The blog has moved

I've relocated my blog (known as Blogging Chris) to the Blogger Network and renamed it Right in Jersey. I live in Jersey, I'm always right, and there's a slight right-wing bias in my postings, so that should explain the name. Plus other options were already taken :-)

It's Official: Chris Christie Enters NJ Gubernatorial Race

Just announced. Remember the ABC of 2009: Anything But Corzine.
From Chris Christie:


Dear Friend,

This morning I am filing papers to begin the process to become a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey.

I did not take this step lightly. It was only after careful consideration and consultation with my family that I decided to become a candidate.

New Jersey is broken. New Jersey’s taxes have become so unaffordable that more families are leaving our state than moving here. Our state's business tax climate is ranked 50th in the nation and has become so unattractive to employers that only government jobs are growing in New Jersey . Yet nothing in Trenton gets done to fix these problems.

We can change this. We can solve these problems if we're willing to make the tough decisions.

In my seven years as your United States Attorney, I didn't shy away from any of the tough decisions. I took on corporate greed, political corruption, terrorism and environmental polluters. Public officials from both parties were prosecuted for corruption – more than 130 were convicted, and not one was acquitted. Corporate executives who cheated their companies and hurt their workers were successfully prosecuted. Terrorist plots were disrupted; polluters punished.

Many didn’t believe we could win these battles. We did, and with strong leadership we will win the fight for Governor and change this state for the better.

My formal announcement for Governor will come in the first week in February and I hope you will join us (I will email you the details). With strong leadership now, we can fix our broken state and make it more affordable for all New Jersey families.


Sincerely,
Chris Christie

Global Sea Ice at Same Levels as in 1979

Despite 29 years of development, increased global GDP and raising CO2 emissions, sea ice levels ended 2008 at the same level as in 1979.
Should the polar bear's inclusion on the threatened species (dues to the danger of disappearing sea ice) be revised? I mean, the bear is no more in danger than 29 years ago. (Well, the answer is obvious, considering the new administration).

Al Franken and the Funny Business of Minnesota

An article in today's Wall Street Journal details all the tricks comedian Al Franken used to steal the Senate election in Minnesota.
Among them:

• once he claimed a 225-vote lead, the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down
• more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes
• Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge, the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ballots in the recount. That decision gave Franken a gain of 46 votes
• a Ramsey County precinct ended up with 177 more ballots than there were recorded votes on Election Night. In that case, the board decided to go with the extra ballots, rather than the Election Night total. This gave Franken a net gain of 37 votes, which means he's benefited both ways from the board's inconsistency

If the Canvassing Board certifies Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be anointing a tainted and undeserving Senator.

Obama to Ban Plastic, Makup, Asphalt and more

You probably heard that Obama wants to get us off the oil in 10 years. In his well-known, utter ignorance, he probably thinks oil only fuels our cars. He could find it interesting to learn that oil is also used for:
- everything plastic
- rubber and vinyls (used in clothing or carpetting)
- fertilizers, pesticides
- asphalt
- paints, glues, polishes
- some pharmaceutical products, including aspirin and antihistamines
- air flight (while we had alternative-power cars, like hybrids or electrics, so far no plane has flown on alternative energy)
- cosmetics

The last item suggest a solution: Ban makeup! This will surely get Nancy Pelosi to change her mind on drilling.

The Recycling Nonsense

Although most people refuse to admit it, it's widely recognized (by economists, not by politicians) that for most items, recycling costs more than producing them from raw materials. Now that some raw materials got a little bit more expensive, there are more items where recycling can be profitable, especially if you ignore the hidden costs.

Tim Worstall has an article in the Times, The Hidden Cost of Recycling.

And there's always the NY Times classic article, Recyling is Garbage.

Obama the Gaffe Machine

Since Inauguration gets closer, I'm looking back at Michelle Malkin's Best Of collection of Obama gems. Some of them deserve to be on YouTube next to that Miss America or Kellie Pickler:

"In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed." (The actual death toll: 12)

"Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."

"Thank you, Sioux City. ... I said it wrong. I've been in Iowa for too long. I'm sorry." (in Sioux Falls, S.D.)

"There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Ala., because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born." (the Selma march was in 1965. Obama was born in 1961)

"We only have a certain number of them, and if they are all in Iraq, then it's harder for us to use them in Afghanistan." (Speaking about translators. Iraqis and Afghanis speak totally different languages)