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The best fix is a national health care option

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By Ellen Wedum In 2005, Toyota chose to locate its RAV4 assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. One of the major selling points was Canada’s national health insurance system, which saves the auto manufacturer large sums in benefit payments compared with costs in the United States. The United States spends 15-17 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, which provides a mishmash of coverage for only 85 percent of Americans. For France and Germany, that drops to around 11 percent to cover everyone. Canada and Sweden pay roughly 10 percent and 9 percent of GDP respectively for a basic national health care program for all. Continue Reading

Will Teague hear what his constituents are saying?

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There’s been some discussion on the Internet about a meeting U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., held in Roswell last week, with the commentary being largely critical of many who attended the meeting with Teague. Here’s another view: By Herb Atkinson Early last week I received a recorded telephone call from Congressman Harry Teague announcing he was going to be conducting a public meeting at Pepper’s Grill in Roswell on Wednesday afternoon, and I was invited to come. When I arrived, I joined about 60 other Americans there to meet with, and hear from, their congressional representative. Everyone was asked to gather in the west-end meeting room. The only problem was that Congressman Teague was sitting in a corner booth in the restaurant, not in the meeting room with the people. Continue Reading

Freedom for all and for all time

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© 2009 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. The most ironic outcome of our revolution was it later resulted in freedom for the descendants of English soldiers who tried to keep us enslaved to their King. Even with our freedom example, it took many years for the English to become truly free. There was not freedom in the world in 1776. People never experienced freedom so it was hard to visualize being free. This Independence Day, we should note that in 1776 a most fortunate thing happened. Continue Reading

UCC filings system back up; others remain down

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Secretary of State Mary Herrera said Wednesday that she was “optimistic” that the computer systems in her office that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings via her Web site would be back online Thursday. As of the publication of this posting, the UCC filings database is operational. But it appears to be back online using the less secure hypertext transfer protocol (http at the start of the Web address). Prior to last week’s problems that led to all systems in the secretary of state’s office going down, the searchable databases used the more secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https at the start of the Web address). In addition, the databases for campaign contributors, candidates and political committees receiving contributions, lobbyist reports and financial information disclosure reports are still offline. Continue Reading

What you need to know about legislative scorecards

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Reading this year’s legislative scorecard put out by the Albuquerque-based Association of Commerce and Industry, you would think Doña Ana County’s legislative delegation is pretty unfriendly to business. “Don’t buy it,” the Las Cruces Sun-News’ Walt Rubel writes in a recent commentary. ACI is one of a number of groups that put out such rankings following legislative sessions. Rubel writes that, while the scorecards “may have some value to the members of those organizations in letting them know who is supportive of their pet projects, they are of little value to voters.” Why? Such scorecards “invariably favor one party over the other based on the special interest they are representing,” Rubel writes. Continue Reading

‘Quality-of-life’ tax increase proposal put on hold

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A proposal to raise the gross-receipts tax in Las Cruces to help fund “quality-of-life” initiatives such as operation and maintenance of city ball fields, creation of new bike paths and the expansion of artistic and cultural programs has been delayed, but supporters of the tax say it isn’t dead. The Las Cruces Sun-News has the scoop on organizers of the petition drive suspending their efforts until the fall. Their explanation: It’s summer, and lots of people are out of town. “Here we are with about three weeks left to turn in the petition and we probably would’ve had only needed maybe 300 more signatures,” Las Cruces resident Alice Cox was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “We would have easily made that, but we wanted many more than that. Continue Reading

Wilson to do political, elections training in Africa

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Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson is traveling to Africa today to “engage with government ministers and teach candidates and parliamentary staff about communications, constituent service and running elections,” according to a note posted on her Facebook page. Wilson, a potential 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate, gave the details to the Albuquerque Journal: “While in Sudan, I will be meeting with the Speaker of the Southern Sudan Parliament, conducting training and consultations with their legislators who are involved national security and international affairs matters, training the staffs of legislators on constituent service and communications, and speaking at a women’s leadership conference sponsored by the UN Mission in Sudan and the US Agency for International Development. “I will also be meeting with the leaders of all of the political parties in Southern Sudan about preparations for elections in 2010 and making sure that election is legitimate. “In Kenya, I will be meeting with the Minister of State for Defense and members of the Kenyan Parliament involved in national security matters.” Wilson was invited to make the trip by the International Republican Institute, which is paying for the trip. The former Republican House member, who told me last week that she hasn’t decided whether she’ll run for governor next year, also talked with the Journal about the 2010 race. Continue Reading

NRCC hammers Teague over cap-and-trade vote

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That didn’t take long. Days after U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., voted for a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that many in his conservative district may not like, the National Republican Congressional Committee is out with radio ads and robo calls attacking him for his vote. (Thanks to the New Mexico Independent for the links.) “Nancy Pelosi just passed her number one legislative priority… it’s a radical plan to implement a national energy tax across America,” the radio ad states. “They call it cap and trade. But make no mistake… it’s a massive new tax.” There’s a fact check on the ad that you can read here. Continue Reading

Luján praised for fighting for green job-training funds

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First, a vote by U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., for a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill was labeled as “the most daring of any in his caucus” in an article published in The Politico. Now, the Huffington Post is publishing a commentary that mentions U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., as one who joined a coalition that “successfully pushed to include key provisions in the bill — provisions that will bring economic opportunity to disadvantaged communities.” Specifically, the bill includes “almost $1 billion in funding for job training programs, and it ensures local access to quality jobs in green construction.” The commentary, written by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All, states that members of the Black and Hispanic caucuses were instrumental in making that happen, and specifically mentions two — including Luján — who “participated in the discussion and fought for their communities.” The bill narrowly passed the House but is expected to have a more difficult time in the Senate. The commentary is designed to push senators. “The leadership role taken on by advocates for people of color and the working poor has never before been seen on this scale when it comes to climate and energy legislation. It was essential to getting the equity provisions into (the bill), and has helped shift the terms of the debate,” the commentary states. Continue Reading

Herrera: All systems should be online Thursday

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Secretary of State Mary Herrera said late today that the computer systems in her office that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code filings should be back online Thursday. Herrera wrote in an e-mail that those systems were being tested today, and her office is “optimistic that this functionality will be operational on Thursday.” Officials have been working to restore the Secretary of State’s Web site and systems in the office since last week, when unspecified problems knocked out a new campaign finance and disclosure system that has been under development. Officials haven’t specified how the problems with the new site relate to the office’s problems with its other computer systems and Web site. Parts of the Web site went back online today, but not the database and UCC systems that are necessary for the public to do all sorts of business, from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and other dealings between businesses and state government. Herrera, commenting for the first time about the problems, reiterated in the e-mail what officials from her office said last week: The problems did not result in information that is stored in the office’s databases being lost. Continue Reading

Correra shared in half of identified placement fees

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$22 million and counting. That’s how much the State Investment Council (SIC) now says Marc Correra, the son of a friend of and fundraiser for Gov. Bill Richardson, shared in for helping investment companies win state contracts. The fees in which Correra shared amount to about half of all third-party marketer or “placement” fees the SIC has been able to identify, according to the Albuquerque Journal. You read that right. Half. Continue Reading

Parts of secretary of state’s Web site back online

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Parts of the Secretary of State’s Web site went back online today, but systems that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code filings remain down. A note on the restored Web site acknowledges that systems that are necessary for the public to do all sorts of business, from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and other dealings between businesses and state government, are still down. “ATTENTION UCC & CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING USERS!” the message states. “Please do not file your UCC filings as our system is down for maintenance at this time. Our Campaign Filing System is also down at this time. Continue Reading

Should Ben Lujan remain speaker of the House?

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The fact that Lujan is still the state’s most powerful lawmaker despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him taints House Democrats Does the value of property increase when a highway interchange is built near it? Of course it does. So the fact that the state Department of Transportation abruptly moved the site of a proposed interchange to four-tenths of a mile from land owned by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambe, in 2007 should raise eyebrows. Of course, Lujan has been doing things for years that should raise the eyebrows of anyone who cares about honest and ethical government, so perhaps the revelations contained in Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal article about the DOT project shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nonetheless, in the context of the cloud of scandal that has descended upon state government in recent years, it’s simply embarrassing that House Democrats continue to make Lujan the most powerful lawmaker in New Mexico despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him. Continue Reading

Teague’s vote on cap-and-trade bill was ‘daring’

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I’ve written before about the tightrope U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., has walked on energy issues. As an oilman and a Democrat, he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold typically associated with either. His job requires him to work with a Democratic Congress and president whose policy views are sometimes left of his, but, at the same time, he must worry about re-election in an oil-and-gas district. In that context, Teague voted last week in favor of a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that passed by seven votes. Now The Politico is out with an article that says, of all the junior House Democrats who voted for the bill, Teague’s vote “may have been the most daring of any in his caucus.” From the article: “An oilman, Teague represents the most conservative part of a state that often is called ‘Little Texas.’ Until he was elected last year, the oil- and gas-dependent 2nd District had not elected a Democrat for more than a quarter-century. Continue Reading

With license plate snafu, Foley’s undoing is complete

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Former House Minority Whip Dan Foley says he wasn’t aware that state law required him to return his legislative license plate when he left office almost six months ago. Right. In case you missed it, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque has the story. Foley, a Republican who represented a southeastern New Mexico district but now lives in Rio Rancho, was recently caught by a red-light camera in Albuquerque driving 11 miles over the speed limit in a silver Toyota Tundra registered to his wife. Police had to do some hunting to figure out who owned the vehicle. Continue Reading