DAILY LOBO new mexico
Constructive criticism see page 2
March 4, 2011
friday
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
NM stations: Cuts won’t force us off air waves KNME: Proposed cuts more hot air than dead air by Barron Jones
bjones36@unm.edu
Laurisa Galvan / Daily Lobo Community volunteer Rufus Cohen prepares to begin a radio broadcast in the KUNM studio Thursday. The Center for Public Broadcasting, which funds KUNM and other public broadcasting stations, is in danger of being cut from the federal budget.
The House of Representatives passed a bill that could leave Sesame Street and other public radio and television programs homeless. The House of Representatives in February voted 235-189 along party lines to eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the 368 public television stations and 934 radio stations under its umbrella, including several New Mexico stations. The CPB will receive $430 million federal dollars in 2011. “We live in a day of 150 cable channels — 99 percent of Americans own a TV,” Rep. Doug Lamborn told an NPR affiliate. “We get Internet on our cell phones; we are in a day and age when we no longer need to subsidize broadcasting.” Rep. Lamborn (R-CO) introduced the legislation that will meet a Democratic majority who mostly supports the CPB. The United States Senate will vote on the measure March 18. Catherine Mortensen, an aide to Rep. Lamborn, told the Daily Lobo that the bill’s purpose is to protect the taxpayer and
reduce the budget deficit. She said the nation’s spending habits are not sustainable when the federal government borrows nearly 40 cents of every dollar it spends. “We believe it (CPB) is a nonessential program that wouldn’t be eliminated, just reduced,” Mortensen said. KNME General Manager Polly Anderson said her station receives a little more than 10 percent of its $10 million annual budget from the CPB. She said the cuts would limit the station’s ability to serve the community.
see CPB page 3
Illustration by Nathan New
UNM decorates Whistleblower could face death campus canvas Capital punishment still on the table for Manning, though lawyer says it’s unlikely
by Kallie Red-Horse kallie69@unm.edu
UNM representatives sifted through hundreds of art pieces Thursday to decide which ones to add to the University’s collection. Representatives from various campus departments attended an artwork selection meeting Thursday, choosing pieces from a 600piece assortment. UNM receives its funding as a lump sum, and departments take turns selecting artwork every three years, said Kelly Huber, project coordinator for New Mexico Arts in Public Places. “UNM has tons of money to spend here,” she said. “You can buy anything that you want, so I would advise buying a more expensive, really treasured piece instead of many little ones just to fill up space.” Zimmerman and Centennial libraries, the Health Sciences Center and UNM West campus received $50,000 of state money for artwork. The One Percent for Public Art Program, founded in 1986, gives each public building money to buy artwork that is equivalent to 1 percent of the building’s construction costs. Jonathon Abrams, former UNMH chief of cardiology and founder of the hospital’s Jonathan Abrams Art Gallery, was involved in the selection process. He said displaying quality art on
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 112
campus improves morale. “It makes a lot of people feel good when they see it,” Abrams said. “It may sound kind of hokey, but it is kind of an element.” UNM West campus Representative Beth Miller said artwork in common areas facilitates student success. “It definitely contributes to creating a positive environment for studying,” she said. “It changes the dynamic of the learning environment.” Huber presented a slideshow of paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures, media and mixed media for representatives to select from. “Everything here is pre-screened for quality,” she said. “The whole process takes a while; it is about three to four months before you see the artwork actually placed in the building.” Blank campus walls need artwork, said Chris Fenton of the HSC Art Program. “I’m sure students do notice and appreciate it,” she said. “We send out evaluations to patients, and a lot of the feedback is about the art. A lot of research is going on about the importance of art for cognitive benefit.” Abrams said he was overwhelmed by the array of artwork. “It is almost unfair to have to choose,” he said.
by David Dishneau Associated Press
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The death penalty is still possible for the Army private suspected of giving classified material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks despite prosecutors’ promise not to recommend it, military law experts said Thursday. Military District of Washington commander Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst could ignore the prosecutors’ recommendation and refer for trial as a capital offense the charge that Pfc. Bradley Manning aided the enemy, the experts said. In that event, a court-martial jury of at least 12 members could vote for execution if Manning were convicted. It would be unusual but not unheard of for the commander to ignore the recommendation, said Dwight Sullivan, a Marine Corps Reserve lawyer who blogs about military justice on CAAFlog.com. Jon W. Shelburne, who teaches at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., said he hasn’t seen a commander override a prosecutor’s death-penalty recommendation in his 19 years as military judge advocate. The charge of aiding the enemy is among 22 new counts filed
Bursting the bubble
Office angst
See page 5
See page 7
Wednesday against Manning, a former intelligence analyst suspected of passing to WikiLeaks more than 250,000 confidential State Department cables, classified video of a deadly U.S. helicopter attack and a raft of Iraq and Afghanistan war logs. The video and thousands of the documents have been published on the WikiLeaks website.
“It’s supposed to be difficult to get the death sentence, and it is.” ~Dwight Sullivan Marine Corps Reserve Lawyer Horst, acting as the courtmartial convening authority, would decide which, if any, charges to refer for trial. He would make that determination after Manning’s Article 32 investigation, the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding, which could begin in late May or early June. If Horst refers the charge of aiding the enemy as a noncapital offense, the maximum penalty would life without the possibility of parole, Shelburne said in a
teleconference with reporters. Sullivan said in a telephone interview that if the charge is referred as a capital offense, the government would face numerous hurdles to winning a death sentence. First, the jury’s guilty verdict would have to be unanimous, rather than the two-thirds majority required for conviction in a noncapital case. Then the jurors would all have to agree that there was an aggravating factor that outweighed any mitigating circumstances. Finally, the panel would have to vote unanimously for execution. The death sentence would then require approval by both the convening authority and the U.S. president. “It’s supposed to be difficult to get the death sentence, and it is,” Sullivan said. There has been just one military death sentence in the last 50 years. In July 2008, President George W. Bush approved the execution of Ronald A. Gray, a former Army cook convicted of rape and murder in 1988. The case is on appeal. The last military execution was carried out on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder.
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