Christie Doesn't Know Where He's Going

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie often doesn't know where he's going.
And even when he does know where he's headed, Christie doesn't know how to get there.
Now, this may or may not surprise you.
Or, it may actually concern you.
After all, Christie is in charge of one of the nation's most productive and most populous states.
But if Christie isn't concerned about this, why should you be?
And he isn't concerned.
In fact, the Governor freely admits that he's clueless as to where he's headed.
"My sense of direction is awful," Christie told a group of Philadelphia business leaders yesterday. "Somebody asked me exactly where in Philadelphia were we headed today," he told a Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce confab at The Bellevue on Broad and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia. "I said I didn't know, just somewhere in Philly," Christie explained.
"When the car stops and a New Jersey State Trooper opens the door, I know I am where I'm supposed to be. That's the way it is for me now," said Christie who's been in office for about three months.
Yes, it's nice having your own driver and your own police escort. In that case, you really don't have to know exactly where you're going.
But even when the Governor has to drive himself, he's still hopelessly lost.
"When I'm driving and I come to a corner, my instincts sometimes tell me to turn right," he explained.
"But then I figure that my directional instincts are often wrong so I want to turn left. Then again, I'm asking myself: 'Why not turn right, after all?' That's how confused I am."
Now, tell the truth: What real guy doesn't have a dreadful sense of direction?
But how many guys would admit as much?
Must guys are notorious for wandering aimlessly without asking for help.
Not Christie.
He not only admits that he doesn't know where he's going but he also freely welcomes all the assistance he can get to help him get where he's going.
And within the Governor's self-effacing hyperbole lies an important lesson.
This is a guy who's confident in the knowledge that he's facing a huge task and he needs all the help he can get.
That's why he's got a great team surrounding him.
That's why all options (except those dreaded, destructive tax hikes) are on the table.
That's why he's willing to listen to the ideas of others and learn as much as he can.
That's why he'll copy successful ideas and strategies from other states to get New Jersey's spending under control, eliminate waste, cut taxes and get the Garden State's economic engine humming again.
And that's why he was in Philadelphia yesterday with the city's top business leaders seeking their help and support.
Christie is not only a quick learner but he's also irrepressibly human. And he isn't afraid to make a joke on himself if it will make a connection or build a bond with folks who can help.
"Thanks for letting me come over the bridge today without a visa," Christie told the assembled Pennsylvanians.
But the truth is that no visa was needed.
Such is the burgeoning appeal of New Jersey's engaging new Governor that he's welcomed wherever people seek a refreshing change from politics as usual.
Governor, wherever you're going, we're following!

Runyan: Adler Is High-Taxing Hypocrite

Jon Corzine with the man who Runyan calls his "rubber stamp," John Adler (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

NJ3 congressional candidate Jon Runyan went on the attack yesterday after John Adler issued a press release “decrying the fiscal mess and property tax crush in New Jersey that Adler himself created during his 16 years in Trenton as a powerful State Senator.”

Said Runyan in his own press release issued Wednesday:

“John Adler didn’t bother to address the property tax crisis in New Jersey during his 16 years in Trenton, but now he’s going to fix it from Washington?, What a joke! This shameless hypocrisy on the part of Congressman Adler is frankly why everyday taxpayers can’t stand career politicians who constantly talk out of both sides of their mouth. The sheer nerve it takes to even make an announcement like this with a straight face is stunning.

John Adler voted in favor of every, single tax, spend and borrow State Budget put in front of him by Jim McGreevey and Jon Corzine . The same state budgets that made this state unaffordable for residents, drove jobs out of state, gave us one of the worst climates for business in the country and pushed state government to the brink of bankruptcy. No poll-tested, election-year proposal, that he has no intention of implementing, is going to change these facts.”

The release adds that “in just his final six years in Trenton, Adler voted to raise taxes 43 times, while increasing state spending by $11 billion—a 50% increase.”

You can see a list of those bills on Runyan’s website.

Toomey Continues To Lead Specter

President Barack Obama carried Pennsylvania, and Democrats enjoy a huge registration edge, but right now there's a Republican atop the state's nationally watched U.S. Senate race.
Former Lehigh Valley Congressman Pat Toomey, a Republican from Zionsville, would beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, 47-40 percent, a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Poll shows.
Of course, both men face primary opposition on May 18. Admiral-turned-congressman Joe Sestak stands in Specter's way, and Peg Luksik will be on the ballot with Toomey.
Democrats expect an uphill climb this election, a time of economic upheaval, raw emotions over health care and a roiled electorate.
That is reinforced by the poll. Half the state's voters disapprove of Obama's job performance, compared with 45 percent who approve.
Forty-one percent of voters say they're more inclined to support a GOP candidate for Congress, compared with 40 percent who'd back a Democrat.
Toomey would defeat Sestak 33-22 percent in another hypothetical matchup posed by the poll. But sizable chunks of the state's electorate know little or nothing about either man.
Just 9 percent of poll respondents said they couldn't choose between Specter or Toomey. Four percent said they had no preference or would pick someone else. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. . . .
In a statement, Toomey's spokeswoman, Nachama Soloveichik, said the poll numbers show that, with his votes for health-care reform and the stimulus, ''Specter is a big part of the mess in Washington and there's no way he can be part of the solution.''
Specter's campaign manager, Christopher Nicholas, declined to comment.
The telephone poll of 402 likely voters, conducted between March 29 and Wednesday, found few who did not have an opinion about Specter, a 30-year incumbent who made national headlines a year ago this month when he jumped from the Republican to the Democratic side of the aisle. Specter's defection temporarily gave Democrats a 61-vote, filibuster-proof majority.

Vote NO! On School Budgets

Jersey voters get to vote on their school budgets one week from today - Tuesday, April 20.
I'll be voting 'No!'
It's not that I don't care about schools. It's not that I don't care about kids. I care deeply about both.
But school budgets climb year after year and they represent the bulk of our property taxes - the nation's highest property taxes.
As I've detailed here on this blog, school budgets are bloated. Many school superintendents receive ridiculously high salaries and huge benefits. Furthermore, districts are weighed down with highly paid administrators and functionaries -- bureaucrats and paper pushers. The record has shown that these fiefdoms continue to hire more and more employees, far in excess of any growth in the school population. It's outrageous and it's got to end!
In fact, across the board, politicians must get the message that enough is enough.
And voting 'NO' on the school budget is one of the only ways we have to get the message across - it's one of our only vehicles to drive the point home.
New Jersey is grossly overtaxed. We must spend less.
So much money is wasted at all levels of government that we must demand thrift and accountability.
Every board, agency, commission - every elected official - must hear our voice loud and clear. Until we use our muscle at the ballot box, nothing will change.
Send a message - vote 'NO' on Tuesday!

Pro-Business Governer Pushes NJ Growth

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno visited WorldWater and Solar Technologies in Princeton today to outline the administration’s comprehensive, aggressive economic development strategy for sustainable job creation and economic expansion.
“New Jersey is at a crossroads and if we are to take a different path from the past and bring long-term growth and prosperity, we must make the serious changes today to remove the barriers to job creation,” said Governor Christie. “I came to office with a promise to renew our economy and change the culture of government back towards fostering growth, new technology and innovation. My administration will not only draw on New Jersey’s many strengths, but in place the mechanisms and policies to attract new businesses, expand existing businesses and create meaningful jobs for our families.”
By leveraging New Jersey’s inherent strengths and resources, building on the successes of the Economic Development Agency, and institutionalizing a commitment to attract and retain businesses, the Christie-Guadagno Administration is putting forth a comprehensive plan to promote innovation and job creation.
The New Jersey Partnership for Action will be the hub for all economic development activity in New Jersey. The Partnership, through the three interconnected and highly focused organizational elements of Choose New Jersey, Government Process Solutions, and the Economic Development Agency, will accomplish the goals of attracting new business and helping existing businesses thrive by: focusing on relationship building and person to person outreach, promoting the state’s incentives and resources, developing pro-growth policies, and assisting businesses in navigating state government and programs.
“The challenges we face as a state are substantial and will take effort, cooperation and coordination from government, the private sector, and all New Jerseyans. But, I also believe that opportunity exists in those challenges,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “Today, we can invest in new, innovative and creative solutions to make New Jersey a home to growth and enter a new era of prosperity. I am proud to lead this effort with Governor Christie and am confident that, through a coordinated effort, the New Jersey Partnership for Action and Choose New Jersey will serve our state well in growing our economy, attracting and serving business and creating quality, sustainable jobs for New Jerseyans.”
Choose New Jersey, a privately-funded not for profit corporation, will help position New Jersey as a world-class leader in the competitive global market, creating a prosperous and vibrant economy for the state and its citizens by effectively leveraging its diverse resource base and utilizing its reputation for innovation. It will be led by a CEO who will promote New Jersey to existing and new businesses, encourage economic growth and opportunity, and spearhead promotional activities to aggressively market New Jersey as a business destination. · Government Process Solutions, reporting directly to the Lt. Governor, will consist of a team of business liaison representatives who will bring a customer service approach to coordination and navigation across state and local government agencies for businesses looking to remain, expand or locate in New Jersey.
The Economic Development Agency will continue in its role as the financing component for New Jersey job growth – overseeing many of New Jersey’s programs that support the business community. Through financial programs that provide access to capital in partnership with banks throughout New Jersey, EDA organizes incentive programs aimed at attracting new business and supporting the retention of our existing employers. The EDA will act as the State’s “bank for business” by providing support to the Partnership for Action with the State’s financing and incentive resources to leverage New Jersey’s strategic advantages.

NJ GOP: State Spending MUST Be Cut

The five Republican members of the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Republican Budget Officer Anthony Bucco and Senators Pennacchio, O’Toole, Oroho and Doherty, issued the following statement regarding the state of the Fiscal Year 2011 budget:
“Years of serial fiscal mismanagement have brought us to this point. Too many administrations have taxed, borrowed, spent and deferred until the citizens of this state could take no more. “New Jersey has the highest tax burden of all the states due to unrestrained spending. Even a former Democratic Treasurer acknowledged that this state has a ‘spending problem’ not a revenue problem.
“The reality is advocating for another hike in the income tax is exactly the fiscally irresponsible behavior that landed us in this situation in the first place. Higher taxes in New Jersey have led to lower total revenues and also less employment. The only option left is to cut the budget, but cut it in a manner that does the least amount of harm to the long suffering citizens of this great state.
“Looking forward it is obvious that we must focus our efforts on economic development and jobs growth. We must remove the decades of bureaucratic impediments that reduced the economic powerhouse of the nation into an economic basket case.
“New Jersey can return to prosperity. We believe that under responsible new leadership it will.”

Playoffs: Flyers/Devils Series Schedule Set

Well, the Philadelphia Flyers have made the playoffs and the Flyers and New Jersey Devils will open their Eastern Conference first-round series Thursday night in Newark, the NHL announced tonight.

It'll be a turnpike series -- from Exit 4 (Flyers) to Exit 15 (Newark).

The Flyers are the seventh seed and the Devils are the second seed.

Here is the complete schedule:

Wednesday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. at New Jersey
Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. at New Jersey
Sunday, April 18, 6 p.m. at Philadelphia
Tuesday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. at Philadelphia
*Thursday, April 22, 7 p.m. at New Jersey
*Sunday, April 25, TBD, at Philadelphia
*Tuesday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., at New Jersey

PS - If you're wondering who New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is cheering for, don't ask. The Governor is a native of the Newark area and the team IS named the JERSEY Devils.

Cherry Hill Blossoms Bloom!

The Cherry blossoms are in vivid bloom along Chapel Avenue in Cherry Hill, N. J.

Get on over to Chapel Avenue this week or you'll miss them.
And, trust me, you don't want to miss this!

Along a dazzling two mile stretch from Haddonfield Road to Kings Highway the blossoms create bright ribbons of pink. Through the day the color varies slightly as the sun and the clouds help to create a feast for the eyes.

But this incredible show only lasts for a week or two so you must hurry if you want to see some of the most magnificent clustered blossoms anywhere.
The blossoms were the brainchild of Joe Zanghi, a visionary Cherry Hill resident who began planting them decades ago. They are a true labor of love -- a gift to the entire community and the region.
These are huge, fancy, clustered blossoms.

Drive slowly, cycle or walk under the blossoms and soak up every magical moment!

Top Ten Twitter Trends

Top Twitter Trends - Week Ending April 9

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Rank	Topic	Top Index This Week	Change	Description
#1	Easter	1	2	People are wishing one another Happy Easter, which occurs this year on Sunday, April 4th.
#2	Justin Bieber	1		Although Justin Bieber had been trending for weeks, his fans are upset when Twitter supposedly blocked his name from being able to trend.
#3	Follow Friday	1		#FF is a tag for Follow Friday, the meme where users list other Twitterers to follow.
#4	Twitter	1		People are tweeting about why and when you should delete your Tweets. Twitter was down for approx 20 mins, April 5. People are tweeting about what they did when they couldn’t tweet.
#5	Apple	1		Apple will release version 4.0 of the iPhone operating system this Summer. The iPhone will finally get multitasking support along with a social gaming network, iAds, and other features. People also tweeted about their iPad experiences.
#6	March Madness	1	2	Duke defeated Butler in the NCAA championship, 61-59.
#7	Jonas Brothers	1		The boy band whose members are brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick.
#8	Digital Economy Bill	2		The Digital Economy Bill just passed through the UK Parliament, people are discussing the implications.
#9	Nicki Minaj	2		Nicki Minaj said "#shoutouttotheLadies in da MOM crew. Money Over Men. Let’s Go"
#10	Good Friday	2		Good Friday is a holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary.

World's Cutest Dog: Classic Pose

When you're this cute, you can sit pretty much anywhere you want - even on the sofa.
And since you know you're cute, you don't mind posing.
Moose (aka "The World's Cutest Dog") is a Lancashire Heeler.
He looks somewhat like a terrier and somewhat like a dachshund but not exactly like either.
He's a relatively rare breed with a universal appeal: he's small, cute, loyal, friendly and irrepressibly lovable.
And his lucky owner (not me!) took this photo.