Democracy for New Mexico

Adios Moyers

Last night Bill Moyers said goodbye to his PBS show "NOW" with a focus on the debilitating effects big media is having on our democracy. You can catch a rerun of his last show on Sunday morning at 8:00 AM in New Mexico, or read the transcript and other materials at the NOW website. Next season, NOW will be reduced to a half-hour program hosted by David Brancaccio.

Recently, Moyers won the Global Environment Citizen Award from the Ceter for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School. In his acceptance speech he gave a hair-raising assessment of where we stand today:

"One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington. Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a world view despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts."

If you're feeling sufficiently balanced and centered, give a read to his entire speech, entitled "Battlefield Earth."

Kerry Spot Mocks . . . And Directs Readers to DFNM

I note that our website is getting many hits from The National Review's Kerry Spot blog. Kerry Spot's author comments negatively on a letter to the editor of the magazine by former NM Judge Ann Kass. He then directs readers to various links that mention or are about Judge Kass, which have been sent in by his googling readers. One link connects to a DFNM post on a Moms for Kerry rally at which Judge Kass spoke.

Ah fame, if only in the raggedy-ass pages of the right-wing mockery brigade. Imagine all the conservative readers of Kerry Spot following a link to a post about a Moms for Kerry rally in Albuquerque that dates back to the days before the election. Just to see Ann Kass's name in print! There's some sweet irony in that.

And just to keep the search engines rolling, I think I'll say Ann Kass's name a few more times here, to draw the hounds: Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass, Ann Kass. Happy reading!

Breaking News

Air America radio network is going to start broadcasting at KTRC 1260 AM in Santa Fe. According to Steve Terrell's website, "The network was supposed to begin airing on KTRC on Monday, but technical difficulties with satellite equipment delayed the debut until today or Wednesday, Sinton said."

Air America has been broadcasting on Albuquerque's KABQ 1350 AM for some months now.

Good Reads

There seems to be a plethora of good reads out there in medialand. Here's a few of them:

Maureen Dowd skewers Dr. Cheneystein and the ghoulish nature of BushCo.

Frank Rich ponders Fear Fatigue in the faltering action movie that is the mythic script of the Bush administration.

Thomas Friedman pounds Bush for slashing a Hole in the Heart of the world.

The Washington Note features a rather shocking portrayal of the negative views of our troops toward Bush and their senior officers in A Soldier's Story: Voting for Bush Won't Help Us.

A Salon article reports that a NASA photo analyst has determined that Bush wore a device during the debates. The physicist says that imaging techniques prove the president's bulge was not caused by wrinkled clothing.

Finally, a blogger called ABQ John posted a good story on the Kerry blog about the rally in downtown Albuquerque Tuesday night.

(Thanks to John McAndrew for the heads up on the NYT columns.)

Newspaper Endorsements Trending Toward Kerry

The Kerry website has a detailed summary of newspapers that have endorsed him, including a number of publications that supported Bush last time around. You can read the editorials from each of them. Yesterday, the staunchly conservative Tampa Tribune editorialized that they could not endorse Bush this election, despite their having endorsed Republican presidential candidates since 1952 with only one exception. Check it out:

Why We Cannot Endorse President Bush For Re-Election
Published: Oct 17, 2004, Tampa Tribune

We find ourselves in a position unimaginable four years ago when we strongly endorsed for president a fiscal conservative and "moderate man of mainstream convictions'' who promised to wield military muscle only as a last resort and to resist the lure of "nation building.'' We find ourselves deeply conflicted today about the presidential race, skeptical of the promises and positions of Sen. John Kerry and disappointed by the performance of President George W. Bush.

As stewards of the Tribune's editorial voice, we find it unimaginable to not be lending our voice to the chorus of conservative-leaning newspapers endorsing the president's re-election. We had fully expected to stand with Bush, whom we endorsed in 2000 because his politics generally reflected ours: a strong military, fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility and small government. We knew him to be a popular governor of Texas who fought for lower taxes, less government and a pro-business constitution.

But we are unable to endorse President Bush for re-election because of his mishandling of the war in Iraq, his record deficit spending, his assault on open government and his failed promise to be a "uniter not a divider'' within the United States and the world.

Click here for the entire editorial.

CBS Market Reports says this:

Two weeks before the presidential election, Sen. John Kerry is leading President George Bush in newspaper endorsements by a margin of 45 to 30, according to Editor & Publisher. The trade publication reported that Kerry had added at least 30 endorsements over the weekend as Bush picked up 17.

"Kerry has more large papers on his side, maintaining his circulation edge at nearly 3-1: approximately 8.7 million to 3.3 million," Editor & Publisher said. Of note, Kerry won the approval of the influential New York Times on Sunday.

In addition, Editor & Publisher pointed out, Kerry's new newspaper supporters included five dailies that had supported Bush in the 2000 election, when he defeated Vice President Al Gore: the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald; the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.; the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune; the Daily-Herald, published in Arlington Heights, Ill.; and the Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle.

Zogby Shows Kerry Trend

Meanwhile, the Reuters/Zogby Daily Tracking Poll shows this trend towards Kerry:

10/15: Bush 48, Kerry 44
10/16: Bush 48, Kerry 44
10/17: Bush 46, Kerry 44
10/18: Bush 45, Kerry 45

(Photo Credit: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer)

I Don't Know What John Kerry Was Thinking . . .

Tom Tomorrow nails it.

I Don't Know What George Bush Was Thinking Either:

Knight-Ridder provides proof positive that no post-war planning existed for Iraq.

Albuquerque Tribune Endorses Kerry

From the Official Kerry Blog:

The Albuquerque Tribune, which went for George Bush in 2000, has endorsed John Kerry for president. The Tribune is not a major paper (circulation 13,536), but in a tightly-contested state like New Mexico, even small papers can make a difference.
***********
"The Tribune endorses John Kerry for president of the United States."-- Albuquerque Tribune, October 12, 2004

He has earned the job - and the chance to return security, prosperity, freedom, consensus and the American identity to a nation at odds with the world and itself.

The United States has lost its way under President Bush, who too often has failed on both foreign and domestic fronts. Worse, he has been unable to unite a deeply divided nation.

Bush, whom The Tribune endorsed in 2000, has offered simplistic slogans to complex problems, while Kerry sees complicated problems and offers the promise of appropriate solutions - complex or not.

The reality is the world is not a simple place, seldom black or white, and Kerry knows that intuitively. He understands the gray, the nuance - and that easy-bake solutions like nuclear weapons, Navy carriers and conservative or liberal platitudes usually don't apply or work.

This is critical in addressing big picture issues from Iraq to the economy. Kerry's style, attention to detail and global view will serve this nation better in the long run.

The Tribune believes Kerry offers the best leadership for the vast majority of New Mexicans and other Americans, who identify with his vision of who we are, where we need to go and how best to get there.

Why not Bush?

The occupant of the Oval Office and his running mate, Dick Cheney, have changed the paradigm that governs American ideals. Some of that, as Bush accurately notes, has been a product of Sept. 11, 2001. But the damage Bush has done to U.S. interests and respect, both internally and externally, has been devastating and long term.

From the war in Iraq and the acidic sections of the Patriot Act to global warming and national energy policy, Bush's foreign and domestic policies have been based on secrecy, fear, distortion and misinformation.

For these reasons, we urge independent and undecided voters in particular to double-check what Bush says against what he has done. Bush continues to insult American intelligence with his:

Mistaken and unreal views of the war in Iraq, with its mounting costs in American and Iraqi lives, money and good will.

Failure to focus U.S. military might on pursuing our real enemy, the terrorists.

Willingness to compromise American freedoms, in contrast to a resistance to develop and implement safeguards to protect our people, borders, ports and infrastructure from future terror attacks.

Unabashed flip-flop of the conservative fiscal ideal, turning a balanced federal budget - indeed, a huge surplus - into the largest deficit in U.S. history.

Unrelenting attack on 30 years of environmental promise to benefit political friends in the fossil fuel and utility industries.

Willingness to accept a $422 billion federal deficit, a ballooning $7.42 trillion national debt and grossly unfair tax cuts.

These all come at the expense of ordinary, hard-working, taxpaying Americans - and our children's children, who will be stuck paying the bill.

Kerry has earned command

In very sharp contrast, Kerry has demonstrated tested qualities of leadership and imagination. The hallmarks of his Senate record and presidential candidacy are less partisan and more fundamentally democratic and moderate.

And moderation, in an increasingly polarized nation, is absolutely vital.

Kerry embraces transparency, consensus and compromise. As does our Constitution, he will seek to include, not exclude.

Although labeled a flip-flopper, Kerry represents the essence of statesmanship. Unlike Bush and Cheney, he has the courage to alter political positions and courses when he finds he was mistaken.

Take the central issue of national security and its core issues of combating terrorism and the war in Iraq. Kerry has correctly assessed the mistake that is the situation in Iraq; has promised to redirect and focus U.S. military efforts back to pursuing al-Qaida and other terrorist groups; and has pledged to significantly and substantially bolster the U.S. military, including our defensive posture at home.

While he has set no timetable for leaving Iraq and says we must remain there to fix the tragic mess, he presents a more realistic plan to end the U.S. occupation, transfer power to the Iraqi people and extricate our troops as soon as practical.

He has promised to rebuild our international alliances, embrace alliances and treaties, and lead by example, not threat.

For example, Kerry, like Bush, recognizes that nuclear proliferation represents the greatest threat to the United States and world peace. But he would shift our focus to the real problems of a nuclear Iran and North Korea and enjoin U.S. proliferation.

Kerry's agenda reflects a recognition that America can do better. He promises a government that stops and reverses the export of jobs; restores fiscal discipline by cutting the deficit in half; rolls back the tax cut for the wealthy to help fund education and health care; reforms the health care and drug industries to lower costs; and doesn't put public schools in a bind in fixing what's wrong in our classrooms.

A Kerry administration also promises to restore sound science to public policy decisions in human environmental protection, medical research and protecting the environment - particularly in the still grand, but threatened, American West.

Kerry embraces ideas. He seeks to represent the most fundamental of American values, ideals and hopes. He is committed to a government contract based on the premise "of, by and for the people."

Freeway Bloggers Strike Again

Check out the terrific photos from Free Speech Day on Freeway Blogger.

Without a Doubt

This weekend's New York Times Magazine has a long and disturbing story about Bush's god complex and how it affects his decision-making. Get it while you can. After about a week, NYT stories go to the for-a-fee section.

iNDemand Nixes Showing of Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11

I guess there's one set of rules for Sinclair Broadcasting and another for pay-per-view cable:

New York - A cable pay-per-view company has decided not to show a three-hour election eve special with filmmaker Michael Moore that included a showing of his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11,'" which is sharply critical of President Bush. The company, iN DEMAND, said Friday that its decision is due to "legitimate business and legal concerns.'' A spokesman would not elaborate.
[. . .]
Moore said Friday he signed a contract with the company in early September and is considering legal action. He said he believes iN DEMAND decided not to air the film because of pressure from "top Republican people.''

"Apparently people have put pressure on them and they've broken a contract,'' Moore told The Associated Press.
[. . .]
In an interview with a Maine television station that aired this week, former President George H.W. Bush called Moore a "slimeball'' and an expletive.

Also Friday, Moore offered to let Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. air the movie for free. Such a deal would likely get a chilly reception at Sinclair, a broadcaster with a reputation for conservative politics that plans to air a critical documentary about John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activities on dozens of TV stations two weeks before the election.

Click here for the entire article. (Photos of Michael Moore's appearance at The Pit in Albuquerque courtesy of michaelmoore.com).