SCCC Trustee Burrell (D) running for Mayor of Vernon

So now we know what tonight’s circus is in aid of…

Politics.  Real scumbag politics.  The kind that masquerades as self-righteousness when it is really only about self-dealing.

It turns out that for some time now, SCCC Trustee Howard Burrell has been discussing and planning a comeback political career.  Trustee Burrell was a Democrat Freeholder until he was defeated for re-election in 2002 by 4,000 votes.  Sussex County Democrat Committee Chairwoman Katie Rotondi and Murphy county coordinator Leslie Huhn are both Burrell backers.  

We understood why Democrats like Dan Perez and Lorraine Parker wanted to hold an anti-Trump rally disguised as a special public meeting of the SCCC trustees, but we couldn’t figure out why SCCC Board Chairman Bill Curcio went along with it.  Now we know. 

SCCC Trustee Howard Burrell managed Democrat Dan Perez’ 2017 Freeholder race against Republican Freeholder Director Herb Yardley.  Perez lost by 7,000 votes.  Now Perez is returning the favor and supporting Burrell.

The SCCC Board of Trustees dumped a Sussex County firm as its attorney and hired the Union County Democrat machine firm of former State Senator Ray Lesniak.  So it is official.  The facts surrounding this appointment are shocking and will be dealt with in length but suffice to say that Ray Lesniak was a big defender of the corrupt practice of pay-to-play.

So now we know why some players on the SCCC Board of Trustees have dragged their colleague of seven years through the dirt for something he’s apologized for again and again…

Politics.  Dirtbag politics.  The kind of politics that sacrifices human decency, forgiveness, and pity for self-advancement. 

Sussex County Community College isn’t supposed to be about politics.  The SCCC Board of Trustees aren’t supposed to create venues by which to hang one trustee so that another can launch his political comeback campaign.

In fact, using SCCC facilities for partisan political purposes is explicitly against the rules of the Internal Revenue Service.  The process by which an executive session of the Board was called (a trustee is not “personnel” and no lawsuit has been filed by any party) and a public meeting held could pose legal hurdles for the SCCC.

Curiously, Howard Burrell launched his original political career 30 years ago in the midst of the same rhetoric being used by some Democrats today… accusing anyone they don’t like of “racism” and “bigotry” while they push legislation that even most Democrats say is anti-Semitic.  It seems some Democrats have learned nothing in 30 years.

Also worth noting are the assurances made by Trustee Burrell to the Freeholder Board at the time of his appointment just last year.  Burrell’s appointment had been held up by an earlier Freeholder Board over concerns that he would use his position on the SCCC Board of Trustees as a springboard to political office.  The current Freeholder Board appointed him after being assured that politics would not be part of it.  This has obviously turned out not to be the case and Trustee Burrell will have some explaining to do.

It looks like former Freeholder Carl Lazzaro was right about Howard Burrell and Watchdog was wrong to have advocated for Burrell’s appointment to the SCCC Board of Trustees.  We admit our mistake.

Memo to Dems and SCCC: Don’t Give In To Terrorists

We know all about the Sussex County GOP Chairman who mistakenly re-tweeted some Twitter “trains” that contained controversial language regarding some anti-Semitic members of Congress and Islam.  The Sussex County GOP took away his Twitter account and the Chairman took responsibility and apologized.

That should have been an end to it.  Especially as, in trying to make their complaint against the GOP Chairman, Sussex County Democrats managed to attack Disabled American Veterans, Judeo-Christian theology, and the American Bill of Rights.

But it didn’t end there.  The New Jersey chapter of CAIR got involved.  CAIR, which is short for Council on American-Islamic Relations, put out a statement that labeled the re-tweets “anti-Muslim” and “Islamophobic, racist, and xenophobic” and called for the GOP Chairman’s resignation as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sussex County Community College (SCCC).

Unfortunately for CAIR. Its Democrat Party allies, and for some faculty and staff at the SCCC – the GOP Chairman broke no laws or SCCC rules.  There is no legal basis to remove him or to force his resignation. 

America is a Republic.  We are a nation of laws.  We have due process.  We have the Bill of Rights.  We do not succumb to the emotional howls of lynch mobs.  We do not honor vendettas or fatwas.  We don’t give in to terrorists.  We don’t let them have their way.  We are Americans. 

It is a pity that people need to be reminded of this.  It is a pity that a college board needs to be reminded of this.  That Freedom of Speech, to be worthy of the name, requires us to protect even that speech which we despise.  Otherwise, there is no freedom at all.

What the Board of Trustees can do is to create a new rule that proscribes the behavior of faculty, staff, and trustees – going forward.   A new rule applicable to all, to which all would be responsible. 

We hope the Board does not take the cheap way out, the extra-legal way.  To attempt to satiate the lynch mob’s bloodlust with a head, so that the Board can go back to exactly what they were doing – with no rules in place, only the fear of the mob.  This would constitute not just a cave to the mob… but to a designated “terrorist organization” as well.   

If you Google CAIR and go on the home page of CAIR’s website, you will find this headline:  CAIR Wins Landmark First Amendment Victory Striking Down Texas Anti-BDS Law.

CAIR is in direct opposition to the bi-partisan efforts by Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (D-Sussex) and Chris Smith (R-Mercer) to oppose the BDS movement:

Two New Jersey congressmen today celebrated the passage of a resolution denouncing the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement that targets Israel.

“The BDS movement demonizes Israel and Jews and applies a double standard whereby Israel is always wrong, and the “oppressed” Palestinians are always in the right – regardless of whether groups such as Hamas are engaging in terrorist acts upon Israeli citizens,” said Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton), the co-chair of a Bipartisan Task Force on Combatting Anti-Semitism.   “The overwhelming vote in favor of the House resolution to reject the BDS movement and its efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel, underscores America’s strong support for Israel as a key ally and our commitment to Israel’s right to exist.”

The resolution, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last night by a 398-17 vote, opposes economic apparatuses aimed at punishing companies that do business with Israel.

“There are few clearer examples of bias and double standards than BDS movement. But BDS is also fundamentally incompatible with a two-state solution. It seeks to punish only Israel and it rejects direct negotiations in favor of a unilateral strategy,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff).  “That is why it is so important that Congress is on record opposing BDS and other harmful efforts to single out and delegitimize Israel.”

The only New Jersey House member to vote against the measure was Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).

Wikipedia explains that CAIR is “a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide.”  Wikipedia goes on to note:

Critics of CAIR have accused it of pursuing an Islamist agenda[5][6][7] and have claimed that the group is connected to Hamas[8] and the Muslim Brotherhood,[9][7] claims which CAIR has rejected and described as an Islamophobic smear campaign.[10] Due to apparent ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the government of the United Arab Emirates has designated CAIR as a terrorist organization.[11]

A “terrorist organization”?  That is a very serious matter.  And it is a matter that remains unexplained in the media or by the Board of Trustees of the Sussex County Community College

CAIR’s demands have been repeatedly referenced by the Board of Trustees of the Sussex County Community College.  CAIR’s demands have been repeatedly highlighted in statewide newspapers, media, websites, and blogs.  The media has not been honest in identifying who and what CAIR is. 

The media has been afraid to even discuss CAIR’s designation as a “terrorist organization” by one of America’s best Islamic allies in the Middle East.  Why?

Pardon us for noticing, but we can’t help but think a designation as a “terrorist organization” (by one of America’s Islamic allies) is worthy of at least as much attention as a re-tweet of a Twitter “train”, a mistake, for which responsibility was accepted and apology given.  Or has everyone forgotten September 11th and the wars against radical Islam and all those subsequent acts of Jihadist terror?  Does the media, the Democrats, and the SCCC trustees wish to erase the sacrifice of all those dead and wounded and disabled soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines

Besides which, CAIR has a greater duty in this matter.  That is the duty a believer has to God. 

"…They should rather pardon and overlook.  Would you not love Allah to forgive you?  Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an, 24:22)