Christie, Check Yourself

Lee Harvey Oswald was the man who shot President Kennedy.  A crack shot, trained as a sniper in the United States Marine Corps, he was able to take the president down with three shots from a window in the Texas School Book Depository.  Was he just a lone nut, or did he work for Fidel Castro or the CIA, we'll never know.  In any event a rifle in the hands of a trained sniper is a proven political gamechanger.

Right now, I'm relaxing, listening to my girlfriend, Ada Falcon on the DVR.  In case you don't know, Ada Falcon is the tango singer that had a better voice than Liberitad Lamarque, but quit the business in 1942 to become a cloistered nun.  She died in 2002 or 2003.  I think it is a requirement for tango singers to live to at least 90 years old.  You know, they put something in the water in Argentina to keep them alive that long.

Over the past week I have been trying to prove Murphy's Law.  My laptop fried out around Tuesday or Wednesday and way replaced with some asskicking model from HP for about $1,000.  On Friday, my hot water heater kicked the bucket and left me with a flood in the basement.  I played Auschwitz yesterday dragging this heavy 50 gallon 50,000 BTU unit in my basement yesterday and hooking it up.  I got my nephew coming tomorrow to help me drag the dead unit out of the basement.  We'll see how long it takes the scavengers to take it off the curb.

Speaking of life's disasters, last Thursday, there was a protest at the statehouse.  About 7,000 police and fire fighters showed up to protest proposed increases to the cost of health insurance and lengthening the time it takes to become eligible for a pension.  The Trentonian was somewhat baffled.  They couldn't understand why the cops were also opposed to Stephen Sweeney, since he is a Democrat.Both Sweeney and Christie are collaborating on a plan to drastically increase the cost of health insurance, dilute the quality of the coverage, increase the cost of pensions and decrease the payout that retirees receive.

This is just plain wrong.  Perhaps the senate should take up Shirley Turner's bill to permanently increase income tax rates on those making a million a year or more.  Both Sweeney and Christie are opposed to this.  They think the millionaires need their yacht gas money more than workers need decent and affordable health insurance and pensions.Last year, Christie allowed the temporary increase on income taxes for millionaires to expire.  He said it would help create jobs because the millionaires will hire more people.  I don't know, but I haven't seen any new jobs result from it.  I have seen our cities stripped of municipal aid and have seen hundreds of cops laid off.  Just like I said before if you want bigger fires and stronger gangs, support Christie.

In Trenton, so far no police or fire personnel have been laid off.  Mayor Mack has been balancing the city's budget with hope and peanut oil.  He hoped to get federal grants to pay for the cops, but they never came through.  He also put in a massive property tax increase last year.  He wanted to raise property taxes again this year by about 10 percent, but City Council won't go for it.  Too bad.  When the cops go and the criminals start running wild, blame city council, not Tony Mack.  Better yet, blame your governor friend who gutted the city's treasury.

Besides not being on the job, there is another danger involved in having lots of laid off policemen sitting on their butts collecting unemployment.  These men are trained in the use of firearms and have a deep seated grudge against the governor.  I could imagine one of them stationing himself in the woods across the street from 40 Corey Lane in Mendham and blowing the governor's head off.  The ex-cop just also might take out his lovely stockbroker wife and a few state trooper bodyguards.  Not that I would want to see the governor actually assassinated, but it is a strong possibility that could happen.  I also wouldn't be surprised if a jury acquitted the assassin of all charges regardless of the evidence presented.  Juries have the right to nullification, which is to ignore the evidence and let the defendant go because they disagree with the law.  That's why we have juries.  They are a check on the state's power to enforce arbitrary laws.  The right goes all the back to the Magna Carta, when knights wore armor and rode around on horseback.

Perhaps someone will go to Mendham and solve the problem by busting a cap in Christie's head. If that happens, it would be a sad day indeed.