Democracy for New Mexico

Sign Up for DFNM Citizen Lobbying at NM Legislature - This Friday 2/11

LET’S HIT THE LEGISLATURE! TOPIC: VOTER-ELECTION REFORM & PROBLEMS

Senator Linda Lopez has invited DFA-DFNM Albuquerque members to come and speak before her Senate Rules Committee on 2 voter ID bills, on Friday, February 11, 2005, 8:00 AM, in Santa Fe, at the Roundhouse.

I will be setting up car pools to leave Albuquerque around 6:30-6:45 AM on Friday, 2/11/05.  People can go for a half day or the full day on Friday, if car pools allow. I will fill you full of information about how the legislature works and how to make your way around when you are up there as a citizen lobbyist.

Please let me know ASAP if you can go on Friday and please provide a phone number where I can reach you to discuss car pooling and plans.

Other activities planned for the day:

10:00 AM – Joint session of legislature (Senate & House) – for African American Day at the legislature

Afternoon:
- Going to the Governor’s office – voter & election reform/problems
- Going to the Secretary of State’s Office - voter & election reform/problems
- Visiting with our individual legislators
- Going to other committee meetings

Contact:  Dory Shonagon, dshonagon@earthlink.net

Dean is Last Candidate Standing

According to this CNN article, Tim Roemer has withdrawn from the race for DNC Chair leaving Howard Dean as the only candidate still in the race. Oh yeah. February 12th is gonna be a wonderful day!

GLBT Lobby Day at the NM Legislature

From Equality New Mexico:

Celebrate Valentine's Day
Our Day of Love
& Protect Our Families
GLBT Lobby Day
at the NM State Legislature 

February 14, 2005!

7:45 AM: Meet at Roundhouse- Learn to Lobby Legislators

8:30 AM: Tell Your Legislators: "No Ban on Same-Sex Marriages and Pass Domestic Partner Benefits"

10:00 AM: Rotunda Celebration: Press Conference

11:00 AM: Lunch with friends

12:30 PM: More Lobbying!!!

--PACK THE ROUNDHOUSE!!!!--

Celebrate your right to love, join in Gay & Lesbian family day at the Roundhouse

For more Information (and parking suggestions!) contact Equality New Mexico at (505)224-2766 or (888)304-2366.

Change in Dates for Dem Ward/Precinct and County Central Commitee Meetings

From the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County e-news:

If you know any registered Democrat that would like to be added to the e-news, please send their name, e-mail address and County to dpbc@att.net.

Note from State Headquarters: the dates for Ward/Precinct and County Central Committee meetings have been readjusted to avoid conflict with the Good Friday and Easter holidays, accommodate the availability of the schools before and after spring break and the scheduling of the State Central Committee meeting mandated by state rules.

Ward/Precinct and County Central Committee meetings to elect new officers and State Central Committee members are to be held sometime between Thursday, March 3 and Saturday, April 2.

Each sitting County Chair should submit dates, times and locations for these meetings to State Headquarters no later than Monday, February 28.
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Editor's Note: Hmmm. This doesn't give us much time to plan, now does it? I hope our Bernalillo County Chair, Linda Lopez, doesn't wait until February 28th to set the date for our ward/precinct meetings. Previously they were tentatively set for March 3rd, which is our new regularly scheduled day for DFA-DFNM's Albuquerque Meetup. If the Bernalillo County ward/precinct meetings end up being set for that day, we'll have to change our Meetup day again, so I hope the new date is set quickly!

Sunday Bird Blogging Time

This week we're back to real bird blogging, but it sure was fun to feature a furry bird-doggin' tree climber last week.

Here we have little Bosco our peach-faced lovebird after one of his regular Saturday afternoon baths. He positively loves bath time in the top of a tupperware container. He carefully wades into the warm water to check things out and then proceeds to belly slide back and forth across the "pool," splashing and flapping until he's nice and soaked. Doesn't he look pretty with his feathers all wet? Well...

Here's a close-up shot. His head feathers are already dried out but you can see how much more peachy his face and forehead are getting, in the tradition of maturing peach-faces everywhere. Peep peep.

(Click photos for larger images.)

You, too, can have your pet(s) included in a future segment of bird blogging. Email me a picture and a paragraph about your bird, dog, cat, iguana or whatever pet shares your political life and we'll give them their 10 minutes of fame!

NYT Editorial Says Keep Drilling Out of Otero Mesa

(Photo of Otero Mesa pronghorns by Steve Capra)

On the same day that a powerful rally to protect our public lands is taking place at Albuquerque's Kimo Theatre, here's a New York Times Editorial endorsing our fight to keep drilling out of Otero Mesa. For more information on this effort or to contribute to the cause, visit the websites of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and the Coalition for Otero Mesa.

Keeping Out of the Otero Mesa

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management signed a decision to allow new oil and gas leasing on some of the most important and most fragile grasslands left in America. At risk is an expanse of wild Chihuahuan Desert grasslands - the largest still in existence - in the Otero Mesa area along New Mexico's south-central border.

The delicacy of the region is not immediately apparent to the eye. But under the desert grasses - which sustain a genetically important population of pronghorns - there is a layer of soil just thin enough to keep invasive shrubs at bay. Below that layer lies an underground reservoir of water, which also needs protection. The Bush administration is determined to force its way onto the Otero Mesa. Gov. Bill Richardson, backed by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists, is determined to stop it.

The bureau's plan sounds extremely modest on paper: 141 wells disturbing only some 1,600 acres. Compared with the scope of other gas- and oil-producing regions of New Mexico, the amount of land affected would be almost nothing. But conservationists say the B.L.M.'s plan - restrictive as it sounds - places no real impediment in the way of future development of a much larger area. Otero Mesa's grasslands cover more than a million acres; the Wilderness Society estimates that under the bureau's land use plan for the area, 95 percent of these acres remain open to oil and gas leasing.

This is part of a familiar scene in the West. The Bush administration has set its sights on dozens of ecologically valuable areas that could easily be declared off limits without imperiling the country's supplies of oil and natural gas. As it is, 85 percent of the petroleum resources on public lands in the Western states are already leased or available for leasing. Any oil or gas found in the Otero grasslands is likely to make only a minuscule addition to America's domestic energy supply, but could desecrate irreplaceable natural wealth.

The difference this time is that the state of New Mexico will oppose the Bush administration, so the fate of these grasslands is likely to be tied up in court for a good long time to come. But it deserves more permanent protection than that. Mr. Richardson has offered a compromise that would set aside 640,000 acres of the grasslands as a conservation area, providing space for ranchers, wildlife and the ecosystem. That is a reasonable offer, which the administration would be foolish to refuse.

Victory? Victory!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Not only has Governor Richardson finally jumped on the Howard Dean for DNC Chair train as it leaves the station, but both Simon Rosenberg and Donnie Fowler have quit the race and endorsed Dean. As Richardson said, Dean "won fair and square." Yes he did. All indications are that he now has more than enough of the 447 votes of the DNC for victory.

This is no small achievement, as we all know. Despite heavy opposition from Beltway insiders, Republican-lite pundits and consultants and those in the Party who evidently value personal power over Party success, we did it folks. We did it. Of course it's Dean himself who "did it" with a saavy, honest and personal campaign that focused on talking sense with the voting members, but I think we can all feel a part of it. When Dean talks, it's always about US and how WE can take our country and our Party back from those whose first allegiance is to corporate power and to hell with the ordinary people. Make no mistake. This is a victory for US.

How am I celebrating today? By digging in and getting to work, as I'm sure we'll all be doing in the days and months ahead. If you're in Albuquerque, be there or be square:

Democratic Precinct Activation Meeting
TODAY, 11:00 AM
IBEW Hall, 4921 Alexander Blvd NE
Click for map
(Bring a sack lunch)

Rally to Protect Our Public Lands
TODAY, 2:00 to 5:00 PM, Kimo Theatre
(More info here.)

And your thoughts on the apparent Dean victory?

(For old time's sake, here some links to the famous Faulkner Remix, the Thank You Howard Dean flash video and the Sacramento CA speech, "What I Wanna Know", that started it all off. Still not satisfied? Click here.)

The Kiss

For those who missed the spectacle of Sen. Joe Lieberman rushing over to Bush after the State of the Union speech and enjoying a head-lock smooch, or for those who just want to relive the moment, , video on demand.

Speak to the Media 2/9

From Terry Riley:
Finally, we have an opportunity to speak to members of the media in an event that they want to look good to us in.  This is probably a bit staged to build their egos and to publicize their successes, that does not mean that this is not a good
opportunity to take the focus from them and challenge them personally.

I would like to ask anyone who can attend to go to this meeting and take the opportunity to question the panelists and even the moderator.  They have an agenda which is women in media.  We have an agenda which is FULL DISCLOSURE and TIMELY COVERAGE. We should bring small signs that we can hold up when we feel that they are appropriate.  Signs that say:

WHY? or WHY NOT? or EARN MY TRUST!

We all know that the broadcast media is afraid to challenge the image of the administration.  If we show up at their events and show them that we know what they are up to and that we are going to be there to challenge them until they give us responsible journalism, then we will begin to see the changes that we need.  Until the broadcast media reports accurately the general public will not know the problems that the Bush administration is causing us.

As an example:  If we ask our local stations to stop using words like, "smart bombs, insurgents, coalition, etc." and replace them with, "bombs, nationalists or loyalists, and anything other than coalition!"  This will reopen the minds of the poorly informed and be the beginning of the return of journalism.

I think that we should ask the panelists if they would like to be considered as journalists.  Maybe we can appeal to their pride.

Enough of the verbage.  Please RSVP as requested in the notice that follows.  I hope to see you there.
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Women in Communications' 18th annual Reverse Press Conference -  where we turn the tables on the media (for a change) and ask them questions about their work. This is the only annual event of its type in New Mexico.

Date and Time: Wednesday, February 9, 11:15 am to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Tanoan Country Club, 10801 Academy Road NE, ABQ
Theme: Is it news... or is it entertainment?
Panelists: Dick Knipfing, Judith Jenkins, Steve Lawrence and Jim Belshaw Moderator: Jane Blume
Schedule: Networking and registration start at 11:15; lunch is served at Noon; the program starts at 12:30.
Cost: $25.00 non-members
Reservations: Call or email Phyllis Wolf, 323-5858, powcoach@comcast.net, or
reserve with a credit card online at www.eventsNmore.com

Questions? You can email me or call me at 294-1976. And you are more than welcome to forward this message to your email list.  We'd love to have you and your like-minded friends and associates come to this.

Sincerely, Jane
www.desertskycommunications.com

ACTION ALERT: Darfur Genocide and the ICC

Forwarded by Roger and Mary Schense to follow up on their announcement about this at last night's ABQ DFA-DFNM Meetup:

Subject: URGENT: DARFUR - Send Letters to Washington Demanding Security Council Refer Darfur to International Criminal Court

The Security Council may act on a referral of Darfur (Sudan) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) early next week. Please send by Monday ­ and urge everyone you can reach to send - messages to the President, Secretary of State and your congressperson and senators strongly supporting this referral. Feel free to forward this message to anyone.

Background: A special commission requested by the Security Council reported to it on Tuesday, February 1. The report said that gross criminal atrocities have been and are happening in Darfur and strongly recommended that the Council refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court for prosecution of those responsible. The commission has given the UN Secretary-General a sealed list of persons who should be prosecuted. The Secretary-General will give this list to the Council once it has decided if and when these accused should be prosecuted.

The United States is actively hostile to the ICC. It opposes the referral and may well veto it. However, support for the referral in the Council is strong. Eleven of its 15 members of the Council have signed or ratified the Court¹s Rome Statute. The United States may well be alone in its veto, while other members support or abstain on a referral resolution.

The United States is proposing another improvised tribunal to be attached to the existing one for Rwanda. The commission report opposes such a temporary court. It says that while the ICC is ready to act and has funds and staff in place, it could take a year to start up an improvised tribunal which even then would be less credible and efficient than the ICC.

There must be immediate maximum public pressure on the administration to at least abstain on a Security Council resolution referring the Darfur atrocities to the ICC.

Sending Messages: We offer two options:

1) AMICC member Citizens for Global Solutions has an excellent web page where you can click on automatic transmission of e-mails to your senator and congresspersons and a fax to the Secretary of State: The website provides a standard message which you can customize and also lets you write your own.

2)  Send the standard message provided below or your own directly to the President, the Secretary of State and your congressperson and senators. The email addresses of the legislators are on their web sites.

Standard message: The International Criminal Court is the fastest and most effective way to act against the Darfur atrocity criminals. A new tribunal will take too long to start ­ while the killings continue. The United Nations Security Council must refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court immediately.

Sincerely,
Your name
Your address

Addresses
President Bush
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Fax: 202-647-2282
(She has no public email).

Thank you very much for these actions which are vital for Darfur and essential to the cause of the ICC in our country.

Sincerely,
John Washburn, Convener
Wasana Punyasena, Deputy Convener
AMICC
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Wasana Punyasena
Deputy Convener
American NGO Coalition for the ICC
United Nations Association for the USA
801 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-907-1374
wpunyasena@unausa.org
www.amicc.org