My Dispatches column on the state budget.
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.
No surprise here, Part 2
This was the worst-kept secret in basketball. A painful and embarrassing episode that, due to the club’s decision not to pay Larry Brown, will hang around tainting the club for months. Add to this the decision not only not to fire Isaiah Thomas but to make him coach, and you can see why New York basketball fans have given up on the franchise.
No surprise here, Part 1
From todays’ New York Times:
WASHINGTON, June 22 — The Senate voted today against measures calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, after a long and emotional debate that was in some ways reminiscent of the Vietnam War era.
The votes, 86 to 13 on one measure and 60 to 39 on the second, reflected not only deep divisions between Republicans and Democrats but within the Democratic ranks as well. The bitterness of the debate, and some comments afterward, made it clear that Iraq would be a dominant issue in this year’s Congressional elections, and perhaps in the 2008 presidential race.
The first measure was an amendment to a military-spending bill offered by Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, both Democrats. It would have set a July 2007 withdrawal date. But with a majority of Democrats voting “no,” its lopsided defeat was assured.
The second, more generally worded measure was also intended to scale down the American commitment in Iraq. It declared that it was “the sense of the Senate” that redeployment of United States troops from Iraq begin by the end of this year.
Only 12 Democrats and the lone independent, Senator James M. Jeffords of Vermont, voted in favor of the Kerry-Feingold proposal. The second measure was supported by 37 Democrats, Mr. Jeffords and one Republican, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Six Democrats joined 54 Republicans in opposing it. They were Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Bill Nelson of Florida, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
More battles on the budget
It is now nine days and counting until a state budget must be adopted. It does not look good.
A culture of corruption
Public service for private profit — we all should work in Washington.
