Author: hankkalet

The civil war in Syria — and, yes, it is a civil war — is entering a new phase, if a story in The New York Times today can be believed. Syria has become a proxy war between the United States and Russia.

On the one hand, we have the United States aiding rebel groups, helping direct the flow of arms and weighing the need to directly provide weapons — and fighters? — to rebel groups; on the other, we are loudly criticizing Russia for its alliance with the Syrian government and the arms it is providing.

No doubt, Syria is engaged in a brutal crackdown. No doubt, the rebels are at a disadvantage. And no doubt, Russia is hip deep in the violence because it has been shipping arms to the government.

But arming them is not the way to fix this. Instead, it will set up a new proxy war in the region between Russia and the U.S. with Russia seeking to defend its influence in a volatile region.

Working with Russia to end the flow of arms into Syria and convincing Russia and China to work through United Nations to end the fighting has to be exhausted before anything else is placed on the table.

Even then, the military option should be kept locked away, avoided at all costs.

Why Sharpe James needs a campaign war chest is beyond me. The former Newark mayor and state senator was convicted on corruption charges, but continues to control thousands that he can use to influence people still in office.

Assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R-Ocean) thinks it’s “beyond absurd,” and he wants the state to end the practice. He’s introduced legislation that would require “any candidate convicted of crimes or offenses to return campaign contributions to donors” and would freeze “most campaign funds of candidates indicted for crimes or offenses.” Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer) is the co-sponsor.

“Allowing them to spread their influence from inside a prison is unconscionable. It’s no wonder the public has lost confidence in its elected officials. This legislation is needed to put an end to this reprehensible practice.”

These campaign funds contribute to the culture of corruption that plagues government at all levels on the state. Campaign money should be viewed, in its most naked form, as a legal system of bribery. Contributors buy access with donations, and often expect — and get — much more.

Campaign funds like those held by James are about power and favors, with James and others — everyone from Tom Kean Jr., Sheila Oliver and even the governor — wielding the cash to reward friends and punish enemies.

The bipartisan nature of the problem requires a bipartisan solution. This bill is a good start.

A friend of ours had a baby yesterday, so my wife wanted to swing by The Children’s Place Outlet in the Marketplace on Route 27 for some gifts.

The outlet always is busy, which makes the vast emptiness that characterizes the rest of the center that much more startling. There are maybe four open retail shops here — representing maybe a quarter of the usable space.

Part of the reason is that the center is old and in need of renovation. But that’s only part of it. A newly built strip mall down the street and the recently upgraded Kendall Par Shopping Center (now Town Place) also have large amounts of empty retail space.

Vacant storefronts, unfortunately, are the norm these days — it is nearly impossible to find a mall of any size that can claim no vacancy. Add this to the stagnant job market and one really has to question the president’s assertion that the private sector is holding its own and the governor’s boast of a New Jersey miracle — proving that both parties are out of touch with what is happening out here in the real world.

• Send me an e-mail.
• Read poetry at The Subterranean.
• Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
• Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.

Buried in an NJ.com story on a potential state bond vote that could provide a much-needed $750 million in construction money to the state’s colleges was this little gem:

Lawmakers also want to give college presidents the power to leverage revenue-producing assets like dormitories to entice developers to build academic buildings and research centers. Under the bill, which will be considered by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday, colleges could give developers the rights to dormitory fees and other revenue streams in exchange for financing construction projects.

The story offered nothing more, but the paragraph should be a red flag for New Jerseyans concerned about the privatization of public resources. Like former Gov. Jon Corzine’s effort to sell off the lottery and the Turnpike and Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to privatize state park management, the long-term outlook for leasing out college dorms to developers seems not to be part of the discussion.

If I’m reading this correctly, schools would be allowed to turn over their dorms and other facilities in the hopes that these developers will use the proceeds to help fund on-campus construction. What this in fact would mean is that developers old generate profit from college dorms, and possibly push campus housing costs up.

These partnership always are sold as win-win, as a way to impose market efficiencies on public budgets, but efficiencies rarely occur and if they do they are at the expense of the people being served.

Check out the news on our latest visit to Tent City, the arrest of Minister Steve and some thoughts on homelessness in New Jersey at The Tent City Project blog.

• Send me an e-mail.
• Read poetry at The Subterranean.
• Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
• Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.