Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

It's Cinco de Mayo ... Celebrate With An Arizona Buy-Cott!

Image Credit: IowaPresidentialWatch.com 4/27/2010

It's Cinco de Mayo ... Celebrate With An Arizona Buy-Cott!

Today not only marks the day Mexico recognizes a thwarted attack by France (as promoted and celebrated first in the United States by Corona Beer as a promotion to sell their product) ... today is the day independent American citizens can begin to show support for Arizona in its effort to localize Federal immigration law.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 8:00am (any timezone) marks the official start to Buy Arizona, where people intentionally purchase goods and services from companies that claim their headquarters in Arizona in a "Buy-Cott" - a reversal to the time honored consumerism activity known as a boycott.

Ahhhhh, to purchase, as opposed to ignore the goods or services produced, from a company just feels more affirming and, well, AMERICAN! After all, directed consuming is so Capitalistic and un-Obama Administration.

It's Cinco de Mayo, so go out and celebrate by first purchasing an American flag from the American Flag & Pole Co. http://www.americanflagandpole.com/, then go online and pick up some protection in the form of a non-lethal deterrents from Taser International http://www.taser.com/pages/default.aspx, followed by digital identity theft protection software and services designed by Lifelock http://www.lifelock.com/, and finally ... go to dinner at PF Changs http://www.pfchangs.com ... OK, so this food selection does not contain tortillas or salsa but it is time for a new tradition.

We, at MAXINE, believe the main activity for Cinco de Mayo, and beyond, is to begin the tradition of American self-reliance beginning with the show of support of a State that wishes to take control of its destiny in the service to its citizens over the actions (in this case, inaction) of the Federal Government.

BUY ARIZONA - Support Arizona based corporations, local businesses, on-line retailers, and tourism.

The following list is just a sampling of the great companies you can support directly with consumerism ... and there is something for everyone - this IS America. PLEASE SHARE!!

Be sure to check back at the folloing website regularly ... more companies will be added as soon as they are identified! http://www.socaltaxrevoltcoalition.org

Buy Arizona begins today - Image Credit: Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition - Home of the San Diego Tea Party

ARIZONA BUY-COTT

-------------------------------------------------

PLAN A TRIP TO ARIZONA

http://www.arizonaguide.com/
http://www.nps.gov/applications/parksearch/state.cfm?st=AZ
http://azstateparks.com
http://www.camparizona.com
http://www.arizona-bed-breakfast.com/
http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/
http://www.thetrain.com/
http://www.arizonawine.org/

-----------------------------------------------

SUPPORT ARIZONA COMPANIES:

• Allied Waste Industries
http://sd.disposal.com/

• America West Airlines
http://www.usairways.com

• American Flag & Pole Co.
http://www.americanflagandpole.com/

• American Spirit Arms (Manufacturer of precision firearms)
http://www.americanspiritarms.com/pages/about_asa.html

• Arizona Artists
http://www.arizonaartists.net/

• Arizona Cardinals (Football)
http://www.azcardinals.com/

• Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB Baseball)
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=ari

• Arizona Highways (magazine)
http://www.arizonahighways.com/

• Best Western
http://www.bestwestern.com/

• Bookmans (largest used book seller in AZ)
http://www.bookmans.com/

• Cerreta Fine Chocolates
http://www.cerreta.com/index.cfm

• Candy's Apples (gourmet candied apples)
http://www.gourmetcandyapples.com/

• Circle K (Convenience Store)
http://www.circlek.com/

• CSK Auto (Checker Auto Parts, Schucks Auto Supply, Kragen Auto Parts, Murray's Discount Auto Stores)
http://www.cskauto.com/

• Clear Channel Outdoor
http://www.clearchanneloutdoor.com/

• Cold Stone Creamery
http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/

• Dial
http://www.dialsoap.com/

• Discount Tire Company
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do

Eleanor Joseph Confections (truffles & more!)
http://www.eleanorjosephconfections.com/

• Fairytale Brownies
http://www.brownies.com/default.aspx

• Fender Music Instruments
http://www.fender.com/#/american-deluxe

• Flight Miniatures (model aircraft)
http://www.flightminiatures.com/

• Grand Canyon Airlines
http://www.grandcanyonairlines.com/

• GreenNurture.com (green corporate consulting)
http://www.greennurture.com/

• Greyhound Corp.
http://www.greyhound.com/home/

• GoDaddy
http://www.godaddy.com

• Harkins Theatres
http://www.harkinstheatres.com/

• Hollycake (Letterpress Stationery)
http://www.hollycakepress.com/

• Hopi Market
http://www.hopimarket.com/

• Kona Grill
http://www.konagrill.com/

• Knight Transportation
http://www.knighttrans.com/

• Lifelock
http://www.lifelock.com/

• Massage Envy
http://www.massageenvy.com/

• Mesa Air Group (Mesa Airliines, Go!, Freedom Airlines)
http://www.mesa-air.com/

• McClendon's Select (mail order organic fruit and honey)

• M. R. Designs & Gifts (Gift Baskets)
http://www.mrdesignsandgifts.com/

• My Computer Works (Scottsdale. Online computer repair) http://www.mycomputerworks.com/

• Navajo Fine Jewelry & Collectibles
http://www.gonavajo.com/navajoart/default.asp

• PF Changs
http://www.pfchangs.com

• Ping (Golf)
http://www.ping.com/welcome.aspx

• Phoenix Coyotes (NHL Hockey)
http://coyotes.nhl.com/

• PetSmart
http://www.petsmart.com

• Poore Brothers Pototo Chips
http://www.inventuregroup.net/Poore-Brothers.asp

• Protégé Sports
http://www.protegesportsinc.com/

• Ramada Hotels
http://www.ramada.com

• Robar (firearms & accessories)
http://www.robarguns.com/

• Set Enterprises (board games & brain puzzles)
http://www.setgame.com/

• Seven Sisters Sweet Shop and Chocolate
http://www.7sisterssweetshopandchocolate.com/

• Sky Mall
http://www.skymall.co

• Surf City Squeeze
http://www.surfcitysqueeze.com/

• Taser International
http://www.taser.com/pages/default.aspx

• U-Haul
http://www.uhaul.com/

• University of Phoenix
http://www.phoenix.edu

• US Airways
http://www.usairways.com


On Facebook: ARIZONA BUY-COTT


Sunday, May 02, 2010

Immigration Policy: Buying In ... Or Just Buy

This photo is the official May Day (Che Day!) 2010 image. Image Credit: immigrantsolidarity.org

Immigration Policy: Buy In ... Or Just Buy

We begin this week after a May Day "call to protest" from the Hispanic immigration community that, at least here in Los Angeles, was a dismal failure.

All of the news media outlets (even FOX News) did their best to make this day of protest on the enforcement of US immigration law an issue that was compelling by stating "hundreds of thousands" join protests. People were out in the streets, waving flags and carrying signs sparked by a law passed by the State of Arizona that brings immigration enforcement to a local, as opposed to a Federal, level.

In Los Angeles, the papers were first predicting that over 100,000 people would take to the streets in a mime of the large 750,000 plus person gathering on May 1st, 2006 during the Bush Administration. While the LA Times touted the gathering at nearing 60,000 ... for a city that has a population draw of over 15,000,000 in the basin and at least a 40% Hispanic residency, that is 60,000 out of a potential of 6,000,000 people - weak.

Sign displayed at the 2006 May Day protest in Denver ... has anything changed? Aaaaaa, No! Image Credit: Michelle Malkin

Funny thing though, The Los Angeles crowd was one of the largest gatherings in protest against the Arizona law that makes it a crime to lack proper immigration papers and requires police to determine whether people are in the country illegally.

Civil rights activists say the law will lead to racial profiling but state officials have repeatedly emphasized that the bill expressly forbids law enforcement officers from stopping someone without, first having a probable cause such as in the enforcement of a seat belt law or a mechanical violation (these misdemeanor violations are cited as an add-on after someone is pulled over for a moving violation like running a red light or other probable cause).

Sign exalting "NO BORDERS" seen at an Arizona protest last week. This makes a lot of sense, especially, what, with the Mexican drug wars spilling over into this country and placing our citizens at harm. Image Credit: Mark Krikorian

Any United States citizen knows that to leave the house without proper identification, one can not purchase goods or services, drive a car legally, buy a drink at a bar (if under 21), and etc.. About the only place one does not have to show an identification is when one goes to the polls to vote - all the while, the 70% of the voting citizens in Arizona who favor the Governor, Jan Brewer, for passing this law are called crazy, or worse, bigots.

Instead of buying in to all of the hype about how wrong it is to want United States immigration laws enforced, why not show your support for Arizona where immigration is out of control and send a message to the Federal Government that they should enforce existing laws through purchasing goods and services made in Arizona ... that's BUY ARIZONA!

Now this person will probably not get pulled over for writing on their windows, but may get a ticket for having windows that are tinted too dark. Image Credit: La Shawn Barber

This excerpted and edited from the All Patriots Media Network
-

Buy Arizona!

Tony Katz, All Patriots Media Network - May 1, 2010


The Buy Arizona! Initiative is picking up steam. We are working with many other groups, and committed individuals, to support Arizona business owners and their employees.

The response is growing everyday. If you sent an email, you are in queue, and your ad will run on The Tony Katz Radio Spectacular, as well as with those hosts who join the Buy Arizona! Initiative.

Those radio hosts include:

Join the Facebook groups – here and here.

Follow @ArizonaBUYcott on Twitter.

To see the Press Release, click here.

To see the list, and reach out to Arizona businesses, click here.

To be a part of the Buy Arizona! Initiative, and get free advertising for your business, email us here. You can contact the Tony Katz Radio Spectacular by email.
Reference Here>>

We, at MAXINE, believe in a serious society that wants to know who they are talking to and doing business with. Carry your ID and immigration authorization papers proudly into any market and BUY ARIZONA!


Thursday, February 19, 2009

Let The Revolution Begin

Simpsons characters pictured in a mob revolt with tourches. Image Credit: The Simpsons

Let The Revolution Begin

It's ironic that Barack Obama, whose friends were disciples Saul Alinsky, an ardent social revolutionist, becomes president and sparks a revolution toward conservative American Values.

A revolt might be happening already and the signs of this revolt began yesterday. First in Arizona and Second on the floor of the stock exchange when a reporter for CNBC talked with people who work to invest money ... to make money for their clients and themselves.

The wake-up call is startling in that the mainstream media will not report the groundswell of reaction to the demonization of taxpaying, mortgage paying citizens who are cast a losers in this brand new Obamaworld ... Carter's Second Term.

Protests outside of Dobson Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona where President Barack Obama unveiled his mortgage bailout plan. Photo features "Swastika Guy" and "Hammer-and-Sickle Guy" in close proximity to Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin and Sen. Josh Penry. Image Credit: of ProgressNow Colorado

First, this excerpted and edited from the Arizona Republic -

Ask what the country CAN do for you
by E. J. Montini, The Arizona Republic - Feb. 19, 2009 12:00 AM

President Barack Obama came to ground zero in the foreclosure crisis on Wednesday and offered a mix of government assistance and personal responsibility.

To which a lot of folks in Arizona said: "Nice try, but we ain't buying it."

There's no need for a complicated analysis of Obama's speech.

We can sum up what the president said at Dobson High School in Mesa, as well as the reaction of many local residents, by using two quotes. The first is from Obama, the second from a reader of The Republic responding online to the president's remarks.

OBAMA: "So solving this crisis will require more than resources - it will require all of us to take responsibility.

"Government must take responsibility for setting rules of the road that are fair and fairly enforced.

"Banks and lenders must be held accountable for ending the practices that got us into this crisis in the first place.

"Individuals must take responsibility for their own actions.

"And all of us must learn to live within our means again."

READER: "What about stoops like me that still pay their payments on time and live within their means and didn't buy a pool or a Hummer? I deserve something, don't I?"

After all these years, we appear to have decided that John F. Kennedy was wrong and that we CAN ask what our country can do for us.

Or as another reader put it: "We should all just let our houses go and our jobs, then live off the government and let someone else pay for this turkey's 'stimulus'!"

Obama tried to make the case that we're in this mess together.
----
One man responding to a blog I wrote for azcentral.com said, "Let's get this country back on track and stop the government from trying to be everything to everybody. The Constitution only guarantees 'life, liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness.' "

Another added, "So let's see if I understand - all of us who pay our debts and taxes now get to fund the rescue of homeowners who are upside down. Ummm. I can see a tax revolt forming in the near future."
----
What might work is appealing to our self-interest.
Reference Here>>

CNBC's Rick Santelli, while broadcasting for “Squawk Box” on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, called for a referendum to see if we want to "subsidize losers' mortgages" or buy cars and houses in foreclosure and "give them to people who might actually prosper down the road." As traders cheered, he went on to say that we should "reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water." [click-image to launch video] Image Credit: CNBC via lolfed.com

Second, this excerpted and edited from StreetInsider.com -

Rick Santelli - The Rant Heard 'Round the World'
February 19, 2009 12:24 PM EST

The rant heard 'round the world'. The Drudge Report is highlighting CNBC's Rick Santelli's rant on CNBC this morning ripping Obama's mortgage plan:

'The government is promoting bad behavior... do we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages... This is America! How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage? President Obama are you listening? How about we all stop paying our mortgage! It's a moral hazard'...
Reference Here>>

Video Here

In this 44th Presidency of the United States, people who actually hold a long-term job, invest their money wisely, follow through with their monetary commitments are targeted and become losers (and those who behave in the opposite – Rewarded, with Government money transfer programs).

The economic model for all of this targeted upheaval is found in the principles of Keynesian Economics, a macroeconomic theory based on the ideas of 20th-century British economist John Maynard Keynes. The theory emphasizes the role of demand-side factors, as opposed to supply-side factors, in the determination of aggregate output.

In a nutshell, the value of money is placed not on wealth creation but dollar bill creation. The Government can choose to print the amount of money required to place the economy on a path that the Government feels is the correct path. This is as opposed to a free market determination which recognizes the free will of the consumer and the value of money that is placed in the popularity/supply of an item and the willingness for someone to pay the price someone else is willing to pay.

Even Vladimir Putin is warning the Obama Administration against the downside of a socialist economy stating that it was a “Five Year Plan” central planning Keynesian economic model that brought down the Russian Empire.

Image Credit: The Wall Street Journal Online

Putin Speaks at Davos
The Wall Street Journal - JANUARY 28, 2009, 2:29 P.M. ET

The following text is a transcript of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Good afternoon, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
----
Excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state's omnipotence is another possible mistake.

True, the state's increased role in times of crisis is a natural reaction to market setbacks. Instead of streamlining market mechanisms, some are tempted to expand state economic intervention to the greatest possible extent.

The concentration of surplus assets in the hands of the state is a negative aspect of anti-crisis measures in virtually every nation.

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.

Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.

And one more point: anti-crisis measures should not escalate into financial populism and a refusal to implement responsible macroeconomic policies. The unjustified swelling of the budgetary deficit and the accumulation of public debts are just as destructive as adventurous stock-jobbing.
Reference Here>>

CONTEXT QUOTE:

Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable.

The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism.

Karl Marx, Das Kapital, 1867


Saturday, April 28, 2007

Quality Of Life Begins With Corrected Immigration

Margaret Koenig, of California, chants with other anti-immigrant demonstrators across from the White House in Lafayette Square Sunday, April 22, 2007, in Washington. .Several hundred protesters gathered to kick off a week of lobbying against illegal immigration in Congress. Image Credit: Lawrence Jackson -- AP Photo

Quality Of Life Begins With Corrected Immigration

The sign of the protester says it all - "KICK ME! I'm A Citizen!"

A legal United States citizen is the last consideration in a long line of issues that surround the problems created by our Government's decade’s long inattentive attitude toward our existing immigration policies.

Respect for the sovereignty of the borders of the United States begins with enforcement of the laws that govern our country. Due to the decades of neglect to our immigration laws, all laws become less important and the quality of life of the average citizen get dragged down.

Congress, reacting to the increased pressure to correct the inattention our civil authorities to existing laws, has placed more border agents in the field to address the ills brought about through unchecked and illegal immigration. The agents arrest law breaking illegal immigrants and expect the prosecution infrastructure to finish its job and bring final justice to the equation.

Judges in the court system and local police who manage the jail infrastructure apparently did not get the memo.

The average legal citizen is serious about the quality of life brought about through the enforcement of our laws. It’s high time the people who manage the justice side of law enforcement step up and finish the task – Quit Whining ... roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Our elected and appointed officials need to step up now and make good on the job they are being paid for. The notes paid for their usefulness have become DUE IN FULL!

Excerpts from the Associated Press via the Sacramento Bee -

Immigration-related cases clog courts
By JENNIFER TALHELM -- Associated Press Writer - April 27, 2007

Immigration-related felony cases are swamping federal courts along the Southwest border, forcing judges to handle hundreds more cases than their peers elsewhere.

Judges in the five, mostly rural judicial districts on the border carry the heaviest felony caseloads in the nation. Each judge in New Mexico, which ranked first, handled an average of 397 felony cases last year, compared with the national average of 84.

Federal judges in those five districts - Southern and Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California - handled one-third of all the felonies prosecuted in the nation's 94 federal judicial districts in 2005, according to federal court statistics.
----
"The need is really dire. You cannot keep increasing the number of Border Patrol agents but not increasing the number of judges," said Chief Judge John M. Roll of the District of Arizona.

A bill by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and co-sponsored by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, would add 10 permanent and temporary judges in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern and Western Texas. This proposal, and others like it, have gone nowhere in the past two years.

"I can't even tell you how much we need that," Roll said.
----
During a push to crack down on illegal immigration last fall, Customs and Border Protection floated a plan for New Mexico that would have suspended the practice of sending home hundreds of illegal immigrants caught near the border with Mexico. Instead, these people would be sent to court.

The idea, called "Operation Streamline," was to make it clear that people caught illegally in the U.S. would be prosecuted.
----
"We said, 'Do you realize that the second week into this we're going to run out of (jail) space?'" Martha Vazquez, chief judge for the District of New Mexico, recalled telling Border Patrol chief David Aguilar.

"We were obviously alarmed because where would we put our bank robbers? Our rapists? Those who violate probation?" she said.

Border Patrol eventually dropped the idea. Officials said they could not get all the necessary agencies to agree to it.
----
Congress has made available more than $1.2 billion for reinforcements, including fences, vehicle barriers, cameras and other security equipment.

Homeland Security officials say the increased security is working. In Yuma, Bush said that the number of people apprehended for illegally crossing the southern border into the U.S. has declined by nearly 30 percent this year.

Court officials, however, say they are in crisis mode trying to deal with all the defendants.
----
Even lawmakers from border states say they cannot justify adding judgeships in one district when other districts also need them.
----
Court officials say they have had to be creative just to try the cases they have. Visiting judges help out in some districts. In Arizona, magistrates hold sessions on the weekends and have seen as many as 150 defendants in a day.

In New Mexico, Vazquez, the chief judge, and former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias went on a Spanish-language radio station broadcast in Mexico this winter to warn people about the penalties for illegally entering the country.

Court administrators have trouble keeping employees, such as interpreters, because of the grind. Judges' staffs struggle with burnout. Everyone fights to keep up morale as they hear countless sad stories from migrants who broke the law searching for a better life in the United States.

"It'd be swell to have another judge or two," said Judge George Kazen, who is based on the border in Laredo, in the Southern District of Texas. "It would mean a little more time to spend on civil stuff, and a little more time to reflect. We have to make quick calls and move on."

Reference Here>>

How about green-lighting the justice process of immigrants caught breaking the law and do not have proof of being in this country legally as the good Judge suggests ("We have to make quick calls and move on.")? Why not suspend the deference afforded to citizens and lower the standards used to actually try a case and incarcerate an offender?

How many people do you think will want to get caught up into a meat grinder of serious justice?

We all could take a lesson from the attitude of the Sheriff in Phoenix, Arizona. If one is suspected of breaking the law ... we have room for you, even if we need to fence off an area in the desert and erect tents to keep you for your court date.

A legal citizens Quality Of Life is more important than the basic consideration given to the quality of life of a suspected law breaker, especially if the suspected law breaker is in our country illegally (that's two counts of disrespect for the rule of law in the pecking order).

Monday, March 12, 2007

WHEREAS - New Mexico Declares Pluto A "Planet"

HUBBLE PORTRAIT OF THE "DOUBLE PLANET" PLUTO & CHARON - This is the clearest view yet of the distant planet Pluto and its moon, Charon, as revealed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The image was taken by the European Space Agency's Faint Object Camera on February 21, 1994 when the planet was 2.6 billion miles (4.4 billion kilometers) from Earth; or nearly 30 times the separation between Earth and the sun.

Hubble's corrected optics show the two objects as clearly separate and sharp disks. This now allows astronomers to measure directly (to within about 1 percent) Pluto's diameter of 1440 miles (2320 kilometers) and Charon's diameter of 790 miles (1270 kilometers). Caption & Image Credit: Dr. R. Albrecht, ESA/ESO Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility; NASA


WHEREAS - New Mexico Declares Pluto A "Planet"

Only in America can a Government (in this case, a state Government) declare that a scientific determination is wrong and overturn it.

Pluto is a planet because, according to New Mexico, Pluto was discovered from a facility located in New Mexico, by a longtime resident of New Mexico, with a telescope operated by a university in New Mexico!

So states a "Joint Memorial" put forth today at a session of the legislature of New Mexico.

This, of course, is what Al Gore wants all Governments to do on behalf of his Global Warming POV, in reverse.

Global Warming, or at least the argument that human activity and CO2 gasses created by human activity is the cause of the recent percieved changes in the climate on Earth, should not necessarily be proven, but declared FACT through Government action.

Of course, this would mean that the Government would be able to micro-manage every aspect of human activity to the detriment of our freedoms in the pursuit of happiness.

The Government has the obligation to first prove something is true beyond a shadow of a doubt before it enters into the "lemming march" process to wholesale communistic dictatorship.

Memorial text for HJM054, State of New Mexico -

A JOINT MEMORIAL

DECLARING PLUTO A PLANET AND DECLARING MARCH 13, 2007, "PLUTO PLANET DAY" AT THE LEGISLATURE.

WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico is a global center for astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico is home to world class astronomical observing facilities, such as the Apache Point observatory, the very large array, the Magdalena Ridge observatory and the national solar observatory; and

WHEREAS, Apache Point observatory, operated by New Mexico state university, houses the astrophysical research consortium's three-and-one-half meter telescope, as well as the unique two-and-one-half meter diameter Sloan digital sky survey telescope; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico state university has the state's only independent, doctorate-granting astronomy department; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico state university and Dona Ana county were the longtime home of Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto; and

WHEREAS, Pluto has been recognized as a planet for seventy-five years; and

WHEREAS, Pluto's average orbit is three billion six hundred ninety-five million nine hundred fifty thousand miles from the sun, and its diameter is approximately one thousand four hundred twenty-one miles; and

WHEREAS, Pluto has three moons known as Charon, Nix and Hydra; and

WHEREAS, a spacecraft called new horizons was launched in January 2006 to explore Pluto in the year 2015;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, as Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico's excellent night skies, it be declared a planet and that March 13, 2007 be declared "Pluto Planet Day" at the legislature.
Reference Here>>

As for Pluto, hey, come on ... it WAS a planet for 75 years before it was determined that it wasn't.

Changes in the global temperature of the planet Earth have been happening all the while for hundreds of millions of years. There really isn't any need for a WHEREAS here.

UPDATE (3-13-2007):

The proof that the scientific community continues to be under threat from Governmental organizations (and the Al Gore imperative) is not that hard to find. Take this article from the Telegraph (UK) -

Scientists threatened for 'climate denial'
By Tom Harper, Sunday Telegraph - Last Updated: 12:24am GMT 11/03/2007

Scientists who questioned mankind's impact on climate change have received death threats and claim to have been shunned by the scientific community.

They say the debate on global warming has been "hijacked" by a powerful alliance of politicians, scientists and environmentalists who have stifled all questioning about the true environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions.

Timothy Ball, a former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg in Canada, has received five deaths threats by email since raising concerns about the degree to which man was affecting climate change.
----
"Western governments have pumped billions of dollars into careers and institutes and they feel threatened," said the professor.

"I can tolerate being called a sceptic because all scientists should be sceptics, but then they started calling us deniers, with all the connotations of the Holocaust. That is an obscenity. It has got really nasty and personal."

The tracking of the ice ages over time - based on scientific evidence. Image Credit: The Great Global Warming Swindle

Last week, Professor Ball appeared in The Great Global Warming Swindle, a Channel 4 [UK]documentary in which several scientists claimed the theory of man-made global warming had become a "religion", forcing alternative explanations to be ignored.

Richard Lindzen, the professor of Atmospheric Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology - who also appeared on the documentary - recently claimed: "Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves labelled as industry stooges.

"Consequently, lies about climate change gain credence even when they fly in the face of the science."

Dr Myles Allen, from Oxford University, agreed. He said: "The Green movement has hijacked the issue of climate change. It is ludicrous to suggest the only way to deal with the problem is to start micro managing everyone, which is what environmentalists seem to want to do."

Nigel Calder, a former editor of New Scientist, said: "Governments are trying to achieve unanimity by stifling any scientist who disagrees. Einstein could not have got funding under the present system."

Read All>>

Maybe, just as a point of order, Pluto should go DOWN!

On behalf of thretened scientists worldwide, we all should proclaim our rights and not allow New Mexico to trifle with the ruling on Pluto ... Pluto is NOT a planet!

UPDATE - March 18, 2007:

Pluto Casts It's Non-Planet Shadow Today

Even though Pluto has been demoted in status, it still exists. Today the "object" passes between the Earth and a distant star.

Excerpts from Space.com via Yahoo! -

All Eyes on Pluto Sunday
By Jeanna Bryner, Staff Writer - SPACE.com - Thu Mar 15, 10:45 AM ET

Telescopes all over the southwestern United States will turn toward Pluto as it meanders Sunday across the face of a star in the constellation Sagittarius. The observations could help researchers better understand the dwarf planet's atmosphere.

Called an occultation, the phenomenon is akin to a solar eclipse. Just as our Moon casts its shadow onto Earth when it passes directly in front of the Sun, other planets also cast their shadows onto Earth when they pass in front of a star.

"Occultations are the only way we can monitor the atmosphere of Pluto from the Earth," said William Hubbard of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

Occultations occur about once every 5 to 10 years for Pluto, but the phenomenon will become more frequent now that Pluto has moved between Earth and the central region of the Milky Way where most of our galaxy's stars reside. With so many chance star encounters, Pluto is expected to experience one or two occultations each year.
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Pluto will pass in front of the star at 6 a.m. Eastern, and take about six minutes to complete its journey. This is about three times longer than typical Pluto occultations. In addition to the relatively long show, the shadow will be cast on the southwestern United States, a region heavily populated with giant telescopes.

The average skywatcher will miss out on a view of the event, unless they are equipped with a 20-inch or larger diameter telescope.
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Depending on where along its orbit Pluto is in relation to the Sun, its atmosphere ranges from -391 to -274 degrees Fahrenheit (-235 to -170 degrees Celsius).
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'What we get at the Earth is just a shadow of Pluto-a guest in the starlight,' Hubbard told SPACE.com. 'The radius of the shadow is related to the radius of the atmosphere, how far the atmosphere goes above the surface.'

The observations could also inform future work done by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, en route to Pluto now.

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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Cross Match Delivers Biometrics For “Snakes” In Iraq

The MV 100 offers in-the-field identity checks using a forensic quality fingerprint scanner, an integrated Personal Digital Assistant, a digital camera, a magnetic stripe card reader and wireless communications. The MV 100 uses the same optical technology found in Cross Match’s industry leading Verifier® fingerprint scanners capturing high quality fingerprint images regardless of skin pigment or the presence of stains from ink, dyes, grease, or dirt. Image Credit: Cross Match Technologies

Cross Match Delivers Biometrics For “Snakes” In Iraq

The military and police forces in Iraq have much in common with the police forces in major cities throughout the United States, especially those cities with organized gang activity.

For both efforts, quick field identification of suspected individuals who may be involved in illegal or deadly insurgent activity is a must in order to remove offending culprits.

At home, our police departments are provided full IT (information technology) tools, all of the way down to their patrol units, where the patrol officer can log-in and check available databases (many linked to nationwide networks) and have delivered to him all of the information he would need to make a proper assessment. Job done!

In Iraq, however, there does not exist the infrastructure to place all that equipment the average patrol car has but through technology, there is an answer.

The cornerstone to a database development system as well as a field tool that identifies people once the information has been captured is supplied by Cross Match Technologies. This portable tool combined with radio access to existing databases in Iraq may help the military and Iraqi security forces turn the tide in hunting down and stopping insurgent activity.

The Iraqi Army has a nickname for the “gang” of insurgents who seek to do harm to the citizens of Iraq – “Snakes”.

Excerpts from The Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal –

The Snake Eater
Give our troops the tools our cops have.
BY DANIEL HENNINGER, Deputy Editor – Editorial’s, The Wall Street Journal - Thursday, February 8, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Subject:

A case study of how the U.S. got bogged down in Iraq.

Problem:

If a cop in Anytown, USA, pulls over a suspect, he checks the person's ID remotely from the squad car. He's linked to databases filled with Who's Who in the world of crime, killing and mayhem. In Iraq, there is nothing like that. When our troops and the Iraqi army enter a town, village or street, what they know about the local bad guys is pretty much in their heads, at best.

Solution:

Give our troops what our cops have. The Pentagon knows this. For reasons you can imagine, it hasn't happened.

This is a story of can-do in a no-can-do world, a story of how a Marine officer in Iraq, a small network-design company in California, a nonprofit troop-support group, a blogger and other undeterrable folk designed a handheld insurgent-identification device, built it, shipped it and deployed it in Anbar province. They did this in 30 days, from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15. Compared to standard operating procedure for Iraq, this is a nanosecond.

Before fastening our seatbelts, let's check the status quo. As a high Defense Department official told the Journal's editorial page, "We're trying to fight a major war with peacetime procurement rules." The department knows this is awful. Indeed, a program exists, the Automated Biometric Identification System: retina scans, facial matching and the like. The reality: This war is in year four, and the troops don't have it. Beyond Baghdad, the U.S. role has become less about killing insurgents than arresting the worst and isolating them from the population. Obviously it would help to have an electronic database of who the bad guys are, their friends, where they live, tribal affiliation--in short the insurgency's networks.
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Some, like Marine Maj. Owen West in Anbar, have created their own spreadsheets and PowerPoint programs, or use digital cameras to input the details of suspected insurgents. But no Iraq-wide software architecture exists.

Operating around the town of Khalidiya, north of Baghdad, Maj. West has been the leader of a team of nine U.S. soldiers advising an Iraqi brigade. This has been his second tour of duty in Iraq. When not fighting the Iraq war, he's an energy trader for Goldman Sachs in New York City.

It had become clear to him last fall that the Iraqi soldiers were becoming the area's cops. And that they needed modern police surveillance tools. To help the Iraqi army in Khalidiya do its job right, Maj. West needed that technology yesterday: He was scheduled to rotate back stateside in February--this month.

Since arriving in Iraq last year, Maj. West had worked with Spirit of America (SoA), the civilian troop-support group founded by Jim Hake. In early December, SoA's project director, Michele Redmond, asked Maj. West if there was any out-of-the-ordinary project they could help him with. And Maj. West said, Why yes, there is. He described to them the basic concept for a mobile, handheld fingerprinting device which Iraqi soldiers would use to assemble an insurgent database. Mr. Hake said his organization would contribute $30,000 to build a prototype and get it to Khalidiya. In New York, Goldman Sachs contributed $14,000 to the project.

Two problems. They needed to find someone who could assemble the device, and the unit had to be in Khalidiya by Jan. 15 to give Maj. West time to field-test it before he left in February.
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To build the device, they approached a small California company, Computer Deductions Inc., Its basic platform would be a handheld fingerprint workstation called the MV 100, made by Cross Match Technologies, a maker of biometric identity applications. The data collected by the MV 100 would be stored via Bluetooth in a hardened laptop made by GETAC, a California manufacturer. From Knowledge Computing Corp. of Arizona they used the COPLINK program, which creates a linked "map" of events. The laptop would sit in the troops' Humvee and the data sent from there to a laptop at outpost headquarters.

Regardless of whether a weapon system is wired or wireless, the biggest challenge facing any Military market is obtaining proper connection between weapons systems. Since reliability is a major factor under the toughest environment, only a rugged notebook such as the A790 can meet the challenge. The A790 can be modified to be equipped with special interface cards in its expansion bay allowing it to receive and transmit data between systems. Image Credit: GETAC, Inc.

Meanwhile, SoA began to think about how they'd get the package to Maj. West by Jan. 15. They likely would have less than seven days transit time after CDI finished.
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This meant finding someone who could get into Iraq quickly.

The someone was Bill Roggio. Mr. Roggio is a former army signalman and infantryman who now embeds with the troops and writes about it on his blog, the Fourth Rail, or for the SoA Web site. He was at home in New Jersey, about to celebrate his birthday with his family. He agreed to fly the MV 100 to Iraq as soon as it was ready, in conjunction with an embed trip. With SoA's Michele Redmond, he started working out the logistics for getting to Iraq ASAP.
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And so, a month from inception, Bill Roggio handed the electronic identification kit to Maj. West.


Fingerprinting and photographing the bad guys. Database development and identification in the field. Image Credit: U.S. Marines, The Iraqi Army via Opinion Journal

On the night of Jan. 20, Maj. West, his Marine squad and the "jundi" (Iraq army soldiers) took the MV 100 and laptop on patrol. Their term of endearment for the insurgents is "snakes." So of course the MV 100 became the Snake Eater. The next day Maj. West emailed the U.S. team digital photos of Iraqi soldiers fingerprinting suspects with the Snake Eater. "It's one night old and the town is abuzz," he said. "I think we have a chance to tip this city over now." A rumor quickly spread that the Iraqi army was implanting GPS chips in insurgents' thumbs.

Over the past 10 days, Maj. West has had chance encounters with two Marine superiors--Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, who commands the 30,000 joint forces in Anbar, and Brig. Gen. Robert Neller, deputy commanding general of operations in Iraq. He showed them the mobile ID database device.

I asked Gen. Neller by email on Tuesday what the status of these technologies is now. He replied that they're receiving advanced biometric equipment, "like the device being employed by Maj. West." He said "in the near future" they will begin to network such devices to share databases more broadly: "Bottom line: The requirement for networking our biometric capability is a priority of this organization."

As he departs, Maj. West reflected on winning at street level: "We're fixated on the enemy, but the enemy is fixated on the people. They know which families are apostates, which houses are safe for the night, which boys are vulnerable to corruption or kidnapping. The enemy's population collection effort far outstrips ours.

The Snake Eater will change that, and fast." You have to believe he's got this right. It will only happen, though, if someone above his pay grade blows away the killing habits of peacetime procurement.

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Glenn Reynolds has a book titled "An Army Of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower the Little Guy to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths" where it outlines the strength and power of independent effort, the new media, and how, in today's technological world, things get done.

This story and its success illustrates the power of an army of davids!


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