2009

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post here. Some good, some bad, but we've made it through. Here we are, December 31, 2009...what a long, strange trip it's been (Thank You Jerry Garcia & The Grateful Dead). We're not only closing out a year, but we're putting the finishing touches on a decade - the 2000's or whatever we decide to call them.

Ten years ago, I was just about to start my 1st term as Mayor of Alpha, New Jersey and as I sit here typing this, I'm reflecting on how much this past decade has impacted my life - personally and professionally. I'm sure that if I listed everything that I've experienced, it would sound something like Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire', but not as good.

2010 and this next decade will definitely bring us another set of challenges and adventures, so I wish you all the strength, patience and determination to get through and make the most of it.

Have a SAFE, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS and JOYOUS New Year!

All the Best,

Harry

Of course he will!

...and so will every other Member of Congress opposing the stimulus plan.  If they vote against it, their district or state shouldn't get a dime of the stimulus funding and then let them really answer to their constituents.  

Unfortunately, that's exactly what will happen here in the 5th District of New Jersey.  Congressman Garrett will vote 'NO' (Does he ever vote 'YES'?), but of course he will accept the money like he just won the grand prize in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.  I'm thankful that New Jersey has two US Senators that are willing to stand up and support this stimulus plan for all of New Jersey - THANK YOU Senators Lautenberg and Menendez!

After Opposing Stimulus, Lindsey Graham Will Take The Money

by Jason Linkins
The Huffington Post

Thursday, February 12, 2009, 03:05 PM

Oh, Lindsey Graham, he is one of our favorites! The South Carolina Senator has, for weeks, cast himself as one of the stimulus package's most fervent opponents. This time last week, he and John McCain were in the well of the Senate, performing a grand duetto buffo di due gatti against the stimulus, and when the media metanarrative required that someone take a ream of paper and wave it around in the air with dramatic flair, Graham was only too happy to accommodate.

Ah, but now the bill's passage draws nigh, and lest you think he was going to school us all by allowing South Carolina to become a laboratory for whatever the hell economic plan he thought would work better, guess again. Graham will take the dollars, thank you, even if he's not convinced it will be of any good! Or so he told Wolf Blitzer:

BLITZER: South Carolina will get money out of this bill.

GRAHAM: Yes.

BLITZER: Should South Carolina take the money?

GRAHAM: I think that, yes, from my point of view, I -- you don't want to be crazy here. I mean, if there's going to be money on the table that will help my state, but I've got a job to do up here, and that is to try to help people and not damn the next generation. We had a $415 billion package to help people who have lost their jobs, that cut taxes, that create new jobs. We've got a spending bill, not a job creation bill. And we're being all things to all people.

Shucks, Lindsey, if you don't think it'll do South Carolina any good, by all means, don't take it!

A New Era Begins!

The 44th President of the United States of America

Barack H. Obama

Excerpts from President Obama's Inaugural Address:

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

"For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate."

"America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

January 20, 2009

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the best in 2009 along with peace, health and happiness!