Democracy for New Mexico

Palin's Record Abysmal on Native Rights and Tribal Sovereignty

Indian Country News published an today on Sarah Palin's hostile record on tribal issues in Alaska. The authors of the piece, Lloyd Miller and Heather Kendall Miller, each practice law in Anchorage, Alaska, representing Native American interests. Their article has also been published on several blogs to help spread the word. I thought it important to include it in its entirely here, so New Mexico's Native Americans and others can consider these points before voting in the presidential election:

Sarah Palin's Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues

1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing

Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native peoples as the right to hunt and fish according to ancient customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the subsistence way of life for future generations.

Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights.

Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of Alaska v. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D. Ak).) In pressing this case, Palin decided against using the Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation) and instead continued contracting with Senator Ted Stevens’ brother-in-law’s law firm (Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot).

The goal of Palin’s law suit is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the courts instead to take over the role of setting subsistence regulations. Palin’s law suit seeks to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing.

In May 2007, the federal court rejected the State’s main challenge, holding that Congress in 1980 had expressly granted the U.S. Interior and Agriculture Departments the authority to regulate and protect Native and rural subsistence fishing activities in Alaska. (Decision entered May 15, 2007 (Dkt. No. 110).)

Notwithstanding this ruling, Palin continues to argue in the litigation that the federal subsistence protections are too broad, and should be narrowed to exclude vast areas from subsistence fishing, in favor of sport and commercial fishing. Palin opposes subsistence protections in marine waters, on many of the lands that Natives selected under their 1971 land claims settlement with the state and federal governments, and in many of the rivers where Alaska Natives customarily fish. (Alaska Complaint at 15-18.) Palin also opposes subsistence fishing protections on Alaska Native federal allotments that were deeded to individuals purposely to foster Native subsistence activities. All these issues are now pending before the federal district court.

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2008: Register to Vote, Request to Vote by Mail, or Find Your Polling Location

It's all here, right at your fingertips:

https://voteforchange.com/

To vote in the general election this Fall, you must be registered to vote by October 7, 2008.

If you use the Vote for Change tool, you can find out if you are, indeed, registered. And if you're not, you can fix that. You can also sign up to vote by mail or locate the polling place where you can vote in person on November 4th, Election Day.

Early voting in person at your county clerk's office and via mail-in ballot starts on October 7, 2008.

Early voting at additional satellite locations begins on October 18th. When in doubt, call your county clerk, and don't wait until the day before the election to do it. Get informed now.

Other sources of election and voting information:

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Obama on Financial Meltdown vs. McCain's Head in the Sand

SEIU is spending $2 million+ to air this ad in 6 battleground states – NM, OH, PA, MI, WI, IA

In response to the recent tumultuous events in the mortgage banking industry and the financial markets, Barack Obama issued a statement taking the GOP's economic policies to task. Excerpt:

The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren’t minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.

I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It’s a philosophy we’ve had for the last eight years – one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It’s a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises.

Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up – from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street.

Meanwhile, it's evident that John McCain still has his head in the sand:

You know, that there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street and it is -- people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times.

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(Updated x2) Obama to Appear on Espanola Plaza on September 18

Update 2: The event is free and open to the public; however, a ticket is required. Seating is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis online:

https://nm.barackobama.com/espanolachange

For security reasons, please limit bags or personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.
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Update 1: This has now been confirmed by the Obama campaign. Gates will open at 10:30 AM. Still awaiting ticketing info.
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The Word is that Barack Obama will speak at a public event on Thursday, September 18, at 10:30 AM on the Plaza de Espanola,706 Bond Street, Espanola NM. Confirmation and ticket info to come.

1st Annual ABQ Urban Farm and Harvest Festival: 9/27

From City of Albuquerque Open Space:
Did you know that in addition to other important public lands such as the Sandia Foothills Open Space, the Petroglyph National Monument and the Rio Grande Valley State Park, the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division preserves over 366 acres of farmland within the Albuquerque area?

"Since the purchase of the Candelaria Farm Preserve in 1977, the City’s Open Space Division has proven to be one of the key local agencies involved in the protection of agricultural lands in Albuquerque," says Mayor Martin Chavez. "Our achievements in farm preservation provide another example of why we have one of the most celebrated Open Space programs in the nation." See why:

WHAT: A Celebration of Open Space, urban agriculture, local food, and community with music, fun, workshops, and more! FREE!

WHEN: National Public Lands Day, September 27, 2008, 2–7 PM

WHERE: Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors Blvd NW. The Visitor Center is located east of Coors at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd, which is between Montano and Paseo del Norte.

See here for more details.

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Calling a Lie a Lie

Witness some of McCain's lies

A common practice with some reporters in the trad media today (and especially with local media) is to present a fact and a lie as equivalent -- as merely two sides of an argument -- and in that way demonstrate what they claim is "balance" or "neutrality" in reporting. However, in real life and politics a lie is often just that -- a statement clearly refuted by well documented facts. Thus, the "other side" attempting to pretend that the lie is true (or the fact is a lie) is WRONG and needs to be called on it by what used to be called The Press.

At one time, fact-checking was considered to be one of the most important functions of The Press. Today, however, too many who view themselves as journalists apparently find it too much work or too dangerous to dig out and report the facts, especially if they don't jibe with their biases or the editorial bent of the owners of the newspaper or media outlet where they work. And even if they eventually have to admit someone -- like McCain or Palin -- has clearly been lying, they have a habit of using less accusatory terms like "untruths" or "less than accurate" or "misleading" for what should surely be called lies, plain and simple.

Michael Coleman Provides an Example
There's an excellent example of this kind of weaseling by Michael Coleman in today's Albuquerque Journal. In an article examining the views of New Mexico's Senators and Reps on McCain's simplistic and broadbrush yowling about earmarks and his unrealistic pledge to veto every single earmark request if he becomes president, Coleman slips in this inaccuracy:

The Bridge to Nowhere controversy has been resurrected in this year's presidential race. At the Republican National Convention this month, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said as governor of Alaska she shunned the money. Democrats contend she first welcomed it but later denounced it for political reasons.

Hey Michael, if you had bothered to read the news lately, talk to honest sources in Washington -- where you're based -- or even Googled half-heartedly, you would have discovered that it's not just Dems who are "contending" that Palin was for the bridge before she was agin' it. In FACT, Palin's dishonesty about the bridge has been widely reported and well documented by highly respected news and fact-checking organizations across the political spectrum. There's not a shred of doubt left that Palin pushed hard for the porky Bridge to Nowhere earmarks until it was clear that the political environment in Washington made federal funding impossible. At this point in time, even media sources that don't like to report the FACTS about GOP sleaziness have had to admit McCain and his VP choice have been less than honest about the bridge. Check out just a few of the outfits that say so:

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Pics and Video: Reception for State Senator-Elect Tim Keller

Tim Keller talks about his ideas on change, the need for legislators to "get some guts" to fight for sweeping reforms and the contributions of DFNM

On Thursday, Democrats gathered at a festive and well attended reception in Albuquerque to honor State Senator-Elect Tim Keller (SD17) and help him retire his campaign debt from a hard-fought primary. On June 3rd, Keller defeated long-time incumbent legislator Shannon Robinson and earned the right to represent SD 17.

Keller (center) talks with supporters

On hand were Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich, State Auditor Hector Balderas, Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks, DNC Committeeman Raymond Sanchez, City Councilor Rey Garduno, State Senators Cisco McSorley and Dede Feldman, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, State Reps. Al Park and Moe Maestas, legislative candidates Victor Raigoza and Tim Eichenberg and many others.

Rey Garduno, Diane Denish, Tim Keller

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(Updated) Palin: One Heartbeat Away

Update: If you want to regain some faith that ordinary people see through this dishonesty and incompetence, check out this DK diary (with wonderful video and photos) that tells the story of the largest demonstration ever held in Anchorage, Alaska -- for an Alaska Women Reject Palin rally. It might make your day.
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Palin does her Bush doctrine fade above. Even better, see last night's hilarious Saturday Night Live opening, with Tina Fey returning to the show to nail Palin, body language and all, and Amy Poehler getting down to it as Hillary. (They keep taking it down at YouTube so click the link to watch it at NBC.)

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on SNL

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Quote of the Day: Obama Takes Pledge, Hits McCain on Taxes

Video Obama in Dove NH, September 12. Excerpt:

"[McCain's] plan gives absolutely nothing to about 100 million American households. I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.

"And my opponent can't make that pledge, and here's why. For the first time in American history, John McCain wants to tax your health-care benefits. Apparently, Senator McCain doesn't think it's enough that health care premiums have doubled, he thinks that you should have to pay taxes on them, too. That's a $3.6 trillion tax increase potentially on middle-class families. And that would eventually leave tens of millions of you paying higher taxes or losing your benefits. That's his idea of change."

Keep it up, keep it up, keep it up

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NM-Sen: Study Proves Pearce Ignored Root Cause of Higher Gas Prices

GOP Senate candidate Steve Pearce likes to spout off about energy, but what he says often has no basis in fact. Take gas prices, for instance. Pearce constantly proclaims that the only way to help lower gas prices is to -- as rightwingers love to chant -- drill, baby, drill, everywhere, regardless.

First off, we all know by now that any positive affects on price of much of the proposed expanded drilling wouldn't kick in for 8-10 years. No help for prices in the short term. And now we know, for a fact, that out of control speculation was the primary culprit in recent gas price hikes. Unfortunately, Pearce sees no merit in trying to fix that. His loyalties always seem to lie with the speculators and tycoons, not with ordinary people.

An independent study by Masters Capital Management said that speculation by large investors was the primary cause for the rise in oil prices this year, not supply and demand. The Associated Press reported on the study on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the Tom Udall campaign, that means Steve Pearce’s July vote against the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act, which would have cracked down on excessive oil speculation, was a vote that ignored the primary cause of high gas prices and only put more money into the pockets of Big Oil.

Tom Udall voted for the bill, which narrowly failed to pass the House.

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