Darrell Issa Puts Details of Secret Wiretap Applications in Congressional Record
By Jonathan Strong
Roll Call Staff
June 29, 2012, 12:06 p.m.
In the midst of a fiery floor debate over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) quietly dropped a bombshell letter into the Congressional Record.
The May 24 letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member on the panel, quotes from and describes in detail a secret wiretap application that has become a point of debate in the GOP’s “Fast and Furious” gun-walking probe.
The wiretap applications are under court seal, and releasing such information to the public would ordinarily be illegal. But Issa appears to be protected by the Speech or Debate Clause in the Constitution, which offers immunity for Congressional speech, especially on a chamber’s floor.
Its that time of the year again bring your family and friends to enjoy Ridgewood July 4th Celebration on Wednesday, July 4th.
Buy Fireworks tickets at local stores in advance and save or online at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org Schedule of Activities 9 AM – Flag Raising at Wilsey Square (near train station) 10 AM – Parade (Rain or Shine) 6 PM – Gates open for Fireworks – musical entertainment, twirlers, skydivers and FIREWORKS at dark. Further information – www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org
Residents flock to Graydon Pool to dodge the heat
June 29,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Almost Hazardous weather conditions drove many to seek solace in the Garydon pool this Friday with record temperatures not looking to let up it looks to be a very busy weekend
The major heat wave left many looking for shelter and at 5pm the pool was still seeing a lot of action.
Obamacare’s 21 Hidden New Taxes on the Middle Class
Posted 06/28/2012 07:02 PM ET
Taxation: The high bench has confirmed that ObamaCare’s individual mandate is a massive tax on the American middle class. But let’s not forget the 20 other new taxes that are embedded in the law.
Though President Obama never sold it as a tax hike, the Supreme Court ruled the mandate is exactly that. Unfortunately, the majority argued it’s legal under Congress’ taxing authority.
Forcing citizens to buy health insurance “is absolutely not a tax increase,” Obama insisted in 2009. Earlier, he assured the public that raising taxes on the middle class to support his health care plan was “the last thing we need in an economy like this.” “Folks are already having a tough enough time,” Obama added.
• A 3.8% surtax on investment income from capital gains and dividends that applies to single filers earning more than $200,000 and married couples filing jointly earning more than $250,000.
• A $50,000 excise tax on charitable hospitals that fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance” and other rules set by the Health and Human Services Dept. ( Valley Should Love this)
• A $24 billion tax on the paper industry to control a pollutant known as black liquor.
• A $2.3 billion-a-year tax on drug companies.
• A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning salons.
• An $87 billion hike in Medicare payroll taxes for employees, as well as the self-employed.
Despite a few questions about her role in the firing of a prosecutor, Gov. Christie’s former attorney general, Paula Dow, cruised through her judicial confirmation Thursday in the New Jersey Senate.
Dow, who said she recently moved from Essex County to Willingboro, will serve on Superior Court in Burlington County. The Senate voted to confirm her by 38-0 with two abstentions.
Dow originally was nominated by Christie to serve in Essex County, but an apparent dispute between Christie and senators there held up her hearing. She then moved to Willingboro, which upset some attorneys in Burlington County, who had hoped a local lawyer would fill one of the two vacant seats on that court. (Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Ridgewood council officials Keith Killion and Stephen Wellinghorst will be returning to the private life
FRIDAY JUNE 29, 2012, 11:01 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
When the calendar flips to July, things will go “back to normal” for two busy villagers.
Keith Killion and Stephen Wellinghorst will step down from the dais during the Village Council’s annual reorganization meeting, scheduled for July 1, and bid farewell to what many outsiders consider is an adopted life of long government meetings, mind-numbing budget sessions and seemingly endless committee workshops.
Village Hall : Renovated Community Center in Need of Donations
With the on-going renovation to level One of Village Hall, the Village of Ridgewood is presently searching for the following donations for the Community Center.
(1) Two full size refrigerators
(2) One under counter refrigerator
(3) (2) pool tables
(4) (1) ping pong table
Anyone interested in making a donation, please call the Park Division at (201) 670-5565.
What the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act means to you
June 29.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, While supporters view the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act as a way extend health coverage to nearly half of the state’s more than one million uninsured. Most New Jersey healthcare executives including our own Audrey Meyers of Valley Hospital , and Democratic legislators reacted positively .Assuming that less uninsured will create less liability both financially and healthcare wise. Many emphasised the need to press forward creating a health insurance exchange, which are claimed to allow individuals and small businesses to buy coverage online in a transparent manner.
But business reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision was decidedly mixed, with most in the health care industry immediately supportive of the ruling and small business and others filled with doubts as to the ability of the Act to deliver on its promise of coverage and cost containment .
Perhaps Governor Christie summed it up best , saying he believed the health care law mandating universal coverage ” is the wrong approach for the people of New Jersey who should be able to make their own judgments about health care. Most importantly, the Supreme Court is confirming what we knew all along about this law — it is a tax on middle class Americans.”
Christie also said he did not believe a one-size-fits-all health care program works for the entire country and that each governor “should have the ability to make decisions about what works best for their state.”
According to the Washington Post “Obamacare” costs will run the average family of four making $40k per year no more than $1,600 to $2,520 with maximum out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-payments capped at 15 percent of the total cost.Failure to acquire insurance will subject you to penalties of about $2,085.
While Insurers can’t discriminate against you for having a pre-existing condition, and can only vary rates within a narrow range this will mean healthcare costs will have to be controlled through denial of services and limited options.
…AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM EDT
THIS EVENING…
THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HAS ISSUED AN
AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES…
BERGEN…ESSEX…PASSAIC…UNION…HUDSON.
IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING.
AN AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY MEANS THAT GROUND LEVEL OZONE WITHIN THE
REGION MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY STANDARDS.
Hazardous Weather Outlook
…HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM EDT THIS
EVENING…
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.
.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT.
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL
WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS THAT MAY REACH NWS WARNING
CRITERIA. MOST LONG F– USED NWS WATCHES…WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES IN
EFFECT ARE HIGHLIGHTED.
Heat Advisory
…SUMMER HEAT FOR TODAY INTO THE WEEKEND…
.HOT TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 95 TO 100 IN MOST OF NEW YORK CITY
WITH LOWER 100S IN PARTS OF NEW JERSEY ARE FORECAST TODAY.
HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL FORTUNATELY ONLY BE MODERATELY HIGH. THUS…
HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL REMAIN CLOSE TO THE AIR TEMPERATURE.
TEMPERATURES ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WILL REMAIN HOT…BUT AT THIS
TIME ARE FORECAST TO BE A FEW DEGREES LOWER THAN TODAY.
…HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING…
* LOCATIONS…MOST OF NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY.
* HAZARDS…POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS HEAT.
* HEAT INDEX VALUES…AROUND 100.
* TIMING…THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING.
* IMPACTS…POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARDS TO THOSE PRONE TO HEAT STRESS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A HEAT ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND
HUMIDITY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS 100 TO
104 DEGREES FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS. TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF
YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE…RESCHEDULE
STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS
AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT
WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY
OF WATER.
TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS
IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY
HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE
IS AN EMERGENCY…CALL 9 1 1.
In its final voting session before Saturday’s budget deadline, the Senate on Thursday approved dozens of bills previously passed by the Assembly, including one to stiffen penalties for drivers who have injured or killed others because they were using their cellphones.
Under the bill, which the Senate and Assembly passed unanimously, prosecutors could charge distracted drivers with assault or vehicular manslaughter – a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Currently, those caught texting or talking on a cellphone without a hands-free device – even those involved in a fatal crash – face a maximum of 18 months’ incarceration. (Farrell, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Clementi family: Webcam spying led to son’s death
The Associated Press
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — The family of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi said they have come to believe he killed himself in part because of his roommate used a webcam to see him kissing another man.
“It was the humiliation that his roommates and his dorm-mates were watching him in a very intimate act. And that they were laughing behind his back,” his mother, Jane Clementi said. “The last thing that Tyler looked at before he left the dorm room for the bridge (he jumped from) was the Twitter page, where (his roommate) was announcing Tyler’s activities.”
Jane Clementi, her husband and one of their surviving sons talked about Tyler’s death and how their views on homosexuality have changed when they appeared Thursday night on NBC’s “Rock Center” in the first interview the family has given since the bias intimidation trial of the 18-year-old’s roommate.
Romney: ‘If We Want to Get Rid of Obamacare, We’re Going to Have to Replace President Obama’
12:15 PM, JUN 28, 2012 • BY DANIEL HALPER
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney reacted to the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision by saying that, “if we want to get rid of Obamacare, we’re going to have to replace President Obama.”
“Let’s make clear that we understand what the Court did and did not do,” Romney said today, speaking in Washington, D.C. “What the Court did today was say that Obamacare does not violate the Constitution. What they did not do was say that Obamacare is good law or that it’s good policy.”
Romney added: “Obamacare was bad policy yesterday. It’s bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It’s bad law today.”
This presidential election is “a choice,” Romney said. “You can choose whether you want to have a larger and larger government, more and more intrusive in your life—separating you and your doctor—whether you’re comfortable with more deficits, higher debt that we pass onto the coming generations. Whether you’re willing to have the government put in place a plan that potentially causes you to lose the insurance that you like or whether instead you want to return to a time when the American people will have their own choice in healthcare. Where consumers will be able to make their choices as to what kind of health insurance they want.”
Christie concedes school choice is dead in NJ this year
In the roller coaster life of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, Gov. Chris Christie yesterday conceded the controversial school voucher bill is likely dead for the rest of the year.
Where the bill is headed next is less certain.
Christie in the latest of town hall meetings in Mahwah put the blame on Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver for what he said was her refusal to post the bill for a vote. He claimed the votes were in place to pass the measure, along with his promise to sign it.
“Sheila will not post the bill, although there are votes in the Assembly and votes in the Senate to pass it,” Christie said. “The Senate president said he would post it and put it up for vote if the Assembly did so. But Sheila Oliver simply refuses to post the bill.” (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Holder Voted in Contempt of Congress
June 28,2012
the staff of the Riodgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , The House today cited Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for contempt of Congress It does little to break the stalemate over his decision to withhold documents over the Justice Department’s actions in a botched gun-walking operation ,called ‘Fast and Furious”
The 256-67 vote amounted to a political spanking for Mr. Holder and President Obama, 17 Democrats joined Republicans in demanding the documents be released. It also marks the first time an attorney general has been held in contempt by a chamber.
Scott Garrett: The Supreme Court Fails to Protect the Constitution in Health Care Ruling
On June 28, 2012 the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in a 5-4 decision. I am deeply disappointed by the failure of the Supreme Court to protect the American people from an unprecedented assault on individual liberty.
The individual mandate, the foundation of the PPACA, further extends the heavy-hand of the federal government into the lives of every American by forcing individuals to purchase health insurance regardless of whether they want it or not. This Supreme Court decision will fundamentally alter the role of the federal government in our lives.
The PPACA has also passed along billions of dollars in costs to taxpayers during one of the most serious economic downturns in American history. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that government spending on health care will reach $1.8 trillion while premiums will continue to rise by thousands of dollars per family in the next decade. Clearly the PPACA has not lived up to its expectations.
With our national debt ballooning to over $15 trillion, now is not the time for the federal government to increase spending on government programs we cannot afford. This unprecedented expansion of federal spending threatens our long-term economic vitality and the prosperity of future generations. Our children and grandchildren deserve to live in an America free from the strangling burden of inherited debt.
The PPACA has also suffocated small businesses with increased burdens and compliance costs. This has not helped a struggling economy where the unemployment rate has sadly been above 8 percent for 40 consecutive months. While we continue to remain in the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression, Washington should work to eliminate the job-destroying taxes found in this legislation to give small businesses the confidence they need to create jobs.
The side-effects of the PPACA have been disastrous. Millions of lower-income families and seniors now have less choice when selecting a healthcare provider. Religious organizations have even been forced to provide services that run contrary to their fundamental religious beliefs. This is not the America our Founders envisioned.
Rather than come to the defense of our liberty, the Supreme Court has continued the century-long tendency of the judicial branch of stripping government of all limits to its power. It is now up to Congress to fully repeal and replace this legislation with market-based reforms that bring down the cost of health care for families and small businesses without sacrificing American jobs and our overall economic prosperity.
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