Democracy for New Mexico

LCV Events: Meet With Wilson This Week & Earth Day

From Maggie Toulouse, League of Conservation Voters:
LCV has been working in New Mexico with our friends in the Coalition for the Valle Vidal (www.vallevidal.org) to protect one of New Mexico's and America's most precious places -- the Valle Vidal -- from harmful drilling for gas and other minerals.  LCV has also been working diligently to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- Alaska's version of the Valle Vidal -- from a similar fate.  Your opportunity to help protect these beautiful places is happening this week.

Meet with Representative Wilson
In Albuquerque, Congresswoman Heather Wilson is holding coffees with constituents this week.  We are urging our volunteers and supporters in the Albuquerque area to meet with Representative Wilson and urge her to take action to protect the Valle Vidal and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Here are the opportunities to meet with Rep. Wilson:

Thursday, March 23 at 2:00 PM:
Johndi's BBQ
Southwest Corner of Griegos and Rio Grande
For more information, call the event organizers at 505-345-3354. Let us know if you will attend!

Friday, March 24th at 10:00 AM:
Coffee at Krispy Creme in Paradise Hills
3709 Ellison NW Albuquerque, NM 87114
For more information, call the event organizers at 505-890-7300. Let us know if you will attend!

Volunteer with us on Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day 2006! LCV and Sierra Club will be holding an Earth Day gathering and community canvass to commemorate this important event.  Please join us and Representative Tom Udall (invited) and other environmental leaders as we plan to make the environment a key issue in this year's important election.

What:  Earth Day Gathering and Community Canvass with LCV and Sierra Club
When: Saturday, April 22, 9:30 AM - Speakers begin, 10:30 AM - Canvass begins
Where: Immanuel Presbyterian Church - Fellowship Hall
114 Carlisle SE, Albuquerque
To attend, click here.

I hope you'll be able to attend these important events. Together we can let our elected officials know that the environment matters to New Mexicans.

Sincerely,
Maggie Toulouse, SW Campaign Manager
League of Conservation Voters

Health Action NM: Two Important Events

From Health Action NM:
Citizens Health Care Working Group Meeting
Monday, MARCH 20, 2006
5:30 to 8:30 PM / ABQ Convention Center

HANM invites all advocates to go to the Citizens Health Care Working Group Meeting on March 20, 2006. Meetings are being held across the country. This is our chance to tell Congress what we believe are the solutions to the crisis in health care delivery in the USA. See details below. Make copies and encourage everyone to come. We need your voice at the meeting!

Register now to participate in the Albuquerque Community meeting! On line at www.citizenhealthcare.gov, by phone at 505-880-8882

HANM Monthly Meeting
Thursday, APRIL 6, 2006 / 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM 
(brown bag - bring your lunch - drinks provided)
An important update on what passed the legislature and what did not!!
OUTCOMES INC., NASW Conference Room
1503 University NE, Albuquerque
(just north of Indian School on the west side of University- take service road immediately south of the Blood Bank, first parking lot on the left)

The Citizens Health Care Working Group has been established by Congress to:

ENGAGE Americans in a public debate about shaping a health care system that would provide every American with the ability to obtain quality, affordable health care; and

PRESENT Recommendations to Congress and the President in the fall of 2006 followed by Congressional Hearings in 2007.

The Citizens' Health Care Working Group is asking the American public to respond to the following questions:

• What concerns you most about the health care system in America today?
• Our current way of paying for health care includes payments by individuals, employers, and Government. Are there any changes you think should be made to the system?
• What trade-offs do you think the American public is willing to make in either benefits or financing to ensure access to affordable, high quality health care coverage and services?
• What is your single most important recommendation to make or improve health care for all Americans?

These questions can be answered on line at www.citizenshealthcare.gov (available in Spanish). Versions available to print out and mail in.

Nationally, the Making Health Care Work for all Campaign, of which Health Action NM is a part, is organized to:

1. maximize effective input into the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group Process;
2. IMPACT the recommendations of the Working Group with thousands of voices across the country advocating for prompt comprehensive reform that leads to equal access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; and
3. provide strategic information, ideas, and support for local, state and national organizations to effectively engage their members, allies and the public in the Working Group’s process.

At a minimum we want to tell the President and Congress that:

• Quality affordable health care for all is a moral right, and both a medical and economic necessity for our nation.
• We can afford health care for all by making health care more efficient, more effective and less wasteful.
• The American public wants prompt attention by our political leaders to achieve this goal and will respond accordingly. We affirm the 2004 recommendations of the Institute of Medicine that our federal government must lead in developing a strategy to achieve universal coverage by 2010.
• To fulfill our nations commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that all people have the health care they need, when they need it, and at a fair and reasonable cost.

For more information go to: www.uhcan.org

HEALTH CARE IN NEW MEXICO MUST:

• Be seen as an individual right for all New Mexicans regardless of ability to pay
• Be the responsibility of the community to ensure these rights for all New Mexicans
• Provide universal and equitable coverage for everyone
• Be accessible to the whole community in both rural and urban settings
• Be comprehensive, including the choice of a full range of services and providers to promote and maintain physical, behavioral and mental health
• Provide high quality and appropriate care in a timely manner
• Be affordable to avoid financial hardship on individuals and families and be equitably funded based upon ability to pay
• Be publicly accountable, both to the communities it serves and to the government and/or other entities which provide much of its funding
• Provide culturally specific, culturally diverse, and linguistically appropriate services
• Ensure a strong public health system organized to integrate the health care delivery system with community, preventive and social services, and maintain a safe and healthy environment for all
• Have simplified administration so that individuals and providers are not burdened with administrative and logistical obstacles to the receipt or provision of care
• Ensure that government plays a key role in containing costs, eliminating waste, maximizing efficiency of resources, and in all cases, put people before profits

NM Public Health Association Annual Conference
APRIL 5-7, 2006
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque
For registration details go to: www.nmpha.org or contact Melissa Maez at 505-260-0993.

Help With "Stop the Reverse Robin Hood Budget" Letter Delivery

MoveOn Project on Reverse Robin Hood Budget
Office of Heather Wilson
Third Street and Marquette
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Thursday, 23 Mar 2006, 12:00 PM

To sign up for this event, click .

Meet the Candidates This Thursday

From the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County:
The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County is hosting an evening dedicated to our Pre-Primary Convention Delegates getting to know the candidates and all other interested Democrats.  It will be held on Thursday, March 16th from 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM.  We are offering fun and information, no speeches, just a social evening where your candidates will have a chance to answer questions and convince you to vote for them  It will be held at Plumber's Hall - 510 San Pedro SE.  We hope that you will be there!!!! All Democrats are welcome.

Terri Holland, Executive Director
Democratic Party of Bernalillo County
O-505-256-1855

Gather Saturday to Mark 3rd Anniverary of Iraq War

Events to mark the third anniversary of the Iraq War will be held all over America and the world this weekend. In Albuquerque, Stop the War Machine, Code Pink and many others will meet at the UNM bookstore at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning, 3/18. At 11:30 AM, the march will step off and visit the offices of Rep. Heather Wilson and Sen. Pete Domenici on the way to a rally at Robinson Park at 8th and Central downtown. Click for event flyer.

The rally will feature speeches by VA Nurse Laura Berg, who you may recall is being investigated for "sedition" because she wrote a letter to the Alibi critical of the President, as well as an Iraq War veteran. Live music, booths and solidarity are also on the agenda. Bring signs, bring water, bring yourself!

Dozens of activist groups have endorsed this event, including Democracy for New Mexico. There should be a huge turnout even though the State Democratic Party is holding its Pre-Primary Convention in Albuquerque from 10AM to at least 2:30 PM that same day. What a SNAFU. Oh well, many convention delegates, including me, are planning to leave the convention early to participate in the march and rally. We believe it's that important.

Given all the negative press about how toothless the antiwar movement has been in terms of street protests, it's essential we have a large turnout. Please plan to participate if you possibly can. We must keep up the pressure, now more than ever.

West Side LWV Presents Openness in Government Event

From the Sandoval Signpost:
The West Side League of Women Voters will present Judge George P. Eichwald, speaking from his courtroom on “Openness in Government,” on March 15 from Noon to 1:30 PM. The program is designed to broaden public awareness about the issues involved in the threats related to openness in government.

The talk will be given at the new county judicial complex, at NM 528 and Idalia Road in Bernalillo. For further information, please contact Maryann Swartz at 994-1666. Free and open to the public.

Free Video Conference on Open Government and Secrecy

From UNM Today:
University Libraries and the UNM Law Library are sponsoring a video conference in honor of National Sunshine Week at the UNM Conference Center at Continuing Education, Room G, on Monday, March 13, 2006 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. The free video conference will feature a panel of experts from Washington D.C. to discuss open government, secrecy, and an illustrative video montage.

Titled “Are We Safer in the Dark? An Overview,” the discussion will include conversation about how transparency or the lack thereof can affect the government’s readiness and response to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

Speakers
Geneva Overholser, holder of an endowed chair in the Missouri School of Journalism’s Washington bureau, will moderate the panel. She is a former editor of the Des Moines Register, ombudsman of the Washington Post and an editorial board member of the New York Times.

Panelists include Thomas S. Blanton, director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University in Washington D. C., and Barbara Petersen, executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, a state coalition that protects and advances the public’s constitutional right to open government by providing education and training, legal aid and information services. For more specific information on the conference and National Sunshine Week, please contact Kathleen Keating at kkeating@unm.edu

UNM Conference Center
UNM conference Center is located at 1634 University Blvd. NE, in the north building of the Continuing Education complex. Seating for the conference is limited to the first 50 participants.

Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu

Sign Up Now For DemocracyFest 2006

From Jim Dean, Democracy For America Chair:
Preparations for the Third Annual DemocracyFest are underway and the agenda is getting more exciting each day. I hope you will join me and progressive activists from across the country in San Diego from July 14 through 16:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/democracyfest

DemocracyFest 2006 promises to feature some of the best that San Diego and the progressive grassroots movement have to offer. Event, meal and lodging tickets are available for purchase at a discounted early-bird rate until March 15th. Get yours now before the regular prices take effect.

DemocracyFest organizers from DemocracyFest Incorporated and San Diego for Democracy have a fabulous program planned for you -- a weekend where you can trade ideas, learn new strategies, and get energized for the hard political work ahead. It'll be a great celebration in San Diego -- I look forward to seeing you there.

Editor's Note: We went to last year's DemocracyFest in Austin and it was terrific. Excellent presentations, workshops, social events, noted progressive speakers, comaraderie and, of course, Howard Dean. We met grassroots activists DFA Meetup folks from all over the country. We've signed up again for this year's version. Hope many of you will do the same.

Celebrate International Women's Day 3/8

(Click on image for larger version)

International Women's Day Dinner and Festivities
Wednesday, March 8, 6:00 PM
Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center
202 Harvard Drive SE (map)

Mothers and Others for Peace: Enjoy readings, music, entertainment, and exhibits from women in the Peace and Labor Movement. Music by the Raging Grannies. Sponsored by: District 1199NM National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the March 8th Women's Committee. Questions: 505-884-7713.

Editor's Note: There is some confusion about whether the dinner is a potluck or is provided to guests free with a suggested donation. UPDATE: I've learned that the dinner is definitely just a dinner, no potluck. Thanks to Michelle for this heads up.

Coming Soon: 2006 Native American Voters Alliance Convention

Building Native Power Through Voting and Action: Get complete details here. Register NOW!

WHERE: Albuquerque Convention Center
401 2nd Street NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

WHEN: March 16 - 17, 2006
FEE: $50.00 (Scholarships Available!)

Registration is fast, easy and secure. There are two ways to do it.

REGISTER BY MAIL - Simply print and complete the registration form using the link below. Include a check for the $50.00 registration fee and mail to the address provided. Download registration form.

REGISTER ONLINE - The SAGE Council website has a secure donations page that allows you to pay the registration fee with a credit card. GO THERE NOW!

ASK ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS - Scholarships are available to cover all or a portion of the registration fee and, for some out of town guests, a portion of your travel costs. To apply, simply call Bineshi Albert at 260-4696 or send an email to NativeVoter@SageCouncil.org.

CONVENTION AGENDA
Building Native Power Through Voting and Action   

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

• 08:00 AM Registration Opens, East Building 2nd Floor Foyer
• 09:00 AM Welcome & Keynote address
• 10:30 AM Power Plenary - this skills building session will demonstrate the power dynamics to achieve political gain.
• 12:30 PM Luncheon Plenary – How do we build political power for the Native community?
• 02:30 PM Power Mapping – Defining the potential of Native power in relation to players, including allies, opposition, decision makers and media, in the NM political arena.
• 04:15 PM Workshops – Basic organizing tools & Technologies, Voting Rights Act - Implications & Reauthorization, NM Voter Election Laws & Changes, New & Young Voters
• 06:00 PM Reception – Invitees include New Mexico elected officials, tribal leaders, community leaders and convention participants
• 07:30 PM End

Friday, March 17th, 2006

• 07:45 AM Breakfast (Continental)
• 08:30 AM Morning Plenary –Mobilizing the Native Vote in NM: A Showcase of Successful Models
• 10:30 AM Message Development – How to garner broader political support for Native issues?
• 12:00 PM Luncheon Plenary – Realizing a Native Agenda: Working with your Elected Officials
• 02:00 PM Workshops – Basic organizing tools & Technologies, Voting Rights Act - Implications & Reauthorization, NM Voter Election Laws & Changes, New & Young Voters
• 04:00 PM Open Forum - Sound Off
• 05:00 PM Wrap-up & End

SAGE Council is sponsoring this historic event along with Zia Pueblo, the National Indian Youth Council and the New Mexico Secretary of State's Native American Election Information Program. SAGE Council is a Native-led advocacy non-profit dedicated to building self-determination and relationships through organizing, education and leadership development. We are committed to impacting the social, economic and political decisions affecting our communities, and using the teachings of our ancestors to prepare future generations. We maintain spiritual and political values that respect Mother Earth, Native American sacred sites and all People.

SAGE Council
510 3rd St SW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
505.260.4696
nativevoter@sagecouncil.org
https://www.sagecouncil.org