School Closings

The National Weather Service says there’s a storm coming that could dump 3-6 inches of snow on Monmouth County.

NJ 101.5 has a list of schools that are closed throughout New Jersey.

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Legal Assistance Available For Sandy Survivors

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will host a joint legal clinic today, 9am – 12:30pm, at the Bayshore Activity Center, (Seabrook-Wilson House), 719 Port Monmouth Road in Port Monmouth.

The Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force is comprised of representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the FBI, IRS, NJ Division of Taxation, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.  Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) provides comprehensive legal services to economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey through volunteer attorneys recruited and trained by VLJ.  Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues.

Anyone in need of legal assistance due to issues that have arisen as a result of Superstorm Sandy is encourage to attend today’s clinic or to call the Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force at (855) SANDY-39 of VLJ at (855) 301-2525.

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Arnone Announces School and Grow Monmouth Funding

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Last week the Christie Administration announced the approval of $507.7 million in state funds to help fund the cost of 1,538 individual school construction projects in 331 school districts throughout the state. Of the state funding $37.8 million will go to support 171 projects in 26 school districts in Monmouth County, supporting a total of $94.4 million in school construction throughout the county.

            Between state and local contributions, the total project costs of the 1,538 eligible projects are estimated to exceed $1.1 billion. The state-funded grants represent at least 40 percent of eligible costs for projects in the Regular Operating Districts and address health and safety issues, student overcrowding and other critical needs. The grants are contingent on local approval of the remaining cost to school districts. Regular Operating District grants are separate from the funding for the 31 “SDA districts,” where the Schools Development Authority is responsible for financing 100 percent of eligible costs.

            The Department of Education determines the selection of school projects receiving grant funds, which are administered by the Schools Development Authority. The State Department of Education received applications for more than 2,100 individual school projects.

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Asbury Park needs media attention, U.S. Attorney’s assistance

By Tommy DeSeno

What helps a city fight crime? Media attention. Crime fighters don’t wish to be seen losing in the media.

Asbury Park’s gun crimes and murders get less television attention than other cities because it’s small and far from New York and Philadelphia. News 12 has to cover the state. The responsibility for keeping attention on unsolved murders in Asbury Park falls then on the Asbury Park Press.

Regarding Asbury Park killings, we’ve seen the Monmouth County prosecutor blame the city police, the county prosecutor make no progress himself and everyone blame the City Council. It was announced last week that state troopers will patrol the city, but car patrols lend themselves mostly to traffic tickets.

Left out of the conversation thus far is a very important crime fighter — U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. He is a well-schooled, honorable lawyer who has spent his career fighting crime, including a concentration on illegal narcotics, the antecedent problem that leads to gangs and murder.

Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie built a legacy of putting corrupt politicians in jail. Former U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani prosecuted organized crime. Fishman can have a more honorable distinction than both of them — saving young lives and removing fear from a community.

Nationwide, the U.S. Attorney’s office has a nearly $2 billion budget, and New Jersey’s district is the fifth largest in America, with 145 lawyers and support staff. Fishman has resources. More importantly, he wields an effective crime-fighting law: The Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations statute (RICO).

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Happy Sunday

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Forget trying to beat Booker, the NJ GOP should plan for the next gubernatorial election

photo via facebook

U.S. Senator Cory Booker is going to be elected to his own full term next November.

None of the Republicans said to be considering a challenge to Booker can beat him.

It’s not that Booker is invincible, as was widely thought prior to the Special Senate Election last October.  He is beatable.  Steve Lonegan exposed the fallacies of the Booker myth and Patrick Murray documented that Booker’s support is shallow.   Had Washington Republicans not followed Senator Ted Cruz’s lead to shut down the government in October and had State Comptroller Matt Boxer released his audit of Newark’s City Government which exposed millions of wasted taxpayer money and management practices that encourage fraud in September instead of this week, Lonegan might have pulled off the upset that Booker deserved.

There’s nothing wrong with 4 of the 5 Republicans reported to be looking to challenge Booker.  Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, Senator Minority Leader Tom Kean JR, Senator Mike Doherty or Assemblyman Jay Webber would all serve New Jersey well in the U.S. Senate.

That Darryl Isherwood included Assemblyman Chris Brown is his list of 5 Republican of potential candidates to challenge Booker is more of a reflection of Isherwood’s sense of humor than it is of Brown’s viability as a candidate for any office in the future.  After blaming his Assembly running mate John Amodeo’s 39 vote loss on Governor Christie, Brown will be lottery winner lucky if he is even re-nominated for his Assembly seat in 2015.  “What will Brown do after politics?” MMM asked a senior Republican strategist after the gaffe.  “We’ll find out soon,” the strategist said with a laugh.

(Correction:  As a commenter pointed out, Isherwood was referring to a different Assemblyman Chris Brown (the LD 8 Brown) than the one who blamed Christie for his running mate’s loss.  My mistake makes my overall point.  MMM readers are more informed than the average voter.  How many knew there was even one Chris Brown in the Assembly prior to the LD 2 Brown’s gaffe?  There isn’t a member of the legislature with the statewide name ID to compete with Booker~ Art)

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Obama Girl Redux and The Hipster President Turns Square

By Tommy DeSeno

Oh my.

As if President Obama didn’t have enough trouble this week with all the news about how he has lost the youth vote. Wait until the cool kids get a load of this.

It seems our government ran a contest for young people to submit videos to HHS to convince other young people to buy into Obamacare. Populist propaganda. Amateur government porn.

It was called the “Healthy Young America Video Contest” and the winners were announced on the White House website Tuesday.  The overall winner was submitted by a lovely girl named Erin McDonald.

The name of her video to convince young people to buy an Obamacare policy……… is………wait for it……….drum roll……….I’m not kidding about this………..

FORGET ABOUT THE PRICE TAG

If a Freudian slip could have a Freudian slip it wouldn’t be as revealing as the White House telling young people to not look at the cost. Or the rest of us for that matter.

If Democrats could have a theme song to capture the spirit of their utopian lust, the winner in the “Fiscal Irresponsibility” category would be a song called “Forget About The Price Tag.”  It’s so pre-Presidential Barack Obama rhetoric. It harkens back to his promise of a single payer healthcare system. It unfortunately portends the same for your future.

And it’s real. It seems too perfect a desperate blunder, but I’m not making this up. It’s real. The White House has endorsed a song about ObamaCare called “Forget About The Price Tag.”  Pinch me. Or shoot me. I haven’t decided yet.

Now for the video. This is no hip “Obama Girl” tune. This is bad. It’s corny. It’s Rebecca Black “Friday” bad.

Before I show it to you, will someone please contact his young lady, Erin McDonald, and ask her to reorganize that one corner of her bedroom?  It drove me insane the entire video (but thankfully distracted me from the lyrics).

With apologies to all of you, I give you the new descriptor, sound-bite, slogan, bumper sticker cum personality disorder of the Obama administration – Forget About The Price Tag:

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Interactive Map: Counting the Homeless Population in New Jersey

Roughly 12,000 New Jerseyans were counted as homeless last year, the lowest level in at least the last five years, according to data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD recently released its 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report…

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The extraordinary life of Nelson Mandela: Farm boy to freedom fighter, prisoner to president

The extraordinary life of Nelson Mandela: Farm boy to freedom fighter, prisoner to president (via NJ.com)

Nelson Mandela, the iconic anti-apartheid leader and political prisoner who rose to the presidency of South Africa, guiding its peaceful transition from racially oppressive rogue state to democracy, has died. He was 95. Mandela, who had been hospitalized…

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“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Rest in Peace

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