New Jersey Hall of Fame

New Jersey Hall of Fame welcomes first-ever class

If you ask the Boss, New Jersey doesn't often get the respect it deserves.

But Sunday night, as he took his place among the first-ever inductees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen thanked his fellow honorees for helping to show the world what the Garden State's got.

"Even with this Hall of Fame, we know another bad Jersey joke is around the corner ... (so we try) not just to do our best, but to stick it in your face," he said, getting an appreciative laugh from the crowd. "That's the fighting spirit of New Jersey."

Springsteen and 14 other honorees were inducted into the Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

One by one, famous locals or their representatives took the stage to remind their neighbors, and the world, of New Jersey's contributions.

"It's amazing what we've accomplished, and people just don't know it," said Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who presented several of the evening's awards. "This is the chance for New Jersey itself to recognize who we are."

Ol' Blue Eyes joined the Boss among the musical members of the Hall of Fame's first class.

"I always said that Sinatra owned New Jersey, but he'd rent me a little bit of it down the Shore," Springsteen said as he presented some of Frank Sinatra's family with an engraved crystal plaque.

Other inductees included Yankee Yogi Berra and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, now neighbors in Montclair, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, and writer and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.

Posthumous awards went to Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi and publisher Malcolm Forbes, represented last night by his son Steve Forbes, the publisher and former presidential candidate.

Gen. Robert Wood Johnson II, familiar to many through the philanthropic foundation that bears his name, was represented by his grandson, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.

For Underground Railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman, organizers made an exception to the rule all inductees must live in New Jersey for at least five years. Booker presented Tubman's award to the head of the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, N.Y.

"Her memory still serves us. Her statues sit on my desk in the mayor's office," he said.

Actress Meryl Streep and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley also were among those honored, but they were unable to attend the ceremony.

New Jersey gave the country and the world some impressive individuals.

Wisconsin has some luminaries of its own.

100+ people you may not have known were Wisconsin folks

Charlotte Rae
Spencer Tracy
Zucker Brothers
Gene Wilder
Chris Farley
Jane Kaczmarek
Liberace
Orson Welles
Daniel J. Travanti
Bob Uecker
William H. Rehnquist
Harry Houdini
Bradley Whitford
Don Ameche
Mark Ruffalo (from "You Can Count on Me")
Ellen Corby
Jerry Harrison
Eric Benet
John Ridley (author, wrote "Stray Dogs")
Willem Dafoe
Douglas MacArthur
Campbell Scott
Joe McCarthy
Oprah Winfrey
Iceberg Slim
Kato Kaelin
Jackie Mason
Latrell Sprewell
Nick Van Exel
Kristen Johnston
Chris Noth (Mr. Big in Sex & the City)
Al Molinaro
Les Paul
Steve Miller
Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum)
Al Jarreau
Tony Shalhoub
Tom Snyder
Kurtwood Smith (dad on That '70s Show)
D.B. Sweeney
Howie Epstein (one of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers)
Frank Lloyd Wright
Joe Puerta (of '70s popsters Ambrosia)
Tom Wopat
Peter Weller (Robocop!)
Chip Zein (Howard the Duck!)
Jane Hamilton
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Larry Watson
Tyne Daly
Fred MacMurray
Psychic Jeane Dixon
Lynn Fontaine
Alfred Lunt
Uta Hagen
Deidre Hall
Susan Hawk (from Survivor)
Julie Stoffer (of Real World)
Kathy Kinney (of Drew Carey Show)
Timbuk 3 (The Future's So Bright...)
Miss America Terry Meeusen (1973)
Gena Rowlands
Concetta Tomei (from Providence)
B-movie star Shannon Whirry
Da Crusher
Georgia O'Keeffe
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Judge William H. Renquist
Golda Meir
John Muir
Thornton Wilder
Owen Gromme
Amy Pietz (of Caroline in the City)
Father James Groppi
Leland Sklar (Jackson Browne's bassist)
Bill Berry (REM)
Chordettes (Mr. Sandman)
Butch Vig and Garbage
Bobby Hatfield (Righteous Brothers)
Woody Herman
Kevn Kinney (Drivin' N Cryin')
Speech (Arrested Development)
Jane Wiedlin (The Go Go's)
Colleen Dewhurst
Sean Duffy (The Real World)
Jill Eikenberry (LA Law)
Peter Graves
Robert Bloch (he wrote Psycho)
Ron Kovic (Born on the Fourth of July)
Aldo Leopold
Carl Sandburg
Peter Straub
Greta Van Susteren (Fox News Network)
James Lovell
NPR's Jackie Lyden
Skater Dan Jansen
Racing driver Dick Trickle
Golfer Andy North
Tom Hulce (Amadeus Oscar nominee)
The Ringling Brothers
Edna Ferber
Skater Eric Heiden
Red Wilson
Allen Ludden

Feingold, Commit Thyself

Sen. Russ Feingold: Do as I say, not as I do.

From the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton said he'd be pleased with whoever wins the democratic presidential nomination.

"I'm going to be happy either way, I just want to get it resolved," he said to a group of 20 people at a Saturday morning listening session in De Pere.

Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York prepare to duke it out in the drawn-out and hotly contested race for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana. The winner of the nomination will face Sen. John McCain in November. Feingold voted for Obama, who won the Wisconsin primary.

Feingold whines that he wants the Dem presidential nomination to be resolved.

Terrific. This coming from Feingold. He still hasn't made a commitment as a super delegate to support Obama or Hillary.

He could help his party move toward resolution by taking a stand.

Feingold, commit thyself!

Hypocrite.

THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Are you struggling because of the economy?

Are you pinching pennies? What are you doing during these hard times to stretch a dollar?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wants to know.

Pinching pennies has always been popular with some folks. But with the economy slowing, layoffs growing and prices for basics such as food and gas rising, getting the most from every dollar is becoming more important to the average person.

The Journal Sentinel is interested in how you are coping with rising costs. What do you do to stretch a dollar and squeeze the value out of every nickel? Send your suggestions and techniques to alank@journalsentinel.com for possible inclusion in a future news story.

Apparently, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is trying to squeeze the value out of every nickel by asking readers to bring the story to its reporters rather than having reporters get the story.

This is nothing new for the Journal Sentinel.

JS reporters prefer to sit and receive than to go out and get.

Tom Hanks Endorses Obama

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

TOM HANKS ENDORSES OBAMA!

Tom Hanks announces support for Obama's presidential bid

Hanks has taken to his MySpace.com page to pledge his support for Obama, who is competing to be the first black president. Obama, who faces rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has also been endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Scarlett Johansson.

"As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you," the 51-year-old actor says in a short video titled, "Beware: Celebrity Endorsement."

"History with a capital `H' is going to be made this November, no matter who the president-elect is. I want Barack Obama to be president of this country, a country that once said people with his skin color were only three-fifths of a human being."

...The actor says Obama and Clinton have each "pretended to eat cheese- steak sandwiches and go bowling," "committed gaffes" and distanced themselves from supporters who could damage their campaigns.

But Hanks thinks an Obama presidency could bring about a "seismic shift," and "live up to the great promise once shaped by our founding fathers."

Signing off, the star says: "I'm Tom Hanks, I wrote and approved this message, and I'm now going to turn off the camera."

Tom Hanks is taking a humorous approach and he's being self-deprecating about his "celebrity endorsement" announcement.

That's nice, but he still chose to throw out his endorsement the day before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Carefully timed?

Even when celebrities attempt to downplay their egos, they fail.

Celebrity endorsements: WHO CARES?

My mama always said, "Celebrity endorsements are like a box of chocolates. Don't pay attention to what celebrities say about candidates and enjoy the chocolates even though you never know what you're gonna get."

Conan O'Brien Interviews Jeremiah Wright

Here's the video:





NBC removed the video, but the segment is available on O'Brien's NBC site for now. Go to "full episodes," April 30, 2008. It begins after the first commercial break, about 11 minutes into the program.

Transcript

O'BRIEN: Welcome Rev. Wright. Thank you for joining us tonight.

WRIGHT: Good evening, Conan. And G--damn you.

O'BRIEN: Rev. Wright, I haven't even said anything.

WRIGHT: Neither did I. What are you talkin' about?

O'BRIEN: You just said, 'G--damn you.'

WRIGHT: Now you're taking the whole thing outta context. That's not all I said.

O'BRIEN: OK, what else did you say?

WRIGHT: I said, 'Good evening, Conan. G--damn you.'

O'BRIEN: OK. OK, I see. You were just being polite.

WRIGHT: It was a greeting.

O'BRIEN: Yes, OK. Now what about this clip that everybody's been hearing where we hear you say, 'G--damn America.'

WRIGHT: I didn't just say that. What you're hearing is a sound bite, Conan, taken out of context so that the political analysts can simplify and distort the whole thing.

O'BRIEN: OK, well why don't you help us out? Go ahead and provide the whole context.

WRIGHT: Alright. What I said was: 'G--damn America. G--damn it to hell. Burn, baby, burn. O.J. was innocent.' Now do you see how it's different in the context, when you take the statement and don't break it down?

O'BRIEN: Yes, very different in the context. Yes. Thank you.

WRIGHT: Thank you. And G--damn you.

O'BRIEN: Reverend, supposedly you're a supporter of Barack Obama, but certainly you realize every time you speak in public all you're doing is hurting Barack's chances to win the White House.

WRIGHT: Hurting? Hurting Barack Hussein Obama? All I'm doing is helping Barack Hussein Obama. I'm defending my church so people aren't afraid of Barack Hussein bin Laden Obama. That's all I'm doing.

O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, just yesterday, you seemed to threaten Sen. Obama. You said, 'Come November the 5th, I'm comin' after you.'

WRIGHT: No, no, no, Conan. It's a sound bite, Conan. When are you gonna listen to the whole thing, the whole context?

O'BRIEN: Well, go ahead. Give us the context.

WRIGHT: What I said was: 'Come November the 5th, I'm coming after you. And I'm coming after your family. G--damn America. G--damn all the Americas.'

O'BRIEN: OK, I see the context now.

WRIGHT: I'm not finished: G--damn North America. G--damn South America, Miss America, Six Flags over Great America. G--damn American Idol, America's Got Talent, America's Next Top Model. G--damn America Ferrera, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West....

O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?

WRIGHT: Everyone knows Fievel Goes West is the worst in the whole series. G--damn Fievel Goes West.

O'BRIEN: Alright, alright.

WRIGHT: You see the context now, when it ain't broken down into teensy weensy sound bites. Do you see what I was trying to say?

O'BRIEN: Well, actually, no, I don't really see. So let's sum it up: You cursed America and you're going after Obama and his family.

WRIGHT: No way. I would never hurt Barack Saddam Hussein Obama, or his two daughters, or his two daughters Uday and Qusay.

O'BRIEN: Oh for God's sake, Rev wright! Now let's talk about some of the more controversial statetments.

WRIGHT: What controversial...?

O'BRIEN: You have claimed that the United States government created HIV to suppress the black community.

WRIGHT: Well, that's right. And even worse than that they, not only did they create HIV, the government also invented blackne.

O'BRIEN: Blackne? What's blackne?

WRIGHT: Yes, black acne. Come on, you know it's true. Don't you see?They invented blackne, and they used it to break up Kid 'n Play.

O'BRIEN: Oh for God's sakes.

WRIGHT: They're suppressing us. Ask yourself this: How come only white men have walked on the moon, even though a black man invented moonwalking? And Conan, the government's using their tricknology to confuse us. They made Lewis Black white and Barry White black.

O'BRIEN: OK, wait a minute. That's actually... that's good. That's true.

WRIGHT: That is true. And just this year, they saw that a black man had a good shot to become president, so they invented a crazy black preacher to ruin his chances.

O'BRIEN: OK. Are you by any chance talking about you?

WRIGHT: G--damn me. G--damn Jeremiah Wright.

Otis Moss

Otis Moss

Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, has a new pastor. Out with Jeremiah Wright and in with Otis Moss.

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Obama talked about Wright and Moss:

MR. RUSSERT: You're done with [Wright]? If you're elected president, you won't seek his counsel?

SEN. OBAMA: Absolutely not. Now, I think it's important to keep in mind, Tim, that I never sought his counsel when it came to politics. And I--you know, some, some of the reporting that implies that somehow he's my spiritual advisor or mentor, as he himself said, overstated things. He was my pastor, and he built a terrific church. I'm proud of that church. We've got a wonderful young pastor who's there who's doing--continuing the terrific work that the church does. And that's my commitment. My commitments are to the values of that church, my commitment is to Christ; it's not to Reverend Wright.

I don't know what Obama's standards are when it comes to being a "wonderful" pastor, but they're nothing like mine. He's right about that "wonderful young pastor... continuing the terrific work that the church does." Moss echoes Wright in his sermons.

There's no change. The message from the pulpit is the same as it has been for the past 20 years.

At WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein writes:

Otis Moss, the man slated to become the new chief pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ, referenced a rap song during one of his recent sermons that includes among its lyrics "F--- America" and states the U.S. is "still with triple K" – referring to the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.

Moss was lauded last week by Sen. Barack Obama as a "wonderful young pastor," and an acceptable choice to replace retiring pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose controversial remarks landed the presidential candidate in hot water.

...Following a series of national media interviews given by Wright last week, Obama strongly denounced some of Wright's statements as "divisive and destructive."

OK. Wright spews divisive and destructive statements and Obama has condemned him. Obama says Moss is different. He's "wonderful."

Really?

The 37-year-old Moss, nicknamed the "hip-hop pastor" by congregants, will become the head of Trinity Christ in next month.

In an interview in March with National Public Radio, Moss said he welcomes media scrutiny of his future sermons, calling the expected publicity "exciting."

"I'm excited because I'm hoping some people will get saved in the process," he said.

But his recorded March sermons are already revealing some controversial rhetoric.

In his Easter sermon, Moss spoke at length about the media attention received by Wright. Moss claimed Wright was "lynched" by the international media.

"No one should start a ministry with lynching, no one should end their ministry with lynching," Moss said.

In a section of the sermon being circulated on You Tube Moss went on to quote a song by the rap artist Ice Cube:

"Do you know who's got our back? If I was Ice Cube, I would say it a little differently – you picked the wrong folk to mess with," Moss exclaimed.

The song Moss was referring to is actually titled "Wrong N-gga to f--- with." It includes the lyrics "F--- America, still with the triple K" and it uses the spelling "AmeriKKKa."

The full lyrics provided in the album:

"Down wit the niggaz that I bail out
I'm platinum b-tch and I didn't have to sell out
F--- you Ice Cube, that's what the people say
F--- AmeriKKKa, still with the triple K
Cause you know when my nine goes buck
it'll bust your head like a watermelon dropped from 12 stories up
Now let's see who'll drop"

The cover image of Ice Cube's album, titled "Death Certificate," features a dead man identified as "Uncle Sam" who is covered by an American flag.

Moss compares the "public lynching" of Wright to the "public lynching" of Jesus.

He calls being black comparable to being a leper and having a "skin disease."

"You see they still are lepers. They still have a skin disease. They had a skin disease. They had a skin disease. Based on their skin condition, they were considered to be second-class citizens. They had a skin issue. They had a skin disease.

"And the lepers lived in a leper project. The lepers had bad health care. The lepers were disrespected. They had funny names for lepers. The lepers were considered inferior. They had an inferior school system. The lepers lived in a ghetto leper colony. The lepers were segregated from everybody else," he continued.

Moss went on to imply those who segregated blacks are the "enemy."

"But they (blacks) refused to give up. They decided to leave the city. They said that's not going to stop me from my destiny. Once they left the particular area, they then find out God has cooked things up. The camp of the enemy ... nobody is there. So they go into the enemy's camp. They find food. They find shelter. They find gold. They find silver. They even find some drink. In the enemy's camp. They find gin and juice. In the enemy's camp."

Obama thinks Moss is a "wonderful young pastor"?

This guy is out of the same mold as Wright.

I don't know why Obama keeps stepping in the same pile.

Milwaukee's Dirty Restaurants

In the last year, 37 percent of Milwaukee restaurants were cited for at least one serious health code violation.

Unappetizing to say the least.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board calls for increased inspections, but funds aren't available.

Most people, Milwaukee Ald. Michael Murphy points out, judge restaurants by their food, service and prices and assume that government is taking care of things such as cleanliness.

Unfortunately, that assumption can be risky in light of a Journal Sentinel review of city records showing more than one-third of city restaurants were cited last year by the Milwaukee Health Department for at least one critical health code violation (www.jsonline.com/744060). That disclosure by investigative reporter Ellen Gabler should make people in City Hall and in the restaurant business realize something is very wrong and needs fixing.

Murphy, who once worked for a restaurant, realizes, as we do, that the restaurant business is very labor-intensive and that even the best-run places and their most trusted, conscientious employees can have lapses. Given that Milwaukee has 1,650 restaurants and only 16 field inspectors, we believe the Health Department is doing the best job it can.

But the "critical violations" cited by health inspectors are a serious matter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the types of violations that put patrons at risk of getting sick. And since 37% of the city's restaurants were cited for such violations, more scrutiny is needed.

Milwaukee typically inspects restaurants once a year, the minimum required by the state. Federal guidelines suggest three inspections a year, and some cities try to do four. Until the early '90s, Milwaukee did two to three a year, but that's no longer possible because budget cuts have reduced the number of inspectors, officials say. With money tight, hiring more help isn't going to be easy. While also faced with budget constraints, West Allis Health Commissioner Terry Brandenburg says his department has been able to inspect about 20% of the eating places in West Allis and West Milwaukee at least twice a year by tying the number of inspections to such things as a restaurant's volume and the consequent level of public risk - a sensible approach.

The Board concludes that inspections need to be done more frequently.

Where will the money come from to fund these inspections? The Board offers no solutions.

Maybe Mayor Tom Barrett can put in place a "Clean Restaurant" fee. He could tack it on to customers' food bills.

It wouldn't be a tax. It would be a fee.

Problem solved without raising taxes.