Freehold track has not accepted $1.6M bailout - Examiner, 11/6/08:

The funding would help the state's horseracing industry to maintain purse levels and to keep New Jersey's $1.1 billion horse industry viable in the face of increased competition from neighboring states, which already have slots at their racetracks.

He said horses from all over the country and the world race at the Meadowlands.

"People don't come from all over to race at Freehold Raceway. It's a local track and most of the horses come from the Freehold area."

Maintaining New Jersey purse levels affects other quality of life issues in the state as well, according to McNamara.

"People don't understand that it's not just a horse going around in a circle with a driver on its back or a cart behind it," he said. "The horses at the tracks are all stabled in New Jersey and trained and bred on New Jersey farms. All of this means free green acres to the taxpayers of the state."

I'm still trying to figure the "free green acres" remark.

School district leaders disclose credentials - Examiner, 11/6/08:

Donahue earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in Glassboro and the following graduate level degrees; both a Master of Arts in Education and a Master of Arts in Administration, Supervision and Curriculum Planning from Georgian Court College in Lakewood, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Fitzpatrick earned both his Bachelor of Arts in Education and Master of Arts in Education from Boston College in Newton Centre, Mass. He participated in an educational administration doctoral program at the University of New Hampshire in Lane Durham, N.H. and was awarded a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. He also received a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

How much you wanna bet the neighbor boy doesn't run over tomorrow after school, as he did four years ago, and boast to my kids that the "right man" won the election for president?

Jeff took the older ones with him this morning as he voted before driving them to school. I took the two younger ones with me when I voted before driving to the aquarium. The important part is them seeing the process and I'm grateful it runs smoothy here in Monmouth County.

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Here's a cute post: "Crashing the Monmouth County Democrats Election Party".

Posted photos on Facebook and Flickr.

Same photos.

Of today.

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good video in which Neuhaus is featured, apparently against his will, as a "prominent" Catholic. Yeah.

And a Lennon anthem set to choir music?! Is nothing sacred?

Beginning at about 2:43, the final three points are worth listening to:

The prophetic perspective is what the church needs here. And by that, I mean, we don't live for politics. We don't base our confidence about the future on whoever gets elected. 'Let those who marry, marry as though they were not married. Let those who rejoice, rejoice as though they were not rejoicing. Let those who buy, buy as though they were not buying. Let those who deal with the world, deal with it as though they had no dealings with the world.' That's First Corinthians 7. And I'd just stick in, let those who vote or do politics, do it as though they were not doing it. Which means there's a kind of engagement that is not all consuming. There's a kind of voting, a kind of doing politics, a kind of advocacy which is not investing our whole selves into it because we're not here fully. We have a foot in heaven and a foot on the earth. We are citizens of two kingdoms. This is not our main home. This world is passing away. Says that in First Cor. 7, says it again in First John, chapter 2, verse 15. The world is passing away and the lusts of it, but those who do the will of God abide forever. So we know that this system is disappearing and therefore we shouldn't be so worked up about our opponent getting elected that's going to undo our life.

I sensed there's, I talked with one man after church on Sunday a few weeks ago and it's as though his whole world were going to collapse if the person he didn't want to get elected got elected. And I just said to him, 'Your issue is a spiritual one, here, Brother. You got way too much invested here. Are you a Christian?'

So the prophetic perspective says, 'I am God's child. Jesus Christ is my King. America is not my allegiance. God and Heaven are my Allegiance. God can turn this for good no matter who gets elected. And I will always be pursuing His Kingdom first and let the political chips fall where they will. That's the prophetic perspective.

via

I received a rare handwritten note from Mother on Saturday in which she insisted she will vote for Obama.

She sounded excited. She's the type to get passionate about a candidate. She was enthusiastic about Hillary for senator.

'Bout the only political commentary I remember growing up was her frustration that Cuomo did not support capital punishment. She voted for Pataki for that reason.

I don't know for sure, but it would seem that she isn't so much voting for Obama as voting against McCain. She's even admitted to liking all things Palin!