Democracy for New Mexico

Cornstalk Music Fest and Fundraiser Set for June 16

From the Cornstalk Institute:
 
The Cornstalk Institute presents
The Festival of the Great Unknowns: A Music Lover's Delight
June 16, 11 AM to Midnite
Tickets to the festival are on sale at Natural Sound on Central and at cornstalkinstitute@yahoo.com. A pass for the day is $30 for one person or $50 for two, which is more fun anyhow. 
            
For 15 years the Cornstalk Institute in Albuquerque's South Valley has provided outstanding experiential education programs to Albuquerque's young folk. Mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, climbing, gardening, building and mentoring are among the many activities we use to " educate independent students to become community assets and effective leaders for 21st century democracy."

During the past couple of months, the Institute has been named "Outstanding Prevention Program in the Southwest" and a "Best of 'Burque 'Staff Pick" as the "Best After-School Program You've Probably Never Heard Of" by the Weekly Alibi.

From Noon to Midnite on June 16th, we're presenting The Festival of the Great Unknowns, a music festival at the Institute. Incredible musicians, singers, songwriters, pickers and players from all over the country have donated their time and talent to help us celebrate our 15th year and to raise funds for some of our outstanding students to take some wonderful education expeditions.

Come listen and dance yo butt off to the music of Tucson's Grayhound Soul; Santa Fe geetar whiz Ken Valdez; Madrid singer, songwriter Jim Almand; NYC singer/songwriter Emory Joseph; Red River master tunesmith; Rick Fowler; the inimitable Daddy Long Loin; 'Burque faves Jasper; multi- talented Jeffrey Richards and Bright Carver; the incomparable Cole Mitchell; guitar master Scott Chard from Edmund OK, the good-timing Ditch Dawgs, and from Muscle Shoals Alabama singer/songwriter David Walton and the wonderful Karen Gruber.

We hope you can join us for this music and fun. 

Thanks to you, the kids at Cornstalk will have some wonderful opportunities that would not have been possible otherwise. There are a couple of programs that will be funded as early as this summer, including sending two kids to Camp Winnarainbow, Wavy Gravy's performing arts camp in California, and sending a couple of students on a bike trip in South America. These are talented, deserving young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity for such enriching experiences, so ... a big, heartfelt thanks to each of you. 

Come on and hang out at the festival and enjoy yourselves! The primary vendor for the festival is Johndhi's on Rio Grande, so there will be great food, cold beer, etc. We hope you'll make yourselves at home!

IT"S ONLY MONEY....Good fun for a Good Cause

We're looking  for looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks and chores. Volunteering for a couple of hours is a good way to help and will get you in the festival free. Sign up at cornstalkinstitute@yahoo.com

Don't forget your tix for "Maybelline," the 1959 Pontiac Catalina that we're raffling off at the festival!  We're holding a silent raffle for a spanking new Fender Stratocaster signed by two of the world's best players--Robert Cray AND Eric Clapton. Click for raffle flyer (doc).

We would be hugely appreciative if you would pass this along to your friends!

-Directions: Take I-25 south to Rio Bravo. Go west on Rio Bravo past Isleta to the 4th light at Del Rio.  Go right (north) on Del Rio to Barcelona Road. Go left (west) on Barcelona for about 1/2 mile. Cornstalk is the 1st place on the right past the ditch where the cottonwoods get tall. Yellow house, blue trim. You can also come south on Coors if that's easier, then take a left (east) on Barcelona Road (after Arenal but before Rio Bravo). Cornstalk is .6 mile east of Coors on the left. There'll be signs.

Once again, thank you so much for your generosity in taking on this event!  We are so excited that you're going to be part of this, and we truly hope that it is fun for all of you as well. We are grateful for your contribution to the scholarship fund.

Sing. Dance. Eat. Love ... and if we're lucky, change the world. Thems that want to have fun, come. Thems that don't stay home."

Deryle
samcooke@ix.netcom.com

(Updated) Oops, What's Bush Drinking?

The photo above was included as part of this article on Yahoo News about Bush at the G8 summit in Germany. Funny, Bush was guzzling this golden, sudsy liquid on Thursday, only to come down with stomach problems on Friday morning causing him to stay in bed. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some problems with pretzels, as well:

Stricken with a stomach ailment that confined him to his hotel room, President Bush still met Friday with France's new president and prepared for talks in Poland on a new missile defense system. The president was already dressed when he began feeling ill in the morning, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said. He said doctors are keeping an eye on him but that Bush's illness — whether a stomach virus, a light touch of food poisoning or something else — is "not serious."

He stayed in bed to try to rest and recuperate, missing the morning session of the summit being held here of eight industrialized democracies.

UPDATE 4:00 PM: Here's another shot from the G8 in Germany of Bush and his beer:

Hat tip Think Progress.

Maybe it's become a sort of tradition for George W. to party down at the G8. Check out his expression in this photo from last year's Summit, and note the bottle of beer near him on the table:

RSVP Now for Evening with Palestinian Activist Dr. Mona El-Farra

From the Middle East Peace & Justice Alliance:
Dear Friend of Peace: You are cordially invited to a buffet dinner, narrated slideshow, and reception for Dr. Mona El-Farra from Gaza, Palestine, on Monday, June 18, 2007, at 7:00 PM, at the home of Dorothy Morse and Armen Chakerian in Albuquerque's North Valley. Click for flyer (pdf).

Dr. El-Farra is a Palestinian physician, activist, educator, mother, and internationally-recognized human rights leader. She is Director of Gaza Projects for the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). Dr. El-Farra travels frequently to Europe to meet with solidarity activists and speak to general audiences about life in Occupied Gaza, as well as how the international community can join Palestinians in their efforts to secure justice. Now you can hear her clear and powerful voice on this, her first U.S. speaking tour.

To further the important work on children's projects in Gaza, we are suggesting a donation of $25 per person. PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS WORTHY AND INTERESTING EVENING! RSVP by Friday June 15 to Joan Robins (341-2306 or 1robins@swcp.com). She will provide directions to the event.

If you cannot attend but would like to donate, please send a check made to the Middle East Children's Alliance, c/o MEPJA, Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, 202 Harvard SE, Albuquerque 87106. Thank you.

Hero-For-Sale Rudy Giuliani Trolling for Cash in NM This Weekend

The Albuquerque Journal reports Repub prez hopeful Rudy Giuliani will be in Albuquerque this Saturday looking for big dollar donations from NM GOP bigwigs at a private luncheon fundraiser. It will cost $4,600 to participate in a "round table discussion" with Rudy, and a mere $2,300 for a photo standing next to the former New York City Mayor. When Giuliani goes after the big bucks, playing on his carefully crafted image as an alleged American hero and patriot for his actions during the 9-11 tragedy, he doesn't fool around. He milks it to the nth degree.

To get the full flavor of how craven Giuliani has been in parlaying his 9-11 connections into cash and pseudo-credibility, you really have to read the new article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. According to a sidebar in the print version of the article, Rudy was worth only $7,000 in 2001, as reported to divorce court. This year his net worth is $30 MILLION, as disclosed in federal election reports. Not bad for "America's Mayor," as he bills himself.

Excerpts from the online version:

Although few people outside of New York know it yet, there is an emerging controversy over Giuliani's heroic 9/11 legacy. Critics charge that Rudy's failure to resolve the feuding between the city's police and firefighters prior to the attack led to untold numbers of deaths, the most tragic example being the inability of firemen to hear warnings from police helicopters about the impending collapse of the South Tower. The 9/11 Commission concluded that the two departments had been "designed to work independently, not together," and that greater coordination would have spared many lives.

... Rudy Giuliani is a true American hero, and we know this because he does all the things we expect of heroes these days -- like make $16 million a year, and lobby for Hugo Chávez and Rupert Murdoch, and promote wars without ever having served in the military, and hire a lawyer to call his second wife a "stuck pig," and organize absurd, grandstanding pogroms against minor foreign artists, and generally drift through life being a shameless opportunist with an outsize ego who doesn't even bother to conceal the fact that he's had a hard-on for the presidency since he was in diapers. In the media age, we can't have a hero humble enough to actually be one; what is needed is a tireless scoundrel, a cad willing to pose all day long for photos, who'll accept $100,000 to talk about heroism for an hour, who has the balls to take a $2.7 million advance to write a book about himself called Leadership. That's Rudy Giuliani. Our hero. And a perfect choice to uphold the legacy of George W. Bush.

You might have surmised by now that Taibbi isn't known for mincing words. Here he is highlighting Giuliani's hookups with Karl Rove's henchmen and a Swift Boat-style attack on Hillary:

... there's no question that Giuliani has made the continuation of Swift-Boating politics a linchpin of his candidacy. His political hires speak deeply to that tendency. Chris Henick, formerly Karl Rove's most trusted deputy, is now a key aide at Giuliani Partners, the security firm set up by the mayor to cash in on his 9/11 image. One of his top donors, Richard Collins, is a longtime Bush supporter who was instrumental in setting up "Stop Her Now," a 527 group modeled on Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that will be used to attack Hillary Clinton. And the money for the smear campaign comes from the same Texas sources behind the Swift Boaters, including oilman T. Boone Pickens and Houston home builder Bob Perry.

... And let's not forget Bernie Kerik, Rudy's very own hairy-assed Sancho Panza, who was nixed as director of Homeland Security after investigators uncovered a gift he received from a construction firm with alleged mob ties that wanted to do business with Giuliani's administration. It is a testament to the monstrous breadth of Rudy's chutzpah that he used his post-9/11 celebrity to push his personal bagman for a post that milks the world's hugest security-contracts tit -- at the very moment when he himself was creating a security-services company.

The article also goes into detail describing how Rudy's inept and careless handling of the clean-up of the 9-11 wreckage is producing medical problems galore for many who participated. And how his stint as Mayor of New York and his subsequent role as a lobbyist were characterized primarily by his jumping into bed with whoever had big bucks to give. Ever since 9-11, Rudy's focused on setting up private companies that benefit hugely from "homeland security" contracts, and grabbing up to $200,000 per speech to talk about his patriotism and how he saved the day in NYC. His main message? Pay me, I'm a hero!" In 2002 he he reported $8 million in speaking income. Last year it topped $11 million. Not bad for someone who basically held the spotlight during the tragedy during one day before the TV cameras while Bush was hiding out.

I'm sure he'll get more than a few standing ovations (and big checks) when he appears this weekend before New Mexico's Repub elite. He's not known for doing anything without a big personal payoff. Cha-ching!

Young Professionals Fundraiser for Heinrich for Congress Set for June 12

You are Invited to a Young Professionals Fundraiser

for

Martin Heinrich

Democratic Candidate for Congress

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

O'Neill's Pub and Grill

4310 Central Ave. SE

(Central and Washington in East Nob Hill)

$100 Suggested Contribution

(all contributions accepted)

To contribute on-line go to: www.ActBlue.com

Sponsors

Adolfo Mendez, Allan Oliver, Ann Marie Padilla, Anthony DeMarnello, Antonio Sandoval, Arturo Archuleta, Barbara Lopez,Brian Morris, Brian Egolf, Carlos Castaneda, Chris Catechis, Chris Garcia, Christina Vigil, Claire Dudley, David Berkey,DeAnza Valencia, Drew Setter, Geno Zamora, Giovanna Rossi, Hakim Bellamy, James Aranda, James Bristol, Javier Benavidez,Jennifer Garcia Kozlowski, Jason M. Burnette, Joe LiRosi, Kara Shair-Rosenfield, Keegan King, Kelly Egolf, Kenneth Owens, Kenny Roybal, Laura Harris, Leanne Leith, Leticia Archuleta, Luisa Casso, Manuel Casias, Mario Benavidez, Mia Chavez, Michael Randolph, Mike Puelle, Mimi Aledo, Moises Gonzales, Nerissa Whittington, Ozawa Benishi Albert, Peter Lopez, Rachel Howell, Robert Chavez, Sandy Buffett,Steve Archibeque, Tamara Stands and Looks Back, Troy Fernandez, and Webb Johnson

Click for flyer (pdf). Pass it on. For more information call 315-3596 or visit MartinHeinrich.com.

Editor's Note: If you'd like to contribute to the Martin Heinrich for Congress campaign via our DFNM Netroots for Martin Heinrich page, click here

Dem State Party Seeking Applicants for Executive Director

The Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) is currently seeking qualified applicants for the position of Executive Director.  The Executive Director will work with the State Chair, DPNM Executive Committee, and the 33 County Chairs to manage DPNM headquarters, DPNM staff and execute an effective election and fundraising plan.

If you are interested and would like to apply, please do so by sending a resume and cover letter to terahmjava@gmail.com by June 22, 2007. Download the PDF format of Qualifications and Job Description by clicking HERE.

Thank you,
Brian S. Colón
Chair, Democratic Party of New Mexico

Bobby: 39 Years Ago Today

Robert Francis Kennedy
November 20, 1925 - June 6, 1968

"There is discrimination in this world and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility towards the suffering of our fellows. But we can perhaps remember -- even if only for a time -- that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek -- as we do -- nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

"Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again. The answer is to rely on youth -- not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to the obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. They cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger that come with even the most peaceful progress.

"... Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

"Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.

"... The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society. Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live." --Robert F. Kennedy, South Africa, 1966

I awoke to the broadcast of the devastating news of Bobby Kennedy's assassination on my clock-radio on the day I was to head home by train after finals week at the University of Illinois. It had been only two months since Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. Back in April, the day after Martin was killed, I had also headed home from Champaign-Urbana to Chicago on an Illinois-Central train, at that time for Spring break. To this day, they are the two most somber and upsetting train rides I've ever taken in my life. I can remember the visceral, powerful feelings I experienced as if the tragedies happened yesterday, even if I can't really put them into words. I don't think anyone who was young during that era ever has, to anyone's satisfaction.

Both times curfews were imposed in Chicago in anticipation of violence. The violence happened after King's murder. I rode the rails into Chicago through the city's South Side with shots ringing out, buildings ablaze and passengers obediently lying low beneath window level. Fear reverberated down the line of cars. With Bobby's death, though, there seemed to be only an overwhelming sadness -- an uncomfortable resignation -- that dangerous, hateful forces had taken firm root in America, and that they would have to play themselves out. Today, the most disturbing realization is that they still haven't entirely played themselves out, 39 years later.

We are still seeking a leader who will truly unite us and set us on a path that might mitigate our human weaknesses. We are still wondering what might have been. We are still at the mercy of the haters, the narrow minded, the visciously power hungry. Keeping our hopes alive still seems like the very hardest thing. Those ripples Bobby spoke of can seem so few and far between. But they are real. We must cling to them. We must make more if we are ever to finally extricate our culture from the sway of those who appeal to the very worst of our nature, always for their own gain. We have to keep trying. And trying. And trying.

Committing Poetry in Times of War: June 16 at Kimo

The Poetic Justice Institute presents Committing Poetry in Times of War, a documentary film of one tumultuous week in March 2003 in New Mexico and its aftermath, on Saturday June 16th at 6:30 PM at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque. There will also be an after party. Admission is FREE and the event is sponsored by the City of Albuquerque Office of Cultural Affairs.

On April 20, 2007 the Telluride Talking Gourds Writers Guild awarded Committing Poetry the first ever Tellus Award for “Poetry Film of the Year.” Click for a detailed description of the film, organized around the free speech actions of poet and former Rio Rancho High School teacher, Bill Nevins (photo) and others, and what they ignited. Excerpt:

As bombs fell on Iraq in March 2003 and the President called for natiional unity, an outspoken  high school student slam poetry team was disbanded and silenced in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Rio Rancho High's Principal and its Military Liaison then presided at a flag-raising ceremony on the public school's grounds where a soldier's poem was read out, telling war protestors to "shut your faces." The team's coach, teacher Bill Nevins,was one of seven Albuquerque area educators removed from their classrooms for encouraging free speech.

That same week in March 2003, hundreds of peaceful antiwar protestors were gassed, coralled and assaulted by police in the Albuquerque streets near the University of New Mexico. The fabric of American Constitutional free speech and free assembly protections seemed to be unravelling in New Mexico. In response, an ad hoc coalition of poets, musicians, educators and outraged cititzens organized "Poetic Justice": a series of celebratory "speak-out" concert  gatherings in New Mexico and across the USA  to honor the Rio Rancho student poets, to support Coach Nevins in his ultimately-successful legal battle and to demand respect for the First Amendment.   

Committing Poetry documents many of those dynamic poetry and musical performances. The film includes highlights of the Albuquerque and New York City Poetic Justice concerts. On screen performances by Adan Baca, Socorro Romo, Demetria Martinez, two-time Albuquerque Slam City Champion Tony Santiago, Erin Ambrose, Jazz, The Ruffians, Carlos Contreras, Priscilla Baca y Candelaria, Manuel Gonzales, Danny Solis, Kenn Rodriguez and members of the disbanded Rio Rancho Ram Slam Poetry Team offer an inspiring account of how America's artistic community has responded to war time threats against our cherished civil liberties.

New Mexico Blog Radio, The Third Show: Heath Haussamen & Matt Brix

Guest Host Heath Haussamen & Featured Guest Matt Brix

From Suzanne Prescott: Tune in to the third New Mexico Blog Radio show on June 7th at 4:30 PM Mountain time. Blogger and journalist, Heath Haussamen, will guest host the show which features Matt Brix, who currently serves on the Governor's task force on ethics reform. Heath and Matt will discuss what's in store for the next legislative session for ethics reform and difficulties passing ethics reform in the past session.

You can hear the online radio show by tuning in at https://www.blogtalkradio.com/nmblogradio. Each show is recorded and saved so you can catch the show later by going to the link and listening to the archived version. But if you call in during the live show, you can talk with the show's guests and hosts. The live call-in number of the show is (718) 664-9717.

Editor's Note: You can find our previous posts on New Mexico Blog Radio in our media archive.

Jefferson Middle School Group to Protest Principal Transfer

From Gordon Monaghan:
Jefferson Middle School Parents and Students to Protest at School Board Meeting: Principal transfers raise community concern

• Who:  Concerned Jefferson Middle School parents, students and community members
• What:  Demonstration in support of Jefferson Middle School Principal Ivy Langan; Demonstration decrying the lack of process in the recent principal transfers in APS
• When:  Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 4:30 PM before the regularly scheduled APS School Board meeting
• Where:  In front of APS Headquarters, Indian School Blvd. between San Pedro and Louisiana, Albuquerque

More info: gordonmonaghan@msn.com, (505)259-2738.