Breaking the law doesn’t come with the same consequences for government officials as it does for the rest of us.
An explosive report from The New York Timesreveals that while she was Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton did not have a government e-mail address. Instead she used her own private e-mail address and her staffers made no effort at the time to retain those e-mails on government servers, a violation of federal law.
The Times reports:
It was only two months ago, in response to a new State Department effort to comply with federal record-keeping practices, that Mrs. Clinton’s advisers reviewed tens of thousands of pages of her personal emails and decided which ones to turn over to the State Department. All told, 55,000 pages of emails were given to the department.
What difference, at this point, does it make, most transparent administration in history and all that.
Clinton is not the only government official to use her personal email for official business—Lois Lerner was found to have done the same as questions arose over what kind of inappropriate communications the former IRS bureaucrat was engaged in. Using personal email for government business, while it may be against the law, is relatively popularamong government officials who don’t fear repercussions from breaking government laws.
MARCH 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Mark Biedron, the president of the state Board of Education, will meet next week with village residents to address questions and concerns about Common Core standards and the computer-based PARCC tests.
Marlene Burton said she will open her Liberty Street home to accommodate Biedron’s visit to Ridgewood on Tuesday.
Burton said she’s moving furniture out of her house to make room for the 60-plus residents expected to attend the forum with Biedron. State education officials also confirmed the event.
Burton said Biedron agreed to the Ridgewood meeting following an email exchange on Common Core issues and the controversial PARCC tests.
The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at 123 Liberty St.
PROFILE: STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PRESIDENT BRINGS UNIQUE PEDIGREE TO POST
JOHN MOONEY | JANUARY 7, 2015
Mark Biedron cofounded a progressive private school that’s a far cry from the testing-centric culture of public schools
Mark Biedron, president of the state Board of Education.
Name: Mark Biedron
Title: President of the State Board of Education, 2014 to present. Appointed to the board in 2011 by Gov. Chris Christie.
Why he matters: Biedron has taken an activist role in leading the 13-member board that is responsible for reviewing and approving state administrative code and school regulations. He has traveled the state to query stakeholders and pressed the administration to explain its policies, from testing to school monitoring.
Where he comes from: The board president is a cofounder of the Willow School in Gladstone, a small independent school that focuses on ethics and language as the cornerstones of its curriculum. Founded with his former wife in 2002, the school’s progressive model is quite a bit different from the testing-focused culture of the public education system that Biedron is now charged with overseeing.
Not incongruous: Biedron maintains that for all the evident differences, he feels that public schools are moving toward a more holistic approach to education via the new Common Core State Standards and the advent of PARCC (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing.
Quote: “In the old way and my way of learning, it was to put answers on paper. But your look at PARCC and Common Core, while not perfect, it is about how you got to the answers.”
Not happening fast enough: “I am the first person to say that testing doesn’t show everything about a student, but we have to take a lot of steps moving from Point A to Point B … This big behemoth called education moves slowly.”
How he started a school: Biedron said he was looking for a school for his children that would address both personal virtues and academic rigor, and finding none, he and his former wife were left with the decision to either move or start their own school. They decided on the latter.
Photo from Congressman Darrell Issa ,had a great seat for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech this morning.For Israel, the Iranian pursuit of a nuclear bomb is an existential threat. Is it any wonder they do not trust this administration to decide when Iran will obtain the weapon with which it threatens to wipe Israel off the map?
Obama’s ‘shameful’ snub of Netanyahu
By Darrell Issa5 P.M.MARCH 2, 2015
For all of the attention being given to the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to address Congress Tuesday, so many of those covering the upcoming speech have gotten it backward. The story is not that Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to the United States at the behest of congressional leaders. The story is that one of America’s closest allies in the world feels so alienated by President Obama that he believes his best hope in protecting his nation from a nuclear Iran lies in making his case directly to the American people, having lost confidence in a U.S. president who has rejected his counsel and sought to demonize and marginalize him. Put simply, rather than standing behind our allies, President Obama has thrown himself decisively in front of them, as an obstacle to be circumvented.
Though it is shameful that a staunch ally feels the need to go directly to the American people, it should not be surprising to those who have watched this administration’s actions. The attacks on Israel’s leader continued this week, as Secretary of State John Kerry questioned Prime Minister Netanyahu’s judgment, suggesting that Netanyahu’s support of American involvement in Iraq (involvement Kerry himself supported) somehow rendered him untrustworthy. National Security Adviser Susan Rice called his upcoming Capitol Hill speech “destructive.”
For Israel, the Iranian pursuit of a nuclear bomb is an existential threat. Is it any wonder they do not trust this administration to decide when Iran will obtain the weapon with which it threatens to wipe Israel off the map?
Ridgewood Knights of Columbus to Host Annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance.
Ridgewood-NJ-March 2, 2015: The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus are once again proud to be sponsoring their annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 21st, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Mount Carmel gymnasium at 52 Passaic Street in Ridgewood. The St. Patrick’s celebration this year is particularly meaningful, as the Knights begin their second century in service to the Ridgewood community.
Guests will first be greeted by bagpipers. The Best of Everything will cater a full-course of traditional Irish fare including corned beef and cabbage. The renowned Willie Lynch Band will be playing Irish classics and great dance music, along with a special appearance by the Irish Step Dancers from the McLoughlin Dance School. There will also be a grand prize raffle drawing for a trip to Ireland.
Tickets are $50 per person. Payment can be mailed to:
Come enjoy this annual celebration as the Knights of Columbus continue the tradition that the People of Ireland started over a thousand years ago. And what better way to celebrate the life of Saint Patrick then to gather with friends and family, enjoy a fine meal, and dance to great music!
Come out and celebrate St. Patrick’s with the Ridgewood Knights !
Obama “Very Interested” In Raising Taxes Through Executive Action
Conn Carroll | Mar 02, 2015
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Monday that President Obama is “very interested” in the idea of raising taxes through unitlateral executive action.
“The president certainly has not indicated any reticence in using his executive authority to try and advance an agenda that benefits middle class Americans,” Earnest said in response to a question about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calling on Obama to raise more than $100 billion in taxes through IRS executive action.
“Now I don’t want to leave you with the impression that there is some imminent announcement, there is not, at least that I know of,” Earnest continued. “But the president has asked his team to examine the array of executive authorities that are available to him to try to make progress on his goals. So I am not in a position to talk in any detail at this point, but the president is very interested in this avenue generally,” Earnest finished.
Sanders sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Friday identifying a number of executive actions he believes the IRS could take, without any input from Congress, that would close loopholes currently used by corporations. In the past, IRS lawyers have been hesitant to use executive actions to raise significant amounts of revenue, but that same calculation has change in other federal agencies since Obama became president.
Reader says the Sendon Email was interference with the election process and someone tried to sabotage his job and or his candidacy
I think if the Mayor had even ONCE voiced any outrage over this, and if he had pushed for an investigation, and pursued follow-up, then we would all feel more trusting of him. Yes, it was sent to the Prosecutor’s office, only after certain citizens expressed their anger. Molinelli determined it was not a prosecutable crime, and then it was eventually sent to the Board of Elections (not sure I have the correct name of the agency). Then we heard nothing. Nothing. I am quite certain that if the action had been taken against Mr. Aronsohn, he would have called out all the militia to cross state lines and subpoena the editor at the Staten Island newspaper. This is not such sensitive information that it would be so difficult to obtain. It is disgraceful that this has not been pursued with all possible resources.
The anonymous contact with Mr. Sedon’s employer (a newspaper in Staten Island) informed them that he was a candidate for public office. As such, it was indicated that this was a conflict of interest and I think Mr. Sedon’s employer told him to quit his candidacy or quit his job. The reason the anonymous caller did this was to get Mr. Sedon to quit his candidacy. Instead, he quit his job, and went on to win by a wide margin over the third candidate. If Mr. Sedon had been working for, let’s say The Ridgewood News, then this would have presented a big problem because he could not report on meetings and deliberations of which he was a part. But, this newspaper was in another state, where there could not even be a conceivable problem with him serving on a council in Ridgewood.
You choose to say that it was not such a terrible crime. Well, maybe not. It wasn’t murder or violence. But it most definitely was interference with the election process and someone tried to sabotage his job or his candidacy. Public information that was being relayed – yes, with the express purpose of putting this man off the ballot. It was disgusting.
This business stinks to high heaven. And It DOES seem of a piece with the Mayor’s bat-phone style interactions with The Ridgewood News to squelch political opposition. It has done brutal damage to our local political culture, so frustration that no culprit has been tracked down and held to account is perfectly understandable. The fact that this seamy event is seemingly being swept under the rug, or thrown down some kind of 1984-type George Orwell ‘memory hole’, tempts ordinary residents who had nothing to do with any of it to pretend that it never happened, or that the related civic damage is either not real or not lasting. In the end, though, we know this is just a convenient charade, and we are appalled at the absence of forthright leadership at the Village Council level.
Bob Reimer, 92-year-old Ridgewood Public Library “Read to Papa” volunteer and WWII veteran, celebrated his last week working with the Children’s Department on Feb. 9. Bob came to the library to read to young children in October 2013, telling stories, reading and getting to know the patrons and staff. Bob is relocating to Pennsylvania to be with family. Front row from left: Robin Ritter, Bob Reimer and Lois Brodie. Back row from left: Amy McLaughlin, Gina Mitgang, Ashley Loria and Roberta Panjwani.Bob Reimer with Marion Flanagan. Marion introduced the Ridgewood Public Library to Bob Reimer in October 2013 when she met him at the SHARE home on Cottage Place.
Longtime Ridgewood Library volunteer is moving to Pennsylvania
February 27, 2015 Last updated: Friday, February 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Submitted By marion Flanagan
The Ridgewood News
When Robert “Bob” Reimer agreed to read to preschool children at the Ridgewood Public Library as part of its weekly “Read With Nana and Papa” program, some friends at his local senior residence, SHARE, asked, “Why would you do that?”
Reimer, 92, saw the intergenerational offering as an opportunity. His daily routine needed some zip — and how likely was it that his $2 in weekly lottery tickets would ever fund his dream trip to Monte Carlo?
Reimer eagerly signed up for the program and in less than a year has built a loyal following of tykes, who sit beside him on the bench every Tuesday morning to listen not only to picture books, but also to the narratives of his past. Parents huddle round as well, drawn to Reimer’s warm, affable glow like a campfire and rapt as he spins yarns about his hardscrabble life on a 640-acre South Dakota farm during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
New Jersey is one of five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.
How powerful are public employee unions in your state?
By Jason Hart / February 26, 2015 | Watchdog.org
More than half of the public employees in 13 states are union members, and government union membership rates exceed 25 percent in 27 states.
Labor unions work against employers — local, state and federal taxpayers, in the case of public employees. While slamming labor reforms as “anti-worker,” America’s four largest unions enrich themselves and their members at taxpayer expense.
The National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have a combined total of more than 7.5 million members.
Over 3.3 million unionized public employees work in California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.
West Side Presbyterian Church ,Ridgewood, New Jersey
Special Guest
Ramapo College Chorale – Dr. Lisa Lutter, Director
Soloist
Diana Powers Rettie – Flute
Buy Tickets Now https://ridgewoodband.org/purchase/singleticket.aspx
Program Highlights
American Hymnsong Suite – Dwayne Milburn
Major Dwayne S. Milburn is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1986 he graduated from UCLA with a BFA in Music and received a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1992. In 1993 he became the Director of Cadet Music for the Unites States Army Military Academy at West Point. He received his Ph.D. in Music from UCLA in 2009 and is in great demand as a conductor, composer, arranger and clinician. Milburn notes that “American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in [his] family history as church musicians.” He grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four hymns featured in this work: Prelude on “Wondrous Love” (“What Wondrous Love Is This”), Ballad on “Balm in Gilead,” Scherzo on “Nettleton,” and March on “Wilson.” Milburn says that “whilst many audience members will certainly make various religious connections to the piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage.”
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Lincoln Portrait – Aaron Copland
Lincoln Portrait was commissioned by Andre Kostelanetz for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in early 1942. Copland initially chose Walt Whitman as his subject, but immediately picked Lincoln instead when Kostelanetz suggested a historical government figure. For the narration, which occurs only in the Portrait’s third and final section, Copland used Lincoln’s words, adding his own brief descriptions of the former president. Characteristic of Copland’s populist and patriotic music, Lincoln Portrait quotes traditional popular tunes: “Springfield Mountain” and Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races,” while the largest portion of the musical work is Copland’s own genius.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Battle Hymn of the Republic- Peter Wilhousky
Battle Hymn of the Republic originated when Julia Ward Howe, the wife of a prominent Boston abolitionist, visited a Union army camp in Virginia during the Civil War. There she heard soldiers singing “John Brown’s Body” to a tune attributed to William Steffe, a Philadelphia insurance salesman, and probably composed in 1855 or 18566. Howe decided to write new verses more fitting to the conflict between the North and theSouth. Her “Battle Hymn” was published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 and has expressed America’s resolve during every conflict since. The arrangement heard here was prepared by Mr. Wilhousky, a New York-based chorus master. This setting has become the definitive rendition of the work as it never fails to stir the emotion of its audience.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Washington Greys – Claudio Grafulla/L. Schissel
This classic march is Grafulla’s most widely known composition, and it has been arranged and rearranged for countless contemporary bands. Research indicates that The Washington Greys were the 8th Regiment of New York, based at Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Their name is chiseled in stone in the Armory entranceway. The 8th became the 258th Field Artillery and is still part of the 42nd InfantryDivision (Rainbow) of the Army National Guard. Prior to the Civil War, gray was a standard color for military uniforms; it was not until the development of the Confederacy that the Union uniform color became blue. The Washington Greys were the original honor guard for George Washington when he was welcomed back to New York City after the British evacuated in 1783. The Washington Greys March is Grafulla’s most famous work because of the way the march is constructed. It is musically cohesive, with its running sixteenth notes and a responding rich bass voice making a magnificent counterpoint. This very spirited march demands virtuosity from its performers.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Marching through Georgia – John Philip Sousa/Brion
Sousa marches often bear a dedication to people, places, or events. Marching Through Georgia is a powerfully inventive patrol setting of Henry Clay Work’s immensely popular 1865 civil war song. It was written to commemorate William Tecumseh Sherman’s famed and decisive Union Army “March to the Sea” which historically broke the backbone of the rebellious Confederacy. The patrol setting gives the listener the aural view of the band approaching from the distance, sounding full as it passes, and fading in its retreat.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Spring Song – Jean Sibelius arr. Patrick Burns
Sibelius wrote extensivelyand wonderfully for orchestra, yet relatively few of his tone poems are performed regularly in this country, apart from Finlandia, and the Swan of Tuonela. Spring Song is a hymn to nature tinged with a hint of the wintry melancholy that can linger into the sub-arctic spring of Sibelius’s beloved Finnish homeland. Mr. Burns has honored both the composer and the Ridgewood Concert Band with his concert band arrangement of this Sibelius jewel composed originally in 1894. Although gentle and wistful in its opening, the work also contains some lovely and memorable melodies that will now be available to performers and audiences alike in this delightful new setting, as the Ridgewood Concert Band premiers this new arangement.
Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.
Precious Metal – D.J. Sparr
Precious Metal is a concerto for flute and winds and is based on the three metals of which the flute is made. Each metal is a descriptive title that influenced the construction and materials of each movement of the work. In the first movement, Silver Strettos, the flute is heard as bright and pristine within the simple and pure melodic material and the call and response canonic orchestration. In the second movement, Platinum Sheen does not have the glimmer of silver, so the orchestration in this movement is not as flashy as in the first movement, but as with platinum, the orchestration is strong and durable – using the low instruments of the ensemble for a strong foundation. Gold Rush begins with a solo flute motive based on material from the first movement but now in a minor key. The ensemble interrupts with a pulsating crescendo that leads to a virtuosic flute cadenza. The middle section of this movement features a long accelerando with a soaring flute melody that ultimately leads to a musical accompaniment to a westward bound journey into the sunset, a search for gold and riches.
Readers feel the Mission of the “Civility Forums” is nothing more than Censorship and Control political speech of Village residents.
I have not been able to attend the the so-called Civility Forums initiated by Paul Aronsohn of Ridgewood. I am sure that most of us would like to have the volume lowered in public discourse. The irony is that much of the high volume public discourse is perpetrated by politicians, pundits, and the print and electronic news media. I agree with the blogger that it is elitist that elected officials, a lobbyist, and a newspaper publisher would use their position and power to imply that anonymous bloggers are in someway destructive to the democratic process. I should not have to remind the participants that history is riddled with people in power who have sought to control and re-write the public narrative to their satisfaction. Mr. Tedesco and Paul Aronsohn should read Robert’s Rules of Order to maintain orderly public meetings. Public opinion, free speech, and dissent are the domaine of all the people including those who choose to remain anonymous.
“Ed Koch once said ,”If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”
But not according to Stephen Borg, Publisher and President, North Jersey Media Group, who insisted that the whole problem is that since people have found their voice through social media they have come to so many different opinions civil discourse has fallen .Things were so much better when North Jersey Media had a monopoly on public discussion and could always dictate terms . Borg implied that elites like himself we the only ones qualified to make those decisions. Borg pointed out how this blog and its anonymous posters are the greatest enemy to not only American Democracy but to the dominance of North Jersey Media Group. While I was rather flattered that the Publisher and President, North Jersey Media Group thought this blog shook the very foundations of civil discourse and was viewed as the barbarians at the gate , I would suggest the far larger problem might be the totally bias, and slip shot reporting of his Media Empire. Borg set the tone for the evening which came down silencing critics and reasserting the elitist “we know better than you ” , so time to be quite .https://theridgewoodblog.net/civility-forum-moves-forward-to-squelch-public-dissent/ “
Yes, it does sound as if some Gruber-like sentiments about the general public were expressed at the most recent event of Mr. Aronsohn’s series of discussions designed to lay the groundwork for the Obama administration’s plans for naked and direct government censorship of the political speech of individual citizens.
The general public, as a whole, has and regularly displays, far more integrity than do, as a whole, the self-appointed elites in this country. That’s why the following sentiment has always rung so true:
“I would sooner be governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than by the two thousand members of the faculty of Harvard.”― William F. Buckley Jr., Happy Days Were Here Again: Reflections of a Libertarian Journalist
Hillary Clinton, pining for Aronsohn-style “civil discourse”…as if! Sounds suspiciously like Borg with her complaint about non-standard media sources.
Hillary Clinton Blames ‘Different Media’ For Dividing Country by Charlie Spiering/Breitbart , the Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained that “different media” are dividing the country, making it impossible for people to even have a conversation with each other.”
Double Dipping Starts at the Top with Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck and 17 other assembly and senate incumbents
March 1,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In New Jersey, elected officials can start collecting their lawmakers’ pension once they qualify for it (based on a complex system of accumulating so-called retirement credits), yet stay in office and also garner a salary.
New Jersey state senator, Loretta Weinberg, and mentor to our mayor justified taking nearly a $41,000 pension while still collecting a $49,000 salary on grounds that she had lost money in the Bernie Madoff scandal. Despite taxpayer anger after press reports of her dual incomes, Ms. Weinberg’s colleagues elected her majority leader in November 2011.
This continues a disturbing pattern in the Garden State. Last year, during Jersey’s state legislative elections, 18 assembly and senate incumbents from both parties who double-dip were up for reelection, including Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, who in addition to her $49,000 a year legislative salary receives a pension of nearly $41,000 annually. In her case, both incomes are for the same job because Jersey allows legislators to retire while still in office and get both a pension and salary. All 18 legislators won reelection. Their retirement checks annually cost the overburdened pension system nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
Elected officials also continue to employ a host of staffers who double-dip, including those working for the governor, the state’s comptroller and the attorney general. Rather than simply resign their state jobs when appointed to the staff of an official, these employees retire, grab their pension and take home a salary, too.
Double-dipping by New Jersey public officials continues to thrive for one big reason: Too many legislators either directly profit or quietly condone a costly practice that drains untold millions from state pension funds.
New Jersey Watchdog found 18 state lawmakers who receive retirement checks totaling $782,000 a year in addition to their legislative salaries. The roster includes leaders of each party in both the Senate and Assembly. (See full list below)
The Assembly’s roll of double-dippers features Deputy Speaker Connie Wagner, D-Paramus; Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Egan, D-New Brunswick; Majority Conference Leader Gordon Johnson, Teaneck; Minority Conference Leader David Rible, R-Wall Township; and Appropriations Officer John DiMaio, R-Bridgewater.
Ranking twin-scoopers in the Senate include Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck and Minority Conference Leader Robert Singer R-Lakewood.( https://watchdog.org/category/new-jersey/)
The biggest dipper in the Legislature is Sen. Fred Madden, D-Turnersville, who collects nearly a quarter-million dollars a year from two public jobs and a state pension. In addition to $49,000 in legislative pay, theSenate Labor Committee chairman receives $85,272 from a State Police pension and $111,578 as dean ofLaw & Justice at Gloucester County College.
“Obviously, I don’t have a problem with people doing it,” Madden told New Jersey Watchdog last year.
“It’s not appropriate,” countered Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Red Bank, one of the few legislators to openly oppose double-dipping. “The pension system is intended to support you at a time you are no longer working. So when you are an active employee, you should not be able to tap into both.”
Gov. Chris Christie has welcomed double-dippers into the ranks of his administration. A New Jersey Watchdog investigation last year found 19 state retirees were rehired under Christie.
Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Louis Goetting, gets $228,860 a year — $140,000 in salary plus an $88,860 pension as a state retiree.
“The governor called him out of retirement,” said spokesman Michael Drewniak. “And we are grateful to have him,”
Also in Christie’s corner are two prominent double-dipping Essex County Democrats who crossed party lines last month to publicly endorse the GOP governor’s re-election bid. (https://watchdog.org/category/new-jersey/)
Jindal: Obama ‘Unfit to be Commander in Chief,’ More Intent on Warning About the Crusades
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said President Obama “seems more intent on telling us warnings about the Crusades, criticizing America” than fighting terrorism.
Jindal, the 2016 hopeful playing the most hardball lately, emerged from a governors’ meeting with Obama at the White House yesterday to declare the president “unfit to be commander in chief.”
“I take no joy in saying that,” said Jindal, in town for the National Governors Association meeting, to reporters. “I don’t say so for partisan or ideological reasons.”
Jindal elaborated on Fox this morning, saying Obama “disqualified” himself from being fit to lead the country and its military as he “refuses to identify one of the main military threats we face by name: radical Islamic fundamentalism.”
“You listen to those quotes from his own administration. Eric Holder says, ‘We’re not at a state of war.’ You’ve got the State Department saying, ‘We’re not going to kill our way to victory,’ at a time when these barbarians, they’re beheading Christians, they’re torturing, prosecuting Christians, Muslims, Jews, other religious minorities, they are — they killed over 100 schoolchildren, they’re actually killing editorials, because they don’t like their cartoons,” he said.
The governor also cited two “fundamental mistakes” Obama makes in his authorization of military force request to Congress.
“One, he puts an arbitrary timeline, a three-year deadline in there. We know we’ll be done when we’ve hunted down and killed these terrorists, not some political deadline. And then secondly, he bars the use of ground troops,” Jindal said.
“We need to enlist our military commanders. We need to go to them and say, ‘Give us a plan to hunt down, to kill, to eradicate these terrorists.’ We don’t need a president who’s trying to appease (inaudible), trying to be politically correct. He won’t even name the enemy we face, and now he’s refusing to give our military the tools — all the tools they need to go and win this war.”
FEBRUARY 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015, 9:59 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
When Bergen County Protect and Rescue fell into desperate times late last summer, the general public stepped up with an overwhelming response to assist the county’s only no-kill animal shelter. Though given a crutch, the Cliffside Park-based operation is still in constant need of community support, as it barely covers the monthly $10,000 operating costs to care for some four dozen cats and dogs until they’re ready for adoption.
Ridgewood has taken notice.
The Willard School community took a different approach while planning its annual theme day, which took place earlier this month to rave reviews and overwhelming positive feedback.
A school-wide program, theme days in the past were typically geared toward student enjoyment and learning. Previous theme days incorporated events such as spelling bees or “Amazing Race” style activities that promoted cultural diversity and education.
“They were fun, but we wanted to do something that put the emphasis on the children making a difference during the day rather than another fun event,” said Pam Chmiel, this year’s theme day coordinator. “Willard has a great track record in bringing conscious programs to the school … so we presented our theme as ‘philanthropy’ – giving time, talents and treasure and taking action for the common good.”
Chmiel, together with the Willard Home and School Association, Principal Caroline Hoffman and other parents, rebranded theme day as Willard Service Day 2015, which they hosted on Feb. 4. Student activities still focused on fun and learning, but they also centered on “giving back to those less fortunate or going through a difficult time.”
Obama, Netanyahu on Collision Course 6 Years in the Making
WASHINGTON — Feb 28, 2015, 12:41 PM ET
By JULIE PACE and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press
For six years, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been on a collision course over how to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a high-stakes endeavor both men see as a centerpiece of their legacies.
The coming weeks will put the relationship between their countries, which otherwise remain stalwart allies, to one of its toughest tests.
Netanyahu is bound for Washington for an address to Congress on Tuesday aimed squarely at derailing Obama’s cherished bid for a diplomatic deal with Tehran. At the same time, Secretary of State John Kerry and other international negotiators will be in Switzerland for talks with the Iranians, trying for a framework agreement before a late March deadline.
In between are Israel’s elections March 17, which have heightened the political overtones of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
The prime minister is speaking to Congress at the request of Republicans. His visit was coordinated without the Obama administration’s knowledge, deepening tensions between two leaders who have never shown much affection for each other.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street, said Netanyahu was “crossing some lines that haven’t been crossed before and is putting Israel into the partisan crossfire in a way it has not been before.”
But the largest pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has tried to play down the partisanship.
“AIPAC welcomes the prime minister’s speech to Congress and we believe that this is a very important address,” spokesman Marshall Wittmann said. “We have been actively encouraging senators and representatives to attend and we have received an overwhelmingly positive response from both sides of the aisle.”
