Anti-Jordan NY Congressman has political connections to NJ

By Rubashov

Conservative activists have been lobbying the “anti-MAGA” GOP holdouts who refused to confirm Conservative Congressman Jim Jordan as Speaker. They circulated a handy list and urged grassroots Republicans inside and outside their districts to call the offices of those GOP holdouts.
 

One of those GOP incumbents – New York’s Michael Lawler – is potentially more exposed than the others. Lawler founded CheckMate Strategies with Chris Russell, Jack Ciattarelli’s strategist, and their political consulting firm came to dominate New Jersey Republican politics. The State of New Jersey’s corporate filings lists him as co-owner of the firm as does his congressional financial disclosure statement (made as a candidate) for 2022.
 

CheckMate Strategies is listed as the administrator on numerous campaign social media pages. For example, on the Facebook page used by Assemblyman Parker Space’s Senate campaign, the disclaimer reads: “CHECKMATE STRATEGIES LLC is responsible for this Page.”
 

CheckMate runs numerous campaigns in New Jersey and before his election to Congress in 2022, Lawler handled many of those accounts personally. It is also noteworthy that on his 2022 congressional financial disclosure statement, Congressman Michael Lawler lists that he earned income as a lobbyist for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 825. 

Fantasia, consultant, fell out over COVID pay for county workers.

By Sussex County Watchdog

Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia called a meeting of GOP county leaders last year. The meeting was held on March 18, 2022, at a private club in the county. A quorum of the Board of Commissioners was present, and the agenda revolved around one item: The Sussex County Watchdog blog and its editorializing in support of county workers. 

The Watchdog blog had long been critical of the Board and how it was managing county government. One point of contention was the Board’s poor treatment of frontline county workers – like road maintenance crews – and its lavish spending on, and expansion of, administrative staff. Fewer and fewer workers seemed to require more and more administration. And while these “insider-connected” administrators got raises and benefits – county workers qualified for food stamps, the food pantry, subsidized heating fuel, and other anti-poverty programs because they were paid so poorly for a fulltime work week. 

The Watchdog blog website and Facebook page are filled with these stories. You can read them for yourself. 

A particular point of contention was bonus pay for frontline county workers who continued to do their jobs while exposed to COVID hazards during the pandemic. These bonuses were covered under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and federal money would be used to pay them out. The county administration at the time opposed worker bonuses – and in a letter from the then county labor counsel, was quite frank about it. 

Commissioner Fantasia called the March 18th meeting to confront the Sussex County GOP’s consultant, Bill Winkler, because it was known that he wrote some of the critical stories about the Board. Fantasia and others – notably Jill and Parker Space – wanted the blog shut down or Winkler fired. 

Winkler explained that he did not own the blog – which is a fact beyond dispute – but was the author of some of the critical stories. He pointed out that he had voluntarily lobbied on behalf of better pay and ARPA bonuses for county workers, so his position was well-known. 

Given the number of County Commissioners at this meeting, a record should have been kept, but the meeting was called by Commissioner Fantasia and, if there is a transcript, she would have it. Other county officials were present, including the County Surrogate. 

At the March 18th meeting, Assemblyman Parker Space was asked about his road trip with actress Janeane Garofalo’s brother, in the aftermath of the terrorist mass murder of nine people (including Pastor and State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney). Space acknowledged that the purpose of the trip was a Confederate flag tattoo but refused to address it further. This incident factored into the deal made between him and Senator Steve Oroho, in which Space would announce that he wasn’t running for re-election in return for Oroho’s support for Jill Space for County Commissioner. Of course, much has changed since. 

There is a dearth of media platforms that stand in opposition to the establishment narrative or that present an alternative perspective. The situation is bad nationally – but even worse locally, where some counties and local governments have become transparency free zones with no external oversight. Local media simply doesn’t exist, and the situation is a great incubator of corruption. 

Think of the work done by New Jersey Herald reporters to uncover the Sussex Solar scandal that cost taxpayers $40 million. A similar scandal now would go unnoticed – except for blogs like Sussex County Watchdog and news websites, like Jennifer Dericks’ TAPinto. For better, or worse, this is all voters and taxpayers have left. There is nobody else to blow the whistle. 

Dawn Fantasia is an example of how politicians become when there is no local media to scrutinize them. They believe the First Amendment shouldn’t apply to politicians like them. They believe that they can suppress what remains of local media. 

Tucker Carlson reminds us, “Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.” 

Micah Rasmussen, Director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, reminds us of what happens when there’s nobody watching the politicians: “Voters can't make informed decisions unless they're informed. If you asked any self-respecting constituent of George Santos, they'd tell you they wish they knew then what they know now.” 

Is Erik Peterson more neo-anarchist than conservative?

By Rubashov

We used to think there were two kinds of elected conservative leaders: the helmsmen and the engineer. Both are necessary. The first charts a course in broad language and is aspirational. Think of a ship’s captain, all turned-out and resplendent, steering a course.

The second kind, the engineer, gets it done and moves us forward. Their domain is the caucus room – the engine room of government – where the hard business of making the machine turn is done. In a different setting, a famous Marine described them as the people with “instinct in their guts and blood on their boots.”

Of late, we are beginning to see the rise of a third variety of conservative “leader” – the celebrity. He or she most certainly has followers, but there is an underlying purposelessness to this “leader”. Aside from poses and postures, it is all hot air, mere image and gesture, a kind of luftman.

Last week, Assemblyman Erik Peterson strolled into Sussex County to attend the local GOP county committee’s congressional candidates' night. Peterson says the right things and hits the right notes, but mostly he’s against things. His call to repeal the gas tax found its mark and got an oafish grin from fellow Assemblyman Parker Space. But neither Peterson (or Space, for that matter) ever ventured an opinion on what the aftermath of such a move would look like.

They remind us of those reckless conservative “leaders” of yore – the ones who would irresponsibly talk about “blowing up Russia”. We’d think, “Sure boys, launch those nukes… but what then?”

Repealing the gas tax wouldn’t place a break on the rise in gas prices – because that’s all about national politics (President Joe Biden’s war on pipelines and oil companies) and international politics (a war between Russia and Ukraine, with NATO as a silent partner). But it would, almost instantaneously, bankrupt the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) here in New Jersey – and that would throw every county and local budget in the state into the red, necessitating a rise in property taxes to make up for it. What kind of rise? Try $400 to $500 a home. Year after year. And that’s just to pay for the road and bridge maintenance the TTF pays for now.

With the TTF bankrupt, the TTF’s debt would – by law – need to be paid for by New Jersey taxpayers. And then there are all those TAX CUTS that the engineers who fashioned the cog that kept the machine going got in return for a gas tax hike that was half that originally proposed. The Estate Tax would come roaring back, with all it’s devastating consequences to small businesses and family farms. So would taxes on retirees, small businesses, veterans, working people, and consumers. Maybe you are one of them?

Screw it all, say some of these new “conservative” leaders. Let government die, allow the machine to spit and sputter and clunk to its death. So what if the roads become unpassable and if one must say a prayer before crossing a bridge. Too bad for property taxpayers when someone is seriously injured because of an unmaintained street. And too bad for that person, now stuck in a wheelchair, and for their family. Who needs civilization?

To our minds, this is not a conservative position. Dystopia was not what Ronald Reagan was thinking when he described his “shining city on a hill.” Ronald Reagan understood that freedom and liberty rested on maintaining civilization – not destroying it. Taxation is a necessary part of it, but conservatives insist on getting it right, not abolishing it to the point where we are back with open sewers in the streets.

People like Peterson seem to forget that the Dark Ages really did happen. There was Roman civilization and things like running water and baths… and then there was a thousand years of stink. We may have amnesia about a lot of things but let’s not forget that whiskey was once safer than water.

As Governor and President, Ronald Reagan taught us that “user taxes” are the fairest form of taxation. You pay for the roads and bridges you use. Period. That goes for all those out-of-staters too. The roads and bridges they use should not be paid for by the property taxpayers of New Jersey. That should be an easy thing to understand. It shouldn’t take an engineer to explain it to you, but apparently, it does.

President Reagan signed a gas tax increase.

In an upcoming installment, we will discuss Assemblyman Peterson’s role in installing the Highlands Act in its role as slave master to Northwest New Jersey property owners. Look for it soon.

Pro-Murphy candidate runs as Republican in Sussex/Warren/Morris

By Sussex Watchdog

Dan Cruz was invited to discuss his views with conservatives in the state – leaders from the Second Amendment Society, the Pro-Life movement, Steve Lonegan, and groups concerned about illegal immigration. Cruz ignored them and instead asked a blog run by Democrats to publish a public relations profile of him. The owner of the blog was outed by no less than Wikileaks for his connections to Hillary Clinton’s fundraising operation in New Jersey.

So, it appears that the Democrats – after having been resoundingly crushed by Sussex County Republicans year after year – have simply given up on finding a candidate to run under their own party label against Sussex County’s top local Republican on the ballot this year. That’s right, the April 5th filing deadline came and went, but no Democrat filed against Sussex County’s Republican Senator, Steve Oroho (LD24) this year.

Instead, the Democrats are lavishing their attention on Dan Cruz – formerly a loyal Democrat primary voter – and are using their social media presence to push him on blogs like the one that did the public relations piece. In that piece, Cruz played loyal wingman to Democrat Governor Phil Murphy, defending his record on COVID just one day after Sussex County residents gathered for a prayer-vigil to remember the victims of Murphy’s Executive Order 103 – which hit Sussex County particularly hard and killed over 8,000 loved ones statewide.

Governor Murphy isn’t stupid. He knows that this election is about him – not Donald Trump. The last time he was on a ballot in Sussex County, in 2017, Phil Murphy received 36 percent of the vote, buoyed by an anti-Trump backlash. Bob Menendez got just 33 percent of the vote in Sussex County in 2018 – in midst of the Trump era. Murphy is also aware of just how low it can go if you can’t make it about Trump. In 2013, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono scraped together a mere 25 percent of the vote.

In 2019, at the last legislative election, Republican Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths got 69 percent of the vote. Republican Sheriff Mike Strada received 94 percent – and the Republican Freeholder candidates had the same 94 percent.

Governor Murphy knows Steve Oroho’s record as a candidate and knows that it’s formidable. As an outsider, Oroho defeated an incumbent Freeholder Director and an incumbent Legislator supported by the entire Trenton machine to get where he is. Against Democrats he has won with excess of 70 percent of the vote. At his last primary, in 2017, Oroho won re-election by 49 percentage points – 74 percent to 25 percent.

Before Steve Oroho became Sussex County’s Senator, county Democrats could console themselves with victories on the municipal and county levels. They could elect a Freeholder or a Mayor. But not under Steve Oroho. They haven’t held a single county seat while he’s been Senator – and the only mayors they can win hide their party registration and run as fiscal conservatives in non-partisan elections.

Murphy is concerned about Oroho’s ability to power turnout in Sussex County – hence, no Democrat opponent – but at the same time Murphy needs friendly “Republicans” to speak up for him and help cut the margin. This is where Cruz comes in.

George Will or Pee-wee Herman?

Results??? Cruz is running against the only Republican legislator to make the NJ media’s list of most effective legislators.  Senator Oroho's tax cuts were praised by conservative groups like Americans for Tax Reform and conservative publications like Forbes, which called his tax cuts “one of the 5 best state and local tax policy changes in 2016 nationwide.”  Of course, Cruz is still learning his lines in his new role as "conservative Republican".  We can’t expect him to know all this.   
 
Cruz’ connections to the Paterson Democrat machine and its allies is reinforced by yesterday’s public relations piece.  He is trying to present himself in ways that he imagines a conservative Republican would, but it comes off as a cross between George Will and Pee-wee Herman.  In preparation for his post-primary role as Murphy apologist, Cruz is adopting the kind of cringeworthy, defensive phrases that corporate Democrats find so acceptable in “Republicans” – like they did “The Lincoln Project”.
 
For example, the Democrats’ public relations piece about Cruz, notes that he wants “to ‘break the stigma’ associated with the Republican party before they lost their grasp.  He acknowledged that some of that came from President Donald Trump’s term in the White House… ‘We cannot just serve one side, we have to serve everyone and bring everyone together to make decisions on a collaborative effort.  Many people disliked the party because of President Trump’s message and what he stood for, but that doesn’t mean all of us are like that.’”
 
And this: “As far as Cruz is concerned, Republicans can do better by reaching out to areas that they traditionally have not campaigned in.  Republicans’ failure to try to appreciably make the big tent bigger is detrimental to their long term success.  Regarding the gubernatorial election, he said, ‘My impression is this.  Murphy has the leg.  Right now, he is ahead in the most populous cities—Paterson, Newark, Trenton—he is ahead there.  You don’t have a Republican who can go into these cities and say ‘Vote for me.’  They aren’t going into the inner cities, speaking to the people.’” 
 
“When asked what he thought of Governor Phil Murphy’s performance handling the pandemic, Cruz was candid.  ‘Regarding Governor Murphy there are some things that he could’ve done better, and there are obviously some things he has done that you can say he did OK.  I think with the COVID plan, he did what he thought was the best possible solution in his eyes and administration,’ a seemingly rare instance in the current climate where an opposition party acknowledges the perceived sincerity of another.”
 
Cruz completely avoided mentioned Executive Order 103 or the 8,000 people who died or the fact that the worst hit nursing homes were in the county and district he says he wants to represent.  And the vigil to remember those who died had just been held in the town in which he lives!  Now, that is shilling. 
 
Cruz went on to compare Murphy to Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida.  Cruz said Murphy had done better… “Balancing governmental direction with laissez faire has been a perilous tightrope act for Governor Murphy since the start of the pandemic.  ‘When you read the news and listen to people,’ Cruz said, ‘I believe that New Jerseyans have been extremely responsible during this time.’”
 
But Dan Cruz’ utility for Murphy doesn’t end with protecting his flank with Republicans.  Cruz’ background as a teacher and education activist provides a perspective to launch attacks on attempts by more fiscally responsible Democrats to rein in some of Murphy’s more bewildering excesses.  And so, Cruz has bitterly attacked Senate President Steve Sweeney and the Path to Progress, which is the work of a bi-partisan coalition of Democrat and Republican legislators.
 
Cruz opposes the reduction in education administrators that the consolidation advocated in the Path to Progress would produce.  Fewer individual units delivering education equals a smaller education bureaucracy and fewer administrators.  By coincidence, it just so happens that Cruz’ wife is an education administrator making six-figures and all the benefits.  She works for the New York City school system at a high school with problems not unlike those in New Jersey that the Path to Progress is looking to address: Only 2 percent of students have taken an Advanced Placement Test, just 37 percent are proficient at mathematics, only 32 percent are proficient at reading, and the graduation rate is 29 percent. 
 
Is Steve Sweeney and the Path to Progress right?  Will consolidating bureaucracy help?  While admitting that it would save taxpayers’ money, Cruz doesn’t think so. He’s concerned that local school superintendents and the boards they control would lose too much power – and if that were to happen, what might become of taxpayer-funded positions like he enjoys, and all those perks and benefits that mere legislators can only dream of?
 
Maybe he’d have to fall back on his business – a sideline to top off two taxpayer-funded incomes (with perks and benefits) – called Opulent Creations Events, L.L.C.  The upside is that Cruz would have more time to attend to it and not have the problems he had with the NJ Department of Revenue which, according to them, suspended Cruz’ business (he is listed as COO) from January 16, 2016 to May 15, 2017.  A silver lining?  
 
 

“Nobody goes faster than the legs they have.”

Alberto Caeiro (Fernando Pessoa)

Anti-Trump criminals attack GOP legislator’s family

By Sussex Watchdog

Over the past month, we’ve gone where newspapers like the Gannett corporation’s New Jersey Herald fear to tread.  We’ve covered the vandalization of family homes in Northwest New Jersey by anti-Trumpers and asked why these obvious acts of hatred were not covered in the same way as when someone spray-paints a Gottheimer for Congress sign? 
 
Does the Gannett corporation approve of violence, so long as it is directed towards people who they decide are unfashionable?  Or are they simply glad that the violent are too distracted to examine Gannett’s record closely?  Are they pleased that the violence is directed away from them?  That someone else is doing the suffering?
 
Sometime last night, a billboard advertising Space Farms Zoo and Museum was defaced with spray-painted anti-Trump slogans and foul language…  

Space Farms is owned by the family of Assemblyman Parker Space (R-24) and his wife, Jill Space, a Republican State Committeewoman and the First Vice Chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee.  When Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s (D-5) campaign sign was defaced, everyone of both parties rallied around him, the media covered it in great detail, all and sundry were appalled.  We won’t hold our breath in this instance.
 
At this sick moment in our history, the Establishment has allowed the violent to target some with impunity, while taking steps to destroy the morale and effectiveness of the police.  Average Americans have watched this and have responded by personally arming themselves to an unprecedented degree.  Any possibility of a rational debate has been screwed to death over the past few weeks.  People cannot unsee what has happened. 
 
This attack on the family of an elected representative of the people comes just weeks after two Black Lives Matter activists were arrested for spray-painting “BLM” and defacing property near the home of the elected Sheriff of Sussex County, Mike Strada.  At about the same time, ten shots were fired at the home of Sheriff Strada, while his wife and children were inside.  That crime is still under investigation and Governor Murphy’s State Police have not released the name or names of those suspected of perpetrating what could be a case of attempted murder.
 
Fresh from successfully intimidating the Sussex County Freeholder Board into passing a resolution that they dictated, Black Lives Matter activists were out in force yesterday, holding a Black Lives Matter rally in Byram while – a few miles away – engaging in an action to disrupt a planned pro-Trump rally that was called off at the last minute for safety concerns.  The stated reason was weather related.
 
Now the New Jersey Herald is willingly accepting the intellectual servitude of the Black Lives Matter movement.  Its pages today remind us of the end of the free press in Germany during that very dark period of the 1930s and 40s.  We will devote a future post to illustrate just how parallel the language is – often word for word.  It make us wonder if those running BLM are historical copycats?
 
Of course, the Gannett corporation is more than happy to spread the blame to America or “society” or the police… instead of being held to account for its own actions.  No matter how many riots or burned down buildings or spray painted slogans or murderous acts… violence does not result in peace.  You cannot compel peace or tolerance or respect at a global level.  Government cannot mandate these things.  Such things happen at the smallest, personal, and individual scale.
 
That is Gannett’s problem.  As a corporation Gannett has been wantonly cruel to its individual workers – generally, across the board, although some have believed it to be due to the color of their skin. 
 
Black Lives Matter is complicit in Gannett’s corporate viciousness.  By allowing Gannett to “take a knee” they are complicit as its public relations “fig leaf”.  But so long as they get their pay-off, Black Lives Matter doesn’t seem to care about the workers.  After all, these are academic “Marxists” of the snowflake variety.
 
Gannett pays homage to Black Lives Matter because it doesn't want anyone looking at their behavior or the behavior of some of the corporation's media outlets.  Like the recent federal class action lawsuit brought against Gannett alleging that the corporation is "running a racist workplace that makes it impossible for black workers to be promoted".  The 26-page lawsuit, with 23 pages of attachments makes for interesting reading:
 
"Gannett ran a sophisticated scheme and cover 'in the form of focus groups and other means and methods that are subjectively manipulated by Gannett to achieve its discriminatory goals and objectives.'
According to the lawsuit, Gannett 'has a corporate custom, policy, pattern, practice and procedure of not promoting African-Americans to director and leadership positions and utilizing a ‘one-and-done policy’ that disparately impacts African-American employed within the company.'
Gannett, based in McLean, Va., is best known for its flagship newspaper, USA Today. Its chain of newspapers, TV stations and other media reach than 110 million people a month, according to the complaint."
 
A journalist employed at Gannett added:
 
“In sum, the overall employment atmosphere and attitude at Gannett is hostile toward recruitment, training, leadership, management and advancement of African-Americans into top broadcasting leadership positions and opportunities.”
 
The EEOC found that it could not certify that Gannett is in compliance with the federal anti-discrimination law.  The federal class action lawsuit "seeks class certification, restitution, and compensatory and punitive damages for Civil Rights Act violations, loss of prospective earnings and a court order 'to enjoin the discriminatory practices.'"
 
Gannett was also recently sued for age discrimination over its practice of replacing older employees with younger, less expensive ones.  Over 1,300 Gannett employees have been "fired" between 2011 and 2017. 
 
Gannett is a ruthless corporation that takes knees and points fingers in a public relations spin operation designed to take the focus off them.  Black Lives Matter is aiding and abetting this scam.  Don’t be fooled.
 
We will keep you informed.  Stay tuned... 
 
 

“It is his millions of relationships that will give man his humanity… It is not our ideological rights that are important but the quality of our relationships with each other, with all men, with knowledge and art and God that count.
 
The civil rights movement has done a magnificent job but it is now faced with the ancient choice between good and evil, between love for all men and lust for a group’s power.”
 
“Every group on earth that has put ideology before human relations has failed; always disaster and bitterness and bloodshed have come.  This movement, too, may fail.  If it does, it will be because it aroused in men more hate than love, more concern for their own group than for all people, more lust for power than compassion for human need.”
 
“We must avoid the trap of totalism which lures a man into thinking there is only one way, one answer, one option, and that others must be forced into this One Way, and forced into it Now.”

(Author Lillian Smith, civil rights pioneer,
on accepting the Charles S. Johnson Award for her work)  

Murphy Dems say taxpayers who want answers to school funding cuts “extremist”

The administration of Governor Phil Murphy and the Democrats who control both chambers of the Legislature cut funding to most Sussex County school districts – as well as to many other rural and suburban school districts across the state.  These cuts were made despite the fact that working class families in rural and suburban New Jersey continue to subsidize the property taxes of rich corporations and wealthy professionals in many of New Jersey’s gentrified urban districts.
 
To give just one example, in Vernon, the Murphy Democrats’ education funding cuts resulted in a 10 percent property tax increase.  And this is only year one of a proposed multi-year round of cuts by the Democrats.
 
Republican Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths have been trying to get the Democrats to agree to hold a special session on property taxes.  Space and Wirths want to address the unfairness of the New Jersey education funding formula – the most inequitable in the entire United States.  To date, the Democrats have tried to change the subject, making excuses on why they don’t have time to address property taxes but do have time to tackle such pressing concerns as transgender curriculum for schools and such.
 
Then there’s the Governor’s screwball Sanctuary State scam that has already released violent sex offenders back into the community.
 
Since July, Assemblymen Space and Wirths have been trying to get someone from the Murphy administration to show up in Sussex County and come before an open public meeting to discuss his Sanctuary State scheme, how he came up with the idea, and whether it was motivated by politics or genuine law enforcement concerns.  The New Jersey Herald covered this in a front page story on July 24th but to date, the Murphy administration has played hide-and-seek, dodging the issue and refusing to show up and talk to the people of Sussex County.
 

https://www.njherald.com/news/20190724/space-wirths-want-attorney-general-to-explain-sanctuary-state-directive

 
So it is a bit disconcerting that when the Governor finally shows up in Sussex county, it isn't at a public meeting, but at a location hidden from the general public; and it isn't to answer questions from the people who pay his salary, but to raise money from big donors for the Democrat Party.
 
Now, to add insult to injury, the Democrats trot out their Antifa-wannabe shill, Chairwoman Katie Rotondi, who labels as “haters” and “extremists” those seeking answers from the Governor whose salary they pay.  Since when is it extreme to ask questions of government? 
 
In fact, before sending out his shill again, we think Governor Murphy needs to take a remedial course in the Constitution of the United States of America – specifically the Bill of Rights.  Last time we checked, in the United States of America – in this country – the right to petition is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which specifically prohibits government or its party shills from abridging "the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".
 
Finally, we think it the height of hypocrisy for a party operative who is notorious for singing about sucking a “bag of d*cks” to be offended by the use of a phrase like “Murphy sucks”.  If you wish to be a puritan, by all means be a puritan, but please be consistent about it.  

Yes, that is her. The Democrat Party chairwoman in all her glory. Katie Rotondi is also notorious for mocking Disabled American Veterans and for comparing Christian belief to “Hitler” – something the Democrat Committee applauded her for – and something the trustees of the Sussex County Community College failed to examine when they caved into her demands to remove one of their own members. As Katie says… “F*ck you, I love you.”

Did you get that, Governor Murphy? Do you approve?

Murphy proposes French-style fuel tax that caused the Yellow-Vests Movement

Wikipedia defines the Yellow Vests Movement as “a populist, grassroots, revolutionary political movement for economic justice that began in France in October 2018.” The movement is motivated by rising fuel prices as well as government and crony-capitalist-induced escalations in the cost of living.

The Yellow Vests Movement holds that a disproportionate burden of government tax “reforms” fall on “non-elites” – the working and middle classes – particularly in rural and suburban areas. In France, the Movement has called for direct democracy through the implementation of citizens' initiative referendums.

The Movement spans the political spectrum, drawing from voters on both the Right and Left who have been pushed to the “periphery” by government policies that support crony capitalism. It gets its name from yellow high-visibility vests, which French government regulation requires all drivers have in their vehicles and to wear during emergencies.

Writers as diverse as Ralph Nadar, Chris Hedges, and Christophe Guilluy have written about a fusion of economically stressed voters on the “periphery” of the new economy coming together to challenge government and crony capitalist elites. It has been noted that the Trump prosperity has temporarily slowed down this evolution, much in the way that Watergate (1974) was simply a bump in the road on the way to a conservative resurgence and the election of Ronald Reagan and a Republican-controlled Senate (1980).

The Yellow Vest Movement started with the imposition of a new “green” fuel tax that was the last straw for working and middle class voters trying to make ends meet. Now it looks like New Jersey is heading down the same road. On Monday, the NJ Spotlight reported:

In what could amount to the most significant regional effort yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 12 states have issued a draft policy framework to create a cap-and-trade program to reduce global warming pollution from vehicles.

The proposal, developed by the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI), is modeled somewhat after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program that for the past decade has helped clamp down on carbon pollution from power plants.

This draft framework, while sparse in details, proposes to put a cap on emissions from the transportation sector by requiring state fuel suppliers to buy allowances, which would be auctioned off for the right to emit carbon.

The draft does not describe what the level of caps would be, precisely who would be regulated, how much the allowances could cost, or how quickly the caps would go down. The transportation sector has replaced the power industry as the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. In New Jersey, the sector accounts for roughly 40% of the state’s carbon pollution.

Motorists will likely pay at the pump

In the end, the cost will likely end up being paid for by motorists at the pump, a difficult choice for New Jersey and other states already pursuing new clean-energy solutions that are expected to be reflected in higher energy bills — at least for the short term.

Within the United States, New Jersey has perhaps the clearest elite vs. working class divide with more than half the state’s poor families living in rural and suburban communities subsidizing the property taxes of wealthy professionals and rich corporations nestled in the so-called Abbott Districts. Government directed, taxpayer-subsidized, crony-capitalists in Abbotts like Camden reap profits by husbanding poverty.

How will higher fuel costs go down with voters who are already stretched to the limit? How is this latest Murphy administration scheme going to help a state with a high rate of foreclosure and the highest property taxes in America?

Assemblymen Hal Wirths and Parker Space have proposed legislation to block Governor Murphy’s plans to raise the cost of fuel in New Jersey. A-5042 prohibits New Jersey’s participation in multi-state cap and trade programs like that proposed by the Transportation & Climate Initiative.

This legislation should get bi-partisan support before November 5th and the cold weather months set in. Higher fuel prices are not something anyone wants to see for the holidays.

Democrats put virtue-signaling before public safety

Over the weekend, Sussex County’s volunteer firefighters held their annual parade in Franklin. At the event, one of the contingents of volunteers proudly displayed a Trump banner. The reaction was predictable.

Instead of thanking the brave volunteers who daily keep their families safe from harm and death, local Democrats began calling town halls trying to have the firefighters “removed” or “suspended” as volunteers. Evidently, their loathing of Donald Trump is more dear to them than the safety of their own children.

Who would replace these volunteers next time a house caught fire was not a consideration by the Democrats, all that mattered was that they supported Trump so they had to go. It was reminiscent of a story that circulated early in World War Two, during the Battle of France. A wounded German officer was brought into an Allied dressing station. He needed a blood transfusion, but upon hearing that it was “French” blood, he refused it. The German bled to death.

The Democrats are like that German. They would rather burn to death than tolerate volunteer firefighters who support Trump. Yes, they are crazy. They are stone cold f*cknuts.

Volunteer firefighters willingly risk their lives for their community. But apparently putting your body on the line for your neighbors isn't good enough. The Democrats want your mind too. They want to control and regulate how you think and express yourself.

If the Democrats succeed in their action against the volunteer firefighters, they will also succeed in raising property taxes. If volunteers are driven out of voluntary firefighting companies, that would pave the way for paid fire departments. That would undoubtedly require a hefty property tax hike to fund it. So the Democrats are, once again, acting true-to-form – virtue-signaling and raising property taxes!

We owe a debt of gratitude to volunteer firefighters like Assemblymen Parker Space and Tony Bucco, and former Freeholder Phil Crabb. They come from families who have for generations volunteered to risk their lives in service to their communities.

Wirths and Space block Chinese Communists from gaining foothold in Princeton

America won!  Thanks to Assemblymen Hal Wirths and Parker Space, the Chinese Communists will not be buying a college in Princeton.

Alerted by businessman-philanthropist Mike Hennessy, the Assemblymen got to work generating grassroots opposition to the all but done sale of Westminster Choir College to a Chinese company controlled by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and the Communist Party of China (CPC).  Westminster is a division of the Westminster College of the Arts, and is part of Rider University.

Last June, Rider University had signed a purchase and sale agreement with a newly created entity called Kaiwen Education, which is controlled by the Chinese navy and its Communist Party masters.  Assemblymen Wirths and Space were concerned that the sale could give the Chinese government a foothold on the Princeton campus, with all its sensitive research and technology facilities.

Rider had provoked the ire of Hennessy and others, when it banned Chick-Fil-A from opening on campus, despite a majority vote by students asking for a Chick-Fil-A restaurant on campus.  It seems Rider’s administration thought that Chick-Fil-A’s ownership was too Christian and therefore “controversial”.  Apparently Kaiwen, the PLA Navy, and the CPC were just the right amount of communist.

Along with other Rider benefactors, Hennessy organized a grassroots effort to stop the sale, while there were protests by students and faculty, as well as legal challenges. Federal authorities were contacted and had become interested in the matter.  Under this pressure and the pressure from legislators like Wirths and Space, the state attorney general's office delayed the pending sale in March, asking Rider for more information about the deal.

Westminster Choir College is the world’s foremost college of religious music.  A residential college located on a 23-acre campus in the heart of Princeton, it is a four-year music college and graduate school that “prepares men and women for careers as performers and as music leaders in schools, universities, churches and professional and community organizations.”

Rider University announced on Monday that the two sides had mutually agreed to not extend the agreement.  This essentially cancelled the sale, although the money-hungry Rider administration still publicly held out hope for an “alternative relationship” with the Chinese Communists.

Assemblymen Wirths and Space, who introduced a resolution (ACR-222) in opposition to the sale, called the announcement a big win.

"It took many vocal opponents, but our efforts paid off.  Rider University made the right decision to stop the sale," Wirths said. "From the very beginning, the company's interest in the music college for the purpose of academia seemed suspicious."

Kaiwen Education has no experience in higher education.  It was a made-up subsidiary of a government-owned Chinese defense contractor.

"Today's announcement is a big win against the authoritarian Chinese government who we feared might be using the guise of academia to access Princeton's world-class scientists, researchers and institutions for nefarious purposes," Space said.

State Senator Steve Oroho introduced the Senate version of the resolution, SCR-160.  Surprisingly, no Democrats and few Republicans saw it as a battle worth fighting, let alone one that they could win.

“Standing up to one of the world’s most repressive regimes – on the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square – wasn’t considered important enough to most of the Legislature,” one grassroots campaigner said.  “While millions of people in Hong Kong are protesting this oppressive regime, the Democrats who run the Legislature were more than happy to turn a campus in Princeton over to them.”   

Another noted:  “Guess it lacked a connection to LGBTQ… that’s all that matters these days.”   

This could have been a real moment of unity in Trenton for Republicans and all but the most craven Democrats.  Instead, the Democrats tried to block legislative action in opposition to the sale, while most Republicans didn’t have the good sense to take a stand.  Thankfully, guys like Hal Wirths and Parker Space did, but where the hell is everybody else’s political radar these days???

No wonder so many members of the Republican base share sentiments like these…

Parker Space backs Sheriff Strada, rips Murphy on “Sanctuary State b.s.”

Assemblyman Parker Space wanted there to be no doubt as to how he and his legislative colleagues feel about Governor Phil Murphy’s attempt to strip Sussex County citizens of the right to vote on the important issue of Sanctuary State status for Sussex County. “It is left-wing b.s. pure and simple.”

“Sheriff Mike Strada is right to stand up to Governor Murphy and the leftists who run his administration.  We support him 100%.”

A plain-spoken farmer and family businessman, Assemblyman Space said to forget what the all the smooth-talking lawyers have to say about this.  “It is a matter of American principles,” Space said.  “The property taxpayers of Sussex County pay for the operations of the Sheriff’s office… they pay for the Sheriff and all his officers… they have the absolute right to instruct him on how they want him to deal with Murphy’s Sanctuary State b.s.”

“The county’s taxpayers have the right to tell the county Sheriff to follow federal law because they pay the county Sheriff.  If Governor Murphy wants to dictate to the Sheriff then let’s send him the bill for the Sheriff and we’ll all enjoy a property tax cut.”

Assemblyman Space noted some important facts about the debate over illegal immigration:

(1) In its most recent report on illegal immigration, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that illegal immigration costs New Jersey taxpayers over $3 billion every year, which is close to 10% of our state’s entire budget.

(2) The State budget which was recently enacted spends $2.1 million for an “Office of Immigrant Protection.”  Assemblyman Space and his colleagues opposed the budget and introduced legislation prohibiting public funding for it (A4033). 

(3) Going even further, Governor Murphy and State Democrat leadership also passed legislation, which we opposed, to give illegals financial aid for college (S699).  And most recently, the Murphy Administration announced that they were looking into providing driver’s licenses to illegal residents.

Assemblyman Space noted that he and his colleagues have introduced the following legislation:

S-305/A-949   Bars companies which hire illegal aliens from public contracts, grants, loans, or tax incentives for seven years.   

S-528/A-172   "New Jersey Jobs Protection Act;" requires E-verification of employment.

S-168/A-497   Requires proof of lawful presence in the United States to obtain certain benefits.

S-2506/A-233    Requires certain contractors to verify work authorization of newly hired employees.   

S-541/A-2640    Prohibits municipal ordinance to create sanctuary city; Establishes State and local employee ethics violation upon noncompliance with federal immigration enforcement request.  

“Clearly, if we are ever to get things back on the right track, we must pass these types of reform measures. It’s important that local, state, and federal law enforcement work together to strictly enforce the immigration laws that are already in place.  If we do not address the problem of illegal immigration, New Jersey will never succeed in getting government spending under control.”

“Finally, we oppose all forms of amnesty for illegal immigrants as well as supporting measures to prevent our state from becoming a destination for terrorists posing as refugees looking to harm our families and neighbors. This is a critical issue and we will not waiver in our beliefs.”

Assemblyman Space shares an office with District 24 colleagues Assemblyman Hal Wirths and Senator Steve Oroho. Space is the Republican State Committeeman for Sussex County.  His wife, Jill Space, was a Delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention supporting Donald Trump.

McCann lies again. No he's not pro-second amendment

John McCann tried sweet-talking a speaking spot out of the organizers of yesterday's Pro-Second Amendment rally in Trenton.  The rally, which was hosted by the NRA and its state affiliates, was well-attended and featured a number of prominent speakers with solid Pro-Second Amendment records, including Senator Steve Oroho, NRA National Board member Scott Bach, Assemblyman Parker Space, Assemblyman Hal Wirths, former Mayor Steve Lonegan, and former Assemblywoman Donna Simon.

John McCann did not end up speaking.  According to several sources familiar with the event, McCann was asked to fill out an NRA questionnaire to determine where he stood on the issues and McCann refused to do so.  Like another candidate associated with Passaic County machine boss Peter Murphy, he won't say.

But McCann is a resilient bullshit artist.  His campaign rolled out an often-repeated story claiming that his father had been the victim of a terrorist attack by the Weatherman organization, a radical group of 1960's leftists.  But McCann's story keeps on changing with regards to this incident.  And the official records of law enforcement and the judiciary do not match McCann's claims.  More on this later.

In any case, McCann uses this exaggerated tale to claim that he is Pro-Second Amendment when his actions indicate that he is simply spinning us.  Any man, worthy of the name, should have the balls to tell us where he stands on the issues. 

We suggest that candidate John McCann grow a pair and fill out the questionnaire.  The voters deserve to know who and what they are voting for.

The Democrats' moocher towns strike again

Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) claims that some places "mooch" off other places when they get back from government more than they pay in.  According to Gottheimer, the country's top "moocher" is Mississippi, the state with the highest percentage of African-American residents -- 37 percent and growing -- because the state gets more back than they pay in. 

Is Gottheimer a racist?  Last Friday, Gottheimer was joined at a press conference by Democrats Phil Murphy and Tim Eustace to discuss ways to redress this "moocher" situation.  Are they coddling Gottheimer's racism?  If so, has anyone told the incoming First Lady?  New Jersey's answer to Madame Mao will not be amused.

If there are "moocher states" as Democrat Gottheimer claims, can we apply Gottheimer's measurement to other cases -- such as the relationship between municipalities or school districts within a state?  If, as the Democrat Congressman claims, there are places that "mooch" off the federal government, does it not also follow that there are places that "mooch" off state government?

We've already learned that towns like Sparta get back just 15 cents on every dollar they pay in state income tax to Trenton.  That's right, in what Congressman Gottheimer would call a clear case of mooching, Asbury Park paid in just a sixth -- in income taxes per person -- of what Sparta did, but got back 17 times more!

            Sparta Twp  $5,611,989 (received) / $36,267,481 (paid) = $0.15

            Asbury Park $57,632,816 (received) / $3,835,809 (paid) = $15.02

We've also learned how poor families in suburban and rural New Jersey are subsidizing rich people in chic urban hotspots.  Their cut of the revenue from the state income tax allows these hotspots to keep their property taxes comparatively low.  For example, despite being clearly being economically better-off, Hoboken gets its property taxes underwritten by the income tax revenue paid by rural Warren County:

 Warren County has double the population of Hoboken City (107,000 to 52,000) but the population of Hoboken has been growing while Warren is shrinking (5% vs. -1%).  And while Hoboken has just 800 veterans, Warren County has over 7,000.  The per capita income of Hoboken City is over $70,000.  This compares with Warren County, at $33,000.  The median value of an owner-occupied home is $550,700 in Hoboken but only $271,100 in Warren County.  The U.S. Census reported that 5.5% of the people in Hoboken are without health insurance vs. 12.5% of those in Warren County.  73.5% of those 25 or older in Hoboken have graduated from college.  In Warren County that figure is 29.6%.

Enter the State Highlands Act... Passed by a Democrat-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Democrat Governor Jim McGreevey, the Highlands Act undertakes the worthy cause of preserving the aquifer that supplies the drinking water for a large urban population in Northern New Jersey.  Unfortunately, it does so at the expense of rural and suburban property owners -- who saw their land rights seized and the use of their land forcibly regulated -- without compensation. 

The Highlands Region encompasses nearly 859,267 acres across seven counties -- including Sussex and Warren Counties.  In the phrase coined by Democrat Gottheimer -- upscale urban areas are "mooching" off economically disadvantaged rural areas and the state is refusing to provide compensation to those being "mooched" upon.

On Monday, in one of the last legislative acts of the year, Congressman Gottheimer's fellow Democrats made it a point to further piss on the hopes and property rights of the economically disadvantaged communities under the boot of the Highlands Act, by undoing a Christie administration rule that allowed a small measure of development in those areas affected.  With incoming Governor Phil Murphy urging them on from the sidelines, the Democrat-controlled Legislature rescinded the Christie rule and, in so doing, made the property in question next to worthless. 

As Josh Gottheimer would say, the Democrats once again gave more to the "moochers" and took away more from those being "mooched" upon.

Republicans like Senator Steve Oroho and Assemblyman Parker Space gave it their best, but with Phil Murphy's full support for the "moochers" and a Democrat-controlled Legislature, the resolution overturning the Christie rule barely passed the state Senate with the minimum 21 votes needed and the Assembly with 42 votes.  One of those votes to help the "moochers" at the expense of those "mooched" upon was cast by Assemblyman Tim Eustace -- who was at last Friday's press conference with Phil Murphy and Josh Gottheimer -- to complain about the "moochers"!  How is that for hypocrisy!

Why do Trenton Democrats continue to support allowing rich people in towns like Hoboken to "mooch" off poor families in places like Warren County?  Somebody needs to ask Democrats like Phil Murphy and Tim Eustace next time they hold a press conference with Josh Gottheimer to complain about "moocher states."

GOP Senators Pennacchio, Cardinale, Oroho, and Doherty all support Lonegan for Congress

The tsunami of conservative endorsements continues for Republican candidate for Congress Steve Lonegan, with today's endorsement by State Senator Joseph "Jersey Joe" Pennacchio.  That puts all but one of the Republican State Senators representing portions of CD05 in Lonegan's camp. 

"Steve Lonegan has been a tireless fighter for our conservative principles for years," Sen. Pennacchio said.  "New Jersey conservatives have been grateful for his leadership and West Milford voters have richly rewarded him."

Pennacchio, who represents one of the two Passaic County towns in the Fifth Congressional District, was referring to Lonegan's dominating performance in the 2013 U.S. Senate election when he defeated Cory Booker with 62% of the vote in West Milford.

"West Milford knows and trusts Steve Lonegan to fight for our conservative values," Pennacchio said.  "Better jobs, lower taxes, term limits for Congress, the right to life, religious liberty, and a firm commitment to the Second Amendment -- these are all hallmarks of Steve's unwavering vision."

Lonegan thanked Pennacchio for his support and pledged to fight for West Milford and for all of North Jersey.

"Senator Pennacchio is among the most dependable senators New Jersey conservatives can look to," Lonegan said.  "He is a leader in pushing for lower taxes, less government, and especially the right to life.  I'm proud to have earned his endorsement and will work closely with him to make North Jersey a better place to live, work, and raise a family."

Each one of the Senators supporting Steve Lonegan is strongly pro-life, as is Lonegan.  Pennacchio's endorsement comes on a day when Lonegan's likely opponent in the primary -- liberal RINO John McCann -- confirmed to Politico's Matt Friedman that he supports abortion and would "enforce the laws as they are constituted."  Of course he will.  No different than liberal Democrat incumbent Josh Gottheimer.

Lonegan has already been endorsed by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Bergen County State Senator Gerry Cardinale, Mrs. Ann Kievit, President of the Northwest New Jersey Taxpayers' Association, Rev. Greg Quinlan, President of the Center for Garden State Families, on behalf of New Jersey for a Conservative Majority, Alexander Roubian, President of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS), United States Senator Ted Cruz, Warren County State Senator Mike Doherty, Sussex County Senator Steve Oroho, Assemblyman Parker Space, Assemblyman-elect Hal Wirths, and Sussex County State Committeewoman Jill Space.

AC women's event fails to mention Dem accused of stalking

Apparently it is "Democrat comes first" with women like Colleen Mahr, the Democrat Mayor of Fanwood, and Bernadette McPherson, the Democrat LD36 District Chair.  Ms. Mahr comes from Joe Cryan country... ouch!

True to form, while hosting a forum on "the importance of women in politics" at the Irish Pub in Atlantic City, the two never brought up the status of this sitting Assembly Democrat...

Oh, and by coincidence, the alleged stalking happened in Fanwood.

Meanwhile, back in Sussex County, the focus of the Democrats' ire this year -- Assemblyman Parker Space -- is sharing in the enjoyment of a clean sweep by the GOP in that county, after pundits,  prognosticators, and assorted moe-moes had been predicting trouble for Space and the Republicans there.  Last year, Senator Steve Oroho was warned by GOP Senate operatives of his impending demise should he become associated with the tax restructuring deal that refunded the state's Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).  He went ahead and became a central figure in the deal and ended up needing to tear down and rebuild his local party in order to be re-elected.  But he did and was -- easily in both the primary and general elections.  In addition to Space, some county Republicans and a great many out of county "observers" forecast a Democrat pick-up in the county Freeholder contest.  Instead, it was a beat down by the GOP.  Lessons can be learned from these pugnacious mountain men.

In the meantime, it looks like the NJGOP needs a new theme song, so here is our suggestion:

Public shaming is bullying. Treat it the same.

The attempt by the powerful -- in the form of the corporate media and the dominant political class -- to force others to conform to their social values or face the loss of employment, economic security, and status is textbook bullying.  In the case of Assemblyman Parker Space, it is clear that the Republican holds tastes in music and is of a socio-economic class different from that of the dominant establishment class. 

Space is a country boy, a blue-collar farmer, a Trump supporter, and a believer in traditional values.  This makes him a target for establishment bullying.  As for the establishment's complaints that Space used a five-letter word in private conversation, this is simply a case of rank hypocrisy by individuals who use the same words and far-far-worse in private and in public, as evidenced below.

Again and again, we are told that in America, we are a nation of laws.  But this is being steadily eroded by corporate media and their puppets in the political class.  With the connivance of establishment political figures the corporate media are attempting to create an extra-judicial method of determining everything from whether or not you can hold a job or operate a business to serving in public office.

Under this informal, extra-judicial system, the accusers do not need to produce proof of their accusations, neither does the accused have the opportunity to refute the charges made in any legal setting.  In this bullying culture, corporate media whips up a frenzy of bullying -- mobbing -- in order to indict, convict, and punish someone. 

The accusers simply need to "feel" that someone has done something for reasons that they disapprove of.  Of course, these "feelings" must conform to the social norms of the establishment.  Conforming to establishment norms allows some people to believe that they have the right to fire someone from his or her job, or put someone out of business, or overturn the will of the voters.

This is a form of technological vigilantism -- a post-modern lynch mob -- with elements of religion to it.  For "apologize... apologize... apologize," read "repent... repent... repent."  And it was specifically warned against by prescient writers like George Orwell, with the neo-religious fervor whipped up in a shaming exercise very like the two-minutes hate he describes in his great work, 1984:

Think of it.  Political figures like Democrat Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg actually suggested that they could reach into another person's soul to determine evil there, adjudicate on said evil, and then demand that the will of the voters be overturned and said person be stripped of public office.  Mind you, the office-holder in question -- Assemblyman Parker Space -- is one of the most popular elected officials in New Jersey, as determined by the number of votes he receives, and gets more votes than any Republican legislator in the state.  So it does take a particular kind of philosophy, distinctly undemocratic, to suggest such a thing.

Also remember that no laws have been broken.  Unlike Senator Robert Menendez or Assemblyman Neil Cohen or Assemblyman Raj Mukerji or any one of a hundred New Jersey Democrats who actually broke the law, but who nevertheless enjoyed and enjoy the steadfast support of fellow Democrats, Assemblyman Parker Space did nothing even remotely illegal.  Fashion was breached perhaps -- the fashion held by some elites in a few, well-to-do enclaves -- but no laws were broken.  For the moment, our Bill of Rights and our First Amendment are holding firm -- but for how long?

If the media can use extra-judicial shaming to deny employment, ruin a business, or overturn an election, then they will have successfully undermined the Bill of Rights without recourse to a legal challenge before the United States Supreme Court.  It is a subversion of the law, and the imposition of punitive sanctions, through the use of fashion and media technology.  Through the use of it, America will no longer be a nation of laws, but rather a nation of fashions, manipulated by a corporate media controlled by the likes of Jared Kushner, the Newhouse brothers, and the corporate racists at Gannett News.  A bullying culture in which anyone who wishes to work, own a business, or hold office will have to conform to the establishment norms of the bullying class.

Prominent Statewide Pro-Abortion Groups call on Pro-Life Legislator to resign.

Several notorious pro-abortion organizations -- the leader of one even referred to abortion as a "sacrament" -- have renewed their attacks on Pro-Life legislator Parker Space.  The Sussex County Assemblyman is a sponsor of the "Babies in the Womb Feel Pain" bill that is the most important piece of legislation on the Pro-Life agenda.

Space's legislation, A-3452, would recognize the scientific fact that unborn babies are pain-sensitive at 20 weeks.  Every other country on earth recognizes this fact except North Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada, and the Netherlands.  Similar legislation has been passed in 16 states and 2017 has been designated as the year of the big push to bring our laws into line with the rest of the civilized world.

In support of A-3452, an ecumenical movement has formed called the 20/20 Project.  Its members represent many religious denominations.  It is actively supported by a number of organizations including the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Metuchen, the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Newark, Project LEARN, the New Jersey Family Policy Council, New Jersey Right to Life, the Center for Garden State Families, Corazon Puro, LifeNet, the League of American Families, among others.

A Pro-Life activist stated:  "This is a clear attempt to change the focus of the debate by the some of the most radical, anti-life elements of the Leftist coalition.  They would do anything to maintain the barbaric practices that are illegal in most of the civilized world."

One campaign professional asked rhetorically if "these Democrats know what they are doing?"  She noted that even the leftwing magazine, Mother Jones, acknowledged that Legislative District 24 was "one of the most Pro-Life districts in the country."  She added, "And these idiots trot out a bunch of abortion lovers to make a point?"

Parker Space supported by Democrat who was there

Of all the information being purposefully suppressed by the media about the manufactured "controversy" involving GOP Assemblyman Parker Space, none is more important than this statement by Jacqueline Stapel, the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Sussex County: 

"As an individual and a Sussex County resident, I am deeply offended that a private conversation amongst myself, Jennifer Hamilton, and Parker Space was secretly recorded and leaked to the media for cheap political gain.  As an American, I denounce its secret leakage and use by the media and political campaigns because it is undermining everyone’s privacy rights.

With underhanded tactics like this, it is no wonder why Democrats and Republicans have a more difficult time working together for the common good.

Parker Space is my friend.  I may not agree with him on issues, but that does not lead me to hate him.  Unfortunately some people can’t see the difference between disagreement and hate and it is denigrating our political discourse."

Unlike the Democrat State Senator who called Governor Christie a "prick" or the female Democrat State Senator who said she wanted to see President Trump assassinated, or the female United States Senator who dropped both the f-bomb and the word "bitch," what happened here was not public.  It was a private conversation between three people after a non-political event. 

A Democrat Party operative snuck up and taped that private conversation without the knowledge or consent of those present.  That operative handed the tape over to the political campaign of Democrats Kate Matteson & Gina Trish, who reached out to a Trenton media figure to circulate it.  So members of the media acted as both public relations team to hype the story and journalists to report on it.  And they complain because people don't take them seriously?

This was a clear violation of the ethical obligations defined by their own profession and enshrined in the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).  We have written to the SPJ and to academic leaders of their profession about their behavior in this matter and will be publishing that correspondence.  And we will be reporting on the state of journalism in New Jersey in the months ahead.

Public shaming is the road to Fascism

We are told that in America, we are a nation of laws.  But increasingly, we are not.  With the connivance of political figures like Senate Democrat Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Assembly Democrat Executive Director Mark Matzen, the corporate media are attempting to create an extra-judicial method of determining everything from whether or not you can hold a job or operate a business to serving in public office.

Under this informal, extra-judicial system, the accusers do not need any proof -- as we recognize that term in our legal process -- to indict, convict, and punish someone.  The accusers, who are generally the media and political figures like Weinberg, simply need to "feel" that someone has done something for reasons that they disapprove of.  It can even be as simple as saying that you are personally "tired" of someone, as was done in a recent Star-Ledger column.  Just being "tired" of someone makes some people believe that they have the right to fire someone from his or her job, or put someone out of business, or overturn the will of the voters.

This is a form of technological vigilantism -- a post-modern lynch mob -- with elements of religion to it.  For "apologize... apologize... apologize," read "repent... repent... repent."  And it was specifically warned against by prescient writers like George Orwell, with the neo-religious fervor whipped up in a shaming exercise very like the two-minutes hate he describes in his great work, 1984:

Think of it.  Political figures like Weinberg and Matzen actually suggested that they could reach into another person's soul to determine evil there, adjudicate on said evil, and then demand that the will of the voters be overturned and said person be stripped of public office.  Mind you, the office-holder in question -- Assemblyman Parker Space -- is one of the most popular elected officials in New Jersey, as determined by the number of votes he receives, and gets more votes than any Republican legislator in the state.  So it does take a particular kind of philosophy, distinctly undemocratic, to suggest such a thing.

Also remember that no laws have been broken.  Unlike Senator Robert Menendez or Assemblyman Neil Cohen or Assemblyman Raj Mukerji or any one of a hundred New Jersey Democrats who actually broke the law but who, nevertheless, the Weinbergs and the Matzens dutifully stood behind, Assemblyman Parker Space did nothing even remotely illegal.  Fashion was breached perhaps -- the fashion held by some elites in a few, well-to-do enclaves -- but no laws were broken.  For the moment, we still have our Bill of Rights and our First Amendment.  But they are working on it.

If the media can use extra-judicial shaming to deny employment, ruin a business, or overturn an election, then they will have successfully undermined the Bill of Rights without recourse to a legal challenge before the United States Supreme Court.  In their minds, that is the beauty of what they are trying to do.  It is a subversion of the law, and the imposition of punitive sanctions, through the use of fashion and media technology.  Through the use of it, America will no longer be a nation of laws, but rather a nation of fashions, manipulated by a corporate media controlled by the likes of Jared Kushner, the Newhouse brothers, and the corporate racists at Gannett News.  Pleasant thought?

Should the Observer apologize for Wally Edge?

We all remember who the infamous David "Wally Edge" Wildstein turned to when he wanted to grow his blog into something that would land him a gig in the Christie administration.  Old Wally went to the Observer Group and got himself the dough that enabled him to go on to bigger things... like Bridgegate.

Christopher Hetrick, is a "journalist" for what was formerly the House of Wally Edge, and of what remains the House of Jared Kushner.  He writes for that outpost of the Observer Group that is the remnant of what was once Wally's domain.  And, we must say, that he is keeping it in Wally's tradition:  The political drive-by.

Chris Hetrick is currently pushing the line that we no longer have a right to personal privacy.  Hetrick's theory is that our private conversations and private thoughts should be subject to invasion by any old handjob with a recording device.  In Hetrick's world, there should be drones armed with recording devices hovering over our shoulder, ready to capture the slightest "offensive" remark so that he might pontificate over it.

Sounds pretty f**ked up, doesn't it?  Who would want to live in such a world?  Who shares Chris Hetrick's vision? 

Would Chris Hetrick even want to live in his world?  Certainly those we know who have written for PoliticsNJ or PolitickerNJ  or the Observer, certainly none of them would pass muster.  Not a one.  But perhaps Chris is a real convent girl, a virgin whose ears remain untouched by a commonplace like "bitch."

The Observer is only the latest media organ to express mock horror at the word.  Al Doblin of the Gannett organization, fresh from presiding over the execution last week of his remaining workers, dutifully expressed his concerns.  If firing someone from his or her job is the capitalist equivalent of the death penalty, then Al Doblin is Mr. Death Penalty.  He destroys lives with relish.  No wonder he has to reassure himself of his "virtue" by pointing fingers at someone, anyone, else.

On Friday, the Newhouse organization -- who are in a kind of competition with Gannett for workers' lives destroyed -- found just the right tool for a little virtue signaling of their own.  The tool, and we do mean tool, in this case was David "the hand" D'Alessandro.  Yes, they selected a career sportswriter to deliver a moral lecture to a politician.  Talk about clueless. 

If you want to know how media coverage came to resemble the inside of a truck-stop shithouse, look no further than Dave D'Alessandro.  It was the nation's sportswriters who simultaneously dumbed-down and dirtied-up news coverage in America.  They brought in the foul language, the school yard humor, and the scatological references.  When it could have gone either way, they grabbed the America of the 1980's and headed straight down the toilet.  And now one of these dirtbags has the feral balls to complain about a word they sold to us and our children -- a word that they first normalized and then popularized?

Why not?  Like in any good noir novel, this is the last thing you see circling the bowl before it's all finally flushed to hell.

- - -

As a public service, your fellow sinners at Jersey Conservative would like to provide you with some facts that the Observer's Chris Hetrick purposefully suppressed.  That's right, Chris Hetrick was provided with these facts, but either followed orders or took it upon himself to suppress these facts.

FACT #1:  Unlike the Democrat State Senator who called Governor Christie a "prick" or the female Democrat State Senator who said she wanted to see President Trump assassinated, or the female United States Senator who dropped the f-bomb, what happened here was not public.  It was a private conversation between three people after a non-political event.  Private.  Get it? 

FACT #2:  A dirtbag snuck up and taped that private conversation.  He handed the tape over to the political campaign of Kate Matteson & Gina Trish, who reached out to a Trenton media figure and LGBTQRSTXYZ activist to circulate it.  So now that the media has rewarded dirtbag behavior, you can expect more of it.

FACT #3:  Chris Hetrick suppressed the following statement made by Jacqueline Stapel, the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Sussex County: 

"As an individual and a Sussex County resident, I am deeply offended that a private conversation amongst myself, Jennifer Hamilton, and Parker Space was secretly recorded and leaked to the media for cheap political gain.  As an American, I denounce its secret leakage and use by the media and political campaigns because it is undermining everyone’s privacy rights.

With underhanded tactics like this, it is no wonder why Democrats and Republicans have a more difficult time working together for the common good.

Parker Space is my friend.  I may not agree with him on issues, but that does not lead me to hate him.  Unfortunately some people can’t see the difference between disagreement and hate and it is denigrating our political discourse."

Get that Chris Hetrick?  You are not on the side of the angels, you are on the side of the dirtbags.  But hey, you write in Wally's tradition.  Just keeping in real?

- - -

Finally, someone needs to create a Loretta Weinberg Award in honor of the striking levels of hypocrisy achieved by the Senate Democrat Majority Leader.  Maybe we will.

Not content with leaving vulnerable women to die while being guarded by men armed-to-the-teeth, or shilling for a fellow Democrat who exported girls into the United States so that some rich old scumbag could have his way with them, or allowing thousands of children to be lured into sexual slavery because she won't post a bill to stop it -- now she's on her high horse, pontificating once again!  There is no filter on this old gal's mouth -- and that is probably because the media has never called her to account for anything she says.  Still, can this woman be that stupid?  Here is Loretta Weinberg's reaction to a Republican legislator saying the word "bitch" in a private conversation:

"Parker Space’s conduct is absolutely disgusting and his continued presence in the Legislature is an insult to not only every woman who serves in public office, but all of the millions of women in our state.”

Wait a minute... aren't we still waiting for her to demand that Democrat Assemblyman Neil Cohen resign for accessing child pornography from his legislative office?  Heck, that guy has been to jail and out and we are still waiting for Democrat Weinberg to say something.

And we are still waiting for Loretta Weinberg's statement on Democrat Assemblyman Raj Mukerji -- accused of stalking a woman victim and breaking into her home.  The Democrat later pleaded guilty to federal charges in another case, but still no word from Loretta and Assemblyman Mukerji is still in office.

Hey Loretta, if you were really who you have deluded yourself into thinking you are, you would've -- at the very least -- called for them BOTH to resign.  But you won't, because you are just an old hack politician.  No morals, no ethics, no integrity.

And Chris Hetrick... just another handjob enabler.

Matteson & Trish ignore modern slavery, human trafficking

In today's New Jersey Herald, Democrat candidates Matteson & Trish made one of their most foolish arguments to date, claiming that the Hank Williams Jr. band logo was the "most symbolic visual of slavery."  Once again, these argumentative and nit-picky schoolmarms demonstrated their complete lack of understanding and common sense.

Are they really so dense that they do not understand that there are more people in slavery today than at any time in human history?  According to the United Nations and other international agencies, there are upwards of 45 million or more people enslaved today across the world and millions within the United States.

Recently, the Democrats attended a campaign rally at which they displayed a banner with a symbol of that enslavement -- the Islamic crescent -- along with the wiccan symbol signifying the triumph of evil.  Islamists continue to believe in the enslavement of non-Muslims and Islamic countries are among the biggest offenders at turning a blind-eye or even officially condoning slavery.

Legislators like Senator Steve Oroho and Assemblyman Parker Space are leading the fight against modern slavery.  They have proposed the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Act (S-2928/ A-4503).  Senator Oroho is considered a national leader -- up there with Ashton Kutcher -- in the fight against modern slavery.

The most "symbolic visual of slavery" today -- in 2017 -- is probably the flip-flops some appear to like so much, made with slave labor and sold with an enormous mark-up to willing American consumers.  There are a host of products and services that Americans use that depend on enslaved victims.  Then there is the sex trade -- including Internet porn -- that some Americans can't seem to live without.  Look there for slavery today.

Again and again, Matteson and Trish have demonstrated their insensitivity to the real problems of today.  They appear to live exclusively in the bubble of the one-percent and that is a big problem for average working people in Sussex, Warren, and Morris counties.