by Salvatore Pizzuro
As a disability policy specialist and parent/family advocate, I have become aware of Assemblyman Gary Schaer’s contributions to his legislative district and the people of New Jersey.
The graduates of New Jersey’s and America’s Special Education programs have difficulty in employment, independent living, community interaction, and socialization. Assemblyman Gary Schaer has addressed the needs of young people with disabilities who are about to make the transition from high school special education programs to postsecondary or adult living.
Abraham Lincoln was No Abraham Lincoln
by Mike Presutti
Today most of our holidays have become mere excuses for a long weekend, and an opportunity for retailers to have a sale. This Presidents’ Day, few people will take time to wonder why we have the day off, and those who do, might find it difficult to get straight answers about the people we honor.
Today most of our holidays have become mere excuses for a long weekend, and an opportunity for retailers to have a sale. This Presidents’ Day, few people will take time to wonder why we have the day off, and those who do, might find it difficult to get straight answers about the people we honor.
Taxing in Fanwood
by Daniel Strachman
“Taxation without representation is tyranny”, James Otis – 1765 – Boston.[1]
It is as if we have been pushed back in time.
Recently, the Mayor and Borough Council of Fanwood have been pushing for a new ordinance that would require all businesses to register with the borough clerk. The ordinance, scheduled for a March 13 a council vote, carries with it a $25.00 fee. For this fee, the business gets a certificate that it is registered with the town. What do the borough and its residents get? Apparently nothing. The ordinance, specifically states that registering means absolutely nothing and the mayor, borough council and town do not endorse, support or recommend the business to anyone. If this is not taxation without representation, I do not know what is.
[1] Daniel A. Smith , Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct Democracy (1998), 21-23
“Taxation without representation is tyranny”, James Otis – 1765 – Boston.[1]
It is as if we have been pushed back in time.
Recently, the Mayor and Borough Council of Fanwood have been pushing for a new ordinance that would require all businesses to register with the borough clerk. The ordinance, scheduled for a March 13 a council vote, carries with it a $25.00 fee. For this fee, the business gets a certificate that it is registered with the town. What do the borough and its residents get? Apparently nothing. The ordinance, specifically states that registering means absolutely nothing and the mayor, borough council and town do not endorse, support or recommend the business to anyone. If this is not taxation without representation, I do not know what is.
[1] Daniel A. Smith , Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct Democracy (1998), 21-23
The 2nd Most Expensive War in American History
by Eric Margolis
“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money,” famously quipped US Senator Everett Dirksen back in the 1960’s.
The US government has just estimated that President George Bush’s occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and his so-called war on terror, will cost at least $690 billion by the end of next year. That’s more than the total cost to America of World War I, the Korean War, or Vietnam, and second only to the $2 trillion cost of World War II (in current dollars).
This means that by 2008, Bush’s wars in the Muslim world will have cost each American man, woman, and child $2,300.
“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money,” famously quipped US Senator Everett Dirksen back in the 1960’s.
The US government has just estimated that President George Bush’s occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and his so-called war on terror, will cost at least $690 billion by the end of next year. That’s more than the total cost to America of World War I, the Korean War, or Vietnam, and second only to the $2 trillion cost of World War II (in current dollars).
This means that by 2008, Bush’s wars in the Muslim world will have cost each American man, woman, and child $2,300.
Jonathan Santlofer: The Man Ray Series
by Gail Stavitsky
Since the early 1990s, Jonathan Santlofer has reinvented traditional conceptions of the human body through his constructed and drawn portraits of artists and art world figures. Having begun his career in the 1970s as a painter of eccentrically shaped, multi-paneled, abstract canvases, Santlofer turned to the subject of portraiture at a pivotal moment in his life and career. In 1989, Santlofer lost a significant group of paintings which were consumed by a fire during an exhibition at a Chicago gallery. His subsequent term as a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome in 1990-1991 was a life-saving experience that reaffirmed his abiding interests in the history, practice, and meaning of art. Making drawings and prints of the art of the Italian old masters he was seeing, Santlofer started, in his words, "cutting them up and making collages, just to get a feel for imagery which ultimately led to using portraiture in my work."[i]
Since the early 1990s, Jonathan Santlofer has reinvented traditional conceptions of the human body through his constructed and drawn portraits of artists and art world figures. Having begun his career in the 1970s as a painter of eccentrically shaped, multi-paneled, abstract canvases, Santlofer turned to the subject of portraiture at a pivotal moment in his life and career. In 1989, Santlofer lost a significant group of paintings which were consumed by a fire during an exhibition at a Chicago gallery. His subsequent term as a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome in 1990-1991 was a life-saving experience that reaffirmed his abiding interests in the history, practice, and meaning of art. Making drawings and prints of the art of the Italian old masters he was seeing, Santlofer started, in his words, "cutting them up and making collages, just to get a feel for imagery which ultimately led to using portraiture in my work."[i]
Greed and Man at Yale
by Michael P. Riccards
Over a half century ago, a young William F. Buckley wrote a provocative book, “God and Man at Yale”—a very critical study of the forces of secularism and liberalism at his great alma mater. Today one could look at greed and man (and woman) at Yale as well, based on its new tuition and fee schedules. In fairness, most of the Ivies and near Ivies are insisting on charging over $40,000 for an undergraduate liberal arts education, often with classes taught in large sections or by teaching assistants, rather than by expensive full professors who teach three to six hours a week for 28 weeks a year.
Over a half century ago, a young William F. Buckley wrote a provocative book, “God and Man at Yale”—a very critical study of the forces of secularism and liberalism at his great alma mater. Today one could look at greed and man (and woman) at Yale as well, based on its new tuition and fee schedules. In fairness, most of the Ivies and near Ivies are insisting on charging over $40,000 for an undergraduate liberal arts education, often with classes taught in large sections or by teaching assistants, rather than by expensive full professors who teach three to six hours a week for 28 weeks a year.
Financing Healthcare for the Uninsured: A Grassroots Model that Works
by Murray Sabrin
Recently, articles have appeared in New Jersey newspapers citing the $47 million shortfall in the state’s FamilyCare insurance program. The federal government (65 percent) and the State of New Jersey (35 percent) subsidize the health insurance of the working poor through FamilyCare.
Has the Governor Gone Too Far?
by Michael M. Shapiro
For the past decade, New Jersey 's Governors have slowly but steadily politicized the State's system of higher education, from appointing "cronies" to serve on the Board of UMDNJ to "finding" jobs in New Jersey Higher Education for fellow politicians. Governor Corzine’s intervention in the union organizing drive underway at Rutgers is as troubling. For the State’s chief executive to get so intricately involved in the day-to-day management of the State University is quite unusual in and of itself, but for the Governor to actively promote this unionizing effort and go so far as to join the union's organizing rally is unacceptable. By exerting political pressure and influence on the President of Rutgers University, Richard McCormick, the Governor has also secured a “neutrality” agreement that prohibits the University from taking a position on the possible unionization and allows employees to promote unionization during work hours. Has the Governor gone too far?
For the past decade, New Jersey 's Governors have slowly but steadily politicized the State's system of higher education, from appointing "cronies" to serve on the Board of UMDNJ to "finding" jobs in New Jersey Higher Education for fellow politicians. Governor Corzine’s intervention in the union organizing drive underway at Rutgers is as troubling. For the State’s chief executive to get so intricately involved in the day-to-day management of the State University is quite unusual in and of itself, but for the Governor to actively promote this unionizing effort and go so far as to join the union's organizing rally is unacceptable. By exerting political pressure and influence on the President of Rutgers University, Richard McCormick, the Governor has also secured a “neutrality” agreement that prohibits the University from taking a position on the possible unionization and allows employees to promote unionization during work hours. Has the Governor gone too far?
TRUTH IN MUSIC
By Jon Bauman
How can this happen in America? If I plunk down my hard-earned entertainment dollars to see a group called The Coasters, it’s got to at least have something to do with The Coasters, right? Doesn’t somebody on stage need to have had some connection to “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” “Poison Ivy” and all the other classic hits that made The Coasters the first group to be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame?
Not necessarily. In fact, Carl Gardner, who sang virtually every Coasters lead and is the holder of the federally registered trademark of the name, has spent years trying to shut down shows by Coasters impostor groups. But even with the trademark as a weapon, his task has proved nearly impossible. He is more than entitled to quote his creation Charlie Brown and ask “Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”
Impostor groups are everywhere. In a sophisticated form of identity theft, dozens of them are performing around the country at casinos, theaters, fairs and festivals. Often they perform on the same oldies bill as one another, duping consumers and stealing the remuneration and the applause due to the real pioneers of rock and roll. Unfortunately, New Jersey, with the popularity of Doo-Wop and the variety of its venues, has had way more than its share of impostor shows, likely more than any other state in America.
I haven’t personally been a victim of impostors, but when I was a member of Sha Na Na, which began paying homage to vintage rock and roll in the late 1960s, I met almost every one of my childhood idols, the people who sang those songs. I’m honored to call them my friends. And I’m distressed to see so many of them suffer while impostors take their livelihood and, what’s worse, their glory.
It’s done cleverly. There’s usually at least one really old guy in the phony group, so that you can sit out in the audience and say: “That must be the Real One.” A young lady recently told me that she was taken by her parents to see what she thought was her favorite group, “The World Famous Platters,” for her Sweet Sixteen party. She reports that “Rooster,” the lead singer, told her he sang lead on all the Platters hits and then “proceeded to deface my Platters albums with his autograph.” You see, she’d noticed that there was no one even remotely related to a “Rooster” on her album jackets.
A group claiming to be the Shangri-La’s (“Leader of the Pack”) has actually gained legal rights to the group name in a court settlement, but even under existing law that still doesn’t entitle them to the group’s history. I once saw two “Shangri-La’s” barely out of diapers hold up the hand of the “Real One” and say: “And this is Mom,” implying that she was both a member of the original group (which she wasn’t) and their mom (which she also wasn’t).
The perpetrators routinely provide “documentation” so that they can sell sham and under priced packages to agents and promoters. My favorite piece of documentation is an apparent authorization to use a group’s name from the mother of one of the group’s former singers. The singer was deceased, which was immaterial since he’d quit the group 40 years before anyway and appears to have signed away his rights to the group’s name at that time. What was more interesting was that his mother had died four years before the authorization was signed. Miraculous!
I have been told by several musicians who back up these impostor shows that they’ve seen instances when one of the phony groups didn’t make it to the gig. So some of the fake “Coasters” who’d just performed changed out of the red spangly suits into the blue spangly suits and reemerged as “Drifters”! You got a problem with that?
And the people behind all this know how to work the system. If they are sued, they just keep making motions to run up the fees and try to bankrupt the real artists, who’ve in many cases been ripped off all their lives to begin with and are lucky to have anything left at all. And, yes, there is an underlying issue of race here. The vast majority of the groups that are being knocked off are African-American.
The impostor group problem can affect all generations of musicians, but I suspect it’s at its worst right now. The early pioneers of rock and roll were just too faceless. It will be harder to knock off groups from the music video era. But people are already trying. A group called “The New Frankie Goes To Hollywood” which had absolutely nothing to do with the 80’s hitmakers just charged $200 a person for a New Year’s Eve show in Miami! The beat goes on…
That’s why I’ve been working with the Vocal Group Hall of Fame to pass legislation which will help solve this problem in perpetuity. Truth in Music is law in seven states already, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts, and is pending in New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The bill is being introduced in 10 more states as I write, including Florida, California and Nevada. It requires that an authentic member of the “recording group” must appear in the “performing group,” unless the performing group owns a legitimate federally registered trademark to the group’s name. Otherwise, you must bill yourselves as a “tribute” or a “salute” in a manner that is not so similar to the real group name that it would tend to confuse the public.
If you want a gut-wrenching experience, try watching a baby boomer audience leap to its feet at the end of an impostor group show. The audience so clearly thinks it’s honoring the body of work, the legacy, the deep pleasure this music has given them since their youth, the way this music brought people of different races together in America and helped change the world.
They don’t even know they’re applauding the wrong people! Come to think of it, you may have been in one of those audiences and been duped yourself. How can this happen in America?
Jon Bauman, better known as “Bowzer,” was a member of the singing group Sha Na Na and is currently performing in “Bowzer’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Party.” He is Chairman of the Truth in Music Committee at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
# # #
How can this happen in America? If I plunk down my hard-earned entertainment dollars to see a group called The Coasters, it’s got to at least have something to do with The Coasters, right? Doesn’t somebody on stage need to have had some connection to “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” “Poison Ivy” and all the other classic hits that made The Coasters the first group to be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame?
Not necessarily. In fact, Carl Gardner, who sang virtually every Coasters lead and is the holder of the federally registered trademark of the name, has spent years trying to shut down shows by Coasters impostor groups. But even with the trademark as a weapon, his task has proved nearly impossible. He is more than entitled to quote his creation Charlie Brown and ask “Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”
Impostor groups are everywhere. In a sophisticated form of identity theft, dozens of them are performing around the country at casinos, theaters, fairs and festivals. Often they perform on the same oldies bill as one another, duping consumers and stealing the remuneration and the applause due to the real pioneers of rock and roll. Unfortunately, New Jersey, with the popularity of Doo-Wop and the variety of its venues, has had way more than its share of impostor shows, likely more than any other state in America.
I haven’t personally been a victim of impostors, but when I was a member of Sha Na Na, which began paying homage to vintage rock and roll in the late 1960s, I met almost every one of my childhood idols, the people who sang those songs. I’m honored to call them my friends. And I’m distressed to see so many of them suffer while impostors take their livelihood and, what’s worse, their glory.
It’s done cleverly. There’s usually at least one really old guy in the phony group, so that you can sit out in the audience and say: “That must be the Real One.” A young lady recently told me that she was taken by her parents to see what she thought was her favorite group, “The World Famous Platters,” for her Sweet Sixteen party. She reports that “Rooster,” the lead singer, told her he sang lead on all the Platters hits and then “proceeded to deface my Platters albums with his autograph.” You see, she’d noticed that there was no one even remotely related to a “Rooster” on her album jackets.
A group claiming to be the Shangri-La’s (“Leader of the Pack”) has actually gained legal rights to the group name in a court settlement, but even under existing law that still doesn’t entitle them to the group’s history. I once saw two “Shangri-La’s” barely out of diapers hold up the hand of the “Real One” and say: “And this is Mom,” implying that she was both a member of the original group (which she wasn’t) and their mom (which she also wasn’t).
The perpetrators routinely provide “documentation” so that they can sell sham and under priced packages to agents and promoters. My favorite piece of documentation is an apparent authorization to use a group’s name from the mother of one of the group’s former singers. The singer was deceased, which was immaterial since he’d quit the group 40 years before anyway and appears to have signed away his rights to the group’s name at that time. What was more interesting was that his mother had died four years before the authorization was signed. Miraculous!
I have been told by several musicians who back up these impostor shows that they’ve seen instances when one of the phony groups didn’t make it to the gig. So some of the fake “Coasters” who’d just performed changed out of the red spangly suits into the blue spangly suits and reemerged as “Drifters”! You got a problem with that?
And the people behind all this know how to work the system. If they are sued, they just keep making motions to run up the fees and try to bankrupt the real artists, who’ve in many cases been ripped off all their lives to begin with and are lucky to have anything left at all. And, yes, there is an underlying issue of race here. The vast majority of the groups that are being knocked off are African-American.
The impostor group problem can affect all generations of musicians, but I suspect it’s at its worst right now. The early pioneers of rock and roll were just too faceless. It will be harder to knock off groups from the music video era. But people are already trying. A group called “The New Frankie Goes To Hollywood” which had absolutely nothing to do with the 80’s hitmakers just charged $200 a person for a New Year’s Eve show in Miami! The beat goes on…
That’s why I’ve been working with the Vocal Group Hall of Fame to pass legislation which will help solve this problem in perpetuity. Truth in Music is law in seven states already, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts, and is pending in New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The bill is being introduced in 10 more states as I write, including Florida, California and Nevada. It requires that an authentic member of the “recording group” must appear in the “performing group,” unless the performing group owns a legitimate federally registered trademark to the group’s name. Otherwise, you must bill yourselves as a “tribute” or a “salute” in a manner that is not so similar to the real group name that it would tend to confuse the public.
If you want a gut-wrenching experience, try watching a baby boomer audience leap to its feet at the end of an impostor group show. The audience so clearly thinks it’s honoring the body of work, the legacy, the deep pleasure this music has given them since their youth, the way this music brought people of different races together in America and helped change the world.
They don’t even know they’re applauding the wrong people! Come to think of it, you may have been in one of those audiences and been duped yourself. How can this happen in America?
Jon Bauman, better known as “Bowzer,” was a member of the singing group Sha Na Na and is currently performing in “Bowzer’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Party.” He is Chairman of the Truth in Music Committee at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
# # #
About Org
Welcome to the Hall Institute of Public Policy - New Jersey. We are a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that explores issues of social, economic, educational and cultural importance to New Jersey. We believe there is a need and a value to fostering this type of debate and discussion because issues frequently develop here before they emerge on the national stage.
Whether it is how businesses adjust to changes in the economy, how the state approaches the problems of sprawl and congestion, or how society plans for a larger, older population, what happens in New Jersey today is likely to have an impact on our nation tomorrow.
Since its inception in 2005, the institute has emerged as a leading voice for public policy in New Jersey. More than 100 papers have been posted on our website, along with special features such as a Property Tax Forum, an online Virtual Debate between New Jersey's candidates for U.S. Senate, and the contents of our 295-page hardcover book The State of the Garden State.
The institute is dedicated to fostering solutions to our state's challenges and problems. Our mission is to serve as a leading forum for academic research, creative ideas and constructive debate on statewide issues. We are committed to improving the overall understanding of the issues that impact our daily lives by encouraging dialogue from diverse perspectives, including scholars of public policy, government officials and other citizens of our state.
The Hall Institute takes a pragmatic approach to public policy that bridges the gap between scholarship and practical application. We conduct and support scholarly research; present forums, symposiums and conferences; publish white papers and op-ed articles; collaborate with other institutions and foundations, and operate an interactive website that will set us apart from other public policy groups. The Institute also plans to publish a book about New Jersey's future, tentatively titled New Jersey 2020.
Our goal is to present different viewpoints and offer thoughtful analyses of the issues. We believe the solutions to the problems confronting our state can best be solved through collective wisdom - from the halls of academia, from corporate executives and small business owners, and from the many people who call New Jersey home. Through this collective wisdom, we can generate ideas and solutions that can be put into practice by members of both sides of the aisle in Trenton.
Whether it is how businesses adjust to changes in the economy, how the state approaches the problems of sprawl and congestion, or how society plans for a larger, older population, what happens in New Jersey today is likely to have an impact on our nation tomorrow.
Since its inception in 2005, the institute has emerged as a leading voice for public policy in New Jersey. More than 100 papers have been posted on our website, along with special features such as a Property Tax Forum, an online Virtual Debate between New Jersey's candidates for U.S. Senate, and the contents of our 295-page hardcover book The State of the Garden State.
The institute is dedicated to fostering solutions to our state's challenges and problems. Our mission is to serve as a leading forum for academic research, creative ideas and constructive debate on statewide issues. We are committed to improving the overall understanding of the issues that impact our daily lives by encouraging dialogue from diverse perspectives, including scholars of public policy, government officials and other citizens of our state.
The Hall Institute takes a pragmatic approach to public policy that bridges the gap between scholarship and practical application. We conduct and support scholarly research; present forums, symposiums and conferences; publish white papers and op-ed articles; collaborate with other institutions and foundations, and operate an interactive website that will set us apart from other public policy groups. The Institute also plans to publish a book about New Jersey's future, tentatively titled New Jersey 2020.
Our goal is to present different viewpoints and offer thoughtful analyses of the issues. We believe the solutions to the problems confronting our state can best be solved through collective wisdom - from the halls of academia, from corporate executives and small business owners, and from the many people who call New Jersey home. Through this collective wisdom, we can generate ideas and solutions that can be put into practice by members of both sides of the aisle in Trenton.
Reducing the Cost of Public Higher Education
by Robert P. Haney, Jr
New Jersey has suffered from a lack of direction in its policy toward funding public higher education for the past 15 years, since the elimination of the State’s commitment to fund 70 percent of State College costs and the subsequent elimination of the Department of Higher Education[1]. During that period, it has gone from having a well financed and affordable system of public higher education, to now having one of the least affordable in the nation. Students and their families, as well as the state’s economy, have suffered from this lack of vision. Undergraduate tuition at New Jersey’s public colleges and universities, which averages $8,180 a year, is now the second highest in the nation,[2] and a four-year undergraduate education is increasingly out of reach for the average resident, especially students from low-income families.[3] The economic loss of failing to provide the opportunity for higher education is tremendous: the U.S. Census Bureau found that workers over 18 with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, while those with only a high school diploma earn an average of $27,915[4].
New Jersey has suffered from a lack of direction in its policy toward funding public higher education for the past 15 years, since the elimination of the State’s commitment to fund 70 percent of State College costs and the subsequent elimination of the Department of Higher Education[1]. During that period, it has gone from having a well financed and affordable system of public higher education, to now having one of the least affordable in the nation. Students and their families, as well as the state’s economy, have suffered from this lack of vision. Undergraduate tuition at New Jersey’s public colleges and universities, which averages $8,180 a year, is now the second highest in the nation,[2] and a four-year undergraduate education is increasingly out of reach for the average resident, especially students from low-income families.[3] The economic loss of failing to provide the opportunity for higher education is tremendous: the U.S. Census Bureau found that workers over 18 with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, while those with only a high school diploma earn an average of $27,915[4].
Democracy Flourishes In The Sunshine
by Michael M. Shapiro
Governing bodies throughout New Jersey, particularly on the municipal level, are abusing The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The purpose of these Acts is to enhance democracy by allowing the public to see government in action rather than permitting the government to operate behind closed doors. While some municipalities televise their meetings or otherwise record them, many do neither so there is no true record of what occurs at most public sessions. In addition, while minutes of these meetings are public documents under the law and must be available to its citizens, there is no requirement that the minutes be thorough or that they accurately reflect the meeting they are supposed to memorialize. Too often a citizen who requests documents, including resolutions and ordinances, is routinely given the runaround until he rescinds his request. In addition, there are few vehicles for the public to use when an OPRA request is denied by a governing body. Fortunately, change may be in the air.
Governing bodies throughout New Jersey, particularly on the municipal level, are abusing The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The purpose of these Acts is to enhance democracy by allowing the public to see government in action rather than permitting the government to operate behind closed doors. While some municipalities televise their meetings or otherwise record them, many do neither so there is no true record of what occurs at most public sessions. In addition, while minutes of these meetings are public documents under the law and must be available to its citizens, there is no requirement that the minutes be thorough or that they accurately reflect the meeting they are supposed to memorialize. Too often a citizen who requests documents, including resolutions and ordinances, is routinely given the runaround until he rescinds his request. In addition, there are few vehicles for the public to use when an OPRA request is denied by a governing body. Fortunately, change may be in the air.
Presidents According to Mo Rocca
by Michael P. Riccards
Television humorist Mo Rocca has decided to give us a more macabre view of the presidents. He takes us around in “Arrive” magazine to a trip of presidential tombs. He has gone on the road to see some of their final resting places, and so he goes first to Tennessee, the home of three presidents including James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Johnson to visit the Polk’s resting place in Music City. James K. Polk, one of my favorites, was a highly effective one-term president who stole a part of Mexico, captured California and parts of Oregon, and never collected a pension.
Television humorist Mo Rocca has decided to give us a more macabre view of the presidents. He takes us around in “Arrive” magazine to a trip of presidential tombs. He has gone on the road to see some of their final resting places, and so he goes first to Tennessee, the home of three presidents including James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Johnson to visit the Polk’s resting place in Music City. James K. Polk, one of my favorites, was a highly effective one-term president who stole a part of Mexico, captured California and parts of Oregon, and never collected a pension.
New School Funding Necessary for Property Tax Relief and Reform
by Hank Butehorn
Despite years of debate, a special Legislative session, and demand for change, no one has put forth a long-term solution to excessive property taxes. Rather, legislators try to buy re-election with a few dollars in short term property tax ‘relief.’ There have been no proposals for property tax ‘reform,’ and one way or another the people get stuck with increasing State and local taxes.
Despite years of debate, a special Legislative session, and demand for change, no one has put forth a long-term solution to excessive property taxes. Rather, legislators try to buy re-election with a few dollars in short term property tax ‘relief.’ There have been no proposals for property tax ‘reform,’ and one way or another the people get stuck with increasing State and local taxes.
Message to the Democratic National Committee: ‘Welcome to New Jersey’
by Richard J. Codey
For too long now, New Jersey voters have been systematically silenced during the Presidential primary season, while states like New Hampshire and Iowa play a major role in selecting our next potential commander-in-chief. For the most part, this was due to our position as one of the last two states in the nation to hold a primary, with ours falling in June while most other states were voting in mid-winter.
For too long now, New Jersey voters have been systematically silenced during the Presidential primary season, while states like New Hampshire and Iowa play a major role in selecting our next potential commander-in-chief. For the most part, this was due to our position as one of the last two states in the nation to hold a primary, with ours falling in June while most other states were voting in mid-winter.
On Corruption
by Mark Funkhouser
“American cities have a long history of corruption and sometimes citizens take a perverse pride in a figure like Buddy Cianci, a flamboyant mayor now in federal prison but also credited with bringing the city of Providence, Rhode Island, back to life.”
So said Neal Conan, the host of National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” during a broadcast focused on cities and corruption. Personally, it’s a little hard for me to understand the “pride.” The Prince of Providence, Mike Stanton’s well-documented and readable chronicle of Cianci’s adventures paints an astounding portrait of public corruption, extending more or less unbroken from 1974 to 2002. Even if I could forgive outright theft, (his mother had more than $500,000 in a safe in her house that Cianci collected one bundle at a time), his rape of a young woman at gun point while he was a law student or his police chief’s suicide over guilt from succumbing to his pressure to hire unqualified officers, would push me past the limit.
“American cities have a long history of corruption and sometimes citizens take a perverse pride in a figure like Buddy Cianci, a flamboyant mayor now in federal prison but also credited with bringing the city of Providence, Rhode Island, back to life.”
So said Neal Conan, the host of National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” during a broadcast focused on cities and corruption. Personally, it’s a little hard for me to understand the “pride.” The Prince of Providence, Mike Stanton’s well-documented and readable chronicle of Cianci’s adventures paints an astounding portrait of public corruption, extending more or less unbroken from 1974 to 2002. Even if I could forgive outright theft, (his mother had more than $500,000 in a safe in her house that Cianci collected one bundle at a time), his rape of a young woman at gun point while he was a law student or his police chief’s suicide over guilt from succumbing to his pressure to hire unqualified officers, would push me past the limit.
Cheney: An Abject Failure
by Michael M. Shapiro
As the Republican Party implodes over Iraq and Republican Senators are publicly expressing outrage over President Bush’s plan to increase by approximately 20,000 the number of American soldiers in Iraq, Vice-President Cheney has remained firmly behind the President. That’s not surprising since Vice-Presidents tend to be steadfast supporters of the Commander-in-Chief. What sets Cheney apart from the crowd is the degree to which he is intractable, arrogant and inflammatory. As a result, the Vice-President stands out as one of the most abject failures in recent political memory.
As the Republican Party implodes over Iraq and Republican Senators are publicly expressing outrage over President Bush’s plan to increase by approximately 20,000 the number of American soldiers in Iraq, Vice-President Cheney has remained firmly behind the President. That’s not surprising since Vice-Presidents tend to be steadfast supporters of the Commander-in-Chief. What sets Cheney apart from the crowd is the degree to which he is intractable, arrogant and inflammatory. As a result, the Vice-President stands out as one of the most abject failures in recent political memory.
Lincoln and the Political Question: The Creation of the State of West Virginia
by Michael P. Riccards
West Virginia is a child of the Civil War--a state made possible by the extraordinary chaos and opportunities that such upheavals bring forth. For the war generation and for those interested ever since, that episode has created confusing constitutional debates about the nature of secession, the obligations of the national administration to guarantee for each state a republican form of government, and the right of free peoples to break off from a rebellious Commonwealth and assert their fundamental allegiance to the Union. The handling of the West Virginia statehood movement also offers some insight into the continuing hold of constitutional forms on Northern politicians and opinion leaders, and the powerful determination of Abraham Lincoln to see the conflict and its controversies through one lens only--the necessity to win the war to save the Union.
West Virginia is a child of the Civil War--a state made possible by the extraordinary chaos and opportunities that such upheavals bring forth. For the war generation and for those interested ever since, that episode has created confusing constitutional debates about the nature of secession, the obligations of the national administration to guarantee for each state a republican form of government, and the right of free peoples to break off from a rebellious Commonwealth and assert their fundamental allegiance to the Union. The handling of the West Virginia statehood movement also offers some insight into the continuing hold of constitutional forms on Northern politicians and opinion leaders, and the powerful determination of Abraham Lincoln to see the conflict and its controversies through one lens only--the necessity to win the war to save the Union.
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