Democracy for New Mexico

Reminder: Dia de Los Lobos Rally Friday at KiMo

From the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance:

Dia de Los Lobos - In 2 Days!
A Public Rally for Our Mexican Gray Wolves
Friday, March 14, 7 - 9 PM
KiMo Theater in Downtown Albuquerque
FREE ADMISSION

With just 23 wild Mexican Gray Wolves left in New Mexico today, now is the time to make our voices heard loud and clear. Please plan to attend and participate in an historic evening that will send a powerful message to Washington, D.C. that our wild Mexican Gray Wolves need to be protected!

Our lobos need you to speak out for them. Dia de Los Lobos is your opportunity to make your voice heard to our elected officials. Please attend this important event and send this email alert on to your friends.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM) - Invited
Rick Bass - Author (The Ninemile Wolves, The Lost Grizzlies)
David Parsons - Former Head of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Wolf Reintroduction Program
Oscar Simpson - New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Cynthia Lee Wolf - Outfitter
Arturo Sandoval - Conservation & Political Activist
Dave Foreman - The Rewilding Institute

Answer the howl to action and be the difference in saving our lobos in New Mexico. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer: nathan@nmwild.org / 505-843-8696

Voices For Wolves: Leave a Voicemail for Our Lobos
Take a few minutes to call in and voice your concerns for protecting our wild Mexican Gray Wolves! Our objective is to get as many voices as possible speaking out on protecting our lobos. Call 505-333-0420 and leave a voicemail for our lobos! Tell our elected officials that they must do everything in their power to save these animals from a possible second extirpation.

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Taos Events for Peace: 5th Anniversary Iraq Invasion

From Taos Food Not Bombs: During the week of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion the Taos Peace House and Infoshop will host a number of informative events:

Friday, March 14, 2008, GI Coffee Houses with Ron Edwards and Veterans For Peace: Ron will be speaking about his song "You Have Forgotten Me" and playing his benefit album for Homeless Veterans. There are almost 200,000 Homeless Veterans on the streets in America on any given night. The Homeless Veterans are in dire straits and the situation is only getting worse. You can hear his song and make a donation for homeless vets at www.youhaveforgottenme.com

Saturday, March 15, 2008, TAOS FOOD NOT BOMBS: Meet at the Taos Peace House at 11:00 AM to help us start cooking at the Community Kitchen. Help us share the meal at the Taos Plaza at 2:00 PM. www.foodnotbombs.net/taos.html

Saturday, March 15, 2008, MARCH FOR PEACE WITH IRAQ: March for peace on the fifth anniversary of the war on Iraq. Meet 1:00 PM at the Taos Peace house and Infoshop and march to The Plaza for a rally and  a free hot meal by Taos Food Not Bombs. Please bring signs and friends. Tens of thousands of people will be marching in their communities for an end to the war on Iraq.

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UNM Wilderness Alliance to Lead 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition

On March 15th – 20th, 2008, UNM Wilderness Alliance will be leading the 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition. The event—which will include 16 UNM students, 7 activists, and a documentary filmmaker—will be located in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in the Gila National Forest.

“2008 is an important year in the federal Mexican wolf reintroduction program for a couple of reasons,” said Phil Carter, President of UNM Wilderness Alliance. “March 29th is the 10th anniversary of the first wolf releases but 2008 also represents the third year of wolf population decline since 2004. The purpose of this year’s wolf tracking expedition is to call attention to both of these facts, as well as demonstrate the UNM community’s admiration for and support of its mascot.”

Every student participating is required to help document the expedition using some sort of media, with the purpose of compiling the media after the event into a master narrative. With this media, the event participants intend to relate the current conditions of the wolf recovery area and, luck willing, to document some wild wolves.

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(Updated) Mississippi Dem Prez Primary: Polls and Results

Columbus MS: Not running for VP of the United States ...

UPDATED: Obama wins Mississippi as expected.
Obama   255,809  61%   19 delegates  100% reporting
Clinton   155,686  37%   14 delegates

The polls are open for Mississippi's Dem presidential primary from 7 AM to 7 PM Central time today. Once again, record-breaking turnout is expected. It's been 20 years since Mississippi had any real say in a Dem prez primary. Recent polling shows Obama has a good chance of beating Clinton by double digits in the state. There are 33 pledged delegates up for grabs in the open primary. RESULTS will be reported here once the polls close at 6 PM our time.

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NM-03: McSorley Endorses Luján

The Luján for Congress campaign released this statement today:
As a "champion for consumer rights," Public Regulation Commissioner Ben R. Luján should be the next representative of New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, NM Sen. Cisco McSorley said this week.

"Ben Ray has been a lifesaver for consumer rights at the PRC. He has worked closely with me on a number of consumer issues, and in the face of tremendous special-interest pressure, he has been a champion of consumer rights," said McSorley, who represents Bernalillo in the New Mexico Senate. McSorley said he worked with Lujan "saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in the telecom battle" when Qwest tried to reduce investments it had agreed to make in New Mexico.

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NM-01: Darren White and the Hackneyed Fear Game

It's easy to tell when Dem candidates and positions are gaining strength -- it brings out the fearmongering on the right-wing side. The fruitcake wing of the Repubs has nurtured a tradition of fearmongering for decades, stretching from the commie-pinko obsessions of the McCarthy days to the Bush II era rants of "you're either with us on everything or you're an unpatriotic terrorist." The vast majority of Repub candidates have used fear tactics to try and get votes and smear their opponents during the last 7+ years, but recent evidence is compelling that the jig is up.

Fear-eliciting, lie-based sloganeering repeated endlessly for years eventually loses its power, especially when it runs up against reality. Like when the massive scope of law breaking, domestic surveillence by the NSA is brought to light by news media like the Wall Street Journal, certainly no bastion of liberalism.

Dems on the Move
Democratic turnout in this year's presidential primaries and caucuses has been about double that of Repubs, sometimes more. Independents and moderate Repubs have been crossing to the Dem side in droves. Just the other day, Dem Bill Foster defeated Repub Jim Oberweis by a margin of 53%-47% to capture former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's seat in Illinois -- with support from across the political spectrum in a district that's been solidly Repub for many years. How did Foster do it? By speaking out boldly against retroactive immunity for telecoms that illegally spied on US citizens, and by defending the Constitution and the rule of law.

Oberweis relied on the familiar Repub fear strategy to try and attack the patriotism and security credentials of Foster and Dems in the U.S. House. He used all the usual hit language on Foster -- you know the entire tired script by now. It didn't work. Foster won in the Illinois special election on a platform of protecting our individual liberties against those who would compromise them and endanger our democracy. In a strongly Republican district.

What Does This Have to Do with New Mexico?
Turns out Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the probable Repub Congressional candidate in NM-01, is already unsheathing the same kind of fearmongering against Dem Martin Heinrich that didn't work for Oberweis in Illinois. White's latest fundraising letter breathlessly offers this truth-challenged proclamation:

My likely Democrat opponent...is opposed to the Terrorist Surveillance Program and has used the issue to drum up support for his candidacy among extreme left-wing groups. He believes that we should not immediately intercept calls from known terrorists and has even gone so far as to attack middle-of-the-road Democrats who support this bipartisan bill. I believe his position on the Terrorist Surveillance Program clearly demonstrates that his views are out-of-step with common-sense New Mexico values.

As usual, local blogger Joe Monahan employs his "some unnamed people say" approach to push the notion on behalf of his cronies that Democrats "in the game for awhile" and "political pros" are worried about Heinrich's candidacy:

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Thursday: Young Professionals Fundraiser for Eric Griego Campaign

You are invited to a Young Professionals Fundraiser for
Eric Griego
Democratic Candidate for
State Senate, District-14
Thursday, March 13, 2008
5:30 to 7:00 PM
Artichoke Café
424 Central Ave., SE (Central and Edith)

Hors d'oeuvres · Cash Bar · Guitar by Bill Parnall

Please RSVP to 505.620.2783. $50 Suggested Contribution (all contributions accepted). If you are unable to make it, but would like to donate, please do so here.

Co-Sponsors: Bineshi Albert, Mark Allison, Herman Baca, Ken Balizer, Hakim Bellamy, Javier Benavidez, Heather Brewer, Sandy Buffett, Chris Callott, Marjorie Childress, Claire Dudley, Joseph Garcia, Laura Harris, Everette Hill, Neri Holguin, Rachel LaZar, Leanne Leith, Tim McGivern, Jenny Metzler, Brandt Milstein, Claude Morelli, Gabe Nims, Ken Owens, Ann Marie Padilla, Mariana Padilla, Mike Puelle, Carrie Phillis, Andrea Plaza, Lupe Preciado, DeAnza Valencia, Greg Webb and others.

Tim Keller: Truly a Progressive Dem

Tim Keller (center) with Digital Data Divide workers in Cambodia

Recently I've been writing positive things about Tim Keller, who's a progressive Dem running in the primary for State Senator in District 17. I've had a chance to talk with Tim at some length, and he spoke at last week's DFA-DFNM Meetup, making a very positive impression on the group with his passion and his positions. There's a lot of excitement in the progressive community about Keller's candidacy, including right here on this blog.

Unfortunately, I noticed that there's an item on Monahan today trying to make an issue of the fact that when Keller was 18 he registered as a Republican. Tim was also an independent for some years afterwards as he involved himself in exploring life and finding his niche -- before developing a focused political identity. It appears that Tim's opponent, four-term incumbent Shannon Robinson (SD-17), may try to use this to discredit Tim, but it's clear to me that Keller has a solid record he can stand by.

Monahan could have explained what Tim was doing when he wasn't registering himself as a Democrat. What was he up to? Among other things, getting a top notch education and helping to develop an innovative non-profit program overseas:

• He was away at Notre Dame getting his undergrad degree
• He helped start a non-profit in Cambodia helping land mine victims and other displaced persons (see article about Digital Data Divide)
• He went to get his MBA at Harvard 
• He moved back home--to be closer to his family

Tim in Cambodia

Since returning to New Mexico, he's been busy working at his regular job in addition to volunteering for groups that foster economic opportunities in Albuquerque's Southeast Heights—putting his business skills to work in the district where he lives. He also serves on the boards of numerous groups in the state and has helped develop small businesses here. The sum of his experiences led him to run for office as a Democrat -- because core Democratic values match his own heartfelt values. As Tim says:

"I have been a registered Republican, an Independent, and a Democrat. I am not a political insider and have got my experiences and values from things outside of politics, through community involvement, economic development and poverty alleviation both abroad and in New Mexico."

"I have a record I am proud to explain. I was born and raised in New Mexico. I went away to school and lived and worked overseas to improve the lives of disenfranchised people. I paid attention to issues more than I did politics. But now, I want to take those same organizing, civic minded skills to politics and the public sector--to help people.

"I became a progressive Democrat thoughtfully and through conviction."

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Attend Public Hearings in NM to Fight Nuke Weapon Production

These meetings provide an opportunity to express your concerns and ask questions about various aspects of the new DOE draft upgrade plan, including the renewed production of plutonium pits. See below for how you can submit your comments if you can't attend one or more of the hearings.

From the Union of Concerned Scientists:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently published its newest draft plan to upgrade the entire U.S. nuclear weapons complex and recreate the infrastructure to research, develop, and manufacture new nuclear weapons. First announced in 2006 as Complex 2030, the new plan is now called Complex Transformation.

I am writing to encourage you to attend one or more public hearings in New Mexico on Complex Transformation. These hearings are a part of a legally required review of the environmental impacts of the DOE’s plans; the review is called a draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS). While applauding efforts at consolidating and eliminating redundant capabilities within the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, the Union of Concerned Scientists opposes the elements of Complex Transformation that would return the United States to the production of new nuclear weapons. Click here for the draft SPEIS.

Hearings Info

March 10, 2008, 6-10 PM
Socorro, New Mexico
Macey Center (at New Mexico Tech), 801 Leroy Place

March 11, 2008 - 11 AM-3 PM AND 6-10 PM
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 2nd Street, NW

March 12, 2008 - 6-10 PM
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Hilltop House, 400 Trinity Drive at Central

March 13, 2008 - 11 AM - 3PM
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Hilltop House, 400 Trinity Drive at Central

Santa Fe, New Mexico - 6-10 PM
Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road

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NM-01: Photos & Video, Dem Congressional Candidate Debate

AG Gary King, Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Robert Pidcock, Rebecca Vigil-Giron


Part of the crowd at UNM Law School lecture hall

Saturday's NM-01 Dem Congressional candidate forum hosted by the Democratic Women of Bernalillo County and moderated by AG Gary King was well-attended and smoothly run. Candidates who participated were Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock. Each got to respond to questions submitted by Democratic Women on issues like health care, Iraq and Afghanistan, civil liberties, water issues, the economy, education, the environment and renewable energy and give a short closing statement. Attendees I spoke with said all of the candidates did well, but most added that they thought Martin Heinrich's answers were generally head and shoulders above those offered by his rivals in terms of his grasp of the issues.

Closing statement by Martin Heinrich


Heinrich campaign displays some of its many endorsements

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