We were musing while on one of our weekend hikes that the U.S. Attorney's office must really be under the gun. The investigations on 'pay to play' in New Mexico and the latest rages on 'third party payments' in the state investment placements are really beginning to seem endless. This undoubtedly is putting putting pressure on the investigators because after all of this p.r. they had better come up with something real. Don't forget that when they went after our former treasurers they only got convictions on one out of twenty something charges. And it was a minor allegation. Of course, they did well on the case involving kickbacks from the courthouse construction case against Senator Manny Aragon(is he going to the same prison as former treasurer Robert Vigil?) and former Mayor Ken Schultz (who has been turned into a nonperson by Mayor Marty Chavez)..On another matter I was happy to see Interior Secretary Ken Salazar suggest that a reorganization of
the Bureau of Land Management might be a good idea. Right now, unlike other Interior Agencies, the BLM is managed by a head state office in every western state. I always felt they should be regional offices. Why should the Colorado Plateau, a magnificent western landscape, be managed by four different state offices? It doesn't make sense.This system was set up decades ago and it gives great power to the state congressional delegations, mainly the US Senators, in helping out the extractive industries. They will strongly oppose this move, but its time has come. Will it happen? Who knows? Lots of toes to be stepped on here.
Finally, why would Jeff Bingaman vote against credit card reform?
2 comments:
I wonder if this is why Sen Bingaman voted against credit card reform that he supports. From the Wilderness Society on May 19, 2009:
"This week, the U.S. House of Representatives may vote on a bill of great concern to those who cherish our national parks and the wildlife they host.
"Believe it or not, we're talking about the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act. What does credit reform have to do with national parks? Nothing. Yet, astonishingly, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has attached a rider to the bill that would allow individuals to carry loaded weapons in national parks. Take action now."If the bill passes with the rider attached, anyone would be allowed to carry loaded weapons – including semi-automatics – in our national parks."
http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/gunsparks/
Good idea on BLM regional offices.
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