An almost centurian's vehicle to expound at nonspecific intervals on his opinions regarding politics-local to international, health care, life,society,and perhaps religion plus periodic vignettes about Plainfield N.J.
In addition to "blowing off",I enjoyed my second career as an amateur public advocate.
I usually try to write my "commentary blogs" the night before posting. I had two subjects that I wanted to express my "grouchy" opinion. The first was the Senate vote on the auto-maker's bailout. The second was inspired by Councilman Burney's blog posted Dec. 11, in which he blasts those who have made adverse remarks about Obama's appointees.
However somehow the clock ran faster than usual and bed time took precedent. I have made frequent comments on the "bailout" and economy as I see it over the past few weeks and this has become a lower "editorial " priority. Perhaps I shall post this in the next few days depending on daily happenings.Suffice to say, "I told you so".
Councilman Burney merits a quick rebuttal and probably that would have been the subject posted tomorrow if it were not for Council President Harold Gibson's letter in Sat's Courier. The two items might possibly be part of a combined commentary. This will be Sunday's "sermon".
Meanwhile I urge all who read the Courier not to miss Gibson's letter. He deserves his views.
To compensate in part for the lack of pontification I am presenting a 1960s photo of the highway between Montego Bay and Ochos Rios.
I post photos that I had taken over many years. Many of the slides are over 40 years old. During that time I used many different manufacture's films; Kodachrome which has stood up with little deterioration, Ektachrome also made by Kodak but with different dyes, Agfacrome a good German film, Fugi which is losing tone and material, Anaschrome which had unfortunately a very short life before deterioration and one inexpensive mail order product that used movie negative film and when processed was returned on a positive film media. Although this was a fast film the slides have all lost color and the images are just red. The slides themselves are fading some more rapidly the others.
I was such a fanatic about getting pictures that I usually traveled with two reflex (Pentax) camera bodies so that I could use different film media. Of course I also had an assortment of interchangeable lenses. I would shoot multiple exposures in the hopes of getting the one perfect picture. How times have changed, today's digital cameras have all the good features plus you can immediately see what you got, and shoot again if you did not like it. Also memory discs are not as bulky as large rolls of film that had to be protected from airport screening xrays.
With today's many inexpensive photo program software it is possible to salvage some thing digitally from bad slides. I will use for example two slides which I just scanned; the first one was taken on that old negative movie film and the slide I received was on a positive film. The original colors were excellent but the slides have all deteriorated.
As you can see the image is of good quality, however the colors have all changed to tones of red..
The solution was to use a program that produced this "grey tone" black and white picture
The second picture was also taken in 1979 in Istanbul. However this time I was using Fugi film which had outstanding colors. Again the deteriorated slide was now in shades of red. I used one program and was able without difficulty to obtain this more pleasing picture. I was still not happy with the results although this is a more acceptable print. The purple car is now a light lavender. but the orange street is not natural. Please note the artifact behind the man's leg in the street So I tried another program and ended with the next and for the time being final picture. This needs further tinkering when I have time, but is a very pleasant street scene. Please take notice that the defect in the street has been removed. Because the tool used was too big the man's leg at the knee has lost some definition, but that should be easy to repair.
There are programs which would permit me to remove the man in the middle of the street from the picture. Also other more sophisticated software would allow me to repave the street in a grey/black tone.
A sign of the times; I must have missed Mark Spivey's report about Monday's Council meeting in the Courier. I do not know if it was even printed, however today I noticed it in the on line edition. Nowadays if one is not computer savvy or has one of the exotic cell phones they will be ignorant about local news. The TV media especially the channel outlets reports national storeys of interest, but many slant them to reflect editorial interests. Most of local TV news is about criminal actions or other sensational items to fill their time slot.
The Star Ledger, which Councilwoman Carter would make the official legal newspaper for Plainfield apparently did not have anything either in print or on line about the meeting. At least, despite to the best of my attempts I could not find that story
If you are not a subscriber to Comcast, the Plainfield info channel (74?) has no value, it is not available through any other signal provider. Is there any method to find out how each household receives its TV programing? A study should be done, and perhaps there should be some corrective action.
While on the subject of "Information", what is the function of the city's web site. The calender still has not posted the scheduled special council meetings. The meeting agendas are not posted on the site, which would be better than having to go to City Hall or the Library to read or pick up one. A possible subject for the Budget discussions.
About moving the Council meeting site. I would admit that the City Hall Library is not conducive for large public attendance ta the agenda setting session. A larger meeting place would be helpful, however the City Hall is the place where needed support material is located. Thus an off site meeting place may create complications.
As Plaintalker has pointed out, I can not remember when ANY COUNCIL COMMITTEE presented its required reports to the Council. How many meetings, what was discussed, and what was the attendance. Would a new schedule make any difference or is the reasoning just hot air?
Are the auto makers going to get a loan? The House approved the measure by over a 60 vote majority last night. Regrettably, the Republicans in the Senate are grandstanding and playing personal politics. It appears that the temporary "bailout" is in jeopardy.
The Republicans are wrong for the right reason. A company that has been mismanaged doesn't deserve to b e saved at the taxpayers expense. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy would give the company time to restructure, become efficient and dump the executive officers who have mismanaged the corporation while collecting obscene salaries and bonuses for their great operational skills. The Directors who are paid to oversee the corporation and the officers responsible should be subject to legal action. They should be forced to pay back the improper bonuses received over the past few years.
That should apply to GM, but Chrysler is a slightly different situation since the "owners" are an investment group that recently purchased controlling interest in the company from Mercedes Benz. Their problem is that they over leveraged their purchase.
What the opposition doesn't take into account is that bankruptcy will not only affect GM's employees, its dealers, and the numerous suppliers who may also become bankrupt with the accompanying loss of thousands more jobs nation wide, but although creditors and bond holders will get back through the reorganization some of their investments, the stockholders will lose all.
Why is that a problem? It will affect every individual who owns stock in their retirement plans, personal portfolios and almost every Mutual Fund holder. The big stock holdings are in the funds. One company is only a small percentage of their holdings so they can absorb one company's failure, but not a snowball. The millions of individuals who have a relatively small percentage of the outstanding stock,but whose investment is vital to their economic well being especially in the retirement years will not be able to weather such a loss.
Fortunately for me I do not own any automobile maker's stock. However I am sure that my IRA/ pension plan Mutual Funds all have a large degree of exposure. I am also sure that there are very few pension plans that will not be affected either by direct holdings or by large investments in the suppliers. I doubt that there are many that will escape financial loss if GM goes bankrupt.
The impact on the workers will be great, their union contracts will be worthless. But a large number will still be employed although at reduced income. Labor costs have been a prominent part of the company's problems. The unions have done some restructuring of their contracts. Larger changes will be needed and I am convinced that the union leaders recognize the importance for compromise and will act accordingly.
That brings us full circle. The "bailout loans" are essential for the country's economy. Their leadership, Officers and Directors who failed in their fiduciary responsibilities must go and not profit in any manner from the "bailout". They are probably immune from monetary damages through their Officer and Directors insurance plans.
The politicians must stop playing politics and act as if they are truly concerned about this country.
Why do I gripe? Once again the savers who tried to plan for their future and believed in old fashion depression enhanced "American Values" are the ones who are truly getting "screwed". Those that maxed out as many credit cards as possible or always believed in the political philosophy of " spend now and think about paying later" may have to pay the piper but did enjoy life beyond their means. And worse of all; the bankers, company executive and the politicians whose legislative actions contributed to today's problems will be smelling like roses.
Although not on the original agenda , City Administrator Dashield have a power point presentation about the expenditures that drive the budget.At the scheduled special meeting Monday the 15th he will present an overview of the source of revenues,including the state allocations,as well as his estimate for the 2009 year
The original agenda for the meeting was the adoption of changes in the original budget and on the 22nd also at a 7 PM special meeting the budget was to be accepted.However because the state has delayed its special allocation meeting the above time table can not be met.
Dashield also recommended that a provisional estimate for taxes be adopted on the 15th in order that 1st quarter tax bills could be sent out by the Feb. 1 date.
To meet a zero increase budget he noted that 74 across the board jobs would have to be eliminated. To see the breakdown, go to and open Councilman Burney's blog. There is a link to it on "Clips".
Dashield remarked that the unions were approached but were uninterested in making some financial concession from the provisions of their contracts. It is remarkable how short sighted and self interested some unions can be in times of economic distress. In the world of big business their unions have recognized the need for "give backs", or to accept loss of jobs. There have been adjustments in Health Insurance premium payments as well as postponing mandatory raises.
Union contracts can be voided with company bankruptcy. Municipalities can also go bankrupt. That is an uncharted road, but I am sure that some communities will resort to that course out of desperation. Time will tell, but a decreasing pool of taxpayers can not continue to support larger increases in their taxes.
View of Crab Bottom Creek Valley from US250 between Monterey and Hightown Virginia.
Hightown Virginia from US250 approach
Farm road in valley near Hightown. There is a blacktop road crossing the center beyond the fence. It is the highway that runs down the valley through Hightown and on to Blue Grass
Obviously this is part of a farm, Hightown Virginia
As I had anticipated, Bernice’s “Plainfield Plaintalker” today has two superb postings on Monday night’s Council's agenda setting session. No amateur should have the guts to improve on a long time professional’s writings.
Unfortunately the Courier did not have space in today’s edition for its report about the meeting. I hope it was not a result of Councilor Carter’s remark whether the Courier had sufficient circulation in Plainfield to be the prime official newspaper for legal notices rather than the Star Ledger.
Most likely the ommision is due to the space restrictions that most papers have had to employ in these times of economic stress. Today the Tribune Company (Chicago Tribune, LA Times, and TV stations) declared bankrupcy. Gannett continues to combine circulations of its smaller suburban papers and eliminating jobs in order to survive.
For the past year the Courier has given this city exceptional broad coverage in its pages and editorials. At the same time Plainfield did not seem to exist if one had to rely on the Ledger’s pages.
In view of other remarks made at this meeting, the impression might arise that the present Council is seeking a cloak of invisibility. I do not believe that is the factor which initiated these discussions. I hope that the realigned 2009 Council will revert to the openness that was superficially present a decade ago.
Councilman Burney’s suggestion that the Council revert to just one agendas setting session and one business meeting a month because there often is not enough material for two monthly meetings, merits serious consideration as does the rotating “town forum type meetings” in schools located in the four wards.
The Councilman expressed the opinion that the time gained by eliminating the two sessions could be better spent in committee meetings so that the membership would be better prepared for the agenda sessions. Does that mean that as some suspect members have not had time to review their material prior to a meeting?
With all due respect, the past decades $10,000 annual stipend to the Council member plus sundry perks for meetings etc, plus insurance benefits, including health which as we all know is not inconsequential, plus potential pension benefits may not adequately compensate for the time and commitment required to fulfill the demands of the position. Since the present requirement for vesting is 10 years, I do not believe that is a factor, however there has been recently changes which I have not had time to research regarding the impact of pensions requirements on elected individuals.
Nobody can fault Councilman Burney for his role in Council affairs and his involvement in the various requirements and extra meetings that his Councillorship demands. Would the entire Council exhibt that degree of commitment. but I could question the attendance records of a few other members.
Perhaps an annual report to the public stating attendance at various, including committee, meetings would help us understand the stresses in filling the duties of Councilor. Then a non-emotional judgment could be made on the merits of the proposed change. At this point I cannot conceive such a move to be in the public interest.
At present the entire 30 minutes allotted at the end of each session for public comments are often insufficient. True some are inconsequential or poorly presented by individuals who are reticent about speaking in public, but all have something to say that is important to them, and should not be ignored.
My copy of the City Charter is at least 15 years old , but I am not aware of any major changes in Article II, section 2.6 which requires a meeting once a month time etc. fixed by Ordinance. Thus any change from the present schedule would require a new and comprehensive Ordinance. The Council is aware of this requirement.
My final comment is that for whatever reason each Councilor sought the office; no one forced him/her to run. If the duties are onerous that person should resign and let other committed persons perform the duties required.
Over aged, Trying to be "the last angry man".about any and all improprieties of stated interest.For some unknown reason has been listed for years in various editions of "Who's Who"(America, World, Science)
I deny any responsibility for typos, spelling and poor punctuation. Hunt and peck has it faults. Speech transcribing does not seem to be the answer.
Enjoying a second career as a self appointed advocate for the public vz local government excesses.
