Fantasia enlists the "Mastermind of Bridgegate" in war against free speech.

By Rubashov
 
For many years, the political consultant David Wildstein operated anonymous blogs with names like PoliticsNJ, PoliticsPA, and PolitickerNJ. Then he, known then as “Wally Edge”, was outed by one of the folks who writes for this blog – an embarrassment he has never forgiven.
 
Wildstein was very close to Chris Christie when he operated those blogs – providing coordinated coverage of Christie’s political corruption investigations when Christie was U.S. Attorney. Later, Christie rewarded Wildstein with a fat appointment at the Port Authority. This position had never existed prior to Wildstein's appointment and had no job description, but he received an annual salary of $150,020.
 
David Wildstein made national headlines in 2015, when he admitted his guilt in the Bridgegate Scandal – a criminal enterprise timed to disrupt the first day of school.  Dr. Paul Saxton, superintendent of Fort Lee’s schools, called the plot “an act of terrorism,” adding, it was “premeditated action designed and targeted toward the kids.” In a statement that made national news, the Bridgegate plotters, including Wildstein, had dismissed concerns that children might suffer, by saying that they were the children of their political opponent.
 
So, we find it remarkable that Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia would turn to David Wildstein, who was described as the “Mastermind of Bridgegate” to go head-to-head with a blog that has been critical of her. Even more so, as she runs a school herself – albeit a controversial one affiliated with an Islamic cleric who himself has been labeled a “terrorist” in his native Turkey.
 
Missing from David Wildstein’s article in the New Jersey Globe was the quote taken from a front-page story in the Star-Ledger newspaper. This quote is the key to this story:
 
“Like Jim Cunneely, Dawn Cunneely [Fantasia] believes he will never commit a similar crime. She calls him a good father, and she has granted him joint custody of the children.”
 
Fantasia’s statement was made on the front page of the November 10, 2014, edition of the Star-Ledger, the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. In a story concerning her former husband, a school teacher who was convicted of a sex crime against one of his students (and “required to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and… undergo parole supervision for life”, ibid April 18, 2008).
 
Nobody made this up. It is on the front page of the state’s largest newspaper. And we’re not discussing events that happened at the time of her husband’s arrest and trial – but rather, statements made years after, when Dawn Fantasia was pursuing political office. Further, it appears the 2014 front page story was in aid of marketing a book, written by Fantasia’s former husband. Published in 2013, it is called “Folie A Deux” and is 374 pages of public disclosure. Anyone can buy it on Amazon for $19.95.
 
Our opinion, which we are allowed to express under the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, is that Commissioner Fantasia’s statement suggests she might be open to policies that allow registered sex offenders, convicted of sex crimes against children, to be granted custody of minor children. That is why we asked her for a clarification of her statement. We even invited her to publish her clarification, unedited, on our website.
 
Fantasia has steadfastly refused to issue a clarification, even though, if she is successful as a candidate for the New Jersey Legislature, she will be voting on bills that affect Megan’s Law and mandatory sentencing, and sex crimes, and child custody. In Wildstein’s column today Fantasia claims that the newspaper was wrong – 9 years after it appeared on the front page. She then tries to blame the judge, making the utterly fantastic statement that a judge would grant custody of minor children to a registered sex offender without the positive agreement of the mother of those children. We would like to see the court transcript of that! Where, in America, does that happen?
 
The issue before us is very simple: Do voters have a right to know candidate Dawn Fantasia’s position? Because that is all we’ve been asking.
 
Micah Rasmussen, Director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, provides this answer: “Voters can't make informed decisions unless they're informed. If you asked any self-respecting constituent of George Santos, they'd tell you they wish they knew then what they know now.”
 
Commissioner Fantasia makes the false accusation that this blog coordinates with campaigns. That is untrue and has been investigated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and found to be untrue. A complaint was made in 2020 and, after a thorough investigation by federal authorities, there was no indication whatsoever that coordination had occurred. Anyone who knows anyone connected with this blog or its affiliated blogs knows that we take direction from nobody. That’s why they get so angry at us. Unlike most political blogs in New Jersey, we don’t even take advertising from politicians.

Commissioner Fantasia claims that a male consultant runs this blog. That is untrue. The administrator of this blog is a woman. Several people contribute. The administrator of the Sussex County Watchdog blog is a different woman. Neither the consultant or anyone else can post an article without their consent. Those are the facts. 
 
In today’s New Jersey Globe article, Commissioner Fantasia pledges to “stop” conservative media outlets like this from asking politicians tough questions. That’s not what anyone would call a conservative or constitutionalist legislative agenda.
 
Dawn Fantasia is a politician. She is paid by an organization that receives millions in taxpayer funding. She is an elected official who gets paid by the taxpayer. She is seeking higher public office – and a substantial pay raise. Dawn Fantasia does not get to decide what is or isn’t journalism.
 
She might think she’s a big deal, but the United States Supreme Court has over-ruled her. They have determined that blogs are indeed journalism and that bloggers are indeed journalists. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled repeated on anonymous speech and has upheld and protected it as a sacred American tradition. The Society of Professional Journalists agrees as well.
 
Dawn Fantasia is an example of how politicians become when there is no local media to scrutinize them. They become apoplectic when asked questions about statements they made to the largest newspaper in the state.
 
Tucker Carlson reminds us, “Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.”

- - -

Senator Steve Oroho’s longtime political consultant was contacted and responded to this claim, published in the New Jersey Globe today: “After growing weary of his tactics, I did not enlist him for my current campaign,” Fantasia said.  “As such, I am his current target.”
 
The consultant states that the Commissioner is a public office holder and a candidate for public office. He is not. He further states that the accuracy of Commissioner Fantasia’s statement will be tested in a court of law, as he intends to bring a legal action against her and her campaign.
 
He notes that Senator Oroho asked him to be part of the team that vetted all the prospective Assembly candidates in LD24 in December 2022. The consultant’s concerns about her suitability as a candidate and the vulnerabilities she had were discussed and recorded in writing – including the incident described in the Star-Ledger article of November 10, 2014.
 
He further notes that he was lobbied by numerous individuals in an effort to get him to work for Commissioners Dawn Fantasia and Chris Carney for Assembly. These included Ms. Kate Gibbs of ELEC825 and the two candidates themselves, who made a trip to New Hope, Pennsylvania, to take the consultant to dinner in an attempt to convince him to work for them.
 
The consultant refrained from using the word “lie” as, he says, “That is a matter for the court to determine.” The consultant anticipates calling many witnesses and introducing a plethora of documentation that negates Commissioner Fantasia’s statement. 

Commissioner Fantasia should pay close attention to the free speech advocate in this video.

“Voters can’t make informed decisions unless they’re informed.  If you asked any self-respecting constituent of George Santos, they’d tell you they wish they knew then what they know now.”
Micah Rasmussen
Director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
George Orwell

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

By Sussex County Watchdog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is Politico extremist? Wikipedia seems to think so.

By Rubashov

Corporate extremism. Violent corporate extremism.

Each year, every day, corporations across the globe commit acts of violence against individuals and communities. War is an act of violence. Those corporations engaged in the furtherance of endless wars, endless occupations, profit from violence. Incarcerating human beings for profit is an act of corporate violence. The opioid epidemic that has cost the lives of so many and damaged the lives of so many more, their families, and communities, is an act of corporate violence. So is the burning of forests. Human trafficking and its corporate use as a source of labor is an act of violence. So is the destruction of American jobs through the use of slave or near-slave labor. As is the violence used against workers who attempt to organize.

These are all acts of violence, often illegal, always unethical, for the purposes of greed. The media, dependent on advertising revenue from violent corporate extremists, are left with hard choices to make. Increasingly, violent corporate extremists have come to own media outlets directly.

We were thinking on this when we came across a salutary column by one Matt Freidman, formerly of David Wildstein’s PoliticsNJ. Friedman argues that it is “time for New Jersey politicians — even some considered moderate — to take stock of the extremism they have allowed to fester.” Indeed.

Friedman is very quick to use terms like “extremist” to label the exercise of free assembly and free speech of anyone with whom he disagrees. He seems very worried that, in the past, some politically “extremist” groups “tied” to the Capitol riot were permitted to speak on public ground at events attended by “mainstream politicians”.

We wonder. Does Friedman consider Bridgegate to be an act of political “extremism”?

Is shutting down a bridge and damning the people on it – including all those “children of Buono voters” riding those school buses – an act of violent extremism? If a group of knuckleheads with Trump flags had shut down that bridge and damned those “children of Buono voters” – would that have been an act of violent extremism?

Isn’t Friedman “tied” to the “mastermind” of that enterprise?

Friedman then details some of the other instances when he feels the First Amendment should not have applied:

“In 2012, Republicans in Morris County invited birther conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi to speak. Corsi later helped perpetuate the voter fraud lie. Fast forward to late 2020, when Morris County surrogate Heather Darling organized a rally in support of small business where a man flying a confederate flag looked perfectly welcome. In 2018, Republicans in South Jersey not only tolerated but in some cases helped the congressional candidacy of Seth Grossman — who’s quoted as an Oath Keepers apologist in the Inquirer piece — despite years of racist and anti-Muslim social media posts. And even Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, in office 40 years and never known as a firebrand, aired demonstrably false conspiracy theories that Antifa was behind the Capitol riot, and has since deleted his Twitter account…”

But is Friedman really in a position to exercise such moral judgment? According to Wikipedia, the publication he writes for has its own failings…

“Politico Magazine published an article in April 2017 purporting to show long-term links among U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Jewish outreach organization Chabad-Lubavitch. The article was widely condemned, with the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, saying that it ‘evokes age-old myths about Jews’.”

“In March 2019 Politico was accused again of anti-Semitism when an article depicting imagery of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders next to money trees was published. Sanders, one of two Jewish candidates for the 2020 US presidential election, was targeted for the amount of wealth he accumulated over his lifetime. Politico staff writer Michael Kruse wrote the article detailing the senator's wealth, writing that Sanders ‘might still be cheap’, according to one of the senator's friends, ‘but he's sure not poor’, which was criticized as combining two anti-Semitic tropes (Jews are cheap; Jews are rich). Politico's official Twitter account used the quote to share the story; the tweet was later deleted.”

Would it be fair to label Politico a neo-Nazi publication… or just “moderately” anti-Semitic?

Like Jerome Corsi, Politico has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories and of lying. Friedman appears perfectly comfortable writing for a publication that pushes anti-Semitic “tropes”. While accusing Seth Grossman of being an anti-Muslim apologist for the “Oath Keepers”, Friedman seems to forget that he writes for an anti-Semitic group who are apologists for “age-old myths about Jews”. And finally, like Congressman Smith, Politico deletes its Twitter account.

Is it time to ban Politico from polite society?

How about anybody that had anything to do with Bridgegate? Why would any righteous politician ever send them a press release… ever! And hey, Matt Friedman, that’s who taught you. That makes you “tied” to it. That means you need to go too. Right?

Friedman continues:

“Occasionally, Democrats go down the path of conspiracy theories and extremism, and yes, there exist left-wing radicals who commit violence. But let’s resist the temptation to ‘both sides’ this issue, because there are few if any mainstream Democrats coddling it.”

Really? Did someone take a dump in Matt’s brain and forget to flush it? Or was he on sabbatical in some monastery when all that violence and arson and carnage happened last summer? We seem to remember a certain Democrat Governor marching in support of it and the Democrats in Trenton passing a resolution in support of it. Why lie to your readers like that?

Well… follow the money. Matt’s boss at Politico has a long history of donating large sums to Democrat candidates and causes and served under former President Bill Clinton. He’s an investment banker named Patrick Steel. Yep, an investment banker. Wonder what violent corporate extremism he’s got up to?

Before spending 16 years at the investment firm FBR Capital Markets & Co. (more on this later), Steel served eight years in the Clinton administration, including a stint as the special assistant to former President Bill Clinton. He’s probably arsehole buddies with Josh Gottheimer.

According to the Media Research Center, when Steel joined Politico as CEO in 2017, he had donated $64,850 to Democrats, and nothing to Republicans. Among those he gave to were Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Chuck Schumer.

So now you know the rest of the story.

Matt Friedman is clearly compromised – but not just in the way you might think. Matt writes the way he does because he is so certain of his own personal goodness. Because of this, he can look down at others, see bad, and seek to cast them out of society – question their very humanity. What Matt doesn’t seem to understand is that he is not good. He is bad, just as bad, we all are.

Here are some wise words for Matt, and for all of us, to consider. Maybe, when we are less censorious, we will find a way to be better – not good, and certainly not perfect – human beings. Maybe, probably not, but maybe…

“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves”

— Eric Hoffer

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 contact Marianna at Marianna@JerseyConservative.org.

Silicon Valley and Free Speech

Is the Government Behind the Social Media Blackout of the Hunter Biden StoriIs the Government Behind the Social Media Blackout of the Hunter Biden Stories?es?

As a follow up to my post, Freedom of Speech and the Recent Actions of Twitter and Facebook,I received a number of emails along the lines of this one:

“I’m not all that sure the government ISN’T blocking free speech. It might be similar to data collection where the government collects data by proxy using the phone companies, but even more hidden. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are different companies and yet they all make the decision to block the same articles and ban the same users on the same date. In fact, Alex Jones was banned by all the companies at the exact same time. Either way, something is going on behind the scenes.”

RW response:

I am open to evidence that the government is behind the actions but such a theory without evidence lacks an understanding of Silicon Valley. I don't think the government is behind the censorship but, even if it is, I don't see that as the major problem.

The SV crowd is rabidly anti-Trump and they all hang out together so it is not surprising that they react in concert against Trump.

I recall Justin Raimondo telling me that he was once invited to the house of Google co-founder Sergy Brin. [Gaudy furniture, Justin told me.] All the major SV players were there. It was just after the start of one of the Iraq wars and they had Justin there along with other foreign affairs experts to discuss what their position should be on the war.

Star-Ledger's Tom Moran: An accusation is enough to convict!

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Well, there goes the rule of law.

In the future, we should not expect a judicial process to determine our guilt or innocence.  What we should expect is the Moran prescription:  Merely to be accused, then to have a media-appointed judge determine our guilt, and finally a social media firestorm whipped-up to ensure our punishment.

How arrogant must someone like Tom Moran be to believe that he has the power to erase due process and our Republic's democratic traditions?  With his dutiful satellite Julie O'Connor, knelt passively by his side, Moran passes  judgment to take away the civil rights of an American citizen.  To muzzle a point of view by saying that someone should not be permitted to access their constitutional right -- protected by our Bill of Rights -- to run for office and freely voice their opinion.

Hey Julie!  Didn't you recently write an entire column about the falsely accused and admonishing those who would rush to judgment?  Guess your words don't apply to Tom, do they?

Is it not enough that the property taxpayers of New Jersey are made to subsidize out-of-date print media like the Star-Ledger?  Moran and his ilk have used their political relationships to successfully lobby for a law that forces local governments to use money from property taxes to advertise in print media when so many other formats cost nothing.  The law keeps Moran and his kind in a job even as the pressure it places on working people raises New Jersey's foreclosure rate to the highest in the nation.  But this is only one instance of Moran's corruption.

Sadly, Tom Moran and the Star-Ledger newspaper continue to add to the growing stain that is New Jersey's public life.  Moran has long been the subject of derision by professional journalists, who have been appalled by his panegyrics to political bosses like George Norcross.  Moran has long supped at the posterior of the Newhouse clan, who own the Star-Ledger and other organs (Moran amongst them) and for this Moran has been hated by the union workers and journalists who have suffered personal and material privations to service the greed of the Newhouse corporate masters.  Yes, Tom Moran is a sheepish fellow (and from the looks of him he might have been sired by one).

But it hardly ends here.  Tom Moran and his editorial board of sports writers and pom-pom girls have purposefully participated in the lowering of New Jersey's standards in public life.  They have steadfastly ignored the presence of convicted criminals in New Jersey's political system and have unflinchingly remained silent when these convicts were given political power or even elected office. 

When Montclair State University proposed fashioning a course in public service modeled around the life of a bureaucrat and lobbyist who had actually been criminally indicted for public corruption (he was saved from the legal process by an untimely death) Moran and O'Connor did not wince.  There was no admonishment in the Star-Ledger's editorial pages about what they were "celebrating".  The judicial process was mocked -- even though those who were indicted along with this "model of public service" were found to be, most guilty.

You see, to Tom and Julie, public theft and public corruption and criminal conviction and all that once was bad, it no longer matters.  What matters now, so our warm couple insist, is what goes on in your head.  They -- Moran and O'Connor -- want to be the judges of your inner moral conduct.  And while their concern for public morals does not encompass corporate prostitution and office trysts, what they will not tolerate are words.

Words and writing and books and speech are what they are on about.  They will use them, to reach into another person's soul, to determine motives and character, to decide if their subject is worthy of a human consideration, like doubt.

Tom Moran and Julie O'Connor are corporate versions of Captain Beatty in Ray Bradbury's  Fahrenheit 451.  Narcissistic windbags, usurpers of process and of judgment, haters of any way other than their own, of words and of writing that expresses what they do not embrace, and so -- haters of books and of free speech.  They terrorize them without power while sucking corporate ass, are friends of corruption and criminality.  They are authoritarians and the destroyers of liberty.

Is David Hogg fair game for critics?

The young fellow survived a terrible attack and has made himself something of a celebrity since.  He is certainly free to express his opinions in as pithy a fashion as he sees fit.  Perhaps his parents will have something to say about it, but this is between them. 

That said, the young mister should understand that Free Speech works both ways and acts as a crucible to test one's words and ideas.  He might not like it at first, but it will help to sharpen his arguments and make him a better leader, should he decide to go down that path.

Young Mr. Hogg's sudden rise reminds us of that cult 1960's film classic, "Wild In The Streets."  In case you don't remember, were too young, or not yet born...

Hey... mercy camps...

See, nothing new.  We learn and then forget and then relearn all over again.  Like a dog chasing its tail or, if you are of a more artistic frame of mind, A Dance to the Music of Time.

NJ Leg should condemn police beheading image

The New Jersey Legislature has issued formal condemnations, in the form of resolutions, of everything from the Flag of Saint Patrick (because it looked a little like the Confederate Flag, even though it was  around hundreds of years before the Confederacy) to the State of North Carolina (because it has a law that keeps trans-men out of girls' toilets).  We would like to draw their attention to something tweeted the other day by an NFL player. 

As we know, sports stars, particularly football players, are often held as role models by children and young adults.  The citizens of New Jersey, led by their Legislature, should make clear their collective position on such violent images aimed at the police officers who are our friends, family, and neighbors. 

While we cannot and should not attempt to ban free speech, even free speech that is disturbing, we can and should reply to such speech with speech.  A strong unambiguous condemnation will let the publishers of such images know that their efforts have backfired.

What's wrong with America in one video

Liberal talk show host Bill Maher nails it in this video:

And it's not just young college students who behave this way.  Plenty of elected officials totally lose it when they are faced with an uncomfortable opinion or idea. 

Even senior members of the Legislature and the GOP get chafed if you stop blowing smoke up their arses long enough to look them in the eye and level with them.  For these cats -- man to man is not an option.

Heck, some even memorialize their "feelings" in writing.  Can you believe it?

Memo to them:  You are the elected representatives of a democracy.  Or at least, that is what you tell those young men and women from poor and working class backgrounds who you send to invade other nations in the name of "democracy."  So many leave their limbs and well-being behind when they come home, but you justify it all in the name of "democracy."  So for them, to honor their sacrifice, maybe you can manage to sit through a meeting with people you don't see eye to eye with?

As an elected leader, you have a responsibility to be an adult -- to lead by example.  That means you have to suck it up and actually defend the right to be heard, of people and ideas you loath.  Here's another for you, this time from a fictional liberal, President Andrew Shepherd (from “The American President,” 1995):

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.'"

That's it in a nutshell.  Memo to some elected officials:  Grow up.