Democracy for New Mexico

Biden Becomes 7th Candidate on NM Dem Prez Caucus Ballot

DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING TO REGISTER TO VOTE: If you are not currently registered to vote, Friday, January 4th, 2008 is the last day to do so in order to be eligible to cast a ballot in the February 5, 2008 Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus in New Mexico. Contact your County Clerk for more information. The website of the Bernalillo County Clerk provides information about the voter registration process.
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From the Democratic Party of New Mexico:
Albuquerque NM – Senator Joe Biden became the seventh candidate to file for New Mexico’s Presidential Preference Caucus to be held on February 5th. Biden joins Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator John Edwards, Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Dennis Kucinich on the New Mexico ballot.

“We expected that all the Democratic Presidential hopefuls would recognize how important New Mexico is on the road to the White House,” said Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, Brian S. Colón. “Senator Biden’s filing today shows that the top candidates understand that New Mexico is critical. We encourage every New Mexico Democrat to express his or her preference by voting in this historic election.”

New Mexico’s Caucus is different from Caucuses happening in Iowa this Thursday or in Nevada later in January. “Our Caucus will function like a regular primary. Voters will show up at their polling location, receive a paper ballot and cast that secret ballot just as they would in any regular election,” said Colón. Voting in the Caucus is open to registered Democrats only, and anyone who is not already registered as a Democrat has until this Friday, January 4th to register. 

On February 5th, registered New Mexico Democrats will be able to vote between noon and 7 PM at a polling location, or Caucus site, according to registered precinct. New Mexico Democrats can also vote-by-mail by requesting an absentee ballot. Request forms are available for download at www.nmdemocrats.org or by calling the DPNM. Requests for absentee ballots will be accepted through January 21st, 2008 and absentee ballots will begin to be mailed out January 12th, 2008.

The results of this election will be used to determine New Mexico’s allocation of delegates among the Democratic Presidential Candidates to the Democratic National Convention in August 2008. There will be a total of 184 Caucus sites statewide on February 5th, 2008 run by DPNM staff and volunteers. A list of these consolidated polling locations can be found at www.nmdemocrats.org or by calling DPNM at 505-830-3650. To volunteer or donate to the Presidential Preference Caucus e-mail info@nmdemocrats.org  or call the DPNM at 505-830-3650.

Also see our previous post about the caucus.

Times Square Ball Drop: Corporate Logoland

Is is just me, or is New York City's ball drop at midnight one of the most boring, ugly public celebrations of the New Year in the world? Every December 31st we are forced to endure prolonged, televised views of the huge, tawdry corporate advertising screens that now define Times Square, the crowds penned in place like beasts by hundreds of police barriers, the strobing, garish lights and that dumb ball traveling down the pole with a corporate logo at the bottom. Then there's the anti-climactic finish consisting of a paltry fireworks display that compares unfavorably with those in our smallest towns on the 4th of July.

That's bad enough, but it's made even worse by the vapid, clownish acts of the media talking heads, the often horrible musical performances, the new car models spinning on turntables like objects of worship and those awful hats worn by crowd members that advertise Pontiacs or whichever "official product" is being hawked in any given year. Don't forget the screeching multitudes who've been denied alcohol, bathrooms and nourishment -- and have been standing in the cold for up to 14 hours to assure their places close to the cameras so they can grab their 15 seconds of fame. Perhaps the most irritating thing is that they seem to believe it's worth it. They even seem thrilled to see Michael Bloomberg or Rudy Giuliani or A-Rod bragging how NYC is the center of the universe with the most impressive New Year's Eve celebration on the planet.

"Green" Ball Fall
This year we're told that the infamous ball is now "green," and uses LED bulbs for illumination, thus cutting electric usage to less than that of ten toasters, providing more than twice the brightness of last year's version and having the ability to generate 16 million colors. Yowsa. One small, unmentioned complication in this energy efficiency demonstration project? Those dozens of outrageously lit advertising signs and brightly shining buildings that line the square, pulsating 24/7 and sucking up electricity like monstrous energy sinks.

In Comparison
My favorite TV coverage of New Year's Eve occurred during the change of centuries, at The Millenium. At least that year we got to see diverse and often fascinating broadcasts of celebrations around the world, from Australia's Aborigines to the major cities of Europe to the Pacific Rim. I thought almost every single one of them was more compelling, beautiful and dramatic than the ones we get a glimpse of each year in Time Square. Beautiful civic or natural backdrops, better fireworks displays, exotic effects and music, diverse symbolism and traditions. And -- unlike the penned, cop-heavy, vigorously searched and "managed" crowds in New York -- celebrants in other nations are still permitted their champagne toasts in the streets and party hats without corporate logos. Lavish ad boards are rare or nonexistent in the vicinity of the celebrations.

Then again, too many Americans might feel lost if they were too far away from a corporate logo or a "Homeland Security" agent, even on holidays (holy-days). I guess it's only fitting, after all, that a corporatist, "growth" obsessed, consumer culture like ours focuses on an ad display like the one in Times Square to convey the feelings of the nation as a New Year dawns. At least for now. But as we all know, big changes are on the way .... one way or another.

Sydney and Seattle (above). London and Paris (below)

Angel Fire skiers with torches and a beach in India:

Johannesburg and Hong Kong:

Click on photos for larger versions.

Peace Poem

Let's start off the New Year with a peace poem:

This is the field where the battle did not happen,
where the unknown soldier did not die.
This is the field where grass joined hands,
where no monument stands,
and the only heroic thing is the sky.



Birds fly here without any sound,
unfolding their wings across the open.
No people killed – or were killed – on this ground
hollowed by the neglect of an air so tame
that people celebrate it by forgetting its name.

by William Stafford
USA (1914-1993)