Democracy for New Mexico

Treasury Secretary to Get Absolute Power?

Think about this:

Fascism always wraps itself in the flag, always seeks absolute power, always brands opponents as traitors, always relies heavily on propaganda for dissemination of its ideas, always invokes subversive enemies (at home and abroad), always embraces militarism and permanent war, always favors politicizing of police functions (and expanding them and the surveillance state), always scorns intellectuals, artists, and bourgeois democratic values, always is hostile to leftist and labor movements, and is obsessed with idealized images of a mythic "better time" of the past (while at the same time destroying that past, and the nation as a whole).

David Neiwert / Orcinus, The Rise of Pseudo Fascism

And then consider this. From NPR's Money Blog about The Monsters' proposal for "bailout" of The Monsters:

The Treasury Secretary can buy broadly defined assets, on any terms he wants, he can hire anyone he wants to do it and can appoint private sector companies as financial deputies of the US government. And he can write whatever regulation he thinks are needed.

I understand that they wanted freedom to respond and an ability to move quickly, but to designate the Treasury Secretary full power to oversee the, uh, Treasury Secretary's decisions seems unusual. Especially given that Congress only gets a report twice a year ...

This graph really stands out:

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Whoa. So, for the next three months, and then an additional six months after that, the Treasury Secretary can do anything he deems appropriate without anybody anywhere looking it over. That seems like an awful lot of absolute power. Am I wrong? Is this typical bureaucratic langauge? Or is this as strange as it seems?

What will the Democrats in Congress do? What can we do?

Heinrich to White: Oust Bernalillo County Republican Chair for Racist Remarks; Also, Info on C de Baca's Past

The crude, racists remarks made by Ferdinand C de Baca, the GOP's Bernalillo County Chair, are prompting outrage and on the national scene. As I posted yesterday, the comments by C de Baca were included in an by a BBC reporter who spoke with him on Thursday, at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque:

"The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors," he said. "African-Americans came here as slaves. Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."

Today Martin Heinrich, the Dem candidate for Congress in NM-01, issued a statement calling on his opponent Darren White to join with him and demand Chairman Fernando C de Baca be immediately ousted from his chairmanship of the Republican Party of Bernalillo County following his racist comments reported by the BBC yesterday.

"I find GOP Chairman de Baca's comments offensive, short-sighted, and horribly racist. Spewing such bigotry proves once again that the GOP leadership of Bernalillo County is far too out of touch with New Mexican voters, who --“ regardless of political party --“ are a proud people who celebrate our cultural and ethnic diversity. GOP Chairman de Baca should step down and apologize to all New Mexicans for his disgusting display of intolerance. And if he fails to do so voluntarily, then I would hope that Darren White and the rest of the Bernalillo County GOP party leadership oust him immediately."

GOP Response
A local McCain campaign spokesperson and a statement from Darren White's campaign today denounced C de Baca's statements, but Fernando himself has been incommunicado on the matter, as have Steve Pearce, Pete Domenici, Ed Tinsley, the Republican Party of New Mexico and other GOP candidates and members, at least as far as I know.

Criticism is not enough. How can the MCain campaign and the Republican Party allow de Baca to continue in a public leadership role? Doesn't that add up to sanctioning his remarks in a way, or at least tolerating naked bigotry within the GOP's official party structure?

C de Baca Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging
By the way, this isn't the first time that Ferdinand C de Baca has created controversy. Ferdinand once plead guilty to bid rigging, as noted in this post by NM Repub blogger Mario Burgos:

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Green Jobs: ABQ Green Solutions Fair 9/27/08

The ABQ Green Solutions Fair, part of national day of action

From NMYO: New Mexico Youth Organized (NMYO), in collaboration with Green for All and several other national climate change campaigns, NMYO is pushing for green jobs in New Mexico as a pathway out of poverty for young people and as a solution to global warming. NMYO and 1Sky New Mexico, along with many other environmental and community groups, will be hosting a solutions fair that will highlight energy saving solutions, environmental education, community gardening, green businesses, and the Albuquerque Green Job initiative.

“This is going to be a fun, community event that will highlight the ongoing work towards cleaning up our environment, building pathways out of poverty via green jobs, and uplifting our environment and our people.” NMYO Organizer – Juan Reynosa

Albuquerque Green: An Environmental Solutions Fair
September 27, Noon – 3:00 PM
8th and Central, Robinson Park
Live Solar Powered Music, Free Food, Good Times

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The Human Face of Climate Change: 9/29 in Santa Fe & ABQ

From Oxfam America: You're invited to The Human Face of Climate Change, divided into two very special events. On Monday, Sept. 29, Oxfam America welcomes to Santa Fe and Albuquerque two women who truly represent the human face of climate change. These women will inspire you, as they’ve inspired many, to join the fight against climate change.

Mrs. Woré Gana Seck from Dakar, Senegal, and Sharon Hanshaw, of Biloxi, MS, will be with us to discuss the impacts of global warming on their regions and outline the policies needed to build communitywide resilience to climate change, reduce gender inequality, and help overcome poverty.

The first Human Face of Climate Change event will be a luncheon at Santa Fe Community College:

Monday, Sept. 29, 2008, Noon–1:30 PM
6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87508
A $10 donation per adult and $5 donation per student are requested. Sponsors for the event are Oxfam America and the League of Women Voters of New Mexico.

The second event will be at the University of New Mexico:

Monday, Sept. 29, 2008, 5:30–7:30 PM
Kudo Lecture Room 122, Northrop Hall, University of New Mexico (map). The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by Oxfam America, 1Sky New Mexico, the League of Women Voters New Mexico, New Mexico Youth Organized, and the UNM Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Africana Studies.

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Obama Gets Strong Endorsements from NM Tribes

Everybody's coming on board. Today, the Obama campaign announced that the All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC), Mescalero Apache Tribe and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley endorsed Barack Obama for President.

“The numerous issues facing Indian tribes require the attention of a President who genuinely respects sovereignty and self determination,” said Governor Michael J. Chavarria, Chair of the 8 Northern Pueblos. “The northern pueblos have moved to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. Our endorsement is given knowing that Indian issues will have prominence in an Obama Administration.”

“Native America needs leadership that will regard tribal sovereignty as important and Barack Obama is that leadership. His record shows his commitment to education, health, and advancing the wage earning power of families who struggle,” said Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly. “We need Barack Obama in the White House, to work with Congress, and make improvements that will put us closer to self-sufficiency while strengthening our tribal sovereignty.”

“For eight years, we have lived with Federal policies that erode our culture and language and, therefore, attack our very identity as Native people,” said President Shirley. “It is time for change: a real change! It is time for the United States of America to truly honor its obligations to its Native peoples. Senator Obama understands the uniqueness of Native nations and Native peoples – that is why I support Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.”

“The All Indian Pueblo Council is honored to endorse Senator Barack Obama for president,” said AIPC Chairman Joe A. Garcia from the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh. “We are confident that a nation to nation relationship will be forged under the auspices of respect for sovereignty and a greater opportunity for our communities to prosper and grow.”

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GOP's Bernalillo County Chair Claims Hispanics Won't Vote for Obama Because of Race

At times, the veneer wears off in elections like this one. Sometimes ugly truths are revealed in a soundbite or a sentence or two. This is one of those times.

A reporter for the BBC is touring America, talking with people from all walks of life and reporting from the road. Yesterday, while Barack Obama was speaking to a huge rally in Espanola, Jon Kelly was at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, enjoying the music and food and talking with Hispanics to get their take on the election. One of those he spoke with is the Chairman of the Republican Party of Bernalillo County, Fernando C de Baca. The Chairman came right out and , apparently without blinking an eye or showing even a hint of shame:

"The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors," he said. "African-Americans came here as slaves.

"Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."

In the first place, it's odd that a Republican would presume to speak for all Hispanics. Historically, a significant majority of the Latino vote has gone to Democratic presidential candidates.

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(Updated) NM-01: NM FBIHOP Interviews Heinrich Live Today at 4:00 PM on Blog Talk Radio

Update: You can now listen to the recorded version of today's 15-minute interview with Martin Heinrich:

I thought the interview went really well, with good questions from Matt about the important issues of today. And Martin's thoughtful answers demonstrated what he's always been known for -- clear thinking, common sense, wide-ranging knowledge and a dedication to meeting the future head on. Well done. Isn't this precisely the kind of Congressman we need as we move into a challenging, yet exciting future?
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I'm going to be listening to Matt at NM FBIHOP doing a live interview with NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich on his Blog Talk Radio podcast this afternoon at 4:00 PM Mountain time. You should too. They'll be talking about "the real issues: the economy and how it is hurting CD1, the war in Iraq (remember that?) energy policy and other non "lipstick on a pig" issues that actually will matter to New Mexicans in four months."

NM-Sen: New Udall Ad Says Pearce Parrots Big Oil Talking Points

As many of you know, our place is home to several birds, including Sunny the sun conure and Bosco the peach-faced lovebird -- both of whom hail from the parrot family. So, naturally, we love Tom Udall's new ad featuring a talkative green parrot, even though he or she is parroting Steve Pearce who's parroting Big Oil's talking points about energy and Tom Udall. We know in our hearts that the parrot doesn't believe what it's saying -- it's just parroting the words and drawing attention to Pearce's doubletalk. Our parrots would never parrot Pearce or Big Oil, unless they were doing it for a higher purpose -- like acting in a TV ad to get more support for Rep. Udall. They're big fans.

Our favorite part of the ad comes at the end, when Tom papers the bottom of the parrot's cage with Pearce's negative ads. Bravo! We'll have to follow suit the next time we clean our parrot cages. It'll give Bosco and Sunny something satisfying to aim at. Even bird brains can see through Pearce's parroting. Seriously, check out the Fact Sheet and you'll see why.

Oh, I almost forgot. This is fun too. Go to www.pollybigoil.com/ where you can enter a message to your friends and have it parroted by the Big Oil Polly. I think it would be fun to have Polly spread the word that the latest SurveyUSA poll has Udall up over Pearce 56-41%. Aye, matey.

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NM-03: Women for Ben Ray Luján Coalition Formed

Luján speaking at Española Plaza at yesterday's Obama rally

Go Ben Ray. Not only did Barack Obama refer to Luján as an "up and comer" yesterday at the rally in Espanola, but New Mexico women are stepping up their support for Ben because of his strong positions on women's issues. He's on a roll.

Ben Ray Luján held a roundtable this past Wednesday on women's issues and announced the formation of "Women for Ben," a group for female supporters of the campaign. Luján held the roundtable discussion at the Mission Cafe, a women-owned business in Santa Fe. The group discussed a variety women's issues and the importance of women in the upcoming election.

"I'm proud and honored to have the support of a strong group of women," said Ben Ray Luján, a Public Regulation Commissioner and the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 3rd District. "We need to work hard to address the issues facing the women of New Mexico and America, including pay equity and the rising costs of health care and child care. This roundtable was the beginning of a discussion about the work I can do in Congress to stand up for women."

The conversation focused on equal pay, health care, education and support for women-owned businesses. During the discussion, attendees told personal stories about difficulty receiving health care, the obstacles children face in school and the rising costs of everyday items. Several attendees talked about being single mothers and the struggles they face trying to raise families while working or going to school. They stressed that the economic crisis has hurt single mothers who have to pay rising health care and child care costs.

Many prominent women from across New Mexico attended the roundtable, including Martha Burk, Paula Garcia, Minnie Gallegos, Jane Frost, Connie Maki and LaDonna Harris.

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Slideshow: Obama in Española, New Mexico 9/18/08

Click arrow to start the slide show. Once it's going you can click on the square in the bottom right corner to view the show full screen. Hit ESC key to go back to smaller version. Photos by M.E. Broderick.

Also see my .

The Obama blog has another excellent slide show that includes Barack's meeting with tribal leaders at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, his stop at The Range Cafe in Bernalillo and his appearance in Española, as well as a video of Obama's entire speech there.

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