Democracy for New Mexico

Special Session of the NM Legislature Convenes Today

Governor Richardson has called a Special Session of the NM Legislature, which starts today at noon. The Santa Fe New Mexican online offers a useful Special Session Resource Guide that will include daily coverage of events, as well as useful links and other information.

Click to find your legislators and their contact information.

Lawmakers are limited to considering matters that the governor specifies in the proclamation calling for the Special Session. Richardson has proposed nearly $100 million in assistance to help New Mexicans with high gasoline prices and home heating costs. His proposals include a tax rebate and a measure to outlaw price gouging. The House also has the power to start impeachment proceedings against indicted state Treasurer Robert Vigil.

According to the New Mexican,

Legislative leaders agreed Wednesday to budget enough money for a seven-day session. They also set aside $500,000 for impeachment-related expenses, such as special staff.

Gov. Bill Richardson — frustrated that he can’t keep Vigil from going to work — said Wednesday that he’ll back whatever the House decides to do about impeachment, whether it’s a vote during the session or the formation of a committee to meet afterward.

“I believe the issues raised about Treasurer Vigil’s action merit impeachment ,” the governor said. But he added he didn’t want to appear to be interfering by telling lawmakers how to proceed.

Next Election Reform Task Force Meeting Set for October 13-14

From Verified Voting NM:
Election reform activists are urged to attend and report back on the 4th meeting of the Legislative Election Reform Task Force, set for THURSDAY-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13-14 in Room 307 of the Roundhouse. There will be a demonstration of voting machines, a presentation by Steve Fettig of VVNM on voting machine considerations, and time set aside for public comment. If you can possibly make it, please go. For the lastest information on this interim task force, visit the NM Legislature website.

Herewith the agenda:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13

10 AM – Call to Order, Approval of Minutes: Rep. Ed Sandoval and Sen. Linda Lopez, Co-Chairs

10:15 AM – Voting Machine Demonstrations

12:30 PM – Lunch

1:30 PM – Voting Machine Considerations, Stephen Fettig for VVNM (invited)

2 PM – Types of Voting Machines Available that will Comply with HAVA and State Law: Costs of Converting Voting Systems to Voter Verifiable Paper Ballot System: Ernie Marquez, Director, NM Bureau of Elections

3 PM – Rules for Handling Provisional ballots and Canvass Observer Issues: Ernie Marquez and Denise Lamb, Chief Deputy Clerk, SF County

4 PM – Public Comment

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14

9 AM – Call to Order

9:15 AM – Review of Laws 2005, Chapter 70, Suggested Fixes: Ernie Marquez and Denise Lamb

11 AM – Precinct-Level Reporting Fix

12 Noon – Public Comment

AFTER You Vote and Help GOTV, Stop In at the Victory Parties

When you're done with voting and helping to get out the vote, head over to any of these victory parties after the polls close at 7PM:

Eric Griego Victory Party
St. Clair Winery & Bistro
901 Rio Grande Blvd. NW
(505) 243-9916
(Across from the Sheraton Old Town on Rio Grande Blvd.)
7:00 - 11:00 PM
Great local food and wine, live music and a beautiful atmosphere!

Miguel Gomez (District 1)
Councilor Gomez's house:  2804 El Tesoro Escondido
(Just West of Ladera Golf Course)
Starts 7 PM

Ike Benton (District 3)
Ike's house:  204 Gallup Ave. SW, 7 PM
Call 268-0310

Michael Cadigan (District 5)
Councilor Cadigan's house:  2705 Bosque del Sol NW
(Near Coors and Eagle Ranch)

Marianne Dickinson (District 7)
Marianne's house:  926 Avenida Estellita NE
(South of Constitution, West of Washington)
Call Keegan at 385-8760 if any questions
Begins at 7:00 PM

Chris Catechis (District 9)
Chris' house:  1125 Monte Largo Dr.
(Nearest major streets:  Lomas and Tramway)
Call 363-2747

Living Wage Victory Party:
Letter Carrier's Hall
123 Quincy NE, across from Highland Theater
Free food, cash bar, high spirits! (Starts 7:30 PM)

Clean Elections Campaign
Gecko's
(between Scalo and the CO-OP, near Carlisle and Central)
After 8:00 PM

Kimo to Host Musical Hurricane Benefit

The New Mexico Music Commission hosts a musical benefit for hurricane relief:

"CHICORY AND CHILE"
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 7:00 - 10:30 PM
KIMO THEATRE IN ALBUQUERQUE

PERFORMERS INCLUDE:
Bayou Seco
Priscilla Baca y Candelaria
Christian Orellana – NM Peruvian Music & Verse
Jenny Bird - Taos Songwriter
Rahim Al Haj - Classical Composer
Tony Rio & Voodoo ChiLi
Chuy Martinez & Oti Ruiz - Mexican maestros of Musica
Danny Solis - World Champion Slam Poet
2005 National Poetry Slam Championship Team
Bonnie Bluhm
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez - Author: The Dirty Girls Social Club

Admission is free for “Chicory and Chile,” but donations are suggested. Proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross, Gulf Coast Musicians, and the Humane Society of the United States. The City of Albuquerque, AMP Concerts, Avokado Productions, Poetic Justice Institute, KiMo Theatre staff and TM Magazine are also sponsoring the event.

Party Sunday: Placitas Dems and Friends

From Jerry and Janice Saxton and Placitas Democrats and Friends:

BIG PARTY
PLEASE JOIN US
FOR A GATHERING OF PLACITAS DEMOCRATS AND FRIENDS

Sunday, October 2, 2005, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Placitas Elementary School, 5 Calle del Carbon, Placitas

Everyone is welcome to attend. We wish to express our appreciation of this wonderful community we all share and to celebrate our many common interests and goals.

Free hotdogs, finger foods, drinks and helium balloons
Music by the Placitas Mountain Band
Visit exhibitors for info
Get acquainted with neighbors and candidates
No speeches just mix & mingle

See you there! Directions:

Directions to Placitas Elementary School: From exit 242 on I25 travel east approximately 7 miles to Placitas village. Go through the village past the Mini-Mart and the post office on the right. The elementary school is on the left after you pass the post office. If you reach Camino de las Huertas or Tecolote you have gone too far east.

Last Chance for NM Wildlands Conference

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
Don't miss the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance's 2005 Wildlands Conference de Santa Fe on October 8th with a special day of Wilderness Workshops and a post-conference Wild Reception.

Only 40 Spaces Left!
Sign up on line at  https://secure.ga3.org/05/conference_05
or Call 505-843-8696

The conference will be held from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Registration will begin at 8:00 AM
Location: El Dorado Hotel, 309 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM
The Conference Fee is $40 including lunch and reception

We will start off the Conference with guest speakers Jim Baca and Dave Foreman. After you are all pumped up to save Wilderness, we will split up into the first workshop session.  You will have a choice of 3 (1-hour long) sessions: Emergency Wilderness Medicine, Creating Collaborations with our Fellow New Mexicans, and Threats to Wilderness.

We then come back together for the "Conservationist of the Year Award" and settle down for a gormet lunch of Santa Fe style southwestern cuisine.  During lunch the film "Monumental: David Brower's fight for Wild America" will be shown.

After lunch you will have a choice of 2 more workshop sessions: Creatively protecting Wilderness, Youth in the Environment, The American  Jaguar, NM Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Activism Guide and the Roadless Rule.

Post-Conference Wild Reception
After a day of interesting Wilderness worshops we will unwind with a Wild Happy Hour Reception from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.  We will be serving up margaritas and snacks and holding an auction. Here is a sneak peak a the auciton items:

Live Auction Wilderness Trips including: Guided Backpacks, Llama Trek and 2 Night B&B

Silent Auction
1961 New Mexico Gazetteer
Gym Gift Certificates
Dana Design Trail Series Backpack
Marmot "Twilight" 2-person tent.  Weight is 5lb. 4oz.
Dry-bag, compressible, totally waterproof,15L volume
Wilderness Responders Course Tuition in Colorado
Wilderness First Aid Certification Course in Albuquerque
Wilderness First Aid Kit
Framed original photographs by Anthony Howell, Frank Parrish and Jan Bartelstone
Framed original oil paintings by Michelle Chrisman
Framed original wood engraving prints by Lezle Williams
Rewilding North America signed hard cover by Dave Foreman
Children’s Book “Pancho and the Power” and DVD “Desert Dreams” by Frank Parrish
Patagonia Synchilla Jacket

Please join us for this great event!  If you cannot make it for the Conference, come join us for the Reception! Space is filling up quickly, so if you plan on attending please sign up by October 5th.  If you cannot make it, please consider donating $40 for a Conference Scholarship so that someone else can attend.

To Register or donate call 505-843-8696 or
Register on-line at https://secure.ga3.org/05/conference_05

Guild & CCA to Host NM Middle East Film Festival

From the NM Middle East Community Cultural Alliance:

New Mexico Middle East Film Festival
October 7-13 at the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque
and October 8-9 at the CCA in Santa Fe.

Presented by the NM Middle East Community Cultural Alliance including New Mexico Humanities Council, Religious Studies Program and Media Arts Departments at UNM, Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, Gray Panthers, Arab-Jewish Peace Alliance, New Mexico Conference of Churches, People Before Profit Film Series, student groups and other community partners.

Films covering the entire region including: Palestine/Israel, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, and Jordan.

Films on culture, politics, gender issues, media, Arab-American experience, spirituality, history and art/music including:

• Al Jazeera
• Occupations of Iraq and Palestine in Baghdad, Fallujah, Jenin, Gaza, Dheisheh, Jerusalem
• Umm Kulthum and Fairuz
• Nasser, Andulasia/Arab Influence, History of Middle East
• Edward Said and Hanan Ashrawi
• Israeli peace activists
• Spirituality
• Feature Films and Classics
• Student life and student films

National Speakers and Film Directors:

• Jess Ghannam, Filmmaker and Psychoanalyst, Producer Until When..., San Francisco, CA
• Mona Mikhail, Professor of Middle East Studies, Film Producer, Live on Stage: A Century and a Half of Theatre in Egypt, NYU, New York City, NY
• Garrett Scott, Film Producer & Director, Occupation: Dreamland, San Francisco, CA
• Jennifer Moore, UNM Professor of Law and Peace Studies Program, Albuq., NM
• Riad Hamad, Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, Austin, TX

Tickets available now at The Guild, CCA and Page One. Visit our website online at: https://www.nmmecca.com for more information, film schedules, ticket prices, etc. or call 255-2067.

Don't Let the Special Interests Win

From the Albuquerque Living Wage Campaign:

THEY’RE SPENDING A FORTUNE
BECAUSE LIES ARE EXPENSIVE
DON’T LET THE SPECIAL INTERESTS WIN

JOIN US FOR A FINAL LIVING WAGE CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER

HOME OF CITY COUNCILOR DEBBIE O’MALLEY
839 FITZGERALD, NW
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87107

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30th
6:00 – 8:00 PM

RSVP TO 242-7411
ALBUQUERQUE MINIMUM WAGE COMMITTEE
411 BELLAMAH, NW
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87102
OR VISIT WWW.ABQLIVINGWAGE.ORG

REMINDER: Last Comedy Fundraiser for Griego Tonight

Last Chance! Tonight. Golden West Downtown. 7:00 PM. Griego serves up comedy to benefit his campaign and keep his TV ad running. Click for info.

DC & Nationwide Antiwar Events Set for Today

Today's Demonstration in London

More than 100,000 people are expected to demonstrate today in Washington D.C. to bring our troops home from Iraq, with hundreds of related events scheduled in cities and towns across America in a national day of action. Protests were also scheduled for London and other places around the globe.

In Albuquerque, protestors will gather at 11:00 AM at the Truman gate to Kirtland Air Force Base and march to a location on Jackson Street SE near Highland High School for a Noon rally, speakers, music and more. Click for flyer and more information. Highland High School is located at 4700 Coal Ave SE. Here's a map of the area that shows Jackson SE.

Here's the speech Gold Star Mother for Peace Cindy Sheehan plans to give this afternoon at the D.C. rally. You can watch the entire Washington protest on TV on CSPAN or online starting this morning.

Meanwhile, Win Without War is running an antiwar ad in newspapers across the country today. The left side of the double-page ad pictures Bush and administration officials with quotes about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq under the headline "They lied." The right side lists the names of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq with the headline "They died."

Congressional Black Caucus Democrats have met with anti-war leaders and two are expected to address today's D.C. rally, Cynthia A. McKinney of Georgia and John Conyers Jr. of Michigan. But other top Dem Party "leaders" all have "plans elsewhere."  Even with support caving for George's war, Dems with presidential ambitions, like Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards and Russ Feingold, as well as our Party Chair, Howard Dean, House Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid, are avoiding taking a strong stand against the Iraq War.

Can't say I'm surprised. After all, speaking out now might dismay some mythical "swing voter" somewhere on the planet and we can't have that, can we? And despite Dean's passionate antiwar stance during his presidential campaign, I guess he's now at the mercy of the limitations imposed by Dem Party bigwigs. What a shame.