MB Blog

Session Semantics

Matt Brix — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:21:36 MST

Man, this is sure going to be an interesting legislative session.

MSNBC - Richardson withdraws

Behind the Times

Matt Brix — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:36:24 MST

When it comes to suitable ethics laws, New Mexico is simply behind the times.

Consider this.

* New Mexico is one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions (Incidentally, Illinois is one of the other four!!). Congressional and presidential elections have contribution limits.

* New Mexico is one of nine states without an independent ethics commission.

* New Mexico is one of two states that offers absolutely no compensation to its legislators.

* New Mexico is one of nine states that does not require open conference committees in its legislature.

Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Steve Terrell sheds light on yet another shortcoming. Turns out New Mexico is one of six states that does not webcast, or broadcast by television its legislative floor sessions.

I wonder how this lack of suitable ethics laws is affecting progress in other policy areas like health care, land use, or energy.

Man on a Mission: Local organizer profiled in The Nation

Matt Brix — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:22:04 MST

In case you didn't know, our man Juan Reynosa has been on a mission. Turns out The Nation chose to document this mission.

Check it out: Juan Reynosa's Environmental Mission.

Condolences to the King Family

Matt Brix — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:45:21 MST

The staff at Clearly New Mexico wishes to express our deepest sympathies to the family of Alice King. Mrs. King was a stalwart advocate for children and families. New Mexico is a much better place for her decades of service to our state.

Please take some time to review the following coverage and tributes to Mrs. King's passing.

New Mexico Independent (cross-posted at Heath Haussamen's blog)

Democracy for New Mexico

New Mexico Voices for Children Photo Compilation

New Mexico FBIHOP

Blagojevich Indicted

Matt Brix — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:03:56 MST

News out of Illinois this morning, Governor Rod Blagojevich has been indicted. Evidently, Mr. Blagojevich tried to turn his office into one big kick-back fiefdom. Really, from strong arming the Tribune Company (owner of both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Tribune), to selling off board and commissions, to literally trying to profit from the U.S. Senate vacancy, this guy had no shame.

I don't get it. How do people think they can get away with this stuff?

The Economic Czar

Matt Brix — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:07:22 MST

The recent naming of Larry Summers as head economic advisor to President-elect Obama was met with different reactions. Some progressives expressed concern about his role in the deregulation drive of the 1990's, while some conservatives were probably alarmed by his ideas about straightening out inequality.

I must admit, I have mixed feelings about Summers. Notwithstanding his inartful comments regarding women and science, and despite his role in pushing deregulation of the financial markets, he displays two important traits - traits too often in short supply.

First, and take this with a grain of salt because I actually don't know the guy, he appears to have learned from both his own mistakes and the mistakes of other countries. His revised position on deregulation, as well as his position on countries facing a credit crisis shows me he is not an ideologue.

Put another way, evidence should play a big role in Summers' economic advice to the incoming president.

Second, Summers' will likely be a truth teller. Much of this trait will be heavily encouraged by the uniqueness of his position and strong direction from Obama. But, the conditions are right for a little more straight talk from the president's head economic advisor.

So, the conditions are right for a different direction on economic policy in the Office of the President - both philosophically and stylistically.

Playing in Prop. 8

Matt Brix — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:35:37 MST

Seems 190 New Mexicans contributed to Proposition 8 -- the California ballot measure banning gay marriage. (link) (hat tip to Jim Baca)

Unfortunately, it passed.

Being the geek I am, I decided to pour over the list and see who's supporting a ban on gay marriage and who's opposing it. Here are some preliminary numbers.

* There were 57 financial contributions from New Mexicans and New Mexico businesses in support of Prop. 8 (meaning they support banning gay marriage). Several donors made multiple contributions.

* There were 131 contributions from New Mexicans (no discernible business listings) in opposition to Prop. 8 (meaning they oppose banning gay marriage). There were little, if any repeat donors.

* New Mexico supporters of Prop. 8 contributed $147,915 to ban gay marriage in California. The average donation was $2,595.

* New Mexico opponents of Prop. 8 contributed $34,283 to fight against banning gay marriage. The average donation was $261.70.

There is so much more that can be drawn from this information, but I'll just start with this macro donor profile.

U Stream Video: Join us at 7:30 P.M. MST

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:11:18 MST

The next Clearly New Mexico U Stream update is 7:30 P.M. MST. Join us for our final Election Day broadcast.

You can watch, and participate via the chat function by clicking here.

U Stream Video Election Update at 4:00 P.M. MST

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:33:12 MST

The next Clearly New Mexico U Stream update is 4:00 P.M. MST. Join us for coverage from around New Mexico, including election protection updates, news from Albuquerque polling locations and information about our exit poll.

You can watch, and participate via the chat function by clicking here.

Voter Suppression Calls in Roswell?

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:20:34 MST

We have three reports of people in Roswell receiving a robo call, claiming the election is November 8. I want to caution, these are just preliminary reports. We're trying to get more information.

Does anyone have additional information about this matter? If you do and you don't want to post it here, feel free to email me at mattbrix@gmail.com.

U Stream Election Video: Join us at Noon MST

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:53:35 MST

Join us at 12:00 P.M. MST for the first U Stream update from Clearly New Mexico. We'll bring you coverage from round the state, including election protection updates, news from Albuquerque polling locations and information about our exit poll.

You can watch, and participate via the chat function by clicking here.

Field Update #2: Sandia High School

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:49:02 MST

10:48 AM (MST) Tracy and Alicia just stopped at the Sandia High School polling place. Like Duranes, voting was steady. The crowd at Sandia appeared to have younger faces, including one 19 year-old first-time voter.

The field team is heading to Governor Bent Elementary, which is also in the Northeast Heights.

Stay tuned.

Update from Duranes

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:28:18 MST

Tracy and Alicia just left Duranes and are headed for Sandia High School. Voting was steady, and according to Leonard Napolitano (Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's father), it only took seven minutes to vote.

Young voters were scarce at Duranes, but long-time neighborhood residents were out in force.

Field Update #1

Matt Brix — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:23:30 MST

Clearly New Mexico's Tracy Dingmann and Alicia Maldonado are hitting two polling sites this morning: Duranes Elementary School in the North Valley and Sandia High School in the Northeast Heights.

Alicia and Tracy will be gathering audio and video footage about voter's experiences in these two locations. We'll have more updates this morning, but you can expect to see the video from this morning's field interviews around lunchtime.

Stay with us throughout the day.

Clearly Election Day Coverage

Matt Brix — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:27:47 MST

You've read the compelling stories about ordinary New Mexicans on the T Files. You've seen our video interviews. And, you've participated in two of our U Stream virtual forums.

Now it's time for the Clearly New Mexico team to bring all of these tools together for Election Day. If you're looking for comprehensive, local coverage on November 4, please bookmark Clearly New Mexico. Our daylong coverage will include:

* Clearly New Mexico's Tracy Dingmann and Alicia Maldonado will file regular reports from the field, including interviews with voters at various polling locations throughout Bernalillo County.
* We'll check in with Common Cause New Mexico's Steve Allen and Katy Duhigg several times for election protection updates from nine New Mexico counties.
* Every hour, Clearly New Mexico will have a blog update, featuring information from urban and rural polling sites.
* At 12:00 P.M., 4:00 P.M. and 7:30 P.M., we'll broadcast live U Stream video reports.
* We'll conduct an exit poll at a bellwether precinct in Albuquerque and deliver the results during our final U Stream broadcast. Make sure you bookmark

Clearly New Mexico for a day of comprehensive Election Day coverage. We look forward to having you join us.

Count Every Vote

Matt Brix — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:14:03 MDT

Last night, Clearly New Mexico hosted our second virtual forum. The topic for the evening was election protection - the importance of which cannot be overstated.

Go here to check out both parts of the video.

Joining me for the hour-long program were Katy Duhigg and Steve Allen of Common Cause New Mexico. Steve and Katy have been hard at work over the past couple of moths developing Common Cause's new, permanent election protection infrastructure right here in New Mexico.

You can read more about the new program, called Count Every Vote New Mexico here.

Why a permanent infrastructure here in New Mexico?
As we know, New Mexico gets quite a lot of national attention every four years. One aspect of that attention is on the legal front. Attorneys and legal experts, often based in Washington, D.C. or New York, offer over-the-phone help and advice for voters when problems arise.

This has been helpful, to be sure.

Problem is, once the election is over, there may be a report about specific findings, or perhaps some discussions about problems that came up.

Countdown, Election Protection Forum

Matt Brix — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:02:15 MDT

On Tuesday evening at 5:00 P.M., Clearly New Mexico will sponsor the second of our virtual economic forums. This topic will be "election protection." The forum will be broadcast live, on the forum page of our website and will feature Steve Allen and Katy Duhigg of Common Cause New Mexico.

Regardless of your political preferences, regardless of what candidates you are supporting, we invite you to join us for Tuesday night's forum.

Steve and Katy will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.

The first forum ginned up a lot of interest. So, please join us for the second one!

All About the Health Care

Matt Brix — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:13:44 MDT

Ezra nails it.

U.S. budget deficits over the next 50 years, assuming no change in current policy, will absolutely explode. Not because of Social Security, not be cause of Medicare - because of health care. If there is not a concerted effort to address the booming cost of health care, then we can pretty much bet the country will go bankrupt.

Really, this isn't an alarmist rant. It's a fact.

Firing up the Forum

Matt Brix — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:01:17 MDT

Last Thursday, we held our first Clearly New Mexico online forum. The topic for the evening was all things "economy" and our featured guest was Professor Melissa Binder from UNM's economics department.

I must say, I really didn't know what to expect. I was uncertain about our technology selection (U Stream). And, I really had no idea about attendance, or if participants would be willing to get actively involved.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!

Throughout the hour-long forum, attendance held steady at around 30 people. In addition to the respectable turnout, we had a very engaged audience. The U Stream technology couldn't have been a better fit for our needs (check it out at www.ustream.tv) - allowing participants to chat with one another while also allowing them to submit questions for Professor Binder.

Given the primacy of the ongoing economic crisis, forum participants were only too eager to get answers to their questions. But I believe they were also eager to talk with other New Mexicans about things like retirement plans, mortgages, bank lending, derivatives and what sorts of policies might lead to a reinvigoration of the American middle class.

With one forum under our belt, you can bet we'll be announcing another in the near future. We believe Clearly New Mexico is a space for healthy debate and educating ourselves about various public policy alternatives.

Stay tuned for more information about the next Clearly New Mexico forum. In the mean time, check out this link for a replay of last week's economic forum.

Countdown to the Economic Forum

Matt Brix — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:40:36 MDT

This evening, Clearly New Mexico will sponsor a virtual economic forum. The forum will be broadcast live, right here on our website, and will feature University of New Mexico Economics Professor Melissa Binder.

Regardless of your views on the economic crisis, regardless of your position on the federal bailout, we invite you to join us for the discussion.

Professor Binder will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.

This will be a bit of an experiment for Clearly New Mexico, but we certainly look forward to it!