I received a letter in this afternoon’s mail from the Somerset County Commissioner, Anthony DeCicco, acknowledging a request to change my party affiliation back to ‘Unaffiliated.’ A few weeks ago, I had gone to the County offices on Grove Street in Somerville to have the change made. Although I’ve been registered as an independent for longer than I can remember, I voted in the last New Jersey primary as a Republican expressly to cast my preference for Mitt Romney.
You may remember him: He’s the guy that had to explain why it is that a Mormon should be elected to this nation’s highest office. He had been immensely successful as Governor of Massachusetts, a state so blue, that only a super-bright administrator with his talent could overcome the Bay State’s bias against Republicans. Nor did it hurt Romney that, prior to elected office, he drove the success of Bain Capital, creating jobs and making a pile of dough for himself and others with his entrepreneurial prowess.
Poor me, I knew that Romney did not stand a chance in New Jersey, but I thought, “What the heck!” The economy was beginning to go down the tubes and none of the other candidates seemed to get the point, so why not go for the smart person who knows what one is supposed to do with one’s heart and brain?
Don’t misunderstand; I don’t dislike Democrats or Republicans. In fact, I think that they are pretty good Joes and Janes and, much of the time, they do a good job. But, when campaigning, it seems that the difference between what they say they will do, and what, in fact, they end up doing once elected doesn’t jive: They don’t keep promises. Then there’s that other thing: They have a nasty little habit of not trusting the people who put them in office – you know: those pesky voters who make demands like wanting to approve state bond issues for billions of dollars in school construction, and other minor considerations of that nature.
Thing is, though, there are an awful lot of us who don’t wear the donkey or elephant seal of approval, and both the blues and the reds hunger for our vote.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Marriage, Loneliness, Divorce
Ron Rolheiser is a talented author and columnist whose work is in the same vein and spirit of writers like Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. In one of his books, he advises that, “. . . no relationship can ever fully take our loneliness from us.” He goes on to say that many people “Get married precisely because of loneliness.” Later, they discover this doesn’t work, “. . . foist the blame on their marriage partner . . . and seek new relationships, hoping to someday discover the rainbow of total fulfillment.”
Rolheiser develops that idea in greater depth in his book, but the foregoing brief excerpts may give some insight into at least one of the reasons for the high U.S. divorce rate which keeps people from enduring relationships. Just something to think about.
Rolheiser develops that idea in greater depth in his book, but the foregoing brief excerpts may give some insight into at least one of the reasons for the high U.S. divorce rate which keeps people from enduring relationships. Just something to think about.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Corzine’s Morality Claim
At first, Corzine wanted to cut New Jersey’s overwhelming debt load by hocking major highways. Then, he wanted to nudge small municipalities into consolidation by reducing their state aid. None of those strategies worked, so he pulled back.
Now he wants to borrow $3.9 billion for schools. He says that the latter is a “moral obligation.” I’d wager that most of us would like to hear a lot less from Trenton about its claims to moral authority in the public square, especially when its elected officials slice and dice deals for school construction without voter approval, while simultaneously refusing to enact required pension reform legislation.
Now he wants to borrow $3.9 billion for schools. He says that the latter is a “moral obligation.” I’d wager that most of us would like to hear a lot less from Trenton about its claims to moral authority in the public square, especially when its elected officials slice and dice deals for school construction without voter approval, while simultaneously refusing to enact required pension reform legislation.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Corzine’s Systemic Problem
In reading today’s Washington Post account, “Governor Focuses on Fiscal Health of N.J.,” a person may be tempted to feel some empathy for Governor Corzine, as he attempts to close the deal on a $32.8 billion budget for New Jersey
The governor is in a bind. He’s trying to balance a budget while all major, entrenched interests in this state are looking out merely for their own good and, frankly, not caring for anyone else’s.
But Corzine is not helping his credibility by proposing to push through the legislature $3.9 billion in borrowing for more school construction without voter approval.
He is inarguably correct in stating that the “state’s fiscal mess is ‘a systemic issue’ that grew over time.” State spending in New Jersey slowly ballooned out-of-control, beginning way back in 1976. The culprits include all three branches of N.J. Government.
But he was dead wrong when he simplistically stated in today’s AP report in MyCentralJersey.com that, “We have a legal . . . moral . . . economic obligation” to do what he proposes.
Moral obligations for school funding encompass the needs of the entire state of New Jersey and, when the result is the spending of billions of dollars, they come tied with another moral imperative: the obligation to spend those funds without the fraud and waste that has been part and parcel of the billions disbursed to-date.
If Governor Corzine pushes through the legislature $3.9 billion for school construction without voter approval, he will have become part of the systemic problem which he claims is the source of New Jersey’s fiscal woes.
The governor is in a bind. He’s trying to balance a budget while all major, entrenched interests in this state are looking out merely for their own good and, frankly, not caring for anyone else’s.
But Corzine is not helping his credibility by proposing to push through the legislature $3.9 billion in borrowing for more school construction without voter approval.
He is inarguably correct in stating that the “state’s fiscal mess is ‘a systemic issue’ that grew over time.” State spending in New Jersey slowly ballooned out-of-control, beginning way back in 1976. The culprits include all three branches of N.J. Government.
But he was dead wrong when he simplistically stated in today’s AP report in MyCentralJersey.com that, “We have a legal . . . moral . . . economic obligation” to do what he proposes.
Moral obligations for school funding encompass the needs of the entire state of New Jersey and, when the result is the spending of billions of dollars, they come tied with another moral imperative: the obligation to spend those funds without the fraud and waste that has been part and parcel of the billions disbursed to-date.
If Governor Corzine pushes through the legislature $3.9 billion for school construction without voter approval, he will have become part of the systemic problem which he claims is the source of New Jersey’s fiscal woes.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Coming Through
In my blog of Tuesday, June 17th, I mentioned that I had to turn back from attending a public presentation, because of wind-driven storm damage to the windshield of my car early Monday evening.
It’s good to know that some businesses keep their commitments. My insurance company is State Farm – has been for many years. Luckily, I’ve not had any major claims to present and, with all of the competitive insurance ads, I sometimes wonder if I could not get a better price deal. Maybe I could.
But it was gratifying to know that, from the time I made my after-hours call to this insurance company on Monday night, it took only one phone call to get through to the right series of persons, and to set up an appointment at my home to have the windshield replaced.
During my call I informed the call taker that I needed to have my car back in operation by Friday. She set me up with a service coordinator who, in turn, connected me with a representative of Safelite Auto Glass. That person set me up for a service call for today (Thursday), between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. I was asked to verify the status of the job around 12 noon, Thursday. Today, I did and, wouldn’t you know, the service technician was already on his way to my home when I called to check, just before noon.
Dealing with people and companies who have set up competent business processes to deliver an on-time customer solution with no hassle is a great relief. The opposite, as many people have found out, is a nightmare.
I don’t know how matters would have turned out, if I had been involved in a more disastrous insurance situation but, to borrow from one of my Mom’s many aphorisms, “Always give credit where credit is due.”
I miss you, Mom & Dad. Stay well all of you out there, and thanks for checking in.
It’s good to know that some businesses keep their commitments. My insurance company is State Farm – has been for many years. Luckily, I’ve not had any major claims to present and, with all of the competitive insurance ads, I sometimes wonder if I could not get a better price deal. Maybe I could.
But it was gratifying to know that, from the time I made my after-hours call to this insurance company on Monday night, it took only one phone call to get through to the right series of persons, and to set up an appointment at my home to have the windshield replaced.
During my call I informed the call taker that I needed to have my car back in operation by Friday. She set me up with a service coordinator who, in turn, connected me with a representative of Safelite Auto Glass. That person set me up for a service call for today (Thursday), between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. I was asked to verify the status of the job around 12 noon, Thursday. Today, I did and, wouldn’t you know, the service technician was already on his way to my home when I called to check, just before noon.
Dealing with people and companies who have set up competent business processes to deliver an on-time customer solution with no hassle is a great relief. The opposite, as many people have found out, is a nightmare.
I don’t know how matters would have turned out, if I had been involved in a more disastrous insurance situation but, to borrow from one of my Mom’s many aphorisms, “Always give credit where credit is due.”
I miss you, Mom & Dad. Stay well all of you out there, and thanks for checking in.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Trailer for Sale or Rent, Rooms to Let, 50 Cents!
Last night, as I left my home in Bridgewater, headed for a special meeting of the Somerset County Park Commission, I suddenly found myself right in the middle of a wind-whipped mini-storm blowing tree-tops around at will, and flinging broken branches onto the roadway. It scared whatever was left of daylight right out of me.
Without warning, a small tree limb blew down and struck my auto’s windshield on the passenger side, where the glass meets the metal frame, shattering it into a spidery web pattern. That was the end of my planned excursion to 355 Milltown Road, where I wanted to hear the Park Commission’s presentation about its new housing policy. I turned around, drove back to my home and called my insurer, State Farm: The windshield is scheduled to be replaced Thursday afternoon. Things don’t always go as planned.
Luckily, as I have mentioned before in one of my blog posts, there are two local journalists, Martin C. Bricketto and Joe Tyrell, who would not think of not covering key proceedings of the Park Commission. You can read their reports in the Courier News and the Star-Ledger, online or in print.
Judging from what has been reported in the last few days, far too much time and salary dollars have been spent in studying the housing issue and in coming up with a lop-sided recommendation still largely out-of-whack with what people in the real world pay for housing. Last year’s investigative analysis by Wolff & Samson made it abundantly clear that housing for park employees was a major abuse of the public trust.
Presumably, the new housing policy is intended to correct that. Yet, the Golf Maintenance Director will continue to pay no rent for the Markota House, because that stipulation is reported to be in his contract. He earned $94,500 in 2007. Then why not re-negotiate the contract? Is it in the public interest to provide free housing?
And, if the Director is underpaid, then why not re-negotiate to increase his salary upwards, while charging fair market value for the housing? Additionally, as Joe Tyrell pointed out, the housing policy uses carefully crafted legalese which employs phrases that, “…are buzzwords in the tax world . . . by including them, the commission potentially reduces the taxable value of the homes as employee benefits.”
At least one of the rents now being charged is far more equitable than before: Parks Director, Ray Brown, was once paying $500, before voluntarily doubling it to $1,000 when the question first came to light. It has since been increased to $2,500.
But there isn’t any over-riding real-world perspective to the whole ball of wax. The best that can be said for it is that it was assembled to placate the public; possibly to try as much as possible to honor previous commitments made verbally or otherwise; and to come up with a rationale that would hold legally, especially with the IRS. To really understand why what was done, was done, the housing policy can be justified only by looking at it through a political prism. Forget the economics.
Have a good summer; thanks for reading.
Without warning, a small tree limb blew down and struck my auto’s windshield on the passenger side, where the glass meets the metal frame, shattering it into a spidery web pattern. That was the end of my planned excursion to 355 Milltown Road, where I wanted to hear the Park Commission’s presentation about its new housing policy. I turned around, drove back to my home and called my insurer, State Farm: The windshield is scheduled to be replaced Thursday afternoon. Things don’t always go as planned.
Luckily, as I have mentioned before in one of my blog posts, there are two local journalists, Martin C. Bricketto and Joe Tyrell, who would not think of not covering key proceedings of the Park Commission. You can read their reports in the Courier News and the Star-Ledger, online or in print.
Judging from what has been reported in the last few days, far too much time and salary dollars have been spent in studying the housing issue and in coming up with a lop-sided recommendation still largely out-of-whack with what people in the real world pay for housing. Last year’s investigative analysis by Wolff & Samson made it abundantly clear that housing for park employees was a major abuse of the public trust.
Presumably, the new housing policy is intended to correct that. Yet, the Golf Maintenance Director will continue to pay no rent for the Markota House, because that stipulation is reported to be in his contract. He earned $94,500 in 2007. Then why not re-negotiate the contract? Is it in the public interest to provide free housing?
And, if the Director is underpaid, then why not re-negotiate to increase his salary upwards, while charging fair market value for the housing? Additionally, as Joe Tyrell pointed out, the housing policy uses carefully crafted legalese which employs phrases that, “…are buzzwords in the tax world . . . by including them, the commission potentially reduces the taxable value of the homes as employee benefits.”
At least one of the rents now being charged is far more equitable than before: Parks Director, Ray Brown, was once paying $500, before voluntarily doubling it to $1,000 when the question first came to light. It has since been increased to $2,500.
But there isn’t any over-riding real-world perspective to the whole ball of wax. The best that can be said for it is that it was assembled to placate the public; possibly to try as much as possible to honor previous commitments made verbally or otherwise; and to come up with a rationale that would hold legally, especially with the IRS. To really understand why what was done, was done, the housing policy can be justified only by looking at it through a political prism. Forget the economics.
Have a good summer; thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Time Out
One of the challenges in writing a blog like this is the choice of appropriate topics. Certainly, by reading newspapers, magazines and by taking in TV, there is plenty of grist for the mill. The problem, though, is that much, if not most, of the subject matter is, to put it bluntly, less than elevating.
If it isn’t the Bush administration messing up in Iraq, it’s the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives standing in the way of a bi-partisan solution; or, similarly, it’s the Governor of New Jersey and the rest of the elected and appointed officials in Trenton obstructing one another’s efforts to fix the budget and funding mess; meanwhile, a meddling and aggressive New Jersey Supreme Court, taking advantage of Trenton lawmakers’ unwillingness to solve controversial issues, continues to make law from the bench, instead of restricting itself to interpreting existing legislation.
Should I go on? Oh, yes. There is also the matter of Somerset County’s trysting with the Park Commission, a creature of the electorate, which a majority of the Freeholders denied citizens their right and privilege to vote upon last fall. And, what about the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and its Superintendent, who thought that they were doing us a favor this spring when they ‘returned’ money to us that was ours in the first place?
Had enough for one day? I have!
To all of you great dads out there who have to put up with all of this baloney, day-in and day-out, as you succeed in raising your families, have a memorable Father’s Day. Heed my advice for tomorrow: Attend worship services. (If your tradition points to the synagogue or temple, I hope you already did.) Don’t open up a newspaper or magazine and refrain from turning on the TV. Have a good time outdoors with your family and friends. Then, when the clock strikes 9:00 pm, turn on the TV to the Celtics and Lakers, and enjoy one of the best match-ups and rivalries in NBA finals history. I’m one of those lucky sons-of-a-gun whose wife actually enjoys watching a classic sports event with her spouse!
Be well, and Happy Father’s Day, guys: You deserve it
If it isn’t the Bush administration messing up in Iraq, it’s the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives standing in the way of a bi-partisan solution; or, similarly, it’s the Governor of New Jersey and the rest of the elected and appointed officials in Trenton obstructing one another’s efforts to fix the budget and funding mess; meanwhile, a meddling and aggressive New Jersey Supreme Court, taking advantage of Trenton lawmakers’ unwillingness to solve controversial issues, continues to make law from the bench, instead of restricting itself to interpreting existing legislation.
Should I go on? Oh, yes. There is also the matter of Somerset County’s trysting with the Park Commission, a creature of the electorate, which a majority of the Freeholders denied citizens their right and privilege to vote upon last fall. And, what about the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and its Superintendent, who thought that they were doing us a favor this spring when they ‘returned’ money to us that was ours in the first place?
Had enough for one day? I have!
To all of you great dads out there who have to put up with all of this baloney, day-in and day-out, as you succeed in raising your families, have a memorable Father’s Day. Heed my advice for tomorrow: Attend worship services. (If your tradition points to the synagogue or temple, I hope you already did.) Don’t open up a newspaper or magazine and refrain from turning on the TV. Have a good time outdoors with your family and friends. Then, when the clock strikes 9:00 pm, turn on the TV to the Celtics and Lakers, and enjoy one of the best match-ups and rivalries in NBA finals history. I’m one of those lucky sons-of-a-gun whose wife actually enjoys watching a classic sports event with her spouse!
Be well, and Happy Father’s Day, guys: You deserve it
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Cool Treat
Is there such a thing as a day too hot for ice cream? If there is, then Monday and Tuesday take the cake, so to speak. With the temps pushing the 100° mark, it was no time to get in the car for a drive to an ice cream stand. Tonight, though, was quite different – a perfect time for an early-evening jaunt to the nearest ice cream parlor.
Usually, from our home in Bridgewater, we head west on Route 22, to the very popular Polar Cub, a short drive from the Bridgewater Commons. That spot has as wide a selection of ice cream treats and flavors as you could want. The service is fast, and the product is good.
Tonight, though, we took advantage of one of those promotional coupons that appear in the free-standing inserts of the Sunday newspaper. (You know: all those multi-colored glossy advertising handouts that you have to sift through before you can do any serious reading). My wife clipped a coupon for the Cold Stone Creamery in Bedminster. It’s in the Hills Shopping Center, just off 202-206 north, in Pluckemin.
For seven bucks, we ordered two mouth-watering waffle bowls filled with plenty of ice cream and a blended add-in of your choice. You’ll have to be a little patient, because the service tends to take a little longer due to the hand-blending that the servers do to fill your individual order. It’s fun to watch them. Besides, why be in a hurry for something that’s supposed to be a delight to watch and to consume?
Usually, from our home in Bridgewater, we head west on Route 22, to the very popular Polar Cub, a short drive from the Bridgewater Commons. That spot has as wide a selection of ice cream treats and flavors as you could want. The service is fast, and the product is good.
Tonight, though, we took advantage of one of those promotional coupons that appear in the free-standing inserts of the Sunday newspaper. (You know: all those multi-colored glossy advertising handouts that you have to sift through before you can do any serious reading). My wife clipped a coupon for the Cold Stone Creamery in Bedminster. It’s in the Hills Shopping Center, just off 202-206 north, in Pluckemin.
For seven bucks, we ordered two mouth-watering waffle bowls filled with plenty of ice cream and a blended add-in of your choice. You’ll have to be a little patient, because the service tends to take a little longer due to the hand-blending that the servers do to fill your individual order. It’s fun to watch them. Besides, why be in a hurry for something that’s supposed to be a delight to watch and to consume?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
“No Quick Fix”
It was a mere 26 lines of text in a two-inch-wide column, tucked inside the pages of a regional New Jersey newspaper on June 6, 2008. But it was full of meaning. In it, Henry Paulson, current U.S. Treasury Secretary, and former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, implied that oil prices will remain high, because they are a function of supply and demand. He relayed that news from Doha, Qatar, one of the oil-rich Middle East states, emphasizing that there is “no quick fix.”
It is supply and demand; but, that is not the entire question, and Mr. Paulson should know better than to put forth such a simplistic statement. The real, unstated, substantive question behind Paulson’s statement should be: Why is so much of the world’s oil supply continuing to be controlled by a cartel (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), of which Saudi Arabia is the linchpin?
OPEC continues to meet regularly at its headquarters in Vienna to set production quotas, effectively inflating prices and stimulating the current wave of speculation in the oil markets. This cartel sits on two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves, yet accounts for about only 36% of oil extraction, as of March 2008. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most influential and largest producer, continues to turn up its nose at recent U.S. requests for increased production, stating that supply and demand are in equilibrium.
In the United States, if executives of large companies were to conspire openly to control commodity output, as do the oil ministers of OPEC, they would be indicted, prosecuted, and put behind bars.
America’s role in winning the first Gulf War under George H.W. Bush and, thereby, preserving Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and its monarchy means nothing . . . absolutely nothing . . . to these desert fat cats.
I acknowledge that there are many other factors contributing to the current level of oil prices, many of which are of our own making, but my focus here is to starkly underscore the lop-sided transfer of wealth to the oil cartel and its apparent I-don't-give-a-hoot attitude for the rest of the people on this planet.
Note: For an excellent account of the ascendancy of OPEC as an effective cartel, see Robert J. Samuelson’s story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/11/AR2008031102461.html
It is supply and demand; but, that is not the entire question, and Mr. Paulson should know better than to put forth such a simplistic statement. The real, unstated, substantive question behind Paulson’s statement should be: Why is so much of the world’s oil supply continuing to be controlled by a cartel (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), of which Saudi Arabia is the linchpin?
OPEC continues to meet regularly at its headquarters in Vienna to set production quotas, effectively inflating prices and stimulating the current wave of speculation in the oil markets. This cartel sits on two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves, yet accounts for about only 36% of oil extraction, as of March 2008. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most influential and largest producer, continues to turn up its nose at recent U.S. requests for increased production, stating that supply and demand are in equilibrium.
In the United States, if executives of large companies were to conspire openly to control commodity output, as do the oil ministers of OPEC, they would be indicted, prosecuted, and put behind bars.
America’s role in winning the first Gulf War under George H.W. Bush and, thereby, preserving Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and its monarchy means nothing . . . absolutely nothing . . . to these desert fat cats.
I acknowledge that there are many other factors contributing to the current level of oil prices, many of which are of our own making, but my focus here is to starkly underscore the lop-sided transfer of wealth to the oil cartel and its apparent I-don't-give-a-hoot attitude for the rest of the people on this planet.
Note: For an excellent account of the ascendancy of OPEC as an effective cartel, see Robert J. Samuelson’s story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/11/AR2008031102461.html
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Something Serious to Worry About
This will be quick: I’ve just returned from a book discussion group. One of the participants had been absent for months – she had undergone cancer diagnosis and treatment. The good news is that the cancer was removed and she has been deemed cancer-free – no follow-up chemotherapy or radiation needed.
The not-so-good news is that the Marine Corps unit of her son-in-law was ordered to a second term in Iraq. He was part of the initial deployment in the second Gulf War, survived it, came back to the U.S. and stayed on as a reservist. He is now on active duty and planning the logistics for his team which will be re-deployed to Iraq in September for a seven-month tour.
As you read this over the weekend, think about that woman and her son-in-law . . . and of that other woman – the wife being left behind. Perhaps that long commute to work; the long wait in the check-out line; and that exasperating manager at work aren’t so unbearable after all. Maybe all those other inconsequential episodes of life that can bother us so much are nothing compared to the ravages of a cancer gone wild, or of a man getting his ticket punched for a second tour in Iraq.
Possibly your life is pretty good.
The not-so-good news is that the Marine Corps unit of her son-in-law was ordered to a second term in Iraq. He was part of the initial deployment in the second Gulf War, survived it, came back to the U.S. and stayed on as a reservist. He is now on active duty and planning the logistics for his team which will be re-deployed to Iraq in September for a seven-month tour.
As you read this over the weekend, think about that woman and her son-in-law . . . and of that other woman – the wife being left behind. Perhaps that long commute to work; the long wait in the check-out line; and that exasperating manager at work aren’t so unbearable after all. Maybe all those other inconsequential episodes of life that can bother us so much are nothing compared to the ravages of a cancer gone wild, or of a man getting his ticket punched for a second tour in Iraq.
Possibly your life is pretty good.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
It’s Been a Long Time
Yesterday morning, after doing laps at the JCC Pool in Bridgewater, I pointed the car to our polling place to choose among Congressional candidates, local party officials, and national convention delegates in the New Jersey primary election. (What, again! – I thought those were over on Super Tuesday.) This is the first year in decades that my wife and I vote in the primaries, because we are unaffiliated voters.
Did you know that, if you are an independent voter, you can vote for either a Democratic or Republican slate in New Jersey’s primary elections without declaring your party affiliation in advance? If you do, though, you’ll stay registered in the party of your choice for all following primary elections, unless you contact Somerset County Offices in Somerville, and request a change back to unaffiliated (independent) voter. It’s easy to do, but you have to take the initiative.
I’d like for New Jersey to have the same system of primary voting as does New Hampshire. In that state, a Democrat or Republican can vote in the primaries for any party. In subsequent primary elections, NH voters can reverse allegiance at the polls at will, if they so choose, without having to go through any red tape.
. . . . On a related matter . . . Did you catch Senator Carl Levin of Michigan testifying before the Democratic Party’s Rules Committee the other day? He was rightfully upset and fuming about the long-unresolved issue of seating Michigan delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention? I thought he would bust a gut.
Senator Levin does not – emphasize, ‘does not like’ – the notion that the states of New Hampshire and Iowa keep trumping all the other states in the Union by insisting on staying ahead of the pack in the primaries and caucuses. It’s tradition, Senator, tradition.
Did you know that, if you are an independent voter, you can vote for either a Democratic or Republican slate in New Jersey’s primary elections without declaring your party affiliation in advance? If you do, though, you’ll stay registered in the party of your choice for all following primary elections, unless you contact Somerset County Offices in Somerville, and request a change back to unaffiliated (independent) voter. It’s easy to do, but you have to take the initiative.
I’d like for New Jersey to have the same system of primary voting as does New Hampshire. In that state, a Democrat or Republican can vote in the primaries for any party. In subsequent primary elections, NH voters can reverse allegiance at the polls at will, if they so choose, without having to go through any red tape.
. . . . On a related matter . . . Did you catch Senator Carl Levin of Michigan testifying before the Democratic Party’s Rules Committee the other day? He was rightfully upset and fuming about the long-unresolved issue of seating Michigan delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention? I thought he would bust a gut.
Senator Levin does not – emphasize, ‘does not like’ – the notion that the states of New Hampshire and Iowa keep trumping all the other states in the Union by insisting on staying ahead of the pack in the primaries and caucuses. It’s tradition, Senator, tradition.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Abuses of the Abbott School Districts
The news media are full of stories about the waste and extravagant spending coming from the state-supplied money spigots of the Abbott Districts. In one case, Governor Corzine has ordered the state Attorney General’s Office to intervene in order to block elements of the outrageous employment contract awarded to Keansburg’s outgoing Superintendent of Schools, Barbara Trzeszkowski.
In another instance, Education Commissioner, Lucille Davey, claims that she couldn’t get the Elizabeth school district to fork over records required to investigate allegations of financial abuse. On Friday, she issued a subpoena to force the release of those records.
. . . and so the saga continues.
Ever since 1981, when the Newark-based Education Law Center, under the direction of Marilyn Morheuser, filed its now famous Abbott v. Burke lawsuit, there has been a seemingly endless string of litigation. A former nun-turned-attorney, Morheuser wanted to improve the education of children “attending poor and urban schools in New Jersey.”
Since then, the ELC’s actions have resulted in a serious funding bifurcation pitting the 31 Abbott Districts which ELC litigation serves, against the remaining school districts in the State of New Jersey. The money flowing from Trenton to non-Abbott School Districts is now acutely unequal.
Fiscal abuses within the Abbott Districts continue to be reported. Yet I don’t recall reading of any stern and persistent efforts by the ELC to require accountability from the Abbott Districts. The billions of dollars poured into the Abbotts by New Jersey taxpayers have resulted in enormous good; they also have resulted in apparently vast waste and loss of goodwill.
The acceptance of massive funding by the Abbotts from the entirety of the New Jersey community comes with undeniable ethical responsibilities for fiscal accountability. The Education Law Center needs to refocus its efforts away from the amount of money that the Abbotts receive and to redirect its energies towards the regulation and monitoring of educational standards, desired scholastic outcomes, and the enforcement of requirements to ensure the responsible stewardship of those funds.
How long should we hold our breath?
Note: For a list of the 31 Abbott Districts, see http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/abbotts/abbotturls.pl?string=code&maxhits=100. For a brief history of the Education Law Center see http://www.edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/AboutELC/History.htm
In another instance, Education Commissioner, Lucille Davey, claims that she couldn’t get the Elizabeth school district to fork over records required to investigate allegations of financial abuse. On Friday, she issued a subpoena to force the release of those records.
. . . and so the saga continues.
Ever since 1981, when the Newark-based Education Law Center, under the direction of Marilyn Morheuser, filed its now famous Abbott v. Burke lawsuit, there has been a seemingly endless string of litigation. A former nun-turned-attorney, Morheuser wanted to improve the education of children “attending poor and urban schools in New Jersey.”
Since then, the ELC’s actions have resulted in a serious funding bifurcation pitting the 31 Abbott Districts which ELC litigation serves, against the remaining school districts in the State of New Jersey. The money flowing from Trenton to non-Abbott School Districts is now acutely unequal.
Fiscal abuses within the Abbott Districts continue to be reported. Yet I don’t recall reading of any stern and persistent efforts by the ELC to require accountability from the Abbott Districts. The billions of dollars poured into the Abbotts by New Jersey taxpayers have resulted in enormous good; they also have resulted in apparently vast waste and loss of goodwill.
The acceptance of massive funding by the Abbotts from the entirety of the New Jersey community comes with undeniable ethical responsibilities for fiscal accountability. The Education Law Center needs to refocus its efforts away from the amount of money that the Abbotts receive and to redirect its energies towards the regulation and monitoring of educational standards, desired scholastic outcomes, and the enforcement of requirements to ensure the responsible stewardship of those funds.
How long should we hold our breath?
Note: For a list of the 31 Abbott Districts, see http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/abbotts/abbotturls.pl?string=code&maxhits=100. For a brief history of the Education Law Center see http://www.edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/AboutELC/History.htm
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