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WyBlog, the best thing about New Jersey since the invention of the 24 hour diner.

Chris Wysocki
Caldwell, NJ

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Friday, 29 March 2013

To celebrate Good Friday the Star-Ledger editorializes religion equals bigotry

Remember when I said the purpose of same-sex "marriage" is to destroy Christianity? Today, on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, here's the Star-Ledger's Tom Moran waxing philosophical about the day when all those religios bigots will give up on opposing same-sex "marriage."

His message is clear: religion equals bigotry. If you love God, you hate homosexuals.

It's an easy way to frame the debate. Nevermind that it's completely inaccurate. By Any Means Necessary, dontcha know. By any means necessary they'll impose their secularized worldview on everyone. The denizens of diversity can't wait until conformity is universal.

And it's working. No one around here wants to hear about Catholic doctrine and Canon Law and our Popes' commitment to universal human rights. Not even the catholics. Especially not the catholics. (Yes, with a small-c.) They say Holy Mother Church is wrong. As if the annointed successors to Saint Peter could be anything but the living embodiment of the Word of God.

Therein was the heresy of Lutheranism. And his ship already sailed.

In Tom Moran's world there is no such thing as sin. (Except owning a gun. Owning a gun is his world's Original Sin.) "How can you be against love?", I am asked. When I reply that I am against "sin," it just doesn't compute.

God has proscribed certain actions. Of that there is no doubt. There is also no doubt that we are weak, fallible, and imperfect. We will sin. It's how we face our failings which elevates us above the animals and makes us worthy to be cast in the image and likeness of God.

Repent! For the hour is at hand.

Folks like Moran who cannot comprehend having restrictions placed on our behavior by Almighty God have no problem with any number of limitations and regulations promulgated by Man. No smoking. No Big Gulps. Wear a seat belt. Don't eat cookies in school. Throw away that foie gras. Thou Shalt Not Burn Fossil Fuels. The list goes on.

Those are man's laws. And people welcome more and more of them, all in the interest of "helping" or "protecting" us. But there's already an instruction manual for the human race — God's Holy Scripture. And there are laws derived from it by God's Holy Church.

It's really a shame that petty tyrants like Mike Bloomberg and Barack Obama command more respect in our society than The Risen Christ. And events have now conspired to place Justice Anthony Kennedy as the supreme arbiter of our fates. Alas we need only look to Golgotha to see the one true Son of Justice, for surely, God is the measure of all things.

Posted at 12:09 by Chris Wysocki [/media] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 28 March 2013

New Jersey, where Freedom comes to die

Congratulations New Jersey, you're one of the most over-regulated, highly-taxed, freedom-restricted states in the nation.

New Jersey is among the most taxed, restricted and regulated states in the country, according to a study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

And the lack of freedoms isn't just limited to fireworks and raw milk, the experts say.

High taxes and regulations covering most aspects of modern life are why the Garden State ranks 48 out of the 50 states in terms of freedoms, the study found.

Other factors included that dragged New Jersey down the list were gun controls that are among the tightest in the country, relatively restrictive marijuana laws, and property rights protections that were "abysmal," the report concluded.

The state also ranked dead-last in terms of travel freedoms, owing to seat belt laws, motorcycle and bicycle helmet requirements, and sobriety checkpoints, among other factors, Sorens and co-author William Ruger found.

They forgot a few uniquely Jersey gems. Like how there's a law against letting Mother Nature pile leaves up on the street in front of your house. Yeah, it's your job to clean that up. Or the "no cardboard in your garbage" rule that's always good for a few laughs. And our restrictive zoning laws would make a Soviet apparatchik blush.

Speaking of garbage, did you know that the only way to dispose of an old toaster or dead cell phone around here is to bring it in person to the County Recycling Garage in Cedar Grove on one of 4 designated Saturdays each year? Bonus points if you also knew that there's no nearby bus route (because apparently everybody except me can drive a car), and Orthodox Jews are totally out of luck since they can't go anywhere on Saturdays. I guess they just stash all that shit in their basements and forget about it.

My personal favorite? The "wash your recycling" law. I actually got a ticket for "dirty recycling." Twenty five bucks. It was back before the blog though, otherwise I woulda posted a picture of it.

Meanwhile, the Liberty Bell resides right across the river in Philadelphia. So close, and yet so far away…

A general historical pattern of which states were free or not free emerged from the latest study, Sorens said. Freedoms were impacted by how early a state had become urbanized. Places that had urbanized with labor and progressive movements early in the 19th century were generally more inclined to accept more regulations and restrictions, he said.

Yeah, liberals don't like Freedom. Just ask Mike Bloomberg. Which leads us to the only state below New Jersey in the freedom rankings — New York. I'm sure you're shocked by that, right?

Posted at 15:07 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tax and spend: CWCBOE enacts 2% tax increase, spends more than $18,000 per pupil

To almost no one's surprise the Caldwell - West Caldwell Board of Education approved their $42 million dollar annual budget last night. The school tax will bump up by the maximum 2% allowable under state law, just like every other year since the beginning of time.

$42,172,356.00 divided by 2288 students comes out to $18,431.97 per kid.

For comparison, annual tuition at my daughter's Catholic school is $5,300. At the nearby Catholic high school tuition caps out at $14,300.

And before someone says "but Chris, Catholic schools do lots of fundraising," allow me to point out that the school board's Education Foundation is no slouch in that department either.

Maybe it's the bake sales. Public schools aren't allowed to have bake sales anymore. Yeah, that's gotta be it. Because there can't possibly be anything the school board could cut.

BOHICA.

Posted at 10:47 by Chris Wysocki [/caldwell] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 27 March 2013

The real purpose of same-sex "marriage" is to persecute and marginalize Christians

Hey you. Yes you, with the red equal sign as your Facebook avatar. Thanks for wearing The Mark Of The Beast:

I just want you to know that if this is your sign then you are actively supporting my persecution, torture, imprisonment, etc. Perhaps you know that already, and perhaps that warms your heart, but I wanted to make sure we're all on the same page here.

The French didn't wake up one morning and say "Hey, let's kill tens of thousands of Catholics" …it happened over time. It was a process.

Would you require a kosher caterer to violate his religion by demanding he serve ham at your wedding? Of course not. So why is it OK to bring the force of law to bear against a Christian caterer (or photographer or innkeeper) who stands up for her religious beliefs?

And the answer is? Because shut-up.

The Titans of Tolerance don't tolerate no Christians.

Yeah, I know, you'll just say I'm a homophobe. Or worse. My rights don't matter. My religion isn't important. Equality is the new watchword. God? He's behind the times. Old-fashioned. Un-hip. Like me.

Yesterday I posted, on my own FB timeline, an excerpt from Canon 915.

As a public service to all the liberal catholics in my news feed today, allow me to reacquaint you with Canon 915: "Those who have been ... obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion."

The result was, interesting. I especially liked "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone...." which conveniently ignored the equally important admonition to "...go forth and sin no more."

My Catholic friends don't want to talk about sin. Well, not unless they can work themselves up into a spittle-flecked tizzy over "pedophile priests." Then suddenly they're experts on what's a sin.

As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "the first reaction to truth is anger." Well I'm here to tell you that the same-sex "marriage" people are very angry. They're not content with "live and let live." It's more like "my way or the highway." The in-your-face attitude seems like a sign of desperation though. "Look at me! Celebrate me! Cater to me!" Everything is "Me! Me! Me!" What happened to obedience to God? Doesn't it seem like our troubles started when the liberals took God out of the classroom and replaced Him with Bacchanalia 101?

There are dark days ahead for God's Holy Church in America. Barack Obama will go down in Catholic history as a tyrant for sure. Of course the Church will survive. But many of her faithful will be persecuted, vilified, condemned, and yes tortured and imprisoned. You only have to look north at Canada to see what's in store for us.

The left now has the cudgel with which they will try to smash religion. Our religious freedom is incompatible with their distorted view of civil rights. Their hostility to religion puts paid the notion that everyone has the right to be treated with respect. In the land of same-sex "marriage," Christians will be exiled. Which of course is the point.

Posted at 11:57 by Chris Wysocki [/religion] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 26 March 2013

As the world teeters on the brink of global financial meltdown, let's argue about gay "marriage"

George Soros couldn't have choreographed this dance if he tried. Teh Interwebz are all a-flutter over same-sex "marriage." Which I'll admit is kinda important. But while everyone is focused on Justice Kennedy, the Cypriot haircut fiasco is threatening to escalate into World War III.

Archduke Ferdinand, please call your office.

Hello Eurozone, Brussels is coming for your cash.

The new policy will alarm hundreds of thousands of British expatriates who live and have transferred their savings, proceeds from house sales and other assets to eurozone bank accounts in countries such as France, Spain and Italy.

The euro fell on global markets after Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch chairman of the eurozone, told the FT and Reuters that the heavy losses inflicted on depositors in Cyprus would be the template for future banking crises across Europe.

"If there is a risk in a bank, our first question should be 'Okay, what are you in the bank going to do about that? What can you do to recapitalise yourself?'," he said.

Haircuts for everybody!

What was it that Lady Thatcher said about socialism? Oh yeah, sooner or later you run out of other people's money. And when those "other people" have guns and tanks and nuclear weapons?

Dominoes fall.

Latvia. Spain. Portugal. Italy. Greece. Ireland.

Sooner or later, to coin a phrase, someone will say "no" to Angela Merkel.

Then what?

Posted at 22:36 by Chris Wysocki [/economy] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thought experiment: What if FAU had students stomp on Mohammed instead of Jesus?

Not that I'm advocating that, because I don't want to die.

Hmm. Maybe that's Ryan Rotela's fundamental problem. He complained, when he should have taken more, uh, direct, action.

Because complaining doesn't get their attention. Not in a good way, that is.

Now, beheadings are a different story.

Beheadings get you respect. At least that seems to be the way things work in liberal, politically-correct 21^st century America.

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."
— Voltaire

----
(back-story here)

Posted at 10:30 by Chris Wysocki [/religion] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 25 March 2013

Get your money out of banks. Now. Cyprus is only the beginning...

Legalized bank robbery, EU-style:

Cyprus' Parliament president says a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) package of rescue loans secured by his country in tense, last-ditch negotiations is a "painful one," although the bailout saved the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy.

The deal reached in Brussels early Monday prevented Cyprus' imminent financial meltdown by securing the bailout on the condition that the country cut back its banking sector and force large losses on big deposits to help pay much of the bill.

To secure the rescue loan package, the Cypriot government had to find ways to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) on its own. The bulk of that money is now being raised by forcing losses on large bank deposit holders, with the remainder coming from tax increases and privatizations.

Cyprus must drastically shrink its banking sector, cut its budget, implement structural reforms and privatize state assets, said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the meetings of the eurozone's finance ministers. The country's second-largest bank, Laiki, will be restructured, with all bond holders and people with more than 100,000 euros in their bank accounts there facing significant losses.

How "significant?" Ninety percent. Ten cents on the Euro.

As I mentioned previously, haircuts on deposits above 100,000 euros are likely to be hammered by anywhere from 30% to 90%. I expect the mid-to-upper end of that range as noted in Bad Bank Losses 30-90%; Food Supplies Down to Two Days; Plenty of Fuel, Not enough cash.

And this is only the beginning. Spain is next, but all of Southern Europe is teetering.

The damage has been done. There should be and can be no trust. Anyone who keeps more money in Southern European banks than they need to pay immediate bills is a fool.

The safe thing to do in Southern Europe is to get your money out of banks immediately.

Welcome to Socialism. Your money isn't yours; it's the government's. They can take it whenever they want.

And if you think it can't happen here, I've got some Chrysler bondholders who'll beg to differ with you.

Render unto Caesar, chumps.

Posted at 10:40 by Chris Wysocki [/economy] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 24 March 2013

Tyranny in Bloombergistan: chase away a robber, get 3 years in jail

Mike Bloomberg would prefer if New Yorkers got robbed. Repeatedly. To him, anything is better than protecting yourself with a gun. How do I know this? I mean besides Mayor Mikey's fanatical devotion to repealing the Second Amendment? Because NYC resident George Bardwil pulled a gun on a would-be robber, and Bloomberg's Storm Troopers promptly arrested him on an illegal weapons charge.

A Manhattan millionaire faces three years in jail for drawing an unlicensed gun on a burglar inside his home.

George Bardwil, who owns linen company Bardwil Home, was in his E Street apartment when an intruder came into his home in January... Bardwil, 60, threatened the intruder with a loaded .40 cal Sig Sauer. The man fled and Mr. Bardwil called the police.

After showing the cops footage from his home surveillance cameras, they arrested him under suspicions of owning an illegal firearm...

Of course they didn't arrest the burglar. That would require them to do actual police work. Terrorizing law-abiding citizens in their own homes is much easier. And a lot more fun.

Meanwhile, instead of doing something about the crime in his backyard, Mikey is spending $12 million bucks on an ad blitz designed to pressure the U.S. Senate into imposing his totalitarian gun control regimen on the entire country. Because it's worked so well in New York, especially against the scourge of armed Manhattan millionaires. Sadly, when it comes to targeting actual criminals, his success rate is somewhat less stellar.

But why should Mikey care about that? He's got a phalanx of armed guards 24x7. Nobody's breaking into his apartment. Elsewhere though, he can't guarantee the security of a free state. But he'll do his damnedest to ensure that the rights of the people to keep and bear arms shall be infringed at every opportunity.

That, my friends, is tyranny.

Posted at 11:18 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Saturday, 23 March 2013

Sequester pain? Dear Leader sends $500 million to Hamas

Dear Leader says there's no money for airport control towers. But that didn't stop him from writing a $500 million dollar check to the terrorists of Hamas.

The United States has quietly unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which had been frozen by Congress for months, a top US official said Friday.

"To date, we have moved $295.7 million in fiscal year 2012 money. and $200 million in fiscal year 2013 assistance," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Yes, the Palestinian Authority is Hamas, the guys who shot rockets at Dear Leader during his trip to Israel. Is this a payoff for not scoring a direct hit?

If it was up to me I'd cut off all aid to Muslim nations and let them hate us for free.

Instead, Barry's boys want more money for his Palestinian pals.

The Obama administration also notified Congress in late February that it was seeking a further $200 million to fund US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs for the Palestinians.

Nobody tell Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Her poor staffers are literally starving after their lobster and caviar budget was decimated by the Sequester. And then there's Joe Biden, having to get by in Paris on a measly $585,000 per day. Quelle Horreur! Make the cuts stop already, before something really important is affected!

Like, you know, foreign aid to terrorists.

Posted at 18:10 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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Friday, 22 March 2013

Senate Democrats refuse to commit to balancing the federal budget, ever

It's one of things that ought to be a no-brainer. Deficits are bad. Even Dear Leader says so, sometimes. But Harry Reid and his band of merry spendthrifts can't be bothered with balancing the federal budget. Nope. Not when there's pork to be barrelled and millionaires to vilify.

On the plus side they finally did fulfill their Constitutional duty by crafting a budget proposal. The bad news is it accelerates spending and raises taxes. So Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) proposed a simple motion to send the Democrats' plan back to committee with instructions to figure out how to balance it by 2023.

No can do, said the Democrats.

Every Democrat except one -- Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- opposed it, while all Republicans voted for it. The measure failed on a 46-53 vote.

It's almost as if they aren't serious about cutting the deficit.

Posted at 14:16 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 21 March 2013

Another nail in the BlackBerry coffin: Chase kills their BB Mobile App

I'm a BlackBerry holdout. And I'm a Chase customer. I use the Chase BB Mobile App. A lot.

Alas, according to an email I received today, after April 21^st I won't be able to use that app anymore.

We want you to be aware of a change. Starting April 21st, we'll no longer offer the Chase Mobile® App for BlackBerry devices. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Yeah, like Chase actually cares they're inconveniencing me.

But you'd think BlackBerry would care. They're supposed to be working their butts off to regain market share. Losing a big name like Chase seems like something they'd want to avoid.

Posted at 16:51 by Chris Wysocki [/tech] Comments | Perm Link |
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What multi-culturalism hath wrought: Amazing Race contestants laud Ho Chi Minh

Hanoi Jane Fonda is no match for CBS and The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan. She paraded around North Vietnam in an enemy tank. He led contestants on his around-the-world adventure to the wreckage of an American B-52, shot down during the Vietnam war. Their "task?" Learn to sing the praises of communist guerilla leader Ho Chi Minh.

The popular CBS reality show "The Amazing Race" is under fire for featuring an episode set in Hanoi, Vietnam, where contestants go to a B-52 Memorial, which is the wreckage of an American bomber plane shot down during the Vietnam War, to find the next clue in their televised round-the-world journey.

In the episode, the twisted metal of the downed plane is treated as any other prop, with a bright "Amazing Race" "Double-U-Turn" sign planted in front of it, signifying to contestants the next phase of their scavenger hunt.

The show also had contestants learn a song that was performed for them by children in front of a portrait of North Vietnam communist leader Ho Chi Minh, with subtitled lyrics that included "Vietnam Communist Party is glorious. The light is guiding us to victory."

Good grief. Did they spend their down-time at the Hanoi Hilton too? What's their next stop? The Katyn Forest?

Sadly this is more of a commentary on our educational system than it is on the quest for ratings at CBS. I suspect no one on staff over there ever stopped to think about what that wrecked bomber represents. Or what it might mean to praise a communist leader under whose banner 60,000 Americans were killed.

Because multi-culturalism says the communists in Vietnam are no different than the Minutemen at Bunker Hill. And because the Marxists in our public schools aren't in the business of praising America or honoring the sacrifices made by our armed forces. Their warped version of history paints the United States as the aggressor, oppressing the peaceful peasants of Vietnam.

When it comes to communism far too many of our elites play See No Evil. These are the people running our government, teaching our children, and yes making reality television shows for our "enjoyment." Their ideology is pure and their propaganda is very slick. And so a bunch of ignoramuses can sing of communist glory while dancing on the grave of brave Americans and not give it a second thought. Winning that million bucks is way more important than having to discern right from wrong.

Posted at 14:56 by Chris Wysocki [/media] Comments | Perm Link |
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Senate Democrats don't want you to visit the White House

The People's House will remain closed. Harry Reid's do-nothing Senate refused to buck Dear Leader's sequester pain game, leaving Americans locked out of White House tours for the foreseeable future.

Senators voted Wednesday to make the first significant changes to the budget sequesters, shifting money to keep slaughterhouse inspectors on the job full time but refusing to rearrange money to reopen the White House for public tours.

The Imperial Presidency rolls on, with the White House now firmly established as America's version of The Forbidden City. Bow before the Obama Dynasty, peasant.

Posted at 11:01 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 20 March 2013

NJ DYFS says giving your son a shotgun equals child abuse

Tyranny on display: give your son a shotgun for his 11^th birthday, post a picture of him with the gun on Facebook, have DYFS and 4 heavily armed cops show up at your house.

The ruddy-cheeked, camouflage-clad boy in the photo smiles out from behind a pair of glasses, proudly holding a gun his father gave him as a present for his upcoming 11th birthday.

The weapon in the photo, posted by his dad on Facebook, resembles a military-style assault rifle but, his father says, is actually just a .22-caliber copy. And that, the family believes, is why child welfare case workers and police officers visited the home in Carneys Point last Friday and asked to see his guns.

New Jersey's Department of Children and Families declined to comment specifically on the case but says it often follows up on tips. The family and an attorney say father Shawn Moore's Second Amendment rights to bear arms were threatened in a state that already has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and is considering strengthening them after December's schoolhouse massacre in Connecticut.

Because, in order to control us, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall be infringed at every opportunity.

Shawn Moore said he gave his son Josh the gun as a present to use on hunting trips. The elder Moore was at a friend's house when his wife called, saying state child welfare investigators, along with four local police officers, were at the house, asking to inspect the family's guns.

Moore said he called his lawyer Evan Nappen, who specializes in Second Amendment cases, and had him on speaker phone as he arrived at his house in Carneys Point, just across the Delaware River from Wilmington, Del.

"They said they wanted to see into my safe and see if my guns were registered," Moore said. "I said no; in New Jersey, your guns don't have to be registered with the state; it's voluntary. I knew once I opened that safe, there was no going back."

With the lawyer listening in on the phone, Moore said he asked the investigators and police officers whether they had a warrant to search his home. When they said no, he asked them to leave. One of the child welfare officials would not identify herself when Moore asked for her name, he said.

Has anyone seen the Fourth Amendment? No warrant. Just a nameless DYFS bureaucrat demanding he surrender his Constitutional Rights. For the children, of course.

And lest you think this is an isolated incident, meet Eileen Hart, an unassuming mother from Newfield, NJ. She was arrested and forced to surrender her guns, all because she contested her property tax assessment.

Police reportedly handcuffed her to a chair, called her a terroristic threat and said that if she did not surrender her firearms for "safe keeping," her bail would be set prohibitively high and she would remain in custody for an indefinite amount of time.

Jack-booted thugs, dressed up with badges and fancy uniforms, bullying their way into our homes, squashing us like bugs for the sheer heck of it.

Where is the outrage?

Protecting the Second Amendment is the premier civil rights battle of our time. Without it, all the rest of our Constitution is meaningless. Citizens stand up for their rights. Subjects acquiesce to tyranny.

I am a citizen.

UPDATE 21 Mar 2013 09:31:
Linked by Gator Doug who notes the abusive power of educators pushing the "guns are scary" meme.

Posted at 10:00 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 19 March 2013

The House Ethics Committee unamimously voted to investigate NJ Democrat Rob Andrews

It looks like Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) is going to get his wrist slapped by the House Ethics Committee.

What else can you expect when a Congressman flies his family to Scotland for a friend's wedding, puts them up in a 5 star hotel, and then charges the whole thing to his campaign committee and leadership PAC? Oh, he also threw a big party for his daughter's high school graduation, but since he called it a celebration of his 20 years in Congress, his campaign picked up the tab for that soiree too.

And I'm sure it's just a coincidence but every time Rob's daughter landed a role at an obscure Philadelphia-area theater the good Congressman just happened to schedule a campaign event at her performances.

Andrews, who has denied any wrongdoing, said in a statement today that the investigation will "establish and confirm that I have always followed all the rules and met all the standards of the House."

"As the statement of the Committee notes, the continuation of this matter 'does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred,'" Andrews wrote. "I will eagerly provide any and all information requested by the Committee in response to the false and politically-motivated, and in some instances anonymous accusations the Committee will review."

Sure thing there Rob. The committee vote was unamimous. So when your Democrat homies agreed with moving this investigation forward, that was "politically motivated?" Are you sure about that?

You got caught with your hand in the cookie jar Sport. Man up, admit what you did. It isn't like you're gonna get evicted from your seat. NJ's First District is so reliably Democrat there's zero chance your stable of low information voters will ever stop re-electing you, even if, as the saying goes, the papers had pictures of you in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.

Of course your dreams of replacing Frank Lautenberg just took a major hit. But c'mon Rob, you know Cory Booker's got that all locked up no matter what BS George Norcross whispers in your ear at night.

I suspect that's punishment enough.

Posted at 19:12 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 18 March 2013

When Dear Leader pulls a Cyprus and seizes 24% of your 401(k) don't say I didn't warn you

March Madness is starting so the papers probably haven't covered this yet, but across the pond in a little corner of Greece called Cyprus the government there did a quite remarkable thing. They stole 10% of everybody's bank accounts.

It seems that socialists all over the world are watching Cyprus, because it is a test case. Essentially, the government there decided to rob their citizens, literally over-night. It's what I call the great Cyprus Bank Robbery.

Yes, robbery. All done up in legal mumbo-jumbo.

Very few things give me nightmares… Yesterday's event in Cyprus was one of them and the media is conspicuously silent. What do you get when you combine worldwide Marxist elitists, bankers and the media? A worldwide depression and a new dark age. The IMF is using Greece as a proving ground for the rest of us. It is a fascist Petri dish. They just implemented an across the board tax on all bank accounts over a holiday with no warning and no recourse. 9.9% if you have over 100,000 Euros in the bank, 6.75% if you have less than that. This is money being seized by the IMF, the European Union and the government of Greece to attempt to cover some of their debt. It is theft and it could have been a lot worse. The IMF had proposed a 40% haircut on all accounts.

Let that sink in for a moment. You wake up and your bank account, your 401(k), your IRA, and your Certificates of Deposit are all reduced by 10%. Oh, did I mention they froze ATMs too? Can't have a bank run on top of this thuggery! It's not your money anymore…

Think it can't happen here? Think again.

According to Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge the U.S. would need a one-time 24% to 26% haircut in order to cover the massive national debt run up by Obama (and Bush). Here's the relevant chart:

Cyprus is the Test Case. The EU's guinea pig. If they get away with it, they'll do it again. And again.

Then Obama will do it too.

I have a friend who's a pension actuary. At a recent conference he attended they discussed the subject of "repurposing" retirement account assets. The thinking (if you can call it that with a straight face) goes something like this. Those assets are pre-tax dollars. Much of it is employer contributions. So it's not really your money anyway. The government can mandate an investment in special (Very Long Term) Treasury Bonds, on the theory that the money will be "safer" there than in the stock market.

Or, the feds could simply decide to collect an "advance" on the tax you'll eventually owe when you take the money out for retirement.

Either way, one day Real Soon you'll be poorer. And with the debt slate wiped clean the Obamunists can go on a spending spree that'll make today's free-for-all look like the very model of austerity.

What? You think they'll behave themselves after finding a way to "solve" the debt crisis?

C'mon. Nobody is that stupid.

Posted at 11:23 by Chris Wysocki [/economy] Comments | Perm Link |
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Saturday, 16 March 2013

Your daily dose of AWESOME: the Bacon Shell Taco

Take me out to this ball game! And feed me some Bacon Shell Tacos.

This is what happens when you put the choice of concessions into the hands of fans. The West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor-league baseball team that is an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, asked its supporters to vote for its top ballpark snack.

The highest vote-getter of its fourth annual food contest: the Baco, a taco with a shell made wholly from bacon.

True Awesomeness. And quite possibly the greatest snack food innovation of the 21^st century.

Play ball!

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Friday, 15 March 2013

Uh oh, now a federal grand jury is investigating Bob Menendez and Salomon Melgen

It's only a matter of time now before these too long-time friends are sharing a cell. Bobby says he "welcomes" the grand jury investigation. Yeah, kinda like how I "welcomed" another hemorrhoid.

A federal grand jury is investigating the role U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez played in advocating for the business interests of a wealthy Florida donor, three sources told the Washington Post.

Menendez (D-N.J.) is on the hook for his relationship with Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, who last year contributed $700,000 to Menendez and other Senate Democrats, the report said. The senator reportedly pressured the Dominican government to honor a contract with one of Melgen's companies, and his office acknowledged he stepped in to clear a dispute between Melgen and federal health officials.

That's called influence peddling Bob. And it's a crime.

In January Menendez admitted he had accepted two free flights on Melgen's private plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010. He said he later wrote the doctor a personal check for more than $58,000 to cover the trips.

A check that nobody has acknowledged having cashed. Your canceled check is your receipt Bob. And we need to see your receipt.

The Miami-based grand jury probe represents a legal escalation of the case, the report said, though it does not necessarily mean Menendez will be indicted or prosecuted.

"I welcome any review, because I believe, at the end of the day, that my actions have been appropriate," Menendez told the Washington Post. "And just as everything that gave rise to this was a smear campaign based on slanders that drove the original story, I believe that when any review reviews the facts, they will determine that I have acted appropriately at all times."

Um, sure Bob. Anything you say. Grand juries convene all the time to do nothing. C'mon Bob, let's be serious, OK?

The "review" first took the form of a federal investigation, which no one welcomes. If investigators take the evidence to a federal grand jury, they're not looking for a clarification or to produce an independent exoneration. Law enforcement can end investigations on their own if they don't find any reasons to continue them. The fact that they have gone to a grand jury — and after only a month of investigating Menendez — says that this is not just a review, but a plan to get an indictment.

And of course the Star-Ledger has to repeat a discredited "exoneration" of their Patron Senator.

A conservative website earlier this year linked Menendez's Dominican travels with two prostitutes he allegedly patronized. But the Washington Post reported last week that an escort said in a sworn court statement that she was paid to fabricate claims of sex with the senator.

Hey fellas? The Post walked back their report, after it was pointed out to them that the escort they interviewed was not one of the prostitutes who were cited by The Daily Caller. I know it's hard to keep up with all the facts here, but isn't that why you guys get the big bucks?

Meanwhile Patterico tears that "sworn court statement" to shreds. He calls its mysterious discovery "Rathergate II". Because there's a virtual certainty the escort in question does not actually exist, and thus her "affidavit" is a forgery.

A Real Journalist might want to look into stuff like that. But it's been a long time since any Real Journalists worked at the Star-Ledger, or the Washington Post. So their stable of bylined DNC operatives dutifully writes what Menendez tells them to write, and then goes back to covering the Really Important Stuff — high school wrestling.

Posted at 10:06 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 14 March 2013

Lenny Luciano: Essex county's answer to Ted Kennedy's driving record

The good news is Lenny didn't kill an innocent young lady. The bad news is, media reports of Lenny's car accident and subsequent inability to remain on the scene until police arrived somehow neglected to mention his political party affiliation.

Leonard Luciano, Essex County Freeholder and Newark Public schools Archive Librarian and a member of the Newark Teacher's Union allegedly left the scene of an accident early this morning, at 120 Harrison Avenue, in Roseland.

According to multiple sources, Luciano was traveling west along Harrison Avenue around 2:30am Thursday morning when he lost control of his vehicle, a red Jeep Liberty, and crossed over to the other side of the road. His car went through the bushes in front of the home, and ultimately hit a tree.

A Roseland Official has confirmed with West Essex TAP that after Luciano crashed his car into a tree he found that his cellphone was not working. He waited around for approximately 2 minutes and then walked home to his parent's house, where he lives as as well, on Orton Road.

He waited a whole two minutes. An eternity when you gotta pee, right?

Oh, yeah, before I forget, Lenny is a Democrat. Shocked, I know you are.

And as I write this, because I commented on TAP's Facebook page with my "Name That Party" game, they've updated their story — "just assumed everyone knew it, never even thought about it". Of course you didn't think about it; you're Democrats just like him!

And since he's a hotshot Democrat, police noted he "didn't appear to have been drinking." Did they do a breathalyzer? Nope. Blood test? Yeah, right. Took his word for it, they did. Because scandal can't taint the Freeholder who lives in his mom's basement. No summons for leaving the scene of an accident either.

Lenny walked home to Orton Road. When walking in the opposite direction to the Roseland PD would have been closer.

On the other hand, he didn't wait ten hours to report the crash, so there's that.

Chappaquiddick it ain't. But it's still interesting.

UPDATE 15 Mar 2013 20:29:
The Star-Ledger finally notices Lenny's direct hit on the tree, and opens Round 2 of Name That Party.

The lame-stream media only mentions party affiliation when Republicans run afoul of the law. Democrats get a pass.

But as it turns out, Lenny didn't completely evade the legal system.

Luciano, who hit the tree around 2:30 a.m., was issued a summons for improper use of a cell phone, police said.

Why Luciano, 31, did not use the phone to call police remains unclear, as does his reason for leaving the scene.

Bad cell phone! No upgrade for you!

The accident remains under investigation. Lenny remains unavailable for comment.

And I remain … skeptical.

UPDATE 17 Mar 2013 16:56:
Correction: Lenny never called the cops. He called "a friend."

His "friend" called the police, not to report the accident, but to ask them to do a "welfare check" on Lenny. Which they did. And then he told them about his encounter with a tree.

Things I wonder: Who's the "friend?" Why didn't Lenny call 911? Why didn't the cops check Lenny for DUI? Where is Lenny anyway? Hiding? In the hospital? No one seems to know. Or, no one is willing to admit they know.

Posted at 22:14 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 13 March 2013

If a Democrat Congress can force you to buy health insurance, can a GOP Congress require every American to own a gun?

Interesting question! Chief Justice John Roberts decreed the Obamacare Individual Mandate is Constitutional. So if Congress can force you to buy health insurance, why can't they also force you to buy a gun?

Before you call me crazy, allow me to reference the Militia Act of 1792.

It conscripted every "free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45 into a local militia company. Militia members were to arm themselves with a musket, bayonet and belt, two spare flints, a cartridge box with 24 bullets, and a knapsack. Men owning rifles were required to provide a powder horn, 1/4 pound of gunpowder, 20 rifle balls, a shooting pouch, and a knapsack. Some occupations were exempt, such as congressmen, stagecoach drivers, and ferryboatmen. Otherwise, men were required to report for training twice a year, usually in the Spring and Fall.

An amendment passed in 1862 extended the Militia Act to include Blacks recently emancipated by President Lincoln. And the totally Constitutional requirement for all men to own a firearm and report for militia training remained in effect until 1903 when Congress established the National Guard.

Now if I was a Conservative Congressman looking to throw a monkey wrench into the gun control debate I'd jump at the chance to reintroduce the Militia Act. Just call it the Individual Second Amendment Mandate. Guns for everybody!

Various cities and towns are already taking the initiative, why not go national? Heck, I'll even be a sport and forego any penalty for non-compliance. Why give the IRS more power, right? And if you're unable to afford a gun we can work something out along the lines of Obamaphones, maybe like a reversal of those idiotic gun-buyback programs.

The New Militia Act of 2013. Because an armed society is a polite society.

Posted at 09:39 by Chris Wysocki [/odds_n_ends] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Run, Ashley, run!

Feminut actress Ashley Judd wants to be a Senator. Because she's got totally mainstream ideas like these.

Using graphic language in an opinion piece about "conflict minerals," potential U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Judd in 2010 accused those who buy Apple products of "financing mass rape."

"Apple is known for the clean lines of their products, the alluring simplicity of their designs," Judd wrote in the article. "Dare I…go so far…as to suggest…this signature cleanness is stained by the shit and urine of raped women's leaking fistulas?"

Judd, the Hollywood actress and liberal activist considering a run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, made the comments in an article on her website, which is titled "Costs of Convenience."

She certainly has a way with words. And metaphors.

Ashley Judd: she's Al Franken, with better tits.

And that's why we have to take her seriously. Because libtards across America are ready to help her get elected. They believe in her. They swallow anything she says as gospel truth. She's a woman! And a Democrat! She's compared coal mining to rape!

Hey, when you're a feminut, everything that doesn't go your way is tantamount to rape. Got chicken salad instead of tuna at the drive-thru? Yeah, that's exactly like rape, if you're Ashley Judd or a Democrat looking to score points with readers of The New York Times.

See it's only news when Republicans say stupid stuff about rape.

And for you humorless progbot harridans who think it's unfair to mock a Serious Actress Who Believes In The Stuff You Believe In, read this. Because her fund-raising emails just write themselves.

It's time for Kentuckians to stand up and be counted.

We need someone representing us in Washington who was a Tennessee delegate for Barack Obama in 2012.

We need someone who believes it is "unconscionable to breed."

Someone who has compared mountaintop removal mining to Rwandan genocide and has criticized Christianity as a religion that "legitimizes and seals male power."

Someone who has called the tradition of fathers "giving away" their daughters at weddings "a common vestige of male dominion over a woman's reproductive status."

Finally somebody had the courage to say it!

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Run, Ashley, run!

Posted at 11:02 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 11 March 2013

Oh yay, the junk science of Globull Warming is now part of US school curriculum

The guys who can't even reliably predict when it's gonna snow have succeeded in hijacking our children's science curriculum. All bow before the "science" of Globull Warming!

New national science standards that make the teaching of global warming part of the public school curriculum are slated to be released this month, potentially ending an era in which climate skepticism has been allowed to seep into the nation's classrooms.

The Next Generation Science Standards were developed by the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nonprofit Achieve and more than two dozen states. The latest draft recommends that educators teach the evidence for man-made climate change starting as early as elementary school and incorporate it into all science classes, ranging from earth science to chemistry. By eighth grade, students should understand that "human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth's mean surface temperature (global warming)," the standards say. (Read More)

They've taken God out of the schools, and replaced Him with the religion of Climate Change. Thou Shalt Not Doubt Global Warming. Even as the evidence piles up to refute it. Remember when these same savants were proclaiming the onset of a new Ice Age? How'd that work out?

Except, they might have been more right than they're now willing to admit. Atmospheric CO₂ could very well be the only thing standing between us and igloos for everybody.

Scientists say that if natural factors were still governing the climate, the Northern Hemisphere would probably be destined to freeze over again in several thousand years. "We were on this downward slope, presumably going back toward another ice age," Dr. Marcott said.

Instead, scientists believe the enormous increase in greenhouse gases caused by industrialization will almost certainly prevent that.

Good thing we're ending an era in which climate skepticism has been allowed to seep into the nation's classrooms! Because who wouldn't want their grandchildren to freeze their butts off while hunting mastadons in Equador?

UPDATE 12 Mar 2013 08:55:
Linked by Larwyn's Linx, thanks!

Posted at 10:23 by Chris Wysocki [/education] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 10 March 2013

Sequester-proof: Queen Michelle's 50th birthday bash with Adele and Beyonce

Compare and contrast. The White House, closed to visitors for the foreseeable future. Military readiness jeopardized. Air traffic controllers furloughed, airports left unmanned. All that, and more, because of supposedly draconian budget cuts required by the dreaded Sequester.

But Queen Michelle's 50^th birthday bash will go on as scheduled, a ritzy extravaganza featuring A-list Hollywood performers Adele and Beyonce. Paid for out of the First Family's annual allotment of taxpayer cash.

An allotment that at last count came in at around $1.4 billion dollars. Yes, billion, with a "B."

The FAA says they need $600 million to keep the planes from falling out of the sky. That's a little less than half of Dear Leader's household budget.

Should be a no-brainer, right?

I guess that's why I'm not King.

Posted at 15:49 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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Friday, 08 March 2013

Only children who are useful as props can visit Dear Leader's White House

If these sixth graders had made a video begging for more gun control Dear Leader would be rolling out the red carpet.

Iowa sixth graders begging for their tour of the White House to be rescheduled are out of luck.

Beginning Saturday, all public tours of the White House are canceled, a move administration officials said was necessary after $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts kicked in March 1. Republicans counter that the move was made to maximize public frustration with the cuts.

In response, students from St. Paul's Lutheran School in Waverly, Iowa made a video in which they held signs reading, "The White House is our house; please let us visit." The video went viral Thursday but the White House says the Iowa students, along with all others scheduled for tours after Friday, won't be accommodated.

Budget cuts, eh? And nothing else was on the table? Say 20 car motorcades to go six blocks? Or golf with Tiger Woods? Not even robotic squirrels?

OK, fine. Here's Eric Bolling and Sean Hannity ready to save the day.

On The Five today, Eric Bolling offered to pay the expense of keeping the White House open for tours for one week — tours already cancelled, doors already shut. Sean Hannity followed up with a tweet that he would pay for a second week. If you think this is grandstanding, think about the people with plans to be in Washington, D.C. the next two weeks. Reservations made — likely cannot be cancelled without additional cost to a family already sacrificing to take the trip of a lifetime and visit the White House. Two weeks would at least, give some notice to those who can cancel.

Sorry, Dear Leader said "no." Bolling and Hannity aren't offering enough cash. It costs half a million bucks to buy your way into the White House and he won't settle for one penny less.

The People's House is closed to the people. Is Obama the Best President Ever or what?

Posted at 11:27 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 07 March 2013

It's official: Fed says Obamacare causes layoffs and hinders hiring

I've been saying it for years, Obamacare is bad for business. My liberal friends pooh-pooh me, and call me a partisan alarmist. But now Dear Leader's cronies at the Federal Reserve have reached the same conclusion.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called "beige book," that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring.

"Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff," said the March 6 beige book, which examines economic conditions across various Federal Reserve districts across the country.

Atlanta, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Chicago all reported "changes in health care policy and fiscal uncertainty as reasons for delayed hiring."

I take no pleasure in it, but here's where I get to say "I told you so."

UPDATE 08 Mar 2013 08:40:
Linked by Doug Ross. Thanks!

Posted at 09:46 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 06 March 2013

Pure comedy gold: Grieving Celebrities Struggle to Find Replacement Dictator

Via Republican Party Animals:

(AP) — The formal announcement by the Venezuelan government that Hugo Chavez has died sent shockwaves through the ranks of the Hollywood elite, who had long been the Venezuelan leader's staunchest supporters. Throughout the day, celebrities struggled to cope with the devastating loss.

"Sean is devastated, completely inconsolable," Sean Penn's publicist Amy Glattensturmer told the AP. "He's been in his bedroom all day. He won't eat, he won't berate his staff, he won't punch women, he wouldn't even come outside to look at the brand new Ferrari Enzo the studio sent him as incentive to read a script. He realizes that a true champion of the working class has died today, and, as one himself, Sean has taken the hit very hard."

"The relationship between celebrities and their dictators is a very close one," PR guru Benjamin Shaltzberg told the AP. "Hollywood celebrities had formed a huge bond with Chavez. It will be difficult to replace."

Throughout Tuesday afternoon, cars full of mourners were seen driving up to Tim Robbins' 20,000-acre private estate, called "Proletariat Meadows," in Westchester County. Robbins, who would not speak directly to the AP, did release the following statement on Twitter: "We who struggle in the working class have lost a hero — a man of strong hand, and one of the few who truly realized what a genius I am."

Read the whole thing, for more reactions from Naomi Campbell, Mike Tyson, Michael Moore, and Alec Baldwin. They're devastated, and they want you to know it.

They're also wondering who can fill Chavez's shoes. There are boots to be licked and commie butts to be kissed and their days will not be complete until they're safely ensconced in another lavish palace surrounded by starving peasants.

Kim Jong Un is waiting by the phone...

Posted at 09:19 by Chris Wysocki [/odds_n_ends] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 05 March 2013

Sequester follies: Longer airport lines for you, new luxury jets for government officials

You know, I'd take the sequester doom and gloom a lot more seriously if it wasn't for stuff like this:

Luckily, the Air Force will be able to ride out the cuts — in style — after pledging almost $50 million to support their fleet of C-37 luxury jets.

The C-37 is described on the Air Force's website as "a twin-engine, turbofan aircraft acquired to fill the worldwide special air missions for high-ranking government and Defense Department officials."

Because Eric Holder can't fly commercial. He might encounter one of those interminable security lines Janet Napolitano says are now necessary because of those horrible sequester-imposed spending cuts. Can't have that, he's important.

I wonder how many TSA dudes Big Sis could hire for $50 million? Yeah, the feds are still hiring. Really. 400 new jobs were posted yesterday, even as the sequester cuts furloughed "essential" government workers. Apparently there are some jobs that can't possibly go unfilled.

The U.S. Forest Service on Monday posted help-wanted ads for a few good men and women to work as "recreation aides" this summer, the Internal Revenue Service advertised for an office secretary in Maryland, the U.S. Mint wanted 24 people to help press coins, and the Agriculture Department said it needs three "insect production workers" to help grow bollworms in Phoenix.

Bollworms are essential. Write it down so you'll remember why the schools are closed when the Head Start funding runs out.

And Secretary of State Genghis John Kerry just airdropped $250 million smackeroos onto the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt so they'll hate us a little less. I suppose he used one of those luxury jets to do it too.

In other news, and perhaps emblematic of Dear Leader's sequestration mendacity, the IRS is on pace to vacuum up a record $2.7 Trillion dollars of our hard-earned money this year. Which to hear him tell it, isn't nearly enough to save "mission critical" federal services like bollworm breeding.

Oh wait, sorry, bollworms are safe. It's stuff you and I actually care about that's on the chopping block. Because the Republicans made him choose those painful cuts. Honest. Joe Biden said so.

Posted at 12:20 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 04 March 2013

Cicero would be appalled: NJ moves one step closer to Early Voting

What exactly is wrong with showing up in person on election day? Can we not agree that even a modicum of effort ought to be invested in the exercise of our right to vote?

Sadly, no.

New Jersey residents would be able to cast a vote at a polling place more than two weeks before the election under a bill approved by a Senate panel today.

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted 8-5 to approve the bill (S2364), which would allow voters to cast ballots at designated polling locations beginning 15 days before the primary and general elections. They would have until the Sunday before Election Day to vote early.

Everyone is just so busy dontcha know.

"As legislators we understand that there are few rights that are more important than a citizen's participation in democracy," said state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex), the bill's primes sponsor. "If we can travel around the world to promote democracy and the right to vote we must be willing to invest in the infrastructure here at home to make sure we have the most effective, efficient and secure voting access possible."

Yeah, the fraud potential from absentee ballots doesn't quite satisfy State Senator Gill. She needs a couple of weeks of unfettered access to the voting machines in order to completely ensure her party's candidates achieve an insurmountable margin of victory.

Oh how I yearn for the good old days of Roman Citizenship, calling the Order of the Centuries on the Field of Mars. It was Democracy's finest hour!

Advancing the cause of the plebes leads to anarchy. Or worse.

What our nation needs is another Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Instead we got Nia Gill.

Posted at 22:24 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: elections NJ-Politics voting early-voting Nia-Gill | Tweet

Menendez Update: He worked hard to pass gas legislation beneficial to Salomon Melgen

Bob Menendez tries to pass gas! Sometimes the jokes just write themselves...

Except, the stench of pay-to-play is all too real. Here's yet another Menendez - Melgen link, complete with beaucoup lobbyist cash flowing into our junior senator's circle of influence.

Sen. Robert Menendez sponsored legislation with incentives for natural gas vehicle conversions that would benefit the biggest political donor to his re-election, the same eye doctor whose private jet Menendez used for two personal trips to the Dominican Republic, an Associated Press investigation found.

The disclosure reflects the latest intersection between the New Jersey Democrat who is the subject of an ethics inquiry on Capitol Hill and the Florida doctor involved in a federal criminal investigation.

Dr. Salomon Melgen invested in Gaseous Fuel Systems Corp. of Weston, Fla., and joined its board of directors in early 2010, according to the company's chief executive and a former company consultant. GFS, as the company is known, designs, manufactures and sells products to convert diesel-fuel fleets to natural gas. The amount of Melgen's investment is confidential under rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but a 2009 document filed with the SEC showed the company required a minimum individual investment at that time of $51,500.

At the same time, Menendez emerged as a principal supporter of a natural gas bill that would boost tax credits and grants to truck and heavy vehicle fleets that converted to alternative fuels. The bill stalled in the Senate Finance Committee, and after it was revived in 2012, the NAT GAS Act failed to win the needed 60 votes to pass.

While the bill was under consideration between 2009 and 2011, the former consultant for GFS spent $220,000 lobbying Menendez's staff and other congressional and federal officials on the act's provisions as well as other regulatory issues, according to interviews and Senate records.

Who does Bob Menendez work for? Surely it's not the citizens of New Jersey, because we don't cough up $220,000 whenever we need to get his attention. We naively believe in that whole petition our government for a redress of grievances thing.

Meanwhile, Salomon Melgen writes checks. And Bob Menendez does his bidding.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven. And that's no joke.

Posted at 09:21 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Saturday, 02 March 2013

When pastry is outlawed only outlaws will eat pastry

Watch out, hiding in every Pop Tart™ is a deadly assault pastry.

A 7-year-old Maryland boy was suspended from school for two days for shaping a breakfast pastry into what his teacher thought looked like a gun, according to his father.

FoxBaltimore.com reports that Josh Welch, a second-grader at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, was eating a strawberry tart when he decided to shape it into a mountain.

"All I was trying to do was turn it into a mountain but, it didn't look like a mountain really and it turned out to be a gun [kind of]," Josh told the station.

Josh, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said his teacher was visibly mad when she saw that the pastry looked like a gun, according to the report.

The boy's dad, who was not identified in the report, was later notified that Josh had been suspended for two days for fashioning the pastry into a gun.

That teacher is clearly too stupid to be in front of a classroom. She ought to be an aide to Diane Feinstein or Maxine Waters instead.

Entrusting your children to the publc school system is tantamount to child abuse.

Posted at 10:38 by Chris Wysocki [/education] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: education zero-tolerance political-correctness guns | Tweet

Friday, 01 March 2013

Surely a sign of the Apocalypse: Woman kicker trying out at the NFL Combine

Sunday afternoon Lauren Silberman will make NFL history. She'll be the first woman to ever participate in an NFL Regional Scouting Combine.

And of course she's doing it right here in New Jersey, at the Jets' practice facility in Florham Park.

As one of 40 kickers participating in the NFL's Regional Combine at the Jets' training facility in Florham Park, Silberman's presence as the first female entrant will likely garner her added attention in the quest to split the uprights.

The 28-year-old New York City resident played club soccer at the University of Wisconsin before attending graduate school at MIT, where she wrote her master's thesis about how athletes use video games to enhance their own performance.

Silberman told the NFL Network last month: "For me what's important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world's most competitive football league."

She's at least played some football right? Maybe in the LFL? Nope. Not one game. Her claim to fame is a fan event where she connected on a field goal. From that humble beginning, dreams are made.

Dreams of Title IX for the NFL, that is.

On the other hand, more than a few of the guys will be dreaming along the lines of "I'd hit that."

I imagine they'll be lining up to get flagged 15 yards for roughing the kicker too.

Speaking of penalties, she won't have to worry too much about illegal hands to the face, IYKWIMAITYD.

With no actual experience she's got zero chance of moving up to the Super Regionals in Dallas next month.

And since Regional Combines for specialists are limited to 40 kickers and 50 punters, Silberman's little stunt means there's a potentially deserving college kicker sitting on his couch while she scores points for the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

That's what feminists call "equality."

UPDATE 04 Mar 2013 12:21:
And the results are in....

Epic Fail.

Lauren Silberman has a unique talent. Kicking a football nearly as far as a quadriplegic.

Silberman is the first (and probably last) womern to try out for the NFL. She tried out as a placekicker but had only two kicks of 19 and 13 yards. NFL kickers routinely kick the football 60+ yards. Pee Wee football kickers routinely kick the ball 19 and 13 yards.

She wants a second chance. Because she was "injured." Maybe she pulled her vagina?

Rumors that the Jets had slapped a Franchise Tag on Silberman could not be confirmed at this time.

Posted at 11:25 by Chris Wysocki [/jets] Comments | Perm Link |
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