The Lord's Prayer Forbidden by Court Injunction at Council Meetings

The law suit against Point Pleasant Beach, instigated by the ACLU, made waves at Fox News. It was reported as "No Spin News" on Bill O'Reilly's The Factor. ACLU Sues New Jersey Town Over Pre-Meeting Prayer is the title of a short article appearing at the Fox News website. An injunction was issued to prohibit recitation of the Lord's Prayer at borough council meetings.

An Analysis of Health Care Costs and Proposed Remedies

The Kaiser website has an informative article which breaks down health care costs in the United States. Also included is a section detailing the factors which are driving up the cost of health care. Once you are aware of costs and causes for their increases cost containment proposals can be made and analyzed. This article is an excellent place to start when searching for solutions to America's health care conundrum.

Conspicuously missing from the analysis is tort driven costs. They are hard to quantify because their expression takes the form of excessive diagnostic testing. Still some effort needs to be made to estimate the cost of practicing defensive medicine and the high cost to physicians of liability insurance.

Merry Christmas

From one of my favorite scriptural passages:

Isaiah 9:6 (New International Version, ©2010)


6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

It is a message of hope and comfort; the quintessential meaning of Christmas.

Daniel B. Wallace's The Birth of Jesus Christ supplies historic details about events related to the birth of Christ.

Ocean First Bank Locations

Ocean First Bank has three branch locations in Point Pleasant. Each has a distinct phone extension. They are at:


3100 St Hwy No 88 Road
Point Pleasant NJ 08742
1 (888) OCEAN33 ext 5600

701 Arnold Avenue
Point Pleasant Beach NJ 08742
1 (888) OCEAN33 ext 4200


2400 Bridge Avenue
Point Pleasant NJ 08742
1 (888) OCEAN33 ext 4300

Compromising a Negotiating Position

The previous blog entry took notice of Point Pleasant mayoral candidate Schroeder's comments that borough employees need to trust that the "council is dealing straight and fair with them" and that his "opponents have completely lost that trust." He also said that the jobs of borough employees should not be jeopardized.

The remarks could unnecessarily limit the town's negotiating options with municipal employee unions. Schroeder makes an unsubstantiated allegation about trust. He does not cite specifics which would lead a reasonable person to conclude that inappropriate actions led to an issue involving trust and fairness. If Schroeder has knowledge of specifics he should have mentioned them. If not he should not have said anything. What he did was put forth a negative descriptor of town officials which compromises their negotiating effectiveness. That's a serious act on the part of someone who aspires to lead the town and empowers unions at the expense of the town.

In addition Schroeder needlessly gave away a valued bargaining chip by ruling out in advance any adverse action directed at borough employee jobs. Why do that without a quid pro quo? Maintaining maximum flexibility in advance of concessions from the other side is a basic bargaining concept.

Mayoral Candidate Schroeder on the Cap and Borough Employees

The previous blog entry noted the views of Councilwoman Rogers on how the deal with the 2 percent cap limit. Those view were detailed in the Ocean Star article Mayoral candidates share ideas for staying under 2-percent cap, Rogers' opponent, Mr. Schroeder, responded by indicating he would look into shared services "including the court and the planning and building departments." His specifics also included restructuring permit application fees "to make our planning and building department self-sufficient.” He added that court fines also could be increased.

Schroeder ruled out jeopardizing borough employees’ jobs. Then, in what appeared to be a swipe at his opponent, Schroeder said

.... the employees have to trust that council is dealing straight and fair with them. Categorically, I can tell you we have that trust and our opponents have completely lost that trust. Real financial responsibility avoids gimmicks and corrects past mismanagement. Real financial responsibility is the now and the future of what Point Pleasant needs. There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

To which Councilwoman Rogers responded:

I find Mr. Schroeder’s opinions about me just that — his opinions — and not those of borough personnel or taxpayers. I have their respect and trust. I believe Mr. Schroeder was an ineffective councilman and mayor who increased property taxes 68 percent, cut sweetheart deals for the PBA and municipal unions off the backs of taxpayers, and did it all behind closed doors.

Councilwoman Rogers Addresses the 2 Percent Cap Problem

Eric Colvin wrote the article Mayoral candidates share ideas for staying under 2-percent cap, which appears in the Point Pleasant News section of The Ocean Star, a publication of the Star News Group. Councilwoman Rogers, one of the two mayoral candidates, provided specific answers. She spoke of "options to drastically lower garbage pickup and recycling expenses” and a pledge to require that appointed professionals "take a 20-percent, hourly-fee reduction, along with tiered billing." Her explanation that: “The pain of the budget must include a shared sacrifice, and not off the backs of taxpayers — they have had enough,” was in keeping with the mood of the electorate and the reality of New Jersey's excessive taxation.