>Gingrich: Leaks show Obama administration ‘shallow,’ ‘amateurish’ By Shane D’Aprile – 12/05/10 10:59 AM ET
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that President Obama and the White House deserve a large share of the blame for the massive amounts of classified information revealed through WikiLeaks.
Gingrich said the leaks are “a scandal of the first order” and that they demonstrate the Obama administration is “shallow” and “amateurish” when it comes to national security.
“You have a private first class who downloads a quarter million documents, and the system doesn’t say, ‘Oh, you may be over extended?’ I mean, this is a system so stupid that it ought to be a scandal of the first order,” Gingrich said. “This administration is so shallow and so amateurish about national security that it is painful and dangerous.”
>Lightgate: The problem is not in Trenton, it’s in Cottage Place. The BOE is acting as a front for FARC The problem is not in Trenton — it’s in Cottage Place. The BOE is acting as a front for FARC — the school doesn’t need the lights anywhere near as much as the sports groups — which the BOE has admitted in public statements. The BOE is taking advantage of its special position to help FARC make an end run around the zoning laws.
This will come out as the controversy continues and this is eventually investigated. If we want to change things, we shouldn’t look to Trenton — we should look to the ballot box. This crew only represents one faction and is dead set on crushing all others. The voters have to see this sham and refusal to work with the neighborhood for what it is.
The tree lighting was so lovely this year! It was great to see so many Village residents huddled around the tree together as it was being lit!
Our family had an awesome time! A personal thanks to all who contributed to relocating the tree to it’s original location and bringing a wonderful tradition back to the Village.
I must confess, that was me that me dancing under the tree!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Yuletide blessings!
>EDITORIAL: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom FCC crosses the Rubicon into online regulation
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Washington Times 7:02 p.m., Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to add the Internet to its portfolio of regulated industries. The agency’s chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced Wednesday that he circulated draft rules he says will “preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet.” No statement could better reflect the gulf between the rhetoric and the reality of Obama administration policies.
With a straight face, Mr. Genachowski suggested that government red tape will increase the “freedom” of online services that have flourished because bureaucratic busybodies have been blocked from tinkering with the Web. Ordinarily, it would be appropriate at this point to supply an example from the proposed regulations illustrating the problem. Mr. Genachowski’s draft document has over 550 footnotes and is stamped “non-public, for internal use only” to ensure nobody outside the agency sees it until the rules are approved in a scheduled Dec. 21 vote. So much for “openness.”
The issue of “net neutrality” is nothing new, but the increasing popularity of online movie streaming services like Netflix have highlighted an area of potential concern. When someone watches a film over the Internet, especially in high definition, the maximum available capacity of the user’s connection is used. Think, for example, of the problems that would arise at the water works if everyone decided to turn on their faucets and take a shower simultaneously. Internet providers are beginning to see the same strain on their networks.
>LAST 2010 BULK PICK UP – DECEMBER 8th Village of Ridgewood
Reminder – Last Bulk Pick Up for 2010 is Wednesday, December 8th. Bulk refuse can be placed at the curb starting Dec. 7th after 5PM and before 6AM Dec. 8th. All areas of Ridgewood will be picked up on this date.
>Ridewood YMCA Annual Tree Lot to Open November 26! Proceeds to benefit the Ridgewood YMCA Good Works Programs.
The Ridgewood YMCA will hold its annual Christmas Tree Sale this year from November 26 through December 19. Opening hours for the tree lot will be on Fridays from 6PM to 9PM, Saturdays from 9AM to 9PM, and Sundays from 10AM to 5PM.
The Ridgewood Y Good Works Programs include Summer Camp and Program Scholarships, Rainbows, which provides peer support for children who have experienced a painful family transition such as divorce, separation, or abandonment, Living Strong, Living Well, a fitness and strength training program for cancer patients and survivors, Learn to Swim Programs, for Paterson youths, Youth Mentoring, Supported Employment for Special Needs Students, Scholarships for Families of Deployed Military Personnel, and an Autistic Therapeutic Recreation Program.
The Ridgewood Tree Lot is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood, NJ.
>Ridgewood BOE opposes salary cap for superintendent Friday, December 3, 2010 BY KELLY EBBELS The Ridgewood News Staff Writer
Ridgewood’s Board of Education (BOE) is once again expressing its discontent over a proposed cap to superintendents’ pay in New Jersey.
In a two-page letter drafted by trustee Sheila Brogan, the BOE argues that Ridgewood, in particular, balances its administrative and other costs well and should not face losing its competitive edge by resorting to a lessened financial status for its superintendent.
“Being the superintendent in Ridgewood is not for the meek. We are a demanding Board and community, and only the most capable and experienced leader will suffice,” reads the statement. “With this proposal the work required of superintendents is undervalued by the state.”
The letter suggests that school boards already take into account the “market,” along with other factors, to appropriately determine the pay amount for the district’s superintendent. It also notes that, even though Ridgewood has the highest enrollment in Bergen County, it does not offer the highest salary.
>Merchants, businesses, village officials, residents and the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce all contributed something to bring the village Christmas tree back
‘Community’s tree’ journeys to train station
Friday, December 3, 2010 BY MICHAEL SEDON The Ridgewood News STAFF WRITER
Returning a tradition takes a village, with holiday “green” sprinkled into the mix.
Merchants, businesses, village officials, residents and the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce all contributed something to bring the village Christmas tree back to the spot it occupied for 22 years at the train station.
The village planted a live tree in Van Neste Square Memorial Park two years ago and moved the annual tree lighting celebration from its original spot at the train station. Residents debated the move, and many discussed the possibility of getting it back for the event’s 25th anniversary.
The effort was led by resident, business owner and chamber member Paul Vagianos, but required donations and volunteerism from many inside and outside of Ridgewood. Vagianos first met with Deputy Mayor Tom Riche to discuss some of the issues involved with putting the plan into motion. Riche told Vagianos that if he could garner the Chamber of Commerce’s approval and raise the $6,500 necessary to move the tree, the deputy mayor would support the idea.
“During the election campaign of 2010 when I was running for office, at a lot of the coffees with all of the things we have going on in Ridgewood, it seemed to always come up,” Riche said of returning the Christmas tree to the train station. “I kind of made a commitment that I would do the very best I could to fulfill the wish of what seemed like a large percentage of people in Ridgewood at the time.”
The chamber’s board of directors unanimously approved the idea, and several local merchants donated a total of $8,500 in about three hours, Vagianos said.
“The one who put it over the top was Capital One Bank who gave us $2,500,” Vagianos said. “Everybody wanted to give money. I had people walking up to me wanting to give money on this.”
Armed with the full backing of the chamber, Riche’s support and $8,500, the tree’s return to the station seemed like a slam dunk — but the effort was just getting started.
>Don’t be “blinded by the lights”. The real “garbage” is we are all beginning to understand how OUT-OF-CONTROL AND POWERFUL the BOE is
Don’t be “blinded by the lights”. The real “garbage” is we are all beginning to understand how OUT-OF-CONTROL AND POWERFUL the BOE is and how powerless all of us taxpayers are against their personal vested interests and incompetence.
We do need a real change in leadership. Not the lock-step one-voice group we have now. The next election is a start to get a better BOE. Let’s start to have a real dialogue, real leadership and real competence. What a change that would be! Ridgewood and all taxpayers deserve that.
Next year when the 1st part of that $420,000.00 remaining bill for just these lights come do everybody will say I can’t believe the BOE voted for that over Teachers, other programs and classes, and needed maintenance. What Gatorade were they drinking when they hooked the village to this lease purchase.
Oh what a scheme as Shakespeare might say but no scheme like this will go unpunished. Right now it is being investigated and time will tell.
>Higher property taxes REDUCE Discretionary Income and Reduce property Values.
Discretionary Income (that’s after tax income for 10:12 pm), household formation rates and mortgage interest rates account for 93% of the factors that determine property value. You can look up that correlation as well.
If you can’t figure it out becuase you use public school new math, higher property taxes REDUCE Discretionary Income and Reduce property Values.
Are you using Patterson math to support your misguided idea that higher taxes support higher property values?
In Patterson they tried it your way. Now they have horrible schools, massive tax deliquency rates, high crime and high taxes.
Get an education before you blog. Or is that the problem, you are an “educator”?
The Cartel , the award-winning documentary about corruption in public education and the promise of school choice, will be released on DVD tomorrow, Wednesday Dec. 1!
DVDs remain the most important distribution platform for documentary films by far, and people who may have missed our earlier theatrical screenings will now have an opportunity to see the film, loan it to friends, and spread the word about school choice.
>THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD AND THE PLANNING BOARD HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER THE RIDGEWOOD BOE. It has been said many times and I guess it has to be repeated again; THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD AND THE PLANNING BOARD HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER THE RIDGEWOOD BOE. (I’m not talking about defeated school budgets.) Ask the Mayor, ask the Village Mgr, ask the Village Attorney, ask the BOE Attorney, ask the Chairman of the Planning Board, ask anyone who knows what they are talking about, the Village can not force the BOE to do something nor can they stop them from doing something. The BOE “reports” to the NJ Dept.of Education. It might not seem “right” but that is the law in NJ. With that in mind; Why would the BOE go back to the Planning Board? Why would the Planning Board want them back? Why would either one of them want to waste the time when they both have a lot of other things to worry about and absolutely nothing could come from it. It would serve no purpose at all. There is a reason the first two times the BOE appeared before the Planning Board the meetings were called “Courtesy Hearings.” They were just that, a “courtesy” to the Village to outline what was going to happen. The Village had no authority to change anything the BOE was planning to do and the BOE didn’t have to appear but they did.
The BOE and the neighbors need to keep an ongoing dialogue and try and figure out a way to make the upgraded fields work. There was supposed to be a meeting earlier this week that was going to open the dialogue and hopefully move the two sides closer. The turf is in and the lights are in. I doubt either of those is going anywhere. As loud as the neighbors are complaining (and they have some legitimate complaints) the sound of the hundreds of kids and their parents who will complain will be infinitely louder should access to those fields be impaired in a meaningful way.
There has to be some middle ground and I would hope in a town like Ridgewood that ground can be found sooner rather then later so all this back and forth can stop and we can concentrate on the real important issues in town like when is the 2011 Village Calendar going to arrive so I can figure out the new garbage and recycleable schedule?
>RACE to NOWHERE: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture
The RHS HSA is pleased to bring to our community an educational documentary that has garnered national attention and sparked debate, RACE to NOWHERE: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture. The product of parent turned filmmaker, Vickie Abeles, the film examines the stresses faced by young people competing in suburban America’s test driven academic culture.
Two screenings will take place on December 6th, one for staff and one for parents. The parent screening is set for 7:00 PM at George Washington Middle School. Following the film, Assistant Principal Jeff Nyhuis and Dr. Anne Robinson will lead a discussion.
Seating is free of charge and limited. Please arrive early.
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