Democracy for New Mexico

Social Justice Sunday 4/24

From Tom Soloman:
George Lakoff has declared Sunday April 24th as Social Justice Sunday, in response to Senator Bill Frist's radical plan to declare a religious war on that same day, calling it "Justice Sunday".

As Lakoff says below,

We must respond. We will call April 24 "Social Justice Sunday." We must show that spiritual progressives are alive and well and willing not just to speak out, but to shout out. The Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy.org are leading the effort.

Herewith is some background, and the message from Lakoff, posted today on DailyKos.com.

If you belong to a church, synagogue or other religious organization, please consider writing your religious leader and helping to fight this.

Background:
+++++++++++++++++++
https://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/4/15/22721/0651
The news that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to join a telecast whose organizing theme is that those who oppose some of President Bush's judicial nominees are engaged in an assault on "people of faith" is more than troubling; it is disingenuous, dangerous, and demagogic.  We call on him to reconsider his decision to appear on the telecast and to forcefully disassociate himself from this outrageous claim.

Senator Frist must not give legitimacy to those who claim they hold a monopoly on faith. They do not.  They assert, in the words of Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and organizer of the telecast, that there is a vast conspiracy by the courts "to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms."  There is no such conspiracy.  They have been unable to ram through the most extreme of the President's nominees, and now they are spinning new claims out of thin air. [...]

The telecast is scheduled to take place on the second night of the Passover holiday, when Jews around the world gather together to celebrate our religious freedom.  It was in part for exactly such freedom that we fled Egypt.  It was in part for exactly such freedom that so many of us came to this great land.  And it is in very large part because of exactly such freedom that we and our neighbors here have built a nation uniquely welcoming to people of faith - of all faiths.  We believe Senator Frist knows these things as well.  His association with the scheduled telecast is, in a word, shameful.  We call upon to him to disassociate himself from the claim that the Senate is participating in a filibuster against faith, and to withdraw his participation from the April 24th event.

    -- Rabbi David Saperstein
        Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

And the call to action by George Lakoff:

Social Justice Sunday by George Lakoff
Fri Apr 15th, 2005 at 17:01:06 MST

The right-wing frame is now complete and Bill Frist has signed on with Tom DeLay: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now used against people of faith." This is not just the nuclear option; it is the thermonuclear option. The implicit claim is that every religious person is a right-wing conservative. Filibustering against horrendous right-wing judges is repudiating all believers in every religion - and being racist to boot.  The national campaign is on. Sunday April 24 is booked for national TV at a Kentucky megachurch and called "Justice Sunday."

We must respond. We will call April 24 "Social Justice Sunday." We must show that spiritual progressives are alive and well and willing not just to speak out, but to shout out. The Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy.org are leading the effort.

Religious progressives support social justice, not injustice. We want to protect life all the way from birth up until the edge of death. We will brook no government interference in difficult, even agonizing family decisions. We believe the common good is necessary if we are to pursue our private goods, and that government should use the common wealth for the common good. And we need our judges, and we need to keep them safe.

There are more religious progressives than right-wing fundamentalists. There are more of us than of them. They may be better organized, but this is changing and that change starts April 24. This is our test. Will we stand up to them? Will we write to our ministers, priests, imams and rabbis asking them to join us in speaking out? Will they put signs on their places of worship celebrating "Social Justice Sunday?"  Will we organize and hold candle-light vigils and marches on the evening of April 24? Will we invite the media to sermons on Social Justice Sunday and to vigils?

We have already begun to organize - in just hours. Drivedemocracy.org and the Clergy and Laity Network issued a press release and activated their coalition of sixty progressive religious organizations. We called upon every religious organization to join with us.

We are members of Martin Luther King's "beloved community."
George Lakoff

Download DPNM Meeting Documents

Here are links to documents from the Democratic Party of New Mexico for the upcoming State Resolutions Committee meeting and State Central Committee meeting and events:

Download State Resolutions Committee 4/16 Meeting Call

Download State Central Committee Meeting Call

Download State Central Committee Fundraiser Reception Invitation and Registration Form

Download State Central Committee Registration Form

Download DPNM State Central Committee Voting Proxy Form

The State Resolutions Committee Meeting is set for Saturday, April 16, at 8:30 AM at the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Hall. Any Democrat can attend and participate in debate about the resolutions passed at County meetings around the state that will be voted upon by the Committee.

State Central Commitee Meeting activities begin Friday, April 22, with a 7 PM opening Party fundraiser reception with special guests Governor Bill Richardson And Congressman Tom Udall at the Macey Center on the NM Tech campus in Socorro. Tickets are $25 for SCC members and $30 for nonmembers.

The SCC Meeting itself begins at the Macey Center with registration at 9 AM and the meeting from 10 AM to 1 PM. The agenda includes voting on resolutions and election of State Party officers.

From 1 to 1:45 PM, there will be a cookout lunch at the duck pond behind Macey Center for $7.50. Afternoon breakout sessions will include caucus meetings for Progressives, Native Americans, Veterans, Democratic Women and Young Democrats, as well as training sessions on messaging and grassroots organizing.

Although only folks elected to the State Central Committee can vote at the official meeting, any Democrat is welcome to attend any of the meetings and events.

Interested progressives are urged to attend the breakout caucus on Saturday afternoon. Like-minded folks from around the state will be discussing the possibility of creating a statewide Progressive Caucus, how this would be structured and how it would relate to the State Party.

DPBC Hosts Town Hall Meeting 4/19

From the Democratic Party of NM:

We cordially invite you to attend a Bernalillo County Democratic Party

Town Hall Meeting

featuring local Senate and House Committee Chairpersons

and special guest Lt. Governor Diane Denish

April 19, 2005 at 7:00 PM

UNM Law School, Room 2401

You are invited to attend an Albuquerque area Town Hall meeting featuring our local legislative Committee Chairpersons on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 7:00 PM at the UNM Law School Room 2401.  Lt. Governor, Diane Denish will kick-off the town hall with remarks on the success of the Democratic agenda during the 2005 legislative session.  All Albuquerque area elected official have been invited. 

For local Democrats, the 37th legislative session was productive and successful.  In just sixty days, legislators considered over 2,500 bills, resolutions and memorials.  They approved a $4.7 billion budget that invests in our children’s futures, funding our public schools, state health care, and public safety and also promotes business through tax credits.

Our featured guests will include:

• Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish
• Representative Gail C. Beam, Chair, Government and Urban Affairs Committee
• Representative Miguel P. Garcia, Chair, Labor & Human Resources Committee
• Senator Linda M. Lopez, Chair, Rules Committee
• Senator Cisco McSorley, Chair, Judiciary Committee
• Representative Rick Miera, Chair, Education Committee
• Senator Bernadette Sanchez, Chair, Land Grant Committee
• Representative Edward C. Sandoval, Chair, Voters & Elections Committee
• Representative Mimi Stewart, Chair, Oversight, Courts, & Justice Committee

Members of the public and the press are encouraged to attend.  Members of the public interested in hearing Bernalillo Democrats’ committee and individual accomplishments, as well as their vision for next year’s session should contact 505/830-3650 or visit www.nmdemocrats.org

ABQ Councilor Gomez to Introduce Memorial Against Social Security Privatization

From NM PACE, Re-Visioning New Mexico:

Hola Everyone!

On Monday, April 18th Albuquerque Councilman Miguel Gomez is going to introduce a memorial to reject plans to privatize Social Security benefits.  See below for a copy of the memorial.  If you are opposed to privatizing Social Security then please call your City Councilor and ask that they support the memorial and Councilman Gomez's efforts.  Also, please call Brad Winters, President of the City Council and ask him to put the Memorial first on the Agenda for the Monday night meeting.  The City Council phone number is 768-3100. (Click to find your .)

You are also invited to come to the Re-Visioning office on Friday April 15th to make signs, learn more about the memorial, and have an informal discussion about Social Security.

Should you have any questions, please call Re-Visioning New Mexico Reyna at 505-255-4266.  Feel free to tell your City Councilors to also call Re-Visioning New Mexico if they have questions about the memorial.

Reyna Luz
reyna@nmpace.org
255-4266
1-888-625-8888
Re-Visioning New Mexico
New Mexico Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment

Click to the continuation page for a copy of the bill:

SIXTEENTH COUNCIL

COUNCIL BILL NO.                                 ENACTMENT NO.   ________________________

SPONSORED BY:

MEMORIAL
URGING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO REJECT PLANS TO PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY BY CUTTING SOCIAL SECURITY'S GUARANTEED BENEFITS AND DIVERTING MONEY OUT OF SOCIAL SECURITY INTO PRIVATE INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS.

WHEREAS, Social Security's income protections-guaranteed lifelong benefits, cost-of-living adjustments to guard against inflation, increased benefits for families, greater income replacement for low-income workers, and disability and survivor benefits-are the backbone of retirement security and family protection in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Social Security provides crucial, often indispensable income protection for the 47 million individuals-one of every six Americans-receiving benefits; and

WHEREAS, approximately 87,000 Bernalillo County residents receive Social Security benefits that total in excess of $70 million monthly; and

WHEREAS, Social Security is the nation's most successful and most important family income protection program, but it has long-term funding needs we should address; and

WHEREAS, some policy makers propose to address these needs by cutting guaranteed benefits and privatizing Social Security, that is, diverting two-thirds or more of workers' payroll tax contributions out of the Social Security Trust Fund and into private investment accounts; and
    WHEREAS, privatization will worsen Social Security's funding by draining resources from the Trust Fund into private accounts, increasing the federal deficit by $4.9 trillion and putting us in deeper debt to foreign creditors; and

WHEREAS, some officials and members of Congress have suggested the federal government will not pay back the money it has borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund over the past 20 years, thereby denying working families the money they paid into Social Security and leading to further benefit cuts; and

WHEREAS, privatizing Social Security will cut guaranteed benefits by 46 percent for young workers, even for those who do not participate in private accounts, costing them $152,000 over their retirements, denying them benefits they have earned and imperiling their economic security; and

WHEREAS, cutting guaranteed benefits will hurt the elderly because Social Security provides at least half the income for nearly two-thirds of older Americans and lifts more than 11 million seniors out of poverty; and

WHEREAS, cutting guaranteed benefits will particularly hurt women and people of color, as they are especially likely to rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income and are less likely than average to receive job-based pensions in retirement; and

WHEREAS, diverting resources from Social security to fund private accounts will threaten guaranteed survivor and disability benefits, thus harming working families, particularly African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, as roughly one in five workers dies before retiring and nearly three in ten become too disabled to work before reaching retirement age; and

WHEREAS, Congress should not rush through drastic and damaging changes in Social Security that undermine its family income protections but instead should take the time necessary to develop careful and thoughtful reforms that address Social Security's funding needs without slashing benefits or exploding the deficit.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE that:

Section 1.  Congress should first commit to repaying all the money borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund, so that Americans can be paid the Social Security benefits they have paid for.

Section 2.  Congress should carefully consider prudent changes that will strengthen Social Security's finances, to ensure the program continues to meet its purpose of providing income protection and economic security for America's families; and

Section 3.  Any changes adopted by Congress must strengthen Social Security's family income protections without significantly reducing guaranteed benefits or increasing the budget deficit.

Section 4.  Congress should reject any proposal that diverts money out of Social Security to fund private accounts.

Join Councilor Griego for 'Enchantment FIRST' Organizational Meeting

Councilor Griego Calls on Community, Education and Business Leaders to Join Him for ‘Enchantment FIRST’ Organizational Meeting Friday

New Program to Help Students Achieve in Technology

City Councilor Eric Griego is calling on community leaders, high school principals and business leaders to join him Friday for the organizational meeting of Enchantment FIRST, a new program forming in Albuquerque to encourage students to achieve in technology-education through team competitions in which students design, build and operate robots.

“This is the kind of innovative program we need, to ensure that our high-tech economy continues to grow and we have enough local talent to attract new employers and staff innovative, start-up businesses,” said Griego, who also serves as Gov. Bill Richardson’s appointed chairman of the state Economic Development Commission.

The meeting, set for Friday, April 15, from 3-5 PM at Northrop Grumman’s main facilities on Sun Avenue in Albuquerque, will allow potential mentors, participants and sponsors to learn more about the program and how they can get involved.

Enchantment FIRST is a coalition of New Mexican high schools, employers, higher education, economic-development interests, technical associations, and committed individuals working to inspire students to pursue careers in science and technology, connect students with employers and higher education, and to contribute meaningfully to the region's economic development.

"The coalition approach will employ a managed strategy to ensure both student and economic impact," said program organizer Rick Dove, CEO of Paradigm Shift International in Taos County.

Enchantment FIRST is the New Mexico employment of the program from FIRST, a non-profit organization “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” FIRST has more than 1,000 student teams participating nationally this year.

Each year, student teams design and build a robot that they take to a regional arena-style competition, typically held at a university. Southwest regional events are held in Denver and Phoenix. The competition has the excitement and character of the Olympics Games -- complete with awards, national media coverage, and typically major Discovery Channel exposure. Regional winners may go on to a National competition in Atlanta if they choose. Additionally, FIRST has an annual scholarship fund currently at $5 million.

More information is available at www.parshift.com/EnchantmentFirst and www.usfirst.org/about/.

State Democratic Party Resolutions Committee Saturday Will Make Or Break Resolutions

From Meredith Dixon at the Democratic Party of NM:

The State Resolutions Committee meeting will be on Saturday April 16, 2005 at 8:30 AM at the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Hall (510 San Pedro SE). 

Please attend if you are interested in discussing/debating the resolutions that will be presented to the State Central Committee.

***This is the meeting for debating resolutions***

Editor's Note: Since time will be limited at the State Central Committee meeting on Saturday, April 23rd, THIS is the place where all county resolutions will be presented, discussed, debated and voted upon by Committee members regarding whether each resolution will go on to the State Central Committee for adoption or not.

If you are interested in promoting any particular resolutions, please attend this meeting and make your case. This will be the opportunity for anyone interested to be present and encourage or dissuade the committee on the resolutions.

Urgent: 24 Military Blackhawk Helicopters Coming To SF: Event Alert

From Mother Media:
Does the prospect of having 24 Blackhawk Helicopters, military transport jets, Marine Cobra helicopters running 22 "training" operations daily 365 days a year out of Santa Fe Airport make you a little nervous? Unfortunately, that's what's on the agenda for our "Progressive Community."

Citizens for Environmental Safeguards (CES) Director Elaine Cimino will be speaking  about her lawsuit opposing the helicopters and base expansion at the Veterans for Peace meeting in Santa Fe on Wednesday evening, April 13 at 7:30 PM at El Museo Cultural, on Paseo de Peralta near Guadalupe Stree in the Railyard. But don't miss "The Right To Know" regarding environmental toxins starting at 6:45 PM at the Downtown Public Library.  Mother Media will be at both events.

Five years ago, Santa Fe gave a lease to the National Guard to put in a new hangar, additional outbuildings and add five Blackhawks to their stable of four. Now they want to include some Blackhawks from Kirtland AFB, some from Nevada and buy some new ones. The JAG officer on the case has admitted 24 helicopters plus support aircraft are likely on the base.

Using the pretext that the military is exempt from Federal Environmental Laws, the National Guard claimed *it didn't even need to do an environmental assessment.* The nerve. Through the legal efforts of Elaine Cimino, the Guard was forced to prepare one. It is due out at the end of the month and we are getting ready to mobilize against the new base expansion. Here is Elaine's press release:

Citizens for Environmental Safeguards (CES) Director Elaine Cimino will be speaking  at the Veterans for Peace meeting on Wednesday evening,
April 13 at 7:15 pm at Museo Cultural, on Paseo Peralta (Guadalupe St and the Railyard).

The Final Environmental Assessment will be released this month in April on the Blackhawk facility in Santa Fe NM.Ms. Cimino will update the community  as to the future military base and operations in Santa Fe, NM. A five year battle in the the federal courts was dismissed pending an environmental review. It is now a whole new ball game.

According to the US Army National Guard General, JAG officers, and Environmental assessments the Santa Fe Military base is scheduled to include 24 blackhawk helicopters, 2-4  jets, C-12's and another personel and air-support equipment and carriers. Operations are designed for a training and support to the expanded training base in the US Forest Service area of the Caja del Rio, which is under a no-fly zone.

This operation is quite different from the first presentation made to the Santa Fe City Council  who approved a 50 year lease for $1 a year on a facility supporting only 9 helicopters. The final approval for the lease facility hung on one vote from City Council Patty Bushee who voted for the facility.  US Army and NM National Guard promised a $6M yearly boost to the local economy.  This area is also included in the Patriot Missile Defense System that is being implemented throughout NM.  Senator Bingaman has just announced this past week he would ask for another $130 M for this pork barrel project. This is a project was scheduled to cost $11M just 5 years ago. What is really going on?

To find out more about this issue please attend.

Elaine Cimino  Director  1-800 424-9100

Join the Global Day of Action on CAFTA Tomorrow

From Progressive Democrats of America:

Take Action to Stop CAFTA! April 13th is National Call in Day to tell Congress: No New NAFTAs, No to CAFTA.

Bush is pushing for a CAFTA vote. Congressional hearings are happening now! Be part of the Global Week of Action on Trade.

The proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) - which includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic - is an attempt to expand the failed NAFTA model. If it passes, we can expect more job losses, more destruction of rural communities, more threats to our environment, and more attacks by corporations on our democracy.

Click to take action.

**************

Editor's Note: You can read more about CAFTA and actions we can take to stop it here and here.

The Senate Finance Committee is set to take action on the CAFTA bill tomorrow. Senator Jeff Bingaman is a member of this committee, so at the very least we should call his office TODAY and urge him to vote against it. Given his recent votes for the horribly unfair bankruptcy bill and the bill limiting class action lawsuits, there's no guarantee that Senator Bingaman will do the right thing unless we contact him in large numbers.

Exciting Announcement on Otero Mesa Set for Earth Day!

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:

Dear Otero Mesa Supporters:

A very special event is slated to take place for Otero Mesa on Earth Day, Friday, April 22nd, 2005. This event will be held at 11:00 AM at the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque.

Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) will be on hand to make a very important announcement on Otero Mesa. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer at nathan@nmwild.org, or 505-843-8696. This event will be of monumental proportion.

REMINDER: The Otero Mesa Outing is this weekend, April 16 through April 17.

For directions or questions, please contact Nathan Newcomer at nathan@nmwild.org, or 505-843-8696

NM Democratic Friends Meet Tonight

The meeting of the NM Democratic Friends and Albuquerque Democratic Party Meetup Group will be held tonight at 5PM (NOT 6PM) at the IBEW Hall.

Click for more information, to RSVP or to obtain directions.