Hank Kalet

Runner’s diary, Wednesday

My hamstrings were incredibly tight this morning, especially the lower hammies closer to the knees, and my calves were sore. But that’s just random bellyaching. There will always be some sort of physical malady to deal with — running, after all, puts stress on the body. But without stress there can be no improvement in overall health, in performance, etc. And that’s why I run.

Anyway, despite the whining, I managed four miles in 34:44 — an 8:41 on a bad day. That pace tells me I’m doing what needs to be done.

Music: Arctic Monkeys, My Favourite Worst Nightmare

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The Blog of South Brunswick

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How green is McCain?

Centrists and independents are likely to take a close look at the candidacy of John McCain in the coming months, especially once the GOP attack machine gets revved up and starts painting the Democratic candidate as some kind of raving socialist.

Independents and centrists with a green bent, however, would do well to read this piece from The Nation, which should stand as a primer on McCain’s environmental credentials.

A sample:

The media touts McCain’s stance on climate as evidence of his straight talkin’ maverickosity. Conservative stalwarts assail McCain for his heresy (Romney attacked McCain’s climate bill in Michigan and Florida). The public hails him for reaching across the aisle. Even Democrats and greens seem inclined to give him a grade of Good Enough on climate.

This is a classic case of what our president calls the soft bigotry of low expectations. Judged against his fellow Republicans, McCain is a paragon of atmospheric wisdom. Judged against the climate and energy legislation afoot in Congress, he falls short. Judged against the two leading Democratic presidential candidates, he is a pale shadow. Judged against the imperatives of climate science — that is to say, judged against brute physical reality — he isn’t even in the ballpark.

It’s time to stop grading McCain on a curve.

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

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Runner’s diary, Tuesday

Seven miles in about 59 minutes. I was flying, until I accidently knocked the emergency cap off the treadmill and stopped cold at 5.77 miles (about 47 minutes). I immediately reset and finished the final mile and a quarter in abouat 12 minutes.

Music: The Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver

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

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MOM politics

I’m not going to disagree with The Asbury Park Press on this — or not entirely. Yes, the governor’s announcement on Sunday that Jamesburg, Monroe and South Brunswick will be spared the MOM line. And yes, it is likely that the announcement was politically motivated, designed to win support from Middlesex County legislators for his debt reduction/toll hike plan.

But I have to wonder if the Press would have been so shocked had it been on the receiving end of the favor, had he announced at a Monmouth or Ocean event that the Monmouth Junction route was a done deal. Just wondering.

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

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Heavy lifting ahead on toll plan

The governor is pitching his debt and toll plan to the wrong people, as Alfred Doblin points out in this on the mark column.

Unless the governor can change the structure of the protests, he will lose the debate — even if he is better prepared and offers what may be the best financial rescue for New Jersey. The public doesn’t want tolls raised and does not distrust government to make substantial cuts.

Remarkably, Republicans are making this their issue. As if state Republicans played no part in under-funding state liabilities or ignoring the looming fiscal crisis.

The public has every right to doubt that the governor can cut spending significantly. But it is foolish to believe that opponents of the governor’s plan will cut spending either. Cutting taxes is painful. Cutting services is more painful. Cutting contractually agreed upon benefits from state workers is more than painful, it is litigious and costly. There is no easy or inexpensive way out.

Corzine would have been smarter to unveil his plan in stages. He spent a year crafting his plan. During that year, he could have cut $2 billion from the state budget, demanded that the Legislature authorize no new spending without a guaranteed recurring revenue source and insisted that the public vote on whether the state takes on unsecured debt.

There wouldn’t be pig balloons flying around Trenton in February if Corzine floated those balloons last spring. New Jerseyans believe the state is drowning in debt. But they also believe the state is weighed down by wasteful spending.

If the governor wants to get rid of the flying pigs, he has to first cut the pork to the bone.

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

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