The Dagley Dagley Daily

New direction, new blog

2006-07-05T10:07:00.000-04:00

I've moved on in a new direction with a new blog, Healing Movement. Hope to see you there.

Welcome to The Dagley Dagley Daily Archive

2005-03-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

By the time you read this, The Dagley Dagley Daily will be history. After two years of more or less daily posting, I've taken some time off to deal with issues outside cyberspace, and now that I'm back, it's time to make some changes. That starts with a new title: Views from the Waterfront.

The title had to change because my new blog won't be a daily. Sometimes I'll post more than once in a day, and sometimes more than a day will go by without a post. If you subscribe to the Views from the Waterfront RSS feed, you'll get the posts as they happen, whenever they happen.

Views from the Waterfront will feature views in both text and photo form, and even though the address is changing, we'll still be "Covering the world from the waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey."

Thanks for your kind attention, and I hope to see you on the new blog. Click on the photo below to go there:

Apologies again

2005-02-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry I still haven't gotten back to blogging. The replacement part for the computer arrived, but it is defective. The manufacturer (a really big one with 4 letters in its name, two of them the same letter) had me convinced there'd be a repair person showing up at my place today, but now they claim that won't happen until tomorrow. So they may be here within a week, and maybe they can get the defective part fixed. Meanwhile, the sick family member is slowly getting better, we hope.

I'm using a borrowed computer to post this. Thanks again for your patience, and I hope to see you here sometime next week if something else doesn't go wrong, go wrong, go wrong...

Back soon

2005-02-16T19:06:00.000-05:00

With both a family member and my computer under the weather right now, I've had to take some time off from this otherwise daily blog. I'll be back Feb. 22, and I hope to see you then, and every day thereafter. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

The Doctor is IN

2005-02-12T21:27:00.000-05:00

I knew if I backed Dr. Howard Dean long enough, he'd get elected to something. Now let's hope he we can get some more people elected as well.

Please don't drive into the Light Rail

2005-02-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

You wouldn't think they'd need a sign saying something like that, but after two collisions in four days at the same intersection involving the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and SUVs, New Jersey Transit is putting up some new warning signs. In addition to the above suggestion, we offer these other possibilities:

Approaching Objects on Rails May Be Closer Than They Appear

They Call it the Light Rail, But it's Actually Much Heavier Than Your SUV, so Stay Clear!

Does your vehicle have a valid Light Rail ticket? If not, you'd better keep it away from the train

No matter how much you honk, the train can't get out of your way because it's on rails, so watch out

Please Park Your Vehicle BEFORE Attempting to Board the Train

Happy Year of the Rooster, Part 2

2005-02-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Year of the Rooster!

2005-02-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

Until tomorrow evening, when I get the camera back, you'll have to imagine a photo here of the wooden rooster that I'd planned to post here today. Since this is the year of the small wood rooster, I figured I was all prepared, since I happen to have a 21-year-old small wood rooster named Chiki Wiki. That's what I get for thinking I was prepared. After all, it's not the year of the camera.

New York Times mistakes itself for the Starship Enterprise

2005-02-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has gotten around to telling us that just before last November's election, The New York Times killed a story on the mysterious hump on George W. Bush's back, because the story might have influenced the election.

Obviously someone there at the Times is a Star Trek fan, so much so that they believe the United Federation of Planet's noninterference directive (the one that gets violated in every episode of every version of the series) applies to journalists.

Of course, the clearly visible but mysterious hump was reported here at the time, with photos, for all the good it did, as the story ended up lost in space.

Vanished...

2005-02-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

...nearly a year's worth of e-mail archives disappeared in a flash this morning when my e-mail program crashed. So if you've e-mailed me lately and you're waiting for a reply, please write me again, because your message may have been one of those that disappeared. It may be a few days before I get the problem fixed in order to reply, so please be patient. Thanks!

(If you are not a machine, then you know you can e-mail me by clicking on my name anywhere on this page. If you're an e-mail bot, you probably know that, too.)

Springlike

2005-02-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today's weather was even better than yesterday's, so we spent even more time outdoors enjoying the thaw.

Sunshine

2005-02-05T16:42:00.000-05:00

The weather was beautiful here, for a change, so we spend most of the day out and about, instead of wrestling with my malfunctioning computer. Hope you enjoyed your Saturday as well.

Yet another way of looking at the Social Security issue

2005-02-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

Think of the Social Security system as a car. The gas tank on the car is not quite full. So the only way to solve that alleged problem, according to Mr. Bush, is to siphon out all the gas and remove the hubcaps, tires, windshield wipers, radio, and anything else that can be stripped off it. Then the car will have no more problems, because its parts will be privately owned by individuals. Those who get the windshield wipers won't be able to drive them anywhere, but they'll be the proud owners of their very own personal windshield wipers. And the car won't need gas anymore.

Iraq war bankrupt

2005-02-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

By President Bush's definition, the Iraq war has been flat broke from the start, because it's spending far more than it's taking in, or even than the Halliburtons and other war contractors are taking in, even more than the nearly $9 Billion (that's a B, not an M) the Coalition Provisional Authority seems to have lost. By his logic, the only way to save the war would be for each of us to invade Iraq personally, at our own personal expense, in the hopes that whatever we could plunder individually would cover the cost and provide a nice return for our old age, if any.

The other side

2005-02-02T18:19:00.000-05:00

We do cover both sides here at The Dagley Dagley Daily. Here's the ferry arriving in Manhattan this morning:

This just in from Sen. Frank Lautenberg

2005-02-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

From: Sen. Frank Lautenberg

Subject: Responding to your message

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 16:33:20 -0500

To: Janet Dagley Dagley

February 1, 2005

Dear Janet:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about President Bush's proposals to privatize Social Security. Please be assured that I will oppose any attempts to gamble with Social Security money in risky investments.

Social Security has worked extremely well for nearly 70 years to reduce poverty among senior citizens. Without Social Security, half of all seniors would be living in poverty, while today only ten percent are. To risk this safety net on the vagaries of the stock market would be to jeopardize the very essence of the program – providing retirement security in good times and bad. Instead of guaranteed benefits based on an individual's work history and, in part, on need, benefits would vary greatly depending on an individual's investment skills and luck. Economic risks would be borne by individuals rather than shared across society.

While Social Security faces some challenges that should be addressed, the doomsday rhetoric we hear from some quarters is overblown. The current system, without any changes, is projected to be able to cover Social Security benefits for next forty years at the least. I support changes to the program to keep it running for our children and grandchildren, but we must not destroy Social Security under the guise of “saving” it.

Instead of promoting policies which give tax breaks to the wealthy, I support dedicating funds to strengthen and protect Social Security and Medicare; I did so when we enjoyed a surplus, and I still consider it a top priority. I will continue to work toward this goal.

Thank you for your comments.

Thank YOU, Senator.

Got a ferry love story?

2005-01-31T17:48:00.000-05:00

Got this notice today and I'm passing it along, since I don't have a qualifying tale:

If you have a (true) story to tell about your romantic moment(s) on a NY Waterway ferry, and if your story is one of the top five, you could win a Valentine's Day dinner at a very nice restaurant right here on the Hudson waterfront.

I can't find the notice on the NY Waterway web site, so here's an excerpt from the e-mail I received:

Love is in the Air- and on the Water.

NY Waterway Invites you to Share your Romantic Ferry Tale

The Five Sweetest Entries Win a Romantic Waterfront Dining Experience for Two at Arthur's Landing or Spirito Grill

NY Waterway is looking for stories about special romantic memories that took place on the ferry.

If you shared a romantic moment with your special someone onboard a NY Waterway ferry, we would love to hear your story! First date stories, proposal stories, first meetings, reconciliations, and other romantic experiences are all welcome.

On Valentine's Day, five special couples will be awarded a certificate for a romantic dinner for two at either Arthur's Landing or Spirito Grill.

Send us your story in 200 words or less by Monday, February 7,2005. Stories should be submitted via e-mail to Deidre Rienzo at rienzo@nywaterway.com, or via fax at (201)-330-7934.

Even if you don't have a story, NY Waterway may still have a valentine for you.

Ink stains

2005-01-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

As purveyors of democracy to the world, how come we don't get to do the ink-stained finger voter certification like the Iraqis do? We Americans reserve the marking of bodies with ink for causes more important than voting, like making sure we can get back into the bar or amusement park without paying the entry fee again.

Of course, when proof of voting is linked to your food ration in a war-torn land, that ink becomes even more important.

Ice rides the rising tide

2005-01-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

Ferry n'ice

2005-01-28T17:50:00.000-05:00

Ferry, landing

2005-01-27T18:11:00.000-05:00

Snow bank

2005-01-26T16:14:00.000-05:00

I'd hoped there'd be a new generation of ice forms springing up in the wake of our weekend blizzard, but so far, none. Maybe it was too windy, I figured. Today I discovered this bunch, detained under lock and key outside our local bank. Apparently, they'd been rounded up in a sweep, and haven't yet had the chance to talk to a lawyer, or even a bail bondsman:

As you can see, some are trying to escape by climbing over the fence, though most if not all of them are likely to remain on ice for the immediate future.

Uh-oh...

2005-01-25T19:16:00.000-05:00

...more snow is on the way. And this storm won't wait till the weekend, as our recent blizzard did. On the positive side, with only 1-3 inches of snow, it doesn't seem big enough for its own logo and jingle.

How cold was it?*

2005-01-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

It was so cold...that the weather reporter had to do his live shot indoors:

*yet another tribute to the late Johnny Carson.

After the storm

2005-01-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

The snow has stopped falling, but the wind is still blowing strong and colder than zero. Sorry about the moving Manhattan skyline in this animation: your humble photographer was getting blown around as well.

Before the storm

2005-01-22T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Hudson was frozen over as the sun rose this morning:

Eleven days later...

2005-01-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

...the repairs to our bathroom walls are finished.

Blogging for Social Security

2005-01-20T06:08:00.000-05:00

I'm joining the crowd: More than 200 of us bloggers are deploying our keyboards in the fight to protect Social Security. Click below to learn more:

Cousin Buddy Don has also been addressing the subject.

226,000+

2005-01-19T19:36:00.000-05:00

That's the tsunami death toll as of today. Millions who survived them still need help, and will need it for a long time to come. Here's what our new Secretary of State had to say about the tragedy earlier this week:

"The tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the U.S. government, but the heart of the American people. And I think it has paid great dividends for us."

For the second time this year, and the second time this month, thank you, Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The sales presentation

2005-01-18T21:42:00.000-05:00

(Blogger's note: This one is kind of an inside story, yet accessible to anyone who can put 2 and 2 together.)

"...and you'll never even have to leave your apartment."

Yessir, that was exactly what I wanted to hear after walking a mile in below-zero-windchill-weather to the next town over in order to hear a bunch of stuff we already knew. They told us they were going to redo our lobby, which in my opinion is a perfectly good lobby except that the poor concierge has to buy his own heater in order to keep from freezing on the job.

We'd gone to Weehawken seeking numbers, the magic numbers that would tell us whether this deal is doable or not. We got some guy from out of town with a lame PowerPoint presentation. We'd heard there'd be "refreshments" -- we even saw a few -- but we never managed to get any. That would have been dinner, since the sales presentation about our "priority opportunity" took exactly the time when dinner might have occurred.

They said there'd be sales representatives available, and I'm sure there were plenty, because all of us fled the building as soon as the guy stopped talking. The two of us had trudged halfway home when some kind neighbors stopped and asked if we'd like a lift back to the buildling. We thanked them profusely; they delivered us to our door.

Meanwhile, the "sales representatives" have promised us the numbers next month. Stay tuned.

Virus season

2005-01-17T18:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks for your patience. It's virus season in our household, with both computers and humans afflicted. My computer is working a bit better now, though it still has the cyber equivalent of a lingering cough. I'm about to put it to sleep for the night, and try again tomorrow. Goodnight all!

Down for repairs

2005-01-11T16:42:00.000-05:00

Workers are repairing the only bathroom in our home/office this week, which makes it difficult to get anything done. Thanks for your patience; we'll be back by Friday.

If you build it, they will dock

2005-01-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

Looks like we may be getting yet another new ferry service.

Details, details

2005-01-09T23:03:00.000-05:00

Ohio Secretary of State/Bush-Cheney 2004 Campaign Chairman Kenneth Blackwell is in the news again, and this time it's not for having two conflicting jobs. The man who has oversight over the Buckeye State's elections sent out a fundraising letter for his 2006 gubernatorial campaign that included a request for illegal contributions. He said it was an oversight. Details, details -- don't the people who run our elections have more important things to think about?

The more, the ferrier

2005-01-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

Now that the Hudson River ferries have been saved, another company is planning to start shuttling passengers on the East River to LaGuardia airport. That means some of our visitors will miss the pleasure of taking a taxi from the airport and talking to the driver about his home country and how many family members he's supporting and/or putting through college, but other than that, it will be possible to travel by ferry all the way from the airport right to our place.

Nation remains intact despite Congressional debate

2005-01-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

This may come as a surprise to some Republicans, but the United States has survived two hours of debate on voting irregularities in Ohio.

Yes, even though representatives to both houses of Congress spoke aloud about those problems on television, the government has continued to function uninterrupted, the expensive inauguration will go ahead as scheduled, and the war in Iraq is still proceeding according to plan. Nothing changed except that the problems people had voting in Ohio last Nov. 2 are now on the record, the Congressional Record, as is the report prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee: Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio.

Thank you, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, for standing up, speaking out, and introducing legislation to address at least one of those problems.

Thank you, Sen. Barbara Boxer

2005-01-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

The spunky California Democrat has announced she'll sign the complaint from the Congressional Black Caucus and others about the Ohio voting irregularities.

This just in from Rep. John Conyers

2005-01-05T18:18:00.000-05:00

The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and the second-most-senior member of Congress has just posted this update on the election investigation.

Dear readers,

2005-01-05T16:53:00.000-05:00

On November 2, 2004, my neighbors and I stood in line for nearly an hour in order to vote, even though we arrived before the polls even opened. We waited, and waited, and waited, while the election workers scrambled to get the machines working, using their cellphones to call for tech support. Finally they got one of the two machines for our ward rebooted, and only then did we get to vote.

While we stood there in the darkness, we started chatting. "We'll never fix this problem if we only pay attention to it one day every four years," one of my neighbors said.

Our ward, precinct, county, state and region voted overwhelming for John Kerry, voted into a black box with no paper trail, with no way to recount if the election had been close.

This is not about who won. This is about restoring the basic building block of our democracy: the integrity of the vote. I want my vote to count, and it want it to be recountable if necessary. I want everybody else's vote to count, too, even if their vote might cancel out mine. I want to have confidence in my democracy again.

Tomorrow the House of Representatives and the Senate will meet in a joint session to certify what has yet to be verified. A recount of only 3 percent of the vote in Ohio found significantly fewer votes for Bush than had originally been counted, and so far every error discovered was in favor of Bush. There has yet to be a full recount in Ohio. A statistician who studied the discrepancy between the exit polls and the election results concluded that there was only a one in 250 million chance of that being due to "random error."

As they did in 2000, members of the Congressional Black Caucus* will rise to report on the problems with the vote, problems they took the time to look into by going to Ohio and holding hearings, hearings that not a single Republican would attend. Hundreds came forward to testify about the problems they experienced or observed. Unless at least one senator has the backbone and the decency to sign their complaint, they will not even be allowed to speak.

I am urging my two senators to sign, not because it would change the outcome of the election. I want them to sign because we need to do exactly what my neighbor said that November morning. We need to pay attention to this problem now, when it's not election day, when it doesn't change the outcome, rather than waiting until we're standing in line in the cold four years from now to vote once again into a black box.

Those boxes, and the votes that go into them, or get lost in them, or don't even get cast because there aren't enough boxes, mean a lot to us voters. They ought to mean at least as much to the people who get their jobs, or lose their jobs, because of them.

If you sign, Senators, George W. Bush will still be chosen President by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But at least we can look into the problems with the November election and start doing something about them in time for the next national elections.

Want to contact your own senator about this (or any other) issue? Do it here. Several senators have reportedly said they might sign the complaint if they get enough calls from constituents.

*co-founded by Rep. Shirley Chisholm

Energizer bunnies on Mars

2005-01-04T16:58:00.000-05:00

They keep going, and going -- Happy first anniversary to the Mars Rover program. Spirit and Opportunity are still roving the surface of the red planet, even though one of them accidentally ate a rock the other day.

Congresswoman Chisholm: Unbought, unbossed, and unforgettable

2005-01-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

Reporters get to meet lots of famous people, but they never ask for autographs. But there I was, that day in October, 1972, holding out my reporter's skinny notebook hoping for a signature. And so was every other reporter in that packed room.

We were at a press conference being given in a school classroom in Dayton, Ohio, by a presidential candidate who had no chance of winning and who wasn't even on the ballot in our state. It was the most crowded press conference I ever attended.

TV cameramen -- and they were all men in those days -- put down their gear and elbowed their way to the front of the room with the rest of us when the conference ended. Local anchormen -- and they were all men in those days -- joined the fray as well, even if it meant getting their hair mussed.

Always a competitive reporter, I was one of the first to thrust my notebook out, and the obliging candidate accepted it, lifting a pen to sign. Before that pen reached paper, a dozen other notebooks were thrust in between. The candidate signed, and signed, and signed, and finally reached the bottom of the pile: my notebook. Just then, a campaign staffer whispered emphatically that there was absolutely no more time -- they had a plane to catch.

"Just one more minute," the candidate replied, indicating the last notebook left on the table.

"I'm sorry," the staffer told us both. "This happens everywhere she goes. We really have to go now."

For years, I saved that notebook, because although I didn't get a signature, the candidate had made an impression on it. I could have rubbed a pencil across it to make it more visible, but that just didn't seem right. But if you looked closely, you could see it: Congresswoman Chisholm.

I would have voted for her, if I'd gotten the chance, not that it would have made any difference. I don't know if any of the other reporters felt that way, but we all wanted her autograph because Shirley Chisholm was living history: the first black woman elected to Congress, the first woman of any race to run for president.

I never asked for anybody else's autograph.

Neighbor kids finally win a game

2005-01-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

The neighbor kids play football every week, but tonight's victory was their first since last Halloween, and the very first NFL victory for the new kid on the block, Eli Manning. The win was also a birthday present for the rookie quarterback, who turns 24 on Monday. Whatta way to end the season.

Happy Sesquicentennial, Hoboken!

2005-01-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

This year, Hoboken will be marking its 150th birthday. The official anniversary isn't until March 28, but why not celebrate all year long?

Happy New Year!

2004-12-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

Got your Views from the Waterfront 2005 Calendar yet?

(These fireworks are a rerun from last New Year's Eve, when this blog's most regular reader was unable to visit. )

Dec. 26 changed everything

2004-12-30T19:52:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this animation of Sunday's earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and you'll have an even better understanding of how huge a disaster this is. Here's another, this one in full color.

Then check out this new blog that has sprung up in the wave's wake.

If you only have time to visit one site, check out the Wikipedia page on the tsunami.

The more you know about this disaster, the more you'll want to help.

Mr. Ferry rides his own boat

2004-12-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

We went over to Manhattan today and then took the NY Waterway ferry home, a most enjoyable ride even though it was a cold, gray day, all the more enjoyable now that a deal has been worked out to keep the ferry company afloat. The last person on was an elderly gentleman who offered no ticket -- instead he ordered the crew to sweep the deck. He didn't need a ticket because he was the man who founded the ferry company back in 1986, back when the venture was dubbed "Arthur's Folly." Yes, it was the Horatio-Alger-Award-winning Arthur E. Imperatore Sr. himself, riding his own boat.

Our ride was just long enough for Mr. Imperatore to take a quick call on his cellphone. When we docked, he stood on that freshly swept deck and greeted every passenger, thanking them and assuring them that the ferries would keep running.

"How was the service?" he asked one.

"It's going to work out," he told another.

I took advantage of the opportunity and shook the old man's hand, thanking him profusely for our ferry service, and for all his efforts to save it. Other passengers were waiting behind me, so I didn't go on to thank him for everything else he's done for this area -- that's such a long list that the ferry would have fallen behind schedule.

The Rocky Top Brigade Sampler

2004-12-28T18:52:00.000-05:00

For those who'd like to keep up with the Rocky Top Brigade but don't always have time now, RTB founder South Knox Bubba has put together a convenient Rocky Top Brigade Sampler in handy RSS form. Thanks, Bubba!

Swept away

2004-12-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova was among those swept up in the tsunami -- she survived; her boyfriend, photographer Simon Atlee, was swept away and is still among the missing. Ms. Nemcova managed to grab hold of a palm tree as the water surged ashore and hold on for hours. She is now in the hospital with a broken pelvis.

I had the pleasure of meeting them both one night last year in a local restaurant. Ms. Nemcova and Mr. Atlee were dining at the next table when she overheard our conversation about Prague and joined in.

Our hearts go out to Ms. Nemcova and everyone affected by the disaster.

And for our readers who understand Czech, here's a report from Mlada Fronta Dnes.

What you can do

2004-12-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

What can any of us do about powerful forces such as earthquakes and tsunamis? We can pitch in and help, that's what. It's still the season of giving, after all.

Don't be afraid...

2004-12-25T06:39:00.000-05:00

...to check out this hilarious slideshow called "Scared of Santa."

Reindeer on the radar

2004-12-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

Today is the 50th anniversary of a special holiday service: NORAD 's Santa Tracker. Use it to follow the jolly old elf and his entourage on their one-day world tour.

Ferry good!

2004-12-23T21:21:00.000-05:00

The deal I told you about yesterday was made official today: NY Waterway's ferry service will be divided, but no further service will be lost.

Happy ending for our ferry tale?

2004-12-22T17:32:00.000-05:00

Maybe so: New York lawyer William Wachtel made news today by putting together a plan to take over NY Waterway's money-losing routes serving south Hoboken and Jersey City, thus allowing the company to stay afloat and continue its service to more profitable locations such as Hoboken North and Weehawken. Here's hoping it works.

Winter Solstice Sunset

2004-12-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Keep on shopping in our shoppe, but hurry

2004-12-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

...that special on shipping in time for Christmas from The Dagley Dagley Daily Souvenir Shoppe is still in effect today, but it ends at midnight.

Please visit our Gifte Shoppe

2004-12-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

Feel like shopping but don't feel like leaving your house, or even getting up from your computer? Don't worry: you can still find something for everyone on your list at The Dagley Dagley Daily Souvenir Shoppe. Today is the last day to get 2-day shipping for the price of ground -- and that means you can still get it there by Christmas Eve.

In addition to our popular new Views from the Waterfront 2005 Calendar, our latest addition is not only scenic but organic: The Dagley Dagley Daily limited edition organic cotton T-Shirt.

The shirt also features beautiful scenes of Manhattan (as seen from Hoboken), and it's made right here in the USA.

If you like calendars but don't want the bother of turning the page every month, may we suggest our one-image year-at-a-glance Views from the Waterfront Wall Calendar?

We also offer other souvenir clothing, as well as mugs, mousepads, posters, bags, and a clock.

Want $10 off any order of $50 or more? Just use this coupon:

Or use the code CPFESTIVE when you check out.

Thanks, and happy holidays!

Save a penny

2004-12-18T18:56:00.000-05:00

Buy our new improved Views from the Waterfront 2005 Calendar before the year is out and save a penny: through midnight, Dec. 31, the Calendar is marked down to $20.04. After that, it goes up to $20.05.

Still no comments, but here are some pictures

2004-12-17T17:59:00.000-05:00

Unscheduled downtime

2004-12-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

The comment spam continues to flood my inbox even though I took the comments down a week ago, so I'm going to try a different approach for a few days: silence. Thanks for your understanding, and I'll see you here again on Friday.

A lifeline for the ferries?

2004-12-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

We sure hope so: now that the proposal for our local government to take over the system has been nixed, NY Waterway's competitors have put together a plan to keep our ferries running.

Ferry bad news...

2004-12-10T20:04:00.000-05:00

...for, and from, NY Waterway. Will the Port Authority come to the rescue? Somebody, please: save our ferries. We have to maintain some way of getting across the river without going under it.

NY Water Taxi?

Equal protection under the law is on the march

2004-12-09T18:06:00.000-05:00

In Canada.

In Israel.

In New Zealand.

In South Africa.

With some encouraging signs in California, and maybe even in New Jersey.

And that's just this week.

Wondering why marriage equality matters? Here in the United States -- even in Massachusetts -- there are still 1,138 federal protections reserved for heterosexuals only.

Today's sermon...

2004-12-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

...is from Cousin Buddy Don. About all I can add is "Amen."

(Two days after taking the comments off this blog, I'm still inundated with comment spam. Hope it subsides soon.)

Overtime battle over

2004-12-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

We lost. This just in from the Working Families E-Activist Network:

It was a long and hard fight but on Nov. 18, facing a presidential veto threat, Republican members of Congress removed important overtime pay protections from final 2005 spending bills.

You made a big difference with your letters pressuring Congress to pass overtime pay protections. We won votes, but the Bush administration threatened to veto any bill reversing its overtime pay take-away. Facing a government shutdown, members of Congress removed the overtime pay protections from the legislation.

Losing this important vote on overtime pay is a disappointing setback. We all worked hard, we won votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, but in the end President George W. Bush and congressional Republican leaders got their way.

Things look like they may get worse before they get better. The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress weren't content to take overtime pay rights from some 6 million workers. Now, they're reviving the second part of their two-pronged assault on workers' paychecks. This new pay cut would mean that employers would no longer have to pay extra for overtime work. Instead, they would be able to offer time off in lieu of pay--kind of ridiculous, since it lets the boss decide if and when you ever can take any time off.

We'll keep you up to date on what is going on and where the fight will continue--including in state legislatures, the courts and in Congress. A number of states have laws better than the Bush administration's overtime rules. Activists in other states will be pushing for reforms to strengthen and restore overtime pay protections. We'll let you know when your action is needed to help enact these protections.

For now, the most important thing we can do is to give you, your family, friends and colleagues some tools to protect your rights, including Working America's overtime pay survey. Remember: The best ways to protect your right to overtime pay is in a union contract.

How to Know if You're Entitled to Overtime Pay

If you are unsure whether you could be "exempt" from receiving overtime pay under new Bush administration overtime rules, find out using Working America's overtime pay survey.

Fortunately for Garden State workers, New Jersey's protection of overtime pay remains in place.

No comments...

2004-12-06T10:26:00.000-05:00

...for now, anyway. The comment spammers have continued their attack, so I've taken down the Enetation comments and will soon (I hope) have comments available again through Blogger. Thanks for your patience. If you want to reach me in the meantime, just click on my name.

Thank you, United Church of Christ

2004-12-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

"Jesus didn't turn people away" -- our major television networks found that message so offensive they were even willing to turn away money to keep it off the air. Talking lizards, beer, overpriced medications that cause more problems than they solve -- those are all acceptable messages.

Calm reflections

2004-12-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

More Views from the Waterfront available here.

Celebrities on the corner

2004-12-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

An instant forest has sprung up on our local street corner, complete with some pretty well-known characters. Shortly after I took this photo, I encountered a very happy man on a nearby sidewalk.

"Good afternoon, ma'am!" he said cheerfully as I walked by.

"Good afternoon," I replied.

"I just saw Eli Manning!" he told me, and anyone else within earshot. "He was buying a Christmas tree, right over there!"

Just imagine how happy the guy would have been if our famous young neighbor had won a game.

Did you miss the Macy's parade?

2004-12-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a panoramic photo that lets you look at Spongebob and friends every which way. It requires Quicktime, so if you can't see the picture, you'll need to get that, but it's free. There's even a third-party Linux for Quicktime.

Once you get the picture, just click and drag to see it from all angles. The same site offers 38 other 360-degree panoramic virtual tours of New York.

...and we're back!

2004-12-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

Our apologies -- an infestation of comment spam, followed by technical difficulties with Blogger, led to an unexpected and frustrating hiatus from posting here. Thank you for your patience.

While we were out, the blogosphere made news again in the real world: the top word of 2004 is "blog".

Extended holiday?

2004-11-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

Not quite. Unfortunately, this blog has been flooded with comment spam in recent days, so as soon as I take care of that and rearrange a few other things, I'll be blogging backwards and forwards to fill in the gaps. Please stand by, and thanks for your patience.

A few words from the Velvet Revolutionary for the Ukrainian people

2004-11-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

Former Czech, and for that matter, Czechoslovak, President Vaclav Havel has sent a message of encouragement to the people of Ukraine.

Thanks for a great Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T15:10:00.000-05:00

What an enjoyable feast!

At least they know when they're not free

2004-11-24T19:05:00.000-05:00

...and I'm proud to be a Ukrainian,
where at least I know I'm (not) free,
and if we have rigged elections,
guess who speaks out for me...

Actually, I'm not Ukrainian. But in the sense that everybody became New Yorkers after 9/11, we are all Ukrainian today -- at least those of us who believe in free and fair elections. Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed there were "credible reports of fraud and abuse" in Ukraine's disputed election. Same here, but then the Secretary of State's job is to deal with external matters, not internal.

Recount observers needed in Ohio, Florida

2004-11-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

If you're available to help, or if you want to help but can't be there in person, get the details from Air America Radio's own living, breathing, hollering Lady Liberty, Randi Rhodes:

Your Republican government at work

2004-11-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

So far, they've voted to give themselves permission to look at our tax returns, anybody's tax returns, for any reason, and they've blocked the intelligence reform bill that would have implemented the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Just wait until January, when an even bigger Republican majority will take even more control.

That's what you wanted when you voted for them, isn't it?

Speaking of electronic voting machines...

2004-11-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

...it appears at least one of them may be rewarded for its loyalty.

'We can be 99.9% sure that these effects are not attributable to chance"

2004-11-20T19:21:00.000-05:00

A group of doctoral students in the sociology department of the University of California at Berkeley, in collaboration with Professor Michael Hout, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the UC Berkeley Survey Research Center, have taken a scientific look at the numbers from our recent election. They looked only at Florida numbers for this study; here are some of the highlights:

"Irregularities associated with electronic voting machines may have awarded 130,000 excess votes or more to President George W. Bush in Florida."

Counties with electronic voting machines were significantly more likely to show increases in support for Bush between 2000 and 2004. "This effect cannot be explained by differences between counties in income, number of voters, changes in voter turnout, or size of Hispanic/Latino population."

In Broward County, Bush appears to have received approximately 72,000 excess votes.

Could it be just a computer glitch, an accident? "We can be 99.9 percent sure that these effects are not attributable to chance," the researchers report.

30 minutes

2004-11-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

That's how much of your time it will take to watch this video. That's less time than I spent waiting in line to vote on Nov. 2. In both cases, I consider it time well spent. I hope you do, too. If we don't spend some time paying attention to election accountability now, we might end up wasting our time in future elections.

A stopped clock...

2004-11-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

...is right twice a day, they say, and in much the same manner, one of the most common erroneous reports in our local media is about to correct itself. For years now, the Jersey Journal and Hoboken Reporter have said our building was full of condominiums. Early next year, they'll be right about that. Congratulations to all the reporters and editors involved on reality catching up to them.

Once more, with feeling: it's overtime time again

2004-11-17T17:02:00.000-05:00

Congress has voted SIX TIMES during the Bush administration to protect the right to overtime pay, and each time that protection didn't survive the pressure from the White House and subsequent last-minute backroom deals.

They're in session again this week, busy tossing out ethics rules and such, and they'll also be voting on 2005 appropriations bills, some of which include protection for overtime pay. Click here to urge your elected representatives to protect overtime pay protection.

Ferries still afloat

2004-11-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

The news didn't look good this morning: it appeared that the NY Waterway Ferry would stop running by the end of the week. But this afternoon, I got this advisory from NY Waterway:

Please be advised that NY Waterway has distributed a WARN letter to its employees and other parties, as is required under the provisions of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. NY Waterway is in discussions with the Hudson County Improvement Authority and other interested parties and is hopeful these discussions will result in continuation of commuter ferry service as a critical transportation link. NY Waterway does not anticipate any cessation or interruption of ferry service.

New Jersey's new governor

2004-11-15T17:55:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Gov. Richard Codey of New Jersey, the former State Senate President who takes over today in the wake of Jim McGreevey's resignation. This guy comes with a heckuva resume, but this is my favorite part:

He has a hands-on governing style, demonstrated when he investigated the state-run Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital in 1987. Borrowing the name of a dead felon, Codey got hired as a night attendant and, after seeing patients being abused, he championed mental health reforms.

If he didn't already have a career as a politician, this guy would make a great investigative journalist -- but then, there's not much call for that these days in a profession that seems to involve the journalist saying "uh-huh" to everything, and questioning nothing.

Weekend reading, Part 2

2004-11-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

(We're continuing to take the weekend off. Here's more recommended reading: Frank Rich tells us why the latest groupthink on "moral values" misses the point as usual.

Weekend reading, Part 1

2004-11-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

(We're taking the weekend off, but don't worry: here's a little reading to keep you ~~occupied~~ free.)

In these troubled times, it's good to know we can still count on The Onion for incisive analysis of recent events.

One more election map

2004-11-12T18:49:00.000-05:00

This one gives you the global perspective.

Parades aren't enough

2004-11-11T18:15:00.000-05:00

There's a parade in just about every town this Veterans Day. There are ceremonies and wreaths, marching bands, solemn words and salutes. But instead of a parade once a year, can't we do something for the 1.7 million American military veterans who have no health insurance?

While most World War II and Korean War veterans are now covered by Medicare, more than 680,000 Vietnam-era veterans are among the uninsured, as are nearly a million veterans of "other eras," including the 1991 Persian Gulf War and more recent conflicts.

They served their nation honorably. The least we can do is return the favor and keep our promise to them.

Reload your browser

2004-11-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

The best little browser in cyberspace just got even better. It's faster, smarter, safer, and it comes with built-in Google search and popup blocker. It's easy, it's a small file so it downloads and installs almost instantly. There's a good reason the Firefox 1.0 site is one of the most linked-to places in the blogosphere today:

The most accurate election results map yet

2004-11-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

This one's 3-D, taking into account the population in the various red and blue areas. If you believe that vast expanses of unpopulated desert have political beliefs, this map is not for you, because it counts people, not land.

And check out these other cartograms of the election.

Red (ink) states, blue (ink) states

2004-11-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

Cousin Buddy Don has done the math for us.

Color us purple

2004-11-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

Don't let the media's "red state, blue state" oversimplification divide us -- when you look at it more closely, our nation is more of a purple color.

Election observers report, Nader challenges

2004-11-06T17:42:00.000-05:00

The United States came up short compared to such democracies as Kazakhstan, Serbia, the Republic of Georgia, and Venezuela when it comes to holding elections, according to observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Meanwhile, Ralph Nader has officially asked for a recount in New Hampshire, not because he expects it to change anything, but in order to challenge the controversial, and untraceable, Diebold electronic voting system used there.

Audit the vote

2004-11-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

Not because we expect it to change the outcome -- we don't -- but because we all need to have more confidence in our election system(s).

Bev Harris of Black Box Voting is still on the case, blanketing the nation with Freedom of Information requests.

Meanwhile, George W. Bush has received 4,258 votes out of a total of 638 in one Columbus, Ohio, precinct, while John Kerry got 260.

And here in Hudson County, New Jersey, 15 electronic voting machine cartridges that recorded an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 votes are still missing.

Air America Radio's Randi Rhodes is also on the case:

Vanishing Trust

2004-11-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

How quickly things change. I'd heard that the landmark "TRUST COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY" sign above Journal Square in Jersey City was coming down, and sure enough, all that was left on Nov. 1 were the letters "TRUST" and "PANY"-- reversed in this photo because we're looking at them from behind: (More below)

By Wednesday morning, all the letters were gone. The sign, along with the double-heart-shaped logo, became obsolete when the Trust Company was swallowed up by North Fork Bank. Even as it disappears, it remains a sign of the times.

'...and we still don't have a president...'

2004-11-03T09:54:00.000-05:00

...or so the squawking parrots of the television news channels tell us, even though we all know the incumbent would have held the job until Jan. 20 of next year in any case.

So what's the rush? Record numbers of Americans voted yesterday, and some of them waited for hours and hours to do so. Would it be too much trouble to count all the votes once before we move on?

Hanging in the balance

2004-11-02T16:23:00.000-05:00

These construction workers were just doing their job, but their balancing act might as well have been performance art, commentary on our too-close-to-call election.

Don't be disenfranchised

2004-11-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

Get to the polls as early as possible tomorrow, and bring identification, even though it's not required in all states. If you run into any problems, call the Voter Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

The American Civil Liberties Union, defender of the U.S. Constitution, offers handy, printable Voter Empowerment Cards for each state.

See you there.

Endorsements

2004-10-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Got my sample ballot the other day and I'm all fired up and ready to vote.

My endorsements, some of which apply only to Hoboken:

President: John Kerry
Vice President: John Edwards

House of Representatives, 13th District: Robert Menendez

For Hudson County Sheriff and Surrogate, Joseph T. Cassidy and Donald W. De Leo, respectively.

And on the public question, "Shall the ordinance entitled 'Public Contracting Reform', submitted by citizen initiated petition and setting limits on campaign contributions by businesses seeking to receive no-bid contracts from the City of Hoboken, be adopted?" -- I'm voting YES.

Did Osama endorse Nader?

2004-10-30T06:20:00.000-04:00

I was wrong -- yesterday I told you that Osama bin Laden did not express a preference in our presidential election. But after reading the transcript, I have to correct that. At first, it seemed he might have been endorsing Bush:

"We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them."

But in his concluding remarks, it appears Osama may be more of a Nader supporter:

"Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked."

But don't let me -- or the people on TV -- tell you what he said, and what it means. Read it yourself, and draw your own conclusions. Your guess is as good as mine, and ours is as good as theirs.

Cue the boogeyman

2004-10-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

After months of letting Dick Cheney speak for him, boogeyman Osama bin Laden has spoken for himself just in time for Halloween in a new video that aired on Al-Jazeera. Among other things, the Saudi-born terrorist says that it doesn't matter to him who we elect next Tuesday.

And now, suddenly, the subject has been changed, and the newspeople aren't talking about those missing weapons or the new report that more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed so far since the U.S. invaded Iraq.