Mexican governor candidate killed by gunmen, Calderon says assassination tied to drug gang violence

Just two days after singer Sergio Vega's murder rocked Mexico, the country reeled again Monday with the news that gunmen had assassinated Rodolfo Torre, the leading candidate for governor of a Mexican border state. Torre was ambushed by attackers as he headed to the airport in Tamaulipas, the Associated Press reported, a state ravaged by violent drug gangs. At least four people traveling with him were also killed. President Felipe Calderon condemned the murders in a televised press conference, warning against the efforts of organized crime to affect the country's elections...more

Killing Escalates Mexico Drug War

Although lower-level politicians have been killed by drug gangs, the killing of a gubernatorial candidate is a sign that cartels are increasingly willing to fight back against the government. The assassination was seen by many as evidence that Mexico could be going down the same road as Colombia, where drug cartels challenged the state through bombings and assassinations during the 1980s and 1990s in order to get the government to back off. Such a development would increase political instability in a nation of 105 million that shares a 2,000-mile border with the U.S. and is a top trade partner...more

524 Guard Soldiers Headed to Arizona-Mexico Border

Federal officials told Arizona's attorney general and a congresswoman on Monday that 524 of the 1,200 National Guard troops headed to the U.S. Mexican border will be deployed in the state by August or September. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Attorney General Terry Goddard, both Democrats, met with Obama administration officials in Tucson along with dozens of law enforcement officials and community leaders. The federal officials included John Brennan, deputy national security adviser for homeland security. Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said the 524 troops are now being trained for deployment in August, and Goddard said two drone aircraft also will be used in Arizona...more

Decision on Guard troops criticized - 72 for NM

Fewer than half the National Guard soldiers the president is planning to put along the border will end up in Arizona...And even the 524 number is misleading, Brewer said Monday, noting that she was told in the 90-minute briefing there would be a "ramp up" period, and all 524 would only be here at the same time for about 120 days. Speaking for the Defense Department, Lt. Col. Robert Ditchey II confirmed the full deployment will be in place for only about four months. He said there will be a "steep ramp-up" early next month, peaking at 524 by October. But at the end of January there will be "a gradual ramp-down to mission completion on June 30, 2011." C.J. Karamargin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said Giffords was told 250 of the troops will be sent to Texas, 224 to California and 72 to New Mexico, and 130 have yet to be allocated...more

Plans for Colorado's new-energy economy get tangled in "green tape"

Politicians have been quick to pledge increasing use of clean energy and set ambitious production goals for solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and nuclear. Colorado lawmakers last spring upped the state's goal for renewable energy to 30 percent by 2020. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff promises 50 percent by 2030. But when land managers and investors float plans for building wind farms or tapping geothermal energy or stringing new transmission lines or processing uranium for nuclear power, the potential impacts to neighbors stir passionate resistance, the regulatory maze lengthens, lawsuits stack up and the lofty talk of a brave new economy falls flat. Karen Alderman Harbert, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, says the layers of federal, state and local "green tape" hindering new energy projects are "a plague on our economy and our energy security and our environment." Harbert recently surveyed all the U.S. energy projects seeking licensing and siting approval and found 380 stalled or canceled "as a result of the abuse of the environmental permitting process." More than 40 percent of those are renewable-energy projects...more

Why wasn't Schultz Pass thinned?

The same area where the Schultz fire ignited and began burning heavily was due to be thinned three years ago, from Schultz Pass to the forest west of Timberline. But after an appeal from an environmental group delayed the project, the economy went into a tailspin, closing the window on starting the project. A similar project on the west side of the Peaks on Hart Prairie also has been appealed and will be delayed. The idea at Schultz Pass was to protect residents living near the Coconino National Forest from wildfires by thinning and starting low-intensity prescribed burns across a total of 9,660 acres. The Center for Biological Diversity appealed the project planned for Schultz Pass in 2007...more

Big Brother eyes your freedom to drink milk

A legal brief filed in a federal court dispute over the purchase and use of raw milk contends the court ultimately will determine "whether the people control the government, or whether the government controls the people." "The decision of this court will either ensure that people have fundamental rights endowed to them by their Creator, or that the people have no rights except those that are conferred upon them bygovernment," attorneys for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund have argued in their newest brief, which opposes the government's demand that the case be dismissed. "Our research shows that this nation has a long history of consuming raw dairy products and that FDA's prohibition against taking raw dairy for human consumption across state lines runs counter to that national history," said fund President Pete Kennedy. The brief argues, contrary to allegations by the FDA, everyone has the right to travel across state lines with raw dairy products in their possession, that everyone has the right to consume the foods of their choice, that parents have the right to feed their children the foods of their choice and that all have the right to be responsible for their own health...more

Not so say the feds. In their brief they assert:

"There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds," states the document signed by U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose, assistant Martha Fagg and Roger Gural, trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. "Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish," thegovernment has argued.

Current FDA regulations basically ban taking raw milk across state lines, even for your own consumption.

Salted Popcorn Soon to Be a Federal Offense?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning an assault on salt. The government intends to set regulations to limit the use of salt intake by Americans. The regulations would set “legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products.” Of course, the excuse is “protection” of the health of the American people. Say the feds, limiting salt would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. In a complicated process, the FDA would analyze the salt in spaghetti sauces, breads, and thousands of other products that make up the $600 billion food and beverage market. The main culprits behind the effort to have the FDA regulate salt is the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has led a fight against salt for 30 years. CSPI wants the FDA to revoke salt’s GRAS statue (Generally Recognized As Safe). CSPI is the undisputed leader among the food police. It has launched an all out campaign against the eating habits of Americans, attacking Italian, Chinese, fast foods, soft drinks, French fries, extra cheese pizza, and almost anything else that tastes good. You might guess that Michael Jacobson, the head of CSPI, is a rabid Vegetarian, horrified by nearly anything man chooses to eat. CSPI calls for taxes on foods with fat, sugar, and sodium (called the “Twinkie Tax”). They want government-mandated warning labels on high-fat, high-calorie menu items. They advocate that broadcasters be required to give free “equal time” to government-advertisements of “healthy” foods every time Burger King runs an ad. They want warning labels of contamination from fresh, unpasteurized juices. And they constantly threaten restaurants with legal action over nutritional labeling. CSPI opposed consumption of animals (no meat or fish) and all of their byproducts, including cheese, milk, and ice cream...more

Property case shows mining power in 1875 Nevada

An attempt by a Canada-based mining company to use eminent domain to obtain Elko-area ranch land is dividing northern Nevada miners and ranchers, and prompting reconsideration of 19th-century mining-friendly provisions in state law. In a legal case filed in Elko County District Court, Fronteer Development Inc. seeks to compel a property owner to sell about 12.5 square miles of the Big Springs Ranch, a spread of more than 59 square miles at the eastern flank of the Pequop Mountains. The land about 30 miles southeast of Wells is currently leased to Dixie Valley Cattle for grazing. The case highlights laws dating back some 135 years that make mining a “paramount interest” to the state and gives mining companies eminent domain rights similar to governments seeking to take land for public use. The case pits the pro-mining provisions of the state’s eminent domain statutes against legal restrictions adopted in 2008 due to the People’s Initiative to Stop the Taking of Our Land. Kermitt Waters, a prominent Las Vegas lawyer who backed the PISTOL initiative, is representing owners of Big Springs Ranch, including southern Nevada businessmen Ray Koroghli...more

Court tosses $1.25 million award in ranching feud

Some fences make good neighbors, but others lead to ranching feuds that grow so bitter, the Texas Supreme Court has to step in. This legal issue harkens to the 2000 drought, when the Colorado River slowed to a trickle, allowing 13 head of Randy Reynolds' cattle to walk along the dry riverbed and onto an adjacent San Saba County ranch, where they were rounded up and sold for $5,327 without Reynolds' knowledge. His neighbor, Thomas Bennett Jr., avoided spending up to 10 years in jail when he was acquitted of felony theft charges. But a civil jury found that Bennett's actions amounted to cattle theft and ordered him to pay his neighbor $5,327 for the sold cattle. The jury also slapped Bennett with $1.25 million in punitive damages for "reprehensible" behavior that included allegations of attempted blackmail, bribery, witness tampering and doctored evidence by Bennett or associates, according to testimony and court documents. The 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin later approved the huge punitive damages award, concluding that "Texans know better than to steal cattle and then attempt to subvert the legal system to cover their tracks, and can fairly expect...severe penalties for such acts."...more

Two Census Bureau managers fired for creating at least 10,000 bogus questionnaires

Two Census Bureau managers from a Brooklyn field office were fired after their bosses found they faked household surveys to meet deadlines, the Daily News learned. Instead of pounding the pavement and knocking on doors, the corner-cutting people-counters mined the phone book and Internet to make up answers to questionnaires, regional director Tony Farthing said. Census officials in Washington only admitted to a string of incomplete forms and poor tracking in disclosing the firings Friday afternoon. But Farthing corroborated worker accounts to the Daily News that managers Alvin Aviles and Sonya Merritt began dummying up responses in the final crush to finish the surveys, which field workers are supposed to compile from in-person household visits...more

Man struck by lightning is attacked by bear

Some guys have all the luck. And then there’s Rick Oliver, who might be one of the unluckiest men in North Carolina, if not the world. Oliver was mauled by a bear in his otherwise peaceful front yard a few weeks ago. “It was like getting struck by lightning,” he said. Turns out, Oliver might be one of the few people in the world capable of accurately making the that analogy. And for Oliver, 51, the two incidents seem to go hand in hand. Oliver was struck by lightning in 2006. Ever since then, he’s had trouble sleeping, he says. On restless nights, he tends to putter about his farm, checking on his chickens, working on his tractors and, as he was in the wee hours of June 3, fixing up his Chevy Malibu. About 2 a.m., he heard a distant rustling on his 17-acre spread in an unincorporated sliver of Wake County between Cary and Raleigh. As he turned to investigate, he was dealt a heavy blow. “I heard this strange huffing,” Oliver said. “And the next thing I know I had been run over and stepped on by a bear.”...more

Maybe my luck isn't so bad after all.

Song Of The Day #346

It's Swingin' Monday on Ranch Radio, where we try to get your heart pumping and your blood flowing for the week.

Today's selection is by Pirates of the Mississippi, where for once they reached back for that traditional sound and swing out on Too Much.

You will find the tune on their 12 track Best Of CD.

MEXICO MAYHEM: Drug Violence Claims 20

Gunmen murdered nine people at a drug rehabilitation center in northern Mexico, while 10 other people were reported killed in drug-related violence in the country, officials said. The gunmen entered the Fuerza Para Vivir drug treatment center in Gomez Palacio, a city in the northern state of Durango, around 1:40 p.m. on Saturday and opened fire, killing nine people and wounding five others, police spokesmen told Efe. The drug rehabilitation center's owner, Roberto Mayoral, was among those killed, the Reforma newspaper reported. Gunmen employed by Mexico's drug cartels have attacked several drug treatment centers in recent months. Durango ranked third among Mexico's states last year in terms of homicides, with 734. A woman and four men were gunned down early Saturday at the Habana bar in Ciudad Juarez, a border city in the northern state of Chihuahua, prosecutors said. Gunmen opened fire on the table where the victims were sitting, a Chihuahua state Attorney General's Office spokesman told Efe. The gunmen managed to carry out the attack even though the bar is on El Trigal Plaza, one of the areas most watched by military and state police patrols. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's murder capital, is located across the border from El Paso, Texas...more

Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border

Iran-tied terror group Hezbollah may be colluding with drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border, a Republican congresswoman warned, calling on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to establish a special task force to figure out how to "clamp down" on this "national security" threat. The Lebanon-based group has long-standing and documented ties to South America and its drug gangs, but reports have recently surfaced that it may be expanding its influence to Mexico and the U.S. border. In her letter to Napolitano, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., called on Homeland Security to find out and report more on the extent of the problem. She cited several troubling developments that would point to Hezbollah creeping closer to and inside the United States, with the help of Mexican drug gangs. Myrick outlined a complex set of potential threats and evidence of their existence. She said "Iranian agents and members of Hezbollah" are thought to be learning Spanish in Hugo Chavez-run Venezuela before trying to obtain false documents to enter the United States as purported Mexicans. She said Hezbollah, known for its tunnel-digging skill, could be receiving drug money from cartel operations in exchange for help forging better tunnels across the U.S. border for trafficking. She said gang members in prisons in the American southwest are starting to show up with tattoos in Farsi, implying a "Persian influence that can likely be traced back to Iran and its proxy army, Hezbollah."...more

You can read Myrick's letter here.

Five gunmen killed near border in Ciudad Mier battle

Authorities are reporting that five gunmen were killed in a gun battle south of the border in Ciudad Mier. Mexico's Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) reported that the deadly shootout took place around 11:50 a.m. Thursday. In a statement released over the weekend, SEDENA officials said soldiers were patrolling an area near a PEMEX facility when they came under fire. SEDENA officials reported that five of the attacking gunmen were killed in the battle. Authorities seized nine high-powered rifles, more than 11,000 rounds of ammunition and two vehicles that had been reported stolen. Ciudad Mier is located in an area across the border from the Zapata and Starr County lines...more

Armed Assailants Fire Shots at Televisa Offices in Northern Mexico

A group of men armed with automatic rifles fired shots at the offices of Mexican TV network Televisa in the northern state of Coahuila, in what was the second attack on media outlet in that state in less than a week, officials said. The Coahuila state Attorney General’s Office said a group of gunmen fired more than 160 rounds with AR-15 assault rifles and 9mm pistols Friday afternoon at the antenna and offices of Mexico’s main TV network in the city of Torreon. The AG office said the attack occurred when the employees were having their lunch break and that therefore no personnel were killed or injured by the gunshots, which caused only material damage. The prosecutors added that because the gunmen fired at the antenna, bullets also struck the top floors of a luxury apartment building located behind the installations...more

Famed Mexican Singer Gunned Down In Border State

Singer Sergio Vega ‘El Shaka’ was killed Saturday, while heading toward the San Miguel toll booth in Sinaloa, Mexico. Martin Gastelum, a spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s Office told the Associated Press that Vega was driving a red Cadillac when he and his translator were ambushed by a group of men in another vehicle. Vega was scheduled to perform Sunday night. His representative, Ana Luisa Gomez Vega told El Debate that a memorial for the singer will be held in Ciudad Obregon in the state of Sonora, where the Banda La Carbonera will perform the songs he loved...more

AZ Gov Jan Brewer’s Smart New Border Ad

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who is up for election this November, is throwing her hat in YouTube campaign commercial ring. Brewer, perhaps taking a page from John McCain, filmed her new spot 80 miles from the AZ border in front of new signs erected by the Federal government this month warning visitors that traveling in the desert is not safe because it is a “active drug and human smuggling area” and that visitors may encounter armed vehicles. Says Brewer: Two weeks ago I met with President Obama, he promised that we would get word from his administration on what he would do to secure the border, well, we finally got the message…these signs…These signs warning people of danger and telling them to stay away…I’m 80 miles away from the border and only 30 miles away from Arizona’s capital. This is an outrage! Washington says our border is as safe as it’s ever been. Does this look safe to you?

Here's the video ad:

It’s your land ...

There is another land grab currently taking place in our country and our own citizens, who own this piece of federal land, are forbidden to enter it because the United States government has essentially handed control to criminals from another nation. There is nothing comical about this turf war. This fairly sizeable piece of land (3,500 acres) situated in taxpayer-funded Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona, has officially been off-base to U.S. citizens since 2006. The reason? Marauding gangs of Mexican thugs have taken over and have essentially claimed their stake to a piece of land our government cannot control. Signs surrounding the area offer this grim warning: “Visitors may encounter armed criminals and smuggling vehicles travelling at a high rate of speed. Stay away from trash, clothing, backpacks and abandoned vehicles.” Compounding the issue is the difficulty U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies have had in policing the area due to environmental restrictions imposed by the federal government. These restrictions prohibit the Border Patrol from using vehicles to patrol the area, leaving agents to use horses and other arcane methods...more