Democracy for New Mexico

See It Now

If you haven't seen it yet, you must. If you've seen it already, watch it again. Or read the text version. In a courageous and passionate statement reminiscent of newsman Edward R. Murrow's eloquent commentary warning America about Joe McCarthy's destructive red baiting, Keith Olbermann tells it like it is with no holds barred. He absolutely skewers Rummy and the Rovian tactics being used to try and equate BushCo's warmongering with Churchillian grit and anyone who criticizes the administration with Nazi appeasers. The equations don't add up. Unreasoning, illogical, devious deceptions never do.

Once again, our democracy is in jeopardy and fascism is on the rise, from within, from the right. Increasingly, this is an emergency. The dangers are growing by leaps and bounds. Are you registered to vote yet? Are you supporting Dem candidates with everything you've got? If not, go watch the video again and reconsider. Can you imagine another two years of a Bush administration unchecked by either House of Congress? Nightmares are made of this.

Also check out the negative commentary on Rumsfeld's "Nazi appeasers" speech in newspapers across the nation.

Warmongering: Quote of the Day

It is hard to overstate how extremist is the warmongering agenda of those who exert the most influence among Bush supporters. Isn't that what Democrats should be asking Americans most clearly and aggressively - do you really want to stay in Iraq indefinitely, and on top of that, have whole new wars with Iran and Syria, perhaps with North Korea? That is what Newt Gingrich says he wants, and he is hardly alone.

The President's supporters try to decorate their thirst for war by depicting it as some sort of compelled Churchillian defense in the face of unprecedented evil, but it is really nothing more noble than reckless warmongering of the most dangerous kind. Although Donald Rumsfeld's invocation of the "Neville Chamberlain appeasement" insult is being treated as some sort of serious historical argument, it is, in fact, the most tired, overused and manipulative cliche used for decades by the most extreme warmongers in Washington to attack those who seek alternatives to war.

From Glenn Greenwald on his blog, Unclaimed Territory. Go read the whole thing. The right-wing extremists are getting more crazy by the day it seems. They're feeling cornered.

As Madrid Slams Wilson on Iraq Intelligence ...

This is a guest post from Avelino Maestas of Live From Silver City, a blog that's providing excellent coverage of the political scene and more in the Gila region. It's cross-posted at his blog, and adds some compelling points to our recent discussions about the NM-01 Madrid-Wilson race.

This is a little outside the region, but there are two issues regarding the Madrid-Wilson race that I wanted to mention.

The first has been talked about in several places, including up north at Democracy for New Mexico and FBIHOP. The nuts and bolts of it: Wilson is below 50% in a poll released by Madrid earlier this week. Furthermore, she only leads Madrid by two points, 46-44, and we’ve seen nothing from the GOP to refute those numbers. We can go to Josh Marshall on why this is significant:

Of late, we’ve been seeing lots of (D) partisan polls. And that’s, as I said, because the Dems are the ones who have an interest in showing how close a lot of these races are.

The point I didn’t mention is this: the normal response when one candidate puts out a poll favorable to him or herself is for the other side to go into the field and (if they can) and get a better number to release. And back in July they did just that. According to Roll Call, the NRCC dropped $450,000 to conduct polls in 28 competitive districts. The article was dated July 31st. And the polls were conducted “over a two-week period this month.” In other words, the polling was almost certainly done at least a month ago.

So far as I can tell, I’ve seen few if any of those polls. And it’s not hard to figure out why.

Madrid’s latest ad is so powerful because it not only ties Wilson to Bush and his unpopular venture in Iraq, it faults her for rubber-stamping the administration’s intelligence that led to the 2003 invasion.

That leads to my second point: this tidbit from Laura Rozen (guest-blogging over at the Washington Monthly) about a new House Intelligence Committee report (PDF) on Iran:

It’s a sloppy report, as the NYT, Sick, Yglesias and others point out. But its purpose wasn’t just to take a quick swipe at marshalling the facts in its favor. It’s a campaign document, a “brochure”, as the NYT put it. What kind of joke of a committee is the House Intel committee that it has lent itself to that? Is anyone in Congress doing any serious work on the Iran issue? Or by the way, on the Iraq issue?

And which of New Mexico’s representatives to the House sits on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence? You get one guess.

700+ Protest Bush at Kennebunkport

"Anti-war protesters rally outside the Bush compound, seen at top left, across the cove shrouded in fog, in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006. President George W. Bush is vacationing at his parents' house while the protest was going on. The president is spending a long weekend at the family oceanside home and plans on attending a relative's wedding. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)"

Meanwhile, a buncha billionaires and Bushes played rich white wedding day. More photos.

A Day on the Streets in Albuquerque

From guest blogger Terry Riley:

A day on the street!

The battle is over. No blood was let. No shots fired. No fists bruised. Where could this be you say?  It was on the streets of Albuquerque at noon. A showdown between a sign carrying street demonstrator and three soldiers in uniform. I bet your picture of this is a bit scary. Mine is, and I was there, and I wasn't one of the ones in uniform.

I was standing on the corner of a busy intersection holding my sign high. The top of the sign read, "Heather independent?  Bush says she is loyal!" This is followed by a photo taken at a fundraiser in Albuquerque where the Wilson campaign netted approximately $375,000. The photo shows Wilson looking at President Bush in a devoted look, almost loving. This is followed by two more messages, "Wilson supports corporations!" and "Madrid supports New Mexico!" In the traffic somebody yelled out, "Traitor! You stupid SOB! etc."

As the car rounded the corner I noticed three soldiers in uniform and they were still yelling. I hoped that they would keep driving, I feared that they were too angry to deal with. I looked up and they came, dodging cars, crossing eight lanes of traffic. This did not look good. They came up to me and began yelling in my face, all three at once. As they ran out of steam one of them finished with the
oft repeated line, "I fought over there so you could be free to do this."  He said something else, I don't remember exactly, I think it was possibly that he hated me for what I was saying.

I spoke up and though they interrupted a little, they allowed me to finish. I said, "Nothing about your service affects my being on the street or my feeling of my right to do what I am doing or to say what I am saying. My right to be here comes because my father served in the occupation of Germany, I served during Vietnam, my brother served during Vietnam, my older son served during Gulf I and my younger son served in Afghanistan. I thank you for your service but I earned ALL of my rights!"

Two of the soldiers immediately extended their hands and thanked me for my service. One of the soldiers said that when we stand with signs that say things against the war that they are hurt because they are at great risk doing what they do. I pointed out that my sign said nothing about the war but that when I do carry signs against the war I also always state, "Pro-Soldier, Anti-War." They weren't ready for that. I believe that they will look more carefully at signs that demonstrators carry from now on.

We spoke for about fifteen minutes. They were in full support of the Bush administration and their policies, including Congresswoman Wilson. I pointed out many of the lies that have gotten us here, lies that they did not try to argue with me on. They tried that old, "We have to stop them over there before they come over here." I asked if they knew that none of the hijackers were from Iraq OR Afghanistan. I pointed out that they were from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. They were surprised by that. They challenged me that Improvised Explosion Devices (IED) are terrible and dirty fighting (not their words). I asked if they knew how many IEDs were constructed from American explosive devices. One was very aware, he had served in Iraq.

They talked about the future of Iraq if we pull out. I pointed out that we are going to leave Iraq eventually and that we will not be able to "fix" their government no matter what. We need to get out as soon as possible so we will no longer be responsible for keeping Iraq in a mess. We agreed that what is happening is a mess and that when we do leave it will become a bigger mess, but it will be their mess. I suggested that when we are not there, the people of Iraq will take control of their country and develop a government of their liking and they will go about their lives. They do not have the time to come over here, we have leveled their homes, shut off their economy, their water and sewer, etc. Their families are not safe and they have no prospect of jobs. With us gone they can get to work fixing what they want fixed, not what Bush wants fixed.

Two of the soldiers seriously seemed to come around. The third appeared to have never considered these thoughts and had a long way to go yet. I really enjoyed that encounter. I believe that two of those soldiers are on the first level of being friends. I am happy for that. There are many many people who are unaware of the truth as these soldiers were unaware. We have to stand up and speak out daily so that when the next election takes place there are enough people who have heard the truth.  We know that the TV (news?) and talk radio (news?)  do not give balanced perspectives. Please come and stand with me to bring these stupid military adventures to a close and to bring Democrats into Washington. 

Guest blog by Terry Riley, who can be contacted at terryactivist@aol.com.

Editor's Note: If you'd like to submit a guest post or Sound Off for possible publication on this blog, please contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the main page.

Breaking: New Madrid Ad Takes on Wilson's Unquestioning Support for Iraq War

Democrat Patricia Madrid calls out NM-01 Republican incumbent Rep. Heather Wilson for abdicating her responsibilities to hold President Bush accountable: Click. Now it begins.

UPDATE: Now you can also view the ad on YouTube :

The War is THE Issue: Losing a Battalion a Month and $250 Million a Day

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Gen. Barry McCaffrey, U.S. Army (Ret) on the Iraq War on Friday's Hardball:

... The place is a mess. It`s going in the wrong direction. There are thousands of Iraqis being killed or injured each week. *We`re losing a battalion a month killed and wounded*, 500, 600, 700 soldiers and marines and we`re spending $7 billion a month and it`s going in the wrong direction."

... There were 563 wounded and 39 killed in action last month, for god`s sake. This is not an arguable point. We`re losing a battalion a month killed and wounded in Iraq. 22,000 killed and wounded during the war."

Meanwhile, the death toll of Iraqis in their raging civil war has risen to more than 3,000 this month, averaging about 100 deaths per day, with untold numbers wounded. Let's keep standing in the middle of that chaotic sectarian violence. Sure. That will help.

We can talk about issues to do with the environment, economy, education, healthcare, labor, energy or justice but before we can do anything to address problems in those areas, we must get out of Iraq.

To date there are more than THREE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS in known war costs.

We are spending about TWO HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS A DAY for the war.

With that kind of outlay, there's nothing left to spend on any other priorities, period. And it will stay that way unless we get out of Iraq and start running the finances of the government with some reasoned sanity. We are in dire need of more checks and balances on the neocon wet dream. If we allow the Republicans to continue running the entire government, nothing will change. I repeat, nothing will change.

To have any chance of changing course we need at least one House of Congress, and preferably both the House and the Senate. That's why the upcoming mid-term election is so incredibly important. We need to demonstrate how strongly the nation wants change. Republicans don't represent change. They mean more of the same, without regard to the consequences we'll be paying for years to come.

If we don't get out and vote to oust Heather Wilson in favor of Patricia Madid for Congress in November, we're part of the problem, not the solution. I can't say it any plainer.

Volunteer, donate, get more info: Madrid for Congress.

Register to vote: or visit the NM Secretary of State website to get contact info for your County Clerk.

Talk to your friends and neighbors.

Killin' Everything They Say They're Fightin' For

Go watch Kris Kristofferson's new music video, "In the News." It's also one of the featured songs on Neil Young's Living With War Today website. Kristofferson, the writer of such gems as Me And Bobby McGee and Sunday Morning Coming Down and is now 69 years old and he's still capturing the essence of his time with his bare bones lyrics and melodies. The Rhodes Scholar and almost West Point professor, who wrote "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," still has some mighty things to say. Things that need saying at a time when our actions are ensuring that way too many people have nothing left to lose, in the worst possible sense this time.

Las Cruces Peace Vigil to Feature CodePINK Peace Ribbon 8/9

Join the Weekly Peace Vigil/ACCION SEMANAL POR LA PAZ for a special event and see the CodePINK Peace Ribbon Project on WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9, 2006, 4-6 PM, in front of the Federal Building, downtown Las Cruces, corner of Church and Griggs.

About the Peace Ribbon: The Peace Ribbon honors the victims of the war in Iraq by creating a memorial to the fallen soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Our goal is to create a remembrance panel for each life that has been claimed by this war. These panels will be tied together in chronological order and displayed around the U.S. to remember and honor those who have died. Please join us in this tribute and contribute by making a panel.

After being here in Las Cruces the Ribbon goes to Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas to join Cindy Sheehan and others. Volunteers needed to help set up ribbon. Contact Laurie 525-3225 shadeneff@zianet.com

The Dogs of War

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"The neocons' next war: By secretly providing NSA intelligence to Israel and undermining the hapless Condi Rice, hardliners in the Bush administration are trying to widen the Middle East conflict to Iran and Syria, not stop it."

... By using NSA intelligence to set an invisible tripwire, the Bush administration is laying the condition for regional conflagration with untold consequences -- from Pakistan to Afghanistan, from Iraq to Israel. Secretly devising a scheme that might thrust Israel into a ring of fire cannot be construed as a blunder. It is a deliberate, calculated and methodical plot.

So says a revealing article by Sidney Blumenthal on Salon. Go read it.