Democracy for New Mexico

ABQ Kerry Campaign Special Events

The lastest from the Kerry campaign in Albuquerque:

As we move into the final month of the campaign, it's more important than ever to come down to headquarters and spend a few hours each week helping out--we have phone banking and canvassing every day, but we also wanted to tell you about some of the special events we have coming up:

Tonight, Thursday, Sep. 30: Debate Party at Kerry Headquarters: Calling for Kerry from 5-7, watching the current president stumble and mumble his way through a debate, 7pm.

Saturday, Oct. 2: Grand Opening of our new Satellite office at 2017 Yale!: Voter Contact BBQ! Come celebrate our expansion with us. 505-242-6636

Saturday, Oct. 2: Canines for Kerry!: Bring your dog down to Kerry HQ and take part in events like "Barking Back at Bush," "Most Political Dog," and "Presidential Look-Alike Dog." At Kerry headquarters, 3301 Central, from 12-3pm. A good time will be had by all.

Click here to order the pictured Canines for Kerry tshirt from CafePress and here to visit the Canines for Kerry website. You can check out the Canines for Kerry flyer .

Monday, Oct. 4: Get ready to vote tomorrow!: Come down to headquarters for a special early vote visibility party--stay tuned for details.

Thanks for all of your support!
Marci Youngmark
Volunteer Coordinator
505-256-2570

John Kerry Movie Opens Friday

MoveOn is encouraging an opening day turnout for this movie to rival the one we provided for Fahrenheit 9/11. The more people who flock to theaters to see it, the more buzz and coverage the media will be forced to provide and the more people will learn about the real identity of John Kerry.

According to the movie's website:

"Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a feature length documentary about character and moral leadership during a time of national crisis. Loosely based on the best-selling book Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley, Going Upriver examines the story of John Kerry and the key events that made him a national figure and the man he is today. The film places particular emphasis on his bravery during the Vietnam War and his courageous opposition to the war upon his return."

MoveOn says:

"On Friday, an exciting new movie hits theaters -- one that has the power to change the way we see John Kerry forever. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a beautiful and inspiring portrait of Kerry and Vietnam, but it's bigger than that: it's a gripping, powerful film about how our country wrestles with war. It's vivid without being confrontational -- a political movie you can bring your Republican uncle to -- and it has received great reviews from some of the nation's top film critics. You've got to see it."

You can watch the trailer .

The movie opens October 1st at these New Mexico theaters:

Albuquerque Downtown 14
Albuquerque High Ridge 8
Santa Fe UA De Vargas

You can buy tickets online at Fandango. You can order the DVD here. Take your friends, neighbors, family members and yourself. Let them see a truer version of who John Kerry really is and what makes him very different from our lying, cowardly president. Don't let Rove's distorted caricature stick!

John Kerry gives a speech at a 1972 peace rally in Bryant Park, NYC. Photo credit: George Butler (Click photo for larger version.)

Free Symposium on Organizing and Resisting in NM at UNM This Weekend

FROM EMPIRE TO EMPOWERMENT:
Organizing and Resisting in New Mexico - A Symposium: Friday and Saturday, October 1 and 2, 2004

In solidarity with the International Days of Action to Keep Space for Peace and commemorating Gandhi's birthday, the Peace Center, Stop the War Machine, and the Coalition for International Peace and Equality, campus organizations and other local groups and individuals are planning a weekend of events on the theme "From Empire to Empowerment: Organizing and Resisting in New Mexico."

This is a free symposium at the UNM Student Union Building (SUB). Organizers from NM and west Texas join local, national and international experts to analyze the ills of the US empire and forge strategies to create change at this two-day symposium. Presentations include: Dr. Helen Caldicott, David Barsamian of Alternative Radio, and folksinger peace activist David Rovics, who has been compared to Pete Seeger and the late Phil Ochs.

Helen Caldicott, one of the world's leading anti-nuclear activists and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will speak from 1:00 to 3:00 PM on Saturday, October 2nd. Go to the website of the Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center or of to get the lastest information and a schedule of events.

NOTE: Helen Caldicott will also be speaking in Taos on Friday, October 1, at 6:30 pm at Enos Garcia Elementary School. Admission is by donation. For information cal 505-751-3634.

Greg Palast's "Bush Family Fortunes"

You can see investigative journalist Greg Palast's new documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," at special screenings and house parties across the nation before its official release later this month. Many members of Democracy for America are involved in this effort as reported on this website:

Across America, at homes and cinemas, town halls, libraries, college campuses and dorms, on roof tops, in courtyards and democratic clubs, the coalition groups of Democracy For America are premiering "Bush Family Fortunes," the Greg Palast documentary that U.S. distributors won't screen. "Bush Family Fortunes," documents Greg Palast’s BBC investigations which underlie and go beyond the truths revealed in Michael Moore’s F/911.

Screenings can be turned into fundraisers. Greg Palast is making this DVD available at cost for bulk orders, for sale at these events. He will gift all royalties to the individual event that sells the DVDs, to be donated to the organization or candidate of choice.

Click here to check for screenings, to organize one of your own or to buy the DVD. Since participating in a DFA Blog Bookclub event discussing his book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," Palast has become a strong supporter of DFA and our goals. Let's support his new DVD and help get the facts out about the Bush family's nasty connections and actions.

BigPath Freebies

I saw a link to a site called "BigPath" and it turned out to hold a bonanza of free materials we can use to promote the Kerry campaign and a myriad of issues that show a clear-cut difference between the Democratic and Republican parties.

From the Big Path Website:

Welcome to BigPath, a not-for-profit site featuring downloadable print materials for use as ads, flyers, handouts, posters, etc. Everything here is free, we only ask that the BigPath logo and disclaimer remain intact. We encourage you to download, print and distribute as many of these as you'd like. Everything is available in two formats: PDF (Adobe Acrobat Format)* and JPEG. All are 8-1/2" x 11" with medium-resolution graphics and should print well on most color or black & white laser and inkjet printers. Many people have begun using these as handouts at political rallies and distributing them at meetings.

BigPath™'s primary goal is to distribute information about current events in the form of ads aimed at promoting progressive ideas. Inevitably, at least at this stage in our history, promoting progressive themes involves pointing out the numerous shortcomings of the conservative movement, so, while we'd like to remain 100% positive in tone, we refuse to lie down and play dead. Everything here is free and there are no restrictions on the number of ads you can download or print or forward. The goal is simply to offer these materials to those who find them useful. We strongly encourage you to download, distribute, print and otherwise spread the word.

(Click on the graphic to see a larger version of one example of Big Path's work.)

"Nickel and Dimed" Comes to Albuquerque

"Nickel and Dimed" will be playing at the University of New Mexico. It is based on the book by Barbara Ehrenreich and adapted for the stage by Joan Holden. The play focuses on the character of Barbara, an upscale magazine writer who gets assigned to see what it's like to live in the shoes of working women in this country. She thinks it'll be a piece of cake and discovers, instead, the reality of what some refer to as "the working poor": the necessity of two jobs just to barely make it; the string of bad relationships; the sexism; the extreme classism; the unethical working practices and the crushing aspects of "the system." We follow her through her jobs as a waitress, hotel room cleaner, maid, and employee at "mall mart." We also get a peek into the lives of the women and men that she meets along the way.

It will be performed in Rodey Theatre by a cast of five women and one man. The show plays October 8-9 at 7:30 p.m.; October 10th at 2 p.m.; then comes back for three more shows on Oct 21-23 at 7:30 p.m. The cost is: $12 general admission; $8 for faculty/staff/seniors ; and $6 for students.

Tickets to all UNM Theatre & Dance performances may be purchased at the UNM Fine Arts Ticket Office at the entrance to the UNM Bookstore at Cornell and Central or by calling 277-4569. Tickets are also available from any tickets.com outlet, or by calling 851-5050, or online at https://www.tickets.com.

Here's an article on the book and some info on Ehrenreich. There's also a website devoted to the book and related issues and here's a review of the book. This Guardian Unlimited interview with Barbara Ehrenreich is also excellent. (Thanks to Lois K. for this story.)

Two Face

(click it, then pass it on)

How Bush's Grandfather Helped Hitler's Rise to Power

New disclosures on the long-rumored links between Prescott Bush and Hitler's rise from The Guardian Unlimited:

Rumours of a link between the US first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. Now the Guardian can reveal how repercussions of events that culminated in action under the Trading with the Enemy Act are still being felt by today's president

Ben Aris in Berlin and Duncan Campbell in Washington, Saturday September 25, 2004

George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.

His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.

The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

The debate over Prescott Bush's behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the "Bush/Nazi" connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty.

Remarkably, little of Bush's dealings with Germany has received public scrutiny, partly because of the secret status of the documentation involving him. But now the multibillion dollar legal action for damages by two Holocaust survivors against the Bush family, and the imminent publication of three books on the subject are threatening to make Prescott Bush's business history an uncomfortable issue for his grandson, George W, as he seeks re-election.

Click here for the rest of this fascinating article.

Protect Your Vote

Passing along an email from Voices for Working Families:

Are you sure your registration is up to date? Help Voices Be Heard! Even if you have a voter registration card in your wallet, your polling place location or even your registration status might have changed. There are no "do-overs" after November 2nd, so it's critical that you make sure you are ready and prepared to vote. As the deadline for registering to voter approaches (October 5 in New Mexico), you are running out of time to make any important changes to your voter registration. Call your State Board of Elections to get in touch with your county or city registrar to verify that you are able to vote. With so much on the line, we can't afford to be turned away from polls. Click here to find the number for your state board of elections

Do you know voter suppression when you see it? This is America-where every man and woman is entitled to the power of the vote and every vote carries the possibility of change. Unfortunately, it just isn't always so simple. Polling places are moved without advanced notice, uniformed police offers enter into homes and interrogate voters, poll places close before many have had a chance to vote, and vicious radio ads full of misleading statements are played that discourage citizens from voting. These strategies are employed because others think they will work. Not this time! We refuse to be intimidated, harassed, and silenced. We will proudly raise our voice this election and demand better schools for our children, better health care for our families, and better wages for a hard day's work. We refuse to let fear steal our votes, absolutely No Excuses! If you witness voter suppression call 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Click here to listen to our new PSA addressing voter suppression! And then please donate and let Voices air this ad across the nation!

Action Alert: Volunteer with Voices and Get Out The Vote! Give us 2 weeks of your time before election day to make a difference. If you're interested, please email info@voicesforworkingfamilies.org or call 866-211-7296.

Note: There's also a voter hotline operated by Hispanic organizations. The National Association of Latin American Elected Officials provides a bilingual, nonpartisan hotline that serves as a source of information on election-related issues, including voter registration, polling places and laws related to voting. The hotline will also help document and moinitor voter protection complaints and work with local election officials to respond to them. The toll-free number is 1-888-839-8682. Univision and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund also are helping to orgnize and promote the new hotline.

TGIF

Click for the Cartoon of the Day.

Quote of the Day: "Can we re-check the sprinkler system in the Reichstag?" -- Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo

Interview Exchange of the Day:

JIM LEHRER: What would you say to somebody in the United States who questions whether or not getting rid of Saddam Hussein was worth the cost of more than a thousand lives now and billions and billions of U.S. dollars?

PRIME MINISTER IYAD ALLAWI: Well, I assure you if Saddam was still there, terrorists will be hitting there again at Washington and New York, as they did in the murderous attack in September; they'll be hitting also on other places in Europe and the Middle East.

Shocking News of the Day:

"THAT LIBERAL MEDIA. The folks at Media Matters watched the network news last night, and found that none of the nets actually covered the indictment of three top aides to the most powerful man in the House, Representative Tom DeLay, one of whom is also a former right-hand mand to Karl Rove, George W. Bush's top advisor." --Nick Confessore, TAPPED, The American Prospect Online

Click to see the Ad of the Day.

Uplifting Writing of the Day (thanks Nancy) is provided by Anne Lamott.

Finish that off with a trip soon to one of these places where you can nourish yourself for the last push toward this Fall's election:

Cottonwood Hot Springs

Joyful Journey Hot Springs

Ten Thousand Waves

or just go look at the golden aspen.