Democracy for New Mexico

37 Years

And still the war against the people rumbles on. Only the weapons and buzzwords have changed. And they've learned it's better to have only paid soldiers instead of a draft. And now it's all about the War on Terrorism rather than the Communist Threat.

This video has incredibly chilling footage of the events from German TV. Apparently, NBC, ABC and CBS have "lost" much of the footage they filmed that day.

In this one, Nixon explains how he's expanding the war into Cambodia in order to end the war:

We take this action not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam and winning the just peace we all desire.

We were, as now, seeking "peace with honor" from a dishonorable war. This was, after all, another era when we were destroying villages in order to save them. And killing students to protect the universities. As Nixon says, foreshadowing this era of "Homeland Security":

My fellow Americans, we live in an age of anarchy, both abroad and at home. We see mindless attacks on all the great institutions which have been created by free civilizations in the last 500 years. Even here in the United States, great universities are being systematically destroyed....

If, when the chips are down, the world's most powerful nation, the United States of America, acts like a pitiful, helpless giant, the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy will threaten free nations and free institutions throughout the world.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It should. The arms merchants and war contractors are still raking it in. And protecting "freedom" continues to justify vile acts engineered by the worst of us. Same shit. Different decade. But this time the campuses are mostly silent.

Past posts on the Kent State anniversary from 2005 and 2006.

Last Chance for Belafonte Tix

(Photo by David Bacon)

Don't miss this one. Civil rights leader, progressive political activist and humanitarian Harry Belafonte is scheduled to speak at Popejoy Hall at UNM on Thursday, April 19, at 7:00 PM. Tickets: $30, $25, $20 at UNM Ticket Offices, www.unmtickets.com, 925-5858, or Raley’s Supermarkets. Check out this 2006 interview with Belafonte by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now.

A sampling of Belafonte quotes:

“I do believe very strongly in dissent.”

“There should be no bottom line for corporate America until there’s a bottom line for the poor.”

“...it is the pursuit of finding democracy expressing itself at its highest that has always been central to my existence and to my thoughts and feelings.”

“Tyranny and terrorism feed off poverty [and] racism [and] sexism ... We’ve got to come to the believe that we must be more generous and more benevolent a country.”

“If we do not make a choice to make a difference, we then have made the choice to be crushed by indifference.”

“... to care for freedom and pay for it is a never-ending job.”

See our previous post on this event.

See Greg Palast in Santa Fe 4/29

An Evening with Investigative Reporter Greg Palast: The talk and book signing will take place at the Lensic, Santa Fe’s Performing Arts Center, 211 West San Francisco St., on Sunday, April 29, beginning at 7 PM. Sponsors are Simple Change, KSFR-FM and Collected Works Bookstore.

Readers of Greg Palast’s previous New York Times’ bestsellers, "Armed Madhouse" and "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," know the way he delivers his stunning political exposes with biting humor and poetic metaphors. For this evening Palast will be joined by young Taos slam poet Coral Bernal to highlight the newest outrages of the current administration, as reported in the paperback version of "Armed Madhouse," subtitled "From Bagdad to New Orleans—Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild," to be released on April 24.

The Chicago Tribune says of Greg Palast, “A Truth Hound ... Palast’s stories bite. They’re so relevant they threaten to alter history.”

The top BBC Television investigative sleuth gets the stories even before they are headlines.  In his new bestseller, "Armed Madhouse," Palast gets his hands on the internal emails from Karl Rove's office scheming to fix the vote. Well before the US press tripped on the story, Palast in "Armed Madhouse" speaks with a US attorney about to be fired about the pressure to bring phony prosecutions. He also tells the bizarre but true story of his being charged with violating the anti-terror laws while covering the story of the drowning of New Orleans.

Proceeds from ticket and book sales for the evening will benefit Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) a nonprofit with the mission “to secure environmental and social justice in New Mexico,” and KSFR, Santa Fe’s community radio station.

Tickets are $10 for a single admission; a $24 ticket includes a copy of the new book. Tickets may be purchased online at TicketsSantaFe.org, or at the Lensic box office (505-988-1234). Books will be available for purchase and signing at the theater the night of April 29.

Get in the mood -- LISTEN UP.

R.I.P., Pilgrim

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 1922 — 2007

New York Times Books on his death.

Kurt Vonnegut quotes:

Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.

I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

Every passing hour brings the Solar System forty-three thousand miles closer to Globular Cluster M13 in Hercules— and still there are some misfits who insist that there is no such thing as progress.

We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap.

Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey.

I have wanted to give Iraq a lesson in democracy—because we’re experienced with it, you know. And, in democracy, after a hundred years, you have to let your slaves go. And, after a hundred and fifty years, you have to let your women vote. And, at the beginning of democracy, quite a bit of genocide and ethnic cleansing is quite okay. And that’s what’s going on now.

A poem written by Mr. Vonnegut called Requiem, has these closing lines:

When the last living thing
has died on account of us,

how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,

in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,

It is done.
People did not like it here.

More

https://www.vonnegut.com/
https://www.vonnegutweb.com/

I Want Some Earth Democracy, Don't You?

Go watch.

Donate to Eastern NM Tornado Relief

From NM Voices for Children:
Our friends at Community Action New Mexico have created a relief fund for the victims of the tornados that recently destroyed and severely damaged homes in eastern New Mexico. Some of the hardest hit areas were home to low-income New Mexicans, who may have been under- or uninsured. Community Action New Mexico reports that in the Clovis area alone some 80 homes were lost and another 500 severely damaged.

The Community Action Tornado Relief Fund has been established at Wells Fargo, and contributions can be made at any of the Wells Fargo branches in New Mexico. If you'd rather donate food or other items, call the Community Action in Tucumcari (505-461-1914), or in Clovis (505-769-1094). You can find out more about Community Action New Mexico and their tornado relief effort here.

New Orleans Manages Another Mardi Gras

From Penny Postcards from New Orleans

Despite it all. Or maybe because of it all. Some commentary on NPR here, here and here. A hometown perspective on both Mardi Gras and the Katrina aftermath in a number of posts, videos and photos at Blogging New Orleans. Meanwhile the Cake and Empire blog traces the roots and traditions of Mardi Gras, including (of course) King Cakes. Cool photos at Mental Floss. Maybe most importantly, visit Beyond Katrina, The Voice of Hurricane and Disaster Recovery, which not only has some terrific historical photos of Mardi Gras, but an abundance of links and ideas for keeping the help flowing to what we hope will continue to be America's most uncommon and funky city. Not to mention gay-friendly city. Not to mention one of my favorite cities in the world, bar none. May the good times roll, still and always, in the Crescent City. Wish I were there today....

Peace and Laughter Be With You, Molly

Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins
August 30, 1944 - January 31, 2007She was one of us ..."We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war." --From her last column, "Stand Up Against the Surge," January 11, 2007

One of her last columns from January 7, 2007: Bubba, We -- Yes, We --Have to Stop the War Now. Excerpt:

This war is being prosecuted in our names, with our money, with our blood, against our will ... What happened to the nation that never tortured? The nation that wasn't supposed to start wars of choice? The nation that respected human rights and life? A nation that from the beginning was against tyranny? Where have we gone? How did we let these people take us there? How did we let them fool us?

Other Molly quotes:

— "The poor man who is currently our president has reached such a point of befuddlement that he thinks stem cell research is the same as taking human lives, but that 40,000 dead Iraqi civilians are progress toward democracy," from a July 2006 column urging commentator Bill Moyers to run for president.

— "Many people did not care for Pat Buchanan's speech; it probably sounded better in the original German," Ivins in September 1992, commenting on the one-time presidential hopeful's speech to the Republican National Convention.

— "I'll remember sunsets, rivers, hills, plains, the Gulf, woods, a thousand beers in a thousand joints, and sunshine and laughter. And people. Mostly I'll remember people," from her farewell column to Texas Observer readers in 1976, when she took a job with the New York Times

The Austin American-Statesman has all kinds of terrific coverage of Molly's life and times.

Some quotes about Molly:

"For a woman who made a profession of offering her opinion to others, Molly was remarkably humble. She was known for hosting unforgettable parties at her Austin home, which would feature rollicking political discussions, and impromptu poetry recitals and satirical songs. At one such event, I noticed her dining table was littered with various awards and distinguished speaker plaques, put to use as trivets for steaming plates of tamales, chili and fajita meat. When I called this to her attention, Molly matter-of-factly replied, "Well, what else am I going to do with 'em?" -- Anthony Zurcher, her long-time editor at Creators Syndicate

"She was just like a force of nature. She was just always on and sharp and witty and funny and was one of a kind." --

"She was as courageous in her struggle with cancer as she was forthright in her words. A true Texas original — she could provoke a laugh, even from the old mossbacks who were her targets. No matter how great the challenge, she brought great cheer to progressives." --

Like many journalists of the 1960s, Ivins earned a reputation as something of a partyer, and, until her health declined, she hosted at her Austin home monthly gatherings of writers and rabble-rousers.

"She always had a rambunctious bunch of mavericks and mutts, journalists and old-time liberals," recalled her friend Jim Hightower, a former Democratic agriculture commissioner and now a radio host and lecturer. "They'd be old people tottering around in their 80s and kiddies. Molly was there with the best of 'em." -- Houston Chronicle

There are a collection of photos, recollections and Mollyisms over at The Texas Observer, the top-notch, fiercely independent publication she helped found and nurtures even now. Ivins left her estate to be split between the Observer and the American Civil Liberties Union and also asked that if people wanted to memorialize her that they do so by donating to them. (Note, the Observer site is experiencing incredible traffic today and it can be difficult to load.)

There's a cool video of Molly in action at the March, 2002 Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour in Austin. Remember, she says, to have fun while you fight for freedom.

Mary Ellen and I had the pleasure of experiencing Molly live and in person at the DFA's 2005 Democracy Fest in Austin. She was everywhere -- at panel discussions, mingling with attendees, at the BBQ party at Stubbs, at the big rally with Howard Dean, Jim Hightower and others. She was funny as hell, present as hell, and seemed very happy to be among a crowd of her liberal extended clan. She made us happy, too.

Rallying the crowd at DemFest
Hanging out on a balcony cheering the other speeches
At the BBQ at DemFest

We'll miss her. And remember her. And keep on laughing and working for the cause because whats else can we do? Adios, Molly. Be sure to pass along a howdy to your rowdy co-conspirator, Ann Richards. We miss her too. (Click on photos for larger images.)

Barbaro, R.I.P.

A Champion to the End. What a magnificent animal and spirited example of speed, endurance, courage, character and beauty. Hope he's galloping down the home stretch, 10 lengths ahead, in the heavenly version of the Preakness. He loved to run, he loved to win, and now he is free from his damaged body to do so again, in the best of my imagination anyway. Adios Barbaro. We loved you.

An Aside: Bear Down, Chicago Bears ...

Ex-Lobo Urlacher with George Halas trophy

Make every play clear the way to victory....You could hear the fans singing this song many times during the Bears victory over the New Orleans Saints yesterday for the NFC Championship and the (Papa Bear) trophy (named for the cantankerously historic Bears owner and coach). I have sung the old-fashioned song many times myself over the decades of masochistic pains and pleasures that constitute the loyal Bear fan's experience. So bear with me on this long, nonpolitical post.

This time, for the first time in 21 years, we could sing the song again during the playoffs with some hopeful joy. With the snow whipsawing into Soldier Field off the lakefront, the players' breath puffing out in steamy clouds, the turf torn, lumpy and slick, the uniforms dirty, the Windy City's skyline muffled by fog and eddies of snow. With victory pivoting on a Monsters of the Midway defense, a strong running game, a circus somersaulting catch into the end zone, a best of the best middle linebacker (Brian Urlacher this time, of Lovington, NM and UNM Lobo fame), romping with the ghosts of linebackers past like Bill George, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary. With another fourth rate quarterback completing only 11 out of 26 passes for 144 yards. What other NFL team do you know of that could win its conference with a quarterback like Rex Grossman? It was classic Bears football at its quirky best. They stole the ball 4 times, totaled 196 yards running, experienced zero sacks, commited zero fumbles, threw zero interceptions and were penalized only once.

And what a truly righteous thing to have someone named Lovie Smith as head coach for the win, the very first African-American to accomplish that. How 'bout Dem Bears? And all those visions of our only Superbowl past, in 1986, when Jim McMahon, Coach Ditka, Mike Singletary, Wilbur Marshall, Walter Payton, The Refrigerator William Perry, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Willie Gault, Steve McMichael and Otis Wilson taking the honors and the Superbowl Shuffle playing in the background, big, dark Blues Brothers sunglasses all around:

Super Bowl Shuffle - video powered by Metacafe

I have to admit I'm not much of a football fan anymore. It's been almost 27 years since I lived in Chicago, where I grew up and lived until 1980, a decade past my college days. But when the Bears are in the playoffs, I can't help but watch. And sing that silly song. I spent a fair amount of time in my younger days in Wrigley Field and later Soldier Field, freezing in wet or arctic air and watching the Bears lose most of the time. My dad often got tickets through people he met via his job, mostly in the end zone and at the 50-yard line, about 25 rows up. Thrilling spots for a kid to watch the game. The end zone seats were an especially exciting location, in the days before nets to catch the extra points and field goals. People used to stand on the metal box seat dividers and dive to catch the balls zooming into the stands. The closest I ever got was a field goal that almost took my finger tips off, snapping and stinging in the cold.

We had to endure many losses, but were also treated to some of the most elegant, speedy and talented runners in the history of the game, including Willie Galimore, Gayle Sayers and Sweetness himself, Walter Payton. I got to see each of them run live, many times, with crowd noises exploding all around me. And we got to see some of the best defenses and linebackers ever, all big shouldered and blue collar tough, like Chicago was and sometimes still is if you look hard enough past the gentrification.

When I experience the rarity of a Bears playoff victory like yesterday's, I can't help but think of my long deceased father and how he must be rolling around happily in his grave singing Bear Down, Chicago Bears once more. After all, this was a man who grew up in the poor but proud, factory packed, immigrant neighborhoods near downtown Chicago. He had been at Wrigley Field on that incredibly frigid day (9 degrees) in 1963, long before Super Bowls existed, when the Bears beat the New York Giants for the NFL Championship, 14-10. This was not long after Kennedy was assassinated, when Mike Ditka still played tight end and when there were only 14 teams in the entire league. Bear fans were the same then as they are now. Long suffering, with a handful of joyous miracles to savor among the disappointments and defeats. But most of all, ever loyal.

The Chicago Tribune has voluminous coverage on the Bears and yesterday's game, including a set of videos documenting Football in Chicago. Even Barak Obama has Bear fever this year. Maybe it will be his year too. You never know what can happen when someone bears down ...