This year, rather than racial equality, I want to address violence.  They go hand in hand at times, but in reality violence is the downfall of mankind.  Maybe shortcoming is a more appropriate term.  Or both.

In my 20′s, when part of the back to the land movement, I bought a few dairy goats and started getting my own goat’s milk and cheese.  One thing always bothered me – the goats fought until they established a pecking order.  Then the alpha doe always picked on the rest, the beta doe picked on all but the alpha, and on and on down the line.  Why couldn’t they get along?  After all, they’re all dairy goats and they’re all in this together.

Then I had a revelation.  They’re just like humans.  We’re always fighting to establish dominance.  Except, sometimes we kill.  Goats, along with most mammal species, fight to establish dominance, but they rarely kill and then its usually accidental.  Humans kill with vigor, with purpose.

In 2009, there were 15,241 murders in the United States.  Sure, that was down from over 24,000 in both 1991 and 1993, but it’s still despicable.  The US also had a total of 1,313,398 violent crimes in 2009.  Are we that prone to acts of violence?  Are we a nation of people who are so far from the norm of a peaceful society that hurting another human being is no big deal?  Do we have so little value for someone else’s life?  Are we, as a society, totally insane?

In the world recently in one year India led with 37,700 murders.  Russia had 28,904, Colombia 26,539, South Africa 21,553, the US about 16,000, then Mexico with 13,144.  Good old Iceland was one of the most peaceful with just four murders.  There are currently eight wars in the world that record over 1,000 fatalities per year.  There are 24 other wars taking place, with ten of them registering between 10,000 and 200,000 deaths each since their inception.

I won’t throw any other numbers at you, since I think I’ve gotten my point across.  We are a violent species.  We kill indiscriminately.  We kill for power, we kill for profit.  Sometimes, we kill because we don’t like somebody’s looks, religion, color, or politics.  People beat up their spouses, their kids, their neighbors, their rivals, or someone who possesses something they want.  Sadly, sometimes people even kill just for kicks or to prove they’re macho to their peers.

So on MLK Day, I ask that violence end.  Only then, can we truly be called “human”.  Dr. King would agree.

- Mountain Man

First of all, it’s hard to not agree that the demographics do not support our weak economic state.  We have more and more people on Planet Earth.  In fact, the world’s population increases by nearly 80 million people each year.  That’s equivalent to over 1/4 of the USA’s current population, which is 310 million.  Today’s world population of 6,868,724,935 will hit the 7 billion mark before 2011 is over.  That’s a lot of consumers, a lot of people who need housing, clothing, and everyday staples of life.

The biggest needs in the world are potable water, food, health care, education, and alternative energy.  Incredibly, an estimated 1.7 billion folks in the world live off the grid, meaning they have no electricity or other utilities we take for granted.

Okay, that’s a lot of numbers, but what do they mean?  Are you thinking what I’m thinking? 

Our world economies can gear up by providing water, food, health care, education and alternative energy to the world.  Just imagine if the 14 countries with the biggest economies turned their production toward meeting these needs.  The world leaders I’m talking about are the US, China, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Russia, India, Spain, Australia, and Mexico.  The unemployment rates in these countries would drastically drop, putting perhaps 50-100 million people back to work.  That would create boom times not only in these 14 countries, but all countries. 

The standard of living in the 50 poorest countries would rise to unthought of heights.  Since these 50 countries also have the highest fertility rates, health care and education would result in a “zero growth” population gain.  Couples would be subsidized and forced to have just two children, just like some countries already do.  We need to stabilize our population and make predictions of 11 billion people by 2050 mute.

Sure, you’re thinking how are we gonna pay for this?  Who’ll pay the farmers to grow more crops, the manufacturers to make windmills and solar cells and water pumps and desalination plants and medicine and so on?

That’s where capitalism comes in.  The infusion of new jobs saving the world would fuel the growth of everything from more restaurants and retailers to the manufacture of more cars and TVs.  Production would boom.  Personal wealth would skyrocket.  Everyone would get a piece of the pie.  Including the tax man, who could use the tenfold or more increase in tax revenue to fund the manufacture startups.

The only variable is timing.  Everything has to start at once.  “Instant Prosperity” I’ll call it.  So let’s pick a day.  I nominate Monday, June 4, 2012 as Prosperity Day.  That’ll give us over a year to get ready to gear up.  The night before, the world sets off fireworks.  On Monday morning, we roll up our sleeves and get to work.

- Mountain Man

But there is a way to cut taxes and maintain services.  That solution involves slashing government waste. 

On The Heritage Foundation website, we discovered the following facts concerning the 2008 national budget:  $92 billion spent on corporate welfare; $25 billion annually spent to maintain vacant properties; 22% of all federal programs, costing $123 billion, had no positive impact;  nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards are improper, fraudulent, or embezzled;  health care fraud equals $60 billion annually; and 95 Pentagon weapons systems totaled $295 billion in cost overruns.

Those are the biggest boondoggles.  There’s hundreds more “little” ones, such as:

$2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly; $3.9 million to reaarange desks and offices at the SEC; $998,798 to ship two 19 cent washers from SC to Texas but a “mere” $293,451 to ship one 19 cent washer from SC to Florida;  $146 million extra a year because federal employees won’t fly “coach”; $126 million to enhance the Kennedy name; $200,000 for tattoo removal in Mission Hills, Cal; $500,000 to paint a salmon on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 707;  $2.4 billion on 10 new jets the Pentagon refuses to use;  $3 billion to pump sand onto beaches that washes right back into the ocean; and $2 billion for farmers not to farm their land. 

There are so many more examples of abuse – yes, it is abuse – that it is downright disgusting.   So while the average American scrimps and saves and lives on a budget, the government, its employees, and folks seeking government aid are robbing us blind.  When do we say “enough is enough”?

- Mountain Man

COAH came into existence in the late 1970′s as a result of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mt. Laurel Decision, which basically said that municipalities cannot zone against low and moderate-income housing and must supply affordable housing.  COAH set quotas for each of the state’s 567 (now 566) municipalities.

The quota system was unfair to many municipalities, setting unrealistically high numbers for some towns.  Here in Cape May County, Middle Township is still required to offer 932 more affordable units by 2018 and Upper Township still owes over 500.  It’s unrealistic and puts a heavy burden on taxpayers, who must fund new schools and services to meet the demand of so many new residences.

Senate Bill S1, sponsored by Raymond Lesniak and Christopher Bateman, and its companion State Assembly bill A2057, would abolish COAH.  It would also do away with State-imposed calculations of affordable housing needs.  Instead, it would permit municipalities to determine their own needs.  The State Planning Commission would assist towns in facilitating opportunities for affordable housing.

The bill would require municipalities to re-examine their master plan and adopt an ordinance that provides an opportunity for an appropriate variety and choice of housing.  They must show that they have complied with their obligations under the Fair Housing Act.  Any municipality not enacting ordinances by December 31, 2011, would be required to have any developers set aside 20% of their project for low or moderate or work force housing.

What does all this mean?  COAH and its assigned numbers of affordable housing units will be put to rest.  But municipalities aren’t off the hook.  They must still offer affordable housing, but on their own terms, not Trenton’s.

-Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

The battle between environmentalists looking to preserve the trees and loggers looking at profits and jobs has been going on for a century, and the fight intensified beginning in the 1960s.  It’s an emotional issue, with both sides resorting to vandalism or violence at times to protect what they believe is right.

National Geographic ran a feature article in October, 2009 about the redwoods and their future.  It was a politically-correct, safe article.  As is NatGeo’s philosophy, they strongly presented both sides while not taking a stand. 

Here is an interesting Letter to the Editor that I just read this morning in my new February issue of NatGeo, written and submitted by John Ruch of Boston, giving his views of the validity of the redwood article’s points.

“Regarding your paean to capitalist “forest management” as the solution to saving redwoods, forests already have a manager.  It’s nature itself, which has a head start of hundreds of millions of years on our wisdom.  Conservation has become hubristic meddling, capitalism still is barely tamed greed, and the unholy alliance of the two is a scam masquerading as hipster realpolitik.

“Here’s the truth:  Redwood lumber is not a vital resource.  It is a luxury item that no one has any need or right to cut.  The key to an ecological future is reducing our own population by three-quarters, not turning even more people into luxury-slurping consumers.  The key to ending global warming is paying people who don’t drive cars at all, not paying forest companies.  And anybody who kills any living thing more than a thousand years old is simply a jerk.  Your article used the word “cut” a lot.  What it meant is “kill”.”

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

The Supreme Court set us back a few decades last week when a 5-4 decision okayed companies and unions ability to spend freely on ads that promote or target particular candidates by name.  It also lifts a ban on corporate and union-paid issue-based ads in the final days of a campaign.

How easy is it now going to be for a politician to climb into bed with special interests?  Quite.  If not, their opponent just might and then steal the election.  It’s a field day for graft.

President Obama lashed out at the decision over the weekend.  “We don’t need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drown out the voices of everyday Americans,” he said.  “And we don’t intend to.”

The White House will attempt to legislate away the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision, which basically used the First Amendment’s “freedom of speech” as the reason to allow these transgressions against decency.  The House of Representatives and Senate must approve any bills on the subject before Obama could sign it into law.

The White House has a number of measures it is proposing: require the approval of a majority of shareholders before a corporation can run a political ad;  require the CEO to appear at the end of the ad;  limit the ad spending of corporations who received bailout money;  and/or limit privileges that come with corporate status concerning political ads.

If this Supreme Court ruling is allowed to stand, any candidate that stood for environmental or social issues would likely be squashed by the big businesses whose profits would be trimmed. 

Isn’t democracy grand?

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

The GOP resurrection all started in Virginia on November 3, 2009 when Bob McDonnell, the former state Attorney General, trounced Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds by a 59% to 41% margin in the gubernatorial race.  It was the biggest margin of victory in the Commonwealth since 1961.  McDonnell, who took the oath of office last Saturday, replaced Democratic governor Tim Kaine.

That same fateful November election saw Republican Chris Christie knock off incumbent New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine by 87,000 votes in a race that was almost too close to call.  It was the largest margin of victory for a first-time Republican in the Garden State since 1969.  Christie, like his Virginia counterpart, was a former Attorney General (US).  Similarly, both states now have two Democratic senators and a new rookie Republican governor.

Christie was inaugurated yesterday.  While emphasizing that he was in Trenton to implement “change”, he put his finger on the problem in New Jersey politics.  “Too much time has been spent assigning blame instead of accepting responsibility,” he said.

Yesterday also marked the end of the Democratic reign of one of Massachusetts’ Senate seats.  Since John F. Kennedy defeated Henry Cabot Lodge in a big upset back in 1952, the Bay State has been decidedly Democratic.  When Kennedy won the Presidential election in 1960, the seat was passed to a Democratic family friend, who then stepped aside in an pre-arrangement to secede to Ted Kennedy in 1962.  Teddy, who held the Senate job for over 46 years, was unable to directly take the seat from brother John in ’60 because he wasn’t yet 30 years old.  This youngest Kennedy son passed away last summer.

The Senatorial election yesterday went to Republican Scott Brown, a former State Senator, who routed Democratic Attorney General (sound familiar?) Martha Coakley.  The combination of Coakley’s lack of charisma and poor campaign strategy was her undoing.  Brown, who once trailed in the polls by 30% and then as recently as two weeks ago by 15%, took 52% of the popular vote.

The vote was also a reflection of the fallout from the Obama presidency, which ran on a platform of being an agent of change but so far has been decidedly ineffective.  An all too-familar ring of a presidential candidate being a “Washington outsider” resonates with voters, but the reality is usually that once they set up shop inside the Beltway they get sucked into “politics as usual”.  They find that compromise and cutting deals is a survival tool.

Saving the best for last, the Massachusetts election was also perhaps a yardstick for the popularity of the universal health care reform being presented to the American people.  Brown will now cast the deciding 41st vote in the Senate against the bill, effectively putting the issue to rest for a while.

Maybe it’s time for the Obama administration to focus on the issue that Americans care most about – the economy and jobs.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

State Senator Raymond Lesniak recently introduced bill S3167, which would indeed legalize such popular games as poker, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, craps, slot machines, and more.  With New Jersey’s distinction of having the toughest gambling laws in the United States, implementing the on-line form seems a natural and comforting fit.

Currently, there are thousands of global internet gambling sites.  They are illegal in New Jersey, in part because there is no way for the state gaming commission to determine whether these games offer fair odds.  Many who do still gamble illegally on the internet complain of not being able to collect their winnings.  Would you trust a gambling site located in the Philippines or Bulgaria?

The other reason they are not legal in New Jersey is rather obvious – Atlantic City.  The state’s 11 casinos generated $3.9 billion in revenue in 2009.  While down from $5.2 billion in record-setting 2006, it still is a major contributor to state coffers.

The new internet gambling bill, if eventually made into law, would require all gaming companies to be headquartered around Atlantic City.  The New Jersey Casino Control Commission, also based in AC, would be able to monitor the new companies, plus develop “technical standards for approval of software, computers and other gaming equipment used to conduct internet wagering, including mechanical, electrical or program reliablility, security against tampering, the comprehensibility of wagering, …. blah, blah, blah.”   Did you get all that?

Internet site operators would pay $200,000 the first year for a license, with a $100,000 annual renewal.  They’d also pay a $100,000 non-refundable deposit and another $100,000 towards treating compulsive gambling.  They’d fork over a 20% tax to the casino revenue fund and another tax would give money to the New Jersey Racing Commission.  No wonder so many groups are salivating over the prospect of internet gambling.

AC Mayor Lorenzo Langford spoke in favor of the internet gambling concept, while casino operators seem concerned that the bill might allow video lottery terminals (VLT’s) and slot machines at the state’s race tracks.  The AC casinos are currently paying the horseracing industry $90 million over three years in an agreement that bans VLT’s from tracks.

With New Jersey’s perilious money situation, internet gambling seems like a good revenue producer.  The AC casinos will survive because, let’s face it, you don’t have the glitz of the casinos and shows and entertainers and restaurants sitting at home on your computer.  And you can bet that the 11 casinos will be the first in line to get those new internet gaming licenses.  They see the possibilities!

- Mountain Man and City Girl   http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ  http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

New Jersey’s Assembly and Senate recently approved a bill which would regulate ATV’s, while at the same time creating three parks for ATV’s and dirtbikes.  Governor Jon Corzine, whose last day in office is today, is expected to sign the bill into law as he packs up his belongings.  If he doesn’t give it his John Hancock, incoming Governor Christopher Christie no doubt will enact ATV laws in the near future.

New Jersey prohibits dirt bikes and ATV’s from all public lands, which includes state parks, preserves, utility power lines, and roads.  Unfortunately, many riders have thumbed their noses at the law and police regularly have cat and mouse pursuits of scofflaws.  Many municipalities, including here in Middle Township, Cape May County where we live, have had to purchase ATV’s and train officers to catch the illegal riders.

The new ATV regulations going into effect would require all owners to register their machine within six months.  New vehicles have to be registered to take delivery.  The cost will be $50, plus a $10 surcharge to help fund the three riding parks.  The fine for getting caught without a registration will be $500.  Since the ATV’s and dirt bikes would now have license plates front and rear, police and the public should have no problem spotting unregistered vehicles.

There are 85 ATV and dirt bike dealers listed in New Jersey.  There are 25,000 riders, according to estimates.  Acquiring three riding parks will probably be difficult.  They’ll have to be located away from populations, wetlands, and water.  Presumably, they’ll locate one each in North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey.  Hopefully, the 1.1 million acre Pinelands will be off-limits in the South.

The root of ATV problems can often be traced to condescending parents, who buy their kid a dirt bike or ATV even though there is nowhere to legally operate it.  Soon a bunch of kids are tearing through private property, destroying gates and fences and rutting footpaths to the point that they are unwalkable.  The ruts also hold water, making ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.  And then there are the idiots who chase deer and other wildlife.  Irresponsible adults are as often to blame as teenagers for the many transgressions of riders.

That said, ATV’s aren’t all bad.  In West Virginia, where we also own a log home on 19 acres, ATV’s are permitted on any road that is not a “numbered highway”.  That makes zipping down to the neighbors for a cup of coffee as easy as hopping on your machine, which many have parked right outside the front door.  But West Virginia has just 75 folks per square mile (6% of NJ) and plenty of families own 100-acre tracts.  Riding in a National Forest, however, still results in confiscation of the ATV if caught.

Let’s hope that New Jersey’s new ATV laws put an end to the illegal trespassing that so many riders feel is their inherent right.  This is a chance to legitimize their hobby.

- Mountain Man and City Girl

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com 

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ  http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

On the surface, affordable health care for everyone seems like a good idea.  But then again, so does communism.  But implementing an ideal is another thing.  Man’s inherent greed, competitive nature, and downright incompetence can turn the most well-intentioned plan into a complete boondoggle.  I could have used much stronger language than “boondoggle”.

There is one showstopping point to President Obama’s universal health care plan that most everyone seems to have overlooked.  It’s NOT health care, it’s disease treatment.  Think about it.

If the government - and society in general - really cared about people’s health, they’d tackle the nutrition situation.  Proper nutrition prevents the majority of illnesses.  That’s the heart of all our health problems.  Eat right and the body will help heal itself.  The body is an efficient machine if it gets the right nutrients.  Just like your car running on 87 octane fuel.  Try running it on 65 octane and see what happens.

So a true health care plan would include education on nutrition.  While most Americans will guffaw at this suggestion, we need to all become vegetarians.  Ingesting animal products and processed sugars is like, well, putting sugar in your car’s gas tank.  It sputters and dies.

But enough on that subject.  Let’s get back to this “disease treatment” reform bill. 

The House of Representatives passed  their version of the bill on November 7 by a narrow margin of 220-215.  On December 24, the Senate passed their version of the bill 60-39.  The one missing vote was that of the late Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Since the two arms of government passed different versions of the bill, it will have to be reconciled and voted on again by both houses.  If Republican Scott Brown gets elected in Tuesday’s special Senatorial election in Massachusetts, the Senate vote will no doubt end up 60 to 40 and the bill will die.  If Democrat Martha Coakley wins, the Senate will most likely still favor the bill.

As things currently stand, no health reform will result in 54 million uninsured Americans by 2019.  But the House bill would still leave 17 million uninsured by 2019 and the Senate bill 23 million.  The 10 year cost is touted as $1.05 trillion for the House version and $871 billion for the Senate’s.  It’s the struggling middle, upper middle, and upper classes that will be footing the bill.  This recession has hurt them, too.

The major sticking point for most Americans is that coverage will be mandatory.  Not getting insurance coverage will result in some sort of fines or penalty tax.  That’s outrageous!

Another taint is that in order for the Senate to get the necessary vote of Democrat Ben Nelson, a former insurance industry lawyer and consultant, they granted the state of Nebraska $100 million over 10 years to cover expansion costs of Medicare.  The main beneficary:  insurance companies writing policies in Nebraska.  There were other abuses, trade-offs, and compromises in both house’s bills.

So we’ve gone full circle.  Back to greed and incompetence.  Is affordable health care a good thing?  Yes.  Can we trust the government to oversee it?  Not hardly.

Back to the drawing board.

- Mountain Man and City Girl

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ