President Obama made an appearance at the cis-Hackensack outpost of Fairleigh Dickinson University1 to raise campaign funds for our governor, Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs chief. I was going to post about this yesterday, noting that, if memory served, this was the first presidential visit to Hackensack since President Uribe of Colombia made a state visit here a couple of years ago. Then I wasted a half hour trying to find a good photo or article to link to about the Uribe visit, got frustrated, and gave up. Part of the problem with that search is that we've had a Colombian-American mayor here, so articles about him popped up. And we also have an annual Colombian Day celebration here, so that comes up too.
Fortunately, I missed the inevitable traffic snarls yesterday, but Cheryl wasn't as lucky; she got stock in gridlock on Hackensack Ave. on her way back from the Hackensack Financial District. She had to make an Italian illegal U-Turn (all the police were occupied with motorcade security, so she didn't get a ticket for this) and loop around Hackensack via the highways. In any event, thanks to the magic of YouTube, here is some Hackesack residents' brush with the motorcade of the Imperial Presidency2:
1This school was derided as "Fairly Ridiculous" when I was growing up. Most of its "Metropolitan" campus is on the trans-side of the Hackensack River, which divides the City of Hackensack from the Township of Teaneck.
2By way of contrast, I recall a photo of French President Sarkozy jogging in Central Park last month when he was in New York for the annual UN festivities. Exactly one security guard was visible in the photo.
Simple: don't hold them at the same time as other elections. New Jersey will have its primary elections in June, including a Republican primary to nominate either former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie or former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan to challenge former Goldman Sachs chief and current Governor Jon Corzine for the governorship. Scheduling local school board elections for the same day would have increased turnout. Instead, they were held earlier this month here in Hackensack. According to the Hackensack Chronicle's unofficial results, the city's $85,207,090 school budget was approved by a 880-515 vote: in a city of about 50,000 residents, an $85 million tax and spending decision was made by a ~3% minority of zealous voters. I'm sure that's just the way the city's education establishment prefers it.
If I'd had a blog last fall, I would have posted a link to this great Vanity Fair article then. I think you'll still find it an entertaining read today. Herewith, a link to Michael Bronner's article, "The Axis of Hackensack: Meet Kim Jong-il's Best Friend in Jersey". Here's Vanity Fair's description of the article:
For more than 10 years, the United States has used an unlikely freelance connection to communicate with "axis of evil" member North Korea: Robert Egan, a barbecue-joint owner, former small-time criminal, and erstwhile F.B.I. informant from New Jersey. The author follows Egan into the wilds of Hackensack to reveal a mind-boggling story of espionage, covert diplomacy, and rib-lovin' North Korean envoys.
That would be me. Not exactly an early adopter, to be sure. For some time I have been posting under the nome de Internet "DaveinHackensack" on a few different investing websites, mainly to organize my own thoughts and solicit feedback -- positive or negative -- on ideas. For most of this time, I resisted starting my own blog because it seemed pointless: the web has a surfeit of blogs already, so who needs to see mine? What caused me to change my mind was the gradual realization that I could profit more from correspondence with a handful of intelligent, intellectually flexible individuals than larger forums full of soi disant contrarians. My hope is that this blog will attract such a handful of correspondents.
As for the title of this blog, Hackensack is where I live. It's also the name of the river that runs alongside the city. Inspired by the example of The Atlantic, I figured I'd name my blog after this local, smaller body of water.
I plan to write about investing, politics (occasionally -- I am a recovering political junkie), and various other subjects that I find of interest, and -- more importantly -- think others might find of interest. Comments and criticisms will be welcomed and encouraged.
Just a man with a man's courage.
Older comments are moderated so I am made aware of them.
Please note also that none of what I write here should be construed as investment advice. Please do your own due diligence and use your own common sense before making any investment decisions.
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