Tuesday, August 20, 2013

How do judges get their jobs?

An experience with the municipal court system in Belleville New Jersey shows how time and tax money is wasted, and how a town mistreats its senior citizens

My father had always kept his car parked on the street in front of his house in Belleville, NJ. Not in front of anyone else's house, mind you. His second car was kept in the garage. When I visited recently I noticed the old car in front of the house was gone. I asked him what happened to it, and being 82 years old, he said to me, “They towed it away, they said I donated it." Of course, this is not what happened. Among some papers on his desk I found a parking ticket that read "abandoned motor vehicle."

I called the chief of police who said neighbors had complained that the car was parked in front of the house (his house, not theirs, I remind you. I guess some people have nothing better to do than look out their windows and get into other people's business). Then he said, "Well, the town has an ordinance that says a car can't be parked in the same spot for 48 hours." So I guess the cops in Belleville have too much time on their hands, being that they spent their time writing parking tickets to senior citizens. No wonder property taxes are so high in New Jersey. Too many cops doing nothing.

The chief said he was sent written warnings, about not moving the car. Well that isn't true. They sent nothing, because I went through my father's mail every day, and they never sent any warnings. Then the chief said, just go to court, and they'll dismiss the ticket. (Okay...but then why did you write it in the first place?)

So I went to the impound lot and had the car hauled away for $300, which I had to give to the impound lot owners, for their towing fee. The car was still running, but since my mother wasn't driving anymore, there was no need for my father to keep and maintain two cars. Then I scheduled a court date to contest the $260 abandoned motor vehicle ticket.

So I go to the municipal court in Belleville and meet with the prosecutor, who gives me a silly song and dance about how he can't recommend dismissing the ticket, blah, blah, blah. Nevermind that my father lived in Belleville, his entire life as a law abiding citizen, and paid thousands of dollars in property taxes during the past 50 years. Nevermind that there was no written warnings about the car, and nevermind that he's 82 and probably didn't comprehend that there was some obscure ordinance about not leaving a car in the same spot for longer than 48 hours. (By the way, there were no marks on the tires when I found it at the impound lot, so the cops had no proof that the car was parked there for a certain amount of time).

Finally I stood up and said to the wormy prosecutor, "Forget it, I'm just going to pay the ticket and go to the media with my story, about how Belleville treats their senior citizens." Of course, now the prosecutor says, "Don't do that, we'll call the cop and try to reach a settlement."

So we go in front of the municipal court judge to ask for a new date, and this judge rambles on about nonsense...where's your father, I don't know if we can do this, blah, blah, blah. This from a guy, like all municipal court judges in New Jersey, has his own private law practice but moonlights on the side as a judge in order to get into the state pension system and milk the taxpayers for money. Finally he relents and we have a new court date, three weeks later.

So I go to court on the new date - and there's a new prosecutor! I start to explain the situation, and after fifteen seconds he cuts me off with "I'm just going to ask the judge to dismiss this." He hustles into the courtroom, I follow him, he asks the judge to dismiss the ticket, and the same judge from the three weeks prior, the one who grumbled and groaned about setting a new date for a conference, says, "This is a minor issue. Case dismissed."

Wouldn't it have made more sense just to dismiss the ticket the first time? Wouldn't have made more sense for the cops to ask my father if there was anyone helping with things, and could you give them this warning letter about the car parked in front of the house? No. Instead these fools waste my time and tax money with their silly shenanigans. Political nonsense. Right wingers rage about too much government at the federal level, when the reality is there's too much government at the local level. Anyone who writes a parking ticket to senior citizen for a car parked in front of his own house ought to be ashamed of himself. All the problems in the world, and this is what cops, prosecutors, and judges are spending their time and our tax money on? It's a disgrace.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Bud Selig ought to take blame for steroids, performance enhancing drugs in major league baseball

The entire mess of baseball's latest fiasco with players using banned "substances" really lies squarely at the feet of former used car salesman Bud Selig. Bud and his fellow team owners colluded to keep free agent salaries down in the 1980's, which led to players trusting owners even less than usual in the early 1990's. The owners tried everything to force a new basic agreement onto the players, but the union stuck together, and Bud ended up cancelling the 1994 World Series.

Attendance was down when plays resumed in 1995, so when Mark McGwire, the now-vindicated Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, and others started using steroids and the baseballs started flying out of the parks, Bud Selig and his cronies looked the other way, in the name of money. Fans returned to the stadiums, television ratings went up, and revenue for owners and players increased.

If Bud, his fellow owners, and the players had really cared about the integrity of the game, they would have put an end to the steroids and other "performance enhancers" back in the mid to late 1990's. In 2007 many fans were outraged that Barry Bonds had somehow broken Hank Aaron's home run record - now six years later, baseball is still dealing with some of its players using banned "substances?" Wow.

Players, their agents, team owners, managers, coaches, and trainers are all still looking the other way. This is Selig's fault, as the commissioner of baseball, since fifteen years ago he saw no other way to save his sport than to look the other way.

More so than cancelling a World Series and allowing an All Star Game end in a tie, Bud Selig's legacy is one of letting steroids and other performance enhancing drugs tarnish a great game.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Philadelphia Eagles must be desperate, to be relying on Michael Vick as quarterback

It's been reported that the Philadelphia Eagles will be starting Michael Vick at quarterback in this weekend's exhibition season opener, although the coaches have not ruled out Nick Foles as being the eventual starter at QB by the time the regular season begins.

Vick has always been over-rated as a quarterback. He was a pretty good runner but never did much to stand out as an all-around quarterback. When he played in Atlanta supposedly the Falcons had to cut the playbook in half since he couldn't learn some of the plays.

The Eagles need to hope that Vick doesn't remain the turnover machine that he was last fall, when he fumbled the football 8 times in 5 games, to go along with 6 interceptions in those 5 games.

The Eagles also need to hope Vicky doesn't stir up any new controversy with his dog, like last year when he posted a photo on Twitter titled "we workin" with a picture of his daughter doing homework - but sharp eyes noticed a Milk Bone box in the background, which led to Vick later admitting that he now owns a dog. He stated that he wanted his "children to develop a healthy relationship with animals."

Hmm. Well, it might be more believable if it sounded like it was something he would actually say. Sometimes having your publicist write your statements isn't the best way to build credibility.

When his kids get older they'll probably ask Dad what he was thinking back in the day when he electrocuted, hanged, and abused dogs. Animal rights groups ought to try to get that family meeting on tape, and sell it as a fundraiser.

We don't know the breed of Michael's dog; although we can be hopeful that it is being treated well, since the last thing Vick needs is for the dog to get worms. That wouldn't help his image.

Maybe he ought to ask his dog to teach him how to hang on to the football. But I don't think you can carry a football in your mouth in the NFL.






How come most suspended major league baseball players were Hispanic?

With the exception of Milwaukee Brewer outfielder Ryan Braun, all of the 13 players recently suspended by major league baseball for their alleged use of banned substances, or some alleged connection to the wacky Biogenesis clinic, are of Hispanic descent.

Is there some sort of belief in using performance enhancing drugs among Hispanic baseball players? That doesn't seem possible. Is it because the clinic was in Miami, and more Hispanic players hang out in Miami? Doubtful.

Could be just some sort of coincidence. Maybe these players have too many people giving them bad advice. Agents, lawyers, trainers, coaches, publicists, childhood friends, parents...maybe some of these players need to dump their entourages and start thinking for themselves and making their own decisions, especially when it comes to their careers.

In general I often wonder if people think they're really getting that much of an "edge" by using some kind of performance enhancing drug. Is it really true that it can help you that much as an athlete?

The really talented athletes out there do all on their own, by working out and eating right, and taking care of themselves. Plus they have something in their genes that helps. A baseball player who is a great hitter probably also has fantastic eye sight, like Ted Williams did. All the drugs in the world can't change that. It's just a gift that they were born with.