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: 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