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JerseySmarts.com

Remember to Get Out and Vote Today!

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Folks, I rarely talk about who I vote for on this blog. Sure, sometimes it comes out in other posts or as a part of a different discussion, but I rarely talk about who I support and why I support that person. I don’t intend to get too far into that type of content in this blog entry, but I do want to say that when I sent in my vote-by-mail ballot, I voted for the Republican challenger, Chris Christie.

There was no way that I could bring myself to vote for Jon Corzine. I don’t care that he’s a Democrat and, in fact, I’ve voted for much better Democrats than Corzine in the past. What bothers me about Corzine is that he is completely out of touch with what it means to live a real life in New Jersey. Frankly, Christie isn’t so much more grounded than Corzine, but he’s closer to understanding what you and I and our families go through on a daily basis than Corzine could ever hope to be.

I really wanted to vote for Chris Daggett this year – I really, really wanted to vote for him. In fact, on at least two different occasions since I sent in my vote-by-mail ballot, I’ve wondered if I voted for the right “Chris” in this election. In the end, though, it was a suggestion by Frank Esposito – Daggett’s running mate for Lieutenant Governor – that assured me that a vote for Christie was the right vote in this election. As I talked about in a previous entry, Esposito made it very clear that he and Daggett would support allowing illegal immigrants who had been in New Jersey since they were very young to receive in-state tuition at state colleges. Look, student loans and the completely unaffordable nature of attending college for many student is my major issue. When I hear that people who are not citizens might be getting in-state tuition…I can’t support that.

And it frustrates me that a guy like Daggett supported that position, but that’s politics.

So my vote has been cast for Chris Christie and I hope that you vote for him, too. In the event that you support someone else, that’s cool. I believe that it is more important that you go out and vote today than you vote for the person that I support. However, in case you were wondering – JerseySmarts.com endorses Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno in this year’s election.

Jersey Shore Restaurant Week Coming Up

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One of my roommates sent me the link below. It’s for the Jersey Shore Restaurant Week, which is coming up November 6th through November 15th. As someone who has lived on the northern Jersey Shore for the better part of the last ten years, I encourage you to check out some of these fine dining establishments. I’ve been to many of these places and you’ve probably read reviews of their food somewhere on this blog, so I can vouch for some of these restaurants. And if you’re looking for a reference on one or more of these places, then just ask!

http://www.jerseyshorerestaurantweek.com/

Enjoy!

A Response from Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen

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Some weeks ago I sent an e-mail to my Congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen, telling him that I really was concerned about the plans that were going around Congress at the time regarding health care reform. To be honest, I sent the e-mail so long ago that I don’t believe the same proposals are currently floating around Congress. Be that as it may, I did receive a nice e-mail from the Congressman’s office which I’ve posted below for you. Granted, I understand that this is probably a form e-mail, but hey – there is still some decent information in the message if you are living in the Congressman’s district.

Dear Joe:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to a government takeover of our health care system. I appreciate having the benefit of your views as I share them.

Clearly, any time a child or a parent goes without the care they need, it represents a very serious crisis for that family. And, I understand that health care costs are escalating every year. But as health care represents 17 percent of our total economy, we have to get any “reform” right. Unfortunately, the President and the Congressional Majority are not “getting it right.”

They seem intent on a government takeover of health care that would have devastating consequences for families and small businesses. Such a takeover will raise taxes, weaken Medicare, ration care, and let unelected government bureaucrats in Washington make medical decisions that may end up denying access to medical and life-saving treatments.

Despite what the President says, more than 180 million Americans are at risk of losing their current private health care under a government-run plan. In addition, proposed Medicare cuts could threaten the very existence of our fine local hospitals. Moreover, the House Majority’s current health care plan is financially unsound and will add to, and not lessen, our staggering national debt.

Instead, Congress should work to empower doctors and patients by making health care more affordable, more accessible, and more accountable. The American people deserve the freedom to choose the health care that is best for their families!

I support health care reform, but we must preserve what works: protecting the doctor-patient relationship in addition to allowing people to choose the personal care that suits their individual needs.

At this point, there is no firm date for the House health reform debate to begin but you should anticipate that it will be a rushed process. Speaker Pelosi says she will unveil a new health care bill, “when it’s ready.” Of course, this is another way of saying that H.R. 3200 will be rewritten behind closed doors and we will have little time, if any, to review its contents!

Fundamentally, I support reform efforts to make quality health care affordable and accessible for every American, but any proposed reform needs to proceed slowly and carefully and must be bipartisan.

Once again, thank you for contacting me.

Sincerely,
Rodney Frelinghuysen
Member of Congress

For those of you looking for more information about the Congressman, you can head over to his website and learn more about him.

More Thoughts on the Jim Nantz Presentation

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Now that I’ve had some more time to reflect on the MACE Award presentation that I attended last night at Monmouth University’s new MAC Center, I thought that I would offer some additional comments.

  • Parking. Although the attendance for last night’s event was only around 200 people, I thought that the parking situation wasn’t a problem at all. In fact, in the pass card protected lot where I park there were an abundance of open spaces. I would imagine that if the pass card protected lots are opened up for major sporting events, concerts, and the like that there will be very minor parking issues.
  • Acoustics. The acoustics in the MAC Center are wonderful. Through the combination of the brand new public announcement system and the design of the building itself, every word was heard clearly and crisply during the entire discussion. I’m sure that basketball games and other sporting events will only benefit from this setup.
  • Guest Space/Flow. I’m not sure if “guest space/flow” is the right title for this observation, but I did want to comment on how easily it was to get to the MACE Award presentation once I was at the MAC Center. First, there is a large staircase that leads into the Leon Hess Hall of Champions, which is the area outside of the actual arena itself (I think that’s what they call it). Then, the track area inside of the arena is wide and spacious and allows for large groups of people to move around the lower bowl of the facility with no problem at all. The same goes for the area outside of the large staircase.

It’s clear that I like the MAC Center given the recent posts on my blog and my constant references to the building. Next Friday afternoon I head over to the university for seat selection for my season tickets – which should be pretty exciting.

Jim Nantz of CBS Sports Receives the MACE Award

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Earlier tonight, I had the joy of attending Monmouth University’s Department of Communications annual MACE Award presentation. The MACE Award – which stands for Monmouth University Award for Communication Excellence – has been awarded each of the past four years and this year’s recipient was Jim Nantz from CBS Sports. Admittedly, I don’t know much about Mr. Nantz because I don’t really follow sportscasters and their careers. All I could really tell you about sportscasters is that John Madden was hilarious and I’m not a big fan of Joe Buck, especially when he is paired with Troy Aikman.

Prior to tonight’s event being publicized a few weeks ago, I had no concept of Mr. Nantz and his accomplishments nor had I ever attended a MACE Award presentation. Going into tonight, I really had no idea what to expect. By the end of the night, though, I was very pleased that I decided to attend.

Mr. Nantz has a wonderful speaking voice which is in the style of your classic broadcaster. His voice is not overmodulated to any great degree and he knows how to use the tones in his voice to accentuate a story. Sitting and listening to him talk in a conversation-style format for about an hour wasn’t aurally aggravating in the least. In fact, the tone and scope of his stories were both appropriate and relevant to today’s college students (many of the audience members were current undergraduates at the university). I thought that the organizers of this event chose the perfect format for Mr. Nantz to discuss his career with young minds, his professional colleagues, and other members of the university and local business community.

The entire event was very well produced and it came off very professionally. Two videos were shown on the beautiful scoreboard in the new MAC Center (the scoreboard was lowered so as to avoid strained necks). The first video highlighted the Department of Communication at Monmouth University and I have to admit that I learned a great deal about the program from that brief informational piece. While I thought that there were one or two stiff performances on the video, I was very impressed with the diversity of viewpoints presented – from current undergraduates to recent alumni to current professors and more. It was a very well produced piece.

The second video was shown towards the end of the night and it was a highlight reel of Mr. Nantz’s career. I enjoyed watching that video because there were some great sports moments included (which I can now associate with Mr. Nantz). I think the video may have been produced by CBS Sports, but it was a great, comprehensive review of Mr. Nantz’s accomplishments in sports broadcasting.

At the very end of the night Mr. Nantz announced that he was making a donation to the Department of Communication to name a classroom in honor of one of his great friends. That friend is Eli Spielman – the gentleman who co-authored Mr. Nantz’s book, Always by My Side: The Healing Gift of a Father’s Love. I’m not sure if this was a planned move by the Department of Communication to generate more donations for the program, but it was definitely a classy move for Mr. Nantz. The announcement didn’t seem rehearsed at all so it could have very well been an act of benevolence on behalf of Mr. Nantz. In any event, it was a great way to end a very classy evening.

Monmouth University has, again, impressed me and Mr. Nantz was a great honoree with a great spirit. All in all the 2009 MACE Award presentation was a good, well-run event.

Update: Click here to download a PDF copy of the Asbury Park Press article regarding Jim Nantz winning the MACE Award.