WASHINGTON FOLLIES

  This computer and I are quiet often not on the same page. 50% of the time it delays opening while taking up to an hour (once) to check disk and make corrections. Apparently they do not stick or I have a failing hard drive.

  Comments are being posted to my blog about the Council meeting. They do not go to my e-mail in box so I can screen them but directly to the blog. That is an improvement since recently when the writer hit the publish button the comment disappeared into cyberspace.

  The circus in DC was marked yesterday by the Congressional Committee’s hearing with Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who had been on the Mueller Commission but removed for anti-Trump emails. Probably best described by Colbert on Thursday night. To quote the USA Today: “He was especially amused by the parliamentary bickering that went on between committee chair and "mannequin head that makeup artists practice on" Bob Goodlatte and Democratic member Jerrold Nadler. After watching footage of their exchange, the comedian declared, "Damn, it's Robert's Rules of 'Back off (expletive) or I will cut you!'

After playing a clip of committee members rebuking Goodlatte for forbidding Strrozk to confer with FBI counsel, Colbert noted, "This is the first time I've seen Congress as frustrated with Congress as we are." 

But Colbert's favorite part came when Strzok said he didn't appreciate "South Carolina Republican and Supercuts vampire Trey Gowdy" misrepresenting the reason for his dismissal from the special counsel's team. The FBI agent said it was done for appearance's sake rather than actual concern over political bias.”

"I don't give a damn what you appreciate, Mr. Strzok," Gowdy spat back. "I don't appreciate having an FBI agent with an unprecedented level of animus working on two major investigations in 2016”

  

Could this snapshot of a cat’s left hookbe appropriate?

  

If Congress can disregard basic Robert’s Rules of Order such as the immediate priority of a call for “A Rule of Order”, how can anyone fault Plainfield’s Council for disregarding (or showing its ignorance) of its own rules which state Roger’s Rule will be followed?

MEMORIES

While going through files I found this 1045 picture taken perhaps in Duisberg Germany, where we were post European war occupiers. However I can not place the church so it could be any where.  .even Luneville France awaiting breakup of division and re assignments.

The guy with his hands on the his hips is Jethro Irby my co-battalion surgeon also a UVA graduate.
I last spoke to him three years ago.

MONDAY'S CHOICE-BAD

  I picked the worst of the three choices. If I had stayed and watched the Mets I would have seen Flores hit a walk off homerun in the 10^th.

  I did get home in time to watch PONTUS announce his nomination for SCOTUS Justice. More about this in a follow up blog.

  My choice of the Council meeting was as bad as I thought it would be. A little late getting there I was delayed further by a police desk officer who despite my dependence on the walker informed me that the entrance to the Council was up the Watchung Ave Court House steps. How he thought I could manipulate them I will never know.

  I arrived just in time for the Mayor’s discussion on the State mandated charter changes. Perhaps he has studied Trump since he first spoke how over the past fifty years needed changes have been made on the Holland Tunnel, the NJ Turnpike and as the Charter Study Commission had recommended were needed to the City Charter.

  I as member of that Commission’s recommended change from the weird three department lineups from the Fury era to five Departments had been the legislative request sent from the Council to the State Legislature which had to enact such changes.

 The Jerry Green house never considered the Council’s request however suddenly with Linda Carter as a new Assemblywoman a changed was mandated for a complete charter restructuring .which included 7 departments, and 10 Confidential Aids.

 Mapp passed out a flow sheet which among changes had eliminated Public Safety in favor of separate Police Departments headed by the present Public Safety Director in his former dual role as Police Director; and new Fire Department which would be created headed by a Fire Department Director and the position of Fire Chief would be eliminated. No explanation why no Chief.

  Most of the other suggested new Departments seemed logical but I fail to understand why “Communications and Technology which included IT and Media Communication needs to have Department Status.

  Mapp gave no explanation that I could understand  either in his discussion or after the meeting concluding Public comment was closed  except that there was a “mistake”  in the Sate’s information so what  always existed in principle would  be permitted but there were no plans to fill those positions.

  He also stated that these changes were “Budget Neutral” since everyone except the “Fire Department Director” was already an employee disregarding a fact that a level promotion invariable is accompanied by a salary raise and that a vacancy to be filled would be at the present position.

  As expected public discussion on this item could only take place at session ending Public Comments. At this time two members of the Commission including Mary Burgwinkle  Jeanette Criscone  and citizen Greg Haworth  spoke critically against the  exercising the new charter changes. Burwinkle implying that there was an odor of patronage gains.

  I anticipate that at the August Combined (i.e.: no Council agenda setting session) this Council will adopt the Mayor’s legislative changes.

THREE BAD CHOICES

  Monday despite the delightful weather and a quiet household, I am faced with three choices for this evening all undesirable.

  The first is to watch the Mets play. I have followed the Mets, successors to the Wait till next year Dodgers, from its Polo Grounds days and those entertaining expansion pool players such as Marvelous Marve Thornberry or Choo Choo Colman and a bunch of overage former stars who could not get out of their own way. One knew what to expect then and the games were enjoyment

  However it is now 2018 and expectations of contender have been destroyed by a lineup of overage past prime once stars.

  Another choice is to listen to PONTUS at 9pm explain his choice for the vacant SCOTUS seat. It will probably be as logical as his boast about his great deal with North Korea’s Kim and how HE has secured denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. 

  The third choice which those interested in our city should pick, is the Council meeting which starts at 7pm. That of course means that to avoid hypoglycemia I will have to eat dinner early to get tom the courthouse early enough to find accessible parking and for what!

  There is a resolution for a waiver of the residency requirement to appointed Abby Levenson as Personnel Director. It is noted that she was the most qualified of 12 candidates (unspecified). Perhaps part off her qualifications and why she needs the waiver is that on Feb 2018 this appeared in the papers; “PATERSON – The mayor has put a stop to an arrangement that allowed Paterson’s $87,000 personnel director to work from home two days per week, a practice that reportedly had been in place since last April.

“Your job may not be effectively performed off-site,” Mayor Jane Williams-Warren wrote in a Jan. 26 letter to personnel director Abbey Levenson.

The mayor told the personnel director she had concerns about “how you are keeping records regarding your work at home during the days you are not in the office.” Williams-Warned said she had not gotten a response to her previous inquiry about Levenson’s time records.

“The lack of response leads me to assume that there are no such records,” the mayor wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

  Also on the agenda are resolutions to two engineering firms, Pennon Associates, and Remington & Vernick for two different road projects. Unfortunately I was not able to open the specifications of the contracts. Nor can we be sure if either firm is in compliance with the political contributions levels established by the city.

  Of course there is the resolution “Authorizing the Plainfield Planning Board to Reexamine the Todd-West Redevelopment Plan and Directing the Planning Board to Hold a Hearing and Provide Recommendations to the Plainfield City Council as Directed” no further info so I would presume that a developer has already been selected. 
  Finally as a discussion item only from the Mayor about changes in the city structure increasing the number of departments to 5 plus 10 confidential aids. Since this is a listed as a Communication from the Mayor and is not part of the Ordnances/Resolution agenda will any public discussion be restricted to the end of the meeting   public comments slot.

Once again this agenda which again omits the session devoted for the Council to establishing an agenda smells of fait accomplice patronages, including Council fulfilling its public responsibilities.

WEEKEND

10 family members have descended for weekend . I will only note that Monday night's farce ie Council meeting has a resolution for changes to old ordinance (2012?) asking planning board to recommend changes to block between Grove, Madison, Front and Second. Since it notes that a developer can be  paid for consultation I would  presume that there is a deal.

Perhaps a few belated cartoons:

LOST COMMENTS AGAIN.

July  started out with a bang-the 2nd day of a heat wave .

To add to my discomfort the seven comments that I had been able to publish on blog "Important" vanished overnight and I can not locate them anywhere. They all were excellent and I am sorry few had a chance to read them. I will continue to try and find solutions to my problem. Please continue to read my blog. I may add a separate email site just for responses and if (and when) I do I will publish it.