Democracy for New Mexico

Sequestration Day = Citizen's Screwed, Elected Officials Safe - Time to say NO

Websters Dictionary Definition of Sequestration:

In law, a writ authorizing a law-enforcement official to take into custody the property of a defendant in order to enforce a judgment or to preserve the property until a judgment is rendered. In some civil-law jurisdictions, contested property may be deposited with a third party until it is determined to whom it properly belongs.

Image above from the BiPartisan Policy Center

Sign this petition https://signon.org/sign/recall-the-dc-535 and like this FB page. 

If the Sequester kicks in, it is because the Congress has demonstrated a persistent inability to do its job as set forth in the Constitution. Therefore they should be recalled as a body.

However, as recall elections of federally-elected officials are not permitted, we the undersigned declare this Congress and its members illegitimate, and state our intention to remove every member from office, regardless of party affiliation, in the next election.

Do your job. Or go home.

Also Go LIKE this FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Recall-the-DC-535/543177652368994

To the people who are looking for jobs this sequestration is very real. The economy is extremely fragile. This is already having effects. It is unbelievable to have this acually going to occur, mostly this affects the poor and elderly.

The solution in my humble opinion, elect women up and down the ticket. No more men in office til they can play fair with others.

Republicans Pick the Perfect Bully Nate Gentry for Minority House Whip

The GOP loves their bully boys. At a Loma Del Rey Neighborhood Association Meeting on October 17th Nate Gentry showed how honest he is to his constituents. Within this video Nate states how he will not be running negative attacks like his opponent will in the campaign for House District seat 30. These are the first words out of the Reps mouth in the video Lie number 1: "Sorry for the ugly peices you will receive in your mailboxes, I will not be sending out these personal attacks I will respond with the facts and with accurate information. Kayyy?" Legislators please bear in mind the following day the hoodie mailer described in this post was in constituents mailboxes.

Listen to the video as much as you can take of the sound of this over zealous simplifying power hungry young republican man. Listen up legislators Nate lays out the R plans and his plans as the whip right here in this 10 min video. 

Within this video Gentry lays out exactly what the republicans plan on doing this session.

1. Jobs for New Mexicans - This is first on Nate's mind he states in the video. Nate prefers to keep the favor of large corporations over the people. He says with his macho hubris - "When Smiths pays more taxes the people pay more for their groceries." The large corporations just pass on the tax to the people in other words. This is a disingenuous response to a very important topic being discussed across the country and within our own state. "Fact and Logic, Kayyy?" Nate says.
2. Nate also states in the video (at time 1:16) that the democrats are advocating people making over 16k to have their taxes raised. So be aware democrats the whip boy is thinking you want to raise taxes on those making a measly $16,000/yr. Maybe Nate was confused that we wanted to raise their minimal income wage not their taxes.
3. How about regulations (1:55): Nate says the regs and permits in this state are cumbersome and make businesses go elsewhere. He uses Intel as an example for air emission regs, that are more easy to obtain in Arizona. So like Nate says: if you are a business where do you want to go? To a state with higher corporate tax rates and an accountable regulatory agency? Or what he infers, you can go somewhere you can pay people crap, and pollute at will?
4. Education (2:45): "It is a no brainer" Nate says. There is a reason why 3 out of 4 kids can't read proficiently that are in the 4th grade. Kayyy? Why is that Nate? What is the reason? How simple the no-solution response is to the republicans, such hubris.
5. Corruption (at 3:17): Nate Gentry has got a passion for battling corruption. People coming to do business here in NM would tell him "Who is going to shake them down." Rep Gentry is very concerned about corruption. Maybe he will be extra aware as he makes his path as a public official, so far he shows he likes the power of being a power holder, the person to shake em down. Here is an article in the Abq Journal on Sat. Dec 3rd, 2011.

Rode has been the most vocal critic of how the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez sought proposals for a new racetrack and casino lease at the fairgrounds, the administration’s evaluations of the proposals and its plan to give the lease to the Downs at Albuquerque, which now runs the racino.
“I think they have violated the public trust,” she says. “If you look at all the relationships involved in this, it’s inbreeding.” Rode is referring to the many political ties (and money) that link the governor, the Downs and Downs representatives.
She was appointed by Martinez, a Republican, in August as the neighborhood representative on the State Fair Commission. “It doesn’t make me happy to say this about my own party,” Rode says.
GOP businessman Tom Tinnin also has been a public critic of the Downs deal and resigned a Martinez appointment to the state Board of Finance last month after a meeting with the governor on the issue. Other prominent Republicans are critical in private but won’t repeat the criticism in public.
State Rep. Nate Gentry, who has become a designated hitter for the administration on the Downs deal, has requested all of Rode’s written communications and other emails concerning the request for lease proposals and the racino lease. Gentry made the request under the state Inspection of Public Records Act and on his official House stationery. “It feels very retaliatory,” Rode says.

Also, ISPAC has done much investigating into Nate Gentry's involvement in the Dirty Downs Deal see this link here. Shake em down Nate.

     6.  Last but not least and maybe the most disturbing words out of Representative Gentry are close to the end of the video (7:45) when a constituent asks Nate about drug trafficking and arms smuggling from our southern border. Nate clearly states that illegal immigrants are to blame for arms smuggling, drug smuggling, human trafficking, all because of the illegal immigrant driver's license issue. A fellow constituent in the back of the room challenges Nate's assertion that because of being an illegal he would draw to the conclusion that our undocumented license issue can be tied to such extreme assertions. The constituent says Nate's statements are racist and very negative to tie your average illegals that are here which are working class, middle class poor,to this drug/arms smuggling question. Of course the Nate Gentry the Representative of this man bullies up and talks over him with a non argument - " So you are saying no drugs come in from Mexico?" The man goes on to reiterate that their are no ties or prove of what Gentry is saying. Unfortunately the video ends within that exchange, but Nate takes the constituent to task over the matter.

What a stretch? Not really. This is a wake up post for us as citizens, news reporters, and our legislators, this is a leader in our NM republican party.  

In summary we should keep a close eye on this Representative Nate Gentry whipman. He is slick, he is loyal to his bosses, and he is not independent in thinking. Kayyyyy!

Lincoln the Movie See It

Lincoln the movie wow! I must have been sick that day in social studies/history class, I totally forgot that President Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. A republican who believed in equality and justice. No one is equal until we are all equal, what a concept.

"As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it, "All men are created equal, except Negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read, "All men are created equal except Negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some other country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, without the base alloy of hypocrisy." Abraham Lincoln 16th President of USA 

Where have we gone as a people? We just go along to get along. Is there any courage displayed by anyone today to tackle the problems at hand?

Think of what we could do if someone would lead. How about the Equal Rights Amendment for starters for a quick recap of the ERA see this link.  Why not have women be equal?

How about full equality for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender people? One of the most touching parts of the movie was when Republican Thaddeus Stevens went home to his biracial lover, and housekeeper and brought her the 13th amendment document for her to read to him in bed. Ah the secrets we humans keep?

How about stopping the military machine and have our service people come back to this country. Talk about years and years of senseless killing. Check out the arm to arm brutal battles of the Civil War, reenacted in the movie, maybe if we still fought like this we would stop. Let's stop funding the military machine. Stop funding the greed of war. Hey we are going broke funding this war machine, there are no more jobs, all the money is gone. We are still funding the Aghan war to the tune of 1 to 2 bil per week. Per week! Imagine this money here, where on earth is this money going? Does anyone else see a connection to our deficit?

Not to say that the 13th Amendment was the end all for equal rights for our African American citizens. Far far from it, the battle for equal rights for all continues well into the 21st century. When will the people who control all the power, which is old white men, let's face it, when will they give up some of their greed and power to other humans?  

We need real leaders with real soul and spirit. We need to hold our elected leaders accountable NOW.

PS. Yes it is remarkable and showing of our progress as a people to have President Obama elected for his second term in 2012. But we learned in his first term that we have got to keep bearing pressure on him. He is partly the resulting dream of President Lincoln, now let President Obama be a leader for all of us. Lead the Congress, lead us out of our current wars, lead equality for all, lead the fight for all to be educated, lead the fight of our equal justice in this country. Lead the fight against greed.

News Flash: Republicans Care about Them

What a joke. Like republicans care about you and me. When was the last time a republican did anything selfless for the people or for the planet? Romney is their leader, they just finished voting for him in a very large way. According to Politico, the popular vote was 62,611,250 for Obama to 59,134,475 for Romney. So now all of the leaders of the 59 mil Romney voters are saying they did not agree with his policies he would engage in if elected. What hypocrites, pitiful liars.

Romney in May 2012"

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. ... My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives." -Mitt Romney, in leaked comments from a fundraiser in May 2012

Romney a few days after the above came out:

"My campaign is about the 100 percent in America," he said Wednesday evening at a Univision forum, according to the Los Angeles Times, just a few days after the secretly taped video of his speech in front of wealthy donors in Boca Raton, Fla., went public. "And I am concerned about them. I am concerned about the fact that over the past four years, life has become harder for Americans."

Romney one week after losing election:

“What the president’s campaign did was focus on certain members of his base coalition, give them extraordinary gifts from the government, and then work very aggressively to turn them out to vote,” Romney said. Read more: Romney says Obama won by giving voters “gifts” from the government.

Gov. Susana Martinez today:

From Politico: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, another GOP rising star, is the latest to denounce Mitt Romney's comments — and called for a change in approach and language to immigration reform, in an interview with POLITICO's James Hohmann:

“We need to embrace them not just at election time,” she added. “We visit them, and they don’t appreciate that. And I don’t blame them for not appreciating that. We should not visit them when we need their vote and then walk away. And then four years go by and we go visit them again. We have to make them part of the solution, and the way you do that is by listening to them.” She expressed disdain for Romney’s claim this week on a conference call that President Barack Obama won reelection because he offered “gifts” to minorities and younger voters. “That unfortunately is what sets us back as a party — our comments that are not thought through carefully,” she said... ...“Republicans need to stop making assumptions,” she added, “and they need to start talking to younger people, people of color, and ask them — not talk to them — ask them, ‘What is it that we can do better? How do we earn your vote? How do we earn the ability for you to see that we can be the party that will make your life better and that of your children?’ But we can’t be the ones that come and tell them how things are going to be and how we have all the solutions.”

Let's recap Susana: "We visit them" Martinez says. Them like they are some subspecies. Them, them, them, obviously not us but for sure them, no way us.

And this quote too from Susana: “that unfortunately is what sets us back as a party — our comments that are not thought through carefully.” Note no complaint about what Romney is saying is wrong but just that it is not thought through. That maybe be the most honest statement.

The Republicans do not care about us. We are the them.

Let's watch as the 2013 Leg session gets into action how much our own NM republicans believe what Romney is saying is wrong. Let's hold the Republican feet to the fire of "We all do better when we all do better." Or teh Republican favorite to use these days "that a rising tide lifts all boats."

Democracy in New Mexico Election 2012

That is exactly what we did on Tuesday November 6th, we exercised our right of being a Democracy in action. Here is the definition of Democracy in websters dictionary:
a: government by the people; especially: rule of the majority
b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Yes, I am disappointed I did not win my own bid for the NM State House of Representative District 30, but the people of HD 30 spoke and I end this race grateful and wiser. I am grateful for the support of so many friends, I had so many people helping me. I am grateful for so many people within HD 30 opening their doors and thoughts to me on this journey. I am wiser that these are not simple times and I learned more people are hurting and disenfranchised than what I even thought.

I am still going to fight the good fight. In the words of Paul Wellstone and something Eric Griego would remind us all of often: We all do better when we all do better.

Representative Ken Martinez had a great quote in the Journal today: "New Mexicans have rejected the politics of personal destruction and instead have chosen the Democratic agenda of strengthening our working families."

Personal destruction in lieu of leadership, ideas, facts and solutions. Let's not forget that the quest for supreme power is vested in us, the people. Even when hundreds of thousands of dollars are meant to sway us, the power is still in our hands not the people we elect, now more than ever. The democrats held on to and even gained a couple seats in the NM State House of Representatives, that is a success for the people of NM.

Some of the races have not been finalized: Marci Blaze is still fighting to represent the people of HD 23. Marci endured a vicious, money invested onslaught race and was attacked over and over by Republican Paul Pacheco. That district remains tight and is having an automatic recount.

Democrat Liz Thomson won House Seat 24 against incumbent Republican Conrad James. Emily Kane (HD15) won, Stephanie Richards (HD43) won in Los Alamos, Christine Trujillo (HD25) won, Georgene Louis (HD26) won and Patricia Roybal-Caballero (HD13) won, just to mention a few of the great women who will be serving the people of NM. Women stepped up and ran for office across the state and across the country, these strong women were coached and supported by other strong women and men.

Other strong women who won are Karen Montoya for PRC, and Chief Judge Barbara Vigil will be our next Supreme Court Judge, as well as Monica Zamora well be our next Court of Appeals Judge.

Thank goodness Senator Michael Sanchez survived his vicious race. Costing countless of thousands of dollars spent by Reform NM PAC Jay McClesky on behalf of the Martinez administration.

A huge congratulations to Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Ben Ray Lujan your work is going to be very important shaping this countries future. And I believe you are the leaders to do just that.

Lastly, Thank the Universe that Obama won for four more years. Our country having Romney as the leader for four years was frightening. What did that man really believe? What do any of the republicans really believe at any level of government anymore?

The money spent all together on all the races around the country to try to sway the will of the people could feed a small nation, like ours.

Let's remember there are many honest, hardworking, play it fair, people who deserve huge kudos! Kudos for all the efforts to the many volunteers and staff and caring people who worked so hard for our Democracy for this critical election of 2012. Democracy is not about money and destruction. Democracy is about we the people.

Pacheco's Past – Mismanagement, Bankruptcy & Breach of Contract

Photo above from ISPAC follow this link to read more character information about Mr. Pacheco. Paul Pacheco is the republican candidate for House District 23, the Democratic candidate is Marci Blaze.

Press release below is from the DPNM:

Voters Deserve Truth, Not Lies From the McClesky Smear Machine

Right-wing candidate for the NM House of Representatives, Paul Pacheco, (House District 23) has been the beneficiary of waves of negative attack mailers against his opponent. Using tactics straight out of the Jay McClesky playbook, Pacheco's special interest backers are misleading voters and covering up the truth because they know Pacheco can't win on his record.

BANKRUPTCY: In 2005 Paul Pacheco filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after accruing over $400,000 in liabilities, including more than $141,000 in credit card debt between nineteen credit card accounts. (US District Court for the District of NM 7-05-10027)

MISMANAGEMENT: According to the Albuquerque Journal, the bankruptcy was related to Pacheco’s ownership of Blades Sports Arena in Rio Rancho, where he wrote bad checks and failed to pay employees over $5,000. After the power was cut off to the facility in May 2004, Pacheco brought in a generator to power the facility, only to have the facility shut down by the fire marshal due to safety concerns. (ABQ Journal article “City Wants Blades Owner on Carpet” 5/27/04)

BREACH OF CONTRACT: Pacheco’s mismanagement continued in 2008 after the Los Ranchos Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously revoked a home occupation permit for Pacheco’s business, Desert Oasis Recovery, a substance abuse treatment center. The permit allowed individuals to operate the business from home. Desert Oasis was subsequently sued in Albuquerque District Court for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. (Dawn Branch, et al. v. Desert Oasis Recovery, LLC, Case Number D-202-CV-201205068)

The TRUTH is, Paul Pacheco simply can't be trusted to Represent New Mexico families.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Following is a guest blog by Dr. William Pratt.

Nations seem to move from order to disorder and back to order. The transitions may be rapid or slow. The processes are more or less violent. It appears to me that , at present, the Republican Party of the USA has become an agency of disorder. Good governments have found a balance between order and disorder. Too much order brings oppression of individual fulfillment. Too little order brings loss of a foundation for personal achievement. Collapse of a society or nation may occur when there is too much order and oppressed people rebel against tyranny or when not enough people participate in a democracy. Order is then restored by force by stronger, better organized groups. A foreign power may also intervene and take control.

The Republican Party now represents disorder.

1. Regulation of the financial system is order. Deregulation is disorder.
2. Union representation is order. Unorganized workers is disorder.
3. Economically secure families is order. Hungry children in deprived neighborhoods is disorder.
4. Peace is order. War is disorder.
5. Environmental regulation is order. Pollution is disorder.
6. Treatment for drug abuse is order. The illegal drug trade is disorder.
7. A comprehensive immigration policy is order. Chaotic immigration policies is disorder.
8. Available health care insurance and health care is order. Millions without health care insurance is disorder.  

The dominant message of the Republican Party now is to oppose efforts to restore a reasonable degree of order. Disorder does benefit those with more power and wealth, at least for a while. Republicans with a longer view know that increasing disorder will have tragic consequences. The people who provided our US Constitution were well aware of the problem of disorder. They had just created disorder by rebelling against the British Empire. They saw the loss of lives and the disruption of social structure.

The right balance of order and disorder can happen in a liberal democracy. There can be innovation and free expression on a base of mutually agreed stability. Our Constitution and our better traditions show the way.

Health Care Vote: Pearce Snubs Struggling NM families by Voting for Obamacare Repeal

The Supreme Court has ruled that Obamacare is constitutional, but today Congressman Steve Pearce refused to move on and told struggling families in New Mexico that politics trumps their health care when he voted to repeal the landmark health-reform law.

By voting for repeal, Pearce indicated he clearly agrees with allowing insurance companies deny families coverage because of preexisting conditions. His vote also means he opposes providing small businesses tax credits to buy insurance; and that he supports throwing thousands of our senior citizens back into the prescription-drug donut hole.

“It shouldn’t come as any surprise.” said Frank Cole, Communications Director for Protect Your Care New Mexico. “Representative Pearce has historically put the interests of the insurance industry above the health needs of his own constituency.”

Nearly one in four New Mexicans lives without insurance. It is estimated that hundreds die every year from health conditions which could have been prevented had those suffering had proper medical coverage. But without insurance, many avoid the doctor until it’s too late.

Steve Pearce would have you believe that the law is bad for New Mexico. But here are the facts:

• Obamacare gives 320,000 seniors access to free preventive services under Medicare and relief to 20,000 more who fall into the donut hole.
• 11,000 young adults are now on their parent’s plan until they’re 26.
• It makes it illegal for providers to place lifetime limits on coverage or drop coverage due to an illness for the 900,000 New Mexicans with private insurance.
• And it begins to provide insurance for those without it by expanding Medicaid and creating health insurance exchanges, making private insurance more affordable and easier to shop for.

That’s just a few of the benefits Pearce would like to see disappear.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Wiener Complete Video of Censure

Video above taken of the County Commission censure of Commissioner Wiener.

On Tuesday evening the Bernalillo County Commission held one of their scheduled meetings to conduct the serious business of the County. The agenda was long, the Commissioners approved the county budget for 2013 which totals $229 million. Follow this  to see how our Bern County funds will be allocated. And at the end of the meeting other important county business had to be conducted, the first censure of one of the County Commissioners. If you do not know why Wiener was being censured see these past DFNM posts here.

During the public comment portion of the meeting a few men stepped up to the mic and spoke in support of Wiener. No big surprise there. They spoke at the meeting of what a waste of time it was for the commissioners to have to deal with this matter of Commissioner Wiener having a lay over in Angeles City and being photographed with scantily clad women. "Let him be, the trip was done on his own time and on his own dime. He didn't do anything wrong."

One of the men speaking said he could go over the allotted two minutes because Wiener said he could. Note no one else was able to go over the two minutes, in fact when the two minute bell was rung you had to stop where you were in your statement and step away. It was an uncomfortable meeting to say the least.

The women who spoke about the Wiener censure all spoke how he should be censored, that it is not befitting of an elected official to be caught up in this scandal. Wiener has a history of poor judgement while serving on the county commission. He has wrote emails containing racist statements, he has been involved with sexual harassment matters, and now this.

Of course Wiener in his prepared statement stated his innocence, and how he is being victimized. How it would be different if he was a democrat. How he has been tried in the court of public opinion unfairly. The fact is that Wiener has lied from the beginning about the reason he was in Angeles City, because of a plane layover?  It has been researched there are no layovers in Angeles City. It does not add up. It seems Commissioner Wiener has much to keep hidden about this trip. Commissioner Wiener has poor judgement, and should be investigated in more detail. Where there is smoke there is fire.

Thank you to the three County Commissioners; Maggie Hart Stebbins, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Art De La Cruz who stood up to Wiener, and censured him. Commissioner Johnson recused himself, stating he had already asked for Wiener's resignation a few days prior to the censure.

House Republicans Once Again Cut the Budget on the Backs of Middle-Class Families

Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District voted today against a measure aimed at implementing House Republicans’ budget plan that calls for deep cuts to vital services for middle-class families while protecting defense spending and tax breaks for the richest Americans. The budget reconciliation bill cuts $310 billion over 10 years from non-defense spending in areas such as health care, food and nutrition assistance, and vital safety net programs for seniors, women, and children.

“Instead of offering a balanced plan to reduce our nation’s deficit, House Republicans once again make hard-working New Mexicans pay the price,” Congressman Luján said. “In order to restore the American Dream and rebuild the middle class, we need a balanced approach that invests in our future by supporting innovation, strengthening education, and rebuilding infrastructure. Now is the time to invest in our national labs and develop new groundbreaking technologies that could change the way we generate energy, keep our airports safer, and make our hospitals healthier. In times like these, millionaires should be giving to charity, not getting it through more tax breaks.”

The House Republicans’ reconciliation bill replaces automatic defense spending cuts that they agreed to last year with cuts that will result in:

• Nearly 300,000 children losing free or reduce-priced school meals, on top of cuts to food aid at home for 22 million children;
• 1.7 million seniors losing “Meals on Wheels” and other home-based services; and
• 326,000 women not getting breast cancer screenings and 284,000 not getting cervical cancer screenings.

President Obama: "Same Sex Couples Should Be able to get Married"

Exciting news for the gays and lesbians today, May 9, 2012. The President of the United States declared that "same sex couples should be able to get married." President Obama made this statement on ABC. ABC has a great write up about the interview and the timeline of Obama evolving acceptance of same sex marriage.

To go right to the video cut and paste this link into your browser: https://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/29242313

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together; when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that 'don't ask, don't tell' is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama told Roberts in an interview to appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday.

Meanwhile the Republicans remain on the wrong side of history. Republican Romney made this statement today " I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name." Romney made his statement in Colorado. You can see his interview along with video here: https://kdvr.com/2012/05/08/romney-to-speak-on-energy-in-fort-lupton-wednesday/. Also, Huff post has a great article here regarding today's Marriage Equality developments.

After last nights North Carolina vote to write into their constitution that marriage is between a man and woman. This comes as welcome news. Here is a link to another Huff Post article describing the vote which occurred in North Carolina yesterday. It looks like this hateful vote yesterday in NC could have spurred the POTUS on to come out in favor of same sex marriage. So maybe there is a silver lining to this horrible result in North Carolina.

As for me, a lesbian having a committed relationship for 23 years only to have Barb pass away only 4 1/2 short months ago, I feel regret and joy with this historical news. Regret that Barb and I could never marry, regret that we could not share in each others life savings in social security as committed married couples can. Regret that when I picked up my lovers death certificate, it said "Never Married" which is the biggest slap in the face of all, because Barb was the most committed loving protective partner marriage could ever find. Most of all regret Barb is not here to enjoy President Obama's words of acceptance with me.

Barb and I: 4 years ago at rally on civic plaza abq protesting against CA Prop 8.

Joy for young lovers and old lovers. Joy that we are one step closer to normalization of our relationships. Joy that the children of these couples are one step closer to being accepted. Joy that gay and lesbian couples know that our President Obama sees us and hears us, acknowledges us. We are accepted as part of the committed to another loving human community.

This truely is a "It gets better" day.

ProgressNowNM to Commissioner Wiener: Actions Speak Louder than Words

ProgressNow NewMexico has compiled a great synopsis; "Wienergates 1 through 10. A recap of Michael Wiener's Top-10 exploits"of Republican Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener's history of his actions. It is very well done describing Wiener's past while representing Bernalillo County.

Wiener is one of five of our commissioners, he maintains he has every right to do what he wants on his time. Attend the Bernalillo County Commission meeting this evening at 5:00 and voice your opinion on Wiener's actions. The censuring of Wiener is listed as item 10C on the agenda. The Bern Co. Commish meeting is held at One Civic Plaza, in the basement, in the Vincent Griego Chambers.