NewMexicoMatters.com

Who's to Judge Manny?

ABQjournal: Judge Argues Authority in Aragon Case:

By Dave Kavanaugh and Mark Oswald
Journal Northern Bureau

SANTA FE— A Raton judge argued Monday that he has jurisdiction to decide whether the New Mexico Highlands Board of Regents can move forward with a vote on the possible dismissal of Highlands president Manny Aragon.

The state Supreme Court received written arguments Monday from state District Judge John Paternoster and from students supporting Aragon. The court last week was asked by the Highlands regents to quash Paternoster's order blocking a vote on firing Aragon.

Paternoster said he had authority under the New Mexico Constitution to issue the order, which bars action on Aragon's Highlands contract until Paternoster can hold a court hearing.

Interesting that none of the reporting on this case has mentioned that Paternoster was only just recently appointed to the bench by Governor Richardson on April 6th, 2006.

Paternoster took the case after the two judges in the 4th judicial district recused themselves from the case. Was Paternoster the first choice of the students and their lawyer when seeking the injunction? Why would they pick Paternoster?

Technorati Tags: Bill Richardson, Blogs, corruption, Democrats, Elections, New Mexico, Politics

More Money for More Favors

By Steve Terrell | The New Mexican July 18, 2006

A racetrack owner, a private prison company and a chewing-tobacco corporation -- all on the record for seeking favors from New Mexico politicians -- have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to a national group headed by Gov. Bill Richardson.

The June 30 report by the Democratic Governors Association -- which Richardson has chaired since 2004 and which frequently pays for his out-of-state travel -- lists several contributors familiar to New Mexico political circles.Among those are:_ Las Vegas, Nev., resident Stanley Fulton, who owns Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in Southern New Mexico. Fulton, who is fighting a proposed off-reservation Indian casino in nearby Anthony, N.M., gave $100,000 to the DGA. Richardson must sign off on the proposed casino for it to become a reality.

Richardson-led group receives funds linked to state issues

Shocking? Shouldn't be according to Pahl Shipley, who said there is absolutely no connection between money donated to the governor and legislative favors bestowed on the contributors. I have an idea for a new rule; everytime somebody from one of the governor's operations says there's "absolutely no connection" between the contributions and administration policy, that person has to put a dollar in the community bullshit jar.

technorati tags:Richardson, NM, 2008, Democrats, Elections, politics, blogs

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Technorati Tags: 2008, 2008elections, billrichardson, Blogs, Democrats, Elections, NM, Politics, richardson

Limosine Liberals who refuse to roll down the windows

This one will probably keep me up tonight.

An alliance of nearly a hundred of the nation's wealthiest donors is roiling Democratic political circles, directing more than $50 million in the past nine months to liberal think tanks and advocacy groups in what organizers say is the first installment of a long-term campaign to compete more aggressively against conservatives.

A year after its founding, Democracy Alliance has followed up on its pledge to become a major power in the liberal movement. It has lavished millions on groups that have been willing to submit to its extensive screening process and its demands for secrecy.

These include the Center for American Progress, a think tank with an unabashed partisan edge, as well as Media Matters for America, which tracks what it sees as conservative bias in the news media. Several alliance donors are negotiating a major investment in Air America, a liberal talk-radio network.

But the large checks and demanding style wielded by Democracy Alliance organizers in recent months have caused unease among Washington's community of Democratic-linked organizations. The alliance has required organizations that receive its endorsement to sign agreements shielding the identity of donors. Public interest groups said the alliance represents a large source of undisclosed and unaccountable political influence.

A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding

technorati tags:Democrats, Washington, D.C., Donors, corruption, media, secrecy, politics, elections, blogs, politicians, Ickes, Clinton

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AP: Hispanics to Play Pivotal Election Role

Before California's Republican governor tried to get tough on illegal immigrants in the 1990s, the state had supported GOP candidates in all but two presidential elections since World War II.

California has been a solid blue state ever since the attempted crackdown, in part because of a backlash by the growing number of Hispanic voters.Democrats hope to replicate that success nationally by using the current immigration debate to brand Republicans as anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic.

But Latinos are showing signs they are dissatisfied with both political parties, making these voters pivotal players in the November election as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress."If the political parties use immigration as a wedge issue, there might be a very big backlash," said Marcelo Gaete, senior director of programs for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or NALEO.

"We might become the soccer moms of this election, but we will not become the Willie Hortons," Gaete said.Former President Bush used images of Horton, a convicted murderer who raped a woman while on furlough from a Massachusetts prison, in a 1988 campaign ad designed to scare voters into thinking the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, was soft on crime.

Hispanics to Play Pivotal Election Role - Forbes.com

technorati tags:2008, Richardson, blogs, politics, NM, immigration, boarder, Mexico

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Feeling The Vigil Vibe in Vegas

Richard Vigil, brother to former state treasurer Robert Vigil finds himself the subject of scrutiny over an appropriation he  secured during the 2006 legislative session.

State legislator defends wife’s appropriation

Money for bilingual program was used to pay for party LAS VEGAS, N.M. — State Rep. Richard Vigil defended legislative appropriations he obtained for a West Las Vegas Schools bilingual program run by his wife — a target of criticism after the program used some state funds for an invitation-only party. “She is my wife, but she’s also a constituent,” said Vigil, D-Las Vegas. “Her request went in with every other request. It didn’t have any special shape or form. It went through committee, and the whole Legislature approved it.” READ FULL STORY >> POST A COMMENT >>

technorati tags:NM, N.M., Blogs, politics, corruption, Democrats, Treasurer, Indictments

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ABQjournal: Acequia Association Upset by Water Rights Auction

ABQjournal: Acequia Association Upset by Water Rights Auction:

SANTA FE— A Northern New Mexico irrigation ditch association fears that an auction of water rights by a private company threatens efforts to keep water rights attached to the traditional ditch system.

"Our view is that water is so essential to all life, it should not be viewed as a commodity," said Paula Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association. "And traditionally, water could not be severed from the land."

She said the water rights up for auction were established through generations of people who maintained irrigation ditches and used the water for farming and livestock, Garcia said.

"It is unthinkable to some traditional people that you could cash that out," she said.

Some people with generations-old water rights are selling and have hired WaterBank of Albuquerque to handle the sale.

Water buyers had until the end of business Friday to bid on irrigation rights in the Pojoaque and Española valleys, with the minimum bid set at $25,000 an acre-foot. An acre-foot, about 326,000 gallons, can meet the annual water needs of one to two U.S. households.

Technorati Tags: Blogs, lobbying, New Mexico, Patricia Madrid, Politics, reform

The Aragon Files: Aragon Chosen to Lead NMHU Aragon chosen to lead NMHU. JUNE 12, 2004

First in a series of posts linking to the story from then so we understand it now.

Aragon chosen to lead NMHU :
The crowd of 50 was silent for a few seconds after the New Mexico Highlands University Board of Regents announced that state Senate Majority Leader Manny Aragón would be the school's new president. Then isolated pockets of people clapped enthusiastically while others remained silent.

"I was holding onto a sliver of hope," said a disappointed Tom Ward, a sociology professor and president of the Highlands faculty association. "I'm not surprised Aragón was appointed. We expected it all along. We still think (Rodolfo) Arevalo is the better choice."

In a phone interview, Aragón acknowledged the faculty's concerns about his lack of experience in education and admitted he "is a nontraditional president, but Highlands isn't a traditional school."

"My first action will be to establish a relationship with faculty and staff," Aragón said in a phone interview. "I recognize the honor it is to be selected (over) the other four reputable applicants."

Technorati Tags: Bill Richardson, Blogs, corruption, Democrats, education, New Mexico, Politics

USATODAY.com - Electronic voting machines come under legal attack from activists

USATODAY.com - Electronic voting machines come under legal attack from activists:

Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem and they've gone to court across the country to ban the new machines.

Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate.
Manufacturers say their machines are more reliable than punch cards and other traditional voting technologies.

But they face a determined opponent in Voter Action, which has filed lawsuits in Colorado, California, Arizona and New Mexico. Similar bans have been sought by voters in Texas, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. On Thursday, a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit in Georgia.

"The designers of video games have built far more sophisticated security into their systems than have the manufacturers of voting machines," said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, a non-profit and non-partisan group based in Berkeley, Calif. "The biggest problem is security against tampering."
About 80% of American voters will use some form of electronic voting in the November election, where every seat in the House of Representatives is up for re-election, as are 33 Senate offices and 36 governorships.

New York University's Brennan Center for Justice released a one-year study last month that determined that the three most popular types of U.S. voting machines "pose a real danger" to election integrity.(Continue Reading)

90 Seconds + 2 phone calls = The Internet For All

I just called both Sen. Domenici and Sen. Bingaman's office to let register my opposition to Sen. Ted Steven's telecom bill which would create a tiered internet, and request that they vote no on S. 2686. The entire process took me 90 seconds max.

All I did was click on the link below and then select NM from the map and up popped my two senators and their respective phone numbers. According to "Save the Internet," both Domenici and Bingaman are undecided, and considering their records on a banking and oil and gas, I would definitely call both.

I'm waiting for the New Mexican, the Abq Journal and the rest of the state's Newspapers who have an online presence to realize they have a vested interest in making sure our Senators vote "no," considering that they'll be a primary target for higher fees since they're providers of rich content such as video and audio reports in addition to their written articles.

Click the link or just use the info from below. Either way, check out the site when you have the time; its a wealth of information. Save the Internet : Find out where your Senators stand:

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)Undeclared on Net Neutrality Call Sen. Domenici now at 202-224-6621

Say: "I urge Senator Domenici to protect Net Neutrality, which prevents the largest phone and cable companies from turning the Internet into their private tollway. I urge the Senator to vote NO on Senator Stevens' telecommunications bill (S. 2686) unless real Net Neutrality language is added that prohibits network operators from discriminating against content and creating a tiered Internet."

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)Undeclared on Net Neutrality Call Sen. Bingaman now at 202-224-5521

Say: "I urge Senator Bingaman to protect Net Neutrality, which prevents the largest phone and cable companies from turning the Internet into their private tollway. I urge the Senator to vote NO on Senator Stevens' telecommunications bill (S. 2686) unless real Net Neutrality language is added that prohibits network operators from discriminating against content and creating a tiered Internet."

Technorati Tags: Bill Richardson, Blogs, Congress, Democrats, Elections, lobbying, New Mexico, Pete Domenici, Politics, Jeff Bingaman, reform, Republicans

NASS Summer Conference big dollar donors Voting-machine firm gives $50,000 to state secretaries

The AP today is covering a copy wright from yesterday's AbqJournal that reported the recent National Association of Secretary of State Summer Meeting, held in Santa Fe, received a $50,000 contribution from ES&S, the state's sole vendor for voting machines and provider of software for managing the statewide list of registered voters.

Wow, how did they dig up this information? Maybe from the NASS summer conference website which published this list of sponsors for the event on their website.

Technorati Tags: Bill Richardson, Blogs, corruption, Democrats, Elections, lobbying, New Mexico, Politics, reform, Republicans