Analysis: Utilities tackle communication breakdown
MONDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2012, 11:04 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER, JULIET FLETCHER AND MELISSA HAYES
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
When the Federal Emergency Management Agency needed to reach North Jersey residents left in the cold and dark by superstorm Sandy, it printed fliers and sent agents into the streets to distribute them. In Ridgewood, elected officials also printed sheets of paper to give residents, telling them where to find ice and other necessities they needed to get through an extended power outage.
New Jersey’s utility companies, however, communicated with out-of-power customers through email and online social media. They also held regular briefings with reporters where company officials stressed how tough their jobs were and how many employees they had out in the field working long hours to make repairs.
That message didn’t reach many customers who had no Internet, no radio and no way of charging their smart phones because their homes were flooded or their power was still out. And, in the estimation of several crisis management experts, it probably didn’t resonate much with customers who had power but wanted to hear less about how hard the task was and more about how close, realistically, it was to being completed.
The challenge of restoring power was hard enough after Sandy, New Jersey’s most damaging storm ever, and, amid the frustration, it’s hard to imagine how North Jersey’s power companies — the Public Service Electric and Gas Co., Jersey Central Power & Light and Orange & Rockland Utilities — weren’t destined for a public-relations drubbing.
But, in Sandy’s wake, a significant question has arisen about whether, apart from their performance in restoring power, the three companies, to one degree or another, made life harder on themselves and more frustrating for their customers by failing to communicate as effectively as they could have.
Spend the Christmas Season at Bethlehem Lutheran in Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, The members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church invite everyone to spend the Christmas season at Bethlehem. Please join us for any of the services listed below in our sanctuary located at 155 Linwood Ave. in Ridgewood, NJ. We will be celebrating the blessed birth of Christ and the love of family and friends. What better place than Bethlehem to spend the Christmas season!
Our Advent mid-week worship series is entitled “Interviews with Isaiah”. Have you ever
wondered what the prophet Isaiah would say to us today? In INTERVIEWS WITH ISAIAH,
a special, fresh and innovative series of worship services for Advent, you will find out! In
each service the character of Isaiah will address the congregation and explain the meaning
and background behind his most well-known prophecies about the coming of Christ. These
interactive services involve both words and images that help us to learn more about our Savior as
we anticipate during Advent the celebration of his birth at Christmas.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH – 7:30 P.M.
In THE LIGHT, Isaiah reveals insights about Christ, who came to lighten our dark world of sin
with his love. (Isaiah 2:1-5)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH – 7:30 P.M.
The gifts of THE SPIRIT that Isaiah tells us about are better than any earthly gifts we might
receive. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19TH – 7:30 P.M.
As we travel on THE JOURNEY of Advent, Isaiah assures us that we will be blessed and
strengthened by our Lord. (Isaiah 35:1-10)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23RD – 9:30 A.M.
We will be renewed in THE WAIT, Isaiah explains, which we experience as we prepare for
Christ. (Isaiah 64:1-9)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30TH – 9:30 A.M.
Isaiah helps us welcome with joy THE CHILD who is born to save us and lead us. (Isaiah 7:10-
17)
Each service will feature a dramatic dialog between our Pastor, Andy Nelson, and “Isaiah!”
Bethlehem Lutheran Church invites you and your family to join us for Christmas worship. Our
Sunday School will present their Christmas program on Sunday, December 16th at 9:30 a.m. On
Christmas Eve–Monday, December 24th we will host Happy Birthday Baby Jesus at 4:00 p.m.
for pre-school children in our parlor. Bethlehem’s Christmas services include a Christmas
Eve Family candlelight worship service at 6:00 p.m. as well as a Christmas candlelight service
of festival worship at 8:00 p.m. On Christmas Day–Tuesday, December 25th we will hold a
communion worship service at 9:30 a.m. On Sunday, December 23rd & 30th – we will have
one worship service at 9:30 a.m. We end the year with New Year’s Eve worship on Monday
December 31st – 5:30 p.m.
We truly hope to see you and wish everyone a joyous Christmas season and a beautiful finish for
2012. The members of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridgewood want you to
know that God has a plan for you and he loves you. Our faith is in Christ. Our guide is in the
Bible. Our love is for all. Come celebrate with us. For our regular worship schedule, we offer 2
Sunday services: Contemporary Praise Service at 8:45am and Traditional Worship at 11am with
Sunday School and Bible Class at 10am. Please join us at 155 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood.
U.N. Seeks to Control Internet
November 26.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Next week the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union will meet in Dubai to discuss how to gain control of the Internet. Representatives of 193 nations will attend the nearly two week long meeting.
Many proposals have been put forth by authoritarian governments to censor the Internet and control its content. State bureaucrats are in effect looking to rewire the Internet disrupting the free flow of information.
“Next week the ITU holds a negotiating conference in Dubai, and past months have brought many leaks of proposals for a new treaty. U.S. congressional resolutions and much of the commentary, including in this column, have focused on proposals by authoritarian governments to censor the Internet. Just as objectionable are proposals that ignore how the Internet works, threatening its smooth and open operations,” reports the Wall Street Journal.(https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-seek-control-internet_664018.html )
“Having the Internet rewired by bureaucrats would be like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla. The Internet is made up of 40,000 networks that interconnect among 425,000 global routes, cheaply and efficiently delivering messages and other digital content among more than two billion people around the world, with some 500,000 new users a day. …( https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-seek-control-internet_664018.html )
The Democrat Embrace Of Fascism
13.11.2012
By Jamie Wendland
Like most Americans, when I was a kid, I was under the impression that all repressive regimes were just like Nazi Germany as portrayed in old movies. All dissenters were either immediately imprisoned or publically shot in the back of the head, no secret is made of it, and everybody knew and lived in constant fear for their own lives. But, that really isn’t the case with fascist or repressive societies. It’s actually a subtle process that is done with popular public support and under the guise of complete legality, justification, democracy and to the greater good of the society.
It is, in other words, the road to fascism present day America is taking and it’s only being accelerated by a delusional love affair with President, Barack Obama.
While Democrats and Obama Loyalists ride their rainbows and unicorns in celebration of the re-election of the messiah, we on the left, are shaking our heads, wondering how Democrats could support four more years of failed Bush policy. On nearly every issue, there was no discernable difference between Obama or Romney, particularly on foreign policy and civil liberties, where the only significant difference boiled down to who would attack Iran first and whether or not the US military still uses bayonets.
Democrats therefore, are left grasping for straws for any liberal distinction, drawing attention to Obama’s alleged progressiveness, by pointing to gay marriage, possible legalization of marijuana, or contraceptives. Let’s be clear, gay marriage and legalization are inevitable regardless of who is president, as the trend of the larger society is already in that direction and Obama has nothing to do with it. It has been the states and the courts, not the president, taking the lead in case after case. So far as contraception, the issue is so completely silly, it barely merits any discussion.
That said, Mitt Romney would have actually been best for restoring ideological sanity and preserving the liberal agenda.
MVC extends deadline for motorists affected by Sandy
TRENTON — Motorists affected by Superstorm Sandy will get a break from the state.
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission announced that residents whose driver’s license, registration or vehicle inspection was up for renewal last month have been given a 30-day extension.
“Rather than having these customers make a special trip to FEMA’s centers just for a motor vehicle issue, our entire staff is ready to assist at any one of our 39 agencies statewide,” said Raymond P. Martinez, commission chairman and chief administrator. “We’ve implemented temporary service measures in our agencies to help those with special circumstances caused by Sandy.”
Under the administrative order, anyone who is the holder of a valid New Jersey driver’s license or permit that was due to expire between Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 and was not renewed can continue to exercise his or her driving privileges until Nov. 30. Renewals of vehicle registrations and inspections due that same time period are also extended until Nov. 30.
(Todd McHale; The Philadelphia Inquirer) https://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/motor-vehicle-commission-extends-deadlines-for-motorists-affected-by-sandy/article_41e88497-4c3e-50d6-9350-f7e85fda3261.html
Obama faces huge challenge in setting up health insurance exchanges
By Elise Viebeck – 11/25/12 02:45 PM ET
The Obama administration faces major logistical and financial challenges in creating health insurance exchanges for states that have declined to set up their own systems.
The exchanges were designed as the centerpiece of President Obama’s signature law, and are intended to make buying health insurance comparable to booking a flight or finding a compatible partner on Match.com.
Sixteen states — most of them governed by Republicans — have said they will not set up their own systems, forcing the federal government to come up with one instead.
Another five states said they want a federal-state partnership, while four others are considering partnerships.
It’s a situation no one anticipated when the Affordable Care Act was written. The law assumed states would create and operate their own exchanges, and set aside billions in grants for that purpose.
Post your favorite picture of your pet or pets to our page, the top 12 photos with the most “likes” will win! Please read our rules, regulations & instructions in our notes section for more details on what our winners will receive! Start posting pictures as the contest begins NOW. Good luck everyone! We can’t wait to see all those adorable pets.
We’ve already had some great photos posted! Keep them coming! The deadline is 12/14/12. First Prize includes a $250 Gift Certificate to Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital!
Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital’s Second Annual Favorite Pets 2013 Calendar Photo Contest
by Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital on Monday, November 12, 2012 at 3:56pm ·
Rules, Regulations and Instructions :
a. You must be 18 or older to participate
b. The contest is in no way supported, sponsored by or affiliated with Facebook.
c. You must be able to submit a regular sized digital (Jpeg) to RVH upon winning. A horizontal photo is preferred, but not necessary.
d. By participating in the contest you are allowing us to use and distribute the image of your pet on any of our online sites and related marketing of Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital. Therefore, you must have complete and exclusive rights to the original photograph and be the pet owner. If the entry photo also has a picture of a person or group of people, you must be that person, or the parent and/or guardian of that person.
e. By participating in the contest you understand that by posting photographs on Facebook (or any other internet website) your photographs may be available for public viewing and/or use. Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital is in no way responsible for any distribution of your photograph beyond our normal marketing by any other individuals or companies.
f. In order for your photo to be considered, please post on our wall with the title of your entry photo and attach a photo. Then click, share.
g. If you win the contest you may be contacted via email so please email us at: [email protected] upon uploading your pet’s picture. Please include the entry photo’s title in the subject box and include in the message your full name, pet’s name, email and contact phone number.
h. Your contact information will not be used for anything other than to contact you to inform you if you win this contest.
i. You may only upload 1 picture of each pet, however, you may enter as many pets as you wish. You may also submit a group photo of your pets for consideration as well as individual pictures.
j. Contest ends on December 14, 2012. Winners will be notified by December 31, 2012.
k. Winner will be determined by whichever picture receives the most “likes” on Facebook by December 14, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
l. There will be 12 winners in total. The first prize winner will win: A $250 Gift Certificate to Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital, as well as their photo featured on the cover of the calendar and a select month of the year. The second prize winner will win: A $100 Gift Certificate to Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital, Winners 1-11 will be featured as the photograph of a select month of the year.
m. Any questions, concerns etc. should be directed to Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital. [email protected]
To learn more about our hospital as well as past and future events, please visit our website:
WWW.RIDGEWOODVET.COM
Why Is The Latino Poverty Rate So High?
Rachel Sheffield
November 24, 2012 at 10:00 am
It has been reported recently that the poverty rate among Latinos has reached 28 percent.
The number, based on a new poverty measure by the Obama Administration, should be interpreted with caution, as explained here and here. However, the overall point that more American Latino families, and Americans in general, are struggling to achieve self-sufficiency is troubling.
What’s not mentioned in news reports, however, is the greatest driver of child poverty in the U.S. today: unwed childbearing. Among Latinos, unmarried parent families are roughly three times as likely to be poor as married families. Tragically, over half of Latino children born today are born outside of marriage. The rate has increased from less than 40 percent in the 1990s to more than half—nearly 53 percent—today.
These facts are rarely mentioned, and few attempts made to address the matter. Instead, big government proponents clamor that the antidote to poverty is greater government welfare spending. Unfortunately, these programs do not help people overcome poverty. Today, the U.S. spends roughly five times the amount necessary to pull every poor person out of poverty, and welfare is the fastest-growing part of government spending, exceeding even the cost of defense spending. However, poverty rates have not declined.
Ridgewood Police Department and PBA local 20 with Bogg Bag pitch in to help the cleanup and recovery effort at the Jersey Shore.
November 23,2012
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood PBA has teamed up with Kim Vaccarella the creator of “Bogg Bag” – a beach bag created on and for the love of the Jersey Shore. The Vacarella’s have donated over 800 Bogg Bags, which are perfect for the elements the homeowners are facing since they are large, sturdy, tip-proof, waterproof, antimicrobial and washable. Local drives have been held to collect cleaning supplies, masks, cough drops, gloves, hand warmers, bleach, flashlights, batteries, paper towels, wipes, rags and more. The Home Depot also donated masks and gloves.
Today we are handing out the Bogg Bags and allowing the residents to take supplies as they enter their homes this weekend. The Ridgewood PBA has made a financial donation to offset the cost of shipping the bags from Seattle to the Jersey Shore. Members of the Ridgewood Police Department have donated their time to help unload the tractor-trailer full of the bags. After unloading the truck earlier this week they took the pallets the bags were on, broke them up and delivered them to the local Police Officers manning the checkpoints for use in their burning barrels which they are using to keep warm. We have spoken with several local Police Officers, some who have lost their own homes and they appreciate our support. The bags are being distributed in Ortley Beach today, Saturday and Sunday on 6th Avenue and Route 35 South near the (First Aid Building). For more information you can visit the Bogg Bag FB page.
Bogg Bag for the beaches
Bogg bag has partnered up with family, friends, local businesses and corporations to bring over 800 bogg bags filled with basic necessities to those people affected at the beaches. Bogg bags will be filled with rubber gloves, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, paper goods, hand sanitizer and more….
Governor Chris Christie estimates damage from Sandy costing at $29.4B
November 23,2012
the staff of the ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj ,Governor Chris Christie estimates it will cost an estimated $29.4 billion to pay for all of the damage that superstorm Sandy caused across the state . This figure includes making up for revenues lost by businesses and rebuilding the state’s transportation and utility systems. This comes after New York state officials estimated the storm’s damage there at $33 billion.
In a statement Christie issued late Friday the Governor said he plans to press the federal government for funds to help pay for the losses .“I stand ready to work with our congressional delegation and the Obama administration to get the funding support New Jersey expects and deserves in the aftermath of this catastrophe,”
Christie also said the storm’s impact on the state’s $38 billion-a-year tourism industry was still being measured and that the cost estimate is “preliminary,” and may increase “in the weeks ahead.
Christie has said he expects Sandy to be the second-most expensive storm in U.S. history, ranking just behind Hurricane Katrina, which caused $81 billion in damage in 2005. Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday an estimate for Sandy’s total cost in all of the states affected was not yet available.
Martha Mooke is a pioneer in the field of the electric viola/violin performance who uses her classical music training along with digital effects processing and improvisation to create a unique musical voice. She has toured internationally as a member of Barbra Streisand’s acclaimed orchestra during the North American 2006 and European 2007 tours and traveled throughout North America with “Star Wars In Concert”. In addition to being a performer and recording artist, she is an award-winning composer and a clinician who introduces students to new concepts of playing and listening.
The Ridgewood Concert Band is excited to be working with Ms. Mooke this season. She will be performing her own composition “X-ING” with the RCB at their upcoming concert in December. This piece was born out of conversations between Ms. Mooke and RCB Music Director Chris Wilhjelm, who had played in various orchestras together over the years. According to Ms. Mooke, the thought of the combination of sound worlds between the electric viola (with electronic processing) and concert band was “incredibly inspiring” and her goal in creating the piece was to make the collaboration “as organic and unique as possible.”
A string soloist and a concert band is not a traditional pairing in music. However, because she plays an electric/amplified string instrument, the usual “audibility handicap”, as Ms. Mooke said, of an acoustic string instrument is removed.
The title “X-ING” was inspired by road signs (i.e. Deer XING, Pedestrian XING). This piece is an “Electric Viola-Concert Band X-ING” with three movements that portray three different “X-ING” concepts: Pegasus (as in winged horse X-ING), X-ING Over and Double X-ING.
Martha Mooke invites the audience to experience the music – not merely listen to it. She said, “If it moves the listener, feel free to respond – a smile, applause, a sigh, a tear, a grin, or even a grimace. A performance is equal parts give and take. The performers feel the vibe of the audience as much as the audience hears the sounds of the performers.”
Bergen County forms task Force Protect Public against Home repair Contractor Scams
November 22.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Under the direction of Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan a new County wide task force has been formed to inspect contractors making home repairs in areas damaged by superstorm Sandy. The Task force is charged with looking for contractors committing fraud .
Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan said in a statement. “My administration will have zero tolerance for fraudulent home improvement companies,” .
The task force will include members of the county’s Consumer Affairs Division and the Bergen County Police Office of Consumer Protection. Capt. Victor F. Cuttitta Jr. of the Bergen County police,will lead the task force and will focus on areas hit the hardest by the storm, like Moonachie and Little Ferry. but not limit itself to those areas.
Donovan asked residents to “watch out for their elderly neighbors” because they “are often targeted by con artists posing as legitimate contractors.”.She asked residents to call the county’s Consumer Affairs Division to find out whether a contractor is registered or has been the subject of complaints. The Consumer Affairs Division can be reached at 201-336-6413 or the county police Office of Consumer Protection at 201-336-6400, extension 6424.
Proclamation of Thanksgiving Washington, D.C. – October 3, 1863
This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
Each year at this time school children all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating.
It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving’s real meaning.
The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.
The official story then has the Pilgrims living more or less happily ever after, each year repeating the first Thanksgiving. Other early colonies also have hard times at first, but they soon prosper and adopt the annual tradition of giving thanks for this prosperous new land called America.
The problem with this official story is that the harvest of 1621 was not bountiful, nor were the colonists hardworking or tenacious. 1621 was a famine year and many of the colonists were lazy thieves.
In his ‘History of Plymouth Plantation,’ the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with “corruption,” and with “confusion and discontent.” The crops were small because “much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable.”
In the harvest feasts of 1621 and 1622, “all had their hungry bellies filled,” but only briefly. The prevailing condition during those years was not the abundance the official story claims, it was famine and death. The first “Thanksgiving” was not so much a celebration as it was the last meal of condemned men.
But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, “instead of famine now God gave them plenty,” Bradford wrote, “and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God.” Thereafter, he wrote, “any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day.” In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.
What happened?
After the poor harvest of 1622, writes Bradford, “they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop.” They began to question their form of economic organization.
This had required that “all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means” were to be placed in the common stock of the colony, and that, “all such persons as are of this colony, are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the common stock.” A person was to put into the common stock all he could, and take out only what he needed.
This “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” was an early form of socialism, and it is why the Pilgrims were starving. Bradford writes that “young men that are most able and fit for labor and service” complained about being forced to “spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children.” Also, “the strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak.” So the young and strong refused to work and the total amount of food produced was never adequate.
To rectify this situation, in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.
Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible results. At Jamestown, established in 1607, out of every shipload of settlers that arrived, less than half would survive their first twelve months in America. Most of the work was being done by only one-fifth of the men, the other four-fifths choosing to be parasites. In the winter of 1609-10, called “The Starving Time,” the population fell from five-hundred to sixty.
Then the Jamestown colony was converted to a free market, and the results were every bit as dramatic as those at Plymouth. In 1614, Colony Secretary Ralph Hamor wrote that after the switch there was “plenty of food, which every man by his own industry may easily and doth procure.” He said that when the socialist system had prevailed, “we reaped not so much corn from the labors of thirty men as three men have done for themselves now.”
Before these free markets were established, the colonists had nothing for which to be thankful. They were in the same situation as Ethiopians are today, and for the same reasons. But after free markets were established, the resulting abundance was so dramatic that the annual Thanksgiving celebrations became common throughout the colonies, and in 1863, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.
Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them.
* * * * * Mr. Maybury writes on investments. This article originally appeared in The Free Market, November 1985.
Sandy spurs new look at underground power lines, grid upgrade
Hurricane Sandy has prompted utility regulators to take a new look at measures New Jersey has shied away from in the past – including replacing some above-ground power lines with underground systems — largely because of the huge price tag that likely would jack up electric rates for consumers.
In the next few months, the state Board of Public Utilities, however, plans to explore the possibility of “selective’’ burying of underground lines. It also will examine whether to require utilities to create a “smarter” power grid, a step some say would lead to faster restoration of power in the wake of powerful storms like Sandy. (Johnson/NJSpotlight)
