Boden attacks GOP Freeholders for opposing Murphy’s Sanctuary State scam

Candidate Andy Boden today went totally gonzo and attacked Sussex County Freeholders for opposing Governor Phil Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme.  Boden told the Newark Star-Ledger: “They (the Freeholders) know that if you say the right things, that’s going to resonate with certain people,” before going on to accuse them of “silly pandering.”

Boden made his comment to one of the very worst of the Trump haters – an embittered opinion piece writer who hitched her career to a dying newspaper a couple decades back and has been in a pissy mood ever since.  She starts out her column by accusing Sussex County of being too white.  This from a rich, white One-Percenter (inherited) whose only intercourse with “people of color” is when they mow her lawn or pick-up her garbage.  

Actually, Sussex County is an economically diverse community with people of all races, ethnicities, religions, and walks of life… they just aint all rich (like where Boden’s friend comes from).  And as for borders… well just try to get into her workplace without an invitation and you’ll get shot by an armed guard.  But hey, it’s all about people like her, isn’t it?

We can only guess at how Andy Boden came to collaborate on a column with such a far-left, anti-Trump, anti-American bigot like her.  She even defended Governor Murphy when a woman on his staff was raped by another staffer and Murphy backed the guy up.  Real hard-core leftist shit.

Candidate Boden isn’t helping his cause any by attacking the Freeholders on this issue. Hooking up with an unwashed bunghole like this Trump-hating bigot was a stupid, stupid move.

NBC “hit job” questions military-style training

Sarah Wallace attended college in the leftist hotbed of Berkeley, California, at a time of protest against the war in Vietnam.  She started her career in West Coast radio back during the era of “Governor Moonbeam” (AKA Jerry Brown).  She’s now out of New York City, where she pursues a relentlessly anti-law enforcement, anti-Republican, anti-Trump agenda. 

Berkeley hates the military and has consistently protested against military recruitment on campus – most recently in 2007.  So it comes as no surprise that Sarah Wallace looks down on traditional military training methods embodied in what is known as “boot camp”. 

Wallace has inserted herself into the race between Republican Sheriff Mike Strada and Jail Guard Andy Boden – acting as a kind of media consultant to the Boden campaign.  Wallace’s husband is, in fact, a Democrat and media consultant (more on this later). 

From her New York City offices at NBC, Wallace is attempting to choose the next Sheriff of Sussex County.  Her beef with Strada?  Sarah Wallace is pro-Sanctuary State, pro-abortion, and anti-Second Amendment.  Mike Strada opposes Governor Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme, is pro-life, and pro-Second Amendment. 

Sarah Wallace is a Bergen County Democrat.  She is what’s called a “hard” Democrat – totally loyal to her party, never missing an election, always supporting whatever Clinton or Murphy that appears on the ballot.  And she is proud of it.

Complicating matters is Sheriff Strada’s central role in opposing Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme.  In the past, Sarah Wallace has done interviews that were very favorable to illegals and against members of law enforcement.  In fact, Sarah Wallace is currently being sued by a police officer for her conduct and behavior.

Last November, a New York judge accused someone championed by Sarah Wallace – named Manny Gomez – of “coercing a witness to a gang slaying not to testify.”  According to the New York Daily News (November 3, 2018), police have suggested that Sarah Wallace and Manny Gomez have “an apparent relationship” and that Wallace does stories that favor Gomez. 

Given Wallace’s political and ideological biases, we were surprised when we learned that NBC chose her to do a segment on the primary campaign between Sheriff Mike Strada and opponent Andy Boden.  NBC and Sarah Wallace appear to have coordinated the attack on Sheriff Strada with Andy Boden and his campaign.  

A week before the Wallace attack aired on NBC, Boden himself bragged to local Sussex County media that the interview was going to be a “hit job” on Sheriff Strada.  And Wallace herself appears to have promoted her “hit job” to leftist blogs who oppose Republican Sheriff Strada over the Sanctuary State issue.

The coordination was so severe, that members of Boden’s campaign were promoting Wallace’s follow-up “hit job” in advance of it even being hinted at by NBC.  Some observers have suggested that this constitutes an illegal corporate campaign contribution by NBC on behalf of Andy Boden.

Wallace’s political and ideological agenda aside, and her manipulation of people on both sides of this race, this might come down to a simple case of a military culture vs. a union culture.  As anyone who has been through basic training knows, military culture is harsh and purposely demeaning – seeking to tear down a recruit in order to build him or her back up.

The culture in a labor union is more protective and coddling.  There is nothing especially wrong in this, but it does present a different perspective.  A real journalist, someone tuned in to more than fashion statements, might have written about this difference in perspective.  But that would be way beyond the blow-dried world that Sarah Wallace inhabits.

Police departments and Sheriff’s offices are para-military organizations, with the military and union cultures existing uneasily, side by side.  First rate military powers – like America, Russia, and China – do not have unionized armed forces.  Unions are only found in the armed forces of places like the Netherlands – whose plan of defense is essentially a telephone call to whomever is invading and the words “We Surrender” in the appropriate language.  That or getting America to defend them and American taxpayers to pay for it. 

Yes, in the American military there is no equivalent to the Dutch AFMP – the General Federation of Military Personnel.  Of course, the para-military police and sheriffs are unionized, which often makes for a clash of cultures.  Some leaders in law enforcement seek to impose military-style training and discipline, while others look on their organizations as unionized workers (except that they carry guns, have badges, and have power over civilians). 

And just to remind everyone of what military training and discipline is like, we turn you over to Gunny Hartmann…

Is this demeaning?  Is it the end of the world?  Or have Americans become a bunch of snowflakes?  If so, we shouldn’t look forward to tangling with North Korea, let alone Russia or China.  War aint beanbag.

There is a choice to be made here.  Do we want the people to whom we hand guns and badges to be informed by a disciplined, military outlook?  Or do we want them to merely be civilians with guns and badges?  Can we reach a happy medium?

So far as the complaints of individual employees go.  This is why Sussex County needs an Ethics Committee – a real committee, not one made up of hand-picked insiders.  The last Freeholder Board failed to create such a committee.  Jonathan Rose promised, but failed to deliver.  That’s a pity.

Employees – whether PBA, FOP, CWA, or anyone else – should be able to report problems and they need to be taken seriously.  In the same way that the Office of the Inspector General works in the military.  So let’s resolve to ask the Freeholder Board to take action on this soon.  Form an Ethics Committee, so these issues don’t need to be fought out in a political campaign – with bottom feeders like Sarah Wallace using one and all for her own political and ideological purposes.

Pro-Sanctuary State NBC “hit job” triggers calls for FCC investigation

We’ve received word that Republican leaders are planning to contact the chief counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with evidence that NBC aired what amounted to a negative political ad against Republican Sheriff Mike Strada.  A Sussex County Republican, Strada is leading the fight against Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme to block federal law enforcement and to allow illegal aliens to reside in New Jersey and access welfare, health, education, and legal benefits (many of which are not available to legal resident  taxpayers).

Sarah Wallace is a Bergen County Democrat.  She is what’s called a “hard” Democrat – totally loyal to her party, never missing an election, always supporting whatever Clinton or Murphy that appears on the ballot.  And she is proud of it.

Given the public information available about her, we were surprised when we learned that NBC – the parent company of Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC – chose her to do a segment on the primary campaign between Sheriff Mike Strada and Jail Guard Andy Boden.  Especially as Boden had previously bragged to a member of the local, Sussex County media, that the interview was going to be a “hit job” on Sheriff Strada.

Further complicating matters is Sheriff Strada’s central role in opposing Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme.  In the past, Sarah Wallace has done interviews that were very favorable to illegals and against members of law enforcement.  In fact, Sarah Wallace is currently being sued by a police officer for her conduct and behavior.

Last November, a New York judge accused someone championed by Sarah Wallace – named Manny Gomez – of “coercing a witness to a gang slaying not to testify.”  According to the New York Daily News (November 3, 2018), police have suggested that Sarah Wallace and Manny Gomez have “an apparent relationship” and that Wallace does stories that favor Gomez. 

Why did Boden go to Wallace, a Democrat, and why was he so sure she would do a “hit job” for him on Sheriff Strada?

And why are the NBC attacks being promoted by the Democrat Party – if this is supposedly a Republican primary?  In a departure from normal journalistic protocols, NBC has promoted their “hit job” on Sheriff Strada to left-wing blogs.  Was Bergen Democrat Sarah Wallace herself the source of promoting the “hit job” on those leftist blogs? 

Candidate Boden continues to claim that County Clerk Jeff Parrott triggered the psychological examination that resulted in a police psychiatrist finding him “unfit” for duty.   Boden claimed that it was the result of him picking up petitions to run for office.  The County Clerk disputes Boden’s contention that he came to his office to obtain the nominating petitions.

After months of being asked to produce evidence to support his claim, Boden finally “discovered” an email that he claims is from the County Clerk’s office, in which they instructed him to obtain the petitions on-line.  This is itself a departure from Boden’s original story, which was that he visited the County Clerk’s office.  But that embellishment aside, how are we to believe that this email isn’t doctored in the same way that the FAKE video was doctored that his campaign said was coming days before it was released?

In fact, Boden’s psychological evaluation came after a series of incidents including some that left female employees intimidated and fearful of having him over them.  After a police psychologist found him “unfit for duty” and he was placed on leave, Boden went to Sheriff Strada and asked him to restore him to duty – which meant giving him back his power over people, a firearm, handcuffs, and badge.  The Sheriff’s office told Boden that he needed to get well first and re-evaluated by a mental health professional, before he could be re-instated.

Boden’s claim that he was ruled “unfit for duty” because he was running for office, repeated again in the Wallace interview, is clearly a lie.The public testimony of the police psychologist who ruled Boden “unfit for duty” makes it very clear that Boden is not being honest:

A.     The whole point of the

fitness-for-duty evaluation in many cases is to

avoid things getting to that point.  We are --

you know, as the IACP, we're looking for

conditions that are going to impact someone's

ability to safely and effectively do their work.

We want to keep that environment safe.  We also

want to treat people compassionately.  And if we

see that someone is under duress, to try to

intervene and help them.

             Fitness-for-duty evaluations are

often seen as punitive in nature, but they don't

necessarily have to be or need to be.  The idea

is to intervene much in the same way as an EAP

and get someone help before there's an incident,

before someone does get injured or before

something becomes career ending.

      Q.     Based upon the information that

you had received and gathered during the course

of this assessment, could you rule out that

Lt. Bannon (sic) wouldn't hurt somebody

prospectively if allowed to work while getting

therapy?

      A.     I could not rule that out.

      Q.     At any point did you tell

Lt. Bannon (sic) that he had passed the

assessment?  Boden.  I'm sorry. 

      A.     No.  We don't give anyone results,

pass or fail, at the end of the evaluation.

      Q.     Does somebody pass?

      A.     They are found fit to return to

their duty.

      Q.     Right.  Or unfit.

      A.     Or unfit.  And then when unfit,

they are given conditions with the goal of

restoring fitness.

      Q.     And your case -- and in this case,

what were those conditions to restore fitness?

      A.     Lt. Boden was to engage in

individual treatment outside of the treatment

that he had already been receiving with his wife

with the sole purpose on managing his stress

level, identifying coping mechanisms that work

for him so that he could return to his position.

      Q.     And in the meantime, as an

individual who was unfit for duty, he should not

be working while receiving that initial

treatment, correct?

      A.     You cannot return to duty if you

are found unfit.

Boden’s case mirrors the current national debate concerning mental health and gun laws.  Should employers act when they observe traumatic stress in employees (in this case, confirmed by a mental health professional) or should they wait until after something actually happens?  It is a complex issue.

In the Wallace interview, Boden also claimed to have had no knowledge of the doctored video that was sent around in an attempt to damage Sheriff Mike Strada’s family.  The video also attempted to destroy the reputation of an innocent young firefighter.  NBC and Sarah Wallace made no attempt to protect the innocent woman whose image was used in the FAKE video doctored by Andy Boden’s campaign.  They did not receive her permission to use the video of her which was made against her will and then doctored to make her look bad.  Night after night NBC and Sarah Wallace ran the doctored image of this innocent woman, simply for salacious clickbait.  She is a private citizen and Andy Boden, his campaign, Sarah Wallace, and NBC have much to answer for. 

Andy Boden, his campaign, Sarah Wallace, and NBC used the video knowing that it was found to be a FAKE and totally false by the media and law enforcement.  Despite Boden’s lies in the Wallace interview, a statement from Sussex County Republican Chairman Jerry Scanlan makes it very clear that it was the Boden campaign behind the release of the doctored FAKE video:

The above is the direct testimony of the Republican Party Chairman regarding the attempted shakedown that occurred before the FAKE doctored video was released.  Clearly Boden’s campaign knew all about the video that later nobody wanted to take credit for.  Why did NBC not require Sarah Wallace to contact this source before airing its “hit job”? 

Why did Andy Boden tell Sarah Wallace that he knew nothing?  Why did Sarah Wallace and NBC allow Boden to lie?

NBC lies in "hit job" by Bergen Democrat

Sarah Wallace is a Bergen County Democrat.  She is what’s called a “hard” Democrat – totally loyal to her party, never missing an election, always supporting whatever Clinton or Murphy that appears on the ballot.  And she is proud of it.

Given the public information available about her, we were surprised when we learned that NBC – the parent company of Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC – chose her to do a segment on the primary campaign between Sheriff Mike Strada and Jail Guard Andy Boden.  Especially as Boden had previously bragged to a member of the local, Sussex County media, that the interview was going to be a “hit job” on Sheriff Strada.

Further complicating matters is Sheriff Strada’s central role in opposing Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s Sanctuary State scheme.  In the past, Sarah Wallace has done interviews that were very favorable to illegals and against members of law enforcement.  In fact, Sarah Wallace is currently being sued by a police officer for her conduct and behavior.  

Last November, a New York judge accused someone championed by Sarah Wallace – named Manny Gomez – of “coercing a witness to a gang slaying not to testify.” According to the New York Daily News (November 3, 2018), police have suggested that Sarah Wallace and Manny Gomez have “an apparent relationship” and that Wallace does stories that favor Gomez.  

Why did Boden go to Wallace, a Democrat, and why was he so sure she would do a “hit job” for him on Sheriff Strada?

In any case, the resulting story did more to harm Andy Boden than it did to help him.  On camera, Boden was induced by Wallace to lie about two important aspects of his story.

The first is that his psychological examination was the result of him picking up petitions to run for office.  The County Clerk, Jeff Parrott, disputes Boden’s contention that he came to his office to obtain the nominating petitions.  It appears that Andy Boden is lying about this and that he lied in testimony given at his fitness hearing.  As this statement by his attorney shows:

According to the County Clerk and his office, Boden did not come into the office to pick up the nominating petitions – he accessed them on line, so that nobody could have known that he was running.

In fact, Boden’s psychological evaluation came after a series of incidents including some that left female employees intimidated and fearful of having him over them.  After a police psychologist found him “unfit for duty” and he was placed on leave, Boden went to Sheriff Strada and asked him to restore him to duty – which meant giving him back his power over people, a firearm, handcuffs, and badge.  The Sheriff’s office told Boden that he needed to get well first and re-evaluated by a mental health professional, before he could be re-instated. 

Boden’s claim that he was ruled “unfit for duty” because he was running for office, repeated again in the Wallace interview, is clearly a lie.  The public testimony of the police psychologist who ruled Boden “unfit for duty” makes it very clear that Boden is not being honest:

 A.     The whole point of the

fitness-for-duty evaluation in many cases is to

avoid things getting to that point.  We are --

you know, as the IACP, we're looking for

conditions that are going to impact someone's

ability to safely and effectively do their work.

We want to keep that environment safe.  We also

want to treat people compassionately.  And if we

see that someone is under duress, to try to

intervene and help them.

            Fitness-for-duty evaluations are

often seen as punitive in nature, but they don't

necessarily have to be or need to be.  The idea

is to intervene much in the same way as an EAP

and get someone help before there's an incident,

before someone does get injured or before

something becomes career ending.

      Q.     Based upon the information that

you had received and gathered during the course

of this assessment, could you rule out that

Lt. Bannon (sic) wouldn't hurt somebody

prospectively if allowed to work while getting

therapy?

      A.     I could not rule that out.

      Q.     At any point did you tell

Lt. Bannon (sic) that he had passed the

assessment?  Boden.  I'm sorry.

      A.     No. We don't give anyone results,

pass or fail, at the end of the evaluation.

      Q.     Does somebody pass?

      A.     They are found fit to return to

their duty.

      Q.     Right. Or unfit.

      A.     Or unfit. And then when unfit,

they are given conditions with the goal of

restoring fitness.

      Q.     And your case -- and in this case,

what were those conditions to restore fitness?

      A.     Lt. Boden was to engage in

individual treatment outside of the treatment

that he had already been receiving with his wife

with the sole purpose on managing his stress

level, identifying coping mechanisms that work

for him so that he could return to his position.

      Q.     And in the meantime, as an

individual who was unfit for duty, he should not

be working while receiving that initial

treatment, correct?

      A.     You cannot return to duty if you

are found unfit.

Boden’s case mirrors the current national debate concerning mental health and gun laws.  Should employers act when they observe traumatic stress in employees (in this case, confirmed by a mental health professional) or should they wait until after something actually happens?  It is a complex issue.

In the Wallace interview, Boden also claimed to have had no knowledge of the doctored video that was sent around in an attempt to damage Sheriff Mike Strada’s family.  The video also attempted to destroy the reputation of an innocent young firefighter. It was found to be a FAKE and totally false by the media and law enforcement.  Despite Boden’s lies in the Wallace interview, a statement from Sussex County Republican Chairman Jerry Scanlan makes it very clear that it was the Boden campaign behind the release of the doctored FAKE video:

The above is the direct testimony of the Republican Party Chairman regarding the attempted shakedown that occurred before the FAKE doctored video was released.  Clearly Boden’s campaign knew all about the video that later nobody wanted to take credit for.

So why did Boden tell Sarah Wallace that he knew nothing?  Why did he lie?

Candidate brags to local media about NBC “hit job” on Sheriff

By: Sussex County Watchdog

Since its founding in 2012, the contributors here at Watchdog have generally been just ordinary citizens, not professional journalists.  Nevertheless, we have got the ball rolling on a number of big stories in Sussex County – including the illegal negotiations to sell the county solid waste facility (caught in time and prevented), the solar program that ended up going bust (which ultimately cost taxpayers $26 million), the corruption at the county college (leading to the resignation of several trustees), and environmental issues impacting the health of county workers (CWA members) in Newton (which was addressed after our report).  Whether via tips or submitted columns, we publish stories that address the bad behavior of the government and corporate establishment.  

Generally we work with for-profit corporate media, which is advertising based. As we do not run ads, we do not have a need for click-bait, as they do.  Nevertheless, we respect them for the work that they do.  So we were shocked when a local media person had a story concerning a media organization outside the county – in New York City, in fact – that was using Sussex County to attract viewers.  

Apparently, a candidate for Sheriff in the upcoming GOP primary – Andy Boden – bragged to local media that he had arranged for a “hit job” on his opponent, Sussex County Sheriff Mike Strada.  It seems that Boden said the “hit job” would be about how Strada has suspended him for running, and that now he must work construction and that his wife had to take a job.  Boden claimed that the “hit job” was being done on his behalf by a friend of a friend who has a show on NBC out of New York City.  

Andy Boden is a rather sad case.  Earlier this year, a police psychologist found him “unfit for duty” and he was placed on leave.  Boden went to Sheriff Strada and asked him to restore him to duty – which meant giving him back his power over people, a firearm, handcuffs, and badge.  The Sheriff’s office told Boden that he needed to get well first and re-evaluated by a mental health professional, before he could be re-instated. 

Boden’s case mirrors the current national debate concerning mental health and gun laws.  Should employers act when they observe traumatic stress in employees (in this case, confirmed by a mental health professional) or should they wait until after something actually happens?  It is a complex issue.

Boden’s case has been further complicated by his candidacy, which was not his idea, but rather that of a local union fighting to preserve the jobs of corrections officers at the Sussex County jail (the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility).  The jobs of many who work at the jail were put in jeopardy by the passage of Bail Reform, a bi-partisan bill aimed at reducing the number of people incarcerated while waiting for trial.  Before bail reform, many innocent people were locked up for weeks or months simply because they couldn’t afford the cost of bail.  They often lost jobs, homes, and relationships while they were locked up – only later to be found “not guilty” or have the case against them dismissed.

After bail reform became law in New Jersey, jail populations began to diminish drastically and elected officials started to consider shared services agreements that would allow them to close or scale-down some facilities and save money for taxpayers.  The August 2014 “needs assessment” on the Sussex jail (Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility), conducted by Pulitzer/Bogard Associates LLC, clearly outlined the devastating impact keeping the jail open would have on county taxpayers.  Making the jail compliant with basic standards would cost $11 million in short term and $64 million in long term expenditures. 

At the insistence of county Freeholders, Sheriff Strada has been working to scale-down the jail and enter into shared services agreements with Morris County. An agreement to house Sussex County’s female inmate population has recently been reached (and the quality of life for female inmates markedly improved, according to media reports).  

A working group that includes county bureaucrats, elected officials, and union leaders has been working to place every corrections officer likely to be displaced by the plans for the jail.  It is our understanding that County Administrator Greg Poff will shortly announce that positions have been found for every officer likely to be displaced.  Unfortunately, some union people have continued to oppose any changes to the jail.  They’ve complained about the length of the commutes to other facilities and such.  And it is this group who recruited Andy Boden as their candidate and spokesperson.  

They have been using their media contacts to shop around “dirt” on Sheriff Strada and even used a fake Facebook account to distribute a fake video of an “incident” between the Sheriff and a female firefighter, which was later found to have been doctored by the media (including the Star-Ledger/ NJ.com and the New Jersey Herald).  After the media spoke with the female firefighter, who confirmed that the incident never happened, Andy Boden claimed to have had no knowledge of it – despite the fact that Boden’s campaign managers had met with the local party chairman and threatened him with the release of the video some 48 hours before it was released.  This according to a legal statement given by the party chairman.

Boden’s managers went to a well-known statehouse blog in Trenton with their “dirt” – but after the reporter reviewed the transcript of the public hearing Boden asked for regarding his “unfit for duty” status – the story that was written was not to Boden’s liking:  

Incumbent Sheriff Mike Strada faces a challenge from corrections officer Andy Boden, who suspended earlier this year after a police psychologist ruled he was unfit for duty.

Following his suspension, Boden has mounted an offensive against the three-term sheriff, accusing him of endangering his deputies and misusing public funds.

“My decision to run is to end the culture of harassment and mental abuse that Strada has created and fostered. His actions, along with his posse’s, will come out in the upcoming weeks,” Boden said. 

Boden has been suspended since early March. The New Jersey Herald first reported his suspension.

In testimony provided to the New Jersey Globe by Strada’s campaign, a police psychologist said he or she could not rule out the possibility of Boden harming someone if he was allowed to continue working while receiving therapy.

The psychologist recommended the corrections officer receive additional treatment to restore fitness for duty.

“Lt. Boden was to engage in individual treatment outside of the treatment that he had already been receiving with his wife with the sole purpose on managing his stress level, identifying coping mechanisms that work for him so that he could return to his position,” the psychologist said.

For further reading, visit New Jersey Globe at…

https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/sussex/mud-flies-in-sussex-sheriffs-race/

Watchdog is attempting to find out just who the NBC person is who Andy Boden was speaking about when he told local media that a “hit job” was being done on Sheriff Strada.  Stay tuned…

Sussex video shows how easy it is to punk the media.

The day after the Andy Boden for Sheriff campaign attempted to shake down the local Republican Party, a doctored video was distributed purporting to show their opponent in a compromising #MeToo situation.  The Boden campaign had specifically referenced said video in its shake down attempt.  They claimed that the video had been obtained by off-duty corrections officers (men with badges and guns) in an unofficial political surveillance operation.

The doctored video was released to more than 150 media outlets, using a fake Facebook account, under the name of someone who does not exist.  The Boden campaign refused to comment to the media.  Candidate Boden likewise refused to comment.   

In published stories, the media admitted that it could not locate any person associated with the fake Facebook account.  48 hours after the doctored video was posted, the fake Facebook account disappeared.

Nevertheless, several media outlets not only published the doctored video, but published a long, rambling press release – issued on a fake Facebook account by an entity that does not exist – treating it as a factual statement.  And they did so despite the fact that they could not locate any actual person who would vouch for its authorship.

Despite clear evidence of alteration and it lack of provenance, these media outlets failed to test the technological accuracy of the doctored video.  Surprisingly, they behaved as if they operated sometime in the 1950’s – before technological changes, particularly in digital technology, had turned the old phrase “seeing is believing” on its head.  For instance, does anyone really believe that Tom Hanks is shaking the hand of President Kennedy in this video?

In September of last year, Bloomberg reported on the threat to authenticity posed by “deep fake video technology” and warned media outlets that “fake videos and audio keep getting better, faster and easier to make, increasing the mind-blowing technology’s potential for harm if put in the wrong hands.”  The story suggested that all video should be closely examined and vetted by technological professionals before being cited as a source. 

The Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) is clear: 

-       Ethical journalists take responsibility for their work.  Verify information before releasing it.

-       Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.

-       Identify sources clearly.  The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.

-       Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information.

-       Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information.

-       Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort.  Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.

-       Realize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves… Weigh the consequences of publishing or broadcasting personal information.

-       Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.

-       Expose unethical conduct in journalism.

-       Abide by the same high standards they expect of others.

Those media that reported on this, handled it like a #MeToo situation.  In fact, there was no complaint by anyone claiming to be a victim.  Instead, the complaint came from the illicit surveillance operation.

Sources claim that the corrections officers who conducted the operation took what they had to the home of a former elected official/computer expert, and that he “cleaned it up” or “enhanced” it.  The backstory here is that the corrections officers are angry with the incumbent Sheriff because the county jail is being downsized, which has placed some of their jobs in jeopardy.  Off course, this downsizing is a consequence of Bail Reform passed as a ballot question in November 2014.  With a dwindling jail population, the Sheriff cannot justify maintaining high levels of staffing and the consequent cost to property taxpayers in Sussex County.  Estimates of the cost to refurbish the jail for other purposes run upwards of $60 million and the Freeholder Board is in no place to raise taxes or debt to accommodate such costs.  The doctored video is seen as a desperate move by a few, very disgruntled, corrections officers.

That said, the role played by the media outlets tricked into distributing this video – and their willingness to be punked by a fake Facebook account – is a matter for concern, especially as it will only get easier to fake videos in the future.  Perhaps this is a case for the Ethics Committee of the SPJ?  Stay tuned…

Pro-Sanctuary Democrats try to take down GOP Sheriff.

Earlier this year, within days of the Sussex County Freeholder Board signaling its intention to rebuff the Murphy administration’s plans to turn Sussex County into a Sanctuary State, the allies of Governor Murphy were out to replace Sheriff Mike Strada, the current conservative Republican, with someone who would block the Freeholders’ plans to place the Sanctuary State question on the ballot and ask the voters to opt out.

They found just the pawn they needed in Corrections Officer Andy Boden, who had been placed on leave after a psychological examination found him unfit for duty.  The Democrats knew that Sheriff Strada had run afoul of the Corrections Officers’ union – which endorsed Leftist Democrat Phil Murphy for Governor in 2017 – after cutting spending at the county jail.  The Sheriff’s cuts – amounting to nearly $2 million – helped to hold the line on county property taxes this year.

Sources claim that after reviewing some of Boden’s Facebook posts, his Democrat handlers suggested to him that he remove such crazy “selfies” as the one below, which shows the candidate on a bear rug, in a state of undress.  Hey, we try to be open-minded about such things, so we won’t comment further.

Earlier this month, after the Freeholder Board took the historic vote to place the Sanctuary State question on the November ballot – giving the Sheriff the power to ignore the Murphy administration’s directives – the Leftist Pro-Sanctuary forces really went nuts.  Andy Boden’s campaign attempted to shake down the Republican Party Chairman and targeted Sheriff Strada’s family with threats.

And just as they did with President Donald Trump, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Assemblyman Parker Space… they came up with false accusations designed not so much to win a political campaign as to cause personal damage to the Sheriff, his wife, and children.  And all because he opposes the Democrat Governor’s plans to make Sussex County join his pro-Sanctuary State, pro-illegal immigration, bandwagon.

Remember how these same forces tried to smear Donald Trump in 2016… Parker Space in 2017… and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.  Once again, conservatives need to fight back.

Thugs attempt to shut down discussion of candidate Boden’s record

Yesterday, the New Jersey Herald reported that Andy Boden, a challenger to Republican Sheriff Mike Strada, was suspended from duty in January, per a determination by Undersheriff John Tomasula and Dr. Matthew Guller of the Institute of Forensic Psychology, and is awaiting a "fitness-for-duty evaluation”.  You can read the full story here:

https://www.njherald.com/20190319/sheriff-candidate-suspended-from-job

Again and again we have publicly asked Candidate Boden for his side of things and offered the use of this website for that purpose.  We have invited Boden and his campaign to provide documentation that would dispute the documentation provided by Boden’s own attorney, which is the basis of the Herald story.  On at least a dozen occasions we have published requests for this and have assured him that will publish whatever he sends, unedited.

Instead of taking us up on the offer, those around Andy Boden have resorted to the tactic, used by Antifa and other far-left advocates, of silencing any opinion they happen to disagree with.  Instead of free and open discourse about a candidate who wants to be the top law enforcement officer in Sussex County, we have received threats and thuggery of the most Neanderthal variety.

The message of the thugs who surround Andy Boden is clear:  If you attempt to bring up why Candidate Boden was suspended by a police psychiatrist, the Boden team will hurt you and will personally attack anyone they believe might be against their candidate.  Frenzied, aimless attacks, in the manner of a mad dog.

One Boden insider, who is himself an elected official in Sussex Borough, went so far as to attack Senator Steve Oroho over this, apparently unaware that Boden is a supporter of the Senator.  Again, these are frenzied, aimless attacks that fail to take reality into account.  Another Boden-backer took time from his work at a real estate office in Vernon to attack Senator Oroho’s consultant from his 2017 campaign… simply because the Boden-backer “believed” he was involved.

This is crazy, shoot-first-ask-questions-later behavior.  Which, in a way, is the whole worry in the first place. 

So let’s recap.  The New Jersey Herald ran a balanced story on the case of Andy Boden, who is now running for office against the head of the department that suspended him – Sheriff Mike Strada.  Citing a letter written by Boden’s attorney to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, here’s what the Herald wrote:

The letter begins by saying the law firm has been retained "with respect to his (Boden's) suspension as a result of a Jan. 16, determination by Undersheriff John Tomasula and Dr. Matthew Guller of the Institute of Forensic Psychology."

The letter then asked that the document be accepted in lieu of a more formal petition for interim relief "as Lieutenant Boden has been orally advised that as of Monday, March 4, 2019, he is no longer on paid leave status and he is being required to use his own time while he undergoes counseling with a licensed mental health professional."

The Institute for Forensic Psychology was founded in 1972 and built a reputation for providing services for police applicants, recruits and on-duty officers throughout northern New Jersey as well as several federal law enforcement and other agencies, according to its webpage and other newspaper stories.

That is what Boden’s attorney wrote.

That’s right, a prison officer who carries a loaded firearm at work was suspended “while he undergoes counseling with a licensed mental health professional.”  That sounds to us like the right move by Sheriff Strada.  Why take chances when you have an employee who carries a firearm suffering from what could be a serious psychological issue?  Let him get the help he needs to get back on his feet, then re-evaluate him to see if he is fit for duty.  Don’t brush it under the rug and hope that the problem attends to itself.

Unfortunately, the Antifa-like thugs who surround Candidate Boden don’t think the voters should be allowed to know any of this.  Instead, they go mad dog on anyone they even believe dares to think about it.   They attack Sheriff Strada, accusing Strada of suspending Boden, when Boden’s own attorney clearly admits that it was a police psychiatrist who suspended Boden.  Haven’t we had too many deadly incidents concerning firearms to simply ignore the concerns of a police psychiatrist?  Don’t we have the right to ask questions?  Or should we expect to be bullied and threatened just for asking?

Once again, we invite Andy Boden to present any documentation he has to correct the record that his own attorney provided.  We invite candidate Boden the use of this website to provide us with his perspective.  We will publish what he sends us.