Free Republic

Albuquerque, N.M., Dec 18, 2009 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Attorneys for a small photography company charged with violating anti-discrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony” are planning to appeal a New Mexico judge’s decision to uphold the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission’s ruling against them.The Albuquerque company, Elane Photography, is co-owned by Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jon. They are being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).In 2006 a woman named Vanessa Willock asked them to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that she and another woman wanted to hold in Taos, N.M. State law does...

esearch has shown that humans like to help, even before they are old enough to have been taught how to do so. This innate characteristic distinguishes humans from their supposed closest evolutionary family member, the chimpanzee, which doesn’t demonstrate the same altruistic behavior. In studies on the subject, at only 18 months old, toddlers were observed to consistently aid unrelated adults in simple tasks such as opening a door or picking up a clothes pin. Researchers assumed then that altruism, or unselfish concern for the welfare of others, evolved early in humans. But does this conclusion necessarily follow from the...

"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...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After a heady week on a high-stakes world stage, President Obama returned to America's messiest political mosh pit -- the health care debate. Speaking before the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual dinner on Saturday night, Obama prescribed the same contentious policy pill he's embraced since taking office: health care reform and his intention to "get it done this year." ... "We have been waiting for health reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, we've been waiting since the days of Harry Truman. We've been waiting since Johnson and Nixon and Clinton. We cannot wait any longer."

ALBUQUERQUE - Attorney General Eric Holder avoided reporters seeking comment about his agency's decision not to bring charges against Gov. Bill Richardson and former top aides in an alleged pay-to-play scheme. Holder was in Albuquerque to give the keynote speech Thursday at the Hispanic National Bar Association's annual convention.

The elk in New Mexico are big and beautiful — a hunter's dream, a landowner's nightmare. Property owners across the state long have complained about wildlife overrunning their private land and destroying crops. But the problem is boiling over in the Sierra Nacimiento in northern New Mexico, where ranchers say they're being ignored and wildlife managers aren't doing enough to curb the damage or compensate them. Some frustrated property owners say they are considering a last resort: shooting the hungry animals. "We enjoy the elk. We don't mind the elk being around but we cannot feed the elk. If it...

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.

The U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is warning Americans to be aware of a “new spike in cartel-related violence” around the border state of Chihuahua and recommended travelers avoid the northwestern portion in particular. “Drug cartels and associated criminal elements have retaliated violently against individuals who speak out against them or who they otherwise view to be a threat to their organization, regardless of the individuals' citizenship. The U.S. Consulate General urges all Americans to exercise a high degree of caution when traveling to Ciudad Juarez and within the state Chihuahua,” read the text of the message issued July...

BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) - The former Marine who contends he acted in self-defense when he killed a burglary suspect was just trying to do the right thing, his wife told News 13 Monday. Heather Sanchez said she was in shock when she heard about the July 4 shooting. Her husband, Luke Sanchez, was arrested on an open count of murder and has since bonded out of jail. The shooting ignited a public debate over whether Sanchez was acting as a vigilante or as a good citizen who defended himself when one of the burglars attacked him. "I have received so...

The man who fled the scene after the fatal shooting of a fellow burglary suspect in Belen turned himself in Wednesday and has been charged with burglary. Rudy Sisneros, 22, was with his uncle, Gary Gabaldon, when Gabaldon was shot, and later died, late Saturday by 38-year-old Luke Sanchez, who followed them after he believed they had burglarized a Belen business. Sanchez's lawyer said the case "looks very much like self-defense," but the Valencia County District Attorney's Office has charged him with an open count of murder. Sheriff Rene Rivera said deputies were interviewing Sisneros on Wednesday evening, but he...

The link is to an audo clip of the 911 call. It is pretty graphic. I could not hear the shot, it probably went beyond the capability of the cell phone mike, and just was blanked out.

BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) - The debate engulfing Belen since Luke Sanchez was arrested for killing a suspected burglar Saturday is whether he was protecting the community or acting as a vigilante. Sanchez, 38, was arrest after a confrontation outside Enchantment Propane business led to the shooting death of Gary Gabaldón Saturday night. Gabaldón has a history of violent crimes, and Sanchez told police he acting in self-defense. Sanchez said he was out buying fireworks when he saw Gabaldón and another man looking suspicious outside the business. While on the phone with 911 he said Gabaldón attacked him leaving him no...

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Former Marine charged in shooting death Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com Luke Sanchez of Belen pleads not guilty to single count, magistrate sets bond at $100,000 Former Marine Luke Sanchez pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of murder after he fatally shot a burglary suspect Saturday night. His lawyer, Ray Twohig said it "looks very much like self-defense." The District Attorney's office said: "Regardless of how the defense sees the case, a man is still dead — shot by the defendant." Sanchez, 38, of Belen was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly shot...

Luke Sanchez in court Monday911 tapes in a deadly shooting that has sparked a huge debate over self-defense shed more light on what happened the night Luke Sanchez shot Gary Gabaldon. Supporters, who are trying to get the murder charge against Sanchez dropped, say he was defending himself against a man who attacked with a weapon—and that he was just following the dispatcher's orders to get a license plate number. But was that the case? On the tapes, you can hear a frantic Luke Sanchez tell the 911 operator he had just shot a suspected burglar. He goes on to...

A Belen man is charged with murder after investigators say he admitted to shooting a burglary suspect. He claims he acted in self-defense. Luke Sanchez, 38, was allegedly driving by a business near his home Saturday night, when he saw two men robbing the place. That's when Sanchez said he decided to take matters into his own hands to protect the community and help law enforcement, but that help left Sanchez facing a murder charge. Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera said Luke Sanchez has been frustrated after being robbed several times in recent months. "Sometimes you have to know the...

A bizarre shooting in Belen leaves a former corrections officer dead, and a former Marine in jail charged with his murder. The shooting is once again raising debate over what's considered self defense. The brother of the person who was shot and the suspect's friend each have very different opinions about what happened. The incident happened around 10:15 Saturday night at Enchantment Propane. Evidence of a break-in was still visible on Sunday. The murder that happened in the midst of the burglary is likely going to extend a long-standing debate for years to come. Louie Gabaldon still has a lot...

BELEN, N.M. -- A Belen man is facing murder charges after deputies said he chased down two burglary suspects and then shot and killed one of them. The incident happened near Highway 314 and Gabaldon Road at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said 38-year-old Luke Sanchez somehow knew a business was getting robbed and took matters into his own hands. "As you can see, they had a good time," said Gerald Schell, manager of Enchanted Propane. When Schell showed up to his place of business Sunday morning, he said he found the place ransacked. Sheriff's deputies said two men are...

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."

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...

see link below Rattner tied to Richardson

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...

Energy: The governor wants to carpet the desert with solar panels. The senator says it will destroy the ecosystem. The battle between environmentalists and conservationists is one of alternative energy's big drawbacks.We have commented frequently on how our energy needs have been thwarted repeatedly by the not-in-my-back-yard (Nimby) crowd and the new Banana (build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anybody) phenomenon. Environmentalists and conservationists have long fanned local fears to block oil and gas exploration from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the Outer Continental Shelf. Even nonpolluting and carbon-free nuclear power plants have been stopped dead in their tracks. So it's delicious irony to watch...

The New Mexico Medicaid program is funded by $800 million of New Mexico taxpayers' money. -SNIP- As enrollment in Medicaid began plummeting in 2004, toward the biggest disruption to health care among low-income New Mexicans in history, community groups and the Legislature began seeking performance data to evaluate the administration of the program. The department responded by significantly limiting information. The information it did provide was often unclear, inadequate and of little use for the purposes of oversight. The department claimed it was the best it could do. Officials variously blamed their computer system, the former administration, being short-handed, or...

GREEN LLC wanted move toward nonproliferation Federal nuclear weapons officials have rejected a bid by disarmament and renewable energy activists to manage Lawrence Livermore weapons design lab, saying the "green team" didn't fit federal plans. The team, calling itself GREEN LLC, was led by two weapons-lab watchdog groups, Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, who never really expected to run the sprawling bomb lab. But they were offended that the National Nuclear Security Administration said the team's proposal ran afoul of federal law and "did not demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of the solicitation where it...

  Poor accounting of how federal money was spent by then-Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron's office has left state-hired auditors unable to say whether the current Secretary of State's Office is financially stable.     State Auditor Hector Balderas, who on Tuesday released an audit on the finances of the agency, said the problems amounted to "severe mismanagement of federal funds."   -SNIP-   Lingering questions involving the expenditure of nearly $6.3 million for a voter education campaign by Vigil-Giron in 2004 and 2006 continues to impact the current administration, the state audit found.     "I'm still extremely concerned," Balderas told...

SNIPPET: "Authorities say 30-year-old Sheri A. Zulpo of Edgewood, N.M., was booked into the Coconino County jail on charges of terrorism, attempted first-degree murder and endangerment and possible federal charges may also be filed."

CHAMA, NM - Several meandering V-shaped UFOs near a mountain slope here turned up on a woman's digital photos. Three photos shot with a 21 megapixel camera caught multiple crafts approaching in the first frame, one craft in frame two moving close to the ground while the others take positions in the sky, and then frame three shows all of the crafts moving out of the area.

WASHINGTON – The Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico is missing 69 computers, including at least a dozen that were stolen last year, a lab spokesman said. No classified information has been lost, spokesman Kevin Roark said. The watchdog group Project on Government Oversight on Wednesday released a memo dated Feb. 3 from the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration that said 67 computers were missing, including 13 that were lost or stolen in past 12 months.

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...

div class="noticia_imagen_contenedor" style="width: 288px;"> Bishop-elect James S. Wall Phoenix, Feb 5, 2009 / 11:33 am (CNA).- This morning, the Holy Father appointed a Phoenix priest, Fr. James S. Wall as the new bishop of Gallup, New Mexico.  Fr. Wall, 44, will be the diocese’s fourth bishop. Fr. Wall, the current Vicar for Priests for the Diocese of Phoenix, was born in 1964 in Gando, Arizona on the Navajo reservation.  After studying History at Arizona State University, he went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from St. John Seminary in Camarillo California, Jim Dwyer from the Diocese of Phoenix...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/dl020309.htm Man Arrested in New Mexico for Sending Threatening White-Powder Laced Hoax Letters to Banks Across the U.S. DALLAS— At a press conference held today in Dallas, acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas, Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI, and Randall C. Till, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced that special agents and postal inspectors arrested Richard Leon Goyette, a/k/a Michael Jurek, 47, yesterday at the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico,...

New Mexico's former U.S. attorney, David Iglesias, has a new job prosecuting suspected terrorists held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Iglesias says he's been hired as a prosecutor in the Office of Military Commissions and has been reactivated in the Navy as a captain. He is based in Washington, but says he'll make frequent trips to Cuba. Iglesias says the job is the most important work he's done in his 25 years as a lawyer

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A New Mexico infant is dead and another is getting treatment at a hospital for a rare illness called enterobacter sakazakii. The New Mexico Department of Health said the illness is sometimes associated with baby formula. A baby boy in Otero County has died from the bloodstream and central nervous system infection. Now the state is advising safe ways to feed infants, including breastfeeding. “We're doing lab tests right now we're working with the Centers for Disease Control, and the Food and Drug Administration to look at every possible avenue. Right now it hasn't been linked...

Excerpt: "As a geologist, I love Earth observations. But, it is ridiculous to tie this objective to a "consensus" that humans are causing global warming in when human experience, geologic data and history, and current cooling can argue otherwise. "Consensus", as many have said, merely represents the absence of definitive science. You know as well as I, the "global warming scare" is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making..."

The narrative of this historic presidential election has come down to which candidate will close the deal and win the trust of Pennsylvania voters. From the outside looking in, Pennsylvania has become a metaphor for all that is wrong with our country when it comes to race -- especially those of its Democrats who are soft on or wary of Barack Obama. Yet on the inside, Pennsylvania is far from its broad-brush portrayal as racist. It is not the color of the candidate; it is the culture he represents. Say what you will, Obama's "spread the wealth" tongue-slip hit home...

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) - The head of a New Mexico Republican women's group is being pressured to resign after calling Barack Obama a "Muslim socialist" and claiming that "Muslims are our enemies." Marcia Stirman is the head of the Republican Women of Otero County.

A California financial firm at the center of a federal investigation received $1.4 million for its work on the state's GRIP bond program. But if you want to look at the formal contracts, you're out of luck. There don't appear to be any.-SNIP- The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office want to know how CDR got hired in 2004 to work on the $1.6 billion bond issue used to fund highway projects and the Rail Runner commuter train.-SNIP- CDR owner David Rubin made two contributions totaling $85,000 to political organizations close to Gov. Bill Richardson. The first came six days after...

New Mexico — The Republican Party of New Mexico alleges 28 people voted fraudulently in one Albuquerque state House district in the June Democratic primary. Party representatives said at a news conference Thursday they found the suspect voters in a review of 92 newly registered voters in House District 13. “We really have a bombshell — evidence of voter fraud in the 2008 primary in Albuquerque,” said State Rep. Justine Fox-Young, an Albuquerque Republican. Fox-Young said several of the suspect voters were registered by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN, an advocacy group for low-income...

On Day One of the Democratic National Convention, the message to New Mexico's 38 delegates was as clear as the blue sky over the Front Range: Do something you couldn't get done in 2004 — and win battleground New Mexico for Barack Obama. "We are counting on you, New Mexico. ... We need you, New Mexico," Donna Brazile, a national Democratic heavy hitter who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, exhorted the New Mexicans at their breakfast meeting Monday. "Your state — New Mexico — is absolutely key," Federico Peña, a former Denver mayor, energy and transportation secretary and a...

New Mexico's two U.S. Senate contenders appear headed for a showdown on national TV. -SNIP- MARTY ON BARACK: The New Mexico Republican Party on Friday fired off a news release highlighting comments that Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, a Democrat, made to the National Journal about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “The real question in my mind is whether Senator Obama is going to be able to capture Hispanics by a significant margin,” the magazine quoted Chavez as saying. “That's a big 'if,' because he's clearly an urbanite.” Chavez in a Friday interview with this newspaper said his point is that...

Your daily routine -- switching on a light, cooking a meal, driving down the street -- would generate less greenhouse gases under a first-of-its-kind regional strategy to curb global warming unveiled Wednesday at the state Capitol in Salem. The strategy emerged from the Western Climate Initiative, an alliance of Western states -- including Oregon and Washington -- and Canadian provinces trying to jump ahead of any federal move to regulate greenhouse gases. Large utility companies and factory owners would feel the effects first, followed by fuel distributors, as they face limits on their greenhouse gas emissions. Individual Oregonians would not...

MSUNuke and ArkPig620, and I are heading to NM for Memorial Day Weekend. We will spend 2 nights with friends in Las Cruces, NM, and 2 in Albuquerque, NM. We are wondering what attractions are in the Albuquerque, NM area and a safe area/hotel to stay? Of course we are in our 30s and want the drinking/shopping district;) All three (3) of us are military and have CHL, but would like to avoid any local criminals and overzealous law enforcement in our celebrations;) Thanks for the Albuquerque, NM area info!

Wildlife officials are still trying to figure out what kind of animal attacked Jose Salazar Jr. in the Sandia Mountains Saturday evening. The 5-year-old suffered a torn scalp and puncture wounds around his neck and arms. He underwent surgery at the University of New Mexico Hospital and is expected to fully recover. Now officials want to know if he was attacked by a mountain lion, bobcat, or bear. Rio Grande Zoo mammal curator Lynn Tupa has a few ideas about what could have mauled Salazar. She said it was most likely a mountain lion. "It was probably an immature cub...

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, April 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "I want to save others from the same fate that I was almost put into," said 14-year-old Janelle Bushnell referring to a silent protest against abortion she has been punished for planning at her New Mexico middle school. Bushnell and a friend have been distributing flyers to fellow students at their James Monroe Middle School, encouraging them to wear red armbands and duct tape in protest of the scourge of abortion that has silenced the voices of so many of Bushnell's unborn peers. Bushnell was inspired to protest abortion after learning that her...

Southeastern New Mexico, already home to the nation's first deep underground nuclear waste disposal site, might also be a good site for radioactive nuclear reactor waste, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., suggested at a congressional hearing this week. Domenici's comments come amid increasing concern by the U.S. nuclear industry about the government's failure to find a way to dispose of the highly radioactive waste left behind by nuclear power plants. Yucca Mountain, the Nevada site proposed as the permanent tomb for the waste, is years behind schedule and will not be ready to accept waste until 2017 at the earliest. Meanwhile,...

Alleged gun smuggling leader arrested in TucsonBy: The Associated Press Updated at: 04/04/2008 02:16:41 PM PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona authorities have arrested a Tucson man accused of being the leader of a gun smuggling network that supplied a Mexican drug cartel with weapons. Authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of 23-year-old Victor Manuel Varela Jr., who is accused of supplying the Juarez cartel in Palomas, Mexico with rifles and guns. Tom Mangan, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says Varela’s network illegally bought the firearms in Arizona, transported them to New Mexico and then took...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

DEMING, N.M. (AP) - The police chief of a Mexican border town has requested asylum in the United States, where he told authorities his two officers have fled and he does not know their whereabouts. The Luna County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Border Patrol say Emilio Perez of Palomas came to the port of entry at Columbus late Tuesday night, requesting political asylum. The agent-in-charge of the Border Patrol station in Deming, Rick Moody, says Perez is in the protection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Authorities have reported an increase in drug-related violence in Palomas, where at...

03/17/2008: "Eco-Terrorism On Orcas" ”I did it to punish the rich white people of Orcas Island and make them pay for the death of the whales and the depletion of the rain forests” -Mondragon Gabriel Thomas Mondragon, 29 years old, who recently arrived from New Mexico, explained to Sheriff’s Deputies that in an attempt to make the people on Orcas “suffer just like the whales and trees”, he attempted to use a tree limbing saw -on a metal pole- to cut through a 69,000 volt power line.