Democracy for New Mexico

Sandoval County Dem Women: April 2 Potluck

From the Democratic Women of Sandoval County: On Wednesday, April 2, at 6:30 PM the Democratic Women of Sandoval County will meet for a potluck dinner at UU Westside Congregation Church, 1650 Abrazo, Rio Rancho. Please bring a dish to share. Coffee, tea, and water will be available. There will be a business meeting beginning at 7:15. The public is encouraged to attend. Guests are welcome. For info call Janice Saxton at 867-1139 or email jnjsaxton@msn.com.

Saturday: Celebrate César Chávez Day

From the Recuerda A César Chávez Committee: The 2008 César Chávez celebration in Albuquerque will take place on Saturday, March 29th. The theme of this year’s celebration –- “Celebrating the Past, Continuing the Struggle” -– is meant to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the long walk, highlight the importance of the Latino vote in the 2008 elections and to call for a César Chávez national holiday. We have a lot to celebrate, but realize that the struggle continues. Click for FLYER (pdf).

The day will begin at 9 AM at the Sanchez Farm (Lopez and Arenal) with a service learning project, including planting seeds and working the land. Bring a shovel! There will also be live music and a planting ceremony. At 11 AM we will then march from the Sanchez Farm to the National Hispanic Cultural Center (4th Street and Avenida César Chávez), where a rally and cultural celebration will be held from noon until 3 PM with speakers, poets, performances and live music. This year, our featured performance is the musical group Nosotros! Food will be available for purchase from La Fonda del Bosque Restaurant. Learn more.

3/25 Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Event Postponed

From Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

RESCHEDULING the Tuesday, March 25th Announcement of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund's New TV Ad and Senate Campaign

Dear New Mexico Progressive Activists,
I regret to inform you that the lunch-hour press conference scheduled for Tuesday, March 25th at 12:00 PM to unveil the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund's new TV ad and website targeting the U.S. Senate race is being postponed to a later date in the very near future to strengthen their quality of effectiveness. I will be sure to let you know once the rescheduled date and time is confirmed. I apologize for any inconvenience, and please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Sincerely,
Ed Yoon, New Mexico Campaign Manager
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
EYoon@DefendersActionFund.org
(505) 248-0118, Ext. 3

Saturday: Heinrich to Live Blog at Noon on Firedoglake

NM-01 Dem Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich will be participating in a live chat on the national blog Firedoglake at Noon MDT tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, 2008. Martin will be hanging out at the blog for about two hours to answer your questions and take your comments.

The influential Firedoglake, Crooks & Liars, Digby and Down With Tyranny are the creators of the Blue America campaign at Act Blue that's dedicated to raising netroots support for electing "more and better Democrats." During the 2006 election cycle, Blue America raised almost $545,000 for Dem House and Senate candidates around the country in only a few months. They expect to raise much more in the run-up to the 2008 election.

By the way, you're invited to a Victory Party to celebrate Martin's win at last Saturday's preprimary convention. Come on down to O'Niell's Pub, located at 4310 Central Ave. SE in Albuquerque, at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 25 and join in the festivities. Read more and RSVP.

Bill McKibben: Talk and Booksigning on 'Deep Economy'

Albuquerque independent bookstore will host environmental realist and journalist Bill McKibben at UNM's SUB Ballroom A & B in Albuquerque at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 to talk about and sign his new book, Deep Economy. Challenging the prevailing wisdom that the goal of economies should be unlimited growth, McKibben argues that the world doesn't have enough natural resources to sustain endless economic expansion and looks at news ways to structure our civilizations. If we are to thrive or even survive within the fragile balance of nature, our definitions of concepts like "wealth"  and "growth" and "progress" must change dramatically.

A thoughtful post at The Blue Voice about the coming of the Vernal Equinox talks about McKibben's alarming but action-oriented message about the state of Planet Earth and ways we might counter the dire effects of global warming and learn to live in a manner that minimizes damage to the environment, while actually bolstering our sense of community and increasing our emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

As we find ourselves enmeshed in the dizzy day-to-day, a presidential race for the ages, mounting economic worries and complicated choices regarding Iraq and other pressing issues, a much more serious global (in every sense) question looms: how can we create sustainable communities to mitigate and survive what we know is coming as a direct result of how we've been living for the past hundred years or so?

Deep Economy tackles these issues head on:

In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, "more" is no longer synonymous with "better"—indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value.

McKibben's animating idea is that we need to move beyond "growth" as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isn't something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about one's life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. 

... As McKibben sees it, three fundamental challenges to the fixation on growth have emerged. First, we are producing more inequality than prosperity, more insecurity than progress. Second, we do not have the energy needed to keep producing more at our current rate. And third, growth is no longer making us happy. The title of DEEP ECONOMY is drawn from “deep ecology,” a term coined a generation ago by environmentalists who advocated for more attention to be paid to the choices that we make in our daily lives, rather than coming up with another set of laws as Band-Aids against environmental damage. Now, as we address economic issues as they relate to our environment and community, McKibben urges a similar shift in our thinking. He offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

Besides being a prolific writer, McKibben is a creative environmental activist:

In late summer 2006, Bill helped lead a five-day walk across Vermont to demand action on global warming that some newspaper accounts called the largest demonstration to date in America about climate change. Beginning in January 2007 he founded stepitup07.org to demand that Congress enact curbs on carbon emissions that would cut global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050. With six college students, he organized 1,400 global warming demonstrations across all 50 states of America on April 14, 2007. Step It Up 2007 has been described as the largest day of protest about climate change in the nation's history. A guide to help people initiate environmental activism in their community coming out of the Step It Up 2007 experience entitled Fight Global Warming Now was published in October 2007 and a second day of action on climate change was held the following November 3.

As we move into Spring and experience once more the awakening and greening of our high desert ecosystems, it seems like a perfect time to share some time with McKibben and his ideas for creating Deep Economy.

LWV Santa Fe Hosts Civic Dialog Event

From the League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County:

CIVIC DIALOG EVENT: MARCH 20, 5:30- 7PM
"Civic Engagement: Tools to Influence Government"
College of Santa Fe, O'Shaughnessy Room, Benildus Hall (Map)

Goal: Increase civic dialogue by providing a tool kit of methods, activities, styles to influence elected officials. Learn how you as a citizen can be included in the policymaking process and what you have a right to know from government + and to do.

Keynote Speaker: Fred Harris, former U.S. Senator and national Chair of the Democratic Party, now professor emeritus of political science at the University of New Mexico.

Panelists:
Carter Bundy, Executive Director AFCSME
Leonard DeLayo, Executive Director, Foundation for Open Government
Karen Heldmeyer, former Santa Fe City Councilor and neighborhood activitist
Ouida MacGregor, former Santa Fe City Councilor
Moderator: Billie Blair, President, Santa Fe Community Foundation

Tonight: Obama Supporter Meeting in ABQ with James Lewis

From Grassroots Obama - New Mexico:
There will be a meeting of Obama for President supporters in Albuquerque on Tuesday, March 18, at 7:00 PM at 1301 San Pedro NE (Democratic Party state headquarters).  This is a special meeting. We have the Honorable James Lewis, our very own State Treasurer, as guest speaker. He is the highest ranking state official to support Obama. If you support Barack Obama for President, hope to see you there. More info: Bradford Lyau; Chair, Grassroots Obama - New Mexico (GO-NM); 650-430-5340 (cell)

UPDATED-POSTPONED: You're Invited: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Launch of Campaign to Support Tom Udall for U.S. Senate

UPDATE: These events have been postponed and will be rescheduled soon. See my later post.
***********
From Ed Yoon, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

Dear New Mexico Progressive Activists,

I invite you to join me and other progressive activists on Tuesday, March 25th in Albuquerque for a meaningful and fun press conference to formally launch Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s statewide campaign to defeat anti-conservation Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson and elect pro-conservation champion Democrat Tom Udall to the U.S. Senate.

At this press conference, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund will unveil our new TV ad, campaign website and literature, and also announce our state campaign headquarters. We will also have a fun camera-worthy visual activity to highlight our message. The media is expected to be present and your volunteer time will be well-spent and appreciated.

Training and message preparation will be provided for those who are interested in speaking to the media as volunteer participants for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. And we will provide free lunch since the event occurs during lunch break for many of you.

Please click here to RSVP or e-mail me at EYoon@DefendersActionFund.org.If you are with an organization, please be sure to indicate which so that we can try to connect further about collaborating in 2008, and to discuss how Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund can also be helpful to your efforts in the future.

What:
Press conference to formally kick-off Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s statewide campaign to elect Tom Udall to U.S. Senate, including the unveiling of its new TV ad, campaign website and literature, and campaign headquarters

When:
Tuesday, March 25th, 12:00 PM

Where:
Conference Room
1202 Pennsylvania Street NE, Albuquerque

Free lunch provided.

Thank you. Please click here to RSVP or e-mail me at EYoon@DefendersActionFund.org.

Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson are two of the most extreme, out-of-touch, party-line right-wing Republicans in Congress that continue to serve the whims of wealthy corporate special interests before ordinary New Mexicans. Their tenure in Congress is marked by erosion of our economy, billions of tax payer dollars continuously being drained in the costly Iraqi civil war, pillaging of our natural resources for special interest profit, and putting shame on public services through their dishonorably unethical behaviors. Together, let’s send them packing in 2008 so that we can elect a true champion for New Mexican families and all-around good guy, Democrat Tom Udall, who will work tirelessly in the Senate to rebuild our economy, exit responsibly from Iraq, represent New Mexico’s western values, and protect our conservation heritage.

I greatly look forward to welcoming and meeting you in person on March 25th to start the exciting journey to win together in November. Even if you can not attend the event, I encourage you stay in touch with me.

Sincerely,
Ed Yoon
New Mexico Campaign Manager
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
EYoon@DefendersActionFund.org
(505) 248-0118 Ext. 3

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

Tuesday: Next Meeting of Friends of Albuquerque Tribune

From Friends of the Albuquerque Tribune: FOAT, Inc. preparing to bring out The Albuquerque Trial Balloon with a readership survey and articles by Tribune columnists. Volunteer journalists invited to meeting Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 7:00 PM at UNM Law School.

At its regular meeting yesterday, the Board of Directors of Friends of the Albuquerque Tribune, Inc. decided to publish a print newspaper, in broadsheet form, as the forerunner for a projected on-line daily. The paper, to be called “The Albuquerque TRIalBallooN”, will be mirrored on FOAT’s website. Several locally-based columnists from the Albuquerque Tribune have agreed to provide articles for the first issue, which will also contain an opinion survey of potential readers/subscribers to the forthcoming on-line paper.

The board has received sufficient funds to cover the production cost of the first issue, and eagerly looks forward to further financial support from the public in central New Mexico. Future issues will contain more local, state, national, and international news and will provide an extensive forum for community input.

There is much work to be done, and the FOAT, Inc. Board urges everyone who can help, especially experienced journalists, and all citizens concerned with keeping the Tribune tradition going, to come to the next public meeting this coming Tuesday, March 18th, at 7:00 PM in Room 2405 of the University of New Mexico School of Law.The School is located on Stanford Drive NE at Mountain Road. To get and keep informed, send an email message to SaveAbqTrib-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

86 years ago when the Albuquerque Tribune began publishing as a daily newspaper, this mission statement was put in place: “The mission of the Albuquerque Tribune is to inform the community. Our allegiance is to the reader. Our commitment is to the truth. Our job is to question. Our ambition is to provide a forum through which this city becomes a better place to live.”

Current board members: Rosamund Evans President, Marvin Gladstone Vice President/Treasurer, David Barbour Secretary, Ted Cloak, J.W. Madison, Jack Pickering, Dennis Herrick, Joe Sackett

Bilingual Production of 'The Vagina Monologues' to Benefit Enlace Comunitario

LAS MEGANENAS & FRIENDS PRESENT
A Bilingual Production of Eve Ensler's
The VAGINA MONOLOGUES
ONE NIGHT ONLY!
South Broadway Cultural Center
1025 Broadway SE, ABQ
Thursday, March 20, 2008 / 7:00 PM
Reception to follow

All Proceeds Benefit Enlace Comunitario / www.enlacenm.org
Tickets $15.00 thru Enlace Comunitario / 246-8972
Tickets purchased thru SBCC $1.00 surcharge / 848-1320
Co-Sponsored by UNM Women's Resource Center