Rainy Day Musings (Part 1)

In the past few weeks since my Dad's diagnosis I've spent a great deal of time reflecting on all those things one normally does when a serious situation arises. You think about the nature of life, it's fragility, the seeming unfairness that most of us experience from time to time, the randomness of tragedy, and about immortality. And you get a greater appreciation for that which you do have, and get a sense of the proportionality of a bigger picture, that the whole scheme of things is so inner connected and transcends any dogmatic spiritual belief.

Last September I wrote a review of Mitch Albom's book Have A Little Faith, a work that points us in a direction to recognize that religious faith should be a mechanism to unite us rather than fragment our society, and in a larger scale, our world. One of the topics Albom talked of in his story of his friendship with his aging and ailing rabbi was that each one of us dies two deaths, the first when we kick that proverbial bucket, and the second when there is no one left who remembers who we were, what we did, who we loved, and what we accomplished in our lives. I guess part of the appeal of being a movie star or recording artist is that a piece of you lives on for generations.

For the past two months I've immersed myself in music.....most of you know I'm a classic rock dinosaur, so that playlist included the usual suspects; Bruce, Zeppelin, Clapton, oldies like Humble Pie, cult performers like Richard Thompson, Gregson and Collister, and my beloved Fairport Convention.

And then there was Queen and Freddie Mercury. November 24 will mark 20 years since Freddie's passing- and it doesn't seem possible that it's been that long, or even that he has truly died. While listening to some of Queen's later songs like The Show Must Go On, Who Wants To Live Forever, These Are The Days of Our Lives I gained an appreciation of the band's (and Freddie's) sense of mortality in a way I never could before. In their final album with Freddie Mercury, Innuendo, it was clear that Freddie was dying from AIDS; the result was an album that was a curtain call, a farewell, and an epitaph.

But while listening to the songs I was reminded that Freddie Mercury did die that first death (the physical one), but he is far away from the second one- his music lives, and he is far from forgotten. And even to those who wouldn't know the difference between Freddie Mercury and Freddie and the Dreamers, all you have to do is go to any ballpark or stadium throughout the world, and on any given day you will hear the foot stomps of We Will Rock You and the triumph of We Are The Champions.

I thought about my Dad and his 30 years of teaching, and the thousands of lives he touched along the way- there are people who might have known my Dad better than I did at the time, and just maybe he was that special teacher who pointed them in the right direction, and changed their lives. And after retiring from the classroom he spent another 15 years as a fulltime employee- and a state president- of the teacher's union.

Yes, Dad was one of those guys our conservative brethren loved to hate. My father was one of those pesky union activists who helped insure collective bargaining rights for the New Jersey's teachers, and subsequently for those in other parts of the country. Obviously Scott Walker, John Kasich, and professional tough guy Chris Christie are not popular figures with this household, this family, and this blogger.

My Dad spent his life touching lives, and helping to improve them. To see his work demonized by implication courtesy of some bullying political opportunists alternately saddens and angers me. But that should and will be the subject of another blog entry.

To be sure I felt some sense of isolation in the past month or so......but then I looked at the number of people who have visited in the past couple of years, over a quarter million, and that's just since I installed the counter. And I feel grateful that more than 250,000 people have taken time to read my words....and I know that I'm not alone at all.

Thanks.

The anatomy of an $11 billion myth in New Jersey | NJ.com

Hello again everyone. I'm back after taking a week off that was greatly needed. I'll be adding some new and original posting very soon, but first I'd like to link up this January 16 post from The Star Ledger's Tom Moran.

Be sure to read this prior to watching this Sunday's edition of Face The Nation when host Bob Schieffer will interview New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Moran's column explodes the myth that Christie reduced the state's deficit of $11 billion dollars. The real story, according to Moran, is that the deficit actually rose despite the draconian cuts made by the Christie administration and the deficit will be almost the same for the next fiscal year.

In a related story, yesterday about 3,000 public employees and other union members rallied in Trenton yesterday in a driving rainstorm with 35 mph winds to show support for public employees in Wisconsin. Some protesters displayed their anger at Christie, who along with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida's Rick Scott, and Ohio's John Kasich are at the forefront of an apparent assault on public employee unions' benefits and their right to collective bargain.



The anatomy of an $11 billion myth in New Jersey | NJ.com

Rudy Giuliani To Chris Christie- "They Elected You Governor.....They Expect You To Be There".

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on Friday's edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, and guests Lesley Stahl and Donny Deutsch, and the onetime Republican presidential candidate had a constructive critique of his successor's handling of last week's blizzard, and also of the governor of New Jersey's disappearing act during the weather emergency.

Giuliani said that overall New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has done a good job as mayor, and shouldn't be judged by the poor snow removal performance in the city last week. A Marist poll has said that only 21% of New Yorkers thought that the mayor handled the situation well, while more than 70% thought he did a poor job.


But Giuliani's most pointed criticism was directed towards New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who went to Disney World on the day the blizzard hit, while his lieutenant governor was also vacationing. State Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat and third in command, was in charge while the Republican governor was in Florida. Rudy joins Republican stalwarts Pat Buchanan, Ed Rollins, and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman in tweaking the YouTube star Christie for his no show during a statewide emergency.

In the interview Mika Brzezinski asked.... "Was it (taking a vacation during an emergency) a mistake on Chris Christie's part?"

Giuliani- "Yeah. Chris should have come back. If he would have asked my advice I would have said, 'They elected you governor, they've got an emergency, they expect you to be there. You've got to be there if you are a governor, a mayor, or even a president if it's important'".

There's a famous YouTube video that might be responsible for putting Chris Christie in the public eye. In it, Christie tells a teacher at a town hall meeting that if she doesn't like the conditions in schools that she doesn't have to teach.

And turnaround being fair, if Chris Christie doesn't want to govern during a weather emergency, then he doesn't have to be governor.

But it is the business he has chosen.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Where's Chris Christie? From PROGRESSIVE CHANGE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

If you're old enough, some of you can remember.....

Where's Waldo?

The first Where's Waldo? books were published in 1987, a children's series in which the little buggers were supposed to find the pictured Waldo in a collage like this one....

It would keep the kids occupied for just long enough that you could watch an hour long show like DALLAS or MOONLIGHTING and not be interrupted. Where's Waldo? became so popular in the late 1980's that there had to be spinoffs and knockoffs. One of my favorites was Where's Dan Quayle?. I actually gave this one to my nephew when he was three years old. I don't think my sister-in-law was pleased.

In more recent years, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has had an entire line of products that asked the question, Where's Bobby?, included is the tote bag pictured below.

As of now Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie doesn't have any books or a line of accessories named after him. But the governor who left on a Florida vacation just hours before a blizzard crippled New Jersey for days- and while his lieutenant governor is also vacationing, leaving Senate President Steve Sweeney, a rival and a Democrat, to cope with the situation- he has something more high tech in the dubious honors department.

Chris Christie is now featured in a new website; Where's Chris Christie?, courtesy of our friends at Progressive Change Campaign Committee. And the question is answered....he's just about anywhere BUT in the state of New Jersey. In the last three months Gov. Christie could be found in Florida, New Mexico, California, Massachusetts, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, and Delaware. I probably left a couple of states out, but he'll be there in 2011, you can count on it.

Where's Chris Christie? Coming to your town....soon. Unless you live in the Garden State.

You can count on it.

Scocca : Chris Christie Is Too Important to Care About Snow, or Cancer, or His Job

To borrow a a line from Ricky Ricardo....."Chris Christie, you've got some 'splainin' to do."

Much has been said and written about Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's decision to go ahead on a vacation the day a blizzard hit the state, leaving third in command Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, to handle the emergency. Sweeney was sworn in as acting governor because Lt Governor Kim Guadagno was also out of state. On Monday morning Sweeney appeared on News 12 New Jersey and declared a state of emergency. When asked why he was serving as acting governor, Sweeney replied Christie was vacationing in Florida, and he didn't know where Guadagno was.

Some in the Christie administration have countered the criticism of Christie by calling it partisan sniping. But when voices like that of Republican stalwart Pat Buchanan tell MSNBC that Christie should have been on the first plane back to New Jersey after 30 plus inches of snow fell in Monmouth and Union Counties, and similar amounts in the rest of the state, well...that's trouble. The STAR-LEDGER's resident conservative columnist Paul Mulshine has called Christie's absence during a statewide emergency "inexcusable".

I've read dozens of blogs, editorials, and stories related to Christie's no-show and abdication of leadership during this event, but none so pointed and as on target as Tom Scocca's entry in Slate. Click the link below to read....he won't be on Christie's Christmas card list in 2011.

Scocca : Chris Christie Is Too Important to Care About Snow, or Cancer, or His Job

16" +.....The Holiday Blizzard of 2010, and The Case of The Missing Governor and Lt Governor

For lack of a better term, it's being called the The Holiday Blizzard of 2010, with 30" of snow falling in New Jersey's Union County, and with an unofficial estimate by yours truly of 16 inches locally in this end of Middlesex County. The snow began around 10AM on Sunday (December 26) and ended in the wee hours of December 27th, with wind gusts in excess of 30 mph and bone chilling cold, and drifting snow blowing all over the place.

A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey by Acting Governor Steve Sweeney who's filling in for the vacationing Chris Christie....I have a few things to say about that, but be patient, it's coming. It's bad out there, and the bottomline is simple; if you don't have to drive, stay home. There's been stories on all of the news outlets of people throughout the region being stranded on highways for 12 or more hours, or in airports, train stations or on subways overnight.

We had three significant snow storms last winter, one in December and two in the same week in February. I'd say this was worse than any of last year's storms, and this might have been the worst storm to hit New Jersey since the Blizzard of 1996.

Now here's the interesting thing....to those of us following this thing as of Christmas Eve, on just about every local news station, the consensus was that the storm would miss the area almost entirely. On the 11:00PM news on WNBC (New York) on Christmas Eve, the forecast was for cloudy skies Christmas Day, and with a near miss of the developing storm with the Twin Forks of Long Island getting a couple of inches of snow, and New York City and New Jersey getting a dusting to perhaps an inch of snow. The minor snow event would start late on December 26, and would be of little consequence. Go about your business and enjoy Christmas. The brunt of the storm would be a hundred miles of more out to sea.

No big deal, right?

So on Christmas Day, I went about my business and had a nice day, enjoying it all and relishing Santa's bounty. After a filling dinner and a few drinks on Saturday night, I went to bed, but had a hard time sleeping. I got up and had some coffee at 7AM Sunday.....I put on the news. I hadn't watched any news, picked up a newspaper, listened to news on the radio, or been online since Christmas Eve.

And the storm that was going to miss us? GOTCHA!!!!

It was only a few hours from hitting New Jersey, New York, and the whole Mid-Atlantic Region.

It was the re-energized storm that dumped ungodly amounts of rain in California, and even deposited snow in the Deep South, like in places where it never snows, in Georgia and South Carolina, the first White Christmases in those states' histories.

And surprise.....an intense blizzard was about three hours away; and I didn't even know the status of my snow blower. It always had a knack for dying on me when I needed it most. Hopefully there was no bad gas in it from last year, and the carburetor didn't gum up on me again.

So before breakfast, it was off to Home Depot to get some two cycle oil and carburetor cleaner, and then on to buy fresh gas for the snow blower. Home Depot, at 9:00 AM Sunday morning, was a total freaking madhouse. Literally pallet after pallet of ice melt and snow shovels were coming out of storage. The parking lot was packed, the store was full, and I overheard one employee say to another, "I've never seen anything like this, ever, at this store". It was one of those scenes you see on the news, and you watch and shake your head in disbelief.....but this time I was part of the same incredulous scene.

After Home Depot I went to a local HESS gas station with my empty gas can. At the station there was one attendant working four lanes, with about six cars deep in each lane, and also with a few guys standing around to get their gas cans filled. It seemed that many people decided to get an early start and hit the road before the storm hit on Sunday, and most gas stations staffed like they would for a typical Sunday morning; that is, very minimally. They were slammed. It took a half hour to buy one gallon of gas, and the situation was the same all over.

And then Came The Blizzard......

The ornamental reindeer with antlers is about three feet tall, his grazing female mate is buried under the snowfall.

Between the two candles is a three foot tall Santa Claus

I had intended to include more pictures of the aftermath of the Holiday Blizzard of 2010 before removing snow, but while walking around out there I got stuck in the snow bank created by the snow plow.....I mean, physically stuck. The snow was close to three feet in depth in that spot, and yes, I literally had cold feet (rimshot!).

BTW....Where was the Governor when the blizzard hit? Better yet, where was the Lt Governor?

Before beginning to dig out of the worst blizzard since 1996, I watched the updates from News 12 New Jersey. On air at the time was the Acting Governor of New Jersey, State Senate President Steve Sweeney, who declared a state of emergency in New Jersey.

It was explained to the viewers that New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie was vacationing in Florida, and Sweeney, a Democrat, was serving as acting governor. But that led to the next obvious question....where was Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, Christie's running mate and the New Jersey's first ever lieutenant governor?

Steve Sweeney didn't know the whereabouts of Guadagno when asked. But it appears that she too was on vacation, leaving town at a time when a major snow storm threatened the region.

The voters of New Jersey chose to create an office of lieutenant governor in 2005 after a turbulent period where New Jersey had five governors in five years. Previously the state Senate President served as the acting governor while the governor was ill or out of town.

So let me ask the obvious....why do we have an office of lieutenant governor in New Jersey if both governor and lieutenant governor choose to vacation at the same time? It's back to a letting the Senate President run the state...and in this case, it's during natural disaster, doing the the job we voted for a lieutenant governor to do.

Lame duck governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania was on the job during the blizzard. So was lame duck governor David Paterson of New York as the storm threatened.

The joke among New Jersey Democrats is "How is Chris Christie unlike God?".

"Because God is everywhere....and so is Christie- except in New Jersey."

OK....Governor Christie does deserve to go on a family vacation over the Christmas holiday if he wishes. But shouldn't his #2 be there to mind the store while he is away?

This is a really bad job an both of their parts....and they can't blame this error in judgment on Barack Obama or Brett Schundler.

Maybe they'll hang it on the crew of THE WEATHER CHANNEL.

"The Naughty List", 2010 Edition

Hi!

Remember me?

I'm the guy who used to post new entries to this blog everyday......and then a funny thing happened. It's called "Christmas". From Thanksgiving until about 9PM last night (Happy Belated "Festivus", BTW) I've been running a 30 day sprint, trying to get things done before The Big Day. And finally, when I got up this morning, I looked around....and EVERYTHING IS FINALLY DONE!

Free at last! Now I know many of my fellow bloggers have been keeping up with current events, politics, and pop culture while I was making myself hysterical for the past three weeks. So why go through a rehash of everything that's been said already? Those guys know what they're talking about....I'm just a wise guy from Jersey.....no, not THAT kind of "wise guy".....maybe I should say "smart ass" instead.


But I will touch upon some of the people who deserve coal in they're stocking this Christmas.....there is a list, you know. Trust me. It does exist. I found this video on the internet that proves it.

Elf - Naughty List | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Walter Hobbs is not alone, Buddy.....and as for New York, we'll I'll talk about that later.

But first.....here's a list of those who've made Santa's Naughty List. Some should remain on it for years.

(1). Senator Mitch McConnell- The Republican minority leader from Kentucky has earned this description from MSNBC's Chris Matthews; ".....a character from Charles Dickens.". It's hard to tell what he's for, and much easier to talk about those things he's against, like the START treaty, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", The Dream Act, the bill for medical aid for the 9/11 first responders.....oh yeah, he is FOR the giving of billions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaires when the money could be used to aid municipalities around the nation on the brink of default.

(2). Senator John McCain- probably the biggest political sellout of the early 21st century. The Republican who ran for the presidency on the motto "Country First" opposes START, was a leading voice to kill the repeal of DADT, has swung way right on immigration issues, and called the Zadroga 9/11 First Responder's bill "fooling around" in a speech on the floor of the US Senate. The once proud maverick has morphed into The Angry Old Man of the Senate

3). Governor Chris Christie- the guy blows a $400 million government grant to education, then tries to blame the Obama Administration for the New Jersey delegation's error, and when that doesn't work he throws his education chief under the bus. His personal war on the teacher's union has led to referring to New Jersey students as "drug mules", carrying information from teacher union leadership home with them, and his allying himself with conservative gonzo filmmaker James O'Keefe. There's a lot more to say about this guy, but time is limited. The governor, who's personal style reminds me of Billy Martin at his worst, is finally starting to have some veneer wear off of his once somewhat (by GOP standards in New Jersey) lofty status. Recent polls have shown his job approval dropping 5% in the past month, while disapproval in New Jersey shot up to 48%.

4). Sarah Palin- much can be said why she belongs on the naughty list. But this year it's because Santa is afraid the former half term governor of Alaska will shoot one of his reindeer.

5). BP- It's not cool to pollute our waters....and even worse when some of our political leaders, like Texas Congressman Joe Barton apologized to BP's CEO when President Obama took the company to task for the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010.

6). Oh yeah....Joe Barton. You're on the list, too.

7). The New York Giants. You guys were beating the Eagles by 21 points (31-10) with less than eight minutes to play.....and lost 38-31! C'mon, man! All of you belong on the list after that one.

8). The NCAA- the governing body of college sports has decided to punish five Ohio State football players for selling personal items, trophies, and awards by suspending them for the first five games of the 2011 season. OK, the "student athletes" bypassed the rules laid down by the NCAA. But all five players remain eligible to play in next week's Sugar Bowl game. So when is a suspension not a suspension? When it impacts the showcase of a BCS bowl, and the big bucks a BCS game generates. Shame on you, NCAA.

9). LeBron James- to paraphrase Michael in GODFATHER II, "You broke our hearts, Fredo......I mean, LeBron". So speaketh the hurting sports fans of the city of Cleveland. But this video says it better than I ever could.


And finally.....

10). Rex and Michelle Ryan- the head coach of the New York Jets and his wife have been making some news lately......is it naughty?


Actually...it's not THAT naughty. Maybe even kind of nice.

That is, if you're into that kind of stuff.

I wonder if they exchange argle socks for Christmas?

Christie-anity; A Sampler Of Cartoons Starring The Governor of New Jersey

I was going to say a few words about the Governor of  New Jersey- now that his National Tour 2010 has ended and he's staying in state for a few weeks- but then I decided to let it pass. Anyway, our blogger pal TC wrote an excellent piece featuring Chris Christie called Journalism; The Good, the Bad, and The Republican. It shows the vindictiveness of Governor Christie, no holds barred, and how he had no qualms about allowing the personal destruction of a woman who spoke disparagingly of him.....even if it meant choosing to ally himself to a convicted criminal to do so.

There are 45 Chris Christie entries on this blog, and many more related to New Jersey politics. I think I'll just post some of the works of the nation's and New Jersey's best cartoonists, and amuse or outrage you, depending on your political views.

And in closing.....today 130 employees of New Jersey Network received their layoff notices, effective in 45 days. Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

New Jersey Network went on the air in 1971. It's purpose was to provide New Jersey specific news to the only state in the union that did not have its own VHF television station at that time. In a cost cutting move, the governor and members of the legislature want NJN to be privatized or to become a non profit. The lights will go out at NJN at the end of the year if no alternatives can be found.

So far, no plan is in place for the future of NJN.

In Analysis; A Look At The Results of the 2010 Midterm Elections

Above, President Obama talks to probable new Speaker of the House John Boehner on election night 2010


Commentary

It's the economy, stupid!

And it was heard, loud and clear from sea to shining sea. Republicans rode the wave of voter discontent to take control of the House of Representatives last night, but didn't take the Senate. On the House side, Democrats controlled that body, 255-178. It looks as if the the Republican takeover could get the GOP a 242-193 edge (estimated at this hour). the Senate will remain in Democratic hands, with 49 seats (and two independents caucusing with them)in their hands, plus the tie breaking vote of Vice President Joe Biden. You can read about the individual races nationwide, but here are a few thoughts and notes I made overnight.

1. The GOP won the House yesterday, but now they have to deliver. The Republicans told voters that government needs to get smaller and spend less. Not one of the Republican leaders, such as probable new Speaker of the House John Boehner or his #2 Eric Cantor, is specific as to what will be cut. Their job creation plan seems to be hold unto the Bush tax cuts and hope that the private sector reinvests in America and gets the American economy moving again. And how will the House co-operate with President Obama and his administration? They cannot remain the "party of no"- they have to get something done, and they have to do it soon. The 2010 midterm was about change, as were the elections of 2006 and 2008. The Republican House cannot be obstructionist because if they are they'll lose the House as quickly as they won it in 2012.

2. Can the Republican leadership keep it's Tea Party faction on a short leash?. Despite their failures in most Senate races, the Tea Party emerged as a force to be reckoned within the GOP. Tea Party backed Republican candidates won 113 of 129 House races. Many of these new representatives ran on the "strength" of not being professional politicians. Now comes their reality check- politics IS a profession. They have a job to do, and some of the more extreme members can't be concerned with the birth certificate or "secret Muslim faith" of the President, or be involved in whacky schemes to have the President impeached. Sarah Palin and her guy on the inside of Washington, Jim De Mint, let the genie out of the bottle, and now the mainstream of the GOP have to deal with a probable divide from within, conservative vs. ultra-conservative.

3. Barack Obama is a brilliant man, a good leader, but not the world's greatest politician. The Democrats were poised to lose Congressional seats last night; that's what happens in midterms. But losses could have been minimized if the President did a better job of selling his accomplishments to the voters. Much time was devoted to healthcare reform while unemployment hovered at close to 10%. Healthcare reform should have been presented in a way as to show how getting away from employer mandated healthcare could help private enterprise, but the administration's message was weak.

And the President should have been more adamant about job creation. If there was no co-operation given by Republicans and the private sector, he needed to take that to the American people. Instead, he held an olive branch to Republicans instead of a club.

America wanted to see co-operation between the Democrats and Republicans, but it wasn't going to happen. Everything the President wanted to do was opposed by Republicans. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, said early on his aim was to make Barack Obama a one term president. The President should have taken him at his word, because now the GOP's plan is very close to being on schedule.

4. The Reagan Democrats of the Rust Belt went to the GOP. This might be the most disturbing factor of the night for Democrats. Part of the coalition that swept Barack Obama to the White House in 2008 went to the other side in large numbers. The Great Recession of 2008 is over, so say economists. But many former industrial workers in the vast area stretching from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, the Great Lakes region, have been living in near depression realities for years. In those states unemployment has topped the unacceptable 9.6% national average for years, and the anxiety of the laid off workers who are living off of their life savings were part of the angry backlash.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews is a Philly guy who "gets it". Early this morning he talked about the need to for America to start making things again, in factories, manufacturing, and in public works. The auto industry in the Midwest was saved by a bailout, but it had been on the ropes for years. The American heartland has always been where America made things, and now we are not. President Obama and the Dems will be OK in New England, the Mid Atlantic, and the West Coast. The Mountain West and the South are owned by Republicans. Obama must get the Rust Belt on the way to recovery, and soon, or he may have trouble winning a second term.

5.) The 2012 election cycle begins now, and I think the President's challenger will come from the New Jersey . The power struggle from within the Republican Party to produce a challenger to Barack Obama begins in earnest today. The mainstream GOP has a nominal leader in John Boehner; the Tea Party is for all practical purposes led by Sarah Palin. Get ready for oil mixing with water.

The conventional wisdom is that Sarah Palin would be a weak candidate for the Republicans to run against the President; her negatives are higher than Obama's. The party insiders dislike Mitt Romney, a man who's positions seem to change with the direction of political winds. Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee would just reinforce the perception of the GOP as a Southern party.

I really think the Republicans will try to catch lightning in a bottle and urge Chris Christie, New Jersey's governor of less than a year, and a former federal prosecutor, to run in 2012. He's become a rock star among Republicans despite his lack of a track record, because of his tough talk and in your face style. He could run strong in the Mid Atlantic region as well.

And I don't think it's a crazy idea; Obama and Palin had little experience on the bigger stage, and found themselves on national tickets in 2008; one is President of the United States, the other is now the leader of an effective populist movement.

As I said on another board late last night, Tip O'Neill had it right; all politics is local. And I think New Jersey and it's governor are about to get a national spotlight put on them starting today.

Gov. Christie shouldn't cozy up to muckraker of 'Teachers Union Gone Wild' | NJ.com

In the Friday October 29th edition of the Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), the editorial board chastised Governor Chris Christie for apparently choosing to ally himself with conservative muckraker James O'Keefe and, in the Star-Ledger's words, "(for co-opting) the questionable material for his political purposes".

The "questionable material" is a video called "Teachers Gone Wild" which supposedly shows less than extraordinary behavior by teachers (NJEA members), administrators, and union reps. For all of you newbies, Chris Christie and the NJEA, New Jersey's largest teacher's union, have been engaged in open warfare from Day One of the current administration.

Every taxpayer in New Jersey may have a beef with the NJEA; they might be the biggest lightning rod locally since Darryl Strawberry's days with the Mets or Patrick Ewing's near misses at titles with the Knicks. But for a sitting governor, and former federal prosecutor, to ally himself with O'Keefe's background is questionable in itself.

Conservatives and Tea Partiers love O'Keefe because of his videos that brought down ACORN last year. But then last January O'Keefe posed as a repairman to try to tap the office phone of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu in a federal building, was caught along with his accomplices, and temporarily jailed with felony charges. The felony charges were dropped and reduced to a misdemeanor; O'Keefe was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service, and fined $1,500.

And then the James O'Keefe saga starts to get really weird.

CNN's investigative reporter Abbie Boudreau was putting together a series on young conservative activists in the United States. One of the persons Boudreau wanted to interview was James O'Keefe. O'Keefe agreed to a meeting with Boudreau aboard a boat in Maryland. Supposedly Boudreau and O'Keefe were to discuss a music video; O'Keefe told Boudreau the meeting on the boat was an attempt to protect his privacy.

But it was a setup, an attempt to "punk" and discredit Abbie Boudreau. O'Keefe had champagne and strawberries, and a plethora of sex toys and aids onboard the small boat. He was going to attempt to seduce Abbie Boudreau, and get it on tape in to discredit her and CNN. An associate of O'Keefe's tipped off Boudreau to the plot. This became one of the most bizarre stories to surface last summer.



It is amazing to me that a former federal prosecutor and current governor would ally himself to a man who'd enter a federal building under false pretenses to secretly tape a sitting member of Congress. Add to that, O'Keefe's lame and hairbrained plan to sandbag Abbie Boudreau and CNN for his own agenda.

But I suppose Chris Christie and James O'Keefe do share one thing in common; it's all about winning. It doesn't matter who gets hurt, it's all about painting the other guy as a villain, even if it means showing a distorted view to their true believers and to those sitting on a fence.

Some say "Chris Christie for President in 2012". Who knows? Maybe James O'Keefe can be his communications director.

Click the link below to read the Star-Ledger editorial about the Christie- O'Keefe relationship.




Gov. Christie shouldn't cozy up to muckraker of 'Teachers Union Gone Wild' | NJ.com

Christie to tunnel commuters: Drop dead | NJ.com

The editorial board of The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest daily newspaper, tells of how the killing of the ARC project by Governor Chris Christie will impact the New Jersey-New York area not only for years, but for generations to come.

Well done, SL.

Click the link below to read more.

Christie to tunnel commuters: Drop dead | NJ.com

Christie To Kill ARC Project- Tunnel Vision For The Future; His Own

Commentary

There was once a time when New Jersey made things. We had auto assembly plants, breweries, factories that made electronic components, and New Jersey built some of America's first super highways, like US 1, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. We had "cloverleaves" and bridge projects, and Trenton used to make, and the world did take.

We used to have a film industry here as well. Actually, the first films were produced by Thomas Edison, and there were studios in Fort Lee, before sunny California beckoned the fledgling movie moguls. In more recent years TV became an important industry in New Jersey with The Sopranos and most recently Law and Order; SVU.

Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese wanted to film HBO's Boardwalk Empire in Asbury Park. However, the tax credit given for film production was discontinued by the new administration of Governor Chris Christie, the tough talking guy who's the nation's Republicans have fallen in love with- probably because they don't have to deal with him on a daily basis. Anyway, Boardwalk Empire moved it's operation to Brooklyn, and SVU crossed the Hudson into New York after spending it's first 11 seasons being filmed in New Jersey. New York offers a tax credit for film production; NJ doesn't. Say goodbye to New Jersey's film industry.

On May 3, 2009 the largest public works project in the United States was begun in North Bergen, a new railroad tunnel, the first in nearly a century to connect New Jersey and New York. The project was known as Access to the Region's Core, or ARC. The tunnel would burrow 100 feet below the Hudson River and end at a new 34th Street train station in Manhattan. At the station there would be access to 14 subway lines, PATH trains, and the Long Island Railroad. The full story behind the tunnel and the history of previous construction can be found here.

The tunnel project would provide thousands of construction jobs in Northern New Jersey, as many as 40,000 permanent job after the completion of the tunnel project, would cut the commute time for some riders in half, and add increased property value to tens of thousands of New Jersey homes. Candidate Chris Christie supported the tunnel project and reaffirmed his commitment to it after his election.

But today, Governor Chris Christie, citing cost over runs of $1.1 billion to $5.3 billion has decided to cancel the ARC project for good. He initially canceled the project on October 7, but then conferred with US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and went on to further review the funding over the next two weeks, in between his stops across America campaigning for Republican candidates in this year's mid term elections.

Some will call Chris Christie a man of vision. But I for one see him a man of only one vision- of himself as the Republican challenger for the presidency of the United States in 2012.

Christie appears to be adamant in obtaining federal money to cover any cost overruns; in using this approach he puts the onus on the Feds for the collapse of the ARC project while enhancing his status as a tax cutting, spending slashing, fire breathing star of the GOP. He can flip flop on his commitment to the tunnel project because it died because the Obama administration won't give New Jersey anymore money....so he'll say.

And while federal authorities have offered to find alternate financing or even scale back the project, Chris Christie appears to be entrenched and inflexible in his position, despite the benefits the completion of the ARC project would have. The commuter, already saddled with higher fees and less service since Christie took office, is getting socked yet again.

Here's what I find most disturbing. When the state of New Jersey said it would not fund the $1.5 billion New Meadowlands Stadium, the ownership of the Giants and Jets found ways to get it financed and built. I find it it impossible to believe that New Jersey, with the resources available from both the public and private sector, couldn't find a way to cover any potential overruns. If the overrun was low at $1.1 billion, you mean to say the state, the Feds, and the Port Authority couldn't find a way to get the cash and get it done now? Because the bottomline is new tunnels will be needed, and needed soon. At what point do the existing one hundred year old tunnels become so unsafe that they have to be closed, leaving New Jersey, New York, and AMTRAK in an impossible situation managing the masses that commute or use the train for travel along the Eastern Seaboard.

In this two week window of review since the first closure of the ARC project, it appears that Governor Christie spent little time in seeking alternate financing to get the job done. It's pretty hard to do your job properly when the chief executive of New Jersey is at a GOP dinner in Indiana..... or in in Connecticut campaigning for Linda McMahon.... or in Florida, stumping for Marco Rubio. In the past six weeks or so when this crisis was bubbling to a surface, we could find Christie in Pennsylvania speaking for numerous candidates, or in California campaigning for Meg Whitman (and ripping into a protester in the audience....there's nothing like being confrontational to someone YOU think is confrontational to calm things down).

The Chris Christie Ego Tour 2010 seems to be winding down with the midterms on Tuesday. And much like his fiasco regarding the loss of $400 million in federal RACE TO THE TOP funding because of a clerical error- and Christie's unwillingness to compromise (or even APPEAR to compromise) with the NJEA, his decision to sink the ARC project seems to be driven by political ambition over the real needs of the state of New Jersey. This is a mistake that will impact not only New Jersey, but the whole region as well.

We....all of us....deserve so much better than this.

Quick Hits For October 11. 2010; The Football and Chris(es) Edition!

Hey ladies and gents. I took a couple of days off for football (first) and then for some family issues- nothing serious, but just a few things that needed some attention.

So I now find myself in a situation where I want to talk about a variety of issues in a short space of time.....how about some Quick Hits?

(1). The sign in the end zone said it all; In Dodd We Trust. And then some. Chas Dodd, the 18 year old true freshman quarterback for Rutgers University started in place of the injured Tom Savage, and the South Carolina native made a spectacular debut on national TV last Friday night. Dodd passed for 322 yards with two touchdowns in leading Rutgers to a thrilling 27-24 comeback win over UCONN.

It was a wild night at R House to be sure, with Dodd hitting Mark Harrison with a TD pass to tie the game at 24 with just 3:53 left in the game. After UCONN went three and out, Rutgers drove the UCONN 17 yard line where San San Te drilled a game winning 34 yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the game.

It wasn't quite "Pandemonium in Piscataway" but it would do quite nicely for the RU fans.

And I know what you must be thinking....Chas (pronounced "chase") looks more like one of Frodo's mates in Lord of the Rings than an NCAA quarterback. But the diminutive #19 is one of those players that has a bit of magic in them. And he looks good in Scarlet.

(2). And to the 10,000 or so of the 48,000 plus who left early with six minutes to go to beat traffic....shame on you! It's Rutgers-UCONN. And something always crazy happens in the last couple of minutes to win (or lose) games; muffed punts, field goals hitting uprights, 81 yard TD receptions with seconds to go.

By the way....looking at the UCONN message boards- it's amazing how many fans up there want to dump Coach Randy Edsall....and that's just stupid. Last year Edsall held that team together after the murder of Jazz Howard, and a slew of heartbreaking last minute losses to get them to a bowl game, where they soundly beat Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. And didn't those guys beat #1 Alabama last Saturday?

So go ahead and fire Randy Edsall, oh sons and daughters of Huskyland...he'll stay unemployed for about ten seconds

(3). It's Columbus Day! And The History Channel celebrated the day by giving us hour after hour of Pawn Stars.

And History International? Almost the same....no mention of the day and it's significance. You can talk about the genocide that happened to the Native Peoples in the Western Hemisphere after the arrival of the Spanish in 1492, and yes it was horrific and brutal. But no one alive today cam fathom the courage those mariners, led by their captain from Genoa, Cristoforo Colombo. And if not for him, would there not be a Columbus, Ohio? And then where would the Blue Jackets play?

(4). New Jersey governor Chris Christie recently said it's time to pull the plug on the $9 billion rail tunnel that would connect northern New Jersey and Manhattan because New Jersey cannot afford to pay $2.5 billion in overruns that Christie says the state does not have. But then Christie met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and decided to put a two week hold on the cancellation while project is reviewed. I think there is a couple of things at work here.....first, the project would create thousands of jobs, perhaps as many as 40,000. The existing tunnels are nearly 100 years old, and will need to be replaced sooner or later. And also....the feds have already spent $600 million on the project, and New Jersey would have to pay back $300 million of that total.....money that New Jersey does not have. So the choice is spend more and create jobs and have a new tunnel  or don't build it and give $300 million to Washington and have nothing to show for it. Maybe if Mr. Christie would stay home and take care of business here.....and do the job we're paying him to do.....he'd know what's going on. But Oprah and GOP fund raisers beckon.

It's so nice to have a rock star in Trenton......I think?

More on the tunnel project here.

(5) And in closing, we've talked about Christopher Columbus, Chris Christie.....but what would  a QUICK HITS be without a mention of the newest Chris on the block, Christine O'Donnell.

How can you tell you've "made it", in a manner of speaking?

When Saturday Night Live! starts doing send ups of you. Below, from MORNING JOE, is SNL's take on Christine's "I'm not a witch" ad.





Parting shot...way to go Yankees!

And...Phillies (if Sue is reading this)!

BOARDWALK EMPIRE- It Coulda (or Shoulda) Been Shot in Asbury Park

It didn't take long for me to become hooked on HBO's Prohibition era gangster epic Boardwalk Empire. The first episode was directed by Oscar winner Martin Scorsese, who is an executive producer along with former SOPRANOS writer Terence Winter, and chronicles Atlantic City under Enoch "Nucky" Johnson (called "Thompson" in this fictionalized version), the Republican boss and kingmaker in 1920's New Jersey, who's other job was providing visitors to Atlantic City booze, gambling, and brothels while all were illegal in "America's Playground". The series is not being produced in New Jersey, but in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint....but it appears that New Jersey had a crack at being home to another series that actually took place in New Jersey (like THE SOPRANOS)....but logistics, and politics, worked against that outcome

While watching a promo several weeks ago, Scorsese talked about finding a location in which to film the Atlantic City of 1920. Today's Atlantic City was out because it has changed so much since that era, with modern architecture and casino hotels dominating the landscape. Then he mentioned the possibility of filming in Asbury Park, the Monmouth County town that has been at various stages of the skids for the past 40 years, and of course has been a Mecca of Springsteenology. In fact, I did a photo piece on the town just last month. Scorsese said that for one reason or another, Asbury Park didn't work out, and the production company settled on Brooklyn to create Atlantic City, circa 1920.

It seemed to me that Asbury Park would be able to offer much to the series; there already was a boardwalk....and an ocean....as well as many older homes and structures that could have doubled for building of that era. At first I let it go, but today I decided to find out why Asbury Park and Boardwalk Empire ended up being a bad fit.

The following comes from Eleanor O'Sullivan of dailyrecord.com.

Terence Winter-"Our next stop (after visiting Atlantic City) — and we were very excited about this possibility — was the boardwalk at Asbury Park. It was great. It was identical in size and span of what we were looking for. But at the end of the day, it would have been economically prohibitive. Cost-wise, it would have meant building a set on the ocean that would have required security and maintenance and for our crew to travel all the way from New York every day, about 75 minutes each way on a good day."

OK...but there was more to the story. Ms. O'Sullivan continues.....

"Steven Gorelick, executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission in Newark, said the tax credit program for film production in New Jersey had been suspended under the new administration of Gov. Chris Christie. The suspension, to run during fiscal year 2011, began July 1, 2010, and ends June 30, 2011.

Gorelick said the commission is supplying "reams of material" to add to an overall report the state is preparing with the New Jersey Institute of Technology on the feasibility of the tax credit program. Under the former program, 'an amount equal to 20 percent of qualified production expenses (is) available to production companies meeting certain criteria.'"

Star-Ledger TV critic Alan Sepinwall at nj.com adds this explanation of why Brooklyn over Asbury Park.

"In the end, production wound up in New York because the state provided a 15 percent larger tax break, and because the depressed real estate market gave them a good lease price on an undeveloped Greenpoint lot."

And across the Hudson, Michael Starr wrote the following at nypost.com.

Terence Winter- "Then we looked in Asbury Park, which has a great defunct boardwalk, and the city [of Asbury Park] was interested in having us there, but New Jersey doesn't really offer a tax credit and . . . it just became more convenient and feasible to build a boardwalk set on the water in Greenpoint.

And Brooklyn offers all the 'period' neighborhoods."

So to bottomline it....BOARDWALK EMPIRE was shot in Brooklyn because the tax credit for film production in New Jersey was suspended by the new administration of Governor Chris Christie. And BOARDWALK EMPIRE is not alone in using another state as a stand-in for New Jersey.

Because of the suspension of the tax credit, Law and order; Special Victims Unit has moved to New York after filming in New Jersey for 11 years. Another film starring Jennifer Garner is being shot with Pittsburgh subbing for New Jersey, and another film that is supposed to take place in Wildwood is actually being shot in Michigan.

Eleanor O'Sullivan on Terence Winter ( from dailyrecord.com.........

"Winter added that the lack of a tax incentive for filming in the state of New Jersey 'was a huge issue. You're talking about a 30-percent range. In New York, you can buy a million dollars' worth of series for $700,000. That can make the difference between doing and not doing your show.'"

So....the new champion of the Republican Party, Chris Christie, seems to have done everything in his power to drive the once thriving film and television industry out of New Jersey, along with the jobs they provide, and all the revenue it would bring to the state's hospitality and other service industries.

Not to mention giving a shot in the arm to Asbury Park.

And this governor call's himself a Springsteen fan?

Update! September 22, 2010

This morning I watched the video Making Boardwalk Empire on HBO on Demand;  and near the end of the vid we find Martin Scorsese talking about his desire to film the series in Asbury Park, but as he says (at about 10:34) in the short film.....

"We wanted to do it in Asbury Park....but they wouldn't allow it. Apparently New Jersey politics is really complicated."

I guess Marty lets his accountants figure out the tax angles for him. Below, Making Boardwalk Empire.



And this just in....after drawing over 7 million viewers to it's debut on Sunday, HBO has already given a green light for a second season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE.

Obama Appoints NJ Governor Christie To Presidential Trade Panel

Several weeks ago New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie erroneously tried to blame the Obama Administration for New Jersey's failure to obtain $400 million in "Race To The Top" funds for the state's schools. The Governor said it was a case Washington bureaucracy doing the wring thing. But when a video provided by the Obama administration proved that Christie's team did not follow instructions to provide financial figures requested for the necessary years to the panel, and his own people were at fault, Christie fired his education commissioner, Bret Schundler, and then told all who would listen that Schundler lied to him, an allegation Schundler denies.

But it's a new month, and with Coobaya playing in the background, it's a new relationship for Chris Christie and President Barak Obama.

On Wednesday President Obama appointed Christie to The Advisory Committee For Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). His term will be for two years.

Christie has said he is honored to be appointed to this committee, and he is the only governor appointed to the 45 member panel so far.

VERY interesting............

There is a quote usually attributed to the fictional Don Corleone in The Godfather; actually, it was first said 2,500 years ago by the Chinese general Sun-tzu......

"Keep our friends close, and your enemies closer".

I wonder if Christie will ever pose for a photo with Mr. Obama?

The Tea Party has just begun to hunt RINOS.

Christie Fires Schundler; The Fallout Continues

On Friday morning New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler in the wake of the controversy regarding the denial of $400 million in RACE TO THE TOP money for Garden State schools because of a clerical error. The HOME NEWS TRIBUNE's editorial board contended that Schundler lied to Christie. My Letter To The Editor below says there is no smoking gun saying that Schundler lied, to the best of anyone's knowledge.


"Education Commissioner Bret Schundler got caught in an apparent lie- worth $400 million- and got canned by Gov. Chris Christie as a result".

This is how your editorial regarding Christie's firing of Bret Schundler in the Saturday (Aug 28) edition of the Home News Tribune began. I have a real problem with the wording of that statement.....it should read "Bret Schundler was fired partly because Governor Christie says Schundler was caught in an apparent lie".

After New Jersey lost out on the RACE TO THE TOP millions, Christie decided to blame Washington bureaucrats and the President of the United States for New Jersey finishing out of the money. When the tape surfaced that showed the New Jersey's representatives in the application process were at fault, Christie said that Schundler gave him bad information of what happened during the process.

Now, according to other media sources- broadcast, online, and in print-  Schundler denies that he gave the governor bad information. According to those sources Schundler told Christie not to make the claims against Washington and President Obama....but Christie did so anyway. Schundler has emails that support his claims, but other than that it's a "he said- he said" scenario.

Schundler had to go; with this $400 million clerical error somebody had to take the fall, and the ball was in Schundler's court. But your newspaper has no impirical evidence whatsoever that Schundler lied to the Governor. Christie made the situation worse with his over the top and foolish fixing of blame on the Obama administration when the fault was with his own team. The Governor once again played tough talking prosecutor and made sure the other guy- Bret Schundler- was painted in the worst possible light.

The bottomline- a very embarrassing performance by all involved. And maybe with some investigating- and with time- the truth about what really happened will surface.

Update! According to The Auditor in Sunday's Star-Ledger, the United States Department of Education held a workshop last year regarding the second round application for RACE TO THE TOP funding. Tips were given on the correct way to submit the application, as well as reminders to proofread, and that no new information could be submitted after the June 1 deadline.

The workshop was held on April 21 in Minneapolis. In all, 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico sent representatives to the workshop.

New Jersey did not, and finished eleventh, out of the money

The ten states that finished ahead of New Jersey and received funds attended the workshop.

According to The Star-Ledger Governor Christie's office has declined comment.

The Christie Administration's $400,000,000 Clerical Error; "It's Obama's Fault!"

As a practicing Roman Catholic, I was taught that the Pope, in matters of faith, is considered to be infallible....that is, the judgment of the Pontiff is always correct regarding matters of theology.

And as a New Jersey resident, I should feel doubly blessed....for we hath One Among Us, also a Catholic, who in his own mind claims infalliblity as well. He can be found in Trenton, the city that "makes and the world takes"....I knew about pork roll, but I didn't know so much baloney came from Trenton as well.

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that exclaimed The Buck Stops Here! It's something Republican Governor Chris Christie should have remembered before he started finger pointing, shifting blame, or looking for an underling to throw under the boss when a clerical error by his administration cost New Jersey public schools $400,000,000 in grant money. This is happening at a time when state aid to municipalities has been slashed, several thousands of teachers are being laid off, and classroom and sports programs are discontinued. The State of New Jersey and it's schoolchildren needed that money.

And the Christie Administration let them down.

You've probably heard the story already. The Christie Administration applied for funds under the Race To the Top initiative; New Jersey hoped to get $400 million to aid its ailing schools. On Tuesday the announcement was made that nine states and the District of Columbia would be awarded Race To The Top money. New Jersey came in eleventh, and lost out on the cash.

The application for the grant was specific; it required budgetary data from the years 2008 and 2009. The application delivered to Washington had data for 2010 and 2011. The error in the application cost points in the application, dropping New Jersey to the #11 spot. and no money.

And, in the words of the Star-Ledger Editorial Board, the administration of Christopher James Christie, called by some "the future of the Republican Party" did do the following.....

"It (the error) may have been the most expensive clerical error in the history of mankind."

The full editorial of the Star-Ledger can be found here. And I agree with their statement. The mistake belonged to New Jersey; nine states and the District of Columbia got it right.... and we, the state of New Jersey, did not.

(Click for the August 25, 2010 front page of the Star-Ledger ).

Governor Christie then turned political, and needed to finger someone else. Forget about being a statesman and leader...a screwup like this tarnishes his political present and future.

So Christie needed to fix blame, and said the following.........

"When the president comes back to New Jersey, he's going to have to explain to the people of the state of New Jersey why he's depriving them of $400 million that this application earned because one of his bureaucrats in Washington couldn't pick up the phone and ask a question, couldn't go on the Internet and find information, or wouldn't accept the verbal representation" of the state's education commissioner during a follow-up interview,

What?

Christie's team messes up, and it's the President's fault?

Or let's try the rest of federal government. It seems to work for Boehner, Bachmann, Palin, Gingrich, and company. Here's more from Chris Christie.

""Does anybody in Washington, D.C. have a lick of common sense? Pick up the phone and ask us for the number."

Yes, it was a lot of paperwork, a ridiculous amount.... but the winners did it right. New Jersey didn't. And as the Star-Ledger mentioned in their editorial about Jim Furyk's disqualification from the Barclay's Golf Tournament because he arrived five minutes late.....those are the rules. If New Jersey got a mulligan for it's error, then every state that needed to do corrections to get millions of dollars would be doing so, and that would not only result in chaos, but it would be unfair.

So far Christie hasn't thrown anybody under the bus from his administration, but that could change. Here's an item from newjerseynewsroom.com.

"Gov. Chris Christie's Dog Days of August political nightmare continued Thursday as a new report surfaced that the $400 million federal education funding mistake apparently occurred when the governor nixed an agreement on support of aid application between his education commissioner and the NJEA, a statewide teachers' union."

That's right, they initially had the right figures, and had they submitted the original application, New Jersey could have gotten $400 million. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler worked out a deal with the NJEA and the state. But Governor Christie killed the deal. The application was redone, this time with the wrong information.....and it cost New Jersey $400 million.

There's more to come; the Democratic controlled New Jersey Assembly has said that an investigation is in order....and most New Jersey residents seem to agree.

Update!- Friday August 27 9:00am .....Last night news of a video from the US Department of Education broke. The video, in which representative from New Jersey led by NJ Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, presented the state's application for the Race To The Top grant. The video (from newjersey.com) clearly shows that New Jersey's delegation was asked by federal officials about the absence of the requested figures for 2008 and 2009, required on the application. The New Jersey representatives admitted that they did not have those figures available. The speaker from the US Department of Education asked if New Jersey could provide those figures....they were given a second chance.

On that second chance, New Jersey's delegation again was unable to provide the required data.

See the video below.

Excerpt of N.J.'s Race to the Top interview shows officials with no budget answer

More updated information may be found at nj.com.

As I type this at least two New York television stations, FOX 5 and PIX 11, have tried to contact Governor Christie for a comment on the video, which proves his claim that federal bureaucrats prevented New Jersey the chance to make corrections was totally false.

Christie's claim that the reviewers refused to accept corrections after the June 1 deadline was also not correct. New Jersey's delegation was given two chances to fix the problem, and was not able to do so.

Christie did respond to a question from a New Jersey radio station last night about the video and it's implications. He said he hadn't seen the video yet.

Update! Friday August 27 11:41AM NJ..... Education Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired this morning by Governor Chris Christie after Schundler refused to submit his resignation. Full story at nj.com.

Quick Hits For August 22, 2010; End of the Summer Clearance !!!!!

Summer heat, drought, mosques, yellow jacket attacks, troop withdrawals, and FOX-es....all kinds of stuff, big and small.

Time for some Quick Hits!!!

(1). I really enjoy blogging. I only wish there was less typing involved.

(2). Beautiful, damp, delicious, glorious RAIN! I love it. For some of you reading this from cooler climes in the United States (is there such a thing in August?) and in foreign countries, it's been an exceptionally hot and dry summer in the Mid Atlantic states. I'm guessing that we've had more than 40 days of 90 degrees plus days this year (as opposed to nine all of last year), and for this summer we're at minus six inches in rainfall for the past three months; front lawns crunch when you walk on them, and there has been some limited water rationing.

This morning we woke up to some much needed rain, and there's a 100% chance for more during the day, and 60% for tonight. I don't think I've ever experienced a summer when it's been such a struggle to keep plants, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, and flowers alive...we've lost some, as have many other people. And in trying to keep the greenery from dying off other projects get sent to a back burner for another year, not to mention the toll all of the heat takes on you physically and even psychologically by the end of August. By the time evening rolls around you're gassed.

As much as I love summer (in most years) it will be a relief to see September roll in; they'll be cooler temps, and tropical systems churning up the coast to break the drought.....unless the climate change we're told is "only a theory" proves to be anything but.

(3) Rallies were held today in support and in opposition to the building of as Islamic Center two blocks from Ground Zero in Manhattan. The rallies were separated by police by several blocks, and as I type this no incidents of violence were reported.

One pro center supporter held a sign that said...."We don't care what bigots say, religious freedom is here to stay.".

And opponents sang patriotic songs and held banners as well... "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists were Muslim."

Many of us have noted and asked the "why?" regarding Glenn Beck's Rally To Restore Honor on August 28, the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, mere blocks from where the first African American President and his family reside. Now I have a question as to the lack of judgment of BOTH sides of the "Ground Zero Mosque Issue" having opposing rallies on anniversary of the day of one of the worst Christian on Christian acts of religious genocide in history. Namely, today at St Bartholomew's Church we celebrated the The Feast of St. Bartholomew The Apostle. Technically the feat is Aug 24, but today it was celebrated because he's the church's patron saint.

In France, 1572, on St. Batholomew's Day a massacre of epic proportions was set off by Catholic King Charles IX's supporters on the French Protestant population. The Huguenots were not only a religious minority who were gaining in numbers, but were part of a political movement as well. Civil war had been waged for three years between Catholics and Huguenots, but peace had been agreed upon, and the sister of the Catholic king was engaged to be married to a Protestant prince.

The anti-Protestant factions in the strongly Catholic city of Paris objected to the peace and the marriage. Tensions boiled over on the St. Batholomew's Day....Catholic troops and mobs attacked unsuspecting French Protestants.....the carnage went on for weeks. Men, women, and children were killed, and estimates of the murdered range from a low of 8,000 to a likely 30,000 dead.

Two years before French Protestants were granted freedom to worship by their King; two years later he ordered the same people slaughtered.

And on this St. Bartholomew's Day, 2010, we see Muslims at one rally asking for the same freedom of worship with no restrictions as other religions.....and at another rally there is opposition that says they respect that right, but don't agree with their judgment and perceived lack of sensitivity.

I'm not making a case that these situations distanced by hundreds of years are the same. I only make note of the irony. We pride ourselves as being a republic that treasures freedom; but at a certain basic level just how different are we from those we left behind in Europe, or from any other land of our ancestry?

(4). A further comment on one sign that was against the construction of the Islamic center....

"Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists were Muslim."

It reminds me of a quote from a classic American television show.

"(Serial killer) Joel Rifkin was adopted. The Son of Sam was adopted. If you're adopted you'll become a serial killer"..... Cosmo Kramer, Seinfeld, The Masseuse,
November 18, 1993.

(5). And while we're at it....St Bartholomew the Apostle. We Roman Catholics have a patron saint for everything. Tradition says Bartholomew served as an apostle to the east, into Parthia, Ethiopia, and even to India. He was said to have met martyrdom in Armenia....we are told that he was executed by being flayed alive.

And old St. Bart became the patron saint of a bunch of professions and conditions....remember, he died by being skinned alive!

He's the patron of butchers, tanners, cobblers, leather workers, trappers.....and plasterers, bookbinders, and Florentine cheese merchants. No, I didn't make that up.

Bartholomew is also the patron saint against twitching....so for all of you nervous people out there, he's the guy you pray to for intercession.

Maybe he should become the patron saint of offensive line coaches....you try anything to prevent false starts.

(5). Kathleen O'Brien of the Star-Ledger wrote a front page story about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his confrontational attitude towards New Jersey's teachers and the New Jersey Education Association. One of the main questions explored is...... does Christie have a vendetta against the state's teachers? And the answer is: it all depends on who you ask.

O'Brien interviewed some of Christie's high school and junior high teachers in Livingston, some for, some against, some angry, some hurt, some see a politician playing politics.

Here's a sample from two of them.

"We’re all puzzled by the attitude, more than by what he’s trying to do.....I agree with most of what he’s saying — I hope he has success, because we’re all going to benefit — but not how he’s saying it."..... Anthony Hope, a Christie supporter and his former baseball coach.

"It’s (Christie's barbs at New Jersey's teachers) over the top. It does nothing but create animosity. It’s going to hurt him......the people you diss and antagonize are the same people you’re going to have to deal with later."....Ed Hill, retired social studies teacher, a lifelong Democrat who voted for Christie.

And those, ladies and gents, are what a couple of friends and supporters say about New Jersey's governor.

This is a fascinating story, more of it here.

(6) According to The Huffington Post, Fox News spent less than ten minutes on the withdrawal of the last combat brigade from Iraq last week while MSNBC spent the entire night on the event, with Keith Olbermann in studio, Rachel Maddow with Richard Engel (embedded with the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division), and Chris Matthews commenting while on vacation.

While MSNBC, and to a similar extent CNN, gave the story a lot of coverage, FOX chose to ignore the story or marginalize it. Rather, it was given second tier status by both Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Their shows continued to present the story of the "Ground Zero Mosque" as the most significant story of the day.

Years before his death, Walter Cronkite was asked "What is the purpose of network news?"

Cronkite answered...."To inform the public of the things they need to know".

I wonder what Mr. Cronkite would have said of Fox's decision?

Are they a news organization, or a propaganda machine?

(7). Suppose there was a fictional cable company with a fictional on air host on it's relatively small news network; call him Cable Host. And pretend there was a fictional news organization, a giant in the industry, with a fictional host who might be the top dog at the News Giant; he's News Giant Host. And suppose Cable Host was critical of News Giant Host, and made that fact public. So News Giant Host leans on cable company, about what's in the best interest of cable company; he has the muscle and he uses it. And suppose cable company blinks....and Cable Host is first suspended, and then fired. He then sues cable company for wrongful "termination".

But this scenario may not be fictional.

Barry Nolan, former host of CN8's Backstage With Barry Nolan, was appalled that Bill O'Reilly was to receive the Governor's Award at local EMMY AWARD CHAPTER in Boston in May, 2008. Nolan protested in the lobby of the Boston Marriott Copley Place at the precise time O'Reilly was to receive his award. In less than two weeks, Barry Nolan was out of a job, first suspended by and then fired by COMCAST. And Nolan has suspicions who was behind his firing.

Terry Ann Knopf tells the story in her piece from Columbia Journalism Review, "The O'Reilly Factor". As you may or may not know, COMCAST is purchasing NBC-Universal, including NBC, MSNBC, BRAVO, Telemundo, and it's entire cable menu. Here's Nolan in the article's last paragraph.

"I don’t think they had the F-ing right to tell me what I’m allowed to say. In the end, I think they were trying to suck up to Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch and Bill O’Reilly in a way that’s spineless and appalling for a company [Comcast] that aspires to run a major network news operation [NBC]. What happens when Keith Olbermann goes after O’Reilly? I think that’s scary.”

Yes Barry, it is scary.

Click here for the complete article .

 (8). In closing.....as they say, at the end of the world, after the Apocalypse, only two things will survive; cockroaches and old pictures on the Internet.

Well....not really. I just made that up. But anyway.....look what I found!

The two ladies pictured above have logged thousands of hours on American TV in the past two decades, and both were contestants the same year (1992)  in the Miss America Pageant.....they didn't win. But they shoulda....coulda.....

One went on to make a name in news, and is currently the lead anchor on HLN's Morning Express. Yes ladies and gents, pictured above is Robin Meade from her days as Miss Ohio. and no, Robin does not lack for pictures (more than 40 pages) and attention in cyberspace.....so many choices, but somebody had to do it.



Also competing that year from Robin's neighboring state of West Virginia was Kim Parrish, who was a host on QVC for years, and later went on to become a clothing designer on HSN and ShopNBC.

She also serves as president of Miss America's Outstanding Teen, which holds it's scholarship competition in Orlando this week.

Truth be told.....I prefer the the 2010 editions of these two talented and quite beautiful women....but that's just the opinion of one Manly Man.

Don't laugh! I've still got it....but it just takes a lot longer to get it.

Got it?

That's all....time to get ready for MADMEN!