Democracy for New Mexico

Join ACORN & UFCW for a Candle Light Vigil for Wal-Mart Workers

From ACORN and UFCW:

What:  WakeUpWalMart supporters and many local activists will be meeting at this Wal-Mart for an hour-long candle light vigil. Please come and join us. Similar vigils will be held all over the nation.

When: Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 3:00 PM
Where: Store #2008, 2701 Carlisle Blvd NE, Albuquerque

For more information, contact Matthew Henderson at ACORN: 242-7411. Click for flyer.

Let Joe Know

From Jim Dean at Democracy for America:

Click Here

Earlier this week while discussing the war in Iraq, Senator Joseph Lieberman said, "It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge he'll be commander-in-chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril."

Unfortunately, President Bush has no credibility. His administration misled our nation into the war in Iraq on trumped-up charges of weapons of mass destruction. His "stay the course" strategy has led to over 2,100 American deaths. And no one sees an end in sight.

It is disturbing enough that Senator Lieberman remains one of the president's biggest cheerleaders. But his call for opponents of the president's failed policy to keep quiet is outrageous.

The only way we will end this war is by having an honest debate about how and when we can bring our troops home.

Join me in sending Senator Lieberman an open letter asking him to join the majority of Americans in questioning the Bush administration's Iraq policy:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/telljoe

If Americans don't challenge a president who is bankrupting our treasury, damaging our moral leadership in the world, and jeopardizing our national security then we are failing our democracy.

Please co-sign the letter today. Next week, I'll join Democracy for America members in Connecticut and deliver our letter with your comments to Senator Lieberman's office.

Lennon Killed 25 Years Ago Today

It's hard to believe it's been 25 years since John Lennon was shot four times and killed by Mark Chapman, but it's true. In April of 1980, I had moved to Albuquerque from Chicago. On the evening of December 8th, I was to pick up a friend at the airport. An unusual and very heavy fog hung down on the Duke City that night and my friend's flight was delayed and later diverted because visibility was so low. I heard about the murder on my car radio while driving between home and the airport. Like almost everyone else in my generation, I was devastated. I recall listening to John's last album, Double Fantasy, and much of his other music many times that night. The continuing dense fog seemed just right.

Another assassination. First John Kennedy, then Martin Luther King, then Robert Kennedy and finally John Winston Ono Lennon to round out the tragic quartet of lost visionaries. Each time, the new wound reopened the scars from the last one. Each time, a feeling of incredible loss, a startlingly personal loss somehow. But this last one was someone from my own generation.

I was a Beatles fan from the beginning. Nothing like starting out that era as a 15 year old. I was lucky to see the Beatles play live three times in Chicago, twice at the barnlike International Amphitheater at the Stockyards and once at the old Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox. I recall standing on a folding chair for most of the first concert, plugging my ears against the outrageously loud screaming, and trying to stay balanced while girls crawled along the floor and under the seats trying to make their way to the stage. Ticket price: $2.50. At the second, my friends and I managed to finagle box seats that hung over the stage on John's side and we spent most of that concert waving and exchanging gestures with Lennon. A special treat: we could clearly hear the band. At the third, we got to meet George Harrison's sister, Louise, who lived in Illinois, near the third base dugout.

Paul (the "cute Beatle") was my favorite at the beginning.  As things progressed, the dreamy, sitar-playing George took over that spot. Finally, as I matured and became more enmeshed in politics and the counterculture, John was the one. I wasn't alone in this progression. Many in my generation made the same trip. And a trip it was. They grew and evolved as we did. And vice versa.

Of course I wonder what Lennon would be doing now, if he had lived. He'd be 65 for one thing. Would he still be turning out witty, relevant, bluntly and beautifully imagined music to match our experiences and speak truth to power? I'd like to think so. After all, even the Viet Nam-era Give Peace a Chance is, once again, timely. Oh, and Happy Xmas (War is Over). If we want it.

A sampler of tributes:

Rolling Stone has a long bio-article by Mikal Gilmore, a podcast of a 1970 interview of Lennon by Jann Wenner, a rundown of John's essential recordings by David Fricke and an interview by Pete Hamill from 1975.

AOL has a bunch of stuff, including a free play of the full CD of Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon.

Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! has another treasure trove, mostly to do with Lennon and politics.

A Reuters article reports on observances around the world today as does .

Reminder: Don't Miss NM RAIN Forum With Lt. Gov., Legislators, Councilor Heinrich Tonight in ABQ

The "Living Faith" forum hosted by NM R.A.I.N  (NM Religious Alliance for Inclusion and Non-Discrimination) will serve as the second major step in allowing people of faith, the LGBT community and members of New Mexico’s progressive community to take back "religion" from the extremist right. "We will no longer sit silent in the face of the injustice occurring in New Mexico and the United States. The Bible should not be manipulated for political gain and numerous groups are mobilizing to take our faith back from those who have used it unjustly," stated Reverend Lee Albertson.  This forum will have a lively and informative explanation of the Bible in a nonliteral, contextual view and provide hundreds of activists the tools necessary to advocate for inclusion and counter the religious right.

The forum to be held on December 8 from 7-8:15 PM at St. Michael and All Angels Church in Albuquerque (601 Montaño Rd., NW) will have a presentation on Scripture and LGBT, personal testimonies of violation of basic rights suffered by members and family of the LGBT community, a federal/state legislative update and a interactive panel discussion composed of Lt. Governor Diane Denish, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, Representative Danice Picraux, Senator Jerry Ortiz Y Pino, Senator Linda Lopez and Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich.

"We must take back the religious agenda.  By taking the Bible seriously but not literally, by judging the holiness of human relationships by the criteria of love and commitment, we will encourage our elected officials to believe that they too can be religious and pro-LBGT.  And more importantly, we can convince them that they have a strong religious pro-LGBT constituency that from now on will be active and taken seriously" stated Reverend Brian Taylor.

NM R.A.I.N believes that it is imperative for elected officials to know that those who support inclusion and nondiscrimination have the support of hundreds of thousands of individuals of faith.  These are members of every faith denomination who have sat quietly believing that rational debate would win over the misinformation and hate filled rhetoric that has dominated the past two elections.  These citizens believe in justice, God and the rights of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community.  NM R.A.I.N has become the faith entity for mobilization and political action.  “It gives up hope and vigor to know that our elected officials are willing to stand with us and do what is just and what is right,” stated NM RAIN Board Member Ellen Novak.

New Mexico R.A.I.N. (Religious Alliance for Inclusion and Non-Discrimination) was formed out of the exclusionary and hate filled debate that dominated the last US Presidential Election.  A single religious position has dominated media attention and leaders of NM’s faith communities are expressing a different point of view: the belief that faith and religion is based on 4 major tenets:  Tradition, Scripture, Reason and Experience and not discrimination and exclusion.

"As people of faith we believe that all people are created in the image of  God - as such, legislation and actions that attempt to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation are a desecration of God.  Our message is that God loves all people.  As such, I have faith that our elected officials will not allow themselves to be swayed by theologies of hatred and segregation, but  rather they will come to find a faith buoyed by the belief that every human being is capable of living and loving with holiness" stated Rabbi Joe Black.

The organization has membership from throughout the state and includes lay and ordained members.  The forum will be held at St. Michaels and All Angels Church (601 Montaño Rd., NW)  in Albuquerque on December 8th, 2005 from 7-8:15 p.m.  Overflow parking will be available 1 block east of St. Michaels on the north side of Montaño.

For More Information Contact:
Ellen Novak RAIN Co-Chair               
Rev. Lee Albertson, RAIN Co-Chair (505) 265-5749
Rabbi Joe Black (505) 883-1818
Rev. Brian Taylor (505) 345-8147
NMRAIN@MAIL.CO

Upcoming Governor Richardson Book Signing Events 12/10

From Meredith Dixon:
If you missed the recent book signing at BookWorks for Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life with Governor Bill Richardson you can join the Governor this Saturday, December 10th and have your book signed!

When: Saturday, December 10, 2005, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM
Location:  UNM Bookstore, 2301 Central NE

When: Saturday, December 10, 2005 12:00 PM-1:30 PM
Location:  Borders, 10420 Coors Bypass NW

We hope to see you there! If you have questions call 505-828-2455

Santa Fe & Bernalillo County Clerks to Buy Unreliable Touchscreen Voting Machines

According to an article in today's Albuquerque Journal (subscription required), more than half of the voting machines to be purchased in New Mexico to serve disabled and non-English voters will be the dreaded touchscreens that are at the heart of an ongoing voters' lawsuit in the state. This, despite the fact these Sequoia Edge machines are known to switch votes and have trouble handling Spanish language ballots.

The County Clerks of the state's biggest counties, Mary Herrerra of Bernalillo and Valerie Espinoza of Santa Fe, decided to go with the touchscreens, ignoring a strong citizen lobbying effort urging them to select AutoMark voting machines that provide paper ballots and were the preference of many disabled voters.

The good news is that 19 counties will be purchasing the recommended AutoMarks, including Catron, Curry, De Baca, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lea, Los Alamos, Luna, Mora, Quay, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sierra, Taos, and Union.

The 14 counties selecting Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreens were: Bernalillo, Chaves, Cibola, Colfax, Dona Ana, Lincoln, McKinley, Otero, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Socorro, Torrance, and Valencia.

According to the Journal article,

Clerks in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties especially contended with e-mails, phone calls and faxes leading up to Tuesday's deadline to select machines as activists sought to steer clerks toward what they said were more accurate machines.

But some clerks would not change their decision.

"It's absolutely disturbing," said Holly Jacobson of VoterAction, an activist group, of the majority of touchscreen machines being ordered. "They have a history of not counting Spanish language votes, of switching votes. The list goes on and on."

Also disappointing were Herrerra's and Espinoza's refusals to meet with concerned citizens to discuss the pros and cons of touchscreen machines. Espinoza cancelled a scheduled meeting with citizens at the last minute and Herrerra's office was locked when citizens paid a visit the day before the decision on purchasing the machines was due. I guess in this era, public officeholders are content to listen to campaign contributors and political insiders rather than "risk" a meeting with mere voters and members of the communities they allegedly serve. A sad situation, indeed, especially since both Herrerra and Espinoza are Democrats.

Dean, the DNC and DPNM Activism

The DNC held their Fall Meeting this weekend in Phoenix. An article in the Washington Post provides a rundown. Excerpts:

Displaying the fiery style that excited many Democrats during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, Dean attacked "political hacks and cronies" of the president for eroding civil rights and voting rights protections, and said of Republicans: "Theirs is a party of self-absorption and selfishness."

. . . We're doing the things that need to be done, but we have a long way to go," he said. "The collapse of confidence in the Republican leadership is not enough to elect Democratic leadership. We have to stand up for what we believe."

. . . [Dean] won near-universal praise among the DNC and state party leaders who gathered here this weekend, saying his emphasis on grass-roots organization was a welcome change from the past. Dean built his campaign for chairman by courting state party leaders, and many said this weekend that he had delivered on his promise to shift money and resources into their states. They defended the money he has spent by saying it represents an investment in party-building in places long ignored by the national party.

My DD also has coverage of the DNC Fall Meeting. See Pulling Back the Curtain: Your DNC and The DNC Meeting, Part I (which includes praise for one of our new DPNM field organizers hired by the DNC, Anathea Chino, who will be working with our Native American populations), Part II and Part III.

My take on what this means for the NM Dem Party? It depends on what "grassroots organization" and "Party building" mean to them.  We have yet to hear any detailed plans on what our four new DNC-funded field organizers will be doing between now and the 2006 election. We have yet to see any of them show up at grassroots meetings. I don't know anyone from our grassroots Democratic community who has been contacted by any of them. What will be their goals, their plans, their strategies and tactics? How will they interact with grassroots activists who hold SCC seats, who serve ward and precinct chairs and who populate the rank and file of Democrats in the state? What will they be doing on a day-to-day basis, and what will they need our help with? We don't know yet.

Let's hope they have a better appreciation of grassroots activism, organization and outreach than does our State Party Chair. As we've discussed previously, John Wertheim's conduct at the recent State Central Committee meeting was incredibly disrespectful of the grassroots and our proposals for reactivating long-dormant elements of the Party. This, despite strong support from the majority of SCC members, as was evident by the motions that won passage. Instead of embracing efforts to strengthen the Party, however, the Chairman seems stubbornly and almost irrationally negative towards almost every suggestion we attempt to raise. What is he afraid of?

We keep hearing the question, "What do the grassroots activists want?" It's no secret. It should be perfectly clear from the suggestions we made at the SCC meeting. These aren't radical proposals. They're not even "progressive" proposals. They're plain old Democrat proposals. They consist primarily of asking Party officials to follow the rules laid out in Party bylaws, to reach out more, to be more proactive, to build on past achievements, to rebuild and revamp for maximum effectiveness, to be more accountable and transparent.

We want more outreach to neglected Democratic populations, using the bylaw requirements as a starting point for developing an effective affirmative action program. We want the Party to actively be pursuing an expansion of Democratic voters and participants, especially in areas long neglected and seldom visited.

We want the resolutions and platform process laid out in the rules to be activated and reinvigorated. We want Democrats all over New Mexico to have a chance to be heard so our candidates can gain a clear and realistic picture of what we believe in.

We want the State Central Committee to be treated as defined in Party bylaws: as the supreme governing body of the Party, with clear responsibilities regarding budget and spending that require the provision of adequate financial information from Party staff and officers.

We want the Party rules to be considered and improved to make them more democratic and inclusive.

Is this asking too much? We don't think so, and we know from our interactions with other SCC members around that state that they don't think so either. Now is the time embrace all the energy and activism and ideas that are springing up among Democrats here and around the nation and put them to work, not push them away. Why would anyone concerned about the future of our Party do otherwise?

Update: Press Conference at Bernalillo County Clerk's Office

Editor's Note: This is a follow-up on our previous post about efforts to encourage County Clerks to purchase AutoMark voting machines instead of touch screen machines to serve disabled voters. If you attended last week's DFA-DFNM Albuquerque Meetup, you'll remember Letitia Montoya, a candidate for Secretary of state who showed up yesterday in support of Verified Voting NM's efforts.

From Paul Stokes of Verified Voting NM:
We had about 60 terrific people in Albuquerque yesterday at the press conference. KUNM, the Albuquerque Journal, and Alibi were there from the press, and Channel 7 interviewed us, but they were really there for the city council meeting. Several of us "regular rabble-rousers" spoke and Letitia Montoya, candidate for Secretary of State, gave a nice statement of support.

When we got to Mary Herrera's office, she was gone and the office was locked up, so we slid letters to her under the door. However, the Bureau of Elections was still open, and we assembled there. Jeff Carbajal told us that Mary Herrera would not make an announcement until tomorrow, and that they were still working hard considering candidate machines to buy. The discussion was amicable, but the outcome uncertain and -- well, we'll see.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Whether we win or lose this battle, with enthusiasm like yours, we will win the war.

Santa Fe County Clerk Refuses to Meet With Concerned Citizens

From VerifiedVotingNM and UnitedVotersNM:
Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza today turned away a group of about 20 citizens who came to her office on a scheduled appointment to deliver a collective letter concerning voting machines for disabled voters. The meeting had been requested by VerifiedVotingNM.

Robert Stearns, steering committee member of VerifiedVotingNM, said, “We’re sorry that this has happened. We’re concerned citizens who simply wanted to meet with our County Clerk and deliver a letter outlining our views on voting systems for the disabled. She has until tomorrow to advise the Secretary of State on which machines she wants to buy with federal funding to serve handicapped voters.

“We wanted to urge her to choose the AutoMark ballot marking machine which uses hand-marked paper ballots that are counted on optical scanning machines. We believe this is the best system for auditing and recounting and thereby making sure that votes are counted as they are cast. We do not believe that the competing touchscreen machines are reliable.

“The AutoMark was the top choice of the disabled voters from the NM Commission for the Blind who tested the three machines that are eligible for purchase in our state, using Help America Vote Act funding. We understand that the Clerks of Dona Ana, Taos and San Miguel counties have selected the AutoMark for their disabled voters and other counties are seriously considering it. Such consideration is all we ask here in Santa Fe County.”

Sorry for the inconvenience to those who came out and were left in the cold. Excuse me if I did not get around to meeting you all personally. This can only strengthen our resolve to continue our effort to get all votes counted correctly in New Mexico. Best, Bob Stearns

VerifiedVotingNM and UnitedVotersNM represent a coalition of organizations and individuals concerned with strengthening accuracy in vote counting, auditing and recounting. For more information, contact them at 329 Sena Street, Santa Fe NM 87505, or call 988-3718

Why Did Gov. Richardson Cancel His DNC Speech?

I came across this item this today on the HotLineBlog :

PHOENIX -- NM Gov. Bill Richardson, chair of the DGA and one of the first speakers to commit to address the DNC's fall meeting in Phoenix this weekend, abruptly canceled his Saturday morning speech last night.

A DNC spokesperson said he didn't know the reason for Richardson's change of plans.

Richardson's cancellation upset several Dems, who were looking forward to the possible 08er's comments on topics ranging from Iraq to the growth of the Hispanic community.

"I heard he canceled as soon as he found out C-SPAN wasn't coming," grumbled one disenchanted Dem. [JOHN MERCURIO]

Update: Richardson spokesperson Billy Sparks simply said that "scheduling problems prohibited the Governor from attending" and, even when pressed, would not elaborate on those conflicts.

Strange, to say the least. You have to wonder if this has any connection with the fact that we still don't really know why DNC Chair Howard Dean didn't speak at the recent Democratic Party of New Mexico State Central Committee meeting, despite an earlier announcement that he would be there.

Scheduling problems on both of these, or something else?