The Patriot on Kelly Hart as the Sussex County Chairwoman of the Republican Party

In reference to this article from politicernj.com about Kelly Hart running for the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Sussex County - what can I say?

First, I am not a paid advertisement. Second, she has in a few sentences from the article identified the significant problems within the county, and a clear direction that she would run the campaign if given the opportunity. Third, she has the gusto and moxie needed to make a difference in the electoral process - both in our county and beyond.

We need to kick Menendez out of office, we need that vote in the Senate. His defeat will need to be a state wide run, she can help do it.

I do believe she is conservative enough to meet the needs of the most conservative county in the state.

More power to her, and God Bless her for stepping forward as she has.

Why it takes so long to get the lights back on!

Last week we received our bill from JCP&L. In the comment section it noted that our meter couldn't be read because they were unable to get to our house because the paper claimed that our bridge was out. It was or I should say it still is.
Everyday my wife, daughter and myself have been able to get to our house - not through walking or some magical conveyance that transports us over this broken bridge. No instead we have just driven our vehicles down the other side of the road that has the bridge out. Which incidentally, connects directly to Rt. 206.

This has been going on for nearly two months. My wife called them up and began to explain to the lady the situation. My wife didn't get half way through her statement when the lady at JCP&L stopped her and said: "I know the problem." She didn't say this to be rude or in a rude manner. She said this because by this time everyone else on my road had already called and explained the situation, as my wife was doing.

We're coming up on four months since the bridge washed away, and it's disappointing that it hasn't been fixed yet. We figured that the Township must have put JCP&L in charge of the program, which is why it isn't fixed yet. Not because they're an electrical company and they have no idea on how to fix road, but because when you get letters like we did from this company it's easy to lampoon them for every idiotic thing that pops up. Especially when they're JCP&L and it takes days to a week plus to restore power.

Of course this is a cautionary tale, but of what you can decide. It could be how not to run a company or how public utilities have too much assurance that they will not loose customers and therefore don't care about quality control. You decide.

Bureaucratic Hubris

It wasn't so long ago that I lived in Newton. I can tell you that it is a delightful town in many ways. You feel the smallness of it in a good way, not in that grumpy unhappy crotchety way of other small towns 'down the line'. Or the haughty, high and mighty approach that some towns within Sussex County see themselves add - or at least the management of those towns. But I digress.

The immediate concept of this topic is that the town of Newton has lost it's mandate. This problem is a symptom of a larger disease which has run rampant throughout our country, but can be summed up in this simple example. Towns have turned into Bureaucratic Monarchies filled with Hubris of their righteousness. It was said that the greatest thing about America was that it didn't have one king it had millions because everyone was able to make their own decisions and had as many rights as the King of England.

Not true anymore. We are no longer a country of kings but a country of Kingdoms, with little fiefdoms, lords, ladies and counts, dukes and earls. These kingdoms are the towns which set their rules and govern by fiat. Holding up people's dreams over some bureaucratic device that allows them to question, and overrule the individual trying to cut their own way in the world.

I understand that there is simple regulations that are needed, governance of the road system, maintenance of the utilities to an extent and a general common sense principal of living safely. But please - those who wish to say I am off my rocker, identify to me how a farmers market on a Saturday is going to upset a community of residential homes in an area that allows 17 and 18 year old students to park and drive in the immediate vicinity.

In other words, a problem plaguing the surrounding area of Newton High School is the inordinate amount of traffic in the morning and afternoon, the high level of roadside parking during the school day - Monday through Friday. How is a community which tolerates this, going to be negatively impacted by a bunch of farmers set up in the back of the school?

Answer - It's NOT!

So where does the fault lay? The fault lays in the build up of ridiculous ordinances, agreements, rules and bylaws set up by all the communities who use the identifier 'for the public good' as a shield for this silliness. People are suppose to be the governors over their land - not the government over the people's land. If the Newton Board of Ed. agreed to this deal, then it should happen. We shouldn't have to deal with silly laws which do not make common sense and who damage the public good in the name of helping the public good.

'nuff said!

Herald Article discussing Farmer's Market

How to Get from Newton to Sparta or The Flat Earther and the Christmas Tree

If anyone thinks that this is a coincidence, please let me know so that I can see if I can sell you some beachfront property in Nevada and that new bridge that went up connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan - I own several thousand shares in it. It has to be clear to anyone that the purpose of the letter was to shut down the project. Once again the no growth - flat earther's have figured out a way to harass and damage progress - in a very unprogressive fashion.

When are we going to take a common sense look at our wacky environmental packages?

1) Why is it possible for one letter to require any study - no matter who it's from? It escapes my low level of logic.

2) Anyone who has lived in Sussex County knows that the goal of any good Sparta Council person is to make sure that traffic doesn't flow anywhere through Sparta -except down the Route 15 corridor where everyone who drives it can be liberally ticketed to provide extra funds for Sparta Township.

That would be a gut reaction from a reactionary - but not me. In my mind this is all one big mess up. I mean why would a group of individuals wait until the final months of a deadline to drop a letter like this. I mean the intervening nine years of possible letters didn't come. I mean - let's be realistic - whoever pushed for this letter was just doing it from their moral ideals of collaborative agreement. I'm sure their progressive heart had remained dormant for the last decade, and was only suddenly awakened by the heart warming sounds and smells of winter. The chestnuts and the open fire, the hit of frost in the air or perhaps the wayward whiff of fumes from the diesel pick up pulling into the lot of some Christmas Tree farm so that some tree killers could do their worst on the ever dwindling supply of firs - and I don't mean the kind that come off the Coyote.

Good going oh senior moment man - who has decided to awaken from his slumber. Your journey is complete. Or is it, while you sit in traffic on Newton Sparta Road - you will be able to fill up at the Quick Chek and take a leak while you're filling your tank. You're gonna need it to get down the road - sitting in that traffic.

Your friendly neighborhood driver seat warmer.

Herald Article on Newton-Sparta Road Upgrade