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.

Gottheimer attacked leader of “Jihad Squad”.

They have been satirically called the “Jihad Squad”…

You remember satire, don’t you?  Yes, it had something to do with comedy… but all that was banned after the rise of the Neo-Cromwellians…

Satire (noun) the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Apparently, satire – like everything else these days – is now a form of “racism”.

This so-called “Jihad Squad” is composed of the following members of Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.  A couple of them are rather anti-Semitic and none of them much like the Jewish state.  One member of Congress – Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (D-Minnesota) – actually mocks Jewish people by calling them “Benjamins”.  Another, Rashida Harbi Tlaib (D-Michigan), holds rallies under the banners of the PLO – a terrorist group.

Maybe that is why Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) called out the group’s leader, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, after she threatened him and other Democrats with placement on a kind of political extermination list.  Gottheimer asked: “Since when is it okay to put you on a Nixonian list?  We need to have a big tent in our party, or we won’t keep the House or win the White House.”  The New Jersey Globe did a nice job covering Gottheimer’s response to the “Jihad Squad” leader’s attacks.  You can read the full story here…

https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/gottheimer-takes-on-ocasio-cortez/

Rashida Harbi Tlaib doesn’t much care for Josh Gottheimer either (hey, at least she doesn’t call him a “Benjamin”).  The Democrat from Michigan called the Democrat from New Jersey a “bully”.  Gottheimer had simply raised the issue of anti-Semitism amongst members of what has been jokingly referred to as the “Jihad Squad”.  According to media reports, Gottheimer noted… “anti-Semitic comments on dual loyalty and other anti-Semitic tropes that the Congressman and many other members of Congress found deeply disturbing."  The Intercept, run by that hero of transparency Glenn Greenwald, reported on this in May. 

All the members of the so-called “Jihad Squad” are supporters of Linda Sarsour, a co-founder of the famous (or, depending on one’s perspective, infamous) Women’s March.  Sarsour has, in fact, used the term “Jihad” in her speeches and, to our knowledge, not one of the “Jihad Squad” has attempted to distance themselves either from her or her use of the word.

In July 2017, Linda Sarsour called for a "Jihad" against the American government. 

Here's what she said:

"During a speech to the Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago last weekend, Sarsour, a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention who is an anti-Israel and pro-Sharia activist, made the startling call and also urged against 'assimilation.' 

'I hope that we when we stand up to those who oppress our communities that Allah accepts from us that as a form of jihad,' she said. 'That we are struggling against tyrants and rulers not only abroad in the Middle East or in the other side of the world, but here in these United States of America, where you have fascists and white supremacists and Islamophobes reigning in the White House.'

'Our number one and top priority is to protect and defend our community, it is not to assimilate and please any other people and authority,' she said.

'Our obligation is to our young people, is to our women, to make sure our women are protected in our community. Our top priority and even higher than all those other priorities is to please Allah and only Allah,' she said."

Sarsour started off her call for "Jihad" by praising the work of Siraj Wahaj, who she described as her "favorite person in the room."  Wahaj is a controversial New York imam who has attracted the attention of American law enforcement for years.  Federal prosecutors included him on a 3½-page list of people they said "may be alleged as co-conspirators" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though he was never charged, the Associated Press reported.

That same month, July 2017, Linda Sarsour’s organization "honored" cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur). 

Then there is the extensive media coverage of Sarsour’s supportive statements towards the virulently anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan.  And her statements about wanting to remove another Muslim woman’s vagina…

In an August 1, 2017 New York Times column – When Progressives Embrace Hate – Editor Bari Weiss wrote:

"The leaders of the Women’s March, arguably the most prominent feminists in the country, have some chilling ideas and associations. Far from erecting the big tent so many had hoped for, the movement they lead has embraced decidedly illiberal causes and cultivated a radical tenor that seems determined to alienate all but the most woke.

Start with Ms. Sarsour, by far the most visible of the quartet of organizers. It turns out that this 'homegirl in a hijab,' as one of many articles about her put it, has a history of disturbing views, as advertised by . . . Linda Sarsour.

There are comments on her Twitter feed of the anti-Zionist sort: 'Nothing is creepier than Zionism,' she wrote in 2012. And, oddly, given her status as a major feminist organizer, there are more than a few that seem to make common cause with anti-feminists, like this from 2015: 'You’ll know when you’re living under Shariah law if suddenly all your loans and credit cards become interest-free. Sound nice, doesn’t it?'  She has dismissed the anti-Islamist feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the most crude and cruel terms, insisting she is 'not a real woman' and confessing that she wishes she could take away Ms. Ali’s vagina — this about a woman who suffered genital mutilation as a girl in Somalia." 

Hey, maybe the reason why some Democrats don’t get satire is that, in this case, they don’t think it is satire.  Maybe they think it is reality and they just want to suppress it?

Could be.

Andy Kim tries to pass himself off as a veteran. In fact, Kim never served in the military.

This is the first in a series called Six crazy things about Andy Kim you should know before you vote.

With the election for Congress just 12 days away, one of our readers compiled this list of crazy things about 3rd District congressional candidate Andy Kim.  Are there any you disagree with, or can you find more?

Let’s examine the first one…

(1) Andy Kim tries to make it seem like he was in the military.  He led Burlington County Young Democrats to believe he was a veteran.  In fact, Kim never served in the military.  In 2017, the Burlington County Young Democrats tried to pass Andy Kim off as a veteran…

Here are the other crazy things about Andy Kim…

(2) Andy Kim brags about a civilian award he got from General Petraeus when, in fact, it is a lesser award than the one the General gave to his girlfriend.  It seems there was a lot of award giving going around.

(3) Andy Kim is a founder of the so-called “Resistance Movement” made up of Washington, DC-based former Obama administration appointees.  He later lied about it, claiming it was just a “Facebook group” when, in fact, Andy Kim incorporated a Soviet-style “educational” organization and a lobbying group in the State of Delaware. 

(4) “Resistance” leader Andy Kim promoted the political writings of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal.  He sold the murderer’s book right on his website.  Kim also endorsed the organization run by Jihadist Linda Sarsour, a racist supporter of Louis Farrakhan and convicted cop-killer Joanne Chesimard. 

(5) Andy Kim was a staff member with a Homeless Advocacy organization in Chicago.  The group Kim worked for fought legislation to prevent “aggressive” panhandling and efforts to prevent people from fouling the streets.  Kim’s efforts added to the violence of that city and a decline in the quality of life there.

(6) Andy Kim doesn’t really live in New Jersey.  He’s never paid property taxes in New Jersey and never paid personal income taxes in New Jersey.  Kim doesn’t own property in New Jersey, but owns an expensive property in Washington, DC – with his DC-based lawyer spouse – on which they claimed a property tax deduction as residents.

Congressional candidate Andy Kim dropped out of nowhere and the corrupt New Jersey Democrat political machine anointed him as their candidate…

Garden State Equality says state's only blind congressional candidate "should go"

Identity politics is a funny thing. 

From the statement issued by Christian Fuscarino, the young and very healthy executive director of Garden State Equality (GSE), if you enjoy sex with members of your own gender (if, indeed, we even recognize such things as gender anymore) you are superior and can apparently pass judgment on every other "identity" on earth.  And you can make such judgments, free from any human consideration  or courtesy -- what in less certain times we called "the benefit of the doubt."

Imagine the hee-haw that would be going on if the state's only gay candidate for Congress was being bullied from an election because someone had accused him of having said someone was "blind as a bat" a dozen years before?

And yet, based on an unproven allegation, by an individual who (as the basis of a law suit brought against the man he accused) has been totally discredited by an actual court of law, young and healthy Christian Fuscarino wants to throw a road block in the way of the state's only blind candidate for congressional office.  We have to ask Christian -- shouldn't we be promoting such candidacies?  Isn't this a victory for everyone concerned about diversity?

Think of the unique perspective that a blind candidate will bring to Congress, if he is fortunate enough to be elected.  Instead of discussing disability in the abstract, there will be someone in the room who actually lived it.  That's a positive thing, isn't it?

Now Christian and his fellows at GSE make much of -- to use a curiously Christian term -- the "crosses" they had to bear while coming of age.  Many say that it is ongoing.  We must be charitable and take their word for it, even though there is a certain subjectivity involved.  But blindness is not subjective, and we wonder how many would trade "crosses" with the human being who they are trying to deny the exercise of his civil rights?

We live in a very vicious time that will be followed by a more vicious time and one more vicious after that.  That is the trajectory.  It is made so because we no longer look into each others' eyes but instead contemplate a screen.  In a way, our society suffers from its own form of blindness, in that we fail to see the human. 

Unlike the blindness suffered by GSE's target, it is correctable, but does Christian Fuscarino wish to correct it?  He is young.  Time will tell.  Time will tell.

In the meantime... try to not be offended so much by everything.  And when you are offended, extend to the fellow human being offending you some charitable consideration.  Presume the best.  Instead of throwing a meaningless name at him, extend to him the benefit of the doubt.  Let the fires of your own hatred and of pride burn low... and perhaps... out.

Please enjoy this video... (lighten up)

Don't let the status quo block tax cuts and job creation

The Republican Tax Cuts & Jobs Act passed by the House of Representatives and advancing through the Senate will free up an enormous amount of capital for new investment and job creation.   Many struggling businesses -- especially younger corporations -- will benefit immediately and start looking for talented employees to fill the demand.  The taxes those new employees pay will help fund the social safety net that is so important to many in New Jersey.  And just as important, employment frees people from government dependency so that more resources can be directed to those in dire need.

Of course, there are those who don't want the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act to succeed.  The status quo suits them just fine.  They are beneficiaries of the current crony capitalist system, in which winners and losers are not so much chosen by government, as by the globalist corporations that spend billions lobbying government.  The dominant media corporations that decide what you read, hear, and see are some of the biggest global corporations in the world.  They have every reason to want to starve the new enterprising forms of media coming from younger competitors.  And so do their allies in Congress -- like Josh Gottheimer and Cory Booker.  These media "darlings" want to keep rewarding the corporations who reward them and so they are trying to make the argument that the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is "anti-business".  Sure it is... if you are a crony capitalist insider.  But if you are an honest business trying to make it in the open market, the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act represents some breathing space -- fresh air and the opportunity to grow your business and employ your fellow Americans.

The Tax Foundation calls the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act "a big step forward toward comprehensive tax reform".  As the nation's oldest pro-business, taxpayer watchdog, the Tax Foundation has seen a lot of false hopes in its day and isn't quick to hop on a bandwagon.  After careful analysis, they have endorsed this legislation and offer this long list of positive details about the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act:

"The bill makes a number of noteworthy changes and would, according to our Taxes and Growth Model, increase GDP, raise wages, and create more jobs.

Below is a summary of the major provisions of the House package:

• Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets:  Consolidates current seven income tax rates into four, while retaining the top marginal rate of 39.6 percent and including an income recapture provision which phases out the effect of the 12 percent bracket for high earners.
• Standard Deduction:  Increases the standard deduction to $12,200 for single filers, $18,300 for heads of household, and $24,400 for joint filers.
• Itemized Deductions:  Retains the state and local property tax deduction, capped at $10,000, while eliminating the remainder of the state and local tax deduction, except for taxes paid or accrued in carrying on a trade or business; limits the mortgage interest deduction to the first $500,000 in principle value.
• Child and Family Tax Credits:  Increases child tax credit value to $1,600, with the phaseout for joint filers beginning at $230,000, while creating a new $300 per-person family tax credit for those not eligible for the child tax credit, to expire after five years.
• Treatment of Pass-Through Income:  Caps the pass-through rate at 25 percent and adds a lower minimum rate, with anti-abuse rules.
• Corporate Income Tax:  Cuts the tax rate to 20 percent, effective tax year 2018.
• Capital Investment:  Increases the Section 179 small business expensing cap from $500,000 to $5 million, with the phaseout beginning at $20 million, and maintains current depreciation schedules for real property.
• Tax Treatment of Interest:  Caps net interest deduction at 30 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
• Business Credits and Deductions:  Eliminates credits for orphan drugs, energy, private activity bonds, rehabilitation, and contributions for capital, among others.
• International Income:  Moves to a territorial system with base-erosion rules.
• Deemed Repatriation:  Enacts deemed repatriation of currently deferred foreign profits at a rate of 14 percent for liquid assets and 7 percent for illiquid assets.
• Estate Tax:  Increases exemption to $10 million, indexed for inflation, with repeal after six years.

(Source:  The Tax Foundation)

Was George Carlin right about us?

Remember this from George Carlin?  Hey, we apologize if anyone is offended, but these are his words not ours.

Maybe George Carlin was right.  Maybe we get the politicians we deserve.  If they suck, it is a reflection of how we suck.  Or maybe, we have stopped listening, learning, and participating in any meaningful way.

Look at what has become known as the "increase in the gas tax."  Actually it started out as an economic restructuring plan, but because that took too long to explain, it has morphed into a tax swap:  An increase in the tax on petroleum fuel in return for a cut in the sales tax and a cut in the tax on retirement income.  But even now, many people just speak of it as the "increase in the gas tax."

Instead of a civil, rational discussion, we've had performance art -- Dadaist theatre featuring NJ 101.5's Bill Spadea replete with his electric blue phallic symbol.  A "prop" he calls it, something used to make a point.  Indeed. 

The point to remember about Bill Spadea is that when the Spadeas decided to locate a new business, they chose Pennsylvania.  When they decided to expand, they chose Latin America.  Which when you think about it, is kind of the whole argument here.

The level of noise on NJ 101.5 has given rise to everything from death threats to gross displays of selfishness and ignorance.  Look, we all understand that New Jersey hasn't raised the price it pays to repair and maintain its roads and bridges since 1988.  While everywhere else is paying 40 cents or even 50 cents tax on a gallon of gasoline, New Jersey insists it can make do on only 14 1/2 cents a gallon.  Of course, it can't, and so it has borrowed so much to cover up its unwillingness to pay that now it has to raise the tax 23 cents a gallon -- with 10 cents of that going just to pay interest on the debt.

And yet some dreadfully ignorant souls still argue that they "deserve" a discount gas tax because they pay so much in other taxes.  That's kind of like going into a restaurant and asking them to charge you 1988 prices because your mortgage and household bills are too high.  Just see if that works.  The waiter will explain to you that one has nothing to do with the other.

A dog in pain will bite someone trying to help it.  If the last few weeks have proven anything, it's that some New Jersey taxpayers are a lot like that dog in pain.

Here's the problem.  New Jerseyeans pay too much in taxes -- starting with the highest-in-the-nation property taxes.  That's because New Jerseyeans have allowed the unelected state Supreme Court to take charge of the revenue from the income tax -- which is supposed to fund education and provide property tax relief.  So instead of the elected Legislature apportioning the income tax money, the unelected Court does it -- and is responsible for the most inequitable funding formula in America.  Half the economically disadvantaged children in the state are left out in the cold because they live in rural and suburban communities. 

But our problems don't end there.  New Jersey is the most over-regulated state in America, making everything in the state -- both private and public sectors -- more expensive.  New Jersey also has a tax structure that chases away investment and suppresses job creation.  On top of this, New Jersey is a bad choice if you are planning on retiring.

Starting with the premise that New Jersey is one of the worst states for business in America (49 out of 50, according to Forbes) and that this kills job creation and results in the flight of capital and people from the state, Senator Steve Oroho got to work on the problem and created a plan to do something about it.  Senator Oroho is a Republican in a Legislature where both chambers are controlled by Democrats, so whatever plan he came up with would have to be a starting point for a compromise with the majority party.

This Oroho guy knows his stuff.  Generally in America, the legislators on the committee charged with budgeting and fiscal matters are lawyers, but Oroho is no lawyer.  Oroho is a numbers guy -- a certified financial planner and CPA. 

Before beginning his career of public service, Steve Oroho was a senior financial officer for S&P 500 companies like W. R. Grace and  Young & Rubicam. He's put companies back on a healthy financial track.

Oroho learned the budget process at the grassroots -- as a borough councilman and county freeholder.  It has taken decades of experience and thousands of pages of balance sheets to make Senator Oroho what he is today. He's the only member of the Senate Budget Committee with these kind of skills. 

Steve Oroho is the kind of guy that you would go to if you screwed up your finances and wanted to find a way to restore your family and your future to economic health.  We don't have many of these kinds of professionals in the legislature -- in any legislature -- anywhere in the country.  What we have are lawyers.

Look at Congress.  435 members of the House and 100 Senators and just 10 numbers guys in the bunch.  Want to know why the country is in so much debt?

So here's this numbers guy, following the numbers, and the numbers are the numbers -- New Jersey is halfway down the path to economic hell (no, this isn't hell, the Weimar Republic was hell, food riots in Venezuela is hell) and along comes this rare-in-politics numbers guy.  He comes up with a plan that begins to alter our state's downward trajectory.  You see, it's all about keeping capital in New Jersey and attracting more capital.  That's under the current economic rules.  We could, of course, turn Marxist or something.  Those would be different rules.  We could build a Berlin-style wall around the state to keep wealthy earners in New Jersey.  Those would be different rules too.  But given the current set of rules we're working under, this numbers guy Oroho put a plan together.

And just like if you had someone over to your kitchen table to tell your family that you couldn't continue your 2016 lifestyle on a 1988 budget, numbers guy Oroho had to honestly tell the folks here in New Jersey that they've been kicking that can down the road far too long.  Three decades.  What stays the same price for three decades? 

Yes, the gas tax is too low in New Jersey.  We've been paying 14 1/2 cents per gallon to fund our roads while states like Pennsylvania need to charge 50 cents a gallon.  But we are also one of just two states that have both an Estate Tax and an Inheritance Tax and at least one of those has got to go.  Most economists finger the Estate Tax for destroying family businesses and farms and for inhibiting capital retention -- so Oroho's plan got rid of it.  New Jersey is a terrible place to retire, one of the worst in the country -- so the numbers told Oroho that to keep seniors and their wealth in state (and closer to their families) you had to cut the state's tax on retirement income.  So Oroho's plan eliminated the tax on retirement income for over 90 percent of retirees. There were other tax cuts too, as Oroho followed the numbers, addressing problem after problem, as they presented on the balance sheets.  

When you talk "numbers" to most politicians, they think "polls" -- polling numbers.  When polls first came out -- back around the time of FDR, Truman, and Eisenhower -- they were used to help those lions lead.  You didn't "follow" a poll, you used the poll to test language that enabled you to better explain why you were doing the right thing.  That's not the way it works today.  Today polls tell politicians what to think and what to say.

Now we all know that tax increases do not test well in polls, while new spending on this great program or that tests very well.  And that's why we're in so much debt, because the numbers most politicians follow aren't the numbers a guy like Steve Oroho follows.  The numbers Steve Oroho follows tell us to pay our way, keep debt minimal, attract investment, allow business to create jobs --all those things that used to be called "fiscally conservative."    

So here you have numbers guy Oroho, following his balance sheet numbers, running head long into politicians following their polling numbers.  Add into the mix a brand new talk radio host looking for ratings numbers and the level of discourse quickly goes into the toilet.  Oroho is following the balance sheet numbers, the politicians are scared of the polling numbers, and the talk show host is whipping up his rating numbers using feverish misinformation.  We're not talking here about honest policy differences, fully thought out and backed up with well-rounded intellectual arguments.  What we're talking about are those throw away comments worthy of the surly drunk at the end of the bar.

So here's the question New Jerseyeans are going to have to look into the mirror and ask themselves:  Is New Jersey still a place where an honest guy, following the numbers, can propose a plan that addresses the economic and fiscal realities the state faces?  Or must politics and emotion dominate every discussion? 

Was George Carlin right when he said (and we paraphrase), "Screw hope"?