Democracy for New Mexico

Not Content With Causing 9-11 and Katrina, Gays Cause Israeli-Hezbollah War

Yes, you read that right. I never guessed GLBT folks were this damned powerful. Who knew all those lavender vibrations were mighty enough to call down the wrath of the dogs, er, I mean gods. But who can deny the cosmic truth?

Some kind of supernatural force that's repelled by (or attracted to) homosexual energies is making planes crash into towers, tropical storms form themselves into Category 5 hurricanes and rockets fly in the Middle East. At least according to various "religious leaders." You'd think these types would be busy with helping the poor, healing the sick or humbly serving as their brothers' keepers instead of blaming same sex lovers for their problems. Apparently not. They seem to have an abundance of time to devote to feeding intolerance and throwing rocks from the confines of their glass houses.

A World Net Daily article reports on how rabbis are claiming that plans for a gay pride parade have managed to spark what some are calling WW III:

Are Israel's troubles in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and the Hezbollah rockets slamming daily into major Israeli population centers here a result of the Jewish state's tacit support for a homosexual parade slated for next month in Jerusalem? Some rabbis seem to think so, and they are attempting to block the event from taking place in Judaism's holiest city.

"Why does this war break out this week, all of sudden with little warning? Because this is the exact week the Jewish people are trying to decide whether the gay pride parade should take place in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv," Pinchas Winston, a noted author, rabbi and lecturer based in Jerusalem told WND.

... many religious leaders believe the Israeli government's decision to allow a world homosexual parade in Jerusalem is having real-life consequences.

"This [parade] is an attack against God himself," Winston said. "God has told the Jewish people, 'If you are not going to fight for my honor, you will be forced to fight for your own honor.'"

... Lazer Brody, an author and dean of the Breslov Rabbinical College in Ashdod, Israel, concurred with Winston.

"When God’s presence is in the camp, nothing can happen to the Jewish people," Brody stated. "But If the Jewish people bring impurity into the camp of Israel, this chases away God's presence."

Similar to the logic that once prescribed dunking "witches" to determine their guilt, isn't it? If they didn't drown, they were guilty and had to be put to death. If they drowned, hey, no problema anymore -- they were innocent.

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a worldwide coalition of over 1200 rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis released a statement this week asking Israelis to "increase the holiness" of the country while it was at war by praying and among other thing cancelling the World Pride event.

Wow. It seems to me the best way to "increase the holiness" of a country when it's raining down bombs on innocent civilians would be to stop it, not blame a gay pride event.

... Meanwhile, Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, has come to Israel specifically to prevent the homosexual celebration from taking place. He said a homosexual parade is akin to a parade of "prostitutes promoting prostitution, or adulterers encouraging others to try adultery at least once in their life."

"Israel is the Holy Land, not the homo-land," Levin told WND.

Snappy sound bites and everything. I guess other sins don't bother this bunch, at least not enough to blame the sinners for the war. They're not making reference to "hetero-sex-outside-marriage-land you'll notice. Or greed-and-intolerance-land. Or "rampant-consumerism-land." Or "over-the-top-armed-aggression-land." No, it's clear the gays, once more, are to blame. Such an easy target. Doesn't require a bit of soul searching on the part of any cleric or straight person, does it? Move along. Nothing to see here.

I wouldn't be surprised to start hearing calls of "off with her head" anytime any Queen of Hearts makes the scene where the "holy ones" lurk. Dadaists everywhere must be laughing. Marcel Duchamp must be rolling in his grave. Lunatics everywhere are howling.

Open Thread: Get It Off Your Chest

We haven't had an open thread for some time. With all the confusing, complex situations we're witnessing on the planet these days, I thought it was a perfect time to open up the blog to what you're thinking and feeling. Click on the Comments tab and keyboard away. What's on your mind? Any links, videos or images to share? Let it all hang out right here.

Guest Blogger: NM Sen. Dede Feldman on Governor's Health Care Initiatives

Now here’s some genuinely good news. Governor Bill Richardson has gotten religion!Governor Richardson Appoints Committee to Study Various Models of Universal Health Care!

After line-item vetoing the money Rep. Danice Picraux and I had inserted in the budget for a cost study of various models of universal health care, the Guv is going for it. He’s appointed a committee and we’ll start work soon.

He’s also going with a key recommendation from the legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and last year’s Insure New Mexico Task Force. That recommendation is that we expand the eligibility of Medicaid for adults to a decent level (100% of the federal poverty level or about $16,600 for a family of three), to relieve pressure on stressed hospitals who now provide the indigent care, and let the federal government pay three quarters of the bill. Thank You Governor---Hosana, Hosana in the Highest.

Now all we have to do is to get the legislature to fund the expansion to the tune of $62 million. I hope I can count on some of you out there in the blogsphere to help. It will mean the opportunity for health insurance for 42,000 low income New Mexicans, almost all of them working.   

Click the link to read the news release out of the Governor’s Office: "Governor Richardson Takes Action to Close Uninsured Gap in New Mexico"

Editor's Note: This is a Guest Blog by NM Senator Dede Feldman and it's cross-posted on her own blog. If you'd like to be a guest blogger on DFNM, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the top left-hand side of the main page.

Conservation Voters NM Endorses Jim Baca for Land Commissioner

Photo from Baca campaign website. Click on image for larger version.

Editor's Note: Jim Baca will be our featured speaker and special guest at our Albuquerque DFA-DFNM Meetup on August 3rd. He'll be talking about his campaign and what's at stake in the Land Commissioner race, as well as answering our questions. Click here to join our Meetup or RSVP for this event.

From :
Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM), the political voice of New Mexico’s conservation community, is pleased to announce our endorsement of Jim Baca as our next State Land Commissioner. The Commissioner of Public Lands manages approximately 9 million acres of state trust lands, and thus wields considerable influence over New Mexico’s natural landscapes and precious resources.

“Jim Baca has a proven record of leadership and a tireless commitment to protecting the natural qualities that we cherish about New Mexico,” stated Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of CVNM.  “Jim Baca will protect our legacy and bring balance back to the State Land Office.”

“We need a Land Commissioner who will bring innovation, a love for the land, and a vision for generating sustainable revenue on state trust lands while protecting our ecological wealth for future generations,” stated Buffett.   

Baca’s plan includes a proactive approach towards clean energy development in New Mexico. The plan will diversify the state’s current revenue dependence on oil and gas towards clean energy. “Clean energy is going to be a major economic growth industry in the American West,” said Baca. “New Mexico has some of the world’s best potential for renewable energy development.”

“I am honored that a conservation group as prominent as CVNM would endorse my campaign based upon conservation principles,” stated Baca upon learning of the endorsement. “This group fights diligently everyday to protect New Mexico’s water, landscapes, and wild places.”

Conservation Voters New Mexico is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501c4 organization. CVNM’s mission is to make sensible conservation policies a top priority for elected officials, political candidates, and voters across the state. For more information, please visit www.CVNM.org

CVNM can only elect pro-conservation candidates with your valuable support! Please consider updating your membership support by clicking .

Please also visit https://www.jimbaca.com/

Watch the Video: 14 Days to Put Lamont Over the Top

Watch Ned's Message to DFA

From Jim Dean at Democracy for America:
Three months ago, Joe Lieberman led Ned Lamont in the polls by more than forty points. But you took a chance on Ned and thousands of DFA members around the country pitched in to help his insurgent campaign. The result? Two new polls show that Ned Lamont has surged into a narrow lead over Lieberman. 

Now we have the chance to put Ned Lamont over the top. Ned has recorded an exclusive video for DFA members to give you an update on the final 14 days. Click here to watch the video and find out how you can get involved:

The story of an insurgent, people-powered candidate moving to the top of the polls against the Democratic establishment is not new. My brother, Howard, was in a similar position three and a half years ago in the 2004 presidential primary. I don't need to remind you about what happened when the Beltway Democrats placed a giant target on his back and took aim. Let's make sure that history doesn't repeat itself with Ned Lamont.

We have a plan to fight back and win. Over the next few weeks, we'll be working closely with DFA members in Connecticut towards a Lamont victory on August 8. DFA members will be pounding the pavement and knocking on doors in a massive effort to get out the vote. Click here to watch Ned's video and find out how you can get involved:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/nedlamont

It's going to be close -- now let's close the deal.  Thank you again for everything.

Sincerely,
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

P.S. After you watch the video from Ned, don't forget to sign-up for tonight's DFA Night School workshop about breaking into the Mainstream Media:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/nightschool

Editor's Note: Democracy for New Mexico is loosely affiliated with the national group Democracy for America. To subscribe to DFNM's email list, go here and join our Albuquerque Meetup group. To get on the email list for the national group, register at DFA Link.

Weekly ABQ Vigil for Middle Eastern Peace Fridays in Nob Hill

From KUNM event calendar:
Dates, Time: Every Friday, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Venue: Intersection of Wellesley & Central 
Presenting Organization:
Email Address: nmmecca@hotmail.com 

Description: LET PALESTINE LIVE! LET LEBANON LIVE!
Please join us in a peaceful vigil calling on the world to LET PALESTINE and LEBANON LIVE, and calling on the US and International Community to STOP THE ATROCITIES BEING COMMITTED BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. We will gather each Friday evening from 6:30 - 8:30 PM on Central and Wellesley in Nob Hill. Wear black and bring signs if you are able.

NM Democratic Reunion Events Set for This Weekend

Democrats all over the nation will be participating in "Democratic Reunion" events this coming weekend. Here in New Mexico, there are events scheduled for Chavez, Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Taos, Dona Ana, Socorro, Valencia, Roosevelt and Quay counties and Las Vegas. You can learn more and sign up for events at the DNC's Democratic Reunion site, or create your own event. There'll be cookouts, picnics, canvassing, ice cream socials, potlucks and more. Here's the info on Bernalillo County's event:

From theTerri Holland, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County: The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County is hosting our First Annual Old Fashioned County Picnic to be held this year on Saturday, July 29 from noon through 5:00 PM at Villa Hispana -- Expo New Mexico (State Fair Grounds). This will be free to one and all, there will be games for adults and children, a raffle, a cakewalk, candidates, music and lots of fun. Our goal is to energize the county and help to get out the vote. We will have hot-dogs and hamburgers, cokes and treats for sale, but families will be encouraged to bring their own picnic lunch. Call for any further details - 256-1855. All Democrats welcome!

Our Own Private Syriana

With all the 24/7 coverage of the carnage in Lebanon and Israel, not much attention has been paid to the deepening disaster in Iraq. An LA Times article describes the escalating, cold-blooded violence that took another 100 lives in Iraq on Sunday alone:

Victims of the Sadr City bombing, which residents attributed to a suicide bomber, included poor Shiite teenagers who operate vending stands selling groceries to support their families during summer break. Officials said 70 people were wounded in the bombing.

... Many U.S. and Iraqi officials say Shiite militias, many with ties to the highest echelons of political power, represent a greater danger to Iraqi security than Sunni insurgents. At least 21 bodies of men believed to be Sunni Arabs were discovered in western and central Baghdad on Sunday, all of them shot in the head and bearing signs of torture in the style attributed to Shiite militiamen with possible ties to the Interior Ministry.

This is how a Reuters story describes the rapidly deteriorating situation:

Iraqi leaders have all but given up on holding the country together and, just two months after forming a national unity government, talk in private of "black days" of civil war ahead. Signalling a dramatic abandonment of the U.S.-backed project for Iraq, there is even talk among them of pre-empting the worst bloodshed by agreeing to an east-west division of Baghdad into Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim zones, senior officials told Reuters.

... Broadly speaking Iraq could split in three: a Shi'ite south, Kurdish north and Sunni Arab west. But there could be fierce fighting between Arabs and Kurds for Mosul and for Kirkuk's oil as well as urban war in Baghdad, resembling Beirut in the 1970s.

If anyone can figure out what's in the minds of Bush and the neocons other than a pathological hunger for some sort of demented, nihilistic oil empire that flourishes amid total cultural breakdown, let me know.

Think: the utter destruction we've caused in Iraq has unleashed the Shi'ite militias there, yet we're making emergency shipments of bunker buster bombs to the Israeli military to drop on Shi'ite neighborhoods in Lebanon. We're allegedly seeking to construct democracies by winning hearts and minds, yet every strategy we pursue seems designed to stir up more anti-American fervor and radicalize even moderates. Nothing is being built except American military bases. Stability in the region decreases with each passing day. Hatred is suckled. Order is deconstructed. There are needless and brutal deaths on all sides.

More and more, Bush's complicated weaving of various strains of corruption, chaos, cold-blooded opportunism and wreckless violence into an ugly patchwork quilt of aggression and greed resembles the portrait of oil mongering insanity presented in the movie "Syriana."

We watched it this weekend and thought it captured the deadly and confusing madness of the Bush era to a tee. The shots of George Clooney in Beirut were especially jarring given recent events. Have you seen it? The film's blurbs: This is about our interests in the region. Oil is running out and 90% of what's left is in the Middle East. This is a fight to the death. Everything is connected."

Valle Vidal Protection Act Passes House of Representatives!

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
Just moments ago, the House of Representatives passed the Valle Vidal Protection Act! This is a huge victory in our efforts to preserve New Mexico's "Valley of Life" for future generations to come.  A big congratulations to all of you who have written letters and made phone calls to our representatives.

If you live in New Mexico, please take a moment to call your representative and thank them for their efforts to pass this legislation through the House, in particular Congressman Tom Udall who is the author of the legislation. All of New Mexico's Representatives supported the Valle Vidal Protection Act.

Congressman Udall: 202-225-6190 ; Congresswoman Wilson: 202-225-6316; Congressman Pearce: 202-225-2365

It is important to note that the bill must now pass through the Senate in order to secure permanent protection for this spectacular area. Please also call Senator Domenici and respectfully urge him to work to pass the same legislation in the Senate: 202-224-6621

With over 99% of the citizens of New Mexico supporting the protection of Valle Vidal, it is critical that Senator Domenici work with Senator Bingaman to ensure this area stays protected for future generations to come.

Editor's Note: This bill would ban oil and natural-gas drilling on 102,000 acres of Northern New Mexico's high-mountain valleys and forests that is controlled by the US Forest Service. Visit the website of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal for more information.

Big Turnout Needed for Next Ethics & Campaign Finance Reform Task Force Meeting

From Common Cause NM:
It seems like every day we hear new stories about state contractors making huge campaign contributions. With New Mexico's lax campaign finance and ethics laws, just about anything is legal.  And, it will not be long before we are reminded of an ongoing federal corruption trial.

With all of this bad news, the prospects for reform can seem pretty bleak.  But, Common Cause members and friends do have a venue for addressing these ever-increasing problems over the next several months; the ethics and campaign reform task force. The next meeting of the ethics and campaign reform task force will be Wednesday, July 26, 9:00 AM at the UNM Law School, Room 3042.  Public comment is scheduled for 12:00 PM, and again at 3:45 PM.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for Common Cause members and friends to attend the task force meeting.  As always, there will be ample opportunity for public comment, so please let your voice be heard next Wednesday!

Folks, there is more than a little skepticism in the media and from the general public about the chances to achieve real reform. I can think of no better time than now to let public officials know that anything short of systemic reform in the areas of gifts, campaign contributions, oversight and disclosure is unacceptable.

We can make a powerful statement by filling the seats in the meeting room, so please join me on July 26 at the UNM Law School!

Thank you, I look forward to seeing you at the task force meeting on July 26!

Sincerely,
Matt Brix
Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico
Common Cause NM