"Shorely, You Can't Be Serious." (Residents of Pt. Pleasant Vote for Booze Curfew)

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to live in a noisy part of town, it's yours truly. A few years back, I moved to Hoboken with the hope of avoiding the calamity and insanity of Manhattan. Little did I know the quiet I so desperately desired would be short-lived, as the incessant noises of "progress" began, in earnest, shortly after.

Nowadays, you might as well call the area around my building "Post-War Iraq." With half a dozen new condos going up (as well as a Trader Joe's), the reconstruction of the viaduct linking us to Jersey City (personally, I feel we should sever it), the six-nights-a-week garbage pick up (at 3:30a.m.), and the screaming, drunken stragglers stumbling out of the Biergarten down the street each and every weekend, I think I can identify with the residents of Point Pleasant, N.J., who, in their own desperate attempt for peace and quiet, just voted to cease the sale of alcohol after midnight beginning July 1.

A second part of the law, which would have allowed bars wanting to remain open 'til 2 to pay a sixty-dollar per-person "extortion tax," was voted down.

As much as I empathize with their situation, I have to ask; "Are you Nuts?"

Trading a few extra "theoretical" hours of peace and quiet in exchange for the decimation of a sizable chunk of the town's revenue, just doesn't make sense. Besides, noisy, drunken revelers are as much a part of the tapestry of the Jersey Shore as high rent and sirens are to Manhattan. They've been around longer than the dinosaurs.

In the long run, there's little chance this ordinance will succeed, because the consequences will be too dire.

A few examples of these consequences might be:

a). Many regulars who vacation in Point Pleasant will simply vacate to the surrounding towns.

b). As a result of this mass exodus, revenue will drop considerably, thus, the city council will be forced to raise taxes.

c). When the clock strikes 11:55, patrons will line up ten shots of Patron in order to beat the curfew. This will, no doubt, result in more D.U.I's and raise the risk of injury to residents and tourists alike.

d). Why stop there? If the midnight alcohol ban is successful, the city council will move for a noise ordinance requiring private residences to shut down parties after midnight. The subsequent loss of interest in the Point Pleasant rental market will be substantial.

Perhaps the people of Point Pleasant got the idea for the alcohol curfew from their neighbors in Sea Girt, as they already have a midnight ban on alcohol. The problem is, there are two major differences: One is, Sea Girt is an affluent town and doesn't rely on revenue from its bars to thrive. The second is, Sea Girt only has a few bars to begin with, compared with literally dozens in Point Pleasant. Thus, the financial damage for the city of Point Pleasant will be exponentially greater.

At present, folks in Sea Girt who wish to party past midnight simply jump in a cab and head to one of the surrounding towns. If the same is true for Point Pleasant, the one industry that will undeniably benefit from this curfew will be the taxi companies.

Is Facebook Knowingly Allowing Counterfeit Websites to Access Your Information?

There are scores of unanswered questions when it comes to the kinds of tactics advertisers are using these days to better monitor our shopping habits and the things we 'like.'

Both Apple and Google have already been caught with their pants down, secretly trying to keep tabs on where we go and what we do. There's little doubt, these gigantic companies we're entrusting to protect our data and keep it out of the hands of those who would use it for unfair or illegal purposes can't keep their eyes on everything all the time. They're simply too big and there's too much data being exchanged to hope for that kind of Utopian reality.

For instance, take the area of counterfeit merchandising. The selling of phony, unlicensed goods to unsuspecting consumers through overseas, and sometimes local, websites is one of the world's fastest-growing illegal business scams. In part, because these Internet criminals are using more sophisticated and brazen ways to pinpoint and target what you may currently be in the market for.

Case in point, apparently Facebook (surprise) is once again on the hot-seat for allowing sites that sell counterfeit merchandise to run rampant through its backyard, all while under the guise of a legitimate "umbrella" marketing company. The kicker here being the biggest alleged umbrella is in China. And, as most of us know, due to its networking potential, Facebook is currently illegal in China.

However, according to Eric Feinberg, founder of F.A.K.E. (Fans Against Kounterfeit Enterprise), a little government censorship's not stopping companies based in mainland China from marketing their services to companies - both legitimate, and fraudulent - worldwide.

"We have concrete proof that Facebook is not only allowing, but obviously, profiting, off the monitoring of its users by companies whose sole purpose is to take that data and use it to sell you counterfeit merchandise."

According to Feinberg, the main suspect in this case is a Shanghai-based marketing giant called adSage. Founded by former Microsoft adCenter programmer/manager, ZhaoHui Tang, adSage is the official partner of Facebook as it tries to claw its way into the lucrative, and virtually untapped, Chinese marketplace. adSage boasts over 3000 clients worldwide. Some are legitimate - such as Lever Bros. and top Chinese search engine, Baidu, - and some are not. These 'nots' are illegal overseas businesses which sign up for the same Facebook targeted marketing campaigns as the real guys. What supposedly happens next is exactly what Facebook says it's not doing; the covert monitoring of your activity and posts, and the mining of your data, which is then sent to these clients and used to create customized "clickable" ads specifically pertaining to what you just discussed or posted, as recently as twenty minutes ago. And, if these con-artists are willing to sell you bogus goods without blinking, imagine what else they're doing with your data.

The problem here is two-fold: Obviously, being sent links from illegal companies posing as the real deal is one. The other, is the massive ethical and fiduciary responsibility Facebook is potentially violating by allowing adSage, and companies like it, to tap into its application's software code and track your movements without your knowledge. This process even has a name: A.F.P. "adSage For Performance." Which, the company website boldly boasts, "means quicker classification and behavior of the user... which is then available in a fraction of the time to adSage's analytical team." Or, loosely translated, "We can tell you who they are, where they are, and exactly what they're looking for, in about ten minutes."

Feinberg, who designs and manages numerous Facebook fan/promotional pages for various professional sports teams, claims when he mentions the Pro Bowl funny things begin happening. "The Pro Bowl takes place in Hawaii, so Facebook and its marketers think I live in Hawaii, thus, within minutes, adds for all things Hawaiian begin appearing on my page. Not to mention the deluge of counterfeit NFL merchandise." Kay'Lee Wells, one of Feinberg's associates, experimented by changing her profile pic to a bag by designer Louis Vuitton, and, the very next day, she began seeing ads for counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags. "Whenever I changed my cover photo or made comments about certain things, ads would pop up," she added.

You don't need a Ph.D. from Stanford to see the long-term implications of guerrilla tactics such as these are much scarier than buying a fake Green Bay Packers jersey. For instance, a new virus has recently appeared which targets your browser, not your hard drive, making it virtually impossible to detect. How does it spread? Clicking on a link. It's a sobering thought knowing even the companies who swear up and down they're not selling your data might not even be aware they're doing it. If, in fact, they are aware, that's another subject, entirely.

Bottom line, no matter who they are or what they're doing with our information, three things are for certain:

1. Congress is light years behind technology with regard to the passage of new laws and the creation of more rigid parameters that can better keep up with, and better regulate, this constantly-evolving medium. But, who are we kidding? By the time the 'Hatfields' and 'McCoys' agree on what to have for breakfast, a hundred new websites have already launched, looking to steal your information, and/or identity, and doing it with technology that was state-of-the-art yesterday but is obsolete, today. It's the socio-political equivalent of a Keystone Cop trotting along in a horse and buggy and being blown away by an army of passing Lamborghinis. How will he ever catch them? Factor in the problem of international prosecution and you've got yourself one heck of a virtual nut to crack.

2. Facebook is the biggest entity the online world, and possibly the entire world, has ever seen. And yet, with all the potential pitfalls of identity theft, stalking, harassment, pedophilia, credit card fraud, application hacking, counterfeiters, new browser viruses, and a litany of other potential nightmares from a now publicly-traded company, the fact that there's not a single human being you can call for assistance is simply beyond belief.

3. Tang Zhaohui just might be the modern day Freddy Krueger.

(surprisingly, no one at Facebook was available for comment.)

Excerpt From Awesome Hate Mail

(love the fact he spelled 'paid' p-a-y-e-d.)

I was just treated to the typical vitriolic bile put forth by your "writer/producer/musician" (i.e. probably unemployed or someones boyfriend) David Fagin, in his article entitled "Have You No Decency Sirs (An open letter to the GOP). Without wasting my time countering the perfunctory liberal idiocy in this editorial, I find it incomprehensible that you would cho...ose to publish an amateurish diatribe such as this which, although not be taken seriously by anyone with half a brain, is still a gross insult to conservatives, who in case you haven't taken notice, are by far the dominant political affiliation of most doctors and upper level health professionals. I would assume that you wish to attract advertisers and new readers to your publication. Nothing like insulting those who you desire to spend money advertising in your newspaper. I would think that not pissing off those with whom you wish to do business would be taught on the first day of Marketing 101. Were I one of the doctors or health care organizations that payed good money to advertise in your publication, I would be infuriated that my advertisement was heralded by this kind of liberal stupidity, and would demand a refund . There is a bright side to this however, as the decline in readership will consume less paper and save a couple of trees, which I'm sure will make your liberal friend Mr. Fagin feel all warm and fuzzy.

J. Michael Digney, D.D.S.

Dear Girls Under 30: Why Must You Be So Mean?

What's going on with you? I'm here. Talk to me. Tell me what's bothering you. Are you afraid to show your true selves? Do you think your peers will ostracize you if you're nice to strangers, or you show up to the club in flip-flops instead of the six-inch "One blockers" your clique are all sporting?

There I was, sitting in a bar in Hoboken. My date gets up to use the bathroom, and, not two seconds later, two other, much younger girls come over and one plops right down in her seat -- even though her pocket book was on the bar and her jacket was on the chair. So, I politely say, "Excuse me, my friend's coming back. She just went to the bathroom." I fully expected the usual "No problem. We just want a drink." Instead, to my total shock, the girl looked me dead in the eye and coldly replied -- in the nastiest, "What are you gonna do about it" tone -- "So?"

Walking through downtown Hoboken later that night, and watching the hordes of young, attention-hungry females strutting around in pants they don't fit in and shoes they can't walk in, I became despondent -- not only for the poor souls who might, one day, end up fathering a child with these misguided ladies -- but, more so, for the girls themselves; not to mention, society, in general.

Where did it all go wrong? How did the Saturday night social scene end up turning into a cosmetically altered version of The Hunger Games? I'm not just talking about the Guidos/Guidettes one might find in Hoboken. Everywhere you go these days, N.Y., L.A., Amish country, wherever, it feels like you're trapped in some B movie called Attack of the Nasty Stepford Girls. You can literally feel the rudeness and insincerity seething from their pores. And, ironically, in their quest to be the most attractive, the most popular, the most unique, and the most desirable, these personality-deficient fembots succeed only in becoming carbon copies of each other. And, not in a positive way.

Girls will always want to outcool and outshine each other, but, since when did they begin dressing so poorly and behaving so badly?

Granted, I'm 44, so, it could easily be that I've caught the "generation disease" from my folks, and, instead of waking up one day hating rock music (which I'm still terrified will happen), I woke up and realized women under 30 might as well be aliens.

I don't listen to their music, don't understand their text abbreviations, cannot even fathom why they need to display their feathers in such an obvious and unflattering way, and thus, am completely, yet blissfully, unattracted to them in every way, shape, and form. Not all of them, of course, but a large enough percentage of the demographic to prompt this letter/query.

And, why does it seem like this segment of the population is multiplying like a fungus on a piece of cheese? Again, maybe I'm too old to appreciate rudeness, catty looks, horribly bad make-up jobs, and shoes that make even the sturdiest of women look like new-born giraffes, but something is definitely wrong.

I hate to say it, but, "In my day," I simply can't remember girls, in general, being this nasty as a general rule. Twenty years ago, the worst thing a "mean girl" ever did was sleep with your boyfriend and show up at school the next day wearing his varsity jersey. Now, it seems, each night, there's at least a dozen incidents of women looking for a reason to smash glass or dump beer on each other, as if they were men, then, victoriously storm off to the diner to laugh about it. "Wha hap'n?"

From an observer's p.o.v., it definitely appears the onslaught of low-brow garbage spewed forth by every cable channel and magazine under the sun, combined with the constant Instagrams of "You're not cool unless you're drunk by a pool in South Beach!" has told most young women of today they need to carry themselves in a manner which suggests they're porn stars and their brains are fried, just like their television idols. Most women these days, even some married ones, come off as subtle as a piano dropping on your head. They leave about as much to the imagination as a Jenna Jameson marathon.

Though, it's not entirely their fault. The ever-widening gap of human interaction brought on by social media has apparently not only altered the part of our brains that affect how we relate to each other socially, but also, physically. When it comes to attracting the opposite sex, everything has to be immediate gratification. Perfectly fake boobs, perfectly coiffed hair, perfectly tanned skin, perfectly picked out dress (two sizes too small), and a pair of perfectly trendy, incredibly uncomfortable shoes. Lay one of these girls down flat and you could incur severe tire damage.

On the bright side, while it's incredibly depressing to see what a large percentage of the country's youth have been reduced to, these sadly desperate, fashion victims, who walk around pretending they're the guest of honor in their own reality shows, make it easier for those of us with even the slightest bit of class and taste to spot the good ones, as they can't help but stand out like a sore thumb in their loose-yet-cool ripped blue jeans, Yankees jersey and flip flops. Of course, they're probably mean, too, but I don't have the guts to find out.

There's already one Kim K., ladies -- and that's one too many. Make your own 'reality.'

Where Have We Seen This Before?

By now, most of us have heard "Golden Dawn," the Greek Neo-Nazi party who claim they're not Neo-Nazis, shocked, not only the Greeks, but the rest of the world, by winning close to 7% in Greece's parliamentary elections - meaning they will be sending around 21 deputies to parliament in the coming months.

Running on a campaign based around anti-immigration, anti-austerity, and all-around fear, Golden Dawn's leader, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos (try saying that five times fast) took advantage of his country's economic and social hopelessness to instill his message of hate to the masses. And, he was sadly rewarded. Fascist salutes, and all.

After the decimation of the German economy in the 1930s, another man ran on almost the exact same platform; blaming immigrants and "outsiders" for his country's problems, capitalizing on the current government's ineptitude and inability to produce any kind of meaningful change, and re-infusing a belief in national pride. Not to mention, promising to simply "cleanse" the country of the outsiders once he was in power.

If news traveled then as fast as it does now, would it have mattered? Maybe, maybe not. But, it certainly will be interesting to see how this situation develops. One would hope the majority of Greeks recognize the slippery slope their country is standing on at this moment in time. It's very easy to say "Ah, that'll never happen again." But, who knows? A few thousand immigrants killed or deported here, a little more power there, the United Nations taking years to decide how to act... and, presto!, by 2016, Greece is now Libya w/ nicer beaches.

In dire circumstance, most people will agree to almost anything if it means their lives will get a little better, even if it means ultimately turning a blind eye to crimes against humanity. Of course, it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to nurture a Big Brother.

Look at any dictator from Hitler to Stalin to Mussolini, and they all come from the same place: The promise of radical change to a vanquished people devoid of hope. Mihaloliakos' motto seems to be, "Ask not, what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you!" He realizes his people are tired of living the other way with zero sign of reciprocity. So, "Why not be selfish and hate? You've tried everything else."

For most of us, when we are broke and hungry and angry and weak, we are tremendously vulnerable to the voice that might provide a quick remedy to the situation, e.g., sending a security detail to walk your elderly mother home through crime-infested streets at night. That one, simple act, - compared to feeling like your voice is lost - could prove all that's necessary for a vote of confidence in the next election - don't worry about what the consequences might be down the line, e.g., perhaps they make you begin paying for that protection, beating up your friends and neighbors who refuse, etc., - but, hey, for the time being, they understand your frustrations. When there's no money to feed your children, no job to give you the money you need, and no one seems to give a damn, you can't help but feel it's all about "Me, Me, Me." It comes down to a question of survival.

But, if, at this critical juncture, the Greeks who think this fascist meatball is the answer to their prayers, would pause for just a moment, history could teach them a great lesson and save them years of additional pain and heartache. All they need to do is open a text book to see, the one thing about a people uniting around hate is, it never produces anything but more hate. It can't. Whether you're an individual or a society, you can never get good from bad. Especially when you blame others for your problems.

By now, most of us know, racism isn't born. It's taught. Case in point, Denis Leary's poignant quote "I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list."

No doubt, Mihaloliakos, and every single one of his menacing, shaved-headed followers hate and blame because, somewhere along the line, they were taught to hate and blame. Now, seeing their opening, they stand on Mt. Olympus beckoning others toward their cause with the same hatred and blame. Unfortunately, not everyone can be strong enough to resist the easy way out during times of crisis. That's called "character." Some people possess it, some people are one. Mihaloliakos is definitely the latter.

If the Greek people, in their quest for their own, personal salvation, choose to ignore the "downside" of electing a party based on hate, they will, once again, only have themselves to blame. And, of course, then it will be time for another type of "bailout."

A Top 10 List of Other Things Gingrich Refuses to Give Up On.

Isn't it just a shame when everyone but you knows it's over? I'm all for the "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" attitude, but, when others are hurt due to your stubbornness, (e.g., costing tax payers tens of thousands of dollars a day for your secret service detail, continuing to add millions in debt w/ each passing day, etc.), it's time you realized, the fat lady is dressed, showered, and left for the after party an hour ago.

There's a lot to be said for not quitting at something, but there's also a lot to be said for knowing when to quit. And, both scenarios require an individual just as brave. Mr. Gingrich was the last to realize his battle for the presidency ended months ago, yet, he selfishly refused to acknowledge reality, and, instead, continued to run up huge bills for private jets, consulting fees paid to his wife and daughter, and dinners at Spago. That makes him the last to the party, and, no doubt, leaves the taxpayers, once again, footing the bill (if you think fund raisers with the guy who lost the GOP nomination - again - will pay it all back, you're dreaming). Someone call the producers of American Greed. Anyhoo, here's a list of the top ten things the 'Newtster' still hasn't given up on:

10. Slimfast
9. Marriage
8. Adultery
7. New Foghat Album
6. President of China
5. Hypocrisy
4. Nepotism
3. Non-working Woodshop Elephant Trunk Lamp
2. Beatles Reunion
1. Spending other people's money/ruining the Gingrich family name (tie)

Have You No Decency, Sirs? (An Open Letter to the GOP)

Fifty years ago, when an exasperated Joseph Welch defiantly interrupted the drunk-with-power chief inquistor, sen. Joe McCarthy, and asked, "Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?," the entire gallery burst into applause, signifying an abrupt end to an era of leaders who had abandoned their oaths in exchange for their own, personal glorification.

In light of recent events, one might say, it's once again time for that question to be dusted off and poised to the entire GOP.

As we've come to expect, the House passage of the Ryan Bill, which, at its core, is nothing more than the GOP's latest installment of How to Cut the Deficit by Helping the Rich and F&%king the Poor, is filled with all the usual ridiculousness brought on behalf of a party that's been deemed "the farthest right they've been in a hundred years." And, if that wasn't bad enough, this time, they're trying to do it on the backs of the sick and the elderly.

The republican plan to cut 6.1 trillion dollars in spending does not ask for a single cent from the richest class. Nor, do they ask for a dime from the defense budget or the big oil companies. Nope. All the spending cuts designed to "save our children's future" will come from the pockets and protection of health care, because, that's where the "real" problems lie.

The republicans of today have no problem whacking medicaid by 1/3, thereby exposing future generations of seniors to financial ruin, while leaving the rest of us to rely on "vouchers," which - surprise - decrease in value over time. Seeing just how far they can go, they continue their assault on reason by suggesting we cut taxes for the upper class, and put them back to where they were when their ole pal "W." was in office.

Is it possible that an entire group of people are this clueless? The early 20th century political journalist, H.L. Menckin, probably said it best when he said, "Not all conservatives are stupid, but all stupid people are conservative."

It's no secret, republicans today are unabashed in their shameful quest to protect the wealthy and the titans of industry. They're so far "off the grid" at the moment, it's easy to believe it would be even more gratifying if this could be achieved while simultaneously taking away what little remaining security those who've worked a lifetime have left.

A good word to define this type of "modern political virus" might be McConnellism. Thus, is there a more appropriate response to this willful abandonment, by virtually an entire political party, of representing their constituents to the best of their abilities, other than, "Have you no decency, sirs? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Shame on the lot of you. You are no different than the traitors in Braveheart who, for a price, turned William Wallace over to the crown.

But, the democrats don't get off so easy.

Instead of calling the GOP out on their ever-increasing, reprehensible, lack of morality -which borders on plain evil - the dems seem content to debate each of these preposterous issues on merit, thereby legitimizing them. Which raises the question, "Who's worse? The idiot? Or, the one who argues with the idiot?"

Lest we forget, this is a party that, just in the past decade, has given us such memorable gifts as Bush/Cheney, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and now, the "Three Stooges;" McConnell, Boehner, and Ryan, - and, still, where is our "Joseph Welch?" It certainly seems he/she/they will have to come from the underground, as, our current leaders seem to be too busy going tit-for-tat with idiots. And, in the end, guess who pays the price for that?