Democracy for New Mexico

Friday: Reception Supporting Deanna Archuleta for Bernalillo County Commissioner

PLEASE JOIN
LT. GOVERNOR DIANE DENISH

STATE AUDITOR HECTOR BALDERAS
SENATOR DEDE FELDMAN
SENATOR CISCO MCSORLEY
SENATOR JERRY ORTIZ Y PINO
REPRESENTATIVE GAIL CHASEY
REPRESENTATIVE DANICE PICRAUX
AND
Jim Baca, Eric Griego, Norty Kalishman,
Richard Romero, Stuart Paisano

FOR A RECEPTION IN SUPPORT OF
DEANNA ARCHULETA
FOR
BERNALILLO COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3

FRIDAY, MARCH 14TH
5:30-7:30 PM
SCALO RESTAURANT
3500 CENTRAL SE
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO  87106
Suggested donation $100

CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO: Friends of Deanna. Can't attend?  Send your checks to Friends of Deanna at P.O. Box 291, Albuquerque, NM, 87103. Please RSVP to Ariel Bickel at (505) 321-6867 or atbickel@yahoo.com.

Olbermann Special Comment on Clinton-Ferraro Damaging Duet

League of Women Voters to Celebrate Sunshine Week

From the League of Women Voters: The LWV joins news media, students, libraries, government officials and non-government organizations to celebrate "SUNSHINE WEEK" from March 16-23, 2008. This year the honorary chairs will be Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post, Tom Brokaw, NBC News, and Judy Woodruff, PBS News Hour.

SUNSHINE WEEK is a national initiative that calls attention to the fact that we as citizens have the right to know what our government is doing and we should have access to information that had been previously unavailable. In other words, we want the access that President Lyndon B. Johnson intended when he signed the "Freedom of Information Act"  (FOIA) in 1966.

COME CELEBRATE SUNSHINE WEEK BY ATTENDING THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY THE LEAGUE ...

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 11:45 AM. Speaker: Steven Robert Allen, Executive Director, Common Cause Albuquerque Airport Hotel (fomerly the Wyndham). Reservations required for this Luncheon; $16.00.   

Speaker: Daniel Ivey-Soto, Former State Bureau of Elections Director

• Monday, March 17, 2008, 1:30 PM, Albuquerque Midtown Unit, Manzano del Sol, Hobby Room  5201 Roma N.E.
• Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 6:00 PM,  Albuquerque Evening Unit, Cherry Hills Library, Community Room, 6901 Barstow N.E.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008  11:30 AM, Sandoval County Unit. Speaker: Attorney General Gary King Joe's Pasta House, 3201 Southern Blvd, Rio Rancho, Luncheon  20.00. Reservations Required,  Seating is limited, deadline for reservations, 3/14. Contact: Lisa Franzen  (505) 867-0112  or  geolisafranzen@aol.com

For more information about the League of Women Voters visit the website at www.lwvabc.org  For more information about the "SUNSHINE WEEK EVENTS" telephone the League Office (505) 884-8441, M-F in the AM.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartian political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Reminder: Dia de Los Lobos Rally Friday at KiMo

From the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance:

Dia de Los Lobos - In 2 Days!
A Public Rally for Our Mexican Gray Wolves
Friday, March 14, 7 - 9 PM
KiMo Theater in Downtown Albuquerque
FREE ADMISSION

With just 23 wild Mexican Gray Wolves left in New Mexico today, now is the time to make our voices heard loud and clear. Please plan to attend and participate in an historic evening that will send a powerful message to Washington, D.C. that our wild Mexican Gray Wolves need to be protected!

Our lobos need you to speak out for them. Dia de Los Lobos is your opportunity to make your voice heard to our elected officials. Please attend this important event and send this email alert on to your friends.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM) - Invited
Rick Bass - Author (The Ninemile Wolves, The Lost Grizzlies)
David Parsons - Former Head of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Wolf Reintroduction Program
Oscar Simpson - New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Cynthia Lee Wolf - Outfitter
Arturo Sandoval - Conservation & Political Activist
Dave Foreman - The Rewilding Institute

Answer the howl to action and be the difference in saving our lobos in New Mexico. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer: nathan@nmwild.org / 505-843-8696

Voices For Wolves: Leave a Voicemail for Our Lobos
Take a few minutes to call in and voice your concerns for protecting our wild Mexican Gray Wolves! Our objective is to get as many voices as possible speaking out on protecting our lobos. Call 505-333-0420 and leave a voicemail for our lobos! Tell our elected officials that they must do everything in their power to save these animals from a possible second extirpation.

Under the Bush administration the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program has become the Mexican Wolf Eradication Program. The US Fish and Wildlife Service removed 15 wolves last year without regard to their mandate to recover this critically endangered wolf under the Endangered Species Act.  Today, just 23 wolves roam freely in New Mexico.

Please be concise and short in your comments. Our objective is to create a CD of voices and present them to our congressional delegation, letting them hear, directly from you, the importance of protecting the Mexican Gray Wolf. Your message may also be used in DVD presentations that we create.

Please call (505) 333-0420 and leave a message today for our lobos!

See our previous post on this event.

Taos Events for Peace: 5th Anniversary Iraq Invasion

From Taos Food Not Bombs: During the week of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion the Taos Peace House and Infoshop will host a number of informative events:

Friday, March 14, 2008, GI Coffee Houses with Ron Edwards and Veterans For Peace: Ron will be speaking about his song "You Have Forgotten Me" and playing his benefit album for Homeless Veterans. There are almost 200,000 Homeless Veterans on the streets in America on any given night. The Homeless Veterans are in dire straits and the situation is only getting worse. You can hear his song and make a donation for homeless vets at www.youhaveforgottenme.com

Saturday, March 15, 2008, TAOS FOOD NOT BOMBS: Meet at the Taos Peace House at 11:00 AM to help us start cooking at the Community Kitchen. Help us share the meal at the Taos Plaza at 2:00 PM. www.foodnotbombs.net/taos.html

Saturday, March 15, 2008, MARCH FOR PEACE WITH IRAQ: March for peace on the fifth anniversary of the war on Iraq. Meet 1:00 PM at the Taos Peace house and Infoshop and march to The Plaza for a rally and  a free hot meal by Taos Food Not Bombs. Please bring signs and friends. Tens of thousands of people will be marching in their communities for an end to the war on Iraq.

Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM, Z DAY: The move Zeitgeist will be screened at the Taos Peace House. A day of Awareness and Activism on the global showing of the documentary Zeitgeist. www.zeitgeistmovie.com.

Sunday, March 16, 2008 (Every Sunday at 10:30 AM) Friends Meeting/Quakers: Every week the Friends or Quakers meet at the Peace House. Everyone is welcome. Please join us.

Sunday, March 16, 2008 (and the third Sunday of each month at 12:30 PM), Veterans For Peace Taos Chapter 98 General Meeting. All veterans welcome. https://www.vets4peacetaos.org

Sunday, March 16, 2008 at 6:30 PM, Book Reading by author Mike Palecek: March for peace on the fifth anniversary of the war on Iraq. Details soon. He will be featuring his last two books Cost of Freedom and Iowa Terror

Cost of Freedom is a non-fiction anthology of current American peace movement. The book is published by Howling Dog Press of Colorado. It's a coffee-table style book with lots of photos, some are in color. It has been endorsed widely. Go here for more information: https://costoffreedombook.blogspot.com. Iowa Terror is a new novel.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 (and every Tuesday at 7:00 PM): Inner Smile Meditation - Six Healing Sounds

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Death and Taxes by Taos Film Maker Jeff Jackson: The documentary Death and Taxes, featuring one citizen's fight for freedom against the IRS, will be shown at the TCA to benefit the Taos Peace House and Infoshop, starting at 7:00 PM. Death and Taxes is a 1993 documentary film directed by Jeffery J. Jackson about Gordon Kahl, a tax protester who was killed in a shootout with local law enforcement officials in Smithville, Arkansas in
1983.

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - The Great American Meatout: The Great American Meatout is the world's largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign. www.meatout.org

The Taos Peace House and Infoshop
801 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, New Mexico
www.taospeacehouse.org
575-776-3880 and 575-758-8819
Please drop by and see what we are doing. We are just north of Cids Grocery next to the Laughing Horse Inn Bed and Breakfast. Volunteers are needed.

UNM Wilderness Alliance to Lead 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition

On March 15th – 20th, 2008, UNM Wilderness Alliance will be leading the 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition. The event—which will include 16 UNM students, 7 activists, and a documentary filmmaker—will be located in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in the Gila National Forest.

“2008 is an important year in the federal Mexican wolf reintroduction program for a couple of reasons,” said Phil Carter, President of UNM Wilderness Alliance. “March 29th is the 10th anniversary of the first wolf releases but 2008 also represents the third year of wolf population decline since 2004. The purpose of this year’s wolf tracking expedition is to call attention to both of these facts, as well as demonstrate the UNM community’s admiration for and support of its mascot.”

Every student participating is required to help document the expedition using some sort of media, with the purpose of compiling the media after the event into a master narrative. With this media, the event participants intend to relate the current conditions of the wolf recovery area and, luck willing, to document some wild wolves.

Regarding the event, Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, said: “It’s great to see young people enjoying the Southwest’s wildest landscape and tracking North America’s most imperiled mammal. The Bush Administration acts as if these public lands belong exclusively to the livestock industry, but a new generation of nature lovers at the University of New Mexico will explore their Gila National Forest and hopefully see or hear the Mexican gray wolves who call the Gila home.”

In January 2008, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released its annual population totals for wild Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona. The agency documented 52 wolves in the Southwestern U.S. and only 23 wolves currently residing in New Mexico.

UNM Wilderness Alliance (www.unm.edu/~unmwild) is UNM’s only conservation student group. The organization has long been engaged in wolf advocacy, including organizing Wolf Awareness Day on the UNM campus on Oct 17th, 2007, issuing the UNM Wolf Recovery Resolution in September 2007 (available on the group’s website), and creating a special “Save the Lobo” t-shirt for sale at the UNM Bookstore.

The March 2007 expedition included 15 participants and focused on tracking the Saddle Pack. At the time of the event, an U.S. Wildlife & Service SOP13 removal order was being enforced on the alpha male of the pack and federal aerial reconnaissance airplanes were viewed by the expedition. The male wolf was exterminated a few days after the event on March 17, and the alpha female of the pack was removed from the wild later in the year. The Saddle Pack no longer exists in the wild.

“It is UNM Wilderness Alliance’s belief that all of the university has an obligation to defend and support its mascot, the lobo,” said Carter. “This year’s wolf tracking expedition is an exciting opportunity to showcase this support to New Mexico and the Southwest at large.”

(Updated) Mississippi Dem Prez Primary: Polls and Results

Columbus MS: Not running for VP of the United States ...

UPDATED: Obama wins Mississippi as expected.
Obama   255,809  61%   19 delegates  100% reporting
Clinton   155,686  37%   14 delegates

The polls are open for Mississippi's Dem presidential primary from 7 AM to 7 PM Central time today. Once again, record-breaking turnout is expected. It's been 20 years since Mississippi had any real say in a Dem prez primary. Recent polling shows Obama has a good chance of beating Clinton by double digits in the state. There are 33 pledged delegates up for grabs in the open primary. RESULTS will be reported here once the polls close at 6 PM our time.

There's a six-week gap between Mississippi and the next Dem primary in Pennsylvania on April 22. Do you think Penna. residents will get tired of all the ads, phone calls and canvassers knocking at their doors? With 158 pledged delegates at stake, both campaigns will be going all out to contact and win over voters over the next month and a half -- although it's next to impossible for Clinton to overcome Obama's pledged delegate lead. Contests remaining after Pennsylvania (pledged delegates in parentheses):

• 5/3: Guam (4)
• 5/6: North Carolina (115)
• 5/6: Indiana (72)
• 5/13: West Virginia (28)
• 5/20: Oregon (52)
• 5/20: Kentucky (51)
• 6/1: Puerto Rico (55)
• 6/3: Montana (16)
• 6/3: South Dakota (15)

NM-03: McSorley Endorses Luján

The Luján for Congress campaign released this statement today:
As a "champion for consumer rights," Public Regulation Commissioner Ben R. Luján should be the next representative of New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, NM Sen. Cisco McSorley said this week.

"Ben Ray has been a lifesaver for consumer rights at the PRC. He has worked closely with me on a number of consumer issues, and in the face of tremendous special-interest pressure, he has been a champion of consumer rights," said McSorley, who represents Bernalillo in the New Mexico Senate. McSorley said he worked with Lujan "saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in the telecom battle" when Qwest tried to reduce investments it had agreed to make in New Mexico.

The settlement the PRC made with Qwest resulted in Qwest paying millions of dollars in credits to New Mexico customers and investing millions more in state infrastructure.

"Sen. McSorley has been a standard-bearer for progressive issues, including environmental protection, civil rights and ethics reform, in the New Mexico Legislature for years, and I am honored to have his endorsement," Commissioner Luján said.

Ben R. Luján is a New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner and former PRC chairman who is running for U.S. Congress in New Mexico's 3rd District. He has been a leading proponent of renewable-energy development and a strong advocate for consumers' rights and improved access to health care.

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-03 Congressional race, visit our archive.

NM-01: Darren White and the Hackneyed Fear Game

It's easy to tell when Dem candidates and positions are gaining strength -- it brings out the fearmongering on the right-wing side. The fruitcake wing of the Repubs has nurtured a tradition of fearmongering for decades, stretching from the commie-pinko obsessions of the McCarthy days to the Bush II era rants of "you're either with us on everything or you're an unpatriotic terrorist." The vast majority of Repub candidates have used fear tactics to try and get votes and smear their opponents during the last 7+ years, but recent evidence is compelling that the jig is up.

Fear-eliciting, lie-based sloganeering repeated endlessly for years eventually loses its power, especially when it runs up against reality. Like when the massive scope of law breaking, domestic surveillence by the NSA is brought to light by news media like the Wall Street Journal, certainly no bastion of liberalism.

Dems on the Move
Democratic turnout in this year's presidential primaries and caucuses has been about double that of Repubs, sometimes more. Independents and moderate Repubs have been crossing to the Dem side in droves. Just the other day, Dem Bill Foster defeated Repub Jim Oberweis by a margin of 53%-47% to capture former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's seat in Illinois -- with support from across the political spectrum in a district that's been solidly Repub for many years. How did Foster do it? By speaking out boldly against retroactive immunity for telecoms that illegally spied on US citizens, and by defending the Constitution and the rule of law.

Oberweis relied on the familiar Repub fear strategy to try and attack the patriotism and security credentials of Foster and Dems in the U.S. House. He used all the usual hit language on Foster -- you know the entire tired script by now. It didn't work. Foster won in the Illinois special election on a platform of protecting our individual liberties against those who would compromise them and endanger our democracy. In a strongly Republican district.

What Does This Have to Do with New Mexico?
Turns out Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the probable Repub Congressional candidate in NM-01, is already unsheathing the same kind of fearmongering against Dem Martin Heinrich that didn't work for Oberweis in Illinois. White's latest fundraising letter breathlessly offers this truth-challenged proclamation:

My likely Democrat opponent...is opposed to the Terrorist Surveillance Program and has used the issue to drum up support for his candidacy among extreme left-wing groups. He believes that we should not immediately intercept calls from known terrorists and has even gone so far as to attack middle-of-the-road Democrats who support this bipartisan bill. I believe his position on the Terrorist Surveillance Program clearly demonstrates that his views are out-of-step with common-sense New Mexico values.

As usual, local blogger Joe Monahan employs his "some unnamed people say" approach to push the notion on behalf of his cronies that Democrats "in the game for awhile" and "political pros" are worried about Heinrich's candidacy:

Heinrich's supporters (those who have been in the game awhile) fear he will be unable to grow out of his liberal base and White will take the prize in the moderate district. White's first strike is on territory--foreign intelligence--that is friendly to the Bernalillo County Sheriff ... Also, the political pros are writing the early line on possible character vulnerabilities that could be used against the two contenders ... R's see Heinrich and his acolytes as thin-skinned and ready to lose their cool. That ought to wake up the operatives :).

Funny, I haven't noticed anyone at recent Party and candidate functions spinning these kinds of concerns about Heinrich. On the contrary, rank and file Dems have been incredibly upbeat about the chances of turning New Mexico's Congressional delegation completely Blue this year. Not only will we have strong candidates like Heinrich and Udall up and down the ticket, but NM Repubs seem more intent on muddying each other than in articulating any clear and reasonable messages.

As you may recall, the last few weeks have been rife with accusations being made by NM Repubs about vote-buying and threats of smear campaigns being orchestrated by the camps of fellow Repubs Darren White and Heather Wilson. Common sense my eye. Chaos and crises are what I see on the Repub side. There seems to be real panic setting in, and for good reason.

Hungering for Change
Clearly, voters are tired of the cynical politics of fear, smear and distortion that Repubs are clinging to with growing desperation. You can see it in the success of Barack Obama and Jim Foster. You can see it in the massive turnouts for Dem primaries and caucuses. You can see it in the willingness of Dem candidates like Heinrich to speak the truth about what's going on -- with no holds barred.

The politicos of both parties who use vehicles like Monahan's blog to spread their anonymous, negative hackery represent yesterday's news, yesterday's power blocs, yesterday's tactics. Their underhanded "warnings" -- aimed at undermining the galloping momentum for change so evident among voters of many political leanings -- are increasingly falling on deaf ears. The voters have learned a lot during the past eight years of Bush-Rove-Cheney-White style politics. For one thing, they've picked up on the folly of voting against their own interests as they watch our health care system, schools, infrastructure, environment, economy and civil liberties go to hell in a handbasket. The fearmongers are losing their edge.

Heinrich and True Patriotism
Genuine patriotism comes from deeply held beliefs, not focus group tested sloganeering. As Martin Heinrich says,

"... I stand with the American people who say fear mongering is not acceptable. Not acceptable from George Bush, not acceptable from Karl Rove and not acceptable from Darren White. I agree with Bill Richardson that we can keep our country safe without resorting to unconstitutional, warrantless wiretaps. I support a strong FISA that authorizes our intelligence community to intercept the communications of foreign terrorists, not American citizens minding their own business."

Heinrich puts the Constitution first

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

Thursday: Young Professionals Fundraiser for Eric Griego Campaign

You are invited to a Young Professionals Fundraiser for
Eric Griego
Democratic Candidate for
State Senate, District-14
Thursday, March 13, 2008
5:30 to 7:00 PM
Artichoke Café
424 Central Ave., SE (Central and Edith)

Hors d'oeuvres · Cash Bar · Guitar by Bill Parnall

Please RSVP to 505.620.2783. $50 Suggested Contribution (all contributions accepted). If you are unable to make it, but would like to donate, please do so here.

Co-Sponsors: Bineshi Albert, Mark Allison, Herman Baca, Ken Balizer, Hakim Bellamy, Javier Benavidez, Heather Brewer, Sandy Buffett, Chris Callott, Marjorie Childress, Claire Dudley, Joseph Garcia, Laura Harris, Everette Hill, Neri Holguin, Rachel LaZar, Leanne Leith, Tim McGivern, Jenny Metzler, Brandt Milstein, Claude Morelli, Gabe Nims, Ken Owens, Ann Marie Padilla, Mariana Padilla, Mike Puelle, Carrie Phillis, Andrea Plaza, Lupe Preciado, DeAnza Valencia, Greg Webb and others.