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Headline News
for the week ending August 15, 2003

Pearce & Wilson announce natural gas field hearing

AG Madrid seeks rehearing in silvery minnow case

Beleaguered NM miner Jerry Fennell stil on the land

MN Secretary of State named president-elect of national association

Domenici visiting four national parks this week
NM voters to decide on two amendments Sept. 23
Domenici applauds decision to build nation's largest cheese plant in Clovis

Pearce says he's ‘suspicious’ of veterans’ entitlement 

MoveOn reports on progress to expose distortions of Bush Administration

Pearce & Wilson announce natural gas field hearing

WASHINGTON, DC - With a potential natural gas shortage looming this fall and winter because of historically high prices and low natural gas supplies, Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) today announced the Task Force for Affordable Natural Gas will hold a Field Hearing in New Mexico on Monday, Aug. 18, in Hobbs.

The Task Force will convene at the Lea County Events Center at 10 a.m. Pearce and Wilson were tapped by U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) to be leaders on the Task Force, which was designed to help take action against the devastating impacts of the natural gas shortage on American families, farms and businesses.

With 60 million homes, businesses and industries dependent upon natural gas, the 18-Member Task Force will report back to the Speaker by Sept. 30 on three main areas of inquiry:

1. The causes of today's natural gas shortage;

2. The impact of natural gas prices on the American economy; and,

3. Short and long-term ideas to encourage a stable supply of natural gas to ease price volatility.

Pleased to be holding the field hearing in his district, Pearce said, "The work of this task force is critical because we've witnessed time and time again how our nation's economic prosperity depends upon the availability of abundant, affordable energy. We need a better solution and I am confident that New Mexicans will help us find one."

"Over one-half of U.S. homes use natural gas as their main heating fuel," says Wilson "We need sources of supply that can meet demand."

The public and media are encouraged to attend the Field Hearing. Please find the details below followed by a list of people who are slated to testify at the hearing. Call Gail Gitcho or Matt Meagher with any questions, 202-225-2365.

Witnesses testifying at the hearing: include:Robert Caudle, Lea County Electric Cooperative; Tim Theisner, Dairy Farmers of America; Steve McCutcheon, Mississippi Potash Inc.; Patrick Lyons, Commissioner, New Mexico Public Lands Commission; Steve Massey, Eddy County Manager; Dr. Judy Armstrong, Provost, Eastern New Mexico University Roswell; Peyton Yates, Yates Petroleum Corporation; Richard Fraley, Burlington Resources; President Claudia Vigil-Muniz, Jicarilla Apache Nation; Lewis Derrick, Rancher.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA) and House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) today launched a website to keep the public informed on the progress of the Speaker's Natural Gas Task Force For Affordable Natural Gas.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-13-03)

AG Madrid seeks rehearing in minnow case

SANTA FE - Attorney General Patricia Madrid, representing the State of New Mexico, on Monday filed a petition in the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals asking for a rehearing of the silvery minnow case.

Specifically, the petition asks for a rehearing en banc.  If the rehearing is granted the case will be heard by all judges of the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The decision in the Silvery Minnow case reached by two judges of a three judge panel of the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals is of critical concern to New Mexico as well as numerous states in the West,” Madrid said.

“This decision took the unprecedented step of ordering that water imported from the Colorado River Basin into the Rio Grande Basin for use by the people of Albuquerque and others can be used for a Rio Grande endangered species,” Madrid said. “In addition, the court found that the Endangered Species Act provides authority for the federal government to, in effect, breach long-standing contracts with water users that we have relied upon.”

“We believe the court has gone beyond what the Endangered Species Act requires or allows. The minnow decision sends cracks through the foundation of our State water laws and creates a climate of uncertainty for our users," Attorney General Madrid said.

"New Mexico needs to accommodate the needs of the minnow. But those accommodations should be made within our existing state water laws. The federal government cannot take our water without compensating those whose lives and livelihoods depend upon it,” she said.

“The 10^th Circuit should not exempt the federal government from following the State of New Mexico's water law," Madrid said.

"The 10^th Circuit decision impacts numerous western states, particularly those states in which Bureau of Reclamation projects provide a significant amount of the water supply,” she said.

The Attorney General of Idaho has prepared an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief supporting New Mexico's position.

“Additional attorneys general have joined Idaho in supporting us, including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming," Madrid said. "I appreciate their efforts to provide the court with evidence of the importance of the minnow decision on the states within the 10^th Circuit."

While a rehearing by the Court en banc is somewhat rare, Attorney General Madrid argues in her brief that this case warrants the unusual action. The specific arguments noted include:

·  The opinion reached by two judges of the three-judge panel expands the obligations of federal agencies well beyond the scope of the Endangered Species Act at the expense of western communities.

·  The opinion conflicts with previous decisions of the court.

·  The concurring opinion issued by two judges of the three-judge panel raises issues not briefed by any party and has created confusion that requires clarification.

"Should the 10^th Circuit reject our request for a rehearing, we will appeal to the United States Supreme Court," Madrid said.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-12-03)

Beleaguered NM miner Jerry Fennell still on the land

In August of 2002 I penned an article "The Sign On The Church House Door" about Jerry Fennell, the only miner left in New Mexico’s Jicarilla Mountains. See http://www.sierratimes.com/02/08/19/arpf081902.htm.

Fennell was ordered by the U.S. Forest Service to leave his home by Jan. 15, 2003 or be charged with trespass.

Since the article published, I have had countless requests for an update on Fennell's situation. Jerry asked me to pass the below information along.

J. Zane Walley

Executive Director

The Environmental Conservation Organization Inc.

Advocates for a Productive America

ecologic@freedom.org

He did not leave and is still on his mining claim …and still fighting hard to remain as he has indicated in a letter to José M. Martinez, Lincoln National Forest Supervisor.

His unyielding stand caught some national attention, and few other miners joined him in the Jicarilla Mountains to file new mining claims or re-file old ones.

The population of Jicarilla has swelled from two to nine people. According to Joe Karnes, a miner who just staked a claim in the area, "Others are coming from as far away as Ohio, New York and Alaska."

On a recent visit to Lincoln, NM, (a drive of some 40 miles), Karnes fished a small vial of gold dust from his pocket and handed it to me. "There is gold up there," he said, "it is all fine and takes a lot of work but we are producing."

On July 25, 2003, the miners held an election and reestablished the Village of Jicarilla. (See "Election" at the end of this message.)

...The letter

Jerry Fennell’s letter of July 31, 2003, to Lincoln’s forest supervisor Martinez in Alamogordo stated:

“Mr. Martinez: Thank you for your recent letter.  But once again, I must inform you that I have not received the information I requested.

“It would appear that I am getting the run around. Mr. Martinez, I have been trying to get the Lincoln National Forest to supply me with the documents as their proof of ownership to the Jicarilla Mining District, and to the Settlement of Jicarilla, New Mexico, since May 11, 2001. As to their statement at the meeting of the same date. Wherein the question was asked, ‘Who actually owns Jicarilla?’

“At that time, Mr. Johnny Wilson stated, "We do." When ask if he could supply the documents to us, his answer was an emphatic, "Yes."

When asked if the Lincoln National Forest would indeed supply the people of the meeting with said documents the answer was again yes. However, none of us have received them to this day.

“I did receive what appeared to be an ‘altered or cropped’ document from Mr. Gerald M. Hawkes of the Smokey Bear Ranger Station of the Lincoln National Forest. That was presented under an oath at the PLUAC (Public Land Use Council) meeting here in Carrizozo, New Mexico, on or about Sept. 5, .2002.

“Presented as proof of the USFS ownership, along with a 1997 Bureau of Land Management land status map. May I add, these documents, neither alone nor together, gave any credibility of ownership to the Lincoln National Forest of Jicarilla, New Mexico, or the Jicarilla Mining District in the form they were presented. And was presented as a legal document."

“What I have been asking for is nothing more than was suggested by the Lincoln National Forest that they could provide. If the Lincoln National Forest cannot provide this information, then I along with everyone else must assume that the Lincoln National Forest does not now nor have they ever owned the Jicarilla Mining District nor do they own Jicarilla, New Mexico.

“I would also add here once again, "I do not claim ownership personally to the Jicarilla Mining District nor do I, nor have I ever claimed ownership to the land in which the Jicarilla Mining District is settled. I am only one of many entities thereof.

“Moreover, I only lay claim to the rights that I along with many others are entitled.  If in fact the USFS can show legal title to the lands in question (T005s R012e all sections) and legal documents granting said legal authority to said lands, which would supercede the settlement of Jicarilla, New Mexico, and/or the Mining District, then we of the settlement of Jicarilla, New Mexico, and the Jicarilla Mining District once again would request that such documents be presented.

“But if in fact the said legal documents cannot be presented by the USFS then this whole issue can only be construed as continuous harassment on the part of the USFS Lincoln National Forest and has continued since 1907.

“We of the legally filed Jicarilla Mining District - filed Jan. 23, 1893 - do now and have always made the utmost attempt to abide by the laws of the Jicarilla Mining District, the laws of the State of New Mexico, the laws of Lincoln County, and the federal laws of the United States of America. And utmost the federal mining laws.

“We the miners, residents and businessmen and women and governing body of the Jicarilla Mining District take great pride in our customs, culture, heritage and history of this Mining District.

“Our question, when it was emphatically implied that the Lincoln National Forest held ownership to the Jicarilla Mining District and the settlement of Jicarilla was and still is, how do you hold ownership?

“The statement was made by Mr. Gerald M. Hawkes that the Settlement of Jicarilla has always been on Forest Service land! Our question being, did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1540? Did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1850? Did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1893? Did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1895? Did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1897? Did the Forest Reserve own Jicarilla in the year 1900? Did the Forest Service even own Jicarilla in the year 1907 as they claim?

“If so, why won't you present the legal documents? In accordance with the laws governing the Forest Service, administered and governed by the Department of the Interior, they should be in your office.

“I have lost count of the many FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request letters I have sent to the Lincoln National Forest, requesting this information. But to no avail.

“I would guess that now might be the time to present these letters to a judge and ask for a court order, for the Lincoln National Forest to present these documents in their entirety. If in fact, they do exist.

Sincerely,

Jerry Fennell

H.C. 31-100

Carrizozo, NM 88301

Email at watchdog@tularosa.net (It is a long drive from the mine to his computer or water or electricity so don't expect a speedy reply.

…Election of Village of Jicarilla

As of the meeting held at the home of Jerry Fennell, Jicarilla, NM, on July 25, 2003, at 6 p.m. and in accordance with the laws of and for the Village of Jicarilla, NM, and the laws governing the said Village and the Jicarilla Mining District, New Mexico;

And whereas, the meeting was recorded, and transcribed in accordance with the laws of said Village and Mining District, the following persons were duly elected to the following offices for a period of three years in accordance with the rules of said district.

...Go to the source

Election Results may be obtained at: watchdog@tularosa.net.

See also on the internet the following:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30529

http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/gold_miner_fights_forest_service.htm

http://www.fmdac.com/quest/winter03/wntr3_34.htm

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-12-03)

New Mexico Secretary of State selected

president-elect for national association

New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron was chosen president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State at their annual summer conference held recently in Portland, Maine.

In a vote by acclamation, the national bi-partisan organization made Vigil-Giron the first Hispanic president-elect of the association.

The vote to elect new officers for the association was held July 28. Her term as president-elect will end in July 2004.

Celebrating their 100^th anniversary next year, The National Association of Secretaries of State is comprised of the top state election officials in the United States and is the oldest professional non-partisan organization of public officials in the nation.

Vigil-Giron recently completed a term as treasurer for the organization. As president-elect she is in line to serve as president for a term beginning in July 2004 and ending in July 2005.

Vigil-Giron is the chief elections officer in the state and the highest ranking elected Hispanic woman state official in the United States. She is serving her third term as New Mexico’s Secretary of State.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-12-03)

Domenici visiting four national parks this week

To meet officials on pressures

facing National Park System;

to examine concessions, park

fees, maintenance backlog

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is this week visiting four national parks to assess firsthand the challenges facing the national park system.

The committee-sponsored travel will allow Domenici to learn more about a growing maintenance backlog, controversial efforts to compete federal work, evolving relationships with park concessionaires and other emerging issues with the National Park Service.

Domenici will visit Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, Denali National Park, Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, all in Alaska.

The four parks face challenges representative of the park system. Those challenges include the impact of increased tourism, snowmobile use, the construction of new roads, expansion of park boundaries, the preservation of heavily-visited historic sites, and plans to compete federal jobs with the private sector.

During this fact-finding trip, Domenici will meet with the superintendents of each of the four parks and travel part of the time with National Park Service Director Fran Manella. He will also view the Alaska pipeline and meet with representatives from Native Alaska Corporations.

The Energy & Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the national park system.

Domenici’s visit is particularly timely in light of recent and pending National Parks Subcommittee hearings on competitive sourcing, maintenance backlog and permanent authorization of the recreation fee program.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-11-03)

Voters to decide on two amendments Sept. 23

The League of Women Voters of New Mexico has provided information to statewide registered voters regarding constitutional amendments 1 and 2 to be on the ballot on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003.

…Constitutional Amendment 1

Proposing an amendment to Article 12, Section 6 of the Constitution of New Mexico to transfer the state department of public education to a cabinet department headed by a secretary of public education who shall serve in the executive cabinet and to create an elected public education commission.

PROPOSED:

A department of public education to be headed by a secretary of public education who is to be a qualified, experienced educator appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate.

The secretary will serve in the governor's cabinet and have policymaking authority and financial direction of school funds and financial accounting for all public schools as provided by law.

In addition, a ten-member public education commission would be elected from single-member districts.  The duties of the commission would be as specified by legislation.

People For The Amendment Say:

·        This amendment makes the governor directly responsible and accountable for improved performance of public schools.  Raising the state department of public education to cabinet level status sets public education as a state priority.

·        The current 15-member state board of education is too unwieldy to create coherent and effective statewide educational policy. This amendment reduces bureaucracy by eliminating five appointed members of the School Board.

·        With this amendment, the governor will be able to coordinate all administrative department programs and budgets. (Note that about 48% of state operational funds are directed to public education through grade 12.)

EXISTING:

A state board of education with ten members elected from single-member districts plus five members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate.

The board determines public school policy and vocational education policy and has control, management and direction, including financial direction, of the distribution of school funds under the authority and powers provided by law.

The board appoints a superintendent of public instruction who is a qualified, experienced educational administrator, to direct the operation of the department of education.

People Against The Amendment Say:

·        This amendment would concentrate policy-making and financial control in the hands of a single, unelected individual (the secretary of public education), while the role of the elected public education commission remains unspecified.

·        The amendment could result in revision of educational policy with each new governor.  In the past the current system has provided for continuity of educational policies across changes in governors.

·        Education policies desired by a governor can be adequately represented by the five appointed members of the state board of education.  The governor possesses the power to veto unwanted legislation related to education.

…Constitutional Amendment 2

Proposing to amend the Constitution of New Mexico [Article 12, Section 7] to provide for a limited additional distribution from the permanent funds to provide more money for the public schools to implement and maintain educational reforms and for other permanent fund recipients.

PROPOSED:

The annual distribution from fund set aside by the Constitution primarily for educational purposes would increase from 4.7% to 5.0%.  In addition, for fiscal years 2005-2012 the annual distribution would be raised to 5.8%.  For fiscal years 2013-2016, the distribution would be 5.5% before reverting to 5.0% for subsequent years.  The annual distributions would be based on the average of the year-end market values of the fund for the preceding five calendar years.

People For The Amendment Say:

·        Money from the Permanent School Fund is needed to support legislatively-mandated education reforms, including the five-year phase-in of salary increases for teachers.  This investment in our children, the "human capital" of New Mexico, will provide a rate of return greater than that of stocks and bonds.

·        Financial safeguards are provided in the text of the amendment: increased distributions from the Permanent School Fund for education reform (those above 5%) will be canceled if the fund shrinks below $5.8 billion which is about 85% of its current value.  In addition, distributions above 5% may also be curtailed by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.

·        The Permanent School Fund is healthy and able to withstand market downturns.  In the ten-year period ending June 30, 2002, the fund doubled in size despite significant losses in the last two years.

EXISTING:

Article 12, Section 7 of the constitution currently authorizes annual distributions from the Permanent School Fund at the rate of 4.7% of the average of the year-end market values of the fund for the preceding five calendar years.

People Against The Amendment Say:

·        The Permanent School Fund is an endowment that the current generation is obligated to pass intact to future generations.  Increasing the distribution means that the principal will grow more slowly, even if current market conditions improve.  If the growth in the fund fails to keep up with inflation, future distributions to public schools may even decline in real terms.

·        A temporary increase in distributions from this fund is not a permanent solution to the school funding problem.  The Permanent School Fund consists of income from non-renewable resources (oil, gas and other minerals) as well as other sources.  Sustainable solutions need to be found now, rather than postponing the problems by borrowing from future generations.

·        The amendment does not assure that total school funding will increase in future years. Since more money would be available from the Permanent School Fund, the legislature might be more likely to cut the allocations they now make to public schools from the general fund in order to make available general fund money for other state needs or tax cuts.

This article prepared by the League of Women Voters of New Mexico.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-11-03)

Domenici applauds decision to build

nation's largest cheese plant in Clovis

Select milk producers to build

$200M facility in Curry County

ALBUQUERQUE - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici on Thursday applauded a decision by Select Milk Producers to construct a $200 million cheese plant in Clovis, a facility that is expected to generate 200 jobs and an estimated $450 million in annual sales.

Domenici, an advocate for the growing dairy industry in New Mexico, worked to encourage Select Milk Producers to build the plant in Curry County.

Domenici joined company officials and Governor Bill Richardson to make the announcement for the cheese plant, which would be the largest in North America.

"Select Milk Producers is one our nation's finest daily operations," Domenici said. "It is a tremendous boost for the Clovis area that this company will be building a new plant here.”

“This is more evidence that our 10-year effort to build up the dairy industry in New Mexico is paying off. This plant will not only mean permanent work for 200 workers, but also numerous construction and related jobs," Domenici said.

The plant would use 6.5 million pounds of milk produced in New Mexico each day.  The firm has not yet determined when construction is expected to begin, or when cheese production would begin.

"With this plant, New Mexico will move up in becoming one of the leading dairy producing states in the country," Domenici said.  "The fact that it will use vast quantities of milk produced at New Mexico dairies will mean the economic impact of this plant will reach far beyond Curry County's borders."

Select Milk Producers was formed in 1994 by a group of large dairy producers with high quality milk and efficient dairy farm operations.

The New Mexico/West Texas division, headquartered in Artesia, produces an estimated 1.65 billion pounds of milk each year, generating $214.5 million in revenue. The company was named 2001 Corporation of the Year by the Artesia Chamber of Commerce.

When completed the Select Milk cheese plant would give New Mexico two of the largest cheese production facilities in the nation.

Luprino Foods operates the largest mozzarella production plant in Roswell.

Dairy production is the leading agriculture commodity in New Mexico, recording $815 million in cash receipts in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Overall milk sales from dairies in the state had a $1.2 billion impact on the New Mexico economy.

New Mexico is the ninth-leading dairy producing state in the union, having increased production 400 percent since 1990.

The leading dairy producing counties in New Mexico are Chaves, Curry, Roosevelt, Doña Ana, Lea and Eddy. There is also significant production in Bernalillo, Socorro and Valencia counties.

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-8-03)

Pearce says he's ‘suspicious’

of veterans’ entitlement

Rep. Pearce tells NM military retirees

he won't sign petition opposed by his

party leaders to provide them full benefits

WASHINGTON, DC - Instead of acknowledging that more money is needed for veterans health care, Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM) told veterans in Tularosa, NM, on Tuesday that problems with VA health care are the result of abuse by veterans and their families of an "entitlement" program, according to a release from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"It's very difficult to get fraud and abuse out of entitlement programs… People sometimes don't exist in the first place or they are passed away and someone is still drawing funds. I am very suspicious of entitlement action," said Rep. Pearce.

A local veteran responded by telling Rep. Pearce, "This is not entitlement, but something we've earned." [Alamogordo Daily News, 8/6/03]

Rep. Pearce also refused to break with his Washington party leaders on the issue of "concurrent receipt" of disability and retirement pay for military retirees.

When asked when he would sign a discharge petition to bring concurrent receipt to the House Floor, Rep. Pearce said he would not sign it.

Instead, he said, "What I have done instead of signing the petition is be a part of a group that said I think we need to get together on the floor to get something done." [Alamogordo Daily News, 8/6/03]

Rep. Pearce's response made no sense because his Republican leadership refuses to allow any legislation on concurrent receipt to come to the House Floor.

In fact, there are inadequate resources for veterans health care and concurrent receipt because Rep. Pearce and House Republicans have enacted hundreds of billions in tax breaks for the wealthy and special interests, according to the DCCC news release.

Before leaving Washington last month, Rep. Pearce voted to prevent the House from even considering an amendment to add $2.2 billion in needed funding for veterans' health care. [RV #450, 7/25/03]

Rep. Pearce then voted for a veterans funding bill that contains $1.8 billion less for VA health care than was budgeted earlier this year. [RV #456, 7/25/03]

"As a veteran himself, Steve Pearce should know that our veterans' health care isn't just another 'entitlement program,' but a promise to be kept to those who served our country," said DCCC Communications Director Kori Bernards.

"After just a few months in Washington, Pearce has decided that pleasing party leaders is more important than delivering for vets back in New Mexico. So Pearce voted for massive tax breaks instead of health care for veterans, and he refuses to give disabled military retirees the full benefits they've earned."

<<<   >>>

(posted 8-8-03)

MoveOn reports on progress to expose

distortions & lies of Bush Administration

Editor’s note – MoveOn sent the following

article as an e-mail letter to its members.

Two weeks ago, we received a call from former Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Gore explained that he was deeply concerned about the President's pattern of misleading the public - most recently on Iraq, but also on the environment, the economy, and a host of other domestic issues.

He said he was working on a major policy speech, and he wanted to give it to MoveOn members and with MoveOn's sponsorship. MoveOn was a good partner, he said, because so many MoveOn members are engaging in the national conversation about the direction of our country.

Today, at NYU, over 600 MoveOn members gathered to hear the address. Attendance was so high that the crowd filled two overflow rooms and spilled out into the halls, and over 100 members of the national press corps were there - every major media outlet in the country and scores of international outlets as well. CNN and MSNBC covered the speech live.

Gore's speech reflected and built upon what over 400,000 MoveOn members have been saying for months now about the evidence on Iraq: In the rush to war, the President misled the country.

Here's an excerpt:

"I mentioned the feeling many have that something basic has gone wrong. Whatever it is, I think it has a lot to do with the way we seek the truth and try in good faith to use facts as the basis for debates about our future - allowing for the unavoidable tendency we all have to get swept up in our enthusiasms.

“That last point is worth highlighting.  Robust debate in a democracy will almost always involve occasional rhetorical excesses and leaps of faith, and we're all used to that. I've even been guilty of it myself on occasion.

“But there is a big difference between that and a systematic effort to manipulate facts in service to a totalistic ideology that is felt to be more important than the mandates of basic honesty.

“Unfortunately, I think it is no longer possible to avoid the conclusion that what the country is dealing with in the Bush Presidency is the latter. That is really the nub of the problem - the common source for most of the false impressions that have been frustrating the normal and healthy workings of our democracy," Gore said.

You can read the entire speech transcript, and, by 5p.m. EST today, view streaming video of the event at our homepage: http://www.moveon.org.

At a time when some politicians are scared to take a stand, it's tremendously heartening to see statesmen like Al Gore take the President on.

And it's MoveOn members like yourself that made this happen. By consistently speaking out on the important issues, you've helped make MoveOn a powerful voice for a better future. Thank you.

Amazingly, Al Gore's speech is just one piece of the good news. On a host of other fronts, our campaign to press Congress to demand the truth on the distortion of evidence in Iraq is gaining great momentum.

Here's our full report:

…Members of Congress read

MoveOn comments on the House floor

In early July, a number of Members of Congress contacted us to let us know that they'd be reading MoveOn members' comments on the House floor from the petition to establish an independent commission on Iraq intelligence.

Since then, night after night, Representatives like Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) have taken the floor to highlight your powerful words.

Here's a short excerpt from Congressman Brown's remarks:

"A 165 years ago, Madam Speaker, the United States Congress, amazingly enough, the House of Representatives, passed a rule prohibiting its Members from debating the great issue of slavery, the greatest blemish on American history.

“In those days, John Quincy Adams, former President, then elected to the House of Representatives, came down to the well of the House week after week reading letters from his constituents, reading what he called petitions from groups in his State of Massachusetts, many of them written by women in women's clubs, women who actually could not in those days, as we all know, vote in American elections.

“He read these letters protesting this rule prohibiting the discussion of slavery and protesting the institution of slavery itself.

"Today, we find ourselves in a Congress where this Congress has refused to discuss and investigate what exactly the President did and said about weapons of mass destruction.

“As the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) said earlier in the evening, an organization called MoveOn.org, an organization of 1.5 million Americans, tens of thousands in my State of Ohio, asked its members to sign an on-line petition saying that we believe Congress should support an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration's distortion of evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.

"Tens of thousands of those members, in addition to signing the petitions, wrote letters to Members of Congress.

“And similar to John Quincy Adams's coming to the House floor to expose the Congress' inability and unwillingness to discuss issues of national import, many of us have come to the House floor every night to share the concerns, not just our concerns, Members of Congress, but to share the concerns of people in my district in my State," Congressman Brown said.

You can view the entire transcript of their powerful speeches, as well as dozens of MoveOn members' comments, at: http://www.moveon.org/wmdpledge/congress.html.

…112 Members of Congress on board

Another example of the growing momentum on this issue in Congress is the number of Representatives who have pledged their support of an independent commission to investigate the evidence Bush used to make the case for war.

Only a few weeks into our legislative lobbying, 112 Members of Congress are now co-sponsors on Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-CA) legislation to establish a commission.

With grassroots in-district meetings happening with Members of Congress around the country this month (we'll let you know if one's happening in your district next week), that number will only go up from here.

The list of co-sponsors is online at: http://www.misleader.org/who.html.

…414,000 signers on "distortion of evidence" petition

With over 400,000 signers, our Distortion of Evidence petition is one of our largest ever. The signers come from across the country and across the political spectrum, and many have added poignant and powerful comments.

Here's an example from Ron Macek, whose comment was read by Rep. Schakowsky on the House floor.

``My wife is with Freeport's 333^rd MP Company. She has been overseas since late April. She has been on active duty since Feb. 9.

“She has not slept in her own bed next to her own husband in four months and six days. We still have no idea when this nightmare can be over for us.

“We understand a call to duty for our Nation. We truly do. However, she did not join the National Guard with an open-ended deployment and a war zone in mind. None of them did.

“We always thought the Guard was for short deployments and emergencies only. She tells me that morale with her soldiers is extremely low.

“There are short tempers, long days, fear, crying soldiers, and no idea when it can be over for them. That is the root of our anguish.

“These people have been uprooted from their lives and jobs, and they answered that call, yet no one can answer their most-asked question: When can I go home?

“The average soldier is not a stupid order taker. We have a highly intelligent military, and they realize what is going on back home with the controversy around the evidence of weapons of mass destruction. I cannot speak for other soldiers, but it disturbs my wife deeply to think that she could be over there risking her life and living a daily heartbreak based on distorted testimony.

“It makes her feel like a pawn of political agenda, not an American doing good in the world. All of this together most certainly influences her ideas of retention.

“We need the truth, not someone's version of the truth, not some of the truth but all of the truth. And we need to know when we can be reunited to live our lives together,” Macek said.

…National news coverage

The campaign to demand the truth on Iraq has gathered widespread attention in the national news media.

Articles on the petition have appeared in the Washington Post, AP, Reuters, the Boston Globe, and hundreds of other papers around the country and around the world. Here's an excerpt from the Washington Post:

“Antiwar Groups Say Public Ire Over Iraq Claims Is Increasing” by Evelyn Nieves, Washington Post, July 22, 2003 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0722-01.htm

SAN FRANCISCO - The letters are pouring in like a water main break -- fast and, yes, furious. From Alabama: "We want to know the truth!" From Arizona: "If there's nothing to hide, what's the harm in a bipartisan inquiry?" From Mississippi: "We must get to the truth -- whatever it is!"

About 400,000 people from every state have contacted members of Congress in the past three weeks as part of a MoveOn.org petition that asks Congress to investigate the controversial claims that led to the war on Iraq, with more than 50,000 people signing on to the liberal activist website in the past five days alone.

"It seems more and more people who supported the war are signing on," said Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org's campaigns director. "They're angry. People who in the past couple of weeks before the war decided to support it are swinging back."

…Events around the country

From Phoenix, AZ to Portland, ME, local groups are taking up the call to get to the bottom of Iraq evidence.

With MoveOn members' support, groups in 12 cities ran local copies of our "Misleader" print ad, pressing their Members of Congress to support an investigation.

Covered widely in the press, these events have rallied local communities around this issue. Here's an example of the coverage.

“Activists call for investigation” - Portland Press Herald, July 25, 2003 By Elbert Aull http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030725peace.shtml

Throughout August, across the country, press conferences, rallies, and even "readings" of the MoveOn petition by Members of Congress will continue to make the case for investigating the President's WMD deception.

By joining together around this simple message, we've created an enormous grassroots groundswell. As Al Gore points out, "Americans have always believed that we the people have a right to know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The very idea of self- government depends upon honest and open debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth - and a shared respect for the Rule of Reason as the best way to establish the truth."

This campaign is about nothing less than maintaining the integrity of our democracy. Thank you for being involved, for your courage in speaking out, and for your dedication to this fight. Let's keep  moving.

Sincerely, - Carrie, Eli, Joan, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack The MoveOn Team

Aug. 7, 2003

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(posted 8-8-03)

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