Democracy for New Mexico

DPBC Update

From the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County:

Voter Registration Workshop: We will have another voter registration training on Monday, August 15th, at the Law School Room 2401 at 6:30 PM.  It is crucial that as many of you attend as possible, things have changed and you must register in Santa Fe at the Secretary of State's Office as a registration agent to be eligible to assist people in filling out their form.  Please call the HQ if you have any questions: 256-1855.

What We Inherited, Where We Are, & Where We Go From Here: We hope you will attend for a conversation about our County Party.  Marvin Moss and Terri Holland will be there to give an overview and to answer your questions and  hear your thoughts on what you want the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County to be in 2008. Tuesday, July 26, at 6:00 PM at Plumbers Hall, 510 San Pedro SE.

Visit the DPBC Website at https://www.bernalillodems.org/.

REMINDER: Living Wage Press Conference This Morning

From Matthew Henderson of ACORN re Living Wage Petition:

We topped 33,000 signatures!

Don't forget to celebrate with us on Monday, July 18, at 11:00 AM for our press conference in front of City Hall on Civic Plaza!

To receive updates on ACORN's work every two weeks go to https://acorn.org/getinvolved.

Editor's Note: Just under 14,000 valid signatures of voters registered in Albuquerque are needed to get the living wage proposal on the October 4th ballot. Unfortunately, there is talk of the NM Restaurant Association seeking to hire lawyer-lobbyist Mickey Barnett to challenge the petitions and create legal problems to keep this issue off the ballot. About 70 percent of the public supports a living wage according to polling. Click for a copy of the proposed ordinance, which would raise the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour ($4.50 an hour for restaurant employees who receive tips) and includes a provision for future indexing.

Linda Joyce with Senator John Edwards at the recent Living Wage Rally on Civic Plaza:

Robb Chavez shaking Senator Edwards' hand at the Rally:

(Photos courtesy Linda Joyce. Click on images for larger versions.)

Rove, Manipulated Intelligence & Downing Street Minutes: Invitation from Rep. Conyers

July 23rd House Parties
with
Ambassador Joe Wilson, Randi Rhodes

Dear Friend,

July 23rd is the 3-year anniversary of the drafting of the Downing Street Minutes. I am organizing a series of house parties on this date throughout the country in order to broaden public understanding of how Karl Rove and the Bush Administration have manipulated intelligence, deceived the American people, and misled our nation into war.

Given that we learned in the past few days that Karl Rove served as a source for Robert Novak in his column outing Ms. Plame, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to learn not only what and why Rove told the press, but what the president knew and when he knew it. If Rove is willing to spin this issue with the press, as today's New York Times story appears to show, he ought to be willing to come clean with the American people.

Today, 91 of my Democratic colleagues joined me in a letter to the President , demanding that Rove either explain his role in the outing of Valerie Plame or that he resign. I was also joined by 12 Democratic Members of the Judiciary Committee asking Chairman Sensenbrenner for hearings on the growing scandal. I believe these hearings will help illustrate how Rovegate is a part of the puzzle of the ongoing Iraq War deception.

Our country is slowing beginning to confront the truth about the about the Bush Administration's deceitful rush to war in Iraq. This has only happened because of people like you are determined to make a difference by getting personally involved. Over 560,000 people to date have signed our Downing Street Minutes letter to the president . Through this effort, and because of the June 16 th hearing I held in the basement of the Capitol, the mainstream media has been forced to recognize that the American public does care about how we ended up in Iraq.

The house parties I have organized for next weekend provide a platform for people to come together and express their strong opposition to the Bush Administration's conduct of war. Please join us at a house party near you. If you can host a party, click here to sign up. We will provide media kits and other materials to assist with the event. If you would rather attend an event, click here.

I will be conducting a special conference call for house party hosts featuring Ambassador Joe Wilson and Randi Rhodes as my special guests.

Additionally, I would to keep in touch with you through news updates and additional action items. If you would like for me to keep you updated on events here in Washington, sign up for my email updates .

Thank you again for your help and support.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Sign up to host a house party.

Sign up to attend a house party.

ACLU Hosts Citizens’ Meeting on Patriot Act: Councilor Griego Featured Speaker

From ACLU New Mexico:
ALBUQUERQUE –  On Monday, July 18th, at 6:00 PM the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) is hosting the second in a series of “Reform the Patriot Act” town halls at the Peace and Justice Center at 202 Harvard SE in Albuquerque.  Featured speakers include Albuquerque City Councilor Eric Griego and Global Dialog Director Valerie Gremillion.

The bill to be considered next week will make permanent the parts of the Patriot Act that Congress initially intended to expire.  For example, it would make permanent the most unwise and intrusive provisions of the Patriot Act, such as those that give the government access to your medical, library, financial and other personal records, without any requirement that the federal government demonstrate that there are any facts connecting records about you to a foreign terrorist.

"Nearly 400 communities - including seven states - have passed resolutions calling on Congress to amend the Patriot Act to restore basic checks and balances," said ACLU of New Mexico Communications Manager Kimberly Lavender.  "Here in New Mexico, thirteen communities, the NM State House of Representatives, the NM Library Association, the NM Municipal League and others, passed resolutions within months of the Patriot Act’s passage."

ACLU members in New Mexico have been reaching out statewide to let their neighbors know how the Patriot Act affects them.  The ACLU Central New Mexico Chapter will be airing the movie “Unconstitutional” Thursday, July 21, at the Erna Ferguson Library Community Room at 6:15 PM.  The "Street Patriots" have been handing our information weekly in Albuquerque around town while wearing "sign" boards that display personal information, like "I took Viagra this morning" and "I keep a handgun hidden in my home office." Their message: the Patriot Act puts Americans’ privacy at risk by allowing law enforcement agencies access to medical, financial, religious, and gun purchase records.

The 16 expiring provisions of the Patriot Act were not properly vetted the first time, and included unwarranted expansions of federal power, yet some in Congress are poised to make them permanent with no real corrections. If they succeed, extreme provisions like Section 215 -- which gives the FBI broad access to your personal records without individual suspicion, probable cause or any meaningful ability to challenge the secret court order that allows this access -will forever be a fixture of our laws.

The following can be attributed to Lisa Graves, ACLU Senior Counsel for Legislative Strategy:

"Congress rightfully put sunsets on some provisions of the Patriot Act, so that lawmakers could reexamine the extraordinary powers when cooler heads would prevail. We cannot afford to sacrifice the very freedoms we seek to protect. Although the House Judiciary Committee’s base bill does not expand the Patriot Act in the unwise and unwarranted way the Senate Intelligence Committee proposed, it can and must be modified to ensure that Patriot powers are focused on terrorists, and not ordinary Americans whose civil liberties must be protected to preserve our American values." For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the Patriot Act, go to: https://www.reformthepatriotact.org

Kimberly Lavender, Communications Manager, ACLU of New Mexico at 505-266-4622
Go to our website at www.aclu-nm.org

Public Forum 7/21 on New Study on Health Risks of Depleted Uranium

A free public forum that will discuss the impacts of the use of depleted uranium on human health during the Gulf War will be held at the University of New Mexico Law School, 1117 Stanford Drive, (corner of Stanford & Mountain) Thursday, July 21, from 6-8 PM, in amphitheater #2405.

Al Marshall, a retired scientist with Sandia National Laboratories, has conducted an in-depth study of the potential health effects to civilians and veterans from exposure to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War. Depleted uranium, or DU as it is commonly referred to, was used in the making of armor-piercing munitions and enhanced armor protection for American troops.

DU is both radioactive and chemically toxic. Many critics believe that DU exposure has caused significant increases in leukemia, birth defects, and other illnesses among U.S. veterans and civilians. Based on these concerns, legislation has been introduced to ban the use of DU in warfare and many believe the use of DU violates the Geneva Conventions. The presentation examines the validity of these beliefs and concerns.

Mr. Marshall’s presentation is intended for general audiences, and questions from the public are welcomed and encouraged. The forum is being hosted by Citizen Action New Mexico.

For more information contact Citizen Action New Mexico: (505) 262-1862. For directions to the U.N.M. Law School please call: 277- 2146.

Contact: Susan Dayton, Director
Citizen Action: (505) 262-1862
Citizen Action New Mexico: www.radfreenm.org

Fiesta to Support Fair Housing and Home Ownership

Come to the FIesta and have fun!

ARTI, the Project Change Fair Lending Center, and the United South Broadway Corporation invite you to attend an evening in the park Friday, July 15, 5:30 - 8:30 PM, Dennis Chavez Park, 715 Kathryn SE. You will have a great time AND support fair housing and home ownership in neighborhoods of low-wealth in ABQ. If you have them, bring kids. There will be hot air balloons (tethered), clowns, face painting, games and more. For the adults: music, dancers, and a salsa competition. Bring your own to win a prize.

Click to download flyers that have more information. (page 1 is in English--- page 2 in Spanish).

I hope to see you on the 15th!

Vicki Plevin, Director
Anti-Racism Training Institute of the Southwest

PS. We deeply appreciate your support (in advance).

INVITATION: Breakfast with State Democratic Party Chairman

Following up on the DNC Assessment meeting some of us attended on 6/29, Meredith Dixon and the State Democratic Party is inviting progressive activists from around the state to a breakfast meeting in Santa Fe with State Party Chair, John Wertheim, to discuss issues we’ve raised and/or other topics of interest. I understand these meetings will be scheduled regularly in different parts of the state. All are encouraged to participate. If you know anyone else you believe would be interested in attending, please pass this along:

Breakfast with
State Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim
Saturday, July 23rd
10 AM to 11:30 AM
At the NEA Building, 2007 Butolph Rd, Santa Fe, 87505.

If there are particular agenda items that you feel should be addressed, please send them to me or Marci by close of business on Wednesday, July 20th. 

Please RSVP to either meredith@nmdemocrats.org or marci@nmdemocrats.org

Thanks!

Meredith A. Dixon
Regional Organizer
New Mexico Democratic Party
O: 505-830-3650, C: 505-401-8339
meredith@nmdemocrats.org
www.nmdemocrats.org

Support Valle Vidal This Summer

From the Coalition for the Valle Vidal:

July 15 - 17: Valle Vidal - Riparian Vegetation Restoration, Valle Vidal:
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation will host a will and cottonwood planting expedition along Comanche Creek in the Valle Vidal.  Contact: Michael Scialdone at 505.843.8696 for more information.

July 23 - 25: Ponil and McCrystal Creek Riparian Restoration, Valle Vidal:
Boy Scout Troop 409, Trout Unlimited and New Mexico Trout will join forces to spend several days performing riparian restoration in the Valle Vidal.  Contact: Nick LaRue at 505-344-9924 for more information.

July 22-24:  Sierra Club - Valle Vidal hiking and camp out, Valle Vidal:
Contact:  Sarah Lundstrom at 505.243.7767 for more information.

August 20-21:  Road Closure, Midnight Meadows Area:
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Amigos Bravos will join forces to lead a road closure weekend.  The roads to be closed are illegal routes that access the Valle Vidal from the south. These roads cause great harm to streams and wildlife.  Contact: Rachel Conn, 505-758-3874, for more information.

Day Outings and Hiking Trips, Valle Vidal:
We are in the process of preparing a series of one-day summer hikes in the Valle Vidal.  If you would like to lead a hike, please contact me ASAP.

If there is anything else your organization is will be doing with regards to the Valle Vidal this summer, please let me know.  I will be sending out further updates as the summer progresses.

Finally, the Valle Vidal bumper stickers are ready and available throughout the Taos area.  Keep an eye out for them or visit the Amigos Bravos office in Taos to get a handful.

Jim O'Donnell
Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for the Valle Vidal
www.vallevidal.org
PO Box 238
Taos, NM 87571
505-758-3874
Visit this site to join the Coalition's mailing llist.

Mightier Than the Sword

Download a pdf of this.

Come See Oil Derricks in ABQ Wednesday

Alert from Defenders Environmental Network:
Did you know that Congress is now considering an energy bill that could make it easier to drill not only in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but also on our nation's shores?

To sound the alarm on this urgent issue, Defenders of Wildlife -- as part of the Arctic Coalition -- is spreading the word about a very special event in Albuquerque Wednesday morning:

Come See the Oil Derricks and Speak Out on Artic Drilling
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
10:00 AM
Albuquerque Civic Plaza
(between 3rd and 4th on Marquette)

Please join us as we give voice to the millions of Americans who believe the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should remain wild, unspoiled, and free of oil rigs. With two giant model oil derricks looming in the background, the Arctic Coalition will speak out against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain and in opposition to the Bush administration's energy plan -- a proposal that could also invite more drilling on our nation's shores.

I hope you are able to attend! As always, thank you for your support of wildlife in the Refuge and the rest of America's wild places.

Contact Redford Raley at (505) 255-6061 for more information.