Unlike the last post, it is not now April Fools' Day and I'm not just making stuff up. The little anecdote below is completely, absolutely true, but involves more Foolishness than any April 1st gag ever.
Yesterday morning, various departments around my school had a special 7:30 meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to go over a survey sent by some entity (District, NM Public Education Department) as part of our next step on the road to "Corrective Action" since we have "failed" on our standardized testing scores in the area(s) of Special Education Students and "English Language Learners" over the last few years.
All this "Corrective Action" stuff is vaguely specified in "No Child Left Behind" and has been put into actual practice/policy by the State, etc..
Anyway, as a teacher of "Humanities", I had a choice of going to the Language Arts meeting or the Social Studies meeting. I went with Language Arts for a variety of reasons, including the possibility that us Gifted "Humanities" teachers might become responsible for teaching Language Arts next year. This switch to Language Arts is unclear because we still don't have a schedule ready for next year, due to our inability to decide upon one yet. On April 3rd, we still don't know what we're doing on August 10th or so. Not a clue, really.
But that's a subject for another blogpost.
So I go to the Language Arts meeting. I get into the room, at my usual 30 seconds after it's already started time, and see that the multi-page survey, one filled with boxes and long, long "questions" about "leadership" and "common purpose", hazily projected upon a small screen via one of those "Elmo" document cameras.
The way the survey "process" had worked is that the survey was given to each of us. We were responsible for completing the survey, responsible down to the point of putting our initials on it as proof we did it (I'm 99% sure about this part, as I tried to repress the memory upon receiving the "responsibility" and may have this a bit wrong). We have then been instructed to meet in departments and come to "consensus" on the answers to the "questions".
So what I'm seeing, hazily, on the screen are computations of how many teachers put a certain X in a certain box alongside the vaguely worded survey "questions". Now I'm sitting at the back, because I was late to the meeting, and I notice that I can't even begin to read the "questions" projected on the screen. Others, even those sitting much closer complain of the same thing. Our very, very dedicated department chair fiddles with the Elmo a bit and the mumbo-jumbo gets a tiny bit more decipherable, but not much.
Two things are quickly decided: 1. We will just move on even though most of us can't really see the "questions"; 2. That we will not really discuss the survey questions, and will instead just circle the box where the most teachers put an "X" and get the thing to our school Administration post-haste.
And in about 150 seconds or so, we accomplish this, only stopping to read out a "question" or two and breaking a tie on one "question", even though nobody could read it.
Then we moved on past the survey and talked about spending some last minute money that suddenly appeared out-0f-nowhere, as happens each school year around this time. The survey will now go to our Administration, then on to some folks at the District/State/Wherever, where it will be turned into the rationale for doing something.
Almost certainly somebody at the District/State/Wherever will waive the "findings" of this survey around at a very important meeting, and use the "facts" garnered from the survey as evidence that "Implementation Step X" must, must ABSOLUTELY MUST be put in place immediately. The sentence "One big reason we MUST do so is because of the clear consensus generated in this survey!" will quite obviously be uttered. Yes, there will be an exclamation point to this sentence at the meeting. And yes, there will be significant nodding of heads around the table by those in attendance at the very important meeting upon this utterance.
And no, it's no longer April 1st, this isn't an April Fools' joke, yet each of us in that room yesterday felt far more foolish than any "victim" of an April Fools' joke ever has.
Have a good weekend, everybody.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Shutting Down Rio Grande High School DOES Make Sense!
I say it's about time. The decision yesterday by APS and Superintendent Winston Brooks to immediately shut down Rio Grande High School and have students bussed to Sandia High School from now on is a no-brainer. Rio has always been a disaster, was never going to be anything other than a Superfund site for education, and it's been a waste of time trying to "save" it.
Sandia, on the other hand, is the only APS high school to "pass" its standardized test scores last year, and is surely a far, far better place for kids to learn.
Yes, I know the bus ride all the way from the South Valley to the middle of the Northeast Heights is long, and with around 2,000 previously RGHS students that's a lot of buses.
And yes, I know that having those students attend classes held on the Sandia HS practice field isn't the best solution. But for now, it's the only solution until FEMA and the District can come to terms on building the many, many "portable" classrooms that will be needed.
I also really like the progressive idea of offering RGHS students the chance to "camp" at Sandia instead of taking that long bus ride back and forth each day. The agreement with REI to provide tents and camping equipment for these students to "live where they learn" is a great one, and the largess of REI is not something we want to pass up.
I also agree with the decision to terminate/fire all the Rio Grande staff and administration. They obviously can't cut it, and would ruin Sandia's reputation. I know it sounds weird to hire 225 folks from Sylvan Learning Center as temporary teachers, but each one of the new workers will watch a eminently proficient Sandia HS teacher for a week, taking notes while they do so. Let's face it, these Sylvan folks can't possibly be as bad as the Rio Grande teacher they are replacing.
So I think the outrage from everyone on this subject needs to stop. In particular the, dare I say it, racist sentiments expressed by some Sandia HS parents and nearby residents about all these "people" moving into their neighborhood. This is sickening on many levels, and doesn't help anyone. It also overlooks some of the many positives that will come out of this "union" of Rio Grande and Sandia. These include:
P.S.: I'm not quite as keen on the idea of selling the land/buildings of RGHS to the County for use as an auxiliary County Jail, but it is a way to raise funds and will help the County come to grips with its terribly overcrowded existing facility. We need to remember here that no solution is perfect, whether we are residents of the South Valley or the Northeast Heights. Besides, the idea of putting some concertina wire and guard towers up at RGHS has been on the drawing board for years now..now those plans can be put into action.
Sandia, on the other hand, is the only APS high school to "pass" its standardized test scores last year, and is surely a far, far better place for kids to learn.
Yes, I know the bus ride all the way from the South Valley to the middle of the Northeast Heights is long, and with around 2,000 previously RGHS students that's a lot of buses.
And yes, I know that having those students attend classes held on the Sandia HS practice field isn't the best solution. But for now, it's the only solution until FEMA and the District can come to terms on building the many, many "portable" classrooms that will be needed.
I also really like the progressive idea of offering RGHS students the chance to "camp" at Sandia instead of taking that long bus ride back and forth each day. The agreement with REI to provide tents and camping equipment for these students to "live where they learn" is a great one, and the largess of REI is not something we want to pass up.
I also agree with the decision to terminate/fire all the Rio Grande staff and administration. They obviously can't cut it, and would ruin Sandia's reputation. I know it sounds weird to hire 225 folks from Sylvan Learning Center as temporary teachers, but each one of the new workers will watch a eminently proficient Sandia HS teacher for a week, taking notes while they do so. Let's face it, these Sylvan folks can't possibly be as bad as the Rio Grande teacher they are replacing.
So I think the outrage from everyone on this subject needs to stop. In particular the, dare I say it, racist sentiments expressed by some Sandia HS parents and nearby residents about all these "people" moving into their neighborhood. This is sickening on many levels, and doesn't help anyone. It also overlooks some of the many positives that will come out of this "union" of Rio Grande and Sandia. These include:
- With 4,000 students, chances are the new "Sandia Grande" will have the best sports teams in the state;
- I like the new mascot "MataRavens" better than either "Matadors" or "Ravens";
- Especially with the camping option, many of these South Valley students will have a chance to experience life in the Northeast Heights for the first time, and take advantage of the many, many cultural offerings in the Comanche & Wyoming area. As a former resident of this area, I am well aware of how exciting the many strip malls in the area can be for a newcomer;
- And, of course, the most important thing is that these previously underserved students will go from a "failing" school to one that is "passing". And isn't that what it's about? Helping the kids?
P.S.: I'm not quite as keen on the idea of selling the land/buildings of RGHS to the County for use as an auxiliary County Jail, but it is a way to raise funds and will help the County come to grips with its terribly overcrowded existing facility. We need to remember here that no solution is perfect, whether we are residents of the South Valley or the Northeast Heights. Besides, the idea of putting some concertina wire and guard towers up at RGHS has been on the drawing board for years now..now those plans can be put into action.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Freely Offered Translation of an APS Press Release, 3.30.09
Understanding it is often difficult for those not in the teaching profession to comprehend the meaning and impact of statements coming from those in education, the following translation has been offered by me, a professional educator, of a communication emanating earlier today from APS Superintendent Winston Brooks.
Below is the word-for-word release (in standard text) with a translated version directly below (in bold).
_______________________
A new plan has been worked out with the Albuquerque Teachers
Below is the word-for-word release (in standard text) with a translated version directly below (in bold).
_______________________
A new plan has been worked out with the Albuquerque Teachers
After sitting around with the Union at some stupid meeting
Federation to use Friday, April 24, as a half-day of instruction in the
we came up with the laughable idea of ruining Friday, April 24th
morning and half-day of site-based professional development for
teachers and staff in the afternoon.
craftily stuck in a "lunch",
This will resolve the issue of making up the snow day from Dec. 16.
thus making up our "snow day" because if we serve lunch the day counts! Boo-yah! Hells yes! Are we geniuses or what!
The schedule will be as follows:
· High schools and early-start elementaries will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
Think Lunch and get the Hell out of Dodge
· Middle schools will dismiss at 12:15 p.m.
Ditto, baby!
· Elementary schools will dismiss at 1 p.m.
It's Gold, Jerry, Gold!
The need for students to return on May 26, the day after Memorial Day,
The asinine "need" to have students supposedly go on May 26th
has been eliminated. The last day of school will be Friday, May 22,
has been gloriously 86ed. The last day will be on Friday, May 22nd, like any sane person would have told you weeks ago, but we had to have these stupid meetings with the Union, which obviously cares way more about some silly "Professional Development Day" that we all know is a big, fat waste of time, instead of focusing all its energy on much more important things, like why the Hell the Economic Stimulus package hasn't already been incorporated into education funding/budgeting for next year, and instead just seemed to let the Legislature piss all over education for like the third or fourth straight year.
and will be a full day of instruction.
and will be a full day of uselessly waiting around for the final bell to ring.
Teachers who have completed their required closing out procedures
Teachers don't have to show up on May 26th either because any sane
by May 22 will not have to report on May 26. Otherwise, please
teacher would make damn sure their keys are already turned in
plan to report for a teacher-directed prep day.
and just in case you don't get this through your thick, stupid teacher heads, I'm threatening you with a "teacher-directed prep day" (whatever the Hell that is) if you don't get your ass out of the building ready for Summer on Friday the 22nd like everyone else on Planet APS. Let me put it this way, if you actually show up on Tuesday, May 26th, I'm going to see to it that you are fired because you are obviously far too stupid to read between the lines, much less teach.
_______________________________
It is hoped that the above translation helps to bridge the sometimes sizable gap between those who educate our youth and the public for which we serve.
P.S.: Just before receiving the release from Superintendent Brooks, staff at my school got a forwarded email originally from ATF President Ellen Bernstein. It read in part:
"Tuesday, May 26, 2009
This day will be the make-up day for staff. It will be a teacher directed preparation day. The teachers may prep on or off of campus for the entire day."
Perhaps your sense of humor is like mine, and you also find the three sentences directly above to be just about the funniest thing you have ever read. Like Monty Python-meets-George Carlin funny. Like beyond falling on the floor, convulsing in laughter so intense you start coughing, spitting up and think you might be having a heart attack funny. Preternaturally humorous.
Even for those who don't find it funny, I'm guessing no "translation" is needed. In keeping with the spirit of facilitating communication, however, I'll be happy to let you know what it really means...upon request. As soon as I can stop laughing, spitting, convulsing and such.
Hitting the Ground Flailing, Back To School
With only seven or so weeks left, and two of them largely gutted via standardized testing, the remainder of the school year seems to hang like cat hair on a suitcase. A suitcase that is still somewhere in the bowels of Continental Airlines, having not made it all back all the way from Marseilles.
And we ourselves barely made it back from Marseilles, and I could bore you with a 22-hour travel odyssey involving Amsterdam, the evil that is the George Bush (H.W.? W.? both?) International Airport in Houston, etc., but will spare you.
Besides, my eyes are so bleary I can hardly see the computer keyboard, even the English/American one with the "A" where the "A" is supposed to be instead of a French keyboard "Q". Those French....more about them later, perhaps.
Meanwhile, it's right back to the pesky, hanging cat hair of school year 2008-2009. Let's get this thing over with.
And one other thing. Let's also get together in some sort of mind meld that answers the $780 billion "economic stimulus" question...where did/does all the federal money for K-12 education go? Why are we still talking about belt-tightening in education? Why did teachers get a de facto pay cut this year? What the Hell happened?
If someone could just spew the answers to the above out, I'd appreciate it. The jet-lagged among us can hardly type, much less explain the sausage-making that is the NM legislative process.
And speaking of sausage...about those sausages in Southern France. Combined with the soft goat cheese inside the rustic country-style breads of France...that's good for about five pounds of gained weight per week of vacation. At least. At the very least.
And we ourselves barely made it back from Marseilles, and I could bore you with a 22-hour travel odyssey involving Amsterdam, the evil that is the George Bush (H.W.? W.? both?) International Airport in Houston, etc., but will spare you.
Besides, my eyes are so bleary I can hardly see the computer keyboard, even the English/American one with the "A" where the "A" is supposed to be instead of a French keyboard "Q". Those French....more about them later, perhaps.
Meanwhile, it's right back to the pesky, hanging cat hair of school year 2008-2009. Let's get this thing over with.
And one other thing. Let's also get together in some sort of mind meld that answers the $780 billion "economic stimulus" question...where did/does all the federal money for K-12 education go? Why are we still talking about belt-tightening in education? Why did teachers get a de facto pay cut this year? What the Hell happened?
If someone could just spew the answers to the above out, I'd appreciate it. The jet-lagged among us can hardly type, much less explain the sausage-making that is the NM legislative process.
And speaking of sausage...about those sausages in Southern France. Combined with the soft goat cheese inside the rustic country-style breads of France...that's good for about five pounds of gained weight per week of vacation. At least. At the very least.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
'Burque Babble Goes Euro For a Few Days
Telling people you're going to France amid the most wintry economic climate seen in years makes one a bit guilty. It's like being the guy who goes back the 3rd time to the Indian food buffet line, or orders that one more beer after everyone else has decided against it.
On the other hand, it was an economist (John Maynard Keynes) who said: "In the long run we are all dead."
So we're eating baguettes while the world economy burns.
I've never really been to France (the view from Charles de Gaulle Airport doesn't count), but my wife lived there for a while during her wilder, more carefree days. My French lessons went absolutely nowhere, so she will be doing ALL the talking for the next week while I practice my look of bemused semi-comprehension.
We will eat Provençal food (as much as our Euro conversion rate can afford..and more), walk through the village of Lourmarin tons of times, daydream about living in Provence over and over and over, and drive some dinky Citroen to a few other villages, places which we will also daydream about living in someday.
Then we will fly back and try to make it through the next eight weeks or so of school without ex or imploding.
We deliberately chose an apartment with no internet access, no television and such. Still, it is far too likely that I will spend too much time in Lourmarin internet cafes. I apologize in advance for any blogposts that might result from these ill-considered internet soirees.
Blogging is pathetic...blogging from Provence...there isn't a word that really captures just how pathetic that is.
Enjoy your time, whether considered "Spring Break" or not, wherever you may be. For those more economically sane folks who are staying home to save money....I applaud your frugality. For those of us extending our dissolute lives to other continents, it's only a credit card bill.
In the long run, we'll be dead. Seize the baguette, I say.
On the other hand, it was an economist (John Maynard Keynes) who said: "In the long run we are all dead."
So we're eating baguettes while the world economy burns.
I've never really been to France (the view from Charles de Gaulle Airport doesn't count), but my wife lived there for a while during her wilder, more carefree days. My French lessons went absolutely nowhere, so she will be doing ALL the talking for the next week while I practice my look of bemused semi-comprehension.
We will eat Provençal food (as much as our Euro conversion rate can afford..and more), walk through the village of Lourmarin tons of times, daydream about living in Provence over and over and over, and drive some dinky Citroen to a few other villages, places which we will also daydream about living in someday.
Then we will fly back and try to make it through the next eight weeks or so of school without ex or imploding.
We deliberately chose an apartment with no internet access, no television and such. Still, it is far too likely that I will spend too much time in Lourmarin internet cafes. I apologize in advance for any blogposts that might result from these ill-considered internet soirees.
Blogging is pathetic...blogging from Provence...there isn't a word that really captures just how pathetic that is.
Enjoy your time, whether considered "Spring Break" or not, wherever you may be. For those more economically sane folks who are staying home to save money....I applaud your frugality. For those of us extending our dissolute lives to other continents, it's only a credit card bill.
In the long run, we'll be dead. Seize the baguette, I say.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Education Must Not Be "Shovel-Ready"
Prologue: Burque Babble realizes that it has been even whinier than usual lately. And that's really saying something.
It also knows that plenty of other folks don't get swell teacher perks like "Spring Break". Many are, in fact, losing their jobs. Part of Burque Babble (if a pseudo-inanimate object can partition its "thinking") knows this and feels a bit guilty about the whining. Still, other parts keep remembering that we elected this Obama guy who was supposedly throwing a bunch of money at education and all that.
In fact, he did get a bunch of money thrown at education. When is that money going to hit us in the face here in New Mexico? We don't mind getting a few bruises from being hit with the money. Hit us with the money! Give us your best shot...
__
HB 331 and HB 346 to revise/improve public education funding in New Mexico both look dead.
Meanwhile, HB 854 calling for teachers to increase their contribution to the retirement fund by 1.5% has passed both houses and is on the Governor's desk.
Happy Spring Break, New Mexico Education!
Perhaps the only workable "shovel-ready" economic stimulus for New Mexico educators this year will be canceling their Union membership and saving the twenty or so bucks per paycheck. Speaking of shovels, it's kinda hard at this point to see the payment of our Union dues as anything other than throwing money into a hole in the ground.
I kid, josh, cajole and razz...of course. Well, sorta. No...actually I'm not kidding at all.
Is it Spring Break yet?
P.S.: And on the subject of planning vacations, the District/Union STILL haven't decided what to do with the April 24th "In-Service" vis-a-vis the need for a make-up date other than the idiotic day-after-Memorial Day useless half-day of nothingness option. Don't these people realize that, unlike certain institutional entities, folks PLAN things ahead...like even weeks and months ahead? Well, at least some do.
Is it Spring Break yet?
Have a good one, y'all. Especially you out there who are in far worse shape job-wise than us whiny teachers.
It also knows that plenty of other folks don't get swell teacher perks like "Spring Break". Many are, in fact, losing their jobs. Part of Burque Babble (if a pseudo-inanimate object can partition its "thinking") knows this and feels a bit guilty about the whining. Still, other parts keep remembering that we elected this Obama guy who was supposedly throwing a bunch of money at education and all that.
In fact, he did get a bunch of money thrown at education. When is that money going to hit us in the face here in New Mexico? We don't mind getting a few bruises from being hit with the money. Hit us with the money! Give us your best shot...
__
HB 331 and HB 346 to revise/improve public education funding in New Mexico both look dead.
Meanwhile, HB 854 calling for teachers to increase their contribution to the retirement fund by 1.5% has passed both houses and is on the Governor's desk.
Happy Spring Break, New Mexico Education!
Perhaps the only workable "shovel-ready" economic stimulus for New Mexico educators this year will be canceling their Union membership and saving the twenty or so bucks per paycheck. Speaking of shovels, it's kinda hard at this point to see the payment of our Union dues as anything other than throwing money into a hole in the ground.
I kid, josh, cajole and razz...of course. Well, sorta. No...actually I'm not kidding at all.
Is it Spring Break yet?
P.S.: And on the subject of planning vacations, the District/Union STILL haven't decided what to do with the April 24th "In-Service" vis-a-vis the need for a make-up date other than the idiotic day-after-Memorial Day useless half-day of nothingness option. Don't these people realize that, unlike certain institutional entities, folks PLAN things ahead...like even weeks and months ahead? Well, at least some do.
Is it Spring Break yet?
Have a good one, y'all. Especially you out there who are in far worse shape job-wise than us whiny teachers.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
For Whom the NCLB Bell Tolls...
Yesterday my school staff received the email I've been dreading ever since the era of "No Child Left Behind" began. It's title:
I haven't seen the word mentioned yet, but "synergy" can't be far away. Other meaningless buzzwords are already rampant, however. Check this sentence from Hell out:
Did you know "CCI" is "a trademarked product of Jim Shipley and Associates"? You also may or may not know that the school doesn't really receive any more funding when it's in "corrective action", but Jim Shipley and Associates does...and so does "America's Choice" the maker of the little "remediation" booklets all the "failing" children will be forced to go through. You know, like hiring Blackwater to fight the war instead of soldiers. Only with buzzwords that kill instead.
It is strongly implied that we as staffmembers are supposed to embrace "CCI", in part because we are "failing" and know that when you're "failing" you're not allowed to have opinions or prefer a different path in overcoming the "failure".
It's like being philosophically, professionally disenfranchised.
We're supposed to teach critical thinking, but we ain't supposed to perform any critical thinking ourselves.
No Spring Break is gonna wash away this fact: The letters don't match, but "CCI" might just really mean "Find Employment Elsewhere".
P.S.: But who cares about profound professional downers? The NCAA basketball tournament starts today! Take it from someone who doesn't know what they are talking about: Western Kentucky will beat Illinois today. And keeping with the "Big Ten Sucks This Year" theme...Northern Iowa may well beat Purdue.
Oh, that's better...sports is such good mental anesthetic. Mind numbing...life problems less pointy...smoothing...tournament only hours away. Tournament = Nurse Ratchet, but nicer and with beer commercials...
"What is Continuous Classroom Improvement? (CCI)"Yep, my school is now going to "continuously improve" using state-of-the-art, 1993 business goal setting strategies. It's because we are in "corrective action". We've been bad...and we have to correct ourselves through "action".
I haven't seen the word mentioned yet, but "synergy" can't be far away. Other meaningless buzzwords are already rampant, however. Check this sentence from Hell out:
"Framework to implement a standards based curriculum , into which is embedded goal setting, high yield instructional strategies, clear standards and expectations, formative assessments( daily, weekly, monthly…), evidence of learning, student engagement in the learning process, data collection."
It is strongly implied that we as staffmembers are supposed to embrace "CCI", in part because we are "failing" and know that when you're "failing" you're not allowed to have opinions or prefer a different path in overcoming the "failure".
It's like being philosophically, professionally disenfranchised.
We're supposed to teach critical thinking, but we ain't supposed to perform any critical thinking ourselves.
No Spring Break is gonna wash away this fact: The letters don't match, but "CCI" might just really mean "Find Employment Elsewhere".
P.S.: But who cares about profound professional downers? The NCAA basketball tournament starts today! Take it from someone who doesn't know what they are talking about: Western Kentucky will beat Illinois today. And keeping with the "Big Ten Sucks This Year" theme...Northern Iowa may well beat Purdue.
Oh, that's better...sports is such good mental anesthetic. Mind numbing...life problems less pointy...smoothing...tournament only hours away. Tournament = Nurse Ratchet, but nicer and with beer commercials...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sour, Sour Manny Aragon's Baadasssss Song
I find it interesting that residents of just about every state feel they have the most corrupt officials and lousiest public schools. It's a sentiment worn by many like some bizarro State badge of honor, a badge that grows and shines more brightly over time.
As an ex-Texan, I can't tell you how many fellow Long Star State folks I've almost seen come to tears proudly retelling the story of LBJ, and how he stole that Senatorial election way back in '48 (the numbers are helped by the fact I got both my degrees in Poli Sci back in Texas). Louisiana had Huey P. Long, and might end up naming yet another bridge for the Kingfish with the Economic Stimulus bucks they get. More recently they had a Congressman who got caught with $90,000 hidden in his freezer. Rep. William Jefferson won re-election in the months after that cold, cold cash was uncovered.
Illinois had the Daley machine and most recently Governor Blagojevich, and I see no record of any massive swelling of real consternation on the part of Lincoln Landers. The fact Blago was able to get away with filling a Senate seat seems to bother just about everybody but those from Illinois. Harry Truman only rose to prominence because of the Pendergast operation in Missouri. And they still say "Give 'em Hell Harry" with pride back in Kansas City.
And in New Jersey, my wife's home state, any questions/comments about political corruption receive nothing but a laugh and a solid, repetitive shaking of the head.
So on a day filled with Manny Aragon's courtroom tears, a so-so sentence and a sizable demand for restitution, I found myself thinking about this story from some months back in the New York Times. Great graphs a-blazing, the Times tried to determine the most corrupt State in America. This was at the height of "Blago Mania" and the story twist was that Illinois was not found, by any measure, to be the most corrupt State.
In sheer numbers of convicted public officials, the winner was Florida. On a per capita basis it was the District of Columbia. In both those polls New Mexico was nowhere near the top. Even in per capita figures, the Land of Enchantment ranked just about where it seems to always rank in everything, 46th. Hey, what about us? We're corrupt, too! Really!
Blurry, but New Mexico is somewhere near the bottom...again
I still have a vague sense of disappointment about that.
Remarkably, however, WE did much better when it came to "Reporters' Scores" . The Times story explained this part of the survey:
Still, I maintain there is a strange, twisted competitive pride in such figures, and Manny Aragon bolsters this pride as someone we can bitterly laugh at now, and bizarrely revere years from now. In this and other ways, Manny serves needs many of our celebrities, sports figures, and public officials fill. These include the need to have those more powerful crash from power, and the need to have simple, blatant answers to the complex, subtle questions of our world.
Yes it's schadenfreude, but it's more than that. Just as we use the foibles of the "famous" to make ourselves feel better about our own screw-ups, we as a society create Manny Aragons through our inattention and laziness, then get to feel better about that inattention and laziness when the Manny Aragon finally, FINALLY, gets caught.
But, as point of analogy, does anyone really think intense public oversight of the financial system is likely to last forever, just because Bernie Madoff got caught? Or AIG folks got some bonuses? Yes this Manny Aragon was a real piece of work, a colossal caricature of political corruption. But do we really think we'll do any better job of making sure another Manny Aragon doesn't come along in another few years?
More to the point, how many more years (or months, really) until someone brings up Manny Aragon and we can't get that strangely proud grin off our face?
"Only in New Mexico," we'll reply...as we shake our heads, grinning. "Only in New Mexico."
Yeah, right.
P.S.: And speaking of Baadasssss songs (or just "baad"), here is a reprise of a little two-chorus ditty on today's subject I scribbled some time back based on the A.L. Webber composition "Don't Cry For Me Argentina":
Don't Cry For Me Albuquerque
It's not like you knew I wasn't guilty
All through my wild days
Ruining South Valley
I was your bagman
And kept your money.
Don't Cry For Me Albuquerque
The truth is I'll never leave you
There'll be this courthouse
At 4th and Lomas
That you can spit on
And curse my name for.
P.P.S.: Steve Terrell at the New Mexican has a good write-up of the lukewarm action on "ethics reform" during this Legislative session. Cue more head shaking and bitter grins...
As an ex-Texan, I can't tell you how many fellow Long Star State folks I've almost seen come to tears proudly retelling the story of LBJ, and how he stole that Senatorial election way back in '48 (the numbers are helped by the fact I got both my degrees in Poli Sci back in Texas). Louisiana had Huey P. Long, and might end up naming yet another bridge for the Kingfish with the Economic Stimulus bucks they get. More recently they had a Congressman who got caught with $90,000 hidden in his freezer. Rep. William Jefferson won re-election in the months after that cold, cold cash was uncovered.
Illinois had the Daley machine and most recently Governor Blagojevich, and I see no record of any massive swelling of real consternation on the part of Lincoln Landers. The fact Blago was able to get away with filling a Senate seat seems to bother just about everybody but those from Illinois. Harry Truman only rose to prominence because of the Pendergast operation in Missouri. And they still say "Give 'em Hell Harry" with pride back in Kansas City.
And in New Jersey, my wife's home state, any questions/comments about political corruption receive nothing but a laugh and a solid, repetitive shaking of the head.
So on a day filled with Manny Aragon's courtroom tears, a so-so sentence and a sizable demand for restitution, I found myself thinking about this story from some months back in the New York Times. Great graphs a-blazing, the Times tried to determine the most corrupt State in America. This was at the height of "Blago Mania" and the story twist was that Illinois was not found, by any measure, to be the most corrupt State.
In sheer numbers of convicted public officials, the winner was Florida. On a per capita basis it was the District of Columbia. In both those polls New Mexico was nowhere near the top. Even in per capita figures, the Land of Enchantment ranked just about where it seems to always rank in everything, 46th. Hey, what about us? We're corrupt, too! Really!
Blurry, but New Mexico is somewhere near the bottom...againI still have a vague sense of disappointment about that.
Remarkably, however, WE did much better when it came to "Reporters' Scores" . The Times story explained this part of the survey:
Researchers asked state house reporters to assess their subjects and ranked responses on a scale of 1 (clean) to 7 (crooked) in a 2003 study.In the reporter poll New Mexico scored a solid third, just beaten out by perennial corruption powerhouse Louisiana for second. Take that Florida (22nd), Illinois (10th) and D.C. (okay, the District wasn't included in the poll)! The discrepancy between convictions and reporter perception could mean several things...including the possibility New Mexico just doesn't convict enough of its ne'erdowells.
Still, I maintain there is a strange, twisted competitive pride in such figures, and Manny Aragon bolsters this pride as someone we can bitterly laugh at now, and bizarrely revere years from now. In this and other ways, Manny serves needs many of our celebrities, sports figures, and public officials fill. These include the need to have those more powerful crash from power, and the need to have simple, blatant answers to the complex, subtle questions of our world.
Yes it's schadenfreude, but it's more than that. Just as we use the foibles of the "famous" to make ourselves feel better about our own screw-ups, we as a society create Manny Aragons through our inattention and laziness, then get to feel better about that inattention and laziness when the Manny Aragon finally, FINALLY, gets caught.
- Why are things so screwed up in New Mexico? Answer: Manny Aragon.
- Why did he get away with it for so long? Answer: The System is screwed up.
- Is it our fault? Answer: Obviously not. Aragon is evil, and it took the System forever to do anything about it. It's outside of our control.
But, as point of analogy, does anyone really think intense public oversight of the financial system is likely to last forever, just because Bernie Madoff got caught? Or AIG folks got some bonuses? Yes this Manny Aragon was a real piece of work, a colossal caricature of political corruption. But do we really think we'll do any better job of making sure another Manny Aragon doesn't come along in another few years?
More to the point, how many more years (or months, really) until someone brings up Manny Aragon and we can't get that strangely proud grin off our face?
"Only in New Mexico," we'll reply...as we shake our heads, grinning. "Only in New Mexico."
Yeah, right.
P.S.: And speaking of Baadasssss songs (or just "baad"), here is a reprise of a little two-chorus ditty on today's subject I scribbled some time back based on the A.L. Webber composition "Don't Cry For Me Argentina":
Don't Cry For Me Albuquerque
It's not like you knew I wasn't guilty
All through my wild days
Ruining South Valley
I was your bagman
And kept your money.
Don't Cry For Me Albuquerque
The truth is I'll never leave you
There'll be this courthouse
At 4th and Lomas
That you can spit on
And curse my name for.
P.P.S.: Steve Terrell at the New Mexican has a good write-up of the lukewarm action on "ethics reform" during this Legislative session. Cue more head shaking and bitter grins...
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