HEAVY METAL & A LITE WEIGHT PRESIDENT

Sorry, we are not talking about Metalica or THE LESSER'S favorite type of music, though a dirge is certainly appropriate. The subject is mercury and under BUSH THE LESSER the proposed change in rules to allow more mercury to be emitted from the smoke stacks of anyone who contributes enough money to THE LESSER'S campaign.

Understand that man produced mercury is a persistent, toxic substance that effects the nervous system and once mercury enters the body it is never excreted but stays and accumulates doing substantive damage to the human body. Children and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to this dangerous heavy metal. But children don't vote and down wind states of these smoke stacks tend to vote Democratic so who cares. Printed below is the view of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

As the Bush administration tries once again surreptitiously to gut the Clean Air Act, it cannot fool Americans on these two points: 1. If you have to warn people about a food, something's wrong with it. 2. A poison is still a poison, even if you change the label.

45 States have strict warnings about how much fish people should eat from fresh and coastal water. Why? Because the fish contain dangerous levels of mercury. Mercury can cause brain damage, particularly in babies and children under 6..One in 12 women has absorbed enough mercury to pose a threat to a developing fetus.

Mercury also is linked to palsies, seizures, learning problems and structural abnormalities. In adults, it can bring on cardiovascular problems. It's a toxin on par with lead and asbestos. Just as the EPA was set to make progress regulating this serious threat to children's health, the Bush administration wants to downgrade mercury's status and let industry dictate its cleanup.

About a third of mercury pollution comes from the smokestacks of the nation's coal fired power plants. A mere teaspoon falling from the sky can befoul a modest sized lake. On the lake's bottom a food chain begins: Bacteria convert mercury into its more toxic form, methylmercury. That's absorbed by algae, which are eaten by worms, which are eaten by fish, which are eaten by humans...who are poisoned.

IN 2000--10 years after the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, a federal judge ordered the EPA to stop stalling and regulate power plant mercury pollution. Recently the EPA floated a well researched standard that would reduce mercury by 90% in 3 years. Industry panicked.

So, just before the court's deadline this month, the Bush administration came up with a market based cap and trade scheme favored by industry, particularly by several large Bush campaign contributors. Not coincidentally, the idea mirrors Bush's Clear Skies proposal, which is stalled in Congress. This proposal would relabel mercury as a run of the mill pollutant, instead of the hazard it is. It reduces mercury by only 30% and takes until 2018 to get rid of it.

All without assuring public safety. The draft of the rule admits: "The overall cap level may not eliminate the risk of unacceptable adverse health effects of mercury emissions." That's especially true where mercury is concentrated--places such as Pennsylvania (and New Jersey) which ranks 3rd nationally in mercury pollution from power plant emissions. Americans should demand that their government treat mercury as the health threat it is. As with arsenic, they don't want mercury in their water. The Bush administration should protect public health, not private industry.

Subject: Who Pays the Bill? Now that Medicare is being expanded, fiscal conservatives have two non choices out there: bigger government and much bigger government. Enjoy those drugs, seniors! That money is coming out of my son's paycheck. You should probably thank him. Where does work? He doesn't work. He's 3 year old. Oh, don't worry, and please don't feel any guilt. His brother is chipping in, too. He's 6 months old. I'll try to raise them to be good workers, but it might be hard telling them not to cheat on their taxes. John

MULLICA UPDATE

The weekend snow storm brought a rash of accidents...about a dozen, some with substantial damage to vehicles but none involving any major personal injury.

MULLICA Twp. Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 P.M. and a new Police Chief will be appointed...Lt. Jim Davis...effective Jan 1, 2004

December 10th, Wednesday there is the normally scheduled Zoning Board meeting (7:30 P.M.) and the Sweetwater Cell Tower (Verizon) is not on the agenda...the call here is that it will be on January's agenda.

A BUDGET MEETING is scheduled for Wednesday Dec. 10th at 4 P.M. so most residents will not be able to attend...but this type of deceit has become the norm for THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5.

Subject : $45,000.00? And what does he do...Didn't someone say they seen him on the beach on a weekday in the spring ? LOL Was George with him and were they in a Mullica car? Does the committee realize this man is laughing all the way to the bank?

PEOPLE ASK ME IF I'VE EVER BEEN CALLED A NAZI. I ANSWER THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HAD DREAMS OF BEING TIED DOWN AND SEXUALLY RAVISHED BY SOMEONE DRESSED AS A LIBERAL (P.J. O'Rourke)

Subject: Nazi Science & Republicans: When the editors of the journal Science cried “foul,” accusing the Bush administration of stacking panels on lead poisoning and pollution, they were not weighing in on one side or another of a scientific debate but lamenting the administration’s undermining of the principle behind advisory panels. The idea is for government policy to take scientific orthodoxy into account. That is not now happening. This administration uses science the way a defense lawyer uses expert witnesses. There will always be someone willing to testify for the tobacco industry that no link exists between cigarettes and cancer, but that doesn’t make it a sound basis for government policy. If our conclusions have been reached in advance, we risk repeating the failures of ideological science. We face unprecedented challenges while the world population surges. We rely on modern medicine to maintain our health as we rely on science and technology to help find the balance between supply and demand for food, water and energy. Government policy would be better based on scientific consensus than on ideology and the politics of special interests. MC

Subject : things that make you go hummmm?? Why the hell are we building an Ambulance building? They are not even in service half the day and lord knows cant get there half the night. (sometimes that bar stool gets a bit to high) What a freakin waste, almost as bad as the NESCO Firehouse joke. Should have left that ambulance at Elwood, if for no other reason than to save money. If these people had half the brains they were born with we would not be building either building. I think the Township Committee need to look again at their job description!!!

DEFORESTATION…THE ROAD TO HELL….DEFORESTATION

Well, it ain’t going by way of Canada as more than half of Canada’s vast northern forest, about one million square miles in all, will be exempt from logging and other industrial development under an agreement announced earlier this week by a coalition of native tribes, environmentalists and businesses.

The accord, if adopted by the national and local governments, is aimed at protecting a largely pristine evergreen expanse that has large populations of bears, wolves, caribou and other species along with hundreds of native communities. This truly is one of the world’s remaining large ecosystems that remains ecologically intact.

The Boreal Forest, as it is known, is just below the Arctic Circle and stretches about 3,000 mile from the Yukon to the Atlantic Ocean. Needless to say several of the largest companies working in the forest, including Weyerhaeuser Corp have failed to endorse this agreement.

Alas, was the Boreal Forest in the United States with BUSH THE LESSER for sale sign hung on all aspects of the environment; logging and mining interests could contribute to Republican coffers and thus buy what they want. Witness last weeks signing of the Soviet named "The Healthy Forests Restoration Act" which reduces environmental reviews, limits lawsuits that might delay logging projects and pays $900 million of taxpayer’s money to logging interests to cut down trees in federal forests. What a Neaderthol this President is!

One suspects THE LESSER has never read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring which observes; “THE CONTROL OF NATURE” IS A PHRASE CONCEIVED IN ARROGANCE, BORN OF THE NEADERTHOL AGE OF BIOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY, WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSED THAT NATURE EXISTS FOR THE CONVENINCE OF MAN.

Subject: Medicare Atrocity: Larry, so now we have prescription drug benefits in 2006, courtesy of the new Medicare bill. I hope the individuals and groups who foisted this atrocity upon us are pleased with their work. I certainly am not. Although I do not believe my costs will be changed substantially, many will find their expenses increased dramatically, particularly those in the “donut hole.” Traditionally Medicare has flaws, but it has worked well. Let’s improve and extend it, not farm out prescription coverage to private firms. Why should we trust private insurance carriers to keep costs down while retaining quality coverage? These are the same companies that have raised our rates annually in the double digits while the cost of living has gone up no more the 2-3 percent. As for AARP, our supposed lobbying group, it sold us out. People in the government, lobbying groups, and health care insurance providers need to remember that we may be seniors, but we are far from stupid. We have long memories. And members of Congress also should be aware that we vote. FR

WHAT EVER THEIR OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR SOCIETY, LAWYERS COULD BE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF PROTEIN (Guindon cartoon caption)

MULLICA LAWYERS: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

While this comparison does NOT compare apples to apples it is interesting to note the different billing practices of Mullica’s 2 solicitors: Bill Cappuccio who is the solicitor for Mullica’s School Board and tim THE SHYSTER mcquire who is the solicitor for THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 (Mullica’s Committee).

Mullica’s School Board meets only once a month and Cappuccio’s billing shows a flat charge of $3,150 for legal services. There are no extra charges for special meetings or phone calls or research into this or that Board related legal question. The only extra charge, less than $1,560, involves the negotiations and drawing up of the necessary legal papers for the recent purchase by the Board of the 15.33 acres across from the school on Elwood Road. Cappuccio does charge extra as the labor negotiator for the school board. So every 3 years when new contracts are negotiated there is an additional charge. That’s the GOOD.

Mullica’s Committee has in the past met twice a month…the second and fourth Tuesday of the month and the Township solicitor gets a salary of $10,000. Under THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 this was quickly changed to just one meeting in the summer months July and August. In 2003 the schedule was also changed to have just one Township meeting during November and December. This all a part of the on going drive to keep the citizenry in the dark as these once a month meetings were conveniently held in the afternoon and were not televised.

Yes, THE SHYSTER mcquire continued to collect $10,000 last year even though there were 4 less Township meetings. "In the Norse mythology Loki originally was on the side of the rest of the gods, helping them once or twice using a particularly nasty forms of trickery. He was a cunning negotiator with a talent for technicalities. He was sort of the Norse equivalent of a lawyer, no doubt the reason they tied him down in a pit dripping acidic venom on him.” (Martin Terman)

Someone once said that IF YOU LAID ALL OF THE LAWYERS IN THE WORLD, END TO END, ON THE EQUATOR—IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO JUST LEAVE THEM THERE. Unlike Cappuccio THE SHYSTER bills Mullica’s taxpayers for most calls that are made to him requiring information on this or that issue. The total payout to tim THE SHYSTER mcquire over the last 12 months has been over $45,000.

It should be noted that a previous Republican solicitor for Mullica’s governing body billed as Cappuccio does with a flat fee for legal services; excluding special projects. That flat fee was less than $20,000 and the Republican lawyer then was Jim McGeery.

THE SHYSTER mcquire however has done an excellent job for THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 in sustaining their illegal actions. Whether the failure to provide legally required documents to the public, the cover up of auto insurance fraud by their crony Forman or the use of Township time and equipment for personal use by george THE SLACKER forman and we could just go on and on here. As Ambrose Bierce aptly defined the noun, Lawyer; ONE SKILLED IN THE CIRCUMVENTION OF THE LAW.

Subject: Whose the Turkey, Whose the Chicken? The President did not have to sneak in and out of a war zone 4 years ago. Four years ago the President of the United States flew into a war zone in broad daylight and had Thanksgiving Dinner with the troops. This year our President had to sneak into the Baghdad Airport under cover of darkness and remain in a heavily guarded military compound without allowing any coverage until he was 10,000 feet above Baghdad on his way home. The big difference is that Clinton was warmly received by a large contingent of troops in Kosovo, but more importantly was also warmly received by the natives prior to the event, who thanked him for their liberation. Speaking in a chilly school gymnasium, Clinton drew round after round of cheers as he recounted the leading role the United States played in the 78-day air war against Yugoslav government troops. "You cheered for us when we came in because when you were being oppressed we stood by you,'' Clinton said. The crowd was more subdued as Clinton continued: "We won the war, but listen: only you can win the peace. The time for fighting is passed.'' An 8th-grader, Ramadan Ilazi, introduced Clinton, "You promised that you will bring us to our homes safe. You kept your promise," the boy said. MC

Subject: Our "Fearless Leader" Tries to Prove He's No Chicken: Bush was so paranoid about his 2.5 hour Campaign Sneak Attack he was "fully prepared to turn around". Three hours from landing on a high-risk visit to Baghdad,*** President Bush was most anxious about keeping it a secret. "I was fully prepared to turn this baby around, come home," Bush said later aboard Air Force One. The world did not learn that Bush had spent 2 1/2 hours in the Baghdad Airport Military Compound until his jumbo jet was again in the air, flying back to the United States. As the president was sneaking into a mess hall in a heavily guarded airport military compound, newscasters back home were reporting that he was enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with his family at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. That was what reporters had been told by White House officials. Bush said he thought Americans would be understanding about the deception and the sneaking around because it was important for soldiers at risk to know that the commander in chief was willing to use them as a campaign photo opportunity after he had been ridiculed for his Mission Accomplished faux pas. This "HIGH-RISK visit to Baghdad" was really a 2.5 hour sneak into the heavily guarded Airport Military Compound under cover of darkness. If it was 'high risk' then what are the daily flights that bring Soldiers and supplies into Baghdad in broad daylight? Why didn't George just don another flight suit and make a quick trip on a military jet this time? Not one US Military Jet has been shot down in IRAQ since 'Mission Accomplished' and the only airplane that suffered a shoulder fired missile attack was landed safely. There was nothing "HIGH RISK" about this campaign photo op. Chickenhawk George and company would not do anything that could be considered "HIGH RISK" to themselves but they don't mind "HIGH RISK" for young soldiers. SF

WE ARE NEVER DECEIVED; WE DECEIVE OURSELVES (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER IN MULLICA

One doesn’t have to look through the looking glass to be perplexed by some of the goings on here. Sometime last month the attorney for steve THE SCOFFLAW wazen came into Town Hall and plunked down over $33,000 in cash…yes, IN CASH, to pay the back taxes on the Perona Junkyard properties he has now purchased.

There is such a stink of back room dealing here that one has to be perplexed by the high five'g of government officials regarding the looming settlement of the illegal dumping complaints pending a settlement Order in Mullica’s Municipal Court on December 16th.

Let’s see, the County has spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer’s money to clean up the site just in the last couple of years, several hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the 7 day tire fire in the 80’s and monitor the on going environmental mess. Further THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 spent $109,595 (a grant) of taxpayer’s money to do an environmental evaluation by Schoor Depalma of the Perona Junk yard property. Having spent all this taxpayer money; now steve THE SCOFFLAW wazen the owner of Magic Disposal and a consistent violator of waste disposal laws steps in and purchases the property…WITH CASH paying off the back taxes. Does anyone catch the obviously wafting, pungent stink of another backroom Republican sell out of Mullica residents?

While the final report from Schoor Depalma has never been received by Mullica there does exist a prelimanary report…worth no more than $10,000. This report shows major areas of environmental concern on the Perona junkyard site. In ’87 three monitoring wells were put in at taxpayer’s expense and the findings show the ground water has been impacted by base neutral compounds. Of concern too is the listing by the DEP of known contaminated sites; and there is this Perona property. “Appreciable lead contamination” of the soil as well as zinc contamination of the soil should cause any prospective buyer major concerns. CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER! Oh, and one keeps hearing the name of Freeholder Silipena whispered as a player here. Oh, and did Nicky Perona raised at the junk yard site die young of cancer?

Subject: Fiscal Conservative? President Bush came to office saying he was a fiscal conservative, but federal spending has skyrocketed on his watch. And it's not just the Pentagon that's getting more federal dollars. Overall spending is up by at least 16 percent since Bush took office, far more than the 2 percent average annual inflation rate over the same period. According to one recent analysis, the government now spends $20,000 a year for every household in the United States, the most since World War II. Meanwhile, the $236 billion federal surplus that Bush inherited in January 2001 has turned into a $400 billion-plus deficit. On Monday, Bush will usher in another big spending program by signing Medicare legislation that creates a prescription-drug benefit for senior citizens at an estimated cost of $400 billion over 10 years. "Spending is up across the board," said Brian Riedl, a budget expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research center. "In the past year and a half, we've had the biggest education bill in history, we've had the biggest farm bill in history and now we're about to have the biggest expansion of the Great Society." Robert Bixby, the executive director of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan budget watchdog group, said Bush had joined with the Republican-led Congress in "a huge explosion of spending." "The Bush administration hasn't done anything to control spending," Bixby said. "He hasn't vetoed a single [spending] bill as he contributes to the expansion of entitlement programs." Administration officials contend that the criticism, mostly from Bush's fellow conservatives, is unfair. Some of the biggest spending increases, at least in percentage terms, have come in programs related to the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq, such as the controversial $87 billion measure that Congress approved last month. Spending on domestic security, an issue that drew little attention before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, increased by 85 percent last year with the creation of the Homeland Security Department. Even so, it cost only $41 billion in a federal budget of $2.1 trillion -- about 2 percent of federal spending. Other increases occurred in entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, whose costs grow automatically as people entitled to their services submit claims. In response to the growing criticism, White House press secretary Scott McClellan has said that the annual growth rate for discretionary spending on programs other than the military is declining after a sharp spike. After a 15 percent increase in President Clinton's final budget, nonmilitary discretionary spending grew by just 6 percent in fiscal 2002 and by 5 percent in fiscal 2003, which ended Sept. 30. Finding defenders of Bush's spending record is difficult because even conservative Republicans consider him a big disappointment on controlling the federal budget. Bush is not the only target of criticism. Congressional Republicans also are under fire for not having more fiscal discipline. Arizona Sen. John McCain has been especially vocal, accusing his Republican colleagues in Congress of spending like "drunken sailors." Bush has also noted repeatedly that Congress is responsible for much of the spending. "Congress must hold the line on unnecessary spending," he said during a visit to Kansas City, Mo., in September. "They need to understand that in order to cut the deficits in half, we must have spending discipline in Washington, D.C., and I will insist upon spending discipline." An analysis by the libertarian research center the Cato Institute branded Bush "the Mother of All Big Spenders" and compared him unfavorably to Clinton. By Cato's accounting, after adjusting for inflation, nonmilitary spending decreased by 0.7 percent during Clinton's first three years in office, while it increased nearly 21 percent during the comparable period under Bush. The Heritage Foundation, usually a Bush ally, found that 55 percent of the spending increases since he took office had nothing to do with defense or homeland security. The Heritage analysis also concluded that spending has reached $20,000 per household. In some cases, Bush pushed for spending increases. Federal spending on education, a top presidential priority, has increased 65 percent under Bush. On other issues, Bush accepted spending increases backed by Congress for popular programs. He signed a six-year, $249 billion farm bill last year that abandoned efforts to roll back agriculture subsidies. This year he fought for passage of an energy bill that included $72.5 billion in spending and $23.5 billion in tax breaks, mainly for big energy corporations. The House of Representatives passed the measure but the Senate put off a final vote until next year. Many Democrats contend that the problem isn't excessive government spending, it's Bush's tax cuts. As spending was rising, tax cuts reduced Treasury revenues and are responsible for about one-third of this year's deficit, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan watchdog group. Deficit hawks say Bush hasn't matched his spending policies with his tax policies. "The problem, really, is trying to combine a big-government spending agenda with a little-government tax policy. That's the irresponsible part," said Bixby, of the Concord Coalition. "If you want big government, pay for it." MC

RESPONSE: Thanks; your comments are right on the mark. As John McCain notes, Congress is “spending money like a drunken sailor” and President Bush shares the blame because according to Republican McCain he is not using his veto power. McCain said THE LESSER’s reluctance to veto special interest pet projects larded on to various bills by Republicans has made it harder for true fiscal conservatives to kill these large irresponsible special interest waste of taxpayer's money and the resulting debt. It almost seems that todays Republican's philosophy can be summed up in the wry observation of Cristina Stead; IF ALL THE RICH PEOPLE IN THE WORLD DIVIDED UP THEIR MONEY AMONG THEMSELVES THERE WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO GO AROUND.

The irony here is that as Republicans try and tar Dean with “L” label…liberal and thus wasteful and spendthrift with taxpayer’s money; it is Dean whose record of repeatedly balancing Vermont’s budget that stands tall as the real fiscal conservative. Dean’s consistent stand in support of fiscal realities and the need to pay with taxes for programs are in stark contrast to THE LESSER’s spending spree and accumulation of debt.

It seems that Lincoln was taling about THE LESSER'S type of Republicn when he said: I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.

Subject; Tanks and the War: In three coordinated attacks on American soldiers recently, 54 Iraquis were killed with no American lives lost. This was a victory for American equipment and technology, but not for or cause. Anti-American forces are in a battle to convince the local population that they, and not the Americans, will rule Iraq in the long run. By mounting coordinated attacks on this scale, they demonstrate their power to the locals, regardless of their losses. As the locals understand opposition forces can replace the 46 lives lost so long as a portion of the Arab world views their cause as legitimate. We can’t beat terrorists with tanks. We must choose carefully whom to fight, when to fight and where to fight. By taking on Saddam Hussein, we have made a living martyr of a man few Iraqis and fewer Arab religious fundamentalists cared for. President Bush’s strategy empowers our enemies and makes our troops sitting ducks. JB

I THINK THAT GOD IN CREATING MAN SOMEWHAT OVERESTIMATED HIS ABILITY (Oscar Wilde)

Subject: Daytime Croverage: From a very reliable source GF has contracted with Hammonton for daytime ambulance coverage (6a-6p) Starting next week. All facts were not available, but who is paying ? And if Hammonton is going to bill than why not cover 24/7. Is the elite Mullica squad going to reduce their request for funding as their funding was based on full time coverage. HOW IS THIS BEING FUNDED ?? If this service is being contracted why was it not put out for bid ? Another closed door deal. This is in no way knocking Hammonton as if I had my pick between Hammonton or Mullica it is a no brainier, Hammonton hands down. "T"

RESPONSE: Thanks for bringing this information to the public. Your information is correct. gary THE MUKTAR franklyn has reached out to the Hammonton Rescue Squad to make them the primary responder during the hours 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. The specifics of this back room, no bid deal will be discussed at this Tuesday's (DEC.9) 4 P.M. Township meeting and it is expected that representatives of the Hammonton Rescue Squad including Chief Charles Kaczmarski will be in attendance as well as THE MUKTAR.

Of course everything was done in the back room and if not for your information to the Gadfly site no one would have any advance notice: another back room deal by THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5.

The proposal will be similar to the arrangements that the Hammonton Rescue Squad has with Folsom and that involves a payment by the Township to the Hammonton Rescue Squad to cover any moneys that squad is shorted in its billings of insurance companies. That way there is no billing to the individual whether one has insurance or not. That amount is not yet public information.

gary THE MUKTAR franklyn however will continue to run a rescue squad here in Mullica, so Mullica residents will have the worst of both worlds in terms of the cost. The proposal to build a new Ambulance Squad for a Squad that finally has acknowledged it just can't do the job 12 hours of every day is fiscally irresponsible, but we will have to wait to see details of the proposed agreement. The good thing is that the wasted 6 minutes during the 6 to 6 daylight hours that THE MUKTAR'S arrogance and stupidity was responsible for and clearly placed lives in danger, will no longer be the reality. Calls that come into 911 or dispatch during these hours will now go directly to the Hammonton Rescue Squad. This instead of wasting 6 minutes of critical time with an emergency going to the Mullica Resuce Squad who is unable to respond and not getting to Hammonton for the required 6 minutes.

No reason to be optimistic here as Mark Twain noted: THE MAN WHO IS A PESSIMIST BEFORE FORTY EIGHT KNOWS TOO MUCH, IF HE IS AN OPTIMIST AFTER IT, HE KNOWS TOO LITTLE.

HUNTERS & CONSERVATIONISTS REBEL AT LATEST BUSH MOVE TO SELL THE ENVIRONMENT TO HIS ENERGY CRONIES

In what has been classified as a part of the top 1% of wildlife habitat in the United States, the Rocky Mountain Front; THE BUSH THE LESSER administration has proposed opening this large tract of land up for the drilling of gas and oil for his large energy campaign contributors.

Grizzly and brown bears, the country's second largest herd of elk, mule deer, white tailed deer, wolves, mountain goats, the country's largest herd of bighorn sheep, bobcats, lynx, wolverines and coyotes all move along The Front at various times of the year.

The Front is one of the most successful conservation stories in America. Since 1913 when the first private game reserve was established hunting and conservation groups have worked together to protect the animals that remain on this large migratory area as a habitat for wildlife...and now BUSH THE LESSER is selling it to his campaign contributors. With THE LESSER it ain't a democracy it is an auction...and our heritage and the health of our children are being sold by Republican environmental loosening of the rules and regulations (all in the name of less government...the Republi CON) at every turn.

While THE LESSER and the energy industry claim little damage will be done, the record here is dismal. According to the Montana Wildlife Federation, an umbrella group for 25 hunting clubs in this state, the environmental damage done by gas drilling in northern Wyoming, as well as to large scale gas drilling in Canada on a stretch of land similar to the Front has been substantial.

Large groups of western hunters have finally come to realize what a disaster THE BUSH THE LESSER administration is to a way of life they hold deer and are indicating in large numbers they will not support THE LESSER come November even though they have always voted Republican in the past.

The reality is that hunters have always been the first environmentalists, steward of the land and its wildlife. So the question arises how any real hunter who cares about sustaining for himself and his children the heritage of the outdoors wilderness can continue to support Republicans? The words and wisdom of Alden Whitman: OUR IDEALS, LAWS AND CUSTOMS SHOULD BE BASED ON THE PROPOSITION THAT EACH GENERATION IN TURN BECOMES THE CUSTODIAN RATHER THAN THE ABSOLUTE OWNER OF OUR RESOURCES--AND EACH GENERATION HAS THE OBLIGATION TO PASS THIS INHERITANCE ON TO THE FUTURE.

NEW YORK CITY TRASH COMING TO MULLICA TWP?

Far fetched...well with the search for sites to ship New York City trash out of State (with the closing of Fresh Kills land fill) various properties that abut railroad lines have been purchased by trash haulers as possible transfer stations for New York City's trash to be shipped to Ohio or Indiana by rail. Rumors have been around for awhile that the Perona property on the White Horse Pike was such a property and might be in play. Try for a moment to imagine all of New York City garbage coming into Mullica...another Republican scheme?

Yesterday in Court in response to complaints signed against steve THE SCOFFLAW waszen owner of Magic Disposal, by Mullica and the Atlantic County Health Department for illegal dumping of some 25 truck loads of construction material on the Perona property a deal seems to have been worked out. What startles here is the representation in Court by THE SCOFFLAW'S lawyer that wazsen has bought the junk yard property of the Perona's and the adjoining property where he illegally dumped the truck loads of construction waste.

After Atlantic County Health filed its Complaint alleging 7 violations of the law regarding the illegal dumping; all 25 loads of construction material were removed from the site. Where they went...no one seems to know at this writing, but one should keep in mind that the dumping came from the Egg Harbor Township transfer station owned by THE SCOFFLAW waszen who was under a Complaint in Egg Harbor Twp to clean this mess up...so he dumped it illegally in Mullica.

The consent Order agreed to by all parties which will be finalized on December 16th in Mullica's Municipal Court by a formal Court Order fines THE SCOFFLAW wazsen $49,000. That amount is reduced to $2,500 if by January 16th both properties are totally cleaned of surface waste material. Further waszen will agree to "abandon" the junk yard license that goes with the property. At this Court hearing on Tuesday Dec. 2nd were representatives from Mullica Police Department (Ptl Register), Atlantic County Health Dept. (Pat Dillion), Atlantic County lawyer Anthony Pagano and a representative from the Pinelands Chuck Horner.

It has also been represented by credible sources that all back taxes have been paid on both properties (well confirm this as that should be well over $30,000). There are substantial liens against the Junk Yard property relating to the 7 day tire fire and testing of that site over the years. How this will play out and what plans steve THE SCOFFLAW wazen has for the property should be of great concern to all. As bad as the Perona's and Shlues' have been for Mullica, Waszen may well be worse. Any use of this property will require approvals by those in power. But this would not be the first time that local and county Republicans sold out Mullica, for if you recall in the early 80s or late 70s Mullica's AMATOL site was to be the home to the County land fill and local Republicans sold this community out then as they have continued to do. Further THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 are even more for sale and such a cheap buy.

ANGER AT LIES LASTS FOREVER. ANGER AT TRUTH CAN'T LAST (Greg Evans)

Subject: economically disadvantaged? What excactly does that mean? My quess was the amount of money their families make? And if my guess is correct, what the heck does that have to do with ones intelligence? Is the state saying poorer people are not as smart? AW

RESPONSE: Good questions, thank you. The tests in question here are not IQ (intelligence) tests. Rather, they are a tool to determine whether the material (math, reading, science) is being taught in a way that has our children learning. In the past, schools were able to manipulate their standing by keeping various groups out of their testing scores by labeling them learning disabled, or English as a Second Language...that can no longer be done under No Child Left Behind standards.

"Economically Disadvantaged" is one of a large number of sub groups that also include subgroups such as "Hispanic", "African-American", "Migrant", etc.; and each of these sub-groups if there are at least 20 students in the sub-group must meet the pass standard or the school gets a warning letter placing it and the community on notice that educators arn't doing a very good job. This is why such a large number of schools got these letters including Mullica's Middle School and Greater Egg Harbor Regional. Mullica's Elementary School did NOT; as it met the pass criteria in all sub-groups.

Children fall into the "economically disadvantaged" sub-group if they get a free lunch. And indeed that is based on a household income criteria. (Will post those income numbers in another posting.)

What is so interesting to note here is the large outcry from educators that the No Child Left Behind criteria is "unrealistic". That "blue ribbon schools" in many cases because of their failure in one of the sub-groups have been put on notice with an early warning letter and the claim is that is unfair. However the "disaggregated" policy (break down into sub-groups) allows a closer look and assessment of how are good school districts are doing in terms of educating children from a different background; Latino, African American, Economically Disadvantaged, Migrant, etc. This is a good tool for as John F Kennedy noted: A CHILD MISEDUCATED IS A CHILD LOST.

In particular, superintendents have said it "unfairly labels schools as failing after small groups such as ethnic minorities and special education students perform poorly on state tests." This is clearly nothing more than whining by educators who are failing our community and object to being held accountable...if not a so thinly veiled claim that black, brown and poor students are genetically incapable of learning. Lyndon Johnson said it best: EDUCATION IS NOT A PROBLEM. EDUCATION IS AN OPPORTUNITY.

We saw last month more than 100 African American and Latino school chiefs representing more than 3 million students holding a news conference under the banner of "Don't Turn Back the Clock," in support of the No Child Left Behind standards and break downs into sub-groups as a tool to focus where educators are failing us all.

This should be viewed as a tool, an insight for educators of where more emphasis, more resources need to be applied. As Marcus Tullius Cicero said: WHAT NOBLER EMPLOYMENT, OR MORE VALUABLE TO THE STATE, THAN THAT OF THE MAN WHO INSTRUCTS THE RISING GENERATION.

HE IS STRAIGHT AND OH SO NARROW

In the words of John F Kennedy: THE NATION WAS FOUNDED BY MEN OF MANY NATIONS AND BACKGROUNDS. IT WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND THAT THE RIGHTS OF EVERY MAN ARE DIMINISHED WHEN THE RIGHTS OF ONE MAN ARE THREATENED. That simply is the big perspective of our Founding Fathers--equality and tolerance, individual freedom and a non intrusive government into one's private life decisions.

But that is not the America frank THE HYPOCRITE lobiondo wants. THE HYPOCRITE'S office has announced that frank supports and is seriously thinking of co-sponsoring another Constitutional Amendment, THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT. Let's see is this number 7 or 8 or 17 that THE HYPOCRITE lobiondo wants to add to our Constitution.

Hey frank as Henry David Thoreau said; IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GIVE UP YOUR PREJUDICES. Gee, Frank had no problem changing his view about marriage when he dumped his wife of over 20 years for a younger girl...good Catholic boy that he claims to be. So it does seem some what strange that franky is going to join the defense of marriage movement and act by law to define what marriage is for others. Gee, his own religious beliefs brand THE HYPOCRITE an adulterer.

Hey franky, remember the apt words of Frederick Douglass: NO MAN CAN PUT A CHAIN ABOUT THE ANKLE OF HIS FELLOW MAN, WITHOUT AT LEAST FINDING THE OTHER END OF IT AROUND HIS OWN NECK.

PRACTICE COMPASSIONATE IMPEACHMENT

Subject: Bankrupt Strategy: The conduct of the U.S. military in destroying houses in Iraq is morally reprehensible and militarily wrong headed, further evidence that our military strategy is bankrupt. In a blind rage, we have resorted to reprisals. They have never been an effective means of suppressing resistance in civilian populations. Most recently look at the whirlwind the Israelis have reaped from their demolitions on the West Bank and Gaza strip. In recent weeks, senior Israeli military officials have come forward with the admonition that reprisals don't work. In Iraq, Col. James Hickey, commander of the First Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division, says that "people used those houses as sanctuary, and we're not allowing them sanctuary." Rather than denying sanctuary to the enemy, the demolition of these homes has opened the doors of thousands of Iraqis who will now gladly offer sanctuary to the "freedom fighter" who oppose the occupation. MC

CONDEMNING THE INNOCENT TO DIE

BUSH THE LESSER had no problem executing innocent men and woman as Texas governor and continues his caviler view of the value of life as President viz a viz Iraq.

Under our nation's current criminal justice system, innocent people are being sentenced to die. A recent national study which thoroughly examined 23 years' worth of results in death penalty cases (that is every ruling not merely a sample of them) found serious, reversible errors in 68% of the cases--nearly 7 our of 10.

Often the error was the result of totally incompetent legal counsel. The vast majority of death penalty defendants are poor. They cannot afford their own counsel, so they are assigned attorneys by the court. Time after time, defendants are provided lawyers who have little or no experience in death penalty cases.

As a result they miss evidence, or simply refuse to conduct in depth evidentiary research at all. They don't call relevant or expert witnesses. They leave the courtroom for extended periods of time. Some even fall asleep at the trial table. As William Cohen said: THE APPEARANCE OF JUSTICE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS JUSTICE ITSELF IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM.

For example Judy Haney's court appointed lawyer was so drunk during her trial that he passed out, was held in contempt of court, and sent to jail. The next day both client and attorney came our of the cellblock and the trial resumed. But being drunk in court was just the tip of the iceberg.

This same lawyer failed to present hospital records showing that Haney was a battered spouse--a victim of repeated abuse--a key fact in why she had her adulterous husband killed. Many other women have successfully used such sustained abuse, both physical and emotional, in their defense. Despite this shoddy representation, Haney's death sentence was upheld by he state's Supreme Court. She remains on death row.

Matinex Macias was represented at his trial by an attorney who failed to present an available alibi witness, relied on an incorrect assumption about a key point of evidence, and didn't bother to interview and present witnesses who could have testified in rebuttal to the prosecutor's case. Martinez Macias was sentenced to death. And we have the wisdom of Nancy Reagan: I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF THERE WERE A DEATH PENALTY.


A Washington D C law firm stepped in and took his case pro bono. After a full investigation of the facts regarding his innocence Martinez Macias won a review and a new grand jury refused to re indict him and he was released after 9 years on death row. In the words of Learned Hand: IF WE ARE TO KEEP OUR DEMOCRACY THERE MUST BE ONE COMMANDMENT: THOU SHALL NOT RATION JUSTICE.

MULLICA'S CHIEF OF POLICE RETIREMENT PARTY

Tickets will not be sold at the door but can be purchased from any Mullica police officer or at the Mullica Police Station for $45 by anyone who wishes to attend. Chief Pennese's retirement party (32 years) will be held on Dec. 13th at Kerri Brooke Caterers.

Subject: UMass Amherst reacts to gay marriage ruling--Daily Collegian: "UMass responded to inequities between same-sex domestic partners and heterosexual married couples by extending as many benefits as possible to gay and lesbian couples while remaining in accordance with state law...Currently, domestic partners who register as such with the Dean of Students Office are eligible for family housing, tuition waivers, family sick leave, bereavement leave, family and medical leave, university child care, use of library facilities, athletic tickets and use of athletic facilities..."

LIBERTY MEANS RESPONSIBILITY. THAT IS WHY MOST MEN DREAD IT (George Bernard Shaw)

MULLICA'S SCHOOLS TO BE TESTED FOR RADON

The State has mandated that all schools in New Jersey be tested every 5 years for radon. That test is scheduled for most of Mullica's school today. The results hopefully to be published here in about 2 weeks.

State mandate State pay...not the case. The bill for the testing should be around $1,500.

Subject: boycott? Larry with my property taxes what they are, any donation i may have givin went straight to Mullica Township. So I guess I have Boycotted them. lol AW

AARP EXPLOITS SENIORS ONCE AGAIN

It’s a sad old story of how a supportive and altruistic coming together for the mutual good and protection of all changes over time. Slowly, as power and numbers grow almost inevitably corruption sets in and goals meld with the abusive nature of self-interest, of personal enrichment and the maintaining of power. Just look at any big Union. ONE OF THE WEAKNESSES OF OUR AGE IS OUR APPARENT INABILITY TO DISTINGUISH OUR NEED FROM OUR GREED.

AARP is but another example of an organization that started out with the goal and interest of protecting and lobbying for the interests of its members…seniors. But as it has grown and become more powerful and set up a large profit making division; the leadership has lost sight of its 35 million members. AARP has repeatedly acted against the interests of its members and instead for the enrichment of the leaders of what is now; the business called AARP.

AARP is now a profit driven entity that is in the business of selling health insurance to seniors. The royalties/revenues that AARP earns from the sale of health insurance is in the tens of millions of dollars. And so it is that selling out its 35 million seniors for larger profits has happened several times.

If you recall, the AARP was embarrassed in the early 1990s when it initially seemed to support the Clinton administration’s health insurance plan. This despite a poll in its own magazine that found members overwhelmingly opposed it. But, maintaining a privately driven health distribution system was clearly in the interests of a group like AARP who sold and made big bucks from private health care…which is what the Clinton proposal sustained over the push from the left for a single payer health system on the model of Medicare for all. The declaration that health care for all was an inherent right and that government owed to all its citizens including the over 40 million Americans who have no health insurance an obligation to provide universal health care.

And even before this, in 1988 AARP supported a sweeping Medicare insurance program for catastrophic illness despite an outcry from it members at having to pay a surtax for coverage…the extra dollars going in many cases directly into AARP coffers…GREED! As the Bible says: FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND LOSE HIS OWN SOUL.

So it should have come as no surprise that when THE BUSH THE LESSER administration with its core belief in the profit system, the market as the answer to all situations, that greed is good; that AARP would embrace THE LESSER’S plan to destroy the government’s Medicare Plan and push seniors into private HMOs where insurance sharks more concerned about profits than quality medical care would be the one’s making medical decisions and big profits. This of course having the potential to dramatically increase the profits made by AARP thus we saw the AARP ads in support of THE LESSER’S health plan at the expense of all its members.

Well, seniors find the wisdom of self-interest to leave AARP in droves or well they continue to buy into the slick merchandizing of the Republi CON. John Kenneth Galbraith understood that; TRICKLE DOWN THEORY (WAS) THE LESS THAN ELEGANT METAPHOR THAT IF ONE FEEDS THE HORSE ENOUGH OATS, SOME WILL PASS THROUGH TO THE ROAD FOR THE SPARROWS.

HAVE WE NOT ALL ONE FATHER? DID NOT ONE GOD CREATE US ALL? WHY THEN DO WE DEAL UNKINDLY WITH ONE ANOTHER? (Malachi 2:10)

BOYCOTT THE SALVATION ARMY & THE ATLANTIC COUNTY UNITED WAY

Tis the holiday season and the time of fellowship and good will towards others and for many that means charity. As Andrew Carnegie noted: ONE OF THE SERIOUS OBSTACLES TO THE IMPROVMEMENT OF OUR RACE IS INDISCRIMINATE CHARITY. Just as undoubtedly most good Muslims will not be donating to charities that promote hate, bigotry and violence aimed at others, so too it is hoped that we all will choose selectively the charities we donate money to during this holiday season.

At this time of celebration and good feeling towards others we should hear the words of the Prophet Mohammed: DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS BETTER THAN CHARITY AND FASTING AND PRAYER? IT IS KEEPING PEACE AND GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE, AS QUARRELS AND BAD FEELINGS DESTROY MANKIND.

Thus we should all remember at this time that there are charities that mask their judgmental hatred of those who are different in hypocrical rhetoric or religious dogma and thus are undeserving of our charity. While there may seem to be many Muslim charities that fall within these ugly parameters, we too have our seemingly respectable charities that also are focal points of hatred and bigotry. The Atlantic County United Way and the Salvation Army are two such charities. Both mask their judgmental bigotry in self-righteous intolerance and should be boycotted this holiday season.

Francis Maitland Balfour said: The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.

Subject: The Scary Republican Health Care Scam: I hope my fellow seniors will beware of the Medicare drug benefit deal being proposed in Congress. The proposal seems to further complicate the health care insurance system and put health care services in the hands of private insurers whose primary interest is in profits, not the health needs of seniors. For all Medicare recipients, the proposal will require extensive changes in their current supplementary policies, causing further confusion in an already difficult to understand health benefits system. New premiums will have to be paid. Most importantly, the proposal will include financial incentives to get seniors to move from traditional Medicare, where they have freedom of choice of providers, to restrictive managed care companies. One question that must be answered is whether a beneficiary choosing a managed care company will be subject to the prescription drugs listed in that companies formulary or whether all beneficiaries in or out of traditional Medicare will have access to the same prescription drugs. MH

Subject: WHY FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE REPUBLICAN: The collapse of the president's energy bill in the Senate was welcome news to little Bel Aire, Kan. Kansans in Park City and Dodge City were relieved, too, as well as folks in Ida Grove, Iowa, and nearby Sioux City. But the celebration over a bipartisan filibuster that stopped the bill — for now — echoed beyond the heartland. Towns large and small, from Sacramento, Calif., to Avon, Mass., had a financial stake in ensuring that the mammoth and complex $31 billion bill never made it out of the Senate. Their concern was a provision that would prevent communities from collecting damages from the makers of MTBE, a gasoline additive designed to reduce air pollution. More than 1,500 cities and towns claim that it has contaminated their drinking water. The communities and several local water systems want the largely Texas- and Louisiana-based petrochemical companies that make MTBE to help pay the cleanup costs. "The cost of remediation is very expensive," said Andrew Hutton, a Wichita, Kan., lawyer representing Bel Aire, Park City, Dodge City and the Chisolm Creek Utility Authority in their lawsuits. "This stuff is hard to clean up. It's kind of an issue of who is going to pay for this, the ratepayers or the oil companies." That question proved to be the undoing of the bill, although Senate Republicans have promised a second attempt at passage. The bill was a centerpiece of the Bush administration's legislative agenda. Critics called it a "grab-bag of special interests," while supporters said that it would allow "this country to get back into the business of producing energy." The bill would ban MTBE by 2015 but create a $2 billion transition fund to help manufacturers move to alternative products. John Kneiss, vice president for regulatory and technical affairs for the Oxygenated Fuels Association, said that the Clean Air Act of 1990 required oil companies to develop cleaner gasoline. If Congress now "changes the rules" and bans MTBE, he said, the transition to an alternative product could cost from $30 million to $100 million per plant. Supporters argued that it was wrong to hold petrochemical companies accountable for pollution possibly caused by their product. "If somebody takes a can of Campbell's Soup and smashes another guy on the head with it, is the maker of the can of soup liable?" said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. "Certainly not." But many senators were outraged that the government might not only free the petrochemical companies of liability, but also award them $2 billion when communities were facing millions in cleanup costs. "How perverse can public policy be?" said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was more pointed: "I can't understand how anybody can go home from this body and go back to wherever they represent and look in the eyes of their fellow citizens and say, 'Not only did we tell your mayor and your city council and your county leaders that they couldn't sue, we're giving $2 billion to the folks who polluted our water, but not a penny to you.' " MTBE — methyl tertiary butyl ether — has contaminated public and private water supplies in at least 28 states. The cause often is leaking underground gasoline storage tanks. The plume from MTBE can exist beneath the surface for years. MTBE also is drawn toward water and dissolves easily. In high concentrations, the water becomes undrinkable because of an overpowering odor similar to that of turpentine. MTBE also is thought to be a possible cause of cancer. For Bel Aire, Dodge City and others among the 130 communities and water systems that have filed lawsuits since September, court was the only option. The problem, however, was that deep within the energy bill's 1,200 pages was a provision that would have given MTBE manufacturers liability protection from any lawsuits retroactive to Sept. 5 of this year. MTBE manufacturers sought protection from the kinds of lawsuits with which they have been swamped this fall after a contamination case in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., last year led to a $69 million settlement. More recently, Shell, Exxon Mobil and several other companies reached an MTBE cleanup settlement with Santa Monica, Calif., that could cost $400 million. Bel Aire filed suit this month. City officials acknowledge that only trace amounts of MTBE have been found. But test wells indicate that larger quantities could be present. "Our water supply is safe and secure," Bel Aire City Attorney Lee Parker said. "But the thing with MTBE is, once it's down in the water supply it does not ever dissipate on its own. It's something that has to be dealt with. That's the problem."

MY THEORY OF EVOLUTION IS THAT DARWIN WAS ADOPTED (Steven Wright)

MULLICA 2003, AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT 8TH GRADE TEST SCORES

There are 93 students in 8th grade in Mullica….52 females & 41 males. In reading (Language Arts Literacy) only 3.8% of the girls failed the GEPA test and 19.2% scored Advanced Proficient. For the boys 26.8% failed and only 4.9% scored Advanced Proficient.

In Math 34.6% of the girls failed but 21.2% scored Advanced Proficient. The GEPA scores in Math for the boys show 48.8% of the boys failing and 22% scoring Advanced Proficient. And in Science for the girls 21.2% failed, while 21.2% also scored Advance Proficient. For the boys in Science 17.1% failed and 24.4% scored Advanced Proficient.

The sub group of "economically disadvantaged" students for Mullica’s 8th grade is 27 students out of 93; of the 27 "economically disadvantaged" students 29.6% failed reading and 18.5% tested Advanced Proficient. In Math for this group of 27, 63% failed and 11.1% scored Advance Proficient. It is this 63% failure in Math that has caused Mullica’s Middle School to receive an early warning letter from the State. Clearly this has spotlighted an area where Mullica’s educators need to focus more of their efforts.

In Science the "Economically Disadvantaged" 27 had 42.7% fail and only 7.4% score Advance Proficient.

The break down of the 8th grade’s 93 students was; 61 White, 11 Black, 2 Asian, and 19 Hispanic. All of these sub-groups met the benchmark pass criteria in both Math and Reading. We as a community clearly need to focus more of our energy in helping our "economically disadvantaged" students. As H.G. Wells noted; HUMAN HISTORY BECOMES MORE AND MORE A RACE BETWEEN EDUCATION AND CATASTROPHE.

It needs to be emphasised that internationally American students scored 19th in Math...that means 18 countries' students out scored us. In Science internationally it is equally bad as American students scored 17th...16 countries' students scoring better than Americans.

Subject: Fiscal Bizarro World: Once the leaders of the current administration are deposed, they will leave behind a fiscal catastrophe. This is being done intentionally at the Federal level in an effort to wreck social services here, so that congress will have to be "fiscally responsible" and cut wildly successful and important programs. California faces similar problems after being robbed by friends of the Bushes who remain free. What will the result of all this be? What happens when you've mortgaged the whole country? This is essentially what happened in Argentina. Every year, over 85% of Argentina's economic output goes to debt service. Can you imagine what that's like? According to the CIA world factbook, things haven't improved much there since 1999, when the World Bank repossesed the country. This past year for example, their GDP shrank by 14%. This was once the richest country in South America. Could it happen here? It's already happening here. Mathew

HEMP! HEMP! HORRAY!

The list of public political movers and shakers who admit to having used pot continues to grow. In addition to President Clinton and former Vice President Gore we have Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and several past senators and cabinet officers who have admitted to at least trying marijuana. New York Gov. Pataki and New York City Mayor Bloomberg inhaled as did newly elected California governor Schwarzenegger whose pot smoking was caught on film and that fact did not cause a ripple in the recent California election.

Then of course there is THE LESSER BUSH who simply not wishing to upset his ultra-right wing Christian base simply declines to answer specific questions about his past behavior. Among that base being an irresponsible drinker is quite acceptable so we do have THE LESSER acknowledging having overcome an alcohol problem. Perhaps Lilly Tomlin was thinking of folks like THE LESSER when she quipped: REALITY IS A CRUTCH FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN’T COPE WITH DRUGS.

Of the eight Democratic candidates this time around for President it says something worthy of noting regarding who did and did not use pot. Wesley Clark, Lieberman, Sharpton, and Kucinich all said they had never tried pot. While Kerry, Dean, and Edwards said they had inhaled.

Supporters of the legalization of marijuana who have had a number of recent victories are saying: “Given the fact that we have so many prominent people in this country who have acknowledged using marijuana and didn’t become junkies, derelicts, have their lives ruined, we are at a point where we need to have a conversation about do these laws that criminalize marijuana make any sense.”

However for parents the proliferation of “everybody did it” excuses among national figures raises the question of how to convince teenagers that marijuana is risky. Bill Bennet cochairman of Partnership for a Drug Free America recommends describing the dangers honestly in the same vein as warning against speeding or drunken driving.

Once again maybe Frank Zappa got it right: I'll give you a simple formula for straightening out the problems of the United States. First, you tax the churches. You take the tax off of capital gains and the tax off of savings. You decriminalize all drugs and tax them same way as you do alcohol. You decriminalize prostitution. You make gambling legal. That will put the budget back on the road to recovery, and you'll have plenty of tax revenue coming in for all of your social programs, and to run the army.

Subject: The Second Coming is near: Jesus attributes delay of Second Coming to Being in Closet from the pulpit of heaven In a declaration from Heaven earlier today, Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior shocked millions of his followers today by openly declaring himself to be a homosexual. "Those who know me, know that my Name is Lord, and that I am gay." He has reportedly scheduled the announcement due to revelations concerning his appearance in numerous San Francisco area bars, as well as alleged reports of a relationship with magician David Blain. Our Lord has urged his followers not to lose faith. "I'm still the same Messiah I was 2,000 years ago, and I'm just as God made me. In fact, I am God in a way." This has not stopped numerous religious leaders from announcing their intentions to discuss certain key indoctrines, including a convergence in Vatican City to discuss whether He could be ex-communicated. "There's a lot of back-peddling we're going to have to do now, in order to decide whether we really want to teach our kids about a Savior prone to Original Sin" commented Cardinal Jose Luis Opiscipo. Asked to comment on His relationship with God Our Father, Jesus admitted the situation "is still tense, but He's taking it well. He told Me that in a way He knew it all along, being omnipotent and all that." Despite the situation, Jesus assures us that after a brief vacation with Blain in South Beach He will be "back to buisness. I didn't mean to take so long in bringing forth the end of the world, but I had to be sure My Gospel, as well as My sexuality, would still be accepted." While vacationing, the Lord assured reporters that the tasks of judging souls and attributing salvation would be taken care of by long-time friend and ardent follower George W. Bush, who He declared is also making sure that the Second Coming "won't be too long now." Charles


 

Subject: Listed below are the actual voting records of various Arabic/Islamic States. These voting records are recorded in both the US State Department and United Nations' records: Kuwait votes against the United States 67% of the time. Qatar votes against the United States 67% of the time. Morocco votes against the United States 70% of the time. United Arab Emirates votes against the U. S. 70% of the time. Jordan votes against the United States 71% of the time. Tunisia votes against the United States 71% of the time. Saudi Arabia votes against the United States 73% of the time. Yemen votes against the United States 74% of the time. Algeria votes against the United States 74% of the! time. Oman votes against the United States 74% of the time. Sudan votes against the United States 75% of the time. Pakistan votes against the United States 75% of the time. Libya votes against the United States 76% of the time. Egypt votes against the United States 79% of the time. Lebanon votes against the United States 80% of the time. India votes against the United States 81% of the time. Syria votes against the United States 84% of the ti! me. Mauritania votes against the United States 87% of the time. US Foreign Aid to those that hate us: Egypt, for example, after voting 79% of the time against the United States, still receives $2 billion annually in US Foreign Aid. Jordan votes 71% against the United States and receives $192,814,000 annually in US Foreign Aid. Pakistan votes 75% against th! e United States receives $6,721,000 annually in US Foreign Aid. India votes 81% against the United States receives $ 143,699,000 annually in US Foreign Aid. In the last year The Taliban terrorized the people of Afghanistan and gave safe haven to Osama Bin Laden, they received $143,000,000 in US Foreign Aid. Sudan voted 75% against the United States and received $1, 121,000 in US Foreign Aid. (The US State Department stated that the Sudanese government is guilty of providing a haven for a variety of terrorist groups including Osama Bin Laden's organization, The Egyptian Jihad, The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. The Islamic government has also conducted a literal reign of terror against the Christians living in the southern part of the country.) The Palestinian Authority will receive $500 million dollars in US Foreign Aid over the next five years(!!!) This happened due to the Oslo "Agreement" of 1993, a deal which was endorsed and avidly supported by now New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who was then First Lady. The Clinton Administration sought to establish good relations with terrorist groups despite their support of terrorism and anti-Western stances. The Palestinians were seen on ABC News openly celebrating and dancing in the streets at the news of both suicide bombings on Sept. 11th. Israel, it must be noted, receives three billion in US Foreign Aid. However, for the last five years it has an average record of voting with the United States 94% of the time. There is clearly no incentive for most countries to support the United States, as they will receive US Foreign Aid regardless of their stances. Perhaps it is time for the United States to deny things such as money, scientific, technological, medical expertise, and education to nations who simply will not assist or protect American interests? Worse yet, your Federal dollars go to and support all of the anti-American groups trying to destroy the "American way of life". This may still not balance the budget, but it seems a good place to start. Send this to all your congress people and have your friends do the same. MC

I FEEL ALL WE HAVE DONE IS TO AWAKEN A SLEEPING GIANT AND FILL HIM WITH A TERRIBLE RESOLVE (Isoroku Yamamoto) Our attack on Iraq brings back these perhaps all to analogous words.

Subject: Cheney's Patriotism?: Perhaps if Dick Cheney’s other priorities (getting rich) during Vietnam had been side tracked by his being drafted like those or us who served, he would know it was not the intelligence community that failed us it was the politicians. MH

TO RAISE THE GAS TAX OR NOT

THE BITCH Whitman kept her word and lowered income taxes 30%, primarily benefiting the wealthy. As we’ve seen; for the average Atlantic County resident the saving was less than $100 and for the wealthy, in THE BITCH’s tax bracket the saving was $32,000. Property taxes at least for the average Mullica resident went up $660 just this year and these same folks continued to support the republicans...go figure...or maybe Mullica residents just can't figure. As John Maynard Keynes said: THE AVOIDANCE OF TAXES IS THE ONLY PURSUIT THAT CARRIES ANY REWARD…and the republicans have certainly rewarded the rich at the expense of middle class.

In 1998 the economic chickens began to come home and THE BITCH responsibly proposed raising gasoline taxes by 5 cents. The State was starting to show a large debt in its Transportation Fund as a result of borrowing from it for other purposes to hide Republican fiscal mismangment. The debt was a result of her tax cuts for the wealthy and as one might suspect the cowardly Democrats seeing a political advantage opposed the gas tax increase saying it would fall too heavily on the middle class.

Now political irresponsibility is about to bite the Democrats back, as the Transportation Trust Fund which is financed by the extant gas tax; and before THE BITCH'S rob Peter to pay Paul tax policies was self replenishing; now however the Republican scam of a reliance on borrowing through bonds has so increased debt service that the fund is likely be broke by 2006. So now we have a crumbling infra structue and a panel of experts proposing for the Democrats in charge a 12.5-cent gas tax increase to fix it…and Republicans are likely to oppose and blame Democrats for attempting to raise taxes. Once again quoting Keynes: CAPITALISM IS THE EXTARODINARY BELIEF THAT THE NASTIEST OF MEN, FOR THE NASTIEST OF REASONS, WILL SOME HOW WORK FOR THE BENEFIT OF US ALL.

There really is no choice here for the State will loose millions in federal transportation money because it lacks the required matching dollars in the Transportation Fund and may not even be able to pay the massive interest and debt payments that are now coming due. Pay now or pay later...the Republi CON has been spend now and pay later...stated another way; cut taxes now and not expenses and let the someone else take reponsiblity for paying the bills...well, it has been effective politically in both Mullica and the County.

Democrats want some Republicans to vote for the gas tax increase so they can claim bipartisanship vis-à-vis this necessary tax increase. This by the way would be a dedicated tax, a user fee that will be solely used for state road, bridge and other forms of public transportation systems that are in disrepair. An increase that will ultimately benefit those who directly use the system and be paid by only by the users. Will Democrats find any Republicans to come on board during the lame duck session? Winston Churchill noted; THE PRICE OF GREATNESS IS RESPONSIBLIBITY. We will see.

Besides the Democrats will control the governor’s office and both houses come January and had they supported the gas tax increase under THE BITCH maybe the total responsibility would not fall so heavily on their shoulders. The price of cowardliness Anais Nin said: LIFE SHRINKS OR EXPANDS IN PROPORTION TO ONE’S COURAGE. But if truth were known politicians are not a brave lot. It is likely once again fiscal responsiblility...the necessity of raising taxes to pay the bills for Repbulican fiscal irresponsibility will fall on a Democratic governor and legislature...and more than likely many people will just not be able to connect the dots of fiscal irresponsibility...the successful Republi CON continues.

Read my lips--NO NEW TAXES!
George Herbert Walker Bush, Nov. 1988

I'm not going to raise taxes on middle-class Americans to pay for the programs I've recommended.
Bill Clinton (1946 - ), Presidential Debate, October 19, 1992

[George Bush] has raised taxes on the people driving pickup trucks and lowered taxes on the people riding in limousines. We can do better.
Bill Clinton (1946 - ), Democratic National Convention, July 16, 1992

We have to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share again. Their incomes went up in the 1980s and their taxes went down. We can't ask the middle class to pay more; their incomes went down and their taxes went up.
Bill Clinton (1946 - ), U.S. Conference Of Mayors, Houston, June 22, 1992

Opportunity for all means making taxes fair. I'm not out to soak the rich. But I do believe the rich should pay their fair share. For twelve years, the Republicans have raised taxes on the middle class. It's time to give the middle class tax relief.
Bill Clinton (1946 - ), Announcement Speech, October 3, 1991

FOLLOW THE PATH OF THE UNSAFE, INDEPENDAENT THINKER. EXPOSE YOUR IDEAS TO THE DANGERS OF CONTROVERSY. SPEAK YOU MIND AND FEAR LESS THE LABEL OF “CRACKPOT" THAN THE STIGMA OF CONFORMITY. AND ON ISSUES THAT SEEM IMPORTANT TO YOU, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED AT ANY COST. (Thomas J. Watson)

Subject: Cheney’s Heroism: Vice President Cheney ably and successfully represents the interests of the energy industry, as evidenced by his disdain for the democratic process, including his secret energy policies, contempt for any kind of energy conservation and continued exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy. And you neglected to mention his involvement with the neo conservative Project for the New American Century and the fact that Cheney who is promoted as genuinely concerned about national security, managed to secure five deferments from service in Vietnam. MC

Subject: Question? What the heck are these orange ribbons up and down ELwood road? Dont tell me out local realitor is working her magic already? (LOL) And another question, since when did i have to startt buying a permit to take a refridgeator to the dump? Not being a smartass, just wondering when that went into effect and why? I coulndt believe that, I dont have trash pickup and now they are charging for dropoff!! What the heck do they do with that money?

MULLICA SCHOOLS TEST SCORES (a series)

Note the drastic lowering of pass standards for schools in New Jersey. The previous standard was that 75% pass the Math, Language Arts Literacy (Reading), Science; for a School District to be judged as meeting State standards. Previously a School District only was required to test its General Education Students and thus omitted Learning Disabled students and English as a Second Language students. NO MORE…now all students are tested and the pass standards for school districts have been dramatically lowered. The reading pass benchmark for 4th graders has been lowered from 75% to 68%…really not that bad. For 8th graders the pass standard has been lowered to 58% of students needing to be proficient in reading for a District not to be judged as not doing its job. This standard for the 8th grade is way too low. Mullica should note with pride that in 2003, 86% of our 8th graders tested Proficient and/or Advanced Proficient…well above the 58% benchmark. In the 4th grade too, in reading 85.5% met or surpassed the proficient standard…more pride here. IF YOU THINK EDUCATION IS EXPENSIVE, TRY IGNORANCE.

In Math the 75% pass benchmark for school districts has been lowered; for 8th graders to 39%…that’s despicably low. For 4th graders the pass standard for districts has been lowered from 75% to 53%…also way too low a standard. Mullica’s 8th graders for 2003 had a 59.1% of its 93 students test proficient or advanced proficient…well above the 39% despicably low State benchmark. For Mullica’s 4th graders 71.1% tested proficient or advanced proficient in 2003…well above the 53% pass benchmark State standard for math.

It is further noted that Mullica 8th graders tested 80.7% proficient or advanced proficient in Science in 2003. Much to be proud of here for Mullica…but some areas of weakness will be highlighted in another posting. The words of Diogenes Laertus: WHEN ASKED HOW MUCH EDUCATED MEN WERE SUPERIOR TO THOSE UNEDUCATED, ARISTOTLE ANSWERED, "AS MUCH AS THE LIVING ARE TO THE DEAD."

Subject; "1984"; F.B.I.'s Reach Into Records Is Set to Grow: "A little-noticed measure approved by both the House and Senate would significantly expand the F.B.I.'s power to demand financial records, without a judge's approval, from car dealers, travel agents, pawnbrokers and many other businesses, officials said on Tuesday." Traditional financial institutions like banks and credit unions are frequently subject to administrative subpoenas from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to produce financial records in terrorism and espionage investigations. Such subpoenas, which are known as national security letters, do not require the bureau to seek a judge's approval before issuing them. The measure now awaiting final approval in Congress would significantly broaden the law to include securities dealers, currency exchanges, car dealers, travel agencies, post offices, casinos, pawnbrokers and any other institution doing cash transactions with "a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters." Officials said the measure, which is tucked away in the intelligence community's authorization bill for 2004, gives agents greater flexibility and speed in seeking to trace the financial assets of people suspected of terrorism and espionage. It mirrors a proposal that President Bush outlined in a speech two months ago to expand the use of administrative subpoenas in terrorism cases. Critics said the measure would give the federal government greater power to pry into people's private lives. "This dramatically expands the government's authority to get private business records," said Timothy H. Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "You buy a ring for your grandmother from a pawnbroker, and the record on that will now be considered a financial record that the government can get." The provision is in the authorization bills passed by both houses of Congress. Some Democrats have begun to question whether the measure goes too far and have hinted that they may try to have it pulled when the bill comes before a House-Senate conference committee. Other officials predicted that the measure would probably survive any challenges in conference and be signed into law by President Bush, in part because the provisions already approved in the House and the Senate are identical. The intelligence committees considered the proposal at the request of George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, officials said. Officials at the C.I.A. and the Justice Department declined to comment on Tuesday about the measure..

TIME IS AN ILLUSION. LUNCHTIME DOUBLY SO!
(Douglas Adams)

ON TO ALASKA

While the Republican Energy Bill seems stalled for the moment in the Senate THE BUSH THE LESSER sell out has turned its rapacious eyes on Alaska and what it can give to its oil industry cronies by fiat…by passing Congress all together. Remember the crafting of Energy Policy that occurred in secret with Vice President Cheney who has refused Congressional requests for documents regarding those secret meetings; the bill emerging totally without consulting a single Democrat or environmental group as a massive give away to the energy industry…now hopefully dead in the Senate. FDR spoke for Democrats; WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT HEEDLES SELF INTEREST WAS BAD MORALS, WE KNOW NOW THAT IT IS BAD ECONOMICS. It is noted here parenthetically that in the House our Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo voted against this travesty of a bill.

Never stymied when it comes to selling out the environment for personal cash donations to Republican candidates the BUSH THE LESSER Interior Department has announced its plans to open 8.8 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope by decree to oil and gas drilling. This will include areas considered environmentally sensitive though none of this land is in the ANWAR wildlife refuge, for that would need Congressional approval.

Environmentalists once again outraged by THE LESSER’S caviler distain for environmental concerns said the plan would jeopardize Arctic tundra, lakes and ponds that provide sanctuary for wildlife and migratory birds. But anyone who has any concern for the environment has to realize that these Republicans (not all Republicans) would sell their first born for money and power. Dante said: NATURE IS THE ART OF GOD; but for Bush & Cheney their only god is money.

Subject: just a observation? While out and about last weekend, I was going down Moss Mill towards Hammonton and in the Wharton Park area I seen s young man changing the oil in a few cars. I thought nothing of this because we all change oil. On the way back however I seen this same person carrying a large jug of oil across the road into the woods and though I did not actually see him dump it, I am sure that's why he was crossing the road with the oil!!! Isn't there a law against this. I know we take ours to the dump for recycling. Do people not realize what kind of shit they are dumping into our grounds and think about where it eventually has to go. If this guy did this out in the open, I wonder how many do it right in their own backyards? This country is really getting lazy.

NOTHING IS SO DANGEROUS AS AN IGNORANT FRIEND; A WISE ENEMY IS WORTH MORE
(Jean De la Fontaine)

Subject: Republican Energy Bill: The latest energy bill drafted by congressional leaders proves once again that we have the best legislators that lobbyists can buy. In an effort to assure that oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries line their pockets with billions in tax breaks, our elected officials have proven unequivocally that money talks and everything else walks. Since 1999, this country has added 200,000 megawatts of new electric generating capacity, boosting totals by 24%. The boom in power plant construction peaked after industry deregulation and just before demand flattened due to weakening economic conditions. With this bill, Congress would lay the burden of poor industry management at the feet of the American taxpayer. Furthermore, the Aug. 14 blackout seems related to problems in how the electric transmission systems are managed. This bill would have the public believe that it was caused by a lack of generating capacity. Finally, this bill is woefully inadequate in dealing with conservation. There are no revisions in the automobile fuel-efficiency standards, which would not only reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil but cut the greenhouse gas emissions as well. However, conservation will never contribute to a legislator's reelection war chest. MC

PLAYGROUND CANCER LINKS

A recent study shows a higher than expected cancer risk for children exposed to wood preserved with arsenic and often used in playground equipment and decks.. The new study suggests the risk to children is considerably greater than EPA officials indicated last year in announcing the products were being taken off the market. Such woods however remain in many play grounds and backyards.

The problem appears to be greater in the warmer climates of Southern states, where children tend to spend more time playing outdoors. There, 10% of all children face a cancer risk that is 100 times higher than that for children in the general population. As Elie Wiesel said: INDIFFERENCE....IS NOT ONLY A SIN, IT IS A PUNISHMENT.

Of course, under christie THE BITCH whitman's mantra of; we care more about business than children; the EPA's position last year was a 2 year phase out of the treated wood and an urging of precautions such as washing hands after coming in contact with CAA treated wood and never placing food directly on a deck or out door table surface. THE BITCH stating; "EPA does not believe there is any reason to remove or replace CCA treated structures, including decks or playground equipment." In the words of Edmund Burke: IT IS NECESSARY ONLY FOR THE GOOD MAN TO DO NOTHING FOR EVIL TO TRIUMPH.

But the new study contradicts the EPA's and THE BITCH's assurances last year. The EPA now makes excuses, stating: "At the time we didn't have a risk assessment...we had no reason to believe there was an increase in risk associated with it."

Children don't vote or contribute money, so why should Republicans care anyway. WHEN REPUBLICANS SAY JUSTICE--THEY MEAN JUST US (the rich)!

Subject: nesco resident spill it: UMMMM UNDETERMINED? LOL Some of us know the truth! NESCO Resident. Well whats the truth ????? lets here it ... F.J.

BULL SHIT

FOR THE RICH ANOTHER...MASSIVE TAX BREAK; EGAD!!...that's MTBE

Okay, it's methyl teritaiary butyl ether or MTBE for short; the additive added to gasoline by the oil industry to curb air pollution and make the air cleaner as it facilitates the burning of gasoline in one's car. Now however, as a suspected carcinogen and blamed for increases in asthma cases; 17 States including New York and Connecticut have banned or are phasing out MTBE. New Jersey is not one and simply has no plans to limit MTBE use.

The fact is, that with an MTBE gas spill there is substantially more difficulty and of course cost in the clean up. This because the additive bonds to water and moves quickly through the ground. In fact, a 1997-98 study found that about 15% of community water systems tested in New Jersey tested positive for MTBE. It should be noted that according to the Atlantic County Health Department MTBE is not something that is normally tested for or done as a part of water quality testing by the County. Benzene, a proven carcinogen and other volatile chemicals is what is tested for when a gas tank leak is suspected, not MTBE in New Jersey.

BUSH THE LESSER and the Republicans have crafted an Energy Bill that not only gives massive tax breaks to his Texas cronies and other wealthy oil men, but also shockingly contains a retroactive granting to manufactures of MTBE (mostly Texas oil cronies) immunity from being sued for cleanup or contamination costs. According to one source, this in effect "represents a huge new tax on citizens, because the average citizen is going to end up paying for cleanup."

As John Milton noted: HYPOCRISY, THE ONLY EVIL THAT WALKS INVISIBLE, EXCEPT TO GOD ALONE. The Republic CON is to talk about a belief in the market, but in fact, to act to protect their wealthy business contributors from honest litigation when they act irresponsibly and further to pass all costs and burdens financial and health on to the middle class and see to it that the wealthy avoid paying their fair share or for their mistakes. FALSE FACE MUST HIDE WHAT THE FALSE HEART DOTH KNOW. (Shakespeare)

FROM THE MULLICA POLICE BLOTTER

Sunday morning (Nov. 23rd) around 11:30 A.M. a car being driven by a 26 year old Atlantic City resident, traveling east on Colombia Rd. hit two motorcycles at Colombia's intersection with Moss Mill Rd. The two parallel motorcyclists had the right of way as at the Moss Mill intersection with Colombia, it is Colombia only that has a stop sign. The 26 year old who was headed to Mullica's recreation fields for a soccer game fled the scene of the accident and was apprehended a short distance away by Mullica police and cited. One of the two motorcyclists had serious head injuries and was medi-vaced to the Atlantic City trauma center in Atlantic City, the other motorcyclist was much less seriously injured. Mullica police describe this intersection; Moss Mill and Colombia as a bad intersection because of the angle the two streets cross. It is not the typical right angle and thus does not allow for a good view of on coming traffic after stopping for the stop sign on Colombia at Moss Mill.

MEND YOUR FUELISH WAYS

"SHOOT THIS TURKEY: The energy bill is a pork laden industry payoff that promotes yesterday’s technology; scars sensitive landscapes, and pushes America further into a budget deficit. It’s a turkey. Senators can talk from now through pumpkin pie next Thursday, and this bill isn’t getting any better. They should vote it down. Sen. Pete Domenici (R, NM) who helped shape the final bill, rightly confessed last week that “as soon as you start reading the language, we’re duck soup.” What worried him? Maybe the $23.5 billion in tax breaks to fossil fuel interests. Or payoffs to farm states through ethanol subsidies. Or the grab bag of goodies to buy individual votes. Perhaps it’s because republicans punted instead of tackling the long term reliability of the nation’s electrical grid. And gave a “get out of jail free” card to makers of MTBE, which has polluted the water supply of 1,500 communities. Domenici spent much of yesterday sidestepping tough questions on the Senate floor. He absurdly claimed this omnibus bill was Congress’ sole chance to address energy issues—as if the issues couldn’t come up again in separate bills, as they should have in the first place. This bill isn’t good energy, fiscal or environmental policy. It pits region versus region—with the Northeast have the least to gain and the most to lose. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware’s senators should do what’s right for their states. Vote no on it. " (Philadelphia Inquirer’s position)

Subject: Fuel Conservation: There is a hole in the national energy bill that one could drive a large truck through. That is the lack of a very basic and easy to address issue, namely fuel conservation. We as a nation are just consuming too much fuel in our daily lives. SUVs that get gallons per mile in the low teens, plus other vehicles that are barely in the mid teens, are just unacceptable if we are serious about fighting “terrorism.” America has as a core strength the ability to address difficult technical problems and solve them. A simple challenge to automobile manufacturers to have gas mileage in the low 20s within two or three years is all that is needed. The Europeans have addressed this issue already. Why has the administration not challenged the automotive industry to rise to the occasion and aggressively address the situation? Carl S

Subject : Mrs/Mr. "winey" firefighter...lol: No, I wouldn't be pissed!!! I would be happy to know that we combined the four companies to 2 and you are using the most advanced equipment and have the best training available because we saved money and were able to purchase better eqipment. You would be very well trained with the best money could buy... I am not as good as Larry at quoting who said what but I know someone somewhere said Think before you speak.

Subject: AARP Sells out: This morning I tore my AARP card in half and mailed the pieces back. Having sold out its 35 million members to a Medicare reform bill that provides a multibillion dollar gift to insurance and pharmaceutical companies, AARP no longer represents the interests of senior citizens. The legislation may be the opening round in the administration’s clear desire to privatize all entitlements to the benefit of the private sector. Instead of mobilizing its membership in support of their interests, the AARP has chosen to renounce its responsibility and revert to “it’s better than nothing.” Steve

Subject : Whiny Firefighters: Larry, I surely though you knew the difference between "wining" about An issue and making a case for ones point of view. I guess this not being the case maybe you should stop all of your "wining" and "bitching" about all of your perceived injustices in the world! Back to making a case on fire companies and the number needed in Mullica Twsp. It's always easy to say we could get by with one or two less fire companies in the township, the simple fact of the matter is that we probably could. But then the issues of which ones to shut down come into play. Which village is willing to give up their fire company? Which residents are willing to wait a few more minutes for a fire truck to show up at their burning house because the fire company in their town was shut down? What do the fire companies actually cost each tax payer? That's the question one has to be answered first! Is it really worth shutting any down? Is the savings in ones tax bill going to replace the peace of mind of having a fire company in ones town? Will homeowner insurance policy premiums go up because they no longer have a fire company within "X" amount of miles of their homes? If so, then are they really saving anything? I can't deny the appeal of the idea of having one or two fully funded fire companies in the township. As you can tell from my past "whiny" articles I don't like raising funds. Oh and please stop referring to Gary Franklin as the leader of the fire companies, that is a farce. Before Gary, we had an ambulance squad who made 90+% of their calls, we had four fire companies who worked and drilled well together. We had a township fire association that was open to all of the members of all of the fire companies. It would meet once a month, critique any fires that happened to occur since the last meeting, plan future drills, discuss general business, and even attempt to buy mutually needed equipment and supplies in bulk in order to get the best prices. We would hold elections once a year and vote in a President, Treasurer, Secretary,etc., etc. The association would also vote on a township fire coordinator, someone to help the commanding chief on a fire coordinate and manage needed resources. Typically this township coordinator would also be named "township chief", a liaison to handle communications with the press and town council. The title "township chief" was just a label, at no time was this "township chief" above any of the chiefs of the other fire companies. Gary took this title, got the geniuses on town council to draft a letter naming him "Supreme Commander" and then preceded to dismantle anything that might be a threat to his position. First he abolished the township fire association meetings by renaming them chief meetings, where only the chiefs of each fire company are allowed to attend(chief meetings were always separate from association meetings). That effectively did away with the whole democratic process which used to take place at the association meetings. Locking Gary in as "township chief", I guess for ever. A township chief should be voted in by the members of the fire companies not appointed by some political council who by their own admission "have no idea what it takes to run a fire/rescue company". Then and only then would Gary have the respect of the fire company members as a true leader and chief. jdf

RESPONSE: Always appreciate your insights here, as opposed to the titular head of Mullica’s fire companies gary THE MUKTAR franklyn who is obviously aware of the debate here but chooses to cowardly remain silent. You raise issues that are worthy of debating and have been addressed here.

Taxes are obscenely too high in Mullica and the prognosis with one party government, bodes for another large increase in property taxes next year. To quote Phlil Gramm: BALANCING THE BUDGET IS LIKE GOING TO HEAVEN. EVERYBODY WANTS TO DO IT, BUT NOODY WANTS TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THERE.

You can’t be responsible and just say don’t cut my budget in tight budgetry times. Everybody; the police, the fire fighters, the road department, the clerical staff, the school need for the good of our community to make some cuts.

This site has porposed cuts in all of those areas. Cuts need to be made NOW. As the African proverb goes: IF YOU WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW, TOMORROW COMES. IF YOU DON'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW, TOMORROW COMES. As your interest is just in the fire company, maybe the compromise position for the fire company is to restructure the companies as proposed here as Mullica 1 & 2, with the four buildings but with less vehicles…that is where the big wasted expense is.

Hammonton with double our population and perhaps five times the commercial ratables has only two fire companies. As noted here by one contributor (Sweetwater Resident) Shamong with about the same type of community in terms of rurality and landmass and population; has only one Fire Company. As edmund Burke noted: TO TAX AND TO PLEASE, NO MORE THAN TO LOVE AND BE WISE, IS NOT GIVEN TO MEN.

Subject: Packing the Courts: Senate Republicans are hurling absurd accusations of anti-Catholic, anti-Hispanic, anti-African American bias against Senate Democrats because they refuse to roll over and allow President Bush to pack the courts with right wing ideologues. The GOP tries to convince the American public of a “judicial vacancy crisis.” If there is a crisis, it is of the GOP’s own making. Unlike the Democrats, who have taken the high road by blocking only 4 Republican nominees while approving 16, the republicans blocked dozens of President Clinton’s nominees. The candidates the Democrats object o are people who profess an extreme right wing philosophy, which will threaten 75 years of social progress, including protections for civil rights, privacy rights, reproductive rights and labor rights. DC

ANTI SPRAWL LEGISLATION IN NJ

It seems possible that during the 2-month lame duck session that 2 anti sprawl bills may pass the N.J. legislature. Surprising support from builders increased their chances. One bill would allow towns the right to charge residential developers so called impact fees to help offset hidden costs of development, such as the need for more schools, roads and other municipal services. The other bill would give growing municipalities more ability to steer developments to areas that already have sewers and water hookups. As Lao tsu noted: THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSNAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP.

The builder’s acquiescence is surprising as the New Jersey Builders Association has opposed the McGreevey administrations’ anti-sprawl policies claiming that they would boost the state’s average housing cost by more than $120,000 and cost 42,806 jobs and $17 billion in lost income. McGreevey has had more success with anti-sprawl policies by implementing DEP regulation changes such as tough storm water management and provisions protecting pristine waterways from construction.

McGreevey has sought to link the impact fee bill to a requirement that municipalities follow the mandates of the larger State plan. Elected officials in towns and municipalities are so often a cheaper buy for greedy builders that it is not surprising that the League of Municipalities seems reluctant to endorse this policy.

This recent quote from the Sierra Club: “Builders saying they support smart growth is like Ben & Jerry’s running a weight loss clinic…these bills are just a smoke screen.”

AVOID AIRPORT SECURITY; FLY NAKED

Sufject: Fire and Ambulance: Larry, while we talk about this--- way to many fire depts, what can we do about it? I wrote a letter of complaint to the township and the very intelligent committee NEVER even read it during a meeting as they were in fear of alerting the public to the BS that goes on in that firehouse!!!! This committee to date STILL has NOT addressed the problems going on in Nesco. Are they afraid of something or someone? This is ridiculous to build this HUGE firehouse when the DICKTATOR and little DICKTATOR are in there... OUT WITH THE OLD! If we are wasting money lets do that with new people running the show...Otherwise this firehouse will be run into the GROUND just like the last one. Nesco residents need to stand up and stop whining about those taxes and do something about it. Stop the building of another DRINKING place and divide the monies between the other fire depts. Are they gonna let the same electrician do the work...You know the one without a license, hey but what the hell BIG DICKTATOR saved money? I think? What was the cause of the fire again? UMMMM UNDETERMINED? LOL Some of us know the truth! NESCO Resident

Subject: "winey" firefighters": you won't be calling me winey when I am cutting you out of a car ... or performing cpr on your daughter after I pull her from her burning bedroom .... The pissed off firefighter

RESPONSE: As you no doubt understand, the goal of this site is to provide a public forum, to provoke thought and debate about local, national and international issues that effect us all. HONEST CRITICISM IS HARD TO TAKE, PARTICULARYLY FROM A RELATIVE, A FRIEND, AN ACQUAINTANCE, OR A STRANGER…so said Franklin P Jones.

To that end and too for the entertainment value; the use of “insult”, or ad-homen characterization has been employed by the shallow host. And once again it is pointed out that all comments have been published.

Cato the Elder noted that: ANGER SO CLOUDS THE MIND, THAT IT CANNOT PERCEIVE THE TRUTH. Respectfully; were some tin horn dictator to say to the complaint about his brutality or wrong headed policy, or unwillingness to debate an issue on its own merits; that because the trains run on time, or fire and ambulance service is prompt; when one needs those services that in someway excuses or justifies some other bad policy or decision and that makes it all okay…most would see these things don’t connect.

If being pissed off provokes an honest dialogue than I believe we all benefit. I note parenthetically the cowardliness of THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 & gary THE MUKTAR franklyn in their unwillingness to debate or dialogue on the issues in question. So in closing let me quote William Arthur Ward: IT IS WISE TO DIRECT YOUR ANGER TOWARDS PROBLEMS—NOT PEOPLE; TO FOCUS YOUR ENERGIES ON ANSWERS—NOT EXCUSES.

MULLICA TEST SCORES FOR 4TH GRADE

The good news is that Mullica’s Elementary School did NOT receive an Early Warning letter based on 4th grade test scores for Reading and Math. All 4th graders took the tests with the required pass rate being 68% for Reading and 53% for Math. Mullica’s 4th grade total student scores showed a pass rate for Reading 85.5% and for Math 71%.

Of the total 4th grade student population of 83 children, 36 fall into the sub-group of economically disadvantaged. This all-important sub-group also met the mandated State pass standard in both Math and Reading.

If you recall it was the failure of this sub-group (economically disadvantaged students) at the 8th grade level (in Math) to meet the State pass standard that generated an early warning letter for Mullica’s Middle School. The 8th grade student population here was 93 students with 27 falling into the economic disadvantaged sub-group. As noted by John Adams: THE PRESEVATION OF THE MEANS OF KNOWLEDGE AMONG THE LOWEST RANKS IS OF MORE IMPORTANCE TO THE PUBLIC THAN ALL THE PROPERTY OF ALL THE RICH MEN IN THE COUNTRY.

ANOTHER NOTE ON EDUCATION: "Republican Senate leaders plan to force a vote this week on the nation's first federally funded school voucher experiment, tucking the program into broader spending legislation that would be politically difficult for Democrats to block ... The House already passed its version of the plan, and the private-school-choice idea is backed by President Bush, which means federally backed vouchers appear as likely as ever. Slowly, the system of public education is being destroyed so that some sort of political agenda can be advanced."

BUCKLE UP for as Henry David Thoreau; AS IF THERE WERE SAFETY IN STUPIDY ALONE

The national Safety Council, estimates that more than 12,000 people died between 1995 and 2000 because their states lacked laws that allow police to ticket motorists solely for failing to buckle up. 20 States including New Jersey have these types of primary seat belt laws. 29 States allow police to issue tickets for failure to wear a seat belt only after they stop a motorist for another violation. New Hampshire has no seat belt law. It was Dudley Morre who wryly noted: THE BEST CAR SAFETY DEVICE IS A REAR VIEW MIRROR WITH A COP IN IT

Subject: paid ambulance? My question on this is what if a resident does not have insurance for the Company to bill? I am not sure if I am for or against this yet. But that is one question that needs an answer prior to decision-making. AW


RESPONSE: Nearly everyone seems to agree that the present system under the leadership of gary THE MUKTAR franklyn is not working…at a 60% response record that puts lives at risk. The obvious reason that more and more communities are going to some form of paid ambulance service is that volunteer services are not able to meet the emergency needs of the community. That is clearly the case in Mullica.

As you know there is another reason and that is economic. Not only does the community get better service (2 EMTs mandated on each run, instead of 1 EMT), the response time is likely to be quicker, and the cost is paid for by insurance that most people already have…Medicare or private health insurance, with a paid ambulance squad.

Bill Cosby said: I DON’T KNOW THE KEY TO SUCCESS, BUT THE KEY TO FAILURE IS TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYBODY. The question you raise as to what happens for those who don’t have insurance is a legitimate one that other communities have addressed in various ways. Whether a paid ambulance service would bid on services with the proviso that for those who don’t have insurance and were unable to pay the service would be provided for free as in Atlantic City or for those who don’t have insurance there would be a small annual subscription fee; you are correct would need to be explored.

There may well be no perfect solution, but the present system is a failure in Mullica 40% of the time. Further as noted here before about 20% of the calls are made to 2 for profit businesses that support the Republican Party in Mullica. The cynical fact that THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 fail to address that community subsidy is political as is the tax burden and safety issues that continue to sustain the present failure that is ambulance service to Mullica. As Peggy Noonan noted: CYNICISM IS NOT REALISITIC AND TOUGH. IT’S UNREALISTIC AND KIND OF COWADLY BECAUSE IT MEANS YOU DON’T HAVE TO TRY.

How we look to the Brits...our allys in Iraq

According to a Sunday Times of London poll 75% have little or no confidence in BUSH THE LEESER'S handling of Iraq, 60% think he's a danger to world peace and 37% think he's simply "stupid".

Subject: Hmmmmmmmmmmm!! Looking for input on how many fire company locations are needed? Check out the following. Shamong has 6462 residents in 46 square miles with ONE fire & EMS location. Sweetwater Resident

http://www.indianmillsfire.com/

http://www.shamong.net/

RESPONSE: Mullica has less residents and is a bit larger in area....54 square miles. Off the record; every reasonable person...long time employee in the Township; will state the fact that we have too many fire companies. Their continued support has always been a political decision not a safety or economic one.

Were we to restructure the Mullica Fire Companies, something most of the "winey" firefighters adamantly oppose; Mullica would than be able to fully fund the legitimate needs of our community and our Fire Fighters. As long as THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 are understandably fearful of the political power of Mullica's "winey" volunteer fire fighters the community will suffer an unfair tax burden and the necessity of "winey" firefighters begging for ash tray change. Leadership and Intelligence are in short supply with both institutions. In the words of Rosalynn Carter: A LEADER TAKES PEOPLE WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. A GREAT LEADER TAKES PEOPLE WHERE THEY DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO GO BUT OUGHT TO BE.

Subject: Stop the Insanity: I bought the spin--weapons of mass destruction. but if I sit silently by now, I am giving permission for this insanity to continue. Every morning when I get up I am informed by the TV that "nine" troops are killed" or "12 soldiers lose their lives." This really, truly has to stop. For starters, how about if the news media stop dehumanizing these losses. They aren't just "troops." They are sons and daughters, husbands and wives, moms, and dad, grandchildren, best friends and so on. There is a bid difference between supporting and loving our troops and not supporting a politically grounded battle based on a lie. Are we so arrogant that we think we can change a mindset and a culture in our lifetime, at the expense of countless young lives? Let's start demanding more from our leaders. They are misrepresenting who we are in the world and are letting us down based on a "we know something you don't know" insulting justification PM

CHURCHES SHOULD STAY OUT OF POLITICS OR BE TAXED

THE QUEER REPUBLICAN STRATEGY

While Democrats however ineffectively of late, have attempted to articulate an us against the rich strategy and Republicans have yelled class warfare; it is the Republicans going back to the "Southern strategy" of the Nixon years who have most effectively sought to divide us as a nation for political gain; white against people of color.

The euphemism today of course is being against Affirmative Action which is understood to be against African Americans. We saw this most blatantly in BUSH THE LESSOR'S appearance while running for President at the racist Bob Jones university...This racist Protestant University with its mantra against Catholics and inter-racial dating is a regular stop for national Republicans seeking to establish their credentials with the core Republican bigot base.

Another euphemism used by Republicans effectively is an anti-immigration agenda which says to the core bigoted constituency that we Republicans are anti-Hispanic, anti Asian, and anti African.

This coming Presidential season it seems the strategy will shift emphasis to an anti gay (QUEER) campaign that seems certain once again to energize the bigoted core constituency of the Bush Republican Party.

As Mark Twain noted: I BELIEVE THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER INVENTED MAN BECAUSE HE WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE MONKEY. Seeming to validate that assessment we have the Christian right mouthing the canard that our Founding Fathers based America on a Judeo/Christian model/principles.

In the words of Louis D Brandeis; "The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions, and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized man."

Our Founding Fathers who fled religious tyranny and were products not of religious Christianity but a secular intellectualism known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment embracing not a Christian dogma of acceptance and faith but a belief in the rational intellect's ability to find meaning and a disdain and mistrust of the absolutism of religiosity.

Thus enshrined in the Constitution is the Separation of Church and State and the endorsement of the individual pursuit of happiness unfettered by government righteousness. The notion that religious folks who find homosexuality offensive should have the right to impose their beliefs on others, to appropriate the definition of words like marriage to themselves and enforce by law the inability of another group to use that word or ceremony is anathema to our Constitutional guarantees of individual freedom.

Nothing precludes the individual group; whether the Boy Scouts or the Catholic Church or the Klu Klux Klan from setting up its own norms of membership whether based on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, but the notion that government should tell its citizens how to pursue individual happiness is anti American. Sort of reminds one of the Taliban.

Nelson Mandela said: "A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone's else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity."

The recent attempts by the Roman Catholic bishops to insinuate themselves into the political rights of homosexuals is un American. The Bishops recently urging States to withhold recognition of same sex marriages and not to grant health benefits or inheritance rights to homosexual couples further under scores the Churches lack of credibility to speak on sexual morality (in view of the recent abuse scandal). And of course we have the fact that only 4% of Married American Catholics of childbearing age use the church approved natural family planning method. For along with the Catholic Bishop's statements on homosexuality this month came from the American Bishops their firm opposition to artificial birth control. ...AND THE BEAT GOES ON...AND IF YOU'RE A CATHOLIC HOPEFULLY YOU GOT THE RHYTHM!

STOP MAD COWBOY DISEASE

Subject: Firehouses: Larry, wouldn't it be wise to try and put together a few of these firehouses as one? How many square miles are in Mullica and what are the state standards of those miles? If we were to take four Companies and make them two, would they amount the state gives each company change? While Elwood clearly has the correct amount of personal, Nesco lacks volunteers severely! No one is gonna join that one as long as the current DICKtater (lol) is there. I always believed that the state says they are required to have a certain amount of volunteers (trained and certified)? I have recently been writing to the state of New Jersey to find out the correct policies with requards to that. Hope to have answers real soon. I also want to know if driving a truck DRUNK or with suspended is OK? Why are the other fire dept. letting this shit slide? When is Gary gonna step up to the plate and do his job? Even though Nesco has a different name it is still the same township name. Nesco is an embarrassment to this township and they believe building a new firehouse is gonna change that. Well, it isn't, it is just gonna Blow more tax dollars. Oh by the way, the ambulance made a call this weekend!!! I was almost proud!!!

RESPONSE: This site has proposed a number of ideas for cutting the seemingly ever growing property tax burden on the residents of Mullica. The fiscal incompetence and unwillingness of THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 in times of money tightness to make the difficult decisions has resulted in large increases in property tax bills and that is more than likely to occur again next year. There are already home owners in Mullica paying property tax bills well over $10,000 and there will be many more next year. In the words of John Stuart Mill: A PERSON MAY CAUSE EVIL TO OTHERS NOT ONLY BY HIS ACTIONS BUT BY HIS INACTION, AND IN EITHER CASE HE IS JUSTLY ACCOUNTABLE TO THEM FOR THE INJURY.

Strangely, it is this progressive site that has proposed the kind of government cut backs and efficiencies that Republicans claim to favor in words, but have failed to support at the ballot box. Increased debt (borrowing) has been used by both BUSH THE LESSER & THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 to hide the true cost of their expansions of government's role. That's right, government has grown substantially under the phony leadership of these so called conservative Republicans.

The private sector has increased productivity dramatically and in these fiscally tight times has made cuts in the workforce that have increased efficiencies dramatically. Both the so called Republican stewardship of Mullica and America have seen substantive growth in the role of government and a failure to follow the lead of business and pare back inefficiences. This is most disheartening in a rural community like Mullica.

The suggested economic efficiencies proposed at various times here include the closing of Mullica's "Dump" and the going to private pick up...something Galloway did just a few years back at a large saving to taxpayers. The privatizing of the ambulance squad would bring a substantial tax savings and also provide better service. The cessation of the practice of curb side chipping in Mullica. A ridiculous service in a rural community like Mullica. The reorganization of the fire companies (from 4 to 2) which would save hundreds of thousands of dollars as it would do away with the competition for expensive fire vehicles for companies that make very few calls. Man power cut backs in a bloated police department. Using the Medford Lakes model, the Township construction of two (if that is what we are going to get) cell towers and the renting out the antenna space and pocketing the profit for tax payer relief, rather than having private companies like Sprint and Verizon make the profits.

Andrew Carnegie said: AS I GROW OLDER I PAY LESS ATTENTION TO WHAT MEN SAY. I JUST WATCH WHAT THE DO. Sit back and continue to watch your property tax bill rise and maybe at some point the price of one party government will come home.

SCHOOL BULLYING

Three out of every four incidents of school violence involve bullying. In response New Jersey is one of about half a dozen states who have adopted a proactive policy on school bullying. This fall the state mandated that school districts institute an anti bullying policy and ways for the district to respond (early intervention) to bulling and other forms of harassment.

Studies clearly show that bulling affects not only safety, but also academic performance, self esteem and truancy. Some 30% of students in grades 6 thru 10 reported being involved in bullying in 2001. Studies further show that 8 to 15 year olds worry more about bullying than about drugs, alcohol and AIDs. One out of 12 students have stayed home in fear of going to school another study indicates. As LBJ noted: EDUCATION IS NOT A PROBLEM. EDUCATION IS AN OPPORTUNITY. An opportunity that it is hoped will be facilitated by the States pro-active stance.

Repeated racial, ethnic or sexual comments can constitute bullying. But a fight between two children of about equal strength or teasing between friends does not. Yet bullying is not a crime.

Some schools have instituted "bully boxes" as a way for students to report anonymously these acts to administrators, especially in middle schools. Middle school grades which are transitional period for adolescents can be the toughest and this has the potential to contribute to a bullying culture.

As Horace Mann said: A HUMAN BEING IS NOT A HUMAN BEING TILL HE IS EDUCATED.

GORMLEY SHOWS COMPASSION & WISDOM

Senator Bill Gormley once again shows a willingness to stand against the most reactionary elements of his own party in announcing he will co-sponsor a Democrat bill to offer a needle exchange program for intravenous drug users. The recognition is that the exchange of clean needles as a health concern to fight the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other diseases was long over due in New Jersey.

Despite the fact that THE BITCH whitman's own health panel repeatedly recommended a needle exchange program, THE BITCH as a sop to the core racist bigots in the Republican Party repeatedly indicated she would veto any such proposal. Now, thanks to the leadership of Gormley and the Democratic control of the legislature and governor's office such legislation seems assured.

The Senator is to be congratulated for an openness and a willingness to reassess his previous opposition. As another Republican leader, Everett Dirksen admirably noted: I AM A MAN OF FIXED AND UNBENDING PRINCIPLES, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS TO BE FLEXIBLE AT ALL TIMES.

EVERY TIME A REPUBLICAN DIES A QUEER ANGEL GETS THEIR WINGS

Subject: DEMOCRACY? President Bush deserves congratulations for urging Middle East nations to adopt the democratic traditions of the United States. His recommendation would have been even more persuasive had he offered some examples. He might have apologized for U.S. support of the dictatorial overthrow of democratically elected government in Chile and Guatemala, or he might have announced that he and Vice President Cheney were immediately furnishing their document about the 9/11 incident and about U.S. energy policy. such governmental transparency is a hallmark of traditional democracy. The content of "democratic traditions" is best made by example rather than empty words. JB

Subject: Town Landfill: Larry, Well Sunday proved to be another snag in the way the trash is handled at the landfill and who is handling the trash. As I approached the top of the hill, a day worker came up to the car and said he didnt have to unload the trash from peoples cars anymore, except they would unload for the elderly and the women who bring trash to the dump. He also stated that he didnt want to hurt his back by unloading the trash from anyones truck or car. After a few calls to the Township officials, I was told different stories of how a new policy for the DAY WORKERS came about. Well after many phone calls, I still dont know what the policy is. Our township committee people told me one story where the mayor told me a different story. There seems to be a dis_connect again between them once again. No communication, go figure!!!!!!!!

GAY MARRIAGES IN NEW JERSEY

Earlier this month a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by 7 gay couples who sought to have their relationships recognized in New Jersey as a marriage.

The Judge said in her ruling that the legislature, not the courts should deal with this kind of a change in the laws governing marriage. This Obviously different from today's Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that their State would have to recognize gay marriages.

While gay marriages are not coming to New Jersey anytime soon what is coming is domestic partner benefit legislation. Momentum seems to be building in the legislature to grant domestic partnership benefits either during the up coming lame duck session or after January when Democrats will control both the governorship and the State legislature.

The bill in the works would provide for hospital visitation and decision making rights, and inheritance tax exemption and spousal state income tax deduction. Partners of state employees also would receive health insurance and pension coverage and New Jersey would become the first state to require private employers to extend health insurance coverage to domestic partners if they already offer dependent coverage to spouses.

The bill under consideration would allow employers to pass along any additional costs to the new beneficiaries to be passed on to the applicant. To receive the benefits a couple would have to file an affidavit of domestic partnership with a local register and to end a domestic partnership the couple would have to pursue a divorce like proceeding in Superior Court.

While Governor Mcgreevey has said he supports domestic partner benefits the bill under consideration was recently pulled at the request of the governor to remove adult family members from the bill. This in response to concerns of many including the New Jersey business and Industry Association which had said it did not object to the requirement for same sex coverage but was concerned about the proposed legislation's inclusion, applying the standard to opposite sex couples living together. The fact that opposite sex couples have the option to marry and receive even more benefits than offered in the proposed legislation suggests this part may be pulled.

The inclusion of opposite sex benefits for such couples living together had been a ploy to make the legislation more politically palatable. That now seems unnecessary as most New jersey residents seem to understand that EQUAL RIGHTS ARE NOT SPECIAL RIGHTS.

MULLICA PIT BULLS ORDERED FORFEITED

This morning in Mullica Municipal Court Judge Broome issued an Order that 21 pit bulls be forfeited to the Atlantic County SPCA. No defendants showed to argue against forfeiture despite the fact that 15 of the pit bulls had Mullica Twp dog licenses. Defendants have 20 days to appeal the Judge's decision. Initially 35 dogs had been found caged on the property but some time during the intervening time 11 of the dogs disappeared. Evidence presented included pictures of a number of dogs with facial scars and blood on the premise suggesting as the SPCA argued that the dogs were used for dog fights. The SPCA indicated that additinal animal crulety Complaints were likely to be filed with the Court. Ghandi said: THE GREATNESS OF A NATION AND ITS MORAL PROGRESS, CAN BE JUDGED BY THE WAY ITS ANIMALS ARE TREATED.

Subject: The Price of War: President Bush has banned media coverage of the return of bodies of service personnel at Dove Air Force Base in Delaware. As an 81 year old veteran, I can remember no other conflict when such a restriction was imposed. It is an outrage. Bush should be reminded that these are not the remains of "his" servicemen and women. These are America's military men and women. The nation has a right to share in the grievous experience of the first leg of their final journey. There is no mystery about why the media have been kept away. The Bush administration is desperately afraid that if the public sees enough flag draped coffins being unloaded at Dover, sentiment will grow against the Iraq occupation and that might jeopardize Bush's reelection chances. Bush keeps saying "we will not run" from Iraq. But the price of that resolve is American casualties. Those sacrifices already are remote from the public; they must not be driven from awareness in the interests of politics. Harry T

MULLICA UPDATE

The illegal dumping case involving 30 truck loads of construction material illegally dumped on the Perona property on the White Horse Pike scheduled for Court today has been postponed until December 2nd. Hopefully steve THE SCOFFLAW waszen who operates Magic Disposal will by that time have additional Complaints signed against him.

Comcast background information; of the 2,456 households in Mullica Township, 1819 are subscribers to Comcast Cable.

NO GODS, NO MASTERS

Subject: Draft the rich first: Does anyone truly believe that if the military draft were in effect today, the mess in Iraq would exist? There is no way that young, affluent, college age Americans subject to the draft and whose parents are executives, doctors, lawyers, and bankers, would be in Iraq. It is only because there is no draft and there is a standing army that the current administration goes on with it folly. MB

N.J. SUES THE WHORES OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

New Jersey joins 12 other States and several Northeastern cities in suing the BUSH THE LESSER (so called) Environmental Protection Agency to try to block changes in the Clean Air Act. THE LESSER Bush administration having once again sold out the environment on the altar of campaign donations from polluters to Republicans.

Attorney generals for the 12 States—New York, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin and legal officers for New York City, Washington D.C. and several other cities in Connecticut said the new Clean Air regulations instituted by fiat not law by THE LESSER’S EPA would weaken protections for the environment and public health. They argued in their legal filings that only congress could make such sweeping changes to such a bedrock law.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: THE THROWING OUT OF BALANCE OF THE RESOURCES OF NATURE THROWS OUT OF BALANCE ALSO THE LIVES OF MEN. Is everything truly for sale with Cheney & Bush?

Subject : Comments on Fund Raisers: While I think what Medford Lakes is doing by cleaning gutters to raise funds is a good community service, I also think it is a shame that these volunteers have to use their donated time to raise money for equipment and other expenses. I being a volunteer firefighter myself knows first hand the frustration felt when I have to use my time to raise money to buy equipment to do a free job! I don't mind volunteering my time to fight fires and to train to fight fire and save lives, that's what I signed up for and swore to do, but it is a real kick in the ass when you have to spend your nights after work and your Saturdays and Sundays raising money to run the fire house. We provide the labor for free, the least that can be done is that the equipment and training we need be paid for without the need for fund raisers. I wonder how long the police departments and road departments of this world would be in service if the were told they were getting only $15,000 a year each to operate and the rest they had to earn by cleaning gutters and raking leaves on their own time? Oh by the way, we use to do something very similar. We would fill pools during the summer. The only thing we asked for was a small donation in return. This not only helped the fire dept out it also help the resident as well, plus we would usually send someone in training so they could become familiar with driving the tanker and operating the pump. Instead of dumping the water on the ground which is what happens during normal training, we would dump it in a pool. This not only kept the water from going to waste, it also kept the homeowner from running their household water pump for two or three days straight in order to fill up their pool so I guess it also saved some electricity as well. But we don't do that anymore because of township whinners crying "taxpayer waste" and pointing fingers and questioning why township equipment is being used to fill up private pools and allegations of kickbacks and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah you name it. It soon became where it was not worth the head aches, damned if you do damned if you don't. I wonder who is going to pay for the Medford Lakes firefighter's medical bills when one of them falls off a roof while cleaning gutters? The township? I know I have had to dodge a few cars in my time begging for dirty ash tray change at the intersections of Elwood & Moss Mill roads. Who is going to pay for me or support my family when I get ran over collecting a few dirty pennies to do a free job? HELP US, HELP YOU Jerry McGuire !! JDF

RESPONSE: As an inveterate whiner and complainer it is important to respond to the many legitimate points made above. Volunteer fire fighters not only risk their lives but also clearly provide a valuable service to the community in which they serve. The frustration felt regarding having to fund raise, when one is a volunteer to start with, resonates here. Further by State law communities are required to provide both police and fire service to their residents and that service ought to be funded through tax dollars. Communiteis are NOT required to provide ambulance service.

Benjamin Franklin said: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES; FOR THEY SHALL TELL YOU ALL YOUR FAULTS. The reality is that all too often volunteer fire companies come to use their political power in small communities such as Mullica as a weapon to sustain past practices and policies that are simply no longer fiscally prudent. We all live in a real world and the stupid rhetoric, that if a hundred thousand here or hundred thousand there saves one life; it is money well spent, ill serves reality. If one follows that logic we should double the number of cops we have in Mullica and add two additional fire Companies. People don’t want to admit the truth that services whether they are medical, or fire and police, are rationed by a societies ability to pay.

Common sense and fiscal reality show that Mullica has too many cops and too many fire companies; but both entities choose to use their political muscle to thwart the pragmatic realities of our community. Mullica cops say don’t change the contracts we have where we are clearly unreasonably pigging out at the unfair expense of the taxpayers…make those changes in our pig contract only for the new hires.

And the volunteers of the fire and ambulance squad under the leadership of gary THE MUKTAR franklyn refuse to allow any kind of honest assessment of the realistic cost and benefit analysis within fiscal realities of fire and ambulance service in Mullica…instead they play politics. Nowhere is the cowardliness of THE MUKTAR franklyn more on display than in his unwillingness to dialogue and debate fire and ambulance service for Mullica. The challenge goes out here for the good of community, MUKTAR, make your case…your silence is COWARDLY!

Strangely Elwood fire fighters have repeatedly shown a willingness to participate in a debate and it is hoped here, moved the community to understand some of the frustration that volunteers legitimately feel at having to beg pennies from ashtrays on their weekends. The community owes its volunteers more, but the volunteer owe this community more…not time; but a legitimate dialogue on restructuring fire and ambulance service within the fiscal realities of our taxpayers. To close here with the Latin seems appropriate; HOMINES ENIM AD DEOS NULLA RE PROPIUS ACCEDUNT QUAM LAUTEM HOMINIBUS DANDO.” (In nothing are men more like gods than in coming to the rescue of their fellow men.) (Cicero)

REPUBLICAN PEDOPHILES

It does seem that for the folks in charge now; it is all about our own selfish hedonistic material pleasure and screwing our children. The debt that Republicans continue to pile on our children is simply unconscionable. The subtle seduction of Republican sound bites… so tempting, that we can have it all; lower taxes and all the creature pleasures that life affords NOW; and the cost… It’s almost like the Republicans have sold America the mantra that THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION IS…IT ISN’T QUICK ENOUGH! Does anyone remember the Gilded Age and the Robber Barons?

The latest rape of our children by THE BUSH THE LESSER administration is to be found in the Republican Energy Bill. You recall the secret Energy meetings that Cheney had with the energy industry to write Energy policy. Well, now using the the recent North East blackout as an impetus we are looking at gross tax give aways to Bush and Cheney cronies in the energy business.

Oil and gas companies are to be the recipients of tax breaks worth about $22 billion, though that art of the energy deal that till now was hidden from the public. Further marketing and business aspects will get only voluntary oversight. Most heinous of all is that Texas and Louisiana manufactures of the gasoline additive MTBE, which has tainted public water supplies around the country, would benefit from a nearly unprecedented ban on product liability lawsuits. Also Cheney and Bush have crafted handouts of $2 billion to build “clean coal” power plants, which scientists and environmentalists say don’t work well. The nuclear industry gets a renewal of multibillion dollar federally subsidized catastrophic insurance plan and also tax credits to build 3 to 6 new nuclear plants. Also this Republican legislation would make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill on public lands where there is no existing ban; by reducing federal rules. SCREW THE CHILDREN!

The wisdom and generational linkage of Elmer H. MacKay’s words; LAND IS NOT SOMETHING YOU INHERIT FROM YOUR PARENTS…IT IS SOMETHING YOU BORROW FROM YOUR CHILDREN…is lost on this Administration.

There are some Republicans especially representing costal states who are angered by GOP plans to apparently override the moratorium on costal oil search exploration. Tacked into the massive Republican energy policy bill are seismic tests to explore untapped energy supplies off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and eastern section of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Bristol Bay. To date 5 Republican senators have signed a letter opposing the tests; Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Snowe and Collins of Maine, Gregg of New Hampshire and Chafee of Rhode Island. Most are expected to fall in line with the totality of screwing our children in the name of THE BUSH THE LESSER’S election drive.

And again we have the words of connection from Chief Seattle: WHATEVER BEFALLS THE EARTH BEFALLS THE SONS OF THE EARTH. MAN DOES NOT WEAVE THE WEB OF LIFE, HE IS MERELY A STRAND IN IT. WHATEVER HE DOES TO THE WEB HE DOES TO HIMSELF. Why have we lost sight of our connectedness to our children and the environment we will leave them?

Subject: Way for Mullica Fire Department to raise funds: Hey what a great idea maybe..... The ambulance squad could drive around on the weekends and take peoples trash to the dump for a donation ... that way at least the rigs would see some use .... just my two cents ..

MULLICA’S CABLE TV CONTRACT RE-NEGOTIATIONS

In 1990 Mullica negotiated a 15-year cable TV Contract with Heron, which some 13 years later has morphed into Comcast. That Contract expires Sept. 14th, 2005 but the franchise renegotiation process is already underway in Mullica. Indeed, a regular special Township meeting was held of Wednesday Nov 13th. Very few were in attendance…and less than 10 citizens had bothered to fill out questionnaires about Comcast services; which had been available for about a month.

In Mullica the liason person for problems or information with Comcast is the Township Clerk, lou THE OLD SNAKE simon. Another example of the incompetence here is that THE OLD HARPY simon doesn't post on the Township bullentin board or know when asked when (the time or channel) Township meeting will be on TV.

THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 really did a bad job of reaching out to the public as usual. THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5, months ago had appointed an ad hoc committee to explore renegotiation of Mullica’s cable contract and despite an interest of a number of members of the public of being involved…one in particular being chuck THE CURMUDGEN errera, not a single member of the public was invited to participate in this ad hoc committee. Just another back room shut the public out performance that may effect whether or not any future Township meetings are on TV. As Shakespeare noted: FALSE FACE MUST HIDE WHAT THE FALSE HEART DOTH KNOW.

There will be additional meetings on the renegotiation of the Comcast contract with Mullica for cable TV. The push for a Community Access Channel is important and would afford a bulletin board of events for the community and the televising of all Township meetings is critical as a part of Democracy. As F.D.R. said: THE CONSTANT FREE FLOW OF COMMUNICATIN AMONG US—ENABLING THE FREE INTERCHANGE OF IDEAS—FORMS THE VERY BLOODSTREAM OF OUR NATION. IT KEEPS THE MIND AND BODY OF OUR DEMOCRACY ETERNALLY VITAL, ETERNALLY YOUNG.

Subject: Remember: As one who was against the war in Iraq from the beginning,…(as always) it all boils down to the unjust enrichment of politically well connected contractors at staggering taxpayer expense. The expense is more than monetary: the lives of our dedicated young men and women continue to be wasted as the administration searches for WMD to try to justify its pre-emptive strike. We will pay for this one for a very long time. Let us not forget it in November 2004. B L

ONLY THOSE WHO RISK GOING TOO FAR CAN POSSIBLY FIND OUT HOW FAR ONE CAN GO (T. S. Eliot)

Subject: final reply from sick of whiners: now who's buttons are pushed!!!

RESPONSE: Alas, another local Republican retreats into the woodwork of silent cowardliness like janet THE AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD QUEEN OF ATLANTIC COUNTY forman & dan TEA BAG BRAINS turygan, Gadfly expresses a sincere gratitude for your short lived participation in the fires of democratic openness and debate. Perhaps the appropriate epitaph for your leaving is found in the words of Elbert Hubbard: TO AVOID CRITICISM, DO NOTHING, SAY NOTHING, BE NOTHING!

Subject: MISPLACED PRIORITIES: (Recently) a National Security Council official (said): “If we don’t get Iraq right in time, we could lose the election.” This comment speaks volumes about the short-sightedness and narrow focus of the administration and its minions. If we don’t get Iraq right in time, we cold lose a hell of a lot more than an election. R M

Fund Raising: Maybe the township leaders (elected officials) should donate their salaries to the fire departments and find out what it is like to volunteer their time and energies for the good of the township. I feel it is time for the elected officials to start giving back to the tax payers. We are always looking for cost savings and this would be a great start. Lets face it, each elected official is putting his/her life on the line each time they go running into a warm, well lit township meeting to spend tax dollars that don't need to be spent. Maybe if they were saving lives/dollars their salary may be warranted. It is bull shit that volunteers have to beg for funds to better serve the township, but if the committee wants something they just raise taxes. Maybe the committee should start looking for creative ways to save tax dollars !! "T

THE LAW IS THE ONLY SURE PROTECTION OF THE WEAK AND THE ONLY EFFICIENT RESTRAINT UPON THE STRONG (Millard Fillmore)

NOV. 20TH THE GREAT AMERICAN SMOKE OUT

Health groups in some areas in the region are asking local restaurants to take tobacco off the menu as part of this no smoking day. The effort is to give as many restaurants as possible the opportunity to experiment with a smoke free policy and see what kind of impact it might have on their business. Some restaurants have hesitated to go smoke free because they fear business will suffer. But based on the experience of other states, the expectation is that restaurants that participate next Thursday may actually increase their business. It is sad that our elected officials have failed so miserably to protect employees who are not afforded a smoke free healthy work environment. Remember: CANCER CURES SMOKING!

Subject : Way to Fund Raise? That was an interesting article. As I read it I am thinking about our ambulance squad and its new building. That would have also been a good fund raiser for them. But we have to figure out how to get the drivers off the bar stool first!!! :) (lol) I have a brother who is also a volunteer firemen and they do a similar thing, raking leaves and picking them up for the older residents. No amount is ask for, they just ask for a donation.

Subject: Get the Pork Chop: Rodney Dangerfield said when he was a kid he was so unpopular that his mom had to tie a pork chop around his neck in order to get the dog to play with him. Maybe the Bush Administration is finding out how that feels. Japan has announced that it has decided not to send troops to Iraq "at this time." Never really wild about the whole deal in the first place, after a suicide bomber took out over 20 Italians earlier this week, they're having second thoughts, as is South Korea, Jordan and Turkey. And who can blame them? We've treated our allies like shit with our unilateralism and arrogance, as if we are the only country on the planet fighting terrorism. Meanwhile, those countries - all of whom were dealing with terrorism both internally and externally while Bush was still losing money in the oil business - are saying, basically, "Hey, you got yourself into this - let's see you come up with a way to get yourself out. Meanwhile, we'll...uh...we'll get back to you." Bobby

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

A small forest fire was started by a down wire on Moss Mill Rd. across from Wharton Park and quickly controlled by Mullica Fire Fighters on Thursday Nov. 13th around noon.

Mullica School Board meeting Monday Nov. 17th at 7:30 P.M. to be held in School library.

Subject: Bush misleads us at every turn: Smart conservatives who share common American values of telling the truth, giving and getting a fair shake, and walking the walk as well as talking the talk, must search their souls when their President seeks their support next year. Along with reliable claques sustaining the din, they led the scourging of former President Bill Clinton for lying about his sex life. He had a comeuppance coming. But the lies a man or a woman tell about sex are predictable. They’ve been perfecting them for millennia. Their guy, who admittedly relies on others to interpret the world, misleads at every turn, and keeps elected officials from public documents that might make him look bad. He has his people capitalizing on citizen fear to undo the Constitution. The draconian Patriot Act wasn’t written overnight. Their guy would rather let power companies pollute our waters and our lungs than force them to clean up emissions. Now Mr. Bush actively opposes curbs on drug company pricing excesses, while elderly people on Social Security choose between rent, a few tins of sardines, or their meds. An Associated Press comparison of prescription prices in the United States and Canada found shocking differences of from 30 percent to 80 percent. This is an issue for local, state, and federal governments, which buy drugs for employees and others whose medical care they underwrite, as well as individuals. Why does Mr. Bush want us to pay through the nose as taxpayers as well as citizens? Ask your Republican congressmen. If you’re at-risk, you can’t afford the fund-raisers where Mr. Bush is accessible. We also have a President who disappeared during his last year of military service, and who avoids the wakes, funerals, and homecomings of the nearly 400 American military personnel killed so far in Iraq, in a war he misled the nation into. He hardly mentions them as individuals, so we forget we were duped. Now comes news that the President’s decision to invade Iraq was firm months before it occurred, and that the appearance of giving Saddam last chances were bogus. A recent public television report on special forces revealed they were called up on Super Bowl Sunday night for early insertion into Iraq, well before the invasion. Thanks to the New York Times and its sources, we know federal officials rejected last-ditch appeals from Iraq that included not only an invitation to 2,000 FBI agents to search for weapons of mass destruction Iraqis swore didn’t exist, but also elections within two years and full disarmament. The country also offered oil and mining concessions, to turn over Abdul Rahman Yasin, wanted in the first World Trade Center bombing, and to help encourage and sustain any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. One excuse for ignoring the offers seemed to lie in administration distaste for back-channel talks. But what clowns are running things who don’t know that some nations favor just this kind of chat? Who would send our soldiers to kill and be killed when there’s another way? Now the straw of economic recovery is front and center, thanks to a third-quarter 7.2 percent GNP uptick and a few new jobs. Not enough, a Federal Reserve official says. A friend observed over lunch that an uptick was inevitable given the national debt, and the spending it represents. Liberals see the dissonance; conservatives will deny it until it bites them. Eileen F

Subject: The wrong commitments: Our invasion of Iraq has caused this 57 year old grandmother to lose respect for the man I thought would be a sensible, honorable president. I am deeply saddened by this war; it is too similar to the quagmire of Vietnam. Why are we surprised that Iraqis try to kill our brave soldiers when, to them, we are the occupying army, the interlopers who disrupted their lives? When will the good ole boys in Washington stop playing war games and commit America to peace for all time? Kay M

(An interesting article courtesy of; Sweetwater resident...hopefully gary THE MUKTAR franklyn takes note)

Subject: Way for Mullica Fire Department to raise funds
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Medford Lakes firefighters clean gutters to raise funds
By PAUL LEAKAN, Burlington County Times: MEDFORD LAKES - In order to raise funds, some fire departments cook turkey dinners, organize rousing games of bingo or urge people to throw money into a bucket. The Medford Lakes Volunteer Fire Company has found another way to supplement the department's budget, one that involves climbing up on residents' rooftops and removing muck from their gutters. About 20 members of the fire company will clean out dozens of gutters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, and on Nov. 22. The fire company is asking a minimum donation of $40 to clean the gutters on a one-story home and $50 for a two-story home. The donations are tax-deductible. "It's very popular among the residents," Fire Chief Mark McIntosh said yesterday. "Usually, we cut it off to about 80 houses (per year). We've passed that limit already. It is our biggest fund-raiser of the year." The Medford Lakes Fire Company is a nonprofit organization made up of members of the all-volunteer Medford Lakes Fire Department, which receives its funding from the borough, McIntosh said. Members of the fire company raise money to pay for items not covered through the borough's budget, such as extra equipment, furniture and clothing for the fire department, McIntosh said. For example, money raised through the annual gutter cleanings enabled the fire company to buy a 14-foot water-rescue boat several years ago, McIntosh said. The fire department can use the boat to respond to emergencies on or in the borough's 22 lakes. The fire company has been cleaning residents' gutters on a first-come, first-served basis for about eight years, McIntosh said. The company raises between $3,500 and $4,000 per year, he said. Ted Lowden, Evesham's fire chief and the chairman of the Burlington County Fire Chiefs Association's Emergency Ser-vices Advisory Board, said he doesn't know of any other fire department in Burlington County that clean gutters to raise money. "We've told other departments about it," McIntosh said. "I don't know why they don't do it. It's good training for the crews working the ladders, and it's good training for getting used to working on a roof. It's also good to get out and meet and greet the residents, letting them know who we are and seeing if they have any questions."

WHEN A STUPID MAN IS DOING SOMETHNG HE IS ASHAMED OF, HE ALWAYS DECLARES THAT IT IS HIS DUTY...sound familiar...the words George Bernard Shaw

Mark Twain might as well have been talking about THE BUSH THE LESSER administration when he said: TRUTH IS MORE A STRANGER THAN FICTION. Whether it’s the war, or WMD’s, or the environment, or the findings of reports such as the one commissioned by the Bush White House a year ago and released last month on diversity at the Ashcroft Justice Department; it apparently seems to them that the public can’t handle the truth. So they simply lie or delete the facts.

If you recall it was that Republican sage Ronald Reagan who set the standard when he said: FACTS ARE STUPID THINGS! Using that Reagan-esque reasoning the Ashcroft Justice Department just deleted all the studies conclusions and recommendations when it was released to the public last month. But of course Justice Department officials defended decisions to delete critical passages from the consultant’s report on the hiring and promotion of minority and female attorneys after the original leaked out.

One deleted passage says that improving diversity “will take extraordinarily strong leadership” among top Justice officials. Another says that the agency “does face significant diversity issues” and that “minorities are significantly more likely than whites to cite stereotyping, harassment and racial tensions” in the workplace.

Okay, EVERYONE IS ENTITILED TO BE STUPID, BUT SOME PEOPLE {ashcroft) JUST ABUSE THE PRIVLEDGE. Why the extreme sensitivity to the realities of the workplace everywhere and just stating a desire to work to improve things? Or, is this just another of those things Winston Churchill was talking about: MEN OCCASINALLY STUMBLE OVER THE TRUTH, BUT MOST OF THEM PICK THEMSELVES UP HURRY OFF AS IF NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.

Subject: A Safer World: President Bush offered a broad defense of his foreign policy and said his message that "the world is more peaceful and more free under my leadership" will be a prominent theme of his bid for a second White House term. Even his campaign theme is a lie!! "More peaceful", right. Is 28 attacks a day peaceful? What about the Congo? "More free" Have you seen the USA patriot act? I guess he can't tell the truth. Caleb

NEARLY ALL MEN CAN STAND ADVERSITY, BUT IF YOU WANT TO TEST A MAN'S CHARACTER, GIVE HIM POWER (Abraham Lincoln)

MULLICA TWP. MEETING ON TV TOMORROW, SATURDAY, CHANNEL 78, at 5 P.M., NOV. 15th

Issues discussed at the Township meeting that was held on Monday Nov. 10 at 4 P.M. in the afternoon; included progress on the Township's new Skate Park which seems just about ready to go...just missing the ramps. However the problem in failing to lock the gates has led to property damage especially in the area of the drainage basin. The failure to lock the gates around the drainage area could expose the Township to major liability and tracks across this area show ATV and bike traffic.

INDIAN CABIN RD: Another $105,000 of taxpayer's money will be spent by THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 to finish paving this road. This after Ararak had bid $114,000 to pave the entire road and came crying to THE IDIOT'S R US AKA CORRUPT MULLICA 5 for more money.

ILLEGAL DUMPING AT THE PERONA SITE: Discussion of issue of signing only one Complaint against steve THE SCOFFLAW waszen whose company Magic Disposal apparently dumped 30 loads of construction material illegally. The maximum fine being $1000 under Township Ordinance...30 citations would be a maximum fine of $30,000. Mullica's ordinance does require removal of dumping...Court date for THE SCOFFLAW waszen is Tuesday Nov. 18th.

Subject: Armchair Warriors: Did anyone notice the quaver of fear in Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz"s voice as he addressed reporters last month after the rocket attack on his Baghdad hotel? Perhaps now Woflowitz, a key advocate of the Iraq operation and one of its main architects, understands that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq isn't just some sterile, academic exercise, conducted from the safety of the Pentagon. An American soldier died in the attack, as U.S. military personnel have been dying almost daily, to satisfy the grand strategy of Wolfowitz and the Bush administration. Maybe the rest of the armchair warriors in Washington should spend some time under fire in Iraq to learn the true costs of waging war. W P

Subject: Re: Cowardly Democrats: Larry, I thought you were a Democrat. Yet you continually refer to Democrats as cowardly. If you are truly interested in building the Democratic Party in Atlantic County and your own community shouldn't you show more loyalty and keep your critique within the Party rather than giving support to the Republican Party. MC

RESPONSE: An argument often made that loyalty to the Party trumps loyalty to principle; sorry, that is a view point that is respectfully not agreed with here. Adlai Sevenson said that ANYONE WHO IS IN A POSITION TO GET ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE IS NOT FIT TO SERVE.

Hopefully the draw of making a better society is what the initial pull of serving in government is. However the compromises that seem necessary to get elected all too easily wear away one's principles and integrity. It is incumbent on those of us who care about democratic issues to publicly hold candidates feet to the fire regarding issues of integrity; especially those who are in our own Party.

We are all human and the siren whisper of temptation all too readily is ceded to over the clarion call of principle. Our humanity means that the choice in any election is not between good and evil candidates...but rather between bad and worse candidates. Maybe if more of us grasped that seeming harsh reality there would be less apathy and higher turn outs in elections.

The appeal of candidates in both parties who have seemed at times to capture the public imagination is often a candidate who seems to have the ability to speak candidly about issues, from Perot, to Wellstone, to McCain and now we have Howard Dean.

All too often as these individuals seem to become viable the handlers from the Party step in and they reverse their course...sell their integrity. Look at Dean who used to say that Affirmative Action should be based not on race but on class. That Medicare and Social Security retirement ages should be raised. Now, however as a viable Democratic candidate he feels the need to cave to the GREEDY GEEZERS & AFRICAN AMERICANS and has reversed course on those reasonable postions. Sorry, that's Cowardly and Dean was right in both of those positions before and now seems less attractive here...indeed he may well seem less worse than the other craven Democratic candidates.

MY KARMA RAN OVER YOUR DOGMA

RELIGIONS ARE JUST CULTS WITH LOTS MORE MEMBERS

The 3 year study, the largest of its kind to date, conducted by the Charitable Choice research Project focused on government funded projects aimed at getting the poor jobs. Its findings run counter to the assertions of religious groups and their advocates like BUSH THE LESSER that faith based programs are more effective than their secular counterparts.

Secular programs were found to place 53% of their clients in full time jobs versus 31% in faith based programs. Further the secular providers secured jobs with health benefits for 9% of their clients against 0.5% for religious providers.

More troubling to the principles of separation of Church and State were the findings that faith based programs displayed lax compliance with rules that government money not be spent on religious materials, and that clients not be forced to take part in religious activities. "States do not monitor for constitutional violations, and they do very little to educate contractors about constitutional compliance" the report found.

The BUSH THE LESSER administration's FAITH BASED INITIATIVES have aimed to broaden the use of the "charitable choice" rule, enacted in 1996 to let religious groups seek government funded welfare-to-work contracts without having to remove religious symbols or not hire based on religious affiliation.

The recent example in Georgia where a Methodist children's home was sued by a fired lesbian worker and a Jewish applicant who was told Jews weren't hired...even though government money was a part of the program is typical of the inherent problems in THE LESSER'S failure to appreciate the U.S. Constitution separation clause.

Congress who better appreciates the Separation of Church and Hate dictum of our Founding Fathers has balked at supporting THE LESSER'S plan. BUSH THE LESSER however, has pushed forward with a series of executive orders, revised regulations and more than $50 million in so called "compassion capital" grants (government money) to religious institutions.

While this kind of rhetoric plays well with BUSH THE LESSER'S right wing religious nut base, most Americans hopefully appreciate the wisdom of our Founding Fathers in the notion that GOD IS SIMPLY TOO BIG TO FIT IN ONE RELIGION. One can be Christian and not closed minded. Otherwise we are little different than the Muslim terrorists we are fighting.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO EXPECT NOTHING, FOR THEY SHALL NOT BE DISAPOINTED

Subject: More Wasted millions: Why--after 6 months of searching for weapons of mass destruction by the United Nations expert teams and by 1,400 people of the U.S. teams without the discovery of any such weapons--would President Bush want $600 million to continue the search? Couldn't this money be better used for AmeriCorps, U.S. education, Head Start, medical insurance coverage for some of the 41 million Americans without it. D H

Subject: WHO CONTROLS DEVELOPMENT? COMON MR. GADFLY. YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT EHT AND GALLOWAY WERE DESIGNATED BY THE PINELANDS COMM. AS GROWTH AREAS(OUT OF THE CONTROL OF LOCAL POLITICIANS, GREEDY DEVELOPERS AND REAL ESTATE PEOPLE) YOU ALSO ARE AWARE, I AM SURE, THAT ANY FUTURE PLANNED DEVELPMENT IN MULLICA WILL BE GOVERNED BY THAT SAME GROUP AS FAR AS THE "BUTT' COMMENT (HOW LIKE YOU TO INSULT ON AN OPINION, RATHER THAN ACKNOWLEDGE BUT DISAGREE) I AM VERY AWARE OF WHATS GOING ON IN SOUTH JERSEY, I AM JUST SICK OF PEOPLE THAT SIT ON THERE BUTTS ALL DAY, COMPLAINING ABOUT EVERYTHING THATS WRONG IN THE TOWNSHIP. IGNORE WHATS GOING ON, HELL NO. GET OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND ON YOUR FEET AND BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.OR ANOTHER OPTION, IF YOU HATE MULLICA SO MUCH , MOVE THE HELL OUT.I THINK YOU CAN GET A GOOD DEAL AT THE LOVE CANAL. AS ALWAYS, SICK OF WHINERS

RESPONSE: Wooow Sybil, I bet this is a personality the psychiatrists haven't seen before...quasi rational. Let me explain that this is a completely open forum. This is not like Republican talk radio (Rush or Hurley) where if the host doesn't like your point of view one is ridiculed and than without an opportunity to respond hung up on.

While insults are welcome as they add a bit to the entertainment value it is the exchange of ideas that an open forum provide that I would respectfully suggest is a plus for our community.

Such diverse individuals as janet THE AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD QUEEN OF ATLANTIC COUNTY forman & dan TEA BAG BRAINS turgyan have participated. Both have participated in the insult aspect more or less and have at times corrected or expanded on information that this site either was wrong about or expanded on the information provided. Both have cowardly fled the site as their ideas and integrity if not their wit have been shown to be in short supply.

Hopefully as you seem to have the wit to hang; the obvious shallowness of your arguments will not cause you too to flee...another victim of Republican hypocrisy.

You are correct the towns you name are different than Mullica as they are designated "growth communities". Where you sadly are wrong is that the rules that were set up to govern how many homes a community like Mullica that is sensitive to the eco-system of the Pinelands can have has radically expanded when the REPUBLICAN BITCH whitman took over, where everything was for sale to builders and real estate interests; compared with the much more restrictive and environmentally sensitive numbers of the Democrat Florio administration.

Yes, Democrats are back in control at the State level but here it is THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 who are a weak environmental group in terms of advocacy. Further with the addition to this group of janet THE AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD QUEEN OF ATLANTIC COUNTY forman, who is a real estate agent and has shown in her personal development of property in Mullica a contempt for land use restrictions the future for the taxpayers of Mullica seems less than bright. We'll see...some people grow in office...the present CORRUPT MULLICA 5 have shrunk.

Your umbrage at "THE BUTT COMMENT" seems most strange and perhaps as the ultimate "WHINER" you need to go back and read your mean spirited, ad homen, insulting postings aimed at AW. You further have the audacity to post your self anonymously and turn around and post a full name of someone who is not a public person and has only used initials. You owe AW an apology, Sybil.

Your holier than thou rhetoric is so typical of CORRUPT REPUBLICAN IDEOLOGUES who have no interest in finding common ground in the debate, but rather are only interested in scoring debating points. Hey, Sybil no sane person wants to live next to a low income housing development.

Perhaps you should consider in your fleeting saner moments joining the AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD QUEEN's law suit aimed at closing down this site; who too feels insulted by the truths posted here and the openness of the forum. Barbs and insults are part of the Democratic process and if your not satisfied with that perhaps you should move to Iraq. Do you even know what a well satisfied woman sounds like...NO, I didn't think so. Com'on, try and remember your best sex...the yelling, screaming, going wild type of thing. In your case I'm sure you were alone.

Can you hang...dish it out and not take it Sybil...you sound like just another typical Republican coward who can't hang? You bring wit and knowledge to the site Sybil...and there is no problem here admiting when others are right....but additional homes even the smaller number here compared with "growth areas" bode poorly for the property tax burden of residents of Mullica. Everyone gets this except greedy real extate speculators and Republican whores.

No hate here Sybil; just a dissapointment in the cowadlyness of Democrats and greed and bigotry of Republicans.

Subject: Sweetwater resident??? Move to Irag???? :) Have a nice flight. Janet will be glad to sell your house for ya :)

HA, HA, HA; YOU CAN'T SUE ME

Get this scenario; you pay me to do a job and I'm incompetent, or just refuse to do what any credible person says the job entails, or I mess up the job and sorry you can't sue me...I got your money and I'm in business to make a profit and its the bottom line I care about more than you, because you simply can't sue me. Gaius Petronius noted; WHAT POWER HAS LAW WHERE ONLY MONEY RULES

Is this an upside down scenario? Not if your in the medical insurance business. If you are one of 130 million Americans who receive subsidized medical care through your employer or union sponsored benefits plan the FOR PROFIT HMO can be negligent, refuse to provide you with the medication or medical specialist your doctor says you need when you are sick...and you can't sue. Sounds incredible and we hear the stories every day on 60 minutes, or 20/20, or Dateline...it is the norm in profit driven health care systems. As Ben Franklin said: HE THAT IS OF THE OPINION MONEY WILL DO EVERYTHING MAY WELL BE SUSPECTED OF DOING EVERYTHING FOR MONEY.

Profit is the bottom line...profit drives the decision making process. We need to take the profit out of medicine and allow doctors to make medical decisions not insurance companies. The only way that can happen is if we go to a single payer system...yes, some form of socialized medicine. Sophocles understood the down side of greed, stating; THERE'S NOTHING IN THE WORLD SO DEMORALIZING AS MONEY. Our present money driven system is broken and Republicans want to push it more in the direction of "FOR PROFIT HMOs" and Democrats are just plain cowardly on this issue as they seem to be on almost every issue.

Because recently the U.S. Court of Appeals (New Orleans) recently ruled in two lawsuits that patients who received faulty care or simply a refusal to treat from their HMO could sue...the case is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The insures argued that they were shielded from such lawsuits under a federal law regulating employee benefits. Supporting this argument are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and other business groups. Some sympathy please for big business for as Hobart Brown quipped: MONEY DOESN'T ALWAYS BRING HAPPINESS. PEOPLE WITH TEN MILLION DOLLARS ARE NO HAPPIER THAN PEOPLE WITH NINE MILLION DOLLARS

Strangely here in Atlantic County we have Labor Organizations who act against the interests of their own members in supporting consistently the party of business...the Republicans. The largest union in the area Local 54 as well as the Atlantic Cape Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO consistently back right wing anti labor Republican candidates such as frank THE HYPOCRITE lobiondo who is in bed with big business. FRIENDS SHOULD NOT LET FRIENDS VOTE REPUBLICAN.

THE TRULY EDUCATED NEVER GRADUATE

SMILE: YOUR ON TV

Much to the pleasant surprise of most; Mullica's Monday afternoon Township meeting was televised. Hopefully this bodes well for a more inclusive and open Township governing body come January. Perhaps the pressure and carping and upset by those shut out in the past has had some salutary effect. We'll see.

It is noted here that Mullica's Clerk, lou THE OLD SNAKE simon privately took credit for the change and indicated that the pressure from this site played no role in the decision. Perhaps, but it was THE OLD SNAKE who called Comcast in the summer to tell Comcast THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 didn't want the meeting televised during the summer months. This after Comcast had juggled its schedule to televise these only in the afternoon meetings.

Perhaps some kind person should inform the partisan, Janus faced OLD SNAKE simon that its time for another face lift...your two faces are showing your age lady.

Subject: Sweetwater Cell Tower: Hey Larry, PLEASE let Verizon and the Mullica Township Zoning Board do their 'thing' so we can enjoy cell phone service in the Sweetwater area!!! If it takes a secret meeting to get it done, so be it!!! Iraq has better cell service than Sweetwater!!! Sweetwater resident

RESPONSE: The Sweetwater cell tower issue will NOT be on the agenda for today's Mullica Zoning Board meeting. The agenda went up this morning. A further conversation with the Zoning Board's secretary indicates that it is expected to be on the agenda at the December meeting...the second Wedsday of December.

I would respectfully like to suggest to "Sweetwater Resident" that process does matter. A "secret meeting" that placed a half way house for sexual offenders near your home in violation of due process and a required public hearing might be some what upsetting (perhaps to you).

Dictatorships like the one that existed in Iraq are efficient by their very nature and democracies move much slower because of the need for due process and public hearings on the decision making process. Indeed under HItler and Mussollini the trains ran on time...not a trade off most Americans would be willing to make...well, with the exception of BUSH THE LESSER REPUBLICANS that is.

This site (Gadfly) recognizes the need to address the black hole of cell tower reception in Sweetwater and Elwood, but totally supports the legal obligation of elected officials like THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 to hold public hearings and allow those who may object or like yourself support the Verizon proposal for a cell tower at the Sweetwater Fire House to be heard...that's Democracy!

The irony here is that had Leming/Angel won the election, both of whom are proactive as opposed to THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 who once again showed at Monday afternoons Township meeting that they had no interest in ameliorating, or knowledge of the cell tower problems in Sweetwater. Both Leming & Angel might well have pushed for the Township or Fire Company building the tower themselves as Medford is doing and collecting all the revenue as a sound business decision for the taxpayers of Mullica.

It is the arrogance of gary THE MUKTAR franklyn in attempting to back door this cell tower deal into Sweetwater 5 years ago that has caused the long delay in Sweetwater getting cell tower reception.

Process and following the law matter in America they don't matter in Iraq.

Subject: Moral Values Ignored: The news from Iraq was grim the other day. A helicopter carrying a large number of American troops was shot down and at least 15 soldiers were killed. I'm angry at the people who killed our soldiers but also at our political leaders for putting our soldiers where they don't belong. The current Iraqi experience has come about as a result of our preemptive strike. None will ever be able to prove that our existence, our safety, was or was not threatened by Iraq prior to our invasion. But I would have much preferred that our nation continue to work with the world community in an effort to resolve our conflict with Iraq and to attack only if and when an attack against us was actually in progress. We as a nation have not served our American ethical and moral values well in this present sad conflict. I W

Subject: IT'S GETT'IN HOT IN HERE: I have a two part question for everyone who doesn't believe global warming is a problem. First, what would it take before you would accept the threat of global warming? For example, would coastal cities being flooded by rising sea levels be enough? Second, if we waited until then, until everyone was convinced global warming was happening, could we reverse it? Stephen

Subject: SICKOWHINER?:) Have a nice day. I refuse to have a battle of wits with someone that is completely unarmed. No since arguing with a brick wall. Look into the crystal ball and you will see what low income is doing in Hammonton. Plymouth Place is the local outlet for the county jail. I am not "picking on" anyone I am merely stating we need to avoid that from happening here. AW

THE CHERRY PICKING OF MEDICARE---ANOTHER PART OF THE REPUBLI-CON

Republicans may finally be moving toward the Democratic drug benefit plan. The Republican notion of forcing seniors out of Medicare and into HMOs as a carrot for the Republican prescription drug benefit program has been opposed by Democrats who claim that the Republican plan would leave seniors with huge increases in their insurance premiums and co pays or out in the cold all together.

A recent report released the other day by the nonpartisan National Academy of Social Science, a nonprofit think tank, seemed to support Medicare and the Democrat's position. They claim that the Republican positon would harm seniors and that traditional Medicare with its stability and choice of doctors--for a sizable segment of seniors who are too ill or easily confused by change would not be good for seniors.

The fear here is that healthier seniors would migrate to less expensive private plans leaving less healthy beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. Thus the Republican demand that traditional Medicare be required to compete directly with private plans as the price of a drug benefit plan which would allow "for profit plans" to cherry pick those less likely to need benefits would destroy Medicare. Of course when these seniors needed expensive services from the "for profit HMOs" they would simply be priced out and dropped into the government plan. Who do you think these greedy "for profit" HMOs will be donating money to in the next election cycle?

Health benefits ought to be a basic human right that society owes to all. What we have now is health care that is rationed by an ability to pay...the working poor and unisured are left out. Republicans under BUSH THE LESSER simply wish to undermine the community obligation that we all have to our seniors and allow business interests to cherry pick out of the Medicare system those less likely to need health services. This would mean huge increases in Medicare premiums for those left in the Medicare Plan and for those who migrated to private HMOs when they got sick their premiums would rise so high they would be forced out and back into the government plan. Thanks to the Democrats in the Senate this Republi CON will not fly.

THE SWEETWATER CELL TOWER MYSTERY

Tomorrow Nov. 12th, Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. is the normal Mullica Twp Zoning Board meeting chaired by joe LITTLE MUSSOLINI derosa who is also the head of Mullica's Republican club. Strangely as of today the 11th there is no agenda posted in Town Hall and no one seems to know whether the Verizon application to build a cell tower at the Sweetwater Fire House is on the agenda.

This cell tower application which has literally been pending for months before the Zoning Board was not on the agenda in the past because the application was deemed incomplete. Rumors in the Township have swirled the last couple weeks that the application is now complete and thus the speculation that a hearing on the matter would be at the November Zoning Board meeting tomorrow the 12th. How convenient not to comply with the law and simply not notify anyone and certainly not post an agenda as required by law...in the words of the Township solicitor 48 hours before the meeting (he thinks?).

When THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 were asked about this at yesterday's afternoon Township meeting (Monday the 10th) they were ignorant. Silent! Shuuuu, don't tell anyone in Mullica what's going on. Darkness in Mullica serves the interests of the Republican Party in Mullica well. Shuuuuu.

Okay, the mayor spoke...bob THE MULLAH hagaman said he didn't know...he had heard on the street the rumor that the cell tower public hearing was on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting but he didn't get it from "the horse's mouth". That's what the citizen's got directly from the JACKASS'S MOUTH at the Township meeting on the 10th. But then as William Blake noted: A TRUTH THAT'S TOLD WITH BAD INTENT, BEATS ALL THE LIES YOU CAN INVENT. (THE MULLAH being stupid more often than corrupt.)

What should raise further suspicions regarding the deceit probably in play here is that when the Township Clerk, mraylou THE SNAKE simon read the list of November meetings (FYI on the agenda) she simply failed to mention the fact that there was a Zoning Board meeting on Wednesday the 13th. Don't let anyone think that THE OLD SNAKE simon didn't know better. THE SNAKE apparently mistakenly believing the words of Nick Diamos; EVERYBODY LIES, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE NOBODY LISTENS

INSATIABLE IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

Subject: A RECAP OF AW & HER VIEW ON LOW INCOME HOUSING AND THE KIND OF PEOPLE IT BRINGS: SO , PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (THE FOODSTAMPS AND WELFARE MONEY) WAS OK FOR YOU , OUR MAMMA AND HER LITTER, BUT NOW THAT YOU'VE MOVED ON UP, AIN'T KNOWBODY MOVIN NEAR YOU! WHOSE TAXES RAISED YOU AND SENT YOU TO SCHOOL? GOOD THING YOU HAD OTHER TAXPAYERS SUPPORTING YOUR FAMILY IN HARD TIMES.REMEMBER WERE YOU CAME FROM , AND THINK OF WHERE YOUR GOING.AND BG WHOEVER YOU ARE , WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR CRYSTAL BALL. SIGNED, SICK OF WHINERS

RESPONSE: No one has a crystal ball and can say what the future holds; but to stick one's head in the ground and ignore the effects that Real Estate development in other neighboring communities has had on their schools and property tax rates is irresponsible. By sticking one's head in the ground that position makes you a tempting target.

Cherry Hill which once had many horse farms, complains that it doesn't have enough park land and open recreation spaces for its citizens. Closer to home Hamilton, Egg Harbor Twp. and Galloway have seen such an adverse effect on their schools and congestion on their highways and soaring property taxes as a result of Real Estate people and developers attempts to maximize their profits (GREED) by building homes on every possible bit of land that its probably too late for their political leaders to redress these negative effects which will linger for years in the form of soaring property tax bills.

Hey, Sick of Whiners, take your left hand and grab your right ear, and with you right hand grab your left ear...and give a big pull...let's hope that you can get your head out of your butt...for that's an awfully stupid position you have assumed.

Subject: Government Math: Don't you just love government math. There were 175,000 layoffs in October and 125,000 jobs created. It is reported that we suddenly have an economic recovery, with jobs creation, underway. I was taught that 175,000 minus 125,000 is a loss of 50,000 jobs, not a robust recovery. Oh, by the way, every week there are people falling off the unemployment insurance system. They are no longer counted as unemployed and no longer receive unemployment assistance. They cease to exist. That does not mean there are fewer unemployed. It means we play games with numbers to make things look better than they really are. There a several million people, the number varies from 2 to 5 million, that fall within this category. The highest number ever. All jobs are not equal. A programming job lost to India, the Phillipines, etc., that paid $60-75,000, is not replaced by a new minimum wage paying job. Absolute numbers do not show that the middle class is being eliminated by corporate America. Mike

TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES FOR WHOM? Members Of Congress have voted themselves cost of living pay raises for the 5th year in a row. How are we, the people, supposed to reconcile this with unemployment at a 9 year high? How can we allow this self serving action when Congress supports tax breaks for the wealthy to the detriment of the lower and middle classes, panders to corporations rather than caring for constituents, votes for additional funding of billions for the Bush administration’s unjustified war in Iraq that daily takes American lives, under funds education programs, ignores vital improvements to infrastructure and mandates unaffordable programs to states on the verge of bankruptcy? Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of us could tell our employers we were granting ourselves raises and they couldn’t prevent it? Barry

Subject : Nesco: While I applaud the members of the Nesco Firehouse in their fight to rebuild as stated in the Press. This town has done without them for so long, what is the point of rebuilding now. Throwing their monies into the other fire companies would benefit the hole township, The three or four qualified current members would be an asset to the surrounding Fire Companies as well. Makes TAX sense to me! But for some selfish reason they are not looking at the big picture here. I realize there is alot of history here, but sometimes we have to give a little to get a little.

Subject : I hate this state: sometimes!!!!   Try being a woman and getting you DL replaced or renewed!!!  Then try finding a marriage Certificate

Subject : MT. LAUREL DECISION/LOW INCOME HOUSING: AND I SUSPECT THAT THE PERSON WHO WROTE OF HER DISTASTE FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE (PEOPLE IN NEED OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING) LEARNED WHAT THE MT. LAUREL DESCISION WAS TODAY. SHE CAN'T HELP LIVING IN THE BOX THAT SHE CALLS HER WORLD.WHY PRETEND , OR EXPLAIN FOR HER, I BET WHEN HER LAST CHILD IS OUT OF SCHOOL SHE'LL BE ONE OF THOSE WHINING ABOUT EDUCATING OTHER PEOPLES KIDS, TOO.THANK YOU FOR ENLIGHTENING HER. YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM POINTING OUT IGNORANCE, HOW COME YOU SKIPPED THIS ONE? SIGNED, SICK OF WHINERS

KEEP DRIVING CARS AND WE'LL KEEP FIGHTING WARS FOR OIL

THERE’S NO GOVERNMENT LIKE NO GOVERNMENT

Isn’t a part of the Republi CON about too much government regulation? Remember when BUSH THE LESSER tried to appoint that guy Pitt to head the SEC? Pitt's links to corrupt Wall Street firms like Enron and World Com and Tyco were so blatant that even honest Republicans were embarrassed by positions that we needed less regulation of these companies. Companies which were manipulating stocks so that when the bubble finally did burst many people saw their retirement investments wiped out.

Now comes another…on the heels of so many other environmental ruling from BUSH THE LESSER that puts our health at risk on the alter of campaign contributions for THE LESSER’S attempt at being elected President for the first time (2004).

THE LESSER’S administration has recently announced it will drop enforcement actions against dozens of coal fired power plants where violations had been discovered and that were under investigation for allegedly spewing thousands of tons of illegal pollution into the air. THE LESSER’S administration had previously stated that it would vigorously pursue these cases. In the caustic words of Robert Orben; THERE’S SO MUCH POLLUTION IN THE AIR NOW THAT IF IT WEREN’T FOR OUR LUNGS THERE’D BE NO PLACE TO PUT IT ALL.

Vermont’s previously Republican Senator, James Jeffords who is now an Independent said; “This confirms my worst fears…first the administration weakens our clean air law and now it won’t enforce it.” Jeffords as you may remember is the Republican Senator who quit the Party as a result of BUSH THE LESSER’S anti-environmental policies. In the words of Krishnamurti: IT IS NO MEASURE OF HEALTH TO BE WELL ADJUSTED TO A PROFOUNDLY SICK SOCIETY.

Somehow our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it. Government regulations aimed at protecting the health of us all are being auctioned off as an integral part of the Republi CON. Dorothy Parker quipped: MONEY CANNOT BUY HEALTH, BUT I’D SETTLE FOR A DIAMOND STUDDED WHEEL CHAIR. Is this the wish of all these short sighted Republicans?

Subject: On Bush Blaming Troops for Iraq Lie: "Today, President Bush backtracked on his May 1 political photo op on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln by blaming the troops on the aircraft carrier for the declaration of 'mission accomplished' in Iraq. This is wrong, this is irresponsible and this is not leadership. Politicizing the mission of those troops in the first place was bad theater, and diminished the office of Commander in Chief -- but to now turn his comments on those very troops is outrageous. Instead of trying to blame the sailors and soldiers, the President owes our troops in harm's way and the American people a plan to bring peace to Iraq and stability to the region." General Wesley Clark Mike

RE: Low-income housing: Larry, I believe that most voters in Mullica still do not make the connection between more homes and higher property taxes, otherwise they would not have elected a real estate agent on their township committee, which, in turn, encourages other like-minded future candidates to run. This past election is the start of a growing pro-growth plan for Mullica, which will snowball as more pro-business candidates run and take over our local government. It is easy to envision sewers and city water coming into some parts of Mullica soon, bringing with them housing developments, townhouses and apartments that can easily add 100 or more additional students to our school system from one complex alone and put increased demands on our municipal services.
Within a year some residents will already be paying over $10,000 a year in property taxes and a significant larger number of property owners will be paying this amount two or three years from now. Higher property taxes effects everyone, but in particular Mullica's lower middle class home owners and those on fixed incomes. Unfortunately, based on this recent election, I don't think that the majority of Mullica's voters will get it until its too late to do anything about it. BG

Low income housing? Thanks Larry for having the intelligence to understand my statement about low income housing. At least someone out there got my point. While I do have a current place to live, food on the table is getting low as that money goes towards my HIGHER TAXES. Though Hot dogs and eggies are very good, that gets old after a while. A little background on me, I grew up one of nine and just mama to raise us. Thank God for food stamps and welfare or I wouldn't be here today. I made a pledge to each of my kids as they were born and that was to provide for them to the best of my ability. In doing so I formed the self centered idea of NOT raising my kids in or around low income housing. Been there and done that. I know what goes into and out of those developments. Now take that as discrimination or take it as the fact it is. Enough said on that subject. Think before you speak :). You put my name out there, why not sign yours? Again things that make you go HUMMMM? Larry, you stated there is a meeting Thursday about comcast? What is that about? Are they thinking of not televising ANY meetings in the future? SIGNED SELF CENTERED AW :)

RESPONSE: ABOUT COMCAST MEETING: Mullica’s contract with its cable provider Comcast is about to expire: The Mullica meeting on Thursday will only discuss the renewal of that contract and will allow the community to give input as to changes it might like to see in the cable service Mullica gets. For example Mullica does not get its own cable channel that would say televise Township and perhaps even Planning Board and School Board meetings and provide a bulletin board of events to the community. Other issues such as senior discounts and free service to the school and volunteer fire companies are germane as are rates.

Comcast has always been willing to televise all Mullica Township meetings. It is THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 AKA IDIOTS R US who given there blatant incompetence and mismanagement have decided to limit what the community can see on cable.

Subject: THEY LOVE US: Every time U.S. soldiers are attacked, wounded or killed in Iraq, it’s always a “desperate” act blamed on “ Saddam loyalists” by the Bush administration. Yet who are the people dancing and posing in front of the wreckage? Who are those who say that they’re “happy at what happened” and that “This (the downing of the Chinook helicopter) was a new lesson from the resistance, a lesson to the greedy aggressors”? It was farmers, teenagers, passerby—in other words, ordinary Iraqui citizens. It seems as if many more Iraqis oppose the U.S. occupation than the Bush administration will ever admit. Mark W

KILL THE RICH AND LET GOD SORT THEM OUT

THE POOR COMPLAIN THAT THEY ARE GOVERNED BADLY. THE RICH COMPLAIN THAT THEY ARE GOVERNED AT ALL; said G.K. Chesterton. Well, not much to complain about for the rich with BUSH THE LESSER. As we sit back and watch more and more corporate crime and THE BUSH THE LESSER administration’s collusion and in many instances participation in these crimes; where is the anger?

The most recent investigations by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into mutual fund fraud by a slew of illegal trading machinations by investment companies such as Janus and Bank of America for their rich clients at the expense of the average investor should outrage us all. Spitzer recently said; “they have utterly betrayed the American public.”

When you have friends like BUSH THE LESSER passing laws and making appointments that simply make it easier for the rich to exploit the rest of us it is amazing that so many working people, so many middle class voters continue to vote Republican. Hey, as Bruce Grocott commented about honest work; I HAVE LONG BEEN OF THE OPINION THAT IF WORK WERE SUCH A SPLENDID THING THE RICH WOULD HAVE KEPT MORE OF IT FOR THEMSELVES.

The latest anecdote of Republican greed comes from Putnam Investment’s chief executive officer, Lawrence Lasser, who was just ousted amid charges of fraud involving what seems to be ubiquitous practices of improper trading procedures that by law are illegal but investment houses have allowed the rich to get away with if not facilitated.

Lasser allegedly allowed and participated in insider manipulation of international funds and insider in and out trading at the expense of average clients. Because of an employment agreement Lasser could get an extra $31.7 million from Putman as a result of his ouster. This, at the expense once again of the average investor. These severance costs related to Lasser’s departure alone could trim about 4 cents a share from Lasser’s companies net fourth quarter income report.

Where is the anger? Do we really believe as William Feather says that THE PETTY ECONOMIES OF THE RICH ARE JUST AS AMAZING AS THE SILLY EXTRAVAGANCES OF THE POOR.

THERE IS NO CALAMITY GREATER THAN LAVISH DESIRES. THERE IS NO GREATER GUILT THAN DISCONTENTMENT. AND THERE IS NOT GREATER DISASTER THAN GREED (Lao-tsu)

Subject: Bush’s Vietnam: President Bush’s statement that we will not leave Iraq is the height of arrogance. I never hear him say anything comforting to the families of the soldiers who were killed, or read news that he has visited any of the families or made any public statement of how terrible he feels about these daily losses of life. They appear only to be numbers, not really people. He only states that we will not leave, that “they” will not scare us away. I believe that Iraq is president Bush’s Vietnam and that he will not realize how really dreadful this is to the people of our country until we and the families who have lost children and spouses join forces to force him to acknowledge what a wrong thing it is for us to stay there. P H

Subject : low income housing: is that ann wescoot discriminating against low income housing? and yes the word is DISCRIMINATION. don't go there you self centered , all about me ,whiner. not everybody is as fortunate as you to have a place to live and food on the table. discriminating against the poor is pretty low ,but what the hey, aw has a place to live....whine on aw. Signed, not as rich as you

RESPONSE: I suspect who ever wrote the post that has so set you off is more than capable of responding but just wanted to clarify for the record some facts about low income housing and Mullica Twp. and taxes.

Under the Mount Laurel 2 decision that mandates that communities in NJ have their fair share of low income housing; Mullica has its fair share. Socio-economically, Mullica is a B community with A or Abbot Districts being the communities that are the poorest.

The homes that speculators and Realtors like janet THE AUTO INSURANCE FRAUD QUEEN OR ATLANTIC COUNTY forman attempt to feebly defend; no matter how large are a tax burden to those of us who are already living in Mullica. Further they threaten the rural quality of life that makes Mullica so special.

There is no home in Mullica that pays in taxes the more than $10,000 it costs to send one child to school here. Of course, if we continue the polices of THE CORRUPT MULLICA 5 that is very soon likely to be a statement that will no longer be accurate.

Subject : Property tax increases: It will be interesting to see if the next local school board election creates any interest in the root causes for the current huge, double-digit school tax increase or if most of the public will be as apathetic as it usually is in these elections.