Bergen Mall, Paramus, NJ

Reading the posts over on the Ridgewood Expats Facebook page got me searching for some pictures of the kiddie rides that used to live on the lower level of the Bergen Mall in Paramus. I can remember my grandparents taking us over there, and I remember two rides. There was a train that went around the perimeter, and to my little mind it was the best train ride because it was a replica modern diesel engine train rather than the more common replica steam locomotive. There was also a boat ride that went around in a little circle, which I loved because the boats were actually floating on the water.

Well, I couldn't find any images of my beloved rides, but I did find this fun documentary of the place. I hope you enjoy it.

the bergen mall from robin.g (smartbunny) on Vimeo.

Maxine Waters is an Uber Moron. These government committees are a disgrace.

You want "settled science?" Here's your settled science:

Climate scientists withdraw journal claims of rising sea levels
Study claimed in 2009 that sea levels would rise by up to 82cm by the end of century – but the report's author now says true estimate is still unknown

But not to worry, folks, it's all normal operating procedure:

Announcing the formal retraction of the paper from the journal, Siddall said: "It's one of those things that happens. People make mistakes and mistakes happen in science." He said there were two separate technical mistakes in the paper, which were pointed out by other scientists after it was published. A formal retraction was required, rather than a correction, because the errors undermined the study's conclusion.

In spite of all these "errors" that just "happen," the coup de grace of this lunacy for me is this:

Siddall said that he did not know whether the retracted paper's estimate of sea level rise was an overestimate or an underestimate.

Oh, that's rich. These clowns don't even have a clue which side of "wrong" they are on! And this is the "science" the left wing politicians demand we accept as "settled" as they take control of the economy in its name.

Well, this will bring out the torches and pitchforks. The government is exploring the idea of taking people's 401(k) money:

You did the responsible thing. You saved in your IRA or 401(k) to support your retirement, when you could have spent that money on another vacation, or an upscale car, or fancier clothes and jewelry. But now Washington is developing plans for your retirement savings.

BusinessWeek reports that the Treasury and Labor departments are asking for public comment on "the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams."

In plain English, the idea is for the government to take your retirement savings in return for a promise to pay you some monthly benefit in your retirement years.

They will tell you that you are "investing" your money in U.S. Treasury bonds. But they will use your money immediately to pay for their unprecedented trillion-dollar budget deficits, leaving nothing to back up their political promises, just as they have raided the Social Security trust funds.

Boy, if they think the tea party crowd was angry before, wait until that little nugget hits the fan. Here's the take on it over at Wizbang:

So far we have had a government take over of two automobile companies, bank bailouts, and the nationalization of the student loan program. Today we learned that the Democrats are not focused on jobs as they and the president said they were, but used the discussion of jobs as a ruse to distract in order to push through a government take over of the health care industry through reconciliation. And now we are seeing signs that the Democrats are working on a government take over of private retirement accounts.

Ever since Barack Obama was elected, we've seen larger and larger chunks of American life being gobbled up by government. Today's Democrats are nothing more than thug socialists who can't stand that there are still large swaths of the American people still living independently from government largesse and control. Now they are using what remaining power they have in Congress to change that. If the government takes over health care, college student loans, and retirement savings then no one, no matter how wealthy, can escape the thumb of big government.

Time to polish up those pitchforks, folks.

Help me! There's so much going on, and I can't find time to blog!

We have animal rights activists issuing death threats against flamboyant ice skaters.

Global warming "science" isn't so settled anymore.

And still more on the collapse of climate change science.

Obama wants to create more nuclear waste while simultaneously closing the not yet open $10 billion waste storage facility in Harry Reid's Nevada.