Weekly Top Three

by: Thurman Hart

Fri Jul 25, 2008 at 08:34:44 AM EDT

Number Three: That wave of relief you feel is the two cents per gallon you're saving when you buy gas.  Bergen and Passaic counties are most expensive at $3.95 per gallon and Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester have the cheapest at $3.87.

Ah, our economy is saved!  Now it will only cost me $43.48 to fill the tank.  

The Parachutist Badge would signify the completion of Airborne School, while the CIB would signify that the bearer experienced active combat as part of a ground force.  As I wrote yesterday, "combat veteran" has a very special meaning to anyone who has served.  At least, it should.  

Abraham Lincoln once quipped: "If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?  Four - calling the tail doesn't make it so."  And calling one's self a "combat veteran" doesn't make it so either - regardless of what ribbons and awards are authorized.

Number One: The bar is pretty low in New Jersey when we look for examples of ethical actions by our political leaders.  So the simplest actions deserve recognition.  Even the least possible decent action needs to be recognized.

At the same time, we need to condemn those who would turn Neil Cohen's personal life a partisan issue.  There is no excuse or defense for what Cohen is accused of doing.  But it is not a by-product of his choice of parties.  As far as vetting goes - it's called a "secret life" for a reason.

People don't disclose what they are ashamed of.  Jim McGreevey was ashamed of his attraction for other men and so he tried to keep it secret - though anyone who was around him for very long knew it wasn't much of a secret.  McGreevey knew that, if his secret leaked out, his career could well be over - but he also knew he wouldn't go to jail for it.  Neil Cohen, on the other hand, knew jail time awaited him if he was ever discovered.  So he kept his secret close.

Fortunately, it appears that Cohen's sickness was stopped before it went further than peering at sick pictures on a screen.  And while his secret wasn't partisan, the actions of the party leadership - his running mates that turned him in could have buried the story and hoped it never came out - were.  Or rather, they were an example of how public interest can, and should, overcome partisanship.  Joe Cryan and Ray Lesniak should be commended if for no other reason than it might encourage other partisans to realize that the party is in service of the public and not the other way around.

So John Bury manages to tie the sexually perverse Neil Cohen for Worst Person in New Jersey.  Stick to writing about actuarial matters, Mr. Bury.  It's been said that everyone can brighten a room - some by entering and some by leaving.  Your offering to connect Cohen and McGreevey, and then to paint the entire Democratic Party as tainted, is kind of like that - we're all better people if we don't read it.

If I could only erase my mind...