Free Republic

SpaceShipTwo (SS2) and its mothership, VMS Eve (WhiteKnightTwo) herald a new era in commercial space flight with daily space tourism flights set to commence from Spaceport America in New Mexico after test program and all required US government licens Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceshipOne (SS1) designer, Burt Rutan, today reveal SS2 to the public for the first time since construction of the world’s first manned commercial spaceship began in 2007. SS2 has been designed to take many thousands of private astronauts into space after test programming and all required U.S. government licensing has been completed. The unveiling represents...

"A creepy string of calf mutilations in southern Colorado has a rancher and law enforcement investigators mystified. Four calves have been found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion . Usually predators leave pools or blood or drag marks...

Note: The following text is a quote: Ware Man Charged with Illegal Possession of Ammunition and Manufacturing Explosive Materials SPRINGFIELD, MA—A Ware man was charged today in federal court with Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon and Manufacturing Explosive Materials without a License. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Glenn N. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Resident Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Defense’s...

The likelihood of outrage seems inevitable this year in college football: The BCS controversy, which even President Obama has issued proclamations about, seems ready to explode, since six undefeated teams - two from minor conferences - survive with only three games left in the season. Two conferences, Mountain West and Western Athletic (WAC) are excluded from automatic participation in the BCS, and must compete for one of two wildcard teams, and both still have undefeated teams. But should a team which has gone undefeated and unchallenged take a slot from Alabama or Florida, which are likely to also go undefeated......

According to source in Chama the State Historical Preservation office (SHPO) sent a fax to the contractor demanding that he 'cease and desist' from any further work because they are not using 'historic' nails. I think SHPO got told where they could stuff it. They approved the project a long time ago, and I doubt they'll be allowed to imperil a historic property by stopping the re-roofing just before the winter. What may have caused this little problem was the pictures on The Goat, and references to use of a nail gun. Some clueless jerk who just wants to stop...

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R) is setting up a new political group to potentially set up a run for the White House. The former two-term governor, known for his libertarian leanings, is setting up a new 527 group, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, over which he'll preside as an "honorary chairman." The move raises the specter that Johnson might wage a bid for the GOP -- or Libertarian Party -- nomination for president in 2012. Candidates often set up groups, more frequently Political Action Committees (PACs) to raise money for or support other candidates. Johnson said...

Early Release for 660 Inmates a Possibility A pair of New Mexico prisons would be closed and as many as 660 inmates released before completing their full prison terms if a budget-cutting bill passed last week   by state lawmakers is signed into law, state officials said Wednesday.    -SNIP-    Richardson told reporters Wednesday that he’s concerned   closing the prisons could raise public safety issues and criticized lawmakers for approving state agency cuts during last week’s special session that average 7.6 percent.   -SNIP-    Between 530 and 660 inmates could be released early, about 10 percent of the state’s...

EL PASO, Texas -- Rain and snow fell in parts of the Borderland on Wednesday afternoon as a cold front moved in. Light snow was reported in West, Northeast and far East El Paso about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Snowfall was also spotted in the Franklin Mountains in El Paso and the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for southern New Mexico and west Texas from 3 to 10 a.m. Thursday. NWS officials said some areas may be just above freezing tonight but low temperatures for Friday will likely affect more areas.

Hotel Owner to Workers: No Spanish! By MELANIE DABOVICH, AP TAOS, N.M. (Oct. 26) -- Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel. The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names. No more Martin (Mahr-TEEN). It was plain-old Martin. No more Marcos. Now it would be Mark. Whitten's management style had worked for him...

N.M.'s gov has five Nobel Peace Prize nominations ... for actually doing something.We're happy for President Barack Obama's surprise selection as this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, of course, but we can't help wondering why New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has been nominated for the prestigious award five times, has been passed over once again.Richardson, after all, has actually contributed to world peace through his diplomatic efforts in countries like Sudan and North Korea -- at least according to Rep. Bart Gordon, a Tennessee Democrat who nominated Richardson for the honor in 2007.-SNIP-The governor's own Web site modestly...

      The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was meant to provide money for renters to buy homes, but a ring of local residents apparently saw only the money part.   -SNIP-      The tax credit program offers up to $8,000 to eligible first-time homebuyers, who claim the credit by filing a specific IRS form with their federal tax return. The credit is a dollar-fordollar credit on the amount owed by a homebuyer in federal taxes. If a buyer doesn’t owe the IRS any money at the end of the year, the credit amount comes back as cash in...

As of this week- Stimulus Spending is at: $20,726,309,285.22 At the link on the upper right will be a listing: *American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Report* Updated as of 9/4/2009. New contracts signed this week are for design and construction of 10 land port of entry buildings for customs and border protection. 6 In North Dakota,1 in Vermont, New Mexico and Montana (The one in Vermont isn't even near the border, in Killingly.)

Persistent Pepe Le Pews Pester Clients, Staff at State Health Department Satellite [Office]. The West Las Cruces Public Health Office, bothered by skunks burrowing beneath its portable building home for at least three years, will shut down Tuesday for at least a week in an attempt to deal with the smelly problem once and for all, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported. "They've removed I don't know how many skunks and released them pretty far from the area," Health Department spokesman Chris Minnick told the Sun-News. "Inevitably the skunks come back; they're pretty persistent." Although no skunks actually have entered the...

(English-language translation) HAVANA (AP) — The United States should implement the announced permission for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba, and the island should respond by eliminating exit restrictions on its citizens, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recommended. This was one among a list of suggestions the American devised during his visit to the island, which ended on Friday. "There is a very good environment, the best I have seen in many years," Richardson stated in relation to a possible approach between the two countries. According to the governor, "humanitarian" steps should be taken to stimulate links between people [involved] in...

From January 1995 to December 2002, Gary Johnson served as the Governor of the State of New Mexico, and was the first governor in the history of New Mexico to be elected for two consecutive four year terms. He was ranked among the nation's seven top governors in each of the Cato Institute's fiscal report cards between 1996 and 2002. Under Gov. Johnson's administration, New Mexico experienced the longest period without a tax increase in the state's history, the rate of growth in the state government was cut in half, half of the state's prisons were privatized, state Medicaid was...

SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico's top federal prosecutor confirmed Friday that no charges will be brought against Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and his former top aides after a probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme prompted him to withdraw his nomination as U.S. commerce secretary. But U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said the decision not to bring charges "is not to be interpreted as an exoneration of any party's conduct." In a letter sent to defense attorneys, Fouratt said a yearlong federal investigation "revealed that pressure from the governor's office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process" so that state...

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members of his administration won't be criminally charged in a yearlong federal investigation into pay-to-play allegations involving one of the Democratic governor's large political donors, someone familiar with the case said.

Elected officials in New Mexico are renewing calls for an ethics overhaul after the state's attorney general this week unveiled the latest in a long string of political-corruption cases. Longtime Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, who left office in 2006, has been indicted on 50 felony counts of embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering in an alleged scheme to siphon off at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal election funds. Ms. Vigil-Giron, a Democrat who served three four-year terms as secretary of state, is accused of colluding with a political consultant and two Democratic lobbyists -- also under...

Congressman Martin Heinrich hosted a large town hall meeting on health care reform Saturday afternoon, and while there was plenty of yelling on both sides, things stayed relatively civil. Around 700 to 800 people gathered at the UNM Continuing Education center Saturday to discuss health care reform.

Martin Heinrich was asked a legitimate question about the public input that his office was receiving on the health care reform bill, and chose to not tell truth. This is a perfect opportunity for Jon Barela to point to Heinrich's lack of candor, forthrightness, and honesty with his constituents. Why wouldn't he, except that he has no intention to acknowledge legitimate questions with a candid, forthright, and honest responses, either?

Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Democratic Party consultant Armando Gutierrez and lobbyists Elizabeth and Joseph Carl Kupfer were indicted Wednesday on 50 counts each of conspiracy, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering over $100,000 and other charges for alleged acts occurring from 2004 through 2006.... The charges relate to the office’s use of federal election monies under the Help America Vote Act.

Governor Bill Richardson, may have been the Democratic favorite for president in 2008 had Obama and Clinton not run for president and he may have made a great Secretary of Commerce under the Obama Administration had he not been pressured to withdraw his name by federal investigators. Instead, he remains governor of the state of New Mexico which has a 46% high school drop-out rate. Dr. Veronica Garcia, New Mexico’s Secretary of Education said that 40,000 students have

The Third Congressional District of New Mexico now has an official signatory of the ATR Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Recently, Republican challenger Mr. Adam Kokesh signed the ATR Pledge becoming the first candidate in the race to do so. Cook Political Report classifies the seat as a D+7 on the PVI index. The seat is currently held by Democratic Congressman Ben Lujan, who was elected in 2008. Though the PVI index favors the incumbent, there is certainly a long way to go in this contest. As a pledge signer, Mr. Kokesh has made a commitment to the taxpayers in New Mexico...

Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher will host a free, Plague Awareness and Prevention meeting at Los Vecinos Community Center in Tijeras on Tuesday, August 4, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. At least five cases of plague have been confirmed in New Mexico since the start of this year. Plague is a bacterial disease found in wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans, usually if they’re bitten by an infected flea. Health officials say that anyone living in Bernalillo County east of the Sandia Mountains is “always at-risk for plague” and that appropriate preventative measures should be taken. “We...

American Border Patrol has released a new online map of the Southwest border that shows the where and what type of fencing is installed between San Diego, California and Brownsville, Texas. Viewers can open a map of Border Patrol sectors and then click on a given sector to see where fencing and vehicle barriers have been installed. Numbers along the border represent individual photographs of the border taken from ABP's airplane. A click on a number reveals details of the type of fencing or vehicle barriers that have been installed. http://americanpatrol.com/ABP/SURVEYS/BORDER-2009/Border-Main-20009.html The ABP data represents the current status of 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...

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) - Steve Pearce of Hobbs, who represented New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District for three terms, wants the job again. Pearce announced Monday he is signing paperwork to seek the Republican nomination for the seat he gave up last year to run for the U.S. Senate. Pearce did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. Last week, he said that he was trying to decide whether to run for governor or Congress, but would do what was best for the Republican Party. Pearce lost in November to Democrat Tom Udall to fill the seat being vacated by longtime...

New Mexico officials captured and released a bear after it was spotted with a sheep it had just killed in the yard of a Dona Ana County farming community. Lita Tafoya found the 160-pound bear in her back yard after it had made the kill Thursday evening. State Department of Game and Fish officials tracked the bear near an elementary school ...

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.

POSTED: 7:41 pm MDT June 23, 2009 UPDATED: 12:06 am MDT June 24, 2009 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The crowd for Tuesday night's Isotopes game could be a record one and those fortunate enough to have tickets are already getting into the ball park. Fan Kyle Morrow made sure he didn't miss his chance. "I came in at 9 o'clock this morning, because I live baseball and I love Manny Ramirez" Morrow said. Morrow was one of thousands in a standing room only crowd who will pack into Isotopes Stadium for a glance at Manny Ramirez," said Morrow. "He gave this...

SNIPPET: "Police were nearby and took one suspect into custody while another was arrested after a getaway car was followed to a nearby trailer park."

Police in Albuquerque said a restaurant employee has been killed after several armed suspects attempted a takeover-style robbery at a packed Denny's Restaurant. Police spokeswoman Officer Nadine Hamby said "multiple" armed suspects rushed the northwest Albuquerque restaurant at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. As many as 100 people were inside. A Saturday morning breakfast for 60 restaurant guests quickly turned into a nightmare.

Families line up around the block to hear former President Bush at Artesia High School in NM.

COLUMBUS, N.M. – This dusty little border town with almost no visible means of support has been seeing something of a boom in the past year: Brand-new Lincoln Navigators and Cadillac Escalades with flashy wheel rims are parked just off the bleak main drag. Homes are selling quickly, sometimes for cash. The source of this sudden wealth? An influx of Mexican drug smugglers, investigators say. The smugglers are fleeing the Mexican army's occupation of the town of Palomas, on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border fence, and settling in Columbus, where there has been a law enforcement vacuum. The...

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has repeatedly refused to rule out Caldera's dismissal for authorizing Monday's Air Force One photo op fiasco that sent panicked New Yorkers running through the streets of lower Manhattan. But the drumbeat for his dismissal seems to be growing louder. The national television media was all over it again this morning, and Gibbs called the photo-op "stupid" during a press briefing on Air Force One. Gibbs was asked this morning if President Obama "regrets" anything during his first 100 days. Gibbs cited the flyover, and only the flyover. Not a good sign for Caldera....

Intersting headline from the Las Crucues Sun lcsun-news.com cannot be posted due to copyright complaint.

Border Patrol agents stationed at the Highway 70 Checkpoint seized $50,000 hidden inside a vehicle's hidden compartment, officials said. Officials referred to the cash as "drug-contaminated currency" in a news release. The seizure was made Wednesday afternoon when the driver of a dark gray Acura was detained for a secondary inspection of his vehicle. A drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to the hidden compartment within the vehicle. The vehicle and currency were seized and turned over to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) in Las Cruces. The driver was released pending further investigation and was not identified.

It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God...

The posters are ready. The Web site is getting heavy traffic. And a local organizer involved with a budding national political movement symbolized by tea bags — think Boston Tea Party — says the tea leaves are pointing to a big turnout for an Albuquerque rally next week. The rally is scheduled for Wednesday, the deadline for filing income tax returns, and will focus on what organizers see as frightening fiscal folly in Washington, D.C. -SNIP- Dozens of tax-day rallies are being planned from coast to coast on Wednesday, according to the Web site www.taxdayteaparty.com .The Web site describes the...

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...

Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said....

I attened the Tea Party here in Albuquerque today, I would say there was at least 2000 people in attendance while I was there and plenty of people driving by showing their support. Organizers say that by the end on the party which ran from 4 to 7 PM over 7000 people had registered. The crowd was polite festive and orderly. There where people of all races ages and economic classes and everyone of them were 100% AMERICAN and MAD AS HELL about spending and pork! Pictures on my flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24180181@N04/ Oh by the way they are all...

After the 2010 census has been held, the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives will change. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently estimated what the 2010 reapportionment will mean for each state. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each, in the U.S. House and in the Electoral College. They are Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. States that will gain will be Texas (3 seats), and one each for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. If the bill now pending in Congress to expand the...

We cheer the reddest. We corn the hardest. And, apparently, we grin the widest. Because Nebraska is the happiest state in the U.S., a new study says. The survey — conducted by personal finance Web site MainStreet.com — ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from fiscally happiest to saddest based on a few factors of economic well-being. These included foreclosure numbers, unemployment rates and the ratio of average debt to average annual income. “It reflects the attitude of this state,” said Gov. Dave Heineman. “We are a positive people with a can-do attitude who are focused on...

Are you ready for a FReepathon!!? Well, it's a new quarter and a new president and he's everything we knew he would be. In less than 90 days he's managed to take an economic downturn and turn it into an unmitigated disaster for good old American capitalism. Never let a good crisis go to waste! The government is now printing money as fast as they can run the presses. Our federal budget is doubling and tripling and the Fed is running with no controls or oversight whatsoever from the congress, pumping trillions more into the "economy." The government now spends...

LAS CRUCES, N.M., April 2, 2009 – The resounding boom of cannon fire broke the sound of thousands of participants talking as they waited in anticipation March 29 for the start of the 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March. This year, the 26.2-mile event at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., included more than 5,300 participants from 50 states and eight countries, including the Philippines, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom. While individuals marched for their own reasons, they all came together for the same purpose: to honor the soldiers, who were part of the Bataan Death March during World War II....

No. 10: Michigan Michigan is home to two of the most dangerous cities in America, according to the 2008 CQ Press city rankings. Detroit ranks third and Flint ranks sixth. No. 9: Maryland Hugging the nation's high-crime capital, struggling to revitalize Baltimore and growing its gambling industry, Maryland has the second-highest murder and robbery rate. No. 8: Arizona Things are looking brighter in Arizona! Last year it made the top five most dangerous states, now it's down a few notches at No. 8. No. 7: Alaska Alaska is plagued with having the highest number of rape cases. There could be...

Manny Aragon was one of New Mexico's most powerful law makers and power brokers. A former Senate president, Aragon was this week convicted and given a 67 month sentence for lining his pockets and that of his co-conspiritors with millions in fraudulently billed state contracting money. While his "iconic" status is mentioned and his long standing position as a "Senate leader" is dutifully chronicled, his status as a Democrat doesn't seem to make the cut of a large portion of the stories on his sentencing. The Associated Press misses the fact in two versions of the story (here and here),...