Border Patrol Hits the Mother Lode: 385 Pounds of Mexican Mystery Meat

Who knew the government paid such close attention to where our bologna comes from?

I always figured it was one of those "eat at your own risk" meats.

SANTA TERESA, N.M. - It wasn't drugs or human trafficking but illegal bologna that caught the attention of border agents at a New Mexico port of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Santa Teresa seized 385 pounds of the Mexican contraband meat from behind the seat of a pickup that stopped at the port on Friday.

It's illegal to bring the bologna across the border because it's made of pork and has the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases into the U.S. pork industry.

The 33-year-old Mexican man who was transporting the meat was assessed a $1,000 fine and released.

That's not a punishment, that's a cost of doing business.

No doubt the offender will be back again with next week's shipment, right on time.

Usually officers see one or two rolls of bologna, not 35 as in this case. Officials say it was the largest bologna bust ever recorded at the Santa Teresa crossing.

Cross-posted.

The Legend Continues: Outgoing NM Gov. Bill Richardson Refuses to Pardon 'Billy the Kid'

Let's face it - once Billy Joel wrote that ballad glorifying his murderous legacy, the Kid's chances of ever being granted a posthumous gubernatorial pardon dropped dramatically.

(CNN) -- Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will not pardon legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid in the death of a law enforcement officer more than a century ago, he said Friday.

Richardson made the announcement on ABC's "Good Morning America" the same day he leaves office.

The issue facing Richardson was whether one of his predecessors, Gov. Lew Wallace, promised about 130 years ago to pardon Billy the Kid -- known more formally as William H. Bonney -- for killing Sheriff William Brady of Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Wallace has long been said to have promised a pardon if Bonney testified before a grand jury that was investigating another killing. Wallace did not follow through on that promise, many say, and the reasons are debated.

Richardson said he believes that Wallace did promise to pardon Bonney. Yet there is "historical ambiguity" about why Wallace did not follow through, Richardson said, and he did not want to second-guess the former governor's decision.

"It was a very close call," Richardson said. "The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it."

Cross-posted.

What Say You, New Mexico Republicans?

Some folks may be aware of the name Adam Kokesh, but for those who aren't he is an anti-war protesting, socialist-leaning, ex-Marine embarrassment who has decided to run for congress in New Mexico as a Republican.

I cannot say this strong enough: Run, do not walk, away from this living oxygen thief. He has brought discredit upon himself, his country and the Marines. He was one of the first members of a group called IVAW, Iraqi Veterans Against the War, he has been a key figure in such far flung farcical productions as the Winter Soldiers hearings, along with being prosecuted for bringing back a gun from Iraq, classified as a war souvenir, for which he was demoted.

Several within the military blogging community are trying to get the word out to New Mexico voters and the public in general, and I support their efforts. I am embarrassed that the New Mexico Republican Party would even allow this scum to usurp the Republican label to run as a candidate. An open letter has been drafted to alert the public to just what sort of lowlife Kokesh is and to make them aware of his less then stellar credentials.

We are writing to you, to express our grave concerns about Adam Kokesh, who is aspiring to become the Republican nominee for US Congress from New Mexico’s 3rd district. Mr. Kokesh has an extensive and well-documented history of affiliations with radical leftist groups. In concert with these groups he has engaged in numerous anti-America and anti-military demonstrations and protests. Moreover, Mr. Kokesh does not appear to have any personal qualifications that would recommend him for serious consideration as a candidate for the Republican Party. He has a significant history suggestive of poor character and judgment, and he has notable incidents of direct activism against Republican office holders.

BTW, did you notice the Impeach Bush banner on the back of the bus in the video?

Uh Oh: Pay for Play in New Mexico?

Add Bill Richardson as another headache for Mr. Transparency.

A federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.

The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked current and former officials from the state agency if any staff members in the governor’s office influenced CDR’s hiring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the proceedings are secret. Richardson, who is President-elect Barack Obama’s designate for Commerce Secretary, has a staff of at least 30 people.

“They’re looking at everything related to CDR,” William Sisneros, the finance agency’s chief executive officer, said of the FBI probe. “They’re just trying to evaluate all the relationships to see what CDR was doing for the money.”

The investigation reflects another front in nationwide efforts by U.S. prosecutors to investigate so-called pay-to-play in the municipal bond market. The term refers to banks and advisers who make political contributions or personal gifts to public officials in return for fee-paying financing assignments.

Naturally, any hint of pay for play is vociferously denied.

A company spokesman denied wrongdoing in New Mexico.

“To suggest that there’s a pay for play element is just inaccurate,” said CDR’s Allan Ripp. “There was no involvement by the governor. CDR knows for certain that they were selected on the basis of their track record.”

New Mexico finance authority officials haven’t complained about the company’s advisory work.

Richardson, a 61-year-old Democrat, is a former U.S. Energy Secretary who ran for president in 2008. He served 15 years in Congress and was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1997-98. He was a consultant to Salomon Smith Barney Inc., a unit of New York-based Citigroup Inc., from July 2001 to January 2003.

Elected New Mexico’s governor in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, Richardson appoints five directors to the New Mexico Finance Authority’s 12-member board, including the chairman. Five other directors are members of his cabinet.

Using the longheld standard of Democrats, I suggest that any appearance of impropriety warrants a federal investigation. After all, we can't have a double standard, can we?

Isn't it all about transparency these days?