SPAM OF THE DAY

You really have to wonder who -- or what -- is sending some of the SPAM I get these days.

Here's one I got this morning on my work e-mail, from someone allegedly named Tom, though, as you'll see, he's talking about a "Tom" as well. The subject heading was "Swamped."

This is verbatim, except for the link, which I won't post in case it's some virus.

I just heard from Tom and he looks completely different than he
looked a couple mos ago. He told me these guys,
{LINK DELETED}, assisted him out.

I read all there info and was impressed with everything they said. face
towards town. height would and I thought

be was glad length when and to it

I'm not really sure what this garbled thing is trying to sell me. It can't be good. I wonder if anyone actually responds to these.

Maybe "Tom" is like that Enzite Bob guy, who's "steppin' large and laughin' easy."

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: GOD BLESS AMERIQUEST

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 18, 2006

In January, attorneys general in dozens of states, including New Mexico, announced a $325 million class-action settlement with Ameriquest, a California-based mortgage company accused of predatory lending and unfair and deceptive practices.

Two months later, the Democratic Governors Association, chaired by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, was wining and dining on Ameriquest’s tab at a DGA conference in Phoenix.

According to a report the DGA filed with the federal government, Ameriquest made an in-kind donation of $102,000 for catering and renting a facility March 31 during the DGA’s Spring Policy Conference.
The March donation was the biggest contribution Ameriquest made to the DGA. But it’s not the only one.

The company contributed cash totaling $61,000 to the DGA in 2005 plus an “in-kind travel” contribution valued at $7,708 on Sept. 29.

That’s about the same time that Richardson flew to Washington, D.C., to speak to a national conference of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and meet with the secretary of Homeland Security and Pentagon officials, according to a Sept. 30 news release from the governor’s office.

The release said DGA would pay for that trip.

Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said Wednesday that he couldn’t verify Ameriquest paid for that trip. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “We don’t arrange his travel. That’s all done through the DGA.”

Richardson in recent weeks has made headlines for taking DGA-arranged trips in corporate jets owned by a major payday-loan company and a national tobacco giant.

Shipley gave the same answer he has given regarding contributions and in-kind gifts from controversial companies: Asked whether the contributions from Ameriquest influences Richardson’s policy decisions, Shipley said, “Absolutely not. The governor always puts the best interests of New Mexico first.”

Dutch treat: Whether or not it’s connected with the contributions, the former principal owner of Ameriquest, Roland Arnall, did get at least one thing from Richardson.

Last year, President Bush nominated Arnall to be ambassador to The Netherlands. Richardson endorsed the nomination, though many Democrats — notably U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts — were opposing him because of the class-action suit against Ameriquest.

The nomination was stuck in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for months. Only after Ameriquest settled with the states did the Senate finally confirm Arnall earlier this year.

Shipley said Richardson considers Arnall a friend. He said he didn’t know how long they have known each other. Richardson “respects him for being a leader of a very large company.”

Ameriquest the Beautiful: In settling the lawsuit, Ameriquest “admitted they made mistakes, and they’ve moved on, Shipley said. That’s obvious, or the Senate wouldn’t have confirmed him.” (Actually, according to the settlement, the company admitted to no wrongdoing, though it did agree to change many of its practices.)

According to the attorney general, the Ameriquest settlement is the second-largest consumer-protection settlement in history, after the $484 million agreement reached in 2002 with Household Finance.

Under the settlement, 1,523 Ameriquest debtors in New Mexico will get an estimated $913,800. The state is set to receive about $245,000 for further restitution to Ameriquest customers and to fund consumer-protection programs and pay the costs of the lawsuit.

Matthew Henderson of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) said his group was at odds with Ameriquest for years. “They had extremely high fees,” he said. “They’d get people into mortgages regardless of their credit history.”

According to a July 29 article in The Washington Post, “In depositions, Ameriquest customers have alleged that they were promised good loan terms but instead got high rates, sometimes higher than they had previously been paying; that their incomes were overstated so they could qualify for the high-price loans; that appraisers overvalued their homes so they seemed valuable enough to secure the loan; and that they learned only after closing that they would be required to pay steep prepayment penalties if they sought to move to other lenders.”

Henderson pointed out Ameriquest closed down its offices in New Mexico in 2003, after the state Legislature passed the Home Loan Protection Act, which was designed to prevent companies from luring homeowners into mortgages they can’t afford.

Despite its generosity toward the DGA, Ameriquest hasn't dropped much money among New Mexico politicians. According to Followthemoney.org, the Web site of the Institute on Money in State Politics, only two Ameriquest contributions are recorded -- $1,000 to Patricia Madrid in 2002 and $2,000 to former Sen. Roman Maes in his unsuccessful 2004 race.

Madrid was part of the executive committee of state attorneys general that began investigating the conduct of Ameriquest. She also served on the negotiating committee for the settlement.

Sky King: Republicans probably won’t be squawking about the Richardson/Ameriquest relationship since Arnall is a Bush appointee and all. But they’ve got plenty of other items to have fun with.

Earlier this week, the state GOP paid for an ad blasting Richardson for a helicopter trip he probably wishes he’d never taken.

The spot features a man and a woman skewering the governor for criticizing Bush’s plan to dispatch 6,000 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Let me get this straight,” the woman says. “Bill Richardson opposes using National Guard troops to secure the border. But supports using them to fly him around the state for weekend getaways with political cronies?”

She’s referring to a 2003 Richardson trip on a National Guard helicopter that included a stop in Chama to go horseback riding at the ranch of Santa Fe art-gallery owner and major Richardson campaign contributor Gerald Peters.

“This is a pathetic attempt to hide the fact that the Republican Party is weak on border security,” Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Tuesday.

“The governor, on the other hand, declared an emergency, invested millions in additional law enforcement and is fighting for 265 additional Border Patrol agents.”

Reporter David Miles contributed to this report

TOM JONES LEVITATION

Gimme that old time religion!

I've just stumbled across a church dedicated to the power and the glory of Tom Jones.

It's run by a guy in Sacramento, Cal named Pastor Jack J. Stahl. (I don't think this is the former lieutenant governor of New Mexico.)

"The tabloids have dubbed me `THE TOM JONES EXORCIST' because I travel around the country leading prayer meetings & healing services with the help of the Welsh superstar's beautiful voice playing softly in the background. Why? His voice enables me to get in touch with the holy spirit & cast out demons."

I wonder if he yells, "The power of Tom Jones compells you!" during these ceremionies.

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE DEBATE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 17, 2006

ALBUQUERQUE — Former Santa Fe City Councilor David Pfeffer made headlines in 2004 by being a Democrat who publicly supported President Bush. But at a forum Tuesday for Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls, he was the only candidate to openly criticize Bush’s plan to secure the Mexican border.

Pfeffer joined state Sen. Joe Carraro of Albuquerque and Farmington physician Allen McCulloch — the other two GOP contenders for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Jeff Bingaman — at the forum at the Fraternal Order of Police building in Albuquerque.

Pfeffer said Bush’s plan to send National Guard troops to help the Border Patrol will not be effective.

“Having 6,000 troops (along the border) is going to do nothing but make us look bad when the coyotes figure out they can get past them right under their noses,” said Pfeffer, who recently completed a 183-mile walk along the New Mexico-Mexico border to call attention to border security.

Coyotes are those who smuggle illegal immigrants across the border.

McCulloch said he supports Bush’s plan to send troops to aid the Border Patrol. But he said, “I don’t want to militarize the border. And I don’t want a war with Mexico.”

Carraro said, “If they know they can’t get past the border, they won’t try. If they know they won’t get hired here, they won’t try.”

But then he said he’d like to help Mexico improve its economy, which he said would decrease illegal immigration.


The candidates were asked what they would ask Bush about the war on terror.

Carraro said he wants to know why more countries aren’t helping in the Iraq war effort. He specifically mentioned Saudi Arabia.

McCulloch said he’d like to know about the number of terrorist attacks that have been prevented as a result of the war on terror and the number of terrorist plots foiled by phone calls intercepted by the National Security Agency. He said he supports the war in Iraq, but that senators should question the administration.

Pfeffer said the only thing he would ask Bush about Iraq is how it could become better at getting good news about the war out to the public.

On the subject of ethics, Carraro was the only candidate openly critical of the scandals in Washington, D.C.

He disagreed with his rivals who said you can’t legislate ethics. “You have to legislate ethics,” he said. “My gosh, what’s going on in Washington? You have to make sure they are obeying the law or you put ’em in jail.”

All candidates called for more reporting of campaign contributions. McCulloch said contributions should be posted on a government Web site immediately instead of filing reports every several months.

Although it’s Bingaman’s seat all three GOP candidates are after, there was relatively little specific criticism of New Mexico’s junior senator. The harshest words came from Pfeffer, who said Bingaman has been like “a bump on a log” for the past 20 years.

DENVER POST NOTICES N.M. MUSIC COMMISSION

The Denver Post just ran an article about the New Mexico Music Commission. READ IT HERE

But how could they fail to mention the hippest commissioner of all -- Tony Orlando? His contributions to the commission are immeasurable.

Literally.

True, he's never been to a meeting of the commission. But like the state Web site says, "His love of New Mexico and the people here are reasons he is a member of the Music Commission. "

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, May 14, 2006
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

My Mammy by Al Jolson
Cosmic Slop by Funkadelic
Dear Mother by Acie Cargill
Unwed Mother by Johnny Dowd
Grandma's Hands by Bill Withers
That's What Mama Said by The Jones Family Singers
Please Don't Go Topless, Mother by Troy Hess
April Fool's Day Morn by Loudon Wainwright III
Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur
Mother's Last Word to Her Son by Washington Phillips

Crawdad Song by Jerry Lee Lewis
Severed Hand by Pearl Jam
Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil by Jefferson Airplane
This Magnificent Bird Will Rise by Deerhoof
Lingerie Shop by Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re
No Boy No Cry by Stance Punks
The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry by Fiery Furnaces

Flags of Freedom by Neil Young
Monster by Steppenwolf
Ghosts on the Screen by Gary Heffern
War Pigs by Faith No More
Futy by Prince
Summer Jazz by The Electric Ghosts
Fancy by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Outragious by Paul Simon
Think Long by Mates of State
Randy Costanza by Solex
Free Radicals by Flaming Lips
The Donor by Judee Sill
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

UPDATING MY LINKS

I just added a bunch of links to the sidebar (on the right hand side of this blog).

I've added a direct link to Picnic Time For Potatoheads on iTunes. (Make me rich!) and I've broken up my long list of blog links into "N.M. Blogs" and "Crony Blogs." For argument's sake I still consider Larry Calloway a New Mexican even though he's in Colorado. I've added some new links to all categories. Check 'em all out.

Happy Mother's Day all you moms out there! (Yes, I'll do my annual Mother's Day set on Terrell's Sound World tonight.)

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, May 12, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Nasty Dan by Johnny Cash
The Trouble With Girls by The Stumbleweeds
Half a Boy and Half a Man by Queen Ida
Jacob's Ladder by Bruce Springsteen
Meximelt by Southern Culture on The Skids
I Don't Know Why I Love You (But I Do) by Cornell Hurd
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Last Mile Ramblers

Rednecks by Steve Earle
Feb 14 by Drive-By Truckers
Gusty Winds May Exist by The Rivet Gang
Pour Me a Strong One by Tobias Rene
Horse and Crow by Ronnie Elliott
Community Property by The Whiskey Rebellion
Flapping Your Broken Wings by The Handsome Family
Take Your Place by Allejandro Escovedo
Lion in Winter by Hoyt Axton

HAG SET
All Songs by Merle Haggard except where noted
Okie From Muskogee's Comin' Home
Carolyn
Fightin' Side of Me
That's the News
Tulare Dust
Are the Good Times Really Over (Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)
Wishin' All These Old Things Were New
Big Time Annie's Square
I'll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle by Pure Prairie League
America First

Belle Star by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
The Needle Has Landed by Neko Case
Satan's Jewled Crown by The Louvin Brothers
La La Land by Gary Heffern
Crossing Muddy Waters by John Hiatt
Love and Mercy by Jeff Tweedy
I am Born to Preach the Gospel by Washington Phillips
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

DEVASTATED!

Many of you have been asking, Where do I go to get my Devastatin' Dave dog shirts and wall clocks.


Devastatin' Dave Barsanti alerted me to the other Devastatin' Dave's own Cafepress store.
CLICK HERE

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: PEACENIK FROM MUSKOGEE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 12, 2006


Some people are surprised by “America First,” a tune from Merle Haggard’s latest album, Chicago Wind (released last October), where Hag declares the need to “liberate these United States; we’re the ones who need it the worst,” and “Freedom is stuck in reverse/Let’s get out of Iraq and get back on the track/And let’s rebuild America first.”

For that matter, some were surprised that Haggard would tour with Bob Dylan. After all, the Okie from Muskogee was supposed to be the grand bard of the right wing. Hippies and squirrelly guys who don’t believe in fightin’ ought to love it or leave it, according to some of Hag’s most notorious songs. What’s the guy who sang “Fightin’ Side of Me” doing now, talking like a liberal and hanging out with that guy who wrote all those subversive songs like “Masters of War” and “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”?

Well, for one thing, for most of his five-decade career, Haggard has delighted in surprising people. To paraphrase one old song, he wears his own kind of hat. The singer’s politics are and always have been a lot more complex than people give him credit for. In another song on Chicago Wind, “Where’s the Freedom,” he bemoans the fact that schools and governments can’t display the 10 commandments — as well as the fact that people can’t afford gasoline.

We’ve known Merle is no partisan hack since at least 1981, with “Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver).” Here he sings about how Nixon — who years before had embraced Haggard at a White House command performance — “lied to us all on TV.”

And two years before “America First,” Hag, on his song “That’s the News,” cast a cynical eye on President Bush declaring “mission accomplished” in Iraq.

In reality Haggard’s always been more tolerant of those with different opinions and lifestyles than he shows on “Okie” or “Fightin’ Side.”

Some important clues can be found on Hag/Someday We’ll Look Back, a couple of albums recently released as a single CD. Hag includes the touching song “The Farmer’s Daughter.” It’s about a farmer who’s accepting his city-boy son-in-law even though “his hair’s a little longer than we’re used to.”

But while that song has the spirit of reconciliation, on the next tune, “I’ve Done it All,” he sings “I’ve even been to ’Frisco wearing regular clothes/Felt them modern hippie folks starin’ down their nose.”

But note that he’s not claiming the “hippie folks” tried to make him take a trip on LSD or burned a flag in his face. No, their offense was their elitism, looking down at a working-class guy.

The greatest country album, ever. Before going on with this discussion, I have to declare an extreme prejudice here. I believe in my heart that Someday We’ll Look Back is not only Merle Haggard’s greatest album, but the greatest album in country-music history, bar none.

Hag’s voice is at full power, and The Strangers (curiously and inexcusably uncredited individually on this reissue) prove why they’re considered among the finest C&W units ever.

Someday features masterful country existential-angst songs like Roger Miller’s “Train of Life”; love songs including The George Jones-worthy “One Sweet Hello” and “I’d Rather Be Gone”; and the bleak but beautiful “Carolyn,” (written by Bakersfield titan Tommy Collins), where you can’t tell if the singer is warning his wife that he’s considering adultery or if he’s confessing in a backhanded way.

There are a couple of cheeky humorous numbers like “The Only Trouble With Me” (the rest of that sentence being “is you”) and the prison tune “Huntsville,” which ain’t “Mama Tried” but is still pretty cool.

And there are all these tough and gritty Steinbeckian Dust Bowl ballads where Haggard sounds more in touch with that old lefty Woody Guthrie than Dylan ever did in songs like “Tulare Dust,” “One Row at a Time,” and Dallas Frazier’s “California Cottonfields”: “Our Model A was loaded down and California-bound/And a change of luck was just four days away/But the only change that I remember seeing in my daddy/was when his dark hair turned to silver gray.”

Big Time Annie’s Square: “Big Time Annie’s Square” was one song on Someday We’ll Look Back that proved Haggard wasn’t the hippie-hating redneck many thought he was. Although this track is almost a throwaway compared with some of the others on the album, at the time it came out, I considered it sort of an apology for “The Fightin’ Side of Me.” It’s about an Okie soldier who comes back from Vietnam to find his Tulsa girl moved to “some town in California called ‘San something’ somewhere close to East L.A.” He discovers Annie has become one of them hippies. He’s wary. He’s “heard about those sugar cubes before I ever came to find her there.”

“We don’t agree on nothin’, but I’ll be damned if we don’t make a pair,” he sings. And he’s “glad to be accepted” by Annie’s strange new associates.

Big Time Annie’s friends: Indeed, not all the “hippie folk” looked down their collective nose at him. Gram Parsons, who did a wonderful version of “California Cottonfields,” actually tried back in the eao get Haggard to produce one of his albums.

The Grateful Dead did "Mama Tried." Every local country-rock outfit in the country played "Silver Wings."

One of the finest hippie Hag tributes was “I’ll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle,” written by Nick Gravenites. It was originally recorded by the post-Janis Big Brother and the Holding Company, though the better-known version is by Pure Prairie League. It’s a fantasy in which a hippie offers to help “the greatest country singer alive.”

“You’re a honky I know/But Merle, you’ve got soul.”

Hag said it best: Haggard’s attitude toward all of this perhaps was best expressed when I saw him in concert about 10 years ago. He began singing one of his best-known songs. “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee ...” The crowd went wild. But Haggard stopped the song. “Now who really gives a damn whether or not they smoke marijuana in Muskogee?” he said.

The crowd went even wilder