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Is it any wonder no one wants Chuck Hagel’s job?

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Is it any wonder no one wants Chuck Hagel’s job?

https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/is-it-any-wonder-no-one-wants-chuck-hagels-job

Does anyone want Chuck Hagel’s old job? (AP Photo above /Mark Wilson, Pool)

First, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed said ‘no’. He’s enjoying serving his constituents too much to consider leaving the Senate.

Then, former undersecretary of defence Michèle Flournoy announced she wasn’t interested either. She is committed to spending more time with her family.

Nobody, it would seem, wants to succeed the dismissed Chuck Hagel as Barack Obama’s defence secretary.

But who would want the job?

Given what Mr Hagel had to deal with, and what happened to him as a consequence, the downside of any such appointment is glaringly obvious.

Since the financial meltdown of 2008, it’s almost universally agreed that significant budget cuts are essential to restore the American economy. Cuts in military spending are an indispensable component of this because the overall share of the Armed Forces’ funding is at least 17 per cent, which is a significant part of annual government spending. Many believe that 17 per cent is a gross underestimate.

It is often said that the Pentagon is effectively the largest corporation in the United States. It is also one of America’s biggest employers, of both uniformed and civilian personnel. In such circumstances, one of the key tasks of any defence secretary is to preside over some pretty ruthless downsizing.

The pain is even greater because in this case the expenditures are public rather than private. Jobs are lost every time a base closes, a contract cancelled, or a deployment scrapped. Mr Hagel was initially brought in partly to oversee another phase in this politically damaging process.

His successor will be the fourth defence secretary to preside over the giant rollback.

As the process moves on, it becomes more difficult, and the cuts more controversial. Indeed, Mr Hagel was reportedly upset that Mr Obama did not fight harder in Congress to secure the Pentagon’s budget.

https://ibishblog.com/2014/11/29/is-it-any-wonder-no-one-wants-chuck-hagels-job/

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Meteorologists: Cuomo’s weather claims are all wet

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Meteorologists: Cuomo’s weather claims are all wet
Nov 29, 11:38 AM (ET)

By DAVID KLEPPER

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York to create the nation’s best weather monitoring system, one more robust than even the National Weather Service and more capable of predicting events like the snowstorm that buried parts of the Buffalo area under 7 feet of snow.

But although Cuomo’s $18.7 million initiative will help the state respond to events like floods or wildfires, it’s unlikely to live up to his grander expectations, meteorologists say.

To accurately predict lake-effect snowfall in western New York, the state would need weather satellites and a supercomputer to handle complicated weather modeling, plus monitoring stations in the Midwest and Canada, said Christopher Vaccaro of the National Weather Service.

“It will definitely help with short-term weather,” Vaccaro said of Cuomo’s idea. “But when you’re forecasting three days in advance for lake-effect snow, it’s not really going to be helpful.”

(AP) In this Nov. 24, 2014 file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, helps…
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Cuomo picked a fight with the weather service following the storm in Buffalo, saying the federal agency failed to predict its intensity and timing. His comments prompted meteorologists Al Roker and Jim Cantore to defend the accuracy and precision of the weather service’s forecasts.

The day before the storm hit, the agency correctly predicted a “historic” storm that would bring feet of snow and localized snowfall rates of 3 to 5 inches per hour.

“Seems like (Cuomo’s) folks didn’t look” at the forecasts, Roker tweeted.

Don Paul, chief meteorologist at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, wrote that “Cuomo’s attempt to scapegoat the National Weather Service for an inaccurate forecast in advance is not only completely in error — the NWS did an outstanding job — but is a disservice to the public and to the hardworking staff of this federal agency.”

Cuomo later said he never meant to offend forecasters, adding that weather service meteorologists “perform the best they can with the information they have.” He said he was just trying to highlight the value of the state’s new weather service — which he said in January would be “the most advanced weather detection system in the nation.”

https://apnews.myway.com/article/20141129/us–new_york_weather_service-b6098f4c48.html

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Bricks-and-mortar sales edge lower at start of holiday season; online surges: data

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Bricks-and-mortar sales edge lower at start of holiday season; online surges: data

Reuters

(Reuters) – U.S. shoppers spent slightly less money at brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday than across the same two days in 2013, while online sales surged to record highs, data showed on Saturday.

Sales at retail stores totaled about $12.29 billion on Thursday and Friday, down 0.5 percent from the $12.35 billion spent last year, according to estimates by ShopperTrak. The research firm stuck by its forecast for November and December sales to increase 3.8 percent.

The data highlights the waning importance of Black Friday, which until a few years ago kicked off the holiday shopping season, as more retailers open their doors on Thanksgiving Day and start discounting earlier in the month.

It also points to the intense price competition among retailers, which have been discounting by 40 to 70 percent this year compared with 30 to 50 percent in the recent past, ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin told Reuters.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/bricks-mortar-sales-edge-lower-start-holiday-season-000828754–business.html

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The Name-Dropper: Franklin Turnpike

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William Frenklin not Ben ( Actor Barry Stevens)

The Name-Dropper: Franklin Turnpike

November 27, 2014    Last updated: Thursday, November 27, 2014, 1:21 AM
By JEFFREY PAGE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD |
The Recor

Who was Lee of Fort Lee, Votee of Votee Park and Merritt of Camp Merritt? The Name-Dropper gives you the lowdown on some of the people whose names you see on public statues, memorial plaques, park signs, highways and even some local streets around North Jersey. Have suggestions? Email them to [email protected] and put Name-Dropper in the subject field.

Everybody knows that Franklin Turnpike was named for the grand old man of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, right?

You remember Ben, the heavyset guy who flew that kite in the electrical storm, who invented bifocals and the concept of the lending library. Ben, who told us: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Caution: Don’t bet on Ben. Truth is that the turnpike, an important north-south route through parts of Bergen County, was not named for Ben, not for Aretha, not for FDR and certainly not for Moe, who played 61 games for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1940s.

The Franklin in question was Ben’s illegitimate son, William, whose politics were far removed from his dad’s. Ben was part of the Colonial revolution. William was a staunch loyalist and, in fact, the Colonial governor of New Jersey for 13 years, appointed in 1762 by no less than King George III. It was during this period that the turnpike was developed and named for William. Franklin Lakes is also named for the former governor.

William made no secret of his loyalist leanings and his devotion to the king. And in William, King George clearly had a man he could trust. In William’s appointment, the king granted remarkable authority to his new governor: “We do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to suspend any of the members of our said council from sitting, voting and assisting therein if you shall find just cause for so doing.”

Later in the appointment document George said: “And you shall and may likewise from time to time as you shall judge it necessary adjourn, prorogue [discontinue] and dissolve all general assemblies as aforesaid.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ben-franklin-turnpike-not-so-fast-it-s-named-for-his-illegitimate-son-1.1142587

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Christmas – The Joy and Spirit at Bethlehem Lutheran Church

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Christmas – The Joy and Spirit at Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Ridgewood NJ, Celebrate the Christmas Season at Bethlehem With Greg Caldarone and The NJ Brass Quintet Sunday Dec. 7 at 3:00PM This concert will feature classic and contemporary Christmas songs and instrumentals plus a carol sing along. Greg Caldarone and The New Jersey Brass Quintet, accompanied by Bethlehem’s organist and pianist Elena Crudge, will perform a free concert “Christmas: The Joy and Spirit 2014”.
Come celebrate this joyous time of year with old classics and contemporary Christmas favorites. The NJ Brass Quintet is a fabulous ensemble that will immediately give you that warm wonderful feeling of an old fashioned Christmas. Greg Calderone will feature some classic Christmas songs as well as some newer ones. Invite your friends and neighbors to this concert. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas season!

wine.comshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=209195

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Black Self-Sabotage

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Black Self-Sabotage
Walter E. Williams | Jul 31, 2013

If we put ourselves into the shoes of racists who seek to sabotage black upward mobility, we couldn’t develop a more effective agenda than that followed by civil rights organizations, black politicians, academics, liberals and the news media. Let’s look at it.

First, weaken the black family, but don’t blame it on individual choices. You have to preach that today’s weak black family is a legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and racism. The truth is that black female-headed households were just 18 percent of households in 1950, as opposed to about 68 percent today. In fact, from 1890 to 1940, the black marriage rate was slightly higher than that of whites. Even during slavery, when marriage was forbidden for blacks, most black children lived in biological two-parent families. In New York City, in 1925, 85 percent of black households were two-parent households. A study of 1880 family structure in Philadelphia shows that three-quarters of black families were two-parent households.

During the 1960s, devastating nonsense emerged, exemplified by a Johns Hopkins University sociology professor who argued, “It has yet to be shown that the absence of a father was directly responsible for any of the supposed deficiencies of broken homes.” The real issue, he went on to say, “is not the lack of male presence but the lack of male income.” That suggests marriage and fatherhood can be replaced by a welfare check.

https://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2013/07/31/black-selfsabotage-n1651550/page/full

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Photo Project: ” Ridgewood’s 60+ Population”

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Dom Nizza

Ridgewood  Photo Project: ” Ridgewood’s 60+ Population”

The purpose of this photography project is to highlight the lives of residents over 60 yrs. old, who have stayed in Ridgewood even after raising children.

We are seeking beginner or professional-level photographs of 60+ residents that portray the variety of reasons people over 60 yrs. old do chose to stay in our Village. They can be at social events, at work, or play, at sporting events, at clubs, committees, concerts, restaurants, downtown, etc….

Also, in individual, group, only-senior, or in intergenerational settings…….

A kick-off event will take place at 12 Noon, November 18, in The Senior Center at the Village Hall. A professional photographer will explain photography tips for novices and cameras (donated by Wholesale Camera in Midland Park) will be available for anyone who needs a loaner camera.

Photographs must be submitted by December 21, 2014 to the Ridgewood Village Hall Clerk’s office or sent electronically to [email protected]. Submit photos as often as you want. A editing team will select the best photos for the Final Project. These photos will be made into a slideshow and a book to be displayed at the Ridgewood Library and in the Community Center in February, 2015.

“One picture is worth a thousand words!” 50 photos should tell a lot about the 3500 seniors who live in Ridgewood; their friends, families and connections……

wine.comshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=209195

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Ridgewood Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration!

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Ridgewood Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration
Fri, December 05, 2014
Time: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood NJ
Event Description

Come to Ridgewood to start your Holiday season!
Join us on Friday, December 5, 2014

SANTA arrives on Saturday, December 6, 2014..
comes up E. Ridgewood Ave. and goes to Columbia Bank 10am-1pm…pictures and gifts for all the kids!

Starting at 5:30pm
Santa in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square
Live Entertainment on E. Ridgewood Ave.

7:00-8:00pm
On Stage
Live Entertainment & Tree Lighting Celebration

8:00-9:00pm
Santa in the Park
Live Entertainment
more merriement!

Thank You Sponsors:
Columbia Bank,
The Valley Hospital,
Van Dyk Health Care,
The Ridgewood News,
Prestige Motors,
Camp Wekeela,
The Originals Salon
Atlantic Stewardship Bank
The Original Salon Inc.
Precision Orthodontics
From the Top Music Studio,
Art of Motion,
Porch Light Production,
Little Ivy Learning Center,
YMCA of Ridgewood
Janjigian Trading Co., Inc.
CareOne Ridgewood Avenue
West Bergen Mental Healthcare
Huntington Learning Center
C. C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home
Ulrich, Inc.
Duxiana
Huntington Learning Centers
Panico Hair Salon-Ridgewood
Daily Treat
Country Pancake House and Restaurant
It’s Greek to Me
Dr. Frances McGorty
Moxie Blowdry & Beauty Bar
Ridgewood Press
Please say “thank you” to these business for
keeping the “tradition” in Ridgewood.

Breakfast with Santa, The Office Beer Bar & Grill
Saturday 12/6/14 – 8am-10am
Saturday, 12/13 & 12/20 8am-12Noon
call for reservation 201-652-1070.

Store Specials during this event:
Alex and Ani with hot chocolate, holiday cookies and a gift with purchase of $75 or more.

For more details, please call us at 201-445-2600 or email [email protected] www.experienceridgewood.com

wine.comshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=209195

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N.J. to allow Medicaid to cover in-home elder care

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N.J. to allow Medicaid to cover in-home elder care

NOVEMBER 30, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY COLLEEN DISKIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

In its latest move to promote alternatives to nursing homes, the Christie administration will enact a new funding measure on Monday that will allow more elderly and disabled people to apply for Medicaid assistance to pay for care at home or in non-institutional settings.

This newest amendment to the New Jersey’s Medicaid program will allow those who earn too much to qualify for full assistance — but who can’t afford the cost of the care they need — to receive help through the creation of a trust account at a bank.

Any income an elderly or disabled person receives above the Medicaid eligibility limit of $2,163 a month will be deposited into these irrevocable trust accounts, with withdrawals allowed for qualified living expenses as well as for the portion of their care that individuals can afford. Medicaid will then pick up the rest of the tab for their care, whether it’s in a nursing home or their own home.

The change is a response to years of lobbying from advocates who said old Medicaid rules were having the unintended effect of forcing people into nursing homes prematurely, because the state offered no help in paying for home health aides, adult day care programs or assisted living residences.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/n-j-to-allow-medicaid-for-in-home-elder-care-1.1143762

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NJ Senate bill would ease sales of water utilities

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NJ Senate bill would ease sales of water utilities

NOVEMBER 29, 2014, 11:50 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2014, 11:54 PM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

As some New Jersey towns weigh whether to sell off their aging, burdensome drinking-water systems to for-profit water companies, a controversial bill making its way through the state Senate would speed up such sales by stripping away a mandatory public vote on the deals.

Proponents say the bill would make it easier for towns to sell their water and sewer systems and escape costly regulation and infrastructure upgrades — a decision recently weighed by several North Jersey towns, including Ramsey and Allendale.

Critics, however, say the Water Infrastructure Protection Act would cut the public out of the process and could lead to water rate hikes. There is also a concern about selling off a natural resource.

For the 200 small publicly owned water systems in the state — 20 or so in Bergen and Passaic counties — the sharp debate over the bill comes at a time when municipalities, struggling to keep up with more stringent drinking water regulations and facing old water mains, weigh whether to get out of the water business. For-profit water companies are interested in buying the municipal systems to continue their own growth.

Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, and a prime sponsor of the measure, believes “no town should be in the public water supply business.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-senate-bill-would-ease-sales-of-water-utilities-1.1143657

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Ridgewood Open Houses November 30th 2014

1443901.1

$1,295,000 in Ridgewood

$425,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1443545
1103 E Ridgewood Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath, C/C
Jane L. McGuire, Sales Associate
Coldwell Banker, Wyckoff/Franklin Lakes
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Sun. 11/30
4

$499,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1437935
347 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 1 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Karen Boyle, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/30
24

$629,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1418631
436 Alpine Ter, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
3 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath, Col
Marylee Mullins, Sales Associate
Keller Williams Village Square Realty
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Sun. 11/30
15

$1,225,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1442898
269 Lotte Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
6 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Barbara Nudelman, Broker Associate
Coldwell Banker, Ridgewood
Open House: 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Sun. 11/30
25

$1,295,000 in Ridgewood
MLS # 1443901
820 Morningside Rd, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
4 Bedroom, 4 Full Bath,
1 Half Bath, Col
Mary Tarvin Passaro, Broker Associate
Tarvin Realtors
Open House: 1:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Sun. 11/30
– See more at: https://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/RIDGEWOOD-open-houses#sthash.SyywpI7B.2GMQRc7X.dpuf

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DEA agent meets with Ridgewood parents, discusses student drug abuse

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photo by Boyd Loving

DEA agent meets with Ridgewood parents, discusses student drug abuse

November 26, 2014    Last updated: Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 9:42 AM
By Jodi Weinberger
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News

The most dangerous words from a parent, said retired Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Douglas S. Collier, are “not my child.”

In a presentation titled “The Perfect Storm: Battling the Prescription Drug and Heroin Epidemic,” Collier explained how this type of thinking contributes to the widespread use of opiates in the state.

“The importance is to raise awareness of parents who think it can’t touch them,” Collier said before his presentation.

This event, held last Tuesday at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, is part of the district’s Community Outreach Program with events scheduled throughout the year on a range of topics from technology, to drug use, exercise and financial literacy.

The heroin epidemic reaches beyond New Jersey, Collier said, and is a result of what he called “a nation of users.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/dea-agent-watch-for-warning-signs-1.1141497

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Dark days ahead for ObamaCare

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Dark days ahead for ObamaCare

By Elise Viebeck – 11/29/14 06:13 AM EST

The Obama administration is facing a slew of healthcare challenges as the winter holidays approach.

While this fall has been a far cry from last year, when HealthCare.gov was melting down, 2014 has brought wholly unexpected problems to the fore for federal health officials and the White House.

Take the conflict surrounding Jonathan Gruber, the ObamaCare consultant whose suggestion that a “lack of transparency” and voters’ “stupidity” helped the law pass, went viral.

Though Democrats have sought to distance themselves from Gruber, his remarks have become a new flashpoint in debate over healthcare reform, invigorating GOP critics as the party prepares to take control of the Senate.

Gruber has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Dec. 9, in a final hearing for outgoing chairman and relentless administration antagonist Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

The gathering, also set to include Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, is sure to prove a distraction for the White House as officials try once again to keep a lid on opposition to the law.

Here are four additional challenges that the administration faces on healthcare this winter.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/225348-dark-days-ahead-for-obamacare

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Five tips for Thanksgiving leftovers

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Five tips for Thanksgiving leftovers

By Melissa d’Arabian, for CNN
updated 6:56 AM EST, Fri November 28, 2014

(CNN) — When Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the turkey gorge is over, you’ll probably open up your refrigerator and find all sorts of tinfoil-wrapped casseroles and a lingering eau de sage.

What’s a severely yammed out but unwasteful eater to do? That’s where Melissa d’Arabian comes in.

D’Arabian is the winner of season 5 of “The Next Food Network Star” and host of the Food Network show “Ten Dollar Dinners.”

She gives us her five tips for Thanksgiving leftovers.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/28/living/thanksgiving-leftovers/

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Ponzi: Treasury Issues $1T in New Debt in 8 Weeks—To Pay Old Debt

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Charles Ponzi working with the social security administration

Ponzi: Treasury Issues $1T in New Debt in 8 Weeks—To Pay Old Debt

November 28, 2014 – 2:37 PM

The Daily Treasury Statement that was released Wednesday afternoon as Americans were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving revealed that the U.S. Treasury has been forced to issue $1,040,965,000,000 in new debt since fiscal 2015 started just eight weeks ago in order to raise the money to pay off Treasury securities that were maturing and to cover new deficit spending by the government.

During those eight weeks, Treasury took in $341,591,000,000 in revenues. That was a record for the period between Oct. 1 and Nov. 25. But that record $341,591,000,000 in revenues was not enough to finance ongoing government spending let alone pay off old debt that matured.

https://cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/terence-p-jeffrey/ponzi-treasury-issues-1t-new-debt-8-weeks-pay-old-debt