Democracy for New Mexico

(Updated) Tonight's NM In Focus: Galisteo Basin Drilling, Richardson Prez Campaign

UPDATE 1/14/08: You can see video of Friday's show by visiting my subsequent post on this controversial issue.
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You can tune into this week's New Mexico In Focus on KNME public television tonight at 7:00 PM, with a repeat airing on Sunday at 6:30 AM. The In Focus segment of the show will take a hard look at the future of oil and gas drilling in New Mexico and the latest battleground in the fight over this precious resource: the Galisteo Basin. David Alire Garcia sits down with David Bacon, energy consultant, advocate and former Green Party candidate for the PRC, and Bob Gallagher, President of the New Mexico Oil and Gass Association, for a look at an industry that brings in millions of dollars per year to the state, but is under pressure by many who want tighter regulations to minimize or eliminate environmental threats posed by increased drilling.

Also, host Gene Grant and The Line panel will be discussing Gov. Bill Richardson's withdrawal as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and the highlights and lowlights of his campaign, as well as the upcoming legislative session. Guest panelists include New Mexico bloggers Mario Burgos and Heath Haussamen, and John Wertheim, former New Mexico Democratic Party chairman.

Santa Fe Reporter Unveils Online Citizen Muckrakers Guide

What a resource -- I love it already. Dave Maass and the folks at the Santa Fe Reporter have put together a comprehensive guide to snooping on the powers that be (and others) in New Mexico. The Citizen Muckraker's Guide to New Mexico, subtitled A reference manual for digging up dirt on politicians, corporations, and other citizens, is described as follows:

It reveals the data-capturing tools employed by investigators, bounty hunters, landmen and journalists. With it, you’ll be able to find out which city councilor had a bench warrant issued against her in Clovis for a two-year-old speeding ticket (Patti Bushee). You’ll be able to download a mugshot of Kent Nelson, the investment advisor who admitted dishing out $3 million in kickbacks in the New Mexico Treasurer’s Office scandal. And you’ll do it from the comfort of your local wireless cafe.

... There aren’t enough eyes in the media to watch everything all the time in the Information Age. SFR hopes this guide will inspire readers to join us as independent watchdogs and personally hold the powers that be, in the government and corporate worlds, accountable.

To learn more about how the new digging tool can be used, you should first check out Dave's article, The Paperless Chase. It explains how the online guide is organized, and offers tips for using it for tasks like running a basic background check, connecting campaign contributions to legislative earmarks, tracking corporate maneuvers, fact checking claims about the War on Terror and finding out who's exploiting natural resources.

There are sections on Campaign Finance, Crime, Courts and the like, where you can chase down People, Politicians or Corporations. There are also links to data related to topics like The War on Terror; Land, Environment and Natural Resources; and Health, Doctors and Drugs. You can also access info by using the Guide's Complete Link Roll, The Citizen Muckraker's Guide on Del.icio.us or a Del.icio.us Tag Cloud.

Maass says they'll keep adding to the Guide as time goes on. I haven't had much time to play around with it yet, but I certainly intend to dig in soon -- and expect to get lost for hours in the links. Who knows what evil lurks in the URLs of the Guide? Try it and see. And if you find anything particularly juicy, let Maass know at davem@sfreporter.com. They'll be keeping track of newfound dirt in New Mexico as it filters in from all corners of the internet. (Does the internet have corners?)

I expect that the bloggers of New Mexico -- and other dirt diggers in the state -- will have a field day being modern-day muckrakers for the cause, uncovering crime, corruption, waste, fraud and abuse (and maybe some data on that weird guy down the street).

Friday: Special NM In Focus on Healthcare in NM

Public television station KNME will air a special on healthcare in New Mexico this Friday, January 4, 2008 at 7:00 PM with a repeat on Sunday at 6:30 AM. "By the People: A New Mexico In Focus Special" hosted by Gene Grant will include an interview with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish outlining the administration's healthcare agenda for the 30-day 2008 New Mexico Legislative Session that begins on January 15, 2008.

Tonight on We The People: DPNM Chairman Brian Colon

Happy New Year from WE THE PEOPLE
Guest: Brian Colon, Chairman, Democratic Party of NM
Watch - Think - Call-in! (505) 346-1633
New Day & Time: Channel 27, Wednesday, January 2nd, 6 PM

Not a cable subscriber?  Watch simultaneously on your  high-speed computer: https://www.quote-unquote.org. Click for Channel 27s Media Stream ---> down the page on the Right. WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state, and federal governments.

THANKS FOR WATCHING
Mickey Bock, Host; Judith Binder, Producer

KUNM 89.9FM Tonight @8PM: A New Mexican Christmas Tradition, Las Posadas

From Espejos de Aztlan:

Happy Holidays, from the Raices Collective! Check out KUNM 89.9FM tonight, Christmas Eve 2007, (Monday, December 24th), at 8:00 PM for a half-hour Christmas special of Espejos de Aztlan. Host Javier Benavidez will interview organizers of the Posadas tradition in the Barelas Neighborhood, a New Mexican practice of celebrating Christmas for 62 years now in the downtown neighborhood. Also, tune in again on Dec. 31st, 2007 at 8:00 PM for a New Year's Eve special of Espejos de Aztlan, including warm wishes from the many deejays of the Raices Collective and upbeat music to bring in the New Year.

Espejos de Aztlan has been on-air since 1979 and is part of the Raices Collective which conducts programming on news, culture and music from a Latino perspective on KUNM 89.9. Beginning in 2008, Espejos de Aztlan will begin airing at 7:00 PM on Monday evenings, immediately following "All Things Considered." For more information or to submit input about Espejos de Aztlan, please visit the "Raices" link at https://kunm.org/culture/.

(Updated) Tonight on KNME's "NM in Focus-The Line": Volunteerism, Local Politics and Yours Truly

UPDATE 12.16.07: You can now see video clips of the entire show at MySpace and comment about it at KNME's online forum.
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Pre-show preparation

I've long been a fan of the local KNME political talk show, "New Mexico in Focus - The Line," co-hosted by Santa Fe Reporter writer David Alire Garcia and Albuquerque Journal columnist Gene Grant, respectively. Being unrepetentent political junkies, the show is part of our Friday night TV ritual that also includes "Washington Week", "Bill Moyers" and Bill Maher's "Real Time."

This week, producer Kevin McDonald invited me to participate as a panelist on Gene Grants' "The Line" segment of the show, along with fellow guest panelist Pat Frisch, AM operations manager of Citadel Communications, and regulars Margaret Montoya, who's a professor at both the UNM Law School and School of Medicine, and Jim Scarantino, an attorney and columnist at the alibi. You can watch the show tonight -- Friday, December 14, at 7 PM and on KNME, Channel 5 or tune in for the repeat on Sunday, December 16, at 6:30 AM.

You might say I was a bit nervous about appearing on the show. I'd never been on TV before and I have to admit I had visions of myself becoming entirely tongue-tied or babbling incoherently during the taping. Thankfully, the show's hosts, participants, producers, director and techies made me feel right at home and helped me relax enough to make some sense during Tuesday's taping. At least I think I made sense -- but I won't really know until I see the show for myself tonight.

Lights, camera, action

Thankfully, "The Line" folks all said I did a fine job, but then they probably tell that to all their guests, being the gracious people they are. The proof will really be in the viewing. I hope I did DFNM proud. Phew. After the initial jitters, the experience turned out to be exciting and fun -- you know how much I like to talk and debate about politics. Our fast-moving discussion touched on a wide range of topics, including Mayor Martin Chavez's withdrawal from the Senate race, Hispanic voters moving back into the Dem column, the latest news about Gov. Bill Richardson's presidential run, the new Spaceport director, immigration, the new medical marijuana regulations and more.

It definitely helped to have Mary Ellen along for the ride as my behind the scenes sidekick, offering much appreciated moral support and humor. She produced the photos in this post and got to hang out in the control booth with the important folks who work out of camera range to make the show a reality. She reports being fascinated by the inside look at tv production, and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Of course she didn't have to sit under the lights, face the cameras and attempt to be spontaneously articulate!

In the booth: staff and interns who handle the technical end

Monitors and camera angles

As usual, the first segment of tonight's show will feature David Alire Garcia of the Santa Fe Reporter hosting "New Mexico In Focus." Tonight's topic is volunteerism, including a discussion on where New Mexicans rank when it comes to volunteering, and what local officials are doing to boost civic participation. His guests are Gregory Webb, executive director, New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism; Jean Block, ABQ The Magazine’s 2007 Humanitarian of the Year; Kerrie Copelin, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central New Mexico; and Brenda Wolfe, clinical psychologist. After that comes "The Line" segment, with our discussion and the infamous "On the Clock" sequence, where we have one minute per topic on five different issues.

You can check out blog posts and video clips from past and present shows in the series at the New Mexico PBS page on MySpace, or visit their online forum. KNME's pledge drive is also in full swing so please consider supporting public TV and local shows like this one by becoming a member and contributing to the future success of KNME.

"New Mexico In Focus" is a prime-time news magazine show covering events, issues and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. The one-hour show concentrates on bringing viewers important topics of our time, in a cohesive package. The show takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic, health, education and arts issues and explores them in-depth, with a critical eye to give them context beyond the “news of the moment.” This episode is co-produced by Karl Swanson, UNM intern. Support has been provided by McCune Charitable Foundation; closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.

Click on photos for larger versions. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

Lesser Known Candidates for Domenici’s Senate Seat Topic of KNME’s ‘NM In Focus’ Tonight

From New Mexico In Focus: Big names have already announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate when Pete Domenici retires next year. Along with Tom Udall, Martin Chavez, Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, the field includes other candidates voters may not have heard much about. This week, ‘New Mexico In Focus,’ which airs Friday night, November 16 at 7 PM and repeats Sunday, November 18 at 6:30 AM, introduces two lesser known candidates -- one a small town newspaper publisher and the other a high school English teacher. Find out why they want to run and what lesson educator Zack Boatman hopes to teach his students by venturing into national politics.

This week’s guests are Zack Boatman (Independent), and Leland Lehrman (Democrat), U.S. Senate candidates; and Santa Fe High School students John Biddle, Louis Demella and Elena Valdez. Also featured is Dr. David Jernigan, executive director, Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth.

Protecting our young people from the onslaught of alcohol advertising is also a topic on NM In Focus this week. The alcohol industry spends an estimated $2 billion annually on advertising, much of it targeting teens. Host Gene Grant sits down with one of the leading experts on alcohol advertising impacts, to find out what state leaders can do to shield young people from countless TV, radio and magazine ads.

Co-Hosted by Santa Fe Reporter staff writer David Alire Garcia and Albuquerque Journal columnist Gene Grant, ‘New Mexico In Focus’ takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic, health, education and arts issues and explores them in-depth, with a critical eye to give them context beyond the “news of the moment.”

New Mexico In Focus, KNME, Channel 5’s prime-time news magazine show covers the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. The one-hour show concentrates on bringing viewers important topics of our time, and all the opinions and insight they are used to, in an integrated and cohesive package.

Producer of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ is Kevin McDonald. Support for has been provided by McCune Charitable Foundation. Closed Captioning of has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.

Editor's Note: Leland Lehrman will officially enter the 2008 U.S. Senate race next week and complete the necessary SEC filings. Click to visit his new campaign website.

Thursday on 'We The People': NM Voices for Children

WE THE PEOPLE

Guest

Bill Jordan

New Mexico Voices for Children

Albuquerque Channel 27

November 8th, 6 PM.

Not a cable subscriber?  Watch simultaneously on your  high-speed computer:

https://www.quote-unquote.org

Click for Channel 27s Media Stream -> Half way down the page on the Right.

WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state and federal governments.

THANKS FOR WATCHING

Mickey Bock, Host  Judith Binder, Producer

New Common Cause NM Executive Director on 'We The People' This Week

WE THE PEOPLE

Steve Allen

Albuquerque resident and attorney
New Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico

Campaign Finance Reform, Ethics in Government, Media and Democracy

Cable Channel 27 in Albuquerque

6 pm, Thursday, October 25th

Watch simultaneously on your high-speed computer: https://www.quote-unquote.org. Click: Channel 27s Media Stream -> Half way down the page on the Right.

WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state and federal governments. THANKS FOR WATCHING: Mickey Bock, Host; Judith Binder, Producer 

Bring Back Air America to El Paso

Please sign and share. Our goal is to gather to gather 1,500 signatures. The petition will go to Entravision General Manager, David Candeleria, and the Santa Monica home office.

Amy Dalzell, Volunteer Coordinator
Democracia para la Frontera