Democracy for New Mexico

Popejoy Hosts Tim Robbins' "1984"

The Actor’s Gang brings George Orwell’s classic "1984" to life in the stage adaptation directed by Tim Robbins (Mystic River, Shawshank Redemption). This is Tim Robbins’ first production since the award-winning "Embedded." Founded in 1981, The Actor’s Gang has become one of Los Angeles’ most enduring theatre ensembles. Known for their bold, original works and daring reinterpretations of classics, the Actor’s Gang’s work is raw and socially minded.

Written more than half a century ago, "1984" creates a world where people are afraid to express their views freely, where leaders are not held accountable for their deceptions, where perpetual war is waged against an unseen enemy. It is a world where Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery, and War is Peace. The most striking aspect of "1984" is its parallels to current events and headlines stemming from around the world. Read more about the Robbins' production.

"1984"- Tuesday, March 27, 7:30 PM
$39, $35, $29, $20 - Buy Tickets

Iglesias on Fox News Sunday: "My Firing Was a Political Hit" (And More on "Voter Fraud")

Think Progress has video and a transcript. They report:

Today on Fox News Sunday, former U.S. attorney David Iglesias beat back several misleading claims by Bush administration officials, and reasserted that his firing was a “political hit,” not done for performance reasons.

He pointed out that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales agreed to write him a recommendation even after he was fired. “If [my firing] was performance based, there is no way they would have agreed to have allowed me to list them as a reference,” he said. “In fact, they agreed, telling me that the true nature was political, not performance.”

New York Times Has More
In the interview with Iglesias, Chris Wallace referred to today's New York Times front page story about the scandal, which reports:

Mr. Iglesias defended his handling of the vote-fraud and other investigations, saying his critics did not have access to the findings that guided his decisions. He says the attacks occurred because state Republican leaders felt betrayed, figuring “We helped the guy get the position, he owes us some kind of fealty.” [emphasis mine]

The article had this to say about the political maneuvering in New Mexico and Washington regarding Iglesias:

Mr. Iglesias said he had believed that his bosses shared his view that United States attorneys should stay above the fray. “I thought I was insulated from politics,” he said in an interview. “But now I find out that main Justice was up to its eyeballs in partisan political maneuvering.”

Since his ouster, Mr. Iglesias has received support from other federal prosecutors, who say the department failed to honor its obligation to ensure that decisions about prosecutions are free of political taint.

“People who understand the history and the mission of the United States attorney and Justice Department — they are uniformly appalled, horrified,” said Atlee W. Wampler III, chairman of a national organization of former United States attorneys and a prosecutor who served in the Carter and Reagan administrations. “That the tradition of the Justice Department could have been so warped by that kind of action — any American should be disturbed.”

Lack of Evidence of "Voter Fraud"
As to the alleged "voter fraud" that had Republican attorney Mickey Barnett and others so het up in 2004 in New Mexico, Iglesias lays out why he could not and did not bring charges, despite being pressured by Republicans eager for headlines they could use to their advantage in the election:

To appear even-handed, Mr. Iglesias set up a bipartisan task force with state officials to look into the matter. But soon after announcing his plan, he received an e-mail message from Mickey D. Barnett, a Republican lawyer who represented the Bush campaign in New Mexico, urging him just to bring federal charges against any violators.

Culling through about 100 tips about fraud, investigators found only a handful that had some merit, and “only one where we had a real shot,” Mr. Iglesias said.

That inquiry focused on the woman who had submitted the registration applications in the names of the teenagers and at least two dozen others. Mr. Iglesias said she had worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or Acorn, which had paid her and others in part based on how many applications they turned in.

He said that when the F.B.I. interviewed her, she did not make any clear admission of guilt. And under federal election law, Mr. Iglesisas said, prosecutors would have had to prove that the woman, who had been fired for other reasons, had falsified the applications with the intent of influencing the election. Mr. Iglesias said “it appeared she was just doing it for the money.”

Albuquerque Attorney John Boyd Weighs In
Be sure to read New Mexico FBIHOP's , which includes coverage of a Brad Blog story that reports on studies showing American "voter fraud" to be a bogus problem, as well as a must-read statement by Albuquerque attorney John Boyd, who represented the Democratic Party of New Mexico when state Repubs filed voter fraud claims in 2004.

Front-Paged at Daily Kos (Again)
The Party That Cried Voter Fraud is another excellent commentary on the "voter fraud" that wasn't, and why the Repubs are constantly crying wolf on this issue. Hint: It provides cover for their own extensively documented election fraud and gives them an excuse to try reduce the numbers of Democrats who register and vote.

For even more on the "voter fraud" angle to this story, read our previous post. All of our posts on the U.S. Attorney firings can be found in our archive.

Sunday Daisy Blogging

Sunday is usually bird blogging day but Sunny the sun conure, Bosco the lovebird and our seven parakeets have been camera shy lately. Maybe they're paranoid about Alberto Gonzales or maybe they just have Spring fever. Luckily, Bridgett sent us this lovely photo of Daisy, who would fit right in with CodePINK in this outfit, don't you think?

Bridgett says: Daisy is a sweet, little Doxie/Chi mix. I adopted her from New Mexico Animal Friends when she was five months old. Her favorite things to do include playing at the Los Altos dog park and taking long walks up in the foothills. Don’t let the picture fool you -- she's only slightly tolerant of wearing clothing. She prefers to au naturale, but she'll humor her Mom on occasion by posing for a picture. Daisy’s interest in politics only extends as far as negotiating with three cats for a spot on her Mom’s lap. I call her my “little ray of sunshine” because she has brought so much happiness and light into my life. Her joyous attitude is contagious!

Shocker: Still a Chance for NM Domestic Partnership Act in Special Session?

From Alexis Blizman of Equality New Mexico:
After a very long and grueling battle HB 603 did not pass. However, this legislation is far from dead. The Governor is calling a special session for this Tuesday, March 20, 2007. There will only be four items on the agenda, one of which will be our bill.

Editor's Note: EQNM will be sending out more info as it becomes available. Stay tuned. Phew. See my earlier post on what happened with the Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act in the waning hours of the Legislative Session. Visit this archive for all our previous posts on this issue.

PS: According to , rumors are that Tuesday's Special Session may also deal with the GRIP II road bill and a couple of ethics bills.

Today at 3 PM: Last Insight NM Show for Now

Tune in today from 3:00 to 4:00 PM to listen to the last installment of the current run of , the progressive talk radio show on 1350 AM hosted by Eric Griego and Suzanne Prescott. They'll be talking about legislative successes and failures, heroes and devils, talk radio and the progressive movement, and where to go next. Should local politics abandon talk radio in New Mexico and leave it to the neo-cons? Call in during the broadcast with your questions and comments: 338-4090.

A number of Dem legislators have been invited to call in with their assessments of the 2007 Legislative Session, which ended today at Noon. They include Senators Pete Campos (Las Vegas), Dede Feldman (Albuquerque) and Jerry Ortiz y Pino (Albuquerque), and Representatives Thomas Swisstack (Rio Rancho) and Peter Wirth (Santa Fe). Everything depends on whether they can stay awake for the interview given the hectic, almost 24:7 pace of the last week at the Roundhouse.

Insight New Mexico aired for 10 weeks during the Legislative Session and may return in the future if all goes well. We hope so -- Eric, Suzanne, Chris and Mikey did a terrific job -- and we want more! Podcasts of all their shows will remain available here, so check out what you may have missed.

Down to the Wire: NM Senate Kills Campaign Contribution Limits But Passes Limitation on Gifts

At the last minute, and following Majority Leader Michael Sanchez's stalling on the votes, Sen. John Grubesic's bill to limit gifts (SB 931) passed the Senate and will go to the Governor for signature, while Sen. Dede Feldman's limitations on campaign contributions (SB 800) failed by one vote. The only other major ethics bill passed this session was one sponsored by Rep. Cervantes (HB 823) that added judges to those covered by the Government Conduct Act.

I'll once again quote Steve Terrell's blog report from the Senate Floor on this (below), but you should also read Heath Haussamen's countdown post tracking last minute action leading to the Noon finish of our 60-day Legislative Session.

By a vote of  21 to 20, Senate Bill 800 went down in flames about five minutes before the close of the session. The Senate was voting on concurring with House amendments on the bill. It would have passed by one vote, but Sen. Joe Carraro changed his vote from yes to no. Democratic senators who voted no were Shannon Robinson, Tim Jennings, John Arthur Smith and Linda Lopez. Since you can’t buy state officials expensive gifts anymore, you’ll just have to give them bigger campaign contributions.

Remember when Sen. Lopez was considered a progressive? Why did she keep all the ethics bills passed by the House (along with the Senate versions) stalled in the Senate Rules Committee, which she chairs, for weeks? Why did she vote against a bill that would match federal laws on campaign contributions? We'll have to ask her.

New Mexico Compromise Minimum Wage Passed

The final bill (SB 324) passed by the SNM enate 22-20 today would raise the minimum to $6.50 an hour on January 1, 2008 and $7.50 an hour on January 1, 2009. It has no provision for the rate to rise according to inflation. It doesn't cover agricultural workers. It doesn't allow communities to adopt a higher rate until 2010. I guess that last part is considered a House victory over the Senate plan to freeze the ability of communities to raise it until 2013.

(4 Updates) Waiting on the NM Domestic Partnership Act

UPDATE 2:30 PM: See news from EQNM in my later post. The bill's still alive!

UPDATE 3.17.07, Noon: The Domestic Partnership bill reportedly was debated in the House for three hours late last night but got nowhere as far as I can tell.

UPDATE 11:00 PM: Here's what Steve Terrell says: "Earlier tonight the Senate amended — and basically gutted — the domestic partners bill. Four Democrats — Tim Jennings (Roswell), John Arthur Smith (Deming), Lidio Rainaldi (Gallup) and Carlos Cisneros (Questa) joined the Senate Republicans to do this. Advocates of the bill said they were especially surprised at Cisneros’ vote. There’s an effort to get the House to reject the new version and send it back to the Senate. Not sure if they’ve got the votes to change it back."

Recall that Cisneros was also one of the Dems who voted to stop the impeachment bill from getting to the Senate Floor. I also wonder who wasn't there to vote. That's always a nice dodge too....

UPDATE 10:30 PM: Equality New Mexico resports: "HB603 in limbo ... amended by the Senate late this evening and is headed back to the House.  We're working hard to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions." KOAT-TV news reported the bill had been "gutted," whatever that means. Sounds like the usual Democratic suspects in the NM Senate were bound and determined to stop any meaningful bill from getting through. More will be revealed and names will be named.
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I've been anxiously waiting to hear if HB 603, New Mexico's Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act, passes the Senate. Still no word. It was originally scheduled on the NM Senate agenda yesterday, then delayed until today. If it passes, Gov. Richardson has said he will sign it and history will be made in New Mexico.

As always in the last hours of a legislative session, there will be a crush of last minute votes on bills, frantic deal making and heated exchanges. Many important pieces of legislation will be abandoned and left to die, some due to neglect, others by design. A chosen few will be pushed through like magic as the hours count down to the end time. Our 2007 Session is over at Noon tomorrow, so push has come to shove.

I have a personal and emotional interest in the domestic partnership bill. My partner and I have been together going on 18 years, through thick and thin, through sickness and in health, through laughter and tears, through good times and bad, through problems and successes, through easy times and couples therapy. We have worked hard to create a strong, stable, statisfying, enduring relationship that is, after all, the family we nourish and celebrate. As we grow older -- with the accompanying health risks, growing financial challenges and knowledge that, day by day, we're reaching a time in our lives when things may change abruptly -- we're forced to think about the dreary realities that partnerships like ours face in our dealings with a legal system that doesn't recognize our union. With a democracy that hasn't yet seen fit to grant us full citizenship.

Eric Griego, in his latest column for the Albuquerque Tribune, communicates the human side of situations like ours (and his uncle's) as well as anyone has in this community of late. Read it and consider emailing a copy to your State Senator (and your friends and colleagues). We can only hope New Mexico's Senators will understand what is really at stake when and if they get to vote on the bill between now and Noon on Saturday. Families and futures are in the balance. They hold such power in their votes.

First-Ever Online Living Memorial to Iraq Veterans Unveiled Today

(Cick on image on right to select another memorial.)

Brave New Foundation Opens Iraq Veterans Memorial on Fourth Anniversary of Iraq War at https://iraqmemorial.org

LOS ANGELES—On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War, the Brave New Foundation today unveiled the first-ever online living memorial to fallen servicemen and women. The Iraq Veterans Memorial can be seen online at https://iraqmemorial.org/ and at any one of the hundreds of websites hosting the video memorial via YouTube. (We feature the Memorial above.) The memorial bears witness to our heroes with 60-second video testimonies sent in from around the country by family, friends, co-workers, and the military colleagues of those killed.

Events around the nation will showcase the Memorial, some are listed below. There are also select quotes from the memorial printed below.

"Inspired by the AIDS Quilt, the Vietnam memorial, and The New York Times biographies of the 9/11 victims, we decided to create a living online memorial to U.S. soldiers killed during the Iraq War," said filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who conceived the project, "No matter what you think about the war, the memorial is a place to honor the brave men and women who have been killed in Iraq serving our nation."

Unlike traditional memorials, the Iraq Veterans Memorial will be shared across the world via the internet and added to over time, with those wanting to contribute having the ability to upload testimonials to YouTube. For the past two months, Brave New Foundation has been working with numerous Iraq veterans groups to create the memorial.

Those who participated in the memorial did so to celebrate the lives of those who have been killed.

"I got involved in the Iraq Veterans Memorial because of the community that will build from it and the access people will have to see the humanity behind the numbers of those who were killed in Iraq," said Marc Porterfield, a West Point graduate who participated in the memorial. "My father was killed in Vietnam. His name is on the Wall in DC. With this type of memorial I can access it from anywhere in the world."

Over 500 websites and blogs have signed up to host the Iraq Veterans Memorial, cable stations and community groups will also screen the memorial to mark the fourth anniversary of the war.

Quotes from the Iraq Veterans Memorial:

"My angel was given to me on October 7th, 1980 and he remains my angel to this day. Jamaal was killed March 23rd, 2003 in the Iraq War. He was with the 7th Maintenance Company. He was with Jessica Lynch and the POW's, that was his convoy. He died the fourth day of the war. I just want to tell those that never got the opportunity to know him and know what kind of person that he was, he was definitely an angel and he was a hero. But he was a hero long before he ever got killed in this war."
--Patricia M. Roberts in a testimonial her son, Army Spc. Jamaal Addison, age 22, who was killed in ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

"He was a guy who loved what he did, loved serving our country. It's what he always wanted to do. His goal was to come home and be a Border Patrol Agent."
--Frances Renee Mercado talking about her brother Army Spc. Genaro Acosta of Fair Oaks, CA, who died November 11, 2003 in Taji, Iraq at age 26.

"My son is Sergeant Alex Carbonaro. He is a reconnaissance Marine. He was killed in his second deployment to Iraq in Al-Anbar province. My son, he was my only child. He was very special to us. He was loved by so many … he was an ambassador. He was able to make people get along. He could be the prefect diplomat. He brought a whole variety of friends together. He was the glue that held them all together."
--Gilda Carbonaro in her memorial to her son, Marine Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro of Bethesda, MD, who died at age 28.

"When he came to me, he said I'm gonna miss you most of all, Scarecrow. Because both of us love the Wizard of Oz. And I didn't really understand that it was the last time I would ever see him or hold him. And finally, he gave me a hug and I turned away and I started to cry. And he spoke to the rest of the family and then he walked back into his barracks and raised his hand as if in a salute to us.

And that night an incredible full moon rose in the sky, the biggest full moon I've ever seen. And I thought it was a sign but I didn't know what kind of sign it was, now whenever I see full moons I always think of Sherwood."
--Celeste Zappala in her video memorial for her son Army Sgt. Sherwood R. Baker of Plymouth, PA, killed in Baghdad, Iraq at age 30.

"This was a child that every parent would be very, very proud of. Every parent should have the relationship that I have with my son. He was my right hand. He was my friend, my son, my confidant. And to lose somebody such as Seth is a tremendous lost to me as a mother. I've lost what I felt was going to be a young man with a phenomenal future that would have everything that he needed or wanted …"
--Sue Niederer talking about her son Army 2nd Lt. Seth J. Dvorin of East Brunswick, NJ, killed in Iskandariyah, Iraq at age 24.

"I'm amazed constantly that he was my child. I thought he was such a gift. And I believe that what most of the people that he served with will always remember about him is his cheerful attitude; his willingness to always jump in and help; and his sense of humor; his love for music and all the arts; and just the way he loved his fellow man."
--Alfred Zappala speaking about his son Army Sgt. Sherwood R. Baker, killed in Baghdad, Iraq at age 30.

"When Paul died I was given his laptop computer. It was a bitter sweet gift. On it was hundreds of photos documenting his time in Iraq. He had documented how him and his buddies, making the best of a difficult situation. I could see his life loving nature come through those pictures. The day I heard the news, his helicopter was shot down, I knew he was on it before the call came. There was an instant void. He died doing what he loved. There is some comfort knowing that. The thing that most people remember about Paul is how much he loved life and his infectious smile. Without Paul in this world, the sun just doesn't shine as bright. He is desperately missed by his family, his friends and most of all his son."
--Dawn Brastad in her video memorial to her brother Army Staff Sgt. Paul M. Neff II of Fort Mill, SC, shot down and killed in Tikrit, Iraq at age 30.

You can host the memorial on your website, download video to play on your iPod or laptop, to burn on a DVD, learn how to project it for showings at events or host a screening or vigil by https://iraqmemorial.org/hosts.php

CodePINK joins Stop the War Machine and a long list of local organizations, including Democracy for New Mexico, that are supporting tomorrow's antiwar march in Albuquerque marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion. Gather at Civic Plaza downtown, march to Robinson Park with stops at the offices of Sen. Pete "Prosecutor Purge" Domenici and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and rally at Robinson Park for Peace-A-Palooza.

The South West Organizing Project is organizing music and dancing: Aztec dancers will be performing as the march reaches Robinon park to bless the festivities. Plans include Slam Poets (ABQ Slam Team), Bands (including Mezcla Experience, Hakim Bellamy and Members, Raging Grannies), Dance Groups, live painting by local aerosol artists, and Inti-Illimani a Chilean band, which has promoted Latin American folk music worldwide and collaborated with artists such as Federico Fellini, Mercedes Sosa, Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen. (Inti-Illimania is also performing March 17 at 8 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center; see NHCC calendar).

Visit the March17.org website for the latest information. Download a flyer.

Peace events will be taking place Saturday in other New Mexico communities including Taos, Los Alamos and Santa Fe, with a March on the Pentagon in Washington DC and other actions all over the nation.

On Monday, March 29, you can organize or join a candlelight vigil for peace supported by MoveOn, True Majority and other progressive and peace organizations.

And don't forget the gathering at 4:30 PM today in Corrales at the town hall meeting with Rep. Tom Udall.