Democracy for New Mexico

Saturday Music Hall: Live From Abbey Road

Amos Lee, Black River, Live From Abbey Road

Have you watched any of this series on the Sundance Channel? Every week they feature three musical artists each recording three songs live at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, with some short interview clips tossed into the mix. After so many days filled with negative vibes coming from Washington, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, you name it, it was grounding to tune into the show last night at midnight and slide into a more soul nurturing corner of the universe.

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample, Street Life, Live From Abbey Road

Last night's episode featured singer-songwriter Amos Lee (top), jazz and R & B vocalist Randy Crawford with piano virtuoso Joe Sample, founding member of the Crusaders (above), and some of the stunning musicianship of guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame (below).

David Gilmour, On An Island, Live From Abbey Road

Gilmour, as always, was a flow unto himself, but I really enjoyed hearing Lee, who I'd never run across before, and Crawford and Sample, who I'd pretty much forgotten. There's truth to the old saw that music soothes the savage breast. I was soothed and swayed. Phew. Maybe you will be too, in these savage times.

More Amos Lee can be found at MySpace and his official website. He's got quite a range of styles and I find his vocals to be beautiful -- when was the last time you thought of that adjective when listening to today's music -- yet gritty enough not to be too precious.

More Randy Crawford can be had at Wikipedia and at this site. Explore more Joe Sample at Verve Music and Wikipedia. Check out their new album together, "Feeling Good." Classy stuff done right, with plenty of nuance and chops.

Guest Blog: Join Santa Fe ENOUGH Protest or Create Your Own

This is a guest blog by Kaye Hancock of Santa Fe, NM:
Have you had ENOUGH? If you aren't sure, watch this video: How To Create An Angry American. Then join an ENOUGH PROTEST! Happening every Sunday in Santa Fe and all around this country!

Here are the ground rules, from chief instigator Wes Clark Jr. in Los Angeles: see diary at Daily Kos.  There have been updates by Wes Clark Jr. on Kos and at Young Turks with photos of people standing as ONE or in groups. We are in the process of recruiting more people every Sunday. Everyone add two friends or family members, then hopefully they add two or more to say "ENOUGH," ... and watch it grow!

So, JOIN ME and others around the U.S.A. who are giving up ONE HOUR A WEEK to celebrate democracy and breathe life back into it ---is it worth it to you?  If it is worth it to you, then stand with me this Sunday and all other Sundays, from Noon to 1:00 PM at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Pecos Trail at the Capitol Roundhouse in Santa Fe, and wear a t-shirt or hold a sign that simply says ENOUGH!

Note: "Enough" Tees can be purchased cheaply .

Our signs and shirts are limited to one word: ENOUGH. It doesn't matter what color the shirt or sign is. We're not going to yell anything or subject people to bad music, long-winded preaching to the choir, or shouting matches with pedestrians or carloads of people who may disagree with us. We're just going to stand there wearing our shirts. Signs saying "ENOUGH" are welcome, too. If people respond that they have had ENOUGH, we will ask them to come back the following Sunday to join us. That's it. It's really simple.

You will also note from the photo below that I have a homemade sign that I carry, and I am in the process of making a couple more signs appropriate to the theme "ENOUGH." I found the second Sunday I was out that the sign incited more attention, thumbs-up, hoots, hollers, and honks, especially since I was alone. Signs are welcome!

We hope to geometrically build a leaderless movement of people to put pressure on the politicians to stop shredding the Constitution whenever it is politically expedient for them to do so. By coming back week after week with no draw other than standing with our fellow citizens around this country, we're letting them know we are the kind of dedicated voters willing to put in the time and effort to throw them out if they can't respect the foundation of our Republic. 

I'd like to stay home on Sundays for the next eighteen months, but I don't think this can wait until the next election. By then damage will be done and the guilty will walk away, only to re-enter politics with the next swing in the election cycle.

COME JOIN ME! It started with one here in Santa Fe: ME! 

HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH?

Let me know if you are interested by emailing me with "ENOUGH" in the subject line. I'll be on the corner waiting for more of you to join me! And if you have a contact list of people in Santa Fe who have had ENOUGH, forward my message to them as well!  ~ Thanks! ~

This is a guest blog by Kaye Hancock of Santa Fe, NM who can be reached at KayCeSF@aol.com. Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express their views on pertinent issues. The views expressed may or may not match ours. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand side of the page.

Dear Mr. President

According to TPM Cafe, almost 70 U.S. House members including one Repub (see below) sent a letter to Bush yesterday stating they'd no longer vote for funding of the troops in any form except if the money were spent exclusively on withdrawing them from Iraq. So about quarter of the Dems now support cutting off money for the troops if Bush tries to keep them in Iraq, complicating the passage of another war-spending bill this Fall unless it requires a timely exit from Iraq. Unfortunately, I don't see Rep. Tom Udall's name on the list of those who signed the letter, do you? The message:

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to inform you that we will only support appropriating additional funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of all our troops out of Iraq before you leave office.

More than 3,600 of our brave soldiers have died in Iraq. More than 26,000 have been seriously wounded. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed or injured in the hostilities and more than 4 million have been displaced from their homes. Furthermore, this conflict has degenerated into a sectarian civil war and U.S. taxpayers have paid more than $500 billion, despite assurances that you and your key advisors gave our nation at the time you ordered the invasion in March, 2003 that this military intervention would cost far less and be paid from Iraqi oil revenues.

We agree with a clear and growing majority of the American people who are opposed to continued, open-ended U.S. military operations in Iraq, and believe it is unwise and unacceptable for you to continue to unilaterally impose these staggering costs and the soaring debt on Americans currently and for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (HI)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC)
Lois Capps (CA)
Rep. Julia Carson (IN)
Rep. Donna Christensen (USVI)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY)
Rep. William Lacy Clay (MO)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO)
Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)
Rep. John Conyers (MI)
Elijah Cummings (MD)
Rep. Artur Davis (AL)
Rep. Danny Davis (IL)
Rep. Diana DeGette (CO)
Rep. Bill Delahunt (MA)
Rep. Keith Ellison (MN)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA)
Rep. Bob Filner (CA)
Rep. Barney Frank (MA)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL)
Rep. John Hall (NY)
Rep. Phil Hare (IL)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY)
Rep. Rubin Hinojosa (TX)
Rep. Paul Hodes (NH)
Rep. Michael Honda (CA)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ)
Rep. Hank Johnson (GA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
Rep. John Lewis (GA)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY)
Rep. Ed Markey (MA)
Rep. Betty McCollum (MN)
Rep. Jim McDermott (WA)
Rep. James McGovern (MA)
Rep. Gwen Moore (WI)
Rep. Jim Moran (VA)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY)
Rep. Grace Flores Napolitano (CA)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
Rep. Jim Oberstar (MN)
Rep. John Olver (MA)
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ)
Rep. Ed Pastor (AZ)
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
Rep. Donald Payne (NJ)
Rep. Charles Rangel (NY)
Steve Rothman (NJ)
Rep. Bobby Rush (IL)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL)
Rep. Bobby Scott (VA)
Rep. David Scott (GA)
Rep. Hilda Solis (CA)
Rep. Pete Stark (CA)
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA)
Rep. Ed Towns (NY)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY)
Rep. Maxine Waters (CA)
Rep. Diane Watson (CA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA)
Rep. Albert Wynn (MD)

Bush to Visit NM to Raise Funds for Domenici

According to the Albuquerque Journal, The Commander George W. (The Decider) Bush will be taking precious time out of his delusional Iraq occupation disinformation campaign to attend a private, big dollar fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici in late August in Albuquerque:

... sources familiar with Domenici's quest for a seventh Senate term told the Journal this week that the campaign has already started making calls to solicit potential contributors regarding the late-August fundraiser and plans to mail out invitations soon.

I'm sure they'll keep the details secret so that New Mexico's citizens don't get anywhere near the increasingly unpopular president (or the increasingly muddled Domenici). As always, Bush's handlers are hell bent on making sure that inconvenient realities don't puncture the president's protective bubble of sunny, steely "resolve."

The visit by Bush is undoubtedly a payback for Pete's refusal to vote for anything meaningful to change course in Iraq, despite the Senator's recent posturing in the media about a change of heart on the occupation. Like Bush, Domenici is all hat, no cattle, on Iraq. Domenici's top priority these days, like that of most other powerful Repub Senators, is protecting the president and his cronies rather than doing what's right by our troops or our nation. Money talks. Domenici listens.

July 24: Celebrate NM's Statewide Boost to Minimum Wage

You're Invited

Please Join

Americans United for Change, Elected Officials, Labor Leaders, and Community Activists to

Celebrate New Mexico's First Statewide Boost to the Minimum Wage in a Decade

We've lead the way with state and local increases

And now Congress has followed:

Thanks to Sen. Bingaman and Rep. Udall and new leadership in Congress, ALL NM workers are finally getting a raise after ten long years on July 24, 2007

Tuesday, July 24th at 3:00 PM
Downtown Flying Star Cafe
Upstairs Meeting Room
723 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque

Hear from Elected Officials, Labor Leaders and Community Activists that have long fought for a federal increase and our local increases.

Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to joshgeise@aol.com or 505-603-1067

Tune In Now: NM Blog Radio

You can listen to today's archived show about EMERGE NM hosted by Heather Brewer and earn 50 cents for the organization if you listen to the podcast during the coming week. Click to read about today's show.

Bingaman Floor Speech on Levin-Reed Iraq War Amendment

Sen. Jeff Bingaman strongly backs the Levin-Reed amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have required President Bush to begin drawing down American forces within four months. “It is unfortunate this important amendment was defeated, despite the fact that a majority of senators support it,” Bingaman said after the vote. A release on his website reports:

Bingaman said the war in Iraq has distracted the United States from the fight against terrorism, from responding to the rise of China as a world power, from lessening our dependence on foreign energy, and from keeping our country economically competitive.

Check out:

• Text of Sen. Bingaman's Floor Speech
• Video (wmv) of Sen. Bingaman's Floor Speech

Excerpts:

I opposed the invasion in Iraq, believing it was necessary to give the United Nations weapons inspectors the time that they needed to determine whether Iraq did, in fact, possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. I believed that we needed to gather the facts and we needed to make an informed decision as to whether Iraq posed such a terrible and immediate threat to our country that regime change was warranted.

And as we now know, those WMDs were nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, the WMDs were not the only thing that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and other members of the administration were wrong about when it came to beginning this war.

They were also wrong in thinking we could succeed in Iraq without substantial help from our allies.

They were wrong to reject warnings that the invasion would fracture Iraq’s delicate sectarian balance.

They were wrong to dismiss legitimate questions about how we would rebuild Iraq’s civil society.

And they were wrong to think that Iraq’s neighbors, Iran and Saudi Arabia in particular, would ignore their opportunity to fill a regional power vacuum after the collapse of Saddam’s regime.

Above all, they were wrong to promise the American people, as Secretary Rumsfeld’s assistant Ken Adelman did, that Iraq would be a “cakewalk.”

...  Going forward, we need to focus on two objectives.

First, we must send the Iraqi ruling elite a crisp and credible signal that our commitment to maintaining forces in that country is not unconditional. Only by making this point loud and clear do we create the possibility that the Shi’a-led government will take the painful steps necessary towards national reconciliation.

The U.S. has a moral responsibility to do what it can to create a degree of political stability in Iraq. But I repeat the key phrase in that sentence: “do what we can.” For we can do no more.

Our commitment to Iraq is not open-ended. We can’t impose a political settlement without the cooperation of the political elites in the country. The Iraqis themselves must want a solution.

Sen. Bingaman concluded his speech with a salute to the 38 New Mexicans who have so far given their lives in the Iraq War, including names and short bios.

Four Candidates Named Finalists in Search for State Dem Party Executive Director

Four finalists have been selected from the pool of 11 well qualified applicants who had made the first cut in the search for a new Executive Director for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Members of a search committee appointed by DPNM Chair Brian Colón interviewed and evaluated the 11 applicants on Monday and pared the field to four -- two who are native New Mexicans and two who are from out of state:

Michael Minh Nguyen, Washington, DC: Special Events Coordinator, Center for American Progress; BA Political Science, University of California-Davis.

Laura Sanchez, New Mexico: Energy Solutions Policy Fellow, National Resources Defense Council; Board Member, NM Hispanic Bar Association; Juris Doctor, UCLA School of Law; MPA, University of Arizona-Tucson.

Arturo Terrazas, New Mexico: Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Dona Ana County; Deputy Director, Anthony-Berino Economic Development Corporation; Former Director, Communities United; BA Government, NM State University.

Nate Williams, Wisconsin: Green Bay Regional Director, Congressman Steve Kagan; Juris Doctor, Tulsa College of Law; BS in Political Science and History, Eastern New Mexico University.

Chairman Colón is expected to announce his selection within two weeks. The Executive Director will report directly to the State Chair and manage the day-to-day operations of the State Party.

NM “Iraq Summer” Campaign Blasts Domenici for Obstructing Responsible End to the War in Iraq

From Americans Against Escalation in Iraq:
“Iraq Summer” Campaign Turns Up Heat Nationally on Out of Touch Senate Republicans like Pete Domenici for Betraying Constituents, Country

Albuquerque, NM – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici put party politics before the clear will of the people of New Mexico and the country by obstructing an up-or-down vote on the Levin-Reed amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would bring a safe and responsible end to the Iraq war. More than seven in 10 Americans favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by next April. [USA Today 7/10/07] 

“Senator Domenici’s vote today for endless war in Iraq is a bitter affront to the people of New Mexico who overwhelmingly support bringing our troops home out of the crosshairs of a bloody civil war,” said Greg Richardson, Field Director for the New Mexico chapter of the “Iraq Summer” campaign.  “Over the clear will of his constituents, Senator Domenici chose to enable this President to continue prosecuting his costly, irresponsible and failed Iraq policy -- and we’re not going to take it lying down.”

Last night Moveon members and Iraq Summer organizers held events outside the home state office of each and every Senate Republican to demand they stop blocking an end to the war in Iraq. In total Moveon members held 155 events across the country.

“On Wednesday night, citizens across the country came out in force and showed that they are not going to stand for this cowardly obstructionism and political gamesmanship from Senate Republicans,” continued Richardson. “The outpouring of public anger and frustration last night is a clear indication of how Senate Republicans are grossly out of touch with their constituents. This is no longer just an anti-Iraq war movement, this is a nation united in demanding an end to the war. It's time Senator Domenici and his fellow Republicans stopped obstructing, stopped playing these petty political games and started representing their constituents by voting to bring this war to a safe and responsible end.  That’s real support for our troops.”

“Senator Domenici’s vote this morning is further demonstration that he has lost touch with the people of New Mexico.  Through the ‘Iraq Summer’ campaign, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq will turn up the heat on Senator Domenici even further. We’ll be knocking on more doors, holding more rallies outside his office, continuing our Call Congress campaigns, and placing more and more signs on lawns across this state demanding an end to this reckless war.  If Sen. Domenici thought he could escape public retribution and accountability for his obstructionism – he’s painfully mistaken.”

“Iraq Summer” has dispatched nearly 100 organizers to 15 states and 40 congressional districts to turn up the heat this summer on Republican members of Congress who have opposed setting a timeline to bring a responsible end to the war in Iraq.  The intense10-week program is modeled on the “Freedom Summer” civil rights project.

High School Basketball Players Illegally Searched at NM Regional Tournament

From ACLU-NM:
TO’HAJIILEE, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed a lawsuit today on behalf of To’hajiilee Community School basketball players and the To’hajiilee School Board of Education, Inc., against three New Mexico State law enforcement officers for their illegal searches during a regional basketball tournament.

“Fortunately, our young clients know that the police cannot just willy-nilly accuse them of a crime and then detain and search them, and they also know that something is very wrong when the police arbitrarily turn their power against Native Americans and no one else,” said Jane Gagne, ACLU of New Mexico co-legal director.

On March 3, 2006, basketball teams from the To’hajiilee Community School, Temple Baptist High School, the Springer High School, and the Des Moines High School competed in a regional basketball tournament hosted by Des Moines High School, in Des Moines, New Mexico. During the tournament the Temple Baptist coach reported to the police that items had been stolen from their locker room.  After items were reported missing, the police searched only the To’hajiilee team members, despite statements from coaches that the search was not necessary, and no indication that any To’hajiilee player had taken the items.  To’hajiilee is a Chapter of the Navajo Nation, and the To’hajiilee Community School is a Native American high school.

The policemen ordered the To’hajiilee team to line up on the basketball court, in front of the spectators, and then ordered the team to go into the locker room, where the team members were confined while the policemen searched their belongings.  Following the search in the locker room, police officials searched the To’hajiilee team bus which had been locked and attended to by the bus driver the entire time the alleged thefts could have occurred.  Police officials neither requested nor received consent to search any of the team members’ belongings or the To’hajiilee team bus, nor did they have any reason to believe that any of the To’hajiilee team members had stolen the items or that they would be on the team bus.  None of the stolen items were found.

“Police officials do not have a blank check to conduct searches at their will,” said Whitney Potter, spokesperson for the ACLU of New Mexico.  “Allowing police to conduct these kinds of searches of students with no consent or probable cause turns our schoolhouses into jailhouses.”

ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney George Bach and co-legal directors Jane Gagne and Phil Davis filed the lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

###

Download the complaint: https://aclu-nm.org/PDF/ToHajiilee_Complaint.pdf

The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship. For more information, visit us on the web: www.aclu-nm.org.

American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
PO BOX 566, Albuquerque, NM 87103
Tel: (505) 266-5915 ext 1003 | Fax: (505) 266-5916
Email: wpotter@aclu-nm.org | Web: https://www.aclu-nm.org

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