The Cost of Incompetence

Candidate Chris Christie made a point over and over again about his fight against corruption in New Jersey government as US attorney. And Gov. Chris Christie made it a point to vilify, bully, and denigrate the teachers of the NJEA.

He even made a joke about it when questioned by Star-Ledger reporter Tom Moran. Doesn't seem quite as funny now, does the governor Christie?

• Gov. Chris Christie asked the teachers in New Jersey to give up their pay raises.
• Gov. Chris Christie asked New Jersey voters last April to vote against their local school budgets.
• Gov. Chris Christie took a hard stand against the NJEA and all that organization did for the past who knows how many years to make New Jersey schools the best schools in the country.

And what did Chris Christie give back for all he asked? Incompetence.

$400 million. For that same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

5200 Elementary School Teachers for One Year.

Or 44,600 Head Start Slots for Children for One Year.

Or the 33,706 University Scholarships for High School Students for One Year.

So Gov. Christie, when Tom Moran asks you about your administration's incompetence and what that means for the citizens of New Jersey, are you going to laugh about that, too?

US Department of Education reveals real reason why New Jersey lost “Race to the Top” funding: Gov. Christie was on “steroids”.

It seems that baseball is not the only American pastime plagued with steroids these days: US Department of Education spokesperson Grant Handley revealed today the real reason why New Jersey lost out on $700 million in educational funding: “it's obvious from the mistakes in this application, and the way it was hurried down to DC from New Jersey that it was obviously prepared by someone on steroids. And that someone is Gov. Chris Christie.

Under US Department of Education funding federal statutes, it is “illegal to use any substance such as steroids, narcotics, or perception enhancing drugs when preparing an application for any type of federal funding.” Ironically, this law was signed by Pres. George W. Bush––the man who appointed Chris Christie to be US attorney.

Mr. Handley made note that this was not the first time that it was observed that Chris Christie may have been on performance enhancing steroids. Like Roger Clemens when he threw a bat at Met catcher Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series, steroids can cause “rage, irritation, extreme arrogance and lashing out at others on a regular basis. With the New Jersey governor's attitude towards the NJEA, small towns and suburbs and most recently Justice Wallace of the Supreme Court––it's obvious that the governor has been suffering from steroid rage for a long time.”

Other evidence of governors use is his enormous “bulking up”––similar to the way baseball homerun hitters Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire looked after many years of being on steroids. “You don't look you don't look that ‘bulked up’ from just eating food,” said a source inside the governor's office, who wished to remain anonymous.

Other evidence of the governor's use of steroids in the past was his blaming on Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler for a “compromise” he made with the NJEA back in June during the first round of “Race to the Top” educational funding. Back then, he hid his steroid use by saying of Schundler, "I’m sure we’ll have disagreements in the future. Hopefully we’ll just handle them a little differently,”--after which he flew into a steroid rage.

Handley pointed out that last fall Christie flew into a steroid rage in front of Congress, when he was giving testimony. He left in a hurry, saying that he had to “catch a train and get back to New Jersey.”

Congressman Lance: “yada yada yada… tax cuts… yada yada yada… Republican ‘no’ votes"

Last night I went to the town hall meeting of my congressman, Leonard Lance. Unlike, the summer town hall meetings of 2009, this was rather tame by comparison.

First of all, I want to say that I like Leonard Lance very much. When I was on Borough Council in Flemington, he was always extraordinarily helpful getting us much-needed financial support from the state for roads and other municipal projects. Back then, State Sen. Lance would have no problem getting “earmarks” for those in his district. But now, Congressman Lance toes the Republican line against such earmarks. Oh, what a difference a few years and a larger district makes.

I expected that there would be many Tea Party people taking the Congressman to task on his Cap and Trade vote––but I guess that issue is mostly over since the June primary. Back then, three separate Tea Party candidates failed to garner even a majority of the vote to oust Lance. So there were conservative Tea Party people there at the Town Hall meeting, who had only supportive questions for the congressman. The only time I heard them peep or squawk was when a Democrat got up to ask a question and expressed support for Obama,––then there were boos and hisses. They were rude bunch to say the least.

There's no question about it---after seeing him last night---Congressman Lance is very different from State Sen. Lance. State Sen. Lance is the person who bucked his own party by voting against a pension bond scheme by then Gov. and family friend Christie Todd Whitman. He also was the person as Sen. Lance to sue then Governor Jim McGreevy over borrowing money for the state without voter approval.

I got a chance to ask him if he had to do it over again, would he support Cap and Trade this time around. His answer: "No, I would not.” His answer, however, did not surprise me––because he flip-flopped on this issue mostly under pressure from the right wing of his party. What did surprise me is his reason for flip-flopping on the issue: He said that the reason why he would not vote for Cap and Trade again is because “the Obama administration did a poor job of negotiating in Copenhagen”, and he wasn't willing to take on the responsibility for the United States to deal with this issue alone. Of course, the follow-up question I should've asked had I thought of it would have been, “so Congressman, had the Obama administration negotiated successfully in Copenhagen then you would still be supporting Cap and Trade?”

And so, Congressman Lance “yada yada yada’d” his way through questions about his “no” votes on job creation, consumer protection against Wall Street's schemes, and his switch on Cap and Trade. I believe that he is still one of the few Republicans who was moderate in his heart, but has become conservative in his “political brain”.

As long as the seventh District has to have a Republican in Congress, I wish we had the old Leonard Lance back. He was a maverick, he was independent, and voted his own mind. Unfortunately, we may not see that Leonard Lance again for a while––if at all.

Anna Little is now following me on Twitter! And boy, am I excited!

This morning, I awoke to the following e-mail:

“Anna Little is now following your tweets on Twitter. A little information about Anna Little: 2380 following. 2306 followers.”

Now, while that doesn't seem to me like a really great number of Twitter “followers” for someone running for Congress. However, I really shouldn't talk. I have a mere 277 followers, and I follow 522 people. I don't know what it says about you if you are following twice as many people as are following you––I do feel kind of like a very unpopular high school geek. But, I digress.

Waaaaaay back at the beginning of the summer in June, on New Jersey Primary Day, Anna Little was outspent, out–gunned and out-media-ed by her billionaire primary opponent, Diane Gooch for the right to run against Frank Pallone for Congress in NJ-6. Gooch spent $200,574 on her campaign, more than ten times as much as Little spent, after raising $432,902. Little won the nomination on a literal shoestring budget of $19,503. So it goes.

Little, under her Twitter feed, lists the following bio:

“I am a Constitutional Conservative running for Congress to beat Frank Pallone in #NJ6 and resist the progressive agenda. It's time to take our Country back!”

Notice that she capitalizes the words ‘constitutional’ and ‘conservative’, and “country”–––like she owns them. Like they are hers. Like she has had them trademarked and no one else can use them. I'm surprised she doesn't have a little “TM” in a circle next to each word.

However, she fails to capitalize The Words “progressive” or “agenda”. Oh, she does properly capitalize the words “Frank” and “Pallone”.

Before the primary way back in June, I asked AFP president Steve Lonegan for a prediction––and he correctly predicted that Little would beat Gooch. So, I offered him the following bet––which he took: if Little wins, then I write a check to AFP for $100. However, if Frank Pallone wins, then Steve writes a check for $100 to the ACLU-NJ.

And so, now I will begin to follow Anna Little on Twitter because they tell me that it's only courteous that if someone follows you, you should follow them right back.

My prediction: the ACLU of New Jersey will be $100 richer in November.

What Their Side Says----

Now you may have thought that the only people from Their Side who say wacky things are Michael Patrick Carroll, Steve Lonegan and Michael Doherty, but nooooo. Here are others---What Their Side Says...

A congressional candidate in Alabama, Rick Barber, a self-described tea party adherent, claims in a new advertisement that the health law amounts to "slavery," reports, in a separate story. "In his latest ad, the tea party candidate is speaking with a revived Abraham Lincoln.

'Hey Abe,' Barber says, 'if someone is forced to work for months to pay taxes so that a total stranger can get a free meal, a medical procedure or a bailout, what's that called?' Before Lincoln answers, Barber cuts in to ask: 'What's it called when one man is forced to work for another?' 'Slavery,' Lincoln says.”

"Barber will face Martha Roby in a runoff on July 13 for the GOP nomination to oppose incumbent Alabama Rep. Bobby Bright (D) in November." Barber defended his ad, which also included Nazi imagery, saying "Somebody has to say this. When Hitler took power, no one wanted to think that the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jewish people, was possible. I'm saying that you have to recognize and name tyranny when you see it", according to MSNBC.

Great way to clean out your basement

Great way to clean out your basement

I had the opportunity of interviewing David Larsen, the guy who scored the most points against Leonard Lance in the seventh Congressional District in the primary. Larsen told me that he showed up one day at Lance's district office in Flemington with 50 or so “flip-flops” nailed to a board––to represent Lance’s “flip-flop” votes in Congress. Larson videotaped that for his website––and I must say Lance's staff was very patient.

A few weeks later Democratic Congressional candidate Ed Potosnak came to Lance's office with a box full of munchkins to represent Lance's vote on closing the doughnut hole a Medicare payments––I think.

So this gave me an idea: what a great way to clean out crap from your basement! All you need is an incumbent candidate running for office, some crap from your basement you’re trying to get rid of, and a good bull should reason for dropping off that stuff that the office. And–voilà! –You’re in business.

Let's say, for example, you have one of those Stairmaster™ exercise machines in your house that's become just a place to hang dirty laundry. You can drop it off at, let's say, Congressman Scott Garrett's office––and proudly declare, “Garrett has to step up and start working for the people––not just for himself!”

That might work.

Or your aunt Edna sent you a fruitcake for Christmas but you're still trying to get rid of. All you need to do is drop it off at Sen. Gerald Cardinale’s office in Cresskill, while passionately stating, “the senator’s votes on marriage equality make him as nutty as a fruitcake.”

Suppose you have an old ugly green paisley un-upholstered chair that you purchased at a yard sale and it has been in your basement for about seven years, (we had such a chair)––maybe you could leave it off at Sen. Michael Doherty’s office fiercely stating, “Since winning a seat in the Senate, Doherty’s votes are all worn out. And green and paisley.”

Well maybe some of them don't work perfectly, but you get the idea. I'm sure they’re are others.

At the Right Conference this time.

The last two political conferences I went to were the Americans for Prosperity national conference in Pittsburgh--and then the Americans for Prosperity conference in New Jersey last March. As a fat, old, bearded guy--I think I fit in very well with the right wing folks--and that enables me to walk amongst them, eat with them, and ask them questions about their politics. In a way, I feel inspired by Dian Fossey and her experience with the gorillas of Rwanda. She ate with them, walked amongst them, and watch them mate ---for more than a year to get a sense of what they were like. You probably saw the movie Gorillas in the Mist. Well, I tried to do everything she did--except watch the right wing mate. But now, I feel more at home. I drove down from New Jersey this morning to Washington DC to attend the Take Back America conference, which is a gathering of 800 or so progressives--and there is quite a difference from when this group gathered in 2008. Back then, we had a president who strongly favored offshore oil drilling, we were entrenched in a quagmire both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Americans were very upset about the bailing of the financial industry.. But today, things are different: we have a president who favors offshore oil drilling, we are entrenched in a quagmire both in Iraq and Afghanistan and more Americans are more upset about bailing out of the financial industry. So, for progressives the more things change the more they remain the same. At this conference, the "Take Back America" was subtitled "The America's Future Now! Conference." Now, with a president who was selected on a progressive platform, the issue for most of the people here was: How do you hold the Democrats and Pres. Obama accountable for the platform that helped him get elected? Especially in an environment with a bad economy and Tea Party people ready to vote all incumbents out of office? That seems to be the big question that everyone here will be trying to answer over the next 2 1/2 days.

TV Time

Before I knew that I suffered from severe ADD, I watch lots of television usually 6-7 hours a day was the norm for me. My earliest conscious memory was at the age of three, asking my mother when she was completely asleep at 530 in the morning if I could watch television in the living room. These really old black-and-white cartoons went on at 6 AM -- and if I got there early enough I could catch the last 15 minutes of a show called "The Modern Farmer". This show was on between 5 AM and 6 AM and it taught farmers had to use modern methods to increase their crop production, take care of their livestock, etc. It never occurred to me at the time as to why such a show was running on a station in Brooklyn, New York.

Anyway, I got into the regular habit of watching too much television way too early. Two hours in the morning before breakfast. Two hours right after school. An hour are or so during dinner and three hours (at least) at night. My parents used to punish me by forcing me to cut back my television watching to just four hours per day -- -- a horrible fate for me.

Anything you see on Nick at night or TV land from the 1960s was what I watched with devotion and religious fervor. The benefit for me later in life: I became an outstanding player in the TV version of Trivial Pursuit. But that is another story.

Needless to say, between ADD and TV I did not read much.

So in the seventh grade at JHS 278, Mrs. Lichtenstein assigned us books to read over the Christmas holiday season. Two weeks to read a book and do an oral report on the first day after vacation. Mentally, to me that was like climbing Mount Everest. Mrs. Lichtenstein was of German background -- -- she never smiled, gave too much homework and had a stare that could melt lead. To my friend Chris, she gave "To Kill a Mockingbird". To Deborah, she gave some book about a dancer who died. To me, she gave “Fail-Safe". The thinnest book on the shelf. It was about 200 pages long and I had two weeks to read it. Work out the math yourself ---when Mrs. Lichtenstein handed me the book, she said sternly, "10 minute oral book report on January 3, Mr. Novick," I hate being called Mr. Novick -- -- even more than being called Joseph.

So, “Fail-Safe" stayed on my dresser for the first week of the vacation totally untouched. And then one morning I picked it up. An offshoot of severe ADD was severe procrastination. I thumbed through it, read about a paragraph from one page -- -- "... the president was silent after the news...". And I promptly put it down again.

For the next seven days the vision of dread grew larger and larger in my 12-year-old head. At Day Seven, it appeared in the distance like a small dark cloud on the horizon. Each day it grew longer and larger and greater in focus. By Day Three, it became a large dark gray menacing face blotting out everything in the sky. The night before it was the only thing in the sky I could see.

The night before the first day of school after vacation, I was watching TV, of course. And as I thumbed through the TV Guide, -- -- there it was on Channel 9. WOR -- TV. The Late Late Show at 3:15 AM: “Fail-Safe" the movie. In glorious black and white. "...a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler…”. Hey, Burdick and Wheeler? These were the same guys whose name was on the book that I had up in my room. I could do this. I could watch it take notes and give a 10 minute oral book report. There was a God.

So, promptly at 3:10 AM, I woke myself up, snuck into the living room and turn on the TV. My parents’ bedroom door was closed. And I covered my head and the TV screen with a big towel to keep excess light and sound from creeping out of the living room. I set as close as I could to the screen to keep the sound down as low as possible. As close as I was to the screen, the light from the TV could've been very good for my eyes.

There were too many late-night commercials I thought. I tried my best to stay awake and get enough of the gist of the movie. I took notes and sloppy handwriting that I hoped I could recognize the next day.

January 3: we were to do our book reports just after lunch. My heart was pounding solidly in my chest. I felt like Mrs. Lichtenstein stare was burning a hole in my head the entire morning. Chris went first and stumbled through "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- -- he was thorough but nervous. Maybe his nervousness would take the edge off of Mrs. Lichtenstein when I spoke. And then, Mrs. Lichtenstein said, “ Mr. Novick – Fail Safe please.”

I slowly walked to the front of the room, with my notes in my hand I turned and looked at Mrs. Lichtenstein -- -- I made my first mistake -- I felt cocky so I "smirked". Perhaps that smirk did me in.

“Fail Safe is the story of how the United States accidentally dropped an atomic bomb on Moscow, and the president was unable to stop it and order the plane back....". My second mistake at this point was looking over to Mrs. Lichtenstein. That second look lead her to read my body language to tell her that something was wrong.

As I began to continue to read my notes, Mrs. Lichtenstein asked me The Question: "Mr. Novick, in Fail Safe who played the president?". And then my mouth acted completely on its own: "Henry Fonda,". I tried to continue, but she just stopped me. How was I to know that Mrs. Lichtenstein read TV Guide also?

Well anyway, Mrs. Lichtenstein sent a note home with me to get my parents. They force me to read Fail-Safe from cover to cover and get a written report. And you're what I discovered? The book was actually better than the movie -- -- no commercials. And I did get punished -- -- just four hours a night of TV for the next week.

The Week's Best Late-Night Jokes

The Week's Best Late-Night Jokes

Political comedy is tough. You are always going to offend someone, but these folks don’t seem to mind. And the shelf life a political comedy joke can sometimes be less than 24 hours. But these guys endeavor to do their best work as soon as CNN, the New York Times, or Glenn Beck reports the news.

America is blessed by having several late-night common show hosts who also offer outstanding political comedy. Jay Leno, Bill Mahr, Jon Stewart, and and even Jimmy Fallon sometimes gets into the act, channeling his former role as the cohost of news update on SNL. But the best political comedian out there today on TV has got to be Lewis Black. So you can decide for yourself, here are the top 10 political humor lines from last week.

10 --"There's speculation that the 1,000-point drop in the Dow may have been sparked by a typo, where someone entered 'billion' instead of 'million' on a trading order. Economists are saying a single letter hasn't caused this many problems since the letter 'Dubya.'" —Jimmy Fallon

9- "At a stop in Buffalo today, a woman walks up to President Obama and says, 'You're a hottie with a smokin' little body .' She said that to the president of the United States. I tell you, Betty White is out of control." —Jay Leno

8-"This oil spill in the Gulf is affecting everybody. In fact, when I went to lunch this weekend and ordered the sea bass, they asked if I wanted it regular or unleaded." —David Letterman

7-"British Petroleum said today that if this spill gets worse, they may soon have to start drilling for water." —Jay Leno

6-"Dick Cheney's pals at Halliburton ... say they're going to do the underwater cement job to plug the hole. I thought, wait a minute, this is a mistake. Underwater cement? You call the mafia. Am I right?" —David Letterman

5-"The oil company said it was the rig company's fault. The rig company said it was Halliburton. And somehow, each time they passed the blame, Goldman Sachs made a hundred million dollars." —Bill Maher

4-"We're still dropping things on it. This is like if your toilet overflowed and you tried to fix it by smashing it with a brick. Their next idea is to get the old lady from Titanic and she's going to throw her jewelry at it." —Bill Maher, on the oil spill in the Gulf

3-"Well, in Colorado one of the gubernatorial candidates has taken out a Craigslist ad to find a running mate. Is that a good idea? Hey, it didn't work when John McCain tried it." —Jay Leno

2-"Good news from the world of publishing. Sarah Palin , former governor of Alaska, has a new book coming out this fall. The warning came from an alert T-shirt vendor." —David Letterman

1-On Glenn Beck's complaints that critics of Arizona's immigration are making Nazi comparisons: "Glenn Beck is offended! Glenn Beck thinks playing the Nazi card is going too far. Glenn Beck — this is a guy who uses more Swastika props and video of the Nuremberg rallies than the History Channel." —Lewis Black, in a brilliant Daily Show rant in which he demonstrated that Glenn Beck has "Nazi Tourette's “

"It's 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, except there's just one degree, and Kevin Bacon is Hitler. Can I play? Let's see. Mother Teresa had a mustache. Hitler had a mustache. Mother Teresa is Hitler!" —Lewis Black, on Glenn Beck's frequent use of Nazi analogies.

Take My Mother in Law, Please

Apparently in the state of New Jersey it is perfectly okay to poke fun at your mother in law, but not your former law firm. In two separate cases, we find out some very interesting information about the First Amendment as applied in New Jersey.

A federal judge threw out a defamation suit against comedian Sunda Croonquist, ruling effectively that her Jewish mother-in-law jokes are “opinions and thus protected by the First Amendment.” The judge described her jokes, although tinged with “racism”, as merely "colorful, figurative rhetoric". It makes one wonder if Judge Mary Cooper would have felt the same way if the jokes were about lawyers -- -- -- and judges.

Croonquist’s background serves as the basis for her comedy -- -- she is the product of a black mother and a Swedish father -- -- she was given a Hindu name and attended a white Catholic school in Patterson. Well, we can see that there are yuks aplenty there.

And, of course, to complete her comedy career she had to, of course, marry into a Jewish family -- -- so she can have a Jewish mother-in-law to make fun of. But her mother-in-law, Ruth Zafrin, was none too happy with being the center of Croonquist’s barbs. The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in 2009 alleging defamation, false light and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress -- -- not to mention unjust enrichment. I have not seen Croonquist’s name listed into many comedy clubs in New Jersey, so I'm not quite sure exactly how much she's being "enriched" by her Jewish jokes about her mother-in-law.

Ironically, Ruth’s filing of this lawsuit most likely drew more attention to what she was trying to stop -- -- and made Croonquist more popular in the process. Good going Ruth!

In another case, a federal judge in Trenton refused to dismiss a suit by Levinson Axelrod against a former associate who set up a website to trash the firm. The site put up by former employee Edward Heyburn -- "Levinson Axelrod Really Sucks" -- -- compelled Levinson Axelrod to believe that the use of the name in the title of the website would cause confusion about whether or not it was connected with the firm. Yes, I'm sure that's the case, when people read a website that says ‘this law firm really sucks’, they're going to think it's just a way of generating a business for their lawyers. Really.

Heyburn, on the website, bashes his former law firm, celebrates the firm's losses in court," has fun with the firm's own promotional videos by overdubbing. Sounds like he's protected by the First Amendment to me.

Anyway, perhaps Heyburn and Croonquist should get together and exchange notes.

Two Guys Talkin' Sports

Carl Mayer and Bruce Afran: Some people may think that these two lawyers have way too much time on their hands. Others might think that maybe their getting their signals crossed. But maybe if you're a Jets fan, you'd like to see these two guys on the front line next fall.

These two NJ lawyers---one of them a Jets season ticket holder---filed a lawsuit arising from the New England Patriots' secret videotaping of New York Jets coaches in a game at Giants Stadium in 2007. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia heard oral arguments Wednesday.

I would certainly imagine that President Obama will be watching the results of this case and the Solomon-like judicial prudence of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as they ponder what to do for lawyers and Jets fans Mayer and Afran.

The Patriots were caught taping signals by Jets coaches, a violation of league rules, during the opening game of the 2007 season. New England won 38-14 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.

Mayer and Afran assert that the Patriots' actions "violated the contractual expectations and rights of New York Jets ticket-holders" who paid to watch a game played in compliance with the league's rules; that teams that participate can't commit fraud on ticket holders; and that "the Patriots violated federal racketeering laws as well as New Jersey's consumer protection laws by concealing material facts-the existence of the videotaping-from paying customers."

I am certainly sure that this will make for better relations between the Garden State and Massachusetts, also.

The lawsuit asserts that fans should be compensated for all games played in Giants Stadium between the Jets and Patriots since Belichick became head coach in 2000---and that fans are entitled to triple that amount-or $184.8 million in compensation. Earlier U.S. District Judge Garrett Brown Jr. in Trenton dismissed the case when he ruled that a ticket seller only contracts to provide entry to a ticket holder "to view whatever event transpires."

Mayer and Afran have been to court many times before ---unsuccessfully---to try to get McGreevy to leave office, and to try to get then Governor-elect Corzine, upon assumption of office, from appointing someone to fill the balance of his Senate term.

At one time Mayer ran in a primary against Rush Holt for Congress---and lost. And, no, Mayer did not sue Congressman Holt when he failed to win the primary.

March 26, 2010 Putz of the Week and Mensch of the Week

Last summer, "Jersey Shore” introduced America to Snookie, Mike the Situation and J-WOWW. These folks helped make Jersey Shore the top Thursday night prime-time show for viewers ages 12 to 34. And now they're going global.

Viacom is planning to take the show to more than 30 countries around the world -- -- including Portugal, France and Italy. This is exactly what New Jersey needs to enhance its reputation from Europe to the Pacific Rim. Gee, thanks Viacom.

It's almost certain that the only folks who will benefit from this expansion will be the cast themselves -- -- reportedly now making more than $10,000 per episode. Maybe Jersey Shore will be more popular in France than Jerry Lewis. For all their efforts, in helping the world see New Jersey through the eyes of the folks on Jersey Shore, Viacom is our Putz of the Week.

I have lived in Hunterdon County for more than 20 years. I served on the Borough Council in the county seat of Flemington from 1994 to 2006. And I served as the county chairman of the Democratic Party for two terms. I attended many freeholder meetings, wrote newspaper editorials criticizing the County government, and ran campaigns for many County candidates. But now, I need to give our county government kudos for a really great accomplishment.

New Jersey Foundation for Open Government is an organization dedicated to an open and transparent government. In the interest of complete disclosure, I sat on their state board for two years.

During 2009, NJFOG and Common Cause worked together to develop a checklist of government information that should be readily available on the web. And they awarded Hunterdon County with a certificate that placed the county at the top of a survey on how much open-government information counties provide on their web sites.

So, for their commitment to open government, transparency, and a very accessible website for the residents of our County, this week our Mensch of the Week is the Hunterdon County government.

Stop screaming. You’ll wake up the neighbors

If you're a local town mayor in New Jersey and you think that screaming about the impact Christie’s budget cuts will have on your town is an issue, it seems that “…screaming too loud during sex can get you or your partner arrested in New Jersey."

Yes, really.

It seems that in an appeals court ruling that was handed down on Monday, the judges said the “screaming reported by a neighbor gave police an ‘objectively reasonable basis’ to believe that a limited investigation was necessary”---to see if everything was OK in the home. I should it say it was OK. Well, at least for the partner screaming, I guess.

The police entered the home to see what the fuss and screaming was about, and saw marijuana and drug paraphernalia in plain view----leading to the arrest of the folks. Oh, well. Maybe they should have claimed it was ‘medical marijuana’ and he was giving her a special treatment. Maybe next time.

March 17th, 2010 The Day New Jersey Stood Still

March 17th, 2010 The Day New Jersey Stood Still

It was like the plot from the 1950s science fiction movie: An alien (first Republican elected state-wide in very Blue New Jersey in 12 years) with his mighty robot (Big Budget Ax) land their spacecraft in State Capital Trenton. We need to say, "Klaatu barada nikto!" before it's too late.

They bring an important message to the State that he wishes to tell to representatives of the entire State. However, communication turns out to be difficult, so, after learning something about the natives, he decides on an alternative approach. He lives amongst us, and he reveals himself, along with the news that Big Budget Ax is a member of a race of super-robot enforcers invented to keep the budget of the State in check--- that will destroy the State if provoked.

Some of the major proposals in Republican Un-Governor Chris Christie's 2011 budget:

Education:

— Reduces state aid to primary and secondary K-12 schools by $820 million. Schools will lose up to 5 percent of their budgets. Districts where state aid is less than 5 percent will lose all that aid.

— Reduces state aid to colleges and universities by $175 million; eliminates aid to independent universities.

Property Taxes:

— Eliminates rebates for everyone in 2010.

— Gives reduced rebates to senior citizens, the disabled and low-income wage earners in April of 2011.

— Allows no one additional to join the "senior freeze" program, which lets low-income senior and disabled citizens lock in their property tax rates when they enroll.

— Proposes that rebate checks be converted to automatic property tax credits.

— Proposes that a 2.5 percent cap on property taxes be enacted for towns and schools. If towns or schools want to exceed the cap, they must get voter approval.

Income Taxes:

— Reduces the state tax credit for lower-income workers known as the Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent from 25 percent of the federal benefits. The eligibility would remain the same, but the credit would be lower.

Health Care:

— As of July 1, allows no more adults can enroll in the NJ FamilyCare program. The program offers free or subsidized health insurance coverage to low-income children and their parents.

— Closes two state-run hospitals, Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in Glen Gardner — one of four such state-run facilities in the state — and Vineland-West Hospital.

Layoffs:

— Approximately 1,300 state workers will face layoffs beginning in January. It is unclear how many of those are union workers and when the layoffs will occur.

Pensions:

— Skips a $3 billion pension payment to a system that is already underfunded by $46 billion.

March 14, 2010 Governor Christie Cuts The Day to Just 23 Hours

Governor Christie Cuts The Day to Just 23 Hours

In yet another Executive Order sure to rile clock and calendar makers, Governor Chris Christie issued Executive Order 247, cutting back an hour a day from the days in New Jersey.

“This will save New Jersey residents 365 hours every year, and at least $7.25 per hour per resident ----roughly a total of $23,067,361,250.00 for our state coffers. That’s a lot, I think,” said the spokesman for the governor.

Democratic legislative leadership vowed to request the New Jersey Supreme Court to issue a stay to the Executive Order 247, and have the “Order only effect just Sunday, March 14,” and “to get the hour back by the fall in November.” This order particularly irked the Democratic leadership because of the governor signing the order to take place "between 2AM and 3AM" Sunday morning, "while New Jersey residents slept".

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 247

WHEREAS, the State of New Jersey (“State”) is confronting an unprecedented temporal crisis affecting all levels of government; and

WHEREAS, actual and anticipated time spent and utilized by the State continue to fall far below the amounts estimated in the Temporal Year 2010

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRIS CHRISTIE, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

That ONE-HOUR per day shall be removed from the days in New Jersey, commencing Sunday, March 14th, 2009.

A Funny Democrat and a Funny Republican come together for a good cause.

President Obama and Senator McCain may not have gotten along at the Health Care Reform Summit. And Governor Christie may have his sights set on the NJ budget woes that will sure to flare up with Senate President Steve Sweeney.

But, Republicans and Democrats can work together to work on helping raise funds for a good cause.


Stand Up Against Hunger is a fund raising event hosted by Elijah’s Promise to abate hunger in the community of New Brunswick. The one time comedy show will help raise funds for the soup kitchen.

The event boasts two featured comedians me, Joey Novick (Democrat) and Republican Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (‘Funniest Lawyer in New Jersey’) with special guest appearances by Scott Blakeman and Jeff Kreisler.

Scott Blakeman has appeared on Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and co-hosted of several political humor segments on NBC's "Sunday Today". Scott was the warmup comedian for the Late Show with David Letterman and the CBS comedy series Welcome To New York.


Jeff Kreisler is the winner of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, writer for Comedy Central's Indecision2008, IFC, and author of Harper Collins' "Get Rich Cheating" (a Boston Globe bestseller).

Since Elijah's Promise began in 1989, they have been helping low-income people in the central New Jersey community. From nutritious meals, to social services and health screening, to culinary arts job training and entrepreneurial training, to our their own catering business, Elijah's Promise has been moving people from hunger to wholeness.

Info:

Thursday March 18th
Crossroads Theatre (7 Livingston Ave. New Brunswick)

TICKETS:
Advanced at www.standup.dojiggy.com $25
at the door $35
Limited seating--reserve your tickets today!

Doors open at 6:15 for refreshments
Show begins at 7:00
General admission seating

Sarah Palin: Testing the Tea Waters

Last night, when Sarah Palin took the stage at the first ever Tea Party Convention in Nashville, TN to the sounds of cheering from those who could afford the $300 price tag for the dinner, she was clearly testing the waters for the 2012 race for President. If my memory serves me correctly, the first tea party---the one up in Boston cost zilch. And the folks who attended dressed up in costume. The folks last night were dressed in their Conservative best.

Palin, becoming well known more for her “Quip Conservatism” rather than true conservative values, had President Obama right in her sights. She poked fun of his intellectual prowess, by declaring that, “To win that war [on terrorism], we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law,”

Yup, we were better off with someone like Bush as Commander-in-Cheif who told us with his cowboy imperialism to “Bring’em on!”, with regard to terrorists. Or someone like Palin who could not name a Supreme Court decision she’d disagree with or name a single newspaper or magazine she reads. Or said "Ohh, good, thank you, yes,” after a Canadian prank caller complimented her on the documentary about her life, Hustler's "Nailin Paylin.”

Yup, that’s who we need in the White House. Someone who declares that “I will live, I will die for the people of America…This party that we call the Tea Party, this movement, as I say, is the future of politics in America.”

As long as there is a $100,000 price tag for speaking.

However, I leave with this warning from radio-show host Lionel, posted on Facebook:

“Laugh at Sarah Palin at your own peril. She's a superstar among a very volatile and very angry electorate. Tea baggers mobilize; they show up; they vote. How many Obamanation acolytes have receded into the woodwork and retreated to their keyboards and keypads? And finally, if anyone else had said what Palin said about Obama, you might have very well agreed. You just can't believe she's this big.”

Trenton News Break:

"Democrats offer to trade undisclosed amount of cash, Senators Turner, Girgenti, and Van Drew for Bill Baroni and 'Legislation to be named later'.

Deal falls apart when Webber and Repubs offer to throw in Cardinale to sweeten the pot."

Where were you when we tried to reach 62?

62*: Some important facts about 62, and what the number means.

62 is a composite number with the divisors 2 and 31 being the eighteenth discreet semiprime, product of two prime numbers. The Great Rhombicosidodecahedron is an Archimedean Solid with 62 Faces. 62! = 3.14699733 × 1085.

62 is the code for international direct dial calls to Indonesia, the address of the home of Wallace and Gromit is located on West Wallaby Street, the number of counties in New York state and the number of moons orbiting Jupiter. And Pliny the Younger was born in 62 A.D.

At age 62, Ed Sullivan, introduced the Beatles to America, Franklin Roosevelt won a fourth term as President, and John Wayne won an Oscar for Best Actor for True Grit .

In 1962, The Beatles first record, "My Bonnie" with Tony Sheridan, is released by Polydor and Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as their drummer.

In 1962, the first black student, James Meredith registers at the University of Mississippi, Johnny Carson takes over as permanent host of NBC's Tonight Show, and President John F. Kennedy makes a commitment that America will send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. And 2062 is the year when the cartoon show The Jetsons takes place.

All very important references to the number 62.

However, for the next week, 62 is the important number in New Jersey for another reason: It's the only Marriage Equality will pass.

21 members of the Senate. 41 members of the Assembly equal 62. That's the magic number.

So, the question remains: Where were you, when we tried to reach 62?

Antonia Ricigliano cuts her own salary in first act as Edison mayor

Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano officially began her tenure as Edison's first female mayor yesterday with a vow. “As the first woman chief executive, there are opportunities and challenges ahead, but I am up to the task,” the Democrat told the crowd after being sworn in by her son, Joseph Ricigliano Jr., an Edison-based attorney.

“Woman in the United States traditionally get paid less, so I am going to take less money in my role as Mayor,” declared Mayor Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano of Edison. “It is the right thing to do in tough economic times.”

The 71-year-old former town councilwoman announced she's cutting the mayor's salary by $26,000.

She cited a study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research done on “The Gender Wage Gap: 2008”. “The ratio of women’s and men’s median annual earnings in 2008 was 77.1 for full-time, year-round workers, down from 77.8 in 2007. This means the gender wage gap is now 22.9 percent,” declared Mayor Ricigliano. “It’s the only fair thing to do.”

Also in the crowd was Ricigliano’s predecessor, Jun Choi. Ricigliano shocked the town in June when she ousted Choi -- the youngest and first Asian-American mayor in Edison history -- in the Democratic primary.

Choi said that there was nothing to the rumor that he lost because of his refusal to add a “nickname in quotes or in (parentheses)” to his official title as mayor. An unnamed Democratic consultant who asked to remain anonymous said that a “ ‘nickname in quotes or in parentheses’ makes the political figure seem more accessible to the average ‘Jersey Joe ‘or ‘Jersey Jane’ in the state. Look at the success of former Assembly Speaker Garabed ‘Chuck’ Haytaian.”

It was suggested that former Mayor Jun Choi add “Skippy” or “Education-Boy” to make the former senior official with the New Jersey Department of Education seem more user-friendly to Edison residents.

Now, Mayor Ricigliano plans to visit a place she’s never even seen before: the mayor's office. "I'll see it Monday morning," she said with a smile.