Took a Break

Well I took a week off. Sorry about that folks!!!

Its been a good week, exciting politically, wish I could talk about it a little more. Sometimes the joy of working in politics is the dirty little secrets we get to know about. Yes, they really are secrets, and sometimes really are dirty...

Immigration Reform has been on my mind a lot lately. Living here in the border area, it strikes me as horrifying that we interact with immigrants almost daily and as a population have this animosity towards them that is incredibly inhumane.

I was asked recently by a friend's husband to give him 5 reasons to vote for democrats rather than republicans.
I told him I'd get back to him on that...

But I think the first reason is compassion. But let's nto be confused, don't think I'm proud of all the Democrats on this issue, nor am proud of them all on all the other issues.. But at least my party is more likely to approach things with compassion.

Did you know? California has the 5th largest economy in the world, and over 40% of that economy RELIES on Immigrant, undocumented specifically, in order to function. What would it do to the American Economy if we threw them all back?

I'm not saying, necessarily, open the borders and let anyone pass through that wants to. But Immigration Reform needs to be humanitarian in nature. Al the aruguements for and against have been made on this issue. But the emotional parts are being left out. Lets try to get together as a nation and figure out how to protect our borders without beingso cruel.

And Mr Bush, Slavery is wrong. Yes it is. I thought we decided that years ago, this ridiculous Guest worker program, allowing immigrants to come over, not be a part of the system, but work for three years, and then send them back home, not okay.

These are people
Nadie que es Humano Puede Ser Ilegal

Continued

Continued…

We believe that health care is a right for all New Mexicans through a system of universal health care. Every New Mexican should have ready access to high-quality health care. We support disease prevention and health promotion through public school curriculum including wellness, nutrition, comprehensive sex education, and mental health.  We support programs for early screening…

Okay. This deserves one response, humanitarianism. Either you believe in humanity as being something we ought to look out for, or you don’t.  Republicans have said again and again that the private enterprise system is the solution for so many of these problems. If that is the case, then why, in so many years haven’t the private enterprise doctors, insurance companies, hospitals, and medical community officials solved the healthcare crisis? Hmmmm…. Probably because they can’t be trusted to be humanitarians without some assistance. Of course doctors want to save lives, and make people better, but we need to make it so that they can do that without worrying about the bottom line, and quite frankly I’m loathe to believe that the solution to that is “loosening” bureaucratic  restrictions.  Um, why did John Edwards sue a swimming pool company for millions of dollars? Not because it would bring back the lives of the children the pools were responsible for killing, but because the swimming pool company recognized it was more cost effective for them to keep making the pools and pay settlements, than to change the design to protect the children in them. (It is important to note this case was about a pool company that made pools with large, incredibly powerful drainage holes into the filtering system. Children, even while wearing floatation devices were being sucked into the holes, resulting in over 10 deaths, because the children were actually torn into pieces from the pressure.) Is this the enterprise system we want finding solutions to the healthcare crisis? At least with swimming pools lives aren’t directly in the hands of the system in question.

State and local governments should actively support a sound economy by encouraging good business practices, protecting consumers through clear and effective regulatory practices and by creating an atmosphere that encourages responsible and ethical business.  Labor and management should continue to build innovative partnerships that develop the economy for the benefit of New Mexico.

Who can argue with this? How is this not clear already, as being necessary? Democrats believe in clear, concise, regulations to protect the minority.  The country was founded wit the goal of preserving the majority while protecting the minority, meaning; in this situation, the entity with less power. Businesses have controlled our government for long enough, lets return things to the hands of the people a bit, and let individuals be responsible for their destiny.  Economic development is not all incentives, tax relief, and attracting new, uncompassionate businesses. Economic development occurs when we build community friendly, principled and ethical business-consumer partnerships.  

Protection of our state’s natural beauty and natural resources is essential. Citizens, organizations, government and industry must all work together to conserve clean water, air and land, and the expansive vistas that define the Land of Enchantment.

Enough said? I think so. This is possible to accomplish without throwing us into depression, but Republicans will have you believe this isn’t true.  But the oil-gas base umbilical cord and you’ll find the truth.

All discrimination must be eliminate in housing, employment and public services; including discrimination based on race, religions, mental and physical disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We support every person’s right to make personal decisions and to have access to the full range of reproductive health choices.  We believe that all adults should be trusted to make moral and ethical decisions regarding their own lives.

The only way we can expect people to be actively part of making their society better, is if they are trusted to make their own lives better as well.  

Two Different Ideas

Two Different Ideas…

That’s what America is all about…
They have the best interests of Americans and the world at heart…
The road to hell is paved with good intentions…

I’m more of a subscriber to that last idea, than the other two. Don’t get me wrong, I think that it’s important to have differing views about how to make the world a better place, and I do agree that the USA has been founded on the freedom and ability for Americans to have differing ideas about how to move forward.

I heard the story on KUNM featuring yours truly, and others about the two party conventions… I sat at a table tonight working with friends on a campaign for County Commission Loretta Naranjo-Lopez is running for County Commission in Bernalillo County District 1.  There were a few Republicans in the room, and I think back to the majority of campaigns I’ve worked on, for Democrats, and the few where we had to court support from Republicans.  It’s interesting to me.  So I thought about this, in response to the platform we wrote, (which is likely to be the center of the blog conversations on my end for the rest of the week, oh wait, CRAP, it’s already almost over….)

The Democratic Party Stand For People…
When I was a kid I was taught the Democratic Party stands for the poor while the Republicans stood for the rich… Not necessarily…
I thought the Republicans were for straight people an against Gay people… Nope…
I thought the Democrats were for everybody who wasn’t white, and Republicans were for white people only…  Not that one either…

Democratic Party of New Mexico Platform 2006: Building an Opportunity Society:

Healthy Families can be supported and ailing families can be healed through parenting skills, prenatal care, preventing unwanted pregnancies, access to both quality health care and quality day care. We believe that government should not dictate family values, but rather value all families equally. The Democratic Party believes people who need public assistance should be treated with dignity.

Society can only benefit from this thinking.  Families who are struggling to survive will only become thriving families if we give them assistance with dignity. This counters the Republican idea that people “should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make their own way.” If this was the case, they probably would’ve done that. The idea that people use the system to make their lazy lifestyles comfortable is a ridiculous notion.  Why shouldn’t the government be there to help them with skills building that they are asking for? What pain does it cause to people who have thriving families?
What is the harm to society or “nuclear families” when Same-sex couples, single mothers, grandparents, older siblings are raising healthy children and building strong families?

We recognize the many accomplishments of our school, teachers and students and dedicate ourselves to continued progress. We support higher teacher salaries, small class sizes, high academic performance standards, emphasis on children at risk of failure, life-skills education, special education programs and the expansion of fine arts and athletic programs that inspire and broaden the outlook of students at all levels of education.

Sound like a list of horrible ideas to me.  Republicans want better education but they don’t want to fund it. They want high standards for students, but don’t want to look into the best ways to measure that performance.  Republicans believe we ought to teach kids to become members of the military or enter college. If we keep going down this route, it will be a requirement to get a PhD before a job!! How about we teach kids, in small groups, through the methods they learn best, to become self-sufficient productive members of society.  How does one get good teachers without paying them well?
Tangent: Republicans all come from private sector corporate America outlooks, in the workforce they recognize that good labor and services come with higher prices, (they aren’t willing to pay for it usually, including a living wage) but then they was the best education available without paying for it…Smaller class size make sense but to do that we have to build schools to accommodate.
All people are children first, and when we talk about failures in society, we don’t think about the causes. Maybe if we attack the problems of failure in education first, we won’t have the other failures. When we see a kid who is at risk of failing we say; “How can we help her succeed?” When they see that, they ask; “Why isn’t she passing, lazy stupid girl!”
Republicans don’t want good education, they want to talk about good education, Democrats want to fix education!

The ultimate solution to crime is prevention by fostering the strengthening of families, a quality education and the opportunity for our youth to mature in a healthy way. We recognize that economic dislocation, the breakdown of the family and substance abuse play an enormous role in the crime rate and that strong families, jobs, education and substance abuse treatment will prevent crime.

The notion that crime is because there are bad people in society is bogus to me. People commit crimes, we know, because of poverty, self-esteem issues, and other problems that can be fixed while young.  Why be “tough on crime” why can’t we be smart about it, and prevent it? Treat it? The republicans believe in strongly punishing crime, and I’m not for letting dangerous criminals out onto the streets, but let’s talk about rehabilitation.  Let’s be smart about this, the difference between Democrats and Republicans is night and day. Republicans are interested in the fear and aggression side of crime, while Democrats want to lift everyone in society to a level that crime is minimized, while recognizing that when it happens it can be treated as a problem with a solution not the end of the road resulting in mean spirited responses.

Get to WORK

So here it is folks...
The rubber meets the road....(Did I get that right? maybe not)
The thing is folks, I was attacked for not being Progressive enough, over the weekend with all my little stunts that ended discussion on the platform, and my moves to protect the process we have in place now for the platform to be drafted... And I was told, among other things, that it was all horrible of me and I should be fighting the good fight...I'm not?

Well here is the chance folks!!! Who are you going to work for to elect progressive Democrats?

Yesterday was Filing Day for Candidates who wanted to be on the ballot in the June primary race. (Also, in order to be on the ballot in November you have to have filed before yesterday, even if you don't have a primay opponent...)
So there are a slew of progressive candidates to choose from...

Where are the "Progressive" Democrats going to be working?

I already agreed to have a series of small house parties (at other people's houses for those of you who have seen my place and were wondering) to help out:
Gail Chasey
Jeff Steinborn
Geno Zamora
Patsy Madrid
Shirely Hooper
Moe Maestas
and I'm sure the list will grow...

There are candidates who need people to go door-to-door for them...
There are many ways to help candidates, My friend Michelle used to cut turf for candidates, so that when people came in to walk for them, the stuff was ready...

There are lots of things to do, where will you be when the rubber hits the road?

On another note KUNM has on the upper left side of hte page, a story about the party platofmr, featuring yours truly... (free press is good press)

I told you so... Simply... I told you so...

"You Can't Govern if You Don't Win"

You ever wake up in the morning, look outside an it appears sunny, and its warm in your place, and so you put on a t shirt, jeans, and flip-flops to walk outside, finding immediately it is about 50 degrees and your teeth are chattering before you hit the mailbox?
I think this is what's happening to Democrats lately...

I wrote about the convention yesterday, and promised coverage of the backlash... Here it is folks!!!

After working tirelessly on the party platform of which I'm pretty proud, we sent it to the floor of the convention for a vote. And of course, the process allows for floor amendments to be passed with 2/3 approval by the delegates.
The amendment was offered by a person, who attended the Platform Committee meeting, and heard all the arguments against putting this in the platform.

Among these concerns, the media taking it out of hand. Congressional candidates having to then take a position on record about impeachment. The other issues, would be drowned out by the media attention on impeachment. Oh and did I mention media fall out?

The point of a platform, as was stated yesterday, is to show the party's stance on issues. Declare the changes we want to make for the world, and how we intend to make America and New Mexico a better place. Now I'm not saying that Impeachment won't make the country a better place (though we'd have to impeach a lot of people to get a democrat in charge, and that's TRULY what would make things better...)
But I'm saying now, like I did then that I don't think this is a platform issue. Wire tapping, Choice, environmentalism, these are things you talk about in the platform. Impeachment was a bad idea...

So we had the amendment offered from the floor, and approved by a 2/3 vote of the delegates...

The first thing I hear about today is the news in the ABQ Journal, "NM Democrats call for impeachment in platform."
Following that title is an entire article about the platform, focusing solely on the impeachment article of the platform, and candidates like Patricia Madrid and Jeff Bingaman being put on the spot to take a stand.
So who was right on? Not really just me, I'm not interested in that, but maybe those of us who are paying a little closer attention to the weather outside, rather than running out with a tshirt on into winter weather that's masked with sun!!

So here we go... We had a chance to make it out of the convention with a clear, concise, united front presented on eh issues and how democrats do it better...

Instead we got this, and in all of it, we didn't even treat eachother very nicely...

Platform, Text Messages, and Party!!!!

WOW
what's a weekend I had!!

This weekend was the Democratic Party of NM Pre-Primary Convention.
The deal with this convention is that it has two main purposes, although one extra fringe benefit.
1.) The Party Platform for the next two years is decided at this convention, and that's a fairly big deal.
2.) The candidates who want to run for statewide offices in the primary are voted on for ballot placement.
***3.) The fringe is seeing everyone you love to see from around the state, all your favorite Democrats, and the friends and family who come along to watch the process.

Well The weekend started with a state central committee meeting (the standing body of rule makers and business oversight people in the party) on Friday afternoon. It was tense, intense, and lots of fun to a political a parliamentary procedure nerd like myself.

We started off with many complaints about the way we had written the proposed platform, (as a member of the platform committee I was very happy with that platform) and the processed used to write that proposed platform.
We had complaints about the progressive wing of the party being left out of everything (I consider myself to be a progressive so that's upsetting to me).

But the meeting Friday produced a Native American Caucus, and new rules creating an Affirmative Action Committee to oversee the outreach efforts of the party to include all constituencies in our state.

Friday night was a blur, I did some stupid things, including thinking that if 4 women who are old enough to be grandparents can start drinking tequila at 1 am, then surely a 22 year old college student can do so as well. As a result, I drank probably three times the common sense limit between 5pm Friday afternoon and 4 am Saturday morning.

This led to drunken text messages, for which I'm sorry, and a few political arguments that were like unnecessary, but I was in a bad place emotionally when I started drinking.

Saturday morning came early, and with it lots of work.
Maggie Toulouse has recounted my favorite victory of the day for candidates, Geno Zamora the best man for the job in the Attorney General's primary.

But my biggest victory of the day was our platform. I've always had an interest in the Party's platform, and believe strongly it the way we write it. I believe the platform ought to represent the party's members and activists. But I also think every candidate should run on the party platform, and that means making it appealing to voters in Santa Fe' liberal neighborhoods, while not pushing away the democrats in Southeastern New Mexico.

This platform includes strong statements about families, the war, healthcare, and civil rights, just as the Party position had always done.

The fight began immediately after the platform was put up for discussion. WE amended it, myself included, to reflect positions on impeachment, gays in the military, abortion providers on military bases, and evangelism in the military. We added statements about torture, and military prisoners of war. There were attempts to derail the current platform, and replace it with a ditto copy of the resolutions passed by the party, which would have been disastrous in my opinion.

This is where it got dirty, not wanting to have a ful on floor fight over these resolutions, and the platform, and seeing no end in sight for said debate should it have started at all, I called the question, procedurally blocking more debate and bringing the platform up for a vote.

This was a success in my mind, because we have a great platform, good on the issues, and good for the candidates.

All in all I think the weekend was a success. The backlash has always been equally so, and I don't' doubt it will be this time.

I only feel like I made one mistake all weekend, and it wasn't political. Thank God for that.
Tomorrow, more ont he young democrats unity party... and maybe on my mistake as well...

TIME FOR ACTION

Its time for a Call To ACTION

I'm tired. I'm angry. I'm confused. I'm lost. I'm going to do something about it...
I've been getting lots of feedback on my writing lately, its good it bad its weird it inspiring its stupid. But I've heard overwhelmingly that Its exciting, because people like what I'm doing, and that I'm helping them make it easier to pay attention and know what happening around them.

Well this is to you guys!!!

Las Adelitas Las Adelitas is a political action committee dedicated to the political advancement of Democratic women in the State of New Mexico. Las Adelitas endorses and financially supports pro-choice Democratic women candidates for state-level offices.

Although a majority of New Mexicans consider themselves pro-choice, fewer than 12 percent of our state senators support a woman’s right to choose. Yes, that’s right. Less than 12 percent of our elected senators vote in support of a woman’s constitutional right to make decisions about her own body. Democracy can only work when elected officials represent the will of the people. Clearly, it’s time for a change.
Las Adelitas is a political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of pro-choice Democratic women running for political office in New Mexico. In 2002, 7 out oof9 of our endorsed candidates were elected, including the first female Lieutenant Governor in state history. Las Adelitas also supported the campaigns of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, and we have seen a handful of pro-choice champions get elected to the State Legislature, state Board of Education, and Public Regulation Commission. But a handful is not enough.

Equality New Mexico


Equality New Mexico is a membership organization that uses the political process to guarantee full equality and justice for LGBT and allied communities in NM.
Equality New Mexico Foundation is a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations and individuals that raises money to educate New Mexicans about human rights and works to strengthen community-based organizations and networks.
Equality New Mexico PAC is an unaffiliated political action committee that raises money to support pro-LGBT candidates for state and local offices.


League of Conservation Voters

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental movement and the only organization devoted full-time to shaping a pro-environment Congress and White House.
We run tough and effective campaigns to defeat anti-environment candidates, and support those leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy future for America.
Through our National Environmental Scorecard and Presidential Report Card (pdf) we hold Congress and the Administration accountable for their actions on the environment.
Through regional offices, we build coalitions, promote grassroots power, and train the next generation of environmental leaders.
The LCV Family of Organizations includes LCV, LCV Action Fund, LCV Accountability Project, and LCV Education Fund.


New Mexico Democratic Party


The Democratic Party continues to stand for family values, the rights of the minority, and opportunity for all. In contrast, the current Republican majority supports a mismanaged war, a rising trade deficit, and a failed Social Security privatization proposal. And for each of their failures in leadership -- their inability to respond to the Hurricane Katrina disaster included -- there is a worthwhile progressive policy that sits on a shelf collecting dust.
Access to health care is not being expanded. The need for a meaningful prescription drug benefit is being neglected, and worse, abused for corporate gain, and common sense measures to protect the environments in which we work and live are stalled. The Republican majority simply puts we the people last, whereas the Democratic Party wants to prioritize our needs and concerns.
If you want to take back our country and restore opportunity we need to start by breaking the stranglehold Republicans have on our federal bureaucracy. We can do that by starting now to organize in our communities for victory at the ballot box. It is that simple.



Democratic National Committee

At the start of the 21st Century, the Democratic Party can look back on a proud history — a history not just of a political organization but of a national vision. It is a vision based on the strength and power of millions of economically empowered, socially diverse and politically active Americans. Over two hundred years ago, our Party's founders decided that wealth and social status were not an entitlement to rule. They believed that wisdom and compassion could be found within every individual and a stable government must be built upon a broad popular base.

NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico

Naral Pro-Choice New Mexico, which is the state's largest grassroots pro-choice organization, has been working to protect choice for 33 years. Learn more about the latest challenges to choice and our pro-choice victories. Find out how you can take action and protect choice!

Planned Parenthood of New Mexico

To provide quality reproductive and complementary health care services that are affordable and accessible;
To provide appropriate and reality based sexuality education as it relates to each stage of the life cycle;
To advocate for the fundamental right of each individual to manage his or her own fertility; and
To continuously strive to provide PPNM services to the diverse and underserved communities in New Mexico.
PPNM believes that our mission will contribute to the enhancement of the quality of life for each individual, to strong family relationships, and to fewer unintended pregnancies.

Wallflowers, Beginnings, and Personal/Political connections

Acknowledgements:

Lea Kim (If you are out there, find me!!!)
Stephen Edward Savage Estrada (Look for this name on a movie screen someday)

So, I have to give acknowledgments where they were due. I began to read this book a few days ago, (I'll get to that in a minute...) and these are the two individuals responsible for me embarking on this journey. It really was a journey, into the future, into my life, and especially into my past. I realize at this point that my blog about political issues and identity oriented politics is actually becoming more and more personal. To that I say The personal and the political are inseparable.
It it something I don't think I've mentioned before, and I think now is a good time to bring it up... For those of you who don't know me all that well, I have a history few are familiar with in my current life. I began my life as a political/social activist at age 12. I didn't know it then, but that's what I was doing.
I was walking through the Otero County Fair (I know, this is the redneck in me, and I'm proud of that too) on a random afternoon, in the information booths section chatting it up and getting free stuff. I happened across a booth that said AAAA Alamogordo Area AIDS Awareness. I thought, wow, that's interesting so went to talk to the very nice lady. (Cindy Couch was her name and I would grow to be very fond of her through the years. She asked if I was interested in a training on how to protect myself from HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases, adding that after the training I would be given an opportunity to teach other people about the issue. An Activist is born. Yes, I said, I'm pretty much not doing anything with my free time, why not.

After Attending one training Where Michael Murphy, a man who also became a close personal friend and mentor, taught us all about it, I seemed to be the one who got it. He asked me if I wanted to come back. I soon became the defacto Chair of a loosely organized group of Peer Educators. Our goal was to train as many young people about Sexual Health as possible, and have them telling their friends accurate information to counter the misinformation distributed even then by schools and health officials about Sexuality. (yes this was the mid 90s, and yes Clinton was in office, and Yes I lived in a backwards community in many ways.)
I was there for my 7th, 8th grade years, and the program changed. We started to do more training, and programs. We ventured into Suicide prevention, Sexual assault and abuse counseling or rather "listening," and we did Pregnancy prevention. We later my 9th grade year began to do outreach on Alcohol Abuse and Drug Abuse problems as well.

I had a revelation my sophomore year. People were killing themselves in my High School and our suicide prevention program wasn't working enough. We were letting people slip through the cracks, and we found that we weren't necessarily dealing with typical suicide cases. These were not students who were seriously depressed and suicidal for long periods of time. These kids were killing themselves because of the stress of High School life, and ONE event pushed them over the edge enough to commit or attempt to commit suicide. This wasn't ok and I felt we needed to do something about it.

I helped develop a new program, PEER LISTENERS was revolutionary in its approach to the problem. We didn't have counselors, and often times teenagers don't' want to talk to counselors or therapists. So we trained our listeners in all of the areas we had training for: (Youth Organizing, Active Listening, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Assault/Abuse, Suicide Prevention, Pregnancy Prevention, Healthy Sexual Behavior{I'll say now this was incredibly progressive including safe healthy S&M relationships}, STDs Prevention, and much more.)
Then we said these listeners would be available for anything and anyone who needed them. Just to talk, no counselors, or commitment, just come in and chat. Coffee maker, Sodas, Snacks, Furniture and music. We did it all. It was a fantastic program and we had a successful record. By the time I graduated in 2001 we had a reputation for being a great place for folks to hang out, decompress. Sometimes you need to talk to someone about how you are treated at home because your family knows your gay and won't talk about it. But sometimes you just had a bad day that started with your little sister throwing your favorite sweater in the dryer and it ruined everything from then on. These were not superficial, or shallow problems to deal with, they were real and in the moment.
My mother used to respond to me talking about stress levels by saying "You don't know stress at your age, wait until you have bills, and work, and taxes, and groceries and a family and all of these things. That's stress. " I would respond, "Well, when I'm 40 I'll have those things and they will challenge and stress me out indeed. But right now I'm 15, and at 15 I have major stress over the little things. You outgrew them because you matured an learned how to cope, young people haven't figured that out yet." It was exactly what I see today.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This is the book that inspired this line of thought. I gave acknowledgements at the beginning I'll explain them now.
Lea Kim gave me this book for graduation from High School. She was a friend of mine since 8th grade, someone who always knew what I was going through, and despite my always feeling like she was a little weird, I fell in love with her spirit. We shared many things, and when she gave me the book it was inscribed in the beginning. "To Marshall, With Love, LK."
Well because I had never read it before I never knew there was an inscription in the end of it as well. As if reading the book wasn't enough crying, What Lea wrote brought back the everything's of high school and my young life that I honestly hadn't gotten over, but rather chose to forget.
Stephen ESE AS mentioned above (to give him full credit for his name) Is my most recent ex in case you didn't know. (By the way I'm fully recovered to thinking of him only as a friend, a friend I love dearly, but a friend and nothing more.) Stephen told me a while back, when we were dating that this was his favorite book. And I was reminded that it was on my shelf, and I had never read it. So This week, in an attempt to red and relax and not think about having been broken up with, I picked up the first book I could find on my shelf that I had not read and was not the autobiography of a political player. The Perks of Being A Wallflower was that book.

This connected, among other things, to the original issues that made me an activist. Something that is dear within my heart always. A Woman's Right to Choose is in peril, and I'll work actively to save it. GLBT Americans don't have equal status under the law, and that should change. We are plundering the Environment and we have to stop for our kids' sakes. We ought to be looking for peaceful solutions not screwing up a war overseas for a vendetta and oil. But above and beyond all other things, we need to be taking care of our youth. Give them what they need to survive, and that's not just education, jobs, and healthcare. We need to be working every day to make sure young people have a person to talk to, a person then can trust. Young people need friends and family, to be there for them. WE have to stop the suicide problem among American youth, we have to stop the drug abuse problem among American youth. These problems are not stopped with punishment and stricter laws, they are solved by looking at the reason young people do these things. Coping mechanisms is what they are, and we need to give them better ones.

LOVE

Read this book if you haven't. Read and process, and do something!!!

Thanks Lea and Stephen I love you both!

To Be continued...

Fear NOT!!!

So...
South Dakota, Women of the US. Fear not!!!
You may have been wondering these past few years of your life, what happens if I find myself pregnant unexpectedly? What do I do? How will I make this choice of bearing a child, or terminating the pregnancy? Don't worry, SD has taken that choice out of your hands, and quite frankly its going to be a new trend I'm sure.
I know I know, what a RELIEF!!! Not having to worry about making your own choices regarding your reproductive healthcare. WHEW

But let's go ahead and take this a step further, I mean, I for one think we ought not to have to decide whether or not to take certain medications when we are ill. So just force me to take drugs with horrible side effects to cure or rather mute the symptoms of my HIV. No it's ok, I'll just do what you tell me too. (I should point out that at this very minute I am not a woman, nor do I plan on being during this life cycle. I am not for one second presuming to speak for women, nor am I trying to pretend like I know what it might be like to face these choices.)
I'm simply making the effort to let people really really where this could go and why its bad.
I read a book recently (more than one actually) that was by Gloria Feldt, former president of Planned Parenthood of America. She said and I'll paraphrase:
This is not a war on choice. This is not a war on abortion. This is a war on women. This is a brutal war against women being equal to men in our society. The reality is, these people don't really care about the kids, or the fetuses they are "Saving. They are simply preventing women form controlling their destinies, their abilities to have careers, and be paid equally, to decide when and whom to marry. To decide how to bring a child into the world, on their on terms, and declare motherhood an active decision. These people want that to go away, or better yet, never come to fruition (because women still get paid 70cents to the dollar a man gets, for equal work, and are still consistently denied real decisions and access to these things.)
These men are making these decisions to maintain the power hold in the hands of men, and that's what this is about.

Here is a story about this from the Equality New Mexico Ball April 8th!

I'm excited to have made such an amazing friend in this endeavor. I'm glad that I think I've politicized to a tiny extent a great person. I'm glad I've gotten someone hooked on the West Wing!!

I think Stephen is a great guy, and I will always love him. But It won't take long, because he hurt me so little, and on purpose, so get over the pain. Thanks Stephen for not hurting me as much as you could have.

I think I'm going to start ending every blog with questions, at least until someone answers some of them....

(A) What happens when women really are relegated to back alleys for abortions? I mean what will your reaction be?

(B)What do you do to overcome a hurtful break up, heartbreak, cheating lover, or any of those types of things?

(C) If you are a liberal, and you had to sell off ONE of your liberal causes in order to protect the other things you care about what would you sell out?
(IE give up abortion rights for enviro, gay rights, civil rights, death penalty ending, etc...)

Questioning

So its like rollerblading on a treadmill.
I don't know what that meant.
I'm writing to make myself feel better, maybe thats not a great idea.

I'm a columnist in the NM Voice now. Its a statewide queer newspaper. I'm starting out by comparing candidates in the local and statewide races on queer issues.
What is a queer issue?
I went to a conference in Tucson, last weekend. the Young Womens Collaborative, Leadership Forum. What an intense weekend. I was amazed at how much the Feminist movement hasn't forgotten about political organizing. Of course many of the women there (there were only 3 men in the room that i remember) were radicals claming that political orgnanizing isn't helpful or successful ever. Thats a valid point, I disagree with it but I can see why they feel that way.
The feminists in the room not only forgot the classic organizing principles, but they were less than what i had hoped for in a crowd of new wave feminists.

I am a classic organizer, politico, lobbyist, within the system kind of person. And I wasn't welcomed really by the attendants of this conference. Well some of them loved me for it, but few of them really. Most of them couldn't believe i was there. In fact I was accused of taking avantage of my White-Male privelege (yes i do look white.) to pursue my own political goals, and using the feminist movement as a tool for that. WOW.
That hurt....


Then I came back, had a few days with my boyfriend, which was nice. (we're not together anymore, the previous post get to that)
Then I started working right away again, and now that I'm freshly and involuntarily single, I'm drowning myself in work to make the pain go away. Is that an addiction for coping habbits that activists have?

So I have a few questions....

(A) Is intimidation from a person a sign of weakness?
(B) Can two people who are in difference places in their lives have a successful relationship?
(C) Is it possible to have a good break up?
(D) Do you ever really stay friends?

(E) Is it a crime to work within the system even though I'm aware the system (electoral and legislative politics specifically) has been used to oppress my people for years?
(F) Can anythign really ever be accomplished politically?
(G) Can we be ok with using the White-Male privelege to break into the system and affect change for people of color and and women?
(H)Does the Right ever ask itself these questions?
(I)If not is that a strength or a weakness?
(J)Do you know what happened in South DAkota?
(K) Do you know whats happened recently on the Supreme Court with regard to federal protection of abortion clinics from violence?

Please if you have anwers to these questions email them to me. I want a dialogue...

AzulYMarron@gmail.com

Control

I couldn't imagine, as I picked up the phone what I was doing. "A kid, Marshall, a kid. He's barely old enough to know who he is, why are you even going to get wrapped up in...'Hello, hey got out of the roudhouse late. On my way, pick you up in about, 10 minutes?"

*** *** ***

Damn He's cute. And he seems smart. But he's a kid. There isn't any value is getting mixed up in all that.
"How's your dinner? What do you think?"

*** *** ***
"I like you, you seem great. I can't believe how grown up you are for your age."

*** *** ***
"I can't trust you... I don't know if i should trust you."
*** *** ***
"I'm not lying to you, and I'm not cheating on you. You're the only one that I want right now."
*** *** ***
"I shouldn't say this to you, I shouldn't tell you this because if i say it its real, and I don't want it ot be real."
*** *** ***
"I won't give you up without a fight. This is just a chance to visit."
*** *** ***
"I trust you, and I love you, and I hope you have a good weekend."
*** *** ***
"There are things that I want in life, and I just don't think you can give me those things."
*** *** ***
" FUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"





Someday the one that got away won't matter. Someday there will be someone more perfect, better, less scared, more sure, less intimidating..
Did I say that? Intimidating? What could possibly have intimidated me about a 19 year old kid?
I'm not sure, but no one ever intimated me before. I'm not scared of anything. Fire a little, WAter also, but not people. I've been hit with baseball bats, and cars. I've walked through the halls of a school unable to see a straight line for the possibilities of being beaten up, but those people didn't scare me. They didn't intimidate me. Nope. Not at all.
He did.
He does.
He will.
Wow.
I'll be damned if I let THAT happen again.
Bring it on Bitches, I'm not getting scared again. I'm maintaining control!!