Ballot box initiatives have boomerang effect

Freedom New Mexico Good-government activists have correctly identified “ballot-box budgeting” — when voters approve costly new spending initiatives at the ballot box — as one of the ongoing fiscal problems faced by California, which continually is troubled by multibillion-dollar budget deficits. Toward that end, two Democratic legislators have introduced bills that would require that any […]

Justice says judge ruled correctly in Arizona case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that a judge ruled correctly in blocking the most controversial parts of Arizona’s immigration law. “States can and do play a role in cooperating with the federal government in its enforcement of the immigration laws, but they must do so within our constitutional framework,” department spokeswoman Hannah […]

Preaching politically correctly is not easy

By Curtis K. Shelburne I just talked to a friend who’s mighty close to boiling over. Since we’re the kind of friends who prefer to boil over together rather than letting off steam on the general populace, he vented, and I listened, offering helpful comments and keen insight. Don’t broadcast this, but I don’t know […]

Spell-binding finish

Christina Benitscheck, 11, of Clovis won the regional spelling bee Saturday morning at Clovis Community College. The winning word was chimichanga. She advances to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. (CNJ Staff Photo: Tony Bullocks) By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff writer Christina Benitscheck survived a pentathlon, a howitzer and even a sayonara — but […]

God can identify his children

By Curtis Shelburne GOD CAN IDENTIFY HIS CHILDREN During one of the more famous battles ever fought, the World War II “Battle of the Bulge,” the Germans made use of a battalion of men under the command of Major Otto Skorzeny, “the most daring commando in the German army.” According to author Stephen Ambrose in […]