ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: "GRASSROOTS" RECOUNT FIZZLES

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Dec. 16, 2004

While some New Mexicans who are distrustful of last month’s presidential election results have been pursuing a statewide recount through regular government channels, a Santa Fe physical therapist and Democrat poll watcher is leading a “small grassroots group” to do a partial recount themselves.

In a Dec. 3 letter from Citizens to Verify the Vote sent to every registered voter in east-side Santa Fe Precinct 36, Amba Caldwell said, “We find it imperative in our democracy that all our votes are counted correctly and that we find ways to trust the results.”

Then she asks each voter whether or not they voted and who they voted for. A separate sheet of paper, containing the voter’s name and the names of the major party candidates (and a space for “other candidate”) is included to be mailed back to Caldwell in a pre-addressed, postage-paid envelop.

“We understand the secret of the ballot is very important to many voters in our democracy,” Caldwell’s letter said. “However, we believe that an accurate vote count is more important than privacy.”

Who are these citizens?: First of all, Citizens to Verify the Vote is not associated with Verified Voting New Mexico, a group that has raised concerns about electronic touch-screen “black box” voting machines. Nor is it part of Help America Recount, which has been trying — unsuccessfully so far — to get the state to conduct an official recount.

City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer, whose district includes Precinct 36, said some of her constituents thought something was hinky about the letter and brought it to her attention.

“They had no idea what it meant or what (the sender) meant to do with the information,” Heldmeyer said Wednesday.

Caldwell, in an interview Wednesday, said she had no sinister motives in seeking this information. “When I got my voter list (from the county clerk), I had to sign an affidavit saying I understood that I’d be subject to criminal charges if I used this list in any way not related to elections,” she said.

“There are times when we have to find out the truth and need to let go of our secrecy,” she said.

“We need your participation to be successful,” the letter said.

However, it seems that most of the voters of Precinct 36 still like the idea of a secret ballot.

Out of more than 500 voters in the precinct, only 125 responded to the letter, Caldwell said. And one of those wrote the words “Secret Ballot” in the space in where respondents were supposed to mark their choice for president.

An Albuquerque friend who sent a similar letter to voters in Precinct 350 in Albuquerque reported a similar level of response, Caldwell said.

Why Precinct 36?: Caldwell said she got the idea after serving as a poll watcher on election day for the Democrats at Acequia Madre Elementary School, where Precinct 36 votes.

“As far as I know everything there went according to the law,” she said.

Though she saw no hanky panky at her polling place, Caldwell said some people are worried that somehow a small number of votes were stolen — somehow — from each voting machine statewide. Stealing a handful of votes from each machine could be enough to tip the election without anyone noticing, or so goes the theory.

However, Santa Fe County doesn’t use the controversial “black box” voting machines that have stirred so much controversy. The machines used in Santa Fe are “first-generation” — meaning “real old” — electronic devices that tally votes on computerized cards and produce a receipt at the end of election day of all votes cast.

It’s not clear how the bad guys would be able to program all the state’s 3,367 voting machines, which aren’t linked via the Internet or via anything else.

For the record: Sen. John Kerry won big in Precinct 36, receiving 423 votes — better than 80 percent — compared with the 92 votes for President Bush and four votes for other candidates. Caldwell said the un-secret ballots she received are similar in proportion to these numbers.

AM I (PRUSSIAN) BLUE?

They're talented. They're cute. They're little ... Nazis!

Meet Lynx and Lamb Gaede, 12-year-old California twins who have started their own pop band called Prussian Blue. It's like a cross between The Olson Twins, Hanson and Hermann Goering.

"These gals will be breaking new ground, and will also capture the imagination of young boys and girls all across the world," says National Alliance Northeast Regional Coordinator Rich Lindstrom in an article on the National Vanguard Web site. "The impact could be huge and their influence will encourage 'copycats' ...creating an entire genre of pro-White music. ...I'm hanging on the edge of my seat with anticipation."

I dunno ... Does this guy sound just a little too excited about these little girls?

Thanks to my sister Mary for bringing this to my attention.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 12, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Co-host Laurell Reynolds

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Sic 'Em Pigs by Canned Heat
Green Lights by NRBQ
I'm Down by The Beatles
Don't Beat Me Down by The Donnas
Here Comes Your Man by The Pixies
I Wanna Be Your Lover by Bob Dylan
Tweeter and the Monkeyman by The Traveling Wilburys
The Christmas Blues by Dean Martin

True Love Will Find You In The End by Beck
Rhinocratic Oathes by The Bonzo Dog Band
Trickle Down System by Giant Sand
Song For Jeffery by Jethro Tull
Copshawholme Fair by Steeleye Span
Crown Of Love by Arcade Fire
You Better Run by Iggy & The Stooges
Christmas At K-Mart by Root Boy Slim & His Sex Change Band

Satisfied Fool by Nathaniel Mayer
Sling That Thing by Andres Williams
I'm a Millionaire by Lee Fields
Midnight Sky by The Isley Brothers
Breaking Up Somebody's Home by Anne Peebles
Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year by James Brown

Babe, You Turn Me On by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Wonderful by Brian Wilson
Meaning of Loneliness by Van Morrison
Muriel by Tom Waits
Sweet Salvation by Bernadette Seacrest
I Still Believe In You by Mavis Staples
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Friday, December 10, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
The Wayward Wind by Lynn Anderson with Emmylou Harris
Where The Devil Don't Stay by Drive-By Truckers
Let Him In by The Gourds
Dead Cats on the Line by Vassar Clements
Say it Say When by Goshen
The Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn
Baghdad Baghdad by Acie Cargill

Hard Liquor & Handgun Night by Jim Hoehn
Rocky Top by The Osbourne Brothers
Pretty Polly by Ralph Stanley with Patty Loveless
Love's Gonna Live Here by Bill Monroe with Melissa Monroe
Shame on You by Sid Hausman & Washtub Jerry
The Friendly Beasts by The Buckarettes
Throw a Seven by Ken Keppeler
Come On by Hundred Year Flood
Good Christian Soldier by Kris Kristofferson

See That My Grave is Kept Clean by Blind Lemon Jefferson
One Kind Favor by Canned Heat
A Dying Man's Plea by Mavis Staples
Find Blind Lemon Part 2 by Geoff Muldaur
Done Got Old by Jim White
The Twist Came from Tampa by Ronny Elliott

This Little Light of Mine by Neko Case
Only a Rose by Geraint Watkins
Fill My Way With Love by Iris DeMent
Try and Try Again by Billy Joe Shaver
Returning by Buddy Miller
The Maple Tree by Grey DeLisle
Love and Mercy by Jeff Tweedy
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: MAVIS FOR PRESIDENT

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Dec. 10, 2004

One of my fondest memories from the Democratic Convention in Boston last summer was the last day of the convention when I went to the FleetCenter early to type up some notes.

My assigned work space was right next to the band, a horn-heavy ensemble whose main job was to play little snatches of “Soul Man” or “Respect” or Kool & The Gang’s “Celebrate” before politicians’ speeches. (One delegate told me she heard them play “Mr. Big Stuff” before Gov. Bill Richardson’s speech. I was there, but I honestly don’t remember.)

So on the last afternoon of the convention I was sitting there typing notes on a laptop.

Although virtually nobody was on the floor, the band was there. They started playing a song called “The Promised Land.” The singer was doing an excellent imitation of Willie Nelson, I thought. Then I looked down to the stage below, and dang if it wasn’t Willie Nelson himself. He was doing a sound check for his performance at the convention later that night.

Next, the band started playing a soul/gospel version of “America the Beautiful” and there was another familiar voice. Sure enough, it was Mavis Staples, dressed in a sweat shirt for the sound check.

Twenty years before, “America the Beautiful” was performed in a similar style by Ray Charles -- except he sang it at the Republican Convention. Brother Ray had just died a few weeks before, so singing this song at a political convention was bound to draw comparisons. But pulled it off spectacularly. In fact, what living singer is better qualified to assume the mantle of Ray Charles?

This hardly was the first major political event where Staples performed. As part of The Staples Singers with her father and siblings, she sang at the inaugurations of both John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. The Staples also shared the stage many times with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

Amazingly, except for a few guest spots (on various-artist albums such as the most recent Los Lobos album, cuts on recent tribute albums for Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Cash, Stephen Foster and a gospel tribute to Bob Dylan), Staples until now hasn’t been putting out much of her own music in recent years.

Have a Little Faith is Staples’ first new album in nearly a decade -- and the first since her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples died.

This is an album of mostly gospel tunes with the old standby “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” along with lesser known tunes like the funky “There’s a Devil on the Loose” and “God is Not Sleeping.”

The best songs are down-home and rootsy like the opening cut “Step Into the Light,” which features a mean slide guitar and background vocals from The Dixie Hummingbirds.

Like The Staples Singers, whose biggest hits were songs like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There,“ which were spiritually uplifting without specifically mentioning God, on this album Mavis sings tunes like “At the End of the Day“ and “In Times Like These” (“In times like these/We need to be strong/We need to carry on/We need to get along …). The latter features backing vocals by the Rev. Jesse Dixon and The Chicago Music Community Choir.

There’s a sweet tribute to her father, “Pops’ Recipe,” (“He said accept responsibility/Don’t forget humility … Don’t subscribe to bigotry, hypocrisy, duplicity …)

But I think my favorite one here is a classic Blind Lemon Jefferson song The Staples Singers used to cover. Blind Lemon called it “See That My Grave is Kept Clean.” Canned Heat rocked it up and knocked it up, calling it “One Kind Favor.” Mavis calls it “A Dying Man’s Plea,” and, backed by a dobro and fiddle, infuses it with countrified soul.

My only complaint about this album is that it doesn’t include “America the Beautiful.”


Also Recommended

* I Just Want to Be Held by Nathaniel Mayer. To be honest, I’d never heard of this guy, but the liner notes of his new Fat Possum CD assures us that he had a bonafide hit in the early ‘60s with a song called “Village of Love.” But, like too many soul codgers, Mayer fell on hard times -- drink, drugs, poverty and obscurity.

As is the case with the best Fat Possum albums, Mayer’s is rough, raw, rocking and raunchy.

Songs like “You Gotta Work,” with its bitchen Farfisa organ and “I Wanna Dance With You,” with its slightly grating but truly addictive guitar hook, will remind you of the links between ’60s soul and garage-band music.

And songs like “Stick It or Lick It” will explain why Nathaniel Mayer wasn’t invited to perform at the inaugurations of John F. Kennedy or Jimmy Carter. (But Bill Clinton surely would like it.)

The true sign of twisted genius here is Mayer’s cover of John Lennon’s seething “I Found Out.” This was one of Lennon’s angriest songs from his “primal scream” Plastic Ono Band. It’s a rage against religion, drugs, false promises and childhood pain. Mayer spits out “There ain’t no Jesus gonna come from the sky,” like a fallen evangelist drunk on heresy.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: THIS BUD'S FOR YOU

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Dec. 9, 2004

Christmas is a-comin' and the heartwarming news releases are getting fat ...

My nominee for the holly-jolly media advisory of the week was an e-mail from the state attorney general's office announcing a Wednesday news conference in Albuquerque with Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Mark Bordas, director of government affairs -- corporatespeak for top lobbyist -- for Anheuser-Busch.

The purpose: "to encourage safety and responsibility this holiday season." Specifically, "to encourage parents to be good role models for their children by remembering to use a designated driver and to talk with their children about underage drinking."

Heartwarming. You can almost hear the clip-clop of Clydesdales pulling Santa's sleigh. It's like a government public-service announcement and a beer commercial rolled into one.

Fortunately, the news conference had a little more to offer than that. Madrid also announced she will ask the Legislature to pass a bill with tougher sentences for repeat drunken drivers.

I assume this means Anheuser-Busch won't oppose this. In recent years, the liquor lobby has not fought stiffer penalties for driving while intoxicated. The biggest fight it has gotten involved in here lately was squashing a move last year to impose a higher tax on alcoholic beverages.

In this Christmas season, it's good to remember that Anheuser-Busch is not just generous in sending the king lobbyist for the King of Beers to New Mexico to spread words of wisdom about safety and responsibility. The corporation has been generous through the years in spreading good cheer in the form of campaign contributions to our state leaders.

According to the Montana-based Institute on Money in State Politics' Web site, followthemoney.org, Anheuser-Busch and its lobbyists donated at least $30,000 to New Mexico politicians during the most recent election cycle. The company's wholesaler, Premier Distributing, kicked in another $7,500 or so.

But according to institute spokeswoman Sue O'Connell, these figures only include campaign-finance reports up to June 28. Final figures will be available later, she said.

In the 2002 election cycle, Anheuser-Busch donated more than $31,000 to New Mexico politicos, while Premier Distributing gave even more -- $41,409.

Madrid, who was re-elected in 2002, collected $1,000 from Anheuser-Busch plus $5,000 from Premier that year.

But that was small potatoes compared with Gov. Bill Richardson's $5,000 from Anheuser-Busch and $25,000 from Premier.

Anheuser-Busch donated to dozens of legislators for the 2002 and 2004 elections.

The top legislative leaders get the most from the company. Retiring Senate President Pro tem Richard Romero, D-Albuquerque, received $2,000 in 2002.

Former Senate Majority Floor Leader Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, got $500 from the company in 2002 and $1,500 in 2004. (Aragon resigned from the Senate after being named president of Highlands University. He won an uncontested primary for his Senate seat in June.)

House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, received $1,000 from Anheuser-Busch this year.

But just as the company believes in safety and responsibility, it also believes in bipartisanship.

Senate Republican Floor Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales got $1,000 in 2002 and another $500 in this election cycle.

House Republican Floor Leader Ted Hobbs picked up $1,000 in 2002 and $1,500 for his 2004 race.

Lobbyist Bordas himself is a generous soul. Last January, The Associated Press reported he paid nearly $700 for four legislators -- Aragon, Luján, Sen. Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, and Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe -- to attend a San Francisco Giants baseball game plus another $250 for food and drink, while the four were in San Francisco for a national legislative conference.

Of course, Anheuser-Busch isn't the only player in the liquor industry in this state. In 2002, beer, wine and liquor companies donated a total of $181,021 to New Mexico politicians.

My advice: Be safe and responsible this holiday season. If you drink, use designated drivers. Be a good example to your kids and talk to them about drinking.

JC Wants More JC

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Dec. 8, 2004

A Republican state senator on Tuesday announced that he is contacting every school district in the state to “remind them and encourage them that the name Jesus can and should be mentioned in public schools” and that “Instead of taking ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, schools are encouraged to keep Him and Christmas in public schools.”

In an e-mail press release, Sen. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque, said, “There is no question about it. Jesus of Nazareth can and should be taught about in our public schools. During this holiday season when there is such an uproar about taking the word ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, I want to remind our teachers that the Senate memorial passed in 1994 allows them to mention Jesus and encourages them to teach about Him as a historical figure, not only at Christmas time, but at anytime there is a discussion of historical figures of great importance.”

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Carraro said his decision to contact the schools came after he saw several television news features, including one on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, about efforts to remove religious aspects of Christmas celebrations in schools.


When given a copy of the press release, Peter Simonson, executive director of the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “This looks like a shameful attempt to encourage public schools to teach Christianity.”

Simonson said Carraro seemed to be coming “as close as possible without quite stepping over the line of church/state separation.”

Carraro in 1994 was the prime sponsor of Senate Memorial 83, said that Jesus’ name “be included in any comprehensive study of history,” and “it is permissible to mention the name Jesus of Nazareth in the public schools in the state of New Mexico.”

Memorials, while expressing the will of the Legislature, don’t have the force of law.

“Certainly schools can teach about Christ and his affect on western civilization,” Simonson said. “But equally, students should be informed about Mohammed and Buddha and Friedrich Nietzsche.”

Carraro denied he wants to make schools teach religion. “We’re not saying you have to bow down and pray and all that other stuff,” he said.

Carraro is scheduled to appear today to talk about the issue 11:45 a.m. on Issues and Answers, which broadcasts on a local religious television station, KCHF Channel 11.

TERR-IFIC NEWS

There's no truth to those ugly rumors that Santa Fe songwriter, filmaker, humorist and Sultan of Shameless Self Promotion Jim Terr is actually my brother but he changed his name because he was embarassed to be associated with me. (That would be my real brother Jack, who changed his name from Terrell to Clift.)

But whoever this Jim Terr guy is, he's got a couple of cool events tonight and tomorrow. I'll just cut and paste his e-mail here:

Tonight at 7 pm at Page One Books in Albuquerque (11018 Montgomery NE) will be the release party for my DVD, Five Frightfully Fine Videos (see review below, and see 12-minute clip at www.bluecanyonvideo.com, if you can).

...And Tuesday night in Santa Fe, 7 pm, at St. Bede's Episcopal Church, San Mateo & St. Francis (SE corner).

No doubt some of the interviewees and other project participants will attend, and I hope to see you there. At the Santa Fe event ONLY, you can purchase a copy of the DVD for $20 (half price), which will be used to retire some of the still-outstanding costs of the project.

You can hear an interview about the project, hopefully, on KUNM News (89.9 FM) tonight, Monday, sometime between 5 and 5:30 p.m.
_____________________________


Also, tomorrow (Tuesday) through Thursday, a great British video site, www.3btv.com, will be celebrating "Jim Terr Day" with thirteen of my short films. They're actually up there on the site already, but Tuesday through Thursday they'll be listing them all, and running a funny promo spot about it from BuDDy. (Excruciating details at www.bluecanyonproductions.com/3btv.html)
__________________________


(from Santa Fe Reporter, December 1 issue):


FIVE FRIGHTFULLY FINE VIDEOS

The only acclaim most educational videos receive are groans and yawns from an ungrateful audience., but Santa Fe producer Jim Terr has assembled a DVD of videos on subjects as diverse as driving safety, World War II and teen reading that's been praised across the nation. The DVD will be distributed to schools and libraries across New Mexico and Hawaii.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 5, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
51-7 by Camper Van Beethoven
The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing by The Persuasions
Dumb All Over by Frank Zappa
Bat Chain Puller by Captain Beefheart
Protein Protection by The Fall
My Life is Starting Over Again by Teenage Fanclub with Jad Fair
Weiner Dog Polka by Polkacide

Crossroads by Robert Johnson
Black Widow Spider by Dr. John
Pappa Legba by The Talking Heads
Down So Low by Mother Earth
There's a Devil on the Loose by Mavis Staples
Saved by Mighty Clouds of Joy
When the Saints Go Marching In by Willie Eason

NRBQ SET
All songs by NRBQ except where noted
Dummy
Terry Got a Muffin
Puddin' Truck
Little Rug Bug
Accentuate the Positive
Under My Hood by Big Al Anderson
What You Mean to Me
RC Cola and a Moon Pie
Wacky Tobacky
Be My Love

Cold in My Bed by Bernadette Seacrest & Her Yes Men
Rickity Tickity Tin by Barbara Manning
I'm Just a Man by Sally Timms
Soul and Fire by Sebadoh
A Beautiful Schizophrenic by Lisa Germano
What Kind of Fool Am I? by Grandpaboy
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 3, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
BILLY JOE SHAVER SET
All songs by Billy Joe Shaver unless otherwise noted

People and Their Problems
Highway of Life
Honky Tonk Heroes
Black Rose by Waylon Jennings
That's What She Said Last Night
When Fallen Angels Fly
Old Chunk of Coal by Johnny Cash
Leavin' Amarillo
Old Five and Dimers Like Me by Tom T. Hall
Feliz Navidad by Billy Joe Shaver & Flaco Jimenez

I Love You Because by Elvis Presley
Film of The Movie by The Minus 5
I Wanna Be Your Mama Again by Mother Earth
Gypsy Davey by Eric Hisaw
Cold Irons Bound by Bob Dylan
A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados by Jim White

Hot Dog by Rosie Flores
Railroad Shuffle by Jerry J. Nixon
Spin the Bottle by Benny Joy
Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll by Billy Lee Riley
Stalin Kicked the Bucket by Johnny Dilks
Let's Elope by Janis Martin
Detour by Sleepy LaBeef
Two Six Packs Away by Dave Dudley
Cocaine Blues by Luke Jordan

A Chance Counsel by Richard Buckner
If You Knew by Neko Case
Diamond Joe by Bob Dylan
I Still Believe in You by Mavis Staples
I Don't Want to Get Adjusted by Iris DeMent
Be My Love by NRBQ
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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