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Gay-rights forum a disaster for Richardson

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Gov. Bill Richardson blew a chance to win support in the gay and lesbian community on Thursday evening by asking people to focus on his actions instead of his words and then telling a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group, on a program broadcast on a gay and lesbian television network, that homosexuality is a choice. The forum, put on by Human Rights Campaign and the lesbian and gay network Logo, didn’t pit the candidates against each other on stage. Each instead had a 15-minute interview with a three-member panel and a moderator. Richardson and Barack Obama essentially took the same approach – saying they’re focused on legalizing domestic partnerships, not gay marriage, because, in Richardson’s words, it’s “what’s achievable” and, in Obama’s, the president’s job is to focus on full legal rights before trying to change societal attitudes. The difference was that, when pressed, Obama revealed himself to be a deeply empathetic person who could relate on some level to the struggle of homosexuals and who would treat them with honesty and respect. Continue Reading

No Child Left Behind: an overturned outhouse

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© 2007 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Years ago nothing was more fun than outhouse tipping, unless you happened to be in the outhouse when it tipped over. Well, it didn’t tip over, adolescent boys pushed it over when the moon was right and they caught Uncle Fester sitting down. He exclaimed, “How’d this happen?” Some readers may not know about outhouses. Before indoor plumbing, the “bathroom” was downwind from the house in a small structure also called a privy. Using it tested the need to go versus smell aversion, with spider and snake phobias thrown in. Continue Reading

Are the frontrunners giving up on the Indian vote?

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It appears as if the three frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for president may be abandoning the American Indian vote to Gov. Bill Richardson. Only Richardson, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel have confirmed their attendance on Aug. 23 at the Prez on the Rez forum, the first on Indian land in the history of the United States. It will be held on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ reservation in California at 4:30 p.m. MST on that day. Hillary Clinton has refused an invitation. Continue Reading

Democrats assail Pearce, Wilson

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U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson, both New Mexico Republicans, are under fire today from Democratic groups. Pearce, who is in Hobbs today holding a town-hall meeting about combating the use of methamphetamine, voted in July against a bill that included $975,000 to help combat meth in rural New Mexico – money he helped get included in the bill, the Democratic Party of New Mexico pointed out in a news release. The funds were part of the larger Commerce and Justice and Science Appropriations bill that passed the House and has been referred to the Senate. “Rep. Pearce voted against state and local law enforcement’s battle against meth – pure and simple,” said state Democratic Party chair Brian Colón in the release. Continue Reading

2008 calendar shifts again, creating uncertainty

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South Carolina Republicans forced a rewrite of the nation’s presidential primary calendar today by moving their primary date up to Jan. 19. The move triggers a shift in the entire calendar because, by law, New Hampshire must move up its primary and, when that happens, Iowa must move up its caucuses. That throws not only the calendar but campaign strategies into uncertainty. For Gov. Bill Richardson, it’s bad news. Continue Reading

Heinrich announces high-profile endorsements

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Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, the frontrunner among three Democrats seeking the right to take on U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., next year, has announced a number of high-profile endorsements of his candidacy. The list of visible Democrats includes state Sens. Gerald Ortiz y Pino and Cisco McSorley; state Reps. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, Mimi Stewart and Gail Chasey; Albuquerque City Councilors Debbie O’Malley, Michael Cadigan and Isaac Benton; and Public Regulation Commission Vice Chair Jason Marks. The endorsements were announced at a news conference Wednesday in Albuquerque. Continue Reading

Foundation gives other perks to Martin, Menzies

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An examination of President Michael Martin’s contract with New Mexico State University reveals some perks provided by the foundation beyond what the university announced in May, when it restructured the agreement. The perks were in public records and may have been known to some, but I’ve never seen any media coverage that has disclosed them to the public. On Tuesday, I received copies of the contracts for Martin and the new men’s basketball coach, Marvin Menzies. The regents announced in May that Martin’s annual salary was being increased to $335,000. In addition, he would receive a $6,000-per-month housing allowance paid for by a secret donor and a $100,000 deferred payment that he will receive if he stays at NMSU through 2012, with 70 percent of it paid by a secret donor. Continue Reading

Guv falls against Giuliani, gains against Thompson

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A new Rasmussen Reports poll out today has Gov. Bill Richardson losing ground in a potential head-to-head match up with GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani but gaining ground against another GOP candidate, Fred Thompson. The new poll finds that, in a head-to-head contest, 47 percent of likely voters picked Giuliani, while 39 percent picked Richardson. The eight-point lead is greater than the six-point edge Giuliani had over Richardson in the group’s June poll. Thompson, in the new poll, had a one-point lead over Richardson, 41 percent to 40 percent. Two months ago, he led Richardson by eight points. Continue Reading

NMSU is placing hurdles in front of public records

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Some governments provide easy access to public records. Others appear to look for ways to keep the public in the dark. Lately I’ve come across both. Because of allegations that city employees were inappropriately involved in council races in Albuquerque, I recently requested months of e-mails, cell phone records and time sheets for four city officials. The city responded in a timely manner, is offering to mail the records to me in Las Cruces and is charging a reasonable $34.50 for copies and postage – 10 cents per page and $1 per compact disc, far less than the $1-per-page allowed by state law. Continue Reading

Roswell newspaper needs to admit bias against Foley

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By Whitney Cheshire The Roswell Daily Record: Breaking, making or faking the news? Shouldn’t newspaper publishers disclose their political contributions if they cover politics? As some of you may remember, I frequently wrote about the hot and heavy political environment in Chaves County during the 2006 primary election. One of the most interesting aspects of that campaign season was how involved the Record became in the game. There were complaints about the Record unfairly printing some letters to the editor and not others and leaking its endorsement of a local candidate, Mike Kakuska, to a blogger in advance of its printing. Continue Reading

Guv gives an unmemorable debate performance

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Gov. Bill Richardson was the only Democratic presidential candidate who wasn’t involved in the fighting that characterized Tuesday’s candidate forum in Chicago. Those who support candidates who don’t attack were probably impressed but, for many, it probably meant he wasn’t noticed at all. The controversy-hungry media gave little mention to Richardson in articles about the debate. His answers didn’t demand much attention. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton was assaulted repeatedly by Barack Obama and John Edwards. Continue Reading

Learning lessons

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By Carter Bundy As the Minneapolis and Utah tragedies continue, we ought not to politicize a tragedy of infrastructure. There will be plenty of time for investigations and, if appropriate, blame. That doesn’t mean we can’t make something good of these tragic events. We have all heard stories about how American infrastructure is in dire straits. We’ve all known this is an impending problem. Continue Reading

Ethics task force recommends special session

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The governor’s ethics task force will recommend that Bill Richardson call a special session before April 1, 2008 to deal with ethics reform. The time will be left to the governor and Legislature to work out. I’m not at the meeting today, so I only have a few details of what was decided, but some of the other recommendations the task force decided on are: • Expansion of the voluntary public campaign financing system to the offices of attorney general, secretary of state, land commissioner, treasurer and auditor in 2010, and to the offices of governor and lieutenant governor in 2014. • Campaign contribution limits equal to the federal limit of $2,300, with an exception for local governments that already have lower levels in place. • Additional employees in the Secretary of State’s office to help with faster notification and publishing online of campaign finance reports. Continue Reading

Richardson unveils universal health-care plan

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Gov. Bill Richardson said today that it will take $100 billion give every American health insurance, but said he would offset the cost as president by expanding preventative coverage and reducing administrative costs. “We need universal health care now,” Richardson said during a speech in Iowa. “Now is the time. For every American who wants to look a suffering loved one in the eye and tell them that tomorrow will be better than today – now is the time. For the good of our nation, now must be the time.” You can read the text of Richardson’s speech by clicking here and the details of his plan here. Continue Reading