Hi FriendThere is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6eUnited Against Racism
posted by David Apperson
OFA Pledge canvassers in the Albuquerque area had a range of responses, but thanks to some dedicated and creative leaders, we got over 200 pledges on the weekend. How do I upload photos to this site?
Bay Stevens, Central New Mexico coordinator
We Make Money the Old Fashion Way – We Earn It
Back in December when it was pretty assured in my mind that the economic crisis was here to stay; my first though was “businesses will have to find a new way to stay alive.” Sure enough some of the Fortune 500’s came across with different marketing strategies, in essence to down size their profit margins while appealing to an American public, which was suffering from the burdens of the crisis also.
Starbucks introduced lower prices on certain coffee drinks along with the introduction of its newest product offering “Instant Starbucks Coffee”; a great example of adapting to the burdening times. Others have done the same, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and many more established American businesses have remembered how to compete for our business.
So why haven’t the banks?
I’m not even going to attempt to get into “banks” are a primary cause of our troubles, but the upsetting part, for me, is they’re so arrogant about what’s going on in our beloved country and develop the stance “it’s just one of those things that sometimes happens.”
Here’s a fine example of our “banks” in their finest hour (today):
Obama Cruces Connection: Global Issues Group Meeting recap for Thursday, Feb. 19 2009 NEXT MONTH'S MEETINGS:
General meeting of the Obama Cruces Connectionis: Saturday, March 14th at 11am 1400 S Solano Ave
Pending schedule approval, the agreed upon time and date for next month's meeting of the Global Issues Group: Obama Cruces Connection: Thursday, March 19th at 6pm1400 S Solano Ave Top 3 Points for Future Action:
The energy and positive activity of our successful campaign to elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA has motivated thousands of citizens to continue making a difference in their communities. Here in the mountains and rural area east of Albuquerque, many activists have stayed in touch and created a new group: East Mountains for Change. The new web site for East Mountains for Change is: http://emforchange.ning.com
2. USE VOUCHER AT BORDERS BOOK FAIR, JANUARY 7-9
The sun has broken through and, although God has decided that the deep snowy sunscape beneath should stay awhile (it's below zero out there), it is nice to have a break. And the presents are under the tree and waiting, which I am delaying going at with my bare hands until I have everything else in the house just right. A few minutes from now. I found a place to make a fifty out of two twenties and a ten, so I have the paper person's tip ready to post. Hopefully, that person will not take 'Halloween' type action against me for a few days, or so I hope.
I have placed a couple of stories inside the body of my posts over the past few days. They have related to Christmas, or the poignancy of it all, in some way or another. Here is one from the mid-nineties when I was not yet 'all that I could be.'
Christmas Pueblo
I found myself inside the confines of the Santa Fe County jail on some vague trumped-up charge. I was in the 'drunk tank,' which is what the cells they use for new prisoner intake are called there. No bars, no windows, just concrete and steel. No way to see out of the ten by twelve box and no ability to hear. Thankfully I was alone for the first few hours, as I had to come to terms with being inside an American institution for the first time (I had already been in a few abroad, so I was not exactly a 'new fish'), and this was not much fun. It was Christmas Eve. Late into the afternoon. The heartless Santa Fe 'Gestapo' had shown no mercy, in spite of the impending holiday. The way I saw it, I was a gringo and they were anything but. They probably saw it in a more 'Harry Callahan' kind of way. The tank did not remain empty for too long. The riff-raff of evening Santa Fe, New Mexico, began to flow in, dredged from a pristine city that prides itself on not having any homeless people. No, they don't, as all of the potentials get combed off the streets and into that heartless modern version of the Bastille, conveniently located five miles South of even the most outer edge of the town.
The cell became so crowded that the entry of one more body meant that there was just no floor space left. And then they opened the door and forced a huge American Indian through. They slammed it shut again, immediately. He stood there for a few seconds, then stared at the man laying next to me on the bare concrete floor. The man moved, finally settling atop the rim of the stainless steel john located in the corner. The Indian took his place, and glared over at me, inches away, when I happened to look into his eyes. This was no Little Big Man Indian of great good cheer and ancient wisdom, like Chief Dan George. No, this was an Indian from hell, more like that one who killed the girl in the Mohican's film a few years back. I showed no fear, but did look away. I was already an old hand at the predation game. You do not show fear to a predator. That is what the predator is looking and waiting for, because it identifies you as prey. No, you meet predation by impassive and emotionless presentation. The predator then takes you for a predator, as well, and there is no point in attacking another predator unless territory is an issue, or survival. You will only likely get hurt, and predators are deathly afraid of injury, as then they become prey.
There was no trouble from the Indian, as the hours passed, nor from any of the usual suspects. Just prisoners inconveniencing the poor guy who's only spot was the on top of the john. He had to move so the drunks could be sick, and worse. Some head of corrections guy must have known a modicum of mercy that night, or, more likely, there were just too many prisoner's for the place to hold, because they came for me. The guards called my name and told me that I was being 'rolled out,' which is prison slang for being released. I went with enthusiasm, but somehow kicked the foot of the snoozing Indian as I departed. "Excuse me White Eyes!" he hissed up, already into a sitting position as I turned. I held together against the pure ferocity of his expression and the penetration of his hawk-like eyes. "My apologies, I was careless," I stated, flatly. Then I moved slowly to join the corrections officer at the door. The Indian's eyes followed me out the door and remained embedded in my mind as I went through the many steps of processing out. Finally, the guards took me to the big door of intake, opened the steel slab with a key about the size of a Waring blender, and shoved me through it. Merry Christmas, the guard said with a laugh, then slammed the door. My relief was immense, until I looked about me. The sodium yellow of the parking lot lamps allowed the driving snow to appear as if I was standing adjacent to Niagra Falls. And it was cold. I wore an old Sheepskin Company coat so I knew I was not likey to freeze, the torso of my body anyway. But I did not know how I was going to make it the many miles to town, much less a few more miles to anywhere I could get a ride. I turned to see if there was a pay phone on the wall to call a cab, but there was nothing. Only the pitiless concrete.
For an instant I felt relief, as the steel door opened again and I saw the warmth that had been prevalent inside. But that was extinguished in an instant, as the big Indian was pushed through the door, before it slammed again. There we were, and I knew fear. He looked down at me with no expression on his face. I tried to look impassive once more, but I knew I was not doing well because I saw a slow cruel smile begin to form around the edges of his mouth. Then he spoke. "Where you going?"
I was surprised. Not that he would talk but that this time he did so in clear unaccented English, not like he had sounded inside. "To town," I murmured, motioning back with my right shoulder. "Never make it. Not on a night like this," he mused, more to himself than to me. He looked out at the scene I had first encountered. The snow was coming down heavier. Then he shrugged. "You can come with me to the pueblo. It's down the way," he gestured south with his own shoulder. I looked off toward the darkness, then looked to the parking lot. But it was Christmas, and i could not stay there, and I knew I could not make it to town. I shrugged with deep resignation. "Okay," I said aloud, then whispered to myself, "let it be Quick." I followed the Indian into the night. There was no trail, there was no moonlight or any other way to establish bearings. So I just followed the huge man closely. We moved downhill, through the La Bajada Canyon, finally trudging under an overpass which held up the four lanes of Interstate forty.
A yellow glow in the distance became the pueblo. The Indian wormed his way between the densely packed mud buildings. Lights glared out, to assure us that the snow had not abated in it's attack. We came around a corner to a wooden door. The upper floor of the adobe structure jutted out above, so we stood and beat the snow from our clothing and boots as best we could. The door opened without anybody knocking. An old woman stuck her head out, then motioned us both inside. I stepped into a different world. The room was filled with people of all ages. They were all sitting at the many tables, seemingly strew about without order. The big Indian motioned me to an empty seat between two young boys. He said nothing. They said nothing. I sat, more in shock and wonder than because I was willingly following rational directions. The two boys reached for bowls and started scooping stuff onto my plate. Tortillas and burritos. I did not even know what Indians ate until then. Corn things, with lots of hot sauces. Everyone went back to eating. They did not look at me, so I started eating as well. I ate the whole plate, so the boys refilled it without any request on my part. When I finished the second plate, they refilled it again. I looked over at the old woman, whom the big Indian had seated himself next to. I saw here smile very briefly. Then the big Indian smiled for the first time, and I understood without any words being necessary. The old woman liked the fact that I loved her food. And the big Indian appreciated that.
"This is my family," he said, gesturing around at all the people at all of the tables. They smiled, as if on cue. "Welcome to the Reservation and my family. I'll drive you back to town tomorrow. But its Christmas, so maybe you want to stay longer for the ceremony." I nodded, only briefly wondering if the 'ceremony' had anything to do with a White Man being cooked in a pot over a roaring fire. "Merry Christmas," I said, as I nodded with enthusiasm, a genuine smile creasing my face for the first time in months. "Merry Christmas," they all yelled back in unison, then began talking, laughing and carrying on, just as if I was an Indian returning to his home.
from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
BILL RICHARDSON is the new member of the Obama Cabinet! I won’t try to be objective here, I like Richardson. He is Latino. He was Energy Secretary in Clinton’s Administration, Governor of New Mexico, and an ambassador for the United Nations. He also spoke up when Hillary was attacking Obama regarding his heritage in the 2008 election campaign. I liked him even more for that.
I remember when he sent to talk to North Korea regarding their weapons program, I remember Bush negating those compromises Richardson offered less than one month later. I watched nervously North Korea say that they didn’t care if the United States won’t assist them with oil, food and agricultural pursuits. Apparently they have little off all three there. This was suppose to be the reason that the sobering was going on. Sounded too simple to me but I also remember an ambassador and a policy wonk coming to our Political Science class explaining how many treaties we had with North Korea and how we had pitted the North and South Koreas against one another. We assist the south, have been asked to leave the region, several times but we insist we are a friendly safety valve for the area and South Korea says for ourselves mainly.
Now Hillary being part of the team! I just hope she remembers team does not mean me, does not mean Bill and me, it means TEAM, all of us! Maybe it was strategical to keep Hillary on Obama’s side. That concept of keeping friends close and enemies even closer seem to come to mind. But I must say again, the attacks Hillary put on Obama as elbowing and calculating as they were, I believe also shored up the attempts that would have come his way if the opposition had attacked first.
Depending on which media source you listen or read, some of these attacks were not new to those close to Obama. They had been perculated, slapped on and executed during his meteroric rise in Chicago’s politics which I understand are serious “rough and tumble”, with that street-city slickness. OKAY so Obama has risen above this and added his main public adversary to the “big political dream team”. From my vantage point, that dream team seems very bloated with experience, expertise, ego and ambition. Obama I’ll be lighting candles on your behalf. Now where did I put that incense burner?
CNN has reported today that there are as many as 4,000 absentee ballots missing and unaccounted for today in the state of New Mexico. That is just flat out atrocious and it make me wonder how many other absentee ballots are missing in other states.If the Republicans want to provide a good America, then why not win the Election within a good manner of fairness and not just dirty tricks?In the 2000 Presidential Election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, the Republicans stole it for Bush due to the many absentee ballots casted for Gore that mysteriously went missing. That of course was corrupt, and that corruptness continued throughout Bush's entire 8-year term as President. This has to change, and it begins with Barack Obma of the Democrats.Canada wants Obama, and America should want Obama too, if they too want a good America. A good America will result in a revival of that original American Dream, a dream that has been missing since the 90's with President Bill Clinton.Choose “REAL CHANGE” with your "VOTE" and not the same “Empty Republican Promises” and dirty tricks. Please America, do not back down on this Election. Make sure your vote counts, and make sure your vote makes an impact with Barack Obama!Sources:1) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/04/some-absentee-ballots-mia-in-nm-county/#more-283432) http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/261974
http://marcuscyganiak.blogspot.com/2008/11/absentee-ballots-already-reported-today.html
Nevada
2004 Final Results:
Kerry 48%
Bush 51%
2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):
Democrats 35.0 %
Republicans 39.0 %
Independents 36.0 %
2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):
Democrats 51.0 % (gained 16% compared to 2004)
Republicans 31.6 % (lost 7.4%)
Independents 17.4 % (lost 8.6%)
A total of 59% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of October 31).
New Mexico
Kerry 49%
Bush 50%
Democrats 40.0 %
Republicans 33.0 %
Independents 27.0 %
Democrats 52.7 % (gained 12.7% compared to 2004)
Republicans 32.8 % (lost 0.2%)
Independents 14.5 % (lost 12.5%)
A total of 25% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 1).
Iowa
Democrats 34.0 %
Republicans 36.0 %
Independents 30.0 %
Democrats 46.9 % (gained 12.9% compared to 2004)
Republicans 28.9 % (lost 7.1%)
Independents 24.2 % (lost 5.8%)
A total of 32% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 1).
North Carolina
Kerry 44%
Bush 56%
Democrats 39.0 %
Republicans 40.0 %
Independents 21.0 %
Democrats 51.5 % (gained 12.5% compared to 2004)
Republicans 30.1 % (lost 9.9%)
Independents 18.4 % (lost 2.6%)
A total of 74% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 2).
Florida
Kerry 47%
Bush 52%
Democrats 37.0 %
Republicans 41.0 %
Independents 22.0 %
Democrats 45.7 % (gained 8.7% compared to 2004)
Republicans 37.2 % (lost 3.8%)
Independents 17.1 % (lost 4.9%)
A total of 56% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 2).
Colorado
Democrats 29.0 %
Republicans 38.0 %
Independents 33.0 %
Democrats 37.7 % (gained 8.7% compared to 2004)
Republicans 35.9 % (lost 2.1%)
Independents 26.4 % (lost 6.6%)
A total of 61% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of October 31).
_____________________________________________________________
Sources:
CNN (2004 results): http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/president/
CNN (2008 early vote results): http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/early.voting.map/index.html
US Election Project (2008 early vote results): http://elections.gmu.edu/early_vote_2008.html
Bio: I grew up in northern California, the daughter of a logging truck driver and a homemaker. I was able to go to college and earned a BA in Anthropology and a MA in Psychology/Organization Development. I have worked in mental health, as an advocate for battered women, 18 years as an emergency room admissions clerk, directed a homeless count for Sonoma County, was a self-employed consultant, and most recently I’ve worked as a salesperson in the family owned hot tub dealership. Given the state of the economy, I’m now looking at changing careers again, anyone hiring?
Notes From New Mexico: Volunteering as a Deputy Field Organizer in the Obama campaign.
I live in a small town north of San Francisco where almost everyone will vote, the expectation this year is a 90% turnout, and Obama will get the majority of the votes. This election matters more to me that any I can remember in my over 30 years of voting. So when the Obama campaign sent out a recruitment email for Deputy Field Organizers (DFO) to help in swing states, I applied and I was chosen to attend a Camp Obama in San Francisco, CA. Which is why, and how, I’m now volunteering in New Mexico.
I don’t how many there are of us volunteers here from California, but I know about 1 or 2 volunteers form California, or Arizona, volunteering in every Obama office in New Mexico for extended time periods, and more volunteers are coming in for the weekend, every weekend. I hope that after the election someone shares the numbers.
I’ve now been in Jemez Springs, New Mexico for almost a week. I’m helping local Obama supporters canvass and connect with each other. Jemez Springs is a small village northwest of Albuquerque, rural, with houses down dirt roads that locals have a hard time finding.
When I volunteered to be a DFO I thought I’d be working in a busy office, out canvassing, answering phones, recruiting volunteers, organizing…
I am doing some canvassing, some organizing, but I’m not working out of an office. My cell phone doesn’t work out here! However, I’m staying with a wonderful couple, a former army master sergeant and his wife. Michael goes out canvassing every day, happy that he’s retired and has the time to support Barack Obama. I work out of the their basement granny unit, and drive up and down a white-knuckle driveway to meet the other community volunteers who take a few hours out of almost every day to go talk to their neighbors about voting. In 2004 Kerry lost New Mexico by approximately 6000 votes, or 5 voters in each precint. Every vote matters here.
The national campaign, I suspect staffed by mostly urban residents, appears to not quite get what canvassing means in areas like this…and yet it is one of the most remarkable feats of this campaign that there are people out here canvassing! It can take up to 2 hours to find only 24 houses. We drove up and down narrow, rutted dirt roads trying to find driveways, and house numbers. Some of the driveways could only be walked up because there wasn’t room to turn around.
I'm asked to encourage residents up here in the mountain to early vote. The challenge is that most of the voters in the small villages up here in the mountain don’t want to travel 40 minutes to early vote, when they can walk across the street on election day and interact with their community. Some of them are early voting out of loyalty to the campaign. I understand those who want to vote on election day... I live in a small town, there’s almost never a long wait to vote, and I like voting with my neighbors. This year I voted early, so that I could be free to help get out the vote, or be a poll worker, and I feel a little sad to be missing the voting ritual I’ve had for 30 years.
My volunteering work here will end before the election. I've passed my duties on to a local volunteer so I can leave knowing that the work needed to elect Barack Obama President will continue. The grassroots efforts of this campaign are phenomenal
Dear Reader:
The attached Press Release is for a statewide effort by the NAACP and Voter Services Coalition in conjunction with Jeremy Friedman (jfriedman@lawyerscommittee.org) of the "Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law" (http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/2005website/home/home.html) to encourage people to vote early and check the status of their voter registration so no one is 'left out in the cold' on Election Day. Recently MSNBC starting running public service announcements on this topic, because they felt it was timely and needed.
Thanks.
William
PRESS RELEASE - Count My Vote FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Each reader of this Press Release must realize that voting is not done in a vacuum, it is not a one step action and then it is over; you need to be a part of the greater civic community and be proactive and engaged to make sure your vote is counted.
Check with the County Clerk and make sure you are on the Voter Registration rolls today, don’t wait. Vote early and as soon as possible so that if there is a problem with your registration it can be straighten out by the County Clerk. If you are so inclined, work at a polling site. Assuming that you can come out once every four years and vote for President is frankly irresponsible. You have a responsibility to know the issues and participate in all elections.
Your right to vote is given to you by your birthright, but it must be safeguarded by your own proactive action. True, your American Citizenship guarantees your right to vote, but whether that vote is counted is dependent on working with your local election officials to make sure they are ready to have your vote recorded once it is cast.
New Mexico is listed as a battleground state in this Presidential Election and will have the highest number of registered voters ever coming out to the polls. The February 2008 Democratic Party Caucus was our first trial run with these increased numbers and at the Caucus 17,000 or 12% of the vote was done on provisional ballots because of the inadequacy of the voter registration lists certified by the Secretary of State. Provisional ballots were not counted in the 2004 Caucus, and are always subject to challenges by the candidates for the slightest of errors. By Early Voting in person at the County Clerk’s Office you can often avoid voting on a provisional ballot on Election Day.
Unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud are a nationwide problem designed to undermine the average citizen’s confidence in our election system. The goal is often to discourage people from voting ---lower voter turnouts favor candidates who are not populists. The mantra: “the sky is falling” goes far and wide and the Henny-Penny’s of the world feed into the myth of rampant voter fraud. We need to be vigilant but also must not trample on a voter’s right to vote. Election Protection Coalition is a nationwide effort to count every vote. It is being coordinated through the Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights Under Law and includes groups like the: National Bar Association, ACLU Voter Rights Project, NAACP National Voter Fund, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), Asian American LDEF, and over 100 other Partners.
If you experience any voting irregularities or voting mis-information, call the number below:
1-866-0UR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) Election Protection Hotline.
For more information or an interview, please contact: Bob Moses, NAACP Political Action Director at (505) 471-6633 or William H. Mee, N.M. Voters Services Coalition at (505) 473-3160.
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campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com
Latinos For Obama Meetings
Ms. Terry Rivera, a longtime Santa Fe County Democratic Party official, started a local chapter of the Latinos for Obama in June. She invited several people to the first meeting and had Democratic Activist Miguel Lucero talk to us about the political and social history of the Latino movement.
Miguel told us that, New Mexico’s Spanish-speaking population, was intrigued by the concepts of freedom, democracy and the “United States of America.” Under General Galven (namesake of Galveston, Texas) an army was raised to assist in the American Revolution of 1776.
Historically, New Mexico’s Spanish-speaking population, was guaranteed that elections and laws would be printed in BOTH Spanish and English by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 that ended the “War with Mexico.” Spanish-speakers didn’t vote or voted through a ‘Patron system’ whereby a village elder would tell you who to vote for. The voters were mature males who owned land or animals. The Patron would be the largest landowner or a ‘Mayordomo’ who controlled the water rights or church properties.
As a Territory of the United States, New Mexico was desperate to become a state and local legislators knew that having people vote more and be registered in the party in power in Washington, D.C. would give the best possible support for statehood. All the Spanish-speaking voters registered Republican because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and the idea of treating all men equally was an intriguing thought to the natives who had been conquered by the White army of the United States in 1846.
During the Civil War, the Territory (which included Arizona at the time) was divided in half and the southern half was Confederate and the northern half stayed in the Union. Most Spanish speaking people enlisted in the Union Army. The Confederates were mainly from Texas and the cotton field owners near Mesilla joined with them and Lt. Colonel John R. Baylor, CSA, made Mesilla the Capitol of the southern territory of New Mexico. The Confederate plan was to drive the Union Army out of New Mexico and then seize the gold fields near Denver to finance the War Between the States. The Confederates had won three major battles already and were ready to lay seize to Santa Fe. The Union Army withdrew and just outside of Santa Fe at Glorieta Pass they ambushed the Confederates and drove the Texans all the way back to Albuquerque and eventually Mesilla were they stayed the rest of the war. The Battle of Glorieta is dubbed the Gettysburg of the West. New Mexicans remember it as the second time Texas invaded New Mexico.
During this time, all the Spanish-speaking voters registered Republican because it was the party of the martyr Abraham Lincoln. The Republican Party also had a good platform for farmers and large landowners. It was very independent-oriented and the “rugged individualism” of President Teddy Roosevelt was a popular theme. The Spanish-speaking population stayed registered as Republicans until the Republican-caused Great Depression and the 1932 Election of FDR.
New Mexico’s Spanish speaking population is composed of the original descendants of the Spanish Conquistadors, and much later Mexican immigrants. The identity of these peoples is hard to categorize with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ label. Northern New Mexicans have always just said they were Spanish-Americans and have vehemently refused the ‘Mexican-American’ label that the U.S. Census Bureau imposed. The term “Hispanics” fit the older generation while the young activists adopted the term “La Raza” (The Race) in the 1960-70’s; even “Brown Power” and later “Chicano.” The term “Latino” which arose in the political scene in the 1990’s bundled Hispanics from Latin America, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and South America; and could cover the following racial categories: White/Caucasian or Black/African, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander.
But this term “Latino” had its historical roots with Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico 1863-1867. He was placed on his throne by Napoleon III of France, the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Mexican Conservatives. The Mexican Liberals under Benito Juarez opposed him and revolution broke out. In an effort to bring all fractions together, Maximilian brought his allies from Brazil and what Napoleon III called “Latin America” and stated that all were “Latinos” including Mexicans since the Romance languages of Spanish, French and Portuguese linked them. It was a term that didn’t stick well with the locals and eventually the revolution deposed Maximilian and he was executed by President Juarez and the new democracy.
Latinos and Blacks have historically competed for jobs, housing and education; with the majority Whites pitting them against each other in this economic struggle to achieve political success.
Latinos complained about Mayor Tom Bradley’s election bid in Los Angeles in 1973, Mayor David Dinkens election bid in New York in 1989 and Mayor Willie Brown’s election bid in San Francisco in 1996; that for their voting support they were promised more economic support that never materialized.
Historically in New Mexico, we have not had a lot of Black people, but they have had generally good relations with the Latino population. In 1536, Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked on the coast of Texas with three others. One was Esteban (Estevan), a Moorish Servant. The four wandered through the Southwest in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola (the fabled cities of gold).
Esteban, came back with Coronado in 1540 to lead him to New Mexico and stayed in Zuni after Coronado left, welcomed as a Messiah. He eventually wore out his welcome and wreaked havoc amongst the tribal members and was put to death by them. The next Blacks in history were escaped and freed slaves that came in 1850’s out on the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri and through Texas. Then Blacks came as cowboys on the Goodnight-Loving Trail in 1866 and the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Selden from 1866 to the 1880’s. Blacks worked on the railroad in the 1880’s and 1890’s then in the Mesilla Valley cotton fields after the 1900’s. Blacks started working in the oil fields at Hobbs and at the military bases in the 1940’s at Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Clovis.
Hispano New Mexicans are very patriotic and have fought in many wars with distinction including the Indian Wars. This dates back to our quest for statehood. The Civil War required us to defend the Union to preserve our chance for statehood. Many joined the Roughriders and followed Teddy Roosevelt up San Juan Hill in 1898 hoping to win not just a war but also statehood; which was eventually won in 1912.
A few Hispanics went into World War One, but the National Guard had already been called into service to fight Pancho Villa after he attacked on American soil at Columbus, New Mexico in 1916. In World War Two, Latinos had the most casualties per capita. The New Mexico National Guard was rushed into the Philippines in 1942 to fight the Japanese and thousands died during the Bataan Death March. Korea and Vietnam also saw heavy Latino support. So that a John McCain as a war hero plays to the Latino community. It is important to educate people about his anti-veteran voting over the last 26 years.
John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, was immensely popular in New Mexico in 1960. A powerful speaker who came on a train tour---he became the hope for the poverty stricken Hispanics. His assassination devastated both the Hispanic and Blacks communities that were unified behind him. In 1964, LBJ, a Texan, was on the ballot and it didn’t thrill New Mexicans. But in 1968, Bobby Kennedy electrified crowds with his speaking ability and his ties and compassion with Cesar Chaves and farm workers gave hope to New Mexican Hispanics. To some, including myself, Obama, reminds our community organizers of the Kennedy’s message.
In the 1980’s Albuquerque became a relocation center for the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. This included the Mariel Boatlift, the release of Cuban Prisoners by Castro, the relocation of San Salvadorian rebels, Vietnamese refugees (including Black Ameriasians children) and Haitian refugees. These relocations added different types of Spanish speakers and Blacks to the melting pot in New Mexico. Mexican and Guatemalan immigration in the 80’s, 90’s and today continue our diversity expansion.
In concluding, Mr. Lucero stated that although Northern New Mexico votes Democratic at a 60-80% rate it needs to be motivated by the Obama campaign to turn out. Instead of picking a unifying title for the organization that is better than Latinos for Obama, it is more important to be out in the local communities and be visible and use Spanish-language radio to educate people about Obama.
But why is this “unification” for Obama, the candidate, so foreign to us?
Many of the “Latinos for Obama” were in Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition. The symbol for the campaign was a rainbow of green (for environmentalists), red (for Native Americans), yellow (for Asians), white (for Whites), black (for Blacks), and brown for Hispanics. So each Democratic Party constituency had a stripe in the coalition. The fact that Jesse was Black was immaterial to the Coalition members---he was just the leader, a temporary CEO of this cause for the greater good. We had that brown stripe and that was all that mattered. When we called in phone banking and people answered “But he is a Black Man” --- and we said “So?”.
Taking this lesson from the Rainbow Coalition we have our own stripe again: it is in the ‘Hope’ and ‘Change We Can Believe In’ themes of the Obama campaign. These are messages and symbols that resonate in the Latino community that has been bypassed for so long.
William Henry Mee
Santa Fe, N.M.
"I can't tell my husband, but I am 100% behind Obama," a voter from Nevada told me one night while phone banking. Our Ojai volunteer campaign office has placed more than 5,000 calls to Nevada and New Mexico and we are hearing similar stories from men, women, and children from these more conservative battleground states. Quite the opposite of the occasional news-line that "closet racism" may hurt Senator Obama's election bid, we are finding undecided voters to be overwhelming Obama supporters! Our office polls show Senator Obama ahead 3 to 1 amongst undecided voters in Nevada, even higher in New Mexico, and a 6 to 1 margin in our California calling. More and more, people are feeling the power that comes with making up your own mind for yourself and they are asking for yard signs, buttons, and tee shirts more than at any point in this campaign. The people who are not honest about their own beliefs and that harbor such feelings weren't going to vote Democrat anyway: they will not sway this election even a part of one point, so forget about 'em!
Let's stay positive, remain confident that we are on the brink of monumental progress in our great country, and push on through to November 4! Faith in our fellow citizens is a two way street: we get as we give. We know others will do the right thing as we ourselves are sure we will do the same for them! Keep it up and smile, smile, smile.
Thanks for listening.
David
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After a big send-off in Austin by State Director Juan Sepulveda and State Field Director JD Gins, over 90 Texans got on charter buses and spent 14 hours riding to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The New Mexico staff greeted them at 8am on Saturday with handmade nametags and homemade omelets. One of the New Mexico volunteers even burst into tears as the bus pulled in. The Texans canvassed from 10am until 7pm on Saturday in a western neighborhood of Albuquerque, using their Texan charm to persuade potential voters. In combination with New Mexico volunteers, they nearly doubled the usual number of doors knocked on in the area where they worked.
Some of highlights of the trip were:
I looked at the sheet and it said "likely McCain" for this particular house. I thought "this will be quick", so I knocked on the door and waited impatiently. Two kids came to the door, and I asked for their parents. A long while later, a young-ish Hispanic man came to the door. I said my little spiel about early voting and Obama, and he became very excited and wanted to ask a lot of questions. Turns out that he had just registered and this will be his first election as a new citizen. He was very concerned that his voter registration card hadn't come yet - so I told him about early voting, how to do it, etc. The best part was the light in his eyes and huge smile on his face when he looked at me and said, "This is very important, yes? It's my first time and I want to make sure I get to do it. That I get to vote for Obama." I think he may not have voted at all if we hadn't helped him out. What a fantastic feeling.
I will never forget this trip. We travelled long and worked hard for a cause we love and believe in with all of our hearts. The volunteers and staff in NM took great care of us with lots of food and lots of love and appreciation. We'll all be together in spirit on November 4.
While my partner Denise and I were canvassing on the first day, we passed a family having a yard sale. A boy of seven years asked us what we were doing, and we told him we were telling people about Obama. He, his sister, and parents said they were supporters of Obama and would be voting early (despite being surrounded by a few McCain supporters).
I noticed that the boy was making a sign while we were talking to his parents, which I assumed was for the family's yard sale. But, several minutes later Denise and I passed a sign was posted in the neighborhood. It read: KIDS FOR OBAMA!GO-BAMYAY OBAMAno mccain
One highlight was meeting Cheryl. I sat next to her when we gathered prior to boarding the bus. We ended up being seat mates, walking buddies, and hotel roommates. Our personalities were compatible, so that made the experience even better. Cheryl said the last time she boarded a bus for a political cause was a trip to Washington in 1968 to protest the Vietnam War. She signed up for this trip at the last minute after seeing reports on PBS about the importance of New Mexico in the presidential election. And the best part was that Cheryl noticed the little old man selling tamales in the Walgreen’s parking lot – we gave him literature about Obama and had delicious tamales for lunch.
My most memorable experience was a couple who was leaning toward Obama but not quite sure. The lady (the wife of house) noticed my Texas for Obama button and asked was I from Texas. I told her yes and how we came on a 14 hour bus ride to show our support for this ticket of Obama and Biden. I also told her this was me and my husband's first time out of Texas in our 38 years and we picked to come to New Mexico because this election is just that important. She hugged me with tears in her eyes and said, "God bless you, and with people helping him (Obama) like you and your husband he will get to the White House."
Check out the photos from the Texans: That night, everyone wound down with some much needed fuel at a local Mexican restaurant and got some sleep. After another scrumptious breakfast and a morning canvassing shift from 9:30am to 2pm, the New Mexico staff organized a picnic of hot dogs and homemade enchiladas for everyone. The Texas team left New Mexico about 5pm and rode home tired, with blisters on their feet, wearing brand new New Mexico Obama shirts and cheering about Gen. Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Obama. Thanks to New Mexico for welcoming Texas so warmly!
Reposting from Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bart-motes/obamas-smart-targeted-web_b_135249.html
Obama's Smart Targeted Web Campaign
Add another headache to the McCain campaign's faltering efforts. Barack Obama, avid Iphone user (see video) is employing state specific web sites to hammer John McCain. Websites specific to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio point out the disastrous impact of a McCain presidency on the lives of voters in each state. Though the websites employ the same basic format, they include statistics specific to each state.
The websites aren't quite as sexy as the new Obama for Iphone application, which gives you a ready made call list of your friends, uses the Iphone's GPS to tell you where your nearest office is, and provides users with position papers on every imaginable issue. But they may be even more effective.
For instance, the Ohio website notes that "Bankruptcies Rose 19% In Ohio In The 12 Months Leading Up To June 2008; 54,160 Bankruptcies Were Filed During This Time."
Specific data such as this arms local supporters and helps convince undecided voters that John McCain will directly and negatively impact their lives.
The program is another example of the Democratic National Committee's 50 State plan. States like North Carolina and Virginia would have been ignored by a less aggressive (read previous Democratic) campaign. But because the Obama campaign built on Howard Dean's decision to build a presence in every state, not just reliably Democratic states, the McCain campaign is forced to use its limited resources to play defense in North Carolina and Virginia.
Most provocatively, the North Carolina and Virginia sites allow voters to click on their area and see funding for local projects opposed by McCain.
Websites cannot substitute for the hard work of grassroots campaigning: particularly phone banking and canvassing. But they can augment the work of local organizers and volunteers. Since the names of the state specific websites are catchy and memorable "McCain Versus Ohio," it is easy for volunteers and staff to mention them to voters and magnify their impact.
The Obama campaign is pioneering the merger between high technology and grassroots campaigning begun by Howard Dean and Joe Trippi. The results will be felt long after this election.
Note that since this post, several other state sites have been targeted. These include:
www.McCainvsMontana.com
www.McCainvsNM.com
www.McCainvsMichigan.com
