We're REALLY Looking Forward To This! Hooray!

 

Time For NJ To Lift All COVID Restriction!

Citing unnecessary rules that continue to be enforced across New Jersey, New Jersey State Senator Declan O’Scanlon called for all remaining COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted statewide.

Citing unnecessary rules that continue to be enforced across New Jersey, Sen. Declan O’Scanlon called for all remaining pandemic restrictions to be lifted statewide. According to the CDC, New Jersey is experiencing low COVID-19 activity. (CDC)

“New Jersey’s public health emergency is over and there aren’t any recommended COVID-19 restrictions that should be imposed in New Jersey under new CDC guidelines,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “That hasn’t stopped some schools, colleges, and government entities from continuing to impose unnecessary restrictions that do nothing from a public health perspective. It’s time for every organization to lift all of these unnecessary mandates statewide.”

In New Jersey, case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths have plummeted in recent months, leading to the state having the lowest level of risk where no restrictions are necessary, according to the CDC.

Despite the data showing clearly that it’s safe to return to normal life, O’Scanlon pointed to nonsensical restrictions that continue to be in place across New Jersey:

• K-12 school employees, including teachers, must continue to submit to COVID-19 testing once or twice weekly if they haven’t submitted proof of full vaccination. The estimated cost for continued testing ranges from $1.5 million to more than $3 million per week. Communications to districts from state testing coordinators indicate testing might continue through the summer.
• Vaccine mandates imposed by Governor Murphy through executive order remain in effect for health care workers, prison guards, and workers in congregate living facilities.
• Rutgers University requires masking in classrooms, computer labs, libraries, and some meeting spaces, but not others. Attendees of indoor events must continue to show proof of full vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event. Restrictions are stricter in some places. For example, spectators are still banned from attending Rutgers Swim program events, with parents forced to wait in their cars in the parking lot.
• Princeton University still requires weekly or monthly testing (depending on vaccination status) for asymptomatic faculty and students.
• At Ramapo College, faculty may require masks to be worn in their classes, clinical, and labs, and students must comply.

“It’s ridiculous that you can still find yourself in violation of a masking policy depending on which side of a doorway you are standing on inside a building at many of our esteemed institutions,” added O’Scanlon. “It’s crazy that we’re still forcing the testing of asymptomatic students and teachers, especially when the latest variant is no worse than a cold for most. And it’s nuts that they continue to impose vaccine requirements when virtually the entire state has either been vaccinated or had COVID already and has some level of immunity.”

On the continued K-12 testing mandate, O’Scanlon said, “The school testing mandate is absolutely, ridiculously stupid at this point, and a total waste of money.”

O’Scanlon called on Governor Murphy and the leaders of institutions that maintain broad restrictions to lift those requirements and allow people to take individual precautions as they see fit.

“The brilliant leaders of our cutting edge colleges and universities should do away with the theater of masks, testing, and vaccine requirements now that the data clearly demonstrates it isn’t necessary,” added O’Scanlon. “Governor Murphy should eliminate the testing requirement for teachers and repeal the vaccine mandate he imposed on thousands of workers that are no longer necessary. We can trust people to take the precautions that are right for their individual situations without all of the mandates.”

One Of The DUMBEST Answers Ever!

 

This One Looks Like A Real Winner!

Oh, The Twisted Logic Of Loony Liberals!

 

Watch Out, NJ's 'DRAMA QUEEN' Is At It Again!

Just watch this video. Just watch. pic.twitter.com/wmERvmniL5

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 23, 2022

Yes, There Really IS A Difference!

 

Are These The Best Black-And-White Movies Ever?

Yes, it's true.

Some young people (even some not-so-young people) have never watched a black-and-white movie. They don't know what they're missing.

Some of the greatest movies ever made are in the dual tones that the movies first called their own. As photos were originally in black-and-white, so moving pictures were born of the same.

The following list of the very best of the genre is presented in no particular order and is our own arbitrary creation encompassing every type of story and spanning nearly every decade from the 1920s up to 2011. We hope you enjoy it!

Citizen Kane 1941 Some people consider it the greatest movie ever made.
Psycho 1960 The most frightening of the lot! Bloody black-and-white.

Manhattan 1979 Yes, black-and-white can be modern and lushly romantic.

To Kill A Mockingbird 1962 An enduring classic that will live forever. 

Paper Moon 1973 Black-and-white nostalgia doesn't get better. Like an old photograph!

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? 1962 Absolutely chilling and very dark!

City Lights 1931 One of the best from a real genius. A trailblazing work!

La Dolce Vita 1960 Fellini was a master of the genre.

It Happened One Night 1934 Swept the Oscars, and with good reason.

Camille 1936 A black-and-white costume drama? With Garbo, of course!

High Noon 1952 Best black-and-white western of all time?

Raging Bull 1980 Boxing films were made for black-and-white and visa-versa.

Double Indemnity 1944 A film noir triumph that demands repeated viewing.

The Artist 2011 Black-and-white in the 21st century and it still excels.

Sunset Boulevard (photo above) 1950 Nothing evokes like blacks-and-white. Baroque!

It’s A Wonderful Life 1946 No red, no green but can't imagine Christmas without it.

Casablanca 1942 Here's lookin at you, kid -- in black-and white!

Dr. Strangelove 1964 The end of the world won't be in color.

The General 1926 Keaton at his innovative best!

Judgement At Nuremberg 1961 Black-and-white in a courtroom confronting 

good and evil.

The Last Picture Show 1971 Homage to movies, the heartland and youth.

Lillies of the Field 1963 Crossing the racial and cultural divide in black-and-white.

Lolita 1962 A slow, steady sizzle in black-and-white.

On The Waterfront 1954 Somehow, black-and-white was made for struggle and anguish.

The Manchurian Candidate 1962 Prophetic in stark, ominous tones.

One final thought: The term "black-and-white" simply doesn't do justice to these great, immortal movies. These classics demonstrate that within "black and white" there are so many gradations -- so many shadows, reflections, variations and patterns. And these films show us the true varied and endless range of "black and white" and the imagination of great scenic designers, costumers, lighting experts and directors who worked in this genre. Indeed, the "limitations" of black-and-white opened a world of possibilities and allowed all of us to dream within the magic of a darkened theater. Bravo to all who made this possible!

Oh, My! Has It Really Come To THIS?

 

Maybe We've Made Voting All Too Convenient!

 

Did you remember voting in person on an actual Election Day?
Did you have to go through some trouble?
Was it crowded or difficult finding a parking place? Did you have to battle inclement weather? Did you have to wait in line? Were you inconvenienced?
Good!
Because maybe this reminds you that voting is a right and a privilege granted to all eligible citizens but it is also a treasured responsibility -- even an obligation!
Was it easy for our nation's Founding Fathers who put their sacred honor on the line to declare our independence and form this country? Was that easy?
Was it easy for those who fought in the revolutionary war or the civil war or the two world wars or the Vietnam war of the gulf war? Was it easy for any of them who fought to save our democracy and guarantee our rights? Was that easy?
Was it easy for those who crossed this country in wagon trains to settle the land?
Was it easy for those who risked it all to come to this country legally and assimilate and make a new life?
Was it easy for the people who went into the mines or built the skyscrapers or discovered the cure for diseases or farmed the fields or went into space or brought forth new inventions or made products that changed our way of life and made us the envy of the world? Was any of that easy?
No, it wasn't. And so, voting should not be easy.
It should not be a common convenience.
It's not like breezing through the drive through or commanding Siri or posting on Instagram or accessing Amazon. And it shouldn't be like any of that.
Because that's not what voting's all about.
You should have to think about voting and you should have to do something -- something demonstrative -- to vote. Voting involves a conscious decision and the public, participatory manifestation of that decision.
When voting becomes a common convenience (and this is now all too prevalent) like brushing your teeth or popping a couple of slices into the toaster then we're headed in the wrong direction and we're losing the very meaning of the act.
Voting is serious.
Voting is consequential.
Going to vote should be like entering a civil cathedral and professing your commitment to responsible citizenship.
Voting is sacred!