Democracy for New Mexico

Guest Blog: Jason Call for Congress

This is a guest blog by Jason Call, who's running for the Democratic nomination for Congress in NM-01:

Dear DFNM members,
Allow me to introduce myself, for those who have not yet either met me or heard me speak. My name is Jason Call, and I’m a citizen-activist, high school math teacher, and candidate for US Congress in CD 1.

I would first like to thank Barb Wold for kindly allowing me the time and space on the DFNM blog to present myself to you. I worked for the Howard Dean campaign for nine months in the last election cycle, and I am now proud to call myself a Dennis Kucinich supporter.

We need a Democrat in Congressional District 1, that much is clear. I have been a lifelong registered Democrat, though I have on occasion voted outside the Democratic Party (I have never cast a vote for a Republican.) However, I have lost faith in the Democratic leadership. I have lost faith in Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel. I have lost faith in Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. My faith in some of my past heroes, such as Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer, is slipping. The reasons are plain and simple: These Democrats are not listening to the American people on some of the most important issues of our time. I have come to a point in my life as an American citizen, who believes desperately in the inherent goodness of our foundation – the US Constitution - where I have to ask whether the Democratic Party under its current leadership in Washington DC is serving the American people as it should.  And if the answer to that question is ‘no’, then what can I do about it?

I want to help bring the Democratic Party back to its senses. Here are a few of the things I want to ask you, the members of DFNM, about the Democratic Party.

Jason Call speaking at last Saturday's DPNM SCC Meeting

1)  We all understand that money is a corrupting influence in politics. Why do we stand idly by and let candidates essentially ‘win’ seats based on how much campaign money they can raise? Why haven’t we, as a citizen body, demanded campaign finance reform and public financing of elections? Shouldn’t a candidate’s position on issues be held in higher regard than fundraising ability? Can we ever truly trust a candidate who has big-money donors? Why have we allowed the media to make such a spectacle of fundraising (it seems to be the only issue in the Democratic presidential primary race.)

2)  We know that we were out-and-out lied to by the Bush administration about the Iraq War. We know that they are lying to us about Iran and its nuclear capability and intentions. Why is the Democratic leadership resisting impeachment of both Bush and Cheney, when clearly it is what the American public wants? The Bush administration has violated, repeatedly, both U.S. and International law. Their actions have caused almost 4000 US troop deaths, tens of thousands of the most heinous life-altering injuries, and untold hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths. I would see them stand trial not only for impeachment, but in an International Criminal Court, to face charges of crimes against humanity. Can we not say this without fear of reproach from not only political adversaries, but those who we are supposedly allied with? What has happened to us when we cannot speak plainly in our political sphere about what is clearly reality? Since we are there illegally (and always have been), then any vote to further fund military action is both pro-war, and a vote to continue a criminal course. There is no “we broke it, we need to stay and fix it.” There is only “Get out now.” Not a graduated withdrawal. The Iraqis don’t want us there, and we have no right to be there. Go. Now.

3)  Why have we allowed our leadership to cave to such nonsense as the Patriot Act, and warrantless wiretapping? What have we become, as a nation, when security (and false security at that) is more important than liberty? What happened to “Live Free or Die” and “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”? Are we so wanting in our understanding of history that we cannot look to the past and see where this path leads? Why do we not dare to call it what it is? It goes beyond merely ‘unconstitutional’ and has broached the realm of totalitarianism. We all talk behind closed doors about what is happening to our freedoms – why do we fear to stand up publicly and call a spade a spade? Didn’t we cringe when Nixon said, “When the president does it, it’s not illegal”? Then why does our Democratic leadership stand for such tripe as signing statements, as if they were in agreement that ‘yes, the president is above the law’?

4)  Why do we continue, at all levels of government, to allow such nonsense as electronic voting to continue? These voting machines are the death of democracy. Unauditable. Hackable. Run using covert proprietary software written by partisan corporations. And we expect clean elections? How absurd. The evidence is overwhelming that the 2004 presidential election was stolen and the 2000 election was caged. Yet we only had one Senator (Boxer) and a handful of Representatives who stood up and said “something is wrong here” after November 2004, and a candidate who folded like he had a bad poker hand, because the DNC didn’t want to put up a fight. 

5) Why do we not have a national healthcare system in which all Americans have access to quality healthcare, regardless of income? Isn’t this a fundamental foundation of a healthy society? The Democrats keep tossing healthcare plans back and forth, as if any of them did anything but secure corporate profits for insurance companies. When did it become written in stone that private insurance companies have an inherent right to play a part in our healthcare? I didn’t see it in the Constitution, perhaps I missed it. Yet we, and our leadership, treat the situation as if there can be no other way, or that to remove private insurance from the picture would be too difficult, being that they are so entrenched in the current system. How have we allowed ourselves to be conned into this thinking?  I’ll tell you – because our leadership is funded by private insurance companies. It’s as simple as that. If the insurance companies weren’t dropping fat donations into campaign coffers, we would have national single-payer healthcare now, and it would be more efficient and cost less money than we are currently paying, and it would cover everyone - every man, woman, and child. Clinton: wrong on healthcare.  Edwards: Wrong on healthcare. Richardson: Wrong on healthcare. Kucinich: (like so many other issues) Right on healthcare.

6)  Here’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. 9-11. Did we get a fair and impartial investigation? Why wouldn’t anyone in the Bush administration testify under oath? Why wouldn’t Bush and Cheney testify separately? Why did the Bush administration stonewall an investigation for an entire year, and when they finally caved to the pressure of forming a commission, why did they choose Henry Kissinger – the least credible person on the planet when it comes to telling the truth about the government – to lead the commission?  The list goes on and on. People ask me “Well if the government isn’t telling the truth, what happened?” I don’t know what happened. That’s the point. None of us know. And I want to know. I want to know who knew what, and when, and how. None of us know what happened for sure. But many of us are pretty damned sure that the Bush administration isn’t telling us the truth – not even half of the truth. Will we ever get an impartial independent investigation? Who knows. Probably not. But I believe that the obvious cover-up of events of 9-11 will be one of the blackest stains on this country’s history, and I want you to know that I can be honest about saying that.

So I ask the good people of DFNM – what do you want in a candidate and an officeholder? Are we so far gone down the path of political pandering and posturing that we can no longer expect an honest politician, as I hear from so many people these days? Can we no longer expect a candidate for office to commit to principled stands, such as “No, I won’t vote to pay for this illegal war”? Or, “Yes, I will commit to the fight for single-payer healthcare”? Are politicians so afraid of the media that they cannot speak plain truth?

Here is the reality of the current CD 1 race. A candidate needs 20% of the state delegation’s votes at the primary convention in March in order to get on the primary ballot. I ask you to consider the current field of candidates. Compare our websites. Listen to what we say between now and March. There are some monumental issues that need to be discussed in open forum. Do you want these issues to be debated publicly? If the state delegation crowns a candidate in March, that much needed debate ends. Does ceasing that debate help or hurt the Democratic Party?

I raise the above issues, and others, on my website. I talk about them in detail. I can’t promise a glitzy 30-second television ad in which I use catchphrases like “We need to work together” or “I have the experience to build a brighter future.” But I can promise you open and frank assessments of the problems we face, and what is needed to fix them. I don’t need to be guarded in my speech or my writing, because in the end, I’m not a career politician, and I don’t have big-money donors that I need to keep happy. I’m simply an American citizen, I love my country, and I’m not afraid of speaking my mind. I hope that that is enough to get me on the primary ballot.

Please check out my website at www.Call4Democracy.org. If what you read here and there resonates with you, send me an email and work with me. It is time to not only take our country back, but to change the face of the Democratic Party.

Sincerely, and in Peace
Jason Call

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Jason Call of Albuquerque, who's running for the Democratic nomination for Congress in NM-01. Guest blogs provide readers with an opportunity to express their views on relevant issues and may or many not reflect our views. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page. Photo credit: M.E. Broderick.

Guild Cinema Presents 'Veterans on Film' Series

From Albuquerque's Guild Cinema:

NOVEMBER 10-15: VETERANS ON FILM Series: For the week of Veterans Day, we present a five-film mini-series offering different looks at returning soldiers from WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. From the changing relationships seen in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES to the traumatized reactions of the men in TARGETS and A HATFUL OF RAIN, these films offer complex narratives where adjusting to civilian life is never easy, and ticker-tape parades are nowhere in sight.

Rather than approaching the series from a documentary perspective, we've chosen Hollywood films (and one from Britain) which depict fictional veterans from a variety of angles, all focusing on the sociological over the political. Thus, this series is based neither around hawks nor doves, but the lingering effects of war on the individual, the family, and the society at large. Two of the films in the series are getting extremely rare screenings (THE SMALL BACK ROOM and A HATFUL OF RAIN), and the programs of November 12-15 are two-for-one double features.

NOVEMBER 10 & 11 (SAT & SUN): 3:30, 7:00
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
Dir. William Wyler - 1946 - 172m
A monumental cinema classic, this multi-Oscar winning drama about three men, one from each branch of the armed forces, coming home after WWII resonates with honest emotion. In superlative performances, Dana Andrews, Fredric March and Harold Russell play the trio who meet on an airship, each headed home to different families, and a different nation, than they had left behind. Myrna Loy, Cathy O’Donnell, Virginia Mayo and Teresa Wright all shine as the women of the men’s past and present. Masterfully photographed by Gregg Toland (CITIZEN KANE, STAGECOACH), this understated drama has lost none of its power and relevance some 71 years after its release.

"It is seldom that there comes a motion picture which can be wholly and enthusiastically endorsed not only as superlative entertainment but as food for quiet and humanizing thought... In working out their solutions (the filmmakers) have achieved some of the most beautiful and inspiring demonstrations of human fortitude that we have had in films." - New York Times, 1946

NOVEMBER 12 & 13 (MON & TUE): 2-FOR-1 DOUBLE FEATURE!

I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (4:45, 8:30)
Dir. Mervyn LeRoy - 1932 - 93m
WWI vet Paul Muni yearns for something beyond the dull desk job held for his return, but a wrong place-wrong time incident lands him on a vicious Southern chain gang - and into a hell worse than the battlefield he’d just left. This nail-bitingly suspenseful and tense drama was such a searing indictment of the chain gang system that it led to its eventual dismantling, and what makes it even more compelling is the fact that the story is true. The getaway scene through the swampland remains one of the great chases of cinema history.

RARE SCREENING - THE SMALL BACK ROOM (6:30)
Dirs. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger - 1949 - 106m
UK - shown on digital video
One of the least-seen masterpieces of British film legends Powell and Pressburger stars David Farrar as Sammy, a troubled master bomb diffuser in WWII London who seems to be a ticking timebomb, himself. Kathleen Byron (BLACK NARCISSUS) co-stars as Sammy's clandestine lover, and their sensuous relationship plays out against a backdrop of mystery about Sammy’s wartime past and a crippling leg injury, and his battle with the bottle.

"Sammy, in David Farrar's brooding, psychotic performance, is a prototype anti-hero of a later decade, and the expression of his private hell brilliantly condenses the menace and dislocation of Lang's American films noirs, from MINISTRY OF FEAR to THE BIG HEAT...THE SMALL BACK ROOM also struck a very different note from the cosy unanimity of most British war films, long before it became fashionable to challenge such myths. The violence and implicit sexuality of the relationship between Sammy and Susan seems equally alien to the genteel naïvete that still dominated British films, apart from the licence granted to such passions in period melodrama." - British Film Institute

NOVEMBER 14 & 15 (WED & THU): 2-FOR-1 DOUBLE FEATURE!

TARGETS (4:45, 8:40)
Dir. Peter Bogdanovich - 1968 - 90m
An all-American boy-next-door (Bobby O’Kelly), fresh from Vietnam, calmly goes on a horrific rampage. An aging horror film star (Boris Karloff), tired of on-screen mayhem, decides to retire. Fate will bring them together, culminating in one of the screen’s most horrifying and memorable climaxes. Bogdanovich’s first feature (written with an uncredited Samuel Fuller), is a shocking low-budget parable, informed by a decade drawing to a tragic close.

RARE SCREENING - A HATFUL OF RAIN (6:30)
Dir. Fred Zinnemann - 1957 - 109m - Cinemascope
Based on the play by Michael V. Gazzo, the film follows the story of a veteran Korean War soldier who becomes addicted to morphine, leading to some of the most intense family dynamics of any 1950s film. The performances are uniformly first-rate, particularly Don Murray as the junkie husband and Oscar-nominated Anthony Franciosa as his brother. Tough screenplay by a then-blacklisted Carl Foreman, whose name was only added to the credits in 1998, 14 years after his death.

"...a tremendously taut and true description of human agony and shame, of solicitude and frustration and the piteousness of tangled love. And it is so directed by Mr. Zinnemann and acted by an excellent cast that every concept and nuance of the story is revealed. Make no mistake: this is a striking, sobering film." - New York Times, 1957

The Guild Cinema is located in the heart of the historic Nob Hill district of Albuquerque at 3405 Central Avenue NE, two blocks west of Carlisle on the north side of the street (Map). PARKING: We recommend parking north of the theater along Tulane (two doors west of the theater) or Campus, where there are no hourly restrictions. DO NOT park in the Red Wing Shoes parking lot - they will tow you. There are also meters along Central.

Zia Pueblo Endorses Heinrich for NM-01

Heinrich supporters at Saturday's DPNM SCC Meeting

The lastest from Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress in NM-01:

Heinrich: "My campaign is about changing the way Washington works, and I am proud to have the Pueblo's support as we move forward"

Albuquerque City Councilor and Democratic candidate for Congress Martin Heinrich picked up another endorsement today in his campaign to bring change to Washington. The Pueblo of Zia –- the first pueblo to endorse any candidate in the race –- has endorsed his bid to represent New Mexico's First Congressional District.

"Martin Heinrich has proven he is an effective advocate on tribal issues. He worked side by side with the Pueblo of to protect the Ojito Wilderness and to return critical ancestral lands to the Pueblo. We know he'll be a Congressman who understands the unique concerns of our Pueblo," said Governor Rudy Shije.Zia

"It is an honor to have the backing of a pueblo so fundamental to New Mexico's past, present and future," Heinrich said. "Just as the people of Zia believe that helping others is a sacred obligation, I believe that government should focus on helping the people instead of helping itself. My campaign is about changing the way Washington works, and I am proud to have the Pueblo's support as we move forward."

Martin speaks to Dems at Saturday's SCC meeting in Albuquerque

While the Pueblo of Zia is outside the boundaries of District 1, many tribal members reside in the district, especially in Albuquerque. In addition, the Pueblo has a long history of working closely with New Mexico's entire congressional delegation on matters important to the Pueblo and all New Mexicans.

Over the course of the campaign to date, Heinrich has amassed an impressive number of endorsements from community leaders and elected officials across the First District. Heinrich's backers include Albuquerque City Councilors Debbie O'Malley, Michael Cadigan and Isaac Benton, former Bernalillo County Commissioner Steve Gallegos, state Senators Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Cisco McSorley, and state Representatives Antonio "Moe" Maestas, Danice Picreaux, Al Park, Mimi Stewart and Gail Chasey.

For a full list of Martin's endorsements, click here.

You can contribute to Heinrich's campaign at the DFNM Netroots for Heinrich page at Act Blue or volunteer by calling his campaign office at 505.244.0022, located at 2118 Central Avenue SE, #71, in Albuquerque.

To see our previous coverage of the NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

(2 Updates) Udall Strong in Daily Kos - Research 2000 Baseline Poll on 2008 U.S. Senate Race in NM

UPDATE 2, 11/9/07: Brent Blackaby of the Chavez campaign emailed the following to me in response to this post: "Marty is not considering a run for NM-01. His campaign for U.S. Senate continues full-speed ahead."

UPDATE 1, 12:06 PM: Check out the coverage from the National Journal's Hotline of what may be going on regarding Marty Chavez and Tom Udall running for Senate. Is Marty considering a switch to being a candidate in the NM-01 Congressional race to save face?
************
National blog Daily Kos has commissioned a baseline poll with the highly regarded Research 2000 on the 2008 race for U.S. Senate in New Mexico. The poll of 600 likely voters who regularly vote was conducted from November 5-7, 2007 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. The poll results are front paged on Kos, where you can find all the cross-tab data, including favorable vs. unfavorable ratings for Rep. Udall, Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02) and Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01). Summary results emphasize the strength of Rep. Tom Udall against both Repubs in the race -- Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce -- as well as much better numbers than Chavez against the Repubs:

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Marty Chavez, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

Wilson (R) 45
Chavez (D) 42

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Diane Denish, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

Wilson (R) 44
Denish (D) 43

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Tom Udall, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

Wilson (R) 38
Udall (D) 55

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If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Marty Chavez, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

Pearce (R) 40
Chavez (D) 39

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Diane Denish, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

Pearce (R) 39
Denish (D) 45

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Tom Udall, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

Pearce (R) 37
Udall (D) 54

I don't have time to delve into the cross-tabs right now, but I'll try to get back with some analysis later today. In the meantime, go ahead and post a comment on what you see in the data.

The methodology used by Research 2000 polling is much more respected than the automated, random phone method used by SurveyUSA. Results of the most recent SurveyUSA polling on this race can be found here: Collected 10/27/2007 - 10/30/2007.

For our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive. The Draft Udall website can be found here.

NM-02 Congressional Candidate Bill McCamley: 30,000 Miles and Counting

I thought one of the highlights of Saturday's Democratic Party of New Mexico State Central Committee meeting was the rousing speech of Bill McCamley, who's running for the Dem nomination in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District. I was one of the SCC members you can hear cheering in the video above and I was wearing his campaign button to boot, even though I live in NM-01 and can't vote for him.

So good to hear someone speak with a passionate, exciting and committed voice that hasn't been muffled by focus groups and talking point memos from high-paid consultants. It was clear that McCamley's message -- and all the high energy he's putting into this race -- come from the heart, from real concern about what's going on in our nation, from a dedication to making genuine change happen by putting it all on the line up close and personal.

Many candidates like to talk about "grassroot campaigning" but this guy really walks the walk (and drives the drive). As he explains in episode 1 of of his campaign video diary above, McCamley has put more than 30,000 miles on his car since April, when he entered the race to take on Repub incumbent Rep. Steve Pearce before Pearce decided to run for Senate.

NM-02 is the size of Pennsylvania and McCamley describes how he's constantly on the move, on a mission to visit every county and travel to every corner of the district to connect with voters and then reconnect.

No, McCamley's videos aren't perfectly modulated, professionally edited campaign pieces. However, I think it's clear that, more than ever, voters this election cycle are bored to death by the kind of conventional, professionally bland, overly polished pablum produced by the same old same old "media consultants" with a cookie cutter mentality. It's not so much the quality of the video production that matters -- it's the quality of the message and the sincerity of the candidate that are critical this time around.

McCamley's campaign has raised more than $200,000 so far, with more than $33,000 of that raised online via Act Blue. You can donate to keep it going no matter where you live. I did. .

Check out all of McCamley's current and future campaign videos on his watchbill channel on YouTube.

To read our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-02 Congressional race, visit our archive.

Keep the Pressure On to Save the UNM North Golf Course

Hundreds gathered at the University of New Mexico Law School last Sunday to protest turning UNM's North Golf Course into a "retirement village." They later met with UNM President David Schmidly to express their views. See KOB-TV's coverage and this Flickr group for photos. To keep the pressure on the UNM Regents and others to see the short-sighted nature of their proposed plans for the largest green space in central Albuquerque, please write some letters NOW.

You can see our previous posts on this issue here and here and here.

Tickets Available Now for EQNM Holiday Soiree

To purchase tickets, please go to www.eqnm.org.

11.15.07: Public Meeting on Controversial Proposal to Pave Chaco Canyon Entrance Road

Great Kiva at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

A presentation and public comments session regarding the future of the main entrance road to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Northwest New Mexico will be held on November 15, 2007 at the New Mexico Department of Transportation, 7500 Pan American Freeway NE in Albuquerque (map). An open house begins at 6:00 PM with the presentation at 6:30 PM, followed by a comment session at 7:00 PM. The meeting is jointly hosted by the Federal Highway Administration, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and San Juan County.

The options for improving the unpaved portion of San Juan County Road 7950 will be explained -- a controversial proposal with serious consequences for preserving the fragile integrity of the currently isolated park. Up until now, the main access road was left deliberately unpaved to discourage heavy traffic, large tour buses and large RVs from bringing in increased crowds that might compromise the park's extensive ruins and artifacts -- which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

URS Corporation and Taschek Environmental Consulting (TEC) are currently preparing the design and environmental analysis for the proposed road project on behalf of San Juan County. If you can't attend the meeting, you can contact John Taschek at TEC at 505-821-4700, email your comments on the proposed paving to taschek@aol.com or mail them to John Taschek, 8901 Adams NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113.

More resources:

• Chaco Canyon (wikipedia)
• Not paving Chaco road preserves area's value, Albuquerque Tribune editorial
• Paving road to Chaco fraught with pitfalls, Albuquerque Tribune
• Stop the Chaco Road, Chaco Alliance
• Protect Chaco Canyon Blog
• San Juan Citizen's Alliance

Thursday on 'We The People': NM Voices for Children

WE THE PEOPLE

Guest

Bill Jordan

New Mexico Voices for Children

Albuquerque Channel 27

November 8th, 6 PM.

Not a cable subscriber?  Watch simultaneously on your  high-speed computer:

https://www.quote-unquote.org

Click for Channel 27s Media Stream -> Half way down the page on the Right.

WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state and federal governments.

THANKS FOR WATCHING

Mickey Bock, Host  Judith Binder, Producer

11.15.07: NLRB Protest and Rally in Support of Working Families

The Bush National Labor Relations Board has to be made accountable for their actions. You can read about the NLRB's recent actions against working people here. Join the rally in support of working families. The New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO will host a big NLRB protest on November 15th regarding the most anti-union decisions ever issued in the history of Organized Labor! The rally will be held at 12:00 Noon on the corner of 5th and Marquette (the front of the NLRB Albuquerque). We invite you, your friends and family to attend this Noon rally. Please put it on your calendar. More details will follow. This decision by NLRB is very anti-union and very anti-organizing!!!

505-262-2629 NMFL, AFL-CIO office
505-266-6638 American Federation of Teachers NM office
Christine Trujillo, cvtrujil@msn.com