Free Republic

HAVANA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is trying to make positive changes in the United States, but is being fought at every turn by right-wingers who hate him because he is black, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday. In an unusually conciliatory column in the state-run media, Castro said Obama had inherited many problems from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and was trying to resolve them. But the "powerful extreme right won't be happy with anything that diminishes their prerogatives in the slightest way." Obama does not want to change the U.S. political and economic system, but "in...

While Gov. Bill Richardson's office said the possibility remains that there won't be a special session, key legislative leaders say it's hard to imagine balancing this year's budget without one. Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said the state is likely to face a shortfall for the current fiscal year of between $300 million and $400 million. "Personal and corporate taxes are down," he said. "Gross receipts are tanking, and natural gas prices are still very anemic. At this stage, I don't think we can avoid it (a special session)." According to CNNMoney.com, a June study by the...

It might be the start of a New Mexico political campaign season dominated by talk of ethics. With a blast of the icy air from inside the state Supreme Court's front door, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish stepped out into the summer heat Thursday and made it clear that it would take a while to outline her lengthy proposal to revamp ethics laws. "You might want to get into the shade," she told reporters gathered on the front steps. And a while it took. Denish, a second-term lieutenant governor, will seek the state's top executive post in 2010, in the wake...

New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are applying for federal funds to study the viability of a high-speed rail system from El Paso through New Mexico to Denver. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Tom Udall, DN.M., said Thursday the three states will submit a joint pre-application Friday for up to $5 million to pay for the study. Congress has authorized up to 11 high-speed rail corridors nationwide.

The global-warming debate is shifting from science to economics. For years, the fight over the Earth's rising temperature has been mostly over what's causing it: fossil-fuel emissions or natural factors beyond man's control. Now, some of the country's biggest industrial companies are acknowledging that fossil fuels are a major culprit whose emissions should be cut significantly over time. A growing number of these companies are pushing for a mandatory emissions limit, or "cap." Some see a lucrative new market in clean-energy technologies. Many figure a regulation is politically inevitable and they want to be in the room when it's negotiated,...

A New Mexico whistleblower has filed a second pay-to-play lawsuit that makes a connection between the pay-to-play investigation in New York and the actions of firms working for New Mexico’s two largest pension funds. Frank Foy’s allegations are far-reaching, naming some two-dozen financial firms and claiming investments made by the new Mexico Educational Retirement Board and the State Investment Council (SIC) were meant to benefit New Mexico state governor Bill Richardson. Foy, the former CIO of the ERB, also made a connection between pay-to-play practices in his state and the high-profile investigation going on in New York.

The governor was trying to be nonchalant. He didn't quite pull it off. "This morning I was with the president of the United States," he told reporters at a Thursday news conference. "This afternoon I'm with Robert Redford." It was almost like the old Bill Richardson. Back in the early years of his administration, it seemed he was always appearing beside Washington bigwigs and hobnobbing with Hollywood celebrities. Had a few North Korean diplomats dropped by the Roundhouse on Thursday afternoon, the picture would have been complete. President Barrack Obama was in Rio Rancho to talk about credit card legislation...

t looks like Gov. Bill Richardson’s (D-N.M.) troubles might be getting a bit worse. Richardson is currently entangled in a federal pay-to-play investigation in his home state. Today, The New Mexico Independent’s Heath Haussamen reports that Steven Rattner, who is currently overseeing the Obama administration’s auto industry bailout program, has also been a major contributor to Richardson’s gubernatorial campaigns in recent years — donating a total of $20,000 over two elections. The problem? Richardson heads the State Investment Council (SIC), which manages the state’s investments. In October 2005, the SIC voted to invest $20 million with Quadrangle Group LLC, according...

The governor's popularity numbers continue their slide.. . 54 percent of New Mexicans don't like the job Gov. Bill Richardson is doing. In January, the governor's approval rating fell below the 50 percent mark and has been dropping ever since.

ABQ Journal video: Ride the Rail Runner with Dan Mayfield(Works only in my IE Browser, not Firefox version 2)

The House approved non-binding measures Thursday requesting the Department of Transportation to study the feasibility of extending commuter rail from Santa Fe to Taos and from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and Raton. Also endorsed was a non-binding measure for a feasibility study of establishing commuter rail service between El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, the second largest city in the state.

Governor Richardson is working hard behind the scenes, trying to convince state lawmakers to vote for one of his favorite pieces of legislation; the deeply controversial domestic partners bill. The governor is using his formidable persuasive powers to pull uncertain lawmakers his way, but there are powerful forces at work on the other side too, mainly religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church. The bill would give unmarried couples, gay and straight, the opportunity to have the same legal rights as married couples. The Senate is where the bill will sink or swim.

Over the span of just three months, Bill Richardson has gone from being on the shortlist for secretary of state to late-night punch line, a breathtaking descent that has tarnished his once-sparkling career. Since withdrawing as the nominee for secretary of commerce in early January amid questions surrounding a federal grand jury investigation, New Mexico’s Democratic governor has seen his political fortunes crater. — numbers that have dropped below 50 percent... “He’s had a pretty rough go of it since he withdrew,” said Timothy Jennings, a Democrat and New Mexico’s Senate president pro tempore. “His popularity has really declined in...

Federal investigators have been looking into the question for months: How did a Beverly Hills company that gave Gov. Bill Richardson's political committees more than $100,000 land a lucrative state financial adviser contract? Joe Gosline has the same question — and he was one of the state officials who judged the contract proposals. Gosline is a former controller and chief financial officer of the New Mexico Finance Authority, which awarded the contract to CDR Financial Products in 2004. -SNIP- He said six firms submitted proposals and recalled that CDR ranked middle to bottom. When he asked what had transpired, Gosline...

As political alliances go, the four-year marriage between Gov. Bill Richardson and the Democratic Governors Association was golden. Richardson got prestige, coast-to-coast travel and national exposure that would help fuel his presidential bid, while the DGA basked in his growing notoriety and fundraising prowess. "It's been very beneficial," Richardson acknowledged in late 2006, when his stint with the political group — as federal liaison, vice-chair and unprecedented two years as chairman — wrapped up a month before he launched his unsuccessful quest for the White House. Now, that political shine could be tarnishing. Recent news reports say authorities have asked...

When the new Obama administration said it would act with lightning speed in its first hundred days, no one knew they were talking speed with which they would up ethics violations. First, Illinois governor Rod Blogojevich was busted for attempting to sell Obama’s senate seat the highest bidder. Then, ... (read the caption under the photo - LOL)

No major New Mexico news organization has had a sustained effort to focus light on, and critique, Richardson’s pay-to-play, his profligate spending, or his ruthlessness.

Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled his slightly-more-than-5-o'clock shadow at a news conference in Santa Fe Monday, prompting reporters to ask if the beard was back.

Funny video clip about Richardson and why he REALLY decided to stay in New Mexico.

A Massachusetts-based company has sued to stop the state Department of Transportation and the Mid-Region Council of Governments from using the “Rail Runner” name, which it uses for the state-owned commuter train, and for damages related to "trademark infringement."