Mayfield Advances to the State Championship Game

Heavily favored Albuquerque La Cueva was stunned by Las Cruces-Mayfield 21-17 at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces Friday evening in the New Mexico 5-A state championship semi-finals. With its third playoff win of the year, the sixth-seed Trojans advance to the state championship game next weekend. Mayfield will face the winner of the Las Cruces High vs. Manzano game, which will be played at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque Saturday afternoon with the kickoff set for 2:00pm. La Cueva came into the Mayfield game with the state's all-time leading rusher, Ronnie Daniels. The nineteen year-old Daniels carried the ball more than 50 times on the evening for more than 350 yards.

Ronnie Daniels

But it was the scrappy Mayfield defense that made the biggest plays of the game. Trojan defenders stripped Daniels, who is headed for Texas Tech, twice. Unfortunately for La Cueva, Daniels' fumbles came at critical stages of the contest. Mayfield's offense got huge second half performances out of their running game. Both Ricky Milks and Brandon Betancourt reeled off long runs for Mayfield and both ran for over 100 yards. Near the end of the fourth quarter La Cueva had a final chance to regain the lead. However, on a fourth and two play inside Mayfield territory at the forty yard line, Daniels did not get the ball for one of the few times in the game. Instead, La Cueva's fourth down pass was batted down by the Trojan defense. As the ball hit the ground, the end came to La Cueva's dreams of back-to-back state championships. And as Mayfield took a knee to run the final seconds off the clock, the Trojans did what they rarely do, they won as an underdog at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. Usually it is Mayfield that carries the favorite role into late November games in the State of New Mexico. During the post-game celebration, legendary coach Jim Bradley wished the Las Cruces Bulldawgs success in their semi-final contest against an Albuquerque foe. Clearly a jubilant Bradley was hopeful that the Trojans will get a rematch against their cross-town rivals at Aggie Memorial Stadium next Saturday afternoon. Standing in the way of another all Las Cruces final, and a big payday for the NMAA thanks to a dream matchup that could draw 30,000 football fans, is an outstanding Albuquerque Manzano team that has been virtually unstoppable all year.

Mayfield Advances to the State Championship Game

Speed Camera Firm a Millionaire Factory

From the newspaper.com - Millions of dollars paid by motorists in red light camera and speed camera fines end up in the pockets of a handful of individuals. In the United States, American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is responsible for about 41 percent of the nation's photo enforcement business, but as a private company its dealings are well concealed from public scrutiny. Based on a review of documents marked "confidential -- attorneys' eyes only," the ATS leadership team has reaped significant personal profit in a short amount of time. "I paid through sweat equity of becoming a member of the leadership, and I made a financial investment in the company," former Wall Street analyst Adam Draizin explained in a December 3, 2009 deposition discussing his joining ATS in May 2004.

Draizin's contribution was $500,000 for which he earned an share equal to that of the company's other three partners. That investment paid off in a big way when Goldman Sachs became the largest shareholder in 2008 with a 30 percent stake. Draizin, John Petrozza, Adam Tuton, James Tuton each share an equal 16.7 percent stake. James Investment (Robert Alpert) held a 3 percent share. Goldman paid $58 million for its slice of the automated ticketing industry, of which $45 million was invested in the company. The original four partners pocketed $3,250,000 each -- a six-fold return for Draizin, a Harvard Business School graduate. Goldman retains significant influence over the business. The deal required that ATS change from a subchapter S corporation to a C corporation, that Goldman representatives sit on the ATS board of directors and that the board meet on a quarterly basis. More here

Speed Camera Firm a Millionaire Factory

DENIAL: Organized Labor in Ireland Can't Count

From Bloomberg - The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, an umbrella organization for the country’s labor groups, is holding a march in Dublin to protest a 15 billion-euro ($20 billion) austerity package aimed at reducing the budget deficit. Ireland’s government is talks with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund about an 85 billion-euro rescue package as it seeks to shore up its banks and narrow the deficit. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said on Nov. 24 that the government will cut spending by about 20 percent and raise taxes over the next four years to trim the gap to 3 percent of output by 2014, from 32 percent this year when bank costs are included. Today’s march, which police estimates said had drawn as many as 50,000 people, started at noon and will wind its way through Dublin to conclude in front of the General Post Office on O’Connell Street. read here:

DENIAL: Organized Labor in Ireland Can't Count

None Dare Call It "Desperation"

From Townhall.com - by Michael Gerson - WASHINGTON -- Following two years of poor economic performance and electoral repudiation, liberalism is casting around for narratives to explain its failure -- narratives that don't involve the admission of inadequacies in liberalism itself. For some, the solution is to lay the blame on President Obama. He hasn't been liberal enough. He can't communicate. "I cannot recall a president," says Robert Kuttner in the Huffington Post, "who generated so much excitement as a candidate but who turned out to be such a political dud as a chief executive." Obama is "fast becoming more albatross than ally." This is an ideological movement at its most cynical, attempting to throw overboard its once-revered leader to avoid the taint of his problems. But there is an alternative narrative, developed by those who can't shake their reverence for Obama. If a president of this quality and insight has failed, it must be because his opponents are uniquely evil, coordinated and effective. The problem is not Obama but the ruthless conspiracy against him. So Matt Yglesias warns the White House to be prepared for "deliberate economic sabotage" from the GOP -- as though Chamber of Commerce SWAT teams, no doubt funded by foreigners, are preparing attacks on the electrical grid. Paul Krugman contends "Republicans want the economy to stay weak as long as there's a Democrat in the White House." Read full column here:

None Dare Call It "Desperation"

O'Reilly: The "Borrowed" Buck Stops Here

Bill O'Reilly

From Townhall.com - Be thankful this holiday weekend that you don't live in Ireland or Greece. Those countries are in very bad economic shape and have to take bailout money from other countries just to survive. There are riots in the streets, and fear and loathing are on display. The luck of the Irish has run out, and Zorba the Greek is broke. What happened? The primary problem is that the Western European model of providing cradle-to-grave entitlements for the folks is no longer sustainable in a world where recession has replaced expansion. Many countries, including the USA, have so much debt that they simply can't pay it off. America can still borrow what it needs, but not even Zeus would invest in Greek bonds. With all the economic chaos on display, you would think the Democratic Party and liberal America would reconsider their attachment to massive government spending. You would think. But you'd be wrong. Read full column here:

O'Reilly: The "Borrowed" Buck Stops Here