2

-Garcia-Richard's no show or little show job.  Full pay for her 2017 legislature and her calendar shows meetings that overlap with days and days of the legislature.

2) payment to school employees while they are roundhousing.   I have not followed that issue, but I know Tim Lewis does not take his teacher's pay during the legislature--I don't know if that is because he is a saint or because there is a rule that republican school employees can't get paid.

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions and ideas.

I think I will recommend that this thread be used by New Mexico Political Journal for one in a series of articles that discusses the Trump Administration and its relationship with the American media. I have received mean-spirited attacks from both Trumpistas as well as their polar opposite on the Left, which your comments mimic, and with whom, presumably, you self-identify. I am neither a Trumpista, a Never-Trumper, nor a member of the Left, or Democrat Party-leaning "journalist."

Trump is painfully inarticulate, awkward of speech, word usage, syntax, phraseology, and all manner of public discourse. This cannot be disputed. He is not the first politician (or president) to be so afflicted. He is a poor speaker. (Trumpistas hate me for saying that.)

But he is also the first to have every single utterance to be deliberately deconstructed by the mainstream media in a way that always—100% of the time—attempts to spin each phrase he utters in the most negative possible interpretation. And many times, if not most, the effort goes beyond “possible interpretation” all the way to the preposterous stretch. To wit: He is “quoted” for saying things he did not say. 

THE PRESS: ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE MEME

The New York Times led the way 2½ years ago by citing a Trump tweet in which he said:

“The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @CNN, @NBCNews 
and many more) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American 
people. SICK!)

However, in the body of their story, the Times (via reporter Michael M. Grynbaum) "quoted" the tweet like this:

“President Trump, in an extraordinary rebuke of the nation’s press organizations, wrote on Twitter on Friday that the nation’s news 
media ‘is the enemy of the American people.’”

But he did not say that. The Times said it. They said he said it. It was a false quote.
Fast forward to the world of reporters (like Tripp Jennings, and perhaps 90% of the 32,000 others in the country) and, lo and behold, what the “paper of record” printed becomes “gospel.”

But for many of us—who are not Trumpistas at all—who are not lifetime, “professional” journalists, well, we pause at this juncture, and reflect. For several reasons:

1) Journalism—at least the “reporting” component of it—isn’t really supposed to be about taking sides, or becoming open advocates, or haters—of any particular individual. Rather, it is supposed to focus on accuracy, and an unending search for the truth. (And the Biden version of “truth over facts” or vice versa, doesn’t apply either.)

2) We can read—black letter words in plain view—that the New York Times misstated what Trump said. Sadly, we have to conclude that it is either an accidental error, or it is a deliberate lie. The way in which the story is followed up—with either a correction, or no correction—would determine which of the two explanations is the case. 

3) When we read that Trump actually said that “The FAKE NEWS media…is the enemy of the people,” we cannot help but agree. How could such an assertion be a false statement? How can a source of information (newspaper, TV, radio, magazine, website, Twitter, Facebook, or any other medium) that is providing “false” information, or is misrepresenting actual events be anything other than an “enemy” of the country, or of citizens, voters, and the electorate at large. Such an organization must, ipso facto, be firmly opposed to the best interests of America. Otherwise it would not engage in such activities. Sure, it’s possible that mistakes may be made, so there’s that. But those can be judged over time, to see if there are ever corrections. 

4) Trump did not rebuke “the nation’s press organizations”. What a conceit that is! Those organizations he named are not by any stretch of the imagination “the nation’s press organizations.” He named three. He came back later and named two more. Each day, I read the Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe New Mexican, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Roswell Daily Record. I often read the New York Times, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, USAToday, and others that I may get a chance to read. There are over 1,300 daily newspapers in the country, some 1,500 or more TV stations, 15,000 radio stations, and at least a dozen “networks” with significant reach throughout the country. 

5) There is no objective way of stating—as Trip Jennings and thousands of others who parrot this same story—that Trump actually said that the press—which, philologically speaking in this instance, must mean the entire US press—is the enemy of the people. It just doesn’t work. Trip Jennings, to be fair, you may have simply heard this repeated so many times that you believe it must be true (after all, the New York Times said it), and you may be totally ignorant of the actual original story in which— "Biden like"— a reporter chose his version of "truth" over facts.

So you may not know better, Trip. And that may not be your fault. But if you do know better, it must be asked why you say these things. Why? You are not supposed to have an agenda. You should be reading and listening dispassionately. 

All of this is part of an effort the New York Times itself just last week admitted is part of an organized effort to destroy Trump. In years past, there would be pangs of conscience emanating from many in the media, including the mainstream. (And to be fair, some are expressing concern about the state of their profession.) But today, we Americans have lost an independent, dispassionate press. It is gone. And it is a sad state of affairs indeed

Miracles can happen. It appears that State Senator Richard C. Martinez's well-publicized DWI has been dismissed by a Rio Arriba County Magistrate Judge. It was dismissed without prejudice, so it's possible it may be refiled. Here it is:

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Why Monica Youngblood will be found not guilty.  My comments here are a political take on a political matter.   Just my take on possible outcomes.  1.  Because the boyfriend will testify that she had not been drinking.  2.  Because there was no bad driving.  3.  Because she was wearing a dress, when the officer was wearing three layers of clothing, which gives credibility to the notion that she was cold when she performed the tests, even though the officer stated that he thought the weather was warm.  By the way, as the night goes on, the officer tells Monica that the weather is getting warmer not colder.  This makes no sense to me.   4.  Because the other lady sitting next to Monica in the van will ultimately testify that there was no alcohol smell coming from Monica, and that she could not note slurred speech.  5.  Because the boyfriend will also testify that Monica had been crying beforehand, which would explain the bloodshot watery eyes, and the officer should have caught that when Monica told him where she was coming from.  6.    Because there actually was no slurred speech, as a matter of fact she was speaking quite clearly.  7.    Because the jury will come to the conclusion that her failure to stop when reciting the alphabet and numbers were her attempts to show awareness and cognitive ability, and not a showing of impairment.  8.    Because she was attempting to be polite throughout and followed numerous subtle commands, and did so quickly, like displaying that her mouth was empty of any foreign objects.  9.    Because although there were some clues in the field sobriety tests, the jury will conclude that overall she did quite well on the tests.  10.   Because in-between the tests, there were no obvious signs of impairment, like overt swaying or losing balance.  11.   Because the jury will conclude that she did not take the chemical tests not because she was attempting to hide anything, but because she was hurt by a process she thought was supposed to be fair, and turned out not to be (the Field Sobriety Tests) and did not trust the process any further.  12.   Because the jury will conclude that she has lost enough already without a criminal conviction adding to the matter.  13.    Because the jury will ask themselves "why does the officer keep telling other officers in a low voice that he is 'live'"?  Is there something that shouldn't be "live" in police interaction with the public.  This theme will play large in the jury deliberations.  14.    Because there actually was a jacket/coat in her car, and when the officer told Monica that no jacket/coat was in the car, that will turn out to be a mistruth, and juries do not like when officers tell suspects mistruths.  The inventory search on the car will indicate where the jacket/coat was, which will be in close to where Monica said it would be.  15.    Because the whole stop may be found to be unconstitutional, i.e. either the sobriety patrol or the way that they were picking out people for further investigation.  16.     Because the instructions the officer gave on all of his Field Sobriety Tests seemed rushed/chopped/and sloppy.   17.     Because the new vest cams don't give an accurate reflection of how the officer moves his own feet when showing a person how to conduct the tests, in comparison to the old dash cams, which gave a fuller picture of the officer showing the suspect how the tests should be done.  So now, the jury cannot see if the officer is actually demonstrating the tests correctly.  18.    Because the jury will be turned off by the tone and wording the officer uses in his voice in communicating with Monica.  His over familiarness with her, his toying with her, i.e. challenging to take the tests, as if he is on a big-game hunt rather than just doing his job.  The constant use of her first name.   19.   Because her surprise at being arrested is authentic and highly emotional, the way a truly innocent person with a clean record might actually react.  20.   Because the scientific opinion on the HGN test will not be permitted in at trial, and the jury will see that Monica follows his basic instructions on this test very well, even if there was slight eye movement, the jury will find that inconsequential.  21.   Because the jury will find that the Officer made a rash decision when he had her arrested because he was frustrated with Monica's attempt to show him up by over-reciting the alphabet and the numbers.  That Monica got his goat if you will, which led him to make a decision he shouldn't have.  A decision to teach her a lesson.  Because in close cases like this, the decision to be on the side of liberty and freedom, not arrest.  22.   Because of the Derek Jeter comment, which showed impulse, quick-wittedness, and ability to respond in an non-impaired manner, which she did throughout the video.  23.  Because she's able to climb that little hill with no problem, when she walked to the van to get tested.  Furthermore, everywhere she walked with the officer there was no problem.  24.   Because as much as juries hate refusals, they at least understand them, especially when the evidence beforehand is slight as to impairment. What they rarely understand in this day and age is the need for sobriety checkpoints, when individual stops are commonplace.  25.   Because the inventory search will indicate no opened bottles of alcohol.

Witnesses of an unusual court case in 2012 stated that Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver "lied in court five years ago to try to get Judge Alan Malott to unlawfully place Patricia Roybal Caballero on the ballot."  Oliver was the Bernalillo County Clerk at the time. Malott, and activist judge, very active in the Democratic Party

"Maggie gave an extrmely twisted version of residency requirements that day," said one Albuquerque Democrat, "Neither she nor Malott wanted anyone onthe ballot other than Roybal Caballero."

EVIDENCE SHOWS ROYBAL CABALLERO DOESN'T LIVE WHERE SHE SAYS

Representative Roybal Caballero has always maintained that she lives at 9600 Central SW, Space 51, Albuquerque. But investigators have watched the property for years, and no one has lived at this mobile home.

Local residents say that in House District 13 "there are only a couple of places where people can find super cheap housing, like buy a trailer house for as little as $3,000. One of them is on Blake Road SW and the other is on Central SW."

Roybal Caballero scoped out the area and chose one of the trailers at the Vista Manufactured Home Community to claim as her residence when she filed for state representative in March 2012. Her then-opponent began challenging her residence, finding that she actually resided at 1145 Carlos Rey SW in Albuquerque, in the district of State Representative Miguel Garcia.

Television news crews in Albuquerque did a good job of documenting Roybal Caballero's actual residence, interviewing neighbors and providing evidence that the Patricia and her husband  

At that point, the Roybal Caballero's went so far as to purchase the trailer house in District 13, establishing a nexus with the District

Major League Baseball is unique among the big four major team sports in that its postseason playoffs are not realistic, and markedly different from the way the game is played normally. 

This detracts from the sport itself and diminishes the game and what it means to be the world champion of the sport. 

This article explains what happens and why it is wrong-headed.

Background on the The Frequency of Play

National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association teams basically play every other day, roughly 14 games per month. The NFL plays once a week. 

But baseball teams play every single day.  Ten days straight, then a day off, then seven more games, then a day off, then ten more games.  Typically a baseball team plays 27 games every 30 days. .

Getting to the Playoffs:  It's a grind

In all four sports, getting to the postseason requires a total team effort—in fact an all-out total organizational effort.  Injuries and slumps force teams to be deep, have bench strength and the capability of moving players in and out of the lineup.  

Each league's regular season is a marathon, not a sprint.  NFL teams play for 17 weeks, 16 games.  The NHL has an 82-game season over six months, paralleled by an NBA season of 84 games over the same timeframe. Baseball is the biggest marathon of all—a true test of resilience and endurance—162 games usually starting around the beginning of April and finishing about the end of September.

The Postseason Playoffs:  Sport by Sport

The National Football League:

Each team plays once a week, the exception being that the four top teams get the first week off.  For a typical qualifier to reach the Super Bowl, the team must play three consecutive weeks.  At that point both remaining teams have two weeks off before the Super Bowl.

With roughly a game each week, reaching or winning the Super Bowl requires a team to overcome the same challenges as those which got the team to the playoffs in the first place.

The National Hockey League: 

Playoffs are conducted in the exact same manner as the regular season: a game, a day off, a game, a day off, a game, a day off, and so on.  Winning the Stanley Cup requires the same stamina, the same approach as that required to make the playoffs.

The National Basketball Association

The playoffs are conducted in the exact same manner as the regular season: a game, a day off, a game, a day off, a game, a day off, and so on.  Getting to the NBA Finals requires the same stamina, the same approach as that required to make the playoffs.

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball changes its entire structure once the playoffs begin. In the other three sports, teams reach the pinnacle of the sport in exactly the same way as they make the playoffs to start with.  Not so in baseball. 

Baseball teams survive to get into the playoffs only because they have depth and five-man pitching rotations.  But when the playoffs come, baseball suddenly becomes an unrealistic "all-star" game within each team's roster.  MLB playoffs suddenly look a lot like the NBA and the NHL.  Teams have enormous numbers of days off. 

Here's why this is important: No Major League Baseball team could even qualify for the postseason if they played the same way during the regular season that they do in the playoffs.  None. The teams in other sports could.

In the regular season Major League Baseball teams have their pitchers pitching every 5th day.  There are not enough days off to have even a four-man rotation, let alone a team with three pitchers.  The best team in baseball using only a 4-man rotation, would wear them out, and would end up with, at best, a record of 66-96, 25-30 games out of the playoffs.

The 2014 Baseball Postseason is Typical

As examples, last year's World Series teams, the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants, played only 15 games and 17 games respectively in 30 days.  That’s 12 to 15 days off.  That doesn’t even begin to be realistic baseball. It means teams can turn to only three pitchers and give them plenty of rest.  But it isn't the way baseball really works. If a team tried that in the regular season, the three starters would be on the disabled list by May 15—35 games into the season.

At one point, the Royals had 5 consecutive days off, and the Giants had 4.  This never happens in the regular season.  Even the All-Star break is only three days.  The only time there’s anything beyond a one-day break is when there’s a rainout.

What this means is that neither team used the team that actually got them to the playoffs.  (The NFL, NBA and NHL teams ALL used the very same teams that got them to the playoffs.) 

Even more unrealistic is when baseball teams sometimes essentially turn to a two-man pitching rotation in the playoffs—conceding the likelihood that some of their games are going to be lost—when their third-best pitcher has to face one of their opponents' aces. 

Imagine an NFL team using only one running back and three wide receivers, instead of rotating through their roster in the course of a playoff game—or using only 4 defensive backs and 4 linebackers, instead of rotating 8 or 9 DBs and 6 or 7 linebackers?  In hockey, would a team use only two or three of their forward lines?  Would an NBA team use only the starting five?  They would never make the post season if they tried to do that during the regular season.

But baseball does the equivalent of all that every fall.  No other sport drags its playoffs out in such a way as to completely change the basic dynamics of its game.

.

Why Does Baseball Do This?

MLB does this because the TV networks want to drag out the games so that they can try to have one game each day. This requires an unnecessary staggering of games, and creates the phenomenon of 15 off-days in a month.

What about travel days?

What about them?  During the regular season, baseball never takes "travel" days. A team may play in Chicago one day and in Miami the next, or in New York one day and Phoenix the very next day.  The “requirement” of a travel day during the playoffs is completely artificial—and strictly a phenomenon of television.

In years prior to TV, travel days were employed only when absolutely necessary. The famous "subway series" games were played on seven consecutive days.  Why?  Because realistically traversing the 17 miles from Brooklyn to the Bronx did not require a "travel day."  But today there is no question that MLB would put in an artificial travel day even if the games were played in the same stadium!

Prior to the power of television, even fairly long train trips didn't matter.  The 1948 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Braves was played in six consecutive days, October 6 & 7 in Boston, October 8, 9 & 10 in Cleveland, and October 11 back in Boston.  They got on the trains at the conclusion of each home stand and played the next day in the other city. Simple as that. Just like they do today in the regular season.

This reflects actual baseball, the way the teams play day-in and day-out, and the kind of unique test that baseball presents to its athletes, its managers and management, and to its fans.

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Intelligent Political Discourse— for the Thoughtful New Mexican