Webcasting the legislature; why stop there?

Why is it that;
government is secret unless proven otherwise?

Why is it not that;
government is transparent, unless proven otherwise?

"I didn't think I said anything worth quoting."

NM Rep Al Park, in response to my request for permission
to quote him from a recent email exchange.

I had told him about a loophole in state ethics law, when
I met him at the House Rules Committee hearing.

He just wrote to me and said;

"... after the hearing, I asked Legislative Council to
prepare a bill making the Governmental Conduct Act
applicable to school boards."

There is a leak in the dike, and he has stuck his finger in it.



I think that's worth quoting.

It depends on what the meaning of the word "is", is.

This now famous line from the battle between
the lawyers who make laws, and the lawyers who make
ways to get around laws,

is a reasonable segue

into a discussion of the meaning of the word "ethical".

It will come up in the discussion of ethical reform of government.


Ethical reform in government, absolutely depends on
the meaning of the word "ethical".



It also depends on the meaning of the word "accountability".


The meaning of "ethics" is a no brainer.

There are a million written "codes of ethics";
the best ones are the most unequivocal.

Pick one.

Hold yourself accountable to it.

Honest accountability to an ethical standard of conduct.

That's what the word ethical means.

"Ethical" is unequivocal standards and inevitable accountability.

Accountable by a system over which you have no control.

Accountable by a system that is powerful enough to hold you
accountable, even against your will.

On the day that you see honest accountability
to meaningful standards of conduct and competence,

you will see the end of the culture of corruption.



And not one day sooner.

Ethics reform under the law.

I ran into State Rep.
Al Park, after the
House Rules
Committee meeting
on bolo ties and
webcasting.







I recognized his name as one on my list of people
who would cast large shadows over the next rev of
State Statute 10—16-3. link

The Governmental Conduct Act is a completely useless law
supposed to hold Legislators, public officers and employees
accountable for discharging ethically the high responsibilities
of public service.

A few years ago,
I asked the clerk of the 2nd Judicial District Court,
how many prosecutions there had been under the Act.
The clerk said;

"None. I guess it has never been necessary."

Attorney General Gary King
is out and about, pushing
reform for the Act.








He would like to extend the coverage from just state level
to include county, city, and municipal officials.



I was very impressed with Park's participation in the hearings;
short, sweet, on point.

So, I begged a moment of his attention as he was leaving,
to chat about my interests in ethics reform in law.

I saw surprise in Park’s eyes,
when I told him that school boards are currently exempt
from the Act by means of an Attorney General’s ruling.

He found it incredible.


Parks then indicated that,
he was on it.




photos Mark Bralley

Is webcasting a partisan issue?

I have no statistics to draw upon; nobody has surveyed
the entire legislature on the issue of webcasting.
It would be as interesting a survey as most.

My impression is that the line is not drawn on party lines,
but rather on power lines; the more power one controls,
the less likely they are, to want to be filmed (ab)using it.

That conclusion seems both consistent with the data and
logical.

Beyond that, my impression is that
when Republicans speak in favor of webcasting, they do so
with more conviction than Democrats.

The problem so far, is that not enough legislators in either
party, are speaking with conviction on the issue.


Which would seem to indicate that they do not want to be
webcast; that they do not want there to be, a public record
of their public service.

Either that, or
they just don't have the cojones wikilink to pick a side at all.


You pick a side, when you don't pick a side.

In defense of NM Representative Ray Begaye

At her Saturday office hours this morning, NM Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones rose in defense of Rep. Ray Begaye.

She believes, Begaye is being treated unfairly in the media.









Begaye has recently become the poster child for the resistance to webcasting in Santa Fe.



This after voicing a concern that he might be caught sleeping.


Arnold-Jones suggested that Begaye may not have been
thinking of himself, but of senior legislators, men far more
likely to be caught sleeping than he, and who have earned
more respect than to have a camera searching for their
vulnerable moments.

No one has earned the right to have the camera turned away
at moments like these.

Some have earned more than others,
an expectation that the camera will not be turned toward them
at moments like these, and especially, for that reason alone.


Additionally, Arnold Jones and others,

wish the public understood how absolutely reasonable it is
for hard working legislators to catch a little sleep
any chance they get.

A catnapping legislator can be a good sign;

one that indicates that s/he is working very, very hard.



Never the less,
I would remind those legislators who are worried that
even a well earned catnap might end up on YouTube;

try really, really hard not to drool.



photos Mark Bralley

New Mexico legislators not through wasting time on the bolo tie issue.

The Journal reports that the utterly pointless debate over
the wearing of bolo ties is not finished yet. link

I am all for having a little fun, but come on boys and girls,
state government is a half a billion dollars in debt, and
circling the drain;

could you please try to keep your eyes on the ball
for just 55 more days?

UNM faculty mad as hell, not gonna take it anymore.

The Journal reports that UNM faculty members are rising
up against the rape and plunder of their school. link

Yet another wave in the rising tide of down trodden who
have finally had enough, and are ready to leave their spheres
of comfort and safety, to storm the castle.

Hear, hear. wikilink

The proudest moment of your life.

Is it behind you or ahead?

The opportunity to create the proudest moment of your life,
the occasion to make sacrifices of which you can be proud,
may last only a moment.

And then the moment has passed.

There may not be another.

It would be a shame to miss the proudest moment of your life,
while waiting for a better one.

Comfortable telling the truth.

New Mexico State Representative Janice E. Arnold Jones
telling the truth.

She is in the middle of a telephone interview on talk radio
with Jim Scarantino.

How many legislators do you know, this comfortable
telling the truth,
about how the sausage is made in Santa Fe?



great photo Mark Bralley

There is no way to tell the truth

except as best you can.

NM blogosphere needs a point wo/man.

I think that its fair to say that, the ultimate success
of webcasting the NM State Legislature in Santa Fe,

has more to do with the NM political blogosphere,

than it has to do with anything the NM mainstream has done,
or will do.



If political blogging in New Mexico had a point person,

and a shared mission, like;

government;
free of institutional, and individual corruption
and incompetence,

mountains could be moved.

Mountains would be moved.



Any volunteers? any draftees?


cue the music;

Tina Turner "We don't need another hero"
extended version link,

and read along lyrics link

substitute for "love and compassion"

honest accountability to
meaningful standards of conduct and competence

or maybe

just telling the truth

Webcasting Schmebcasting

Implicit in webcasting the legislature,
there should be a user friendly archive.

Senators Boitano and Smith

It would appear that Senator Mark Boitano wants to see the truth
webcast.















It would appear that
Senator John Arthur Smith
thinks webcasting is not the priority.















I am disappointed that Senator Mark Boitano
did not take that opportunity to point to
the hundreds of millions of tax dollars that will be saved
in the coming few weeks, if everyone can see
what public servants are doing with tax dollars,

real time.




photos Mark Bralley

The answer to the question; will you tell the truth?

The answer to the question;

do you promise to tell the truth?

is not a climb up a hill.

It is a step off of a cliff.

It is a leap of faith.

It is faith that
your fall will be broken according to your faith.


Once you answer the question, yes,
there is no going back.

Legislators in Santa Fe want to cast webcasting;

read; telling the truth about what they are doing with
our power and with our resources,

as rolling a bolder up a hill.

It is not.

It is as simple as their standing up, raising their right hand,

and promising to tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth,

about our power, about our resources, and about their public service,

(so help them God)



Someone in Santa Fe was the first to step off that cliff,
and I could not admire any more than I do,
the courage she modeled.

Every one else in Santa Fe will be among the last.

Pity the fool who is dead last.


So help me God.

Why will no one deny fraud?

It appears to me that a fraud is attached to the Moss Adams APS audit.

It appears that the leadership of the APS has passed off
SilentWhistle as something beside a sham.

Did they? Yes or no?

If they did not, why won't anyone deny that they did?

Why won't someone say, either;

• the subject of whistleblower protection is not part of the Moss Adams APS audit or,
• the subject of whistleblower protection is part of the Moss Adams APS audit.

And if it is part of the audit,
how can a credible allegation of fraud, be simply ignored?

Especially by Moss Adams.

OK, but where can I file a complaint?

Winston Brooks seems to be backing off on his my way or
the highway problem solving approach to the problems at
Rio Grande High School and Ernie Pyle Middle School.

He was on the news last night. I can't find a link.

He was listening to parents and community members from
the two schools.

APS is great at listening. The leadership of the APS has
discovered that if they make a big deal out of listening to folks,
they can be mollified to the point where a solution is no longer
a specific demand.

The parents at RGHS and EPMS were listened to.
Many left the meeting believing that they were heard.
Nothing will change.


On the other hand, if the leadership of the APS provided a venue
where a complaint could be lodged, and then guaranteed a
principled resolution, real progress would be made.

School board candidates fielded questions the other night,
about what they would do with many specific problems
in the APS; problems like ongoing racism in the APS.

They all offered to listen to the complainants.

None offered them a place where they could lodge a complaint
alleging racism, where the complaint would be guaranteed a
principled resolution; fair, impartial, and consistent with
agreed upon principles.

In fact, there is no such place in the APS.

They pretend; their Public Forum is such a place.
They pretend; their Employee Grievance Process is such a place.
They pretend; their APS Police Department is such a place.
They pretend; their Equal Employment Opportunity Office
is such a place.
They pretend; their SilentWhistle is such a place.


They lie.

Retribution and retaliation

The Santa Fe New Mexican has a report on those who have
contributed to Bill Richardson's treasure chest and who
now enjoy cushy and high paying state government jobs. link

It is going to be difficult to get specific information on the depth
and breadth of the problem, or upon the effect on government
overall, because people are afraid to speak up,
they are afraid of retribution and retaliation.

From the story by Anne Constable;

Numerous people interviewed about the situation told The New Mexican that they didn't want to be identified because they feared for their jobs if they spoke openly. But all said gov-ex employees have had an impact on operations of the department.

The road to exposure and ultimately to the solution of problems like these are whistle blower systems that both protect the whistle blower, and also, engage a mechanism with the power and authority to act on the complaint.

Without real protection, and without engaging a system of real investigation and meaningful responses to the allegations; the good ol' boys will continue to plunder the system under a cloak of secrecy.

APS is a case in point. It's SilentWhistle, whistle blowing system, is supposed to allow anonymous complaints, and then pretends that the complaints will receive a principled resolution.

I have proved, beyond contradiction, that SilentWhistle is nothing more than a forwarding mailbox, that sees the complaint delivered to the desk of the person against whom the complaint is filed, who can then deny a principled resolution of the complaint, in secret.

I have no need for anonymity.
I do have a need for a principled resolution of my complaints.
And there is apparently, nothing that I can do to get the issue
out of the closet, and into the light of day.

I have made credible allegations that SilentWhistle is a scam,
and that if it has been accepted by Moss Adams auditors,
they have accepted a fraud.

And no one is talking. APS won't talk about whether or not
SilentWhistle was offered to Moss Adams auditors as an
honest whistle blower program, and Moss Adams won't talk
about whether or not they bought what APS was selling.

It is all a big secret.

My efforts to get SilentWhistle on the table for an honest discussion, are being blocked by the same people who refused to put anything to do with administrative standards and accountability on the table for honest discussion. link

No problem is ever solved in secret.

And no problem is going to be exposed to the light,
for as long as the person who shines lights on the problem,

does so by exposing themselves to unacceptable risk.

Paula Maes audio!

I was going to begin by apologizing for the quality of the audio.

On second thought though,
it is Rigo Chavez, APS Custodian of Public Records,
who owes you an apology.

Instead of just making a copy, disc to disc,
he or someone else has instead, played the original on a TV set
and used a camera to film the TV. Trust me, audio and video
suffer.

I am not sure that that camera was even focused on the screen
The audio and video of a surrendered public record are nearly
unintelligible.

I consider this yet another failure to tell the truth,
by the leadership of the APS.

Never the less, Paula Maes can be heard saying,

"I will never agree to an audit
that will come and address personnel.

I do not want an audit that would say,
(and I am not picking on you Tom Savage),
Tom Savage is a horrible administrator"

and not one that would say that Linda Sink
is the best person you ever hired.

Which means; she will never allow any audit that identifies
corrupt and incompetent APS administrators or board members
by name.

You can hear her say that,
she would never allow any audit that would say that
"Linda Sink is the best person you ever hired."

The truth is she would, and in a heartbeat.

What she really doesn't want is an audit that shows that
there are incompetent and corrupt administrators.

What she really doesn't want is an audit that shows how many
tax dollars have gone through APS to her husband's law firm,
Modrall, and what exactly, those tax dollars bought.


Council of the Great City Schools auditors wrote that
administrative evaluations in the APS are;
subjective and unrelated to promotion or step placement;

in effect; that the leadership of the APS is a good ol' boys club.

Paula Maes will never allow any audit that would show that
things have not changed since the CotGCS audit.

Paula Maes will never allow any audit that names a corrupt
or incompetent administrator by name.

If her remark does not mean that
she will cover the good ol' boys asses, what does it mean?

And we want someone like that on the school board,
why, exactly?

Why would the Journal editors endorse this kind of behavior?


UPDATE
It is Saturday, January 31. I have been trying to get a clip to
post here, but I am having problems.

The DVDs that I have were produced by APS Custodian of Public Records, Rigo Chavez.

This is the third batch;

1. the first had no audio or video,
2. the second set, video but no audio.
3. This set has barely intelligible audio and video.

APS prepared it by playing their discs on a TV, and then
using a camera to record the TV screen and audio speaker.

And now, after taking it to computer specialists, I am told
that it is recorded in some format that they cannot process
without special software, and they are unable to lift the
clip, so I can post it here.

Final update, June 1, 2009. I was never able to get the
audio clip up on the internet. Rigo Chavez would be the
person to contact to get your own recording of this meeting.

This is the meeting that I have been trying to get for fifteen years.

In 1994, I was trained on Character Counts!
by its founding father, Michael Josephson.

Ever since, I have been trying to get the leadership of the APS
to tell the truth about administrative role modeling
of the student standard of conduct.

My argument is that the leadership of the APS has not stood up
as role models of the student standard of conduct, and that,
it makes a difference.


The leadership of the APS has over the last fifteen years,
spent a great deal of energy and resources in an effort to avoid
ever having to sit down at a table and answer legitimate
questions about their role modeling of the student standard of conduct.

And now, it looks like the leadership of the APS has misled
Moss Adams about the existence of whistle blower protection
in the administration of the APS.

I cannot say that for certain, because
no one will say whether or not, the verbal representation
that I heard at the audit committee meeting, was actually
written down somewhere in the Moss Adams audit.

If it is, I am prepared to prove that SilentWhistle is a fraud.

And I am prepared to demonstrate that,that fraud is one and
the same with their refusal to stand up as role models of
the student standard of conduct.

Before the full board signs off on the audit,
they have an obligation to address this issue.
They cannot simply pretend that the allegation has not been made.
They cannot simply stonewall it again, because now
Moss Adams name is on the bottom line.
It is their name and reputation attached to the truth in this audit.


Surely Moss Adams would like to hear
APS Chief Financial Officer, Gina Hickman
explain any discrepancy between her representation of
SilentWhistle to Moss Adams auditors, and
the truth.


The leadership of the APS is finally going to have to sit down
at a table and either, admit that they are only pretending to be
accountable as role models of a higher standard of conduct,

or,

they will have to explain why conduct which is incontrovertibly
unethical on its face, is knowingly permitted and/or negligently
allowed, by a system that the leadership of the APS, is telling
Moss Adams auditors, is a system that guarantees
accountability for ethical misconduct.


In the first case, my long standing allegation is proven.


In the second, their explanation will be justification for an
immediate, impartial standards and accountability audit
of the entire leadership of the APS.

... and an end to the good ol' boy organizational structure
that is the leadership of the APS.

I'm a winner either way.


The down side is; I have just been informed by someone
who should know;
that it is "ridiculous" for me to even imagine that this meeting
will ever take place.