Bozell to CPAC: ‘Cultural Fascism Has Arrived in America’
February 27, 2015 – 9:57 AM
By Barbara Hollingsworth
(CNSNews.com) – “Cultural fascism has arrived in America,” Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“Tyranny is knocking at our door,” Bozell said.
“Webster defines fascism as ‘a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control,’” he said. “Cultural fascism has arrived in America.”
“Let us understand this soberly and unequivocally,” Bozell told hundreds of conservative activists.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we know this to be true. So it begs the question: What is our response?”
“Something terrible is happening to our country,” Bozell noted, listing numerous instances in which Americans in politics, the media, and academia have been persecuted for their political and religious beliefs, including the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which he called “the most feared arm of the federal government”.
Bozell reminded the CPAC audience that “the radical Left now controls most levers of political and cultural power, and is using both in a relentless campaign to destroy the last vestiges of freedom in America.”
“The radicals now control the Federal Communications Commission and the FCC is out of control in its zeal to control free speech,” he pointed out. “The North Koreans would approve of this. Last summer it was making quiet preparations to put a federal monitor in every newsroom to assess stations’ ‘news philosophy,’ and ‘the process by which stories are selected.’ This shocking abuse of governmental authority was exposed and stopped — but by no means have the radicals stopped,” Bozell said.
“The radicals have shown their fangs,” he added. “They will do anything, using any means at their disposal, legal or otherwise, to control our very freedom of speech.”
John Boehner allies fret coup attempt
Conservatives warn the speaker’s fate could be determined by how he handles the next seven days
By John Bresnahan, Anna Palmer and Lauren French
2/28/15 1:46 PM EST
Close allies of Speaker John Boehner are worried that his conservative rivals could move to oust him as soon as next week.
Removing a sitting speaker is exceedingly difficult, and such an effort would almost certainly fall short. Yet growing speculation about the possibility of it – coming after Friday’s embarrassing defeat at the hands of conservatives and House Democrats on the homeland security battle — shows how vulnerable the speaker has become.
Five years into the job, he’s a leader consistently buffeted by forces beyond his control. The legislative calendar guarantees it won’t get any easier: in the coming weeks and months there will be battles over the debt ceiling, budget, taxes, and spending cuts.
The question is how many more of these episodes Boehner can withstand.
Frustration with the Ohio Republican is mounting after dozens of hardliners voted Friday against his three-week funding package for the Department of Homeland Security. Hours of frantic leadership meeting ensued. After some backroom maneuvering with Democrats, Boehner was able to push through a one-week bill to keep DHS open.
Ridgewood Art Institute features paintings by Arthur Maynard
February 27, 2015 Last updated: Friday, February 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Eileen La Forgia
STAFF WRITER |
The Ridgewood News
For 41 years, from shortly after the purchase of the old Cameron Barn until his death in 1991, Arthur Maynard was the most constant fixture of The Ridgewood Art Institute. An immensely talented artist and teacher, his influence has been an ongoing source of inspiration. He taught thousands of students, 30 winning awards at the national level, with more than 20 becoming instructors at R.A.I.
A new exhibit of his paintings is opening this coming Sunday. Composed mainly of portraits, the new acquisitions are a gift of Alison Baetzel, Maynard’s daughter. The highly autobiographical work exhibited in this collection, which spans a period from 1933 to 1990, reveals a great deal about the artist’s perspectives, generosity and life. The paintings include subject matter that the artist cared about deeply. Since many of the works were in progress, the paintings suggest experimentation, evolution, dialogue. They also offer a rare view of Maynard’s work as a student at the Art Students League under the direction of Frank Vincent DuMond.
Bergen County Sheriffs Office leads New Jersey in double-dipping by county cops
February 28,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Under Sheriff Michael Saudino Bergen County leads New Jersey in double-dipping by county cops. The sheriff and four of his undersheriffs collectively reap a million dollars a year in pension pay on top of their six-figure salaries.
First-year Sheriff Michael Saudino ranks first among all double-dippers, raking in a whopping $268,000 a year. Saudino, 59, gets a $130,000 pension for retiring as Emerson Borough police chief on Dec. 31, plus a$138,000 salary since taking office as sheriff the following day.
Undersheriff Steven Librie gleans $219,000 a year – $115,000 in salary and $104,000 in pension. Librie, 50,retired as deputy police chief of Teaneck Twp. in August 2010, then was hired as undersheriff in January.
Undersheriff Brian P. Smith hauls in $218,000 a year – his $110,000 salary plus a $108,000 pension. He retired at age 50 from the Paramus Police Dept. in 2005, then he was hired as undersheriff this year.
Undersheriff Robert A. Colaneri receives in $204,000 a year – a $110,000 salary plus $94,000 in pension. Colaneri, 56, was hired as undersheriff in January 2011 after retiring from Carlstadt Borough in 2006.
Undersheriff Harry Shortway Jr. gets $186,000 a year – his $110,000 salary plus $76,000 in pension. Shortway, 72, retired from Ridgewood Village in 2001, then was hired by Bergen County as undersheriff in January 2011.
It gets worse and its a statewide problem ,according to Mark Lagerkvist of New Jersey Watchdog . Gov. Chris Christie while preaching pension reform hasn’t done much to curb double dipping by public employees.
New Jersey’s costly tradition of double-dipping — allowing government employees to “retire,” start collecting a pension and then return to work for the state, often the next day or week.
By the end of 2012 New Jersey Watchdog found 60 double-dippers who collect a total of nearly $10 million a year — $4.4 million in pensions in addition to $5.5 million in state salaries.
One-third of them were hired under the Christie administration with duties as government officials to protect taxpayers from fiscal foul play and abuses of the public trust. They include:
By the end of 2012 three investigators for the Office of State Comptroller — John Silver, Joseph Celli and Richard Nuel — collectively receive $262,415 a year in pensions plus in $276,000 in salaries. OSC is charged with uncovering waste, abuse and fraud in government.
Assistant Insurance Commissioner Joseph Brennan claims $204,857 a year — $123,000 in salaryand $81,857 from pension. Brennan heads a unit that investigates insurance fraud.
Medical Marijuana Director John O’Brien harvests $167,889 a year — $83,889 in pension plus his$84,000 salary from the Department of Health.
Thomas Flarity, director of security, investigations and audits for the Motor Vehicle Commission, counts on $188,544 a year — $105,000 in salary and $83,544 from pension.
Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff Louis Goetting (pronounced “getting”) gets $228,860 a year —$140,000 in salary plus $88,860 from pension. Goetting is Christie’s budget guru on cutting the cost of government.
That year Christie gave his deputy chief a $10,000 annual raise this year, following New Jersey Watchdog’s report that Goetting had received$1.1 million in early retirement pay and severance packages from public coffers.
The 60 double-dippers receive an average of $165,000 a year — $73,517 from pension plus $92,461 in salary. Fifty-seven are state law enforcement officials who retired under a special law that allows them to receive full pensions after 25 years regardless of age. Twenty-eight retired while still in their 40s.
While this is only the tip of the iceberg for the state pension mess some estimates for fully funding pension promises accrued to date would require an immediate payment of either $37 billion, $83 billion, or $150 billion depending on whether you get your numbers from public plan actuaries, GASB, or me.https://burypensions.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/how-n-j-got-into-this-pension-mess/
Moody’s says the New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) “could fully expend their assets as soon as 2024 and 2027… even assuming the funds meet assumed investment returns.”https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2014/12/03/moodys-nj-pensions-to-run-dry-in-ten-years/
No details yet on possible hike, divulged by Christie administration in budget document
TRENTON – Commuters beware: New Jersey Transit is considering a fare hike and service cuts.
Documents supporting Gov. Chris Christie’s budget plan say NJ Transit “is currently evaluating a range of savings and revenue-generating options that may include the first fare adjustment since May of 2010.”
There’s no detail yet available on the size or timing of a potential fare increase. In 2010, rail and commuter bus fares increased by 25 percent, while light-rail and local bus fares went up 10 percent.
“We are developing options for the governor’s consideration to help us close a budget gap and will be putting everything on the table, including fare and service adjustments,” said NJ Transit spokesman William Smith. “Right now we are working with the state budget numbers as we develop and finalize our own operating plan for the fiscal year.”
Budget documents say the transit agency needs additional funds to meet its operating needs and specifically cite increasing premiums for employee health plans as one of those costs.
Smith said the size of the budget gap has not yet been identified.
Ridgewood’s Super Science Saturday set for this weekend
February 26, 2015 Last updated: Thursday, February 26, 2015, 3:41 PM
By By Tiffany Katehakis
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
An experiment in learning at Ridgewood High School (RHS) that was first tried 27 years ago proved to be a huge success.
Super Science Saturday, with its hands-on, kid-friendly demonstrations and contests, is returning on Feb. 28 and is expected to attract more than 1,200 eager visitors.
The event features a slew of interactive exhibits, from professional and amateur scientists alike, with subjects including robotics, 3-D printers, solar telescopes, drones, rockets, the environment, medicine, and technology commonly used by police, fire and EMT professionals.
But what sets “Super Science Saturday” apart from other student science fairs is that it is a non-competitive event where kids and adults can present their work alongside each other.
The event’s organizer, MichaelAaron Flicker, a Ridgewood native who has been running the program for more than 11 years, said that the non-competitive nature of the event is essential so that “kids are not focused on beating anybody – instead people take time to talk to exhibitors and learn about the projects being presented and enjoy the day.”
Flicker added that “there is so much testing and pressure on students to succeed academically these days that what makes this event unique is that it’s a free event where students and members of the community can get together and just have fun learning.”
Scott Walker hit all the right notes when he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday to address a standing-room-only crowd — even gamely handling a heckler. Walker was talking up Republicans’ push to pass a right-to-work law in Wisconsin, a measure to weaken labor unions, when a heckler stood up and began shouting in the packed ballroom. What he said wasn’t clear, but Walker handled it like a pro: He quipped, “Apparently the protesters come [here] from Wisconsin as well.”
The governor, considered a top contender in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, got a quick standing ovation for his response — one of a number he got during his address. After spending some time touting his strong domestic record as governor of Wisconsin, Walker sharply criticized the Obama administration for ineffective strategy in the fight against the Islamic State, and its disapproval of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address before Congress. Looking to sure up his own bona fides on foreign policy, Walker went out of his way to tell the audience that, as governor, he receives FBI briefings about potential threats to his states. And he pointed to his 2011 face-off with public-employee unions as preparing him for these sorts of situations. “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world,” he said.
Study says NJ has 1.3 million recalled, unrepaired cars on roads
FEBRUARY 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY RICHARD NEWMAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* 1.3 million autos in state go unfixed, study says
Tens of millions of U.S. motorists are driving vehicles that have been recalled because of potential safety issues but have not yet been brought to a dealership for repair, according to a new study.
Colorado-based Carfax, which sells automobile history reports, examined state vehicle registration data to determine that more than 46 million cars, trucks and SUVs in the United States have at least one outstanding recall that has not been addressed by a qualified repair service. In New Jersey, nearly 1.3 million of 6.5 million registered vehicles have been recalled but not repaired, nearly one in five vehicles.
“Either the manufacturers’ letters are not getting to the car owners, or they are being ignored,” said Christopher Basso, a Carfax spokesman. “One of the most alarming things is that minivans and SUVs, which are family-oriented vehicles, have the highest chance of having an unfixed recall.” Nationwide, one out of every three minivans and one of every four SUVs have unresolved recall issues, he said.
New Jersey ranked 11th in the country by number of vehicles with unresolved safety recalls, according to Carfax. The percentage of recalled-but-not-yet-repaired vehicles to total registered vehicles in New Jersey was 19.7 percent, the seventh-highest rate among the 50 states, Basso said.
FEBRUARY 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
What was once a few boxes tucked away in the basement of the Ridgewood Public Library has blossomed over time into a unique service provided to village residents eager to learn more about their town’s history.
Although it is certainly not the only contribution Peggy Norris made to the library during her 22-year tenure – she considers herself a reference librarian first – part of her legacy will be the Bolger Heritage Center, a collection of information like no other dedicated to genealogy and local history.
With her retirement on the horizon, friends and family gathered on Thursday, Feb. 19 for a goodbye celebration and to thank her for the two decades of service to the library.
“The reason that we have that beautiful local history center upstairs is because of Peggy,” said Nancy Greene, director of the Ridgewood Public Library. “I knew that the time to do it was when we had somebody like Peggy to lead it. So we kind of built the local history center around Peggy, with her advice, her vision and I’m so glad and proud that we have had you to come and be with us.”
After you’ve read through Jesse Walker’s exclusive look at the much-hyped Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report of “sovereign citizens,” check out my argument for disbanding DHS altogether. Created in the “mad crush of panic, paranoia, and patriotic pants-wetting after the 9/11 attacks,” DHS oversees 22 agencies. It was a stupid idea from the beginning and it has continued to disappoint. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) regularly lists it as awful and ineffective at just about anything except wasting taxpayer dollars and surveys of federal employees document that even the Post Office has higher employee morale.
Absent legislative action, come Friday DHS will be unfunded due to an ongoing fight over Barack Obama’s executive action regarding illegal immigration. The Republican Congress is threatening to pull funding for the whole department and the Dems are (so far) standing firm in their threat to shut down the government.
In my latest Daily Beast column, I argue that scrapping over this small corner of DHS activities misses the bigger picture insight that the whole cabinet-level departmet should be chucked “into the dustbin.”
Representative Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican, went on to spell out seven pieces of evidence that he said proved the Fed’s involvement in politics, including a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House before Election Day, and another later in November with labor and community organizers.
“You’ve already made monetary policy a partisan political exercise,” Garrett said.
Yellen Defends Fed Against Republican Charges of Party Bias
(Bloomberg) — Janet Yellen was forced to defend the Federal Reserve against accusations that it’s politically partial to the Obama administration and liberal groups during heated exchanges with Republican members of Congress.
“The Federal Reserve is independent,” the central bank chair told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday in response to a question about her regular meetings with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “I do not discuss monetary policy or actions we are going to take with the secretary.”
The exchange reflects rising tensions between the Fed and Republican lawmakers, who are vexed by its aggressive monetary policy and expanded supervision of banks since the financial crisis, and have proposed legislation to curb its powers.
Soros, Ford shovel $196 million to ‘net neutrality’ groups, staff to White House
BY PAUL BEDARD | FEBRUARY 25, 2015 | 2:22 PM
Liberal philanthropist George Soros and the Ford Foundation have lavished groups supporting the administration’s “net neutrality” agenda, donating $196 million and landing proponents on the White House staff, according to a new report.
And now, as the Federal Communications Commission nears approving a type of government control over the Internet, the groups are poised to declare victory in the years-long fight, according to the report fromMRC Business, an arm of the conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center.Liberal philanthropist George Soros and the Ford Foundation have lavished groups supporting the administration’s “net neutrality” agenda, donating $196 million and landing proponents on the White House staff, according to a new report.
And now, as the Federal Communications Commission nears approving a type of government control over the Internet, the groups are poised to declare victory in the years-long fight, according to the report fromMRC Business, an arm of the conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center.
“The Ford Foundation, which claims to be the second-largest private foundation in the U.S., and Open Society Foundations, founded by far-left billionaire George Soros, have given more than $196 million to pro-net neutrality groups between 2000 and 2013,” said the report, authored by Media Research Center’s Joseph Rossell, and provided to Secrets.
Five Ridgewood residents from same neighborhood serve in the military
FEBRUARY 25, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015, 6:25 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
When Sam Combs, Pat Kiernan, Ryan Mansbach and Ben Rogers were small-yet-rough-and-tough neighbors growing up on South Irving Street and Arden Court, they played together a lot: riding scooters in the street, playing manhunt and street hockey, and doing bike jumps in the nearby woods.
It was a fun time, and a good time for bonding for four Ridgewood kids living on a dead end block, with each other’s houses in sight.
But years later, the four friends, plus Masbach’s older sister Melanie, have given up the kid stuff in favor of more strenuous activities – manning submarines, surveying the Pacific Ocean for mines, or piloting Army and Navy aircrafts.
Grown up and scattered around the country, the five neighbors now also have U.S. military service in common.
Melanie Mansbach, now 29, was the first on the block to express a military interest, attending West Point several years ago and becoming an officer. She was later deployed to Afghanistan.
The four neighborhood “boys” are now all either officers or soon-to-be officers in the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy.
Subtle neighborhood inspiration might have a little to do with this, but there was no consensus on that among the four young men, since they all took different paths into the military and had several influences. (Melanie, who is in training, was unavailable for an interview.)
Photo: Jeffrey Lampiasi, Jr. and Jaesung Son pose with RHS Principal Tom Gorman and guidance counselor Peter Burkhard. The other finalists were not available for the photo
Ridgewood Schools National Merit Scholarship Finalists are Announced
Ridgewood NJ, The following five of the seven semi-finalists have been named finalists in the 2015 competition for the National Merit Scholarship awards: Jeffrey Lampiasi, Jr., Warren Li, Sumita Rajpurohit, Jaesung Son and Gabriel Voorhis-Allen.
National Merit Scholarship Qualifications
If you’re a high school junior or the parent of a high school junior, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the National Merit Scholarship qualifications, as most juniors will take the PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) in October of their junior year.
National Merit Scholarship Qualifications
In order to be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a student must: 1) take the PSAT/NMSQT during his or her 3rd year (junior year) of high school 2) be in high school and plan to enroll in college full time by the fall after his or her high school graduation and 3) be a U.S. citizen or a permanent U.S. resident with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen. If a student meets these requirements, he or she will automatically be eligible to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP).
Of the about 1.5 million juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT each year, approximately 50,000 juniors with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index scores (or total PSAT scores) who meet the eligibility requirements described above qualify for NMSP recognition. That is, roughly the top 3% of 11th grade testers will qualify. Note that the Selection Index qualifying scores vary from year to year and state to state, as students are selected for NMSP recognition from each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. During the April following the PSAT/NMSQT administration, these 50,000 students are invited to select two colleges to which the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will provide a reference.
During the September following the PSAT/NMSQT administration, approximately 2/3 of those 50,000 students will receive Letters of Commendation recognizing their academic abilities and potential. Commended students are not eligible for National Merit scholarships. The remaining 1/3 of the 50,000 students qualify as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. For the Class of 2015, in order to qualify as a Semifinalist, students had to have earned a PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score of at least 201 to 222 (240 is the highest possible PSAT/NMSQT score), depending on the state in which the student lives. To view a list of the qualifying scores by state for the class of 2015, visit our National Merit Scores page.
Once a student qualifies as a Semifinalist, he or she must complete the National Merit Scholarship Application and submit it to the NMSC in order to move on to the next round of qualifications (Finalist) and to be considered for a National Merit Scholarship. Additionally, if he or she has not yet taken the SAT and had those scores reported to the NMSC, he or she must do so in October, November, or December of his or her senior year.
During the February of senior year, NMSC will notify those Semifinalists who have qualified as Finalists. Of the roughly 16,000 students who qualify as Semifinalists, about 15,000 of them will qualify as Finalists. Of those 15,000 Finalists, approximately 8,200 of them will be selected for Merit Scholarships, which can be a National Merit Scholarship, a Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarship, or a College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship. Scholarships are awarded based on skills, abilities, and accomplishments as exhibited through a student’s application materials.
Ridgewood Water Customers Socked With High Bills After Meter Overhaul
February 25, 2015 5:43 PM
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – People in Bergen County say they’re drowning in outrageous water bills.
As CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock reported, Ridgewood Water overhauled its systems, but that was not a good thing for many customers who suddenly got socked with bills running into the thousands of dollars.
Two homeowners, one from Wyckoff and one from Glen Rock, both have the same problem: exorbitant water bills.
“In the thousands,” Scott Hornak, of Glen Rock, said.
“They charged us $2,500,” Wyckoff resident Dominick Marano said.
Hornak called after receiving the heart-stopping bill.
“I said, ‘Is there a leak or something?’ And they said no, we’ve just been doing estimated water bills,” Hornak said.
With new meters being installed, one-time-only back charges are being assessed, Murdock reported.
“It can be estimates for six months or for as many as five or six years,” Frank Moritz said, director of operations for Ridgewood Water.
