Free Republic

TRENTON, NJ - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will be in New Jersey on Friday for a fundraiser at the home of one of New Jersey's biggest celebrities. But the event at Jon Bon Jovi's Jersey Shore home is just one of two fundraisers being held for Obama on Friday. The other is at the home of Democratic National Committee Chairman Philip Murphy. Tickets for the Murphy event will be $2,300 a person. The price jumps to $30,800 per person for the event at Bon Jovi's home. The money from both events is slated to go a joint fundraising committee...

At the Giants halftime last night in the Meadowlands, a "Stand Up for Cancer" presentation was made by three people from the 50 yard line: Steve Tisch, partner in the ownership of the Giants, a radiant and gorgeous Christie Brinkley, and Jeff Zucker.Tisch was roundly booed (because of the personal seat licenses which the Giants have instituted for the new stadium which will open in 2010). Chritie came on next and was warmly greeted by the 77k fans.But when Zucker was announced and began to speak, the fans booed him almost as vigorously as they did to Tisch. Why? The...

Cerebral Obama Risks Losing Average Folks By JOHN FARMER Wednesday August 20, 2008 In the course of Adlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential bid, a woman called out to him as he was campaigning, "Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!'' To which the witty and eloquent Stevenson replied, "That's not enough, Madam. We need a majority.''Barack Obama would be well-advised to heed Stevenson's caution about what happens to candidates who delight the literati but are seen as distant, even alien, by shot-and-a-beer types not given to perusing the New Yorker over a glass of white wine. The record shows...

They haven't had much to celebrate in recent years, the once-proud Republicans of New Jersey. The Garden State GOP, which less than a decade ago controlled both the governor's office and the state Legislature, has taken on second-class status as Democrats have consolidated their power in state politics. The governor, the Legislature, both U.S. senators and most of the state's members of Congress are Democrats. But as the state's Republicans arrived here for the convention that will nominate John McCain and Sarah Palin, they made clear their enthusiasm for the ticket and the future of their party. "There's definitely a...

Call to McCain supporters on freerepublic.com from the states of Pennsylvania and New jersey

A Pennsylvania man was injured in an accident in Westampton Tuesday and then charged with unlawful possession of a loaded handgun, police said. According to investigators, Gary Jones, 30, of Glenside, Pa. was the driver of a vehicle that collided with another car yesterday afternoon at the intersection of Springside and Valley Farm Roads. Following the 4:21 p.m. accident, officers located a 10 mm handgun in the console of Jones car, police said. The gun was loaded with hollow-point bullets, police said. Jones had a permit to carry the weapon in Pennsylvania, but New Jersey law does not permit him...

He was never convicted, and all traces of the offense were wiped from his record, but a Marine corporal accused of opening fire behind a Franklin Township school should not be granted a gun permit and should not get his guns back, the state Appellate Division ruled. The appellate judges upheld Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman's decision to deny Cpl. Daveanand Durga's application for a firearms purchaser identification card and a permit to purchase a handgun. They also upheld the decision not to return firearms he bought out of state. The ruling, issued earlier this summer, stems from the incident...

Authorities filed charges today against the owner of a Rottweiler accused of killing a black bear cub in Jefferson Township on Tuesday. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals levied four counts against Teri Daubner, a Jefferson Township woman who authorities said failed to provide proper care for her dog and caused the death of the bear cub, said Matt Stanton, NJSPCA spokesman. The cub was the second animal killed by 5-year-old Max this summer, authorities said. Daubner was charged with two counts of failure to provide proper shelter for her dog and two counts of...

A former youth director accused of playing a "shower game" with an 11-year-old boy failed to persuade a judge yesterday to dismiss an indictment charging him with sexual assault and child endangerment. Police accused Donald Hertel, 42, of Dover of dousing the boy's private parts during a Nov. 18, 2006, outing at the West Morris YMCA in Randolph. At the time, Hertel was volunteer director of the Lenape Valley Municipal Alliance, which offered recreational programs for youngsters from Stanhope, Byram and Netcong. When his mother picked him up, the Byram boy proudly told his mother he had broken a record...

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - Retired Giants defensive end Michael Strahan will have to pay child support for his twin daughters with his now ex-wife. But a state appeals court Tuesday reversed the $18,000 a month awarded in the couple's divorce and sent the issue back for the lower court to recalculate.

The debate over skyrocketing gas prices and what impact, if any, that should have on auto insurance rates, made me realize that both oil and insurance are industries plagued by a glaring lack of understanding on the part of the public about basic economic facts--ignorance shamefully exploited by politicians like John McCain to create scapegoats and win votes. The way Sen. McCain is pushing for more offshore oil drilling, you would think that all one has to do to "solve" the problem of rising fuel costs is to go to the beach, stick a straw in the sand and fill...

When the six Boy Scouts from suburban Maplewood, N.J., went camping in the Grand Canyon, they expected an adventure they would long talk about, but they did not expect to be clinging to treetops and praying to survive a flash flood. The six Scouts and three adult leaders were eventually guided to safety by American Indians who live in the area, and plucked out of the wilderness by a Black Hawk helicopter. By the time they flew away, the 10-yard-wide canyon next to a stream where they had been camping had become a 300-yard-wide raging river. The scouts and their...

Below is Wilson's full statement. "With his selection of Joe Biden, Senator Obama has made crystal clear his commitment to raising taxes. The Obama-Biden ticket has a long history of voting for and advocating tax increases on those making as little as $42,000 a year. New Jerseyans already pay more in state and local taxes than anyone else in the nation. Senators Obama and Biden want to make sure that we also pay more in federal taxes too. That idea will be about as popular as Corzine's toll hike plan and makes John McCain's no tax increase platform all that...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Wall Township Seeking to Destroy New Jersey’s Hunting Heritage!   Wednesday, August 20, 2008   Please Attend the Township Committee Hearing on Wednesday, September 10! In an attempt to further erode New Jersey’s rich hunting heritage, the Wall Township Committee passed on first reading an ordinance that will prohibit a person from having a loaded firearm or nocked arrow while within 650 feet of any building, school playground or municipal park. Current New Jersey statues set the limit at 450 feet.  This 200-foot increase will dramatically impact your access to hunting...

I encourage you to watch the Glenn Beck Program this next Friday, August 22, at either 7 pm, 9 pm or midnight, Eastern Standard Time. The program will consist of an interview with four students and Prof. George to discuss the work that has been going on at Princeton over the last 10 years or so to create a climate that is more supportive for students interested in a college education that includes the development of moral convictions and practices. As you know Universities have years ago decided they are no longer going to instruct students on what is right...

I was just watching CNN, and they had video of ANOTHER crane collapse in Hoboken, NJ. Doesn't that bring the recent tally to three cranes?? What is going on? Is it a form of terrorism? Are there terrorists in the construction industry? Or is it just lax standards, and no maintenance? I can't find an article about it online yet. What is going on?

Roberts to fellow Dems: 'We need unity badly' Few will declare it outright, but off the record people talk about soft versus solid support, and when it comes to Hillary Clinton conqueror Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il), some of his party support in New Jersey remains soft. In a state where she triumphed by ten points, "there are a number of people still frustrated that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) got a bad deal this year," Roberts said he plans to fulfill his responsibility as a delegate pledged to Clinton, then get behind the anticipated majority when Obama wins the nomination.

[New Jersey politicians] are steering the Garden State toward ruin at an astonishing pace, and no amount of bad economic news seems capable of deterring them. Jersey’s decline has been rapid and astonishing. Back in the 1960s, one study judged it among the country’s ten most business-friendly states because of its light tax burden, which allowed it to attract a steady stream of businesses and residents from New York. Though there were occasionally signs of trouble over the years—like the pension shenanigans of Governor Christie Whitman, in which government shirked its long-term obligations—the state’s real decline started with the election...

Washington, Aug 18 - WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and former Chairman of the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) is scheduled to arrive in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tuesday, August 19, 2008. Smith has been working for the past several days with Joe and Tea-h Evans, his constituents from Howell, New Jersey, to secure the safe return of the Evans’ two young daughters, Ashley (7) and Sophia (3), who were visiting their grandparents in Georgia when hostilities broke out. “Congressman Smith left this evening to be on...

The specter of an oil spill ruining New Jersey beaches is keeping state officials from even considering the potential benefits of what could be vast supplies of natural gas discovered nearly three decades ago about 90 miles off Atlantic City. The discovery was not exploited at the time because prices were too low to justify costly pipelines and platforms. Then Congress banned all drilling in the Atlantic in 1982. Now Congress is under pressure to revisit the ban because of the recent spike in gasoline prices. Even though opening new areas to oil drilling would not produce additional gasoline for...

As he works diligently on behalf of John McCain, Fred Zeidman expects the Arizona senator to break records. “I believe he is going to get unprecedented Jewish support,” said the vice chair of Jewish outreach at the Republican National Committee. “Hopefully, 40 percent.” If Jews do support the presumptive Republican candidate at that level, it would top the 24 percent of the Jewish vote George W. Bush received in 2004, not to mention the 39 percent that Ronald Reagan won in 1980. “Am I happy about this number? No, not necessarily,” said Zeidman, a Houston venture capitalist and former top...

Gov. Jon Corzine said today he is "not taking anything off the table" as he develops a new plan to pay for the state's roads, bridges and mass transit. But two prominent state senators said prospects for one option -- increasing New Jersey's gasoline tax -- are dimming. Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) said there is "no way" the Legislature could consider raising the tax when drivers are already facing sticker shock at the pump. Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) called it the "least likely possibility" among an array of options. Lesniak said those other options include hiking rates on the...

When one lives in New Jersey, one sets one's expectations accordingly. We are a people, after all, whose two pro football teams still call themselves "New York." Whose governor responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by appointing a man he later said was his lover to be the state's adviser for homeland security. Whose most famous mayor -- Jersey City's Frank Hague -- left office more than 60 years ago but is still remembered for having a special desk drawer he could push out like a bank teller, the easier for those sitting before him to deposit their...

Science tried to purge other scientists who disagree with the establishment http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19904502&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka, an ex-Democrat who turned independent and won control of the city two years ago, called upon residents today to support GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. Standing in front of City Hall, Gerbounka and four members of the City Council urged residents in this Democratic stronghold to cross party lines and support McCain, who will be visiting New Jersey tomorrow. Gerbounka's move marked the first time since former Elizabeth Mayor Tom Dunn went for Ronald Reagan that a mayor of a major Union County city turned on his party. "This election is not about Democrats or...

Barack Obama is ahead of John McCain 48% to 40% in New Jersey, up slightly from last month but identical to his lead in June, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. When “leaners” are included, Obama’s lead expands to 10 percentage points, 52% to 42%.

ANN ARBOR, MI — Today, July 31st at 10:00AM EST, a New Jersey Federal Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to a public school district’s policy totally banning Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during year-end celebrations in its schools. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan filed the federal lawsuit on the grounds that the school district’s ban on religious music conveys a government-sponsored message of disapproval and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center,...

A New Jersey senator is asking the National Rifle Association to explain itself in the wake of reports last week that the organization hired a mole to infiltrate a gun-control lobbying group in Pennsylvania. According to the Associated Press, in a letter faxed to the Virginia NRA headquarters Thursday, Lautenberg wrote: "Although the NRA and I have certainly had our disagreements over the year, I hope that we can agree that the gun violence prevention debate should be based upon an open and honest exchange of ideas, not on underhanded tactics." The senator's demand came a week after reports that...

Trenton, N.J. (AP) -- Former Gov. James E. McGreevey will not have to pay alimony to his ex-wife, a judge ruled Friday in granting the couple a divorce after a tumultuous eight-year marriage that crumbled publicly when McGreevey acknowledged he was a "gay American." A superior court judge ruled Friday that McGreevey, the nation's first openly gay governor, must pay $250 a week, or $1,075 a month, in child support for his 6-year-old daughter with Dina Matos. Matos had asked for $2,500 a month alimony for four years and $1,750 a month in child support. The couple share custody of...

New Jersey's # 1...In Taxing Its Residents Reporting Christine Sloan TRENTON (CBS) ― It's not always good to be at the top. A new study revealed New Jersey is the tax capital of the country. A new study shows that the Garden State even surpasses New York for the heaviest local and state tax burden in the country. New Jersey is number one, and residents say they're not surprised. "My property taxes are close to $10,000 and I am expecting it to go up," said Robert Perez, of Bogota. Because of that, Perez has cut back on his cable and...

Like many in his generation, Bob Kenyon buried the memories of his World War II experience for years. The Menlo Park man shared only the basics with his wife and son: that he was among the first soldiers to storm Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion and that he nearly lost his life in the fighting. It wasn't until the decorated war veteran and his wife, Ruth, returned to Normandy for the 40th anniversary of D-Day that Kenyon began to open up about his wartime experience. --snip-- Kenyon received the French Legion of Honor during an emotional ceremony July 9...

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) opposes President Bush's proposal to lift the ban, saying the debate "is not about producing more oil, it's really about producing more profits for Big Oil." He said oil companies should exploit the land and undersea areas already available to them for oil drilling. His Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, takes a Jersey-centric view of offshore drilling. Zimmer says he is open to environmentally safe drilling off the coasts. But, he says, "I would oppose drilling off the Jersey Shore or anywhere else that would pose a danger to the Jersey Shore."

Shortly after he was confirmed as governor of New York earlier this year, David Paterson told a group of business executives that when he received congratulations from old friends he hadn’t heard from in years, he was surprised how many no longer lived in New York. "All of them basically said the same thing," Paterson told the group. "'Good luck in New York state, but we can't pay the taxes. The opportunities aren't there.'”

Whichever bill moves in the Senate could attract other immigration reform measures, sources said. For example, the Federation for American Immigration Reform said Monday it was told by Senate staffers that Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is blocking efforts to reauthorize E-Verify unless language is added making unused family and worker visas dating back to 1992 available for current use.

The Star-Ledger today announced a large-scale buyout to all non-union workers with the goal of reducing the staff by at least 200 employees. Publisher George E. Arwady said if 200 employees don't agree to the buyout and if the paper cannot reach agreements with unions representing drivers and mailers meant to reduce costs, the paper will be sold. He said the deadline for reaching both of those targets was Oct. 1. The offer comes at a time when the newspaper industry is reeling from plunging advertising revenues linked to a troubled economy and sea changes in the way information is...

Israel may have given a warm reception to Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, but if Andra Goldman’s reaction is any indication, his July 22-23 visit to Israel was a mixed success at best. “Just because you take a trip to Israel doesn’t mean anything. Anybody can make a trip,” said Goldman, sitting outside Gimme Jimmy’s Cookie Bar in Livingston with her brother and two sons. A registered Democrat and West Orange resident, Goldman remains undecided about whom she will vote for in December. She’s a two-issue voter this election: Israel and the economy. With regard to Israel, she...

One hesitates to quote Shakespeare to the Editors of the Record. The thought of all that dust rising from their library shelves is enough to make me sneeze. They do, however, "protest too much". The Editors of the Record (known affectionately as the "Hacks on the Hackensack") announced that they were closing their main office, firing photographers, and reporters would operate from homes and automobiles by cell phone. This announcement, in the context of falling subscription rates and declining advertising revenues, led to the inevitable observation that the Record is on a course to bankruptcy. It was a fair point....

At first glance, Senator Frank Lautenberg looks to be in a fairly good position to return to Washington next year, but there are warning signs for the incumbent in the guise of middling job approval ratings and large numbers of uncommitted voters. The latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll finds the Democrat leading his Republican challenger Dick Zimmer by 39% to 28% among registered voters, or 44% to 34% if undecided voters who lean toward a candidate are included. Among likely voters, Lautenberg leads Zimmer by a narrower 8 points- 45% to 37%, including leaners.

Businessman Michael Yun remembers what Jersey City, New Jersey, was like in the 1980s. "Like the wild, wild West," he said. The "streets weren't safe" and government was "out of control." Public services failed, businesses left, and corruption was rampant. Abandoned by the outdated railroad industry, it was the anemic neighbor of Manhattan, where feral dogs ran wild in the tall grass by the collapsed railway arteries and hypodermic needles, like seeds, littered the ground just west of the Hudson River. But all that changed in 1992 when Republican Bret Schundler did the impossible. After Mayor Gerald McCann was arrested...

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's Assembly has twice-approved legislation limiting people to buying one handgun per month, but the Senate has never followed suit. Now a state senator and urban mayors are vowing to push hard to get final approval for the legislation. "Handgun violence is on the rise, but taking guns off the streets will help to stop the senseless slaughter of our citizens," said Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham, D-Hudson. "It's common sense." New Jersey would join Virginia, Maryland and California as states that restrict people to buying one handgun per month. California was the last state to adopt...

Another Democrat resigning office on porn related allegations. New Jersey Assemblyman Neil Cohen resigned admitting that he needed Psychiatric help. A common excuse for Democrats.

Former Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy today was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by a judge who said Levy continues to exaggerate his military service in Vietnam. Levy, 61, had pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden in November to one count of falsifying his service record when he applied for increased veterans benefits in January 2003. During today's hearing, Judge Jerome B. Simandle asked Levy to explain more about the dangerous missions behind enemy lines he told probation officers he participated in. "I just picked up my M-16 and my radio and...

Deputy Assembly Speaker Neil Cohen is being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography, according to two of his Democratic colleagues who said they brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement.

UNION, N.J. -- Veteran Democratic state Assemblyman Neil Cohen is being investigated for child pornography possession on his legislative office computer, according to four officials familiar with the situation. It was two fellow democrats who essentially turned in Cohen. News 4 New York has learned the seven-term assemblyman has been hospitalized under psychiatric observation Thursday night, after investigators seized computers from his office on Stuyvesant Avenue in Union. Sources tell WNBC.com’s Brian Thompson that no decision has been made as of Thursday night as to whether the 57-year-old legislator will face state or federal prosecution. The investigation began after state...

Deputy Assembly Speaker Neil Cohen is being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography, according to two of his Democratic colleagues who said they brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. In a joint statement, Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (both D-Union) confirmed they alerted authorities to the possibility Cohen (D-Union) had child pornography on his computers. "As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible," Lesniak and Cryan said. "While it was our proactive steps that led to the investigation to this...

Deputy Assembly Speaker Neil Cohen is being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography, according to two of his Democratic colleagues who said they brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. In a joint statement, Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (both D-Union) confirmed they alerted authorities to the possibility Cohen (D-Union) had child pornography on his computers. "As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible," Lesniak and Cryan said. "While it was our proactive steps that led to the investigation to this...

It was supposed to be a nice bonus for people who paid $1,500 to attend a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) -- a ticket to the Bruce Springsteen concert Sunday at Giants Stadium. But the Lautenberg campaign canceled its order for 40 tickets yesterday after it came under review by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which is promoting the concert, and drew fire from Republicans.

Gov. Deval Patrick filed a special appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008 that would drastically increase the fees for certain firearm licenses. The cost of the License to Carry Firearms would double under the proposal, jumping from $100 (for six years) to $200 (for six years). The non-resident License to Carry Firearms fee would jump from $100 for one year to $250 for one year. Licensed firearm dealers will also feel the bite as their license fees would be increased from $100 for three years to $250. The governor then adds a $100 inspection fee in the second and third...

Lifelong Democrat Caren Turner doesn’t plan to vote for Democrats out of a sense of nostalgia. In fact, she’s not sure she’s going to vote Democratic in the coming presidential election. Turner, a Hillraiser who worked as part of the powerhouse New Jersey fundraising arm called the Group, was among those Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) holdouts who yesterday took part in a feel-out session with a surrogate of Sen. John McCain’s (D-AZ). Of the group formerly known as "The Group," Michael Kempner last month indicated his absolute adherence to the Obama campaign, as did the Rev. Reginald Jackson; John Graham...

A New Jersey woman has sued her orthopedic surgeon after awakening from surgery to find a temporary tattoo below her panty line. Elizabeth Mateo, of Camden County, N.J., filed her lawsuit Tuesday saying she found "a temporary tattoo of a red rose" below her panty line the morning after her surgery for a herniated disc, her attorney, Gregg A. Shivers, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "She was extremely emotionally upset by it," Shivers told the paper.