Obama Can't Afford Military Mistakes

Throughout the Democratic Primary Senator Hillary Clinton has questioned Senator Barack Obama's readiness to assume the role of Commander in Chief. Now, two recent occurrences indicate just how unschooled Senator Obama is in the military arena.

First, there was this Clintonesque type "oops" during his Memorial Day visit to Las Cruces:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is taking fire from Republicans after erroneously saying during his town-hall meeting with veterans in Las Cruces that his uncle was among the American soldiers who liberated Auschwitz during World War II.

Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians, not the Americans.

Then just a few days later, Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton had this to say:

"John McCain's proposal [to visit Iraq] is nothing more than a political stunt, and we don't need any more 'Mission Accomplished' banners or walks through Baghdad markets to know that Iraq's leaders have not made the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge. The American people don't want any more false promises of progress, they deserve a real debate about a war that has overstretched our military, and cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars without making us safer."

Say what????

Senator Obama is promising to pull the troops out of Iraq. Don't you think as a potential future Commander in Chief, he ought to be willing to spend some post-surge time on the ground with our generals in Iraq? Or maybe Senator Obama is afraid he might learn something while visiting. Something like:

According to the Military Times poll, more than 60% of active-duty servicemen believe the US is either "somewhat" or "very" likely to succeed in Iraq. But less than 20% of them think "the Iraqi military will be ready to replace large numbers of American troops" in 2 years or less. That suggests that a sizable number of the troops on the ground think that a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq would amount to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Imagine if a soldier, marine, or guardsman were to express that opinion to Obama's face, in public, on the ground in Iraq.

Yeah, we couldn't have that happen, could we?

Who is Gouging Whom?

The next time you empty your wallet at the pump consider this:

Another theme of the day's testimony was that, if anyone is "gouging" consumers through the high price of gasoline, it is federal and state governments, not American oil companies. On the average, 15% percent of the cost of gasoline at the pump goes for taxes, while only 4% represents oil company profits. These figures were repeated several times, but, strangely, not a single Democratic Senator proposed relieving consumers' anxieties about gas prices by reducing taxes.

Take the time to read more about the Congressional hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee to grill top executives from the petroleum industry.

First California then Tennessee

Not too long ago, I wrote that the actions of an appellate court in California should serve as a wake up call to all parents who value choice regarding the education of their children. Now, I seem to have been proven correct:

Recently, the Tennessee State Board of Education ruled diplomas issued to home-schooled students from religious based schools were invalid as proof of the successful completion of High School should it be presented for employment purposes for a job for which state law requires a diploma. You read that right. According to the State Board of Education, all diplomas are equal but some diplomas are more equal than others.

If you are concerned about the education system in our country, I highly recommend you take the time to read this post in it entirety.

Afraid to Talk to Bad Guys?

You know the world is upside down when Governor Bill Richardson starts questioning the "toughness" of an American war hero:

“John McCain – like George Bush – is afraid to talk to bad guys,”

You've got to be kidding me, right? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. The web is full of pictures taken during and immediately following the five years Senator John McCain spent as a "guest" of the North Vietnamese in the infamous Hanoi Hotel.

Then, there are the pictures of Governor Bill Richardson with the North Vietnamese. You tell me who you think is tougher.

Who Takes Oil and Gas Money?

So, Jim Baca's trying to paint a picture of the oil and gas industry and the Republican Party in New Mexico being in bed together:

The biggest contributor to the Republican party in New Mexico is the oil and gas industry. That is a fact. Now, John McCain says that he will rely on the Republican party for most of his fundraising for his presidential campaign. Ergo, the oil and gas industry will be largely funding his campaign, along with Lockheed Martin, Boeing and the rest of the military industrial complex.

First, let me say the obvious. I have no problem with the oil and gas industry. As I've pointed out more than once before, New Mexico would be in a pretty sorry state if it wasn't for this industry. My guess is that a big part of Jim Baca's problem is that he didn't get much support from the oil and gas industry when he ran for Land Commissioner. I'll go out on a limb and guess it has something to do that he likes to make them into a boogey man.

Now, the interesting part...

According to followthemoney.org, the oil and gas industry made a little over $2 million in contributions to candidates in 2006. It's worth noting that is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the $2.4 million spent by lawyers. Hmm, who do you think those trial lawyers gave their money to? But, I digress.

Taking a look at the list of recipients of oil and gas money yields a very interesting observation. Namely, that there are an awful lot of Democrats on that list receiving an awful ot of money. Just on the first page, you'll find Governor Bill Richardson, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, Attorney General Gary King and the New Mexico Democratic Party.

Again, I've don't have an problem with the oil and gas industry. In fact, as a small business owner, I recognize the important role they play in keeping my business growing. My problem is that until Jim Baca is ready to call the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and State Democratic Party to task, it is just going to come off as sour grapes.

Wiviott's Attack on Lujan

Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan are battling it out in a very public way for the 3rd Congressional District Democratic nomination. Don Wiviott put up an ad attacking Ben Ray Lujan, and apparently the Lujan campaign is weakly contesting the inaccuracies in the ad:

The Telehealth Commission, which Ben Ray Luján was appointed to, has nothing to do with his elected duties as a Public Regulation Commissioner despite the deceptive tie Don Wiviott tries to make here. His membership on the Telehealth Commission is unpaid. Ben Ray Luján missed meetings to perform his duties as Public Regulation Commissioner, which Commissioner Luján believes take priority since he represents the people of the third district as a PRC Commissioner.

Good thing our unpaid state legislator's don't take this same approach to their voluntary service. Here is the thing. Mr. Lujan makes a point on his campaign website to mention his Telehealth Commission and put it in the best possible light to bolster what can only be described as a lackluster history of personal accomplishments:

He is a member of the New Mexico Telehealth Commission, where he works to encourage a single, statewide effort to create a system to deliver health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies.

Obviously, Mr. Wiviott is just pointing out that when Mr. Lujan uses the term "works" he means it in the loosest sense of the term. What I don't understand is why the Wiviott's campaign just didn't do a little google search to find the truth of exactly where Mr. Lujan worked as a casino dealer?

A simple search would have surely turned up a much better way of presenting Mr. Lujan's curriculum vitae to the voters. If you do follow that last link, I should point out that I believe that Mr. Lujan has in fact now completed his college degree. Apparently, his $90,000 PRC job allowed him the flexibility to work on that.

Public Perceptions

I've posted on more than one occasion that I don't support the creation of an ethics commission to advise legislators and state employees to behave ethically. I'm a firm believer that folks in our state and local governments know precisely what they are doing when they behave unethically. Rather than spend money on creating another government entity, I think we ought to vote the unethical out of office and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those that act illegally.

I thought the recent article by the Albuquerque Journal on the paid lobbying marketing practices of soon to be retiring Senator Joe Cararro somewhat ironic (subscription):

Carraro said in his deposition that he became interested in artificial turf in 2003 as a water-saving alternative and that, over the next few years, met Wickens and became familiar with Real Turf's product.

He said that, prior to being hired by Real Turf, he sought state money for artificial turf at the Paradise Hills ballfields. Real Turf got that job.

He said that he met Wickens in about the spring of 2004 and that Wickens frequently sought his advice on business matters over the following year.

Carraro said he eventually told Wickens he was going to have to start paying him and, in May 2005, he sent Wickens a letter that he called a contract proposal.
Carraro said his company, Public Perceptions, would provide marketing and business consulting services in exchange for the $5,000-a-month fee.

The letter also said there was "not a direct relationship" between Carraro's position as a senator and services Public Perceptions would provide.

Carraro also wrote that Public Perceptions wouldn't be involved with any government entity on Real Turf's behalf.

"There can never be a real or perceived conflict of interest regarding my positions as a state senator and president of Public Perceptions," he said, adding:

"Specifically, it should be noted that recommendations of your product to governmental entities given prior to this contract ... in no way bound you to the employment of Public Perceptions."

In his deposition, Carraro said his work for Real Turf included meeting with Wickens and other managers, reviewing management job descriptions, providing advice on marketing, writing advertisements and working on printed publications.
"I ... analyzed their business, figured out ways for them to make more money," he said.

Carraro said he stopped working for Real Turf because the company quit paying him. He also said he had become frustrated with Wickens' failure to implement many of his suggestions.

It sure would seem to that Senator Joe Cararro took great pains to leave a paper trail that would give the appearance that everything was on the up and up. Of course, it's not surprising that a State Senator who has spent twenty years in the system knows how to work the system. So, what makes Senator Cararro's antics ironic?

“We’ve all got our special interests we have to represent,” Carraro says. “My special interest is the little guy [Particularly, the little guy who is willing to spend $5,000 a month on consulting services] . But this is a big guy, big business, big interest state, and they come down here and make us vote the way they do. The poor of this state are going to stay poor because they don’t have lobbyists looking out for them.”

Carraro, who ran unsuccessfully last June in the Republican primary for US Senate, cites economist Milton Friedman and activist Cesar Chavez while comparing state politics to Orwell’s Animal Farm: “We’re all equal, but some of us are more equal than others.”

It would be an impressive oration if anyone was actually listening. But most of the senators have long since tuned Carraro out. Some fiddle with their laptops. Others talk on cell phones. Stuart Ingle, R-Roosevelt, chats with a colleague a few feet away from where Carraro is standing with the microphone. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, appears to be eating sunflower seeds. John Pinto, D-McKinley, appears to be fading in and out of consciousness.

Considering that legislators get to know each other pretty well, it's probably not surprising that Senator Carraro's colleagues opted to tune him out when he was putting on airs maligning registered lobbyist while taking money for.... uh, "marketing" services.

If Only We Had An Ethics Commission

If only we had an ethics commission to train state employees about ethical behavior, I'm sure this would have never happened:

A former employee of the state Children, Youth and Families Department and several other Silver City-area residents have been accused of defrauding the state of more than half a million dollars.

Andrea Munoz, 34, allegedly received kickbacks from people who were fraudulently reimbursed for child care services never provided. The alleged scheme involved the department's Child Care Program, which reimburses low-income parents for baby-sitting services.

Court documents allege 16 people admitted receiving checks from CYFD, cashing them and splitting the proceeds with Munoz between 2001 and 2006.

Romaine Serna, a spokeswoman for CYFD, said $574,000 was allegedly taken.

Serna said the scale of the alleged fraud is the largest the agency has encountered.

Yeah right. How about we just get rid of unnecessary government welfare programs that hand out checks? That would be a much better way of eliminating these situations. Every time the government doles out cash, the end result is fraud.

Federal Bailout is Wrong

It's kind of hard to argue with the logic shown in the video above. It was produced by Freedom Works, and I couldn't agree with them more. Here is an excerpt from an email they sent to me today:

Last Thursday the House of Representatives voted 266-154 to advance a $300 billion program of taxpayer-financed mortgages to home speculators and their lenders.

The bill does not protect taxpayers. The bill gives six-figure taxpayer loans to people who have terrible credit scores and to people who have made fewer than 12 payments on their existing mortgages. The bill even provides these taxpayer handouts to non-citizens. The plan lets banks cherry-pick the worst loans in their portfolios and sticks taxpayers with 100 percent of the risk.

However, our "Angry Renter.com" campaign is making a difference and the opposition is growing to this bailout plan. Renters and responsible homeowners are the "forgotten man" of this debate, as Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida put it in his speech on the House floor.

Can you help spread the news about this legislation so we can stop it?

On Tuesday President Bush came out strongly against the bill, saying "First of all, we are committed to a good housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders. I will veto the bill that's moving through the House today if it makes it to my desk."

Even though the bailout bill passed the House, it was not by margins large enough to override the president's veto.

This week the battle turns to the U.S. Senate.

There, Senator Bunning of Kentucky is leading the charge against a flipper bailout in the Finance Committee. Senate rules make it easier to offer amendments, so we should see greater debate about the risky and unfair aspects of the bill.

FreedomWorks has identified five key senators as targets on the housing bailout bill. Please take a moment to call them and urge them to oppose this flawed piece of legislation.

Sen. Dole: 202-224-6342
Sen. Bennett: 202-224-5444
Sen. McConnell: 202-224-2541
Sen. Bayh: 202-224-5623
Sen. Carper: 202-224-2441

This is a great opportunity to encourage your friends to get involved. These issues affect everyone and a robust opposition has the power to do great things. Ask your friends to sign the Angry Renter petition, and to join you in calling their senator.

Well friends, I'm asking you to sign the Angry Renter petition. Now, I don't rent, but trust me when I tell you, I have been impacted by the collapse of the housing crisis as much as anyone. However, I'm not looking for any federal bailout, and neither should anyone else.

Takes a Family not a Village

Our oldest just hit double digits earlier this month - the big One Zero (10). He was pretty excited. As parents, it's a scary reminder that before we know it, we'll have a teen on our hands. Turns out the easiest way to keep a teen from substance abuse is to keep the family in tact:

1. Cigarette use. Teens in intact families are less likely to initiate cigarette smoking compared to peers in non-intact families. full details

2. Cigarette use. Teens in two-parent families reported, on average, lower levels of cigarette smoking than peers in single-parent families. full details

3. Alcohol abuse. Teens in two-parent families reported, on average, lower levels of drinking than those in single-parent families. full details

4. Alcohol abuse. Teens in intact families are less likely to abuse alcohol than peers in non-intact families. full details

5. Alcohol and marijuana use. Teens who lived in intact families during early adolescence are less likely to initiate alcohol and marijuana use than peers who lived in non-intact families. full details

6. Illicit drug use. Teens in intact families are less likely to use illicit drugs other than marijuana compared to peers in non-intact families. full details

7. Illicit drug use (European teens). European teens in intact families are less likely to use illicit drugs than peers in non-intact families. full details

8. Cocaine use. Individuals from intact families are less likely to use cocaine compared to peers from non-intact families. full details

9. Drug abuse. Teens in intact families are less likely to abuse drugs compared to peers in non-intact families. full details

10. Behavioral problems. Teens in intact families are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems such as binge drinking than peers in blended or divorced single-parent families. full details

I just checked with my wife... we're staying married.

Tribute to Senator Pete Domenici

Peter St. Cyr, a radio reporter for 770 KKOB, has launched a blog. Peter attended the tribute to Senator Pete Domenici this past Friday, and he posted an audio of the entire speech made by Senator Alfonse Demato (retired) from New York. Set aside some time to listen, it's worth it.

I know Peter does some interesting interviews for KKOB, but the station only runs small segments of those interviews. I think if Peter were to put up the full interview on his blog, he could have a pretty unique niche for himself. He could easily become New Mexico's top podcaster [Just some unsolicited free advice - worth about what you paid for it].

Please Unseat this Judge

Pretend you're a Judge. Now, pretend this predator ends up in your court (subscription):

An Albuquerque man agreed to plead guilty to a dozen child pornography charges, provided that he be allowed to perform his civic duty and vote.

Patrick O'Hara, 66, had been facing 180 years in prison if convicted of the 70 charges of sexual exploitation of children he was indicted on in November.

His son, Timothy O'Hara, 42, was also indicted on 20 similar charges.

If he asked you to let him vote in the upcoming election, would you? Me Neither. Unfortunately, we're not sitting on the bench. However, District Judge Charles Brown is, and here is how he ruled:

Before accepting the plea, O'Hara had a question for state District Judge Charles Brown.

"Prior to your sentencing, can I vote in the June election?" he asked, referring to the June 3 primary election.

O'Hara added that he is "working on" obtaining an absentee ballot.

Brown approved the request, partly because O'Hara is not set to be sentenced until July 16.

There is good news here. District Judge Charles Brown is up for re-election on June 3rd:

State District Judge Charles Brown, also appointed in August, will oppose longtime Albuquerque attorney Gail Prosser in the criminal division.

New judges must stand for the first partisan election following their appointments. After that, they are subject to retention races every six years.

As a Republican, I can't vote against District Judge Charles Brown, but many of you reading can. I don't know anything about Gail Prosser, but if she doesn't think its a good idea to grant special requests to child predators, I'd say she HAS to be better than District Judge Charles Brown.

Singing Donkey is Undecided Superdelegate

Forget Commissions and Just Prosecute

An opportunity to follow up on yesterday's post and conveniently respond to Matt Brix's comment (can always count on Matt for civil discourse on the topic of ethics):

Days after he took office in January 2007, Attorney General Gary King told me, through a spokesman, that an investigation of the scandal that toppled most of the state’s affordable housing system in 2006 would be a top priority.

Sixteen months later, some are beginning to wonder.

It’s not that nothing has happened. The AG has successfully obtained court orders to boot three tenants from homes owned by the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority because they didn’t qualify for affordable housing. Two were employees of the authority and one was a board member.

What do you think? Could this have all been avoided if only we had had an ethics commission in place to "provide training for public officials and public employees" involved in this scandal?

Yeah, somehow I don't think so either.

Here's what it boils down to for me. I believe that the vast majority people are good and lead their lives in an ethical manner. They'll find a wallet and return it to its rightful owner. Forget the wallet, they'll find a bag filled with $140,000 and turn it in because they know in their "gut that to keep that money would be wrong."

Unfortunately, there are those that choose to ignore their gut. Those people are criminal. Those people should be prosecuted and thrown in jail. We don't need a commission to educate them on what is ethical, we need a prosecutor willing to do their job.

Matt, my friend, the people's government can be held accountable every day. We don't have to wait until an election. We can draw attention to prosecutors who fail to prosecute. We can shine a spotlight on those who conduct their unethical behavior in the shadows. We can even demand justice.

But, what we must not do is create yet another government commission that makes people feel like they don't need to be diligent and civilly active because of the assumption that some third party is going to take care of it for them. Just because many other states have chosen to rely on this crutch, does not make it right.

We Don't Need an Ethics Commission

Why is it the left always wants a government solution to a government problem?

Eli Lee on Clearly New Mexico answers why we need an independent state ethics commission. Shorter Eli: Manny Aragon.

Indeed, are we to believe that since 1992 not one member of the Legislature has had a conflict of interest or used influence inappropriately? Must questions of misconduct rise to the level of a state or federal indictment and prosecution before they are addressed?

We have a solution - a citizen driven, a personal responsibility solution. It's called elections. Every two or four years we have an opportunity to dump the riff-raff. Regardless, of the power an individual legislator may have hold in Santa Fe, they can be beat by a superior candidate.

Of course, people have to care enough to vote. And, people who are not going to be defined by holding an elected office need to run.

New Mexico Superdelegates Ignoring Majority

It's interesting to observe as one New Mexico Democratic superdelegate after another comes out in support for Senator Barack Obama (subscriotion). What is interesting about it is that the majority of New Mexicans voting in the record turnout state caucus voted for Senator Hillary Clinton.

New Mexico Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colón on Saturday threw his support behind Barack Obama's presidential bid - the 4th New Mexico superdelegate to endorse the U.S. Senator from Illinois.

"He really does represent what the youth in this country want to see in terms of the direction of this country," said the 38-year-old Colon, one of the youngest state party chairs in the nation.

Colon's decision capped months of heavy lobbying by backers of both Obama and his opponent, Hillary Clinton: Colon told the Journal he's received hundreds of phone calls and "thousands" of e-mails since New Mexico's Feb. 5 Democratic presidential caucus on Feb. 5, which Clinton won by a sliver.

Hmm, I believe that "sliver" is called a majority. I wonder what message this sends to that majority?

More Unnecessary Regulation

Everybody loves to hate credit card companies. But, the truth is that most Americans abuse credit cards. We over rely on plastic and spend more than we have. That's a problem. But, a worse problem is when we then complain to the government and want them to solve the pickle we got ourselves into (subscription):

The Federal Reserve and other regulators are planning tighter rules to stop credit card companies from unfairly raising interest rates and to make sure they give people enough time to pay their bills.

-Placing unfair time constraints on payments. A payment could not be deemed late unless the borrower is given a reasonable period of time, such as 21 days, to pay;

-Unfairly allocating payments among balances with different interest rates;

- Unfairly raising annual percentage rates on outstanding balances;

-Placing too-high fees for exceeding the credit limit solely because of a hold placed on the account;

-Unfairly computing balances;

-Unfairly adding security deposits and fees for issuing credit or making credit available;

-Making deceptive offers of credit.

This is more unnecessary regulation. Credit cards are unsecured debt. If you don't like the terms being offered, don't get a credit card. If you're not happy with the fees and penalties of one credit card company, then switch to the another. As to "deceptive offers of credit," I'm sure we already have laws that deal with fraud. If it's fraudulent, then the government should prosecute those committing fraud as opposed to creating new regulations for an entire industry.

The answer to the credit card problem is education, not regulation. Teach financial literacy to children in math classes, and then let personal responsibility trump govern behavior.