Democracy for New Mexico

Blog Blog

My favorite posts on the blogs today:

National: The Peaceful Occupation of Crawford Day 5 by Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Mother for Peace on  Daily Kos. You can read Cindy's previous Kos diaries here.

Local: An easy way to ask Mayor Marty questions about the Albuquerque police scandals at New Mexico Matters. Also, An enlightening post on Repub strategist Frank Lunz and his recent visit to Albuquerque by Marston Moore over on Duke City Fix.

Legislative Election Reform Task Force to Meet Monday

From United Voters of NM:
Hello All, a reminder that you’re invited to come to the next meeting of the Election Reform Task Force, set for next Monday, August 15, at 10 AM in Room 307 at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

Bob Stearns reminds that there is usually parking in the state government parking lot east of the Roundhouse. You can check with the Legislature's website for updates. Give us your ideas (info@uvotenm.org) on which issues you believe are most urgent for United Voters NM to pursue in the 2006 legislative session.

Here's the agenda for the MON 8/15 meeting -- nothing here on electronic voting machines:

10:15 AM: Rules for 3rd Party Registration Agents; Registration Forms, Federal Forms, Implementation, Associated Costs – Ernie Marquez, Elections Bureau Director

Noon: Lunch

1:30 PM: Procedures for Voters to Challenge Rejected Provisional Ballots; SecState Appeal Procedures under HAVA; Costs -- Marquez again 

2:30 PM: Timing of Open Registration and Early Voting – Mary Herrera, Bernalillo Cty Clerk

3:00 PM: Address Provisions for Registration and Petition Purposes – Marquez.

Meeting adjourns at 3:30 PM.
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Editor's Note: This is a continuation of the effort at the last NM Legislative Session to enact meaningful election reform. These meetings will be held regularly until the next Session in January to map out additional election reform measures and discuss how to implement provisions from the last Session. It's important that we keep up the pressure on election reform and the more people we have in attendance, the more clout we will have in the process. Senator Linda Lopez and Representative Ed Sandoval are Co-Chairs of this Interim Committee.

Sign Up for Training as a Lakoff Workshop Facilitator

From Janet Resnick:
I am inviting people interested in becoming George Lakoff workshop facilitators to a training for facilitators on Saturday, Aug 20th, from 11 AM - 3 PM (brown bag lunch) and a followup session on Wednesday evening, Aug 24th, from 6 - 8 PM.

For more information or to sign up, contact me at jrez@hotmail.com or call my cell at 505-350-4281. I will then provide you with directions to the meeting location in Albuquerque.
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Editor's Note: If you attended one of Janet's workshops on George Lakoff's framing techniques presented in conjunction with our DFA-DFNM Albuquerque Meetup, up in Santa Fe or elsewhere, you know what an excellent experience they are. With so many requests for additional workshops, Janet has decided to train people to hold their own workshops here and around the state. Highly recommended!

And if you don't know about Democratic strategist George Lakoff and his important work on framing issues to our advantage, you should. Here's a few links where you can learn about Lakoff's work and his best-selling books:

Rockridge Institute

Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff: The essential guide for progressives, this book is the antidote to the last forty years of conservative dominance of the national public policy debate.

Wikipedia on Lakoff

MergingLeft's Billboard Up Near Fairgrounds

From MergingLeft:
MergingLeft, a local grassroots organization dedicated to communicating a progressive message to the public, has begun an advertising campaign to give Americans the facts about many of the government’s policies.  These are facts that the Administration does not tell Americans. 

The first ads are focused on the true cost of the war in Iraq in blood, money and the American image abroad.  Someone has to give Americans facts about the Americans and Iraqis being killed, maimed, and left homeless.  Someone has to talk about the torture and abuse of prisoners. 

MergingLeft is currently running ads on Albuquerque city buses to remind citizens about the torture, occupation, and prison without trial that is perpetrated by our government and is blurring the distinction between us and those we seek to defeat. Starting August 10, similar messages will appear on billboards in the city telling the truth to Americans.
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Editor's Note: Many of you know MergingLeft from their presence at DFA-DFNM Meetups or other progressive gatherings around the state and you've seen their excellent bumperstickers and mockups of future ads. I have one of their stickers on my vehicle that asks "What Would Wellstone Do?"

Their first ad on Albuquerque city buses went up in June, as reported in a previous post. Now their first full-size billboard is up on Louisiana, between Lomas and Central, right next to the State Fairgrounds (Expo New Mexico):

Congratulations to MergingLeft and all those who have donated money or time to this effort! If you'd like to help with future ads, visit the MergingLeft website. Put your money where your mouth is! Many small donations can add up to big results.

Equality NM Names New Executive Director

From Equality NM:
Alexis Blizman Named Executive Director of Equality New Mexico and Equality New Mexico Foundation

(Albuquerque NM, August 4, 2005) — After a national search, EQNM and EQNMF have named Washington DC-area lawyer and political activist Alexis Blizman to lead the Albuquerque-based state-wide LGBT civil rights organizations.

"Alexis Blizman brings a solid combination of political and legal experience to New Mexico. She has a reputation for hard work and for bringing people together to work for common goals. She is well-liked among national political leaders, and we are pleased to welcome her to New Mexico," says Lynn Perls, Board Chair, Equality New Mexico.

General Counsel for Young Democrats of America and a founding member of the Young Democrats’ Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Caucus, Blizman was the first openly gay representative ever elected to the Democratic National Committee from Young Democrats of America.

Blizman grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan. While earning her BA in Political Science at Wayne State University in Detroit, she reinvigorated and led a chapter of the Young Democrats and through that work became active in paid and volunteer work on local, state, and national campaigns.

Blizman received her JD degree at the George Washington University Law School in Washington DC. While in law school, she maintained her connections with the Young Democrats and the national Democratic Party. In 2000, Blizman became a member of the Democratic National Committee’s Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council. She served as Chair of the Law School’s chapter of Lambda Law and an officer of the Student Bar Association. And she completed a legal internship at the American Federation of Government Employees in their Women’s and Fair Practices Department where she worked on prosecuting EEOC discrimination claims.

After law school, Blizman joined the Law Offices of Brian J. Moran in Alexandria VA as an associate attorney where she worked in the fields of Domestic Relations, Civil Litigation, Criminal and Business Law. During this time, Blizman remained committed to the political process, volunteering on several campaigns, working with GAYLAW, and continuing to serve the Young Democrats of America as their General Counsel.

Blizman will be joining the Equality New Mexico organizations as Executive Director on August 22, 2005.

Equality New Mexico is a membership organization that uses the political process to guarantee full equality and justice for LGBT and allied communities in New Mexico.

Equality New Mexico Foundation is a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations and individuals that raises money to educate New Mexicans about human rights and works to strengthen community-based organizations and networks.

6th District Coalition of Neighborhood Assocations to Hold Mayoral Forum

You are invited to attend a forum for the Candidates for the Mayor of Albuquerque, hosted by the Sixth District Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. The League of Women Voters has generously agreed to moderate this forum.

This forum will be on Sunday, August 28, 3 PM 'til 5 PM, at the Highland Senior Center Auditorium, 131 Monroe, NE.

Questions of the candidates will be presented to the moderator and asked of each candidate only by the moderator. We hope all of you attend and show your support of our democratic process.

Many of you already have this on your calendars, so let this e-mail serve as a reminder. For those of you who have not already confirmed your participation, please RSVP to nmbcb4@aol.com.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you on the 28th.

Nancy Bearce, President                        
Charles Bennett, Forum Contact
Sixth Dist. Coalition of Neighborhood Associations
nmbcb4@aol.com
254-7841

Bush in Albuquerque

Oil at more than $63 a gallon, the shuttle crew reporting widespread environmental damage to the planet clearly visible from above, global warming on the march, an oil war going on in Iraq and here's what our leaders are doing: celebrating the signing of an energy bill with huge giveaways to oil and gas companies at a solar facility at Sandia Labs that dates back to the days of Jimmy Carter:

U.S. President George W. Bush (2nd L), wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes, points at a parabolic dish system to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM),(R), during a tour of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from Lab Director Dr. Thomas Hunter.

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) poses with U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (L), (R-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, (D-N.M.), after signing the new $14.5 billion energy bill into law while at the U.S. Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Click for a Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill issued on 7/26/05 by the Alaska Wilderness League, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, League of Conservation Voters, National Audubon Society, National Environmental Trust, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society and U.S. PIRG *

Protesting Bush's War

I see that Joe Monahan is bagging New Mexico's Democratic Party and elected officials for not criticizing Bush's Iraq War. He also wonders where the anti-war movement is in New Mexico and claims there's isn't much of one because "What's left of the "Left" is apparently confined to wheelchairs, too old to get out and protest."

I guess ole Joe doesn't get out much.

There have been numerous anti-war events in many parts of the state since before the Iraq war began, and these have been publicized via emails, flyers, websites and at meetings. We can't help it that the mainsteam media doesn't cover this story.

(Photo from Saturday's peace and anti-nuclear proliferation rally in Los Alamos on the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. No prominent Dem was in attendance. Click photo for larger image.)

Monahan also infers that because of a lack of interest or energy, few will protest the war during Bush's visit to Sandia Labs today to sign the energy company giveaway known as the energy bill. This just MIGHT be because the Bush minions have kept the exact time and place of his visit secret, like they attempt to do with most information that should rightfully be publicly available.

From piecing together snippets of info, we know Bush will sign the bill sometime today somewhere within Sandia Labs with Senators Domenici and Bingaman present. No doubt he'll fly in at a Kirtland AFB runway. Neither  location is open to the public at large and surely they won't allow any gathering of citizens to protest or otherwise see or be seen by our timid President.

However, Monahan does have a point about the reluctance of Democratic Party officials and officeholders to criticize Bush on the Iraq war. If you click through to the continuation of this post you'll see the Bring Home the Troops Resolution passed by County Dem Parties including Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Los Alamos and San Juan. It also passed unanimously at the Party's State Central Committee meeting this past April. Yet a link to it and other Resolutions passed by the DPNM is buried on the State Party's website, in the Press Release archive for April 23rd. I wonder why that is.

I do know many Party members have requested the addition of a more prominent link to the Resolutions, to no avail. It's also very frustrating that the official minutes of the SCC meeting, including an official transcript of the approved Resolutions, have yet to be issued by the Party's Secretary, Elena Moreno-Sparks. This despite numerous phone calls and emails from SCC members and others.

It's hard to be a member of an opposition Party that seems afraid to oppose Bush's actions, lies and mistaken policies loudly, passionately and publicly, isn't it? Pussyfooting around in criticizing Bush, coupled with what seem to be a serious lack of transparency and organization, is a hard pill to swallow for those of us who feel the urgency of the moment.

The recent special congressional election in Ohio, where anti-war Iraq war vet Paul Hackett almost beat the Republican candidate in a massively Republican district, clearly shows Dems should be out there loud and clear on the folly and negative consequences of this war. And yet, even there, the Dem Party's DCCC gave Hackett support only very late in the race, after Democracy for America and bloggers at My DD and Daily Kos raised more than $400,000 and helped build a large volunteer force for Hackett.

I guess it's just more evidence of how disconnected Party leaders are from rank and file Democrats , as well as a growing segment of Americans in general. You'd think Bush's plummeting poll numbers on the war and just about everything else would put some "starch," as Wesley Clark calls it, in the Democratic response. There are Democratic officeholders out there speaking truth to power, like Rep. Conyers, Senators Dick Durbin and Barbara Boxer and others, but they are still too few and far between. If we want to win in 2006, we need to wake up the Party NOW, don't we?

From RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING, Saturday, April 23, 2005, Unofficial listing from website of Democratic Party of New Mexico

29.  RESOLUTION TO BRING HOME THE TROOPS

WHEREAS, the actions of the United States of America in Iraq show that the United States wishes to establish a permanent presence in Iraq, including the establishment of a number of military bases, and

WHEREAS, our military is being drained of its capability to respond to crises in other parts of the world, and

WHEREAS, more than 150 billion dollars have been spent for the Iraq occupation and, over the next year, the continuing occupation will take an additional 81 billion dollars away from the priorities at home, and

WHEREAS, there have been more than 1,500 U.S. soldiers killed, thousands of U.S. soldiers wounded, and untold thousands of Iraqi citizens killed in the continuing conflict in Iraq, and

WHEREAS, our military presence in Iraq continues to result in the death and wounding of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens, and

WHEREAS, our occupation in Iraq has worsened an insurgency that has as a principal goal the expulsion of outside influences, and

WHEREAS, our occupation and the associated violence in Iraq has increased recruitment by terrorist organizations intent on attacking the U.S., and

WHEREAS, elections have been held in Iraq, and the Iraqi people want to resolve their own problems and establish their own government free of outside influences,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF NEW MEXICO that the DPNM supports our troops, opposes the continued military occupation of Iraq, and urges the Government of the United States of America to immediately plan for the withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq. This plan should specify a target date for the completion of the withdrawal, which is no later than June 2006. Withdrawal should begin soon to signal our good intentions. The United States should announce that it has no plans for a long-term military presence in Iraq, except for that associated with normal diplomatic relations.

Have Your Cake

Please join New Mexicans United to Protect Social Security on Wednesday, August 10 from Noon-1:00 at Civic Plaza to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Social Security. 

There will be cake, prominent guest speakers, a healthy dose of Bush-Bashing, and things for grassroots activists to do to help kill the new House bill to privatize Social Security.  Please call Carter Bundy at 463-8499 if you have any questions, and we hope to see you there!

SeedPAC Candidate Forum Set for 8/14

SEEDPAC presents an…
Albuquerque Mayoral and City Councilor
Candidates Forum

Sunday, August 14, 2005
2-5 PM
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
114 Carlisle Boulevard SE
(corner of Silver and Carlisle)
Albuquerque

Please Come and listen to the Candidates address progressive issues.

A Mock Election will be held, utilizing the Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) Procedure

Admission:  $5 per person

SEEDPAC is a democratic political action committee, formed by Miles Nelson, that is dedicated to supporting the political campaigns of progressive candidates in New Mexico, especially those who advocate sustainable energy policies, universal healthcare, and the building of a grassroots network of activists and volunteers. 

Silent Auction:  Cash or Check
For more information, call 505-262-1810 or email edgisela@teleport.com