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.

Runner’s diary Tuesday

After several days outside, the rain has chased me back to the treadmill. That said, I pushed out five miles for the first time in ages, managing a moderate 8:59 pace (44:55).

iPod: Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It

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Connecting the dots

David Sirota connects the Panama free-trade pact to the president’s announced crack down on tax havens, pointing out that Panama is one of the bigger violators of tax-haven transparency rules around.

Sorry, but pretending to be for cracking down on tax havens while pushing a trade deal that rewards one of the biggest tax havens – and codifies that tax haven’s laws into our international trade system – insults the public’s intelligence.

Maybe we should call it the Zombie Line

Zombies are the undead — and so, apparently, is the MOM Line.

The rail proposal — which is supported by Monmouth and Ocean counties, but opposed in Middlesex — just won’t go away, no matter how illogical or expensive it will be to built or operate.

According to NJ.com, the folks in Monmouth think they can revive the plan by eliminating an expensive tunnel and replacing it with a transfer station. Considering that the line already offered the longest commute, adding a changeover is just plain dopey.

I’m going to have to agree with Mayor Frank Gambatese:

“The state is in dire need of money and this man refuses to acknowledge that this project is dead. If he is not willing to accept having trains go through Monmouth County, then he should just drop it. The whole MOM line should be put to bed.”

Gambatese also said D’Amico’s alternatives require traversing the Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan, a plan that has drawn significant opposition from Gov. Jon Corzine and state Department of Environmental Protection officials who oppose putting any commuter rail line through the national and state historic landmark.

“If it goes through the park, it’s dead,” Gambatese said. “I suggest Mr. D’Amico start looking at what the people in his county need and meet it without impacting the people in Middlesex.”

Clutch and not clutch

The difference between the Mets and Phillies is in how they react to pressure. With the game on the line and two on in the 10th, the Phillies' Jack Taschner get Carlos Beltran to hit into a double play. For the Mets in the bottom half of the inning, Sean Green gives up a hit, hits a batter and issues two walks — four baserunners, three bases, do the math. Phillies score. Game over.

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Long shot and a long game

Taking a quick break from the Mets to catch a 50-1 longshot, Mine that Bird win the Kentucky Derby. I'm not a race fan and I had no idea how shocking this result was until after the race when they said the horse was 50-1.

Then I turn back to the Mets to see Omir Santos get pegged at the plate to lkeep this thing tied at 5.

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