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.
There’s lots of talk on the blogs about Monday’s ruling that an attempt by the Secretary of State’s Office to force two nonprofits to register as political action committees violates their First Amendment right to free speech.
One interesting aspect is the reaction on the blogs of the two nonprofits. First is the response on Clearly New Mexico, which is run by the parent organization of New Mexico Youth Organized. All that was posted on that site was the news release the group also sent to the media. More interesting was what SouthWest Organizing Project put on its blog.
“The Attorney General, essentially, believes we were not entitled to talk about elected officials, at all, during the year, and his only legal reasoning was that what we did with the mailers ‘quacked like a duck,’” the blog posting states. “The result has been a year in which non-profits throughout the state have been unsure about what they can and can’t say about elected officials. In short, our environment has been fraught with uncertainty when it comes to our ability to speak publicly — which is exactly what the first amendment to the United States Constitution is supposed to prevent.”
“… We don’t know about you, but we believe in this country we are entitled to speak as much as we want about elected officials without having to register with the state, with a few narrow exceptions that as a non-profit we have always adhered to,” the blog states. “For this reason, we are very happy about Judge Herrera’s decision and look forward to continuing our educational work out in the community.”
Onward. Also out in the blogosphere today, Cocoposts remarks on Rio Rancho growth as the city’s mayor looks forward to the construction of a new hospital. Cocoposts believes Rio Rancho’s concept of growth is ‘anti-city’ and only promotes urban sprawl.
On the education front, Scot Key comments on the recent release of the Standards Based Assessment stats for New Mexico schools, responding to the numbers and their implications. He also gets into how some of the numbers are a little shady.
Mario Burgos, on the other hand, sees no reason to look on the bright side and deems the stats “Another Year of Dismal Education Results.” He uses the numbers to take another shot at Gov. Bill Richardson’s winning of the America’s Greatest Education Governor Award.
Last, Jim Scarantino of New Mexico Liberty asks his readers to keep their eyes peeled for upcoming town hall meetings regarding health care legislation. Scarantino thinks U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich is not doing enough to bring this issue to his constituents.
NMI’s Danielle Bauer contributed to this report.
