Author: James

Lonegan: Cory Booker Needs to Come Clean

“If Cory Booker is elected, California will have a third senator, because Booker will be beholden to the Silicon Valley billionaires who funded his ‘start-up’ business. Additionally, campaign donations were being raised at the same time as funding for Cory Booker’s business. This is sketchy, to say the least.”

NEW YORK, NY – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan took his Exposing Booker Tour to the Wall Street offices of Cory Booker’s Waywire company.

The Waywire scandal was exposed on the front page of the New York Times Wednesday, revealing that Mayor Booker has received over $1.5 million in angel financing from his major Silicon Valley supporters. Booker initially failed to reveal his single largest asset, a gift from Silicon Valley moguls, and was forced to amend his financial disclosure only days before the primary.

Mayor Lonegan pointed out that Cory Booker opted to put his newfound business in New York City, not in his city of Newark. His motives for this are unclear; he either has no confidence in Newark as a place to start a business, did not receive a corporate welfare subsidy from taxpayers, or was doing everything possible to keep his business out of the public eye.

Mayor Lonegan explained that in the years to come there will be significant votes in the U.S. Senate about the use of data and individual privacy. Companies like Google and Facebook, the world’s largest collectors of data and communications information, will be impacted by these votes in Congress.

“Given how much money Booker has received from Silicon Valley, will he be beholden to their interests?” Lonegan asked.

Lonegan said, “If Cory Booker is elected, California will have a third senator, because Booker will be beholden to the Silicon Valley billionaires who funded his ‘start-up’ business. Additionally, Campaign donations were being raised at the same time as funding for Cory Booker’s business. This is sketchy, to say the least.”

The 15-year-old son of CNN president, Jeff Zucker, was an advisory board member at Waywire. He resigned Wednesday, the day of the New York Times report.

Lonegan served as Bogota Mayor for twelve years, winning three times in a town that gave Barack Obama 67.5 percent of the vote in 2012. He served for seven years as state director of Americans for Prosperity New Jersey, where he helped defeat liberal attempts to expand big government. Steve Lonegan is the conservative Republican candidate in the New Jersey special election for the United States Senate. Lonegan stands firmly on the bedrock Conservative values of small government, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty.

photo by ArtChick

Ridgewood Boy Scouts help restore Dunham Trail
Friday, August 9, 2013
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Save a handful of neighborhood cleanups, the natural landscape that marked the Dunham Trail went relatively undisturbed for many years until Superstorm Sandy ravaged much of the topography last fall. The storm uprooted trees and displaced bushes, leaving much of the quarter-mile stretch of land nearly impassable.

Troop 5 members helped Connor Pechko (second from left) install a new sign at the Dunham Trail.Members of the Ridgewood Wildscape Association pitched in to help Connor Pechko during his Eagle Scout project this spring.The Tarleton Landscaping company supplied heavy machinery to assist Ridgewood resident Connor Pechko during his Eagle Scout project.Other scouts in Troop 5 as well as many of Connor Pechko’s family members and friends worked on the project. Connor Pechko created and installed two new signs at the Dunham Trail this spring.

The destruction was a shocker to those who frequented the quaint trail, which runs parallel to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook between the residential neighborhoods of Grove Street and Spring Avenue. For many, especially youngsters, the path was an undisturbed and picturesque route leading to Ridgewood High School, while others simply sought the trail’s tranquility as a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community/218944491_Ridgewood_Boy_Scouts_help_restore_Dunham_Trail.html#sthash.s4HMWiZo.dpuf

PSE&G delays utility work scheduled for today
August 9, 2013
the of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewopod NJ,  The Bergen Record is reporting that work crews from PSE&G. will not resume operations in Ridgewood today.

On Wednesday night, a representative from PSE&G  told the village council the installation of newer, much larger electric poles along Hope Street and Spring Avenue would resume today.

But According to the Bergen Record PSE&G representatives agreed not to resume work and there is no word when the utility will restart the work .(https://www.northjersey.com/news/218947681_Ridgewood_delaying_utility_work_scheduled_for_today.html#sthash.xSHSMAgg.dpuf ) Or whether the utilities action came from public pressure or just bad weather conditions .

The over sized poles have raised eyebrows and brought on numerous complaints from neighbors . A local group call  I Care was formed to fight the installation .

Its not just the size of the poles but the fact that they are designed carry  up to 69,000 volts of electricity, leaving residents concerns about long therm health effects

Reader says time to find some independent thinkers for Village Council

PLEASE start asking around town for independent thinkers with no ax to grind to consider running for council in the spring. Council Election Day (yes, another one) is only 9 months away.

If they don’t, and if Mr. Riche and/or Ms. Walsh (whose terms will expire next year) choose not to run again (who could blame them?), the mayor will find one or two more cronies to do his bidding. Even if they do run, the White Horse machine might get others elected in their place.

Then he’d have a 4-0 or 5-0 “majority” for ANYTHING HE WANTED through at least mid-2016, with a hand-selected Village Manager to do his bidding. How does that sound?

Yeah, scary. Find people to run who aren’t tied to special interests. Pleeeeze.

Reader says Once again we have Aronsohn, Pucciarelli & Hauck voting in a block

Once again we have Aronsohn, Pucciarelli & Hauck voting in a block. I find this kind of cronyism to be disturbing since each of these 3 has a personal agenda that seems to be guaranteed support by a majority in the Council. Probably legal, but definitely troubling.

It will be interesting to see what happens if the Valley expansion comes to a Council vote. Hauck continues to refuse to recuse herself and Aronsohn is asking tough questions at the Planning Board hearings. Could this be the end of the pre-packaged majority or is our Mayor just posturing?

file photo Lineman

Reader says if you buy on a quiet, tree-lined street, it is reasonable to expect that telephone poles will not double in height

I really feel sorry for the residents. If you buy a house near a hospital, you can expect ambulance sirens nearby. If you buy near train tracks, you can expect to have noise and vibrations. But if you buy on a quiet, tree-lined street, it is reasonable to expect that telephone poles will not double in height and exceed the height of the trees.

However, the PSEG people last night made a lot of sense too. Their description of how that route came to be seemed reasonable. Their explanation of why we need more power also seemed to make sense.

It is not an easy dilemma to resolve. Seems that PSEG is within their rights to move forward, having already been delayed for a month. I think any kind of lawsuit from Ridgewood will be at great expense and with no yield…….except it could make the Mayor look good.

Pucciarelli was great last night. His comments were clearly researched, thoughtful, and sensible. Aronsohn was more or less grandstanding and getting applause, but not offering anything to the conversation.

The people from the neighborhood were awesome, it really is great to see how people can come together as they have. Their presentations were great. Sadly, I do not think they will get their way.

NFL Plans To Crack Down On Excessive Celebrations This Season
August 7, 2013 1:06 PM

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — Beware the military salute!

The National Football League will reportedly be cracking down on excessive celebrations and taunting this upcoming season.

Pro Football Talk reports that that referees working training camps have been warning players about celebrating too much.

The taunting rule is nothing new in the NFL, but what some critics have dubbed the “No Fun League,” officials will now go a step further to enforce the rule.

https://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/08/07/nfl-plans-to-crack-down-on-excessive-celebrations-this-season/

IRS agent: Tax agency is still targeting Tea Party groups
By PAUL BEDARD | AUGUST 8, 2013 AT 5:20 PM

In a remarkable admission that is likely to rock the Internal Revenue Service again, testimony released Thursday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp reveals that an agent involved in reviewing tax exempt applications from conservative groups told a committee investigator that the agency is still targeting Tea Party groups, three months after the IRS scandal erupted..

In closed door testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee, the unidentified IRS agent said requests for special tax status from Tea Party groups is being forced into a special “secondary screening” because the agency has yet to come up with new guidance on how to judge the tax status of the groups.

In a transcript from the committee provided to Secrets, a Ways & Means investigator asked: “If you saw — I am asking this currently, if today if a Tea Party case, a group — a case from a Tea Party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?”

https://washingtonexaminer.com/irs-agent-tax-agency-is-still-targeting-tea-party-groups/article/2534044

More Dems than Republicans, 53% to 27%, say American Dream is dead

By PAUL BEDARD | AUGUST 8, 2013 AT 10:40 AM

The dream is gone for Democrats, the American Dream that is.

In a new YouGov poll, 53 percent of Democrats say that the American dream is no longer achievable. By comparison, 55 percent of Republicans say the dream is still achievable. By the same percentage, 27 percent, Republicans think the dream is not achievable and Democrats do think it is.

But when combined in a single question about the American Dream, the poll finds that the dream is slipping away in the minds of most Americans.

https://washingtonexaminer.com/more-dems-than-republicans-53-27-say-american-dream-is-dead/article/2534019

Fox News Poll: 82 percent say Congress doesn’t deserve August recess
By Dana Blanton
Published August 07, 2013
FoxNews.com

Members of Congress started a five-week summer recess on Monday that most Americans don’t think they deserve.

A new Fox News national poll finds 82 percent of voters think Congress hasn’t worked hard enough to take the month of August off. Just 14 percent think lawmakers deserve the break (some might joke this group must be their friends and family).

And we’ve finally found an issue everyone can agree on: large majorities of independents (87 percent), Republicans (82 percent) and Democrats (80 percent) say Congress shouldn’t get August off.

Voters are more approving of President Obama taking a week’s vacation later this month, yet views are still mixed: 48 percent think he’s worked hard enough to deserve the break, while 48 percent disagree.

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/07/fox-news-poll-82-percent-say-congress-doesnt-deserve-august-recess/?#ixzz2bP56bq8U

Obamacare: Taking Away Americans’ Health Coverage
Chris Jacobs
August 6, 2013 at 11:52 am

In Indianapolis, married couple Rod Coons and Florence Peace are satisfied with their current health insurance coverage:

I’d prefer to stay with our current plan because it meets our needs.

Unfortunately, that’s not possible—because Obamacare’s government bureaucrats are forcing Coons and Peace off their health plan. As Kaiser Health News notes this morning, this couple’s current insurance won’t qualify as “government-approved” coverage under Obamacare, meaning they will have to find different coverage.

Coons knows that his current plan has a $10,000 deductible—and he’s comfortable with that fact. He says, “I’m only really interested in catastrophic coverage” in the event of a medical emergency like a heart attack. But Washington bureaucrats who think they know better will force him to change health insurance plans to meet Obamacare’s mandate to purchase insurance.

Sadly, many Americans find themselves in the same position. Kaiser Health News reports on the widespread outrage one online broker received when telling clients that their insurance does not meet Obamacare’s standards:

When online health insurance vendor ehealthinsurance.com began notifying people in non-grandfathered plans that they would have to change policies next January, they got so many calls that they shut down the planned week-long email campaign after one day. “The people that received the email were not happy at all,” says Carrie McLean, the website’s director of customer care. “They said, ‘What are you talking about? I thought I was already on an [Obamacare] plan.’”

And while Obamacare’s supporters claim the law will reduce costs, the additional mandated benefits included in the new “government-approved” insurance policies will actually raise overall health spending. The Congressional Budget Office concluded that for individuals buying health insurance on their own, the law’s mandates would lead to an “induced increase” in health spending, due to an “increase in enrollees’ use of medical care resulting from lower cost-sharing.” In other words, by increasing subsidies for health care, Obamacare will raise—not lower—both insurance premiums and overall health spending.

Meanwhile, Rod Coons is left to ponder what will happen when he loses his existing health coverage:

I’m happy with where I’m at right now, but it doesn’t look like that’s where I’m going to be at in the future.

Many Americans share his concerns about the future of their health coverage. It’s why Congress should refuse to spend a single dime implementing Obamacare.

IRS manual detailed DEA’s use of hidden intel evidence
By John Shiffman and David Ingram

WASHINGTON | Wed Aug 7, 2013 11:29pm BST

(Reuters) – Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years.

The practice of recreating the investigative trail, highly criticized by former prosecutors and defence lawyers after Reuters reported it this week, is now under review by the Justice Department. Two high-profile Republicans have also raised questions about the procedure.

A 350-word entry in the Internal Revenue Manual instructed agents of the U.S. tax agency to omit any reference to tips supplied by the DEA’s Special Operations Division, especially from affidavits, court proceedings or investigative files. The entry was published and posted online in 2005 and 2006, and was removed in early 2007. The IRS is among two dozen arms of the government working with the Special Operations Division, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/07/uk-dea-irs-idUKBRE9761B620130807

Whats Happening at the Ridgewood Public Library

Geeky Tuesday: Egg Drop Challenge Tuesday, August 13 @ 4:00 pm
Grades 6 – 12 Can you create a container that will allow a raw egg to survive a 1-story fall?

Reader’s Choice Book Group Rome by Robert Hughes Friday, August 16 at 1:00 pm
Led by Ginny Hyman

Women & Finance All welcome. Monday, August 19 @ 7pm
Kathleen Entwistle educates and enlightens women on their financial picture, goals and strategies.Kathleen Entwistle, Wealth Advisor, UBS Financial Services

The Ridgewood Public Library is dedicated to providing information, education, culture and inspiration. We encourage our community to pursue life long learning and the enjoyment of books, programs and resources in a variety of formats. We strive to offer the best possible library materials, staff, technology and facility, with ready and equal access to residents of all ages.

125 N. Maple Ave.
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Today 9:00 am – 9:00 pm