New Mexico Political Journal
mobile icon
New Mexico Political Journal

.

Show Subnavigation
  • Home
  • About NMPJ
    • About
    • Editor
  • Feedback
  • Advertise on NMPJ

FacebookTwitter

If you read New Mexico Political Journal from a Facebook link, and appreciate the coverage of events, please “like” NMPJ on Facebook.

Intelligent Political Discourse - for the Thoughtful New Mexican

Warning: If you don't have an IQ of at least 110 (on any of several Standardized Intelligence Tests) please DO NOT enter this website. Synaptic and neurotransmission damage may occur. NMPJ isn't responsible for anyone not adhering to this disclaimer.

All Posts

See archives

Search posts:

Browse posts by tags:
  • 2015 (0)

Secretary of State, Attorney General Involved in Cover-up of Roybal Caballero Residence Issue?

03/31/2025

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 Playoffs are NOT realistic. MLB is unique among the other Major Team Sports.

03/03/2025

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.


Email us with your feedback, comments, questions and ideas. 

Intelligent Political Discourse— for the Thoughtful New Mexican




Judicial Standards Commission: Judge Petie Rael can use "the Steve Martin" defense.

03/01/2025

What on earth is going on at Sunland Park Race Track? New Mexico Horseracing.

02/01/2025

The Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) which found its way into Sunland Park Racetrack (from a Florida horse we are told) has had a tremendously negative impact on New Mexico horsemen, but one entity that has continued making money is Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, and the ownership and management of that track doesn't look so good right now.

Racing was suspended for five weeks beginning January 22, resuming February 26. During that time, New Mexico horsemen lost 19 days of racing, meaning 171 total races were lost. This is devastating to New Mexico horsemen because of the fact that funds are set aside for them to receive

 

 

FULL COMPLIANCE CONSULTING, LLC

Helping candidates, elected officials, committees, PACs and lobbyists, navigate Campaign Finance Reporting, Campaign Practices, the Governmental Conduct Act and the many complexities of the Election Code in New Mexico.

If you are having problems with ballot access, or receiving threats of disqualification, contact us!

Statewide Offices • Legislative Races • County Offices • Judicial & Regional Offices

Email: fccllc@terrcomm.net   Full Compliance Consulting, LLC    P.O. Box 2163 ♦ Santa Fe, NM 87504


Poor Management or Greedy Management? Track Owner does not look good.

 

Now comes to March 20th and we have reached no agreement on additional races per day...The result will be the loss of the ability to run 8 more races at the meet...

 

The Horsemen's Committee at Sunland Park have been negotiating in good faith since starting races again on February 26th trying to recover the races we deserve for our owners, breeders, jockeys, and grooms who all participate in the purse money if we run for it...In the event we are forced to redistribute the purses at the end of the meet the jockey does not get paid, the breeder does not get paid, nor does the trainer or groom receive customary tip from the trainer and owner...No winners relates to no 10%'s...

 

Jockeys, trainers, breeders, owners, all have been adversely affected by the EHV1 virus outbreak...

 

With the ability to race, all participants will share in the purse money...

 

Certainly it is apparent after having lost the 19 days, we the Horsemen's in negotiating with the race track are only trying to recover as much of the purse money lost during down racing time but gained during consistent gaming...

 

Through negotiation with Sunland Park Management and help from the State Racing Commission, we have regained 72 races of the 171 lost, now the negotiation is trying as best we can to recover as many of the lost 99 races...

 

It seems only right and fitting the Horsemen's have an opportunity to regain their fair share...

 

This letter is respectfully written on behalf of the Horsemen...Awareness of the facts are critical in what short days are left of the meet to recoup hard felt looses...


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


Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Cleveland 2016, the Republican National Convention, Day One.

12/31/2024
 

Giuliani speech.

 
 
 
 
 
-0:42
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
137 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
3 Comments
4Charlie Walker, Hugh Emitt Taylor and 2 others
Comments
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Her sign said "Refugees Welcome." (I don't know how these folk get in the building.)
 
Like · Reply · 3 hrs
Kevin Haney
 
Kevin Haney If they get in, who else can?
 
Like · Reply · 3 hrs
Rod Adair replied · 1 Reply
Amy Thornton
 
Amy Thornton Maybe we should ban them from the country? Sounds like freedom of speech to me. Plus that was the least of the circus there Rod. Geez.
 
Like · Reply · 1 hr
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
3 hrs · 
 

Hubbub on the floor right now. Woman with banner saying "We can end the war now." Ultimately wrestled out of building after a struggle. Not sure of her objective.

 
 
 
 
 
-0:41
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
182 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
5 Comments
8Charlie Walker, Roxanne Gabel Erramouspe and 6 others
Comments
 
View 1 more comment
Linda Ross
 
Linda Ross Wondered what was going on and what her sign said. Thanks.
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs
Doug Black
 
Doug Black How do these Code Pink crazies get in there?
 
Unlike · Reply · 2 · 3 hrs
Rod Adair replied · 1 Reply
Justin Ketcham
 
Justin Ketcham Keep them coming, interesting to see the inside other than the news crew
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs
Sonny Sloan replied · 2 Replies · 2 hrs
Harry Ruebinawitz
 
Harry Ruebinawitz A Code Pink Chick who didnt get the memo.
 
Like · Reply · 25 mins
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
4 hrs · 
Twitter
 · 
 

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke,Jr. @SheriffClarke receives BY FAR the most enthusiastic applause and welcome thus far. ?#‎RNCinCLE?

 
 
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
2 Comments
38Yvonne Lilly, Jody Fry Alpers and 36 others
2 shares
Comments
Dara Dana
 
Dara Dana It was amazing!!
 
Like · Reply · 4 hrs
Yolanda Burnette
 
Yolanda Burnette Good job Senator Adair!????
 
Like · Reply · 4 hrs
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
8 hrs · 
 

It is yet another irony of the 2016 GOP nomination process that the Trump forces (who always attack the "establishment") were saved from having a roll call vote because the "Establishment" intervened to help them stop it.

So far today and yesterday, I have chatted with 14 delegates/alternates. Their comments are remarkably similar: "we have no choice but to oppose Hillary, she will be a disaster for the country."

I have yet to find an enthusiastic supporter of Trump, thoug...

See More
 
 
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
18 Comments
17Pat Kelley, Yvonne Lilly and 15 others
1 share
Comments
 
View 14 more comments
Gary Thomas
 
Gary Thomas I am here in NM and I enthusiastically support him and if the establishment finds a way to throw him under the bus I will never repeat never make another donation to any Republican Candidate
 
Like · Reply · 6 · 4 hrs
Randy Coffman replied · 1 Reply
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Gary Thomas, Jerry Hughes. Pay attention: the people you call the "establishment" stepped forward this afternoon and pulled Trump's bacon out of the fire--they saved his ass on national TV.
 
Like · Reply · 3 · 4 hrs
Gary Thomas replied · 2 Replies · 3 hrs
Dean Forest
 
Dean Forest Rod Adair, you're trying to reason with Trumpkins - you need to read from the book of Trump: 

"The establishment is whomever opposes Dear Leader until those we oppose become our friends and vice versa for Dear Leader's purposes. 
...See More
 
Like · Reply · 2 · 4 hrs
Randy Coffman replied · 1 Reply
Barbara Fox
 
Barbara Fox · Friends with Janice Franklin Derrick
Don't worry, the 'old guard establishment are gonna get surprised when next up for election. We the people are FED UP!
 
Like · Reply · 22 mins
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair was live.
8 hrs · 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-0:14
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
61 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
 
4Charlie Walker, Tyson Cosper and 2 others
Comments
 
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair was live.
9 hrs · 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-2:54
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
148 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
Chronological
14Margarita Santacoloma Carrizo, Mickey Click and 12 others
Comments
 
View 2 more comments
Lee Butler
 
Lee Butler Awesome
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 0:15 · 5 hrs
Mickey Click
 
Mickey Click Cool Rod, it would be great to be there with you. I am envious.
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 0:09 · 3 hrs
Mickey Click
 
Mickey Click Thanks for sharing it!
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 1:57 · 3 hrs
Okie Adair
 
Okie Adair · Friends with Patsy Adair and 1 other
OmeAwez
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 0:29 · 3 hrs
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
9 hrs · 
 

In the live video I posted, the convention is showing its disdain for the "vote" to quash a roll call vote on opening up the convention.

 
 
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
 
3Ruby Lucero, Charlie Walker and Curtis Stevens
Comments
 
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair was live.
9 hrs · 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-0:25
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
228 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
Chronological
17Hugh Emitt Taylor, Roxanne Gabel Erramouspe and 15 others
Comments
 
View 1 more comment
Janice Franklin Derrick
 
Janice Franklin Derrick They best get their act together and get this thing going. We the people support TRUMP. We can vote their butts out of office. Sick and tired of this bull!!
 
Like · Reply · 3 · 0:00 · 9 hrs
Daisy Mae Duke
 
Daisy Mae Duke I love Donald Trump!
 
Like · Reply · 2 · 9 hrs
Janice Franklin Derrick
 
Janice Franklin Derrick Me too!!
 
Like · Reply · 1 · 0:00 · 8 hrs
Alicia Adair- Hughes
 
Alicia Adair- Hughes ???? lord I hope folks are wearing their deodorant....
 
Unlike · Reply · 2 · 8 hrs
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Of course, you nut, this IS a REPUBLICAN convention. (Not the other one!)
 
Like · Reply · 4 · 8 hrs
 
 
View more replies
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
10 hrs · 
 

I have a Reagan 1980 t-shirt that says 
"Let's Make America Great Again!"

(Why does it look like "Spanx" now?)

 
 
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
11 Comments
68Ed Thomas, Yvonne Lilly and 66 others
1 share
Comments
 
View 7 more comments
Randi Johnson
 
Randi Johnson You might be a hoarder...
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 hrs
Randi Johnson replied · 2 Replies · 5 hrs
Jeromy Hughes
 
Jeromy Hughes As a nine year old kid, I went door to door with the grandparents handing out Reagan-Bush swag for the Hockley County GOP in 1980. Great memories!
 
Unlike · Reply · 2 · 4 hrs
Alicia Adair- Hughes
 
Alicia Adair- Hughes Awesome ^^ 
Jeromy Hughes
 
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 4 hrs
Shonna Schvaneveldt Smith
 
Shonna Schvaneveldt Smith That's really funny Rod Adair!
 
Like · Reply · 1 hr
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
13 hrs · 
 

This is part of what Islamicism has brought to America. Even visits once considered routine, any building in DC, the Smithsonian, monuments, all visits now marred by long waits -- all due to Islamists. ?#‎RNCinCLE?

 
 
 
 
 
-0:16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
209 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
4 Comments
10Ruby Lucero, Shari Robinson Hamilton and 8 others
1 share
Comments
Nancy Stovall
 
Nancy Stovall Shutting down the freedom we've always enjoyed!
 
Like · Reply · 13 hrs
Harry Ruebinawitz
 
Harry Ruebinawitz what are they doing?
 
Like · Reply · 12 hrs
Nancy Stovall
 
Nancy Stovall Rod, thanks for sharing videos.
 
Like · Reply · 12 hrs
Rod Adair replied · 1 Reply
Katy Dean Willadson
 
Katy Dean Willadson May as well be going through security at an airport.
 
Like · Reply · 10 hrs
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
13 hrs · 
 

Cleveland police being applauded by delegates as the first session is about to begin. ?#‎RNCConvention? ?#‎RNCinCLE?

 
 
 
 
 
-0:06
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
158 Views
LikeShow more reactions
CommentShare
1 Comment
11Paulina Braiman Robinson, Ruby Lucero and 9 others
4 shares
Comments
Karen Carlton
 
Karen Carlton Father in heaven, keep each one safe. Please Lord no more bloodshed. Expose the evil planned against them before it even happens.
 
Like · Reply · 13 hrs
Rod Adair
Write a comment...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rod Adair
15 hrs · 
 

CLEVELAND UPDATE: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION?#‎RNCinCLE? ?#‎RNCConvention? ?#‎RNC2016? ?#‎nmpol?

I Spoke with Bob Clark on Albuquerque's www.770kkob.com this morning.

After asking general questions about security, he then asked if I would be among those willing to back someone other than Trump.

My response was that it was my observation of the New Mexico delegation, as well as in speaking with delegates from Arkansas, South Dakota, Iowa and Indiana, that everyone is focused on the very serious goal of defeating Hillary Clinton—fully understanding that her election would be a disaster for America.

He referred to a news article in which I was quoted that Pence was a “blah” choice. I explained that it was in the context of polls showing Clinton ahead, and that I believed Trump needed someone who would shake things up or provide more excitement. However, I said that Pence is a fine choice, articulate and with solid credentials.

I did admit that I had told AP that if the GOP had a nominee other than Trump, he or she would be leading Clinton by about 30 points right now—given Hillary’s current situation. But I emphasized that that is water under the bridge, and that the nominee is the nominee, we are where we are, and the focus is going forward united in purpose to defeat the Democrat ticket.

I also mentioned that the New Mexico GOP chair gave a fine speech to the delegation at our initial meeting yesterday at 5:00 PM, emphasizing the need to unite behind the effort to defeat Hillary and win this fall.

 
 
www.770kkob.com
L.FACEBOOK.COM
 
LikeShow more reactions
Comment
Share
1 Comment
23P Orlando Baca, Herb Atkinson and 21 others
3 shares
Comments
Harry Ruebinawitz
 
Harry Ruebinawitz So are you or are you not still stuck in the Dump Trump Slump...?? Your boy Mr. Johnson said that West over reacts to ISIS..(really GARY!!??)
 
Like · Reply · 15 hrs
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair I gave this response the other day to questions about Gary Johnson: 

Gary Johnson was a solid libertarian governor who (rightfully) vetoed every single attempt (23 of them) to raise taxes, or fees. He held the line on many bad policies and vetoed some
...See More
 
Like · Reply · 2 · 15 hrs · Edited
Timothy Coakley
 
Timothy Coakley True, but do you think anyone outside of you and 100 other voters really know that? Based on the current amplification of the Multi-cultural policies being supported by the Administration, if you don't support Trump and allow Hillary to be elected, we might have marshal law in our future if she gets in.
 
Like · Reply · 15 hrs
Harry Ruebinawitz
 
Harry Ruebinawitz Rod Adair So are you supporting Trump?
 
Like · Reply · 15 hrs
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Timothy Coakley I think I have made it clear that I am among the (probably substantial) majority of delegates who see the mission before the American people: defeat the individual who has proven to represent not only corruption at the deepest and most serious level, and whose failed policies as secretary of state have helped Obama put America in its most perilous position since the Civil War.
 
Like · Reply · 3 · 14 hrs
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Harry Ruebinawitz I would refer you to the answer I gave just seconds ago to Mr. Coakley. In a booth this fall, the American people have no real difficult choice----it is between a woefully unqualifed and corrupt Hillary Clinton and the Republican nominee. The choice must be the Republican nominee.
 
Like · Reply · 2 · 14 hrs
Timothy Coakley
 
Timothy Coakley So you (reluctantly, with reservation, qualified pick one) are voting and voting for Trump. hrs

Sos story

11/25/2024

Toulouse Oliver associated with Rioters. Hawking videos of non-elections issues.

11/08/2024

If it's a Referendum on Trump, well not so good. New Mexico? We Believe Pat Lyons will Win.

11/06/2024

We still believe Republicans will win senate seats in Arizona, Montana, 


Albuquerque City Council District 4, The Runoff: Brook Bassan v. Ane Romero

11/05/2024

Presidential Primary Nominating Committee Meeting

03/29/2024
 
 
 
 
AGENDA
 
(Pursuant to NMSA 1978, §1-15A-5)
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
8:30 a.m.
Supreme Court Building
Santa Fe, NM
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
III. Nomination of Presidential Primary Candidates
IV. Certification of Candidates to the Secretary of State
V. Adjourn

National Issues

National Issues

Democrats

2016 Presidential Campaign - Democrats

Republicans

2016 Presidential Campaign - Republicans

Jeb Bush gets religion.

"They said he got religion at the end, and I'm glad that he did."  — Tom T. Hall. The Year Clayton Delaney died.

Well, it's official.  Jeb Bush has changed quite of few of his positions on illegal immigration.  The single most significant is that he no longer endorses the "path to citizenship" for those who came here illegally. 

This is, after all, the key portion of any proposal aimed at "reforming" our existing illegal immigration situation.

No sensible citizen can see any point in trying to deport between 12 and 16 million people currently living in America illegally.  And no candidate for any office that we know of supports that.  What the average American wants is for the country to "get a handle on it."  They want it stopped, our borders secured and future illegal immigration prevented.  It is a national security issue.

The Path to Legal Status

The only way to accomplish the above goals, is to identify current illegal immigrants, get them accounted for, have them documented, and placed on a path to legal status.  Neither they nor their children or spouses should live in a state of fear or anxiety.

But a path to "citizenship" is not the right course.  It is not morally or legally correct.  A merciful and compassionate nation can provide the safeguards of legal status without sending the message to the rest of the world that all you have to do is cross our border and you will eventually get to become a citizen, thus circumventing the legal framework scores of millions of Americans have followed, honored and respected.

If someone who is granted legal status eventually wants to become a citizen, that person should have to return to his or her country of origin and wait in line like 20 million people around the world are doing at any given time.  Failing that, America will forever send the signal that anyone in the world can "jump the line," and that there is no reason at all to obey our immigration and naturalization laws.

We Like Jeb Bush

We are glad Jeb Bush has learned this lesson.  He is a fine speaker, and can eloquently explain his positions on complex issue.  If he were not named "Bush" he would be an actual top tier candidate—in all that that title would entail, including likelihood of acceptance and support of and from the American people in the primaries, and in any theoretical general election.  

We also recognize that he already is a de facto top-tier candidate because of his fame and his fundraising.

If he were to be the nominee of the Republican Party we would heartily support him and endorse him.  We hope, however, that he is not, as he does not give the center-right coalition the best chance of winning.

Media Watch

Media Watch

County Government News

County Government News

Cities, Towns and Villages

Cities, Towns and Villages

Judicial Watch

Judicial Watch

Movies, Television, Pop Culture

Movies, Television, Pop Culture

  • Movies, Television, Pop Culture
    Selma   ????? We have now seen the Oscar-nominated movie Selma.   Our earlier allusion to criticism that sounded as though it was in an Oliver Stone category for historical fabrication is some...

Sports

Sports

The Major League Baseball Playoffs are not realistic, and destroy the actual meaning of the sport. 

Major League Baseball is unique in this respect—its postseason is markedly different from the way the game is played normally.  No other major league sport suffers from this flaw.

Not that much is wrong with baseball. In some respects it's the most well thought-out sport there is.  The "perfect game" many aficionados say.

But the Major League Baseball postseason experience is unique in the world of professional sports, and not in a good way. 

In fact the playoffs are flawed in such a way as to detract from the sport itself and diminish the game and what it means to be the world champion of the sport. 

Among the Big Four team sports of North America: football, hockey, basketball and baseball—and all the 122 professional major league teams competing in the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB respectively—it is in baseball alone that the postseason turns the sport itself on its head and makes it reflect something that it is not.  This article will explain why that happens and why it is wrong-headed.

 

Background on the The Frequency of Play

The 30 teams in both the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association teams play a very similar schedule.  On average, each team has a day off between games, sometimes two days off.  Though there are back-to-back games, they are relatively infrequent.  NBA teams play between 14 and 22 back-to-back games a season, and for the NHL it usually ranges between 9 and 19. The NFL has a full week between games, the exception being the new Thursday games that each team plays once, leaving them only four days' rest once a year.

But baseball players 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.  For the NHL and NBA it would be 14 per month, and for the NFL the number would be 4.

 

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.  Teams must be deep, have bench strength and the capability of moving players in and out of the lineup, and on and off the roster, who can take the place of key players who go down for an injury, or who have to miss games for whatever reason.  While this is true of the other three major sports as well, it is most certainly even more of a concern for baseball teams because of the sheer volume of games in which a team must field a competitive 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.

NHL teams carry 23-man rosters, of which 20 can be active for any particular game.  The NBA is similar, with 15-man rosters of which 13 can be on the bench for a given game. In the NFL, the teams have 53 players on a roster, but only 46 can suit up on game day.  In Major League Baseball, teams have a 25-man active roster, and all 25 are at the park every day.

 

The Postseason Playoffs:  Sport by Sport

The National Football League:

Of the 32 teams, 12 qualify for the playoffs.  The playoffs are conducted in the exact same manner as the regular season.  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.

In short, the playoffs, with a game each week, reflects the same means of advancement as is present in regular season grind.

The National Hockey League: 

16 of the 30 teams qualify for the postseason.  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.  Just as in the regular season, there are occasionally two days off.  But the playoffs require the same stamina, the same approach as that required to make the playoffs.

 

The National Basketball Association

16 of the 30 teams qualify for the postseason.  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.  Just as in the regular season, there are occasionally two days off.  But the playoffs require the same stamina, the same approach as that required to make the playoffs.

Major League Baseball

10 of the 30 teams qualify for the postseason.  (Although four of those teams qualify only for a one-game do-or-die play-in game.)

Here is where all similarity to baseball ends. 

Unlike the other three sports whose playoffs mirror the test of the regular season, and whose conditions are the same as the regular season, Major League Baseball playoffs in no way resemble the sport itself.  In hockey, basketball and football, the teams win playoff games and reach the pinacle of the sport in exactly the same way that they qualify to try to do so. 

Not so in baseball.  They are two entirely different concepts.  Teams make the playoffs only because they have depth, five-man pitching rotations and can play day-in and day-out at a high level.  But the baseball playoffs suddenly become a kind of "all-star" game within each team's roster.  MLB playoffs are conducted in a way that more closely follows the NBA and the NHL.  Teams have enormous numbers of days off. 

Here's the key point:  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.

In the regular season Major League Baseball teams have to use a 5-man starting rotation, with 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.  Even the best team in baseball using only a 4-man rotation, would wear them out, and most likely end up with a record of something like 66-96, or 70-92—and that would be if they were otherwise teh best team in the sport.

 

The 2014 Baseball Postseason is Typical

As examples, last year's World Series teams the Kansas City Royals played only 15 games in 30 days, and the San Francisco Giants played only 17 games in 30 days.  The 12 to 15 days off in the non-baseball fantasy world of the MLB postseason, means that teams can turn to three pitchers and give all of them plenty of rest.  But it isn't the way baseball really works.

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.  Very rarely is there anything beyond a one-day break, and even that happens only a couple of times a month. 

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

Baseball teams use a three-man pitching rotation in the playoffs.  Sometimes, they essentially opt for two pitchers only—conceding the likelihood that some of their games are going to be lost—when their third-, or rarely fourth-best pitcher has to face one of their opponents' two-man or three-man rotation members. 

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 present that product to their fans during the regular season.

Those are the equivalents of what Major League Baseball sets up every fall.  No other sport drags its playoffs out in such a way as to completely change the playing field—completely change the 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?  Baseball has travel days constantly.  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.  Travel days as a routine part of the game are again, a phenomenon of television, and stretching out the playoffs.

In years past, travel days were employed only when necessary. The famous "subway series" games were played on seven consecutive days.  Why?  Because there was no "travel day" required to go from Brooklyn to the Bronx.  Today, they would put in artificial travel days.

Even fairly long train trips didn't necessarily 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.

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.

In the modern world of charter planes, teams fly from coast to coast to play games on consecutive days.  The artificial "travel day" should be eliminated so that teams can play in the playoffs in the same way that got them there in the first place.


*All these leagues also have pre-seasons and training camps, which add an additional 6-8 weeks to each player's year.


Email us with your feedback, comments, questions and ideas. 

Religious Issues

Religious Issues

  • Religious Issues
    Coming Soon

Copyright New Mexico Political Journal 2015
EMAIL US WITH YOUR FEEDBACK, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND IDEAS

.

Loading...