Christie Welcomes Big Federal Grant For NJ

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today welcomed the announcement that New Jersey has been awarded a $39.6 million federal grant to put in place a state-of-the-art public safety wireless broadband network in support of first responders, law enforcement and emergency management professionals.
“This grant accelerates the State’s overall plan of providing first responders with the information technology tools they need to effectively communicate vital data during an emergency situation,” said Governor Christie. “Once operational, the network will provide real-time access to critical data, ultimately improving the ability of our public safety community to save lives, reduce injuries, and protect New Jersey families.”
The grant, awarded as part of the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, will provide $39.6 million in support of the New Jersey Office of Information Technology’s Broadband Network Project.
The project will encompass 1,487 sq. miles, seven counties and 4.5 million New Jerseyans, and follows the State’s recently received conditional waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to utilize the 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum in order to spearhead the deployment of a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network.
“With the governor’s support we were able to compete for and secure a grant that will enable the state to improve its radio interoperability posture,” said Adel Ebeid, CTO, State of New Jersey. “We look forward to working closely with the State Police and Office of Homeland Security to build out a wireless network that addresses their communication needs.”
Examples of advanced services enabled by the network include streaming critical patient data from paramedics to hospital personnel; field access to records management systems for criminal, fingerprint, and mug shot information; mobile access for firefighters to building blueprints and infrastructure diagrams; and video applications to improve situational awareness at incident command posts.

Cook Political Report Sees Major House Shift

Jim Geraghty at National Review says the Cook Political Report is beginning to feel the earth move -- that's how quickly House seats seem to be moving away from the blue map (Democrat) and into the red (Republican).
Geraghty reports: "Republicans need 39 seats to win the House. Cook now projects the GOP will gain between 35 and 45 seats. Right now they rate 72 currently Democrat-held House seats as 'Lean Democrat' or more vulnerable."
Read all the juicy details at National Review.
But, for goodness sakes don't start celebrating anytime soon. A helluva lot can happen between now and November. In politics, even a week is an eternity.

Homeland Security Deported Less Than 3%

CNS News' Penny Starr is reporting that "the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported 298,410 illegal aliens in fiscal 2009, only 2.98 percent of the 10 million people it estimated were in the United States illegally."
Starr adds that "the number of deportations in fiscal 2009 was far less than the 400,000--or 4 percent--that John Morton, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said his agency was capable of deporting each year."
Read the full story at CNS News.

Mitt Romney: Let's Grow Jobs And Shrink Gov't.

Mitt Romney has a fine op-ed in the Boston Globe today arguing that by growing jobs and shrinking government we can empower the private sector to do what it does best when left unfettered: Lead us to prosperity once again.
Here's part of what Romney says:
A pro-job, pro-prosperity government works to create the conditions that enable businesses of all sizes to grow and thrive. These should include aligning corporate taxes with those of other developed economies, eliminating special corporate tax breaks that lobbyists have inserted over the years, and preserving the Bush tax cuts — especially for small business.
Read the entire piece at the Boston Globe.

9/11 Reponders Are Angry With Obama

According to a story in today's New York Daily News, September 11 first responders are angry with President Obama because the President is focusing on support for the Ground Zero mosque while they (the responders) are "suffering and dying from illnesses brought on by the toxic cloud over the twin towers' ruins."
The story says that one of the responders, John Feal, wrote to President Obama as follows: "It is disturbing that you have the time and energy to speak in favor of the mosque, but not on the health crisis caused by the attacks."
Feal lost part of a foot when a steel beam fell on him during cleanup work.
Read more at the New York Daily News.

Bloomberg, Sestak Defend Mosque Stance

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to Philadelphia yesterday to campaign for Democrat senate candidate Congressman Joe Sestak but things didn't work out as planned.
It seems that Bloomberg and Sestak ran headlong into the Ground Zero mosque controversy.
Michael Howard Saul of the Wall Street Journal writes about the campaign stop and says this:
Bloomberg and Sestak, speaking under a blazing sun in the parking lot of a shopping plaza, responded to a flurry of inquiries from reporters and at least one member of the crowd about their position on the proposal to build an Islamic center two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Well, we all know that Bloomberg has supported the building of the mosque (and his poll numbers have tumbled because of it) but it seems that Joe Sestak also supports the proposal.
Frankly, we don't see Sestak's stance helping his campaign.
You can read Saul's full story at the Wall Street Journal.

New York Dems AWOL On Mosque Controversy

It's funny how leading New York Democrats suddenly grow shy and silent (or disappear altogether) when the Ground Zero Mosque controversy comes up -- especially lately.
It seems that even media-crazed grandstanders like Chuck Schumer have been willing to do little more than issue vague, nebulous statements as they attempt to sneak away from the issue.
Matthew Shaffer has a great story about this at National Review.
Shaffer makes this observation:
It seems like everyone is talking about the Ground Zero mosque. Everyone, that is, except for the host state’s Democratic leadership. . . .
Who knew that New York Democrats could suddenly become so reticent?
Read Shaffer's full story at National Review.

Reid/Angle Battle Now Neck 'N Neck

Adam Nagourney of the New York Times has a look at the Harry Reid/Sharron Angle brawl in Nevada.
Yes, Angle has gotten off to a rocky start.
And yes, Reid is a veteran political street-fighter.
But here's part of what Nagourney says:
If Mr. Reid is doing better than he once was, it is still relative; he is a politician in deep trouble. A Mason-Dixon poll last week found that 51 percent of Nevadans held an unfavorable opinion of him, a toxic number for an incumbent. That poll found Mr. Reid and Ms. Angle in an effective tie.
“I’ll say this about Angle: I still think when we get to the end, it’s still going to be about Harry Reid and whether Nevada voters want to get rid of him and send a message to Washington,” said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon. “They may still hold their nose and vote for Sharron Angle even if they don’t agree with a lot of things that she says and does.”
The full story at the New York Times is worth a read.

America's Top 25 National Universities

US News is out with its top colleges and as we predicted two of our favorite schools (Wake Forest and Vanderbilt) both landed among the best of the best (top 25).
As you might expect, the top five are as follows: 1. Harvard, 2. Princeton, 3. Yale, 4. Columbia and 5. Stanford. Vandy was 17 and Wake came in at 25.
BTW: Penn State had an impressive showing as well, landing in the top 50. We are . . . !
See the whole list at US News.

'Atlas Shrugged' Sales Hotter Than Ever

USA Today reports that "according to a Library of Congress survey, Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, may be second to the Bible as the most influential book read in America."
And, as the USA Today story by Scott S. Powell details, Ayn Rand's classic is "flying off the shelves."
It seems that since President Obama took office the book (which sings the praises of free enterprise) has become wildly popular.
Some people seem to believe that all of the things that Ayn Rand predicted are now beginning to actually happen,
Read the full story at USA Today.