Christie and Sweeney: Shame on You Both

As Governor Christie and NJ State Senator Sweeney made a deal with the Devil, I submitted yet another letter to both of them. I wanted to share it with my readers…

June 16, 2011

In regards to: Subject: Teacher’s Pension & Health Benefit Legislation

Governor Chris Christie

State Senate President Sweeney

Gentlemen:

I have contacted your office via email and phone several times in the past to express my frustration regarding this constant assault on teachers and their pension and health benefits. I am writing again to voice my outrage.

I am the proud wife of a 24-year band director. He became a teacher for all the right reasons – to give back, to influence the lives of youngsters, and to share his love of music with others. He has successfully taught thousands of students not just how to play an instrument and appreciate music, but what it takes to be a good citizen and adult. It is also worth noting he is not one of those “80K a year teachers” you hear about on the news.

This constant barrage “on union leadership” as I often hear you say Governor, has certainly trickled down and has turned into an “us vs. them” argument. Many people already have a negative opinion of teachers. You have certainly added to that negativity. And for the record, I voted for you. I believed you when I thought you were going to make positive changes on the state’s school system. In my opinion, your changes are far from positive. You should really try reading the bully legislation you signed into law, because that is exactly what you have become.

Today, teachers are much more than teachers. They are counselors, pastors, and sadly, all too often, parents. Add to that list since Columbine, police, hostage negotiators, and body guards. When I was a child, I was told the three safest places I could be were home, school and church. Now, that is far from reality.

You want the best and brightest to be teachers in order to continue the high performance of New Jersey’s students. With your constant barrage, why would anyone want to become a teacher? Being a teacher is not the easy job many believe it is. The teachers I know spend a sizable amount of their own money on school supplies, endless hours preparing lessons, tutoring students and being active participants in their communities. This battle of yours has put neighbor against neighbor.

What I would like to see is the state government acknowledge that the reason the pension system is having financial trouble is because politicians have been using that system as their own personal piggy bank. That would be a good place to start. Next, I would like to see those politicians fix this without hurting those who had nothing to do with the problem being affected.

I would also like to know why there is such outrage about limiting healthcare options on the federal level through “Obamacare” by the GOP (my party, by the way), when you, Governor Christie, are trying to do the exact same thing to teachers? According to what I have read, there is even a limitation in the proposed legislation that you will limit the ability to seek medical treatment outside New Jersey. We live across the river from some of the finest medical institutions in the world and we wouldn’t be able to do whatever would be necessary if my husband or I was ill? I wonder how Senator Lautenberg would feel about that, given his insistence on going to New York for his cancer treatment.

I would like to know if either of you have ever gone to a school and watched first-hand what teachers do everyday. No cameras, no entourage, nothing. Just you, teachers and students. I would like to see you really understand what a teacher does on a day-to-day basis. My hope is that you would have more respect for what they do and change this from an assault to a conversation.

Shame on you both.

Wayne, Flooding and Taxes

So as I sit here with my laptop listening to the pounding rain, I decided to check out the weather coverage on NJ.com. I came across the following caption:

“Paula Bush who has lived on Hobson Ave. in Wayne since the 1950′s crossing the avenue to check her brother’s house. They are hoping to have their houses bought out so they can relocate. Flooding along Hobson Ave. in Wayne, NJ, along the Passaic River. (Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)”

I almost choked.

I remember reading awhile back about potential buyouts for Wayne and was able to find that article on NorthJersey.com and I am just as sick now as I was the first time I read it. I even did a blog post about it awhile back.

Now, I do feel bad for those who suffer through these floods year after year, however, everyone in Jersey knows that Wayne is the state’s flood capital. If you were stupid enough to buy a house in a flood zone, especially in Wayne, then I’m sorry, but you get what you deserve. Why should we as tax payers buy you out? Everyone is screaming about wasteful spending. Well, this is wasteful spending.

These are not people who suffered through a freak flood. We are talking about homes that flood year after year after year. I remember as a kid going to the Willowbrook Mall and watching my mother navigate the car through multiple small ponds in the parking lot. Mrs. Bush and her husband should know this, since according to the caption they have been in Wayne since the 50′s.

It is no secret that Wayne floods. The real secret is how the government is trying to push these buyouts through without people knowing.

The American Labor Movement – A Brief History

All that seems to be on television lately is the “war against the unions” and how they are bankrupting our country. I thought I would take a moment to remind everyone about what unions have done in the past and continue to do now.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I have several family members who are in a union. I am not and was actually turned down for the typographer’s union after graduating college because I wasn’t a “traditional typographer.” I believe the unions have done and continue to do a lot of good, however, at the same time, they have not kept up with the times. My rejection is a perfect example.

The first labor law to protect working children was first put into law in Massachusetts in 1836. Massachusetts’ chief justice, Lemuel Shaw ruled in 1842 that a strike for a closed shop was legal. By 1886, the Knights of Labor was a champion for the unskilled laborer and encouraged and fought for its African-American membership.

Since then, unions have fought for safe working conditions, the eight-hour working day, supported equal rights and equal pay in the workplace for minorities and women, a minimum wage, healthcare and more. The concept of the “weekend” is because of unions. The entire country celebrates “Labor Day.” Whether or not you participate in, or agree with, the union and labor movement, you have benefited from it.

That is what they have done right. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things they have done wrong. I don’t believe that a majority of dues should pay for supporting political candidates. They have not kept up with the times in areas of education and training, technology, accepting membership from technology-based changes in the industry (like me) and of course, contributions to healthcare and pensions.

What is going on in Wisconsin, Ohio and my beloved New Jersey is shameful. I would think most reasonable people understand they have to contribute more to their pensions and healthcare benefits. It is disingenuous, however, to expect unions to give up collective bargaining or make a union member make a huge jump in contributions in one year when so many families are already hitting tough times and barely hanging on.

These Governors don’t understand that their hateful comments about “union management” ultimately hurt those who actually do the work every day. I guarantee, this is the new class warfare.

So both sides are right…and wrong. All this back and forth isn’t helping anyone. To quote my Grandmother: “fight nice children.”

NFL Players Union vs. Owners: The Ultimate Nonsensical Showdown

While the football season is over by less than one day, reports on the news about collective bargaining have already begun. Some are already even talking about a lockout for the next season. I’m sorry, but if you ask me, both sides need their heads smacked together like Moe.

So most of these team owners are billionaires and most of the players are millionaires, plus the  millions they make in endorsements. The NFL wants to extend the season by two games, the players want more money (big shock) and the owners don’t want to share (again, big shock).

So, let’s make the assumption that everyone doesn’t play nice and they go to the lockout. Who is this really going to hurt? The guys who sell the hot dogs, the people who take the tickets and all the other people with jobs related to the games, but don’t play in them. I seriously doubt that any of these individuals are millionaires.

So what is this really all about in my opinion? One word: Greed! The median salary for an “average” player is roughly $700,000. The median salary for the “average Joe” is $46,000.

Also, let’s think about the prices of tickets for a game. In 2010, Giants tickets increased 26 percent to $111 for an average ticket and Jets increased 31.8 percent to $114 on average according to an article on the New York Post website. So, when a father wants to take their child to a game, when you count up two tickets, parking, a couple of hot dogs and sodas and maybe some kind of souvenir, we are up around $500 for the day. Seriously, who can really afford that?

So while all the boys posture for position, I suggest they remember who their fans are and what it costs for them to attend a game. Ultimately, if they go to lockout, it will hurt the NFL big time. In today’s society of high unemployment and making tough family budget decisions, I think the fans will retaliate and just like the last lockout,  it will take a long time to win back the fans.

Trust me, the NFL, the owners, the players; they will gain sympathy from no one. They all need a dose of reality.

The Dream Act, 9-11 Responders and Common Sense

There are a lot of different pieces of legislation working through Congress in this lame duck session. They include extending the Bush-era tax cuts, the Dream Act, extending unemployment benefits and more. While these are all important, to one degree or another, there is one that was voted down yesterday that is absolutely shameful. I am talking about medical care for the 9-11 first responders.

From what I have read, this important legislation was voted down by three votes. There is obvious political posturing on both sides, but this piece of legislation should not have anything to do with politics. It is simply the right thing to do.

These responders put their lives on the line to work to save as many as possible and recover those who lost their lives. As a result, they have developed terrible health issues and in some cases, they have already passed away.

To me, these heroes should be treated just like the military. We should do whatever is necessary to help them. Period.

Now, depending on who you listen to, the Dems claim the GOP won’t entertain anything until the tax cuts are addressed. The GOP says the Dems are just trying to make them look bad. Whatever the so-called reasons, everyone should put their big boy pants on and do what is right for these heroes.

I urge all my readers to reach out to their Senators and Representatives and urge them to get this done so these heroes can have peace of mind that their health-related issues from working on the pile will be handled.

Reid and “The Dream Act”

So this past week, Harry Reid defied all logic and was re-elected to the Senate; and not just by a slim margin. At first, I was just stunned. However, once I thought about it, I wasn’t that surprised.

Harry Reid pandered obviously to the Hispanic community by pushing his “Dream Act.” That gave him approximately 63% of the Hispanic vote, which no doubt, is what pushed him over the top. Honestly, I don’t understand how legal Hispanics would support this measure after they followed all the rules to come to this country.

What is The Dream Act you may ask? This works to provide illegal immigrants with an easy pathway to citizenship that includes entitlements such as a free college education. Just in case you aren’t sure how I feel about this idea; this makes me completely nauseous.

This essentially rewards illegal behavior, just because they have been here a long time or had an anchor baby. In an economy where parents can’t afford to send their own children to school, Senator Reid wants to use tax dollars to create a huge new entitlement rewarding people who are here illegally by giving them a free ride to college. Shameful.

Let’s forget for a moment that our economy is imploding, millions are out of work, meaning the feds have less taxes coming in and our national debt is spiraling out of control. We definitely cannot afford a huge new entitlement program for a group of people who shouldn’t be here and certainly do not deserve it.

I really hope the current Congress does not fall on their sword for their leadership one last time and vote for this ridiculous program. It is because of the overall dissatisfaction of the general population of the agenda the Congress and Administration have forced down the collective neck of all Americans they were voted out. I hope they also realize that it is due to the obvious pandering of Senator Reid to his Hispanic constituency he actually made it through the decimation of the current Congress.

NPR Shows Their True Colors

On Wednesday, 10-year commentator at NPR (National Public Radio), Juan Williams, was terminated from NPR due to comments said on “The O’Reilly Factor” the previous evening.

Now I will say I disagree with close to 90 percent of what Mr. Williams says, however, to me, this shows NPR’s true colors. In my humble opinion, NPR is a left-leaning media outlet. Now I would normally not have a problem with that, however, NPR is funded by our tax dollars. This, is a problem to me.

According to statements from NPR today, his termination had more to do with a history of comments giving his opinion as opposed to reporting on news, which clashes with their focus on hard news and his most recent comments were somewhat like the straw that broke the camel’s back. They are now backtracking slightly regarding how they handled the situation. NPR CEO Vivian Schiller just released this statement: “I spoke hastily and I apologize to Juan and others for my thoughtless remark.”

Fox News Analysts have come to Mr. Williams’ defense, including former Governor Mike Huckabee who has said he will no longer accept interviews on NPR.

Now we all know that if Fox News fired a pundit that is left-leaning due to comments said on another station, the uproar would be huge. There is a political correctness that has taken over this country that is not only shameful, but dangerous. I, for one, will not be a part of it.

I personally agree with Mr. Williams’ thoughts. I have been on a plane only once since 9-11 and I was so nervous and upset about it, I wrote out a will-like document on a legal pad and needed a tranquilizer from my doctor just to get on the plane. If I see someone who has not really assimilated to the American culture getting on a plane, and yes, this includes Muslims in traditional garb, you are damn right I am going to notice. To me, this is no different from me being more aware when I am getting on an elevator and there are several men and no women. What does that make me? Anti-men? Just like Mr. Williams, I also agree that we need to move past that fear and there are a number of steps that need to happen to get to that point, on both sides.

So I say shame on NPR for their ridiculous decision. I will be personally writing NPR and my Congressman regarding their ongoing support to the radio station. I will also be writing Fox News to applaud them for supporting him and should expand his “Wednesdays with Juan” segment into a full show. I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same.

The Extreme in Bullying

In a previous post about bullying I spoke about a father standing up for his daughter with cerebral palsy who was being relentlessly bullied. Well, sometimes bullying can have deadly results.

This week it has been reported that two freshmen students at Rutgers University digitally bullied and humiliated a fellow freshman by streaming live two private sexual encounters online with another male. This proved too much for student Tyler Clementi and he took his own life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Reports this morning say that his body may have been found. A post on his Facebook page said, “jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”

This is simply sickening to many, including me. As I mentioned before, many of us were bullied as children, however, due to the emergence of the Internet, bullying has now gone global.

Tyler’s roommate, Dharun Ravi and  Ravi’s friend Molly Wei, both of New Jersey, were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for secretly using a camera to view and transmit a live sex scene, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan. Ravi claims he turned on the camera accidentally, however, his Twitter posts prove otherwise.

In my opinion, these charges hardly go far enough. The law has definitely not kept up with the changes to bullying in the digital age. This story reminds me of another digital-bullying case in Massachusetts where a child committed suicide after relentless bullying online.

I am sickened by this two and weep for Tyler. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the Clementi family. I hope law makers work to bring the law up to date and these two are prosecuted to the fullest extent they can.

I implore you, if you know of someone being bullied, or you are being bullied yourself, help them. Stand up for them. Reach out to parents, teachers, administration, police, clergy or whomever else you may feel comfortable with talking.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church: Lost in the Ground Zero Religion Debate

There were many souls lost on 9-11 in Shanksville, Washington D.C. and of course New York City. There was another lost, however, that many have forgotten. Or may not have even known existed. Its soul may not have been lost, but it is definitely in purgatory due to no fault of its own.

As of late, the “religion debate” at Ground Zero has centered around a planned, and incredibly controversial, Mosque just steps from where those once great Towers stood. But, even more importantly, nine years later, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church has still not been rebuilt and isn’t even close to it.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was founded in 1916 by Greek immigrants, who dedicated the church to the patron saint of sailors. The Church was located at 155 Cedar St. and was completely destroyed when the Twin Towers fell. Now, that location is part of the construction site to rebuild the World Trade Center, the 9-11 Memorial and all the surrounding work. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey promised they would work to rebuild the church. Nine years later? Nothing.

Since that terrible day, there have been multiple changes of the guard in Albany as well as at the Port Authority. Negotiations to move St. Nicholas to nearby location have gone from slow to non-existent. While Governor Paterson has done little to help facilitate the rebuilding of this historic Church, he was willing to quickly step in to “work to resolve” the controversy of the Ground Zero Mosque, even potentially offering up a city-owned location for the Mosque.

There is rightful outrage, in my opinion, about the Ground Zero Mosque, but I ask where is the outrage that this Church has not been rebuilt?

Many in the mainstream press have all but ignored this story. When it has been covered, it has tried to paint those representing the Church in negotiations with the Port Authority as greedy and unreasonable. In all my research and reading, however, I have not found this to be true. If anything, it has been the Port Authority that has all but commandeered the Church’s original location and stalled and stammered at ever turn. In over a year, the Port Authority has not had negotiations with the Church leaders and have even gone as far as reneging on the alternate location.

I ask that you take up the fight of St. Nicholas Church. This should be rebuilt long before any Mosque steps from hallowed ground. St. Nicholas Church needs to be rebuilt. Without it, the open wounds of 9-11 will never begin to heal.

Screaming Children Will Not Be Tolerated: Amen!

We’ve all experienced it. You go out to enjoy a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a nice dinner with your spouse, only to have to deal with a screaming child at the next table. Well, Brenda Armes has heard our cries!

Breanda is the owner of Olde Salty restaurant in Carolina Beach that read “screaming children will not be tolerated.”

Now of course there are parents that will complain, including one mother of an autistic child saying she is discriminating against children with special needs. I completely disagree. I think she is responding to people who have had enough listening to screaming children and parents not handing the issue.

Now whether right or wrong, when I was a child and acted out in public, my mother would say very flatly, “I’ll give you a reason to scream.” That’s all I took, because I knew she was serious. Today, parents are more interested in being their child’s friend and trying to reason with their children. Now, whether my mother’s approach was right or wrong, I knew the behavior that was expected of me. Actually, even my friends that came to my house knew exactly what level of behavior was expected of them as well. In my opinion, teaching manners and good behavior in public is a lost art.

I would like to give you a personal example. My husband and I spent our hard-earned savings a few years ago to go to Cape Cod. I wanted to spend a day on Nantucket. So, we purchased tickets for the ferry and headed out. There was a child screaming bloody murder the entire looooong trip. There was nowhere you could go and not hear this child. What did the parents do? They turned her carriage to the wall and ignored her. I went to the snack bar to see if they sold Tylenol or Advil. The girl apologized but said she was completely sold out and actually gave me two Advils from her purse. Ten minutes before getting off the ferry, the child fell asleep. When we got off the ferry, my husband took me to lunch. When the restaurant employee tried to seat us, they tried to give us a table right next to that family! Well, I flipped out and said there was no way in hell I would sit next to them because they are terrible parents! They looked at me with a dirty look and then employee sat us elsewhere. Once we sat down, he asked me what that was about because he had tried to seat at least five different groups at that table and none of them would sit there. So, I told him the story. He said he completely understood and for the rest of the time that family was sitting there, he sat no one near them.

I have said for years, just like there are “smoking” and “no smoking” sections in restaurants, there should be “children” and “no children” sections as well.

As you can tell, I have a pretty strong opinion on this topic. Nothing makes me more crazy when I go to Starbucks and there are two mothers enjoying their coffee while their children run buck-wild.

Now, do I think all parents are bad parents? Certainly not. I have a friend with an adorable autistic child and every time we have gone out with her children he has always behaved very well. Is that always the case? I’m sure it isn’t, but she is an excellent parent.

So, I ask parents, please stop trying to be your child’s friend and be their parents!