Just thought I’d add a comment that passed through my head this morning as I was driving to work. Do you ever find yourself in the left lane (the fast lane) and you’re moving along at a regular pace until you come to a car that is going about ten miles below the limit?

Happens all of the time in New Jersey (especially on I-195). Well, I understand that some people don’t drive as fast as others, but what always confuses me is that sometimes you get the person in front of you to switch into the slower, right lane and then they speed up! I generally coast along with my cruise control so I know that I don’t slow down - what gives?

When you are essentially bumped out of the fast lane and forced to switch into the slow lane, why the hell would you speed up in the slow lane?! Geez, if you had been going that fast to begin with you wouldn’t have been bumped into the slower lane!

New Jersey.

Anyone who lives in New Jersey knows that there are two kinds of police officers. The first (and more prevalent) type of officer is the man or woman who is out to do some good for his or her community. These are the folks who always wanted to be police officers and who always wanted to serve the greater good. The second (and more talked about) type of officer is the complete asshole. You know this guy - this is the one who pulled you over and got in your face just because he felt like it. This is the police officer who broke up your college party, but also punched three people in the face while doing so. This is the guy who stops you on the boardwalk and slams you down on the ground because there’s nothing you can do about. This is the prick with the snide comments while he’s writing you a ticket or standing outside of your car.

And this is the type of police officer that just cost Seaside Park $1,271,000. Wait - you think that’s bad? Here’s a clip from the linked article:

The borough’s insurance carrier, the Ocean County Joint Insurance Fund, has previously settled five excessive force claims for more than $1.5 million over the past 2 1/2 years. A total of 14 excessive force lawsuits were filed against the police department over the past three years.

Overly aggressive police officers have cost Seaside Park $2.8 million. I don’t know about you, but if I was the Mayor or the Chief of Police, I’d be going ape shit at my officers. In fact, I’d be on a firing spree. I don’t think you’ll find that in Seaside Park, though. If you read the article, it goes on to say:

The settlements have included no admission of wrongdoing by Seaside Park or its police department. The officers involved, and their attorneys, have strongly denied using excessive force in any of the cases. No officer has ever been disciplined for any action related to the cases.

So not only have these police officers cost Seaside Park almost $3 million in insurance expenses, but they’re not admitting that they’re wrong. Of course they are admitting wrongdoing via the huge payouts, but there is no official, “Hey, we’re sorry. Our bad.”

What a sad commentary on some of the people who get into law enforcement, huh? And the worst part is that not only are these the type of police officers getting headlines, but they are the only ones getting headlines, period. If the egomaniacs and those with Napoleon complexes would just get out of law enforcement, we wouldn’t have to deal with such aggravating stories.

But that’s New Jersey for you…

Just when you think that New Jersey can’t become a bigger disaster than it already is…surprise! The state has come in and screwed up once again. Only this time, not only does their mistake hit critically close to home, it actually contradicts previous decisions by state agencies and (most importantly) promises to destroy the open area that so many of us fight so hard to preserve.

Some of you may be familiar with the acronym COAH. In New Jersey, this means Council on Affordable Housing. This state is in so many crunches at once that it’s hard to keep a handle on all of the problems that are going on, but we are in serious need of affordable housing. For those of you that aren’t up to speed on what “affordable housing” means in New Jersey - this isn’t government housing, it’s not “the projects,” it’s not the place where the drug addicts live, etc. In New Jersey, a new term has come to take the place of affordable housing: workforce housing.

Believe it or not America, New Jersey’s workers cannot afford to live in this state. Nurses, young doctors, police officers, government employees, cashiers, retail managers, salesmen, waiters - no one can afford to buy a new home in New Jersey unless they come from a two income household that is making at least or above our state’s median income (roughly $67,000 depending on whose numbers you believe). New Jersey is not affordable for ANYONE.

The latest smack in the face comes as a one-two punch from Governor Money Bags and COAH and is directed at most non-urban areas in the state. Just last week Governor Money Bags told many of the smaller municipalities that they were having their state aid drastically reduced. As if that wasn’t bad enough, COAH has announced what they call “Round Three” requirements for New Jersey’s municipalities. Round Three will tell the state’s towns, boroughs, and cities how many units of affordable housing they need to produce.

Aside from Money Bags diverting even MORE money away from the suburbs, it would seem that being told what your affordable housing obligations are isn’t the worst thing in the world, right?

Wrong.

In Round Three many suburbs are facing an obligation that is QUADRUPLE what they were previously held accountable for. Take the case in my hometown of Roxbury Township. Not only does their COAH obligation jump from some 245 units to 837 units, but Roxbury was told by ANOTHER state agency that they can no longer build in the green areas of the township! What does COAH want to have happen here? Would they like it if the existing housing - which has stood for decades, even centuries - was knocked down so higher density homes can be put in their place? Completely outrageous!

Taken from the Roxbury Register article:

Councilman Richard Zoschak said this latest COAH proposal just causes more confusion and presents more contradictions.

“How do we deal with the Highlands legislation and this? The Highlands legislation says no building here. COAH says we have to build here,” Zoschak said.

Sustainable growth in New Jersey? Not a chance. Continued destruction of the non-urban areas so more money can be pumped into Newark and Camden? Absolutely! More from the article…

Smith faulted the state for having what he called “no coherence, no coordination and no central planning mechanism.”

“We are all being told what to do by different parties, all with power, and they all conflict with one another,” he said.

For those of you who do not live in New Jersey, let me explain how this state’s government “works.” COAH says that Township A needs to create 50 units of affordable housing. The Highlands Council says that Township A only has enough space to put up 5 single family homes. The State Planning Commission approves Township A’s master plan that cites no buildings may be built over 3 stories high. The Governor’s Office tells Township A to meet its COAH obligation or it gets no more state money.

What is the Township to do? They only have room for 5 more single family homes, but - assuming that these open lots are all next to each other (which is near impossible) - are they to build an extremely high density 3-story apartment building (in an area likely not zoned for apartment buildings) with extremely small, 600 square foot (if that) rental units so they meet all of the above obligations? Oh, and this would be built in a generic neighborhood setting where there are no apartment buildings and only single family homes. Oh, and for each apartment you need to provide one and a half parking spaces (in a residential neighborhood, mind you). Oh, and these are affordable units, which means they have to be income restricted and not just any citizen can apply to rent a unit. Oh, and with such a high density unit police, fire, sanitation, and civil services need to be increased (spending more taxpayer money). Oh, and Township A may need to create a housing authority (spend more taxpayer money) to oversee this complex.

Listen. I’m one of the many people in this state who NEED workforce housing to exist. I cannot afford to buy a decent home in New Jersey and - right now - I can only afford to pay a very low monthly rent. But if the plan above is Governor Money Bags’ idea of how to plan for MY future housing needs, then he can take this plan and shove it.

When will it stop in New Jersey?

Prince Harry - also known as “The Spare” - was deployed in Afghanistan up until a few days ago. After word leaked that he was fighting on the front lines against remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, the British Royal Army pulled him out of the country and brought him back home. This was a good decision for obvious reasons. From the article:

Harry, third in line to the throne, was withdrawn from his deployment after details were made public.

The prince’s mission had previously gone undisclosed under an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and major news organizations designed to protect the 23-year-old prince and his fellow soldiers.

You gotta feel somewhat bad for Prince Harry. One of the talking heads on TV mentioned that Harry said this was the closest that he’s felt to being “normal” in his entire life. That’s got to suck. Here’s a 23-year old kid just trying to be a regular guy and it can’t happen. I feel for a person in that type of situation, but in Harry’s case I have to admit that it was the right call to bring him home. The last thing these animals in Afghanistan need to do is get a hold of the third in line to the British throne and do to him what they do to “infadels.” God forbid.

The story linked above also mentions that Prince William - also known as “The Heir” - will be deployed by the British Air Force later this year.

Last month, The Esperanza was put on hold in Asbury Park. Some of you may remember this new luxury condominium building on the Asbury Park boardwalk as the place where rock n’ roll legend John Oates recently decided to purchase a vacation home. The development is put together by Metro Homes, who have been given 30 days to produce paperwork for the city before action is taken.

At this point, the folks in Asbury Park may be getting ready to see another steel skeleton on their beachfront. Most of this is probably due to the current housing crunch, but I have to believe that a great deal of the problems here are rooted in Monmouth County’s unwillingness to accept the fact that the housing crunch is here and that home prices must be lowered, period. There are homes in Monmouth County that were never worth more than $250,000 that eventually priced out at around $650,000. Mortgages were taken on these properties that are well above the $250,000 that these things are worth on today’s market and now the owners are stuck with a high-priced mortgage and a house that isn’t worth peanuts.

Having zero knowledge of the Esperanza development budget, I would wager that they needed to sell a certain number of condominiums before the construction really went into high gear and that they didn’t hit that number because of the downturn in the market. Hey, it happens.

And now we have another metal monster on the beachfront!

New Jersey, in its infinite stupidity, passed legislation yesterday endorsing the National Popular Vote movement. In short, this legislation has the potential to undermine the Electoral College and give the state’s Presidential electors to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. Think of it as the no-thought-needed “fix” to the Electoral College.

Of course by passing this legislation, the NJ lawmakers must assume that all of New Jersey believes that the Electoral College needs to be “fixed” in the first place (all of New Jersey - because every single New Jersey voter is affected). Further, this legislation assumes that not only should the Electoral College be fixed, but that this is the right way to do it (which it obviously is not). But in today’s world of quick fixes and easy answers, I’m not sure anyone would care why this is not the right way to handle the Electoral College. So for those of you who don’t want to think, go ahead and skip over to another website at this point - I’m going to attempt to explain why this legislation sucks.

First, it’s a fringe piece of legislation that could only actually take effect if states with a combined 270 electoral votes pass it. In other words, we’ve now suited up New Jersey in her best game garb and set her on the sidelines, waiting to be let into the game. Until enough states pass this legislation, it essentially means nothing and has no bearing on the current system. Why is this dangerous? Because by passing this bill, New Jersey’s politicians (who have proven their ineptitude almost on an hourly basis) now believe they are “done” with this issue. Nothing could be further from reality.

Second, the Electoral College was set up as a Constitutional compromise between those states who wanted direct election of the President and those who wanted a more Parliament-like system where the Congress chooses the candidate. People today think of the American system of government too much like the rest of the world’s governments. We’re not like the rest of the world! Direct elections in another country do not mean that Americans should have direct elections! Our Founding Fathers specifically moved AWAY from that form of elections. And don’t go crying about changing with the times. Bullshit on that relativist philosophy. Change is the precursor to revolution and in the only country in the world with mandated suffrage for each and every color, creed, and gender of human being, the only revolution that we truly need is an educational one (perhaps starting with history).

Third, the Electoral College gives the states power. Don’t believe me? Go back in time about 20 days ago before Iowa held their caucuses and New Hampshire held their primary and tell me that Iowa and New Hampshire voters didn’t have each and every one of their concerns addressed by the Presidential candidates. Take a trip down to South Carolina or Florida or over to Michigan and tell me that issues that directly effect those states aren’t being thought about, dissected, and presented with solutions by the candidates. The Electoral College ensures that ALL states have a say in who becomes President. To be an American is to accept that we are a nation that is comprised of 50 individual states who are joined together under a federal system of government. Period. This is not a nation that has federally controlled districts with federally installed Governors.

And fourth, in our current system, a candidate needs to win all of those middle states with lower electoral vote counts in order to be competitive in the final count. But - did you know that you only need to win the 12 states with the biggest electoral vote counts to win the Presidency? That means that 38 other states can think one thing, but if the 12 biggest states think something else, they win. That’s an abomination of what the Founding Fathers wanted for this country. And whether the relativists of today like it or not, what the Founding Fathers wanted hundreds of years ago IS relevant to today’s politics because this is America, the great political experiment in liberty.

Under the national popular vote system, all that matters is that a candidate win major population centers, not states. Endorsing the national popular vote system is endorsing the idea that states’ rights don’t matter - the exact opposite of what our Founding Fathers fought for so many years ago. How could ANY of the concerns of middle America or rural areas ever be addressed if all a candidate needed to win the election was to win the New York City area, Los Angeles area, Dallas area, Chicago area, and Atlanta area votes? What about Fort Worth, Texas? What about Bismark, North Dakota? What about the entire states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming?

Endorsing the national popular vote says that we don’t care about what our fellow Americans needs are in other, smaller states and other, smaller population centers. It’s an abomination. If the national popular vote succeeds and enough states endorse it, then it really might be time to change the name of this country because we will no longer be the America that was founded on all of those idyllic principles so many years ago. We’ll be a different country with different goals - hell, we might as well erase the lines between our states because they won’t matter any more.

It’s disgusting.

A better option would be to follow what Nebraska and Maine do with their electors. Since each state has a number of electors equal to their number of Senators and Congressmen, the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets the 2 “senator” votes and the rest of the electoral votes and divided into Congressional districts. If you win all of the Congressional districts in a state, you win all of the electoral votes. If you win 3 of 7 districts, you get 3 electoral votes.

This is the only fair, reasonable, LOGICAL alternative to the current system.

Once again, there are problems in Ocean Township. While the brainwashed masses (which seem to be dwindling) continue to rant and rave about the local off-campus college constituency and how they are ruining their “family neighborhoods,” it looks like those families aren’t so wholesome themselves…

From today’s Asbury Park Press (this has been edited to withhold names):

It might have seemed like something from “That ’70s Show,” but it was no laughing matter to the six people who got arrested, five for underage drinking and a sixth for joining in a scheme to bake marijuana into brownies, police said.

When police were called late Wednesday night to a wall-shaking party on Oakhurst Road, they heard loud music and found Bryan J. K——, 19, hosting a party where underage drinking and marijuana were evident, Detective Lt. Steven R. P—– said.

You know what this shows? That Ocean Township is a regular, normal American town. So for all of those Monmouth University students out there who are either forced to go to these “coalition” meetings or are stuck in a situation where you are berated by police officers when they walk into your home or berated by the local judge in the courtroom, remember this story (and the countless others on this blog).

Some people in Ocean Township will try to make you feel like you are a blemish on their idyllic little community. Bullshit. Their community hides much more than just what you read here - they’re just like everyone else so don’t fall for their holier than thou crap.

But hey…someone better do something about those damn college kids, right?

What a joke.

The following article comes courtesy of the folks at New York Jersey Boys Tickets.

Sandwiched between Pennsylvania and New York, the state of New Jersey also known as the garden state has often been likened to a tapered barrel open at both ends. Overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, New Jersey is often not given its due by visitors, though it is a wonderland in its own right. Coasts, mountains, national parks, the arts, sports, Theatres, amusement parks and casinos, New Jersey has them all.

Home to approximately 40 museums on themes as diverse as arts, aviation, military, children, agriculture, golf, mining and what not, New Jersey does not disappoint a knowledge crawler. Add to this, the 15 major theatre companies and concert halls that compete with the theatrical magnificence of Broadway across the bay and have over the years held fort. Evita, Cats and Annie are all there for the culturally inclined.

42 Parks, 11 forests, 3 recreation areas and over 50 historic sites and districts are enough to satiate your activity urge and keep you away from home and your nagging wife / husband long enough. New Jersey was a hotbed of revolutionary unrest during the American civil war days and there are many well preserved historical sights of American importance.

Keeping up to its promise of something for everybody, the state packs about 10 amusement parks including Fantasy Island, Clementon, Hurricane Harbor and the land of the make believe. Camden waterfront, sky lands and Cape May all add up to one big family adventure. Roll up your fishing rods; dig out your camping gear and get the RV ready for that long promised trip with the kids.

But any mention of NJ entertainment is incomplete without the mention of Atlantic City, which truly lives up to its slogan of “always turned on”. Atlantic City is much more than just a humongous Casino; it is NJ’s answer to Vegas. With events, nightlife, spas, golf, fishing and water sports vying with slot machines and roulette tables, it is a fantasy land, a “must experience” in any NJ entertainment plan. It’s a place where the high and mighty shake a leg with the wannabes, where dreams are born and hopes shattered at casino tables. Where the gambler and the rationalist in you shamelessly expose the multiple personalities we all have inside us. Bally’s, Trump Plaza and the famously infamous Trump Taj Mahal are all inviting you to roll the dice, coaxing you to stake, ready to seduce you with its glamour.

And towering above all this is the grand lady, the symbol of America to the rest of the world, the famous Statue of Liberty. Entertaining in its own ways with the loads of trivia surrounding it, for example, how many of us Americans are aware that the statue was made in France? And gift from the republic of France to the great new hope called America? Now that is entertaining, isn’t it?

Al is the author and webmaster of a New York Jersey Boys resource website.

After listening to Governor Mike Huckabee make a great comment during the ABC News Presidential debates tonight, I had to quote him here. When asked about illegal immigration and what he would do, Governor Huckabee said a bunch of things, but one quote caught my mind:

“When people live in the United States, they ought to have their head up - they ought not to live in fear. Everytime they see a police car, they shouldn’t run and hide. Nobody ought to live like that in this country.”

Ha ha ha ha!!! Governor Huckabee!

I like Governor Huckabee - I really don’t have any major gripe against him, but at this point in the campaign I really don’t have a desire to learn much more about where he stands on each issue (remember, as an independent I can’t vote in New Jersey’s primaries without declaring a party - which I won’t do). But let me make this comment about Governor Huckabee’s quote up there…

As a person with a larger-than-normal degree of empathy, I can appreciate the fact that illegal immigrants are forced to live in a manner that many of us find abhorrent. Yet while I find the Governor’s statement to be a great political quote and one worthy of repeating, I wonder when a candidate will step up and make the same, truthful comparison about the good old boy system that has ravaged New Jersey and many other areas of this country.

In other words, I lived through some of the worst abuses of civil liberties that I’ve ever seen when I was a college student renting a home in Ocean Township, New Jersey. Police officers sat outside of our house, they routinely followed my roommates into the driveway of our home and questioned them at all hours of the day (and night), they would open up the front door of our house at 2am and walk through and tell us they were “just checking” even when only 2 people were home. It was a disgusting abuse of power that took place 6 - 8 years ago and to this day my roommates and I have a great disgust for the Ocean Township law enforcement and a much greater disgust for the anti-college student feeling in Ocean Township.

We ARE the people who see police cars with “Ocean Township” on the side of them and we attempt to run and hide because we know that in this town you can be arrested (or at least given a big money ticket) for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s happened to my former roommates, it’s happened to our friends, and it’s happened to me damn it. And I don’t buy the crap that we were “rowdy college students living in family neighborhoods.” Bullshit on that! We weren’t nearly as rowdy as the “family” that lived two doors down from us with the high school-aged daughter who was selling drugs to half of the town. Our rent (our very HIGH rent, I might add) paid the same taxes the rest of the town paid. And, we added a great deal to the local economy.

So I love Governor Huckabee’s comment that no one in America should live in fear of the police. But what happens when the local police (or an entire state’s police system) has turned into nothing more than a civil liberties abusing fundraising arm of the politicians? It’s disgusting and if America really wants “change” then we all need to start by no longer permitting the vast abuses of power that we see at the local level.

One of the bigger (and more useless) debates going on in New Jersey right now is whether or not the state should officially recognize the evils of early American slavery and then apologize for slavery. This seems like a nice gesture and I guess there is no material harm done by issuing an official, “My bad,” for slavery. I do wonder, however, the relevancy of such an apology given that it’s 2008 and the slaves were freed in 1863…145 years ago.

Not only was no one who is currently alive on this earth alive back in 1863, but many people in America (especially the Northeast) are second and third generation families of immigrants. My grandparents on my Father’s side only came to America in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s! And, being of Italian descent living in New York City, they were subject to many types of racial and ethnic discrimination. Of course you never hear about the American-Italians asking for apologies or reparations…

So I don’t have an ideological problem with New Jersey saying sorry, but I certainly would not add my voice to that chorus. I have no reason to be sorry because my family wasn’t here during that time period and further, my “people” were discriminated against in their own way (I’m Irish and Italian - my “people” got beaten up in many different ways!). I am, however, somewhat sad to hear that this is what New Jersey legislators are debating. You would think lowering the state’s expenses, finding a way to equitably fund schools, saving the thousands of New Jersey homeowners who are stuck in bad subprime positions, and ensuring that suburban sprawl is minimized while smart growth is maximized would be at the top of the agenda. I guess not…