Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend, Thanksgiving weekend edition

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By Greg Kelly

Saturday, November 30

• Holiday Arts & Crafts Marketplace at Monmouth Park (Oceanport) – MORE INFO

• Middlemen at NJ Repertory Company (Long Branch) – MORE INFO

• AAUW Used Book Sale (Middletown) – MORE INFO

• Holiday & Craft Shop at Poricy Park (Middletown) – MORE INFO

• Holiday Weekend Wine Trail at Four JG’s (Colts Neck) – MORE INFO

• 12 Days of Christmas Scavenger Hunt (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• Chrise’s Dare to Dream 5k (Freehold Twp) – MORE INFO

• Spring Lake Christmas Celebration Kick-off – MORE INFO

• How to Use the eLibrary (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• A Shop Around The Corner at First Ave. Playhouse (Atlantic Highlands) – MORE INFO

• After-Thanksgiving Sale at Jersey Shore Premium Outlets (Tinton Falls) – MORE INFO

• Ocean Grove Shop Small Business Saturday – MORE INFO

• Asbury Fresh Winter Pop-up Market – MORE INFO

• Holiday Craft Market & Book Fair (Avon) – MORE INFO

• Turkey Derby XXXX at Wall Speedway – MORE INFO

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Marlboro Teen Is Reunited With Parents

Karwan family photo via News12’s facebook page.

Michael Karwan, the missing autistic teenage who was located in Cleveland, Ohio last night, has been reunited with his parents, according to a statement by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Grammiccioni.

Grammiccioni said that Karwan, 19, was reported missing from his parents’ home on Tuesday, Nov. 19, sparking an intensive search of the region that spread into upstate New York. Over the next week, Karwan traveled by bus from Monmouth County to Manhattan and from New York via Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before arriving in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon his arrival in Cleveland on Saturday, Karwan attempted to check-in to an overcrowded men’s shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries (LMM), but was referred to the Volunteers of America (VoA) shelter.

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Autistic Marlboro teen Michael Karwan found safe in Ohio

Congressman: Autistic Marlboro teen Michael Karwan found safe in Ohio Demolition contractor faces murder charges in Philadelphia building collapse (via NewsWorks)

Michael Karwan, the autistic Marlboro teeanger who left his home more than week ago after an argument with his parents, was found safe in Ohio Tuesday evening, a congressman said.  “Michael Karwan has been found safe in Cleveland and will soon reunite…

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RED BANK: LUCKY BREAK’S SHATTERED DREAM

James Hertler, below, shut down Lucky Break Billiards in September, a month after police cracked down over BYOB issues. (Click to enlarge) By JOHN T. WARD How’s this for an auspicious start for a business?• In early 2011, in an effort to spice up…

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N.J. court bars sex offenders from Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media

N.J. court bars sex offenders from Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media (via NJ.com)

File photo TRENTON — A state appeals court ruled today that sex offenders on parole don’t have the right to use popular online services such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The three-judge panel said that opening up social media to those parolees…

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Chris Christie will let insurance companies decide whether to extend 800,000 policies

Chris Christie will let insurance companies decide whether to extend 800,000 policies (via NJ.com)

Gov. Chris Christie will allow insurance companies in New Jersey to decide whether to reinstate the insurance policies of 800,000 people who received recent letters saying they would be canceled because they did not meet the standards of the Affordable…

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Smith’s Delegation Meets With Typhoon Victims, Rescues Helicopter Crash Survivors

Philippines Country Representative Joe Curry walks with Congressmen Al Green, Trent Franks, and Chris Smith through areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan during a congressional visit to Leyte, Philippines. Photo Credit: Kent Truog

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and his bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) which traveled to the region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally called Typhoon Yolanda, meeting with victims of the typhoon, emergency workers and U.S. and Filipino government officials, are set to depart the Philippines today.

“It’s mind numbing and heart numbing,” Smith said. “I’ve been to many places around the world when there have been catastrophic typhoons hurricanes, earthquakes and even more. It is powerful to witness the Filipino people’s resiliency in the face of devastation, in the face the loss of life.”

Smith, who is joined on the trip by Reps. Al Green (D-TX-09), and Trent Franks (R-AZ-08), saw for himself the typhoon’s devastation in Tacloban City and surrounding areas in Leyte.

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Hornik For Governor?

Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik. Photo via facebook.

When the news broke that Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik was eyeing a run for governor,  he asked for MoreMonmouthMusings’ endorsement.

So here goes: MoreMonmouthMusings hereby endorses Mayor Jonathan Hornik for the Democratic nomination for governor in the next gubernatorial election, whenever that is.

Much of the political news out of the League of Municipalities Convention in Atlantic City last week centered around the developing race between State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. Almost as an afterthought, PolitickerNJ reported, yesterday, that Hornik wanted his name added to the gubernatorial mix.

PolitickerNJ.com spied veteran Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik at the cocktail  parties and meet-and-greets in Atlantic City last week and as Democrats prepare  for Senate President Steve Sweeney versus Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Hornik  said he wanted to add his own name to the gubernatorial sweepstakes.

“I would definitely not rule out running in 2017 or before,” said Hornik. “I  love being mayor of Marlboro, and I am running again in two years, but I think  we have a story to tell.”

Hornik won re-election in 2011 with nearly 70% of the vote.

This year, Incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Christie won 75% of the vote in  Marlboro while Hornik’s Democrats went 3-0 in local contests.

Just weeks from Governor Chris Christie’s reelection, the race for the next Democratic gubernatorial nomination has already started because Christie’s presidential prospects could result in a Special Election for Governor in 2015 or 2016.  Should Christie resign as governor to become a full-time presidential candidate, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno would become governor. There would be a special gubernatorial election for the remainder of Christie’s term as part of the next general election, unless the resignation happens within 60 days of the next election.

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I’m Conservative and I’m Pro Immigration

By Michael Laffey

            I will put my Conservative credentials up against just about anyone.  The first President I voted for was Ronald Reagan.  I was a founder of the Conservative Student Union on my College Campus.  As a lawyer I have given countless pro-bono hours to conservative legal causes and worked on the campaigns of some of the most conservative politicians this state has seen.  As a result I tend to get a little testy when somebody tells me I am not conservative enough because I am pro- immigration and support immigration reform. The truth of the matter is that pro- immigration is the conservative stance.  Whether a position is conservative or not depends not on what Rush Limbaugh says but on whether it adheres to bedrock conservative principles.

            For instance, we believe in a government of limited powers enumerated in the Constitution.  Nowhere does the constitution explicitly give Congress the right to regulate immigration.  You can find the power to regulate immigration only if you infer it from other enumerated powers in the Constitution such as the Naturalization clause or the Commerce clause.  Of course we have all seen what happens when liberals “infer” powers from the Constitution.

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IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN BURY IN 2000 PAGES

By Stuart J. Moskovitz

Once again, there are rumblings of “death panels” in the Affordable Care Act. This happens when a bill is passed as massive as this one that not a single member of Congress read prior to approving it. We are slowly learning of the myriad of difficulties buried in this bill simply because it was jammed down our throats with the goal of not airing it carefully beforehand. But the death panels do not exist.

There are two provisions to which Sarah Palin, Mark Halperin and even Howard Dean have referred as “death panels.” The first, Section 1233, involves counselling (voluntary, not mandatory) of “end of life” provisions. These include Living Wills, Health Advisory Statements, etc., all of which are standard documents every trust and estates attorney prepares for his/her client. There is nothing sinister about these. The second provision involves the Independent Payment Advisory Board whose sole function is to make recommendations regarding ways of cutting Medicare costs in the future. Those recommendations are not self-implementing. They must be submitted to Congress and approved by the President. This means first, there is no review of any individual case. Second, whatever recommendations are made need to be passed as if they were a new law. Oddly, there are so many serious harmful provisions of this Act, it is curious that everyone is fixated on two provisions that are relatively benign.

There are provisions that are not benign that are harmful to this nation and not just to its health care. What is amazing is that while everyone is obsessed with something that is not in the Act, they are totally ignoring a provision of the Act that is as unconstitutional and unAmerican as any provision of any Act in our lifetime. The Act provides in section 3007 for a “value based payment modifier.” This means health professionals get reviewed by the Administration and a calculation is made measuring the average cost for treating a patient for the physician or “group” of doctors versus the “success” of the treatment. It would be difficult to dream of a more subjective measurement so subject to abuse. I stand awestruck by the teachers who support the ACA (having not read it, of course) while screaming that it is not fair to “measure” their performance by the success of their students. This calculation leads to a “mathematical” payment modifier that reduces the payments given by Medicare to each group of health practitioners. But that’s not the bad part.

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