Diogenes'six

• Jury doesn't believe APD Chief Ray Schultz, taxpayers out $662,000.00.

  Albuquerque Chief of Police Ray Schultz tried to get jurors to believe that there is no such thing as the "blue wall of silence".
  
  Jurors weren't going for it, link,
  and they awarded the victim
  $662,000.00, plus another
  $200,000.00 or so in legal fees.[...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2009, 10:29am EST
  

• Jimmy Carter Middle School, ex-President wants his name off the building.

  Yet another scandal at Jimmy Carter Middle School, link.
  
  Two teachers physically assaulting students, one teacher admitting to having sex with her student, and now yet another teacher accused of making inappropriate comments and touching of students. There are allegations that this is not the first time he [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2009, 9:52am EST
  

• Ethics Commission bill, ready to go.

  A bill, link, has been written by members of an Interim committee on Courts, Corrections and Justice.
  
  AN ACT
  RELATING TO ETHICS;
  ENACTING THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION ACT; CREATING THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION; PROVIDING FOR AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING AND THE PUBLICATION OF ETHICS [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2009, 7:10am EST
  

• Whose call is it?

  When the legislature convenes in January, it will be in response to a call from the governor.
  
  Governor Bill Richardson
  will tell us, what it is
  that we will talk about.
  
  You can bet that rooting out corruption in state government will not be [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 25, 2009, 9:26am EST
  

• State auditor proposes legislative reform.

  State Auditor Hector Balderas has put together two proposals that would provide penalties for those who obstruct audits and for agencies that don't turn audits in on time, link.
  
  It looks like baby steps in the right direction making it "... unlawful to make a false, misleading or'" [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:12am EST
  

• A "must read" satire on the leadership of the UNM

  link
  
  And, a rather disappointing result in the effort to hold a
  confidence vote on UNM leadership, link. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:50am EST
  

• Who decides, who decides?

  I sometimes write posts in answer to an objection that has been raised in opposition to some arguement I have advanced. This post is one of those.
  
  I am told, truth telling is not black and white, and further that,
  I am mistaken in arguing that any answer except [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 24, 2009, 6:04pm EST
  

• Diane Denish says no(?) to public records review panel.

  Three of us are watching the same video, link, Excerpt #3.
  
  KKOB's political reporter and blogger, Peter St Cyr asked
  gubernatorial hopeful Diane Denish if she would support an
  independent review panel to provide oversight over public
  records requests.
  
  I am outnumbered, two to one. My friends' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:49am EST
  

• Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs in the APS.

  In colleges and universities there are ROTC programs. Upon graduation, those students are eligible for commissions in the armed forces. ROTC programs in high schools are called Junior ROTC programs.
  
  Their stated purpose;"... to instill in students in ... the values of citizenship,
  service to the United States, and" [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:24am EST
  

• Stakeholders shut out again.

  There is a vigorous debate going on; whether to continue to
  have Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in public schools.
  
  Those who cannot attend board meetings,
  because they are scheduled to begin
  when most people are still at work,
  have been assured that they can [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:11am EST
  

• Trouble at Jimmy Carter Middle School, more cover ups.

  The beleaguered Jimmy Carter Middle School will be the
  focus of more public attention this week as some long kept secrets and a few new ones, make their way out of the dark and into the light.
  
  You will remember JCMS as the school where a teacher recently admitted [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 23, 2009, 6:55am EST
  

• "Ex-Cop Describes the "Blue Wall"

  In a Journal report under that title, link, we read;As a sworn Albuquerque Police Department officer for two decades, Sam Costales said he saw dozens of instances of police misconduct but never saw anyone reported for it, nor did he see any officer written up for failing to report [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 22, 2009, 8:27am EST
  

• Pork barrel project abuse revealed.

  Capital outlay, spending tax dollars on infrastructure, is where
  you find "pork barrel" projects, wikilink.
  
  It is also where you will find a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse.
  
  To their credit, though long overdue, the Legislative Finance Committee is doing some snooping around; some spot auditing; [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 22, 2009, 7:56am EST
  

• Journal editors on Schultz rehiring.

  Journal editors have weighed in on the rehiring of Ray Schultz as Chief of Police. link.
  
  The premise they challenge is, police chiefs should change for the sake of change.
  
  If there is a stink about a government, and there is a stink surrounding the Chavez administration, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 22, 2009, 7:31am EST
  

• Larry Barker uses the "L" word.

  KRQE's Larry Barker broke the story about another courthouse
  scandal; this one in Santa Fe.
  
  He reports that Santa Fe County Manager Román Abeyta
  "lied" to him. He offers proof, link.
  
  What consequences will befall a public servant who betrays
  the public trust; who lies about [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 21, 2009, 10:38pm EST
  

• The leadership of the APS will be needing another $617,000,000.00

  To be fair; students, teachers and communities need another
  $617M.
  
  The simple truth is that the money is for a good cause.
  
  I guess.
  
  It is more than a little difficult to find out exactly what they
  will be spending the money on.
  
  Currently, if you [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:23pm EST
  

• Non-specific solutions for specific problems.

  New Mexico has a few problems.
  
  Everyone who is running for governor says they intend to solve them.
  
  But they don't say how they intend to do it.
  
  No one will lay a plan on the table that will make ethically redacted public records immediately available.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:06pm EST
  

• Surrender to due process.

  In the end, there is only one kind of accountability;
  complete surrender, without reservation, to due process.
  
  If there is a standard, and you are held accountable to that standard by an impartial system, powerful enough to hold you accountable even against your will, you are accountable to that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 11:08am EST
  

• How many more examples of waste and abuse do we need?

  Every audit done on governmental agencies reveals waste and
  abuse. It is a regular as clockwork. It is as inevitable as the
  rising sun.
  
  Steve Terrel, link, points to some auditing done by the
  Legislative Finance Committee. Not surprisingly, they found
  problems. Terrel writes;One LFC staffer said these [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:03am EST
  

• Public records reform a must.

  In the Journal this morning, link, the editors point to the decision by the New Mexico Environment Department, to stop wasting tax dollars obstructing the release of public records.
  
  The records in question are a consultant's report on potential groundwater contamination risks at a landfill operated by Sandia [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:20am EST
  

• Walls of silence.

  "Walls of silence", as in, the "blue wall of silence", behind which
  it is "alleged" that police officers protect each other from honest
  accountability for each others misconduct.
  
  There is a similar "wall of silence" behind which good ol' boys
  protect each other from honest accountability for each others'
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:51pm EST
  

• Ink hardly dry; Schultz' character in question.

  The ink is barely dry on the paperwork Mayor-elect Richard Berry signed making Ray Schultz his Chief of Police.
  
  Yet today, the Journal reports, link, on disturbing admissions by Schultz relative to a lawsuit being litigated in US District Court.
  
  Stemming from the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:04am EST
  

• Why does Ed Adams get a bye?

  Ed Adams ran the Department of Municipal Development at a time when taxpayers were getting ripped off big time, link. They got ripped off due to incompetence at the very least, by corruption in all likelihood.
  
  There is no reason at all to suppose [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:11am EST
  

• The power and the resources belong to the people, the control over them does not.

  We have no choice but to hand over control over power and
  resources that are fundamentally our own.
  
  We have no choice but to trust public servants and politicians
  to wield our power and spend our resources in our best interests.
  
  Yet, if you ask them if they [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 8:51am EST
  

• Truthtelling is the foundational ethic.

  Ethics reform to date, amounts to selecting the most ethically indefensible things that a politician or public servant could do, and then prohibit them individually.
  
  I have not yet seen ethics reform that rests on the foundation of truth telling.
  
  If the truth is not on the table, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 8:20am EST
  

• Doug Turner sprints into the lead, then falls down.

  Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Doug Turner has set himself apart from the pack. He offers the most powerful endorsement of any candidate of any party, in support of the Inspection of Public Records Act;New Mexico needs to elect a governor who will strengthen our Inspection of Public [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:29am EST
  

• The "Eye on Albuquerque", all seeing or just a bunch of crap?

  If you read a local blog called the Eye on Albuquerque, you are invited to buy into at least two assumptions;
  the blogger and many of those who comment on his posts are "in the know" about what is going on in City Hall, and in particular, about what is [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 6:47am EST
  

• Investigative reporters a dying breed, PIOs breeding like rabbits.

  There are those would would gather and tell the truth, and
  there are those who would spin the truth.
  
  One is a dying breed, not from lack of need, but rather from
  lack of resources.
  
  The other is breeding like rabbits, not from a need, but from
  virtually [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2009, 6:41am EST
  

• No worries; there will be an "internal investigation".

  The Public Regulation Commission, might turn out to be the most corrupt and incompetent agency in state government.
  
  Never the less, PRC Chairman Sandy Jones intends to get out "in front of the problem" by means of an "internal investigation".
  
  Heads will roll; trust him.
  
  You have [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:17pm EST
  

• Krebs headed for confidence vote.

  According the Journal this morning, link, UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs is headed for a confidence vote by UNM students. The vote will be entirely symbolic as students have no actual seat at any table where decisions are made.
  
  According to the Journal;
  Graduate student leaders at the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 8:33am EST
  

• Berry's support of Ed Adams is disappointing.

  When Ed Adams was the head of the Department of Municipal Development, he demonstrated his inability to deal with egregious incompetence and corruption among his subordinates, link, and link.
  
  Now, he just seems to get promotion after promotion.
  
  wtf?
  
  Is there [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 8:10am EST
  

• Senator Dede Feldman spoke at a Bernalillo County Commission public meeting last night.

  Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins is fronting an effort to rewrite the Bernalillo County Ethics Ordinance.
  
  It is time. The existing ordinance was written in the last century and has not been reviewed since.
  
  The attendance at the meeting was disappointingly small.
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:46am EST
  

• So far behind, they're actually far out ahead.

  The 39th most corrupt state government in the United States, link, has a poster child agency; the Public Regulation Commission.
  
  A recent survey of PRC employees revealed an agency in big trouble, Terrel, link and link, and Nash, link, are way ahead in the coverage.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• Locksley to get mentoring.

  According to KOB TV, link, UNM Head Football Coach Michael Locksley has a mentor.
  
  No word yet on whether mentors are being sought for Schmidly, Krebs, and Gonzales, who are every bit in need of mentoring as their coach.
  
  The upset over the UNM leadership's decision to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 6:49am EST
  

• APS Board Meeting minutes not posted, again.

  The APS Board of Education is meeting tonight. They will approve the minutes of the last meeting. The minutes are supposed to be posted, on the district's website for public viewing, for 24 hours before they are voted upon. They are not. This is a violation of the Open Meetings [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 6:38am EST
  

• "Redaction" rears its ugly head again.

  Corey Pein, SFReeper points to some questionable redaction of public records, link.
  
  The stink of it is; a government agency did a self survey.
  
  Some of the survey answers are difficult to deal with, so
  they decided to redact them all.
  
  There in lies the problem; [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 3:01pm EST
  

• Esquivel resents personal attacks.

  In a recent letter to me,
  APS School Board President
  Marty Esquivel wrote that
  I have "unfairly questioned
  his integrity".
  
  I will let readers be the judge.
  
  The leadership of the APS, Esquivel being foremost, refuses to discuss executive and administrative role modeling [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:22am EST
  

• The APS AVID boondoggle.

  I can report that my previous post, link, has been read in
  APS' City Center, and in AVID headquarters in San Diego.
  
  Not one of them apparently, could post a comment that would
  controvert the argument that AVID is a boondoggle; the same
  funding could have gone directly' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 7:54am EST
  

• The best reason for opposing any tax hikes at all;

  the number of tax dollars wasted or stolen, link.
  
  Most people, I assume, would support taxes that actually do
  some good, individually or collectively.
  
  But how does one support those and that which really need
  support, without as the same time funding waste and corruption?
  
  The [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 7:34am EST
  

• File under "C", for clueless.

  Terri Cole, President and CEO of the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, told a task force Monday that food tax breaks haven't helped the very poor, link.
  
  Perhaps "very poor" provides her some cover. If someone is so poor that they can't afford even to buy food or medical [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2009, 7:23am EST
  

• Is AVID just another APS boondoggle?

  Journal editors are on board the APS AVID train, link.
  APS is spending a lot of money and intends to spend a whole
  lot more, on a program called AVID, link, and link.
  
  They are spending so much money, in these hard times, that
  they haven't' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:36am EST
  

• "... announced crowd of 24,344 - many dressed as empty benches ..."

  Journal reporter Greg Archuleta, link, seems to not believe
  UNM about the number of people who attended the UNM/BYU
  football game last Saturday.
  
  Not surprising, nobody believes UNM about anything anymore.
  
  Attendance at Lobo football games is down. Again, not surprising in so far as they have [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:02am EST
  

• No. We would not.

  Would care to explain to us, why you will not
  swear that you will tell us the truth, the whole truth, and
  nothing but the truth about the public interests
  and about your public service?
  
  
  No. I would not.
  
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:21am EST
  

• It's really too bad that UNM President David Schmidly isn't answering any more questions.

  I would like to ask him at least one more.
  
  Would you care to explain the exact circumstances under which important evidence remained "inadvertently un-copied" only to be "advertently copied", long after the original was supposedly destroyed?
  
  What else could he say but,
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:00am EST
  

• Doing the math on missing records in Locksley Gate.

  From the editorial in the Journal this morning, link.
  
  A new piece of evidence has turned up in the Locksley Gate investigation.
  
  The "new" evidence points to a pattern of (implied) violence in the relationship between UNM Head Football Coach Michael Locksley and his Assistant Coach JP [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:15am EST
  

• Locksley, Schmidly, Krebs, and Gonzales "got to the result that they were looking for."

  Everyday, I watch the furor over the Locksley Gate subside.
  My fear is, like every other "gate", UNM leadership will simply
  wait out the upset until no one cares anymore and then,
  back to business as usual.
  
  The Journal editors this morning, link, note;(Schmidly and Krebs) seem to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:55am EST
  

• Teachers way behind in teacher evaluation.

  In a Journal report this morning, the topic of evaluating teachers is broached, link. The report quotes a local teachers union president.Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein said the union would be willing to tie evaluations to student performance if the policy is carefully written and if teachers are [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:42am EST
  

• APS creates "new" past practice.

  The APS BoE is having a meeting this morning.
  
  Again, the minutes from the last meeting, will be voted upon
  in order to approve them.
  
  Again, the minutes are not posted on line. If there is any good
  and ethical reason they are not posted, I cannot imagine [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:17am EST
  

• Bystander effect protecting UNM Regents

  I googled; "bystanders do nothing".
  I got 225,000 hits.
  
  I was trying to find this story;A famous case occurred in the early 1960, where Kitty Genovese was attacked and eventually murdered over a 45 minute period during which 38 people witnessed the attack and did not lift a finger [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:51pm EST
  

• Who are you going to believe, the Regents or your lyin' eyes?

  The emperors have no character.
  
  Epic incompetence and likely corruption are right in front of your
  eyes. The incompetence is admitted, the corruption is not, yet.
  
  Yet the Regents say you now know, all you will ever know.
  There will be no independent review of their competence and
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:43pm EST
  

• Monahan steps up, with a vengence.

  I, like many, have been reading
  Joe Monahan's blog for years.
  
  It has been my constant frustration that he, like so many other "reporters" was unwilling to bite that hands that feed him.
  
  I reasoned that reporters who write pieces that hit politicians' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:14am EST
  

• On keeping one's eye on the ball.

  Imagine you see misconduct in progress. You get the attention
  of someone in charge and say, look!, and point at the evidence.
  
  The person in charge, instead of looking at the evidence,
  turns to you and asks, Why are you telling me?
  What are you accusing them of?
  Do [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 5:25pm EST
  

• UNM Regents President Raymond Sanchez is not the only one who will not allow an "independent review" of the public interests.

  Truth, we don't need no stinkin' truth.
  
  Former politician now Richardson political appointee,
  Raymond Sanchez says, there will be no independent review of the administration of the public trust and treasure at UNM.
  
  He isn't alone.
  
  UNM President David Schmidly says, sorry, its' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:21am EST
  

• APS Custodian of Public Records above the law?

  A week ago, I emailed APS Custodian of Public Records Rigo Chavez, a formal request for public records. I seek all the public records of my illegal arrest at the November 4th board meeting.
  
  
  
  
  This was the request, it was emailed to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:56am EST
  

• Government of the Regents, by the Regents, and for the Regents.

  "The people" want an independent review of the handling of the Locksley affair by UNM President David Schmidly, UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs, and UNM Human Resources Vice President Helen Gonzales.
  
  The Regents are directly responsible for Schmidly's performance, and by logical extension, the performance of Krebs and Gonzales.[...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:39am EST
  

• APS Audit Committee Meeting tonight in violation of the law.

  The Audit Committee is scheduled to meet tonight and the
  agenda is not posted on APS' website, a violation of past
  practice of the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.
  
  Likely they would like to meet in "secret" in order to continue the cover up of the fact that' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:19am EST
  

• So what' wrong with this response?

  From Steve Terrel's Roundhouse Roundup, link,
  ” Denish’s chief of staff Josh Rosen wrote in a statement to reporters. “If a mistake was made, or even the perception is questionable, Lt. Governor Denish believes reimbursing the state is the responsible thing to do. That’s the' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 6:52am EST
  

• No blood, no foul?

  In June of this year, it was revealed that Diane Denish had taken campaign contributions from two of the four men indicted in the Housing Authority scandals.
  
  She decided to give the money to charity, link, according to her policy to not keep donations from contributors after they [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:50pm EST
  

• UNM had everything to gain and nothing to lose.

  If UNM President David Schmidly, UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs, and UNM Human Resources Vice President Helen Gonzales were telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, at their news conference last week, they had everything to gain and nothing to lose by beginning an independent review [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:27pm EST
  

• UNM Regents, there will be no review.

  KRQE reported tonight that UNM Regents have decided to
  ignore the obvious need for an independent review of the handling of the investigation of the Locksley affair.
  
  According to the KRQE report, UNM Regents President Ray Sanchez, says "no new information" points to the need for an independent review. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2009, 5:39pm EST
  

• How can Winston Brooks and Marty Esquivel claim that they are accountable as role models?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If they provide no place to file a complaint that they are not?
  
  
  
  
  photos Mark Bralley [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:53pm EST
  

• David Schmidly, still thinkin', one week later.

  If you asked UNM President David Schmidly if he expected UNM Head Football Coach Michael Locksley to step up to honest accountability for what he has done,
  Schmidly would say yes.
  
  He would tell you as well, UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs, is expected to step up.
  
  He [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:03am EST
  

• Limits? on the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

  The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, here emphasized in significant part;Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2009, 10:08am EST
  

• Is it time for moderate democrats to start looking at a moderate republican candidate for governor?

  Watch her. Pay attention to her.
  
  There is nothing to be afraid of, link.
  
  Unless you're just dead set against transparently accountable government.
  
  proven competence
  proven character
  proven courage
  
  
  
  
  
  photo Mark Bralley' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 09, 2009, 1:38pm EST
  

• Scarantino's latest, and another opportunity to raise the level of the discourse.

  Jim Scarantino has done it again; posted a report on the spending of federal stimulus funds, link.
  
  And I find myself wondering if the response to this one will rise above those to the last.
  
  Each piece of data is either true or false; opinion or fact.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 09, 2009, 1:07pm EST
  

• APS could end this fight any time, you know.

  David Robbins could explain the apparent discrepancy between Board Policy which requires him to "review and approve" whistle blower complaints and, his refusal to review and approve of even one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  David Peercy could explain why [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:58am EST
  

• Marty Esquivel sends threatening letter.

  As previously reported, link, I was arrested again at a public forum during a school board meeting.
  
  You needn't take anyone's word for anything; go to APS' website, link, click on Board of Education, click on the archive for the November 4th meeting, fast forward to 42:00' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 09, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• Why must we trust politicians and public servants to protect our resources?

  Casino owners rarely are victims of theft.
  
  It isn't because they hire trustworthy employees.
  
  They simply design the system so even the most untrustworthy
  employee can't steal their money.
  
  They make it impossibly difficult to steal their money
  without being caught.
  
  It is not impossible for [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 08, 2009, 5:10pm EST
  

• Is it fair to say, hypocrite?

  hypocrite;
  a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 08, 2009, 4:39pm EST
  

• Did UNM AD Paul Krebs know that Shannon Garbiso is a student?

  The only thing that UNM brass admitted about Shannon Garbiso, Dept Human Resources Rep: Athletics Admin,
  while they were throwing her under the bus at their latest
  news conference was, she is not a "trained investigator".
  
  Well, that's not the half of it.
  
  According to UNM's website, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 08, 2009, 9:06am EST
  

• Locksley scandal investigtion would be precedent setting.

  When is the last time you heard of an independent, impartial,
  and honest investigation of a good ol' boy oligarchy?
  
  There is a reason they insist upon conducting the
  investigations into their own wrong doing, themselves;
  they get to maintain control over the truth.
  
  There is a reason' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 08, 2009, 8:39am EST
  

• UNM Pres David Schmidly, "still thinkin'"

  UNM President David Schmidly
  when asked if there would be an independent, impartial stem to stern investigation of the the Locksley affair said, no decision has been made.
  
  He implied that, they had actually been considering whether to do the redeeming investigation.
  
  When asked [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 08, 2009, 7:20am EST
  

• Diane Denish has some 'splaining to do.

  There are two possibilities;
  there is a culture of public corruption and incompetence in New Mexico State Government or,there is not.
  If there is a culture of corruption,
  why won't Lt Governor Denish
  admit that it exists?
  
  I mean come on, how can she claim[...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 07, 2009, 4:14pm EST
  

• Who in the hell is Lee Roy Lucero?

  I know him only in that, he posted an hominem attack on my blog.
  
  I had asked UNM President David Schmidly two questions;
  Will you begin an outside investigation?, andWhy were police not involved in investigating criminal misconduct?
  Journal reporter Rick Wright reported on it. For reasons known only [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 07, 2009, 8:29am EST
  

• "Errors" in the Scarantino piece.

  Jim Scarantino put up a report on spending by Lt Governor
  Diane Denish, link.
  
  A couple of "errors" have been brought to my attention.
  
  The first had to do with Christmas cards. Scarantino wrote;
  "... take Christmas pictures and write Christmas cards ...""... work on Christmas cards" [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2009, 3:12pm EST
  

• I have reason to believe there is a cover-up at Jimmy Carter Middle School.

  You will recognize the school's name as the workplace of a
  teacher who was reported recently to have admitted to
  raping one of her students.
  
  An allegigator of mine alleges that, she was under intense
  administrative evaluation long before the rape.
  
  If she was, who is accountable for' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:57am EST
  

• Journal steps up, demands Independent Answer to questions about the handling of the Locksley affair.

  In the Journal this morning, link, Rick Wright reamed me for being bellicose and guilty of delivering a 45 second soapbox diatribe before getting around to asking a "valid and pertinent" question;
  Will there be an independent investigation of
  the handling of the Locksley affair?Wright agrees with the need [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2009, 7:27am EST
  

• Scarantino vs Denish, separating the wheat from the chaff.

  Consider the current dispute between Jim Scarantino and
  Lt Governor Diane Denish. Scarantino is unhappy with some
  spending by Denish, link, Denish is unhappy with the way
  the spending was characterized, link.
  
  If there is a winner, it is not an obvious winner.
  
  There is a [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:47am EST
  

• Kill Scarantino, to hell with the message.

  Jim Scarantino wrote that Diane Denish has misspent federal funds, link.
  
  
  UPDATE
  In the following sentence, I refer to a mistake Jim Scarantino made in his report. The mistake was mine. I thought, incorrectly, that Scarantino had reported"working, printing, and mailing" Christmas cards. In fact, Scarantino only [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:27pm EST
  

• Oh the hiring of David Schmidly's son.

  This is a repost of a piece October 18, 2009.
  
  
  The Journal has an article this morning about the caliber of the
  candidates that the UNM President's son "bested" in the hunt
  for a brand new $94K a year job at UNM. link sub req
  
  Brian [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 4:56pm EST
  

• The rest of the picture.

  I now have a link to my arrest at the school board meeting.
  link, click on Board of Education, click on the archive for the
  November 4, 2009 meeting.
  
  It happens in less than two minutes, between 42:00 and 43:50.
  
  I was arrested for what I [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 1:51pm EST
  

• What more proof do you need?

  You have lost control over power and resources that are
  fundamentally your own.
  
  Politicians and public servants cannot be compelled to answer
  legitimate questions about how our power and resources are
  being spent and, about their public service?
  
  Politicians and public servants don't end new conferences,
  the press' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:41pm EST
  

• No mention of an independent investigation.

  The Journal ran three stories this morning, on the fallout over the Locksley situation.
  
  They even quoted, though inaccurately, my question about why no agency of law enforcement was asked to investigate any of the allegations.
  
  Their most grievous omission was of my original question;
  will you begin [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:31am EST
  

• Arrested at a public forum, again.

  There will be an argument over whether I was actually "arrested" during the public forum at the school board meeting. Judge for yourself, link, click on board of education, click on the archive of the meeting of November 4, 2009, fast forward to 42:00 to 43:50
  
  From Black's' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 7:45am EST
  

• Hue and cry, once the law, now against the law.

  It used to be that if you saw a crime, you were required to help to apprehend the criminal, wikilink.In common law, a hue and cry, "a horn and shouting", is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:59pm EST
  

• What, do you need to be hit in the head with a brick?

  For myself, I do not think these tax dollars were spent well,
  link. I hesitate to trust her with billions of dollars more.
  
  The best indicator of future performance, is past performance.
  
  
  
  UPDATE; I have just received an email from my friend Peter St Cyr. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:40pm EST
  

• Schmidly fails confidence vote, overwhelmingly.

  Duke City Fix, and KRQE and UNMToday and a Bralley
  to keep the facts straight.
  
  Schmidly asked for a "second chance" today.
  
  Wouldn't it be his third?
  
  Let's not lose sight of the fact, when he was asked to commence
  an independent, impartial [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:04pm EST
  

• Schmidly, "I have not seen any direct evidence of a cover-up"

  Which begs the question; what about indirect evidence?
  
  The straightforward response would have been;
  "There is no cover up.
  
  We have told the truth, the whole truth, and
  nothing but the truth.
  
  On my honor"The more specific the answer to a general question,
  the more likely it [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 4:04pm EST
  

• When the question is, will you tell the truth? any answer except yes, means no.

  There was a press conference today regarding the Locksley-Gerald dust up.
  
  You could cut the skepticism in the room with a knife.
  
  Jessica Garate from KRQE called them liars to their faces.
  
  UNM President David Schmidly
  says he wants transparency.
  
  He says [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 3:23pm EST
  

• UNM "hiding" public records of Locksley dust up.

  There is more coverage this morning in the Journal, surrounding UNM Head Football Coach Michael Locksley's "alleged" "assault and battery" on an assistant coach.
  
  I can't establish a link to a telling side bar. It has to do with written witness statements that contradict the story that UNM has' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:32am EST
  

• "Disciplining kids takes 'leadership'"

  reads the title of a front page article in the Journal this morning; link.
  
  An "expert" is coming to town to speak on (student) discipline.
  The expert opinion is that kids need leadership, they need role models.
  
  The Journal will not report, on the front page or [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:24am EST
  

• Complicit, complacent, or just too damned scared?

  When ever anyone suggests that Diane Denish should have stood up against the culture of corruption, there are those whose immediate retort is always the same; Denish gets a bye because she was legitimately afraid of Big Bill.
  
  gofdisks is the latest, here from a thread on Democracy for [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 3:27pm EST
  

• No charges have been filed against Diane Denish personally.

  With respect to all of the criminal and ethical misconduct in the Richardson administration, Lt Governor Diane Denish offers only; no charges have been made against me.
  Is it so much to ask, to ask her to add; ... because none are warranted.Has anyone ever heard Diane Denish actually admit
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:14pm EST
  

• The good and decent folks in state government.

  My opposition are fond of arguing that I have argued that there is not a single decent, hardworking, and honest person working in Santa Fe or in the administration of the APS.
  
  I have not, ever.
  
  The most sweeping statement I have actually made is;
  there are two [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:51am EST
  

• Likely, Diane Denish will be the next Governor of New Mexico.

  Who then, more than she, has an obligation to be candid,
  forthright and honest, about the culture of corruption
  in state government?
  
  There is some disagreement whether there is, or is not,
  a culture of corruption in state government; a culture that
  tolerates and enables personal corruption and incompetence.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:46am EST
  

• The culture of corruption.

  I am astonished that there are those who would argue there is no culture of corruption in New Mexico State Government. So I have gone looking for definition. It is surprisingly hard to find. Perhaps like pornography, it is hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:34am EST
  

• Richardson owns up, finally.

  In the Journal this morning, and on various blogs, Governor Richardson is finally admitting there will be "revenue enhancements" enacted during the upcoming legislative session.
  
  I am bugged because everyone else has known, admitted, and pointed to, this inevitability all along.
  
  Which means either,
  Richardson truly cannot [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:05am EST
  

• Loyalty above all else, except honor.

  I was there. I heard exactly the same thing Mark Bralley heard. Bralley was sitting on Senator Tim Eichenberg's left, I on his right. There is no "allegedly said", "supposedly said", "might have said", or "reportedly said"; the quotes Bralley attributed to the Senator, are absolutely accurate.
  
  Eichenberg said' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:27am EST
  

• Mayor-elect Richard Berry is a busy, busy man.

  Mayor-elect Richard Berry may be too busy to read the whole 168 pages of information that surround the Ethical Public Service Act, link.
  
  A bunch of talented and dedicated people spent thousands of hours volunteering to write it. Imho, they did a good job. If it passes, the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:17pm EST
  

• Ethics reform will not be on the agenda when the legislature convenes.

  Because they don't want to.
  
  And you can't make them.
  
  Arguably, ending the culture of corruption will be
  the most important thing that they do.
  
  It should also be the first. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 02, 2009, 1:38pm EST