I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
While Michelle Obama steered clear of attacks on Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain during her visits to the state Thursday, that wasn’t the case with retired Air Force Gen. Melvyn Montaño, who suggested that McCain’s policy stemmed from a "lack of adequate psychological care" after his service in Vietnam.
In an Associated Press piece by Barry Massey that was picked up by the Air Force Times and numerous other outlets, Montaño, the former head of the New Mexico National Guard, recalled McCain’s statement that U.S. soldiers could remain in Iraq for 100 years and said:
“I don’t understand his position. I can attribute it probably to some of the things we’ve talked about here — lack of adequate psychological care.”
Montaño then grinned and chuckled as the crowd roared, according to the report.
This isn’t the first time Montaño has publicly criticized McCain. In a letter to the editor published July 11 in the Albuquerque Journal, entitled "McCain No Friend of Military," Montaño wrote:
"… I was a member of a group of retired officers who met in Washington, D.C., two years ago to support the McCain Amendment, which would adhere to the Geneva Convention to ensure humane treatment of prisoners of war and to cease the torture of the same. Our group solidly supported the amendment.
"Then, to my surprise, McCain sided with the president on this issue. … This seems to be McCain’s style of operation, or perhaps he has mental lapses. Remember, he was a prisoner for five years; this has to have had an effect on him.
"Always, the paramount thought in the minds of soldiers deployed to a military zone is: ‘When am I going home?’ I am sure McCain had the same thought as a prisoner of war. I know I did when I was in Vietnam.
"How can McCain say, with a straight face, that he hates war and wants to keep Americans safe, with programs such as ‘stop loss,’ multiple rotations and giving soldiers less than a year between rotations? He must surely think Americans are stupid."
