Sunday, August 31, 2008

THIRSTY EAR: SATURDAY

SHEMEKIA COPELAND!

I got back from Denver about 9:45 p.m. Friday and next thing I knew it was time for the Thirsty Ear Music Festival Saturday morning.

My role at the festival this year is different than ever before. In most past years I've worked with Jeff Dowd and others at the KSFR booth at the festival. A couple of the early years of the festival I played with my old band The Charred Remains at one of the second stages. I think the only time I went just to hear the music was the first one, back in 1999.

But this year, I'm involved with the KSFR/ Southwest Stages broadcast of the festival. (Check it out: We're broadcasting live between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight on KSFR -- plus we're streaming on the Web during that time. (On Saturday we were simulcasting with KUNM, but not today.)

So for much of the time, I was back in the mobile Southwest Stages studio providing some yak between the music with Dowd and Laurell Reynolds of KSFR, mostly listening to the acts on stage via the radio.
RICHARD THOMPSON
Some of the time this was disconcerting. There was a 9-second delay, so you could hear the real-time performance outside as the radio blasted what had been played onstage 9 seconds before. Pretty surreal.

There was some great music though.

I got to the Eaves Ranch right at the end of Little Freddie King's set. (He's a New Orleans bluesman who used to play with Freddie "The Texas Cannonball" King.)

Fortunately I got to see most of the set by Hundred Year Flood. This was the first time I'd seen them since the night Kendra's baby was born. I had to miss Frogfest because of the DNC.)
KENDRA of HYF
How is it that this band just seems to be getting better and better. I didn't recognize a couple of the tunes they played early in the set, so I assumed they were from their upcoming album, Poison. But no, Frogville strongman John Treadwell told me that these are songs that have never made it onto an album. I bet they already have enough tunes for another album or two ready to go.

Shemekia Copeland, daughter of Texas blues great Johnny "Clyde" Copeland was up next. (That's her in the photo at the top of this post.) She gave a stomping , funky performance.

And she might have made at least one convert. My son has never been much of a blues freak (even though I have his picture sitting in T-Model Ford's lap at the first Thirsty Ear Festival nine years ago) , but he was enraptured by Shemekia.

There's hope for the youth of America!
T-Model Ford with Anton, Thirsty Ear Festival 1999
Richard Thompson was up next on the main stage, doing a solo acoustic set. I've seen him solo, I've seen him alone with bassist Danny Thompson and once even saw him with a full band (back in 1988 at Club West here in Santa Fe.) He always gives a satisfying show.

I wish I could have been outside in front of the stage more when Thompson performed yesterday. The most memorable tune I was able to catch was his anti-war song "Dad's Gonna Kill Me" and it was powerful.

New Mexico blues guitarist Ryan McGarvey closed the show. He was called in at the last minute to substitute for zydeco princess Rosie Ledet, who couldn't make it reportedly due to illness.

There's a cool line up today, including Junior Brown, Buckwheat Zydeco and Patty Griffin. Maybe see you there.

UPDATE Forgot to put in the link to my Thirsty Ear '08 photos.

Friday, August 29, 2008

HAPPY RETIREMENT, 3D DANNY

I meant to post this earlier this week. My friend Ray in Oklahoma City sent me this link about Danny Williams retiring from KOMA radio at the tender age of 81.

He probably was my first TV hero. In the '50s he hosted a classic kiddie show on WKY-TV that featured the wonderfully low-budget adventures of 3-D Danny -- that's Dan D. Dynamo -- a space traveler.

In the '60s he became Xavier T. Willard on The Foreman Scotty show. Scotty was a cowboy, while "Willie" was his crusty sidekick.

Later in the '60s Danny also had an afternoon talk/variety show on WKY, Danny's Day. Williams boasts that he once interviewed President Lyndon B. Johnson on his show.

But even more impressive was that he had my band, The Ramhorn City Go-Go Squad & Uptight Washtub Band in early 1968.

My first encounter with Williams though was in his role as 3-D Danny. I probably was four years old when Danny did a live shooting of his show at Wedgewood amusement park. The day before he warned his viewers on TV if they saw the evil robot (whose name I forget) sneaking up on 3D Danny and Foreman Scotty, WARN THEM!

That day at Wedgewood, sure enough, the evil robot was about to attack. Scared out of my wits, I ran out on the set screaming and crying, telling my heros to look out. Remember, this was in the days of live TV. I'm sure the crew hated me for screwing up the scene, but Danny and Scotty (Steve Powell) were really cool in comforting me.

One other Danny Williams connection. When you hear me say, "Watch out for flying chairs" at the end of Terrell's Sound World every week, I got that from Danny, who hosted Live Wrestling on Saturday nights on WKY. The phrase became his weekly signoff after getting beaned in a chair-throwing orgy in a match one night.

Enjoy your retirement, Danny. And thanks for taking a hit frm that chair so I wouldn't have to.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: THIS SONG'S FOR THE WORKIN' MAN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 29, 2008


Like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, Labor Day’s meaning has been obscured by time. For most folks, it’s a day off and symbolizes the end of summer — which is kind of dumb, because summer doesn’t actually end until Sept. 20 or so, and the start of school, which is summer’s end for most kids, is in late August in many places.

Labor Day, which became a federal holiday in 1894, was originally meant to honor all working people — not presidents, not any individual. And it wasn’t associated with any religious tradition. But yes, the day off with pay was part of the deal. Why no “Bosses’ Day”? Look at corporate salaries, and you’ll realize that every day is Bosses’ Day.

This country has a proud history of labor songs and songwriters. Joe Hill, leader of the Industrial Workers of the World, whose ghost appeared to Paul Robeson and Joan Baez in dreams, wrote some classics like “There Is Power in a Union,” “Rebel Girl,” and “Casey Jones: Union Scab.” Woody Guthrie wrote (or perhaps co-wrote) “Union Maid” and “Ludlow Massacre.” And we can’t forget Utah Phillips, who died earlier this year. He sang lots of labor songs and, in the 1990s, recorded two albums with Ani DiFranco — Fellow Workers and The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere — filled with original and classic labor tunes.
WACORIFFIC!
Here’s a list of my favorite songs for Labor Day. Most of them you won’t find in union songbooks, which is too bad.

1. “Plenty Tuff, Union Made” by The Waco Brothers. Sung by Jon Langford, this rockabilly rouser is a punchy, high-energy anthem. The song is about hard times, but there’s joy in the struggle, and ultimately it’s an optimistic tune. “I don’t think the king woke up one morning/Said all people should be better paid (no!)/Things were bad but things got changed/Plenty tough, union made.”

2. “Working Man’s Blues” by Merle Haggard. This country classic captures a lot of the conflicted sentiments and impulses of modern American workers. And with the opening line, “It’s a hard job just gettin’ by with nine kids and a wife,” it could serve as propaganda for Planned Parenthood.

3. “Sweetheart on the Barricade” by Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson. This tune, from Richard and Danny’s (no relation to each other, by the way) 1997 album Industry, owes much to Woody Guthrie’s “Union Maid,” with the added element of romance. Richard picked up on the sexual energy of the struggle for decent wages and working conditions: “My heart, it skips a beat/There’ll be fighting in the street/My sweetheart’s on the barricade.”

4. “Union Song” by Carter Falco. It’s not surprising that this Steve Earle-influenced song wasn’t embraced by the Nashville establishment. Lyrics like “I’m headin’ into tear gas, dig in, man, hold your ground” tend to scare corporate bosses in any industry. Falco curses “dirty scabs who cross the line” as well as cops firing rubber bullets at strikers. And he sings praises to César Chávez, Joe Hill, and all “union men and women standin’ up and standin’ strong.”

5. “Red Neck, Blue Collar” by James Luther Dickinson. This song, written by Bob Frank, is the highlight of Memphis veteran Dickinson’s 2006 Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger album. It’s not a glorification of the working class but a frustrated look at how so many working-class folks are systematically fooled into backing politicians and political positions that are contrary to their own economic interests.

6. “Lawrence Jones” by Kathy Mattea. This is the most powerful song from Mattea’s concept album Coal, released early this year. It was written by folk singer/organizer Si Kahn and deals with the bloody 13-month miners’ strike that began in 1973 in Harlan County, Kentucky. As documented in Barbara Kopple’s influential documentary Harlan County U.S.A., Jones was fatally shot.

7. “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?” by The Del-Lords. This tune was written by West Virginia hillbilly bard Blind Alfred Reed at the outset of the Great Depression. It’s a screed against high prices, bad schools, trigger-happy cops, crooked preachers, and doctors who dispense “a dose of dope and a great big bill.” All these things were still around in the 1980s when New York’s Del-Lords ripped into it and made it rock.

8. “Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)” by Randy Newman. This song comes from the album Good Old Boys, which was released in 1974, so I always assumed the lyrics were aimed at Richard Nixon. “We’re not askin’ you to love us/You may put yourself high above us/Mr. President, have pity on the working man.”

9. “Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me)” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. In this rockabilly tune, John Fogerty takes a poke at the elitism found in too many hipster circles in the late ’60s. As Fogerty explained in a Rolling Stone interview: “We’re all so ethnic now, with our long hair and shit. But, when it comes to doing the real crap that civilization needs to keep it going ... who’s going to be the garbage collector? None of us will. Most of us will say, ‘That’s beneath me, I ain’t gonna do that job.’”

10. “Big Boss Man” by Jimmy Reed. “You got me working, boss man, working ’round the clock/I want me a drink of water, but you won’t let Jimmy stop.” The sentiments of this venerated blues song are so universal. I can imagine a movie about the construction of the Pyramids. One of the slaves stops his work, looks up, and begins to sing: “Big boss man, don’t you hear when I call?”

Workin’ man radio: Hear these songs and lots more when Stan Rosen joins me at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, for Terrell’s Sound World’s annual post-Labor Day show (on KSFR-FM 101.1). As always, we’ll focus on songs about workers and the labor movement.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

OBAMA SPEAKS

OBAMA SPEAKS

MADELYN & ME

Look who I ran into shortly before Richardson's speech.

MADELYN & ME

HE'S ON!

I was just about to start calling Pahl Shipley!

UPDATE: And he's giving a different speech.

And he's getting a good response

BILL ON THE SCREEN

HEEEEERE'S BILL!

I'm in Ivesco Field now. More on that later.

They just passed out an "embargoed" copy of Richardson's speech. At first quick glance it looks like the exact same one that slipped by the embargo last night.

It's 5:18 p.m. now. I wonder if this means he's about to go on soon -- maybe after they quit playing U2's "Beautiful Day"?

UPDATE: 5:54 p.m. According to the official podium schedule, Richardson was supposed to have spoken between 5 and 6 p.m. -- right after Martin Luther King III and before the John Legend number.

Sheryl Crow is playing her third song now. Richardson couldn't have been bumped again could he?

UPDATE: 6:04 PM. Sheryl Crow has finished and Mark Udall is talking. Now I'm really wondering about the governor. Here's the rest of the schedule:

The Honorable Mark Udall
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

The Honorable Tim Kaine
Governor of Virginia

Live Performance
Stevie Wonder

Remarks
The Honorable Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (LOCAL)

Remarks
John Kuniholm
Wounded Iraq veteran

Live Performance
Michael McDonald
Singer/songwriter

Remarks
Susan Eisenhower
Granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Retired Generals Tribute
Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (Ret)
Accompanied by additional generals

American Voices Program
Roy Gross
Monica Early
Wes Moore
Janet Lynn Monacco
Nate Flick
Teresa Asenap
Pamela Cash-Roper
Barney Smith

Remarks
The Honorable Dick Durbin
US Senator, Illinois

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM (LOCAL)

Video/Remarks
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

THURSDAY MORNING CONVENTION NOTEBOOK

DENVER — American Indians have among the worst voter turnout rates of all ethic groups in the United States. The Barack Obama campaign is basing much of its hopes around new voters, voters who in the past have tended not to participate in the political system and minority voters.

Thus it’s natural that Obama would be making a serious effort to tap into the vote of Indian Country.

Two New Mexico Indian leaders spoke Thursday morning to the state delegation at their daily breakfast.

Both Joe Garcia, a former governor of Okay Owinge Pueblo and currently president of the president of the National Congress of American Indians and Alvin Warren, secretary of the state Department of Indian Affairs, told delegates the importance of native Americans working with the political process.

Garcia referred to a recent meeting between Obama and New Mexican Indian leaders. This took place last week during Obama’s campaign stop in Albuquerque.

Warren, a former lieutenant governor of Santa Clara Pueblo, is a member of Obama’s First Americans Council. He talked about leading a voter registration drive at Santa Clara in 2006, in which 100 new voters were registered. “A high percentage of which showed up to vote,” Warren said.

Asked after his talk what the Obama campaign would have to do to get new Indian voters on board, he said the campaign “ will have to find people familiar with all 22 tribes, all 52 Navajo Nation chapters.

“They’ll have to find people who can work with the tribes and bring voter registration to them,” he said. “They’ll have to describe the opportunity to participate in the political system, They’ll have to describe how crucial it is to participate and explain the connection between the political process and needed services such as healthcare, education and infrastructure.”

Said Warren, “Native Americans as a demographic provide the best opportunity to grow the voter base.”

A spokesman for the state Obama campaign said in a phone interview Thursday said Indians are an important part of the campaign strategy and has already begun a serious effort to get out the Indian vote. They’ve hired a Native American Vote director, Amber Carillo, and four field organizers for Indian Country in New Mexico. The campaign is planning a “Camp Obama” training session for volunteers at a yet to be determined pueblo in early September.

One of New Mexico’s superdelegates at the convention is Laurie Weahkee, lead organizer of Native American Voters Alliance. Weahkee said Thursday that while she’s a Democrat, her group is non-partisan. The group had a voter education convention in Santa Fe on August 1 and plans a get-out-the-vote effort for the general election.
MAYOR MARTY TALKS AT BREAKFAST
Mayors for Truth: Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, a superdelegate at the convention, told convention-going New Mexicans at breakfast Thursday that he and other Democratic mayors have agreed to serve as a “truth squad” keeping an eye on Republican John McCain and his surrogates.

“My intent is not to be anybody’s attack dog,” Chavez said. “But if John McCain comes to town and makes misstatements about Barack Obama, I’m going to be there to answer it,” Chavez told a reporter after his talk to the state delegation at the Crowne Plaza hotel.

Other Democratic mayors will do the same thing in their respective cities, Chavez said.
The “truth squad” could be put to the test soon. Chavez said both McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — who frequently is mentioned as a possible McCain running mate — are scheduled to speak in Albuquerque early next month,

Previewing Richardson’s speech: The sudden rescheduling of Gov. Bill Richardson’s convention speech Wednesday night took most New Mexico delegates — not to mention reporters — by surprise Wednesday night. Richardson had been scheduled to speak on the night in which many speeches focused on national security and foreign policy. Instead, however, he was asked instead to speak the big night of Obama’s acceptance speech .

As is the custom, advance copies of speeches were available to reporters. This included Richardson’s. At least one Web site, The Politico, published Richardson’s speech, which went out over the Associated Press wire. You can find the transcript HERE

It starts out with some self-effacing humor: “Fellow citizens, I am not known as a quiet man.” But then he turns serious, asking for a moment of silence for the “young men and women are dying for our country overseas.”

Richardson praises Obama for his “prescient and brave” speech in 2002 in which he called the coming invasion of Iraq as "a war based not on reason, but on passion; not on principle, but on politics." Richardson doesn’t mention that he supported the war himself at that time.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

WHERE'S OUR BILL?

P8260033
Gov. Bill Richardson, who was supposed to speak at the convention tonight, apparently got bumped.

There's some talk he'll speak at the Invesco Field event tomorrow night. But I haven't confirmed that.

Watch this space.

UPDATE: 9:01 p.m. State Democratic Party spokeswoman Conchita Cruz just told me that Richardson definitely is on for tomorrow. "Bigger venue, bigger speech," she said. But she had yet to confirm the time. More might follow.

WHO DECIDES THE MUSIC AT THESE THINGS?

Preident Bill Clinton just finished speaking.

Good speech. But whose idea was it to have the band play "Addicted to Love" for Clinton as he left the stage?

STOP GOVERNMENT SPYING

Maureen Warfield and Ben masel

I spotted the sign while I was riding the free 16th Street Mall bus Tuesday morning. A big sign with a simple message: “Stop Government Spying” held by a smiling man with bushy gray sideburns in a “I (heart) Big Brother” T-shirt.

About 11 hours later, while walking down 16th, I spotted the same guy holding the same sign, this time assisted by a younger woman. He had a friendly smile and didn’t look like the kind to yell in my face with a megaphone. So I decided to find out why he was doing this for hours on end on the streets of Denver.

His name is Ben Masel, and he comes from Madison Wisc. He’s a long-time activist and veteran of many protests and various causes. When I told him I was from The New Mexican, he said he was at a drug reform conference in 2001 that then Gov. Gary Johnson attended. I’d covered that same conference.

I later learned that he’s announced his candidacy for the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin on a pro drug-legalization, pro-civil liberties platform.

“I’m doing this partly in the hopes of influencing President Obama,” he said, “But especially to try to influence members of Congress passing through with the sense that we need some legislative fixes for the massive erosions of our privacy. My own representative, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) stopped and posed with us an hour ago.” Masel said Baldwin will sponsor a bill to create “an affirmative privacy right in cell phone location data, which apparently belong to the phone companies to deal with however they like.”

Masel said he’s faced no harassment from police or passersby in Denver. But he’s forced some “free speech issues” with business owners who have tried to remove him from sidewalks. "I've backed each of them down,” he said.

When some security guards tried to have him removed from in front of a downtown hotel, Masel said, the manager came out to discuss the problem and eventually the manager agreed with Masel’s right to protest on a public sidewalk.

Masel also was protesting a party Sunday at the Mile High Station thrown by AT&T for the conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats. Some left-wing blogs have criticized the party noting that most the Blue Dogs voted to immunize telecommunication companies for their participation in the Bush administration's warrantees spying program.

The cops tried to remove him, but Masel said a Denver police lieutenant was “smart enough” to know he had a right to protest on a public sidewalk. Masel said he agreed to stay in one spot and not block passerbys.

Maureen Warfield, who was helping Masel hold the sign said she’d just been there for a short time. “I was just walking up and down and I saw this awesome sign,” she said.

Warfield is from Castlerock, Colo., who said she’s been downtown every day during the convention, sometimes with her children. On Monday, she said, she was in front of a MTV Rock the Vote performance with a sign that said "Screw Iraq, Fight for freedom in America."

“I’ve got four kids, I’m a stay-at-home-mom and I’m sickened by what’s happening today,” she said.

Masel said he’s planning on protesting the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. next week.

GOV. RICHARDSON STORY

Almost forgot to post my link to my story about Gov. Bill Richardson in this morning's paper. It's HERE.

And check out this tidbit from MSNBC about Richardson taking a "shot" at that other Bill.

BILL RICHARDSON

T. BOONE LOVES DEMS

DENVER — U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, speaking to New Mexico delegates to the Democratic National Convention at breakfast Wednesday, said Republicans are starting to use “swift boat” tactics against him in his race for U.S. Senate.

A few moments later Udall introduced the next speaker, a Texas oil man who in 2004 helped financed the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- an organization that infamously attacked presidential candidate John Kerry with some claims that turned out not to be true.
T. BOONE PICKENS CHATS WITH MAYOR MARTY
But T. Boone Pickens, a lifelong Republican, wasn’t there to talk about partisan politics. He was there to speak on The Pickens Plan, his ambitious agenda for alternative energy. He’s been running national television commercials for the plan.

Pickens wants to spend $1 trillion on wind-turbine farms for power generation and use natural gas to fuel automobiles. Pickens claims the proposal would cut the amount the country spends annually on foreign oil from $700 billion to $400 billion.

Pickens told the Democrats that his plan differs with Al Gore’s call to switch to electric automobiles within 10 years. He said it would be more realistic to use natural gas for cars for the next 20-30 years. “Then we’ll get to Al’s plan.”

Those attending the breakfast responded enthusiastically. After the talk many Democrats crowded Pickens to shake his hand and pose with him for photos.

Asked how it felt to be fawned over by all these Democrats, Pickens said, “It’s great. I like people who like me.”

Although Pickens was quoted in April by The Wall Street Journal Online that he was supporting Republican presidential candidate John McCain, PIckens said Wednesday after his talk that he’s staying out of the presidential race to concentrate on his energy plan.

Speaking of bipartisan, in New Mexico Pickens has hired a couple of top Democratic strategists — former Bill Richardson campaign manager Dave Contarino and former Patricia Madrid campaign manager Caroline Buerkle — to promote The Pickens Plan. Pickens plans to speak at a town hall forum in Albuquerque on Sept. 10.

So did Udall, who is running against Republican Steve Pearce for Senate, commit a faux pas by mentioning swift boats? No, said his campaign manager Amanda Cooper. “T. Boone’s cool with it.”

WALKING BACK

"You guys are goin' to HELL!"
People walking out of the Pepsi center headed for downtown were treated to a weird cacophony of anti-abortion zealots, t-shirt hawkers and one guy sellin bottles of water for just a buck.

I couldn't resist recording it. Click the icon and bring the noise:

CONVENTION CACOPHO...

But these guys were a lot more fun.

GETTING FUNKY FOR BARACK

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

JIMINY CARTER!

JIMMY CARTER

I just shook hands with President Jimmy Carter who was walking through the Pepsi Center Hall.

After I shook his hand I decided to try to get his picture, but he was moving prety fast for a guy in his 80s. But then he saw Sen. Pat Leahey, D-Vermont and stopped to chat. By this time, a small army of people with cameras had popped up from nowhere. Pretty good crowd, but not as big as the one in Boston in 2004 when Dre 3000 of Outkast dropped by the convention.

SOME DNC TIDBITS

DENVER — There probably were over 100 people who showed up at Gov. Bill Richardson’s swimming pool party at the Crowne Plaza hotel Tuesday night. However nobody went swimming at the party, which was sponsored by the International Association for Firefighters and American Benefits Consulting. And nobody got thrown into the pool, despite lots of jokes floating around about throwing various people in.

One surprise guest who hasn’t been seen around political functions lately — former state Insurance Commissioner Eric Serna.
I didn't get a good one with Eric Serna in it.
Serna retired in 2006 as part of an agreement approved Thursday by the state Public Regulation Commission. As part of the settlement, the PRC dropped its investigation of a controversial contract that Serna signed with Santa Fe-based Century Bank.

Serna spoke briefly with Richardson by the pool. But he was gone before I could speak to him. He didn’t return a phone call Tuesday.

Dave Contarino, Richardson’s former chief of staff who also was at the party, said Tuesday he didn’t know what Serna was talking to Richardson about. “Eric Serna was there?” he asked.

Attorney General Gary King, who was in Denver Tuesday to meet with other Democratic attorneys general, said his office is still investigating Serna.

Serna’s assistant in the Insurance, Joe Ruiz, was convicted this year on 30 felony counts for soliciting bribes in the form of charity donations. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Clinton supports unite behind Obama: Despite nationwide rumblings of Hillary Clinton supporters who say they aren’t yet ready to get behind Barack Obama, three prominent Clinton supporters in the New Mexico delegation said Tuesday they will work hard for the Democratic ticket in spite of the tremendous disappointment they felt when Clinton got out of the race.

But state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D- Dona Ana, labor leader Christine Trujillo and Democratic National Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney agreed that Obama has much work to do if he wants to win the votes of Clinton supporters and Hispanic voters in New Mexico.
Hillary in Espanola last week
The three are in line with Clinton’s major New Mexico supporter Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who has campaigned for Obama since Clinton dropped out.

Garcia said she still intended to vote for Clinton when her name is put into nomination at the convention because she was elected by the party as a Clinton delegate. But she said, “I’ll be going door-to-door asking people to vote for Barack Obama.” But Trujillo and Gwaltney, who both are superdelegates, signed a nominating petition for Obama this week.

Garcia said she first met Clinton during the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign and has been a fan ever since. She also likes Obama, though she said, “He really needs to reach out to the Hispanic voter.”

Trujillo, who is president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor and state president of the American Federation of Teachers, agreed. She said while younger members of her family enthusiastically favor Obama, older family members are having a difficult time accepting Obama.

Like the others, Gwaltney, a Las Cruces resident, said she only began supporting Clinton after Gov. Bill Richardson got out of the presidential race. In the weeks before the February Democratic Caucus she let two Clinton organizers stay in her home.

“I don’t think the press treated her right,” Gwaltney said of Clinton. “Men didn’t treat her right. She was clearly the brightest person to tun besides Gov. Richardson.”

CORRECTION NOTICE:
The original version of this identifed Mary Jane Garcia as president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor and state president of the American Federation of Teachers. Those positions actually are held by Christine Tujillo. The text has been corrected.

MY DNC GOODIE BAG

MY SWAG BAG

Convention delegates aren’t the only ones who get gifts and goodies in Denver. Reporters when picking up their credentials, received a tote bag full of swag and promotional materials.

When I registered at the Sheraton Sunday I noticed as I was walking toward the escalator that I’d accidentally picked up two bags. When I went back to return it, the guy who took it back thanked me, then said, “I’ll give you a nickel to keep the extra bag.” I declined.

Here’s what was inside mine:

A ballpoint pen from Laborers International Union of North America; A Denver 2008 plastic water bottle with the logos of VISA ad U.S. Bank; a glossy official Denver Visitors Guide; a 19.9 fluid oz. bottle of a kiwi-strawberry flavored drink called Joint Juice. (No, it’s not bong water.); a wind turbine lapel pin from the American Wind Energy Association; a Denver gallery guide pamphlet; a ballpoint pen from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; a Denver delegate and media guide; a walking and biking tours pamphlet; a half-ounce antibacterial hand-sanitizing gel; a bicycle lapel team from AT&T; a “Plant This Card” packet of wildflower seeds from Ecodriving USA; breath mints from Cattellus; breath mints from UPS; a ballpoint pen from Move-a-Roo; an 8 fluid oz. can of tropical fruit flavored Joint Juice; a bunch of tiny refrigerator magnets consisting of single words (”children,” “workers,” “power,” “community,” “healthcare,” etc.) from the Service Employees Industry Union; a DNC post-it note with the John F. Kennedy quote, “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.”; a small Dale Carnegie’s Golden Book pamphlet.

One of the strangest items in the bag was something I initially thought was a pair of cheap earbuds attached to a card with “preparedness tips” from a group called Protecting America. But on closer inspection, it’s actually a working radio. I’m listening to NPR’s All Things Considered as I typed this up.

Then there’s all sorts of advertising flyers and pamphlets. I read each one carefully and contemplate whether I want to purchase the product, use the service or agree with the political position touted. (Yeah, right.)

I don’t know. I might try the small can of Joint Juice. I’ve already used one of the pens, and maybe I’ll keep the radio. Maybe the motel maids will enjoy some of this other stuff.

BEDTIME FOR BLOGGERS

THE CORNCOB THAT ATE DENVER

Why am I still up?hat compells me to do this. Not much coherant is going to come out of this. I've been up since 5:30 a.m. so I could make the NM delegation breakfast. And that was after staying up late smoking cigars with the Dems. (Check out my story in today's New Mexican. ) Don't be shocked if I miss breakfast this morning. It's Tuesday, right.

A few observations:
SURF'S UP!
* Nobody went swimming at Bill Richardson's pool party. Even worse, nobody got tossed in. Not even me. (Check this snapshot by guest photographer Amanda Cooper.)

* The shuttle bus took forever to get to the Pepsi Center. While going in, I stumbled across the crew from The Daily Show -- Rob Riggle, Aasif Mandvi , Larry Wilmore and John Oliver (who wasn't in the photo posted below.) They didn't seem to be doing any routine. Just exchanging greetings with delegates.
P8260045
* Once I got inside, I was going down the hall looking for my workspace, a familiar face came on a TV monitor. It was none other than New Mexico's Patsy Madrid, who was talking to the delegates about the platform

* It seemed to me that on Monday the anti-abortion forces were more visible than the peace demonstrators. As I was looking for a place for a late lunch I cam across a bunch of guys on te 16th Street Mall with huge signs raging against gays, "baby killers," Muslims, liberals, drunks, Mormons, rebellious women, sex addicts and basically all my rowdy friends.
RELIGIOUS RIOT THWARTED
When I got out of lunch, the cops had arrived. There was a bunch on horseback as well as those in riot gear blocking the road. And on the other side of the street, there was THE DEVIL. (Again see the photos in previous post.) It doesn't get much weirder than this.
"
* Gee, Joe, I didn't feel that lonely at the railroad party Sunday. Even funnier than Monahan's orignal post were the responses of my fellow Lonely Boys. Click >HERE and >HERE.

Monday, August 25, 2008

SOME SIGHTS OF THE DNC

ASK ME WHY YOU DESERVE HELL

SATAN DROPS BY DENVER

THE DAILY SHOW TEAM

I THOUGHT LINCOLN WAS A REPUBLICAN

Lots more HERE

THE PLOUFFE IS IN THE PUDDING

DENVER — Among the western states that voted for George W. Bush in 2004, New Mexico is the most likely to go for Barack Obama this year, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Monday.
DAVID PLOUFE
Plouffe, answering questions from a group of reporters from battleground states, claimed the recent Denver Post poll showing Obama trailing Republican John McCain in New Mexico and other Western states doesn’t concern him.

If the Democrats can register just a small fraction of the 200,000 unregistered Hispanics in New Mexico, he said, that in itself would offset the tiny margin by which Bush won the state in the last presidential election.

Voter turnout, including new and young voters also is key, Plouffe said. He said he believes Obama’s organization is superior to McCain’s in New Mexico and in other battleground states.

But Gov. Bill Richardson said the Obama campaign is going to have to work harder to win the West — especially because there’s no Westerner on the ticket.Obama and vice presidential nominee Joe Biden will have to make several visits to the state, Richardson said in an interview Monday.

BREAKFAST WITH THE DEMS

Diane & Donna

DENVER _ Monday’s breakfast for the New Mexico delegation to the 2008 Democratic National Convention was packed with speakers.

Former Denver Mayor and former Bill Clinton cabinet member Federico Pena was there to welcome the delegates and plea with Hillary Clinton supporters to get behind the Barack Obama/Joe Biden ticket.

Former Al Gore campaign manager and current CNN pundit Donna Brazile gave a short but enthusiastic pep talk to state Democrats. She praised Gov. Bill Richardson, who hadn’t yet arrived in Denver. “I feel like I’ve known Gov. Richardson all my life,” she said. “Sometimes I think he’s the original soul man. No offense, James Brown.”
P8260019
Brazile hadn’t been scheduled to speak at the breakfast. However, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish saw her talking to the Washington D.C. delegation which was having breakfast across the hall at the Crowne Plaza hotel and decided to ask to speak to the New Mexico group. “Sometimes the best thing here happen by chance,” Denish said. She said she’d first met Brazile in 2000 when Denish was state party chairman and Brazile was campaigning for Gore.

One of the more unusual appeals heard at the morning meal was by Tod Sedgwick, a bird hunter who lives in Washington D.C. and a volunteer with the Obama campaign. He’s trying to organize Sportsmen for Obama groups in all 50 states.
The effort is a part of the Obama campaign’s rural outreach program, Sedgwick said. Last week in Santa Fe Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean stressed the importance of Democrats trying to peel off Republican support in rural areas.

“On the surface you wouldn’t think a guy from Chicago would be a natural advocate for sportsmen,” Sedgwick said of Obama. “He’s not pretending to be a sportsman or fisherman.”
But, Sedgwick said, sportsmen around the country are becoming increasingly concerned about deteriorating natural habitats for the fish, fowl and beast they love to pursue.

Obama, he said has a far superior record compared with Republican John McCain in preserving habitat for animals.

“He wants to open up access on public lands to hunting and fishing,” Sedgwick said.
Sedgwick said he has no illusions that Obama will win a majority of sportsman votes. For one thing many hunters are members of the National Rifle Association, which traditionally supports Republicans because of the gun control issue.

“But when you look at their voting records on gun issues, Obama’s record is virtually identical to McCain’s.

The NRA in 2004 gave McCain a lifetime grade of C-plus. That same year, based on his record in the Illinois Legislature the RNA gave Obama a lifetime grade of F. In 2007, Gun Owners of America graded Obama with an F, but gave McCain an F-minus.

Sedgwick said that despite the claims of some gun rights activists, Obama isn’t out to confiscate guns. Obama has pointed out that many of his constituents in southern Illinois have a long tradition of hunting and fishing.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

CONVENTION NOTEBOOK SUNDAY

OBAMABOBBLES

DENVER — The Crowne Plaza hotel was a hotbed of New Mexico Democrat activity Sunday afternoon. Downstairs state Rep. Ernest Chavez, D-Albuquerque, a delegate was checking in. In the lobby bar you could spot Tom Udall’s campaign manager Amanda Cooper and political strategist Caroline Buerkle. Getting off the elevator were several members of Gov. Bill Richardson’s state police security detail, in plain clothes looking as if they were about to enjoy some time off. Party activist Bryon Paez was running around in a USMC T-shirt.
REP. ERNEST CHAVEZ
The Crowne Plaza is the official headquarters of the New Mexico delegation. The state party has an office up on the Sixth Floor. State Auditor Hector Balderas was there munching on grapes and pistachio nuts. Former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and her husband Mike Messina was checking in. Madrid, who was a member of the DNC’s Platform Committee, showed a reporter a copy of Sunday’s Denver Post, which ran a photo of her and a short blurb highlighting her role as a “Behind the scenes” Democrat. Madrid is scheduled to speak at the convention when the platform is introduced 5 p.m. Monday.

Get your souvenirs: The Crowne Plaza is just a couple of blocks from Denver’s 16th Street Mall, which was crammed with convention goers, a few stray war protesters and an occasional street musician playing for the crowd.

And the place is crawling with reporters too. While doing some writing in the lobby of the Sheraton, I ran into Nathan Dinsdale, who used to work at The Santa Fe Reporter. On 16th Street I bumped into a former New Mexican colleague, Daniel Chacon, who now covers city hall for the Rocky Mountain News.

People filled sidewalk cafes and checked out the innumerable tables selling Obama buttons, T-shirt, bumper stickers and bobbleheads. Several storefront souvenir shops had large window displays of these items as well.
Josh Richmond
The Obama souvenir business stretched beyond the downtown area. At a convenience store parking lot on Speer Street west of I-25, a young man from Arizona named Josh Richmond was operating an Obama T-shirt stand under a tarp. He said he’d been working there since last Monday and business was good.

In addition to all the Obama items there were a few Hillary Clinton buttons. But Richmond, an Obama supporter, said he had sold very many of those.

There was some color sites in downtown Denver not as festive or pleasant as the T-shirt stands. Three large trucks could be seen in the area with huge photos of bloody fetuses. One had the printed message, “Abortion is Obama Nation.” Conventions bring out everyone.

Straight out of American Samoa: While writing this piece in a 16th Street Starbucks, I met a real live superdelegate. She was looking for directions to the Denver Convention Center.
Teri Hunkin is vice chair of the Democratic Party in American Samoa. Her brother-in-law is Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, American Samoa’s longtime representative in Congress. As a territory, American Samoa has a non-voting representative in the House. Citizens there can’t vote in the presidential election either. Both Teri Hunkin and her brother-in-law are “huge Obama supporters.”

American Samoa has 13 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, though only four showed up, Teri Hunkin said. She said most were not able to attend because of the expense of travel. But some delegates pledged to Hillary Clinton chose not to go. Clinton won the American Samoan caucus by about a 60-40 margin.

The previous version had no photos.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

DEMS DO DENVER

I FOUND WHERE THE SEXIEST DEMOCRATS ARE

I found this place just a couple of blocks from the Crowne Plaza, where the New Mexico delegates are staying. No, I didn't see any of our delegates going in (and, no, I didn't go in either.)

Downtown Denver seemed bustling in anticipation of the convention. Lots of crammed sidewalk cafes, lots of folks with Dem credentials hanging from their necks wandering the streets looking like tourists. And hey, I caught a glimse of Wolf Blitzer crossing the street near CNN HQs.
MY COMPANY CAR, MY FAVORITE DENVER HOTDOG STAND
I was going to park and look around for early bird New Mexicans. But instead, I decided to drive up Colfax to joint I discovered a couple of years ago -- Steve's Snappin' Dogs. I took a picture of the sign when I was here before (and it's the desktop photo of my work computer.) But it was closed when my son and I stopped in a couple of years ago, so tonight was the first time I actually ate there. Fine hotdog (I opted for the Rippin' Rockies Dog, which has green chile) but the best part was the fried green beans. What a treat!

And yes, that's the car I'm driving -- it's a New Mexican Circulation Dept. vehicle the company was nice enough to let me use. I'm so used to driving generic looking cars, it's a shock every time I see it. But at least there's no danger of me losing it.

Check back later and I'll post links to my convention preview stories in Sunday's New Mexican.

UPDATE: Here ya go ...
* Main story (What purpose do conventions serve and who pays for this party?) CLICK HERE
* A list of meals, receptions and parties for the New Mexico delegation CLICK HERE.
* The list of N.M. delegates. CLICK HERE.

IT'S BIDEN

JOE BIDEN in Manchester, New Hampshire, June 2007 Sometime during the last hour of The Santa Fe Opry, both The New York Times and The Washington Post -- and probably a lot of other media outlets -- reported that Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

I'm kind of disappointed that the secret didn't hold until the text message went out. Damned reporters!

Speaking of which, I'm driving up to Denver today (Saturday) to cover the convention for The New Mexican. Watch the paper as well as this blog for news from the DNC.

Friday, August 22, 2008

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, August 22, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Rubboard Playing Man by Cornell Hurd
Cold Shoulder by Ralph Stanley II
She's My Neighbor by Zeno Tornado & The Boney Google Brothers
Lonesome, On'ry & Mean by Waylon Jennings
Beer Scum by Mike Neal
Cluck Old Hen by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Kelly Hogan
LSD Made a Wreck Outta Me by T. Tex Edwards & Out on Parole

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead by Warren Zevon
Denver/O'er the Waves by Carla Bozulich
Colorado by Chevy Chase
I'll Walk Out by Miss Leslie
Is Anybody Going to San Antone by The Sir Douglas Quintet
Show Me Something by Rosie Ledet
My Toot Toot by Fats Domino & Doug Kershaw

FROGVILLE SET
Hell or High Water by Hundred Year Flood
The Wicked Things by Boris McCutcheon & The Saltlicks
Radio the Station by Goshen
Wishful Thinking by Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue
Help Wanted by Nathan Moore
Wish You Were Beer by ThaMuseMeant
Trotsky's Blues by Joe West

Good Ship Venus by Loudon Wainwright III
Tinderbox by Fred Eaglesmith
Howard Hughes' Blues by Laura Cantrell
Do You Call That a Buddy by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong
Don't Tell My Wife by Johnny Paycheck
Down in Mississippi by Mavis Staples
It'll Be Me by Richard & Linda Thompson
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

RICHARDSON FOR VEEP?

Kate has the latest. (CLICK HERE and HERE)

Basically, Candy Crowley said on CNN that the gov was told in the past 48 hours that he hasn't been selected for Obama's running mate. Richardson's political spokesman won't comment.

Earlier in the day at a press conference in Albuquerque Kate attended, Richardson said, "I'm ready to shave and get on a plane to Springfield, but I haven't heard anything,"

I asked him last night if he had any plans for a trip to Springfield this weekend. He said, "No. No plans." (I also asked him how many houses he owns. He responded quickly. "Two. Both in Santa Fe.")

Meanwhile, the governor's office announced Richardson will sign a couple of bills at a news conference Monday, Aug. 25, at 10:30 a.m. in the Governor’s Cabinet Room. Guess he's not going to Denver until after that.

UPDATE:

Looks like the governor has other plans for Saturday morning. This just in from the Obama campaign:

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Tomorrow morning New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will open the second day of Hispanic Camp Obama. He will speak to Hispanic community leaders, activist and volunteers from across New Mexico

Richardson is supposed to speak at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time. That's in Albuquerque, not Springfield.

R.I.P. DANNY ROY YOUNG

He was known as "The Mayour of South Austin." He owned the Texicalli Grille. But I knew him as Cornell Hurd's rubboard player.

Danny died on Wednesday. Below is a photo I took of him playing with Cornell last year. HERE is his obit.

DANNY ROY YOUNG

Thursday, August 21, 2008

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: FROGFEST IS COMING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 22, 2008



BIG JOHN INTRODUCING GOSHEN Frogfest 2006

Frogfest didn't croak

After taking a year off, Frogfest, the local music festival that showcases acts signed by Santa Fe's Frogville label, returns to the Santa Fe Brewing Company on Saturday, Aug. 23, with a packed schedule.

Most of the Frogville musical family are slated to play the festival: Nathan Moore (you know him from ThaMuseMeant); Taarka (another ThaMuseMeant offshoot, featuring Dave Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller); Boris McCutcheon and the Saltlicks; Bill Hearne; Xoe Fitzgerald, the Time Traveling Transvestite (he and Joe West have never been seen together); Goshen; and, of course, Hundred Year Flood.

Frogville Records, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, has been responsible for some of the finest locally produced albums this century. The company is the baby of co-founder, CEO, and president-for-life John Treadwell, affectionately known as "Big Frog" by the musicians in his stable.
JOE WEST VS. NATHAN MOORE Frogfest 2006
The first Frogfest took place in 2005 at the Santa Fe Brewing Company. This was followed the next year by a more ambitious festival, a two-day event at the Brewing Company that featured national headliner James McMurtry in addition to all the Frogville acts and other local bands.

It was a great time for those who attended. The only trouble was that, thanks to several factors, including rain, the crowd wasn't as big as expected. Sometimes it seemed as if the camera crews nearly outnumbered the audience. The Los Angeles Filmmakers' Cooperative was there, as was Santa Fe filmmaker Lexie Shabel, who shot the whole festival.

So Treadwell took a bath and Frogfest took a break for a year. This year the festival is scaled back to one day ("eight hours of love and music," the press release says) and no national acts.

A tale of the Flood: Frogfest 3 will be the first Hundred Year Flood performance since a very special concert on the Plaza last month — the group's Santa Fe Bandstand gig. While the opening band, Bone Orchard, was playing, HYF singer/guitarist Bill Palmer got a call informing him
that bass player Kendra Lauman had just given birth to a baby boy — Oak Lauman Palmer.
HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD July 24, 2008
Kendra had gone into labor that morning, Bill said. Her husband, Jim Palmer, HYF's drummer (and Bill's brother), had warned the band that it had better find a substitute rhythm section for that night.

Bassist Susan Hyde Holmes (of the Santa Fe All-Stars; and the Saltlicks ) and drummer David Waldrop stepped up like pros. Neither had ever done a Flood gig before, but both play with Bill Palmer and Felecia Ford's country-western side project, The Cherry Pickers, so there was musical compatibility.

And as corny as it sounds, it was nothing short of a magical show. To get even cornier, Kendra and Jim definitely were there in spirit.

Kendra had long known that her due date was dangerously close to the Plaza show date, but she thought it would be cool to play when she was extremely pregnant. Well, she got close. She's expected to rejoin Flood at Frogfest 3.

Frogville never sleeps: The company plans to release three new albums — by Hundred Year Flood, Nathan Moore, and Boris McCutcheon — in the near future. I got my hands on an advance copy of one of them. Here's what I think:

* Bad Road, Good People by Boris McCutcheon and the Saltlicks. This is a worthy follow-up to Boris' last album, Cactusman vs the Blue Demon. Listeners know they're in for a treat from the opening notes on the first song, "The Ballad of Rusty Strange" — a little musical conversation between Brett Davis' tenor banjo and Kevin Zoernig's harmonium.
BORIS & THE SALTLICKS Frogfest 2006
Although Boris and band make some sweet sounds, I usually prefer McCutcheon's darker songs. My favorite one here is "Waiting for the Demons to Die." It's a lilting, pretty song with some irresistible steel guitar by Davis, but the lyrics are delightfully twisted: "Frost on the window, blood on her cheeks/The days blur into weeks/I'm coughing up hair on the sunny stairs/Waiting for the demons to die."

Then there's "The Wicked Things," a minor-key waltz with a sinister accordion by Zoernig. The The song sounds as if it’s from some weird arthouse movie, perhaps a scene in a European back alley where someone's about to be murdered. "I sharpen my spade on a child's grave," Boris sings.

"I severed her head with one blow."

Gotta love those silly love songs.

The album ends with "I Long (Then I'm Gone)," which features a guest appearance by Taj Mahal on harmonica. It's a nice simple blues. And nobody loses his head.

Last year, when Taj Mahal was in town for a show, he was reportedly hijacked by Frogville henchmen (though no police report was filed) and taken to Treadwell's home studio, where he laid down some tracks for Boris and a new Hundred Year Flood song. He sounds great.

Frogfest 3 takes place from 4 p.m. to midnight at Santa Fe Brewing Company, 27 Fire Place. It'll cost you $10; humans 12 and under get in for free. Call 424-3333 or visit santafebrewing.com.

Frogville Radio: John Treadwell hosts this weekly radio show on KBAC-FM 98.1, starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. I'll do an unauthorized Frogville Radio half hour on Friday night on The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR-FM 101.1 in honor of Frogfest. My show starts at 10 p.m. and the Frogfest segment will start at 11 p.m.

RASMUSSEN SHOWS NM SENATE RACE TIGHTENING

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Democrat Tom Udall still 10 points ahead of Republican Steve Pearce in the race for U.S. Senate in New Mexico.

But the numbers show an improvement for Pearce, who last month was 25 points behind, according to the same polling organization.

When "leaners" are including, there is only 8 points separating Udall and Pearce.

Meanwhile Democrat Barack Obama is still leading the GOP's John McCain in this state 47 percent to 41 percent, according to Rasmussen. This shows little change since last month.

One difference in the Senate race is that since the last poll is that Pearce began advertising on TV.

Udall, who has been running TV ads since June until recently had only "positive" commercials. Only recently has he begun hitting back.

In general, Pearce's ads depict Udall as a tool of "environmental extremists."

Udall portrays Pearce as being a puppet of "Big Oil."

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: MODESTLY SPEAKING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 21, 2008


Is it just me, or did Gov. Bill Richardson seem rather detached from the special session that was so important for him to call?

He did have a party for legislators at the governor’s mansion Friday night, and he reportedly met with some lawmakers during the session.

But there was barely a peep from the Governor’s Office during the five-day session, at least not public peeps. Unlike past special sessions, there was no cajoling lawmakers, no threats to extend the session, no denouncing any special interests standing in the way of the legislation he wanted.

And there was no news conference at the end of the session, just a rather ho-hum e-mail statement in which the governor, apparently undaunted by the fact that the Legislature basically cut his proposals in half, said: “While the Legislature did not go as far as I would have liked to cover all children with health insurance, I believe modest, but solid gains were made toward that goal.”

He used the word modest three times in the statement. Has the roaring lion suddenly become modest mouse?

The question of why there was this huge need for a special session in August — a question frequently articulated by several legislators from both parties during the session — has never been answered.

Some lawmakers said the timing was somehow connected with the speech Richardson is scheduled to give next week in Denver at the Democratic National Convention.

On the first day of the session, Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, a frequent Richardson critic, said the governor called the session so he would have “a couple of lines for a speech at the Democratic National Convention.” Others took up similar lines of attack, prompting a Richardson spokeswoman to release a statement Sunday saying Richardson doesn’t care about personal attacks.

“Rather, his focus, as it always has been, is on getting meaningful legislation passed to give 50 thousand uninsured children access to health care and provide relief to working families who are struggling because of high gas prices.”

Actually, Richardson seemed more focused Sunday on his old presidential rival Hillary Clinton. He appeared at a rally with her in Española and hosted fundraisers for Clinton in Santa Fe and Albuquerque that day. The next day, he seemed more focused on Barack Obama, with whom he met in Albuquerque before appearing with the presidential candidate at an Albuquerque rally.

But I don’t believe the special session did much to advance Richardson’s national political ambitions. If Obama happened to glance at any New Mexico papers during his stop Monday, he would have seen headlines about senators blasting Richardson.

And I seriously doubt the special session had much to do with Richardson’s convention speech. He’s bound to bring up some of his accomplishments as governor during the speech. But I doubt he mentions any of the “modest” bills that came out of this curious session.
Rep. Steve Pearce
Senate ad wars continue: The television rhetoric is heating up in the U.S. Senate race. The anti-tax Club for Growth — which was denounced during the Republican primary by both U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson for its ads attacking Wilson as a “liberal,” is now attacking Democratic candidate Tom Udall, who is running against CFG favorite Steve Pearce.

The new anti-Udall ad attacks Udall’s “strange views about property.” Udall believes, the ad claims, “If it’s private property, take it. If it dies, tax it. But if it’s American oil, leave it in the ground.”
REP. TOM UDALL
Udall responded with his own ad calling the CFG “a Washington special interest” that “falsely attacked Heather Wilson.” But the ad is tougher on Pearce, blasting his votes against alternative energy and tying those votes to more than $600,000 in contributions from oil companies. Pearce has consistently denied his votes are connected to his campaign contributions.

Interestingly, Udall’s ad says he favors nuclear energy and “more domestic drilling, including some offshore” — as well as wind and solar energy. The Pearce campaign has attacked Udall for voting against offshore drilling in Congress.

Although Udall’s new ad doesn’t dwell on Club for Growth, recent e-mail from the Udall camp rips into the group, even quoting Republicans Domenici and Wilson.

The Club, Udall’s camp points out, has received funds from Houston home builder Robert Perry. Perry is one of the major funders of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which ran controversial ads in 2004 against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Many Swift Boat charges against Kerry turned out to be false.

Perry also has been a major contributor to several New Mexico Republican candidates since 2002.

The Udall campaign turned the Club For Growth/Perry connection into a fundraising e-mail. But when I saw the subject line — "Despicable" — I wasn’t sure whether it was from Udall campaign manager Amanda Cooper or Daffy Duck.

Here's the Club for Growth ad followed by the Udall response:



BREAKFAST WITH T. BOONE


Check out my story on T. Boone Pickens hosting a breakfast for New Mexico's delegation at the convention in Denver next week. CLICK HERE.

Seems like only yesterday that Pickens was better known for swift boats than wind farms. But like Bob Wills would say, "Time changes everything."

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 17, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Te...