Disqus - Latest Comments for barbwire

Re: Get ready for challengers, union tells state lawmakers

barbwire — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:34:40 -0000

It's not just the teacher's union, either. It's rank and file Dems who will be watching.

Re: N.M. Legislative leaders lukewarm on health care opt-out

barbwire — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:50:54 -0000

That's one way to look at it. I have a more positive view. First of all many healthy young people who are currently uninsured are expected to choose the public option so that will help immensely. Another thing to remember is that when Social Security was first passed, it hardly covered anyone. You have to start somewhere. Legislation is negotiation, not purity.

Re: N.M. Legislative leaders lukewarm on health care opt-out

barbwire — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:48:48 -0000

The goal is just to get a bill out of the Senate, the more conservative chamber. Then it will be combined with the House bill via a conference committee. The House bill will have a stronger public option that will not be "opt out." Joe Lieberman will not be on the conference committee. Once the bill is crafted by the conference committee, it will have to be approved by both chambers, but the pressure will be incredibly intense to pass it at that time and any Dem who fails to vote for it will have hell to pay within their chamber and at election time.

Re: N.M. Legislative leaders lukewarm on health care opt-out

barbwire — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:13:30 -0000

Technically, states would not be opting in. All states would be a part of the public option plan unless there was action in the state to get out of the plan.

Re: State faces up to $1 billion shortfall in January

barbwire — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:39:53 -0000

I guess we could pray for the price of oil and gas to go up.

Re: Lawmakers go after Richardson’s political appointees

barbwire — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:04:17 -0000

Really? Every single one of them? You, like many others, paint with a very broad brush.

Re: Lawmakers go after Richardson’s political appointees

barbwire — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:56:52 -0000

While I'm not a big fan of some exempt appointments, I personally think we're talking about peanuts in the scheme of things here. The bottom line is that New Mexico and the federal government have to start taxing wealthy individuals, raising capital gains taxes and making corporations pay their fair share. Our economy got here because we've been following the idiotic trickle down myth, and the wealthy elite were wily enough to convince many that "taxes" are evil. What's evil is our anti-progressive tax code that lets way too many at the top of the heap completely off the hook.

The conservative noise machine has been bragging how the best way to bring down the government would be to starve it to death. It's been done, nationwide. The only thing that's kept it afloat this long is bubble investments. Now it's time to pay the piper and get those who have thrived in this greedy, thievish environment to pay their fair share.

Re: New state Senate proposal cuts K-12 education by $150 million

barbwire — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:06:38 -0000

No matter what they do, they'll have to "address it again" in 2010 because Richardson is refusing to allow lawmakers to fix the unfair and outrageously lax tax code as it deals with our wealthiest residents and inter-state corporations. The only people who seem to want these cuts are Republicans -- who can't accept that citizens need to pay their fair share in taxes -- and fake Dems like Jennings and Smith. Recent polling shows a large majority of New Mexicans don't want the cuts being proposed, but then what do they matter when you've got big dollar campaign donors hounding you or ideological pureness tests to meet?

Re: ABQ City Councilor Harris responds to NMI on “atheist” attack on challenger

barbwire — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:47:42 -0000

A humanist who believes in evolution in any office in America? I guess someone like Harris believes those are points against a candidate. I guess he doesn't understand the constitution or America.

Re: Public financing makes ABQ mayoral race more surprising

barbwire — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:29:52 -0000

It would be helpful and fair to release the entire polling results including all the cross tabs so that people could get all the information that the Albuquerque Journal gets, but doesn't release. I also think there should be a note on the reporting of poll results stating that T.H. Lang, the publisher of the Albuquerque Journal, is the primary owner of Research & Polling, Inc., as I understand he does.

Re: National Rifle Association endorses Martin Chavez

barbwire — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:55:18 -0000

Martin Heinrich is an NRA member and has an A+ rating from them. Governor Bill Richardson was endorsed by the NRA in at least one of his governor's races. Howard Dean was endorsed by the NRA in his 8 successful runs for VT Governor.

Re: Howard Dean urges support for Martin Chavez

barbwire — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:28:01 -0000

It's amazing how many people have no concept of what "nonpartisan" means in an election like this. You need to do some research.

Re: Howard Dean urges support for Martin Chavez

barbwire — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:26:34 -0000

Because a race is "nonpartisan" it doesn't mean that individual Democrats (or Republicans) can't make endorsements or write commentaries. It's a legal classification that means the candidates don't go through Party meetings and primaries to become a candidate of a certain Party, and each Party as an entity is limited in what they can do. Apparently, the GOP feels justified in registering as a "measure finance committee" and are using that to support RJ Berry with canvassing, phone banking, etc. It's a gray area.

But as for endorsements and statements about a candidate, anyone can do that. It's called free speech.

Re: You’re All Racists

barbwire — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:37:36 -0000

So are you saying you condemn the racist signage and speech at tea party events, town halls, etc? Come on out and say it, so we know for sure

Re: Fiction is fundamental to all our politics

barbwire — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:28:53 -0000

Denial is not just a river in Egypt

Re: Republican Party gets involved in ‘nonpartisan’ ABQ mayor’s race

barbwire — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:10:22 -0000

Isn't it time we abandon the facade and make the mayoral and City Council races partisan? I know it would take a charter change, but I think the time might be right. I think wed' get more and better candidates if they had to go through Party and primary contests, and candidates knew they could get help from their Party.

Re: Guv hobnobs with George Clooney and Robert Duvall–on the state’s tab

barbwire — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:12:26 -0000

I read this story in the Journal. Why not just link to it here if there's no new info?

Re: Key Senate Dem continues to oppose public option

barbwire — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:09:20 -0000

Landrieu is owned by the insurance industry. If she wanted to save money on health care costs she wouldn't be in favor of shoveling tons of cash into the coffers of the for-profit insurers without a cheaper option available to those most in need.

Re: ABQ mayoral race: Pressed on gay marriage, Mayor Martin Chavez expresses support

barbwire — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:25:51 -0000

What gay couples (and their families) are missing are the myriad of legal protections and tax benefits straight married couples take for granted. Even legal marriages between same sex couples in states that allow them aren't recognized by the federal government and thus those couples miss out on federal benefits like Social Security survivor and dependent benefits that other citizens receive. Legal analysts have determined there are more than 1000 benefits provided by civil marriage.

A few years back, the Sandoval County clerk started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples saying the language on the application didn't disallow that. Then Attorney General Patricia Madrid put a quick stop to that saying NM law didn't permit it.

Your suggestion that gay couples lie or pretend to be the opposite sex is disturbing. Same-sex couples deserve the same rights as other citizens and shouldn't have to resort to subterfuge to obtain them. Legal recognition won't stop all the bigots. Laws never can. But it can provide legal protections only available to heterosexual couples now.

Here's summary of some the benefits denied to same-sex partners in the US:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_and_respons...

Re: ABQ mayoral race: Pressed on gay marriage, Mayor Martin Chavez expresses support

barbwire — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:36:25 -0000

It's good that Richard Romero is saying publicly that he supports marriage equality. When he spoke at our DFA-DFNM Meetup several months ago, he didn't answer a question posed by an attendee on the issue. Instead he said something to the effect that it didn't matter because mayors don't deal with that issue. Many were disappointed in that answer.

There has long been strong support for Mayor Chavez in the LGBT community here because he has long been a friend and supporter of LGBT rights.

Re: President Obama addresses the schoolchildren of America

barbwire — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:11:48 -0000

You forgot to mention that Ronald Reagan addressed school kids during his administration and -- talked about tax policy

Re: Plug N.M. budget gap with spending cuts, not tax hikes

barbwire — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:26:41 -0000

The least you could do if you're mentioning a post on my blog is to include a link to it.

I believe your reasoning is wrong as well, given the fact that California got into long-term trouble by failing to adequately fund it's once excellent education system as well as other things that serve human needs. Now there are huge holes in the budget. Bribing our wealthiest citizens with unnecessary and unfair tax cuts and paying for them by cutting services to those with real human needs is not only immoral, it's unwise.

I also want people to know that one of the people you cite, Stephen Moore, is a well known right-wing extremist who founded and ran the notorious Club for Growth until 2004, and who now writes as a member of the infamous Wall Street Journal Editorial Board. What he provides is hardly a fair look at tax and economic policies.

Re: Arnold-Jones announces run for governor

barbwire — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:55:41 -0000

Did Arnold-Jones ever vote for an ethics or campaign finance reform bill?

Re: Corruption involving Democrats once again in the spotlight

barbwire — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:17:01 -0000

The problem is money in politics, regardless of party. Too bad Republicans are always first in line fighting against any legislation with even a modicum of ethics or campaign finance reform.

Re: New Mexico Medicaid cuts may be ‘much more drastic’

barbwire — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:12:21 -0000

Times like this are made for re-instating taxes on our wealthiest citizens and charging out of state corporations their fare share of taxes. How horrible that the Governor and others apparently aim to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and those needing services like glasses and dentistry