Credit where credit is due

If there was ever a good story about a State Agency it has to be the Motor Vehicle commission and the stunning turn around in its service. For years I dreaded going to a MVC office. Inevitably I would pick up form that had no directions, fill out said form, stand in a line that I hoped was the right one, get up to the window only to be told by a sullen worker that I;

A) had the wrong form.
B) Filled the form out incorrectly.
C) Was a complete idiot and needed to return to school and get a first grade education as any fool would know what to do.

I recently went to register a trailer, you know, the ones landscaper's use. Since I had never done this I allotted a full afternoon to accomplish my mission. I packed a water bottle, two bologna sandwiches, a dry pack of matches and two cyanide pills just in case.

When I walked in a a very nice woman greated me, asked why I was there and highlighted the fields on the form that I needed to fill out. She explained the various issues associated with registering trailers and explained what would happen next. I filled out the form, sat down in a chair to wait for my number to be called. Faster than I could unwrap my bologna sandwich my number was called. At the window a pleasant woman met me, smiled, reviewed my documents and chatted with me as she processed my registration. In minutes I was done. I found myself walking out thanking the people that helped me.

Stunning. The person that accomplished this turn around is Diane Legreide. She deserves sainthood.

Your Papers Please

Miami police have a new tactic for fighting a non-existent terror threat .

Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats.

America, land of the free, Home of the brave sheeple.

Yes you can, No you can't

Court revokes right to tape official forums

"Taking back a right the public has had for 21 years, a state appeals court ruled yesterday the New Jersey Constitution does not protect citizens who videotape open government meetings.

The three-judge court unanimously dismissed a lawsuit by a Camden County man who claimed he was wrongfully arrested for attempting to videotape two borough council meetings in September 2000."

Of course, why should a current court actually follow a precedent.

"Dismissing that lawsuit yesterday, Appellate Division Judge Anthony Parrillo ruled the state constitution protects the right of the public to attend public meetings, not to videotape the proceedings.

"Thus, the right to videotape public proceedings is subject to reasonable governmental restrictions," Parrillo wrote. He characterized Gallagher's order to stop videotaping as "simply an ad hoc means of regulating the manner in which videotaping would occur."

Well, we wouldn't want anyone to actually see what kind of stupidity actually goes on at a town council meeting would we. Perhaps we would see how unprepared all the members are when they give their reports on their areas of oversight. Maybe we would see how the memebrs vote on issues that they have no clue about. Maybe we'd all see how the township attorney really runs the town, not the mayor or council. Nah! that can't be the reasons these politicians want cameras out of meetings.

Minimum Wage Comment

EnlightenNJ had a posting last Thursday on the minimum wage in NJ. I thought I'd take a quick minute and jot down a few thoughts on minimum wage.

1. Minimum wage jobs are stepping stones, not careers.

2. Raising the minimum wage almost always leads to job loss.

3. Higher minimum wage drives a larger portion of the economy underground depriving Federal, State and Local Governments of tax revenues.

4. Higher minimum wage leads to more illegal immigration as companies try to avoid paying higher wages.

5. Higher minimum wage leads companies that want to higher legally to either not expand or to cheat by hiring illegals through temporary staffing agencies.

6. Higher minimum wage artificially sets labor rates. If labor can not be found companies will raise pay rates. If a company can hire someone at $2.00 per hour than there is obviously a job shortage. If a company must pay $10 than there is a labor shortage.

Obviously, raising, or even having, the minimum wage is a political solution to a non-existent problem.

Global Warming? Not in Jersey

According to weather forcasters, the long range winter forcast for our great State is cold, colder and colder. One forcaster said,

"the state averaged 125 percent to 175 percent more snow than normal last winter, marking the third straight winter of above average snowfall.

If snowfall exceeds the average of 28 inches in New Brunswick this winter, he said, it would mark the first time since 1893 that above average snowfall has been recorded in the area four consecutive years. "

It's like that Twilight Zone where the little girl is sick and is dreaming that the sun is growing larger and the world is ending in a fireball and then she wakes up and it's the middle of an ice age.

A COAH Surprise

Back in June and again in August I wrote in some detail about Clinton Township's trials and tribulations over its COAH requirements and a Pulte Homes development of 911 homes in the township as the result of a builders remedy lawsuit. In Clinton the Republican primary for mayor centered entirely around this issue and at the time I wrote:

"How could a voter know what is the right position! The issue is in the courts now and will be for another 3-5 years. Both candidates, I believe, spoke and acted in good faith that their position was right. Corcodillos may have had personal reasons (he lives near the site and has spent years fighting it) to go for an all or nothing approach. But, the average voter could never become knowledgeable enough about all the aspects of this issue in order to cast an intelligent vote."

Well, Corcodillos went on to win the primary and because of that the town council refused to act on a deal with Pulte homes to limit the size of the development. Now the chickens have come home to roost. According to the Star ledger,

"Even before Mayor-elect Nick Corcodilos takes office in Clinton Township, the state Council on Affordable Housing may derail his agenda.

The day after Corcodilos was elected without opposition, COAH threatened to revoke the township's protection against affordable housing lawsuits.

As a reason, COAH cited the township council's reluctant early- morning vote on Oct. 27 not to sign a settlement agreement with Pulte Homes that would have allowed construction of the controversial Windy Acres development.

Under the agreement, Pulte was to build up to 90 units priced to meet the township's legal requirement to provide housing for low- and moderate-income people, plus land for up to 60 more. In all, the settlement would have allowed as many as 515 homes on the former farm off Main Street just east of Lebanon Borough.

At its Nov. 9 meeting, COAH dismissed a motion by Pulte to compel Clinton Township to join the developer's suit, so far unsuccessful, against the Readington- Lebanon Sewerage Authority to provide treatment capacity for the project.

But a few minutes later, COAH surprised friends and foes of Windy Acres. It demanded legal briefs by Monday and scheduled a Dec. 14 hearing on revoking its "substantive certification" of the township's affordable housing plan.

Without that protection, Clinton Township could be sued by developers who propose affordable units in their development plans."

The current Mayor Borkowski, had warned about this happening over and over again. There is a 700 home development waiting in the wings if the town's COAH certification gets revoked. The voters looked at this very complicated issue in black and white terms of "Open Space" vs. Development. Township Councils, with their part-time, less than qualified people, are no match for the full-time developers and bureaucrats in Trenton.

Employment is Falling

According to the Ledger:

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Jersey reports biggest job loss in two years
Continuing its lackluster economic performance, New Jersey lost 4,700 jobs last month, the biggest decline in nearly two years.

The decline in payroll employment reported today by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development was the largest since payrolls fell by 6,200 in January 2004.

Some economists said the monthly decline in jobs follows the pattern for much of the year in which the state has lagged behind the nation and may signal a slowdown in economic activity in New Jersey.

Or maybe, the new corporate taxes that McGreedy leveled on us and the hint of higher income taxes from JonKat have led business leaders to scale their operations in NJ.

A Hunting We Will Go, A Hunting We Will Go...

Finally some sanity has been restored at DEP. The DEP has elected to allow the bear hunt for this year.

"As the black bear population has expanded, incidents involving risks to public safety and property, which subsided after the 2003 hunt, have increased significantly," Environmental Commissioner Bradley Campbell said in a letter to the state's fish and game council."

Without the kowtowing policies of McGreedy, sanity has replaced politics at the DEP on this issue.

An Update on Carol Segal and His Eminent Domain Fight

On October 3rd I wrote a brief synopsis on a sneaky land grab by Union Township. Recently an anonymous commenter on that piece sent this update:

Carol Segal just won another round in court. The judge ruled he can subponea anyone he needs, and also the burden of proof is on the town to prove Carol Segal should not be allowed to do the development on his property himself. Since he already has a contract with a nationally known building contractor, Centex, I doubt the town can prove its case.

I can't find any reference to this case on the net, but would love to hear if anyone else has seen something.

I've included a link to a Newsmax version of the original article that I referenced as it will stay around longer. link

I always feel like somebody's watching me....

From the New York Times Tracking phones for traffic reports :

"These new traffic systems can monitor several hundred thousand cellphones at once. The phones need only be turned on, not in use. And sophisticated software now makes it possible to discern whether a signal is coming from, say, a moving car or a pedestrian. State officials say the systems will monitor large clusters of phones, not individual phones, and the benefits could be substantial. By providing a constantly updated picture of traffic flow across thousands of miles of highways, they argue, cellphone tracking can help transportation agencies spot congestion and divert drivers by issuing alerts by radio or on electronic road signs"

So, the Government can track your whereabouts by your phone and your EZPass. They can tell if your in a moving car by your cell phone.

Next step, my little Orwellians, tickets issued because your time between the Union and Raritian tolls shows you must have been doing 70 MPH, or maybe you get a ticket on a little country road because your cell phone switched towers and we know you were doing 40 MPH not the posted 35 MPH.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Jon Corzine not only wished to be Governor of New Jersey, he paid $50 Million to become Governor. I don't understand why. It's not just him. I mean, why would anyone want to try to run this State at this point in time. Let's see what the issues that confront the new Governor will be:

1. Escalating property taxes because of school funding policies set by the State Supreme Court leading to a bankrupt SCC that will need at least $25 billion to continue its "work".

2. A bankrupt transportation fund, that wouldn't become solvent by raising the gas tax $.50 cents a gallon.

3. A pension fund that is underfunded by at least $35 Billion.

4. Townships that have to bear the burden of underfunded municipal pension funds, state mandated school costs.

5. Widespread corruption and incompetence on the local and state level.

How will JonKat do? I predict he will get mired in partisan politics, raise taxes to the point that people start to really pay attention, and when all is said and done, companies and people will be fleeing the State to avoid the great fleecing that is coming.

Do People Ever Stop Voting to Spend Money

So now the wonderful voters of New Jersey have voted to have a lieutenant Governor. Another office with Office space, staff, computers, expensive dinners, police protection and who knows what else.

Another boondogle in the making.

He Thinks Bush is Conservative

Richard Goldstein of Somerset wrote a letter to the editor in yesterdays paper that made me laugh out loud. The paragraph that started me on my raucous laughter?

"Bush is the most conservative president of all time. He is also, arguably, the most "handled" president. He is handled by the apostles of Ronald Reagan (the conservatives' messiah), and some say they are running policy."

Let's see how conservative Bush really is:

1. He signed the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. A law that stripped our First Amendment rights when speaking of incumbents before an election, because he thought the Supreme Court would strike the law down.

2. Bush has advocated a general amnesty for illegal aliens and refuses to secure our borders.

3. Bush has presided over the largest expansion of a Government program with the Medicaid prescription benefit, which is so rich that it doesn't even means test a recipient. That means Bill Gates and Warren Buffet get to participate in the program.

4. Bush signed the recent looting of the Federal Treasury, better known as the $286.5 billion dollar transportation bill.

5. Bush elected to start a war in Iraq that was not necessary and has cost us a fortune in both treasure and blood.

6. Bush has promised to spend $51.8 billion (more likely to be $75 Billion dollars) for Katrina relief. With absolutely no spending controls.

This is a Conservative? If anything Bush is an FDR Democrat!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goldstiens Letter:

Richard Goldstein, Somerset In another world After reading Paul Mulshine's Oct. 25 column, "Mistreated for too long, the dog bites back," I have to question whether he and I are on the same planet. Mulshine attempts to make the case that true blue conservatives are "biting back" at George Bush for not being conservative after all. Say what? Here's another good one. In the runup to the 2000 election, Bush wanted Pat Buchanan (true blue) to leave the Republican Party for a third-party candidacy. Yeah sure, Bush was so rich with support that he just gave away fringe votes.

Bush is the most conservative president of all time. He is also, arguably, the most "handled" president. He is handled by the apostles of Ronald Reagan (the conservatives' messiah), and some say they are running policy.

Mulshine writes: "Some conservatives have finally figured out that George Bush is just another Bill Clinton without the loud wife and willing intern." To borrow from Lloyd Bentson, I knew Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton was a favorite of mine. George Bush is no Bill Clinton.

A Small Victory

A few weeks ago I wrote about Cheng Tan , owner of a restaurant in Jersey City, who was under threat of having his land and business taken by the the Jersey City redevelopment corporation using its eminent domain powers. The public use? A football fied for a private school next door.

Well, there must have been many other voices besides mine crying foul. Today the Star Ledger reported that Jersey City has re-thought its position and decided not to procede. Mayor Jerremiah Healy said

"I support eminent domain where it is necessary and benefits the community as a whole,"

"There are instances when the city's taking of private property for public purpose is appropriate, but this is not one of those instances."

Perhaps because people were looking!

A Lesson in Western Europe

I don't normally comment about world affairs, however, the riots in France are going to become an instructive event. Virtually every country in Western Europe is in the midst a native population decline. In order to stem this decline and to keep up economic activity, they have allowed virtually unfettered, immigration of Muslims, mostly from their North African ex-colonies. Many of these people are uneducated and perform menial labor.

For the past week for a variety of reasons groups of these people have been rioting in Paris. According to the AP

"A week of riots in poor neighborhoods outside Paris gained dangerous new momentum Thursday, with youths shooting at police and firefighters and attacking trains and symbols of the French state. "

Television pictures of the riots bring to mind Baghdad or Beirut not Paris. According to the French interior minister

"What we saw in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis overnight was not spontaneous, it was perfectly organized. We are looking into by whom and how,"

Organized. Hmm, perhaps from within the Masques. It wouldn't surprise me to see an upcoming wave of terrorism in France. And, no amount of outlawing criticism of any ethnic group as hate speach is going to stop what is coming.

It would be wise for the Brits and the Dutch to pay close attention.

Back Door Governor

Over at Enlighten they have been trying to suggest that there is a bombshell in Corzines closet that is about to go off. They have posted here , here , here , here and a few other places. Yesterday on 101.5 there was some talk on Cartoon and Rosey about some scandal brewing that they couldn't talk about. The NY Post and Times have hinted around about it and his ex-wife flat out hates him.

But wait! If no one reports on said scandal until after the election and Corzine had to resign, Then Codey would be Governor!

Dems Have No Plan - Just Theatrics

The Democrats in the Senate used a rarely used law to empty the Senate Chambers of staffers, tourists and T.V. Cameras to protest the Iraq war. Democrats close Senate doors in protest over Iraq. The Repubs can, of course, change this with a simple majority vote. I think they should. Everytime the Dems pull stupid pet tricks like this the Repubs should just out vote them and move on. Maybe then the Dems will come up with an idea and stop wasting everyone's time.

The good news in this is that they've stoped working on Legislation. Hurray!

Corzine's Ex Talks and Cindy Squeals... Ouch

Here's an excerpt of what Cindy Adams has to say,

* Supposedly, Corzine went for a $125,000 (give or take a few bucks) Cartier necklace to keep Carla from attending his son's wedding in San Francisco.

* In a newspaper photo, Carla flashed a Cartier bracelet identical to one Corzine had bought Joanne before. Joanne returned hers to her husband.

* Family members have mentioned certain credit card usage.

* Although they have since broken up, he remains obsessed with pleasing Carla. Even complained that her children — not his, he never mentioned his — were suffering from the adverse publicity of their affair.

* His wife confronted him about Carla early on. He denied it, although they'd be on the phone sometimes from midnight to 2 a.m. He admitted it when confronted with telephone records.

* Joanne has said he always said he had never been unfaithful. Joanne has also said she doesn't "know what he was on."

* He's "a prime narcissist. Calculating, driven. Does and says exactly what will get him whatever he wants, then apologizes for it later big-time. Will do whatever and say whatever to get elected.

* "He surrounds himself with people he pays or needs, then on to the next. It's all about him. He'll never be satisfied."

About the huggy, kissy, fuzzy aroma he exudes it's: "He's mastered a disguise."

You're told: "When he ran for Senate if he said once more how much he loved his wife, I'd have vomited." He dumped his wife after his election.

I don't have any particular feeling for or against, one way or another, about Corzine. I don't live in New Jersey. When it comes to job-holding in Trenton, I'm an equal opportunity abuser. I don't care who wins. I'm only a journalist who cares about good information. If I had inside on Doug Forrester I'd use it — but I don't, so I can't.

Asks one observer: "Have you seen the TV commercials with Doug Forrester and his wife and their talk about family values? Well, if this is going to be about family values, voters should know about Jon Corzine. He let his wife down — and he'll let New Jersey down."

The last line is just so true.