Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The Nature of Insanity

It all comes down to money, folks. Like power, it corrupts. But there is a little bit of insanity in the mix too…we taxpayers let it happen, shooting ourselves in the foot over and over when we vote.

Together with some friends my husband and I trekked up to the book signing at Border’s in Bridgewater to welcome and commend authors, Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure on their sell out book on the culture of corruption in NJ, “The Soprano State”. Could the timing be any better? Just as the governor’s toll hike plan has sparked our indignation, this excellent book, calling for overall reform in Trenton, is released. Ingle, political columnist for the CN and Friday afternoon guest of the Jersey Boys with his co – author Sandy McClure cite citation after citation and quip after quip about how our money is grabbed by the hands of the few and how we are cheated of the moral and diligent fiscal management we are entitled to as NJ residents. Judges, party bosses and elected officials think our hard to come by money does grow on trees. Just this morning the CN informs there is more money requested for that money pit known as Abbott. Here we see virtually no fiscal accountability for money disbursements and scant results for the BILLIONS already spent. Yet year round school, which has previously shown improvement in test score performance of migrant farm workers’ children, is not investigated to address education problems in low- income districts. We get virtually no bang for our buck with Abbott. But hey let’s just keep up the poor work here. Didn’t Einstein once say insanity was doing something over and over and expecting a different result? This is to say nothing about this obscene pension system! Would only the everyday citizen also get a pension for part-time work. Now this would be an improvement, wouldn’t it, folks?

Good News. The book signing was the most successful I have seen. There were perhaps 100 people buying and discussing and angry. Amazon is already low on the books that had just gone on sale yesterday.

This leads us to the town meeting at Central tonight about the toll hikes. It is being sponsored by a Republican delegation and they are coming to hear you. The meeting will run from 7:30-9:30 in the Little Theater off Junction Road.

Sty tuned for more on that.

1 comment:

MediumPetey said...

It never ceases to amaze me that you continue to use this blog space to encourage and support racism and those that trade in racist themes in their writings.

This time its your advocacy of Bob Ingle's very inappropriately titled "The Soprano State" book about corruption in New Jersey. While no one doubts that there is corruption in New Jersey, to imply that if there is corruption it should be defined in terms of a single ethnic group---that of the Italian people---is racist, pure and simple.

The Sopranos on HBO, while lauded as a great drama, was nothing more than a slam at Italians in New Jersey through stereotyping.

Recently, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito [born in Trenton] spoke at Rutgers University at a Conference. He "complained that the hit HBO television drama not only associated Italian-Americans with the Mafia, but New Jerseyans, as well."

“You have a trifecta — gangsters, Italian-Americans, New Jersey — wedded in the popular American imagination,” Alito said.

Bob Ingle's so-called book's title simply sustains this kind of slur against the fine accomplishments of the Italian people. Why did he use this title? Because it buys in to the popular slur/stereotyping, and he wants the book to sell so he can make a quick buck. He could have entitled the book anything else, keeping the subject matter intact. Perhaps "Corruption from Cape May to Carstadt". Or maybe "Corruption and New Jersey: Perfect Together". But, no---he chose a title that slurs an entire ethnic group.

And your promotion of his book does nothing to end this kind of slurring.

First, you characterize all Latinos as being nothing but "illegal immigrants". Now, you use your blog post to promote a book that buys in to racist stereotyping of all Italian Americans as lowly corrupt criminals.

I am afraid to see who you will bash next.