The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Sarah Knapton, science editor
16 JANUARY 2017 • 7:45AM
Blue Monday could be most depressing ever because of celebrity deaths, anxiety over Brexit, and fears about a Donald Trump presidency in the US, the expert who coined the phrase has warned.
In 2005 Dr Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, came up with a light-hearted formula for predicting the gloomiest day of the year based on factors including weather, debts, time since Christmas and motivation.
By Richard Johnson
January 13, 2017 | 4:02pm
One proposal on dealing with the media that was pitched to President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team calls for drug testing the White House press corps.
Trump’s attacks on the mainstream media were a cornerstone of his campaign and last week he called BuzzFeed a “failing pile of garbage,” but forcing reporters to undergo random drug tests would provoke a media meltdown.
The pee-in-a-cup proposal (yellow journalism indeed) was one of 13 ideas one candidate for White House press secretary wrote in November in a confidential memo to members of the Presidential Transition Team’s Executive Committee.
By Noah Barkin
DAVOS, Switzerland – The global economy is in better shape than it’s been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased.
And yet, as political leaders, CEOs and top bankers make their annual trek up the Swiss Alps to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the mood is anything but celebratory.
Beneath the veneer of optimism over the economic outlook lurks acute anxiety about an increasingly toxic political climate and a deep sense of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on the final day of the forum.
Last year, the consensus here was that Trump had no chance of being elected. His victory, less than half a year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, was a slap at the principles that elites in Davos have long held dear, from globalization and free trade to multilateralism.
Trump is the poster child for a new strain of populism that is spreading across the developed world and threatening the post-war liberal democratic order. With elections looming in the Netherlands, France, Germany, and possibly Italy, this year, the nervousness among Davos attendees is palpable.
“Regardless of how you view Trump and his positions, his election has led to a deep, deep sense of uncertainty and that will cast a long shadow over Davos,” said Jean-Marie Guehenno, CEO of International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution think-tank.
Moises Naim of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was even more blunt: “There is a consensus that something huge is going on, global and in many respects unprecedented. But we don’t know what the causes are, nor how to deal with it.”
The titles of the discussion panels at the WEF, which runs from Jan. 17-20, evoke the unsettling new landscape. Among them are “Squeezed and Angry: How to Fix the Middle Class Crisis”, “Politics of Fear or Rebellion of the Forgotten?”, “Tolerance at the Tipping Point?” and “The Post-EU Era”.
The list of leaders attending this year is also telling. The star attraction will be Xi Jinping, the first Chinese president ever to attend Davos. His presence is being seen as a sign of Beijing’s growing weight in the world at a time when Trump is promising a more insular, “America first” approach and Europe is pre-occupied with its own troubles, from Brexit to terrorism.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has the thorny task of taking her country out of the EU, will also be there. But Germany’s Angela Merkel, a Davos regular whose reputation for steady, principled leadership would have fit well with the WEF’s main theme of “Responsive and Responsible Leadership”, will not.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-preview-idUSKBN14Z07V?il=0
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON JANUARY 13, 2017
PANAMA CITY: “Obama has screwed all Cubans,” Yadiel Cruz, a Cuban in Panama bitterly told Agence France-Presse on Thursday upon learning the US president has suddenly made it tougher for migrants like him to get into America.
The 33-year-old summed up what many compatriots were feeling as they digested the news in a Catholic shelter in Panama’s capital, a waypoint on their overland trek to the United States.
But, he declared, “for me, I’m not going back.”
Around him, dozens of other Cubans expressed sadness or anger.
Much of the fury was directed personally at US President Barack Obama for announcing that he has scrapped, with immediate effect, a 1995 policy that had given near-automatic entry to the US to Cubans who set foot on American soil, regardless of their visa status.
Now, like those who attempted to cross by water, they could face deportation back to Cuba unless they convince US officials they were afraid of being persecuted or had valid humanitarian reasons to be let in.
The move, made just days before Obama leaves office and hands the reins over to Donald Trump, known for his anti-immigration stance, rattled nerves, sparked frustration and evoked tears here.
https://www.manilatimes.net/obama-screwed-us-angry-cuban-migrants-say/306712/
BY DAVID LIGHTMAN
dlightman@mcclatchydc.com
WASHINGTON
Barack Obama promised hope and change when he became the nation’s 44th president eight years ago. He delivered on the change, but leaves a nation still struggling for hope.
He departs office after leading the United States out of its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and as the country enjoys its most robust economy in years.
His policies helped revive the auto industry, clamp down on financial industry abuses and provide health insurance coverage to millions. And his very ascension to the White House “sent a strong signal about America as the land of opportunity,” said former South Carolina Gov. James Hodges, a Democrat.
Yet Obama leaves not with a country united and eager for what comes next, but one divided between rural and urban, left and right, lower-skilled workers and the more educated. Huge numbers of people are not confident about their financial futures. They’re deeply concerned about whether the government can keep them safe. Overwhelming numbers of Republicans continue to dismiss Obama as too liberal and out of touch.
The Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump see Obamacare as emblematic of much that’s gone wrong, a costly big-government disaster spawning higher premiums and less quality care.
Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/article126203564.html#storylink=cpy
January 13,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, like many of you we have been concerned over the State of New Jersey’s sustainability . The tax base in New Jersey has been under precipitous decline since Jon Corzine. Soon there will be no one here left to pay all the taxes .
In 2017, New Jersey voters will elect a new governor to succeed Chris Christie. So far many of the potentials are same old same old from ,Murphy (Corzine2.0) to our Lt .Gov.
One of the people vying for the Republican Joe Rullo you can find him on Facebook ; Rullo for Governor 2017. He is running a very Trump inspired unorthodox campaign relying heavily on social media .
Basically we went to his website and let him speak for himself ; “As Governor I will reduce property taxes, repeal the $.23 gas tax, dissolve the transportation SLUSH fund, Veto all tax increases, cut billions in political earmarked jobs and contracts, eliminate state income taxes on pensions for retirees and add 1 billion in new revenue sources to further lower taxes. I Will dissolve the Transportation Trust Fund and consolidate all highway authorities eliminating redundant high level management positions, eliminate high cost earmark & specialty contracts tied to contributors.. It will produce millions in savings with shared services and purchases.
I will eliminate tolls and repeal the gas tax with the savings from the new efficient transparent highway entity. I will also eliminate 1.3 billion in pension fees to NYC politically connected brokerage houses and replace with licensed brokers in the state investors division to pay towards pension payment.
Superintendents and business administrators need to be reduced drastically. Instead of having one superintendent and business administrator per school district, we need to cut the number to one per county. By consolidating superintendents & business administrators, we can save $50 million per year by eliminating superintendents alone. And will work to also eliminate municipal tax assessors to one per county. I will fire hundreds of high-salary patronage jobs like indicted Port Authority’s David Wildstein, as an example, saving hundreds of millions of dollars to cut taxes.
Second Amendment Stance
First – I will appoint 2A justices. Governor Christie just appointed a liberal Democrat. Silence from everyone?
Second. I will elect Republicans to control both houses instead of running for President.
Third. I will appoint Pro 2A/ Carry Conceal NJ AG for the obvious reasons.
Fourth. I will exhaust executive process and test courts. And like I have more than proven will work with expert 2A resources to reach the goal of Carry Conceal without justifiable need in NJ. Most importantly, I will present the argument of the change in times with domestic terrorist, shooters, and gangs all carrying illegally regardless of the law – leaving the law abiding sitting ducks.
Veterans
I want to make NJ the capital of where veterans can count on love, respect, and the care a hero deserves. I want NJ to be the model of how veterans should be treated.
As Governor I pledge:
To fight to eliminate state income taxes on all veterans pension regardless of age.
Transition NJ hospitals to accept VA health benefits.
Hire unemployed veterans to protect NJ against terrorist & domestic shooters.
Create a cabinet position, “No Veteran Left Behind”.
Our US Senator Booker visits prisons to advocate for cheaper phone calls for prisoners, but has not visited a NJ VA hospital. I will fight for the heroes who gave us our happiness and freedom.
Education:
Since the start of No Child Left Behind and continued under Race to the Top, NJ parents and students have been saddled with the Common Core Standards. Parents feel like they can’t help their children with their homework because it is something they have never learned before and the children are left floundering in schools with too many children and not enough teachers to explain things to them. The State then decided to force the PARCC (Partnership for Readiness for College and Careers) test on our children. This has resulted in schools and teachers focusing their teaching efforts, not on learning, but on test results. This is wrong and only hurts our children who deserve a comprehensive learning program not a regimen of tests.
As Governor I will end PARCC testing completely and direct the Department of Education to draw up new, independent education standards that will return NJ to the top of the best educated Students in the Country.
Students come out of High School and don’t know how to balance a checkbook, write a resume or know anything about personal credit. Common Core needs to become Common Sense. Teachers need to be allowed to teach and not recite facts mandated from Washington, or some Corporation making money from our tax dollars. We need to provide better opportunities for students who decide to enter the workforce directly from high school with expanded vocational schools. The future of New Jersey depends on it!
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration destroyed the Landscaping industry for legal businesses following the laws, and is just as devastating to NJ jobs. It’s difficult to compete with a business not paying payroll taxes, employee comp, and not following the same rules. All the jobs lost are directly proportional to NJ unemployment. Just ask business owners following the rules. Ask the employees unemployed or underemployed. Imagine the losses to employee comp insurance revenue and state income taxes. The impact on rates for businesses following the law!
Many illegal immigrants are now running businesses themselves with illegal employees charging less than half of what a job is worth. This summer I couldn’t do a job for cost what an illegal competitor was charging. One of these illegal business owners drives around with a fraudulent license from Mexico with a New Jersey address. He built his business stealing accounts from his former employer for 10 plus years who also used illegal immigrants. The company was fined 13k for failing to have a home improvement license last year. The courts are buried in old warrants from illegal immigrants who never show up to court. They don’t exist.
Our police are overburdened with hands virtually tied because NJ is a sanctuary state. Out of state license plates and DMV fraud are the law of the land. As Governor I will implement E- Verify for all employees working in New Jersey and work with President Donald Trump to eliminate sanctuary cities across NJ. Everyone must follow the same rules in business and follow the law. Our veterans will of NJ will be first priority in NJ hospitals not illegal immigrants.
Heroin Epidemic
There are numerous examples of heroin dealers getting probation for first time offenses in NJ. All it takes is one time to kill someone with this poison they call heroin. Tell the families who have lost loved ones to this poison that first time dealers should get a break. No heroin dealer should get off with probation fo non violent first offense. I will do everything in my power as Governor to make it a living hell for heroin dealers in NJ. With that being said they should be charged for attempt of murder for distribution and automatic manslaughter if someone dies from their distribution. Backed up court systems enabling these criminals to poison our society for court dates as long as one year or more will be another main focus.
by
Chris Strohm
and
Tom Schoenberg
January 12, 2017, 1:09 PM EST January 12, 2017, 4:39 PM EST
Pre-election decision to reopen Clinton probe to be examined
Comey’s pronouncements angered Trump and Clinton in turn
New questions were raised Thursday about whether FBI Director James Comey will be able to keep his job after the Justice Department’s internal watchdog opened an investigation into his handling of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server.
The investigation by the department’s inspector general will examine whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to follow appropriate procedures and improperly released information about the Clinton probe — renewing scrutiny of one of the most contested developments of the 2016 election campaign.
Public pronouncements by Comey at different points last year drew denunciations from Donald Trump, who will become president next week, and from Hillary Clinton, who has blamed her defeat in part on Comey’s statements.
“What Comey did, commenting on an investigation, was totally improper,” said Nick Akerman, a partner at the law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP and a former federal prosecutor. “There is no need to have an inspector general investigation to justify the president firing him.”
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a statement Thursday that his investigation will examine actions leading up to Comey’s decision to announce findings of his probe on July 5, when he said that Clinton and her top aides were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” but that no criminal prosecution should be pursued.
He said it also includes a review of actions surrounding Comey’s later announcements that he was reopening and then again closing the probe, both made days before the Nov. 8 election. Democrats say those moves damaged Clinton’s candidacy at a crucial moment and helped hand the presidency to Trump.
by Tyler Durden
Jan 11, 2017 8:41 AM
In a story that is getting more surreal by the minute, a post on 4Chan now claims that the infamous “golden showers” scene in the unverified 35-page dossier, allegedly compiled by a British intelligence officer, was a hoax and fabricated by a member of the chatboard as “fanfiction”, then sent to Rick Wilson, who proceeded to send it to the CIA, which then put it in their official classified intelligence report on the election.
Here is 4Chan’s explanation of how the story came to light:
>/pol/acks mailed fanfiction to anti-trump pundit Rick Wilson about trump making people piss on a bed obama slept in
>he thought it was real and gave it to the CIA
>the central intelligence agency of the united states of america put this in their official classified intelligence report on russian involvement in the election
>donald trump and obama have both read this pol/acks fanfiction
>the cia has concluded that the russian plans to blackmail trump with this story we made up
just let that sink in what we have become.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-10/4chan-claims-have-fabricated-anti-trump-report-hoax
President-elect Donald Trump described a sting operation he says he conducted after growing frustrated at a series of leaks about his own classified briefings
He says he decided to tell no one about a particular briefing, shielding even his longtime scheduling aide, Rhoda, to rule out the possibility leaks were coming from his staff
When word got out anyway, Trump concluded it was the intelligence community who was putting out information
He described the operation he conducted after suggesting intelligence officials leaked a fake dirty dossier of information about him
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4110654/Trump-conducts-sting-operation-ensnare-intelligence-briefers-says-caught-leaking.html#ixzz4VVMucxox
By Frank Siebelt | FRANKFURT
Deutsche Bank’s (DBKGn.DE) top economist said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be an improvement on “a mediocre status quo” and drive economic growth in the country higher.
“We will see a move from dogma to pragmatism,” David Folkerts-Landau said at a dinner with journalists on Monday, forecasting U.S. economic growth in 2018 would be more than double the 1.5 percent seen for 2016.
“While Trump introduces higher uncertainty, this is better than the near certainty of the continuation of a mediocre status quo,” Folkerts-Landau wrote in a presentation for the event in Deutsche Bank’s striking glass skyscraper, which is prominent on Frankfurt’s skyline.
Following a divisive election campaign, president-elect Trump has assembled a cabinet of top officials that includes business leaders and three retired generals, which Folkerts-Landau described as a “business men administration”.
“We will see a much more flexible approach to taking decisions,” he added.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-deutsche-bank-idUSKBN14U1MU
by
Zoltan Simon
January 10, 2017, 11:44 AM EST January 10, 2017, 12:39 PM EST
Ruling Fidesz party vice president pledges to ‘sweep out’ NGOs
Premier Orban, Trump backer, vowed to build ‘illiberal state’
Hungary plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House, according to the deputy head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party.
The European Union member will use “all the tools at its disposal” to “sweep out” NGOs funded by the Hungarian-born financier, which “serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national governments,” Szilard Nemeth, a vice president of the ruling Fidesz party, told reporters on Tuesday. No one answered the phone at the Open Society Institute in Budapest when Bloomberg News called outside business hours.
Kushner, a widely respected businessman and real estate developer was instrumental in formulating and executing the strategy behind President-elect Trump’s historic victory in November. Kushner has chosen to forego his salary while serving in the administration.
“Jared has been a tremendous asset and trusted advisor throughout the campaign and transition and I am proud to have him in a key leadership role in my administration,” said President-elect Trump. “He has been incredibly successful, in both business and now politics. He will be an invaluable member of my team as I set and execute an ambitious agenda, putting the American people first.”
Chief of Staff Reince Priebus added, “Jared is a visionary with a rare ability to communicate with and assemble broad coalitions of support. His entrepreneurial mindset will be a great asset to the team as well as his open mind, adaptability and keen intellect.”
“It is an honor to serve our country,” said Kushner. “I am energized by the shared passion of the President-elect and the American people and I am humbled by the opportunity to join this very talented team.”
Germany’s insistence on austerity in the euro zone has left Europe more divided than ever and a break-up of the European Union is no longer inconceivable, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Der Spiegel magazine.
Gabriel, whose Social Democrats (SPD) are junior partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in her ruling grand coalition, said strenuous efforts by countries like France and Italy to reduce their fiscal deficits came with political risks.
“I once asked the chancellor, what would be more costly for Germany: for France to be allowed to have half a percentage point more deficit, or for Marine Le Pen to become president?” he said, referring to the leader of the far-right National Front.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-europe-idUSKBN14R0G8?il=0
January 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced he intends to nominate Jay Clayton Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Clayton is currently a partner with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and brings decades of experience helping companies navigate complex federal regulations to the position. Clayton will play an important role in unleashing the job-creating power of our economy by encouraging investment in American companies while providing strong oversight of Wall Street and related industries. Robust accountability will be a hallmark of his tenure atop the SEC, and the financial security of the American people will be his top priority.
“Jay Clayton is a highly talented expert on many aspects of financial and regulatory law, and he will ensure our financial institutions can thrive and create jobs while playing by the rules at the same time,” said President-elect Trump. “We need to undo many regulations which have stifled investment in American businesses, and restore oversight of the financial industry in a way that does not harm American workers.”
“I want to thank President-elect Trump for the opportunity to serve as SEC Chairman,” said Jay Clayton. “If confirmed, we are going to work together with key stakeholders in the financial system to make sure we provide investors and our companies with the confidence to invest together in America. We will carefully monitor our financial sector, as we set policy that encourages American companies to do what they do best: create jobs.”
Clayton has had a long and distinguished career advising on public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions, capital markets offerings, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, and other matters. In addition to numerous awards recognizing him as one of the top corporate lawyers in America, Clayton has also authored multiple publications on regulatory law, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. Clayton received a B.S. in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and a B.A. in economics from the University of Cambridge in 1990. He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1993.
Glenn Greenwald
January 4 2017, 9:28 a.m.
IN THE PAST SIX WEEKS, the Washington Post published two blockbuster stories about the Russian threat that went viral: one on how Russia is behind a massive explosion of “fake news,” the other on how it invaded the U.S. electric grid. Both articles were fundamentally false. Each now bears a humiliating Editor’s Note grudgingly acknowledging that the core claims of the story were fiction: the first Note of which was posted a full two weeks later to the top of the original article, the other of which was buried the following day at the bottom.
The second story on the electric grid turned out to be far worse than I realized when I wrote about it on Saturday, when it became clear that there was no “penetration of the U.S. electricity grid” as the Post had claimed. In addition to the Editor’s Note, the Russia-hacked-our-electric-grid story now has a full-scale retraction in the form of a separate article admitting that “the incident is not linked to any Russian government effort to target or hack the utility” and that there may not have even been malware at all on this laptop.
