SPEAKING OF NM POLITICAL BLOGS

I didn't realize until I just now stumbled upon it that veteran Santa Fe columnist Jay Miller has his own blog where he posts his Inside the Capitol columns.

To plagiarize from Jay's bio:

Inside the Capitol has a long history in New Mexico. It was originally written by Will Harrison, when he edited the Santa Fe New Mexican in the 1950's. When Harrison left the New Mexican, he syndicated the column in other newspapers. And thus began a tradition that passed down through Charlie Cullin, Fred Buckles, Bob Huber, Carroll Cagle and Fred McCaffery to Jay.

Jay's latest post is a look at Ft. Sumner/DeBaca County/Billy the Kid politics. CLICK HERE.

He also has a blog called Common Sense Santa Fe, which is dedicated to "bringing some sanity to the City Different."

Good luck with that ...

WELCOME WHITNEY

There's a new voice on the right (as opposed to the left) side of New Mexico's political blogosphere.

Whitney Cheshire of Albuquerque just launched Wednesday Morning Quarterback.

Whitney has worked as a campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, a spokeswoman for 2002 Republican gubernatorial candidate John Sanchez and a communications director for the state House Republican caucus.

She also has her own campaign consulting company. One of her specialties, according to her Web site is "Public relations crisis management." There's bound to be some money in that field in this state.

At this writing Whitney's only done one post, but it's a funny one.

Speaking of funny ones, contrary to what Joe Monahan says, I have no personal knowledge of the Korean War.

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE: BUT IT GOT GEORGE R.R.

My old friend, former landlord, quarter-century Santa Fe resident and, award-winning science-fiction, fantasy and horror writer, George R. R. Martin was featured in last week's Time Magazine for his latest book A Feast For Crows.

Time calls him the "American Tolkien."

George got me a gig to play at the Hugo Awards ceremony at the World Science Fiction Convention in Denver back in 1981. (My G-string broke -- yes, I was playing guitar, not dancing -- about the time I struck my second chord in "Cajun Clones.")

Back in the daze, he used the lyrics from my song "Those Were the Daze" for the frontspiece in his 1983 novel The Armageddon Rag.

Good to see George get some national recognition.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 20, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
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
Rest in Peace Link Wray

Jack the Ripper by Link Wray
Shadowman by Link Wray
Rumble by Link Wray
Bad Man by The Juicy Bananas
Hit Me! by The Fleshtones
Guns For Everyone by The (International) Noise Conspiracy
You Better Run by Iggy & The Stooges

Down in The Hole by Kazik Staszewki
Family Values by Band of Ones
Rape Me by Nirvana
High on the Hog by TAD
Run Rabbit Run by Bantam Rooster
I Started a Joke by The Dirtbombs
Break it Up by Patti Smith

A Candymaker's Knife in My Handbag by The Fiery Furnaces
Reprehensible by They Might Be Giants
Scene of the Crime by Kevin Coyne & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Sherilyn Fenn by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
A Real Indication by The Thought Gang
Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance by Frank Zappa
Outside of That by Bessie Smith

What You Talkin' About by Paul Pena
Lessons Learned From Rocky I to Rocky III by Cornershop
Dirty Old Woman by Denise La Salle
Sleep to Dream by Bettye LaVette
I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love With You by Isaac Hayes
Too Tough to Die by The Twilight Singers
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

MORE CHARGES FOR ANGELO

A version of this appeared in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 19, 2005

A key witness in the federal extortion and money-laundering case against former state Treasurer Robert Vigil is facing 19 new counts in a state security fraud case.

The new charges for which Albuquerque businessman Angelo Garcia was indicted on Thursday are on top of the 27 charges he already was facing in the same case involving a Santa Fe low-income housing development that never got off the ground.

Attorney General Patricia Madrid said Friday that the victims in the case are all elderly New Mexico residents.

“Some people see white collar crimes as simply an issue about money,” Madrid said in a written statement. “But when an elderly person is defrauded of their life savings we are talking about much more than money. When an individual is living on a fixed income the loss of life savings greatly impacts the future quality of life. Targeting the elderly and defrauding them of their life savings is unconscionable.”

Also expressing disgust for those who cheat elderly victims was Sam Bregman, one of Vigil’s lawyers in his federal case.

“Angelo Garcia is the government’s star witness against my client,” Bregman said in an interview Friday. “He is nothing more than a con man. The government’s entire case against Robert Vigil is based on the testimony of con men and convicted criminals.”

Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the original state securities-fraud charges.
But he has pleaded guilty in federal court to aiding and abetting extortion in a kickback scheme involving Vigil and his predecessor Michael Montoya — who this month pleaded guilty to one count of extortion in the federal case.

Garcia already was cooperating with the federal government against Vigil and Montoya when he was originally indicted in September by a state grand jury in the securities-fraud case.

Garcia’s new charges represent more than $600,000 allegedly lost by seven victims, Madrid said.

One elderly couple allegedly lost more than $174,000, while another man allegedly lost more than $156,000. A mother and daughter each allegedly lost more than $100,000 to Garcia’s venture. A second couple allegedly lost about $65,000.

These losses are in addition to the near $1 million that state prosecutors say Garcia and his partners took from elderly investors covered in the previous indictments. Those charges are still pending.

Garcia’s new indictment includes five counts each of securities fraud, fraud over $20,000 and sale of unregistered securities, and one count each of forgery, racketeering and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The Santa Fe project was a $2.6 million, 44-unit apartment complex called the San Clemente Apartments proposed to be built on 3.5 acres between Airport Road and Jaguar Drive. Some of Garcia’s alleged victims put up money for projects in Rio Rancho and Belen. None of the three projects were ever built.

The same Bernalillo County grand jury on Thursday also indicted Orlando Montoya — brother of the former treasurer — on four additional felony counts in the securities-fraud case.

Orlando Montoya previously was indicted on 13 felony counts in the case.

Angelo Garcia’s brother Joseph Garcia also was indicted on 11 felony counts in September in the securities- fraud case. The grand jury didn’t add any new charges for him this week.

Both Joseph Garcia and Orlando Montoya have pleaded not guilty.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 18, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
All of the Monkeys Ain't in the Zoo by Tommy Collins
Operation Blues by Hank Thompson
A Good Night Tonight by Tom Armstrong
Hillbilly Train by Sonny George & The Tennessee Sons
You Said Goodbye by The San Juan River by Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
Veteran's Day by Tom Russell Band
Put it Back by Billy Kaundart
This Bottle in My Hand by George Jones & David Allen Coe
Curly Toes by (Unknown)

Endless War by Son Volt
Come On by Hundred Year Flood
The Demon of White Sadness by Marah
If My Heart Was a Car by The Old 97s
One Last Question by Jason & The Scorchers
Trampled Underfoot by Michael Hall
Arkansas Hard Luck Blues by Lonnie Glosson
Music Has No End by Clothesline Revival with Neil Morris

Don't Worry 'Bout Me by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Buckskin Stallion Blues by Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Mudhoney
I'm Gonna Strangle You Shorty by The Flatlanders
Everybody's Talkin' by Bobby Bare
Daddy What If by Bobby Bare with Bobby Bare, Jr.
Painting Her Fingernails by Bobby Bare Jr.'s Young Criminal Starvation League
Freakin' at The Freaker's Ball by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
Peace in the Valley by Jimmie Dale Gilmore

I Wish I Were a Pirate by Ukulele Man
Cornbread Nation by Tim O'Brien
Better Than Me by Bobby Earl Smith
Look What Thoughts Will Do by Merle Haggard
Poor Poor Lenore by The Handsome Family
It's Just You by Blaze Foley
The Rue of Ruby Whores by Michael Hurley
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

AND I GUESS THERE WON'T BE A DIXIE CHICKS DAY IN THE SENATE

Here's an Associated Press item about Senate Republicans shooting down a resolution honoring Bruce Springsteen.

I can't see why they can't forgive The Boss for supporting John Kerry. Last year at a George Bush appearance in Albuquerque they played a taped marching-band version of "This Land is Your Land," which was written by Woody Guthrie, a self-proclaimed communist.

By DONNA DE LA CRUZ

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bruce Springsteen famously was “born in the USA,” but he’s getting scorned in the U.S. Senate.

An effort by New Jersey’s two Democratic senators to honor the veteran rocker was shot down Friday by Republicans who are apparently still miffed a year after the Boss lent his voice to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

The chamber’s GOP leaders refused to bring up for consideration a resolution, introduced by Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine, that honored Springsteen’s long career and the 1975 release of his iconic album, “Born to Run.”

No reason was given, said Lautenberg spokesman Alex Formuzis.

“Resolutions like this pass all the time in the U.S. Senate, usually by unanimous consent,” he said.

Telephone calls to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s office seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Lautenberg said he couldn’t understand why anyone would object to the resolution.

“Even if the Republicans don’t like (Springsteen’s) tunes, I would hope they appreciated his contributions to American culture,” Lautenberg said.

Springsteen endorsed Kerry last year, and made campaign appearances that drew huge crowds who came to hear music described in the resolution as “a cultural milestone that has touched the lives of millions of people.”