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Thursday, July 15, 2004
Welcome!
Welcome to the new website for Democracy for New Mexico!
DFNM shares the goals and values of Democracy for America, Howard Dean's national organization that developed out of Dean for America. State groups that share the vision of DFA are not legally affiliated with the national group. They are independent, grassroots organizations shaped by their members.
This site was designed to provide a clearinghouse for information, organizations, events, news and views of interest to DFNM members around the state and others interested in progressive, grassroots action. We believe it's important that those who share DFA's goals and vision have a central site that fosters communication and action throughout the state. As such, it's a first attempt by a rank website amateur (me) to get the ball rolling. Comments and suggestions are appreciated!
So far there are two groups in New Mexico that are involved with DFNM -- in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. As time goes on we expect that groups will form in other areas of the state, and we look forward to a growing DFNM membership and the development of powerful grassroots organizations locally and statewide.
DFA MeetUps are held the first Wednesday of the month and many DFNM members attend regularly. I'm the co-host of the DFA MeetUp held at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque. To learn more or to get on the email list to be kept informed about DFA MeetUps, go to the link on the left-hand side of this site. Email me at the link on the right-hand side of this site to receive occasional information about the activities of DFNM and other progressive news.
Get involved, and encourage your friends to check us out as well. DFNM and this website are only as effective as we all make them!
Barbara Wold
July 15, 2004 at 01:53 PM in DFNM Organization | Permalink
Comments
yippee! We now have a website and a blog for DFNM! This is a great place to continue building our progressive community of action. Thank you, Barb!
Posted by: nancy | Jul 17, 2004 1:12:10 PM
Hooray, someone started the ball rolling and posted! I hope others will comment on what they'd like to see here and make suggestions. Also, if you'd like to start a thread by being a "guest blogger," let me know.
Posted by: barb in albq | Jul 17, 2004 2:10:13 PM
I just want to echo Nancy...THANKS, Barb, for setting up the website. It looks great, and I look forward to participating!
Let's start a real dialog here...who's read any good books lately? I read Banana Republicans on a recent trip, a reconnaisance into the Red states of Texas and Louisiana. Interesting, because I kept wanting to tell all the locals about how they'd been Bushwacked by the person they'd no doubt voted for. Needless to say, I didn't have a very good trip.
Posted by: Kathy | Jul 18, 2004 2:26:12 PM
I've read about 25% of each of several books lately. All of them are excellent, but now I have even more books piled up to read than I can count so who knows when I'll be able to finish them all.
I love "Bushwomen" by Laura Flanders which dissects the hypocrisy of those whom BushCo holds up as models of women power, including Condoleeza Rice, Elaine Chao, Christie Whitman, Gale Norton, and Karen Hughes. Quick and deadly.
I'm also into "House of Bush, House of Saud," Richard Clarke's revealing tome, John Dean's "Worse than Watergate" and I just got E.J. Dionne's Stand Up Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge" from a friend. Oh and I'm about 90 pages into American Dynasty by Kevin Phillips. I'd love to get whatever book by George Lakoff everyone is talking about. Anyone know the title?
And now I'm off, not to read, but to watch HBO's Six Feet Under, one of my very favorite Sunday night pleasures.
Posted by: barb in albq | Jul 18, 2004 6:15:47 PM
Hi, guys! I'll add to the book discussion...
Books on Tape I have enjoyed recently:
1) Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars...
was excellent... he had a whole team of researchers from Harvard to help him check out the lies... then he reports them in amusing fashion, and, above all, accurately.
2) Greg Palast's The Best Democracy Money Can Buy is a MUST read - especially the first few chapters about Florida election 2000.
3) Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies was great. The beginning of it describes exactly what happened on 9/11 from his point of view inside the white house.
4) I'm enjoying listening now to Bill Clinton's My Life... I'm about half finished.
I've started on a handful of other books in written form, but I just couldn't seem to get through them, hence the books on tape.
Later!
Posted by: Nancy | Jul 19, 2004 9:51:11 PM
Didja know there's a DFA Blog Book Club? Every month people nominate and vote on a book to read and then discuss it on a blog thread. They've already done this with Paul Wellstone's "Conscience of a Liberal" and Dean's autobiography. They have a name guest blogger for the discussion. It was the head of Wellstone Action for the first one and Zephyr Teachout of the Dean campaign for the second. Click me for the link.
Posted by: barb in albq | Jul 20, 2004 12:13:45 PM
Continuing the book discussion, I just read Enemy of the State, a play by Ibsen abouta doctor who does his home town the service of letting them know that the local baths which are the core of its economy are polluted. He is declared an enemy of the people. It's a study in the cost and commit-ment of doing what's right, regardless of public support.
I'm listening to the wonderful Robert Reich's Reason on CD. It's a fine step-by-step assessment of what radical conservatives believe and why - and what the liberal alternative is. I love this guy.
And I love having a web site for Democracy for New Mexico. Thanks, Barb!
Posted by: John McAndrew | Jul 20, 2004 2:09:26 PM
Wow, Ibsen! I haven't read any of that since college. But reading him seems entirely apt at a time like this. Maybe a little Kafka too for that matter.... I'm a fan of Reich too. He's a speaker at the Take Back America conference that's running during the Boston convention. Along with Dean, Barbara Ehrenreich ("Nickeled and Dimed"), Amb. Joe Wilson, Rep. Barbara Lee* (D-CA), Katrina vanden Heuvel and many more.
Oh, to be in M.E.'s hometown of Boston during convention time. I know the traffic and security will be mindbending, but all the events happening as sidelines to the main events are really incredible.
Posted by: barb in albq | Jul 20, 2004 2:29:02 PM
Great site, Barb! I love the symbol.
Now I will have to upgrade my computer skills to really benefit form all this technology.
I meant to tell you that the co-op wher I live has a large meeting room which could be a future venue. I'll check the cost. It is minimal.
Posted by: Jeanne Carritt | Jul 22, 2004 9:58:32 AM
Second thought. I am reading a great book-THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM (Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad). by Fareed Zakaria.
Dos anyone know the title of George Lakoff's book that Howard often refers to? Or better stil. own it and would be willing to lend it?
Posted by: Jeanne Carritt | Jul 22, 2004 10:03:50 AM
Jeanne, great to see you here. Yes, we might well need a bigger and more private meeting place in the future.
Fareed Zakaria is a very interesting and knowledgeable fellow. I don't always agree with him but he always has something thought-provoking to say.
I THINK this is the book Deaners are always talking about but I'm not sure. Lakoff has several.
Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don't by George Lakoff
Posted by: barb in albq | Jul 22, 2004 1:55:46 PM
Yes, it's Moral Politics, but a warning: It's a bit dry and difficult, and repetitive, to the point where you want to scream "enough already!" It was also written in 1994 and has no current information. BUT, it's must reading for the explanation of the competing world views, which Lakoff calls "Strict Father" and "Nurturant Parent". For more up-to-date information on his linguistic research and reframing, go to his website, RockridgeInstitute.org or click my name.
Posted by: Kathy | Jul 26, 2004 8:35:19 AM
