I truly could NOT care less about sports. I have zero interest in professional, academic or amateur sports. No interest at all in sports. None the less, I believe physical activity is vital. By all means, get out and be active, including participating in sports. I play volleyball every week with my friends.

My revulsion is in sports as a religion and business. My disgust is over sports for money and the corporate welfare that benefits sports. It sickens me that people get rich through sports — especially people who are not athletes themselves. It saddens me that fanatics know everything about sports trivia and less about the condition of the world. Our society squanders huge amounts of money, time, attention, focus and brain-power on corporate sports (in which I include anything involving pay).

Am I suggesting that a gifted athlete who works very hard to improve himself or herself deserves no money for that effort. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Do it because you love it. Do it because it makes you healthier, stronger, more attractive. You want to get rich in the process?

Oh, but how can anyone become the world’s greatest [insert sporting position of your choice] without compensation. Well, frankly, I don’t care, but I suspect love and devotion will take you pretty far. You want a dump truck full of money, too?

My bile has risen because UNM just hired a coach for nearly ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. A coach, someone who “loves the game.” Countless people believe one coach can easily be worth so much money. People who won’t make one million dollars in their lifetimes still believe one person is so much more valuable than they are themselves. That’s some self-esteem.

The Million-Dollar-Coach will make $400,000 more than the new President of the University. You might think that says enough about the priorities of our state educational institution — the coach of a handful of athletes is worth almost twice what the leader of the entire university makes. But don’t ignore that there is very limited money for everyone else at the university. The University is a community of students, teachers and other staff (and our families). Everyone in this community is important. We all need some support, some give and take, a share of the pie. In comes a big pig and there’s less for the rest of us. Simple, isn’t it? I have to go vomit now.
mjh

PS- I’ve been “temporary part-time faculty” at UNM for almost 20 years (without common benefits). The pay for all my colleagues at the Division of Continuing Education was drastically cut some years ago; we’ve never quite come back. Even if none of this were true, I’d still hate sports more than religion.

Daily Lobo – Alford to rake in $975,000 a year by Steven Fernandez

[Steve] Alford, officially introduced as the new UNM men’s basketball head coach on Friday, will be making an annual salary of $975,000 – nearly twice the amount of former head coach Ritchie McKay, who was fired Feb. 22. …

David Schmidly, UNM’s next president, said Alford is a great hire for the basketball team.

Schmidly will make more than $500K, by Caleb Fort

The Board of Regents approved the five-year contract for Schmidly, UNM’s next president, on Friday.

Annually, Schmidly will get a $380,000 salary, $120,000 deferred compensation, a $42,000 car allowance and a $45,000 housing allowance. [mjh: $587,000-a-year, about 60% of the coach’s salary.]

Louis Caldera, UNM’s former president, had a salary of $293,000.

Bill to increase pay for part-time faculty by Bryan Gibel

The best-paid instructors in the sciences make about $8,000 per course on Main Campus, while instructors at UNM’s Valencia County branch earn less than $2,000, Niame said. … [mjh: I make about $400 for a workshop; I made about $4000 in 2006.]

Niame said there are about 1,200 faculty members who teach part-time in the UNM system, but they aren’t specifically included in the budget.

“We do not exist in UNM’s budget, and we’re not considered when the Board of Regents looks at the budget,” she said. “We’re not considered true employees. We work semester-to-semester, which means we get no benefits, and we have no job security. We’re nonentities in a lot of ways.” …

Jamie Koch, president of the Board of Regents, said the University will not increase wages for part-timers out of its own budget.

“We’re not increasing salaries for part-time faculty,” he said.

ABQjournal: Camera Forum Draws 150, Mostly Critics By Dan McKay, Journal Staff Writer

People pointed fingers, waved their arms and lectured city councilors on the Constitution.

They talked about George Orwell, excessive fines and yellow lights that aren’t yellow long enough.

Lee Logan, a disc jockey for 106.3 The Range, railed against “Big Brother and the taking away of our rights.”

My natural sympathies are with people worried about Big Brother. Even country DJ’s, whose listeners fancy themselves rebels even as they consistently vote Republican. Perhaps the right to run a red light is in the Second Amendment.

Maybe these people are sincere. Maybe they aren’t just looking to break the law whenever they want without consequences (other than death). But, if you’re truly worried about your rights, I suggest you read the USA Patriot Act (if you can find the unredacted, “need-to-know” version). Maybe you should protest the Transportation Security Administration (now xraying citizens) or burn your national ID card. Perhaps you should protest an administration with secret CIA prisons, an administration which views US Attorneys as its busboys. Yes, freedom is on the march, in jackboots. Deadly intersections are far from the biggest danger.

Red-Light Cameras Gone In a Flash? Mayor Says Bill Passage Would End City Program, By T.J. Wilham and Trip Jennings, Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writers

Last week, Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said the rest of the state suffers when Albuquerque doesn’t pay the state traffic violation fees, which finance everything from court construction to brain injury services. …

“Why should the people in the whole rest of the state build Albuquerque’s Metro Court and they don’t pay anything back?” he said. “That’s basic fairness, but then, I don’t live in the Imperial City.”

There you have it; under it all is the resentment of a Representative whose feelings are hurt. By the way, he doesn’t mean Santa Fe.

What is the logic of complaining about Abq taking money from the state when this program pays for itself — and won’t, if the state gets involved? What is the logic of someone from Roswell telling Abq what it can do?

I’m furious with the NM State Legislature, which has considered several bills designed to ruin the red light cameras. They’ve talked about warning everyone which intersections it is OK to blow through. They’ve debated reducing the cost of risking murder. Finally, they want their cut.

At the bottom of all this noise, there are statistics. How many accidents and deaths before and after the cameras? Does anything else matter, particularly the views of puny pols, DJ’s and scofflaws? mjh

There’s something missing from the story about the alleged rape of a Sandoval County Sheriff’s deputy by her comrades — her brothers. The missing piece of the puzzle is Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. Almost every day, you’ll find White fuming about sexual predators. He clearly communicates his despise for them. Unless they wear a uniform or serve another county?

I know nothing about the merits of this case, though I can’t imagine any police officer taking the risk of falsely claiming rape. A man’s word is his bond; a women needs a rape-kit. I hope the system works in this case and the truth comes out.

Still, White could call one of his daily press conferences and say, regardless of the case, rape is a vile crime that cannot be tolerated by humanity. He could use his public position to state the obvious: rape will not be ignored and rape victims have nothing to fear in coming forward. White may say, “hey, not my county,” but I think he has assisted neighboring counties in monitoring sexual predators. (Plus, APD is trying to entice personnel from all over NM, including Sandoval’s finest.) By his conspicuous silence, White implies it’s not his concern or this is a lesser crime. He’s wrong.

ABQjournal: Deputy: Fellow Officers Raped Me, By Rozanna M. Martinez, Journal Staff Writer

State Police are investigating claims by a female Sandoval County sheriff’s deputy that she was raped by other deputies at a party in December.

Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo told the Journal on Friday he contacted State Police as soon has he received information about the alleged assault.

The incident involved off-duty sheriff’s officers and occurred in December outside the sheriff’s department’s jurisdiction, Trujillo said.

“I had an outside source look into it so they could verify or see if there was a criminal act that took place,” Trujillo said. “At this point we don’t know, it’s in State Police hands.”

Trujillo said he could not comment further. [mjh: except to say the department will not tolerate sexual predators?]

You may recall that Trujillo was accused by BernCo police officers of having sex in a car. (Not necessarily a crime.) What the hell is wrong with the Sandoval County Sheriff’s department? I think the State Police investigation needs to be expanded. mjh

PS: Trujillo says the alleged crime took place “outside the sheriff’s department’s jurisdiction.” Could that be Bernalillo County, making it all the more White’s concern?

ABQjournal: Daskalos Stopped Again By T.J. Wilham

Jason Daskalos got caught again.

On Thursday, the Albuquerque developer, who has a history of getting traffic citations dismissed, was stopped by an Albuquerque police officer and issued two tickets— one for not wearing a seat belt and the other for having no proof of insurance.

In the past 18 years, Daskalos, who also is an amateur race car driver, has been issued 36 other traffic citations, 20 of which were dismissed.

I wonder if Daskalos wears a seatbelt when he drives a race car. Daskalos seems to have a certifiable emotional problem. However, until he seeks therapy, he’s just another asshole. mjh

This is very well put (read the whole thing.) mjh

Commentary: Just like libraries : Commentary : Albuquerque Tribune by Stevie Olson

I encourage you to ride the train or use the bus system in your commute if you have never tried it. Save a buck and be empowered by breaking your dependence on the automobile.

If you cannot or refuse to use Rapid Ride or Rail Runner, no problem. But when you hear the train’s whistle or see a city bus, do not curse public transportation as misappropriation of funds. Realize your taxes are being used to make our community a better place.