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The Fort Dix Terror Plot

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You can’t even trust the pizza man any more! In a huge success for this nation’s anti-terror task forces, a plot to shoot-up Fort Dix was thwarted yesterday when six Islamic extremists were apprehended before their terrorist plans could become reality. Thank God for the diligence of the hero in this case, a simple store clerk who was vigilant following the September 11th attacks.

This guy should be given the highest honor that this country can give at every level it can be given. As the linked article says, this group of 6 was preparing a platoon to take on an army. Granted, the United States military would have dispatched their platoon pretty quickly, that does not mean that they couldn’t have killed a large number of our men and women who serve – even if they’re serving on stateside.

There are a few really disheartening things that come out of this episode, though. Not the least of these is the fact that now there are quasi-home grown terrorist groups that are springing up that want to be Al-Qaida, yet are not. So not only are the “professional” terrorists plotting against our country, now we have wannabe terrorists doing the same. Great.

And I’m confident that some multiculturalist fanatic out there already trying to find ways to NOT blame this on six men of Middle Eastern/near-Middle Eastern descent. When this country’s politicians get balls enough to endorse extra security screening for young, male, Middle-Easterners we will finally have a politician who cuts through the bullshit and works in favor of this country’s best interests.

The Day The Internet Died

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Each morning when I wake up I take a quick scan of my various e-mail accounts and then give the news a quick before I get in my truck and go to work. I give them a quick scan because I know that I’ll have some time at the office to do a full review of both the e-mail and the news. Sounds logical, right?

Well, I get into the office this morning and there’s no internet! At the office we have Verizon DSL and our resident tech woman said that the only thing the call center told her was that all subscribers in the area were down. Now everyone knows how completely horrendous Verizon is when it comes to customer service and how they live and breathe by the mantra of “the customer is always wrong,” but when you have the internet shut down right at the prime time of the day when office workers throughout the region are looking to check their latest e-mails, you need to give more of an explanation.

But what does it matter? Verizon knows they can have shitty, arrogant customer service people because if we all switch to Cablevision, their call center people are even worse. In our free market economy, it absolutely sucks that consumers are so limited with their choices in terms of high-speed, reliable internet access.

Hunting for a New Home Sucks in Monmouth County

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Those of you that know me are aware that my lease on my current apartment expires at the end of May and that I am NOT looking to renew it. For the first time in three years I’m going to have to get up and move to a new location. The problem is that this “new location” has been extremely difficult to find!

I should state that I am NOT looking to rent another apartment or get involved in a long-term lease again. There are a bunch of places for rent in the Monmouth County area, especially where I’m looking, but many of these places have a history of crime that I’m just not interested in getting involved with. I mean who wants to take all of their worldly possessions and put them in an apartment complex where there is a good chance that some crack whore is going to steal all of it? Certainly not me…

Over the last few weeks I’ve been searching for a new home, but the problem with the Monmouth County real estate market is that while the rest of the real estate market has crashed, the home owners in this area just refuse to believe it. And it’s blatantly apparent from just taking a drive around the Long Branch/Ocean Township/West Long Branch area. Everywhere you go – on every single street – you see “for sale” signs posted on front lawns. Many of these signs have been there for months and a few have been there for at least a year. Now that I’m searching for a home, I know why they’ve been there for so long – the owners are insane!

Part of me feels bad for these investor-owners because they probably bought these home (as investment properties) during the hey day of the real estate boom a few years back and are now looking to sell for the return that they were promised. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. You cannot sell a home that sold for $325 thousand in 2003 for $1.2 million in 2007 (yes, I did see such a ridiculous price on a house). The real estate market in Monmouth County does NOT support a 400% increase in value – even in the nicer areas of Long Branch and West Long Branch!

The saddest part of all of this is that there is a group of realtors in the Monmouth County area who all refuse to tell these owners the truth – their property is NOT worth what they thought it would be when they bought it. So what is the end result? You have a bunch of property owners living in Brooklyn, New York who think that they own a piece of heaven down in West Long Branch, New Jersey when in reality all they have are vacant properties with “for sale” signs in the front lawn.

And then you have people like me – who are content just to buy a condo or town house. What do I have to work with? A bunch of condos a few towns over from where I’d like to live that are moderately priced, but still out of my price range. Well, I shouldn’t say that…there are a few condos that I could afford where I’m looking. However, these are the condos that aren’t as lavishly appointed as the ones that you’d REALLY want to live in and these are the condos where you can hear your neighbor’s television as you’re watching your own.

Looks like for a short time I’ll be putting my stuff into storage and commuting to work from my parents’ house. That’s right – my 2 hour daily commute will now be a 3 hour daily commute and I’ll be a bundle of joy!

NJ Tax Dollars Getting Plowed Away in “Storm”

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Once again, our idiot lawmakers in New Jersey (both locally and at the state-level) have overreacted to the “storm” that is pummeling the Garden State. Sure, there are some major snow issues going on right now in north and northwest New Jersey, but there is nothing going on besides some rain and some light, small hail in the central part of the state.

But that didn’t stop the politicians from calling out the plow trucks. I get to drive one glorious hour to Trenton every morning and another exhausted hour back home to Deal each afternoon. On my way into the office today I saw no less than 20 plow and salt trucks standing at bay on Route 195.

Now some jerk out there is going to say, “Hey asshole! We need those trucks out there for when it starts to snow like a mother this afternoon and tonight.” And I would agree with that jerk – that we need these trucks out there this afternoon and tonight! There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for 20+ trucks to standing idle (that means engines on) on 195 right now. Nor was there a reason for this at six o’clock this morning, which was undoubtedly the time that they were called to get out there and get ready. Oh, and why were the engines on in the trucks? Well, to keep the guy inside the truck warm – you know, the guy who is getting paid time and a half right now.

So we have gas being guzzled up by these diesel engines, resources (salt) being wasted, and at least 20+ guys that I saw this morning (and who knows how many more in other parts of the state where it’s not snowing) getting paid time and a half from 6am until who knows when. And what is this all for? No, it’s not the usual craze that takes over the average New Jerseyan when they hear about a winter storm coming.

It’s bloated local and state governments that are so afraid of losing funding for next year’s winter that they spend all that they can this winter to at least match next year’s expense. Remember this when your local taxes go up next year. Remember that we had an EXTREMELY mild winter with a one-day ice storm on St. Valentine’s Day and an occasional snow storm. Remember that there was NO reason to spend the amount of money that was spent this year on winter storms.

Oh, and just for an extra kick in the ass, remember that the tax money you’re paying is going to the guy getting time and a half while sitting in the snow plow on Route 195 with his engine on from 6am to 2pm…when it’s raining out.

But hey, keep voting for Democrats in this state, I’m sure things will change eventually, right?

The Law Prevails in NJ! Sopranos to Shoot in Bloomfield

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Unbelievably, it looks like the law will be followed in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

Township Administrator Louise Palagano explained that as long as Sopranos Production Inc. meets the requirements in Bloomfield’s code for filming crews, the township has no authority to deny the permit.

Holy shit!? You mean someone actually sat down and read Bloomfield’s code? And then followed that code!?? Incredible!

For those of you not from New Jersey, we have a major problem with little fiefdoms in this ridiculously liberal state. Everyone feels like no one should be offended no matter how stupid the charge. To that end, everyone also feels like if they don’t get their way, they can manipulate the local town council to overturn common sense law (like meeting requirements) in order to get what they want.

I’m not sure if that happened in this particular case, but chances are when you hear about a problem or an issue in New Jersey – liberal local activists are the root of that problem and the root of their activism is making sure that everyone is not offended.

Sometimes this state is like a South Park episode.

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