Democracy for New Mexico

Breaking: Cindy Sheehan to Lead Protests in Taos, Los Alamos

UPDATE: Cindy Sheehan had to cancel her New Mexico events because she was invited to travel to Jordan to meet with Iraqi parliament members and peace activists. She'll be rescheduling a visit here for sometime in September.

WELCOME CINDY SHEEHAN TO TAOS
A Day of Action: Saturday, August 5th

3 PM: Cindy protests at Rumsfeld’s home

6 PM: Speak Out by Cindy at KTAO’s Solar Center - The
Patty Mac and Dr. Dave’s Concert for Peace. Scheduled
Musicians include: David and the Infidels & Tabularrasa

7 PM: Speech at the TCA: a Crawford
House fundraiser - $10, students free

Events are cosponsored by the Action Coalition of Taos and Veterans for Peace. For more information call 505-766-1932. Click for a flyer (pdf) and pass it on.

It's also being reported that Cindy will appear in Los Alamos on Sunday, August 6th, in connection with the event to memorialize the Hiroshima atomic bomb anniversary that's being organized by the Los Alamos Study Group and others. More info to come.

Sound Off: Stand Up and Speak Out

This Sound Off was submitted by Terry Riley:
I have demonstrated at many events in Albuquerque. I have participated in the State Fair Parade, the Christmas Parade and I have demonstrated at the Balloon Fiesta. There is a degree of frustration when demonstrating. The people who oppose you do not give you a chance to explain why you feel the way that you do and the people who agree don't ask how they can join you and work toward solving the problem. 

I can't afford to buy radio time, oh, and I can't afford to buy the US Senate or House. As you see I am pretty limited. I have attended meetings of some really neat orgainizations and I have tried to speak out and cheerlead people into getting involved, hopefully along the lines that I am working.

Please don't look at this as me trying to take credit for moving mountains all by myself. I am talking about how this effected me and what and how I did things.

On Saturday June 24th I tried something that I have never tried. I went to the Civic Plaza to the Summerfest. I walked through the crowd and handed out flyers that asked:

Want Cheap Gas?
Get Out Of Iraq!
Stay Out of Iran!
Before Iraq $1.55/gal!

On the back I listed the addresses, e-mails, and phone numbers of both of our Senators, Congresswoman Wilson and candidate for Congress AG Patricia Madrid. I also listed The Albuquerque Veterans for Peace, Stop the War Machine, Democracy for New Mexico and the Los Alamos Study Group as organizations that one should consider joining. I also listed several web sites that people could go for information - starting with the New Mexico Democratic Party followed by the New Mexico Republican Party. I want people to consider stepping up and speaking out to bring about the change that we need to save our country.

I passed out 80 of these flyers in about 20 minutes. I found 8 people who were not interested in looking at it, several of them seemed irritated by the information. Those are fantastic statistics.  Eight out of eighty, that is 10%! That sample was totally random.

In order to get people activated we need to get information to as many people as possible and it has to be useable. The flyer has to identify the problem, explain an action, give locations or contact information and provide support. People are lazy or afraid or embarrased. We have to make it easy for people to stand up. It also helps to give an example or two of past successes to further encourage people.

The Paper Ballot Bill in the State Legislature and the Minimum Wage Increase in Albuquerque are very hard to argue with. Now you go for the close, get the sale, ask the person to come to the next meeting and become involved. Clearly state to a person who is considering that the movement cannot succeed if people wait until it is strong or wait to see who gets on board. Success will depend on THEM standing up and speaking out.

I would like to do a lot more of this and I need volunteers to work with me on this.  Please contact me if you are interested at this email address.

Thanks,
Terry Riley

Editor's Note: Sound Off is a sometimes feature on this blog that provides readers, candidates and others with an opportunity to submit a post. If you'd like to submit a Sound Off, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the top left-hand side of the main blog page.

Have You Seen the New Lamont Ad?

Click here to watch ad

To join other netroots supporters of Ned Lamont, who's running in the Connecticut Democratic primary against Joe (Joementum) Lieberman, visit this page at Act Blue or visit his campaign website. The ad came from Bill Hillsman, who pretty much got Paul Wellstone elected to the Senate. It should get significant coverage in the media, don't you think?

Next Step in Net Neutrality Fight

IMPORTANT: The COPE bill that recently passed in the U.S. House is now in the Senate Commerce Committee where a net neutrality amendment was introduced by Senators Dorgan and Snowe. This amendment is scheduled to be acted upon late Tuesday or early Wednesday of this week. mcjoan at Kos provides the latest info and the phone numbers of Senators who need a call. You know what to do. For more information about net neutrality, visit Save the Internet

Feingold Roars on War, Bush, Cheney, Lamont

Is Russ Feingold our best Democratic Senator, or what? In his appearance yesterday on Meet the Press he was direct, clear, frank and fearless in stating his views on the Iraq War, the Bush-Cheney executive power grab and the fact he would support the Democrat who wins the primary in Connecticut even if it's challenger Ned Lamont. Critics often describe Sen. Feingold as a far left-wing liberal -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- but I see him more as a common sense reformer and clear-thinking patriot who speaks from the heart. Here's the video of his appearance courtesy of Crooks and Liars. Doesn't everything he says make perfect sense? Common sense?

Lakoff Says Blame Conservatism, Not Incompetence for Bush Failures

George Lakoff and his colleagues at the Rockridge Institute have a compelling post up on Kos today arguing that the Dems are making a mistake by focusing on Bush's "incompetence." They explain that the Bush administration's so-called "failures" are really the natural and expected results of his conservative philosophy. Excerpt:

Progressives have fallen into a trap. Emboldened by President Bush’s plummeting approval ratings, progressives increasingly point to Bush's "failures" and label him and his administration as incompetent. For example, Nancy Pelosi said “The situation in Iraq and the reckless economic policies in the United States speak to one issue for me, and that is the competence of our leader." Self-satisfying as this criticism may be, it misses the bigger point. Bush’s disasters — Katrina, the Iraq War, the budget deficit — are not so much a testament to his incompetence or a failure of execution. Rather, they are the natural, even inevitable result of his conservative governing philosophy. It is conservatism itself, carried out according to plan, that is at fault. Bush will not be running again, but other conservatives will. His governing philosophy is theirs as well. We should be putting the onus where it belongs, on all conservative office holders and candidates who would lead us off the same cliff.

... Our budget deficit is not the result of incompetent fiscal management. It too is an outgrowth of conservative philosophy. What better way than massive deficits to rid social programs of their funding?

... Perhaps the biggest irony of the Bush-is-incompetent frame is that these “failures” — Iraq, Katrina and the budget deficit — have been successes in terms of advancing the conservative agenda.

... The mantra of incompetence has been an unfortunate one. The incompetence frame assumes that there was a sound plan, and that the trouble has been in the execution. It turns public debate into a referendum on Bush’s management capabilities, and deflects a critique of the impact of his guiding philosophy. It also leaves open the possibility that voters will opt for another radically conservative president in 2008, so long as he or she can manage better. Bush will not be running again, so thinking, talking and joking about him being incompetent offers no lessons to draw from his presidency.

Lakoff and his colleagues go into detail advancing this theme and recommend a significant change in how Democrats frame these issues. Do you agree? What are your thoughts?

Sunday Unbird Blogging

No birds today, but we have Minnie the Chihuahua, visiting from Atlanta along with two of our good friends. We thought Minnie would enjoy wearing a tiny sombrero that's one of Bosco the peach-faced lovebird's prized possessions. However, as you can see, she was a little leery about donning a chapeau. Well, she was kinda pooped after running around our house playing Kentucky Derby, carefully observing our avian family and turning on the charm to beg for pizza crumbs.

In this shot, Minnie takes on a Roswellian space visitor look. She's quite the ham (or chorizo).

At the end of the day, Minnie's really a sleepy time gal, still running on Eastern time and ready to grab a nap of enchantment while listening to her mom Liz's geetar playing on her song Milagro. (Click to learn more about Liz Melendez music.)

Saturday Music Hall: Taos Solar Edition

The always creative, sometimes revolutionary and forever independent Ani DiFranco is the festival closer Sunday night at the Taos Solar Music Fest so I thought she'd be a great choice for today's Music Hall post. Check out this 2005 video of her doing "Paradigm" on The Late Late Show.

The Solar Music Fest started Friday at Kit Carson Park in Taos and continues until Sunday evening, brought to you by New Mexico's solar energy community. Today's schedule includes the grassified pickings of Peter Rowan, island lifers Yerba Buena and the highly vibrational and antiwar Michael Franti and Spearhead, among others. Besides DiFranco, Sunday's schedule includes the pulsing rhythms and horns of The Motet, the many-faceted roots music of Buddy Miller and the rousing reggae of Steel Pulse. Click for the complete lineup and ticket info. You can also buy tix at the entry to Kit Carson Park. Sun power at its best.

Check Out Robert Greenwald's Film on DeLay This Weekend in ABQ

From Terry Riley:
Robert Greenwald has produced a movie about Tom DeLay and his campaign practices called The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress. This is going to be presented on Sunday in Albuquerque at the Guild at 2 PM. The director, Mark Birnbaum, will also attend and enter into a discussion with the audience. I am also holding a showing at 7:30 PM for those who cannot attend the 2 PM showing. Use whichever URL below serves your needs to RSVP. The movie is about election manipulation and how badly we need election reform. Please come to one of the showings:

Guild at 2 PM, Sunday June 25
https://bigbuy.bravenewtheaters.com/screening/show/5436

My Home at 7:30 PM, Sunday June 25
https://bigbuy.bravenewtheaters.com/screening/show/5263

A Private Home in the NE Heights at 7 PM on June 28
https://bigbuy.bravenewtheaters.com/screening/show/5414

Excerpt from the :

In a stunning 1994 interview, shortly after the now infamous Republican revolution, Tom DeLay sat down and laid out his vision for America: to destroy the Department of Education, HUD, OSHA, the NEH, the NEA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. His self-stated goal was to "completely redesign government."

The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress is the story of how he did just that. It's the story of one of the most blatant power grabs in American history, and how a District Attorney in Texas turned out to be the biggest threat to the national DeLay Machine. The film is a warning about how easy it is for American democracy to be hijacked by a combination of relentless ambition and corporate millions. It makes the case that DeLay built a "custom-made Congress" that is still providing votes for his agenda.

Democrats Win Iraq Debate: Iraq Peace Plan Echoes Kerry/Feingold

I thought that headline would grab your attention. It's actually from an excellent post on Daily Kos by beachmom and details the Iraqi government's plan to end the war, achieve peace and assert its sovereignty on the ground. The entire post is well worth a read as we head into the weekend. Excerpt:

What is truly incredible is how this Iraq Peace Plan includes key components to the Kerry/Feingold amendment:

https://www.johnkerry.com/...

The Iraqis did indeed have a summit, will give the U.N. the central role to execute all aspects of the plan, and most importantly, makes a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops they key to get Sunni insurgents to lay down their weapons.

As John Kerry said on the Senate floor two nights ago, while having a brilliant, dramatic, and compelling debate with Senator Warner of Virginia (from Thomas):

Years later, we read in Robert McNamara's book how he knew, as Secretary of Defense, while he was sending troops over there, that we weren't going to be successful. Now, from 1968 until 1975, when we left in that dramatic helicopter moment off the embassy, almost half of the people who died were lost in that period of time--for a policy that our leaders knew wasn't working.

I am not going to be a Member of the Senate in good standing and in good conscience and support a policy in Iraq that I believe is going to add people to whatever Iraqi memorial will be created, at a time where I am convinced this isn't going to work for them and it is not going to work for the Iraqis. I believe we have a moral responsibility to those soldiers who died to do our best to get it right, and I just don't believe staying the course, more of the same, is getting it right.

Ladies and gentlemen: with this Peace Plan, the Iraqi government has more or less adopted the Democratic position on Iraq. The Kerry/Feingold amendment was more muscular than the Levin/Reed amendment. Nevertheless, both amendments changed the conversation from "Stay the Course" to troop withdrawals. The Iraqis agreed.

After reading the rest of the post, be sure to check out the Republican Iraq War Plan. Ain't it da trute?

(Iraq - U.S. peace sticker image from PeaceSymbol.org.)