ABQjournal: Roswell Car Dealer Gave to Foley Races:
Roswell Car Dealer Gave to Foley Races
By Jeff Jones
Journal Politics Writer
A Roswell car dealership treated to an F-16 military jet flyover after a request from state Rep. Dan Foley has been one of the lawmaker's largest campaign contributors.
Roswell Toyota gave Foley, a Roswell Republican, a total of $6,000 for his past two House campaigns, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Money in State Politics.
Foley on Tuesday said his request to the New Mexico National Guard seeking the Nov. 10 jet flyover had nothing to do with campaign contributions. He noted he made another flyover request last summer for someone who hadn't given him a penny.
It's been nearly two months since two of the Air National Guard's Fighting Falcons went screaming over the opening of the Roswell car lot's new location. But the bombs keep dropping:
Brig. Gen. Kenny Montoya of the New Mexico National Guard insisted on Tuesday— as he earlier told KRQE investigative reporter Larry Barker— that Foley never told him the flyover was for a car lot. Montoya added that he wouldn't have given the green light had he known.
"The words 'Toyota' never came out of his mouth— (nor) the opening of a dealership," said Montoya, who oversees both the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard in New Mexico.
Killings Loom Over Debate on Treating Mentally Ill - New York Times
"We are talking about a small group of people who do not get help because they don't want help or know they need help," Mary T. Zdanowicz, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, based in Virginia, said in a break from lobbying lawmakers here.
But opponents say the laws infringe on the civil rights of the mentally ill, and they suggest that teams of social and psychiatric workers could accomplish the same thing with direct intervention on the streets. Critics also say that most states have not provided adequate money for the services needed by those forced into treatment.
ABQjournal: Gov. Tests Red-State Themes:
RALEIGH, N.C.— New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner got a chance this week to try out political themes some observers believe could help them win voters in solidly Republican states such as North Carolina should they make bids for the White House in 2008.
Richardson and Warner both came to the Emerging Issues Forum at North Carolina State University at the behest of former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, a moderate Democrat who served a record four terms as his state's top executive.
Richardson described his approach of tax cuts, education and economic development the "New Progressivism."
"Now you're going to hear from a Democrat that is going to say this: cutting taxes is good, being pro-business is good. Putting more money in people's pockets is good," Richardson said.
Warner said voters don't want partisanship, but rather honesty that people may need to make some sacrifices for government to achieve fiscal responsibility.
"People are so anxious to hear the truth. A little bit of truth can go a long way in the American political process today," Warner said.
The two men's successes in their own states are worth sharing with the nation, some of their fellow forum participants said.
"Personally, I would like to see Richardson and Warner out there as opposed to the liberal faction of the Democratic Party," said Robert Peltz, 47, a Fayetteville businessman and unaffiliated voter. Peltz referred to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., a leading Democratic hopeful for the 2008 presidential race, as "a gift that keeps on giving for Republicans."
ABQJOURNAL: Wilson Seeks Overhaul of NSA Surveillance:
WASHINGTON — Breaking with the White House, the House Republican who chairs a panel overseeing the National Security Agency wants a 1978 foreign intelligence law changed following the disclosure of President Bush's eavesdropping program.
Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, thinks the time has come for a complete review of the National Security Agency's program, said her spokesman, Joel Hannahs.
Wilson believes she has a constitutional responsibility to oversee the program and that the House Intelligence Committee is entitled to full briefings, he said.
Hannahs said Wilson believes the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, needs to be updated to "take into account new technology.'' The law governs monitoring of calls inside the United States for national security reasons.
ABQJOURNAL: Sale of U.S. Land To Dona Ana County Questioned:
Associated Press
LAS CRUCES — Some Las Cruces residents oppose a proposal by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici to sell up to 65,000 acres of federal land in Dona Ana County for development.
Land owners, environmentalists, outdoor enthusiasts and developers spent nearly three hours Monday talking about the impact on the area if the U.S. government were to dispose of that much land over 20 years as Domenici, R-N.M., has proposed.
"We are concerned about this 65,000 acres,'' said Sanford Schemnitz, chairman of the Southwestern Consolidated Sportsmen. "Maybe 10,000 is sufficient for the growth of Las Cruces. ... We're certainly not opposed to growth, but would like to see it done orderly, planned.''
Some developers expressed concern that if large parcels of federal land were sold, property values could drop and the federal land would be bought by multinational developers.
The Dona Ana County Commission last month approved a resolution outlining their concerns with Domenici's plan. They also said they favor selling BLM land through an existing process rather than a new one Domenici proposed. The senator's plan would have sales overseen by an advisory board that includes representatives of the county, Las Cruces, developers and conservation groups, his office has said.
"The concept is appreciated, but there are just questions about the details,'' Commissioner Bill McCamley said in January. "Are only large corporations going to be able to come and buy the land? Sixty-five thousand acres — that's twice the size of the city of Las Cruces.''
Bureau of Land Management figures show about 1,500 acres of BLM land in Dona Ana County have been sold or traded during the past six years.
U.S. to ease Guard, Reserves roles abroad
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press, The Boston Globe (registration)
WASHINGTON - The National Guard and Reserves will play a much smaller role next year in Iraq and Afghanistan, dropping to less than one-fifth of overall U.S. forces there, the nation's top military officer told senators Tuesday.
Technorati Tags: 2006, Bill Richardson, Dan Foley, Elections, Fundraising, legislature, lobbying, Mentally Ill
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