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A survey by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) found that there are at least 5,100 new credit union accounts in New Mexico because of Bank Transfer Day . The New Mexico Business Weekly reports: The number of new accounts in the state could be higher because CUNA didn’t survey every credit union, said Credit Union Association of New Mexico spokeswoman Mary Beth King. The amount of deposit transfers to credit unions was not immediately available, King said.

The Congressional recess grinds along -- somehow it doesn’t make Mike Lillis any less busy -- and yet Hill people are starting to get frustrated at the absence

GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (Pic by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons ) Republican presidential favorite Newt Gingrich has pledged his support for the controversial anti-abortion movement known as “fetal personhood,” by signing a pledge that has yet to be signed by opponent Mitt Romney. Personhood USA, the group behind “fetal personhood” petitions that have appeared in states across the country, announced yesterday that Gingrich had signed its pledge . In doing so, he opposes ”assisted suicide, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and procedures that intentionally destroy developing human beings” and agrees to “work to advance state and federal laws and amendments that recognize the unalienable right to life of all human beings as persons at every stage of development.” “To the best of my knowledge, I will only appoint federal judges and relevant officials who will uphold and enforce state and federal laws recognizing that all human beings at every stage of development are persons with the unalienable right to life,” Gingrich pledged

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared on controversial preacher Bradlee Dean’s radio show Saturday, stating his support for so-called “sodomy laws” and criticizing supporters of same-sex marriage rights. “This is not about gay marriage, it is about changing what is right and wrong and fundamentally changing what people of faith can say and do in society,” Santorum said on Dean’s radio show

Pic by Oslo in the Summertime, via Flickr On Monday, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski announced changes that would modernize the agency’s Lifeline program to give greater broadband Internet access to low-income Americans. Lifeline has traditionally provided “discounts on one basic monthly telephone service (wireline or wireless) for qualified subscribers.” While announcing a series of Lifeline reforms , Genachowski said, “Which brings us to the final but perhaps most important reform: beginning the process of modernizing Lifeline from telephone service to broadband. Broadband has gone from being a luxury to a necessity in the 21st century.” He added that “broadband Internet — wired and wireless — is the most transformative new technology since electricity

The Inspector General for the U.S. State Department has responded to a request from more than a dozen members of Congress for an investigation into the approval process for the Keystone XL pipeline, which critics say has been tainted by a cozy relationship between the agency and the company that owns the pipeline. Inspector General Harold Geisel told the legislators in a letter that he is initiating that investigation “to determine to what extent the Department and all other parties involved complied with federal laws and regulations relating to the Keystone XL pipeline permit process.” The investigation will include interviews with State Department personnel and a review of communications between the agency and TransCanada, the owners of the pipeline.

PG&E -- the owner of the natural gas pipeline that exploded in San Bruno, Calif., killing at least four people and damaging dozens of homes -- has set up a

All politics is local, especially when it comes to energy politics. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) proved that today in Fairbanks when she outlined a plan to

A burning sugar cane field (Pic by skatoolaki, via Flickr) The high costs of American sugar, coupled with quotas that make it near-impossible for the product to be imported, have led two congressmen to file a bill that would overhaul the way the industry does business.

Minnesota for Marriage, a coalition advocating for passage of a 2012 vote on a constitutional same-sex marriage ban, launched a campaign Wednesday that will award people prizes for obtaining pledges to support the ban. The campaign asks each person to obtain five pledges to support the ban in order to be considered for a prize drawing. Drawing winners will receive a $100 Visa gift card

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (Pic via Facebook) The American Conservative Union announced today that Sen

Justin Elliot catches Andrew Breitbart giving a factual-but-tortured explanation of how Big Government was not responsible for James O’Keefe’s bungled phone

Protesters demonstrate against Arizona S.B. 1070 (Pic by ProgressOhio, via Flickr ) Former Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce — one of the most recognized architects of that state’s immigration enforcement law S.B

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says almost half of the jobs created in Texas since the start of the economic downturn have gone to unauthorized

It’s hard to stay awake watching Congress. Jim DeMint doesn’t want gay people teaching in public schools. The Naked Cowboy announces he’s running for

In his more than 20-year political career, Colorado 6th District Republican Congressman Mike Cofffman has never lost an election. Before heading to Capitol Hill, he was a state representative and senator, then state treasurer and then briefly secretary of state. Among insiders, it has been accepted as a given that Coffman is planning to take a run in 2014 at Democratic U.S.

A group of 28 scientists from 22 universities have sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu criticizing his picks for a DOE panel that is studying the safety and promise of hydrofracking, saying that the board is heavily tilted toward gas industry interests. The letter follows a similar letter sent to Chu on July 13 by 109 community and environmental organizations that also criticized the one-sided composition of the panel

Arizona voters, polled after last week’s election, said they voted to recall Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce because of his divisiveness and because they want Arizona’s legislature to focus more on the economy and job creation and less on immigration. “Our research clearly shows that Arizona voters want their politicians to work together to focus on practical solutions for improving the state’s economy,” said Jill Hanauer, President of Project New West , which conducted the poll. “Russell Pearce’s decision to focus on extremist immigration policies played a role in his defeat, and could do so for more Arizona Republicans if they continue to ignore the priorities of voters.” Among voters who did not support Pearce, 38 percent cited either his divisiveness, fanaticism, rigid ideology, or issue platforms

President Barack Obama (Pic by The White House, via Flickr) President Obama announced today that $50 million in additional funds will be going toward treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Obama said during “The Beginning of the End of AIDS,” an online conference organized by ONE International , “a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa”: Today, I’m announcing some new commitments. We’re committing an additional $15 million for the Ryan White program that supports care provided by HIV medical clinics across the country

In a surprise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) decided to call today’s vote to end debate on Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform

Protecting public lands can be a boon for the private sector, attracting companies and workers to the communities that border them, more than 100 economists wrote in letter to President Obama this week. Thompson Divide The letter (pdf) urges the president to invest in the nation’s public lands infrastructure and establish new wilderness, parks and monuments that can create jobs and jump-start the businesses around them.

Senate Democrats, back to business this week, are blasting out some snazzy graphics regarding the Bush tax cuts. Here’s one from today: The grist for the

Unlike the Republicans, who adopted the strong conservative position of resisting almost every Democratic reform proposal from the start, Democratic leaders ruled out the liberal single-payer proposal early in the debate.