Democracy for New Mexico

NARAL News

From NARAL Pro-Choice NM:

1.  Watch KOB TV Eye on New Mexico this Sunday at 10 AM (right after Meet the Press) - I will be debating the head of Right to Life Committee of NM

2.  Mark your calendar for Saturday Jan. 22, 2-5 PM for the Albuquerque Roe rally at Civic Plaza downtown. Click for rally flyer.

3.  If you haven’t bought your ticket yet for the Wednesday Jan. 26 Champion Dinner at La Fonda in Santa Fe – now is the time! Go to www.prochoicenewmexico.org

4.  Mark your calendar and take the day off on Thursday Feb. 10th for Pro-Choice Lobby Day at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.  We train you and send you out to lobby legislators (Call 243-4443 to rsvp. Space limited.)

Giovanna H. Rossi
Executive Director
NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico
www.prochoicenewmexico.org
Promoting and Protecting Reproductive Choice in New Mexico since 1973.

Another ABQ DeanCorps Event: Barrett House Attic This Saturday

From Nance Crow:
We need about a half-dozen DeanCorps volunteers to go to Barrett House Attic on Saturday, Janurary 15, from 10 AM  to 2 PM to help them sort donations -- primarily clothes and house wares. (If they can use us a bit longer, some might stay). At year's end they get so much stuff they can't get it all done.

Barrett House is the homeless Women and Children's shelter; the "Attic,' at 4308 Lomas NE west of Washington, supports the shelter. The Attic is in a tiny strip mall west of Washington on the south side of the street. I'll meet folks outside the store and have DeanCorps t-shirts for volunteers.

I hope volunteers might enjoy having lunch together afterward at Hurricane's, a community contributing local restaurant next to the strip mall. Parking is limited so I suggest parking on Montclaire Dr., south of Lomas and west of the stores.

Any questions, my # is below. See you there!
(505) 265-8113
NLCorvus@att.net

Editor's Note: You may recall that DeanCorps is an action arm of Democracy for America - Democracy for New Mexico. Howard Dean's governorship was marked by support for families and children and DeanCorps celebrates this crucial emphasis by offering service to our communities. DeanCorps was very active across the country during the primaries, and is now being reactivated. Last month, DeanCorps groups in 50 states donated long distance phone cards for distribution to vets in VA Hospitals. About 100,000 minutes from DFA supporters was matched 100%  by DFA, resulting in more than 200,000 donated minutes. DFNM groups donated more than 4500 minutes to the effort.

Join Progressive Women for Health Legislation Discussion

Please join the Progressive Women - Issues Matter for a discussion of health issues legislation 2005. The public is invited - women and men - no charge.

FORUM GUESTS:
Lieutenant Governor Diane D. Denish
Senator Dede Feldman
Representative Danice Picraux
Michelle Lujan Grisham, Secretary, NM Department of Health

MODERATOR:
Kate Nelson, Managing Editor, Albuquerque Tribune

UNM LAW SCHOOL - ROOM 2401
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2005 - 2:00 PM

For information call:
Zora Hesse, 265-3031
Ida Humphrey, 294-4015
Imogene Lindsay, 299-7454
Frances Ray, 873-0615

The 2005 Legislative Session will be from January 18 to March 17. The last day for the Governor to pocket veto legislation is April 8.

North Valley Pre-Legislative Forum Set for Thursday

From DPBC e-news:
A North Valley Pre-Legislative Forum will be held:

January 6, 2005 (Thursday)
7 PM to 9 PM
North Valley Senior Center - 3825 Fourth NW

Sponsored by: North Valley Coalition and Alameda North Valley Association

Invited guests include:
Senator Dede Feldman
Senator John Ryan
Representative Ed Sandoval
Representative Rick Miera
Representative Teresa Zanetti

WILL THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION BE PRODUCTIVE?   
What are the important issues for State Government?
What health care changes are in the Governor's agenda?
What changes are in store for our schools?
What are your issues?

Attend the Forum! Find out what the Legislators have to say about North Valley issues and let them know what your opinion is!

If you have any questions for the Legislators sent them back by email and we will try to have them answered. Please share this information with your neighbor. Call 897-3052 for information and the email address.

Albuquerque Count Our Vote Rally at Noon TODAY

There's planning going on to have an Albuquerque version of the Count Our Vote rally that's happening at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe at Noon Sunday 12/19. In Albuquerque, the protest would be at the Federal courthouse downtown at Noon. For more information call Casey Reed, who's involved in the NM recount effort, at 505-344-8492.

UPDATE: The Albuquerque protest is on. Bring your signs and yourself to Lomas and Fourth Street downtown at the Courthouse at Noon.

Green Green

Passed along from Green sources by Eric Elison:

As of this writing, the Supreme court has not responded to our petition for a hearing.

In the meantime, the Green Party of Santa Fe would like to invite you all to our holiday party, Saturday evening, beginning at 4:30 PM, Dec 18, at the Commons, 2300 W. Alameda. It's pot luck, so if you have a favorite dish, please bring it along. If you want to stay over, please let us know as soon as possible, so we can make arrangements.

We really appreciate the enthusiastic response to the recount, and this is one way we say 'thank you'. Hope to see you there. For more info, call Rick Lass, 982-2478, 920-0540

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

Count Our Votes!

JOIN THE RALLY

At the State Capitol, Santa Fe, East Entrance

Sunday, December 19th, At Noon

SUPPORT THE RECOUNT IN NM

IF THE UKRAINIANS CAN DO IT

SO CAN WE

Find out how you can help support the NM recount
Find out what other States are doing
START ORGANIZING
Get educated,
be part of the process
FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO

Speakers:
Paul Christie, PACE
Rick Lass: Green Party Santa Fe

Sponsored by: The Green Parties of Taos & Santa Fe, Veterans for Peace Santa Fe Chapter #55, and VerifiedVotingNM

Contact 505-776-2836 for more information.

UPDATE: AQB DeanCorps Caroling Monday Evening

Dean Singers Update from Nance Crow:

In order to best serve the folks we'll sing to, change is in order for our DeanCorps event on Monday, December 20th:

5:15-5:30: Meet at Albuquerque Rescue Mission Parking Lot, Third and Iron SW. Streets go in both directions in downtown now. Iron is one block south of Coal Ave. We'll pick what we sing and I'll pass out bags of Hershey's Kisses to hand out. They feed as many as 500 in shifts of 80 people!

Please wear festive gear if you can: Santa Hats and Reindeer Antlers work as do seasonal colored sweaters and scarves. If you have any Dean or DFA pins or shirts, you're encouraged to wear those too.

6:00: Go to Dismas House, (a halfway house for guys and gals re-integrating from 'corrections'), 701 Candelaria NW.

6:45: Go to Barrett House, (shelter for homeless women and children), 905 13th St. NW

Choose one:
When we're done we can:

a) go eat somewhere
b) return to Nance Crow's for posole and vegetarian tamales
c) go home and frantically attack holiday to do list

Invite your friends and please email or call me if you are planning to participate:

Bill Sullivan and Nance Crow
324 Hermosa SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
(505) 265-8113
NLCorvus@att.net

Note: Original post about this event can be found here.

Antidote and Inoculation to the Inauguration: I Am Blue, One of 57 Million

I agreed to pass along this email from Kathy Economy:
Greetings ‘Blue’ Friends! Come Join Me! Yes, like you I am greatly disappointed, concerned, and plain scared of the outcome of this presidential election.

We all know there were some less than integrous, unscrupulous, and immoral activities carried out by the neo-conservative republicans that ‘won’ (I use the term loosely) this election. Lamenting over it is normal But we now need to get out of our blue funk and start exercising the processes and institutions now in place to mitigate the neo-conservative agenda that is being carried out with great speed. We need to rise up and mobilize ourselves with the same fervor, passion, and commitment as our fore-fathers and fore-mothers did to institutionalize progressive thinking policies, issues and legislation in order to prevent their destruction with a few strokes of a pen.

You can help! There is strength in numbers, and there are many of us ‘blue’ here in Albuquerque who want to take action. Let us use the anger and disappointment that will be welling up in all of us Inauguration Day (January 20th) to our advantage by organizing an'Antidote and Inoculation to the Inauguration: I Am Blue, One of 57 Million’ mobilization event here in Albuquerque. Come join me and your other blue friends on January 20th to get involved!

Antidote and Inoculation to the Inauguration: I Am Blue, One of 57 Million
January 20th, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
La Posada Hotel, Albuquerque

What is the intention of this event? To mobilize, rally, and provide a forum for the 'Blue Community' to be heard and focus efforts on those issues, organizations, causes, policies, and laws, that will be diluted or totally repealed given the Bush Neo-Conservative agenda. Participants will include people like you and me and representatives from those organizations that are targets of the neo-conservatives agenda (e.g. Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, Democratic Party, etc.). These ‘target’ organizations will dispense information, provide dialogue and suggested actions to those that are impassioned to their particular cause. The event will enable and facilitate attendees in connecting with their cause of choice.  The end effect is to nurture and build a louder and stronger voice for progressive issues that are currently being financially strangled and/or legislated to death by the current and future administration.

Will there be speakers? We would like to have local people who are active in the community speak. These speakers will give us local instances and activities as to how we can mitigate the neo-conservative policies that are currently being drafted in Washington that will effect us both globally and locally.

What is the Cost? This event is meant to get as many people involved as possible, so essentially the cost to attendees will be free, with a suggested donation at the door. I am putting the money up-front, and hope donations will help defray my cost.

Can you help? You bet! I encourage you to come to La Posada on January 20th and get involved!

An end note - The NM Democrats will be minimally involved in this activity. They will be finishing up their annual fund-raising event held the weekend of January 15th, hence, their resources are being devoted to that cause. Also, some will be in Washington for the inauguration. So the NM Democratic organization will be participating to some degree in this event, but will not have a high profile in the ground-floor planning.

For more information, email katecono@earthlink.net.

Who's Coming With Me to the Counter-Inaugural?

From Thomas A. Prando II:

Dear New Mexico Progressives,

By now you've probably seen the flyers (click on image for larger version) about the trip to D.C., and no, that isn't Alfred E. Newman in the background. I've put together this trip, not only because it's a great cause, but because I think that our side is far too complacent, and we don't get any media coverage on what we believe is right. When they have a book burning, we read about it in the paper.

When they protest the removal of a statue from a courthouse, we see it on every news outlet in the nation. Where are the Progressives? Where are we?

We're complaining to ourselves, and our spouses that "these people are ridiculous!" Our protests consist of 10 to 12 people huddled together off Central by the University holding up big signs, with slogans on them like, "HONK IF YER PISSED!" We need action! The Christian "Right" successfully pulled off a coup d'etat, and we sat back, and read about it in the paper. We need to change this!

And our first call to action is this trip to Washington, D.C. to show the righties how serious we are about taking back our country. When they see a bus full of angry Liberals from New Mexico traveling 1900 miles across the country to voice our grievances, it might make them think, "Maybe they're serious." Now I realize it is a week off of work, but it's worth it. Thousands of people across the nation are making the trip, and we need to send our Delegation. We need to set an example! Who knows? Maybe in the future people will think of us when they see 30 Righties getting together to burn books, instead of watching it on the news, we'll have 60 of us there to protest that burning.

Instead of watching 50 right wing nut jobs protest a woman's right to choose on television, we'll have 100 progressives there at that clinic protecting that right. The government as it stands is not going to protect our rights and beliefs. We are. And on January 17th through 23rd of 2005, we are going to start our own Revolution, and it will be televised. And you know why? Because WE ARE THE MAJORITY AND THIS IS OUR COUNTRY! Join me on this journey and set an example for what is about to be the new Progressive Movement!

Who's coming with me?

Sincerely,
Thomas A. Prando II
tprando2@yahoo.com
(505)385-4938

P.S. I'm giving a $100 discount to everyone who responds to this e-mail.
P.P.S. If you can afford to go but can't get the 4 days off of work, sponsor someone who can go but can't afford it!!

Bernalillo County Dems Meet Tomorrow

Lt. Governor Diane Denish will address the Third Thursday meeting of the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County on Thursday, December 16 at 6 PM, UNM Law School, Room 2401, 1117 Stanford NE in Albuquerque. All Democrats are welcome and encouraged to attend.