Mikaela says:
Joe Anderson posted a letter about the Mayor's proposal to ban all alcohol sales from all-ages shows here. Although that effort by the mayor failed, rest assured he's still got tricks up his sleeves.
A cyber-friend in Albuquerque's own Unit 7 Drain, who plays often at the Lauchpad, posted this to his blog in October:
So yesterday, I was jogging down Central, and I noticed Chavez's campaign HQ, I went in and asked if I could speak to someone about this "no alcohol at all ages proposal" , they directed me to the campaign manager's office.I asked what this proposal was about, the guy said "the mayor whats to keep alcohol away from kids" I said "so this applies to the Journal Pavillion and State Fair too, right?" He said, "no just places where there is a bar atmosphere". I responded "kids have gotten alcohol lots of times at the Jounal, they have been cited many times, my underage sister has had beer handed to her several times @ the Fair. Why are you picking on the Launchpad?" He said "it is the adults with alcohol, not the Launchpad. We just want the kids to be away from the adults with alcohol" I said "but there are adults with alcohol around all the kids @ the Journal and State Fair, why is that OK?" He said "we just don't want anywhere where there is a bar atmosphere"
It was like talking to a robot. (a robot with very limited understanding and poor programming) I could see in his eyes that he knew it was BS. But he was following his programming. There were two teen-aged girls in his office while he and I were having this conversation. They knew it was BS also. It is strange how someone can go against what they know is right. It is like these people are in a really big, socially accepted CULT. It was just interesting to see someone spewing bullshit right to my face, and maintaing their own straight face while they do it. "
-ride captain ride
-little bobby
It is one thing to want our children to be safe; it is another to use our children as the justification for our own selfish goals. The Mayor needs to come clean about why he's really so interested in this issue. The fact that he's not doing more to keep alcohol sales to minors from happening EVERYWHERE, starting first with the places where it happens the MOST completely undermines his credibility on this issue.
My first guess: he's politically and monetarily connected to the Journal Pavilion and can't/won't screw with them.
Second: he's politically and monetarily at odd with Launchpad/Sunshine owner Joe Anderson, who's on the opposite side of development issues that Mayor Marty's moneycrew falls on.
It's okay, Marty. You can admit it. Let's just all be honest and have a conversation about what we want to do together. That's democracy, right? Is that idea really so scary to you that you have to hide behind teenagers?
Come on out. Let's talk about this. Our community has the right to make a decision together, knowing where each of us stands and why.
Like New Orleans, Albuquerque teeters on a development decision-point. The more we can force all the players to be transparent about their own stakes in these decisions, the better informed our decisions can be. Them's the rules of the game. Let's all remember that. Even if the power does lie with the moneyed, the community can re-balance the power by banding together to demand accountability. That's how it works.
As Marjorie says, democracy humanizes capitalism. That's the role and power of community.
Anybody got the skinny on Marty's latest?
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