Democrats claim U.S. Navy SEAL logo a form of “domestic terrorism”.

By Sussex Watchdog

Every now and then a society goes batshit crazy and does something along the order of “The Purge”. It gets scary when the powerful and political get on board to use it for their own purposes.

The Salem witch hunt occurred in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. 30 were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging. One of the accused was pressed to death (rocks were piled on until the ribs pierced the lungs, causing death) after refusing to enter a plea. An unknown number died in jail. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America and is considered one of Colonial America's most notorious cases of public mass hysteria.

Those who spoke out against it, were attacked and imprisoned. The first to do so was a Quaker, Thomas Maule. In 1695, he wrote a book that criticized the handling of the trials by the Puritan leaders. It was Maule who wrote, “It were better that one hundred Witches should live, than that one person be put to death for a witch, which is not a Witch”. For publishing his book, Maule was imprisoned for 12 months.

The evidence used at the trials was all highly subjective. Innocent everyday occurrences were reinterpreted as “signs” and given infamous “meanings”. Based on these applied “meanings” people were deprived of property, freedom, and – eventually – their lives. All because somebody claimed that something meant what they wanted it to mean – regardless of whether it was meant that way or not. The legacy of those accusations left a permanent bloodstain on American history. It is a bloodstain that is being revisited today.

Today, politicians like Josh Gottheimer and Tom Malinowski appear to be lifting a page out of the Salem witch hunt. They openly support censoring alternative opinions, seizing assets and imprisoning people who disagree with them. As an excuse for such severe sanctions, they go through contortions in an effort to label the accused as "extremists" or "terrorists" of "anti-Semitism" or "racism" or "white supremacy". Given the outrageousness of it all, it is the duty of modern-day Thomas Maules to dissent.

Sussex County Democrats Damaris Lira and Camila DiResta (running as a team for County Commissioner) recently put out a video that attempted a witch hunt style smear on a blue-collar CWA union member, a working guy with a modest income, and a clean record. After bringing in a team of Murphy-backed professional dirt-diggers to review everything this CWA member ever posted on social media, they came up with a T-shirt with a logo they didn’t understand. In their fevered minds (modern-day Puritan mass hysteria?) it had to stand for “domestic terrorism” when, in fact, it was the logo used by Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

Christopher Scott Kyle was a United States Navy SEAL sniper. He served four tours in the Iraq War and was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat. He has over 150 confirmed kills and was awarded the Silver Star, four Bronze Star Medals with "V" devices for valor, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with "V" device, as well as numerous other unit and personal awards. Kyle was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2009, and published his bestselling autobiography, American Sniper, in 2012. An eponymous film adaptation of Kyle's book, directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Bradley Cooper as Kyle, was released two years later. (Wikipedia)

The Sussex County Democrats tried this before. In 2017, Sparta’s own Kate Mateson led the charge attacking a GOP Assemblyman and his wife for attending a Country Western concert and having their photo snapped under the band’s banner. The band was thoroughly mainstream – Hank Williams Jr., as a matter of fact. But the Sussex Democrats claimed the flag was a Confederate Battle Flag – and went batshit over it and called for the Assemblyman to resign. The Sussex County Watchdog offered them $1,000 hard cash if they could produce a photograph of a Confederate army unit marching under a Hank Williams Jr. band banner (the Civil War was heavily photographed) but until this day, no Sussex County Democrat has ever come forward to collect.

That’s obviously all forgotten now, because Democrat Congressman Josh Gottheimer recently asked the GOP couple to attend one of the Congressman’s own telephone townhall events. The GOP Assemblyman’s wife, now an elected official herself, was asked by the Congressman to give the flag salute, while the GOP Assemblyman helped the Congressman with questions he didn’t understand about agriculture. From calls to resign to bi-partisan collaboration… it makes us wonder if the Dems didn’t know all that “Confederate flag” stuff was all bullshit in the first place.

We notice that whenever he gets caught in some hypocrisy or in an outright lie, Congressman Josh Gottheimer tries to deflect criticism by accusing those who disagree with him of something terrible. It’s a trick he is said to have picked-up from his former boss, Bill Clinton, who trashed the reputations of the women he forced himself upon.

Earlier this year, the New Jersey Globe reported on an instance when this routine badly backfired on Gottheimer:

Assembly Speaker Pro-Tempore Gordon Johnson has asked the Bergen County Prosecutor to investigate a September 2021 incident where a protestor allegedly screamed “Jew” at Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) as a possible hate crime.

But even before the NJ Globe reported on it, Progressive journalists like Ryan Grim had dismantled Gottheimer’s allegations:

JOSH GOTTHEIMER’S WILD CLAIMS IN RUTGERS SPEECH ARE FALLING APART The New Jersey Democrat claimed that a protester screamed “Jew!” at him and that Jamal Khashoggi’s organization has links to Al Qaeda.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER, a New Jersey Democrat, attacked the organization founded by Jamal Khashoggi on Monday as linked to Al Qaeda, echoing allegations that Saudi officials have leveled to muddy the waters around the state-sanctioned butchering of the Washington Post journalist.

In a speech at Rutgers University… Gottheimer said. “Hamas sympathizers, or others with ties to other terrorist organizations involved in 9/11, have no place on college campuses. Associates of Palestinian Islamic jihad have no place on this college campus. I know we all believe that hate has no home here. It’s time we all practice what we preach.”

Read Ryan Grim’s entire column here:

https://theintercept.com/2021/12/16/josh-gottheimer-antisemitism-khashoggi-al-qaeda-rutgers/

For a rational discussion on how the game of “linking” people to “terrorists” is played, watch this video from The Hill/ Rising…

Who is Ryan Grim?

Ryan W. Grim (born March 23, 1978) is an American author and journalist. Grim was Washington, D.C. bureau chief for HuffPost and is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept. He is also a political commentator for The Young Turks and appears frequently on The Majority Report with Sam Seder. His writings have appeared in several publications, including Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, and Politico. He is the author of This Is Your Country on Drugs and We've Got People. He cofounded Strong Arm Press, an independent progressive publishing house. Grim and The Federalist editor Emily Jashinsky were the regular Friday hosts of Rising. They resigned in September 2022 and joined Breaking Points, where they host Counterpoints on Fridays.

Ryan Grim is certainly no right-winger.

Is new Gottheimer campaign commercial a “hate crime”?

By Rubashov

Whenever he gets caught in some hypocrisy or in an outright lie, Congressman Josh Gottheimer tries to deflect criticism from average folks by accusing them of something terrible. It’s a trick Gottheimer picked-up from his former boss, Bill Clinton, who trashed the reputations of the women he forced himself upon.

Gottheimer calls his Right-of-Center critics “extremists” and accuses his Left-of-Center critics of “anti-Semitism”. It seems he has a pejorative for everyone.

Think back to January of this year, when he tried to pin the “anti-Semitism” label on the Left-of-Center Working Families Party. The New Jersey Globe reported it:

Assembly Speaker Pro-Tempore Gordon Johnson has asked the Bergen County Prosecutor to investigate a September 2021 incident where a protestor allegedly screamed “Jew” at Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) as a possible hate crime.

In a speech at Rutgers University last month, Gottheimer claimed that a member of the Working Families Party hurled the anti-Semitic slur at him at a Glen Rock event with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Raimundo is backing up Gottheimer’s allegation.

Working Families state director Sue Altman said last month that her group reviewed footage from the protest and interviewed several participants.

“To be absolutely clear, if that ever happened at a WFP event, the person would have been rebuked instantly and asked to leave,” Altman said. “However, we do not believe Gottheimer’s explosive allegation ever occurred.”

Johnson wants the organization to dig deeper.

Well, the Times of Israel published a piece that dug so deep it got to the bottom of this so-called “hate crime”. It is written by Dr. Russell Miller, a research psychologist at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and adjunct assistant professor of Children and Youth Studies at Brooklyn College.

Dr. Miller is also a journalist who has published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, New York, Ha'aretz, and Corriere della Sera. Dr. Miller’s column is titled: “I called Josh Gottheimer a Jew – it wasn’t a slur.” Dr. Miller’s column begins:

A couple of weeks ago, David-Seth Kirshner, the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, in Closter, New Jersey published a commentary here on the indisputable truth that even among the most well-meaning, compassionate, and socially engaged, there can be people who hate. His impetus? The charge by US Congressman. Josh Gottheimer that a progressive adversary, the Working Families Party, is sheltering an antisemite.

The piece rehashed Rep. Gottheimer’s claim that at a rally in September in support of “Build Back Better,” President Biden’s social services bill, a WFP member attacked the “reputable and respected Congressman” with the Jew-hating epithet “Jew.”

There’s only one problem. The claim is patently false – and Gottheimer almost certainly has to know that. Anyone following this phony blood libel would know it’s false. And how am I so certain it’s false? I’m the “attacker.”

The first time Gottheimer mentioned the supposed antisemitic attack was on December 13 at Rutgers University, three months after the fact. Since then, he’s speechified, fundraised and called in chits around the WFP’s alleged antisemitism. The US Secretary of Commerce signed on. A New Jersey state senator demanded a hate-crime investigation. The ADL announced, “we take him at his word.” Rabbi Kirshner came forward as character witness.

Meanwhile, the WFP scoured its ranks to find the offender. I was late to hear of this; I’m not a member. But as soon as I did, I contacted a reporter and “confessed” on a national podcast. That was four days before Rabbi Kirshner’s indictment of the WFP.

As I told that reporter, like Josh Gottheimer, I’m a Democrat and, as my grandmother would say, oich a yid – also a Jew. Gottheimer has to have known this all along. Rabbi Kirshner may not have, because the Congressman conveniently neglects to report the full sentence I spoke last September — at precisely the place and time he’s vouched the slur was slung. The moment was heated, so my reconstruction of the syntax may be off, but it was something like, “Josh, as a Jew, it’s a shanda that you’re blocking Build Back Better.”

That’s right, “a shanda,” as generations of Ashkenazic Jews have cried in Yiddish: A disgrace. That’s not Jew hating. That’s Jewish shaming. That was one Jew addressing another in a time-honored voice.

If Gottheimer heard “Jew,” he would have almost certainly heard “shanda.” If he heard “shanda,” he would have certainly known his attacker was anything but antisemitic.

Now, the record does show Gottheimer has memory issues. At Rutgers, he claimed several of us were jeering “Jew!” Subsequently, he revised his recollection to one. As a research psychologist, I can understand how, hit where it hurts, his mind might have reframed the scene. I can only assume my podcast appearance jogged his memory since his office has since refused comment. Meanwhile, it appears he’s buying Facebook ads to keep Rabbi Kirshner’s condemnation afloat.

As for the rabbi, in the worrisome week after Colleyville, he might well have missed my interview and subsequent coverage in the Jewish press. Odds are Gottheimer’s team, busy fibbing on Facebook, failed to brief him on my clarification, which surely would have brought him relief.

But by the time his piece went public, no informed observer could believe the Working Families Party, or even a stray antisemite, was the source of the telltale monosyllable.

You can access the entire column at the Times of Israel:

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/i-called-josh-gottheimer-a-jew-it-wasnt-a-slur/

Note how Gottheimer’s team appears to willfully misrepresent what was actually said in an effort to label someone “anti-Semitic”. As we will see, it works the same when Gottheimer is trying to label someone an “extremist”.

Gottheimer calls his Right-of-Center critics “extremists” and accuses his Left-of-Center critics of “anti-Semitism”. It seems he has a pejorative for everyone.

In Gottheimer’s latest campaign commercial, his team tries to label Frank Pallotta an "extremist" by using a quote he made in August of 2020 about the Oath Keepers group and then applying it to the actions of that group on January 6, 2021. Using this same tactic, would it be okay to apply the positive things many elected officials said about Democrat consutant Sean Caddle, as if is was commentary on him after he admitted to having someone murdered? Using the Gottheimer rule, it would be okay. So, maybe they will.

The Gottheimer team then claimed that GOP challenger Frank Pallotta used the term “manslaughter” to describe all abortion – when, in fact, Pallotta was describing the late-term, day-of-birth abortion laws supported by Gottheimer and signed into law in New Jersey by Governor Phil Murphy. Here is the exact statement, made by Pallotta, that the Gottheimer team used for their commercial:

“Advances in modern medical science expanded fetal viability even as politicians like Josh Gottheimer ignored science and pushed for laws that went in the opposite direction and essentially legalized manslaughter.

Roe v. Wade was founded on language that was nowhere in the Constitution, and it featured the usurpation of the elected legislatures' role in determining public policy by the unelected judiciary. We now have the opportunity for real bipartisan reform on the laws that regulate abortion. An opportunity to follow medical science in drafting those reforms.

Instead of following medical science, Congressman Gottheimer and his allies have pursued a wholly ideological agenda of more and more extreme abortion laws - including partial-birth abortion and abortion for any reason up until the moment of birth.”

Of course, Gottheimer and his campaign team are lying because they know that “partial-birth abortion and abortion for any reason up until the moment of birth” are unpopular and do not poll very well.

But the real shocker in the commercial is the Gottheimer team’s use of anti-Italian stereotypes in an attempt to conjure up the image of a Mafia crime figure. Darkening Pallotta’s image and using a photograph in which he is wearing dark glasses? We would object just as sternly if somebody used a photograph of a Jewish candidate wearing a yarmulke.

Remember how the state’s Democrats complained and hurled accusations of “hate” when then congressional challenger Andy Kim was stereotyped using the image of fish and a font associated with Asian restaurants? Would these Democrats have us believe that Italian-Americans are less worthy of their support?

So, is this commercial – paid for by Josh Gottheimer’s campaign and approved by him – a "hate crime"? Or is it simply a matter of poor judgment and poor taste?

Rasmussen: Half of all Likely Voters Approve decision to dump Roe

By Rubashov

A fresh poll out Tuesday reports that “even though more voters identify as pro-choice than pro-life, fully half of them approve of the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.” That’s remarkable.

The poll – a Rasmussen national telephone and online survey – finds that 50 percent of likely voters in the United States approve of the Supreme Court abortion ruling, including 38 percent who strongly approve of the decision. 45 percent disapprove of the Supreme Court’s ruling, including 38 percent who strongly disapprove. The ruling allows each state to determine its own laws regarding abortion.

The poll asked three questions:

1) Generally speaking, on the issue of abortion, do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?

2) The Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, so that each state can now determine its own laws regarding abortion. Do you approve or disapprove of the court overturning Roe v. Wade?

3) How important will the issue of abortion rights be in this year's congressional elections?

Among Republican voters, 75 percent approve of the Supreme Court’s decision while just 20 percent disapprove. 71 percent of Democrats disapprove of the ruling, but 25 percent approve. Voters not affiliated with either major party are more closely divided, with 53 percent approving the court’s decision and 42 percent disapproving.

52 percent of voters self-identify as generally pro-choice on the issue of abortion, while 41 percent view themselves as pro-life. 78 percent of pro-choice voters disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision, while 88 percent of pro-life voters approve of the ruling.

Voters overwhelmingly believe the abortion issue will matter in November. 75 percent expect abortion to be an important issue in this year's congressional elections, including 54 percent who think it will be very important. Only 22 percent of voters don’t believe abortion will be important in the fall midterm elections.

72 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans, and 47 percent of unaffiliated voters say abortion will be a very important issue in this year's congressional elections. 74 percent of voters who self-identify as pro-choice, compared with 33 percent of those who say they are pro-life, expect abortion to be a very important issue.

More women voters (55 percent) than men (49 percent) self-identify as pro-choice, and more women voters (59 percent) than men (48 percent) believe the abortion issue will be very important in this year’s congressional elections.

With inflation at its highest for nearly 50 years and a recession looming, economic issues are the most important to American voters. And with nothing much to commend themselves, incumbent Democrats like Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) have jumped on the abortion issue in an attempt to rally their base.

And this is where the lies begin.

In a fundraising appeal emailed on Monday, Gottheimer’s campaign wrote: “And after last week’s devastating SCOTUS opinion on Roe v. Wade – Pallotta DOUBLED DOWN in his extremism. Pallotta went as far as to call choice…manslaughter.”

Actually, Frank Pallotta was making an important point about the abortion debate: The reason why so many self-described “pro-choice” voters support the Supreme Court’s decision is because the leaders of the pro-choice movement have turned the moderate “safe and rare” mantra of the Clinton years into a quasi-religious cult that celebrates abortion up to and including the day of birth.

The pro-choice cause was more convincing back when it followed medical science and provided women with an escape hatch, while recognizing the medical facts regarding the viability of the fetus. Arguably, this was a balanced, rational approach that rejected faith-based assertions about the “sanctity of life”. When someone believes life begins is very different from when medical science maintains it is viable.

But then “pro-choice” radicals took control of the debate away from moderates like former President Bill Clinton. For folks like Chelsea Handler, abortion became a kind of holy sacrament, and it got nuts. Now it was the “pro-choice” folks who were advancing a faith-based mantra and rejecting medical science. Guys like Josh Gottheimer, trying to stay one-step ahead of a primary, got caught up in the wave and started voting that way.

Before labeling Frank Pallotta an “extremist” on abortion, the Gottheimer crew might want to remember the company he’s keeping. Like… go try and have a day-of-birth abortion in Israel and see what happens.

In Israel, a woman must go before a “termination committee” made up of two licensed physicians and a social worker to receive permission to get an abortion. No surprise then that the rate of abortion in Israel is much lower than in the United States. According to Wikipedia:

“There are 41 termination committees operating in public or private hospitals across Israel. These committees consist of three members, two of which are licensed physicians, and one a social worker. Of the two physicians, one must be a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, and the other one either OB/GYN, internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, or public health. At least one member must be a woman. Six separate committees consider abortion requests when the fetus is beyond 24 weeks old.”

In France, abortion on demand is legal during the first 14 weeks from conception. Abortions at later stages of pregnancy are only allowed if two physicians certify that the abortion will be done “to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; a risk to the life of the pregnant woman; or that the child will suffer from a particularly severe illness recognized as incurable.”

In Argentina abortion is legal on demand in the first 14 weeks of gestation. Wikipedia notes: “The abortion law was liberalized after the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Argentina) was passed by the National Congress in December 2020. According to the law, any woman can request the procedure at any public or private health facility. Doctors are legally bound to either perform it or, if they are conscientious objectors, refer the patient to another physician or health facility. Only four other Latin or South American countries have legalized abortion on request: Cuba in 1965, Guyana in 1995, Uruguay in 2012 and Colombia in 2022. According to polling in 2021, around 44% of Argentinians support the legalization of abortion on request; other polls showed 50–60% of Argentinians opposed the bill.”

Abortion in Australia mirrors what we might see here soon. Wikipedia writes: “It has been fully decriminalized in all jurisdictions, starting with Western Australia in 1998 and lastly in South Australia in 2021. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 16 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, although with no limit on gestational term in the Australian Capital Territory. Later term abortions generally require the approval of two doctors, though are heavily restricted in Western Australia after 20 weeks.”

Abortion in South Africa is legal on request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and under certain conditions afterwards. “A woman of any age can get an abortion on request with no reasons given if she is less than 12 weeks pregnant. If she is between 13 and 20 weeks pregnant, she can get the abortion if (a) her own physical or mental health is at stake, (b) the baby will have severe mental or physical abnormalities, (c) she is pregnant because of incest, (d) she is pregnant because of rape, or (e) she is of the personal opinion that her economic or social situation is sufficient reason for the termination of pregnancy. If she is more than 20 weeks pregnant, she can get the abortion only if her or the fetus' life is in danger or there are likely to be serious birth defects.”

In October 2021, new rules came into effect in India governing abortions. The gestation period for terminating a pregnancy with 1 doctor's opinion was extended from 12 weeks to 20 weeks, with the rule being expanded to include unmarried women. For termination of pregnancy with 2 doctors' opinions it was extended from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for the following special categories: survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest, minors, change of marital status during the pregnancy (widowhood and divorce), women with physical disabilities, mentally ill women, the fetal anomalies that have substantial risk of being incompatible with life or if the child is born it may suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped, women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency. A medical board determines requests for termination of a pregnancy longer than 24 weeks in the cases of fetal anomalies. The board examines the woman and her reports and approves or denies the request within 3 days.

In Ukraine, abortion is legal on request only during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Between 12 and 28 weeks, abortion is available on a variety of grounds, with the approval of a board of physicians. That’s up to 28 weeks – not 40 weeks!

About the only countries that would agree with the Gottheimer campaign’s assessment of Frank Pallotta are North Korea and Red China. Hey Josh, looks like you need to be more careful with the company you keep. You sound kind of, well, extremist.

Pro-abortion Bob Hugin takes sides in CD05. NJGOP backs DeGregorio.

By Rubashov

The NJGOP of Chairman Bob Hugin stepped into the GOP congressional primary in CD05 today. NJGOP executive director Tom Szymanski used the venue of Fox News no less to throw the NJGOP’s weight behind unfounded allegations that 2020 Republican nominee Frank Pallotta is the beneficiary of mailings from the campaign of Democrat Congressman Josh Gottheimer that attack Pallotta.

In a statement to Fox News, the NJGOP executive director said:

“The fact that Josh Gottheimer feels the need to spend tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, to try putting his thumb on the scale of the opposing party’s primary speaks volumes about how desperate he is given his track record of loyally supporting Joe Biden’s anti-energy and inflationary spending policies… No amount of meddling or money spent will save Gottheimer from the voters this November.”

Pallotta’s opponent in the GOP primary – newcomer Nick DeGregorio – has been pushing a line that suggests collusion between Republican Pallotta and Democrat Gottheimer but has offered no evidence.

Nick DeGregorio and NJGOP Chairman Bob Hugin share the same consultant, Checkmate Strategies’ Chris Russell. Tom Szymanski managed a congressional race in New York for Checkmate and Russell.

Both DeGregorio and Hugin come from the Pro-abortion wing of the Republican Party.

Hugin and DeGregorio share political consultants. The NJGOP's Szymanski worked for the same consultant.

Is Save Jersey’s Matt Rooney rewarding the candidate who pays him?

By Rubashov

In the 2021 Republican gubernatorial primary, Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign team did everything they could to make sure their candidate faced more than one traditional conservative in the primary. It was a good thing for Jack that they did, because Ciattarelli didn’t get a majority of the Republican votes in the primary. The majority was split between two traditional conservatives: Pastor Phil Rizzo and Hirsh Singh.

When they are able to, candidates always attempt to set the table in a way that best suits them and provides an advantage. It is usual and customary, as Congressional candidate Nick DeGregorio’s campaign team knows firsthand.

That hasn’t stopped said campaign from crying foul over a mailer sent out by the campaign of Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-05). DeGregorio’s campaign has invested heavily in paid advertising on the Save Jersey news blog, so it was no surprise to anyone that the blog’s editor/owner – the guy cashing those checks – was open to doing a hit on behalf of DeGregorio.

We’re not kidding about those advertisements. DeGregorio ads are all over Save Jersey. You can’t read a page of Save Jersey without needing to make your eyes jump over intrusive campaign ads stuck in the middle of columns to break up the flow. And it’s not just Nick. Other ads are there, all strangely the same, only the candidates’ pictures change – all posed like people who think they’re pretty. Very pretty.

Now are you ready for that hit? Here it comes…

Is Gottheimer opening his war chest to select his own GOP opponent?
May 7, 2022 - Matt Rooney
The GOP’s 2020 NJ-05 nominee (Frank Pallotta) is taking another bite at the apple in 2022, but despite having already done this once before, his fundraising has been abysmal. At the end of Q1, he had a little more than $80,000 cash on hand.
Three-term Democrat incumbent Josh Gottheimer had $13 million.
So it hardly needs to be said that eyebrows were raised this weekend when Republican voters opened their rain-soaked mailboxes and found a Gottheimer campaign mailer (see below) attacking Pallotta, declaring that the under-funded Pallotta is “too much like Trump” and citing a no-longer-current 2020 endorsement from the former president. Why would a Democrat want to tell Republican primary voters (who generally like President Trump) that his opponent is too Trumpy?
Is Gottheimer really opening up his ample war chest to soften up a possible November rival who doesn’t have the cash to respond?
Or is the Democrat congressman trying to “help” Republicans pick the candidate he prefers to face in November?

Of course, candidate Nick DeGregorio has an idea about what’s going on, and what with all those ads his campaign is paying for, Save Jersey is more than happy to turn the floor over to Nick – unquestioned and unabated:

“It is clear who Josh Gottheimer wants to win this Republican primary – and it’s not the guy who served his country in four tours overseas and is now calling on him and others to sell off their stock portfolios to clean up Washington,” said De Gregorio in a statement shared with Save Jersey.

Hold on there! Nick, we’re all very grateful for your service, but do you really have to use it so much? Are you the sort of guy who will buy his wife a bouquet of flowers tomorrow and then remind her about it for the next year? We don’t think so. We think you are better than that.

Most veterans we know – especially those who have seen combat – don’t like to go on and on about it. Hey, everyone is different. Maybe you find it cathartic to talk about your experiences. You have certainly made it the centerpiece of your campaign. Then again… maybe it’s not you. Maybe it’s your campaign – and the folks running your campaign have not served – so maybe they are doing a disservice to you? Just a thought.

“For years, Democrats like Josh Gottheimer talked ad nauseam about Russian interference in our elections. Now Josh, who consistently presents himself as a bipartisan, common sense Democrat who’s above the fray, is using liberal special interest money to wage his own Putin-style disinformation campaign to confuse Republican primary voters about who the true conservative leader in this race is. It’s dead wrong — and if Josh is the statesman he claims to be, he will immediately stop any spending in the CD5 Republican primary.”

“A Putin-style disinformation campaign”? In exactly what way, Nick? And why didn’t you ask that question, Matt?

And as for labeling yourself, “the true conservative leader” – Nick buddy, you were a no-show and totally dissed the state’s conservative leaders – grassroots activists, Second Amendment leaders, people like Steve Lonegan and Right-to-Life’s Marie Tasy – and in contrast came running when Pro-abortion leaders wanted you at an event.

Nick, until you take on the simple challenge of filling out the New Jersey Right to Life and National Rifle Association questionnaires, can you really, in all seriousness call yourself a “conservative”? Right now, at this moment, you’re an unknown when it comes to your position on many important issues. And that is why we are skeptical of you. Sorry, buddy.

“I also call on my opponent, Frank Pallotta, to immediately disavow Gottheimer’s attempt to put his thumb on the scale in this race.”

Nick, to disavow something is to “deny any responsibility or support for it”. That’s the definition. Why would anyone need to disavow something unless responsible in the first place? Nick, do you go about disavowing every crime that takes place in your neighborhood? Nick, are you disavowing the allegations of anti-Asian nonsense by a candidate on your ticket? Or the alleged anti-Asian campaign mailers your consultants cooked-up? Of course not, why would you?

Nick, are you are accusing both Congressman Gottheimer and your fellow Republican of a crime – because if your fellow Republican needed to disavow something, it would be because a federal crime had been committed. Is that what you are doing Nick? And you, Mr. Attorney/ Editor/ Owner, are you riding that horse too?

Nick, the only “thumb on the scale” in this race is the county party lines that are illegal everywhere else in America. The idea that any party organization gets to corrupt the official taxpayer-paid-for ballot by structuring that ballot by presenting a list of party “approved” candidates is Soviet in nature and would not be allowed in any United Nations sponsored election anywhere in the world. Nick, that’s Soviet, as in there’s your Russian connection for you.

Heck Nick, your current supporters appear to have tried to sell the line to your opponent – before you eventually got it. And why didn’t Matt cover that? Not cool to speak ill of another attorney?

Why didn't Save Jersey cover this?

Will Save Jersey disavow this??? LOL

Some possible explanations that should be explored by Save Jersey...

(1) Polling. This was a three-way primary until recently. A poll commissioned by one of those three candidates provided results that might account for why this is now a two-way primary:

IF THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY ELECTION FOR CONGRESS WERE HELD TODAY, FOR WHOM WOULD YOU VOTE?

FRANK PALLOTTA
Definitely 19.0
Probably 7.0

NICK DEGREGORIO
Definitely 8.0
Probably 2.5

FRED SCHNEIDERMAN
Definitely 2.0
Probably 1.2

Would it be unheard of to attack the candidate leading in the polls?

(2) Historically, Frank Pallotta is a self-funder. Congressman Gottheimer is aware of this, as is Nick DeGregorio’s campaign team. DeGregorio’s lead campaign consultant was Frank Pallotta’s lead consultant – not in the primary – but in his loss to Congressman Gottheimer. Might this be an attempt by Gottheimer to give Pallotta a taste of what’s to come, thereby inducing him to forgo a substantial investment?

For while Nick has shown some prowess as a fundraiser. To date, his fundraising would be more impressive in the context of a legislative race – not a race against someone with the resources of a Josh Gottheimer.

Frank Pallotta has never been a good fundraiser. But he’s been a good check-writer. And he does have the potential to drop a million dollars or more into this race. Perhaps that is the point of Gottheimer’s mailer?

We don’t know. Neither does Matt Rooney. So shame on him for suggesting something illegal. Frank Pallotta has done nothing to deserve such a disservice (unless you view not hiring the “right” consultant a capital offense).

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell

Murphy wants to make CAIR’s Chair a Judge. What did the ADL say about CAIR?

By Rubashov

When it writes about “white nationalism” or “white supremacists” the establishment media, the Murphy administration, and prominent Democrat politicians all rely on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for “expert testimony” – with the ADL providing statistics and background information on various groups and their leaders. For example, Andrew Campi of Governor Phil Murphy’s Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) recently joined Oren Segal of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ05) in hosting a virtual forum on battling "extremism, hate, and homegrown lone-wolf terrorism."

A press release put out by Congressman Gottheimer’s office noted: “Gottheimer has helped lead several key initiatives to combat homegrown lone-wolf terrorism, QAnon, extremism, Foreign Terrorist Organizations online, and to maintain election security.”

On Monday, Governor Murphy nominated a number of individuals to become judges on New Jersey’s Superior Court. New Jersey Globe, covered the story and highlighted one of the Superior Court Judges-to-be:

“Nadia Kahf practices immigration law in Haledon and would sit in Passaic County. She is the chairwoman of CAIR-NJ board, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, and has served on the board since 2003. She is the legal advisor to Wafa House, a Passaic County-based non-profit domestic violence agency.”

We wondered if anyone at the Murphy administration has read what the ADL has to say about CAIR. So, we looked and found a rather thorough article on the ADL website, complete with 68 footnotes detailing the sources that went into writing it. Below are the highlights, as they relate to the appointment of CAIR-NJ Board Chairwoman Kahf, as well as a link to the article itself (and the footnotes), so that anyone might read it and form their own conclusions:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Washington D.C.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with 28 independent chapters around the country. Since its founding in 1994, CAIR has sought to position itself as the leading American Muslim civil rights organization. In recent years, much of its activity has centered on responding to the proliferation of anti-Muslim incidents and sentiment expressed nationwide.

Some of CAIR’s current leadership had early connections with organizations that are or were affiliated with Hamas. Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States and is also viewed by the EU as a global terrorist organization.[1]

In addition, some of CAIR’s leadership have used inflammatory anti-Zionist rhetoric that on a number of occasions has veered into antisemitic tropes related to Jewish influence over the media or political affairs, or has descended into the vilification of Zionists, which includes the majority of American Jews, who view a connection with Israel as a component of their Jewish identity.[2] ADL defines Zionism[3] as the movement for statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.

…Although its main organizational mission is upholding the rights of Muslims in the United States, CAIR also comments on international issues, with a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Key CAIR leaders have frequently expressed vociferous opposition to Israel and Zionism, claiming at times that Zionism and Zionists are fundamentally racist.

Antipathy towards Israel has been a CAIR staple since the group was founded in 1994 by several leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a now defunct organization that was once described by the U.S. government as part of “Hamas’ propaganda apparatus.” Nihad Awad, who was IAP’s Public Relations Director, became CAIR’s first Executive Director, a position he retains today.[4] IAP was active in the U.S. from 1981 until about 2004, and categorically rejected a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, writing in a December 1989 communique: “The only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine, is the path of Jihad…Hamas is the conscience of the Palestinian Mujahid people.”[5] In 1987, immediately following the establishment of Hamas, IAP began to print and distribute Hamas literature, including Hamas communiqués and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

One of the founding board members of CAIR’s Dallas office, Ghassan Elashi, was linked to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), a Texas-based charity that, according to the U.S. government, became the chief fundraising arm for the Palestine Committee in the U.S. The Palestine Committee was created by Hamas’s parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, to support Hamas. Both HLF and CAIR were members of the Palestine Committee. In 2008, HLF’s five founding officers were convicted on more than 100 criminal counts and sentenced in May 2009 to between 15 and 65 years in federal prison for financing terrorism by funneling more than $12 million to Hamas.[6] According to news reports, evidence presented at the Holy Land Foundation trial demonstrated that other CAIR leaders were also linked to HLF and Hamas activity in the U.S.[7] As noted above and according to the trial testimony, the Palestine Committee was a U.S. wing of Hamas’ parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Palestine Committee was headed by Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook,[8] who since 1995 had been designated by the U.S. government as a Specially Designated Terrorist.[9]

Throughout the HLF trial, CAIR organized support for the defendants and joined several other organizations, including the Muslim American Society, to form the “Hungry for Justice” coalition to support HLF.[10] Two CAIR leaders acted as media contacts, while Khalil Meek of CAIR’s Dallas chapter served as the coalition’s primary spokesperson. He described an earlier, related case in the prosecution of HLF as an “Israeli trial tried on American soil.”[11]

CAIR was included on a 2007 Department of Justice list of nearly 250 “unindicted co-conspirators” in the HLF case. A federal appeals court subsequently ruled that the government had been wrong to publicly identify CAIR and others on that list and that the list should be sealed.[12] CAIR’s name remains on the list.

In response to CAIR’s involvement with the Holy Land Foundation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation distanced itself from the organization. In the past, the FBI had interacted with CAIR representatives regarding community outreach activities, civil rights complaints and criminal investigations. However, in 2008, the FBI issued an instruction to its field offices that they should sharply curtail “non-investigative interactions” with CAIR.[13] This instruction was elucidated in an April 2009 letter to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, in which the FBI explained that it would cease to liaise with CAIR “until [they] resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and Hamas.”[14] To our knowledge as of this writing, the FBI has not retracted this protocol.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad’s repeated statements in support of Hamas also loom over the organization. Awad is quoted as saying during a March 1994 panel discussion at Barry University in Florida (prior to his involvement with CAIR) that “after I researched the situation inside Palestine and outside, I am in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO.”[15] In its defense, CAIR notes that Awad’s statement was made “before CAIR was formed,” and that “Hamas did not commit its first suicide bombing until October 1994.”[16] In 2000, when he was asked about Hamas during an Al-Jazeera interview, Awad refused to condemn what had clearly become a terrorist organization. “We do not condemn, and we will not condemn any liberation movement inside Palestine or inside Lebanon,” Awad said.[17] CAIR has countered by noting that in 2006 Awad stated that he “[does] not support Hamas today.”

Awad also appeared at a rally convened in April 2002 next to antisemitic Imam Abdul Alim Musa, the founder of the extremist group Sabiqun. Among other virulently antisemitic statements, Musa has claimed that the Jews ran the slave trade; that, compared to the what had been done to Native Americans and African Americans the Holocaust was “small potatoes;” that Jews are the enemy of humanity; that Jews control America and that Jews have manipulated Arab leaders into being drunk, broke and engaged in internecine warfare.[18] In the photo below, Nihad Awad is shown next to Musa, delivering a speech under a Hezbollah flag.

More recently, CAIR has supported and advocated for Rasmea Odeh, who was convicted by an Israeli court in 1970 for her role in a 1969 bombing of a supermarket that killed two Israeli students, and who was later released as part of a prisoner exchange. As a member of the Rasmea Defense Committee, both of CAIR’s Midwest chapters (Chicago and Michigan) support the idea that Odeh “is a leading member of Chicago’s Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities,” and that she “is a community icon who overcame vicious torture by Israeli authorities…and an example for the millions of Palestinians who have not given up organizing for their rights of liberation, equality, and return.”[19] The Rasmea Defense Committee was active up until September 2017, when Odeh was deported to Jordan.

Although CAIR does not appear to endorse the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as an official policy, CAIR frequently tweets in support of BDS campaigns[20] including academic and cultural boycotts of Israel. In April 2020, they joined American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) in calling for a boycott of Israeli dates. CAIR has a close relationship with other pro-BDS, anti-Zionist and anti-Israel groups like JVP and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Moreover, some of CAIR’s leadership, including Zahra Billoo, Hussam Ayloush and Imraan Siddiqi, have been particularly outspoken in support of BDS.

CAIR’s Executive Director Nihad Awad has made numerous anti-Israel comments, some of which have played into conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the media or U.S. government. During a May 2021 CAIR webinar, Awad stated that “the mainstream media had monopoly over the talking points – [parroted from] the pro-Israel organizations.”[21] In 2014, he claimed that Israel “is the biggest threat to world peace and security.”[22]

At an August 2014 anti-Israel rally in Washington D.C., Awad endorsed a view he attributed to Latin American countries, that Israel is a “terrorist state” because allegedly its official policy is to target innocent civilians and has also said that AIPAC did not promote American values but was a foreign lobby that controls the U.S. Congress. He told the audience “Do not accept Israeli talking points. AIPAC should have its hand off the United States Congress. They have corrupted our foreign policy; they have corrupted our political leaders.”[23] In July 2014, Awad had similarly tweeted: “Israel lobby has corrupted American politicians by skewing US foreign policy to support killing of civilian population in #Gaza…”[24] Also that month, he alleged U.S. policy toward the Palestinians was “driven by the Israel lobby.”[25]

(N.B.: The following is noteworthy, because it concerns the Executive Director of CAIR-NJ who works under the direction of CAIR-NJ Chairwoman Nadia Kahf…)

Salaedin Maksut, Executive Director of CAIR-NJ, has demonized Zionism and Zionists on several occasions. In an October 31, 2021, post on Facebook, Maksut referred to Zionism and “other racist and oppressive ideologies.”[51] On May 10, 2021, he tweeted: “Israel is a state based on a racist doctrine. Zionism is racism, pure and simple.”[52]

At an anti-Israel rally on May 11, 2021, Maksut played into antisemitic themes about Jewish power and culpability for racism in the United States, remarking to attendees: [53]

“We have to realize that the same foot and the same knee that is choking the Palestinian people is the same foot and the same knee that is choking the Black and Brown people in this country. The powers that are funding the oppression of the Palestinian people are the same powers that are funding the oppression of minority groups in this country. It is the same money. They are cutting the same checks. They are the same people. They are sitting in the same offices of government.”

He concluded with the chant: “Zionism is racism.” Whatever his intent, altogether such rhetoric can be interpreted as suggesting that pro-Israel and Zionist Americans, and by extension the mainstream Jewish community, is the primary cause of racist oppression and brutality in the United States.

Maksut made similar remarks at a rally in July 2020. [54] Faced with criticism, he doubled down in a tweet: “I stand by what I said. ‘In order to defeat this evil that is Zionism, we must realize that the foot on the necks of the Black and Brown people of this nation is the same foot and the same knee that is choking the Palestinian people....’” [55]

…CAIR is closely connected to American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students and Muslim community organizations around the country. AMP promotes extreme anti-Israel views and at times has provided a platform for antisemitism under the guise of educating Americans about “the just cause of Palestine and the rights of self-determination.”[62] In 2017, Nihad Awad spoke at AMP’s 10th annual conference.

In October 2021, CAIR-Minnesota hosted AMP Chairman, Students for Justice in Palestine co-founder and UC Berkeley lecturer Hatem Bazian for their annual “Challenging Islamophobia” conference.[63] In October 2018, CAIR hosted Bazian at its National Leadership and Policy Conference.[64] On several occasions, Bazian’s claims about Israel have straddled the line between antisemitism and anti-Israel activism. In July 2017, Bazian retweeted an antisemitic post that included an image of man dressed in distinctive Orthodox garments, reading: “MOM LOOK! I IS CHOSEN! I CAN NOW KILL, RAPE, SMUGGLE ORGANS & STEAL THE LAND OF PALESTINIANS *YAY* #ASHKE-NAZI.”[65] The UC Berkeley administration criticized him for cartoons that “crossed the line” into antisemitism.

Although Bazian subsequently apologized, claiming the image “is offensive and does not represent [his] views,”[66] he has continued to occasionally engage in similar rhetoric, which calls the sincerity of his apology into question. In August 2021, he re-tweeted an antisemitic cartoon depicting an Israeli soldier organ harvesting the heart of a deceased Palestinian man.[67] In May 2021, he tweeted: “Zionist Jews are so over taken[sic] and blinded by power, might and control over Palestine that they don't have the capacity to look in the mirror and ask the question of what role they are playing and how they became a powerful instrument in Western imperialism.”[68]

The ADL’s full article (with source footnotes) can be accessed here:

https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/the-council-on-american-islamic-relations-cair

CAIR and BLM rally against the Jewish State.

If media players and politicians wish to use the ADL as an “expert” source for defining what is or isn’t an “extremist” group, shouldn’t they at least acknowledge the ADL’s commentary on groups like CAIR?

We hope that all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will do their duty and question CAIR-NJ Chairwoman Nadia Kahf appropriately. We trust the Republicans on the Committee will do so regardless of the conformist mentality which holds that the ADL matters mightily when looking to condemn someone we disagree with – and not at all when commenting on a fellow-traveler.

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

George Orwell

Why is Trump-hater Alan Steinberg backing Republican Nick DeGregorio?

By Rubashov

Be careful Republicans!

After pissing on every Republican in America for the last five years, Whitman Republican (or more precisely, former Republican) Alan Steinberg is now trying to anoint candidates for next year’s Republican congressional primaries. Steinberg has called Republicans every foul word he could muster – from “fascists” to “racists” – and followed up those insults by publicly excusing the worst excesses of the Democrat Party.

Steinberg’s sudden interest in directing support within the NJGOP to candidates for Congress in next year’s GOP congressional primaries is worrisome. Especially so when you remember that Steinberg’s mentor – former GOP Governor Christie Whitman – has already released a statement endorsing two Democrat incumbents (Josh Gottheimer in CD05 and Andy Kim in CD03) for re-election.

Writing in yesterday’s edition of InsiderNJ, Steinberg spent more than 1,000 words in a panegyric to a little-known, first-time candidate for Congress by the name of Nick DeGregorio. The photograph of DeGregorio that Steinberg chose to grace his sales pitch resembles that of a youngish monk from the 15th century.

Of course, Steinberg could not begin promoting his Republican offering without first offering up some praise before his Democrat masters – predicting the election of Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia and an upturn in President Joe Biden’s polling numbers. This is something Democrat pollster (and Gottheimer pal) Mark Penn seems skeptical about, as this short interview makes clear…

Across America, Democrat poll numbers are crashing (especially over COVID). Why not New Jersey?

We were especially amused at these lines by Alan Steinberg: “Biden’s actions regarding Afghanistan will be a definite political popularity asset for him. Botched withdrawal or not, Biden will be recognized as the president who got us out of that quagmire, saving America thousands of lives, billions of dollars, and reversing the extraordinarily foolish Afghanistan policies of both his Republican and Democratic predecessors.”

Yes, this from a member of the administration that sold us the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” lie and expanded our military involvement throughout the Middle East. A NeoCon, Steinberg boisterously supported the expansion of the Security State – with its spying on American citizens and its use of the Espionage Act against whistleblowers. Too bad it took you two decades, trillions spent, and a million or so dead to change your mind.

Alan Steinberg proceeds to try to sell us on his protégé, Nick DeGregorio, calling DeGregorio a “growing formidable challenge” to Josh Gottheimer in CD05. Okay, but the latest information out of the Federal Elections Commission shows DeGregorio with zero dollars on-hand and Gottheimer with more than $11 million. Steinberg goes on to anoint DeGregorio “the current frontrunner for the 2022 Republican Congressional nomination in the Fifth District.” Based on?

Well, like Bob Hugin (who apparently DeGregorio models himself after), DeGregorio was an officer in the Marine Corps. If memory serves, Steinberg said that would be the clincher for Guy Gregg too. He also touts DeGregorio’s “academic credentials” and his Wall Street experience.

Hey, all of that is good, but what’s going on in DeGregorio’s brain is what matters. What is the young man thinking about? What are his policies (we certainly hope he doesn’t share in Alan Steinberg’s enthusiasms)? What does he really believe when he stops pretending, when he puts away the script and stops being a candidate? Is he the kind of man who can be on the level with those he wishes to impose himself on? In short, is he honest? Time will tell.

Alan Steinberg was well-cared for by the NJGOP. The party got him jobs in the administrations of Governor Whitman and President George W. Bush. Fat paying jobs. And he rewarded them by flipping out when conservatives took charge, calling them names like “racists” and “fascists” – eventually quitting the GOP.

Steinberg closed his promotional piece for DeGregorio with this bit of ridiculousness:

“I also have seen more enthusiasm for Nick De Gregorio among both rank-and-file Republicans and leaders than virtually any other Republican Congressional challenger over the past four decades. He is indeed a phenomenon.”

After all his years of hating Republicans and calling conservatives every filthy name he could come up with, we doubt if any self-respecting “rank-and-file Republican” would take the time to piss on him. Alan Steinberg is as welcome in conservative circles as a skunk on a wedding night.

Nick DeGregorio picked one hell of a spokesman for a Republican primary. Good luck.

Political Greatness
By Percy Bysshe Shelley

Nor happiness, nor majesty, nor fame,
Nor peace, nor strength, nor skill in arms or arts,
Shepherd those herds whom tyranny makes tame;
Verse echoes not one beating of their hearts,
History is but the shadow of their shame;
Art veils her glass, or from the pageant starts,
As to oblivion their blind millions fleet,
Staining that heaven with obscene imagery
Of their own likeness. What are numbers knit
By force or custom? Man, who man would be,
Must rule the empire of himself; in it
Must be supreme, establishing his throne
On vanquished will, quelling the anarchy
Of hopes and fears, being himself alone.

Will Gottheimer blame “white supremacy” for attack in Kabul?

By Rubashov

Congressman Josh Gottheimer likes playing at being a “John Wayne” when it comes to smearing his fellow Americans – his own constituents even – as “terrorists”. He accuses them of criminal offensives, without evidence, based on something he heard… or pulled off social media. Gottheimer has a lot to say about “the threat to America” posed by people posting things on Facebook that he disagrees with.

Gottheimer lauded the leaders of our military establishment when they said that their new enemy was “white Americans”. But now reality has stepped in to slap them in the face. Now they have sobered up and put aside the hash pipe of Critical Race Theory.

Maybe now will Congressman Gottheimer take a moment to rethink his full-on push to dismantle the Bill of Rights – particularly the First Amendment. Maybe now will the good Congressman understand that disagreement between one’s fellow citizens requires forbearance and understanding – not authoritarian measures that criminalize thought and free expression.

Of course, we’ve been here before. Back then, those acting out against the Bill of Rights donned a different ideological face paint, were cosmetically different, from those doing so today. But an authoritarian is an authoritarian, whatever his or her politics. They lost then. Let us hope they do so again.

"Congress has no right to investigate how we vote or where we pray, what we think, say, or how we make movies. Hello, I'm Dalton Trumbo."

“The entire business model of the Democratic Party is to avoid dealing with its own populists’ concerns, so they’ve never seen the Sanders wing of the party as anything but a threat to what they do for a living, which is basically take corporate money and then sell themselves as socially progressive. That’s what they do for a living. That’s their business.”

Matt Taibbi
Journalist and author of Hate, Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another.

Congressman Gottheimer tries to cancel journalist Matt Taibbi.

By Rubashov

Josh Gottheimer is equal parts bully and crybaby. Quick to apply labels, tropes, and nasty sobriquets but emotionally vulnerable to the same when applied to him – excruciatingly so.

His own employees accused Congressman Gottheimer of workplace bullying. In a Ryan Grim column – titled, “REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER IS A REALLY, REALLY TERRIBLE BOSS, FORMER STAFFERS SAY” – published in The Intercept (May 22, 2019), former aides to Gottheimer “painted a portrait of a man who pits staffers against each other, screams easily, and throws pens with abandon.”

As for tropes, this is the guy who was slammed just last year on allegations that his campaign darkened the skin coloring of his Italian-American opponent in order to make him look like a Sicilian mobster, while using language like “Fraudster Frank” on direct mail hit pieces. Josh Gottheimer can certainly dish it out.

But he can’t stand for long on the receiving end before crying foul – and looking for a referee of some kind to wipe his nose and smother him in a protective hug.

This happened again on Friday of last week, when one of the best investigative journalists on earth – Matt Taibbi – wrote a column titled, “Congressional Democrats heroic fight to save the rich”, which was published in the National Post on April 28th. Taibbi made the argument that the campaign by Gottheimer and other members of Congress to repeal the SALT cap is for the benefit of wealthier taxpayers rather than poorer ones.

Matt Taibbi is an intellectually curious man of the Left. He had the gig at Rolling Stone magazine once occupied by the great Hunter S. Thompson. Taibbi’s writing can be just as good but is more balanced, always fairer, with an always clear perspective. There is no bullshit about Matt Taibbi. It falls as it falls.

Josh Gottheimer appears to hate journalists like Matt Taibbi. So, when Taibbi re-messaged Gottheimer’s star issue, the powerful Congressman went to destroy him by accusing Taibbi of anti-Semitism. Gottheimer focused on this paragraph from Taibbi’s column:

“Josh Gottheimer, Democrat of New Jersey, made an inspired plea recently. The Harvard man and Alpha Epsilon Pi brother is a member of the so-called ‘SALT caucus,’ a group of congressfolk threatening to hold up Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill if it doesn’t include a full repeal of a Donald Trump-imposed $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes.

‘It is high time that Congress reinstates the state and local tax deduction, so we can get more dollars back into the pockets of so many struggling families,’ intoned Gottheimer, one of 32 members of the SALT caucus, which includes 8 Republicans.”

Ah yes, did we mention that bipartisanship was another of Josh Gottheimer’s star talking points? Bipartisan this, bipartisan that – in reality just a bunch of establishment insiders, regardless of party, scratching each other’s ass in the furtherance of permanent incumbency.

To smear Taibbi, Gottheimer turned to a group that profits off hate – the ADL or Anti-Defamation League. If there was no “hate” to piss and moan about, there would be no cause by which the ADL could pocket the $80 plus million they take in each year. Hate is a commodity. Hate sells. And there can never stop being hate. If that happened, it would need to be re-invented. It is worth billions to some people.

On top of that, it is partisan political. The ADL is so political, in fact, that other Jewish organizations have labeled it a “Democratic Party auxiliary”.

And so, the ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted: “Mentioning a member of Congress was in a Jewish fraternity in college in an article about tax policy is wholly irrelevant and plays into classic anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money. The National Post should edit this article ASAP.”

To which Matt Friedman, who writes for Politico and covers the New Jersey political scene, replied: “As someone of partial Semitic heritage, I had no idea that was a Jewish fraternity.”

So, Gottheimer turned to his old friend David Wildstein of the blog, New Jersey Globe. Yes, the same David Wildstein who was at the center of the scandal that ended the presidential ambitions of Governor Chris Christie – the self-styled “Mastermind of Bridgegate”. Wildstein obligingly wrote a hit piece on Friday, with the title: “Anti-Defamation League demands newspaper pull reference to Gottheimer’s Jewish fraternity. ADL leader says reference to congressman’s college fraternity ‘plays into classic anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money’”.

Wildstein’s column notes: “Jason M. Shames, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, echoed the ADL’s criticism.

‘Say what you want about the SALT cap or tax policy, but Taibbi’s unnecessary mention of Gottheimer’s membership in this article for the National Post only serves to perpetuate anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money,’ Shames said.”

Warming to his hit job, Wildstein continued:

“Incidents of anti-Semitism are at a historic high nationally, with 295 recorded incidents in New Jersey last year, according to Alana Burman, the associate regional director of the ADL.

Burman said that New Jersey was the second highest in the nation in 2020.

The Rutgers University chapter of Gottheimer’s fraternity was vandalized earlier this month during a 24-hour Holocaust Remembrance Day reading.”

That headline alone accuses Matt Taibbi of the sin of anti-Semitism. But only if you discount the “classic anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money” that David Wildstein has served up over the years. Beginning in 2018, David Wildstein has called Josh Gottheimer “the human fundraising machine”. Wait… a Jewish congressman being referred to as a “human fundraising machine”? You can’t get more tropey than that!

Of course, there is a difference. Josh Gottheimer likes that “classic anti-Semitic trope about Jews and money”. He doesn’t cry about that. Doesn’t mind it at all.

Of course, the real question is this: Did Matt Taibbi use the mention of a college fraternity to make a point about Josh Gottheimer’s religious affiliation, or did he do so to make a point about Gottheimer’s economic class affiliation?

Well, according to the United States Census Bureau, only 35 percent of Americans attend college. Pew has put together some interesting research on which religious groups have the greatest access to higher education. Here’s a hint – it isn’t Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists. Those thinking about playing the role of the oppressed should check it out.

Those who belong to fraternities are an even more select group. Just 2 percent of Americans have belonged to a fraternity or sorority. Journalist Cleo Chang wrote:

“Each year, 2 million university students prepare to enter the most prestigious enclave of what is already an exclusive set of American institutions. Think less along the lines of Harvard or Yale and more about the Greek letters that come to define them.

Selective colleges are merely the starting point for concentrated success. One only needs to browse the Greek life section of Cornell’s official website and see the slogan ‘The Power of 2%’ to recognize the perks that come with Ivy League admittance and Greek acceptance, especially when it comes to men.

As Cornell’s official website states, while only 2 percent of America’s population is involved in fraternities, 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 76 percent of U.S. senators and congressmen, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but two presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men, according to Cornell.”

So maybe, just maybe, Matt Taibbi wasn’t trying to make a point about Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s religion and all this pissing and moaning has just been an attempt to smear a good journalist for reporting the truth and messing with crybaby Josh’s message. In which case, the lot of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
Hunter S. Thompson

Murphy goons target COVID nursing home whistleblower

By Sussex Watchdog

In a coordinated, one-two punch, Democrats allied with Governor Phil Murphy delivered a vicious attack on journalist/whistleblower Jennifer Jean Miller. She’s the former New Jersey Herald reporter featured in the New York Times and ABC News who broke the story that Governor Murphy’s infamous Executive Order 103 was causing the deaths from COVID-19 of dozens in nursing homes in Sussex County.

Eventually, the deaths from COVID in New Jersey’s nursing and veterans’ homes would surpass 8,000 lives. New Jersey would earn the terrible distinction of having the worst rate of death (per 100,000) in long-term care facilities (nursing/veterans’ homes) from COVID-19 among the 50 states. As the Star-Ledger pointed out, if New Jersey were its own country, it would have the worst rate of death from COVID-19 in the world.

The first attack came on Sunday – from a blogger known by the pseudonym Jabba the Angry Fat Man. Jabba is a big supporter of Congressman Josh Gottheimer and has bragged on his blog that his death threats against President Donald Trump earned him a visit from the United States Secret Service.

Jennifer Jean Miller is interviewed through this video by ABC.

Jabba has attacked this testimony, calling journalist Jennifer Jean Miller a “liar” and her articles in the New Jersey Herald, a “PR stunt”.  When Miller, who is not only a courageous whistleblower but who served as a support system for many of the families of the victims, drew parallels between what her family suffered during the Holocaust (at Auschwitz) and the fear and isolation suffered by the those who died, she was viciously attacked by the Democrat, who called her a “wacko”.     
 
These histrionics and the nastiness of the attacks lead us to wonder if Jabba is on the payroll of the highly insider, international Public Relations/ Lobbying/ Political Consulting group (Mercury) that was hired to protect the nursing home operators (and, by extension, the Murphy administration) from the families of those who died and their supporters.  Is Congressman Gottheimer at all connected to these – or other nursing homes operators – or to their lobbyists?  We’re just asking.  Is the lobbyist/ public relations firm owned by the Congressman’s spouse and in-laws connected?  And what about contributions to the master fundraiser’s campaign?  
 
Given Gottheimer’s background as the Number Two executive at a similar insider international Public Relations/ Lobbying/ Political Consulting group, perhaps the Congressman hooked them up?  Gottheimer’s was the firm that MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow called “the PR firm from Hell.”  And remember what else Maddow said about Josh Gottheimer’s firm:
 

"When evil needs public relations, evil has (Josh Gottheimer’s firm) on speed dial."
Rachel Maddow

 
We wonder if Congressman Gottheimer and the members of his Problem Solvers Caucus believe that journalists who uncover misfeasance by government and/or private nursing home operators should suffer retribution by Democrat Party operatives in the form of being labeled “a lying, has-been, right-wing sleaze artist”?  We will be asking them – each of them – directly about this, as they are all up for re-election next year (some having to pass through the filter of a Republican primary).  We suspect, in turn, that Caucus Co-Chairman Gottheimer will be hearing from them.
 
Earlier today, the Sussex County Democrats issued their own attack in support of the one launched on Sunday by the blogger Jabba the Angry Fat Man.  In it, they attacked people for asking questions.  In a press release of more than a thousand words, they never once mention Executive Order 103.
 
Instead, the Democrats attack everyone who wants answers, everyone who has submitted an unfulfilled OPRA request to Governor Murphy's administration, everyone who has called for bi-partisan legislative hearings, everyone who has asked for an independent investigation into why more than 8,000 people died.  In their fear for what the truth may reveal about Governor Murphy – the Democrats attack everyone looking for the truth. 
 
Sussex County Democrats even attack the whistleblowing journalist who broke the story.  In the most vicious way – mocking the suffering of her family in Auschwitz.
 
In their press release, the Sussex County Democrats claim that the nursing home operators “chose PROFIT over PEOPLE, which led to bodies being stacked up in makeshift morgues and families and employees left with enduring trauma for years to come.”  They further state:
 
“The Sussex County Democratic Committee has been inundated with first-hand accounts from both current and former employees who want to set the record straight about the horror they witnessed.”
 
Good.  But why are the Sussex County Democrats resisting the means to set that record straight?  Why are they not supporting the victims’ families, the county government, and legislators like Senator Steve Oroho – who are demanding transparency from the Murphy administration.  Why the cover-up?
 
Why have OPRA requests about those nursing homes gone unfulfilled?  Does it have anything to do with the boast made by a nursing home operator to a local government official about their donations to Governor Murphy and his Democrats?  This local government official would like to have a hearing at which to testify – on the record!  Will the Sussex Democrats work to give him one?
 
Sadly, it doesn’t seem so.
 
Rather than uncover who is responsible for what happened, the Sussex County Democrats want everyone to accept their perspective that Governor Murphy and his administration acted perfectly, there is nothing to see here, so move on.  They make this clear when they suggest that Republicans “should be exploring viable ways to make sure these examples of failure, negligence and mismanagement are never able to happen again under these circumstances.”  Just so long as those viable ways do not include fact-finding of any kind – from OPRA requests to open public hearings into why more than 8,000 died – all fact-finding is strictly verboten! 
 
The Sussex County Democrats want Watergate without the hearings.  Someone should pull them back to reality and tell them it doesn’t work that way.
 
We have a suggestion. 
 
The Sussex County Republicans should invite the Sussex County Democrats to debate this issue and how to address it.  Openly, in public, with full transparency. 

The Democrats could bring Jabba the Angry Fat Man as part of their panel.  The Republicans could ask the whistleblower/ journalist the Democrats have attempted to smear, Jennifer Jean Miller.  Perhaps the Democrats could ask Governor Murphy himself to attend… the Republicans, Jack Ciattarelli. 
 
If they really want to get to the bottom of this, the Democrats need only look to their name and live up to it – democracy and the transparency that democracy is supposed to be synonymous with.  Supposed to be… in practice, not so much.  Not at all, these days.    

Gottheimer denies Commissioners’ legal counsel at NJOHSP briefing.

On March 22nd Congressman Josh Gottheimer sent an invitation to the Sussex County Board of Commissioners to attend a “briefing” by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) on “the latest domestic terror threats in our State.”

The invitation, signed by Congressman Gottheimer and on official stationery, did not contain the date and time for the briefing or the location at which it was to be held. It did contain this paragraph:

“I will follow up with specific details on the briefing with NJOHSP and look forward to working together to stop hate, domestic terror, and extremism in all forms.”

But Congressman Gottheimer never did follow up with specific details. According to InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack, he instead politicized the briefing, using it as a political hit piece on the Commissioners. On a March 25th InsiderNJ post, Snowflack wrote:

“Today, Gottheimer, whose 5th District includes most of Sussex County, released a letter he sent to the county commissioners on March 22.”

Despite Gottheimer’s attempt to use the briefing as the basis for a political attack, his congressional office was contacted by Sussex County Commissioner Chris Carney, a union worker with Local 825 of the Operating Engineers. Carney, who was selected to fill the remainder of Josh Hertzberg’s term and who is running this year for a full term on the Board, demanded that Gottheimer hold the briefing.

In response to Commissioner Carney, Gottheimer’s office sent a follow-up to the Board of Commissioners, slating the briefing for today at 12:30pm by Zoom. The Board responded that it would be attending, along with the Board’s special counsel. After initially agreeing to this arrangement, Gottheimer’s office contacted the Board to inform them that their attorney would not be allowed to hear the briefing.

Why?

Why would the Board’s attorney not be permitted to hear a briefing by the Director of the NJOHSP? Might he ask some difficult questions? Would his presence make it more difficult to smear the names of private citizens and open the participants up to civil suits? Would he provide some unfortunate clarification as to what is or isn’t an actual crime?

So many of the NJOHSP “incidents” involve “flyers, pamphlets, and signs” that promote “white supremacy”, “white nationalism”, “neo-Nazism”, and “hate” of various kinds. But is this a crime when anyone can purchase Mein Kampf, by Adolph Hitler, on Amazon.com. What is more Nazi than Mein Kampf? Does each purchase count as an “incident” or is it uncounted?

The truth is that any government agency can increase or decrease the number of “incidents” by defining or redefining them in a way that expands or contracts their numbers. Is this what’s going on?

And here is another curious thing about this briefing. In January, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Congressman Gottheimer to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. But this is the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) – a STATE agency that has nothing to do with Congress.

As a Congressman, Josh Gottheimer has no responsibility for or oversight of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP). He doesn’t vote on their budget – the STATE legislators who represent Sussex County do. In fact, Senator Steve Oroho and Assemblyman Hal Wirths are ranking members of their respective chambers’ budget committees. So why were they not invited to this briefing? Might they ask questions too?

Is this briefing anything more than political theater, for the benefit of a political ally, provided by the appointee of a Governor facing re-election? As such is it an abuse of power, a fraud, and a waste of taxpayers’ money?

We suggest a proper, academic review of the history of terrorism and the causes of extremism. One that does not whitewash the part played by the CIA and other intelligence agencies. It could be named in honor of that great liberal – a true, old-fashioned liberal – United States Senator Frank Church, Democrat of Idaho.

“In examining the CIA's past and present use of the U.S. media, the Committee finds two reasons for concern. The first is the potential, inherent in covert media operations, for manipulating or incidentally misleading the American public.
The second is the damage to the credibility and independence of a free press which may be caused by covert relationships with the U.S. journalists and media organizations.”

U.S. Senator Frank Church
(Veteran. Burma campaign. WWII)

Gottheimer: Was Bridgegate an act of Terrorism?

By Rubashov

According to the Oxford Dictionary, “terrorism” is a noun meaning “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states:

“There is no single, universally accepted, definition of terrorism. Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as ‘the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives’ (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85).”

The FBI goes on to state: “A terrorist incident is a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

Well, let’s see…

Was closing the George Washington Bridge, with the help of men with guns (albeit sworn officers), trapping thousands in traffic – including “the children of Buono voters” on school buses “an act dangerous to human life”?

Fort Lee officials certainly thought so. They called it a threat to public safety. Emergency services concurred. So did the Port Authority.

The Executive Director of the Port Authority at the time believed that the closure “violated federal and state laws”.

We learned from the related proceedings in federal court – in particular from the allocutions in those proceedings – that the closure was an attempt to intimidate, to coerce, the government of Fort Lee and a segment of the civilian population.

And, for our final question: Did the closing of the George Washington Bridge in what became known as Bridgegate have a political objective?

Check the boxes. Then you decide. Was it an act of terrorism?

Dr. Paul Saxton, Superintendent of Ft. Lee’s schools, called Bridgegate a “plot”, an “act of terrorism”, and a “premeditated action designed and targeted toward the kids.” Is he right?

Of course, Trenton doesn’t think so. Governor Murphy doesn’t think so. The guy he picked to run the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness (NJOHSP) doesn’t think so. Congressman Josh Gottheimer doesn’t think so. Even Patrick Murray doesn’t think so. They who talk so much about “political extremism” and “domestic terrorism” don’t have much to say on those subjects as they apply to Bridgegate.

That’s because those involved were all insiders. Fellow members of the Trenton political class. And you don’t call fellow members names like “terrorist” or suggest that what they did was an act of political “extremism”. Instead, you appear on their radio show and wish them the best.

See… these people are “goodfellas”. They’ve been vetted by Trenton, somebody vouched for them as a “goodfella”. Nobody is ever horrified at what they do. Excuses are made for it. They get a pass.

But if you are not “of Trenton” – not a “goodfella” – you are subject to very different handling. For example, Congressman Gottheimer has accused his own constituents – average citizens – of “domestic terrorism”. He is a rich insider and they supported his opponent.

Then his local party operatives call their job to have them fired. Unlike in Bridgegate, no charges will ever be filed, because the accusation is based on an opinion. It isn’t a real crime. There will be no trial at which the accused might make a defense and clear their name. Those options will not be afforded them. It’s a form of political intimidation, of retribution – an aspect of what’s become known as “cancel culture”. We wonder, does Patrick Murray approve of this kind of “due process”?

Gottheimer is currently undertaking an experiment in which he is attempting to “cancel” an entire county within his own district, by accusing it of extremism and domestic terrorism. He’s brought in the Murphy administration to talk about this (curiously enough, at a time when they are refusing to talk about those 8,000 people they allowed to die in nursing and veterans’ homes).

They didn’t vote for him you see. It was his worst showing – and the reason couldn’t be the COVID relief funding formula he voted for that entirely cut the county out and all its municipalities. No, says Josh, it must be something else. The sin must be with them. They must be extremists. For why else would they not love me?

And for “evidence”, Gottheimer and Murray and Murphy and his NJOHSP all point to the same private organizations whose incomes depend on the public believing some problem is a “crisis” that needs their money right away to address it. Two unelected, secretive, unaccountable, undemocratic private organizations with a sales force who earn in excess of six figures: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Of course, these private organizations have a natural tendency to magnify a problem to increase the income from that problem. And so, we have the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which last year crushed their 2017 intake of $74.2 million and are looking to do even better this year. They recently released a report claiming that New Jersey went from “12 incidents of reported hate propaganda in 2017 to 323 incidents in 2020.”

What is “hate propaganda”?

Is it like shutting down the George Washington Bridge?

No. According to Gannett’s Hannan Adely it is “flyers, banners and leaflets promoting racism, anti-Semitism and white power.” Hey guys, that is called reading material for idiots – but under the Bill of Rights, it is perfectly legal. You can buy Adolf Hitler’s rantings on Amazon.

We don’t burn books in this country. Even stupid books. Even “flyers, banners and leaflets”. Because we each get to make up our own minds about what is and isn’t stupid. That is the American way. Here to explain this very American concept – one that, once upon a time, united both Left and Right and in-between – is the great Ira Glasser, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001…

And by the way…
 
Is it any wonder that “incidents” of “hate” and “racism” and “white supremacism” are on the rise when nearly everything today is an “incident” of “hate” and “racism” and “white supremacism”? 
 
Over the weekend, the Star-Ledger published an opinion piece by Patrick Murray, the Director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.  It was titled “Hate is thriving in New Jersey”, and featured a Confederate flag.  Murray cites the ADL report and claims “the recent growth of hate activity in New Jersey has been stunning.”
 
New Jersey is one of the most woke places in America – and when you expand the definition of “hate” you are going to get more of it.  Look, a year ago Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, was a liberal champion.  Today she is a “hater” and to defend her “crime” of “hate” – flying a Confederate flag as part of a display of flags – is “hate” speech. 
 
A school in San Francisco named for her (Feinstein served as Mayor) had to change its name.  Heck, they are pulling down statues of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, apparently because he too was a “hater”.
 
Groups like the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center ($471 million, 2018) are manufacturing “hate” at an unprecedented level by redefining what it is.  Why?  Because there is BIG MONEY in hate. 
 
And that goes for the taxpayer funded budgets of agencies like the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness too.  Nothing exists without a reason and if it wants its budget to grow – that reason is going to have to grow… or at least appear to grow.     
 
Ponder this for a moment.
 
Across the United States, the ADL reported 5,125 cases of hateful messages last year, nearly double the 2,724 cases reported in 2019.  And to “combat” this in New Jersey, the Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness (NJOHSP) wants a bigger cut of the state budget – more taxpayer money.
 
5,125 hateful messages.
 
The United States Justice Department, Bureau of Justice Statistics, claims “the self-reported incidence of rape or sexual assault more than doubled from 1.4 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2017 to 2.7 in 2018.”  It goes on: “Based on data from the survey, it is estimated that 734,630 people were raped (threatened, attempted, or completed) in the United States in 2018.”
 
734,630 rapes.
 
And yet, the Defund the Police movement has gutted the ability of some police forces to cope with this very real threat.  A real crime.  Not “hateful messages” or “flyers” – RAPE.   
 
Hey, but this is New Jersey.  Just like with Bridgegate, when someone is raped in New Jersey – and it involves an insider, a “goodfella” – everybody looks the other way.  It happens all too often, and the prosecutors, the political class, the insiders, the “goodfellas” all want to ignore it and get past it.  Just ask Katie Brennan.
 
Shame on our leaders for having their priorities so screwed up.
 

“Civil liberties victories never stay won, but must be fought for over and over again.”

Ira Glasser

Is Josh Gottheimer guilty of improperly using his office?

By Rubashov

So, it wasn't a real invitation to a real event? Just a political ploy?

Did InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack pull the curtain back on Congressman Josh Gottheimer – or did Gottheimer do it to himself?

On March 22nd Congressman Gottheimer sent a formal invitation – on his official stationery – to the Sussex County Board of Commissioners. The invitation was to join him for a “briefing” by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) on “the latest domestic terror threats in our State.”

The invitation, signed by Congressman Gottheimer, did not contain the date and time of said briefing or the location at which it was to be held. It did contain this paragraph:

“I will follow up with specific details on the briefing with NJOHSP and look forward to working together to stop hate, domestic terror, and extremism in all forms. In the meantime, please contact me directly at Josh.Gottheimer@mail.house.gov with any questions. Thank you for your service.”

But Congressman Gottheimer never did follow up with specific details. According to Snowflack, he instead used it as a political hit piece on the Commissioners and, more importantly, on his constituents who reside in Sussex County. On a March 25th post on InsiderNJ, Snowflack wrote:

“Today, Gottheimer, whose 5th District includes most of Sussex County, released a letter he sent to the county commissioners on March 22.
In case, the commissioners have any doubt about the specter of white supremacy, the Democratic congressman is ready to help. His letter invites the commissioners ‘to join me and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness for a briefing on the latest domestic terror threats in our state.’
It then notes that for the first time the state’s Homeland Security Office has raised the threat level posed by white supremacists to ‘high,’ putting them in a class with ‘ISIS-inspired terrorists.’
Gottheimer adds that three far-right groups in particular – the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters – are active in Sussex County.
That’s an interesting point.
As the debate raged over the hate-related resolutions, some speakers said condemning extremism is needed, because of the presence in the county of those very groups. Commissioners, as is their apparent custom, didn’t respond to the speakers’ point.
When the issue of political violence from the right is raised – as it has been many times since Jan. 6 – some Republicans point out violence caused by the far left.
So, Gottheimer’s letter also mentions ‘individuals inspired by antifa ideology.’
But make no mistake. The congressman’s main point is about the dangers of right wing extremism. And in Sussex County.”

Well, let’s look at this for a moment. Let us examine the statement: “for the first time the state’s Homeland Security Office has raised the threat level posed by white supremacists to ‘high,’ putting them in a class with ‘ISIS-inspired terrorists.’”

Are the groups mentioned here – the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters – which are labeled by Gottheimer as “white supremacists”, actually in a “class with ISIS-inspired terrorists”?

ISIS is officially designated as a “terrorist organization” by the United Nations, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Paraguay, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Syria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Oathkeepers and Three Percenters don’t make the list.

The Proud Boys make the list in Canada, just as CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) made the list in the United Arab Emirates. Curiously, CAIR’s designation as a “terrorist organization” didn’t stop Congressman Gottheimer from praising and seeking electoral assistance from Action Together, a group that has coordinated activities with CAIR and has even accepted awards from them.

We can point to numerous activities in which CAIR has worked closely with Democrat Party activists throughout Congressman Gottheimer’s district – everything from voter registration drives to protest rallies. Why did it not earn a mention in Gottheimer’s missive?

In fact, CAIR is closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a designated “terrorist organization” in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Kazakhstan, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Given this, Congressman Gottheimer’s assertion about the “threat level posed” seems histrionic, hysterical even. In fact, everything in his “invitation” seems less about the work of government and simply a political hit – albeit one paid for by the taxpayers.

Then there is Congressman Gottheimer’s claim that “the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters are active in Sussex County.” Are they?

It has been polled you know. Recently.

Nobody heard of them. Nobody knows anyone who is a member. And, by-the-way, nobody thinks Sussex County is particularly racist. Or that their neighbors are racists. Or that “white supremacy” is prevalent.

Why would they? Sussex County is one of the least violent, safest places in America. People move from places like Bergen County and New York City to enjoy all that it offers. It has more incidents of agricultural trespassing than bias crimes.

Now we are all aware that the designation of what is or isn’t a “terrorist organization” is a highly political exercise. Joe Cryan’s beloved Irish Nationalists were all once labeled “terrorists”. Even Nelson Mandela was once designated a “terrorist”. So was Menachem Begin, who went on to become the Prime Minister of Israel. It was Begin who, as the leader of a militant paramilitary group, ordered the bombing attack on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. 91 people – British, Arabs, and Jews – died in that bombing.

Is Congressman Gottheimer suggesting that Sussex County is a hotbed for activity of the kind practiced by Menachem Begin? If so, where are the crime statistics? No, instead of crimes, we are told about “incidents”. These mainly involve people posting on-line or handing out reading material that other people find offensive – which, in America, is perfectly legal. Other “incidents” involve rude or anti-social behavior which, if it becomes criminal, should be dealt with as the law instructs.

In his rush to stamp out all such “incidents” Congressman Gottheimer runs the risk of creating a species of thought crime and of packing our already packed-out prison system with a new kind of prisoner – a political prisoner. This is not the way forward if you wish to continue to use that name, democracy.

Here to instruct Congressman Gottheimer on the difference between “crimes” and “incidents” is the great Ira Glasser, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001…

Now this isn’t the first time Congressman Gottheimer has used his office to play political tricks.  Earlier this year he held a press conference on “hate” at the Sussex County Community College and claimed to have had invited the County Commissioners and the state legislative delegation, which he had not.  And then there was the time he crashed the county vaccination center – had his staff members threat face with some sheriff’s officers and then dared them to arrest him – all over a photo op.  Weird.
 
Weirder still is the political angle to all this.  Does he have data showing that his constituents in Sussex County want to believe they live in a violent, racist hellhole and that they and their children are all bad, bad racists?  That’s not a very positive message. 
 
It appears that, in the wake of the January 6th Capitol Riot, a number of Democrats have seized upon it as their Reichstag Fire moment.  They want to use it to criminalize their political opponents to the point that they, once again, enjoy the “permanent majority” they held during the forty years before Newt Gingrich undid it in 1994.  It is a dangerous game that appears to have carried them along to this moment.
 
Of course, Josh Gottheimer is an old hand at playing with fear.  His former boss, President Bill Clinton, played on the fear of “Black” crime for votes and now he is trying to convince people that their real threat is their neighbor (as opposed to corrupt, rapacious politicians like himself).  But it’s a dodgy strategy, because their neighbor is likely to disprove what Gottheimer is selling.
 
Yes, the strategy is a little crazy.  Just like Katie Rotondi, the organizer the Congressman got to pull together the twenty or so Democrats (mostly failed candidates) to represent what Fred Snowflack takes to be “the people” of Sussex County.  Rejected county candidates, rejected municipal candidates, some even rejected by their own party… like Rotondi herself.  Their words will come back to haunt him (and they were all publicly recorded), because the intention in them was so plain:  To them Sussex County is an evil, bad place, full of “white supremacists” and “violent racists” who refused to vote for any of them.  And so, of course, the Democrats, the failed candidates, hate them for it.  This is the just the way some folks deal with the sting of rejection.
  
 

“One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.”
George W. Bush

Gottheimer: Richard Jewell is a warning to those who falsely accuse.

By Sussex Watchdog

From Wikipedia:

Richard Jewell is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and written by Billy Ray. It is based on the 1997 Vanity Fair article "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell" by Marie Brenner and the 2019 book The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen.

The film depicts the July 27 Centennial Olympic Park bombing and its aftermath, as security guard Richard Jewell finds a bomb during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and alerts authorities to evacuate, only to later be wrongly accused of having placed the device himself. The film stars Paul Walter Hauser as Jewell, alongside Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde.

The film had its world premiere on November 20, 2019, at the AFI Fest, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures… It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best films of the year… For her performance, Bates won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned nominations at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

n 1986, Richard Jewell works as an office supply clerk in a small public law firm, where he builds a rapport with attorney Watson Bryant. Jewell leaves the firm to pursue a law enforcement career. At some point Jewell is hired as a sheriff's deputy, but ends up discharged. In early 1996, he's working as a security guard at Piedmont College, but is fired after multiple complaints of acting beyond his jurisdiction. Jewell later moves in with his mother Bobi in Atlanta. In the summer of 1996, he works as a security guard at the Olympic Games, monitoring Centennial Park.

In the early morning of July 27, 1996, after chasing off drunken revelers during a Jack Mack and the Heart Attack concert, Jewell notices a suspicious package beneath a bench, which an explosives expert confirms contains a bomb. The security team, including police officers, FBI agent Tom Shaw, and Jewell's friend Dave Dutchess, are moving concert attendees away from the bomb when it detonates, and Jewell is initially heralded as a hero.

After being contacted by the dean of Piedmont College about his dislike and suspicions of Jewell, at Atlanta's FBI office, Shaw and his team determine that Jewell, as a white, male, "wanna-be" police officer, fits the common profile of perpetrators committing similar crimes, comparing him to others who sought glory and attention by rescuing people from a dangerous situation they created themselves.

Shaw is approached by journalist Kathy Scruggs of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Over drinks in a cop bar, Shaw reveals that Jewell is under FBI suspicion. The Constitution publishes Scruggs's story on the front page, disclosing the FBI's interest in Jewell as a possible suspect. Scruggs makes particular note of Jewell's physique, the fact he lives with his mother, and work history to reassure herself that he fits the FBI's profile. The story quickly becomes international news.

Jewell, initially unaware of his changing public perception, is lured to the FBI office. He initially cooperates but refuses to sign an acknowledgement he has been read his Miranda rights, and instead phones Watson Bryant for legal representation. Bryant, now running his own struggling law firm, agrees and makes Jewell aware he is a prime suspect in the news.

Shaw and partner Sam Bennet visit the dean of Piedmont College, who reinforces their suspicion of Jewell. The FBI searches Jewell's home and seize property including true crime books and a cache of firearms. Jewell admits to Bryant that he has been evading income taxes for years and was once arrested for exceeding his authority. Bryant scolds Jewell for being too collegial with the police officers investigating him. Jewell admits his ingrained respect for authority makes it difficult for him not to be deferential, even when the authorities are trying to do him harm.

Jewell and Bryant confront Scruggs, demanding a retraction and apology, but she stands by her reporting. Still not completely convinced of Jewell's innocence, Bryant and his long-suffering secretary Nadya time the distance between the phone booth which was discovered to have made the initial threat of the bomb, and the bomb site, concluding it is impossible for someone to phone in the bomb threat and discover the bomb at the time it was found. Scruggs and Shaw come to the same conclusion, and the FBI changes their picture of the crime to include an accomplice. As their case weakens, the FBI try to link Dutchess to Jewell as a possible homosexual accomplice.

Bryant arranges a polygraph examination which Jewell passes, removing Bryant's doubt about his innocence. Bobi holds a press conference and pleads for the investigation to cease so she and her son may get on with their lives. Jewell and Bryant meet with Shaw and Bennet at the FBI office, and after some irrelevant questions, Jewell realizes they have no evidence against him. When he asks pointedly if they are ready to charge him, their silence convinces him to leave, finally having lost his sense of awe for law enforcement officers.

Eighty-eight days after being named "a person of interest", Jewell is informed by formal letter that he is no longer under investigation.

In April 2003, Jewell, now a police officer in Luthersville, Georgia, is visited by Bryant who tells him that Eric Rudolph has confessed to the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

An epilogue states that two years later, on August 29, 2007, Jewell died at the age of 44 of complications from diabetes and heart failure. It also mentions that Bryant and Nadya got married and had two sons, both of whom Bobi babysits to this day.

Jewell was never charged with a crime, but media speculation led to the FBI publicly searching his home twice, his friends and neighbors being questioned, as well as FBI surveillance of him. A Justice Department investigation of the FBI's conduct in the case, found that the FBI had “tried to manipulate Jewell into waiving his constitutional rights by telling him he was taking part in a training film about bomb detection”, although the report concluded “no intentional violation of Mr. Jewell's civil rights and no criminal misconduct” had taken place.

On October 26, 1996, the United States Attorney in Atlanta, Kent Alexander, sent Jewell a letter saying “based on the evidence developed to date ... Richard Jewell is not considered a target of the federal criminal investigation into the bombing on July 27, 1996, at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta”. The letter did not include an apology, but in a separate statement issued by Alexander, the U.S. Justice Department regretted the leaking of the investigation.

The separately issued statement said that Jewell “endured highly unusual and intense publicity that was neither designed nor desired by the F.B.I., and in fact interfered with the investigation”, and that “The public should bear in mind that Richard Jewell has at no time been charged with any crime in connection with the bombing.” The New York Times reported that the statement was “a tacit admission by Federal officials that they had been wrong in their suspicion of Mr. Jewell.”

On July 31, 1997, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expressed personal regret over the leak that led to intense scrutiny of Jewell. She said, “I'm very sorry it happened. I think we owe him an apology. I regret the leak.”

On August 2, 2006, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue honored Jewell for his rescue efforts during the attack, and publicly thanked him for saving people's lives. Perdue said Jewell “deserves to be remembered as a hero.”

CNN settled a libel suit brought by Jewell for an undisclosed monetary amount.

Jewell sued NBC News for this statement made by Tom Brokaw, “The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case.” The network agreed to pay Jewell $500,000.

Jay Leno also apologized during a Tonight Show episode on October 28, 1996.

On July 23, 1997, Jewell sued the New York Post for $15 million in damages, contending that the paper portrayed him an “aberrant” person with a “bizarre employment history” who was probably guilty of the bombing. He eventually settled with the newspaper for an undisclosed amount.

Jewell filed suit against his former employer Piedmont College. The college settled for an undisclosed amount.

Released in late 2019, the movie got caught up in the hubbub of the COVID pandemic and the shutdown of theatres, but it is a worthwhile reminder of what happens when the media acts as a lynch mob and politicians and law enforcement go along for the ride. Richard Jewell was never the same after what he went through. He died a broken spirit.

Recently, in Sussex County, leaders of the Democrat Party – including former candidates, the former Party Chairwoman, and the current Democrat State Committeewoman – have been making defamatory accusations against their neighbors and the residents of their county. In concert with former candidate Kristy Lavin, Democrats like former Party Chairwoman Katie Rotondi have used public meetings to make unfounded accusations of criminal behavior against county residents.

Democrat operative Michael Schnackenberg has posted violent threats against political opponents – specifically targeting women with lurid, sexual insults – while Democrat Congressman Josh Gottheimer used the resources of his incumbency to make unfounded accusations of criminal behavior against political opponents. Before creating more innocent victims, in the way that Richard Jewell was a victim, the Democrats should think about it and perhaps embrace the historic liberalism they once possessed.

"Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense."

Article 11
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

N.B. We welcome a conversation on this and all topics raised on this website. Jersey Conservative is entirely open to your ideas and opinions. To submit a column for publication, please contactus at info@JerseyConservative.org.

Gottheimer attacks constituents to deflect his failures on COVID

By Sussex Watchdog
 
Yesterday, Congressman Josh Gottheimer posted an attack on social media against a group of his constituents who have criticized him for not holding Governor Phil Murphy to account for sending COVID-19 patients into nursing homes – a move which resulted in the deaths of 7,000 vulnerable residents.  Gottheimer has refused to even mention Murphy’s infamous Executive Order 103, which forced nursing homes to bring in COVID carriers even as they kept out family members – leaving those in nursing homes to die alone.
 
Gottheimer attacked these Sussex County residents, claiming they had used “hurtful language” about members of the LGBT community.  This is a reference to the residents’ opposition to Democrat Freeholder candidate Rob Slockbower and his support for requiring the LGBT “rainbow flag” to fly over all government buildings in Sussex County.  Slockbower, calls himself “non-binary” and posts controversial material on his social media page, side-by-side with political campaign material…
 

While Rob Slockbower has the right to post his views, we find it strange that Congressman Gottheimer has no problem embracing Slockbower's candidacy while he accuses Sussex County residents who disagree with Democrat Slockbower of using “hurtful language”.  It is a very strange double-standard.
 
Even more strange is the fact that in 2006, Josh Gottheimer became the number two executive (Global Vice President) with a public relations/lobbying firm that worked for the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.  According to Wikipedia, Museveni attempted to “institute the death penalty for homosexuality” and claimed that "European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa".  Museveni later backed off the death penalty and instead Uganda imposed a potential penalty of life imprisonment for "aggravated homosexuality".
 
How could Josh Gottheimer have taken money from a firm with a record like this, and then attack his own constituents when they disagree with his Democrat allies over the mandatory display of LGBT flags on government buildings?  It is a stunning example of political hypocrisy by Gottheimer.
 
For more on Josh Gottheimer’s lobbying career, watch this video by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv69L61W-2A

“When evil needs public relations, evil has (Josh Gottheimer’s company) on speed dial.”

(Rachel Maddow, MSNBC)

Did Gottheimer go too far in calling opponent a “Fraudster”?

By Rubashov
 
Politicians… and the labels they apply to those who oppose them.
 
The latest political commercial paid for and approved by Congressman Josh Gottheimer attacks opponent Frank Pallotta for having worked on Wall Street.  The commercial is short on facts of any kind.  Based on nothing more than having worked on Wall Street, Gottheimer labels Pallotta a “fraudster”.
 
Fraud is a criminal act.  And “fraudster” is defined as “a person who commits fraud, especially in business dealings.”  That is a rather heavy allegation to make absent any evidence of criminal misconduct.
 
Does this mean we can label Phil and Tammy Murphy “fraudsters”?  Cory Booker?
 
If merely working on Wall Street equals fraud, then does taking a campaign contribution of a certain heft constitute bribery?  Could we see a future political commercial with the tagline: “Josh Gottheimer… he takes bribes and is supported by fraudsters.”  Indeed, if all of Wall Street can be summed up as “fraud” – then are lobbyists, the industry as a whole, engaged in “bribery”?  Does it follow that Mrs. Gottheimer, a well-known lobbyist, is engaged in nefarious acts?  Should it be alleged in a campaign commercial?        
 
Going forward – at least in New Jersey – will all political campaigns use this Gottheimer standard when measuring how to define an opponent and his or her actions?  Will future candidates so casually label another candidate a criminal?  And where will it end? 
 
Now that candidates are accusing each other of criminal activities will it be such a reach to label each other for their disgusting habits?  For instance, if one need only work on Wall Street to be labeled a criminal, then it follows that one need only be male to be labeled a hand-job. 
 
Wikipedia points out that “different studies have found that masturbation is frequent in humans. Alfred Kinsey's 1950s studies on US population have shown that 92% of men and 62% of women have masturbated during their lifespan. Similar results have been found in a 2007 British national probability survey. It was found that, between individuals aged 16 to 44, 95% of men and 71% of women masturbated at some point in their lives… The Merck Manual says that 97% of men and 80% of women have masturbated and that, generally speaking, males masturbate more than females.”
 
Now anyone who has ever read the scribblings of this superannuated lapsed Marxist should know that we have no love for Wall Street.  And yet it must be said that most are not convicted of fraud.  Certainly not 97%.  Therefore, the probability that Gottheimer is a masturbator is greater – much greater – than his statement that Pallotta is a fraudster.  Does it then follow that it should be used in a campaign commercial? 
 
We can see it now – the campaign commercial of the future – wherein Candidate A calls Candidate B a “jerk-off” and Candidate B replies by calling Candidate A an “ass-muncher.”  Of course, these labels would be adjusted based on the self-perception of the candidates, a particularly “blue-blooded” candidate, for instance, might refer to his opponent as “an aficionado of the hand” or some such.
 
Gottheimer’s crew superimposed Pallotta’s face on a foreclosure sign.  Will Pallotta’s people return the favor – but instead on Conan O’Brien’s infamous masturbating bear?  How elevating all this will be!  How erudite!
 
None of this should surprise us coming from Josh Gottheimer.  He was second-in-command of a corporation that

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow called “the PR firm from Hell.”

Really… you can watch Maddow say it here…

Lest we forget, before he was elected to Congress in 2016, Josh Gottheimer followed his buddy Mark Penn, the Clintons' polling guy, to take over an international public relations/lobbying corporation.  Gottheimer held the number two position as international Vice President (his buddy Mark Penn was international President).  Here is Gottheimer’s biography from the website of “the PR firm from Hell.” 
 
Global Leadership
Josh Gottheimer, Executive Vice President, Worldwide / Global Chair, Corporate and Public Affairs Practices
 
Office: Washington, D.C.
Email address: josh.gottheimer@bm.com
 
Josh is Executive Vice President, Worldwide at Burson-Marsteller and is Global Chair of Burson's Corporate and Public Affairs Practices.
 
Josh was Director of Strategic Communications at Ford Motor Company. His responsibilities included communication strategy and message development; overseeing Ford's US corporate advertising; and supervising the Washington DC Public Affairs operation. In his time at Ford, he helped develop the company's corporate message, "Driving American Innovation."
 
Between 1998 to 2001, Josh served as Special Assistant to the President and Presidential Speechwriter to President Bill Clinton. In that role, he drafted speeches, op-eds and articles for President Clinton. Among others, he helped draft the State of the Union addresses in 1999 and 2000, several comedy speeches, and the 2000 Democratic Convention speech.
 
After leaving the White House, Josh was a Senior Advisor to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He was also a founding partner of the Cambridge Writers Group, where he provided strategic communications advice, developed message strategy and drafted remarks for public and private sectors clients (including Fortune 100 CEO's, university presidents and several elected officials).
 
In the 2004 presidential race, Josh served as Deputy Director of Speechwriting and Senior Policy Advisor to the John Kerry for President Campaign. In this role, in which he traveled with the Senator, Josh wrote speeches, op-eds, and policy memoranda. In addition, he aided in the development of communications and political strategy. During the primary season, Josh was Deputy Director of Communications & Chief Speechwriter in General Wesley Clark's bid for the Democratic nomination.
 
Josh is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School and was a Thouron Fellow at Oxford. Josh was a political analyst for BBC television and radio and has held scholarly appointments at major universities. He has published articles in The Washington Monthly, ABA Magazine, and was the editor of Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches (Basic Books, 2003) a collection of inspiring speeches from five social movements in American history. Josh is also a member of the New York State Bar.
 

"When evil needs public relations, evil has (Josh Gottheimer’s company) on speed dial.”

(Rachel Maddow, MSNBC)

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)  

Democrat Gottheimer needs to spend less time condemning and more time explaining

By Sussex County Watchdog

He’s at it again.   Yesterday, in the midst of an actual shooting war between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Congressman Josh Gottheimer called a press conference to tell us that the real threat came from… other Americans.  Especially “white” Americans. 

Why is Gottheimer ignoring the existential threat posed to Israel and Jews around the world by the Islamic Republic of Iran?  Why is he trying so hard to change the subject?  Founded in the wake of the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran rests on a “foundation of three pillars.”  They are:  (1) The mandatory veil (hijab) for women; (2) Opposition to the United States of America; and (3) Opposition to Israel.  Look it up! 
 
Instead of trying to blame Americans for all the world’s troubles, perhaps Congressman Gottheimer should adopt a little humility, search his own past, and atone for some of his own actions.   Before he was elected to Congress in 2016, Josh Gottheimer followed his buddy Mark Penn, the Clintons' polling guy, to take over an international public relations/lobbying corporation called Burson-Marsteller.  These folks are a real piece of work. 
 
Hey, don't take out word for it.  Here's what MSNBC's Rachel Maddow had to say about the firm where Josh Gottheimer held the number two position as International Vice President (his buddy Mark Penn was International President):

Yep, Josh Gottheimer and his pal Mark Penn ran the "PR Firm from Hell"!
 
Maybe Josh Gottheimer should explain what he got up to at the "PR Firm from Hell"?  Maybe offer a little apology?

Is Sen. Weinberg empowering Trenton’s bad sexual habits towards women?

By Rubashov
 
On Sunday last, the Star-Ledger ran an expose on the bad sexual behaviors of those in Trenton who make and administer our laws.  On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37) put out a press release claiming shock, writing that she was “saddened and disheartened” to learn of the cases detailed by the Star-Ledger – concerning twenty women who were “groped, propositioned, harassed and even sexually assaulted.” 
 
As Senator Weinberg has held political office in New Jersey since 1975 – and has been a legislator since 1992 – we find it remarkable, indeed unbelievable, that Sunday is the first she’s heard of behavior that has long been openly practiced in Trenton and in other venues of power around the state.  Anyone who has observed Trenton for any length of time (and there are those of us who have watched at close quarters for some decades) knows about the sexual merry-go-round that operates there.
 
And it’s not just women who have been victimized.  After all, didn’t the revered and feted former Governor Jim McGreevey assign one of his male staffers the task of keeping his First Lady sated?  This is not meant in any way as a negative commentary on the obvious physical attractiveness of the then Mrs. McGreevey, a former reporter for the Record, but such an assignment is somewhat exotic and should constitute a form of harassment. 
 
And it’s not just men who have victimized women.  During the administration of Governor Christine Todd Whitman there were situations, one notable in which a senior female administration figure was accused of sexually harassing and propositioning a young female staffer.  That staffer received no thanks and less support for reporting said allegations, and the matter was quickly extinguished.
 
One could fill a book with the promiscuity and downright bizarre sexual practices displayed by, mainly men, who seem at times to be making up for some drought suffered during high school.  There is the story of the legislator who installed a family member as an intern at the State House, only to have her become the prey of a more senior legislator.  Now this legislator was old school, stormed into his colleague’s office, taking him by the throat, and threatening to – let us say – deball his colleague.  When his more senior colleague reminded him of the State Police officer on duty nearby, the legislator suggested that he call the officer in, and the media, for a press conference about why the senior legislator was being deballed.  There was no police, no press conference, just heartfelt apologies and accommodations.  Pity.  He needed deballing.
 
You want to talk about Weird New Jersey?  This state is home to elected officials who have got up to such things as accessing child porn on a legislative office computer, urinating on a crowd of his own supporters, stalking women while impersonating law enforcement, being drunk at a swingers convention, requiring a state house employee to accompany one to a New York City sex club, placing a daughter’s college roommate on the public payroll in order to make her a paramour, and conspiring to kidnap and eat his female victims.  These are just a handful of the dozens and dozens and dozens of such stories. 
 
We suppose it should come as no shock that now they’re trying to screw working moms out of employment and force children to comply against their will and that of their parents.  These politicians are beyond shame.  They are crazy.  Stone cold nuts.  And if their constituents knew even half of it, they would never stop throwing up.
 
Senator Weinberg has been around long enough to know all of this.  We found it particularly hypocritical of her to condemn the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce for what she called their “see no evil responses.”  In fact, the same can be said of Senator Weinberg – and not just concerning what goes on at some annual event – but about what happens every day, day in, day out, in Trenton.
 
Senator Weinberg is part of the power structure in Trenton.  So how many of those in that power structure sleep with staff members who they have the power to fire at will?  How many of her colleagues have sexual dependents on their payrolls?  Would the taxpayers approve of paying for this?
 
The military doesn’t allow such fraternization.  Neither do enlightened corporations.  What message does it send?  What tone does it set – when powerful people are allowed to hire paramours or groom them at the workplace? 
 
This is where the rot begins.  Everyone knows what is going on, everyone sees it, people are rewarded, predators are lauded and further empowered – and nothing is said.  And Senator Weinberg is somehow surprised when it goes outside the Trenton workplace and occurs at the social gatherings of such people?  Don’t start at the fringes – clean it up at the source!      
 
If Senator Weinberg is serious about what she put out in her press release, she might wish to start with her Democrat colleague in the nearby 32nd District…
 

This has been out in the public domain since 2011 – nearly a decade – and it happened just down the road from where Senator Weinberg lives!  And she’s putting out press releases in 2019 suggesting that this kind of misogynistic behavior is news to her?  We have to ask… are you for real?
 
And why haven’t the members of Congress who represent Bergen and Hudson Counties spoken up about this State Senator?  Why haven’t we heard from Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (D-5), Albio Sires (D-8), Bill Pascrell (D-9), or Donald Payne (D-10)?  These men have all been quick to blame political opponents for indiscretions but are mute when it comes to their political allies.  Don’t they understand that nothing will ever change that way?    
 
There are many serious people in politics and public policy.  You have people like Sue Altman on the Left and Regina Egea on the Right.  But there are a lot more jumped-up, wannabe political celebrities.  And like all celebrities, they think they are special.  They think taxpayers’ money is their money.  They think the voters are their subjects – to be bossed, mandated, manipulated, and ordered about.  They think people are put on earth for them to consume.
 
The institutional misogyny that pervades the Trenton Establishment will never be adequately addressed by a pillar of that Establishment.  Senator Weinberg has too many deals in place and, as a member of the legislative  leadership, she’s part of the problem.  One need only be reminded of how she single-handedly prevented the bi-partisan Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act from even getting a hearing in committee – in spite of this legislation having enough co-sponsors of both parties to ensure its passage.
 
It’s time for ordinary voters – women and men – to insist that their elected officials practice some humility and recognize that they are servants of the public, not masters.

The Democrats are lying – they raised taxes 139 times and cut aid to school kids

What do Stacey Gunderman, Lisa Mandelblatt, Lisa Bhimani, Darcy Draeger, Christine Clarke, Laura Fortgang, and Deana Lykins have in common?

In their campaign advertisements, these Democrats are not telling voters the truth. They want to pretend they are agents for change, but their party has run things in the Legislature for more than 17 years.

Instead of making anything better, they will simply add to an already overflowing pot of fetid corruption. Another layer of fat onto an already corpulent political party apparatus.

The Democrats have raised more than 139 taxes over 17 years in the majority – costing New Jerseyans at least $11 billion.

The Assembly Democrats passed 25 bills increasing taxes and fees since Gov. Phil Murphy took office in January 2018. Murphy signed 16 bills, increasing or creating 20 taxes and fees at a cost of at least $2.5 billion for taxpayers.

Over two years, Democrats have increased spending by over $4 billion – nearly 12 percent.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have slashed aid to education for many rural and suburban school districts – despite half the state’s poorer, at risk children living in these districts.

The Democrats slashed aid to school kids but have given more money to Democrat political machines and to the cause of illegal immigration. It’s a disgrace. And it’s time it stopped.

Many Democrat Assembly candidates belong to a far-Left group called Action Together New Jersey.

On February 10, 2018, Action Together New Jersey accepted an award from Linda Sarsour. But the Women’s March cuts its ties with Linda Sarsour over her long history of making anti-Semitic statements.

Sarsour’s attacks on Jews finally got too much for the Women’s March… but not for New Jersey Democrats. In September, Trenton Democrats refused to include Sarsour in a resolution condemning hate.

Linda Sarsour is the controversial Democrat activist who has praised the notoriously anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan, cop-killer Joanne Chesimard, and the anti-Semitic BDS movement. In 2017, Sarsour famously called for “Jihad” against the elected government of the United States of America…

The award was in recognition of voter registration drives and other political campaigning done by Action Together New Jersey in coordination with a group called CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Presenting the award was CAIR National Chairwoman, Roula Allouch, and CAIR-NJ Founder, Ahmed Al Shehab.

Due to its apparent ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of America’s most important Islamic allies – the United Arab Emirates – has designated CAIR a “terrorist” organization. American troops have been deployed to this nation and are currently engaged in operations there.

Action Together New Jersey is in the forefront of the drive to push the Democrat Party in New Jersey to the far-Left. They have joined CAIR in opposing the bi-partisan efforts of New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-5) to push back on members of the so-called “Jihad Squad” (far-Left Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib) in their attempt to promote the anti-Semitic BDS movement.

No less than eight Democrats who are running for the New Jersey Legislature this year have been clearly identified as members of the far-Left Action Together New Jersey on the group’s website. They are Stacey Gunderman, Lisa Mandelblatt, Deana Lykins, Lisa Bhimani, Darcy Draeger, Christine Clarke, Laura Fortgang, and Steven Farkas.

Each one of these candidates has been asked to release a statement on Linda Sarsour that condemns her anti-Semitism. To date, none have issued such a statement.

At a time when America is engaged in an active battlefield confrontation with Islamic terrorism, the Democrats’ failure in this regard is worrisome. They should be asked again.