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A deer czar, that's the ticket

September 2, 2010 by Uppity Wisconsin

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xoff

Scott Walker's spent way too much time sitting in a tree stand with nothing to think about:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker on Thursday called for an independent auditor to monitor the health population of Wisconsin deer, saying a third party is needed because many hunters had lost faith in how the Department of Natural Resources manages the herd.

That's the ticket. Privatize the DNR.

While we're pondering independent audits, how about adding the O'Donnell Park disaster and the county's mental health center to the list?

 


September 2 Open Thread

September 2, 2010 by Calitics

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Open Thread
Links:

* The "Big 5" met again today with still no resolution. Are you holding your breath?

* Meg Whitman finished 2nd behind Al Checchi in $/vote in the primary for all time in California.  In the top 6, there is nary a winner in the group...

* Debra Saunders, in her own way, praises the President's record on Iraq

* California Watch has a breakdown of the 98 bills passed in the closing hours of the legislative session.


3rd District Rejects Attempts to Force State Appeal of Marriage Decision

September 2, 2010 by Calitics

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Brian Leubitz
Brown SchwarzeneggerIn Sacramento yesterday, the 3rd District Court of Appeals rejected a right-wing attempt to force the state (in the form of AG Jerry Brown and Governor Schwarzenegger) to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision striking down Proposition 8.

A state appeals court has denied a conservative law group's request that it force Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to defend Proposition 8 in federal court.

The denial was issued Wednesday and entered Thursday on the website of the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Sacramento.

"I guess we'll have to file another emergency petition with the California Supreme Court," said Kevin Snider, chief counsel for the Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute.(SacBee)

Thing is, the two elected leaders have a fairly wide level of discretion in this case.

AL-Senate - Bill Barnes Won't Vote to Repeal Health Insurance Reform

September 2, 2010 by Left in Alabama

Democratic candidate for Senate, Bill Barnes, scoffs at the GOP's contention that people without health insurance "can just go to the emergency room" and stresses his opposition to the repeal of health insurance reform in this interview with Left in Alabama.  Barnes is running against Richard Shelby who's against pretty much everything - extension of unemployment benefits, Lilly Ledbetter, economic stimulus, health reform, and any type of government spending outside his state.

William Bill Barnes for SenateHere's a partial transcript of Barnes' statement and the video (about 3 1/2 minutes) is on the flip:

I would not support repeal of health care legislation.


Let me just back up a moment.... The initial efforts to effect national health legislation goes way back to 1946 - President Truman - and it' never been passed and has come up time after time over the years. 

Some thoughts on the westside forum with Heinrich and Barela

September 2, 2010 by New Mexico FBIHOP

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Matt
Martin Heinrich at Westside forum 09-01-10Congressman Martin Heinrich and his Republican challenger Jon Barela were in the room together for the first time (I believe) at a candidates' forum on Albuquerque's westside Wednesday night. The two faced off at Don Newton Taylor Ranch Community Center... kind of.

You can read my report on the face-off at The New Mexico Independent.

There weren't many fireworks at the forum, as the way it was structured meant that Heinrich and Barela did not interact. Heinrich gave an opening statement, answered two questions (one on traffic, another on education and jobs), then gave a closing statement. Then Barela repeated the process -- by that time, Heinrich was no longer even in the room.

Less than twenty minutes after the forum got underway, the main attraction, the 1st Congressional District race, was already over and residents began streaming out of the room.

Rep. Martin Heinrich: GOP Wants to Take Our Country Back ... to the Bush Agenda

September 2, 2010 by Democracy for N...

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Democracy for New Mexico

Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich (NM-01) spoke at this week's DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup in Albuquerque, covering many topics in his remarks and in his answers to questions from the audience. This is a clip of one of my favorite -- if chilling -- parts of his talk.

Rep. Heinrich describes the kind of awful agenda the Republicans -- like his opponent -- would pursue if they regain control of the U.S. House. As Rep. Pete Sessions has admitted publicly, if John Boehner succeeds in becoming Speaker of the House with a Republican majority, he will attempt to reinstate the Bush agenda -- completely and exactly. The GOP wants to do things like privatize Social Security, weaken Medicare and repeal every single part of health care reform. Could anything be worse for the country?

Psssttt, Carly Supports Prop 23, Opposes AB 32

September 2, 2010 by Calitics

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Brian Leubitz
At the debate last night, moderator and KTVU political editor Randy Shandobil got frustrated with Fiorina's evasive answers on Prop 23.  Apparently the other reporters at the post-debate press conference were getting pretty frustrated with the situation as well.

Well folks, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Carly Fiorina supports Prop 23 and the death of AB 32.  She said as much in the debate. When she evaded the answer, she said specifically that it would "make sense to suspend it" or something to that effect.  Ladies and germs, that is what Prop 23 is arguing that they want to do.  Not sure how much more clear it can be made. She can hem and haw all she wants, but she can't jujitsu this one.

Clearly NM looks deeper into cozy relationship between BLM head, oil and gas

September 2, 2010 by New Mexico FBIHOP

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Matt
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the probably too-close relationship between Steve Henke, a BLM district manager in Farmington, and the oil and gas industry that he was supposed to be regulating.

Today, Clearly New Mexico looked into the same relationship with a little more detail.

Tracy Dingmann concluded:

The report deals with Henke's transgressions at, quite frankly, a molecular level. And you might think that what the actual details add up to is petty. In fact, the investigation, though exhaustive and revealing, did conclude there was "no evidence of Henke improperly assisting or favoring Williams E&P, or any other energy company which he oversaw."

But let's look at what really happened here. Henke, who was supposed to be in charge of regulating oil and gas companies, was taking money and all kinds of favors from them on the side, in violation of known ethical rules. And when he got caught, he tried to cover it up or shrug it off by saying essentially - everyone does it; it's the cost of doing business in a town that's dominated by oil and gas.

Why is this so horrible?

Environment New Mexico: Latest Gulf Rig Explosion Should Prompt Permanent Ban on New Offshore Drilling

September 2, 2010 by Democracy for N...

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Democracy for New Mexico

At around 10:00 AM Eastern this morning, another oil rig exploded into in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Coast Guard reports, the accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion rig 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy. Thirteen workers were on the rig at the time and all are reported to be safe.

In response to the latest oil rig catastrophe, Sanders Moore, advocate for Environment New Mexico, released the following statement urging an end to new offshore drilling and our dependence on oil:

“We are stunned to hear of yet another rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico -- President Obama should need no further wake-up call to permanently ban new drilling. He should drastically strengthen oversight of the existing offshore oil industry to prevent more accidents like the one today, but also permanently protect the coasts where we don’t drill now.

Questions Come Up in Ersland Case

September 2, 2010 by Blue Oklahoma

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DocHoc

The Jerome Ersland murder case has now produced so many cultural narratives and case twists it's beginning to take on symbolic significance for the state and its criminal justice system.

State Rep. Nate Cote Works to Retire Primates at Holloman Air Force Base

September 2, 2010 by Democracy for N...

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Democracy for New Mexico

Note: The tragic Alamogordo champanzee situation is starting to get national attention and is addressed in an article in today's New York Times.

HCOTE State Rep. Nathan Cote (D-Doña Ana) has taken a leadership role in the effort to preserve the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) at Holloman Air Force Base; an action that would save approximately 40 local jobs and insure the humane treatment of 202 chimpanzees living at the facility. Employees at the APF are facing a personal and professional loss in January 2011 as the National Institute of Health plans to close the facility and ship the resident chimpanzees to a medical research laboratory in Texas.

Nicole Who?

September 2, 2010 by Calitics

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Robert Cruickshank
The Fresno Bee provides some more details on the report that former "Democrat" Nicole Parra, former Assemblymember who fell out with Speaker Karen Bass and the rest of the Democratic caucus after voting against the budget in 2008, is going to help the Meg Whitman campaign:

Former Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra has signed on to help Meg Whitman woo Democratic and independent voters, the Republican gubernatorial candidate's campaign said this morning.

That's no surprise. Parra is helping Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina in a similar capacity....

In a written statement, Parra said she would travel the state talking to Democratic and independent voters "who are tired of the old ways of thinking and are looking for fresh ideas and a new style of leadership from their elected officials. We will be talking about Meg's plan for improving the economy, controlling spending and fixing our public schools, issues that Californians care most about.

Poll by conservative group shows Heinrich leading in NM-01

September 2, 2010 by New Mexico FBIHOP

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Matt
A poll by the conservative group American Action Forum shows Democratic Congressman Martin Heinrich leads the 1st Congressional District race over Republican challenger Jon Barela 49 percent to 42 percent. The poll (pdf) was conducted from August 23-26 and August 29.

American Action Forum features a who's-who of Republican politicians, including former Virginia Senator George Allen (who has been rehabbing his image after the "macaca" controversy), former Florida governor Jeb Bush and GOP strategist Maria Cino and ex-Ambassador C. Boyden Gray.

The poll also shows that a Democrat leads the "generic ballot" in the district 40 percent to 36 percent. After that, 21 percent say it depends on the candidate and 3 percent said they don't know. This is despite an historic lead by Republicans on the Gallup generic ballot nationwide -- perhaps signaling that the shift towards Democrats in the 1st Congressional District in 2008 was no presidential election-year fluke.

There are reasons for caution for the Heinrich campaign, however.

9/4: An Evening With Dolores Huerta in Corrales

September 2, 2010 by Democracy for N...

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Democracy for New Mexico

DoloresHuerta120 Human rights activist Dolores Huerta turned eighty this year. She has generously dedicated her lifetime to protecting the rights of others. Dolores has built bridges across communities to fight for workers, women, immigrants, LGBTQ communities, disenfranchised communities of color and the poor.

Please join us for an intimate evening with Dolores Huerta
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at 7:00 PM
415 Camino de la Tierra, Corrales, NM 87048 (map)
Hosted by Ennio Garcia-Miera, Ed Goodman,
Linda Hernandez and Carolina M. Ramos

Ron Johnson, Red Republican

September 2, 2010 by Uppity Wisconsin

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xoff

Go, Big Red takes on a whole new meaning in the US Senate race.

David Sirota post on Open Left blog:

I never thought we'd see a Republican Communist - and certainly not one who is the nominee for U.S. Senate in a major swing-state...

We can thank Wisconsin Republican Senate nominee Ron Johnson for at least being honest about his party's extremist vision. While most Americans probably don't see Chinese communism as the way forward, Republicans clearly do - and we can thank them, at minimum, for letting us know how they see the world.

He's not actually the nominee yet, but that little technicality will be taken care of on Sept. 14, when those socialist-hating Republicans give him their seal of approval.


Solferino

September 2, 2010 by Bitch PhD

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taddyporter







Through the clear transparent water
He could see the fishes swimming
Far down in the depths below him,
See the Yellow Perch, the Sahwa
Like a sunbeam in the water
-Song of Hiawatha

A use for the brown bag

September 2, 2010 by Uppity Wisconsin

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xoff

The LaCrosse Tribune:

 

 

We have a suggestion for how Scott Walker can best use his ubiquitous brown bag.

 

Whenever the Milwaukee County executive is ready to unveil yet another insensitive campaign message, he should follow these simple steps:

 1) Open bag.

2) Place around mouth.

 3) Blow vigorously.

4) Take a deep breath.

5) Repeat, if necessary.

 6) If all else fails, inflate the bag once more and pop it.

Maybe then, Mr. Walker will wake up and smell the baloney.

Read the whole thing.


What We Have Built: A System By, For, and Of the Lobbyists

September 2, 2010 by Calitics

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Brian Leubitz
Jim Sanders has some interesting thoughts, many of which have passed between my two ears over the last couple of weeks with the closing of the legislative sessions. Specifically, there have been a few instances of crass political maneuvering outweighing policy.  Not that it is anything new, nor is the impact of lobbyists anything innovative. But it seems, as the legislature has completely lost its institutional knowledge, the power of the almighty lobbyist dollar has become magnified. And Sanders has some specific examples, take for example the interesting case of the plastic bag measure, AB 1998.

Plastic bags have been "banned" from major San Francisco groceries for several years now.  The sky has not fallen, and prices have not skyrocketed. You see more reusable bags these days (which is an incontrovertible good), and a bunch more paper (which is a bit of a wash).  But, what is also clear is that the plastic bags are killing the San Francisco Bay and other California waterways.

Harry Teague Campaign Targets Pearce's Record On Veterans, Troop Pay, in First Radio Ad

September 2, 2010 by Democracy for N...

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Democracy for New Mexico

The first radio ad from the Harry Teague (NM-02) campaign is set to begin airing tomorrow. Entitled, "Why Would Pearce Do That?," the ad raises questions about the voting record of Teague's opponent, Congressman Steve Pearce, on veterans issues. It's also critical of Pearce's decision to oppose a salary boost for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, while he personally pocketed an extra $46,000 via Congressional pay raises he supported.

The ad also portrays Teague as an independent fighter for New Mexicans who puts people first, while painting Pearce as a career politician who waffles on which elected office to aim for next. It mentions Pearce's disastrous run for Senate two years ago and his indecision on whether he should run for governor before deciding to try and get his old seat back.

Click to listen to the new 60-second ad (mp3). You can read the transcript below.

Transcript:

Man: You sure were right last year honey.

Woman: About what?

Man: About Harry Teague from Hobbs.

Woman: Harry works hard, is independent and does what he thinks is right. And he is always in our hometown.

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