Author: James

Washington looks to sell out American People again with Global Arms Trade Treaty
NJ Tea Party Coalition

On July 27th, Barack Hussein Obama will attend a UN conference, where he will sign the global Arms Trade Treaty (ODA/57-2012/ATT)

The stated objective of this Treaty is to stop the proliferation of small arms (not assault weapons, etc.) throughout the world. It will, however, have the capacity to legislate gun control in the United States and therefore to overturn our Second Amendment. The Canadians have tried to include language that protected the rights to bear firearms for recreational purposes. That language is not present. Today Canada and Israel are among the few countries advocating for lawful public ownership and recreational use of firearms. The U.S. is not one of them.

History of the Arms Trade Treaty

The negotiations for this Treaty began in 2006, when the U.S., under President George Bush, voted against the resolution. The Obama administration (including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) reversed that vote.

The nations working on this Treaty say they want to promote transparency (where have I heard that word used before?) and accountability in the arms trade, and prevent international transfers of arms that contribute to serious human rights violations (like Fast and Furious?) armed conflict, U.N. sanctions violations , organized crime and terrorist acts. I can’t help but wonder if this includes TEA Party members. Have they not been labeled as thugs and terrorists by Nancy Pelosi and Janet Napolitano, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and others?

Effect on the US

How will it affect us? The U.N. will have the authority to tell member nations to adopt policies to facilitate regulations and flow across borders within their own control, including but not limited to registration and bans of arms and guns.

Just as a reminder – our Second Amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Christie delays decisions on health-care law

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he is still deciding whether his state will implement two provisions of the national health-care law championed by President Barack Obama.

Christie said plans to make up his mind on authorizing state-run exchanges where people can buy health insurance and an expansion of Medicaid by the beginning of 2013. But his wait-and-see approach already separates him from some other prominent Republican governors, including Rick Perry of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida, who have already declared their intention to turn down new federal funds that would help insure more people under Medicaid.

Governors gained the flexibility late last month when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision in the health-care law that would have stripped states of all their federal Medicaid funding if they didn’t agree to the expansion. Instead, the court ruled that the federal government could only deny states new funding.  (Grossman, The Wall Street Journal)

https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/07/09/christie-delays-decisions-on-health-care-law/?KEYWORDS=jersey

Gov. Chris Christie: ‘Obamacare’ Medicaid penalty ‘extortion’

In a policy speech today at the Brookings Institution, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he was pleased that the Supreme Court ended the “extortion” of states under the “Obamacare” Medicaid penalty, saying that it was still extortion “even when done by the president of the United States.”

Responding to a question, Christie said, “First of all, I was glad that the Supreme Court ruled that extortion is still illegal in America — and that’s a relief because Obamacare on Medicaid to the states was extortion.”

“It essentially said, ‘You expand your program to where we tell you, and if you don’t, we’re taking the rest of your money away.’ Well, that’s extortion,” Christie said.   (McDuffee, The Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/think-tanked/post/gov-chris-christie-obamacare-medicaid-penalty-is-extortion/2012/07/09/gJQAYYSyYW_blog.html

2012 Kasschau Shell Schedule – Tuesdays and Thursdays – Free Concerts Under the Stars!

All concerts begin at 8:30PM at the Kasschau Band Shell (behing the Ridgewood Public Library). All programs are free. Please bring a chair or blanket. Please do NOT cross over the baseball field if a game is in progress.

Ridgewood Guild Movie Night – Jaws

Memorial Park at Van Neste Square – E. Ridgewood Avenue
Pack a picnic basket, throw down a blanket, unfold a beach chair and enjoy a “Movie in the Park” Movie will start after dark, about 9PM. Come enjoy this free film in the park!

Graydon Pool – Perfect Place to Cool Off – Open for the Summer Season – Come and Enjoy!

The Graydon Pool 2012 Season is now underway. The Pool is open 10:00 AM to 7:30PM weekdays and weekends. Bring your family and enjoy!

FARMER’S MARKET NOW OPEN for 2012 SEASON

Ridgewood Farmer’s Market is open Sundays, June 24 through October 28th at the Ridgewood Train Station West Side Parking Lot from 9AM to 3PM. Come and enjoy Jersey Fresh Produce and more!

We all know about creepy stalkers in Ridgewood 
GOP unnerved by Democrats’ candid camera techniques
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 7/9/12 4:37 AM EDT

Politicians recognize they give up a degree of privacy when they run for office.

But Democrats are testing the outer limits of that understanding with a practice that raises questions about when campaign tracking becomes something more like stalking.

While most serious campaigns on both sides use campaign trackers — staffers whose job is to record on video every public appearance and statement by an opponent — House Democrats are taking it to another level. They’re now recording video of the homes of GOP congressmen and candidates and posting the raw footage on the Internet for all to see.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78217.html#ixzz20AARlMAe

Texas Gov. Rick Perry “I will not be party to socializing health care and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution “

Perry: Texas won’t expand Medicaid
By Paige Winfield Cunningham

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Monday his state won’t expand Medicaid or set up an insurance exchange, joining a growing number of Republican governors who are rejecting two key parts of President Obama’s health care law.

“I will not be party to socializing health care and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government,” Mr. Perry said.

He joins more than half-dozen GOP governors who have already said they won’t increase the size of their Medicaid programs to cover Americans up to 133 percent of the poverty level, after the Supreme Court upheld most of the law last month but said states could opt out of the Medicaid expansion.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/jul/9/rick-perry-texas-wont-expand-medicaid/

In Maryland, Higher Taxes Chase Out Rich: Study
Published: Monday, 9 Jul 2012 | 11:52 AM ET Text Size
By: Robert Frank
CNBC Reporter & Editor

A new report says wealthy Maryland residents may be moving out due to recent tax hikes – a finding that is sure to escalate the battle over taxing the American rich.

The study, by the anti-tax group Change Maryland, says that a net 31,000 residents left the state between 2007 and 2010, the tenure of a “millionaire’s tax” pushed through by Gov. Martin O’Malley. The tax, which expired in 2010, in imposed a rate of 6.25 percent on incomes of more than $1 million a year.

The Change Maryland study found that the tax cost Maryland $1.7 billion in lost tax revenues. A county-by-county analysis by Change Maryland also found that the state’s wealthiest counties also had some of the largest population outflows.

In total, Maryland has added 24 new taxes or fees in recent years, Change Maryland says. Florida, which has no income-tax, has been a large recipient of Maryland’s exiled wealthy.

“Maryland has reached the point of diminishing returns. We’re taxing people too much and people are voting with their feet,” said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan. “Until we change our focus from tax increases to increasing the tax base, more people are simply going to leave, leading to a downward spiral of raising revenues on fewer citizens.”

https://www.cnbc.com/id/48120446

Romney’s big problem is that he grew up in another America

It’s bully versus nerd

By MICHAEL GOODWIN
Last Updated: 4:44 AM, July 8, 2012

Mitt Romney is a good man. He’s smart, successful and there’s not a hint of scandal in his 65 years. He’s boring and a little distant, but those aren’t the flaws that could prove fatal.

Romney’s big problem is that he grew up in another America. He was raised to believe there is a clear standard for adult conduct, that even politics has rules and that it is the duty of a president to unite and lead the nation through its economic crisis.

Timing could be his great misfortune. Fate has given him a demoralized electorate that is growing distant from that old America and an opponent who spouts its verities, but actually believes in none of them.

Barack Obama believes that politics is a knife fight, and the only rule is that he must win. His conduct reflects the unholy mix of a messiah complex with the muscle of The Chicago Way. His goal, he tells us, is to “transform” America, not fix it.

This culture clash explains a presidential campaign operating in parallel universes. Romney is making a broad pitch to the nation as a whole, assuming jobs, the debt, deficit and a strong military are what people care about because they should.

Obama knows that’s no longer true for a big slice of the country. He gives lip service to those issues, but they concern him only to the extent they could be his undoing. His aim is to buy four more years by using the power of incumbency to distribute goodies that will insulate his supporters from immediate pain. In exchange, they’ll give him time to turn the nation into a European welfare state, with an imperial president uber alles.

Read more: https://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/it_bully_versus_nerd_Cia5aa4SfVTR7ASpBFxDbO#ixzz209Z6T8ie

The Cooperative Nursery School of the Ridgewood United Methodist Church has open enrollment for its 2012-2013 school year.

The Cooperative Nursery School of the Ridgewood United Methodist Church has open enrollment for its 2012-2013 school year.  We have spaces available in various classes, ranging from Mommy and Me starting at 18 months, up to our Kindergarten Enrichment program.  Please visit us on the web at www.ridgewoodcoop.org. A registration form may be down loaded from our home page.  You can also call the school for more information at 201-447-6232.

Hope and Change : Majority feel Obama has changed country for worse
By Sheldon Alberts – 07/09/12 05:00 AM ET

Two-thirds of likely voters say President Obama has kept his 2008 campaign promise to change America — but it’s changed for the worse, according to a sizable majority.

A new poll for The Hill found 56 percent of likely voters believe Obama’s first term has transformed the nation in a negative way, compared to 35 percent who believe the country has changed for the better under his leadership.

The results signal broad voter unease with the direction the nation has taken under Obama’s leadership and present a major challenge for the incumbent Democrat as he seeks reelection this fall.

https://thehill.com/polls/236627-hill-poll-majority-feel-obama-has-changed-country-for-worse

League of Municipalities files motion to protect affordable housing dollars

The New Jersey State League of Municipalities today filed a brief as amicus curiae in an emergent motion to prevent the state from seizing up to $200 million in money municipalities had set aside to provide affordable housing.

The state could take the money as early as July 17.

Municipalities are permitted to impose and collect fees from developers of residential property.  Those fees are deposited into an affordable housing trust fund.  A municipality must commit to spend those funds by July 17, or the state has threatened to seize them. However, the State has consistently refused to define “commit to spend,” leaving municipalities in the dark as to what is expected of them.  (Staff, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/58388/league-municipalities-files-motion-protect-affordable-housing-dollars