Democracy for New Mexico

Lt. Gov. Denish and Cabinet Secretaries to Address Future of NM

Lt. Governor Diane Denish along with state Cabinet secretaries present, “The Future of New Mexico” on Wednesday, September 10, at 7 PM at the UNM Continuing Education Bldg., 1634 University Boulevard NE in Albuquerque, just north of Indian School Road. The free event is sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of New Mexico.

Denish will emphasize the overall situations facing New Mexico currently. The Cabinet secretaries will speak on their areas of expertise. Because New Mexico is a prominent “swing state” for voting in the November election, it is critical to explore issues on the state as well as national levels.

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New Obama Ad: WHOA! (and Palin's First Major Gaffe)

Crack that whip! Yeee, haaaa. Time to call a huckster ticket a huckster ticket. And time to get involved if you want real change in America and not a lobbyist-concocted mirage.

Oh, and by the way Ms. Palin has already made a whopper of a gaffe talking about Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Maybe she should talk to McCain's former top economic advisor, Phil Gramm, who masterminded so much of the banking and mortage deregulation that has brought us to this precipice. Go read about Foreclosure Phil and ponder how he's shaped McCain's positions on the economy. Oh right, maverick.

Former U.S. Attorney Iglesias to Speak at UNM Continuing Ed

David Iglesias, former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, will speak at a free lecture on Thursday, September 11, from 7-8 PM at the UNM Continuing Education Conference Center, 1634 University Blvd., NE. Sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of New Mexico, Iglesias will explain how the Justice Department fired him and others for political reasons.

His free lecture, "In Justice," is also the title of his new book. This thought-provoking event is open to the public and launches the Fall Membership Drive for the Osher program. The program will begin its sixth successful semester this fall and is designed to serve adults 50 years-of-age and above.

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(Updated) Palin's Religious Freak Show and The Press

Wish we had a candidate like this one on Biblical matters

Update: Turns out a Corrales resident asked Palin and McCain some questions during their short photo-op at El Pinto yesterday. AmericaBlog has their first-person account.
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I know we're all supposed to be locked into a contemplation on the types of salsa purchased by McCain and Palin at El Pinto in the North Valley yesterday, or pondering the deep meaning of Whitesnake music being played at the McCain-Palin rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center Saturday. I know that some in this town think Palin neighbor Anne Kilkenney's fair but critical piece About Sarah Palin is annoying, but I suggest reading it anyway if you haven't yet done so. However, I think it might be most useful to consider some of the excruciatingly odd religious connections that have shaped Palin's world views -- such as they are.

Consider her long-time and continuing associations with outliers in the Assemblies of God - Pentacostal - Dominionist - Joel's Army - Third Wave end-timer movement. Palin's religious connections aren't with your garden variety Christian fundamentalists, but with the truly extreme reaches of the Christian right. I won't regurgitate the info here. You can read it for yourself in this article (with video) on Alternet for starters. There's also this diary on Kos that provides a roadmap to the Dominionist underground and lots of helpful links. It's a tangled up, rapture-fueled, Christian Nation hullabaloo alright, and Palin is definitely hooked in. Scary stuff. But even worse ...

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RSVP for Energy Town Hall Meeting with T. Boone Pickens

I'm a little late on this announcement, probably because I'm less than enthusiastic about T. Boone Pickens and his motives. Somehow, it's hard for me to trust Pickens, who was one of the primary funders of the swiftboating of John Kerry and other nefarious efforts to smear Democrats. This Alternet article, called "Why T. Boone Pickens' 'Clean Energy' Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme," does a good job of delineating my other reasons for doubt. Yes, T. Boone is into wind farms these days, which is all to the good, but it helps to probe a little deeper to catch a glimpse of what he may really be up to, and why. Water and natural gas equal currency in Boone's world. Anyway, he's coming to town this week so you can take a measure of the man and his plan for yourself.

Please join T. Boone Pickens for an Energy Town Hall Meeting where he will discuss his plan and take questions from the audience:.

Wednesday, September 10th, 10:30 AM (Doors Open 9:30 AM)
No ticket required, open to the public
Limited seating available
RSVP reply to aliesharuiz@yahoo.com
Albuquerque Convention Center Ballroom, West Complex
Click for flyer

Learn How to Be an Effective Citizen Lobbyist

CITIZEN LOBBYIST WORKSHOP:
Sponsored by Working Families Win NM
Co-hosted by Carter Bundy, AFSCME; Richard Romero, UNM
Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
UNM School of Law, Room 3406
(From Lomas & Girard, head North to Mountain. Proceed West on Mountain to Stanford. The Law school will be straight ahead to the right. ROOM 3406 upstairs, in the new Hart Wing on the West Side of the building.)

Come join two of the State’s most effective lobbyists & learn the basics to becoming a successful Citizen Lobbyist! Come raise your voice! Refreshments will be served.

Reception to Support State Senate Candidate Steve Fischmann

Here's another legislative race that demands our attention. Dem Steve Fischmann is challenging incumbent Repub Leonard Lee Rawson in Senate District 37 in Southern New Mexico. Rawson has one of the worst environmental records in the State Senate and has opposed ethics and health care reform. On legislation related to important issues like these, we're only a few votes away from passage. If we can pick up a small handful of seats in November, things can be very different when the Legislature meets next January. Think about it, and then we hope you'll give what you can afford to help Fischmann and other candidates like him.

From People to Elect Steve Fischmann: You are Cordially Invited For a Reception In Support of Steve Fischmann, Candidate for State Senate District 37

September 10, 2008, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
Luebben Johnson & Barnhouse LLP
7424 4th Street NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

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Guest Blog: Vote, Baby, Vote ... Are You Registered, Baby?

Rachel N. Rodriguez talks about her experience becoming a voter registrar today

This is a guest blog by Rachel N. Rodriguez of Albuquerque. Also see her previous guest blog about attending Friday's Michelle Obama rally at UNM.

By October 7 at 5 PM, anyone who wants to vote in the presidential election must be registered. That's the deadline -- just one very short month from tomorrow.

If you're wondering how you can help get Obama in the White House (as well as NM Dems in office), show up at the Nob Hill Obama office -- right there on the corner of Carlisle and Central -- at 10:45 AM next Saturday to get yourself "deputized" to register others to vote. It's ridiculously easy, and it's critically important!

I showed up this morning at the training, and by the time the County Clerk's representative showed up -- an hour late due to the fact that the earlier training at another office had 88 people attend! -- the office was overflowing with folks wanting to get deputized. The training was short and simple, and the paperwork easy and quick. A notary signed my paper and used her stamp, and I was done!

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Sierra Club Weighs in on McCain Remarks on Energy at Albuquerque Rally

Note: Read the live blog at for more on the McCain-Palin appearance at the Albuquerque Convention Center last night (with photos). Also listen to Peter St. Cyr's audio of the short speeches by McCain and Palin.

Must Read: I just got this release from the Sierra Club NM Club NM and it tells the story so well, I'm going to publish it verbatim:

At a ‘Road to Victory’ rally in Albuquerque this evening, Senator John McCain advocated for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel as a way to deal with the tons of high-level nuclear waste accumulating at reactors around the country. However, he failed to mention America’s troubled past with reprocessing – namely, tanks of liquid waste that are corroding and threatening nearby bodies of water (Columbia and Savannah Rivers as well as Snake River Aquifer). McCain also neglected to mention that France and the UK simply pipe their liquid wastes from reprocessing directly into the North and Irish seas to the ire of neighboring countries, and that reprocessing has not significantly reduced the need for a deep geological repository (Institute for Energy & Environmental Research, www.ieer.org/fctsheet/repro-intl.html).

McCain also advocated for greater solar power production, but failed to mention that he did not show up to any of the eight votes held this year on extending clean energy tax credits. About 2,000 construction jobs with the Solana concentrating solar project in McCain’s home state of Arizona are on hold as a result. Similarly, McCain’s opposition to a national Renewable Electricity Standard has cost New Mexicans at least 2,800 new jobs in the solar and wind industries, $200 million in lower electricity and natural gas bills by 2020 (growing to nearly $400 million by 2030), and another $100 million in income to farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners (Union of Concerned Scientists, Cashing in on Clean Energy in New Mexico).

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NM-01: Martin Heinrich Going 100 Miles an Hour

Mary Ellen happened to run into NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich today as she was visiting the Obama campaign office at Central and Carlisle and he stopped to fill us in on how his campaign's going with 58 days until the election. As he says, "If we turn out this year we're gonna turn New Mexico Blue -- top to bottom and North to South -- and it's all up to YOU."

Click to visit the Heinrich campaign's Voting Center where you can request a voter registration form, see if you're already registered to vote and get all the info you need on voting. You can vote by mail, you can vote early or you can vote on election day, Tuesday, November 4th.

THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH! If you're not registered, start the process NOW.

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