The Week Just Passed:

The National September 11 Memorial Museum is Officially Dedicated

America’s Economy Continues to Limp Along…Just Barely

Obamacare: One Costly Disaster After Another

Pomp, Cirucmstance, and Conflict

Salute: Endangered Species Act Poster Grand Prize Winner Amy Feng

Salute:  Max Kleinman on his retirement

Salute: Carmine Biase, Roseland Senior Citizen of the Year

The National September 11 Memorial Museum is Officially Dedicated

Yesterday, the National September 11 Memorial Museum was officially dedicated in Lower Manhattan.  The memory of that terrible day in 2001, and of all the people who were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, United Flight 93, and so many from New Jersey, is never far from my thoughts. 

Our country, and our state, suffered grievous loss on that day.  We must never forget the events of 9/11.  We must always remember those who died and the people who mourn them still.  And we must forever maintain our determination to protect our country from anyone who would do America harm again. 

Information about planning a visit to the museum can be found here.

America’s Economy Continues to Limp Along…Just Barely

It’s not news any longer that the recovery from the last recession (which ended more than five years ago) has been exceedingly weak.  It is expected that when the numbers for the first quarter of this year are reported, the economy will have only grown by 0.10 percent. 

This must-read article from Forbes, titled, “What Obama's Growth Recession Is Stealing From Your Wallet,” does an excellent job explaining why the economy is growing so slowly, what that means to America’s families, and what should be done to get economic growth back on track.  

Obamacare: One Costly Disaster After Another

Although President Obama has declared victory and told everybody that the Affordable Care Act is a great success, the facts continue to contradict the President’s optimistic, and completely inaccurate assessment.

Earlier this week Politico reported that, “Nearly half a billion dollars in federal money has been spent developing four state Obamacare exchanges that are now in shambles — and the final price tag for salvaging them may go sharply higher.”

Just when it seems everything that could go wrong must already have happened, something else turns up.  And it’s not over yet.  When the employer mandate kicks in, things will really get bad.

Pomp, Cirucmstance, and Conflict

Over the next several weeks, colleges, universities and high schools across the country will be holding commencement ceremonies, which almost always include a commencement speaker.  There’s an old joke that begin many commencement addresses: “A commencement speaker is like the body at an Irish wake.  The organizers need you for the party, but they don’t actually expect you to say much.”

Unfortunately, however, this humored observation is becoming increasingly true on college campuses around the nation, including right here in New Jersey.  The growing practice of small groups of faculty and students protesting the presence of various speakers, often leading to their withdrawal, is an unfortunate trend. In fact, such short-sighted demonstrations by a handful of faculty and students at Rutgers University prompted former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to withdraw as this year’s commencement speaker.  In this case, the Rutgers community was denied a valuable opportunity to hear the Secretary’s perceptive views on world affairs and her own downright compelling life story.

A college campus should be a place where ideas are vigorously and respectfully debated, and where people of accomplishment can share their own stories of success to inspire the rising generation of leaders.  On this subject, this article from the Wall Street Journal should be of interest.

Salute: Endangered Species Act Poster Grand Prize Winner Amy Feng

Today is Endangered Species Day, and I cannot think of a more fitting time to congratulate Amy Feng, a 16-year-old student at Livingston High School, for winning the Grand Prize in a nationwide poster contest sponsored by the Endangered Species Coalition (ESC).

She recently visited my office with her poster depicting a sea otter and it was easy to see why she won.  Click here to see a photo of her visit on my Facebook page (and while you’re there, you might want to “Like” the page to keep current with my activities).

Here’s a great video of Amy receiving the award and talking about what inspired her poster.  

Salute: Congratulations to Max Kleinman on his retirement

Congratulations to Max Kleinman upon his retirement at the head of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey.  A distinguished and beloved leader, Max’s vision and philanthropic contributions will continue to make New Jersey a better place to live, work and raise a family for many years to come. 

Salute: Carmine Biase, Roseland Senior Citizen of the Year

Congratulations to Carmine Biase on his being named Roseland Senior Citizen of the Year!  For over four decades, Mr. Biase never wavered from his commitment to community service as a Roseland Council member, member of the Planning Board, President of Roseland UNICO and countless other local causes including scholarship fundraising and first-aid squad support!