Lowball: Bruce Edition

From Housing Watch:

Springsteen Takes a Loss on House Sale

Bruce Springsteen, winner of 20 Grammy Awards, has sold one of his two neighboring homes in Florida’s Palm Beach County for $1 million less than its original list price, reported the Palm Beach Daily News. This is just further proof that celebrity real estate isn’t immune to the housing bubble.

The legendary rocker sold the home at 3561 Ambassador Road in Wellington for $2.95 million, a big cut from its original $3.95 million list price. The sale price is also less than the $3.1 million Springsteen paid for the 5-bedroom in the spring of 2008. The $150,000 loss (not including his real estate agent’s cut), may seem like a drop in the Atlantic Ocean for a man worth millions, but when you consider the short time he owned the home, it’s quite a chunk of change.

The Springsteens’ primary residence is in Rumson, N.J., and they also own a home in Beverly Hills, CA.

From the Palm Beach Daily News:

Bruce Springsteen sells one of two Wellington houses to Daniel, Ellen Crown

New Jersey rock star Bruce Springsteen, through his Los Angeles attorney Nancy G. Chapman, has sold one of his two Equestrian Club Estates houses in Wellington for $2.95 million, according to the warranty deed filed late Thursday afternoon.

The buyers, Daniel M. and Ellen Podell Crown, live in New York and Connecticut.

The property was listed for $3.95 million, according to several sources.

In June 2008, Springsteen bought 3561 Ambassador Road for $3.1 million; the following September, Springsteen’s Stone Hill Trust closed on an adjacent improved parcel, 3581 Ambassador Road, for $4.6 million, purchasing it from William Farish Jr. and Kelly Farish, according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office records.

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366 Responses to Lowball: Bruce Edition

  1. grim says:

    Refiled under Lowball, a $1m under ask offer is closer the lowball than comp killer.

    The dude lowballed Bruce, awesome.

  2. Commanderbobnj says:

    2nd

    Good Morning World…

    Looks like a Good Day for the Stock Market !

  3. cooper says:

    The Price You Pay
    “You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
    You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
    Out on to an open road you ride until the day
    You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

    Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
    And in one last breath they built the roads they’d ride to their death
    Driving on through the night, unable to break away
    From the restless pull of the price you pay”
    -Bruce

  4. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    Sales of New U.S. Homes Dropped in February to Lowest on Record

    Sales of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in February to a record low as blizzards, unemployment and foreclosures depressed the market.

    Purchases decreased 2.2 percent to an annual pace of 308,000, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median sales price climbed by the most in more than two years.

    The new-home market is vying with foreclosure-induced declines in prices for existing homes in an economy where unemployment is forecast to average 9.6 percent this year, close to a 26-year high. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner yesterday said it would take a “long time” to repair the housing market as the administration takes steps to overhaul real-estate financing and regulation.

    “It’s going to be a long, slow slog and the lagging sector will be new home sales because they have to compete with existing sales and foreclosures,” Bill Hampel, chief economist at the Credit Union National Association in Washington, said before the report. “New home sales probably have until the fourth quarter until they start recovering.”

    Sales were projected to climb to a 315,000 annual pace, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 78 economists. Forecasts ranged from 275,000 to 343,000. The Commerce Department revised January data to show 315,000 sales at an annual pace, up from the previously estimated 309,000.

  5. jamil says:

    5: “Sales of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly fell ”

    Every bit of bad news reported in State Media has the mandatory “unexpectedly” clause.

  6. jamil says:

    fishwrapper owned by the Mexican drug lord/oligarch is reporting:
    “Social Security to See Payout Exceed Pay-In This Year
    Shrinking Sooner Than Expected”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1269514823-M0uAc9sBc7ZDYzCulqfaHQ

    Heck, I could have swore that before the elections and even before Nationalized Socialist Medicine vote there wasn’t much talk about that. Well, now these “unexpected” bad news provide a nice narrative for higher taxes. Who could have predicted that SS run out of money?
    Thank god Nationalized HC will not cost anything.

  7. jamil says:

    Shore, this is for you.

    I’m sure you join me for advocating criminal investigation. Uh, sorry. I forgot the different rules for libs. You as a honorable member of Ruth Ginsburg “Republicans” sure advocate the rule of Constitution? /sarc

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001105-503544.html
    GOP Lawmaker Darrell Issa Poised to Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate White House
    “will call for a special prosecutor to investigate the White House if it does not address Rep. Joe Sestak’s claim that he was offered a federal job in exchange for dropping out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary.”

  8. Rusty says:

    t e d i o u s.

  9. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    “One of his two Equestrian Estates Houses”

    I guess he”l have to change the song title to “The Two Mansions On The Hill”

  10. Final Doom says:

    Boy, is jamil gonna be disappointed when the party he worships becomes the implement of his personal destruction.

  11. jamil says:

    12 Final Doom.

    Don’t worry. I can send you Pelosi and Che posters after November. Your drooling is safe.

  12. Final Doom says:

    Time for an engineered equities crash? One thing for sure: it’s nervous time for the UST.

    “Today, the Treasury auctioned off the 5th $25 billion SFP chunk, on its way to filling up the $200 billion CMB tank full. Yet this is merely a stop-gap measure, and it is responsible for the slight bump higher in February Bill holdings compared to January. Alas, the Treasury will need to generate wholesale interest for Bills in some way in the near future, or else it will drown itself in the vicious cycle combination of increasing interest payments pushing rates higher, etc. And what creates a scramble for Bills better than anything?

    Why a massive market crash of course.

    Are we predicting one will happen? Of course not; in this market what is expected to happen is that last thing that will happen. We merely point out the logic and what the empirical evidence is demonstrating. Either the Treasury will need to expand the SFP program to far beyond the $200 billion cap, or it will need to get rates on Notes and Bills even lower at a time when the broader market is already expecting a rise in Rates. And in the meantime, it will continue issuing roughly $150-200 billion in debt each and every month to fund in increasingly bankrupt government.

    What we can predict with certainty, is that the Treasury is on an inevitable collision course with insolvency, courtesy of a government run amok. And absent a major shift in capital out of risky assets into risk-free equivalents, it is going to get increasingly more difficult to control the runaway beast of rabid and uncontrollable deficit spending.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fed-runs-out-low-rate-options-ust-must-be-considering-wholesale-shift-out-risky-assets-bills

  13. Libtard says:

    Bernanke Running Amuck

    http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/bernanke-running-amuck-6-38429

    “Fed Chairman Bernanke is running amuck, and for the first time since the birth of the U.S. dollar, our government is egregiously abusing its power to print money.

    Specifically, from September 10, 2008 to March 10 of this year, he has increased the nation’s monetary base from $850 billion to $2.1 trillion — an irresponsible, irrational and insane increase of 2.5 times in just 18 months.

    It is, by far, the greatest monetary expansion in U.S. history. And you must not underestimate its sweeping historical significance.”

  14. Shore Guy says:

    I guess he”l have to change the song title to “The Two Mansions On The Hill”

    No. The song will need to be: “Two Mansions in the Gated Equestrian Enclave, One on the Peninsula, One in the Hollywood Hills, and a Hrse Farm in the Rolling Countryside.”

    I guess he found a gig almost as lucrative as working for GS.

  15. Final Doom says:

    jamil (12)-

    You have no game and are a completely brainwashed lame-ass.

    Associating those who point out the fact that your piehole is fused to Hannity’s butt with Pelosi and Che is a straw man of fourth grade sophistication.

    Then again, fourth grade sophistication (and tedium) are what we’ve come to expect from you.

  16. Mr Hyde says:

    Hehe

    from last night re kids and O-care.

    The set up is coming along nicely… This is just the setup to generate demand for a true single payer system andvrhe GOV pushing out insurance companies. Game on!

  17. Libtard says:

    Oh man, Jamil is charged up this morning. Rest easy Drudge disciple. Your finest female in the nation just signed on for a reality show that will pay her one million per episode.

  18. Shore Guy says:

    ” the party he worships”

    Clot,

    Here is where I part company with many of my Republican brethren. I do not worship the party, nor do I worship any leader within the party. I joined the Republican Party, not the Communist Party.

    Any political party that falls into the cult of personality trap is a danger to the republic.

  19. Final Doom says:

    Methinks the gubmint will lop everyone off at the knees to continue its support of insane deficit spending and profligate money-printing.

    Sell in May, and go to hell.

  20. Final Doom says:

    Shore (19)-

    That’s why we’re almost at the moment of storming the ramparts.

  21. Shore Guy says:

    “Your finest female in the nation ”

    Michelle “Bombshell” McGee?

  22. Final Doom says:

    lib (18)-

    She could make that in one day if she’d take Larry Flynt up on his “offer”.

  23. Mr Hyde says:

    Libtard

    bergabe has printed 2 trillion and yet the major banks are still insolvent…. Good thing congress forced a change to accounting rules so that the banks don’t have to worry about pesky things like mark-to-market.

  24. Shore Guy says:

    http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2010/news/100405/michelle-mcgee-320.jpg

    Before and after, kinda like the Fed’s balance sheet before B.O.’s crew took the keys to the car.

  25. Final Doom says:

    lib (18)-

    I’d gladly watch the Palin/Flynt “production”.

    If I could look at that link Rusty posted a couple nights ago and not lose my lunch, some sort of “Alaskan Cougar”-type flick is like a church social.

  26. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    UN: By 2050, 70% of world population to be crammed into poor, overcrowded, polluted urban corridors comprising a tiny fraction of habitable land

    Sounds like the ground work for depopulation is being laid down nicely. Of course this bodes well for North Jersey real estate prices. Might want to reconsider those vaccines?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1260329/Worlds-largest-cities-morphing-overcrowded-mega-regions-defined-poverty-pollution-UN-report-warns.html

  27. Mr Hyde says:

    Shore

    the republic is dead. An insideous cancer has has eaten away at what our founding fathers built and over the last 30 years left a hollow shell.

    Doom 20

    no need to speculate. Look at every nation & empire in history that have played the “print & pray” game. The end result is not in question, only the timing and paticular method of sepuku is left to speculate on.

  28. Shore Guy says:

    Ahh, the American Invasion of the UK. Just our way of saying thanks for the Beatles, I guess (from the Times (of London):

    “Alistair Darling was accused today of failing even to mention in his pre-election Budget speech a measure that will mean higher tax bills for an estimated 30 million workers.”

    snip

  29. Mr Hyde says:

    Shore 25

    I don’t know, I kind of prefer the goth look. We just need some latex and a riding crop.

  30. Final Doom says:

    “When all of the angst about Greece resolves itself, the world’s credit sharks are going to hunt for a new victim. They’ll be looking for a country whose soaring debt equals 100% of GDP, suffers a terrible demographic outlook, and pays zero interest rates. Using these criteria, Japan looks like an incredibly ripe piece of fatty blue fin tuna sushi. This is why credit default swaps on Japanese debt have doubled since last summer.

    Of course, I only speak Japanese, spent a decade living in Japan, another decade running a Japanese prop desk, a third decade managing a Japanese hedge fund, and published three books on the Japanese financial system, so what do I know? But if I’m right, there is a baseball sitting on top of a T-ball stand just begging to be smashed out of the park.

    Look for the yen to move to ¥95 very quickly, then ¥100 to the dollar in months, followed by ¥120, and ultimately ¥150. If you want to get into the beginning of a major trend, instead of the middle, or the end, like everyone else, this is your big chance. Buy the short yen ETF (YCS).”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/yen-collapse-has-only-just-started

  31. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    “The New York Times is quoting a spokesman for George Soros as saying that the well-known hedge fund operator is guilty of no wrong-doing in connection with the financial upheaval currently affecting Greece and Europe as a whole. But Zubi Diamond, author of the powerful new book, Wizards of Wall Street, says the agenda of Soros and other short sellers is clear. Their purpose, he says, is “to loot America and any foreign country which invested in America. Greece was one of them. Iceland was ravaged and annihilated.”

    Soros and the MFA will be back. Dont get too comfortable in your newly purchased properties.

  32. Mr Hyde says:

    Shore 25

    don’t forget the 6 inch stilettos

  33. Shore Guy says:

    ” 70% of world population to be crammed into poor, overcrowded, polluted urban corridors comprising a tiny fraction of habitable land”

    What is the line from “Godzilla,” by Blue Oyster Cult, something like:

    “History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.”

    We have so seperated people from the means of their survival, and are so dependant on an efficient distribution system that any major hiccup will mean deaths of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions.

    Population has gotten out of control. I don’t want anyone to starve to death but it is hard to see how the poorest countries, the ones with the least ability to feed themselves, can continue to experience population growth and expect to avert disaster.

  34. Shore Guy says:

    “don’t forget the 6 inch stilettos”

    Well, THAT does it! There is no way to get that image out of my mind today. I might as well just tell Mrs. Shore to meet me at home for lunch.

  35. Mr Hyde says:

    Shore

    a truly sophisticated “terrorist” would strike at mutiple global distribution weakpoints at once. Explosives not required…

  36. Shore Guy says:

    Clot,

    You are correct. I have had enough conversations with NSC, DHS, Scotland Yard, CIA, and Mossad (etc.) folks to get the point that a relative handful of determined terrorists can easily carry out coordinated attacks, using low tech methods, that can bring huge disruptions to the economy. Killing thousands in the process just becomes icing on the cake for them.

    We seem to have forgotten the lessons of the last stage of the Cold War, one need not fire a shot,if one can destroy one’s opponent’s economy.

  37. jamil says:

    Shore, took a look at Obamaweek already? Isn’t this the ultimate authority where DOJ people get their info?

    I’m sure there are couple of nice “articles” advocating criminal witch-hunt of former admin officials. If gov attorney focused only on legal aspects when drafting legal memos, and ignoring moral and policy advise, surely time for criminal “investigation”?

    Shore, a case example for one-sided hatred. Yeah, ordering mass-murder of millions of civilians (or shipping people to be tortured in Syria) is fine use of POTUS’s constitutional authority, but let’s prosecute if someone dares to suggest to non-libtard POTUS that Miranda rights for foreign terrorists are not necessary.

  38. Shore Guy says:

    Duuuuuude! No more need to fake glaucoma. Hand me a twinkie, and lets party.

    http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/23/local/la-me-marijuana-initiative24-2010mar24

  39. NJGator says:

    Perqs pad public payrolls

    Dozens of Montclair’s public employees were paid thousands of dollars above their base salaries in 2009, thanks to perquisites, stipends, or overtime, according to public payroll records.

    The amounts received in excess of the employees’ base salaries ranged from $97.96 for a Nishuane Elementary School cafeteria aide to $45,550 for a Montclair School District behavioral specialist.

    The Times received the documents after filing multiple Open Public Records Act requests. A Times reporter examined payroll records for 17 top municipal officials and for the school district’s entire workforce.

    Joseph M. Hartnett, the former township manager, received more above his base salary than any other municipal department head. Thanks to Hartnett’s severance package, along with a $400-per-month car allowance, the former manager was paid $193,624 in 2009, nearly $40,000 above his base salary of $154,825.

    The municipality’s two public safety chiefs – Police Chief David Sabagh and Fire Chief Kevin Allen – were not far behind. Uniform allowances, college stipends, and an obscure public employee perk called longevity pay boosted Sabagh’s base salary of $146,767 by $19,545, and Allen’s base salary of $142,776 by $20,447.

    In the school district, Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez had his 2009 salary of $216,083 sweetened with an extra $19,942, according to a 2009 earnings report supplied by the school district. A $15,000 annuity payment written into Alvarez’s contract is considered income.

    Felice Harrison, the district’s community relations director, last year received $16,840 above her base salary of $139,508, while Hillside Elementary School Principal Michael Chiles earned an additional $14,056 above his $144,082 salary, according to the report.

    Reasons why some public employees are paid more than their base salaries vary, but longevity pay is one explanation.

    Longevity pay awards employees with annual bonuses based on their length of service. For Montclair’s municipal staffers, the bonuses are calculated based on a percentage for every five years of service. In the school district, employees receive set dollar amounts.

    It’s a long-standing practice in New Jersey, and one few taxpayers know about, said Joseph J. Seneca, a professor and economist at Rutgers University.

    “It has been a hidden, significant driver of public sector costs, and has not received the visibility and attention that it warrants, particularly in these times of deep fiscal stress,” Seneca told The Times.

    “It merits serious review now,” he added.

    http://www.northjersey.com/news/89091562_Perks_padding_public_payrolls.html

  40. Shore Guy says:

    I can just see the Onion’s take on this. Something like, the two sides agreed to dispose of their excess inventory in Iran, North Korea, and other as yet unnamed locations:

    “Reporting from Washington– American and Russian officials have reached a deal to slash their nuclear arsenals after eight months of unexpectedly tough negotiations, sources close to the talks said Wednesday.

    President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who ordered the negotiations begun last July, still must sign off on details of the agreement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

    The two leaders are expected to sign a treaty next month in Prague, Czech Republic.

    The accord will replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, and will set limits on the number of long-range deployed nuclear warheads, as well as the number of nuclear-capable bombers and missiles.

    The two final obstacles were agreement on how to verify the size of the nuclear arsenals and the issue of missile defense. Neither government would explain how it solved those disagreements.

    The two sides had previously agreed to reduce the number of long-range nuclear warheads deployed by each nation from a ceiling of 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,675.

    The deal would also require each side to downsize its stock of strategic bombers and land- and sea-based missiles to 800, from 1,600.”

    From the LA Times

  41. Shore Guy says:

    “Dozens of Montclair’s public employees were paid thousands of dollars above their base salaries in 2009”

    People often focus on salary guides, especially for school-district employees, but fail to recognize that in more places than one would hope, many staff are paid “avove the guide” via “red-circle,” “supermax,” or other rates. Also, dont forget extra pay for curriculum development, etc.

  42. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    Doom 26

    just an aside…

    Made the mistake of looking at some of that link’s vids. Recall, in my line of work I see just about everything. Not as much trauma as in Newark, but enough.

    The video that still haunts me viscerally is of some arabic woman (with 2 assistants holding a wooden rod under the ankles to hold him in place and other recording this assault) flogging the ass and perineum of what appears to be a 4 or 5 year old boy relentlessly.

    I admit there’s plenty of child abuse in the US. I’ve seen the results of it. But my feelings about countries that practice Shariah laws. More relevantly, cultures that commit these types of abuses of children, women and men in general, I have no problem with the mass eradication of any of them.

    Nearly all of the most disturbing videos (now I know why I don’t go looking for these at all) are from the middle east and mexico.

    Another depicted the shooting execution of two women in broad daylight.

    Though angry about the dismal leadership of our country, I’d probably live nowhere else.

    As for the women in the video mercilessly beating this small child? I pray for her painful, wretched, miserable, prolonged death.

    And, no, I’m not sorry I feel that way… I’m only sorry that we live in this kind of world.

    sl

  43. veto that - Lawrence Yun says:

    “The legendary rocker sold the home for $2.95 million. The sale price is also less than the $3.1 million Springsteen paid for the 5-bedroom in the spring of 2008.”

    So, Bruce buys in 2008 and takes a 5% haircut 2 years later?

    That is prob not even lunch money to him.

    The real significance to that article is that someone smart is prob advising him (got to believe bruce isnt making his own r/e decisions). So whoever that advisor is prob told him to “SELL Immediately!!!! The next leg down is Imminent!”

    Clot, have you given bruce any advice lately?

  44. safeashouses says:

    Hurry and sign the petition. We knead two help are children lern.

    “As you know, Governor Christie has already cut 475 million dollars in state aid for education. Now he is talking about cutting education by another $1 billion by September of this year! These cuts will mean fewer teachers, larger class sizes, fewer programs in math and reading and not enough books and materials in classrooms.Our schools simply can’t function without adequate funding. Please take a minute and sign the petition. NJ Kids and Families has set up a webpage that makes it really easy to do and takes only 3 minutes!http://www.njkidsandfamilies.org/petition

    Why not have a salary freeze, don’t replace anyone who retires, and kick in 1.5 to 2% of education employee’s gross towards health benefits? But then that would solve the problem, be fairer to the taxpayers, children, and junior employees, so that would never happen.

  45. Shore Guy says:

    “jkidsandfamilie”

    Is that like Kars for Kids?

  46. Shore Guy says:

    Stu,

    How does that song go again?

  47. Cindy says:

    http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/more-foreclosures-please/#more-54722

    More foreclosures, please….Ritholtz TBP

    In the comments section he notes the distinction between “home-owers” and “homeowners.”

    Then he says: “Or, you can call it rent with an option to default.”

  48. Juice Box says:

    re #44 – SL – FYI Several European countries have an outright ban on corporal punishment in the schools and at home while no state in the USA prohibits it at home. What is worse is 20 states don’t prohibit it in school either.

    It really wasn’t until about 70 years ago that it was further scrutinized in the western world, and not until the 1980s until schools in many US states started banning it.

    I for one will remember my days in the 70s at a Catholic School in the Bronx. We were terrified of the nuns and their liberal use of rulers on our backsides and knuckles.

  49. Cindy says:

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/03/debunking-michael-lewis-subprime-short-hagiography.html

    I bought
    The Big Short” to read on vacation. Yves pretty much rips into it here.

    Has anyone read it?

  50. Juice Box says:

    #46 – safe re: “Why not have a salary freeze, don’t replace anyone who retires, and kick in 1.5 to 2% of education employee’s gross towards health benefits? But then that would solve the problem, be fairer to the taxpayers, children, and junior employees, so that would never happen.”

    Sounds allot like the private sector these days, nobody is hiring, no raises, employee heath care contributions are going up.

  51. RayC says:

    I have to agree with Final Doom about the impending final doom. People who strongly urged me to buy a house 4 years ago because Real Estate only goes up, and laughed at me when I told them I’d wait until after the crash, are now asking me “Do you know about the Shadow Inventory” or “Have you heard banks are not foreclosing on millions of homes, just hoping that the market will recover shortly?” Which of course means that it is now being covered in “People” magazine, or maybe Yahoo News.

    And of course they “knew it all along”. Really? Then why did you f$&^ing tell me to buy a tiny house for $600k 4 years ago? Idiots. Sheeple.

    Gotta go back to work before I vent out loud.

  52. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [16] doom

    Hate to burst in on your nihilism, but jamil did link to a legitimate story, that of the WH attempting to buy off Sestak.

    This is the very sort of thing that the WH said it opposed, and that liberals would castigate the GOP for.

    The left is not shy about calling out the right for its hypocrisy. Jamil is correct to call out the left for it.

  53. Confused in NJ says:

    It’s interesting to see the Wall Street Stock Market continue to rise as more and more evidence becomes available that Main Streeet is Bankrupt. Maybe Obama needs to add a Medicare Tax on Equities Gains in addition to Interest & Dividends.

  54. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    46.

    Regarding your petition. I just sent another letter to Christie stating he wasnt doing enough cutting of aid to the municipalities. There will be a rally in Trenton on 4/15 to show support for his yanking of aid to tit sucking munipalities like yours.

    Sucks to be a Communist eh? Go bake some cookies.

  55. Mr Hyde says:

    From each according to his ability, to each according to his need … Hope&Change

  56. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [36] hyde

    speaking of terrorism . . .

    I was flipping channels last night, and came across a movie called “Militia” that had Dean Cain and Stacy Keach.

    Must have been the nadir of the careers for each. What a cheesy POS that movie was.

    They were so low budget that all the action sequences were taken from other movies. I recognized clips from Rambo II, a Chuck Norris flick, and Terminator II (which was supposed to be a DOD facility with anthrax, but they kept the Cyberdine name on the front).

    And don’t get me going on the plot or the acting (neither were present).

    I never saw a worse movie. Keach and Cain must have lost a lot of sleep knowing that this turkey is out there.

  57. Juice Box says:

    re #54 – Yes Comrade Jamil is correct to call the Dems out for it but just like the Cassandras from the early days leading up to the war in Iraq NOBODY will believe him.

  58. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [27] al

    “UN: By 2050, 70% of world population to be crammed into poor, overcrowded, polluted urban corridors comprising a tiny fraction of habitable land”

    Got Nompound?

  59. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    Box, 50

    Private school abuse… yep. I’m with ya – heard story after story at work (when the topic came up) about this.

    This video is just chilling though… It’s slowly fading and I don’t feel like vomiting anymore thankfully.

    To see this (and that some demented f.uck would record it?) just sickens me.

    I hope this kid grows up big enough to garrote that bitch and the spineless “assistants” as well.

    (there. I feel a little better now.)

    sl

  60. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    Hyde, 57

    Loved the book’s ideas….now hate living the ideology.

    When the leeches outnumber the productive and by extension, now *vote* on the distribution? Well?

    Final Doom.

    ls

  61. Mr Hyde says:

    Sl,

    I feel your pain, i saw a video someone sent me a link to, of a small group of people being burned alive for practicing witch craft. It was very disturbing.

    The video was recent and happened someplace in africa.

    I agree any culture that condones such acts should be exterminated.

  62. Mr Hyde says:

    SL,62

    It leads to an interesting question; what comes after capitalistic democracy (corprotocracy)? It wasnt the first form of government and wont be the last, even if people dont want to talk about what comes next.

    I dont now the answer but its an interesting question

  63. #51 – Cindy – I haven’t read the book either but did really enjoy Yves take down.

  64. You know how you can tell things are bad?
    When even the Critical Shopper knows we’re in the last days of empire.

    I was totally bewildered. I cornered our salesman, the kind and helpful David Sim, and asked him as delicately as possible, “Is Calvin Klein being designed primarily for the Asian market now?”

    Mr. Sim smiled serenely. “Calvin Klein does a lot more business in Asia and Europe” than in the States.

    Suddenly it all made sense: the baby pinks, too-polite cashmeres, proper necklines and sheath cuts dropping straight from the shoulders to the knees, with fewer of the usual feminine detours. Once there were subtle perks to being a functional superpower: Everything was attuned to our cultural preferences, from candy flavors to comedy films to electronic beeping sounds. We were once the gravitational center of the aesthetic universe. We aren’t anymore

    Ah well. I have noticed more clothes in smaller sizes in the part 2 years. Which is good for those of us Americans not of the, erm… ‘value menu’ size.

  65. veto that - Lawrence Yun says:

    Citi’s Yard Sale Crimps a Turnaround

    It is probably the biggest garage sale ever: credit cards, mortgages, brokerage operations, a door-to-door insurance business, even a ski lodge that Citigroup Inc. amassed as it tried to build a financial supermarket to the world.

    Now that the dream is gone, the New York company is working hard to get rid of assets it no longer wants, still haunting Citigroup more than two years after the financial crisis hit. Fourteen months into the sales process, though, it is clear executives are in for a long, hard slog.

    wsj

  66. veto that - Lawrence Yun says:

    “I have had enough conversations with NSC, DHS, Scotland Yard, CIA, and Mossad (etc.)”

    Shore, with all your experience, do you have even the slightest feelings that UBL/AQ is a fabrication of the us govt being used to further our foreign policy objectives? or do you consider all of that conspiratorial nonsense?

  67. Mr Hyde says:

    Shore,

    for you and the Mrs

    http://tinyurl.com/yfwrzl9

  68. relo says:

    18: good for her. she’s finally found her depth.

  69. Yikes says:

    at this rate, PHilly will be like union city or hoboken or newark in terms of violence

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html?hp

  70. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    New <a href=”http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nano-car-bursts-into-flames-apf-2552752171.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=3&asset=&ccode= “Advert for the Nano,

    “Immolation for Less!”

    sl

  71. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    72 should be:

    New Advert for the Nano,

    “Immolation for Less!”

    sl

  72. veto that - Lawrence Yun says:

    Dow Could Hit 14,000 Before Next Crash, Says Phil Town

    “I can see this market at 14,000,” says investor and author Phil Town. Using the secular bear market of the 1970s as his road-map, Town thinks the market might continue its upward swing and then crash once again, continuing the boom bust cycle of the last ten years.

    Town’s investment strategy won’t change either way. It is “not about guessing the market right,” he tells Aaron in the accompanying clip.

    Town doesn’t look at the broad indexes as a guide. And, neither should you, if you want to get rich, he recommends. “If you want to be a great investor and really start taking control of your finances I think you have to start looking for individual companies,” says the author of Payback Time.

    Bull or bear market, Town believes there’s always undervalued companies that make good investments. He suggests finding a few businesses one can understand really well and then investing accordingly.

  73. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Wall Street thinks the hospitals got a pass in Obamacare.

    I beg to differ.

    “IRS to Review Tax-Exempt Hospitals
    Charity Care Under New Health Care Law

    Hospitals operating under tax-exempt status will have to begin proving to the Internal Revenue Service that they are providing a charitable service to the community in order to keep their tax exemptions under health care overhaul legislation signed into law (Pub. L. No. 111-148) by President Obama March 23.

    The legislation requires that tax-exempt hospitals complete a community needs assessment once every three years and adopt and publicize a financial assistance policy. A new Section 4959 was also added to the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax penalty of $50,000 for any tax-exempt hospital that fails to satisfy the community health needs assessment (202 DTR G-5, 10/22/09).

    The new law also prohibits billing top medical care rates to those who qualify for financial assistance and prohibits a hospital from taking “extraordinary collection actions” if the hospital has not made reasonable efforts to notify patients of its financial assistance policy.”

    So the IRS will be making sure that hospitals give away care, and will come down on them for collection efforts.

    Once word of this hits the ‘hood, what do you think the effect on emergency rooms will be?

    Oh, and woe to a hospital that tries to close their ER. That warrants the death sentence.

  74. Final Doom says:

    plume (54)-

    I don’t doubt the veracity of the Sestak story. My quibble is with jamil’s implicit assertion that this sort of thing is somehow beneath his own party.

    The one thing we all should know by now is that there are no depths to which either party won’t plunge.

  75. Final Doom says:

    Dems/Repubs = Crips/Bloods

  76. Fabius Maximus says:

    After some thought, I think its time I took a long break from here. There is a great irony in that, the focus of my work for the next few months was posted up in a link from Clot. That gave me a wake up that maybe its time for me to move on.

    Also, when the right start throwing Jeferson under the bus its a bit of a “nuke the fridge” moment. Debate and normal discussion disappered from here a while back and that’s the part I really miss.

    So I’ll just focus on work and watch from afar as life plays out (and the GOP eats itself).

    Remember that, ‘Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.’

  77. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [prior thread]

    [248] shore

    “We are not all equal. We are entitled to the same rights and protection under law, but we are not equal.”

    Careful there, Harrison Bergeron, the Handicapper General will be looking for you.

    [235] fabius

    Elitism? I suggested that certain rights should be inviolate, and not subject to the whim of mob rule. Maybe I’m dense, but how is that elitist?

    Unless you take the position that property rights are elitist. Then I suggest you change your handle from latin to cyrillic.

  78. Final Doom says:

    veto (74)-

    Using the ’70s bear market as his guide?
    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Who is this dunce?

    Garbage in, garbage out, moron:

    “I can see this market at 14,000,” says investor and author Phil Town. Using the secular bear market of the 1970s as his road-map, Town thinks the market might continue its upward swing and then crash once again, continuing the boom bust cycle of the last ten years.”

  79. njescapee says:

    sore winner

  80. Mr Hyde says:

    SL,

    In the same vein

    Dance Dance Immolation!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wi5OxVG8mg

  81. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [76] doom

    I didn’t see that. What I got was his umbrage over a double standard.

    Hitting the Knob Creek a bit early, aren’t we?

  82. Final Doom says:

    Biggus Dickus (78)-

    Does this mean you’re going short the yen?

    “There is a great irony in that, the focus of my work for the next few months was posted up in a link from Clot.”

    See ya later. BTW, Arsenal will spit the bit in both the EPL and CL. :)

  83. Final Doom says:

    plume (83)-

    I’m not familiar with that concept.

    “Hitting the Knob Creek a bit early, aren’t we?”

  84. A.West says:

    Fabius,
    Can you bring that other commie with you on your way out?

  85. Final Doom says:

    I think instead of having GTGs, we should start trying to instigate flashmobs via Twitter.

  86. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [85] doom

    So you rely on the fact that it is 5:00 somewhere?

  87. Final Doom says:

    plume (88)-

    Please, no references to country music.

  88. Final Doom says:

    I rely on the feeling of omnipotence that can only be imparted by quality whiskey.

  89. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [78] fabius

    Can’t blame you. Done that myself from time to time.

    As for “[d]ebate and normal discussion disappered from here a while back,” tell me where it hasn’t.

    And further to your Texas comment, I think that there’d be a lot less angst in the nation if states had the right to vote with their feet. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it warrants further explanation at a GTG.

  90. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [89] doom

    Sorry, don’t know any country music, so I could be quoting it and not know it.

    [90] doom

    I get that same feeling with my Makarov.

  91. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    As yet no response from Evan Handler. He still has not corrected his little missive on Health Care.

    Leads the reader to believe that he will be paying taxes on his (union supplied) health care benefits.

    Wrote him clarify it for him that he ISN’T taxed on it. No correction.

    Someone else (no, not me – don’t care enough to) added a comment to the blog also attempting to correct him.

    It was ignored. More propaganda sans</i< facts.

    Me love Amerika.

    sl

  92. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:

    off italics.

    html editor *not* working today

    sl

  93. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Funny that we haven’t heard word one this movie release a couple of months ago. I mean, it can’t reflect well on the current administrations’s policies, or those of its supporters, which is why I am surprised Fox News hasn’t picked up on it.

    http://www.finallyequal.com/

  94. Final Doom says:

    sl (93)-

    The ultra-left has adopted the ultra-right’s belief that repeating a lie over and over makes it true.

  95. veto that - Lawrence Yun says:

    Meanwhile, The Housing Market Continues To Roll Over…

    Sales surged last November when many first-time homebuyers rushed to beat the initial expiration of the tax credit. There will probably be another increase in May and June this year, although that will probably be smaller than the November increase.

    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/meanwhile-the-housing-market-continues-to-roll-over-2010-3#ixzz0jChKiYco

  96. Mr Hyde says:

    Nom

    2081 (The movie you referred to)
    Based on the short story Harrison Bergeron by celebrated author Kurt Vonnegut, 2081 depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is finally equal… The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks and the intelligent wear earpieces that fire off loud noises to keep them from taking unfair advantage of their brains. It is a poetic tale of triumph and tragedy about a broken family, a brutal government, and an act of defiance that changes everything

    I seem to recall seeing a short film on gooogle video 2 or 3 years back with a very similar theme and would love to track it down again.

    The general plot was a young man goes to an “underground” party/GTG where they can openly express their differences, in this case he is hgihly intelligent and spends the evening playing chess.

    The underground party is a cover for the organization that secretly runs the country, selecting only the best and brightest, as the nation has generally dumbed itself down to a 4th grade level.

  97. Barbara says:

    Gator, just got to your montclair article. Had to laugh these 140k plus salaries, given the current state of Bloomfield Ave. Where’s the beef?

  98. Juice Springsteen HEHEHE says:

    A good summary from Panzner:

    Somebody’s Been Tinkering with the Kool-Aid
    Uh-oh, looks like somebody’s been tinkering with the bullish Kool-Aid. Otherwise, how else to explain the remarks by shipping and real estate industry heavyweights in the following recent reports:

    http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2010/03/somebodys-been-tinkering-with-the-koolaid.html

  99. Mr Hyde says:

    Pain

    Its clear we are long lost brothers.

  100. Libtard says:

    Tax increases for the school portion of local budgets so far…

    For a Glen Ridge residential property assessed at $581,721, this translates into a tax increase of $523.69

    Homeowners in Montclair with an average home assessed at $652,000 can expect a $410 increase in their tax bill.

    A Florham Park homeowner with property assessed at the borough average of about $650,000 would cause the school tax bill for an average homeowner to increase by about $91 (and there are no impending layoffs).

    HOW CAN THIS BE?

  101. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Wonder how those Deere workers are gonna feel about all the hope and change:

    “Farm equipment maker Deere expects after-tax expenses to rise by $150 million this year as a result of the health care reform law President Barack Obama signed this week.

    Most of the higher expense will come in Deere’s second quarter, the company said on Thursday. The expense was not included in the company’s earlier 2010 forecast, which called for net income of about $1.3 billion.”

    Not only is the Senate version of Obamacare a set up for single payer, but a set up for protectionist trade policies as well.

    Invest accordingly!

  102. Final Doom says:

    If Discovery Channel had a set, they’d pit Palin vs. Kate Gosselin in a bitch-slap PPV.

    NEW YORK (AP) – Sarah Palin’s travelogue series about Alaska has landed at the TLC network, and filming is set to begin this summer.

    Network owner Discovery Communications announced Thursday that it had acquired rights to the eight-part series, produced by “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett. The deal lands “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” on the network that also airs “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” “Cake Boss” and “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.”

    The series tells stories of some of Alaska’s unique features as seen through the eyes of its former governor.

    Burnett and Palin had been pitching the series to various networks in recent weeks and had been asking for $1.2 million an episode, considered expensive in the world of nonfiction television. Discovery got the series for about $1 million an episode, according to two television executives familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because their networks don’t discuss such details publicly.

  103. Final Doom says:

    WTF is “Cake Boss”? Please tell me it’s not about the gay/butt pirate thing.

  104. relo says:

    107: Maybe we’ll get to see that nice view of Russia from her back porch (back porch not intended in a Larry Flynt kind of way).

  105. Juice Springsteen HEHEHE says:

    Jonny C Raking It In AT MF:

    “Juggling these three jobs may be part of the reason Corzine and MF Global are signing up for what appears to be a test drive. The contract runs about 53 weeks, until March 31, 2011, but MF Global has to notify Corzine on Dec. 31 whether it intends to keep him on. Cutting him loose before April next year could prove costly: His salary is $1.5 million and he has a guaranteed bonus of at least $2 million for the next fiscal year — but severance would be based on a higher $3 million “target” bonus. All told, his payout for dismissal would be $9 million, cash on the barrelhead, plus more to make up for any federal excise tax on “golden parachute” payments. (His options would also vest immediately, and he would get up to two years of company-paid health-care benefits.)”

    http://www.footnoted.org/my-big-fat-deal/juggling-jobs-with-corzine-at-mf-global/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Footnotedorg+%28footnoted.org%29

  106. Final Doom says:

    Sarah Palin as Cake Boss?

    Works for me.

  107. Final Doom says:

    Corzine = exhibit #1 of the concept of “fcuk up and move up”.

  108. Final Doom says:

    Palin as Cake Boss, taking a strap-on to Corslime?

    Waiting for John to chime in here…

  109. Painhrtz says:

    Hyde – eerie how you can find so many like minded people on a blog.

  110. Libtard says:

    I thought the Cake Boss was Chris Christie?

  111. Juice Springsteen HEHEHE says:

    “Cake Boss”?

    Go to the corner of Newark St and Washington ST in Hoboken and ask people why they are waiting in line in the rain/snow/freezing cold…

  112. Painhrtz says:

    By the way the mountains of Puerto Rico are ungodly hot, think Jersey in August. No tropical breeze where I was at. It was bloody awful

  113. John says:

    Only want kate for s&m if I get to do s and it is my patrotic duty to shove something in Palins mouth to shut her up.

    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 1:17 pm
    Palin as Cake Boss, taking a strap-on to Corslime?

    Waiting for John to chime in here…

  114. Confused in NJ says:

    The biggest U.S. maker of farm equipment became the second major company in as many days to say it would take a charge for fiscal 2010.

    Deere and Caterpillar Inc., which reported that it would record a $100 million charge Wednesday, say the health care overhaul President Barack Obama signed Wednesday will make a subsidy the companies receive for retiree drug coverage taxable in 2011.

    Both companies said it was a one-time charge as they adjust to the new level of expected taxes.

    Deere and Caterpillar were among the 10 companies that sent a letter to Congressional leaders in December warning of cost increases. Others were: Boeing Co., Con-Way Inc., Exelon Corp., Navistar Inc., Verizon, Xerox Corp., Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., and Met Life Inc.

    The companies say federal subsidies have covered 28 percent of the cost of retiree prescription drug coverage. The government offered the subsidies so that more companies would continue to offer coverage to retirees and keep them off of government-funded Medicare Part D.

    Under the health care reforms passed this week, that subsidy will be taxed starting next year, which the companies predicted could significantly increase government health care costs because companies may drop coverage.

    “Taxing the subsidy means that more companies will eliminate or reduce the coverage, and more retirees will shift to Medicare Part D, which will creare more cost for both the government and the retirees,” the companies wrote in their letter

    Luckily, taxing retiree drug benefits only applys to the Private Sector and not the Public Sector who are “For The Children”. Evidently Private Sector retirees hate their children & grandchildren.

  115. Final Doom says:

    Hey John- don’t look now, but Ambac is sliding toward BK.

  116. Confused in NJ says:

    Actually, given that many deaths in this Country are caused by Big Pharma Drugs, Private Sector retirees denied drugs may now live longer then Public Sector retirees, or at least healthier until they die.

  117. Juice Springsteen HEHEHE says:

    Confused,

    You took the words right out of my mouth. One look at a mortality table in this country and compare it to others, and I don’t see any dramatic benefits from all the stuff they are pumping into the retirees.

  118. Final Doom says:

    confused (118)-

    So completely Alice in Wonderland…only Kongress could’ve devised this garbage.

  119. Final Doom says:

    HE (121)-

    Seems to me that these fat turds mostly want vi@gr@ and z0cor.

  120. Final Doom says:

    And the same fat pig retirees who gobble down statins and hard-on pills are the ones who can’t watch five minutes of Wall-E, because they don’t get it.l

  121. NJGator says:

    Barbara 100 – Yes, people are starting to go batsh*t crazy over this.

    I’m going to the Board of School Estimate Budget Workshop Meeting tonight with some popcorn to enjoy the show and will volunteer to become the Director of School/Community Relations for 1/2 the salary and no longevity pay as long as I can get the medical and the pension.

    A friend of ours was in the municipal building last week to get a permit. The mayor was holding office hours when he was there, so he stopped in to offer some suggestions. The mayor asked him “Are you here to yell at me too?”. My friend said that he was only here to offer suggestions, to which the mayor responded “Yes, and then you will yell at me. Everybody yells at me.”

    He sounds so sad. And he looked positively depressed at the BOE budget meeting on Monday. I bet he’d give anything to go back and just be the president of Bike Montclair.

  122. Final Doom says:

    Our first generation of retard retirees.

  123. Final Doom says:

    gator (125)-

    Maybe somebody will put a bullet in your mayor and put him out of his misery.

    Seems like politicos looking over their shoulders is part of the new normal.

  124. NJGator says:

    Clot – Care to place a wager on what our total tax increase will be – Municipal, School Board & Essex County?

  125. freedy says:

    When does Karla join MF global

  126. Juice Springsteen HEHEHE says:

    Gator,

    You’ll know the least competent teachers in the school system. They’ll be the ones complaining the loudest.

  127. John says:

    “competent public school teachers” is that like “baked alaska”?

  128. Confused in NJ says:

    Americans have some extreme views of President Obama, with a new controversial survey suggesting that 40 percent of adults believe he is a socialist, and about a quarter of survey participants thinking the president is a racist, anti-American and even doing things Hitler did.

    The whammy: 14 percent of Americans say President Barack Obama may be the Antichrist. When split by political party, 24 percent of Republicans and 6 percent of Democrats viewed the nation’s leader in this way.

    The results come from an online Harris Poll involving 2,320 adults who were surveyed online between March 1 and March 8 by Harris Interactive, a market research firm

    Interesting that 24% of Republican and also 6% of Democrats believe Obama is the AntiChrist in the latest Harris Poll. It’s a shame they didn’t include Independents, as the number would have been much higher, and probably an American Opinion first. Sort of tracks with 2012 though, I guess.

  129. NJGator says:

    Jucie – I know our teacher givebacks were not enough, but they were the first ones in the state to step up to the plate. I’ll give them props for that. They care about the kids and their colleagues more than their counterparts in Bloomfield, who, when given the choice between a wage freeze or an additional 25 layoffs, chose to sacrifice their own. Real classy in an environment where none of their laid off colleagues will find a public school job because every district in the state is either laying off or freezing hires.

  130. John says:

    Ha HA, they are pulling a CIT, scare the people who bought insurance to take 25 cetns on a dollar wipe out the shareholders and give me the company. Love it. My 9.75% senior note bought at 48 cents on a dollar will pay me my 8-1-10 coupon, maybe my 2-1-11 and then before maturity just give me the damm company.

    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 1:44 pm
    Hey John- don’t look now, but Ambac is sliding toward BK.

  131. Anon E. Moose says:

    Juice[109];

    What is the incentive for perfoamance if one’s ‘bonus’ (in JC’s case $2MM) is guaranteed? I hardly see managing a slush fund as equivalent risk of playing NFL wide reciever where a blown ACL could take you off the field. Then again, who’s going to be driving his limo?

  132. Final Doom says:

    gator (128)-

    What is the maximum allowable number (if there is such a thing)?

    Whatever that is, that’s my number.

  133. hughesrep says:

    competent public school teachers” is that like “baked alaska”?

    More like honest banker.

  134. Yikes says:

    asking again, for the daytime Crowd:

    anyone buy a car at an auction? (John, did you mention you had?)

    heard a few shady stories – as in, people who had their car repo’d come after the their car (and in turn, finding you).

    i ask because this “lease” experiment is failing miserably. im not shelling out 500-600 to lease something newish and nice. that’s absurd.

    but if i can get a nice ride on the cheap from an auction …

  135. NJGator says:

    Doom 136 – State cap is 4%, but lots of things (like benefit increases) are outside the cap. The school district administrator said that the entire state aid reduction would be outside of cap, so our 4.8% proposed school tax increase is actually $5.4M under cap.

    The town lost about $900k. They will not cut anything because they will their cuts will pale in comparison to the school district increase, so why bother.

  136. NJGator says:

    The real Gov. Chris Christie budget: property-tax hikes to the horizon

    Back in the Nixon administration, Attorney General John Mitchell offered these words of wisdom to journalists: “Watch what we do, not what we say.”

    The Mitchell mantra is quite useful in analyzing the budget that the Christie administration presented last week.

    During the campaign last year, Christie promised to “slash state spending” so he could free up dollars for property tax relief, among other things. But his first budget does the exact opposite. State spending goes up — and so will your property taxes, thanks to the tax relief he’s cutting.

    Under the last budget put together by Jon Corzine, the categories that represent actual spending by the state government — governmental operations as well as employee benefits, rent, etc. — totaled $5.7 billion. Christie is increasing that spending to $6 billion.

    Last week, however, he boasted that his budget is lower than Corzine’s last budget. How can that be? Simple. He slashed state aid and grants. This is an old trick. A governor can always balance his budget by forcing the towns and schools to raise property taxes.

    That’s what Christie did. But he did it in a way that even a liberal Democrat couldn’t have dreamed up. Corzine never would have had the nerve to come up with a state school-aid formula that zeroes out aid for 59 suburban school districts. But the “conservative” Christie did. He even cut his own county’s aid by a third — and Morris didn’t get much to begin with.

    “Our governor has told us that he’s cutting school aid,” said Assemblyman Joe Malone of Bordentown. “That means to every suburban school district your taxes are going up.”

    Actually, Malone said that back in October, when Corzine was proposing some relatively minor cuts in school aid. But what the Republican Assembly budget officer said then remains true today. Local property taxes will skyrocket under the Christie budget.

    Yesterday in the Statehouse, Republican legislators were still in shock at the numbers that were unveiled during the governor’s St. Patrick’s Day Massacre. On March 17, the day after the Guv’s budget spiel, the state released the aid figures that will form the basis for school budgets to be voted on April 20.

    That was the first time lawmakers learned of the devastating effect on the suburbs.

    “Why even have a legislature?” state Sen. Mike Doherty of Warren County asked. He and other Republicans said they were blindsided.

    “When people came out for Chris Christie, what they were voting for wasn’t this,” Doherty said “It’s unacceptable. It’s gotta change.”

    It’s gotta. But will it? If not, suburban taxpayers can forget the property tax promises Christie made last year during the GOP primary. In one press conference, Christie said he would free up state aid for the suburbs by cutting the outsized amounts that go to the cities.

    “We’ll fix the system in those cities and save the money that’s being wasted there now and then you’ll be able to equalize aid across the board,” said candidate Christie. When asked how many years that would take, he said, “With me there, it’s going to happen in less than four, I guarantee that.”

    The numbers guarantee the exact opposite. The first Christie budget makes the suburban-urban imbalance even worse. Under the liberal Corzine administration, the 31 largely urban Abbott school districts got 55.6 percent of the state aid. Under the self-proclaimed conservative Christie, the proportion going to the Abbott districts exceeds 60 percent for the first time. The 550 remaining districts have to fight for the crumbs. And that’s what they’ll be doing for the next four years, hoping against hope to get back to the state-aid levels of the Corzine era.

    As for Christie, he may not be giving them property tax relief, but he’s great at giving excuses. In that budget speech, Christie blamed the school aid cuts on Corzine. But the numbers say otherwise. That aid comes out of the property tax relief fund, which is made up of the entire income tax and a half-cent of the sales tax. And that fund is expected to lag just a bit behind where it was at this time last year when Christie was promising property tax relief.

    If Christie had slashed state spending as he promised, he’d have plenty of money for both state school aid and those property tax rebates he canceled — breaking another campaign promise.

    So watch what he does, not what he says. The numbers don’t lie. As for politicians, that’s another matter.

    MORON PERSPECTIVE ALERT: Judging from the comments, several readers seem to assume that I am in some way defending or endorsing Jon Corzine.

    Only a moron could infer that. Don’t be that moron.

    What I’m saying, quite clearly if you can read English, is than the position Christie is taking is to the left of even the leftist Corzine. I am endorsing neither. My personal view is that the experiment with the state income tax as a means of producing property-tax relief has failed and that the tax should be therefore abolished. But that is not the issue, here. The issue is which man has gone further to the left on the issue of the distribution of the revenue from that tax. And that man is Christie. I’ve done the math. You just have to do the reading.

    http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/03/the_real_gov_chris_christie_bu.html

  137. Final Doom says:

    John (134)-

    That’s what I thought you’d say.

  138. Final Doom says:

    I don’t know if I could’ve pulled the trigger on Ambac even at .48 and 9.75%.

  139. Born to Run Bob says:

    Bruce sang it at the Asbury Park GTG.

    I set the fire and you’re the first to go
    It’s getting higher and I watch
    I watch it movin’ down slow
    Well I watch it, watch it goin’ down, I said goin’ slow

    Goin’ down slow
    Goin’ down slow
    Goin’ down slow
    Goin’ down slow

  140. Confused in NJ says:

    140. Paul Mulshine is a Closet Liberal. What Christie is doing is forcing the School issue back to the Municipalities where it originates. Berkeley Heights was a classic example of both School & Town Boards packed with Teacher related incumbents continually defending business as usual for the unions. Without placing the municipalities in undeniable jeopardy, you will never stop them from increasing the giveaway problem. At the State level the only thing he can do is continue to hide the problem with State aid, or kick the problem back to the source for real resolution.

  141. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [144] confused

    I had wondered the same thing sometimes.

  142. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    about Mulshine, that is

  143. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Wow, how did I miss this? This should get Jamil’s juices flowing.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AG04M20091117

    I remember a panel discussion in DC on GLBA, where she was holding forth as Asst. AG in Vermont. The banking attorneys in the room were scratching their heads at her suggestions that VT should be able to adopt onerous regulation yet still require the banks to lend to Vermonters. The banking attorneys actually asked her if she was concerned about “bypass” and she said no, she would force them to do business there by denying all business if they didn’t.

    I took to calling her “Julie Shrill.”

    Later, she started in on the drug companies, and subpeonaing records for reasons that just had the wife pulling her hair out. If she could have killed Julie Brill, I think she would have taken the shot.

    Now Obama puts her on the FTC as a commissioner.

    plg, you’d like her. IMHO, she is just to the right of Van Jones. She is very anti-corporate, and makes no bones about her goal to standardize consumer products across business lines, and turn any consumer-oriented business into a non-profit.

  144. Final Doom says:

    I’m for anything that causes acute pain to union members, pensioners or anyone else who is part of the whole rancid gubmint teat-sucking scheme.

    I will even accept a certain degree of personal pain if it makes one of them hurt worse.

    Burn the mf’er down. Burn, baby, burn!!!

  145. Confused in NJ says:

    146.Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    March 25, 2010 at 2:39 pm
    about Mulshine, that is

    He had me fooled for quite awhile muyself. Personally, I would like to see all Teacher, Police & Fireman Salary & Benefit negotiations occur at the State Level. One Contract for all Police, Fireman, and Teachers with one State Voice saying their is no money. You will not get another raise until the Private Sector catches up. When, probably not until Bernanke raises interest rates in 2099.

  146. chicagofinance says:

    John: my beer is served at Luger’s dickweed!

    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 1:44 pm
    Hey John- don’t look now, but Ambac is sliding toward BK.

  147. Rusty says:

    Chicago. Now there is a town.

  148. Final Doom says:

    chi (150)-

    I’m taking your boys plus the number tonight.

    They better come in…

  149. NJGator says:

    Some seasonal Sarah Palin humor…

    so Sarah Palin is invited to her first Seder and he doesn’t know what to expect but intends on being an excellent and polite guest.
    The first course is matzoh ball soup.
    She looks at it and is a little queasy. She eats it anyway and finds that she thinks it’s delicious so she asks for a second bowl.
    Thrilled, she asks the hostess, “Do you Jews eat the whole matzoh or just the balls?”

  150. Barbara says:

    124.
    Final Doom

    “And the same fat pig retirees who gobble down statins and hard-on pills are the ones who can’t watch five minutes of Wall-E, because they don’t get it.”

    My Wall-E experience: In the theater, three generations of obesity are sitting in front of us. First half of the movie they are annoyingly vocal, over laughing and “awwwwwwwwe”ing everytime Wall-E moved. Annoying as sh*t but they were having a blast. 2nd half of the movie kicks in….large people who can’t move anymore….their children are no better off….gluttony destroying humanity…..
    They got real quiet real fast and about 3/4 into it, got up and left.
    Truth hurts.

  151. Rusty says:

    144. What is happening has happened time and again and usually with the same result. Schools kill a program or two and axe the young honey’s who make up the profession. They got the hell out of education and make a baby or two, while the same veterans continue to show. Same as it ever was.

  152. Final Doom says:

    Any fun links today, Rusty?

    Preferably something that won’t ping the FBI when I open it?

  153. Rusty says:

    153. Chuckle. Men find her attractive I have been told.

  154. Rusty says:

    Heh heh heh. Doom. You know it.

    http://www.ogrishforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6

    It’s time you saw the truth.

  155. chicagofinance says:

    Rusty says:
    March 25, 2010 at 2:51 pm
    153. Chuckle. Men find her attractive I have been told.

    Rust: no way; she has a skanky box….

  156. chicagofinance says:

    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 2:50 pm
    chi (150)- I’m taking your boys plus the number tonight. They better come in…

    doom: it can be done; but I wouldn’t be betting on it….

    As they may say…”it’s alright, it’s okay; you will work for us one day….”

  157. Final Doom says:

    chi (159)-

    I portray a psychopath on this blog.

    I think Rusty is the real thing.

    Tread lightly.

  158. Final Doom says:

    chi (160)-

    Nothing tops “harass them, harass them; make them relinquish the ball”.

  159. Born to Run Bob says:

    “As they may say…”it’s alright, it’s okay; you will work for us one day….”

    Chi,

    Only if they are a correctional officer.

  160. Yikes says:


    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    WTF is “Cake Boss”? Please tell me it’s not about the gay/butt pirate thing.

    whatever you do, don’t google “cake farts”

  161. Final Doom says:

    Barb (154)-

    Since eugenics is such a distasteful subject these days, here are other ideas I’ve had for this class of useless meat that occupies space:

    1. Penal colony. Electric fence around New Mexico. Proceed to fill NM with life felons and lardass retirees (optional: also test for double-digit IQs). Thunderdome rules apply.

    2. Biggest Loser. Mandatory exercise-to-failure. The weight comes off, or the subject expires. Downside? Can’t fix stupid.

  162. Final Doom says:

    yikes (164)-

    Telling me that is like putting Sarah Palin- covered only in luncheon meat- directly in front of me.

    BTW- the bottomless girl on the chocolate cake is really funny.

  163. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Here is how you make lemonade out of lemons.

    Obama decides to sic the sheriff on all those big, bad, profit-makers? Turn it to your advantages, says one law firm:

    “In anticipation of increased antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, businesses should consider taking the following action:

    . . . Complaining to the FTC or DOJ about proposed transactions of competitors or suppliers, which can be more cost effective than civil litigation . . .”

  164. Shore Guy says:

    “”it’s alright, it’s okay; you will work for us one day….”

    Above a door leading from the visitor’s locker room at Northwestern’s football stadium was a sign that said something similar.

  165. Final Doom says:

    Very lawyerly, plume.

  166. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [168] shore

    I don’t know, but I suspect the NW quarterback probably wishes that sign wasn’t there.

    Nothing like an elitist taunt before the game to motivate linebackers to bring the lumber.

  167. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [168] shore

    One summer, I had two summer associates in my office to work with me on two different matters. Both were Amherst College grads, but hadn’t met.

    After introductions, something occurred to me, and I said aloud “This is a UMass grad’s dream. I have two Amherst grads working for me.”

    BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    (actually did not laugh maniacally, but was thinking it).

  168. Barbara says:

    Doom,
    I thought we already had a penal colony, called Maine.

  169. John says:

    Brooklyn or Great Neck? BTW bought 50K of Ambac back muni bonds this morning at above 5% yield. The masses are nancy boys.

    chicagofinance says:
    March 25, 2010 at 2:47 pm
    John: my beer is served at Luger’s dickweed!

    Final Doom says:
    March 25, 2010 at 1:44 pm
    Hey John- don’t look now, but Ambac is sliding toward BK

  170. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    A former Fed insider says this??? This can’t be good.

    “The results of today’s [yesterday’s 7 year] Treasury auction were a shot across the bow of the government.

    And, according to David Zervos, head of fixed income strategy at Jeffries, may be an indication of just how skittish some investors are feeling about the fiscal soundness of the United States, in light of big government spending for health care and other costly programs.

    “It’s the health-care realization trade,” Zervos told CNBC, post-auction, from the firm’s trading floor. “We’re coming to grips with the fact that we have a Congress that’s ready to go, and spend.”

    Zervos, who worked at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC last year as a visiting advisor, also characterized the government’s recent initiatives as a “fiscal train wreck” that shows a lack of restraint. He predicted the health-care bill will yield trillions of dollars in debt (marketable).”

  171. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [172] barbara,

    Actually, I was thinking Rhode Island.

  172. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Rhode Island is New England’s version of Australia.

    It was founded by Roger Williams, who was driven out of Mass., and it’s where Mass. sent its riff-raff ever since.

  173. Final Doom says:

    plume (174)-

    The ship of state is turning directly into the storm.

    It’s about to go from ugly to oblivion.

  174. Final Doom says:

    Rhode Island is the only place in the US where being corrupt is considered a virtue.

  175. Anon E. Moose says:

    First we had flips… and now the flops.

    One of the nice things about spring house shopping is that I can wear my appropriate footwear that were hidden away for the winter.

    Well, it seems that appraisers have co-opted the term “flop” to describe used house sales flacks colluding with buyers to hide the value of the property from the mortgage holder in what are purported to be distress sales.

    http://www.inman.com/news/2010/03/9/short-sale-risk-property-flopping?page=0%2C1

    Shocking, Clot, I know – didn’t you tell me that this sort of thing only ended in pain? Seems some of your less ethical colleagues are masochists.

  176. meter says:

    @142:

    “I don’t know if I could’ve pulled the trigger on Ambac even at .48 and 9.75%.”

    There’s not a clothespin large enough.

  177. Final Doom says:

    moose (179)-

    I have been approached by two different buyer entities to engage in property flopping.

    One represented himself as a CFA (I don’t think he was). The other was a lawyer.

    I have no doubt that as of April 5, the property floppers will be off and running. The new guidelines are an open invitation to fraud.

  178. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [117]

    Was on a conf. call today with the HR rep for the US business of a major foreign co. They are making some changes to their benefits, and while the changes are actually pretty good for the employees, we felt that some would perceive that they will lose benefits, so we expect they will go ballistic.

    So a lot of the call was devoted to seeing how to word the communications. In the end, we decided that we could not convince people that they weren’t really losing anything, and dropped it.

    Wait till folks start really losing benefits. If the GOP is smart, they will get the spin cycle ready.

  179. Anon E. Moose says:

    Nom [176];

    You know the difference between Auzies and Kiwis (NZ-ers)? Kiwis are the descendants of prisoners who could swim.

  180. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [178] doom

    What about Florida?

  181. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    and as for corruption as a virtue, well, how can Rhode Island beat our very own Garden State?

    RI corruption? Bush league. NJ is professional grade.

  182. Final Doom says:

    The smart property floppers will get into the listing and begin any necessary demolition work…then characterize the demolition as “property damage” to dupe the bank into a lower valuation.

    If I tell you how I know that, I’ll have to kill you.

  183. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [177] doom

    True. We can’t avoid it. So we just learn to enjoy the ride.

    Invest accordingly.

  184. Final Doom says:

    Bank demanding a higher number from your short sale?

    Funny how the heat “accidentally” conks out and pipes start bursting…or the AC cuts out and that carpet in the finished basement becomes a mold factory.

    Banks readily agree on the valuations of houses with massive water damage and black mold.

  185. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Hey what happened? The market sold off at the end of the day?

  186. Mr Hyde says:

    HEHE

    Too may redstripes????

  187. Final Doom says:

    USTs need a pump. Time to shank equities.

  188. Final Doom says:

    Yield must be paid.

  189. freedy says:

    johnny maestro dead at 70

  190. Shore Guy says:

    “Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden warned that more Americans would be killed if the self- proclaimed mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks is executed, according to an audio tape aired by al-Jazeera.”

    Someone enlighten me, how does this differ from their general treatment of Americans?

  191. Shore Guy says:

    Back to the initial topic of today. The loss Bruce took on the property is of no consequence, if only because the total loss likely is less than the cost of renting places in the same neighborhood during the times his family wanted to be in the area. It also allowed his family to have greater privacy and their own stuff surrounding them. All in all, it was a small price to pay for the convenience, at least in his pay grade it was.

  192. schabadoo says:

    Also, when the right start throwing Jeferson under the bus its a bit of a “nuke the fridge” moment. Debate and normal discussion disappered from here a while back and that’s the part I really miss.

    Yeah Fab, it’s been that way for a while now. Things change: this site used to be a counter to the endless trumpeting of housing appreciation and HELOCs. Now it’s closer to Free Republic’s real estate ping list:

    Can you bring that other commie with you on your way out?.

    Part John Birch, part wannabe John Galts…very tedious.

  193. chicagofinance says:

    The latest installment of idiocy from my empty headed neighbor who lacks any shred of circumspection…

    Dare I send this out to a group based in a predominantly Republican town? Yep!
    Anything I can do to get more funding for our schools.

    http://www.njkidsandfamilies.org/petition/

  194. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [196] comrade schab

    Hey, you’re back (or were you posting as plg?).

    Freep has a real estate thread? Never spent any time there, but sounds like you have. Was it as painful for you as watching MSNBC is for me?

    BTW, want to get in on the tontine betwixt me and plg? Should be fun.

  195. Qwerty says:

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cuban-leader-applauds-US-apf-124808403.html?x=0&amp;.v=1

    Associated Press
    March 25, 2010

    Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill

    HAVANA (AP) — It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.

    Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform “a miracle” and a major victory for Obama’s presidency, but couldn’t help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.

  196. John says:

    freedy says:
    March 25, 2010 at 4:11 pm
    johnny maestro dead at 70

    And the Brooklyn Bridge?

  197. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [153] gator

    classic!

  198. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [199] qwerty

    “Castro called Obama a “fanatic believer in capitalist imperialism”

    Well, we always said Castro was out of touch with reality.

    We haven’t been a capitalist empire in years.

  199. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    and on a final note, I thought I had coined the term “cold civil war” to define the current zeitgeist.

    As usual, I am behind the curve.

    http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjM5MDZmNDdkMjFkYTkzMGIwOGRlY2EzZTM4ZTFjMzI=

    In fact, I found a piece on Huffpost from someone well to the left of schab, fabius, and plg, who felt that we were in a cold civil war back in 2007.

  200. njescapee says:

    hey nom, be nice to mr castro. he’s my neighbor.

  201. yo'me says:

    How to Gauge Your Middle-Class Status

    Despite the so-called recovery, many families continue to struggle, with income and other living standards slipping below thresholds that typically represent middle-class quality of life. We’ve assembled a variety of metrics to help determine whether you’re getting ahead, holding steady, or slipping further than most.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109155/how-to-gauge-your-middle-class-status?mod=bb-budgeting

  202. Final Doom says:

    schabadoo = the idiot left’s answer to jamil

  203. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    165.

    “1. Penal colony. Electric fence around New Mexico. Proceed to fill NM with life felons and lardass retirees (optional: also test for double-digit IQs). Thunderdome rules apply.”

    And for 100 bucks a month the private sector folks outside the fence can lob a mortar round for effect.

  204. I need some advice for my blog….I like your layout. Can you help me? 6 2 4

  205. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    Woodbridge school aid cut may prompt 4 percent tax hike, 280 layoffs

    WOODBRIDGE — Woodbridge schools, facing a 33 percent cut in state aid, will layoff some 280 employees, raise taxes by 4 percent and spend most of its surplus under a doomsday budget being discussed by the township’s Board of Education tonight.

    Thats 280 less tit suckers.

    Christies is personally placing his meat eating hand between the tit and the useless eaters starving mouth.

    Muhahahha! Go Christie! Thats more breast milk for you and me.

  206. Final Doom says:

    al (209)-

    What a happy-go-lucky jokester you are.

  207. Final Doom says:

    I say bulldoze the schools and sell ground leases to fast food chains.

  208. yo'me says:

    Edison schools face layoffs, tax hikes, cuts in programs
    By Brent Johnson/For The Star-Ledger
    March 22, 2010, 6:34PM
    EDISON — Stung by deep cuts in state aid, school officials are considering cutting 153 jobs, raising taxes and eliminating middle-school sports, full-day kindergarten, band trips and other offerings.

    The grim outlook comes after Gov. Chris Christie last week announced significant cuts in aid to local school districts. Edison — Middlesex County’s largest district, with 14,4000 students in 17 schools — stands to lose $9.7 million, or 55 percent of its aid.

    “It’s pretty bad,” John DiMuzio, the district’s acting superintendent, said today. “I’m feeling some of these cuts we’re making will be very detrimental to the education of our students.”

    The average taxpayer in Edison paid $4,203 in school taxes last year. Under the new budget, taxes would rise about 5 percent, or about $204.

    The layoffs would include 106 teachers, eight guidance counselors, six security guards and a nurse — all at schools that have not been identified. Kindergarten will become half-day under the budget, with morning and afternoon sessions.

    The tab also eliminates one assistant coach from each high school sport, crisis counselors and all field trips funded by the school board. The Parent Teacher Association can still fund field trips. Marching bands from J.P. Stevens and Edison high schools won’t travel to away football games anymore.

    In addition, paraprofessionals will become part-time teacher aids without benefits. And fifth-graders will no longer participate in a popular one-night trip to Camp Bernie in Warren.

    Some of those jobs could be saved if the district decided for an even larger tax hike. Edison could raise taxes for the average homeowner by $313 to cover the $9.7 million reduction, said Daniel Michaud, Edison’s school business administrator.

    “We could put that back in and have taxpayers foot the bill,” Michaud said. “A good chunk of that would be jobs.”

    The Edison school board is slated to discuss that option at its meeting Tuesday night.

  209. yo'me says:

    What happened to the cap?

  210. schabadoo says:

    Clot:schabadoo = the idiot left’s answer to jamil

    Jamil = 20 ACORN/commie a day, while calling Shore a flaming liberal.

    I barely post here and certainly don’t spam the site with partisan links. I’d guess my last posts here related to a fallen tree, flooding, and getting a whole house water filter.

    Your judgment, well…

    Nom: Hey, you’re back (or were you posting as plg?).

    Nice to see you too. I’ve been around, mostly lurking. The signal to noise certainly isn’t what it was.

  211. I found this blog on faves.com social bookmarking site. I liked it and gave you a fave! By the way I also loved your blog theme! Did you develop it yourself or is it downloadalbe from somehwere?

  212. schabadoo says:

    Freep has a real estate thread? Never spent any time there, but sounds like you have. Was it as painful for you as watching MSNBC is for me?

    You should try it, you never know. I don’t know if it’s sophisticated enough for Nompound or expat talk though…it’s pretty lowest common denominator ‘let’s vote with a bullet before the FEMA camps’ kind of talk. Politically they’re right up your alley.

  213. stan says:

    I actually developed the soundtrack to this blog. Its a great diddy isn’t it?
    I used the sanford and son themesong, but developed the lyrics myself.

    Thanks for noticing.

  214. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [216] schab

    Right up my alley? Somehow, I don’t think that they would like ALL of my ideas.

    In fact, last time I was in Texas, I kinda stood out. But they liked the fact that we (me and my then-girlfriend) were willing to squeeze off a few rounds and knew how to ride ATVs. Guess I got a bit of redneck in me after all.

    True conversation upon arrival in Texas:

    [Host is showing me his latest toy, an ATV]

    [host] “Nom, let me show you how to work this thing. . . .”

    [me] [taking off and making the ATV do a few tricks, before power-sliding it in front of him, spraying him with grass]

    [host] “You rode one of these before”

    [me] “yeah, they have these in Massachusetts too.”

    [later that week, with his wife on the back, he crashed it. Wife made him sell it]

    That was a fun 4th of July weekend.

  215. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [214] schabadoo

    “The signal to noise certainly isn’t what it was.”

    Well, now that you’re back, we can be polysyllabic again. Quick, say something erudite.

  216. schabadoo says:

    Well, now that you’re back, we can be polysyllabic again. Quick, say something erudite.

    Oh how you flatter.

  217. Jamal Van Jones says:

    Quick, say something erudite.

    Yo momma so fat when she walks around Texas in high heels, she strikes oil!

  218. Outofstater says:

    #212 Any hint from any of NJ’s school districts that instead of cutting teachers and field trips, they’ll cut some (okay, a lot) of the administrators? Can that be put to a vote of the taxpayers? You can have whatever kind of school district you want; all you have to do it pay for it.

  219. njescapee says:

    NJ Transit fare hike hearing draws angry response from commuters

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/nj_transit_public_hearing_fare.html

  220. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    222.

    I agree with the statement administrators should be cut before teachers.

    The war being fought right now is to break the back of the NJEA.

    There will be collateral damage ie teachers and custodians. Hopefully the teachers will find out that the union is not in their best interest and stop funding them and start working against them.

    If I had my way I would structurally change the way public education is funded. Steve Lonegan would fix NJ’s problems in 4 years. In the mean time we have to make do with the Fat Man.

  221. Outofstater says:

    #224 The NJEA has been a bunch of thugs for as long as anyone can remember. The teachers in my town called in sick one day to protest the lack of action on a contract and I can still remember being herded into the cafeteria and forced to sit there til a “full day” (11 am maybe?) had been achieved. In retrospect, I have to applaud the few teachers who did show up for work that day but that episode pretty much turned me against unions for life.

  222. Juice Box says:

    The unions are but a distraction.

  223. Outofstater says:

    What would be required for New Jersey to become a right to work state? Just wondering.

  224. cobbler says:

    The problem with trying to break the back of NJEA in this manner is that those laid off will not vote in union elections, and those staying are happy – both with their raises and the seniority rules. The more teachers are let go, the higher the average pay of those remaining (and lower the average IQ).

  225. Ben says:

    “There will be collateral damage ie teachers and custodians. Hopefully the teachers will find out that the union is not in their best interest and stop funding them and start working against them.”

    They don’t have a choice. The union garnishes all the dues from them anyway. By not joining, you save $100. If you do join, they give you a giant list of businesses and an online retailer that sells you all kinds of consumer goods as if they fell off the truck.

  226. njescapee says:

    Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again (Update1)

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVYxPZ56vjys

  227. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    229.

    Its up to them to decide their fate. The pension they are counting on wont be there. Its a fool that trusts their government to secure their future.

    You can only game the system for so long. Eventually the ship listing to port capsizes and takes everyone down with them.

    There is a limited amount of time for people to get their sh#t in order if they are to survive the upcoming upheaval.

    Option 1: Crayola Crayons, Construction Paper, and plastiic unicorns

    Option 2: Reality, it aint always pleasant.

  228. grim says:

    I’m not sure if I’m pro or against healthcare reform.

    But I’m thankful that the ER doc decided to run a CAT scan on my dad this afternoon, despite a clear MRI 3 weeks back. Transferred to Neuro at UMDNJ and awaiting surgery in the morning.

  229. njescapee says:

    grim, here’s wishing your dad a full and swift recovery

  230. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:

    Grim,

    Hope your Dad does well.

    The healthcare reform bill is about control. It is not compatible with a free society.

    If you value individual life you will find yourself against the bill. If you believe inidividual lives are expendable to the benefit of the state than you are for it.

    Its that simple.

    History will repeat itself. 3% of 310 million will resist. Thats 9 million and it makes for an ugly scenario moving forward.

  231. NJCoast says:

    Grim-
    Hoping for smooth sailing for your dad tomorrow.

  232. safeashouses says:

    #232 grim,

    I hope your dad recovers fast.

  233. Shore Guy says:

    Grim,

    Good luck to your dad tomorrow in surgery and to you in the waiting room. The waiting can be draining.

  234. d2b says:

    Yikes- auction question
    Our family owned quite a few because we had an uncle that knew what he was doing. Goes back to when I was a kid in the early 80s when this guy would buy six and eight cyl. cars from the 70s. He had a body shop so he knew what to look for and gave them a once-over before selling them to my dad.
    I went with a guy that was all talk and bought a lemon the one time that I tried. Neither of us knew what we were doing and I learned a few lessons that day.

    After that we started to buy used from Enterprise Car Rental. I bought 3 cars from them over the years, all very good.

    For the last ten years we have only bought new. I justified by decision because my car is 7 years old and my wife’s was 8 years old when we traded it in in October. I want to keep it for two more years. that being said, I think I bought my last new car. Since the whole world leases I’ll try to pick up a 3 year old used car when the time comes.

  235. cobbler says:

    Grim,
    With wishes of good luck and uneventful recovery to your dad.

  236. afe says:

    Grim,

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