Democracy for New Mexico

Obscure NM News Item of the Day

The kind of info that's often revealed only in short paragraphs on the interior pages of newspapers can be startling. Editorial decisions to downplay certain news stories so that more prominent coverage can be given to more "entertaining" or non-controversial news are rampant. No wonder so many of our citizens are so poorly informed if and when they head to the voting booth.

Here's a prime example of a story you'd think would be front page news because it deals with a potential danger to Rio Grande water quality -- a current water source for Santa Fe and a near future water source for Albuquerque. It was limited to these few paragraphs on the Around New Mexico page of a Saturday edition of the Albuquerque Journal:

LOS ALAMOS— Los Alamos National Laboratory should develop a system to advise the city of Santa Fe when it should temporarily stop drawing water from the Rio Grande due to radiological contamination, a new report recommends.

The state Environment Department report found that radiological contaminants left in sediment along the river by the lab decades ago pose no immediate health risk.

But in a statement issued Friday, agency scientists urge the lab to do more to stop contaminants from washing down the Rio Grande and to develop a notification system whenever flooding may increase river contamination.

The statement released by the agency states that LANL can control the movement of sediment through the installation of weirs, stabilizing eroding banks, planting riparian vegetation and restoring damaged wetlands.

LANL's communications office was not available for comment Friday night.

No big whoop, eh?

Jeff Armijo Pleads Not Guilty to Four Count Indictment

It was revealed yesterday that a grand jury indicted former Dem state auditor candidate Jeff Armijo in mid-March for one felony count of false imprisonment and three misdemeanor battery counts in connection with accusations of sexual misconduct from August, 2006. He was booked into the Bernalillo County Detention Center on April 10 and released on his own recognizance. He's pleaded not guilty on all counts. Armijo was forced to resign as a candidate last Fall when allegations that resulted in the current indictment became public. Hector Balderas replaced him on the ballot and was successful in his election for state auditor. Heath Haussamen has the most complete story. There are also stories in the Albuquerque Tribune and Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican.

It's only fair to remember that being indicted doesn't mean a person is guilty. Innocence is presumed unless and until that person is convicted in a court of law. What the indictment does mean is that Armijo will have his day in court, one way or the other, unless the District Attorney throws the case out.

For more background on this controversial story, here are some of our previous posts on the situation:

• Jeff Armijo Withdraws as Auditor Candidate, 8/30/06
• Jeff Armijo Press Conference Set for 4:45 Today, 9/5/06
• Armijo Announces He'll Stay in Race: Others Say He's Already Off the Ballot, 9/5/06
• Latest on Armijo Ballot Battle, 9/6/06
• Hector Balderas Continuing His Run for State Auditor, 9/6/06
• Armijo to File Suit Today to Stay on Ballot, Cancel SCC Meeting, 9/8/06
• State Dem Party and Jeff Armijo File Suits in Ballot Battle, 9/9/06

Edwards Campaign Offers End the War T-Shirts and Free Bumperstickers

(Click on image for larger version.)

I like it. The John Edwards campaign is offering a free "Support the Troops - End the War" bumpersticker to anyone who asks. For $20, you can get both the bumpersticker and a t-shirt with the same message. Click to order. They're also encouraging people to take action during the Memorial Day weekend to help end the war, and suggest 10 things you can do. Visit this page for more info. I think EVERY Democratic presidential candidate should be doing something like this, don't you? (And much more, of course.)

Spread the Word: New Grant Program Available for Progressive Youth Organizers in NM

From Skyline Public Works:
A new grant program is being offered to young organizers in New Mexico. Its part of a program we call the Go Grants. Click for a flyer (doc) with more information. We are offering a quarter of a million dollars to new or existing organizations that target young people for registration, voting, but then further keep them engaged after the elections are over with service projects and a legislative agenda.

If you know of any people who might be interested in something like this please encourage them to apply, pass it around, or blog about it themselves.

Sarah Burris
Director of Development and Fundraising
Skyline Public Works
650.364.2700, sarah@skylinepublicworks.com

New Ownership Relaunches Air America Radio

From Air America Radio:
NEW YORK – May 17, 2007– Air America Radio today released a new website and ad campaign in conjunction with the official "ReLaunch" of Air America 2.0 on Monday May 21. All 12 Air America hosts starting on the 21st will air some 30+ taped interviews with prominent headliners (see list below) who discuss their thoughts on the Iraq war, campaign finance reform and the ’08 election, among other topics.

"The completely redesigned website will give Air America listeners another platform to participate in the progressive movement through an interactive blog where they can read and give commentary on topical issues of the day," said Mark Green, the new president of Air America; the site will also be easier to navigate with updated information about AAR shows and talent.

The network's hosts will begin to regularly blog on the 21st ReLaunch, along with Nancy Scola, who has been chosen as Air America's chief blogger. Nancy Scola is a Brooklyn-based blogger and writer who has served as a congressional aide and a presidential campaign staffer; she writes widely online, on everything from the latest in technology policy to the rebuilding of New Orleans. 

The network also kicked off a new “I'm an Air American!” ad campaign in various radio trade publications, featuring the actor Paul Newman, as well as a series of talent-based ads beginning with Lionel, who joins the network from 9 AM-12 PM.

The two new weekday shows include "Lionel" and "The Air Americans" hosted by veteran Mark Riley, with correspondents Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, David Bender and Laura Flanders, airing at 8p-12a weeknights. The new weekend shows include "Seder on Sunday" from 4-7 PM Sunday and "7 Days in America" 6-7 PM Saturdays, a week-in-review show with Arianna Huffington, Mark Green, Bob Kerrey and Bob Shrum.

"This new phase in Air America's three year history has three goals," concluded Green. "First, we’ve created an even stronger lineup based on proven veterans, like Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, and The Young Turks. Second, we’ve rebuilt the website to create a community and conversation that becomes the go-to progressive bulletin board and social network in the country. And third, we’re asking all progressive patriots interested in talk radio to become 'Air Americans.' The critical mass of 30 headliners kicking off Air America 2.0 is the kind of news and views that we'll be offering for years to come and that no other radio or TV network now provides."

Air America Radio is the national progressive entertainment talk radio network. It is broadcast on 64 stations nationwide and on XM satellite and can be heard via live Internet streaming on www.airamericaradio.com.

The guests interviewed include:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg
David Brooks
A.G. Jerry Brown
Ron Brownstein
Senator Hillary Clinton
Howard Dean
Senator Dick Durbin
Senator John Edwards
Senator Russ Feingold
Al Franken
Senator John Kerry
Tony Kushner
Josh Marshall
Chris Matthews
Markos Moulitsas
Ralph Nader
Paul Newman
Senator Barack Obama
Rep. Charles Rangel
Robert Redford
Senator Jack Reed
Gov. Bill Richardson
Anthony Romero
Liev Schreiber
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Ted Sorensen
Gov. Eliot Spitzer
Gloria Steinem
George Stephanopoulos
Joe Trippi
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Anthony Weiner

Editor's Note: Air America programming is carried on Progressive Talk KABQ 1350 AM in Albuquerque. Click to visit their website. Air America is also aired on KTRC 1260 AM in Santa Fe and in Taos, and can be heard nationally on XM satellite radio channel 167. You can also listen to a live stream on Air America's website.

NM Health Coverage Study Preliminary Results: Health Security Act Option Could Cut Costs

Hallelujah. According to an Albuquerque Journal article on yesterday's meeting of the Richardson-appointed Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee, preliminary results of a Mathematica study comparing three universal coverage options indicate New Mexico could reap savings by implementing universal health care coverage. Perhaps most compelling was Mathematica's finding that the Health Security Act option -- which would replace the current hodge podge of insurers with a single co-op arrangement to achieve universal coverage -- would result in a potential savings of millions of dollars:

Mathematica estimated that $6.11 billion will be spent in New Mexico on health care in 2007, excluding spending on Medicare and a few other programs the company didn't evaluate. Spending under the proposed Health Security Act, which would eliminate most private insurance and give control of health care financing to a commission, would be $5.93 billion.

The Health Security Act option would utlize a combination of public and private funding. The latest version of the New Mexico Health Security Act was introduced in our January Legislative Session, but became bogged down in committee. The text of that bill can be found here. Similar legislation has been proposed in every Legislative Session since 1993.

Matematica also estimated that the two other options studied would result in small increases in costs to the state:

... Mathematica also evaluated expanding existing public programs, such as Medicaid, to include all the uninsured, and a third approach that would have the state select a variety of private health plans from which people could buy insurance using a state-issued voucher. In that approach, lower-income people would receive state help to buy the insurance.

Expanding public programs would cost $6.3 billion, or less than 3 percent more than the existing system, Chollet said. The third approach, called New Mexico Choices, would cost an estimated $6.7 billion.

According to an Albuquerque Journal article from December of last year:

On October 19, [2006] 11 out of 19 members of Gov. Bill Richardson's Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee, his third task force on health insurance reform, ranked the New Mexico Health Security Plan as their No. 1 choice to be included in a study that will analyze three different health care reform models and how they impact rising health care costs.

Full Report Set for June Release
As noted in a previous post, the next meeting of the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee will be held on from 9 AM to 5 PM on June 21 in Room 322 of the State Capitol building in Santa Fe. The complete results of Mathematica study will be released for that meeting.

For more information on this issue, including links to Mathematica study materials, visit Health Action New Mexico and its Health Care for All campaign.

Gore: The Assault on Reason

I'ts (another) rainy day in New Mexico -- perfect for reading. I suggest you start with a substantial excerpt from Al Gore's soon to be released new book, The Assault on Reason, courtesy of Time magazine. Some quotes:

Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?" The persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of massive and well-understood evidence to the contrary, seems to many Americans to have reached levels that were previously unimaginable.

... It is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. I know I am not alone in feeling that something has gone fundamentally wrong. In 2001, I had hoped it was an aberration when polls showed that three-quarters of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on Sept. 11. More than five years later, however, nearly half of the American public still believes Saddam was connected to the attack.

... what television's dominance has come to mean is that the inherent value of political propositions put forward by candidates is now largely irrelevant compared with the image-based ad campaigns they use to shape the perceptions of voters. The high cost of these commercials has radically increased the role of money in politics—and the influence of those who contribute it. That is why campaign finance reform, however well drafted, often misses the main point: so long as the dominant means of engaging in political dialogue is through purchasing expensive television advertising, money will continue in one way or another to dominate American politics. And as a result, ideas will continue to play a diminished role. That is also why the House and Senate campaign committees in both parties now search for candidates who are multimillionaires and can buy the ads with their own personal resources.

... Fortunately, the Internet has the potential to revitalize the role played by the people in our constitutional framework. It has extremely low entry barriers for individuals. It is the most interactive medium in history and the one with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge. It's a platform for pursuing the truth, and the decentralized creation and distribution of ideas, in the same way that markets are a decentralized mechanism for the creation and distribution of goods and services. It's a platform, in other words, for reason.

But the Internet must be developed and protected, in the same way we develop and protect markets—through the establishment of fair rules of engagement and the exercise of the rule of law. The same ferocity that our Founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the Internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic. We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the Internet service provider they use to connect to the Web. We cannot take this future for granted. We must be prepared to fight for it, because of the threat of corporate consolidation and control over the Internet marketplace of ideas.

Gore to Join Prez Race?
By the way, Gore has provided the strongest hint yet that he may still have plans to enter the presidential race. A soon to be published article in the New York Times reports:

When I asked Gore why he hasn’t dismissed all the speculation by issuing a Shermanesque refusal to stand, as he did in 2002, Gore said, "Having spent 30 years as part of the political dialogue, I don’t know why a 600-day campaign is taken as a given, and why people who aren’t in it 600 days out for the convenience of whatever brokers want to close the door and narrow the field and say, ‘This is it, now let’s place your bets’ — If they want to do that, fine. I don’t have to play that game."

Rey Garduño Hosts Signing Party Saturday

From Rey Garduño, Candidate for Albuquerque City Council District 6:

We are moving forward at a steady and measured pace with The Clean Elections process. We turned in to the City Clerk about a third of the necessary signatures and contributions on Tuesday the 15th; albeit, they need to be vetted. This is great; now, we need commitments from all of us to get at least five (5) of our friends and neighbors to come to a “Signing” Party at my house at 414 Vassar, NE in the UNM Campus (Directions below) from 10 AM - 12 PM this Saturday, May 19th. 

What is this signing party you ask? Quite simply it will be a centralized place where we can ask folks to sign the qualifying form and contribute $5 to democracy. This will qualify me to run as a clean candidate for City Council District 6 this fall, and not have to take campaign contributions from special interests. It is most urgent that we gather these signatures as soon as possible, our deadline is May 29; having begun the process now I can take the forms on a weekly basis to verify the signatures. The sooner we have 271 qualifying signatures the sooner we can begin the campaign and formulate how we are going to improve on the good initiatives already in District 6. Furthermore, we can build a framework cooperatively with the rest of the city to make this a great community.

Thank you in advance for your dedication to Democracy, to our community and my campaign.

Gracias, Rey Garduño

Directions to 414 Vassar NE: From Girard at Campus [street between Central and Lomas] you would go West on Campus into UNM campus turn North or right onto Vassar, the first house on the right is 414 Vassar).

Editor's Note: To determine your City Council District, . To read our previous posts about Rey Garduño's campaign for City Council, click here and here. You can also visit his website: https://reygarduno.blogspot.com/.

Bingaman Votes No on Feingold-Reid Iraq War Amendment

Talk about disappointing. Despite being one of the Senators with enough sanity to vote against granting Bush the power to invade Iraq, Sen. Jeff Bingaman now seems reluctant to do anything meaningful to end the violent and futile fiasco in Iraq. Today, he joined with 18 other Dems (see below) to vote against cloture on the Feingold-Reid amendment, which would require that a redeployment of troops be completed by March 2008, when war funding would end. A total of 29 Democratic Senators voted to support it.

The proposed amendment was to the Water Resources Development Act, not to the supplemental funding bill for the war. The amendment cloture vote was viewed as a test vote to show support for changing course in Iraq. Although only 11 Dem Senators originally signed on as cosponsors, a majority of Dem Senators voted to support it. The plan is to use the show of support in negotiating what will be in the actual supplemental bill to fund the troops , which is due to be negotiated by a House-Senate conference committee next week. What's hopeful is that all of the Dem Senators who are running for president voted for the amendment, essentially going on record as being supportive of a strategy to tie war funding to bringing the troops home. This will be useful in the negotiations on the supplemental funding bill, which Reid and Pelosi have pledged will continue through the usual Memorial Day recess if necessary.

Sen. Feingold noted the growing support for the amendment in his statement after today's vote:

“Today the Senate took another step toward acknowledging the will of the American people, who want to end this misguided mission in Iraq. A majority of Senate Democrats are on the record clearly stating that the President’s Iraq policy is a failure and that we need to take real action to change course. Keeping 150,000 American troops in the middle of an Iraqi civil war both hurts our national security and impedes the ability to reach a political solution in Iraq. We must continue to ratchet up the pressure on the President and supporters of this irresponsible war to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq so we can refocus on those who attacked us on 9/11.”

Senator Feingold originally introduced the Feingold-Reid legislation on April 10th to safely redeploy the troops by March 31, 2008 after which funding for the war would end. With 29 Senators supporting the Feingold-Reid amendment today, the support for changing course in Iraq has grown considerably since thirteen Senators voted in favor of the Feingold-Kerry amendment to the Defense Authorization bill last June, which only set a date certain for redeployment. In August 2005, Feingold became the first Senator to propose the idea of a timetable for redeployment from Iraq.

Not one Republican voted for cloture on Feingold-Reid. Despite growing criticism of Bush's handling of the war coming from moderate Repubs, apparently no-one is yet "secure" enough to represent their constituents' views on Iraq with a vote demanding a real change in course. Instead of putting our troops first, they appear content, at least for now, to continue bowing to the stubborn and politically cynical stance of BushCo on the war. Meanwhile, our troops keep dying in what has obviously become a futile horror show.

The 18 Dem Senators who sided with the cowardly Repubs and voted against cloture on the Feingold-Reid amendment:

Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Levin (D-MI)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)

Clearly, Reid has his hands full trying to convince both these Dems and the reticent moderate Repubs to vote according to the will of the majority of the American people on the war in Iraq. Even at this late stage. Unfortunately, cowardice and inertia are still rampant in the U.S. Senate despite the deplorable ground conditions in Iraq, the urging of former Iraq commanders for a change and the growing pressure from citizens to bring our troops home.

Let Sen. Bingaman Know Your Views
You might want to contact Bingaman's office to urge him to support an end to this war by voting for a deadline in funding and bringing the troops home. You might also ask him why he failed to vote for cloture on the Feingold-Reid amendment, and who he thinks he's representing in voting against a decisive change in course:

Sen. Jeff Bingaman
Washington Office:  (202) 224-5521 or Tollfree (in NM) 1-800-443-8658
Other Offices: Click for contact info
Email: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Click for E-Form

Act Now to Save Internet Radio

Tell Rep. Wilson, Sen. Bingaman and Sen. Domenici:
Rescue Internet Radio

From Free Press: Internet music may soon fall silent.  A new rule concerning a massive increase in fees paid by Internet radio webcasters could force thousands of independent and noncommercial Internet radio operators off the Web. The ruling will go into effect on July 15 unless we act now and urge Congress to rescue Internet radio: Rescue Internet Radio: Take Action Now

After intense lobbying from the recording industry, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ignored a massive public outcry and ruled to dramatically increase the rates webcasters must pay every time they stream a song. These draconian rules will shut down many noncommercial and independent Internet radio outlets, leaving the Web with the same cookie-cutter music formats that have destroyed commercial broadcast radio.

Independent musicians, independent labels, webcasters, media reformers and thousands of Internet radio listeners have joined forces with members of Congress to reverse this bad decision. The bipartisan "Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007" has been introduced in the House by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) and in the Senate by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). The legislation would reverse the CRB decision in favor of a balanced structure that supports artists without putting webcasters out of business.

Musicians must be compensated for their work. But the new regulations would silence many outlets that play independent artists and musical genres that just can't be found on the radio dial. And nonprofit NPR, Pacifica and community radio stations would be forced to take down most of their online musical programming for fear of unmanageable royalty fees.

The bills introduced in the House and Senate would allow artists and musicians to thrive on Internet radio. Industry-wide consolidation has destroyed musical diversity on commercial broadcast radio. We must not let this happen to the Internet.

Onward,
Frannie Wellings, Associate Policy Director
Free Press, www.freepress.net

P.S. You can click here to join our email list and become a Free Press activist.