Author: James

OWS 1year old today

Forget OWS : Nearly Twice as Many Young Adults Say They Would Rather Work on Wall Street Than Protest Against It

76 percent say the lack of job opportunities is shrinking the middle class, as young adult unemployment remains at 12.7 percent

Washington, DC – (9/17/12) – Generation Opportunity, the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States engaging and mobilizing young Americans (18-29 years old) on the important economic issues facing the nation, released new polling data today on Millennials on the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Since its launch in June of 2011, Generation Opportunity has amassed a following of over 4 million fans on Facebook and is actively organizing Millennials across the country through grassroots tactics, voter registration, and voter turnout efforts.

“Young adults have been negatively impacted by the poor economy, high unemployment, and the lack of jobs both in their daily lives and in their long-term career plans and dreams. Amidst their frustrations and disappointments, the overwhelming majority of Millennials view the poor economy and lack of leadership by elected officials as the true sources of their problems – not fellow Americans who work on Wall Street. Young Americans reject the cynicism and angry theatrics aimed at those who can create more full-time jobs; instead, they simply want positive solutions that grow the economy and create more opportunity for all Americans,” said Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Labor. “Young adults believe elected officials fail to represent their concerns and best interests, are clearly fed up with the status quo, and plan on making their voices heard in November.”

The ineffectiveness of Occupy Wall Street to capture the enthusiasm of or inspire activism among a wide number of young adults across America was documented by the Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP) at the end of last year. According to a December 2011 IOP study, just 2% of 18-29 year olds had participated in Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, and only 11% knew someone personally who participated in the effort (https://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/fall_poll_11_M_topline.pdf).

The lack of full-time jobs and economic opportunity due to the poor economy continue to impact young Americans on a daily basis, jeopardizing their careers and dreams. Earlier this month, Generation Opportunity released the non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) unemployment data for Millennials for August 2012. The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for August 2012 is 12.7 percent (NSA). The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for August 2012 is 22.4 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for August 2012 is 13.7 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for August 2012 is 12.6 percent (NSA). The declining labor participation rate has created an additional 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs. If the labor force participation rate were factored into the 18-29 youth unemployment calculation, the actual 18-29-unemployment rate would rise to 16.7 percent (NSA).

WHEN YOU MAKE ONE GREAT CHOICE EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMS TO FALL INTO PLACE

You have made great choices in life. You have worked hard, expected a great deal from yourself and achieved great things. All the pieces have fallen into place.

When you decide to put your home on the market, you need to make a great choice too. Because not all real estate companies and agents are the same.

Keller Williams was founded on the principles of trust and honesty. It means always putting our clients’ needs first, and having the integrity to do the right thing, every time.

It’s quite a legacy. One I’m proud to be a part of.

It’s reflected in my commitment to providing sellers with an uncompromising level of service. In my meticulous attention to detail. In my demand of the best from myself and for my clients.

I’d love the opportunity to be your next great choice. Making all the pieces fall into place.

HOW TO BLOW THE SHOFAR
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
By David Olivestone
https://www.ou.org/news/article/how_to_blow_the_shofar

Few people become really proficient at blowing the shofar. The Talmud (Shabbat 117b) refers to blowing the shofar as “chochmah ve-einah melachah”—a skill, rather than hard work—but mastering it does demand a lot of intensive practice.

If you’re serious about learning to blow the shofar and acting as a ba’al tekiah, it’s important that you select your shofar with great care. You need to find one that is right for you personally. For reasons which I imagine are purely commercial, stores charge more for a bigger shofar than a smaller one. But the size and appearance of the shofar should not be factors in your choice—the way the shofar feels and the way it sounds are what count.

Since the shofar has no reed, finger holes or valves such as you would find on other wind or brass instruments, the only control you have over the notes is how you use your lips and your tongue. So it’s important to find one that sits comfortably on your lips, as the shape of the mouthpieces varies greatly. One mouthpiece may be too round for you; the edges on another may feel too sharp.

To produce a note, first use your tongue to moisten the extreme right-hand corner of your lips, and place the shofar firmly against them in that spot. With the lips tightly closed, make a tiny hole in them where the shofar is, and then force air into it as if you were making a Bronx cheer (a rasping sound), but without actually producing such a rude noise. If you get it right, a bright and powerful note will emerge from the shofar. It’s not necessary to puff out your cheeks; breathe in and hold the breath in your chest, letting it out slowly to control the length of the note. Many ba’alei tekiah use two fingers to hold the shofar against their lips, which helps to keep the lips steady.

Most shofarot can produce two (or more) notes, a higher note and a lower one. The higher note requires more effort, but is far more attractive and impressive a sound. Squeeze your lips more tightly against the mouthpiece until you locate the note you want.

Try to blow without expelling too much saliva into the shofar. A wet shofar sounds hoarse; that’s why you often see a ba’al tekiah shaking the shofar or using long pipe cleaners to dry it out after each set of notes.

Once you have found a shofar that feels right and sounds good, keep blowing it for several minutes. This is not only to make sure that you are happy with your choice, but also because some shofarot do not have “staying power;” that is, they tend to lose strength after a few minutes.

It’s possible that your new shofar will still have the odor of the ram from which it comes; this will disappear in time. Some say to wash the shofar out with vinegar in order to get rid of the smell. In my experience, however, this just makes it smell like vinegar. Keep your shofar clean and dry, and it should last a lifetime.

The rest is practice, perfecting the notes and strengthening the muscles of the lips and the capacity of the lungs. And if you succeed in mastering the shofar and want to blow it on Rosh Hashanah, you will need to learn the halachic details regarding the length and sequence of the notes, either by studying them with your own rabbi, or by apprenticing yourself to an experienced ba’al tekiah.

As a ba’al tekiah, you will enjoy the fulfillment of a very special mitzvah as few others can. For me, at least, being in control of the shofar’s power is an extraordinary privilege and responsibility, and sounding it in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah is the high point of my year.

David Olivestone, National Director of Planning and Communications at the Orthodox Union, was a finalist in the 2005 Great Shofar Blast Off organized by the National Jewish Outreach Program. He has been the ba’al tekiah at Congregation Ohab Zedek in Manhattan for the past twenty years, and for ten years before that at Lincoln Square Synagogue, also in Manhattan.

https://www.ou.org/news/article/how_to_blow_the_shofar

Ridgewood Blog Founder PJ Blogger at the Philadelphia Constitution center 

CELEBRATING CONSTITUTION DAY
By: Rep. Scott Garrett
9/17/2012 05:20 AM

Perhaps most people aren’t even aware that Monday is Constitution Day or even what the day commemorates. A recent Washington Times/JZ Analytics poll demonstrated that a broad cross section of Americans do not have a strong understanding of the Constitution. This is a shame. Everybody celebrates the day that Americans declared their independence from Great Britain, but far fewer people are even familiar with the events, or the document, that launched us as a nation.

The story begins with an unlikely hero: a soft-spoken, studious politician from Virginia by the name of James Madison. Madison asked his friend, Thomas Jefferson, to send him hundreds of volumes on politics from France, so that he could begin a research project on ancient and modern confederacies.

Closeted away at Montpelier, his rural home in Virginia, Madison explored the virtues and, even more importantly, the vices of confederacies, both past and present. His purpose was to experiment with ways to improve upon older models, and his investigations bore more fruit than most research projects ever do. The exercise was never meant to create a federal government so powerful that it would stifle state governments or individual initiative. It was about striking a balance between national and state government, all the while ensuring it is always the citizens who are in charge.

When the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they made two decisions that would be crucial to their success: They elected George Washington as the president of the Convention, and they chose James Madison’s Virginia Plan as the starting point of all their debates.

Madison’s Plan certainly did not receive universal approval. And as these 55 men from twelve states debated how the United States should be governed, Madison’s suggestions would undergo numerous and significant changes. Large states would have to find common ground with small states; free states would have to compromise with slave states; and agricultural interests had to be reconciled to manufacturing interests.

At last, after three and a half months of wrangling, the Convention agreed on a final form of government. And on the last day of the Convention, September 17, 1787, nearly every member in attendance was willing to sign what would become, after its ratification, the Constitution of the United States of America.

When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his magnificent study of Democracy in America in the 1830s, he admitted that he was not as impressed with America’s Revolutionary War victory as Americans seemed to be. Three thousand miles of ocean had more to do with their triumph over the English, he thought, than military skill or valor.

Instead, what impressed Tocqueville was the Constitution that Americans had framed after the dust cleared. He declared that “it is a novelty in the history of society to see a great people turn a calm and scrutinizing eye upon itself”—to voluntarily adopt a Constitution that would safeguard liberty—“without having wrung a tear or a drop of blood from mankind.”

As a Frenchman, Tocqueville would have had in mind other revolutions that had led to far bloodier outcomes. And in our own time, it is a useful lesson to remember as we watch the revolutionary uprisings in other parts of the world: Once an oppressive tyrant has been overthrown, the hard work has only just begun.

Despite the challenges that lay before us, I believe our greatest days can be ahead of us if only we embrace our founding principles, resolve ourselves to go forward, and embody our great American promise.

So this September 17, the 225th since the signing of our great charter of liberty, be sure to celebrate those eminent Americans—such as George Washington and James Madison—who designed a Constitution that would “establish justice … and ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Their accomplishment is worth celebrating.

Mark Kriegel ,Wednesday, September 18th @ 7:00pm at Bookends
New York Times Bestselling Author, Mark Kreigel, will sign his new book: The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.
Books available Sept. 18th

Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change. Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.

Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.

While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.

Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726

www.artchickphotography.com

Reality TV bill would prevent N.J. towns from creating a ‘Situation’

While local companies throughout the state see a business boost when reality shows are filmed in their communities, Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (R-Jackson) today announced plans to introduce legislation that would allow municipalities to control the shows’ production.

“Life is more than ‘gym, tanning and laundry’ to communities hosting reality TV shows,” Dancer said in a statement. “The reality is these shows may cost taxpayers money by requiring additional services when cameras are rolling in town and town leaders should have the option to license and regulate if deemed necessary.”  (Eder, NJBIZ)

https://www.njbiz.com/article/20120914/NJBIZ01/120919886/Reality-TV-bill-would-prevent-NJ-towns-from-creating-a-%27Situation%27

Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit : NJ job program criticized

New Jersey’s signature tax-incentive program, designed to cluster economic growth around transit hubs, has not lived up to its promise and may contribute to “job sprawl,” researchers for the non-profit center Good Jobs First said in a report issued last week.

Researchers looked into how states’ economic-development incentives have fared in targeting job growth, focusing on programs run by California, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey.

They described New Jersey’s 2008 Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit as “noteworthy” nationwide for having a “singular focus on providing incentives to businesses making large investments accessible by transit.” But, citing what they said were a lack of safeguards in the original program rules and newly weakened rules to divert some benefits to suburban areas rather than high-traffic urban centers, the report’s authors concluded that the changes have “perverted the program so badly that it can no longer be considered smarter economic development policy.”  (Fletcher, The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/169993746_NJ_job_program_criticized.html

Libyan president: ‘No doubt’ attack ‘preplanned’
By KEVIN CIRILLI | 9/16/12 9:16 AM EDT

Libya President Mohamed Yousef El-Magariaf said Sunday that 50 arrests have been made in connection with last week’s “preplanned” attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.

“The way these perpetrators acted and moved — I think we, and they’re choosing the specific date for this so-called demonstration, I think we have no, this leaves us with no doubt that this was pre-planned, determined,” Magariaf said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“And you believe that this was the work of Al Qaeda, and you believe that it was led by foreigners. Is that what you’re telling us?” CBS host Bob Schieffer asked.

“It was planned, definitely. It was planned by foreigners, by people who entered the country a few months ago. And they were planning this criminal act since their arrival,” Magariaf said.

https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/09/libyan-president-no-doubt-consulate-attack-preplanned-135664.html

More details emerge on U.S. ambassador’s last moments

By Arwa Damon, CNN
updated 10:21 AM EDT, Sun September 16, 2012

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) — Three days before the deadly assault on the United States consulate in Libya, a local security official says he met with American diplomats in the city and warned them about deteriorating security.

Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade, told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and security.

He said they told the diplomats that the security situation wasn’t good for international business.
“The situation is frightening, it scares us,” Mabrouk said they told the U.S. officials. He did not say how they responded.

https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/world/meast/libya-diplomats-warning/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Ken Smith Motors in Ridgewood closes doors

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012, 3:49 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ken Smith Motors, the family-owned new and used car dealership on Franklin Avenue, has closed after more than six decades of business in Ridgewood.

Customers seeking service and other business are being directed to All American Ford Lincoln on Route 17 in Paramus.

Operations at Ken Smith ceased last Friday following the retirement of longtime owner Michael Smith, according to an All American associate who spoke with The Ridgewood News on Thursday morning.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/169669686_Ken_Smith_Motors_in_Ridgewood_closes_doors.html