Two plus Two Equals Five

Despite the huffing and puffing on the part of our Honorable Mayor and certain members of council, the budget reduction was what council should be doing. The office of the Honorable Mayor asked for X dollars; council said, "No, you can have Y dollars. It's up to you to make it work."

The Children's Hour

Last evening at the special council meeting both council and the administration outdid themselves. Blogolanders, I can't remember when I was so embarrassed by a performance. First, the Honorable Mayor (who has yet to explain why he needs all those aides) behaved like a three year old; "I won't do it; I won't do it; I won't do it." He wasn't getting his way so he's not going to turn in a budget or sign off on a budget or whatever. If the Honorable Mayor has not actually lied to the voters, he certainly has misled us. As to council - ye gods!!! President McBride insulted two of her colleagues in public. She ignored Robert's Rules of Order and behaved with an utter lack of courtesy. Since her daughter is an aide to the Honorable Mayor, Ms. McBride should have recused herself anyway. Two other members of council made it very plain they have no idea what they're doing. Ms. Reynolds-Jackson hemmed and hawed and made no sense to me. As for Mr. Bethea - the man must stop singing the Song of the South. Each time he rambles on about being a poor, barefoot, ignorant farmboy from the south, he makes himself look ridiculous. Much seems to confuse him; like Ms. Reynolds-Jackson, if he's so confused, he should resign. The Honorable Mayor also complained about being disgusted with, I believe he called it, "political posturing." If that's the case, he should resign. If any of you out there in Blogoland agree with me, join me at city hall on Monday, April 2 8:30AM for OOCH - Occupy Our City Hall. This is very important, fellow Trentonians, because that crew running the show actually believes they have public support; they actually believe they are doing the right thing. Here's a chance to let them know they've screwed up and BIG TIME!

Flushing Facts

The latest out of city hall is really, really funny. Trenton is running out of toilet paper!! Anyone with business in a city facility is urged, by me, to bring a roll (not the buttered kind). What next?

A Conservative Opinion

Anyone who has known me for more than a month will not be surprised to learn I am opposed to S851, a bill currently working its way through the state senate. In today's Trenton Times, George Amick wrote in favor of this bill. It would protect good Samaritans - like this. Four people are somewhere shooting up (three of them are on probation). The fourth O.D.s. From fear that they may arrested for drug use, the three do not call 911. Their pal dies. If S851 passes, no one could be arrested for calling 911 even if the EMTs had to wade through packets of drugs. Mr. Amick also included a few tales of woe from people who lost loved ones because their fellow druggies did not call 911. Blogolanders, people who are on probation or who are paroled from prison AGREE to obey the law; they agree not to do anything illegal. So if they are shooting up, they have violated their agreement and should be taken into custody. As to the sad tales - why were these folks shooting up? Often when you engage in risky behavior, you get hurt; sometimes very hurt like dead. I have long felt a problem with our society is that no one accepts responsibility for their actions, for their behavior, for their values. It's always someone else's fault. And only the government can help or solve or make better. This opinion my offend many of my readers, but I was raised with the theory that 95% of our problems are of our own making. I may post more about this tomorrow.

The City vs. The State

A few days ago Trenton learned that the STATE would not be giving us regular large contributions. Several Trentonians I heard from were all upset with the usual, "This is the capitol city; we should get host benefits, etc., etc." The usual bitch and moan chorus. If we want regular, reliable sums (and I believe we should get such), we, Trenton, must do a few things before we can really cry poor. First (and this is the most important) do an accurate inventory of just how much property the state actually OWNS. And I don't mean rents, I mean, "OWNS." Over the years, I've heard the state owns anywhere from 25% to over 50% of the property here in Trenton. Just driving around Trenton, I suspect the city owns more than the state does. Like that beautiful big park in the West Ward - you could put the entire statehouse complex in that park. After doing an inventory, the next step an accurate valuation (again, I mean ACCURATE) of all the property. It's all very well and good to say the value of the state-owned property is ten million dollars; yeah, but who's going to pay ten mill for it? That's what I mean by, "accurate." Once this information is available, city government can sit down with our legislators and governor and work something out. It would also be nice if the folks at 319 East State stopped insulting the folks down the street on West State. But lastly, a political truth. We, Tretonians, did nothing for Chris Christie; he's going to worry about the folks who VOTED for him. That is what elected officials do. For years, Trenton spent money it did not have; nobody tried to stop it. Now the bill comes due. Perhaps we would get more out of the state if we, Trenton, admitted our fault and presented a plan, a realistic plan, to solve the problem. The Honorable Mayor and the current council ain't doin that. Later.

OOCH - It Has Meaning

OOCH stands for Occupy Our City Hall. A few days ago, I suggested those Trentonians who REALLY want change gather at city hall on April 2. March 31 marks the end of the first quarter of the calendar year and the end of the THIRD quarter of the fiscal year. Once at city hall, we Trentonians engage in civil disobediance - we sit down and refuse to move until the city government listens to us - really listens to us. It may take a few days, maybe a few weeks, but what the hell. In short, Trentonians, here is a chance to take action!! To do something. Is anyone out there in Blogoland interested? I hope I won't be sitting there all by myself. Have a nice weekend.

A Teachable Moment

A while back, President Obama used this expression with regard to an incident in Massachusetts. Right now, he should take his own advice. This blog entry is not about a local issue but a national one. The question of whether employers MUST provide birth control/abortion coverage in the employer provided health plan. Employers opposed to birth control/abortion are most unhappy - as they should be. Here's how it goes, Blogolanders. I apply for a job with the Roman Catholic Church; I should have a basic understanding of the beliefs of this religion and should not expect birth control/abortion coverage. If I want it, I have a few options - (1) pay the full cost myself (2) go work elsewhere (3) buy my own supplemental policy. By insisting on this coverage, President Obama is asking this group to violate their religious principles which is probably illegal. And where does it stop? Will Hebrew schools be forced to serve milk with every meal even when lunch is chicken salad? So long as the religon or group is not practicing human scarifice, I say to the federal government - MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

Far Horizons

Last Thursday, Council President McBride went too far, and I mean too far. During public omment, Mr. Dion Clark spoke about his treatment a few weeks when council went into executive session, and he was asked to not only leave the second floor, but also leave the building. Ms. McBride stated it never happened even though Mr. Clark had a witness. She called him a, "liar." While I was not present, my experience has shown that both Mr. Clark and his witness know truth. I believe them.

As to our present council, most continue to whine about the problems they face and how the problems were created by the previous administration/council. Well, council you all knew the problems when you ran; you claimed, during the debates, that you had all the answers and were ready to hit the ground running. Blogolanders, they have no idea of what they are doing; they have learned nothing in 21 months. NOTHING!

One of my readers made an excellent suggestion - rather than send park landscaping money off to Philadelphia, approach local civic groups about, "adopting," a park. I like that idea. Citizen involvement that saves money. Again, the Honorable Mayor refuses to see how much talent is in this city; talent ready to help.

My Girls - A Mother's Pride

Good Morning Trentonian in Blogoland! It's me, Eris, bragging about the mess my girls have made. It's wonderful. First, a city employee, one David Tallone, is caught behaving in a criminal manner. He's should have been suspended without pay, but he wasn't, and he even got paid after his conviction. Do you think Trenton will ever get that money back? Naaaw. But like all crummy civil servants, Anthony Roberts and David Rousseau are just blowing it off as a minor clitch. No, it's serious business, but who cares since this is Trenton. A couple years back, Lamberton Lilly attended a council conference with some envelopes from the city; they were sent out not with 44 cents postage but 61 cents. Dennis Gonzolalez had the grace to seem embarrassed. Not the current crew; they think this is all funny. And I notice there's another secret meeting aka executive session this afternoon. All these wonderful secret meetings; you wouldn't believe what they discuss. Check out the docket for this afternoon. There's over one hundred thousand dollars in landscaping fees to a Philadelphia firm!! Trenton is broke, like out of money with no income and the Honorable Mayor wants to spend 100 grand on parks!! There is no sense of finance - my girls make sure that happens.
You are all screwed. Anyone interested in the Occupy City Hall Movememt?

Apologies

Somehow I hit the wrogn freakin key again so the first My Girls is blank. I'm sorry about this; I'm hoping to learn how to delete stuff.

My Girls - A Mother's Pride