The Department Of Common Sense

Hey Barack, The Curtains Are Fine

2008-11-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

One of the silliest examples of government waste is the changing of the furniture in the Oval Office when a new president comes in. I'm sure the existing desk and curtains are just fine. I'm sure Mr. Bush's chair doesn't squeal. Just sit down and get to work.

Time To Let The Roosevelt Island Tram Die

2008-11-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

This was in the Sunday post:

Poma, a French firm considered to be a world leader in cable transportation, has been hired to redesign the Roosevelt Island tram system.

In addition to a sleeker look, the $25 million project is to include redundant power sources, giving operators multiple ways to keep the tram moving at full speed even on those occasions when power has been lost.

In order to make the improvements, the existing tram, located at 59th Street, is scheduled to be shut down for 5½ months as of June 22.

That's nice except for one fact. The tram is not eneded. There's a subway line. Why waste $25 million the city doesn't have. The DCS votes no on this one.

The RFK Bridge In New York City

2008-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

(A republished rant from back in June)

New York's governor David Patterson is expected to sign the bill renaming the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy bridge.

For 72 years New Yorkers have known the bridge as the Triborough. Why change now? Can't they name something else (something new) for Mr. Kennedy?

In recent years New York renamed the Interboro parkway after Jackie Robinson (which stuck) and the West Side Highway as the Joe DiMaggio Highway (which didn't). People seem to have bought into "Newark Liberty Airport's" rechristening.

What is the expense to change all the signs? Besides, this bridge already has a name.

The DCS recommends a heavy NO on this renaming.

More here:

Queens Crap: It's official: Triboro Bridge to Be Renamed after RFK

NY Post Says Not To Bail Out Auto Manufacturers

2008-11-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

Let 'Em Die sounds a lot like what I wrote this morning (scroll down the blog).

"We're funding a day care system for people with extinct skills," says Michael Covel, an entrepreneur, trader and author who is among many to back the simple argument: "let them die."

"We'll be a heck of a lot stronger in the long run if we just take the pain on this right now. They'll burn through it and be back for more. We're turning auto jobs into government-supported jobs and it's a shame." In just under two years, GM has lost $57 billion. The current quarter will provide more huge losses, and even in its regulatory documents the company admits that demand for its products isn't coming back soon. Translation: profits are as likely as trucks that run on rainbows.

How did Detroit's finest find themselves here? Blame decades of collective bargaining withunions, the whims of crude oil and, most of all, trucks. The truck is Detroit's salvation and its downfall. Pickups and sport utilities threw off so much profit in the days of cheap oil that the Big Three could lose money on dull, less-reliable cars and simply shrug

In the era of $4 unleaded, the Big 3 spit out fleets of guzzlers that required $100 fill-ups and tepid sedans that, while better than '90s era Detroit metal, still choke on Accord and Camrydust. As the economy slowed and consumers put off new car purchases, the trucks are still too expensive to drive and even deep discounts won't move the inventory. GM's sales were down by nearly half in October.

President-Elect Obama On 60 Minutes Tonight

2008-11-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

President Obama is on 60 Minutes tonight.

On Helping Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure:

STEVE KROFT: Once you become President are there things that you'll change?

BARACK OBAMA: We have not focused on foreclosures and what's happening to homeowners as much as I would like…We've got to…set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is going to have an impact on the economy as a whole. And, you know, one thing I'm determined is that if we don't have a clear focused program for homeowners by the time I take office, we will after I take office.

Obama's Fireside Chats

2008-11-16T06:15:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the other day that the President-Elect would be embracing the new media. Well here's how it will look:

Don't Bail Out The Car Manufacturers

2008-11-16T06:08:00.000-08:00

I really don't want anyone to lose their job. I'd like the USA to be #1 in all things including car manufacturing. Now comes talk of "bailing out" the car manufacturers.

These same manufacturers spent the last 15 years high on the hog selling SUVs like Explorers (thank Ford for $4 gas) and because that wasn't big enough, the Yukon Denali and Ford Expedition.

Then gas went to $4 and people stopped buying SUV's. Poof, suddenly there's a glut of "cars" that nobody wants and the auto industry has cash flow.

Greed got them there. Now that gas is back to $2 soccer moms will go back to wanting MegaSUVs to go to the mall, and we'll continue to do nothing about our energy needs, the environment or dependence on foreign oil.

I hope Ford and GM can make it on their own merits. Toyota and Honda seemed to figure it out. Hyundai was a joke twenty years ago and now is right there at the top level.

If we bail them out all they'll do is sell SUVs to soccer moms and gas will head back to $4. The DCS says let them figure this out on their own, not with our tax money.

NJ Should Clear The Dead Deer

2008-11-15T06:03:00.000-08:00

New Jersey is a state filled with way too many levels of government. One of the side effects of all this layering is that nobody wants to pay for anything, saying the other government should.

The current battle is over the dead deer on the side of the road. The state has stopped paying for deer removal and put the burden on the county. Well the counties take their time. I'm not sure whose responsibilities the interstates are but take a ride down 287 and enjoy looking at decaying deer after decaying deer. Is this really what we want, animal carcasses littering the highyways?

For more about the world of dead deer, here's an article from a year ago:

Car Hits Deer. Then What?

By NATE SCHWEBER

Published: October 21, 2007

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. JOE FIXTERS only defense against the pungent odor that wafts into his pickup from the deer carcasses he collects off the sides of Monmouth and Ocean County roads is a vanilla-scented candle he keeps in the glove compartment.

Obama Gets It

2008-11-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the President-Elect on getting it. He will post the weekly "fireside chats" on Youtube. Brilliant. They'll probably be more widely seen there than anywhere else. Makes it easy for dopey bloggers like me to share them whether I criticize them or agree with them. Good job.

Palin Thinks She's the Next Leader Of the Party??

2008-10-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Really interesting article on CNN which includes these tidbits:

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom

Wow. She can't possibly think she's going to get another at-bat can she?

The DCS recommends the Republican's spend more than 10 minutes vetting the VP in 2012.

This one's over.

NYC Term Limits

2008-10-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

If Mayor Bloomberg truly believes that the mayor of NYC should be able to serve more than two consecutive terms, then Mike & The City council should do the honorable thing - change the law effective with the swearing in of the next mayor.

Newark Airport Needs A Waiting Area

2008-08-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, I tried to pick someone up at Newark Airport. Not surprisingly the flight was delayed.

There is nowhere to wait.

Would it kill them to have a waiting area for cars. Not a parking lot, I didn't want to pay to sit in a warm car, I just wanted to not waste $4 gas driving in circles.

Other airports have waiting areas/holding areas. Why can't Newark?

Honda Knows We Are Idiots

2008-08-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sigh. $4 gas actually had some benfits. Toyota converted some plants from ridiculous SUV's to hybrids. People were driving less. People were buying smaller cars. Now I go and read this:

``We see the market shifting back toward the larger vehicles,'' Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said today at an industry conference in Traverse City, Michigan. The ``shock from oil prices is over,'' he said.

Sigh.

The DCS continues to recommend you don't need a Yukon Denail to drive to the mall.

New Goethals Bridge

2008-08-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

The DCS applauds for the thought to replace the Goethals Bridge, and someone actually thinking to leave room for a rail link. We can only add, why not establish the rail link now beofre you encorage even more drivers.

There should be an effort to put rail down the middle of the S.I. Expressway, the L.I. Expressway and Route 80. Other cities have figured this out, why can't the NYC region?

New Bridge

Montclair NJ Taxation Disguised As Safety: Crosswalk Sting

2008-08-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

WCBS radio today had the Montclair NJ crosswalk sting as the lead story.

This police department has so litle to do that they have undercover detectives posing as people trying to cross the street.

The fine when they catch you failing to yield? $440.

That includes a $250 "surcharge" to the state.

$250?

Surcharge?

Is this about safety or about someone wanting a raise?

The DCS continues to recommend a public awareness campaign similar to Click It or Ticket before we start surchaging people $250.

The same goes for the Parsippany NJ jaywalking ticket blitzes done every April and October. A police officer will watch you risk your life jaywalking and instead of trying to save you he will hide behind the trees and then ticket you when you reach the other side.

Shame on all of you.

More here.

Invasion Of Privacy - Speeding "Criminals"

2008-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is evil. A website which I will not name here makes it easy to search the "criminal" records of anyone you want.

Nobody likes criminals right?

Well what if the "criminal" is a neighbor who got a speeding ticket, once, in a southern state. Is that any of my business?

I wanted to see if there were any "real" criminals living nearby so I typed in my zip. Oh my, there's someone down the block!

I click the link - and the poor guy is a SPEEDER. Oh my, someone call the FBI.

The internet goes too far sometimes, this is one of those times.

The Department of Common Sense does not favor censorship, so we will not suggest any legal recourse to this website....but free men are able to have self-restraint. Hopefully the website will.

A good essay in The New York Times is below.

If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?

By BRAD STONE

Published: August 3, 2008

A new Web site offers free, ad-supported criminal searches, letting people search by name through criminal archives of all 50 states and 3,500 counties in the United States.

Article In Times

Crosswalk Stings In New Jersey

2008-07-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

The Department Of Common Sense begs the various Police Departments of New Jersey (of which there are many, New Jersey likes to over-government at the local level) to separate safety concerns from fundraising.

Parsippany New Jersey is known for it's jaywalking stings. The police will hide behind a tree and watch you jaywalk and then ticket you when you reach the other side. Presumably this is done in the name of safety - so why then do they allow you to risk your safety instead of yelling "watch out" or otherwise helping?

Today's news has this gem:

Crosswalk sting nets 800 in Montclair
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ - 16 hours ago
The pilot program -- which is in South Orange as well as Montclair -- is funded by a $40000 federal grant and targeted at New Jersey's ranking as one of top ...
Taking steps for pedestrian safety The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
all 2 news articles »

800 people! If they got one person per minute they spent thirteen hours on this! The feds granted them 40 thousand dollars!

The charge typically carries a $100 fine, plus $30 court costs, and 2 points on a driver's license. Motorists can plead guilty to a lesser charge of unsafe driving that doesn't carry any points, but penalties could reach $440.

Frank Ricci Jr., a well-dressed detective from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, played the decoy yesterday. He was wearing a crisp dress suit and carrying a 4-cup cardboard coffee cup holder. He'd step into the crosswalk and wait for a break in traffic. He'd time the attempts so the oncoming vehicle would be back far enough, about 120 feet, to comfortably stop in time.

Somehow this is not entrapment.

Some research shows that there is a law in Newark NJ that makes it a crime to buy ice cream after 6pm without a doctor's note. No, really.

Perhaps officer Ricci would enjoy taking an ice cream truck to Newark shortly after dinner to crack down on more crime.

The Department of Common Sense asks the police that if this really is about safety, how about some public education capaigns such as the "Click It Or Ticket" warnings or the usual Labor Day speeding crackdown which is also well publicized in advance.

Common Sense Applied To New Neutrality?

2008-07-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

The DCS applauds the idea of net neutrality.

“The Internet is based upon the idea that consumers can go anywhere they want and access any content they want,” Mr. Martin said in an interview. “When they show they are blocking access to some sort of content, they have the burden to show that what they are doing is reasonable.”

Times Article About New Neutrality

F.C.C. Chief Would Bar Comcast From Imposing Web Restrictions

By SAUL HANSELL

Published: July 12, 2008

Kevin J. Martin’s recommendation is a strong statement in favor of network neutrality, the idea that Internet access providers should not be allowed to favor some uses of their networks over others.

Sadist Starts Beach Bridge Construction In Mid-July

2008-07-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

The New Jersey Department of Transportation decided that the best time to tear down a bridge that leads to a heavily used beach would be July 12th.

Why start construction in February or on September 2nd when you can start it in mid-July?

The Department of Common Sense calls for the NJ DOT to buy a calendar.

It's a summer beach weekend, and the traffic will be heavy," said Hollis Provins, the chief ranger at Sandy Hook. "Folks should consider avoiding that bridge if at all possible. They should plan to get to the park early and plan their departure for a time outside the normal hour or two in the afternoon when everyone else is leaving."

Article That Makes your Head Spin

Bike Rentals

2008-07-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Smart idea that should come to America....bike sharing.

Bike Rentals In Paris

A New Fashion Catches on in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: July 13, 2008
A year after the introduction of the sturdy gray bicycles known as Vélib’s, other major cities, including American ones, are exploring similar projects.

Queens Crap: Fake turf can give you heat stroke

2008-07-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Queens Crap: Fake turf can give you heat stroke

The folks at Queens Crap nail it so click the link.

The DCS calls for whoever installed this type of turf to have their head examined.

You Bought A Stupid Car

2008-07-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

The Times has some wonderful anecdotes of some folks who find themselves paying over $100 to fill their giant SUVs. To the owners of Denalis and Escalades and Excursions.....you bought it, you fill it.

At $100 for Tank of Gas, Some Choke on ‘Fill It’

By CHRISTOPHER MAAG

Published: July 6, 2008

Owners of large vehicles have hit an uncomfortable price milestone and are cutting back on recreational driving.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06tank.html?hp

Queens Crap: A long overdue change

2008-06-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Bx 12 bus in New York City institutes a semi-honor system. much like the subways in France. I'm sure there will be some knuckleheads who hop on and hop off, but there's enough honest New Yorkers, I think. Queens Crap breaks it out for you if you click:

Queens Crap: A long overdue change

The DCS applauds any opportunity to speed us a bus.

No "Airport Security" At Rail Stations

2008-06-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Our friends over in the UK have made a Common Sense decision of their own, which is that "airport style" security for mass transit is unrealistic.

When the time comes that you have to take off your shoes to get on a commuter bus, I got news for ya, the terrorists did win. It hasn't come to that yet but I have had to open my bags a few times in some places I didn't have to in 1990.

And don't bring a bag to Yankee Stadium. No bags, and they check to see what's under your Yankee cap. No really.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/26/railtravel.terrorismandtravel?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

Congestion Pricing In New York City

2008-06-25T18:32:00.001-07:00

The Department Of Common Sense is glad to see that New York governor David Paterson is revisiting the idea of congestion pricing for New York City.

Manhattan is too crowded, and there are too many solo drivers driving Yukons.

To be fair to the drivers, all the suburban commuter rails need additional parking at just about every location.

That being said, to the solo driver in the oversized Escalade....that will be an additional $8 a day please, thanks.

Governor Paterson, you have the support and encouragement of the DCS.