Category: News and Politics
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We still get an “F” for courting environmental tourism
Watermen (the term used to describe the people who harvest fish, shellfish, crabs and other resources from the bay) are known for their intelligence and sharp wit combined with a lack of formal education. The result can often be offensive to those with a deference to politically correct positions. The Money Island Marina community has…
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Privacy and security
I’ve been convinced for years that the concepts of “privacy” and “security” as most people imagine them no longer exist. Recent news surrounding NSA capabilities and activities brought that discussion into the mainstream. There is some value gained, I believe, in living with the presumption that all of our individual and collective actions and communications…
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The detail of my complaint against the Better Business Bureau
I became aware that the BBB had removed my A+ rating on Saturday September 21, 2013 I don’t known when they actually initiated the action. This was about one week after Yahoo Finance published an article on the potential for abuse by scammers playing off the federal health insurance exchange launch scheduled for October 1.…
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Advertising investigation by BBB
I am frustrated by the Better Business Bureau’s “shoot first and ask questions later” policy in pulling my A+ rating for an advertising review. I wrote about my original complaint with BBB staff behavior at https://novaktony.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/the-detail-of-my-complaint-against-the-better-business-bureau/. I became aware that the BBB replaced my A+ rating with a “NR” (not rated) on September 28 when a…
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50th Anniversary of “I Have a Dream”
Martin Luther King, 8/28/1963: “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a…
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Tax planning notes for 2013
Following are unformatted meeting notes from a Presentation by Al Klingan JD, LLM, CLU, ChFC in a meeting 11/8/2012 hosted by First Financial at the Philadelphia Union League. CURRENT LAW FOR 2013 (if no congressional action) All brackets rise CG rise to 20% Dividends 39.6% Deductions phase out Exemptions phaseout Social Security to 6.2% Additional 3.8%…
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Downe Township Today and Tomorrow: A Natural Treasure Worth Saving
September 2015 update: Since the date of this 2012 post (just before super storm Sandy) Downe Township has completed millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements including a $500,000 seawall in front of my house at Money Island, I have personally invested substantial additional money in aquaculture and ecotourism projects and have agreed to help raise…
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Gettysburg Address
Parsed for memorization. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can…
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In memory of alums who made the ultimate sacrifice
Last Friday afternoon I visited the campus of Delaware Valley College, my alma mater, in Doylestown Pennsylvania. I happened, by chance, to spend a few quiet minutes reflecting at the veteran’s memorial outside Allman Building while strolling the quiet campus. As a freshman at DVC 34 years ago I walked by this memorial every day. I was aware that the…
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Mauro DUI case dismissal (with a focus on those issues that affect other NJ citizens)
I am now being asked for more information and explanation on this recent high-profile DUI case in Cumberland County NJ and I want to be sure to separate the case facts from my comments and opinions. Here are the basic facts about the case as I know them: 1) Cumberland County NJ Assistant County prosecutor Harrison Waters…