High Plains Patriots

Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2009

Contact Information:
Press Office 202-646-5172, ext 305

Washington, DC

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.” The list, in alphabetical order, includes:

1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT): This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 “Ten Most Corrupt” list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him. In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat. In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against Dodd for undervaluing a property he owns in Ireland on his Senate Financial Disclosure forms….

2. Senator John Ensign (R-NV): A number of scandals popped up in 2009 involving public officials who conducted illicit affairs, and then attempted to cover them up with hush payments and favors, an obvious abuse of power….

3. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): Judicial Watch is investigating a $12 million TARP cash injection provided to the Boston-based OneUnited Bank at the urging of Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank….

4. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner: In 2009, Obama Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted that he failed to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001-2004 on his lucrative salary at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization with 185 member countries that oversees the global financial system….

5. Attorney General Eric Holder: Tim Geithner can be sure he won’t be hounded about his tax-dodging by his colleague Eric Holder, US Attorney General. Judicial Watch strongly opposed Holder because of his terrible ethics record, which includes: obstructing an FBI investigation of the theft of nuclear secrets from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory; rejecting multiple requests for an independent counsel to investigate alleged fundraising abuses by then-Vice President Al Gore in the Clinton White House; undermining the criminal investigation of President Clinton by Kenneth Starr in the midst of the Lewinsky investigation; and planning the violent raid to seize then-six-year-old Elian Gonzalez at gunpoint in order to return him to Castro’s Cuba….

6. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)/ Senator Roland Burris (D-IL): One of the most serious scandals of 2009 involved a scheme by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to sell President Obama’s then-vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Two men caught smack dab in the middle of the scandal: Senator Roland Burris, who ultimately got the job, and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr….

7. President Barack Obama: During his presidential campaign, President Obama promised to run an ethical and transparent administration. However, in his first year in office, the President has delivered corruption and secrecy, bringing Chicago-style political corruption to the White House….

8. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): At the heart of the corruption problem in Washington is a sense of entitlement. Politicians believe laws and rules (even the U.S. Constitution) apply to the rest of us but not to them. Case in point: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her excessive and boorish demands for military travel. Judicial Watch obtained documents from the Pentagon in 2009 that suggest Pelosi has been treating the Air Force like her own personal airline….

9. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and the rest of the PMA Seven: Rep. John Murtha made headlines in 2009 for all the wrong reasons. The Pennsylvania congressman is under federal investigation for his corrupt relationship with the now-defunct defense lobbyist PMA Group….

10. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY): Rangel, the man in charge of writing tax policy for the entire country, has yet to adequately explain how he could possibly “forget” to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income he earned from his off-shore rental property….

To read the full accounts, click here:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/dec/judicial-watch-announces-list-washington-s-ten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-2009

(From the National Center for Public Policy Research)

Medicare is Cheating Seniors Out of Care, Says New Study

This is No Time to Expand the Government’s Role in Health Care, Says Think-Tank

Chronically low Medicare reimbursement rates to physicians and hospitals are forcing doctors to limit the number of Medicare patients they see - or opt out of the program altogether - with devastating results to seniors’ health care options, says a new study, “Medicare Doctor Shortage Endangers Seniors’ Access to Care,” by Matt Patterson of the National Center for Public Policy Research.

From the Southwest to Florida, from the Midwest to New York, primary care doctors and specialists at both hospitals and private practices are turning away Medicare patients because they cannot afford to treat them, the study concludes.

The report analyzes government data, health care provider statistics, and news reports from across the country to paint a frightening picture of a government program failing the most vulnerable members of our society: our seniors. Among the findings:

* Some Mayo Clinic facilities are no longer accepting Medicare patients for primary care, turning thousands of seniors away from their trusted physicians.

* 30 percent of Medicare patients seeking a new primary care doctor reported difficulty finding one, including 17 percent who claim they had “big” problems finding a new doctor.

* Only 73 percent of Medicare participating family doctors are accepting new Medicare patients.

* Only 38 percent of Texas primary care physicians say they will accept new Medicare patients in the face of low Medicare reimbursements.

* More than half of California hospitals reported operating at a loss, due in part to low Medicare reimbursements.

* Hospitals in Iowa report trouble recruiting new doctors thanks to low Medicare reimbursements, and warn that the trend may be a threat to the quality of future care.

Says Patterson, “At a time when President Barack Obama is proposing yet another $1 trillion health care plan, Medicare - the original government health insurance program - is going bankrupt, underfunding doctors, and cheating seniors out of care. Why don’t we worry about meeting our existing health care obligations before we take on additional burdens?”

“Medicare Doctor Shortage Endangers Seniors’ Access to Care,” by Matt Patterson, is available on the National Center For Public Policy Research website at http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA602.html.

The National Center For Public Policy Research is a conservative, Constitution-respecting, free-market non-profit think-tank established in 1982. It is supported by the voluntary gifts of over 100,000 individual recent supporters, and receives less than one percent of its revenue from corporate sources.

http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-Medicare_Doctor_Shortage_022410.html

EIB 08-19

The public comments are updated every Monday & that the board does read what is sent in.

For those who can not attend. A brief, polite comment could help.

PLEASE BE POLITE! Should anyone want to email, send it to

Joyce.Medina@state.nm.us

For regular mail

Joyce Medina -
Board Administrator
NMED Boards and Commissions
1190 St. Francis Drive, N2153
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502

Tel (505) 827-2425
Fax (505) 827-2836

This is the general website for NM Environmental Improvement Board
http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/eib/index.html

Unless they change some of the attachment pages you
should be able to click on the following

This is a copy of the agenda for March 1, 2010
ftp://ftp.nmenv.state.nm.us/www/EIB/Mar%201%202010%20Meeting/Agenda%202,%203%20and%205%20-%20March%201,%202010%20EIB/Agenda%20Item%202.%20March%201,%202010%20EIB%20meeting%20agenda.pdf

This is where you can find public comments sent in regarding Carbon Cap
by the end of this Monday there should be over 55. As you will see they can be emailed or sent as typed or handwritten letters.
ftp://ftp.nmenv.state.nm.us/www/EIB/Mar%201%202010%20Meeting/Public%20Comment%20Correspondence/Public%20Comment%20Correspondence%20Nov%2011,%202009%20%20through%20Feb%202,%202010.pdf

These are people who petitioned to be heard at the meeting.
http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/eib/documents/PleadingLogforAgendaItem6.pdf

These are all the PDF files attached to EIB 08-19
ftp://ftp.nmenv.state.nm.us/www/EIB/Mar%201%202010%20Meeting/Agenda%20Item%206.%20%20Hearing%20in%20EIB%2008-19%20(R)%20New%20Energy%20Economy%20Petition%20for%20New%20and%20Amended%20Regulations,%2020.2.1%2020.2.2,%2020.2.70%20and%2020.2.72%20NMAC/

The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) will hold a public comment session on March 1 to hear input on a proposal to implement a cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state.

Numerous groups are in opposition to this proposal because of the severe economic impacts such a measure would likely have on New Mexico.

The proposal calls for a reduction in statewide Greenhouse Gas emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by the year 2020 - a more aggressive goal than anything currently under consideration at the federal level. The cap would apply to such entities as oil and gas producers, refineries, manufacturers, cement and asphalt plants, power plants, universities, military bases, mineral processing operations, and numerous others.

When: March 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Toney Anaya Building (Rio Grande Room), 2500 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe.
What: EIB public comment session on proposed New Mexico Carbon Cap.
The EIB has not yet set the exact process for the session, but if you plan on making a comment you should assume you will be heard on a first-come, first-served basis unless you hear otherwise.

Key concerns that those opposed to the proposal include:
This proposal provides no cost mitigation measures because it requires affected sources to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases through the addition of pollution controls that are not commercially available, fuel switching, reduced operation, or closure.
The cap would affect regulated industries, and their customers, in the state of New Mexico only. It would represent a cost driver unique to New Mexico, and therefore place the state at an economic disadvantage with other states. Ultimately, it creates an incentive for affected industries to leave the state.
While exact impacts are not yet known because no comprehensive economic impact study has been performed, it is clear that this price driver unique to New Mexico would significantly increase the cost of doing business in the state.
The cap would make no discernable impact on the amount of manmade greenhouse gasses widely believed to be contributing to global climate change.
The proposed cap on GHG emissions is applicable to regulated sources in New Mexico and covers only about 32 percent of anthropogenic GHG emissions in the state.
Under current law, the Board has no authority to regulate air emissions from power plants located on tribal lands. Such sources represent the single largest emitter source of GHG emissions in New Mexico and nearly half of all GHG emissions from the electric utility sector in the state.
Groups publically opposed to the GHG cap include:
Association of Commerce and Industry
City of Aztec
City of Artesia
City of Carlsbad
Carlsbad Department of Development
Continental Divide Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Dairy Producers of New Mexico
Eddy County Commission
El Paso Electric
Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, Inc. of New Mexico
City of Farmington
National Federation of Independent Business, NM
Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua
Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
City of Lovington
NAIOP
New Mexico Association of Counties
New Mexico Chile Association
New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau
New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
New Mexico rural Electric Cooperative Association
New Mexico Utility Shareholders Alliance
NMIDEA
PNM
Roswell/Chaves County Economic Development Corporation
San Juan Economic Development Council
San Juan County Commission
Southwestern Public Service Company
Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association

Please join us for an evening with the 5 candidates running for Governor in the Republican Primary. This stimulating debate will give you a sampling of what each candidate represents in his/her campaign. We would love to host a Democratic Gubernatorial debate, but as of right now, there is only 1 candidate. Rest assured, though, we will make every attempt to host a debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates later this year.

7 - 9 PM
Republican Gubernatorial Debate
Lyceum Theater
411 N. Main
Clovis, NM 88101
575.763.6085

Candidates

Doug Turner
http://turnerforgovernor.com/

Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez http://susanamartinez2010.com/

State Representative Janice Arnold-Jones http://www.janiceforgovernor.com/

Allen Weh, former Republican party state chairman
http://www.allenweh2010.com

Pete Domenici Jr., Attorney
pdomenici@domenicilaw.com

Obama makes a mockery of his own lobbyist ban
By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
February 3, 2010

More than 40 former lobbyists work in senior positions in the Obama administration, including three Cabinet secretaries and the CIA director. Yet in his State of the Union address, Obama claimed, “We’ve excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs.”

Did Obama speak falsely?

Well, it depends on what the definition of “excluded lobbyists” is.

I asked the White House if he chose his words poorly, but the media affairs office defended the president’s statement: “As the President said,” a spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail, “we have turned away lobbyists for many, many positions.”

So, the country may have heard, “we haven’t hired lobbyists to policymaking jobs,” but the White House tells us Obama meant, “we only hired some of the lobbyists who applied for policymaking jobs.” In other words, they’ve excluded some lobbyists….

To read the rest of the article and see a list of ALL the lobbyists working for President Obama, click here:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Obama-makes-a-mockery-of-his-own-lobbyist-ban-83385832.html

WARNING: Liberal Democrats in Santa Fe want to raise your taxes…………ON EVERYTHING. Let’s check out the list so far….yep, they aren’t even done yet introducing bills so there should be more soon….

THE TAX HIKES:

1. Democrat Rep. Brian Egolf’s TAX HIKE on cigarettes (HB35). Though you my not smoke it still hurts stores and etc;

2. Democrat Rep. Eleanor Chavez’s bill to put NEW TAX on internet sales (HB50);

3. Democrat House Speaker Ben Lujan’s bill that would ‘temporarily’ increase YOUR gross receipts taxes (HB119);

4. Democrat Rep. Ray Begay’s bill to end tax incentives for out of state corporations doing business in the state (HB 62, which is similar to Sen. Peter Wirth’s SB 90);

5. Democrat Rep. Brian Egolf’s TAX HIKE on BEER & other alchohol (HB 34);

6. Democrat Rep. Sandoval’s new ‘SURTAX’ on state income tax rates (HB 9);

7. Democrat Rep. Stewart’s FEE INCREASE on big game hunting licenses (HB 73);

8. Democrat Rep. Joe Campos’s TAX HIKE on insurance premiums (HB 99);

9. Democrat Rep. Giannini’s NEW TAX on disposable carry out bags (HB 133);

10. Democrat Rep. Trujillo’s NEW ‘SURTAX’ on restaurant receipts (HB 189);

11. Democrat Senator Feldman’s elimination of the tax deduction on soda drink…i.e. SODA TAX (SB 31)

The two bills in the House that are found below deal with giving a lot more authority to the New Mexico EPA. Especially dealing with Co2 emmissions (cows & humans alike). These bills back up the Governor’s executive order so that the next Gov can’t over turn it. These ideas are bad, bad for business and hopefully the people are paying attention. Cap & Trade on any level is just more govt control and taxation.

HB 27:
http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/10%20Regular/bills/house/HB0027.pdf

HB 78:
http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/10%20Regular/bills/house/HB0078.pdf

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL THE FOLLOWING STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM YOU DO NOT WANT HOUSE BILL 27 nor HOUSE BILL 78.

Representative James Roger Madalena
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4417
Office phone (505) 867-3351

Representative Nick Salizar
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4433
Office Phone (505) 667-0362

Representative Brian Egolf
Capitol Phone (505)986-4211
Office Phone (505) 986-9641
email: brian@brianegolf.com

Representqtive Miguel Garcia
Capitolk Phgone (505)877-8131
E-mail miguel.garcia@nmlegis.gov

Representative Antonio Lujan
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4436
E-mail alujan@q.com

Representqtive Andy Nunez
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4423
E-mail annunez@zianet.com

Representqtive Benjamin Rodefer
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4211
E-mail benrodefer@gmail.com

Representative Jeff Steinborn
Capitol Phone (505) 986-4248
E-mail jeff.steinborn@nmlegis.gov

Sorry, folks, but due to the big snow storm and terrible road conditions, tonight’s event at the Lyceum Theater has been canceled. We will try to reschedule the event with Pastor Broden at some point in the future and will update you on the new date. Tickets can be exchanged for the $2 fee at our next meeting in February. Details to come.

SJR2 is the bill that exerts States rights over Health Care in the state of NM. We need people to mail letters to the attached list of legislators.We also need you to call these Legislators as well. We are trying to get this bill out of committee. The joint resolution would amend New Mexico’s Constitution to protect a person’s freedom of choice of a private health care plan, to prevent any governmental interference with a person’s right to pay directly for lawful medical care, to prevent the government from imposing any penalty or fine upon a person for choosing or declining to enroll in a health care plan.

SENATE RULES COMMITTEE
Meets in Rm. 321 M-W-F at 8:00a.m.

NAME MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE
Sen. Linda M. Lopez 320 State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4737
(Chair) Democrat Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Peter Wirth 416B State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4276
(Vice Chair) Democrat Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Dianna J. Duran 109C State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4701
Republican Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Dede Feldman 300A State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4482
Democrat Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Stuart Ingle 109A State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4702
Republican Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Timothy Z. Jennings 105 State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4733
Democrat Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Michael S. Sanchez 119 State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4727
Democrat Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Kent L. Cravens 414A State Capitol 1-505-986-4300 Ext 4391
Republican Santa Fe, NM 87501

HOME ADDRESSES & PHONE NUMBERS, ETC.
OF SENATE RULES COMMITTEE MEMBERS

NAME MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE
Sen. Linda M. Lopez 9132 Suncrest, SW 505-831-4148
Albuquerque, NM 87121

Sen. Peter Wirth 708 Paseo de Peralta 505-989-8667
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Sen. Dianna J. Duran 909 Eighth Street 575-585-9896
Tularosa, NM 88352

Sen. Dede Feldman 1821 Meadowview, NW 505-242-1997
Albuquerque, NM 87104

Sen. Stuart Ingle 2106 W. University Drive 575-356-3088
Portales, NM 88130

Sen. Timothy Z. Jennings Box 1797 575-623-9378
Roswell, NM 88202-1797

Sen. Michael S. Sanchez 3 Bunton Road 505-865-5583
Belen, NM 87002

Sen. Kent L. Cravens P.O. Box 93817 505-858-0799
Albuquerque, NM 87199-3817