BY MICHAEL BUSLERNEWJERSEYNEWSROOMThere are a number of recent scandals that seem to have something in common. While the details regarding the specifics are not yet available, there seems to be a common theme. A difference exists between what we believe to be happening and what is actually happening. And it is occurring in areas of great concern.It started with the deaths of four Americans in Libya. We believe that all American diplomats and other non-military employees of the US government will be protected and reasonably safe in any area of the world where they are assigned. Our state department insures this and has congressional oversight.We also believe that journalists have a right and a duty to provide accurate information to the public. We believe that their privacy and their ability to perform their functions are protected by law, which means the justice department enforces the law, with congressional oversight.We believe that the IRS collects just the amount of data that they need to accurately determine tax liability and that this information is private and secure. We further believe that the IRS is an unbiased, non-political agency. We believe that the Treasury Secretary monitors IRS activity, with congressional oversight.We believe that the National Security Agency is collecting data on suspected terrorists. We understand that that we have to be inconvenienced at airports and give up some of our rights to privacy in order to strike a balance. But we believe that the NSA will respect our rights and not collect any more personal information than is absolutely necessary to insure safety. We also believe that this information will be kept confidential and safe. The President monitors this for us, with congressional oversight.The problem is that there seems to be a big difference between reality and what we believe to be reality. The truth is that the programs go further than we believe and that there seems to be no one looking out for our interests. So what do we do?As a result of these incidents, we have lost trust in government. Even the ever popular and eloquently spoken President Obama, has lost credibility. During his first term in office, his speeches were inspiring. Even if you disagreed with what he was saying, he said it in such a manner that you knew he truly believed his words and he was being completely forthright. Now things are different. The administration is either not properly monitoring the agencies to insure our trust or they simply are not being truthful with us. Either way, we have lost trust.How about Congress?Congress is supposed to oversee the administration’s actions to insure that the laws are followed and that the American people are aware. They have failed us miserably. Some members of Congress assure us of competent oversight while others claim there is no oversight at all. The result is that we have lost trust in Congress as well. So how do we fix this?The answer is relatively simple: remove all incumbents. For the next four years, make sure we vote in every election. Then, in order to clean house, we simply take the position that we will not vote for any incumbent in either a primary or general election. That is, we will not vote for anyone currently holding an elected position with the federal government.Every politician in virtually every election tells us that when they get to Washington things will change. Yet once there, things change very little, mostly because they are influenced by the incumbent members of Congress. The only way to insure that this does not happen is to remove all incumbents. That way, every member of Congress is new and cannot be influenced by the “old establishment”.I understand that there will be some strong temptations to vote for an incumbent whom you believe does represent your views and whom you personally like. Just keep in mind, that they are currently part of the establishment that has taken actions to destroy our trust. As such they should not be placed back in that position. Rather we should simply clean house.So, don’t vote for any federal incumbents in any primary or general election. After all, I doubt a whole new Congress could do a worse job and maybe they can restore the trust.
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Judenrat in Romania Before being killed by Nazis
One thing that everybody saw from this last election was that although Lakewood seems to have an abundance of media outlets, there is actually a dearth of publications, or websites, that tell Lakewood residents what they need to know - the truth. Two outlets that began with the image of being an alternative source of news have shown themselves to be not only suspect in their slanted reporting, but can no longer be trusted to report basic news. Business Advice — And Kosher Food — Are on The Menu At First New York Biz Conference for Hasidim6/10/2013 Brooklyn entreprenuer looks to fill knowledge gaps in ultra-Orthdox Jewish community CEO roundtables. Social media marketing sessions. Afternoon prayers? Bring your black yarmulke and your business cards to what is being billed as the city's first-ever, large-scale business conference for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Organized by 34-year-old Borough Park-based entrepreneur Meny Hoffman, the one-day event, dubbed LTB Business Summit 2013 - LTB stands for Let's Talk Business - is taking place on Tuesday at Dyker Beach Golf Course in Brooklyn. The idea is to offer resources and networking opportunities to members of the city's ultra-Orthodox community who may not have easy access to professional business education, guidance or tools. ASBURY PARK – This is a city in flux, and it isn’t just the demographics and economy that are changing – it’s the government. A commission charged with examining Asbury Park's charter told the City Council they are going propose changes to the municipal government on Monday night. “We are going to recommend a new form of government,” Pamela Lamberton, chair of the Charter Study Commission, said. The Asbury Park Charter Study Commission began meeting December 2012 to review the city’s charter. “We haven’t decided on a form yet,” Lamberton said. “We hope to accomplish that this Monday night.” Seventy years ago, Rabbi Aharon Kotler built an enduring community of yeshiva scholars by making peace with capitalism. By David Landes Tax appeals are being cited as the biggest reason behind the municipal government’s proposed $5 million tax hike in its $71 million budget presented at Thursday’s Township Committee meeting.
Property taxpayers could see significant increases in both the municipal tax rate and the school district’s tax rate. The school tax levy increased by $7 million in the 2013-14 approved Board of Education budget. Township Manager Michael Muscillo said the increases are largely caused by $1.7 million set aside for property tax appeals, a $40 million decrease in the overall tax base, costing $1.7 million in taxes, and a $1 million increase each for contracted salaries and health benefits. “It’s not a spending problem, but a revenue problem,” Muscillo said. “We got killed on tax appeals.” The trend of declining property values is evident all over Ocean County where the $386 million county budget introduced in April, is also plagued with a $10 billion taxable real estate decline and calls for an increase of 3.7 cents per $100 of assessed value. While Lakewood was spared significant damage from the storm, it was still left with a $5 million Sandy cleanup bill, officials said. Yet, some items in the municipal budget remained untouched, such as spending about $1.5 million for free trash pickups for nonpublic schools and universities and houses of worship. The proposed new tax rate of 78 cents is an increase of less than 9 cents per $100 assessed property value. During the past three years, township and school district officials did not raise taxes. The public hearing for the municipal budget will be 7:30 p.m. July 11, at Township Hall, 231 Third St. Source: APP It has almost been a month since Yosef Kolko pled guilty to assault charges after two accusers came forward. He was immediately taken into custody to face a sentence of fifteen years and sent to Ocean County Jail.
Only days before Shavuos(Jewish holiday) Yosef Kolko was no longer allowed to return home to settle his affairs. Two self appointed youn "askonim" decided that he needed their help. They called ocean county jail warden Theodore Hutler and made demands on behalf of the new inmate. They made so many demands that the warden did not want to be bothered anymore and transfered Kolko to Burlington County prison on the second day of Shavuos. Burlington County prison is a high security prison that has a larger population of violent criminals. It was necessary ton place Kolko in solitary confinement for his own protection. While we are not judging what the correct punishment should be for the crime committed, Kolko should no have to suffer more because of the immature acts of other individuals. We feel that such "askonim" should realize the harm they do to others when they try to show that they have control over law enforcement officials. True askonim are supposed to help others. Education advocates fed up with a lack of English, math and science in some Jewish parochial schools have taken their frustration to the street — or, more accurately, to a huge billboard overhanging the BQE. Activists from New York's Orthodox Jewish community say the Department of Education is failing to enforce legal minimum standards for basic education in some yeshivas. The activists said that when they tried to buy ads in the city's prominent Yiddish-language newspapers to bring attention to the shortfall in instruction, they were refused space. So they bought the billboard. |