Democracy for New Mexico

Amy Goodman in NM on Un-Embed the Media Tour

Amy Goodman, internationally acclaimed journalist and host of the nationally broadcast daily radio/TV news hour Democracy Now!, brings the Un-Embed the Media! tour to New Mexico on Saturday, April 16th, and Sunday, April 17th.

Saturday, April 16
UNM Student Union Ballroom
Albuquerque
Noon

Free and open to the public. For more information, call 505-277-4806

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Amy Goodman in Conversation with Jose Ramos Horta
St. Johns College Gym
1160 Camino Cruz Blanca
Santa Fe, NM 87505
7PM

Tickets are $15.00 and are available at the Lensic box office, 505-988-1234. For more information, contact rdw2100@aol.com

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Sunday, April 17
Bataan Hall
Civic Plaza Drive
Taos
9 AM

$5; tickets go on sale at 8 AM. For more information, call 776-8486 or go to https://www.acttaos.com/

Join us as we launch the paperback edition of Amy and David Goodman's national best-seller, The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them.

REMINDER: Excellent ABQ Progressive Event This SUNDAY

Everyone is invited to A Forum on Acting Together for Social Change on SUNDAY, April 10, from 2PM - 5PM at the First Congregational Church at the corner of Lomas and Girard NE in Albuquerque.

Headlining the event will be Rep. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative from Vermont, who is the only Independent voice in Congress.

This event is sponsored by:

The Coalition To Take Back Our Government
Gray Panthers
The Social Action Committee -1st Unitarian Church of Albuquerque
Community Coalition for Health Care Access
Quote...Unquote/Channel 27

Democracy for New Mexico, along with many other progressive groups, will be tabling at this event and taking part in the discussions. Come on down and spend a Sunday afternoon with like-minded souls.

Call 275-0597 or 463-3774 for more information

INVITATION: Wellstone National Civic Dialogue Project on Social Security

NOTE: THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED ON 4/15/05:

From Lynn Jacobs:

I am holding a house party for the Wellstone National Civic Dialogue Project to discuss the privatization of Social Security on:

Tuesday, April 19th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM

We invite you to come together to discuss Social Security and talk about ways to take action on this critical issue. This is an opportunity to use a new way of talking about Social Security, developing messages rooted in our core progressive values and principles.  This should be of particular interest to those who are proponents of George Lakoff's 'framing' philosophy.

Please click on this link or copy and paste into your browser to register:

https://www.thedatabank.com/meeting/calsignup.asp?ccf=114131&caleventid=5212

Lynn Jacobs
1201 Lafayette Drive NE
Albuquerque NM 87106
265-1622
( NW corner of Constitution...between Carlisle and Girard)

Black Hawk Facility in Santa Fe?

From Citizens for Environmental Safeguards (CES):

(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) in Santa Fe.

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 dissmissed pending an environmental review. It is now a whole new ball game.

The base is scheduled to include 24 blackhawk helicopters, 4 jets, 3 C-130 and other personel and equipment carriers. Operations are designed for 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 the facility supporting 9 helicopters (only), and when the 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 systems that is being implemented throught NM. The final approval for the lease facility hung on one vote of the City Council and Patty Bushee who voted for the facility.

To find out more about this issue please attend.

Elaine Cimino, Director,
ecimino@cybermesa.com
1-800-424-9100

Join the Albuquerque Morning Seditionists This Friday

Folks around the nation are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the launch of Air America radio this week. Locally, Tom Hughes is organizing a get-together this Friday, April 1st, at 5:30 PM at RB Winnings Coffee House (111 Harvard SE near UNM) for the newly formed Albuquerque Morning Seditionists.

This is a chance for fans of Air America's morning show, Morning Sedition, with Mark Riley and Albuquerque's own Mark Maron (above left), to celebrate a year of entertaining political talk radio. Tom hopes those attending will be motivated to meet informally on a monthly basis to discuss politics and Sedition.

If you're interested in learning more, please call Tom at 898-0909 or 401-8923.

Join Otero Mesa Campout

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:

With the recent heavy rains and snow New Mexico has received over the past couple of months, Otero Mesa is blanket of flowers! Spring time has arrived in this southern New Mexico gem.

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, in conjunction with other local conservation groups will be leading a weekend campout to Otero Mesa April 16-17, 2005. Please RSVP to reserve your spot for this great trip. Below is a brief write-up about the weekend. If you have any questions please contact me at the information below.

Otero Mesa Weekend Outing: April 16th - 17th:
Come join us in Otero Mesa and watch the desert come to life! We will be exploring the Cornudas Mountains, the expansive grasslands  and documenting the petroglyphs on Alamo Mt. This will be a fun filled weekend of social gathering and adventure in New Mexico's wildest grassland. Bring plenty of sun screen, a good hat, a good pair of hiking boots, and plenty of water. You will be responsible for your own meals, except for Saturday evening, which will be a social potluck. A tent and sleeping bag are also recommended.

To RSVP or for more detailed information contact Nathan Newcomer out of Albuquerque: nathan@nmwild.org, 505-843-8696 ext.107.

Nathan Newcomer
Otero Mesa Campaign Organizer

(Photo by Stephen Capra.)

Rep. Sanders Headlines 4/10 Social Change Forum in Albuquerque

All are invited to:

A Forum
Acting Together for Social Change

Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative from Vermont
The Only Independent Voice in Congress

Sunday, April 10, 2-5 PM
First Congregational Church (Corner of Lomas and Girard NE)

Sponsored by:

The Coalition To Take Back Our Government
Gray Panthers
The Social Action Committee -1st Unitarian Church of Albuquerque
Community Coalition for Health Care Access
Quote...Unquote/Channel 27

Call 275-0597 or 463-3774 for more information

DPBC Meeting Highlights

Last Wednesday's special meeting of the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County at the UNM Law School began with State Senator Linda Lopez, who is also the current Bernalillo County Democratic Party Chair, being presented with a bouquet in appreciation for her stellar work in negotiating the election reform bill and getting it passed at the Legislature. Here's Terry Riley presenting the flowers to Senator Lopez on behalf of DFNM, NM Democratic Friends and others. That's County Vice Chair Marvin Moss at the podium.

Senator Bingaman then spoke about Social Security and the severe problems that would result if President Bush's privatization plan were adopted. Afterwards, he graciously answered questions for more than an hour on a variety of topics. Regarding his recent vote for the very controversial bankruptcy bill, Senator Bingaman admitted it might have been a mistake given the fact that important amendments to improve the bill did not pass. He said the issue might well have to be revisited in the near future to make it more fair to ordinary Americans. (You might say.)

Marvin Moss welcomes the Senator to the meeting above.

Senator Bingaman takes numerous questions from the overflow crowd.

REMINDER: Udall Social Security Town Hall Schedule

From Rep. Tom Udall's Office:
NEW MEXICO – U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-N.M., is holding a series of town hall meetings next week on Social Security.  The federal lawmaker said he wants to hear from New Mexicans about what they value most in Social Security.

“Social Security has been one of the most successful federal programs in this nation’s history. It has protected millions of elderly from living in poverty, and has been the backbone of every American’s retirement plan. It is a guarantee that we can all count on in our old age,” Udall said. “I hope New Mexico residents will attend these meetings to let me know their views on what changes, if any, should be made to Social Security.”

MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2005
Rio Rancho
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Meadowlark Senior Center, 4330 Meadowlark Blvd.

Albuquerque
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
T-VI’s Montoya Campus Auditorium (Juan Tabo and Montgomery)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman also attending

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2005
Española
Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Rio Arriba Senior Center, 410 Hunter Street

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2005
Taos
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Taos Senior Center, 601 Lovato Place

Last week Udall voted against the House-passed budget that raids the Social Security Trust Fund of more than $1.1 trillion over the next five years.

In New Mexico, the percentage of Hispanic seniors living in poverty today is twice that of non-Hispanic seniors at 22%.  More than half of Hispanic women age 65 and older depend on Social Security for 100% of their income.  Social security payments have reduced the poverty rate of seniors from 45.6% to 12.1%, pulling an estimated 80,000 seniors above the poverty line.  There are about 29,000 seniors living in poverty in New Mexico.  Without Social Security, an estimated 109,000 seniors would live in poverty.

Approximately 295,000 – one of six New Mexican residents – receive Social Security benefits, either as a retiree, a disabled worker, a widow, or child. Almost 1/3 of those beneficiaries are under the age of 65.  More than 30,000 are widows, and 28,000 are children.

“President Bush’s plan to establish private accounts requires borrowing nearly $5 trillion, largely from foreign countries, and increasing our debt for the next 50 years, threatening rising interest rates today, and raising taxes on our children and grandchildren tomorrow,” Udall said.

Latest on Bush Protest

From Stop the War Machine news:

1. W is visiting Albuquerque in order to have a "conversation" about Social Security tomorrow, Tuesday, 3/22 in the Convention Center at around 9:30 AM.

You are invited to do the following:

Plan A: Go to Civic Plaza by 7:30 AM.  Bring signs...

Plan B (if you are unable to do plan A): Meet at the Federal Courthouse at or as soon after 7:30 AM as possible.  Bring signs...

If you have any questions or you hear any further details of when W will arrive and where he will be, please call 933-6600.
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I understand that a third alternative being promoted for a gathering place is Robinson Park at 8th and Central. It's difficult to know beforehand where they will allow people to congregate given all the street closings and other "security" measures that keep the people away from Bush.

Bush reportedly arrives in Albuquerque today at 7 PM, and will stay overnight at the Hyatt Regency, catty-corner from the Convention Center Marriott at Louisiana and I-25.