We have made some progress in removing the virus. At least it has made itself invisible to two antiviral/malware programs. One of which supposedly removed several "rouge files". that it had identified and now claims the computer to be e nayers.. but I know better when the popups keep interrupting my work. We will try another program and will soon have a workable computer.
Several very brief comments about Monday night's Council meeting:The resolution appointing the Purchasing Agent as the Compliance Officer passed 5:2, Mapp and Williams being the nayers.It was never clarified what the duties of the Compliance Officer was except to make sure that there was no irregularities in the bidding and contracting. Since the Purchasing Agent frequently drew up the specifications and awarded the contracts I still have a problem with one person doing both jobs. Additionally, the Purchasing office is slated for elimination in the FY11 budget, however the Compliance Officer is for the calender year 2011. Also there is no budget item funds for that position.
A citizen complained rightly so about the potholes and overall condition of roads in the West End, once again suggesting that the East End get preferential treatment. Not true although most of those on Leland Ave. have been filled with cold patch, there are a few new tire breakers between Cook School and Watchung Ave. The later street is still a thrill ride to Woodland from Leland althought the worst have been filled.
We know that the PW work force has been reduced drastically, but there may be better ways of allocating man power. Plainfield like everyone else from State level down has eliminated preventive maintenance. It would be cheaper in the long run than having to replace roads before their life expectancy has come close. An example is Woodland Ave which I believe was resurfaced in the McWilliams years so at most it is 12 years old. It is a mess with potholes, long linear cracks, poorly patched openings. This road should still be in top shape.
Councillor Mapp again requested that there should be drawn up an Ordinance relating to street parking in snow storm times. As I had mentioned last month at the meeting there had to already be Ordinances on the books, the Acting Corporation Counselor found several that were not being enforced or even publicised.An attempt will be made to review them and come up with a workable model for next month. Of course we do need enough police to enforce any Ordinance.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
VERY BRIEF.
Sorry but my PC somehow has become infected with a virus "Advir VirA" which is blocking access to all programs. This will make posting a problem from small inadequate portable.
AJ was sworn in as City Clerk. During the public commentary session there was a heated interchange between the Mayor and Council President McWilliams relating to the process of interviewing nominees for Commissions etc.
If I open my antivirus software and get it to run I shall be back with a longer post about the Council meeting which was over near 11pm.
AJ was sworn in as City Clerk. During the public commentary session there was a heated interchange between the Mayor and Council President McWilliams relating to the process of interviewing nominees for Commissions etc.
If I open my antivirus software and get it to run I shall be back with a longer post about the Council meeting which was over near 11pm.
Muhlenberg
Tomorrow the serious stuff about the Council meeting. Yesterday there were comments posted by bloggers about the agenda. Today is a memory day.
Sunday the Plainfiedl Historical Society opened an exhibit in the Drake House about the history of Muhlenberg Hospital. Credit goes to Nancy Piwowar for the work to create such an exhibit including pictures of the original hospital. Of interest to me was a 1939 picture of the Medical Staff standing on the steps of the then Administration, Admission building. My father who was a Senior Attending in Medicine is clearly recognizable.
In those days and after the war ended almost all doctors were general practitioners first and specialist secondarily. Surgeons saw patients for all sorts of medical problems The different services had Senior Attendings usually four and Assistant Attendings and as the staff grew Associate Attendings , plus Clinical Assistants whose function was to staff the clinics. All gave pro bono service time usually up to three months a year to treat the "ward" patients.
The rank of Senior Attending in the Medical, Surgical,Pediatrics, and Obstetric Services was a desired privilege. Not only did they form the governing medical body but it was mandatory that the Seniors get the consultations. Thus the position also had a monetary reward. In 1946 no Surgeon had had specific specialty training as residents. Board Certification was just beginning.
The only Board Certified Surgeon on the Staff was Mert Griswold and the powers that be had continued to restrict his privileges so that he gravitated to Plastic Surgery which was in its infancy but boosted by the Spanish War and WWII. It was not until two Board Certified Surgeons, Earl O'Neil and Bob Null , almost simultaneously joined the staff that the pendulum of change began. They were getting referrals from community practitioners who valued their skills compared to that of most of the Seniors. They at first, having been denied major surgical privileges were taking their patients to Cornell Medical Center (O'Neil) or in Nulls case Beth Israel where they had unrestricted privileges. In was only a year or two where popular civic pressure forced the Hospital to give them full privileges and with that they began to receive consultation request in the hospital.
Shortly there after Board Certified physicians in Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics followed by Orthopedics and Urology and other sub specialties joined the staff. The barrier preventing younger doctors from being Consultants was destroyed. Merit not rank determined who received consultation requests or referrals.
Muhlenberg was one of the first hospitals in the area to make it desirable to have Board Certification as a requirement for staff appointments and by the time I became Staff President in the ate 7os it was the only area hospital to make it mandatory.
In the 70's and 80's Muhlenberg had a Medical Staff that was on the par in all specialities with any hospital in the country with the exception of heart surgery. There were world recognized leaders in Radiology, Pathology, Colon-Rectal Surgery among others on the staff.
Sunday the Plainfiedl Historical Society opened an exhibit in the Drake House about the history of Muhlenberg Hospital. Credit goes to Nancy Piwowar for the work to create such an exhibit including pictures of the original hospital. Of interest to me was a 1939 picture of the Medical Staff standing on the steps of the then Administration, Admission building. My father who was a Senior Attending in Medicine is clearly recognizable.
In those days and after the war ended almost all doctors were general practitioners first and specialist secondarily. Surgeons saw patients for all sorts of medical problems The different services had Senior Attendings usually four and Assistant Attendings and as the staff grew Associate Attendings , plus Clinical Assistants whose function was to staff the clinics. All gave pro bono service time usually up to three months a year to treat the "ward" patients.
The rank of Senior Attending in the Medical, Surgical,Pediatrics, and Obstetric Services was a desired privilege. Not only did they form the governing medical body but it was mandatory that the Seniors get the consultations. Thus the position also had a monetary reward. In 1946 no Surgeon had had specific specialty training as residents. Board Certification was just beginning.
The only Board Certified Surgeon on the Staff was Mert Griswold and the powers that be had continued to restrict his privileges so that he gravitated to Plastic Surgery which was in its infancy but boosted by the Spanish War and WWII. It was not until two Board Certified Surgeons, Earl O'Neil and Bob Null , almost simultaneously joined the staff that the pendulum of change began. They were getting referrals from community practitioners who valued their skills compared to that of most of the Seniors. They at first, having been denied major surgical privileges were taking their patients to Cornell Medical Center (O'Neil) or in Nulls case Beth Israel where they had unrestricted privileges. In was only a year or two where popular civic pressure forced the Hospital to give them full privileges and with that they began to receive consultation request in the hospital.
Shortly there after Board Certified physicians in Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics followed by Orthopedics and Urology and other sub specialties joined the staff. The barrier preventing younger doctors from being Consultants was destroyed. Merit not rank determined who received consultation requests or referrals.
Muhlenberg was one of the first hospitals in the area to make it desirable to have Board Certification as a requirement for staff appointments and by the time I became Staff President in the ate 7os it was the only area hospital to make it mandatory.
In the 70's and 80's Muhlenberg had a Medical Staff that was on the par in all specialities with any hospital in the country with the exception of heart surgery. There were world recognized leaders in Radiology, Pathology, Colon-Rectal Surgery among others on the staff.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
PRE COUNCIL MEETING.
CONGRATULATIONS AJ
Upon scanning the agenda there is a possibility that Monday night's Council meeting will be over by 11PM were it not for the potential of prolong discussion on the SID Budget,and the Special Committee reports that received little discussion at the Agenda Setting meeting.It may be that congratulations to AJ is premature but there is a resolution appointing him as the City Clerk for a 3 year term. I would expect it to be passed unanimously, although there is a residency exemption.
On the Agenda are several resolutions of interest. R069-11 amends the FY11 budget to incorporate $1,190366.00 total additional Grant funds and their balancing allocations. Since many of these grants are of an annual nature although the amounts may vary they should be included on an unofficial work budget for FY12. That may give a better idea where savings can be anticipated.
However among the Grant monies is one that would expire later this month for $50,000.00 of UEZ funds for rent of space at320 Park Ave. for a NJ Small Business Satellite Office. There are two issues here; one is the actual usage and size of the "office" and the other goes back to the meeting schedule. Once again the Council is faced with a deadline with no wiggle room and a 16 line item with no information or ability to do a line by line approval.
A Resolution R070-11 Appointing David Spaulding the Purchasing Agent as "Compliance Officer" is incredible in this age of fiscal responsibility. This is putting the Fox inside to protect the Hen House. The Purchasing Agent not only writes the IFBs, RFPs and RFQs. His office awards the "contracts". To have him also as Compliance Officer make sure that there have been no irregularities in the process make s no sense at all.
The Two Special Committee Reports that were submitted in writing;
The Administration and Finance Committee report notes that there has been no Copy of the BOE?City Intra Local Agreement contract and monies paid and/or still due.
The report also notes that although the Fire Division agreed not to fill two Captain Vacancies as an economic measure there are two "Acting Captains" who are paid accordingly. Also there has been no update as to the Senior Center bill from Dornach.
The Public Safety Committee notes that although are Police Division TO calls for 151 policemen there are only 132 at present of which 16 are on temporarily disability leaving a force of 116 less 4 officers who are retiring and may be on terminal leave.
There will be a discussion on SID's FY2011 Budget which may be time consuming.
The Ordinance creating The Recreation Commission is up for 2nd reading and passage. Although it provides for the position of Recreation Coordinator, it does not spell out full or part time or salary range.
Added 8 AM; of course as Bernice points out there is the resolution from Public Works for the truck repairs. How an engine could be so damaged during storm removal that it must be replaced needs explanation, The conversion of the tank truck to a dump truck is another example of lack of planing in the Dept of PW by its director that lead to the purchase of improper equipment. There is the fiasco of the asphalt road repair machine that was unused for years because no one was capable of operating it, Last year when Brown was here it did have limited use in some road repairs.
'
Friday, February 11, 2011
OLD EGYPT
Welcome to EgyptThe quality of the pictures is poor and they have only been superficially processed. Several years ago I had saved all my slides on a hard drive as well as on some CDs. When I tries to access that external hard drive Windows would not recognize it and crashed. Ultimately Windows decided to scan the drive and correct errors . That as fine but it wiped out many pictures including all related to Cairo. The first CD disc also caused the computer to crash but I found two that Windows and one of my photo programs accepted. So here are five.
The Central Bus Station at the site of the demonstrations
The Central Bus Station at the site of the demonstrations
This slide had so deteriorated that it could only be salvaged in Black and whiteThis is part of the square where this week's demonstrations were taking place.
Tourist transport near the great pyramid
A barber shop Port SaidBy the way Camels have bad halitosis and also like to bite.
HEALTH CARE
Perhaps this would be a partial solution to the costs of health insurance in our budget.
This is free advice. On that subject perhaps Solaris would provide a daily shuttle to reduced their medicaid and no pay load.
If you can't afford a doctor, go to an airport - you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and;
if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll get a free colonoscopy.
CLERGY AND POLITICS
Probably one of the most misunderstood sections of the United States Constitution is this boldfaced portion of the 1st Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This amendment which is the basis for the separation of state and "church" does not prohibit prayer in schools or and government functions. In fact Congress itself has a paid chaplain who opens sessions. Nor does it prohibit the mention of God in an oath as required by Article VI of the Constitution. The fact that it should be secular is in order to respect the sensitivities of those present of different faiths.
Nor does being a Priest or minister, or Rabbi, or Iman* disqualify one from seeking an elected office or participating in government. In Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488, 494 (1961) . The Supreme court ruled that being a clergyman did not disqualify one from public office. Justice Brennan, joined by Justice Marshall, found Torcaso controlling because imposing a restriction upon one’s status as a religious person did penalize his religious belief, his freedom to profess or practice that belief.
The above is basic and I post it because despite the above I shall be arguing that there is little place for dedicated religious leaders in decision making politics. Nor should one be appointed to a position based solely on his/hers position as a congregation leader.
These individuals are "human" like the rest of us and are subject the usual human foliles. One can not expect them to be unbiased in their decisions on certain issues, but they are also not known to recluse themselves when religious beliefs impact on secular actions. For example; what vote would you expect from a Catholic Priest or an Orthodox Rabbi on an issue involving an abortion clinic, or birth control?
There is always the tendency for influential religious leaders to use the pulpit to influence their flocks votes or position on controversial matters. Sometimes they will actually try to become the power behind the throne. An extreme example is the action of Liberty University in Lynchburg Va, where the school had all its students who were of age register as voters and controlled the local political elections.. Liberty University was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by the late evangelist Jerry Falwell took its present name in 1984. Falwell's son Jonathan has succeeded him in his ministry which preaches an extreme fundamental religion including YEC (see link below**) The University has 20,000 residential students plus about 44,000 0n line students and thus had a big impact on the local politics. This is an extreme example but demonstrates the potential of an organized religious sect upon local politics.
What does this have to do with Plainfield? We have many congregations ranging from store front churches to large affluent edifices. All have congregants devoted to their pastor. Politicians tend to curry favor with leaders that can deliver votes. Additionally all are members of some congregation. Therefore it stands to reason that some clergy can have an undue impact on the local political scene.
I concur that our religious leaders should be actively involved in the community as a whole. Yes, some have taken a very positive secular role from their church in trying to solve community problems. The question is, does their position entitle them to be in a policy making position? Only a few have a business expertise, There are only a few that can make an financial enterprise out of their religious pulpit. There are also questions about their sociological acumen.
Therefore, I consider that an elected position as Mayor or Councilman/woman is an inappropriate position since by nature they can not help by being biased. Likewise there are certain Commissions and Boards that they should not serve on either because of potential conflict of interests or lack of qualifications. There are others where their unique training makes them ideal members. The Council is right in giving as serious a review of ministerial candidates as with other candidates in the Council's "Advice and Consent" role.
This however opens the issues raised in the recent Council vote on the three names submitted by the Mayor for PMUA Commissioners. The only one approved was Rev. Tracey Brown. However good her qualities are and despite her reported personal relationships with the Mayor there was an unasked question about her ability to function in view of reported remarks at a recent rate setting PMUA meeting where she was alleged to have blasted the public for questioning the actions of the Commissioners and the PMUA leadership.
* It is my understanding that in the Islamic religious sects there are not "ordained religious service leaders' but the leaders in prayers and sermon deliveres are those accepted by the community for there piety and knowledge. "The Sunni branch of Islam, whereto approximately 90% of Muslims adhere, does not have a clergy and therefore an Imam is not a cleric like that of a Christian priest. In the Shi'a branch of Islam, the concept of an Imam occupies a much more central religious position." (Wikipedia)
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_Creationism
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This amendment which is the basis for the separation of state and "church" does not prohibit prayer in schools or and government functions. In fact Congress itself has a paid chaplain who opens sessions. Nor does it prohibit the mention of God in an oath as required by Article VI of the Constitution. The fact that it should be secular is in order to respect the sensitivities of those present of different faiths.
Nor does being a Priest or minister, or Rabbi, or Iman* disqualify one from seeking an elected office or participating in government. In Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488, 494 (1961) . The Supreme court ruled that being a clergyman did not disqualify one from public office. Justice Brennan, joined by Justice Marshall, found Torcaso controlling because imposing a restriction upon one’s status as a religious person did penalize his religious belief, his freedom to profess or practice that belief.
The above is basic and I post it because despite the above I shall be arguing that there is little place for dedicated religious leaders in decision making politics. Nor should one be appointed to a position based solely on his/hers position as a congregation leader.
These individuals are "human" like the rest of us and are subject the usual human foliles. One can not expect them to be unbiased in their decisions on certain issues, but they are also not known to recluse themselves when religious beliefs impact on secular actions. For example; what vote would you expect from a Catholic Priest or an Orthodox Rabbi on an issue involving an abortion clinic, or birth control?
There is always the tendency for influential religious leaders to use the pulpit to influence their flocks votes or position on controversial matters. Sometimes they will actually try to become the power behind the throne. An extreme example is the action of Liberty University in Lynchburg Va, where the school had all its students who were of age register as voters and controlled the local political elections.. Liberty University was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by the late evangelist Jerry Falwell took its present name in 1984. Falwell's son Jonathan has succeeded him in his ministry which preaches an extreme fundamental religion including YEC (see link below**) The University has 20,000 residential students plus about 44,000 0n line students and thus had a big impact on the local politics. This is an extreme example but demonstrates the potential of an organized religious sect upon local politics.
What does this have to do with Plainfield? We have many congregations ranging from store front churches to large affluent edifices. All have congregants devoted to their pastor. Politicians tend to curry favor with leaders that can deliver votes. Additionally all are members of some congregation. Therefore it stands to reason that some clergy can have an undue impact on the local political scene.
I concur that our religious leaders should be actively involved in the community as a whole. Yes, some have taken a very positive secular role from their church in trying to solve community problems. The question is, does their position entitle them to be in a policy making position? Only a few have a business expertise, There are only a few that can make an financial enterprise out of their religious pulpit. There are also questions about their sociological acumen.
Therefore, I consider that an elected position as Mayor or Councilman/woman is an inappropriate position since by nature they can not help by being biased. Likewise there are certain Commissions and Boards that they should not serve on either because of potential conflict of interests or lack of qualifications. There are others where their unique training makes them ideal members. The Council is right in giving as serious a review of ministerial candidates as with other candidates in the Council's "Advice and Consent" role.
This however opens the issues raised in the recent Council vote on the three names submitted by the Mayor for PMUA Commissioners. The only one approved was Rev. Tracey Brown. However good her qualities are and despite her reported personal relationships with the Mayor there was an unasked question about her ability to function in view of reported remarks at a recent rate setting PMUA meeting where she was alleged to have blasted the public for questioning the actions of the Commissioners and the PMUA leadership.
* It is my understanding that in the Islamic religious sects there are not "ordained religious service leaders' but the leaders in prayers and sermon deliveres are those accepted by the community for there piety and knowledge. "The Sunni branch of Islam, whereto approximately 90% of Muslims adhere, does not have a clergy and therefore an Imam is not a cleric like that of a Christian priest. In the Shi'a branch of Islam, the concept of an Imam occupies a much more central religious position." (Wikipedia)
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_Creationism
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