Wikileaks and Transparency

Wikileaks.

Out of curiosity, I googled...and guess what. Explorer would not let me view the site.

But....I found there is a way to get to the site and I could not believe how easy it was.

There were suggestions for making secret contributions. The clandestine methods are like being in the CIA for heaven's sake, but add up to a really interesting concept.

Transparency.

As Americans and traditionalists, we think of ourselves as free thinkers with unlimited access to information and a constitutional right to free speech.

Well, think again.

I have been studying journalism ethics and we are cautioned to use our abilities in a responsible manner. I wonder if folks realize that Wikileaks is really about transparency.

Speaking out and sharing controversy is nothing new and we are sure it is possible in the United States. But you know, there is a pile of stuff with TOP SECRET stamped all over it. Some of that is relatively benign like what came out in the past two weeks about diplomatic relations among the countries we have been dealing with. One country commented to Secretary of State Clinton that "you should hear what we said about you..." Now that sounds like adults, giggling a bit but not taking things too seriously.

What is serious here is CENSORSHIP.

Since the internet started about 40 years ago, it has been mostly self policed. Now there is a possiblity that things might change due to this "Cyber Gate". I heard that term today but can't remember where so I am unable to attribute, but think it is going to be a term you hear many times in the next weeks.

Wikileaks performs a function. Truth is absolute and truth is good. There is a conviction that popping a blister makes it heal faster. Wikileaks has spent four years as a non profit entity in order to let whistleblowers of all kinds have a platform. Sometimes facts should be made public because revealing them will make society better in the long run.

As a journalist, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. To think that I would have to avoid stores with cameras, avoid purchasing CD's that can be traced if one wants to use them for filing complaints with WL, to watch for surveillance when preparing documents, choosing a post office that is far from home...on and on....

Whistle blowing or divulging the truth about some entity or issue should be encouraged not censored. The current Wikileaks' discussion really underscores the threat of censoring.

The jury is out on Wikileak, but as the world continues to exploit the details of the current WL scandal, let us not forget that this is really about censorship.

This is not about spreading untruths for malicious intent or personal gain, but rather about sharing truth with the world in order to make it a better place for everyone.

Have a nice day.

Turkey Day

Where has the time gone. Six months since the election and I am feeling the itch to comment on some of the stuffing in our municipal turkey.

Tomorrow is a first for Trenton, at least in recent memory, as the Trenton Thanksgiving Parade winds its way from the State Capitol to City Hall. This could be lots of fun and the weather forcast is sunny and cold. No snow for the trip to Grandmother's house but who cares...maybe Santa/Mack will be at City Hall,

I can't believe I said that. I better concentrate on the other turkey...no pun intended.

Any recipe for stuffing (or dressing if you will) contains a traditional balance of bread crumbs, onions, celery, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.

Lets start with the traditional crumb stuffing for our turkey...usually this is when opinions pop out about corn bread vs. Italian bread.

Trenton's Trentonian newspaper has been toasting Tony's crumbs so long that they can sop up lots of gravy. Come to think of it, at $100,000 per exec, there may not be enough gravy to go around.

Chopping onions always makes me cry and do they stink. I hate to say it, City Hall does the same thing.

Celery gives the recipe a little crunch and flavor, not unlike the colorful collection of employees that now work in mayoral offices. Usually herbs like parsley and sage flavor the mix, but I think sage (wisdom) is in short supply, judging by the lack of ordinary common sense used to find qualified city staff.

Salt...it is rubbing salt in the raw wounds of taxpayers to keep promising that police, firemen and even dogcatchers will stay working while making some of them quit and other take demotions, knowing that the money issue has not been solved.

It is troubling and a tummy churning dilemma. I hope this holiday does not come off half-baked because I don't have a lot of confidence in the recipe ingredients.

I keep wondering if there is a hidden strategy in Mayor Mack's administration that will pull some of these problems out of the fire. I really hope that something works because ordinary citizens seem to have lost a lot of clout. I hope that city council is able to stay ahead of the issues constantly being tossed their way.

Have a good day.

First Amendment 5K Run-Walk October 2

Picture this, joggers: bright sunny weather and beautiful autumn foliage, a flat well-tended USATF certified course, and free T-shirts to boot. Serious runners and wannabees alike are invited to participate in Mercer County Community College's 5K Run-Walk this first weekend in October.

The address is Mercer County College, 1200 Edinburg Rd., West Windsor, NJ. Coming in from Hughes Drive or Edinburg Road, follow the signs to the Athletic Department on the northeast part of campus.

Registration starts online, but runners can register on location this Saturday, October 2, before the 9:00 a.m.start.

There are going to be trophies and awards of course, but if you are someone who is just out for a good time, consider that your running "costume" might qualify for the "Best Depiction of a First Amendment Right" or "Most Expressive Outfit".

A live DJ is planned for post-race festivities. There will be refreshments, goodies, and T-shirts until the supply runs out. The website suggests that there will be also scavenger hunt postings related to first amendment rights and journalism notes.

The cost for runners is $20 for early registration, $25 the day of the event. If you can put together a team you will qualify for a discount.

Contact information for registration is email: kellysmith369@gmail.com.

Proceeds from this event provides income for journalism supplies and educational opportunities for the staff of MCCC's student newspaper, The Voice.

We take freedom of the press for granted sometimes. It takes an event like this to remind us that we should not take our constitutional liberties for granted.

People rock!

MCCC Aviation Program Flight Fair Benefit

Here it is almost October and I just realized that I have not visited with you folks in a while. I promise to write more frequently. Going back to school is tough enough mentally, but I totally underestimated the physical effort and time management challenges.

One of my assignments for class found me at the Trenton-Mercer Airport today, writing about the upcoming "Flight Fair" to benefit Mercer County Community College's Aviation Program.

Aviation Program?

This seems to be one of New Jersey's best kept secrets. Although flying teams from New Hampshire south respect MCCC competitiveness, efforts are largely unrecognized by local press. These flight students, training through Mercer's aviation curriculum, have won many trophies and championships. We should be darned proud of them.

Mercer's flight school has reportedly produced a Navy Top Gun,military pilots, blimp pilots, State Police pilots, commercial airlines pilots, even banner planes pilots.

The MCCC Flight Fair is held a couple of times a year to raise money by taking visitors on senic flights at a fee of twenty five cents a pound. Folks line up to book a ticket and be weighed, and that determines the charge for the 20 minute ride. There is a minimum of ten dollars, even for kids, and a maximum of twenty five dollars. Actual weights are tactfully kept confidential.

Its sorta like pony rides in the sky...for adults as well as kids.

This year the event is scheduled for Saturday October 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain date is October 3.

Take 95 to exit 2, Scotch Road, and then follow signs to the airport. The MCCC hangar area is the far side from the terminal area, adjacent to the Ronson hangar.

Come on out and enjoy the airport and visiting with our latest generation of up and coming pilots.

I got such a kick out of a sign hanging in the office,

"Its That Time Again, Please Check For Bird's Nests."

The dispatcher on duty told me that this time of year has a lot of migratory bird activity. Birds coming in from the north set up housekeeping in any part of the airplane that has an opening. So this advice is a real part of preflight check.

Well, its time to move on to another project.

Have a nice day.

Should Witches Pay Taxes?

Here we are almost at the close of another tax quarter. If you are in business for yourself, or pay an accountant to keep your millions out of harm's way, you still march to the rythmn of the taxman.

New Jersey is not alone in struggling to make taxes cover expenses. Governor Christie could use some new ideas for economic stimulus. The following is something out of the ordinary.

The economically challenged country of Romania recently considered taxing witches and soothsayers.

According to an article in the UK Telegraph, Romanian Senators Alin Popoviciu and Christi Duqulescu of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party recently proposed a levy those who charge for occult services.

Of course the witches protested.


The Senate proposal would require them to keep receipts and track their revenues. As if that was not bad enough, the new law would also make witches and fortune tellers subject to fines if their predictions proved false.

Talk about "quality control". This item alone could provide a lot of work for international law litigators. False predictions...might be under the category of laws of commerce?

The Romanian Senate eventually voted the bill down. It is widely assumed that there was fear that the witches would retaliate with a curse.

Romanian Gypsy soothsayers roam throughout Europe. They are colorful and traditional nomads, many still traveling by horse drawn vans. There is a whole breed of horse now known as Gypsy Vanners, gorgeous black and white spotted beasts with flowing hair at their fetlocks. With their caravans and campfires, the Gypsies draw attention in every town they visit. They do odd jobs or tell fortunes, but tales of chicanery and theft follow in their trail.

Recently France stepped up its efforts to expatriate itinerant Gypsies back to Romania. This has been met with protests on both sides but the French Government does not seem to be as intimidated by the threat of the "evil eye" as Romanian Senators.

This is an interesting slant on the news this close to Hallow'een. I will keep you up to date on developments.

Have a nice day.

Taking a Break

The end of August is here.

The sweltering hot days of a record breaking summer are now relieved by cool evenings as the temperature drops down into the fifties or sixties, sure signs of Fall.

Parking lot asphalt still smells oily but the air now also has a hint of smoke. We are almost out of barbecue Sundays. Only two more weekends to go before September swoops down and envelopes us with falling leaves and swirls of Indian Summer.

Labor Day comes later this year, September 6. Most college students started on August 30. For some of us, the more serious endeavors of Autumn are here. If we were back in the country, we would be cutting corn stalks and bringing in the pumpkins.

I have to say it's been interesting. I had quite a season blogging here at the Trentonian, but I think I am going to take a break.

Artfull Codger will still be blogging but not as frequently as before. There will be times, for sure, when Town Hall events prompt a lede and I have to comment, but...

Time is catching up with me so I am looking ahead. I hope to stimulate these aging brain cells and meet new friends. It will be good to see how the rest of the world tackles its issues. A broader point of view comes with the learning process.

Grammy is going back to school.

Yippee!

Stay tuned and wish me luck.

Yep.

Have a nice day.

Cheating? Rules Are For The Other Guy.

It has been drummed into us since we were children to honor our elders, but why? Just because..because seniors and sages are supposed to be wise, law abiding, living examples of the golden rule. That said, I have a hard time with some attitudes here in the capital city of Trenton by folks who should be setting an example.

I am talking about cheating.

Cheating in the capital city of New Jersey?

Puleeze.

Did you know that seventy five percent of Mercer County's non-profits are in the city of Trenton? This makes us kinda top heavy in tax exempt properties, but I was flabbergasted at how many buildings are churches. This must mean we are one of the saintliest cities in the state, perhaps even in the country.

So what would a church be expected to do? Provide guidance. Set moral levels and help those who are marooned or sinking in the morass of the current economy. Churches must be the north star in a moral compass, propping up the complex local society, maintaing a comfort zone for the average resident, while defining the separation of church and state.

Doesn't the Bible say "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's"?

In a society that has to collect taxes that never seem to meet expenses, why do tax exempt entities exist at all? Well, taxes are waived for those entities whose value in society is helping homeless, addicts, the disadvantaged, those situations not as tangible as police, fire, mayors and clerks.

Has anyone ever considered that city essential services have to be paid for? Not with hat-in-hand monies from Governor Christie, but with licenses, permits, various charges and fees that keep our wheels turning.

Then there is the sense of helping our city. Local requirements and permit regulations for repair to your home or to have a garage sale are based on the expectation that you are helping to carry the freight.

On any given weekend, tables and vendors are scattered throughout the city. Sometimes the stuff is in front of stores, sometimes in front of houses, but they are all accounted for by city ordinances and fee schedules.

The vendors sell everything from mattresses to teddy bears, sneakers to motor bikes. Some are gypsies, many are floaters that change location every week, not in front of their own house, for sure. This is a quality of life issue; sometimes you see someone zipping up his pants and you know that corner of the building is going to stink tomorrow morning.

Trenton has made an effort to regulate the issue by limiting the permits issued for each location and reserving and documenting the date for the inspectors. When you see a rental van with the vendor selling at the tailgate, you wonder if the stuff is stolen. If an inspector were to walk his beat and ticket, he would have to do it a street at a time because it is such a vast problem.

Has anyone ever told these dim-witted knuckleheads that whatever monies are collected for marriage licenses, electrical permits, pedlar licenses, even float rentals and flea market permits, are all part of a complex and very challenging financial picture?

I guess not. Cheating is a way of life.

I wonder sometimes if this a left-over from an attitude that law must be "the Man" and does not apply to whatever "you" want to do. Wake up, you guys. The money that these permit requirements call for help us to run our city.

If parents have the attitude that law-abiding applies only to "the other guy", is it any wonder why we have such problems in the schools and on the streets?

All the parades in the world will not solve this problem if we do not internalize the Golden Rule.

Have a nice day.