FIRST ON AGENDA.

I was intending to comment on Monday’s agenda but even on the expanded on line agenda there is almost no information. Undoubtedly due to the holidays weekend. We must thank AJ for as much as he was able to supply. If and when I have information on Resolution that I have questions I will post.

Fortunately this is not the meeting where the Council casts a vote.

One item of discussion is the Council’s appointment of legal Counsel to investigate the North Ave fiasco. This should be done and must be; however will this Council select and a truly “Independent Counsel”? Probably not in view of the Council’s President’s open antagonism to anything remotely connected with the Mayor.

Since is seems that the anticipated Green pre-election campaign has already started and River’s has inappropriately entered it via the news media the possibility of any Council agenda being free of political bias is very remote.

Tonight is the Final Four.

BELATED

After three days of chasing and wrestling with his buddy “Slappshot” a three year old Australian Sheep dog Dawg has spent the day with me recovering. That means that I did nothing but, including an hour and half nap after dinner.

Those past three days were delightful, although I lost 2 out of 3 Chess matches to Casey who is going to compete next week in the national tournament (in his class of course). The best part besides having family is that for three nights I did not have to cook my dinner or eat at home.

This is a substitute for the blog I intended to write today, but sometime tomorrow, Saturday I will have comments on this Monday’s Council Agenda.

I would like to call your attention to the only comment to my Tuesday’s Blog “Serious Stuff "(http://dpotpourri.blogspot.com/2015/03/serious-stuff.html.) by a “Broderick” who takes issue with my remarks. I intended to reply and shall do so but his remark that I am wrong by calling the agreement as a treaty is only partially correct. It is an agreement dependent on a final “Treaty” between Iran and the US Consortium members. If it smells like a treaty and sounds like a treaty between nations then it is a treaty.

By our Constitution the President “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present shall concur”.

TODAY'S NEWS

Just a short note this morning since Slapshot and Casey and his grandparents are still visiting.

Suffice to say Slapshot and Dawg are having a hell of a good time together; and somehow portions of my house have turned into a racetrack. It is questionable who is chasing whom.

I had to rise early this morning the day before two religions holydays to comment on the indictment of Senator Menendez.

To the best of my knowledge in this country’s history only two sitting Senators have been indicted for criminal actions. The other one was Plainfield’s own Harrison “Pete” Williams who was convicted and sentenced for accepting bribes while in office.

Pete Williams was a contemporary and acquaintance of mine. No a close friend, but one who played with us and against us in sandlot football on an empty lot back of Hubbard School between Sherman and Sheridan; as well as on the Kenyon Gardens.

Pete did not go to the public schools but attended Wardlaw. After becoming a lawyer he work for a period of time for Muhlenberg. In those days Plainfield’s Congressional District which included all Union County was rock solid Republican. Williams accepted the Democrat nomination which no one else wanted and by hard on the ground campaigning defeated our classmate “Hub” Stein Jr the Republican. Thus began a long political career.

Unfortunately he became an alcoholic which led to his fiscal problems and ultimately falling for a sting operation.

The real tragedy is that New Jersey politics overall has a reputation that seems deserved for corruption. In Plainfield our own party chairman has abandoned his charade of democracy in the selection of local candidates and for this upcoming primary personally selected the candidates.