in 2003, documents show, the cost for the rail project was listed at $90.2 million. Now the projected tab for the RailRunner Express has ballooned to as much as $425 million— and that doesn't include another $50 million held in escrow.

That's one-fourth of the total authorized for all projects in GRIP— also known as Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership.

While work on the RailRunner is proceeding full speed, other road projects authorized in the GRIP bill have moved to the back burner for lack of funding.

Over the past year, the GRIP funding shortfall has gone from $250 million to nearly $500 million.

It's a cash crunch created by what some lawmakers say is the need for more money for the RailRunner, increased costs for road construction and a projected decline in federal transportation funding.

The Legislature's attempt this year to gain more oversight of train finances proved futile. Richardson line-item vetoed language in the appropriations bill that would have required a separate RailRunner operating budget and quarterly reports on its progress and anticipated expenses.

In the five months since that veto, commuter rail capital costs have grown by 33 percent, legislators learned recently.

Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, said he feels the Legislature was deceived as to the project's true costs.

"How can you miss the mark five fold without deliberately being deceptive? What we've had here is bait and switch," Rawson said.

Are we really going to allow this bait and switch to happen TWICE?

Off to a Great Start

Sometimes you read something, and you can't help but shake your head in amazement (subscription):

During the first meeting of Albuquerque's new City Council on Monday, four members refused to attend because of a squabble over who should be president.

Don Harris, Sally Mayer, Ken Sanchez and new Councilor Trudy Jones boycotted the meeting. They met at Capo's restaurant, about three blocks away, and held a news conference later at City Hall.

In their absence, the council elected Brad Winter to serve as president for the next year.

Hmm, last I checked a Council is supposed to be a deliberative legislative body. Usually, deliberation requires people to be in the room. If the liberals on the Council are able to make the others run off and lick their wounds so easily, we are in for a LONG year. I'm agreeing with the Eye on this one.

Disturbing Trend

According to an Albuquerque Journal article, 50.8% of all children born in 2005 were born to an unwed mother. Now before folks give me a hard time and restart the Murphy Brown debate, what concerned me the most was this statement:

Gabryelle Henry, 18, a senior at New Futures, said many of her classmates believe a baby will provide them with a child's love and encourage their boyfriends to commit to marriage.

"I think it's all about expectations," Henry said recently as she fed her 8-month-old daughter, Emeerah Johnson.

Too often, she said, the boyfriends flee the commitment of fatherhood.

This is not good.