The latest tax increase will fall heavily on the 75% of households that make less than $113,700

From Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform:

… The American people are being played by the powerful interests that provide them with an illusion of choice.

Both parties serve the interests of their masters, and the fiscal cliff show and debt ceiling show are a form of reality TV to keep the masses alarmed, fearful, and believing there is actually a difference between the policies of the ruling class.

The charade has played [...]

Hurricane Sandy victim in viral photo says president broke promise, sent her form lette

On October 31st, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a soon-to-be-reelected President Barack Obama joined New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for a survey of the devastation at the Jersey Shore. In Brigantine, Obama embraced distraught local business owner Donna Vanzant, whose North Point Marina sustained widespread damage during the storm.

Obama promised her “immediate” assistance, and the photo of their hug went viral days before the election. Now that months have [...]

STUDY: Reality Show Viewers Are More Neurotic, Have Lower Self-Esteem

People who watch non-competition reality shows are more extroverted, neurotic and have a lower self-esteem, according to a new study.

The survey, conducted by Today.com polled 19,000 people and found that “those who watched non-competition reality shows are more extroverted, neurotic and have lower self-esteem than watchers who are not fans of the genre.”

Additionally, the survey found that 72% of women and 60% of men watch Reality television simply because they’re [...]

WITHOUT CONTACTING OWNER, STATE DEMOLISHES JERSEY SHORE HOME THAT WAS STILL INTACT AFTER STORM

New York News | NYC Breaking News

MYFOXNY.COM -

EXCLUSIVE: A man in New Jersey returned to his home after Superstorm Sandy only to find it had vanished — and not from the storm. At issue is who tore it down and why?

The Jersey shore homeowner reached out to us after finding his summer home had vanished along with everything inside. So we called the state looking for answers.

Nick Maria gets emotional [...]

Mayor might leave roller coaster in ocean as tourist attraction

By Brian Thompson, NBCNewYork.com

The roller coaster that was swept right-side up into the Atlantic Ocean as Hurricane Sandy slammed the Jersey Shore may not be torn down, according to Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers.

The picture of the ride, which looks more like a water slide these days, has become an iconic image of the damage Sandy  wreaked up and down the coast just over three weeks ago.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/23/15377009-destroyed-roller-coaster-could-be-jersey-shore-tourist-attraction-mayor-says?lite

WSJ: About 750,000 customers in the Greater New York area are without power, with temperatures near freezing

From WSJ:

NEW YORK—The nor’easter that stymied recovery efforts from superstorm Sandy pulled away from New York and New Jersey Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of new people in darkness after thick, wet snow snapped storm-weakened trees and downed power lines.

From Brooklyn to storm-battered sections of the Jersey shore and Connecticut, about 750,000 customers—more than 200,000 from the new storm—in the region were without power in temperatures near freezing.

“We lost power [...]

Anarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy

by Michael

Hurricane Sandy is another reminder of just how incredibly fragile the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted on a daily basis really is.  Many of the hardest hit areas along the Jersey shore and the coast of Long Island have descended into a state of anarchy.  More than 7 million people live on Long Island, and millions more live along the Jersey shore and right [...]

10 miles from NJ nuke plant: We can hear gas lines hissing — Fire dept. says one spark and town could blow -ABC (VIDEO)

And in that wreckage behind me, we can hear the gas lines hissing. That is the fear for the people here. They’ve been told by the fire department that one fucking spark and this town could blow the fuck up.

http://enenews.com/morning-seaside-heights-nj-hear-gas-lines-hissing-theyve-told-fire-department-one-spark-town-could-blow-10-miles-nuclear-plant-video

NBC Philadelphia is reporting similar problems in Ship Bottom, 11 miles to the south of Oyster Creek:

http://enenews.com/ruptured-gas-lines-in-area-nearby-new-jersey-nuclear-plant-abc-concern-spark-could-set-town-ablaze-anchor-reports-oil-smell-reported

Officials: Gas main explosion in NJ town suspected — Flames shooting up from sand, huge [...]

NJ TOWN CONSIDERS BRINGING GOATS FROM MD TO EAT POISON IVY

SEASIDE PARK, N.J. (AP) — Officials in a New Jersey shore town might use goats from Maryland to rid an environmentally-sensitive area of poison ivy.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOATS_POISON_IVY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-10-08-27-38

SEASIDE PARK — A goat’s appetite might be the answer to the borough’s poison ivy problem.

State restrictions bar Seaside Park from using chemicals or burning the long-overlooked mess of poison ivy on its bayshore, so the Borough Council is considering a contract with a Maryland farm to [...]

The Next Four Years by Gerald Celente: Despite Obama’s or anyone else’s promises, change will not occur until we as individuals change.

Gerald Celente
Trends Journal
Aug 2, 2012

In the summer, 2012, issue of the Trends Journal, Gerald Celente explains that, despite Obama’s or anyone else’s promises, change will not occur until we as individuals change. Those who wait for a leader to emerge who will do the right thing wait in vain:

I the Person = We the People

What will it take to change the course of the future? As America, the world superpower, gears [...]

Farewell SpongeBob and Snooki: 20 million DirecTV customers lose MTV and Nickelodeon along with 14 other channels in dispute over fees

Shows such as SpongeBob and Jersey Shore will no longer be available to DirecTV subscribers

At issue are price increases Viacom wants to extract from DirecTV to keep carrying its cable channels
Although the two sides are continuing to negotiate, analysts said the dispute could drag on for weeks

Subscribers to DirecTV will lose Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 14 other Viacom channels after the two companies failed to reach a new contract after [...]

CHRISTIE FIGHTIN’ WORDS ON JERSEY SHORE!

Things got downright HOSTILE on the Jersey Shore last night — with NJ Governor Chris Christie getting into a heated verbal altercation right on the boardwalk … and it was all caught on tape.

Gov. Christie (R-NJ) was hangin’ with his family in Seaside Heights … and had just ordered an ice cream cone when a passerby fired off some snide comments about Christie’s policy on education.

Christie got PISSED — and while clutching [...]

Fireworks industry in biggest slump in 40 years

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As millions of Americans celebrate Independence Day on Wednesday, there are some whose holiday won’t be going off with a bang.

One of America’s top fireworks firms said the industry, still suffering due to the nation’s economic woes, is experiencing its toughest times since the Vietnam Warera when the country was divided over such flashy displays of patriotism.

“What we are seeing now in the fireworks industry is equivalent to [...]

200,000 people across 18 towns lose water

LINCROFT, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - The water nightmare is continuing on Saturday for hundreds of thousands of people near the Jersey Shore, as three broken water mains in Monmouth County knocked out service on Friday night.

And it could be days before residents get any relief.

A pedestrian bridge over the Swimming River Reservoir collapsed, sending water gushing and causing three water mains to break.

WCBS 880?s Sophia Hall reports

 

“That collapsed, which caused that to collapse,” Peter Eschbach [...]

Bathing suits banned on Jersey Shore boardwalk

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) -

It’s against the law to wear a swim suit on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.

Former Councilwoman Louise Murray is pressing the city council to enforce the ordinance, which was adopted more than 40 years ago.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18880427/asbury-park-official-wants-no-bathing-suit-law-enforced#ixzz1yudfxhKn

 

Meet the 80-year-old grandmother who wants 80,000 Twitter followers before she dies… and Rihanna and J-Lo are helping her get there

A wise-cracking, Jersey Shore-inspired 80-year-old grandmother wants 80,000 Twitter followers before she dies – and her celebrity ‘adopted grandchildren’ are going to help.

The youthful senior, Josephine Lamberti (aka Josie Dimples, aka @j_dimps), is a Staten Island grandmom whose hilarious tweets and YouTube videos have attracted the attention of nearly 76,000 fans and who is followed on Twitter by the likes of Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott.

Declaring, ‘I’m 80yrs old [...]

SHOCK: NBC Finishes In 8TH PLACE Thursday At 10 PM

RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Big Bang’ Tops ‘Idol’ For First Time, ‘Person Of Interest’ Hits High

Fourth-ranked NBC slipped four more notches at 10 PM last night in the Thursday slot it once dominated with powerhouse drama ER, then the highest-rated show on television. The latest NBC series to take over ER‘s Thursday 10 PM slot, new legal drama The Firm, drew a puny 0.9/2 in the key adults 18-49 demographic, ranking eighth is the [...]

On $4M Vacation, Michelle Seeks $3 From Backers

by KEITH KOFFLER on DECEMBER 30, 2011, 1:21 PM

Speaking from her paradisical $4 million Hawaii vacation, Mrs. Obama wants to know: Do any of President Obama’s supporters have $3 to spare for his reelection?

This is approximately like coming upon Warren Buffett on a street corner with a McDonald’s cup asking if he can have 15 cents.

Michelle’s request was part of an email sent to the Obama 2012 list today.

Over the next 11 months we’ve [...]

Ex-Sen Specter hits comedy stage with raunchy stand-up routine

By Anthony Campisi

Inquirer Staff Writer

So an ex-senator walks into a comedy club . . .

That’s not the setup to a joke – it’s what happened Tuesday night when Arlen Specter took the stage at the Helium Comedy Club’s open-mike night in Center City.

“I’ve been in comedy now for 30 years,” the former senator explained.

Taking a try at stand-up was a natural step after spending so many years in the “sit-down comedy” [...]

TV survey: Dems like ‘sarcastic’ comedies, Republicans prefer shows about work

Image Credit: NBC, AB

Republicans don’t watch MTV’sJersey Shore. But they dig ABC’sCastle.

Democrats don’t like Discovery’sDeadliest Catch. But they swoon for NBC’s Parks and Recreation.

Those are a few of the findings from an annual research survey by Experian-Simmons that measures the consumer preferences of various political ideologies. In a report prepared exclusively for EW, the company calculated some of the favorite — and least favorite — TV shows of political partisans. (Specifically: the report [...]

Wealth Inequality In America, Understanding The Source

by Arkady of The Right Condition

Wealth Inequality In America, Understanding The Source

With the OWS movement leaving many Americans confused as to whether they should support or stay away, one thing is for certain, Americans are aware of a certain truth that is happening in our country.  We have a certain combination of events that is leaving many people struggling and asking very good questions.

The truth is this; We have structurally high [...]

‘JERSEY SHORE’ finale ratings drop for first time

As the Jersey Shore cast wrapped its drunken scream-filled vacation in Italy, the show’s ratings concluded lower than the previous season for the first time.

Shore delivered 6.6 million viewers for its season 4 finale, down 13 percent from season 3?s closer. That downturn is despite the season launching higher than ever, with a spectacular 8.8 million blowout that was MTV’s most-watched series premiere ever. So far Shore finales have clocked 4.8 million [...]

MTV’s ‘Jersey Shore’ costs taxpayers $420K

From left: Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Pauly ‘Pauly D’ Del Vecchio, Deena Nicole Cortese, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, Ronnie ‘Fist Pump Brah’ Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, Jenni ‘Jwoww’ Farley and Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi participate in the “Jersey Shore” panel during the 2010 MTV Networks TCA Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Friday August 6, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. (AP Photo by Mark [...]

WSJ: Fitch Ratings has downgraded New Jersey’s credit rating to AA- from AA

AP
Most of these people aren’t even from New Jersey!

By Mark Gongloff

AP
Most of these people aren’t even from New Jersey!

Oh, man, what a bad day for New Jersey.

First, Abercrombie & Fitch pays “Jersey Shore” “star” The Situation not to wear its clothing, and now Fitch — no relation — has gone and downgraded the entire state.

What is it with these Fitches? Is anybody investigating the connection here? Full disclosure: I live [...]

BLOWOUT: ‘JERSEY SHORE’ WATCHED BY 9 MILLION

I posted the Jersey Shore release from MTV earlier and noted that it didn’t quite set viewing records. The wisdom of the crowds didn’t quite pan out as a late surge in polling predicted a record high with adults 18-49, and it wasn’t really close, but was indeed still in “beast mode” with a 4.3 adults 18-49 rating. The 1.8 adults 18-49 rating for the 11pm ‘Shore’ repeat topped [...]

‘Whites Only’ Sign Posted In Jersey Shore Parking Lot

MTV CHAIRWOMAN MCGRATH OUT

MTV Networks announced Thursday that its chairman and chief executive, Judy McGrath, was resigning. The surprising change at the top comes at a time when MTV is riding a surge in both ratings for its programs and profits for its parent company, Viacom.

Viacom said Ms. McGrath had decided it was a perfect time to leave to pursue other ventures,  although those ventures were not named. She [...]

JWOWW: NY considers tanning bed ban for teens

AP

Ana Sutphen, 15, of Malta, N.Y., poses for a photograph next to a tanning bed at the Total Tan salon in Malta, N.Y. New York state is trying to become the first to ban indoor tanning for all minors.

Fulfilling the “Jersey Shore” mantra of G.T.L. — gym, tanning, laundry — may soon be a lot harder for teenagers in New York as the state [...]

WORK: James Carville becomes new MIRACLE WHIP shill…

By PATRICK GAVIN

No, your eyes were not mistaking you: That really was political guru James Carville hawking Miracle Whip in a television commercial.

The spot — part of the company’s “We’re Not For Everyone” campaign — features Carville and others expressing either their love or hate for the spread. The commercials debuted this week.

Amy Sedaris is a fan. “Jersey Shore” star Pauly D is not. As for [...]

Who better to explain what is going on in Cairo to America’s masses than Stephen Colbert

by ZH

The Colbert Report
Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Mubarak Mu Problems

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>
Video Archive

and Second:

The Colbert Report
Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Cairo Turns Into the Jersey Shore

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>
Video Archive

And, indicatively, this is how Egyptian protesters protect their heads during a revolution:

Have you ever wanted freedom so bad, that you strapped bread to your head?

And this:

h/t Scrataliano