DALLAS (AP) — Police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota were followed by calls from black militant groups and others to seek vengeance against officers. Almost immediately, several officers were attacked, including the five slain by a sniper in Dallas.
Now authorities are investigating whether the Dallas gunman was directed by those groups or merely emboldened by them.
“I think it’s safe to say we’ll leave no stone unturned,” Dallas Deputy Police Chief Scott Walton said.
Police have been tight-lipped about exactly what they’re investigating and what they’ve uncovered so far. Although Micah Johnson was connected to several militant groups on social media, it’s unclear if he was merely a follower or a more active participant.
Similar questions have been raised by international terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State group: How is the network encouraging and directing attacks? Is it a coordinated effort or are the attacks simply a byproduct of hate speech espoused by the groups on social media?
The number of black separatist groups nearly doubled in 2015, mirroring a similar increase among white hate groups that has taken place as police killings make frequent headlines, said Ryan Lenz, online editor and senior writer at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Still, many people who become radicalized do so without direct ties to any groups. Instead, they surf the web and grow their anger in private, Lenz said.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen this violence become an ever-present reality in our lives,” Lenz said. “We are in a polarized political climate right now where the ‘us-versus-them’ mentality has started to reign supreme.”
Johnson followed black militant groups on Facebook, including the African American Defense League, which posted a message that referenced the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: “You and I know what we must do and I don’t mean marching, making a lot of noise, or attending conventions. We must ‘Rally The Troops!’ It is time to visit Louisiana and hold a barbeque.”
Other groups Johnson “liked” included the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and the Black Riders Liberation Party. The last two are described as hate groups by the law center, which monitors hate crimes and right-wing extremism.
Johnson’s Facebook photo showed him wearing a dashiki and raising his fist over the words “Black Power.” His cover shot carried the red, black and green Pan-African flag.
There’s no evidence such groups have directed violent events, but their rhetoric has served as inspiration, Lenz said.
Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are on guard for threats after the police killings and the Dallas attack. Protesters view the police slayings as further evidence of the law enforcement abuse that has energized the Black Lives Matter movement, which was fueled by the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Ridgewood NJ, Politicians call them heroes and strangers thank them for their service.
But when their enlistment comes to an end, veterans need more than a pat on the back as they return to civilian life. They need jobs.
And increasingly, they seem to be getting them because the unemployment rate among veterans has been on the decline in recent years. In May, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, down from 5 percent for the same month in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That compares to a 4.7 percent overall unemployment rate.
“I think in the last several years there has been a focus on the importance of hiring veterans and many businesses have taken that to heart,” says Nick Baucom, a U.S. Marine veteran who makes hiring veterans a priority for his company, Two Marines Moving (www.TwoMarinesMoving.com).
“But probably the biggest reason that the unemployment rate for veterans has trended downward is that, as a group, veterans bring with them experience and attitudes that make them great employees.”
Baucom’s moving company employs more than 100 veterans between its two locations – the Washington, D.C., area and Miami. He’s wants to hire more because his company is booked three to four weeks in advance and he could use the extra help.
“But with the unemployment rate for veterans dropping, it’s becoming more challenging to hire them,” says Baucom, who also is author of “On the Move: A Marine’s Guide to Entrepreneurial Success.”
“I can’t complain too much, though, because I’m glad so many other employers are seeing the benefits of having veterans in their workforce.”
Baucom says there are several reasons veterans make topnotch employees, including:
• Their tenacity. Veterans know what perseverance is all about, if for no other reason than they survived boot camp, an arduous challenge that puts a person’s fortitude to to the test. Marines, for example, must prove they can hike 20 miles carrying a fully loaded pack. • Their decisiveness. People in the military don’t always have the luxury of taking all day to analyze a situation before making a decision. Yes, they must gather data and understand it thoroughly – but they understand the need to do it expediently. “A 90 percent solution now is better than a 100 percent solution later,” Baucom says. “Both in the Marines and in the business world, I’ve found that waiting for that 100 percent solution just leads to paralysis.” • Their initiative. Anyone in the military learns to follow orders. But they also understand that there are situations when they need to take action in the absence of orders. If something needs to be done, they don’t have to wait to be told.
“I know that Marines go through quite an ordeal in their training and in carrying out their missions,” Baucom says. “When we ask them to move a piano, it probably doesn’t seem all that difficult in comparison.”
About Nick Baucom
Nick Baucom is the founder and owner of Two Marines Moving (www.twomarinesmoving.com), a moving company that has operations in the Washington, D.C., area and Miami. Baucom, who also is author of “On the Move: A Marine’s Guide to Entrepreneurial Success,” served in the U.S. Marines from 2002 to 2008, and was in Iraq in 2003.
Ridgewood NJ, The British vote to leave the European Union – commonly referred to as the Brexit – seemed to catch much of the world by surprise, at least temporarily shook up the markets and left many people wondering whether they should act quickly to protect their investments.
But puzzled American investors should wait to see how this unfolds over time, rather than taking drastic measures they may later regret, says Joseph Mallen, Chief Investment Officer for Sawtooth Solutions (www.sawtootham.com), a technology-focused company that concentrates on wealth-management platforms.
“I believe this is much ado about nothing until further clarity on the result of the vote is determined,” Mallen says. “This may take years to sort out. The Brexit may not happen at all.”
While there was market reaction – really, overreaction, Mallen says – right after the vote, it was based more on perceptions than on anything of substance.
Ultimately, what could the Brexit mean for the future of the American economy? Mallen says no one has a crystal ball, but he offers these observations:
• Overall impact on U.S. markets may be negligible.After instant, but temporary, turmoil the markets in the U.S. recouped their early losses. “This is telling and in line with my expectations that the Brexit should have little to no impact directly on U.S. equity markets,” Mallen says. “We have seen U.S. treasuries gain on what I believe is a flight to quality, pushing the 10-year yield below 1.4 percent.” • The long-term investment outlook. If other European countries elect to follow suit with their own exits, there could be disruption in Europe-based equities. But Mallen says he doesn’t believe the Brexit, in isolation, will be negative either for the U.S. or for the United Kingdom. “I believe it’s a positive move for the UK, giving it more freedom to act independent of EU governance,” Mallen says. “The UK has more to offer the EU than the EU has to offer the UK.” Ultimately, Mallen says he believes the UK will become a pseudo-member of the EU, similar to the relationships Norway and Switzerland have with the EU. • Interest rates. The Brexit likely will be a further catalyst for U.S. interest rates to remain low for the next couple of years. “I don’t see the Federal Reserve raising rates, as that would be highly unpopular given the prevailing market sentiment,” Mallen says. “Also, I believe U.S. treasuries will continue to be a safe-haven asset for nervous international investors.”
The initial Brexit vote resulted in a wave of media attention, but it was perhaps more attention than will prove to be warranted as time passes, Mallen says.
In terms of impact on the market, the attention actually should be on the presidential election, he says.
“As much as Brexit was a welcome reprieve from the election, I believe that within weeks the U.S. elections will become the primary global-market media focus and that will continue through November,” Mallen says. “It promises to be a volatile campaign that, I believe, will impact global markets directly.”
About Joseph Mallen
Joseph Mallen is Chief Investment Officer for Sawtooth Solutions (www.sawtootham.com) in Minneapolis, MN, a technology-focused company that concentrates on wealth-management platforms. He has more than a decade of experience as a financial professional and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in finance with a concentration in quantitative finance from the London Business School.
In countries key to the president’s legacy, people express profound disappointment in a man from whom they expected great things.
By NAHAL TOOSI
Back in 2008, the same qualities in the 47-year-old senator from Illinois that excited U.S. voters enthralled people around the globe. He was a fresh face and a compelling orator. He had spent his childhood in the Asia-Pacific, and his skin color alone made billions of people feel a connection with him. Perhaps most importantly, he was not George W. Bush, the president who invaded Iraq. Obama promised “hope” and “change” and people believed he could deliver—that he would end wars in Muslim countries, improve America’s standing on human rights, even alleviate global poverty. “Yes we can!” shouted The Age, an Australian newspaper, when he won office. Just months later, the rookie president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a nod more to his promise than to anything he had accomplished.
Obama’s overseas poll numbers were stratospheric in those early days. In countries like France and Germany, more than 90 percent of people surveyed by the Pew Research Center expressed confidence that Obama would “do the right thing regarding world affairs.” Even in some Middle Eastern countries, where U.S. presidents are rarely liked, nearly half of the populace had high expectations for Obama.
Deep-seated sympathetic leanings towards people and places outside the U.S. can compromise a man’s judgment and make complicated for him decisions and issues that are a snap to resolve for one whose love for and fidelity to this country is undiluted. One or both parents of foreign citizenship as of the moment of one’s birth (e.g. Ted Cruz (Cuban father), Barack Obama (Kenyan father), Nicky Hailey (Indian (i.e., the subcontinent) parents), Marco Rubio (Cuban parents), Bobby Jindal (Indian (again, the subcontinent) parents)), or birthplace OUTSIDE every U.S. state at a place where NEITHER of one’s parents is (a) the ambassador or equivalent top diplomat or (b) a member of HOSTILE occupying army (e.g., Ted Cruz (born in Canada), John McCain (born in Colon, Panama), George Romney (born in Mexico City), Barry Goldwater (born in Arizona before its statehood), are primary sources of such conflicted feelings. This is why the U.S. Constitution requires that the office of President of the United States not be occupied by, nor devolve upon, anyone but a natural-born citizen. We simply can’t afford divided loyalties in our primary governmental leader.
Ridgewood NJ, Nestled on one of Ridgewood’s most charming blocks, this home on more than a half-acre is a must-see. Beautifully updated both inside and out with attention to detail. A tastefully renovated kitchen is the heart of the home, featuring white cabinetry, granite countertops, SubZero, Viking and Bosch appliances. The living room has refinished hardwood floors, fireplace with classic mantle, crown moldings and bay window. Off the dining room is a sunroom that overlooks a pleasantly landscaped yard and forest. Upstairs are 4 full sized bedrooms with refinished hardwood floors and 2 full baths with tub and shower. Off the kitchen is a screened porch looking on to the wooded backyard and paver patio. With a 98 ft wide and 256 ft deep yard, there’s room to relax and enjoy nature. Door to door bus service to Ridgewood schools, a short walk to NYC bus and a one way street make this home an ideal place to live. Marketed by Michael Shetler, 201-421-0506 cell or 201-445-4300 x231 office.
Open House Sunday July 10 from 1-4pm. 242 Gateway Rd, Ridgewood.
She put your secrets and security at risk too. Doesn’t that upset anybody? Your foreign intelligence services are less effective now because other countries know specifics about what the State Department was and will be doing – because Hillary Clinton (for whatever reason) put her email (Our email really) out in the open.
The fact that she had her own email infrastructure is irrelevant. She could have easily secured it, and easily archived it, but chose not to..that’s the proof of her intent.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood is currently in Stage ll water restrictions ,until further notice, Ridgewood Water is not accepting applications or granting any exceptions. All pre-approved waivers are now void.
Stage II (Severe) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for the use of a hand held hose. Irrigation using a hand held hose shall be allowed at any time.
Stage II water restrictions are currently in place for Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff, New Jersey are in effect beginning June 23, 2016 until further notice.
Residents, businesses, governmental agencies, and all other water users must adhere to Stage II of the restrictions shown on our website,water.ridgewoodnj.net.
If your address is an odd number, you may irrigate on Tuesdays and Saturdays only. If your address is an even number, you may irrigate on Wednesdays and Sundays only. A handheld hose may be used at any time including Mondays. No irrigation is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except the use of a hand held hose.
The restriction level had to be increased to Stage II because water is being consumed at a greater rate than the supply system can sustain, thus reducing the amount of water in reserve for fire fighting and other emergencies.
Compliance with the Stage II restrictions will reduce the likelihood that more severe controls will be needed. Your cooperation is appreciated. Violators will be subject to a fine and court appearance
Leak Detection
A leak can waste large amounts of water; up to 20 gallons a day for slow drips and hundreds of gallons a day for both toilet and faucet leaks. Some leaks are easily detected while others are not so obvious. Any leak, big or small, can be very costly and wasteful and should be repaired as soon as possible.
Water meters are equipped to assist you in leak detection. Turn off all faucets, water-demanding appliances, and outdoor hoses, etc. Be sure no one is using any water. The water meters feature a “leak detector”. To check if the meter detects a leak, shine a light on the top of the meter next to the flashlight icon to activate the display. After a startup sequence, the screen will cycle between the current reading and the current flow rate. As shown in the photo below, the word RATE appears with 3 digits below it. These digits represent the current rate in gallons per minute of water going through the meter. If the leak has been ongoing, the meter will also display a small faucet icon.
If the meter indicates that you have a leak, inspect all fixtures, appliances, and pipes to locate it, keeping in mind that there may be more than one source of leakage. Sometimes a leak may be hidden in the underground piping. If you believe this to be the case, call a plumber for advice. The meter can also provide further assistance in understanding your consumption. By request, Ridgewood Water will download a detailed log of your consumption for the past 96 days. Ridgewood Water needs physical access to the meter to perform this service. Please call our Customer Service department to schedule an appointment.
Summer Water Restrictions
Stage I will be in effect each year starting on June 1st and will continue through August 31st. If conditions warrant, irrigation will be prohibited on additional days of the week up to and including a total ban on irrigation.
Compliance with the initial restrictions will reduce the likelihood that more severe controls will be needed. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Stage I (Moderate) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. Irrigation using a hand-held hose shall be allowed at any time. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays except for the use of a hand held hose.
Stage II (Severe) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays except for the use of a hand held hose. Irrigation using a hand held hose shall be allowed at any time.
Stage III (Pending/Critical) – Mandatory restriction of irrigation to the use of a hand held hose on Tuesdays and Saturdays for properties with odd-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for properties with even-numbered addresses. No irrigation of any kind shall be allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Stage IV (Critical) – Irrigation is prohibited at any time. Exceptions for irrigation using a hand held hose may be allowed under conditions prescribed by the Village Manager of the Village of Ridgewood.
Ho Ho Kus NJ, One (1) arrest of an adult male was effected by a HoHoKus PD uniformed patrol officer following a routine motor vehicle stop on Route 17 southbound near Franklin Turnpike, Ridgewood on Saturday afternoon, 07/09.
A Ridgewood PD patrol officer and a K9 unit from the Bergen County Sheriff’s office assisted in the subsequent search of the vehicle involved in the stop. A second occupant of the vehicle, also an adult male, was not arrested, but transported to HoHoKus PD headquarters along with the arrested individual. Police on the scene did not say what the arrest was for.
Ridgewood NJ, Memorial Park at Van Neste Square is used for many events during the summer . Both the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and the Ridgewood Guild host events there . The Park is across from the Ridgewood bus station and on most days a Ridgewood police cruiser is parked near the Ridgewood avenue intersection.
Recently residents have reported that the park has become increasingly garbage strewn . Folks its up to every single one of us to keep Ridgewood a beautiful place .
Regarding the latest slate of devastating law enforcement events…
Let me start off by saying whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold up, folks. Take a deep breath and count to ten, like kids are taught to do. If you’re “feeling the heat”, then stick your head in a deep freezer until you cool off. Put your thinking caps on for a little while, and get ready to hear some calm, cool, and collected adult rational reflection right now, because I sure as heck am seeing intellect rarely employed today. By those of you who are speaking with maturity, thank you for furthering the conversation; for those of you flustering and blustering, have a seat and take a chill pill because you aren’t furthering the conversation…in fact, you’re emulating the murderous villains you’re against. Do I have your attention yet? I hope so.
Time for some civilized discussion. We are, after all, the most advanced and educated civilization on the planet today, correct? Right then…
1. I, as one person, do not speak for you. You, as one person, do not speak for me. A handful of murdering individuals do not speak for 320 million Americans. Logical consistency.
2. We all connect with the victims of these horrific acts, because these acts can happen to us and/or our loved ones anywhere at any moment. We also connect with the victims’ loved ones and friends, because we have all felt the loss of losing someone, expectedly or unexpectedly, no matter how prepared we think we are.
3. Emotions generally do not, and should not, govern policy, whether it is your individual policies toward the world or the federal government’s policies toward we the citizens. Why? Emotion overrides everything. Emotion blinds. Emotion is the lower order. Emotion is animalistic. Emotion is fickle. Remember, we all want cooler heads to prevail.
4. For these events’ perpetrators, the emotion of anger led to the irrationality of hate. Nearly all the posts I’ve viewed from my family and friends today have been deeply emotional negatively. Anger can easily gain control and override your system. Your anger, expressed via vitriol, more widely opens the door to hate. And we all know the slew of evil things hate leads to.
5. Your Facebook page is yours. Do with it as you see fit. Your FB autonomy is absolute. But when you un-friend people, shut-down dialogue, and attempt to shame disagreers, you place yourself in a mental bubble. Guess who else placed such self-imposition on themselves? Yeah, the horrible killers you rage against. They ignored everyone else, and followed an ignorant path that progressively led to such radicalization that they couldn’t contain such extremes anymore, so they took the lid off their pressure cookers by implementing death and destruction.
6. I know each and every one of you. Aside from familial obligation–which is a non-sequitur for me anyway, lol–I admire and respect each and every one of you, because you all enrich the tapestry of my own life with your own priceless uniqueness, in all your strengths and weaknesses. For you to close yourself off from the world–which includes me–in such a way, you only create and/or exacerbate impoverishment in our lives, decreasing the vividness and vitality of our tapestries. Why would you do that to anyone who does not deserve such treatment?
7. Disagreement is not a bad thing. Rational, substantive, civil discussion leads to self-fulfillment and fulfillment for others. Even if one does not come out on top in a debate, one is still strengthened by the experience through self-permission. Why? You do not have all the answers. No one, in and of himself, has all the answers. Together, we find more answers. We gain perspective. We solidify our principles and acquire new ones. We learn how to overcome our weaknesses and build our strengths.
8. Success is a journey. It is a process. It is in the pursuit that we find our life’s happiness and joys. You don’t find success in pumping out a kid or two, you find success and happiness in the pursuit of raising those children into mature and independent adults. Same idea when it comes to dealing with current events: what were the strengths and weaknesses that we need to build upon and overcome, respectively? You can’t do that through shunning the world and shirking your responsibilities as a productive member of a democratic society. That’s what the killers did. ….And how’d that turn out?
9. There is one universal answer that, ironically, eventually solves all of life’s problems. The one exception to the general rule. Results are not necessarily immediate, though some results are immediate. Results may vary in degree, but they all fall into the improvement category. The momentum itself carries you forward more easily with time. Progress is a guarantee. Self-barricading is incompatible. You ready? Love. Love as a noun. Love as a verb. Love is universal because it is the only emotion–from which all other positive ones flow forth, including sadness (for from whence does sadness derive but joy and happiness fulfilled through love)–that spurs the intellect, and therefore civilization, on to betterment. Love of knowledge, love of intangible wealth.
10. Think about it. The most powerful statement of all time, in all of human history: “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall NOT perish, but have everlasting LIFE.” Whether you are a Christian or not, religious or not, that is the most influential declarative statement of all time. It has determined the course of history like no other sentence ever has. And it’s based on Love. Love. Love manifested. Love manifested to overcome. Love manifested to overcome Hate. Love is found in every Faith. Love is found in every one of us. Love is in our hearts. Love is also in our minds and the energy that composes our souls. It is the impetus from which all intellect foundates.
Keep the faith. We all do it together, and our descendants can only….love us.
New Jersey is $26.52 per hour , New York is $26.69 , Connecticut is $24.72 , Pennsylvania is $18.27
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has released their yearly findings on what hourly wage an American needs to make in order to rent a two-bedroom unit in each state based off a forty hour work week, and compared to last year’s findings, this year is looking even more bleak.
With the cost of housing rising annually, Americans are struggling more than ever to keep a roof over their heads. As of last year, the demand for rental apartments in the US has reached the highest number since the 60’s, and still, many Americans, especially poor people and people of color, have not yet recovered from the economic recession. To make matters worse, millennials are now at the age where they would start buying homes, but more are choosing to rent, creating even more demand and further proving that millennials screw everything up. With demand skyrocketing and Americans struggling to make enough money to keep up, housing costs have inflated to the point where many can’t afford a place to live. Well, you know what they say.
The social media platform that many have come to rely on as one of their main news sources – and that media publishers have come to rely on as one of the top methods of reaching their audiences – has just thrown the news in the back seat.
Facebook published an announcement last week, on Wednesday, June 29, stating they planned to make a series of changes to how information appears in their newsfeed. Posts from the people you are friends with will appear first, and posts from news publishers has been pushed back.
Facebook stated: Our top priority is keeping you connected to the people, places and things you want to be connected to — starting with the people you are friends with on Facebook. That’s why if it’s from your friends, it’s in your feed, period — you just have to scroll down. To help make sure you don’t miss the friends and family posts you are likely to care about, we put those posts toward the top of your News Feed.
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association released a report Thursday indicating that the outmigration of some 2 million New Jersey residents cost the state approximately $18 billion in net adjusted gross income in the years between 2004 and 2013.
“The $18 billion we lost during the years we studied had a significant economic impact on the state,” NJBIA CEO and President Michele Siekerka said. “During that period, we lost $8.4 billion in household spending, $11.4 billion in economic output, 75,000 jobs and $4 billion in total lost labor income.”
The study found that the majority of New Jersey residents leaving the state are migrating to Pennsylvania. New York was the second-most-popular destination for those relocating from the Garden State, showcasing that, while people are leaving in search of lower taxes, they also want to maintain a relatively close proximity to family and friends.
“This pattern underscores New Jersey’s need to stay competitive with its neighbors and those other states vying for our residents and businesses,” Siekerka said.
And it’s not just retirees, either. According to the report, millennials, which it defined as those between the ages of 18 and 34, are leaving New Jersey in the highest numbers.
