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NOTE: The Colorado Independent occasionally runs guest posts from government officials, local experts and concerned citizens on a variety of topics. These posts are meant to...
On July 21, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unanimously approved a bill to designate part of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico as wilderness. It was a routine measure — the committee passes several federal land designation bills each year — that generated little debate at the time and seemed destined to pass the full Senate without fanfare when it eventually reached the chamber floor.
In one of his final official acts as president, George W. Bush on Monday commuted the sentences of Texas Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting a fleeing drug smuggler in the buttocks and accused of covering it up. The pair's conviction became a rallying point for the anti-immigration movement, including former Rep. Tom Tancredo. The Colorado Republican said earlier this month that their continued imprisonment was his "biggest regret" as he prepared to leave Congress. "I think about those guys in prison, and I'm just sick at heart," Tancredo told The Denver Post. "I've done everything I can."