Ridgewood NJ, Week 14 and the NFL ratings implosion continues .Sunday Night Football represented one of the NFL’s last chance to right the ship ,but no dice, didn’t happen.
The NFL Sunday night match with two very viable playoff teams ended up a ratings disaster . The Week 14 battle betweem the Ravens and the Steelers ended up a 39-38 victory for Pittsburgh. Ratings were down 30% in the from last year’s Week 14 match-up between the Giants and Cowboys.
Overall, the game earned an 11.6 rating which was still good enough to win the sleepy Sunday night for NBC. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter “…even with such a tight match-up, this week’s marquee primetime game was down 11 percent” from last week.
Add these awful numbers in with the rest of the awful primetime numbers for the NFL this year. Plus the league’s well-advertised attendance problem, and it’s easy to understand why networks like Fox sports are unable to afford to send people to the Super Bowl this year, due to revenue losses from the NFL.
Long time watchers of the sport lament the “end of the NFL” and perhaps the end of network television as we know it .
Not everyone is suffering however the Commissioner Roger Goodell continue to fail upwards signing a new contract last week, worth up to $200 million.
A glowing profile in The Fordham Ram declares that the coffee house is the only on-campus club “open to all.” Except if you are a Republican that supports Trump. Tuition at Fordham is close to $70,000/year.
In a video obtained by Campus Reform, the president of Rodrigue’s Coffee House, a coffee shop run by a student club, is seen telling the College Republicans they have five minutes to get out of the coffee shop.
“This is a community standard—you are wearing hats that completely violate safe space policy. You have to take it off or you have to go.”
“I am protecting my customers,” the president said. “We are your customers, we bought something,” a CR member replied.
“I don’t want people like you supporting this club… no one here wants people like you supporting our club,” the president retorted. “I am giving you five minutes.”
One of the students then asked the president to explain what she thinks the MAGA hat stands for, to which she replied, shouting: “Fascism, Nazis! You have three minutes.”
During the confrontation, the president presented the College Republicans with a flyer outlining the shop’s “Safer Space Policy.”
Washington DC, The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can fully enforce its travel ban on residents from 6 predominately Muslim nations. The ruling means President Trump’s travel ban can take full effect while legal challenges in the lower courts go forward, and suggests the court is likely to uphold the travel restrictions if lower courts attempt to strike them down.
People from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen will now be banned from entry, even if they have a relationship with a U.S.-based person or institution. Lower courts had said people from those nations with a claim of a “bona fide” relationship with someone in the United States, including grandparents, cousins, and other relatives, could not be kept out of the country.
Only 2 of the 9 justices dissented, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
Ridgewood NJ, last night Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate after a burst of eleventh-hour horse trading, giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas.
Peter Ferrara, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, writes in The Daily Caller that 2017’s tax overhaul bill will be comparable to landmark tax legislation passed under President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s and President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. “Presidents Kennedy and Reagan fundamentally fixed the individual, worker side of the tax code,” Ferrara writes. “This year’s tax reform now focuses on the business side, where the real economic problem lies today.” The lessons from the Reagan-era tax debate are particularly instructive today. “The economy took off on a 25 year boom,” Ferrara says. “Despite those dramatic income tax rate cuts, federal revenues doubled while Reagan was president, because of the booming growth.”
Like the House bill, the Senate bill cuts the current 35 percent rate to 20 percent, but the Senate bill calls for a one-year delay in dropping the rate, cutting the USA’s uncompetitive highest corporate taxes in the world and seen as the key to job growth .
For small business a provisions for “pass-through” businesses shaped up to be one of the greater fights among lawmakers in the tax reform debate.
A pass-through business refers to one that is not a corporation, and therefore isn’t taxed as such. These include sole proprietorships, joint ventures, limited liability companies and S corporations. Millions of American businesses use the pass-through taxation format, where the profits are counted in the owners’ personal tax returns.
The Senate measure would set a new deduction of 17.4 percent for those who qualify for the pass-through taxation. It also makes it easier for taxpayers to obtain this deduction. However, it includes a clause that would sunset this deduction
On the other hand, the House plan would reduce the tax from 39.6 percent to 25 percent. At odds here is which plan provides a greater savings for a greater number of pass-through businesses.
The Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the nation’s largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer.
Deductions for state and local income taxes a big issues in high tax New Jersey and particularly Bergen County , moving expenses and other items would vanish, the standard deduction used by most Americans would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the per-child tax credit would grow.
People would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes another killer in high tax Bergen County .
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco , “This legislation is bad for Bergen County, bad for New Jersey, and bad for our country. New Jersey residents already far pay more in taxes to the federal government than we receive in federal funding. Rather than attempting to create more fairness for middle class New Jersey families, this bill eliminates the state and local tax deduction, asking us to contribute more to subsidize tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans and their heirs. Within our state, Bergen County will be among the hardest hit, and families and small businesses throughout our 70 communities will be hurt by this legislation. It would undermine the strength of our regional economy. I strongly urge New Jersey’s Congressional delegation to unanimously oppose this legislation and work with their colleagues to prevent it from being signed into law.”
Tedesco’s plea clearly a sign that state and county tax collection will be hurt .
The bill would abolish the “Obamacare” requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties a big plus for lower and middle class working people who’s Obamacare premiums make little economic sense .
The House will vote on a motion to go to conference on the tax bills on Monday evening. The Senate is expected to vote on a similar measure soon after. Congress is scheduled to adjourn for its Christmas break on Dec. 15, but House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he will keep the House in session beyond that date if necessary to get tax reform passed.
The changes will not have any impact on your taxes for 2017, which are due to the IRS by April 17, 2018 (you get an extra 48 hours to file because the traditional April 15 due date falls on a Sunday).
San Francisco Ca, Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, the illegal immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015 as she walked on a pier with her father, has been found not guilty of murder. The San Francisco jury only found him guilty of a single gun possession charge.
Garcia Zarate, 45, a felon with 7 prior convictions related to heroin possession and manufacture, had been deported from the U.S. 5 times, yet kept sneaking back in. He was actually released from custody by San Francisco authorities just 2 months before the shooting, despite an order from federal immigration authorities requesting the city keep him in custody so they could pick him up and deport him.
San Francisco is a “sanctuary city” that does not cooperate with federal authorities on locating and deporting illegal immigrants. Garcia Zarate admitted to going to San Francisco to take advantge of its sanctuary city status. The case sparked national outrage and debate over sanctuary cities as well as border security.
He had faced 15 years to life on a second-degree murder charge in the Steinle shooting, though jurors, 3 of which were immigrants themselves, were also allowed to consider first-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. His defense argued that the gun, which he claims to have found in a dumpster, had gone off accidentally. The gun was later found to have been stolen.
WASHINGTON DC, Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ- 07), New Jersey’s only member of the House Ethics Committee, introduced legislation today to end taxpayer-funded settlements of sexual harassment claims and other workplace disputes against members of Congress and congressional staff. Lance’s bill would also reveal publicly the names of those perpetrators who have engaged in such conduct in the workplace.
“Taxpayers in congressional districts across the Nation are outraged over allegations and the lack of transparency and accountability concerning taxpayer-financed harassment settlements in Congress. Since 1997, Congress has paid millions of dollars out of a secret U.S. Treasury Department fund to settle hundreds of workplace claims against members of Congress and congressional aides. Such secrecy is a gross betrayal of public trust and must end immediately. My legislation, if enacted, would increase government transparency for the American taxpayer, create a safer work environment and hold members of Congress and congressional staff — past and present — accountable for their actions,” Lance said.
Lance’s Ensure Transparency and Honesty in Congressional Settlements (ETHICS) Act comes following news reports of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded settlements to resolve workplace disputes on Capitol Hill. The Seventh District lawmaker introduced this legislation on the same day the U.S. House unanimously passed legislation to mandate sexual harassment training and victim support services in Congress.
Over the past several weeks, numerous individuals from all walks of life have voiced their stories of sexual harassment. A number of these allegations are tied to members of Congress, both past and present. According to the congressional Office of Compliance, the federal government has paid more than $17 million in taxpayer money in workplace settlements since 1997, but has not said how much of that money has been spent settling sexual harassment claims.
Lance’s ETHICS Act would:
Prohibit any future taxpayer-financed sexual harassment settlements;
Require the Office of Compliance to release more detailed information on sexual harassment settlements paid at taxpayer expense, including the names of the perpetrator, the employing office of the perpetrator and the amount paid to the victim.
Lance also spoke on the floor of the U.S. House during the debate on the resolution requiring workplace harassment training for members and staff where the Seventh District lawmaker urged his colleagues to address the problem on Capitol Hill immediately.
“Congress should be leading on this issue, helping to foster a workplace environment free of sexual harassment, discrimination and other terrible behavior. Congress must create an atmosphere where those who serve their country feel protected, supported and believed – no matter the power of the offender,” the Seventh District lawmaker said.
Ridgewood NJ, With the holidays right around the corner, shoppers are preparing for the biggest online shopping event of the year, Cyber Monday. During this annual, event consumers are at high risk for online fraud and need to be aware of how to not become a victim.
Antwayne Ford a government IT/cybersecurity expert and President/CEO of Enlightened, an Information Technology (IT) and Management Consulting firm provided some helpful tips to the Ridgewood blog to avoid fraud on Cyber Monday.
Some of his tips include:
Keep Computer Security Updated: Make sure your operating system, web browser, and anti-virus are up to date in order to avoid any viruses causing damage to your machine.
Avoid Clicking Email Links: these coupons could be a scammer trying to lure you to a fake version of a legitimate shopping site to steal your information. Instead, take note of the coupon code and then manually enter the store’s website where you can enter the coupon at checkout to receive any discounts.
Avoid Click on Ads: Hackers are getting more sophisticated at targeting your information by attaching malware to ads that run in the background when you click on them.
Avoid Public Wi-Fi: I know we all love using public Wi-Fi because it provides users with free access to the internet, but public Wi-Fi is NOT secure. It is relatively easy for a hacker to fake (also known as spoof) Wi-Fi access and steal your personal information as you surf the web. Even if a hacker doesn’t spoof the Wi-Fi, they can still use tools to look at all the internet traffic happening on the Wi-Fi and possibly steal your information that way
Ridgewood NJ, U.S. Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., has been accused by a California TV host and sports broadcaster of kissing and groping her without her consent in 2006. This seems to be epidemic at this point .First Hollywood ,sports now politicians. Lets put politics aside for the moment and focus on your take on the idea of making accusations from 40 years ago ? Do we really think that is legitimate?
Are all accusation to be believed on face value ? Are some of the charges politically motivated ? Should there be equal punishments for false accusation ? What about Bill Clinton why this all OK for him ? And what about our own Bob Menendez who was accused of gallivanting off to the Dominican Republic for hookups with under age hookers.
Before the Hollywood blow up , media was often the chief enabler of Democrats ,”gone wild” ,Republicans much less so .
Many of you have been following the Judge Roy Moore accusations , and most likely your point of view reflects your point of view on his candidacy .
Jack Hellner, of the American Thinker ,pointed out, “I find it odd that this story came up after the primary and after decades of service by Roy Moore. Why did the Washington Post reporters wait until after no one else could be put on the ballot to run a 40-year-old story? Isn’t it also strange that a supposed sexual predator would have all of a sudden quit going after young girls 40 years ago? Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Bill Clinton never quit. Clinton couldn’t control himself even when he was in the White House.”
To us these are very serious accusations ,but false accusation make it that much harder for women in the future to prove legitimate claims. On a case by case basis , different situations and different sets of facts lead to different conclusions ,but as we have seen in our own home town the rush to jump to conclusions seems hard to resist.
An Open Letter to Sean Hannity.
Dear Sean:
I am suffering the same treatment other Republicans have had to endure.
A month prior to the general election for U.S. Senate in Alabama, I have been attacked by the Washington Post and other liberal media in a desperate attempt to smear my character and defeat my campaign.
Over the last 40 years I have held several public offices, including Deputy District Attorney, Circuit Judge, and Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. In addition to running five statewide and three county campaigns for public office, I have been involved in two major controversies that attracted national attention, one about the Ten Commandments and the other the sanctity of marriage.
The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, Court of the Judiciary, and Attorney General have investigated, scrutinized, examined, and vetted me, not to mention every opposing candidate against whom I have run.
I have been married for almost 33 years to my wife Kayla. We have four children and five granddaughters.
We are in the process of investigating these false allegations to determine their origin and motivation. For instance, we have documented that the most recent accuser, Beverly Nelson, was a party in a divorce action before me in Etowah County Circuit Court in 1999. No motion was made for me to recuse. In her accusations, Nelson did not mention that I was the judge assigned to her divorce case in 1999, a matter that apparently caused her no distress at a time that was 18 years closer to the alleged assault. Yet 18 years later, while talking before the cameras about the supposed assault, she seemingly could not contain her emotions.
My signature on the order of dismissal in the divorce case was annotated with the letters “D.A.,” representing the initials of my court assistant. Curiously the supposed yearbook inscription is also followed by the same initials—”D.A.” But at that time I was Deputy District Attorney, not district attorney. Those initials as well as the date under the signature block and the printed name of the restaurant are written in a style inconsistent with the rest of the yearbook inscription. The “7’s” in “Christmas 1977” are in a noticeably different script than the “7’s” in the date “12-22-77.” I believe tampering has occurred.
Are we at a stage in American politics in which false allegations can overcome a public record of 40 years, stampede the media and politicians to condemn an innocent man, and potentially impact the outcome of an election of national importance? When allegations of events occurring 40 years ago—and never before mentioned during a 40-year career of public service—are brought out and taken seriously only 30 days before a critical election, we may be in trouble as a country.
I adamantly deny the allegations of Leigh Corfman and Beverly Nelson, did not date underage girls, and have taken steps to begin a civil action for defamation. Because of that, at the direction of counsel, I cannot comment further.
Franklinville NJ , Amazing Grace Ministries has purchased 277 acres which includes a 65 acre lake and campground in Franklinville NJ. Our goal is to fix up the property and build micro housing units for veterans to stay in and provide them with a place of true rest and relaxation. Nestled in this quiet and serene environment, our veterans can focus on getting “squared away” through various program and projects designed to give them the tools needed to adapt and overcome.
The property has sat vacant for almost a decade and needs work. One major priority is the existing dam that was damaged by a storm several years ago and needs to be rebuilt. There are also structures that need demolition as well as the clearing of land and construction of the micro housing units. Our desire is to provide this service to our vets at no cost, so we need your help!
Dam repairs, fixing up the property, campground and construction of the micro houses is not cheap. We need $500,000 to get this project up and running. Together, we can leave a legacy and change lives forever!
Donnie Davis
USAF Veteran 1993 – 1997
Former Police Offer – Prince George’s County MD
Bloomfield NJ, in what can only be termed as a very disturbing turn of events, at around 4 AM EST, Monday, 11/6, an unknown group hacked the web sites of a number of companies nationwide, including the one that hosts the District’s and schools’ web sites. For about two hours, our web sites displayed an ISIS-sponsored YouTube video. Around 6 AM, the hacked page was brought down and by about 7 AM full functionality and control were restored.
The FBI and investigative agencies are looking into the matter. The District reports that at no time was confidential student or staff data compromised. The internal computer and data systems within the District were completely unaffected. Everything that happened occurred at the web host’s companies server farms in Atlanta, Georgia and Florida. We are awaiting a formal press release from SchoolDesk, our web host company, and will publish it as soon as it is released.
Washington DC , House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) issued the following statement about today’s Senate committee hearing on the nomination of Scott Garrett to be President of the Export-Import Bank:
“The Export-Import Bank is a deeply troubled government agency connected to cases of fraud, bribery and abuse. Scott Garrett is a true reformer who will steer the Bank in a much-needed new direction. Instead of bowing down to pressure from inside-the-Beltway special interest groups, senators should be looking out for the interests of hardworking taxpayers. President Trump was right to nominate Scott Garrett, a principled leader who will put an end to the Bank’s well-documented management failures.”
Ridgewood NJ, According to the Tax Foundation the United States is hampered by high marginal tax rates and complex business tax rules .Tthe United States once again ranks towards the bottom of the pack on our 2017 International Tax Competitiveness Index, placing in the bottom 5 or number 30 out of 35 OECD countries.
The last time the United States reformed its federal corporate income tax was in 1986. Since then, many of our global competitors have taken steps to simplify their tax codes and lower their marginal tax rates.
The combined U.S. corporate tax rate of 39 percent (which includes average state and local corporate taxes) is significantly higher than the OECD average of 25 percent.
As U.S. legislators move forward with comprehensive tax reform, they should consider the positive effects that lowering our corporate tax rate and simplifying our tax system could have on our competitiveness abroad and economic health at home.
Ridgewood NJ, out of touch NFL commissioner “MR NO CLUE ” Roger Goodell said that the league does not think it has lost viewers despite a 10 percent drop in television ratings this season.At the same time, however, he acknowledged that league officials are trying to understand what has caused the drop and how to address it.
Unfortunately for “MR NO CLUE ” ,if the NFL’s TV ratings keep declining as they have so far in the 2016-2017 season, it could put the corporate behemoths that own the broadcast and cable networks in a bind. After all, they’ve spent tens of billions on rights for the NFL and other sporting events in recent years, betting that they’ll turn a profit from selling ad time.
The nosedive in viewers came coincidently as the NFL American Anthem protests heated up .
ESPN once the darling of cable TV has been in a death spiral ever since it adapted a left wing anti American narrative .What’s a deteriorating business look like? In the month of October ESPN lost over 15,000 subscribers a day in October per the latest Nielson estimates. Worry at the network is that ESPN pays $2 billion a year to the NFL for Monday Night Football and one NFL wild card playoff game, as ESPN’s business collapses that ESPN’s decision on whether or not to bid to keep Monday Night Football would be the first big test of how rapidly that business is deteriorating.
On the flip side a good season and the average TV Household ratings for the YES Network’s 2017 regular season New York Yankees telecasts were 57% higher than YES’ 2016 Yankees ratings, and were the network’s best Yankees game ratings in five years. In addition, YES’ Primetime Yankees game telecasts out-rated all other broadcast and cable networks’ Primetime schedules in the New York DMA on nights when YES televised Yankees games.
For a second straight year, the World Series had more viewers than the NFL on Sunday night. Game 5 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers drew a 12.8 overnight rating for Fox, beating NBC’s 9.8 rating for a matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Sunday Night Football.” “Sunday Night Football” lost 25 percent of its viewership from last week’s matchup between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, Deadline reported.
Ridgewood NJ, Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy has gone through the Manafort indictments with a fine-tooth comb. His take is that there’s a lot over of obvious over-charging, including splitting one infraction into two felony indictments, charging him with a felony for something that’s normally dismissed with a warning, and charging conspiracy against the US so that he can bring in alleged infractions that would ordinarily be far beyond the statute of limitations.
If you don’t know who Andrew C. McCarthy is ; now a columnist for National Review. He is however most notable for when he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and planning a series of attacks against New York City landmarks. He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He resigned from the Justice Department in 2003.
Andrew C. McCarthy said;
“Even from Paul Manafort’s perspective, there may be less to this indictment than meets the eye — it’s not so much a serious allegation of “conspiracy against the United States” as a dubious case of disclosure violations and money movement that would never have been brought had he not drawn attention to himself by temporarily joining the Trump campaign.
From President Trump’s perspective, the indictment is a boon from which he can claim that the special counsel has no actionable collusion case. It appears to reaffirm former FBI director James Comey’s multiple assurances that Trump is not a suspect. And, to the extent it looks like an attempt to play prosecutorial hardball with Manafort, the president can continue to portray himself as the victim of a witch hunt.”
Here’s the history of Manafort’s connection with the Trump campaign, by the way:He joined Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team in March 2016 and served as campaign manager from June to August 2016.
Lower Manhattan , NYC Details about the suspect’s background were just unfolding as his name emerged, but it appears that he is a somewhat recent immigrant to the United States. Saipov “is an Uzbek national and came to the U.S. in 2010,” NBC News reported. According to online records from his traffic history, he has worked as a commercial truck driver.
Details are as follows :
The New York Police Department has identified the suspect in Tuesday’s Manhattan attack as 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, an Uzbek national who has been in the United States on a green card since 2010.
The attack on Tuesday just north of the World Trade Center site left eight people dead and at least a dozen injured.
According to local media in New Jersey, Saipov has has only two run-ins with police in the tri-state area – a couple of traffic stops in Mount Holly Springs Borough, Pennsylvania, and Palmyra, Pennsylvania, in 2015 and 2012, respectively. Both times, Saipov gave police a Paterson, New Jersey, address. His most recent official address, however, is in Tampa, Florida.
Saipov’s religious affiliation is unconfirmed, though Uzbekistan is around 96 percent Muslim. It is also not clear whether Saipov had any concerning affiliations, or a history of mental illness, common among mass killers. More details are likely to emerge as New York and Federal officials investigate deeper into the incident.
Police say that Saipov drove a rented truck over a curb and onto a bike path near the World Trade Center. After mowing over several pedestrians, Saipov crashed his truck into a school bus, injuring at least two adults and two children inside. He then jumped from the truck, screamed “Allah Akbar!” and ran toward a group of children, brandishing two items that appeared to be firearms.
The truck was rented at a Home depot in Passaic, New Jersey and the Passaic Police and Passaic County Sheriffs Department are on the seen with Federal agents looking over his Van he left parked in the Home Depot Parking lot.
The NYPD says they recovered a BB gun and a paintball gun at the scene.
Saipov confronted an armed NYPD officer who shot him in the stomach but some reports say the thigh. He is alive and receiving treatment at some speculate Bellevue hospital. He is, reportedly, awake and alert enough to undergo an interrogation.
Warning: Undefined array key "sfsi_riaIcon_order" in /home/eagle1522/public_html/theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/libs/controllers/sfsi_frontpopUp.php on line 165
Warning: Undefined array key "sfsi_inhaIcon_order" in /home/eagle1522/public_html/theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/libs/controllers/sfsi_frontpopUp.php on line 166
Warning: Undefined array key "sfsi_mastodonIcon_order" in /home/eagle1522/public_html/theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/libs/controllers/sfsi_frontpopUp.php on line 177
![Trump_Travel_Ban_PKG_848x480_978892867855[1]](https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Trump_Travel_Ban_PKG_848x480_9788928678551.jpg "SUPREME COURT ALLOWS FULL ENFORCEMENT OF TRUMP’S TRAVEL BAN")
