Who Knew Infinity and Beyond Actually Equates To A Small, Negative Number?

Wow, this video blew my mind when I watched it. Unless you're a math geek or some kind of "Big Bang Theory" type physicist, who would have thought that he sum of all natural numbers (from 1 to infinity) would produced an astoundingly small negative number?

There is no way I would have.

Research Works

From the E-Newsletter of Congressman Rush Holt:

An entire generation may not remember the terror that AIDS created in the early 1980s.  Back then, people would show up in the emergency room, sick and confused, and die within hours or days.

Since then, medical science has made astonishing progress.  Antiretroviral drugs allow millions of people with HIV, in the United States and throughout the world, to lead normal lives and enjoy near-normal life expectancy.

Congressman Rush Holt

This progress is not an accident.  It is a major achievement of medical science and, just as importantly, a major success of public policy.

In 2003, President Bush embraced an idea initially offered by the Congressional Black Caucus to invest $15 billion in the prevention of AIDS worldwide – an effort that I have since worked to renew and expand.

Last year alone, the U.S. provided lifesaving drug treatment to nearly 4 million men, women, and children worldwide.  We also provided HIV counseling and testing for more than 40 million people, including 10 million pregnant women.  Mother-to-child transmission has been greatly reduced.

These investments in global health have not only saved lives; they also have built tremendous international goodwill toward the United States, and they have restrained the spread of HIV in ways that have prevented more infections here at home.

Much remains to be done.  There are 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. each year and many more worldwide.  Many people still carry tragic misunderstandings and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.  The disease remains incurable, and it still cannot be prevented by vaccine.  These are among the challenges that international leaders will address later this month when the International AIDS Conference meets in D.C.

But through bold, effective, and measurable public policy interventions, the United States already has saved many lives and fought the scourge of a terrifying disease.

Next Week: Town Halls in Franklin Twp., Old Bridge, and Over the Phone

Next week, I’ll be hosting several forums to share news from Congress and to hear directly from you.

On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., I’ll hold a telephone town hall open to all residents of central New Jersey.  Many of you will automatically receive calls on Tuesday evening inviting you to join; to ensure that you are called, please visit http://holt.house.gov/townhall or call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT.

Then, on Saturday, I’ll host in-person town halls in Franklin Township and in Old Bridge:

Saturday, July 21, 2012
10:00 a.m.
Franklin Municipal Building Council Chambers
475 DeMott Lane
Somerset, New Jersey

1:00 p.m.
Municipal Court Chambers
Old Bridge Municipal Building
1 Old Bridge Plaza
Old Bridge Township, New Jersey

The Higgs Boson, Almost Certainly – Well, Possibly

Last week, a team of thousands of scientists from around the world,including about 15 from Princeton University, announced the long-expected discovery of a new elementary particle.  They appear to have found the Higgs boson, or something very much like it.  This could be the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, which explains how the basic building blocks of the universe fit together – everything you see and much that you don’t.

Several people have commented to me that they were struck by how tentatively scientists announced the news.  One physicist, for example, told the Associated Press, “We’ve discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs.”

To me, this serves as a reminder that science is based on probabilistic reasoning.  Scientists are trained to be comfortable with uncertainty – more so than non-scientists, and certainly more so than politicians.

The process of science leads to knowledge that is more and more reliable, but always tentative.  It might be good if more people, especially politicians, kept in mind – at least in the back of their minds – that they might be wrong.  Do you think we could make more progress in society then?

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Smoke and Mirrors Part II: Resolution NO. 10-248 - Authorizing Township Wide Property Tax Reassessment

Below is part II of Gerry Scharfenberger and crew's smoke and mirror attempt at once again deceiving voters into believing that they are working in their best interests of township residents rather than their own.

Resolution No. 10-248 will be introduced Monday night at the monthly meeting of the Middletown Township Committee and may be pushed through for a vote without any discussion by Committee members in Executive Session, just in time for the annual Middletown Republican October surprise for the November elections.

If you read my earlier post as to why I say this resolution is nothing more than a smoke and mirrors trick to divert residents anger away from the huge 12% municipal tax increase, you will understand that the reassessing of home values will have little impact on the actual amount of property taxes that they will pay because regardless of what local real estate is appraised for the Township still needs to raise in excess of $45 Million in taxes. Sure, the home appraisal will drop by a few thousand dollars but as an effect of the drop off in value the tax rate will need to adjusted higher to compensate for the loss of home values.

As anyone learned while in science class, Newton's third law of physics states, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". So, as property values are adjusted downward, property taxes are adjust higher to compensate for lost revenues.

The other problem that I have with this resolution other than the timing and intent, is the lack of transparency in which it is being presented.

During the public comments portion of the special budget adoption meeting of September 7th, resident Jim Grenafege made a comment to the effect that in his opinion, the member of the minority party sitting up on the dais was routinely excluded from discussions and not given the same access to information, often stonewalled, as other committee members may receive. Grenafege's statement naturally got a rise out of our acting mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger, who vehemently denied that such things go on.

Well, I want to point out this resolution as an example of what Jim Grenafege was talking about because other than seeing Scharfy's press release that is forth coming, I understand that Sean Byrnes was not aware that actions to conduct a town wide reassessment had taken place.

RESOLUTION NO. 10-248

TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLETOWN

COUNTY OF MONMOUTH

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ASSESSOR TO PREPRARE TO

CONDUCT A TOWNSHIP-WIDE PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT

WHEREAS, after successfully seeking repeated deferrals due to extraordinary market conditions, the Township of Middletown was ordered by the Monmouth County Board of Taxation to conduct a property tax revaluation that was completed over two years ago at the height of the real estate market; and

WHEREAS, the Township has been forced to refund in excess of $1 million resulting from successful property tax appeals for the last tax year at a time when overall municipal revenues have experienced a significant decline due to current economic conditions; and

WHEREAS, such refunds have a devastating impact on the Township’s budget because the Township must refund nearly four times the amount of money it actually collects in taxes for municipal purposes without any refund from the school district; and

WHEREAS, the making of such refunds typically require special short-term financing by the Township as refunds must be made within 60 days of judgments being rendered as a matter of law; and

WHEREAS, Governor Christie’s new 2% tax levy cap law, which will become effective for the purposes of the 2011 tax year, does not provide any exception for the financing of refunds ordered via tax appeal judgments; and

WHEREAS, current market data analyzed by the Assessor’s office demonstrates that property values have declined significantly below assessments made based on the County Tax Board’s ordered revaluation which is resulting in a growing number of successful tax appeals with an even greater potential liability developing for the 2011 tax year; and

WHEREAS, a Township-wide reassessment does not require detailed inspections like those which are conducted during a revaluation and will reestablish fair and equitable property tax assessments that are more precisely in line with current market conditions throughout the Township while decreasing the number of tax appeals in the future; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c) and based on the forgoing analysis, the Assessor has filed an Application for Reassessment that has been approved by the County Board of Taxation and Division of Taxation and now having notified theTownship Committee of the same.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Committee of the Township of Middletown in the County of Monmouth, State of New Jersey that the Tax Assessor is hereby authorized and directed to take any necessary and appropriate action to commence a Township-wide property tax reassessment for the 2011 tax year