Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

The fear factor and the politicians who use it

Stories like this in The New York Times leave me with a heaviness in the pit of my stomache. At 44, it shouldn’t surprise me, but the level of distrust and fear and outright hatred still does and the willingness of too many politicians to play to that fear, to stoke it for political advantage, is downright scary.

Whether we are talking about yesterday’s gay marriage ruling or security issues, too many politicians — especially those with Rs next to their names — figure there are votes buried deep in the scared psyches of a large portion of the American public.

It is sad and evil and — well, I’m not sure what else to say about it.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

South Brunswick’s road warriors

I ran six miles today — on the treadmill, but six nonetheless — and am starting to feel good about my running again. I did 15 miles last week in four days of running, 16 in five runs the week before, with the goal being 25 miles in a week, five days on the road, with the long-term goal being next year’s Long Beach Island run.

So far this week, I’m at 14 miles — four miles each on Tuesday and Wednesday, six today. I’m shooting for three tomorrow and then three on Sunday during the second Viking 5K.

The race last year was quite successful (I unfortunately missed it), with the money going to help athletes through the Viking Athletic Club.

I make no promises — I’ve learned that doing so is just bad politics, so to speak, but say hi if you see me.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

So much for accountability

The president says the buck stops with him, that he is accountable for all that goes wrog.

So why is he so allergic to any agency, panel or individual whose job it is to keep an eye on what he and his administration are doing? Is he worried that we’ll find out more stories like this?

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.