We're #1! Again! Yup, Essex County, NJ has the highest property taxes in the nation!

I gotta be insane to live here.

Man, I remember the days when my property taxes were only eleven grand a year.

Good times.

Seven years ago a fellow named Chris Christie came along and said if I voted for him he'd tame the property tax monster. I wonder what ever happened to that guy? I heard he tried to run for president, and then something about him feeling sorry for drug addicts.

Maybe the tax relief thing slipped his mind.

All I know is this kind of "winning" isn't what I signed up for.

Posted at 11:12 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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If at first you don't repeal Obamacare, try doing it the right way

TrumpRyanRinoCare was doomed from the get-go.

We didn't elect these clowns so they could enact Obamacare Lite.

And we surely didn't expect "repeal" would turn out to be "keep all the bad stuff."

So as you all know by now, Paul Ryan pulled his American Health Care Act before it could go down in flames in the House.

The Democrats, and their media allies, would have you believe this was a defeat for "repeal" and a victory for Obamacare.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The House Freedom Caucus torpedoed the bill, and I assure you, they are no fans of Obamacare.

They killed it because it did not do the one thing we elected a GOP House, a GOP Senate, and a GOP president to do — repeal Obamacare, all of Obamacare.

They know how to do that, of course, They did it last year. The GOP House and the GOP Senate passed a clean Obamacare repeal bill, which was promptly vetoed by then-president Obama.

One has to wonder where their courage went.

Or was the clean repeal bill just for show?

Because the easiest way to fulfill Donald Trump's campaign promise is to simply pass that bill again.

In addition to repealing Obamacare the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Act of 2015 defunded the charnal houses of Planned Parenthood. That's what I call a win-win piece of legislation.

But with a Republican in the White House the House GOP got cold feet.

So they crafted a version of Obamacare Lite, less satisfying, but with the same onerous provisions.

Slacker millenials can keep their parents' insurance? Why? Don't mandate it; don't ban it either. That way mom and dad can keep little Poindexter on their insurance until he's 65 if they want, and they're willing to pay for it. But the rest of us who actually understand responsibility aren't subsidizing his social disease lab tests.

Pre-existing conditions? Listen up, that's called "pay my bills." Look, I get it, sick people don't want to go broke. But sorry if I sound harsh, that's not my problem. Sure the truly sick need a safety net, and why not model it on the national flood insurance program instead of sticking you and me with the bill?

In fact, deregulate all health insurance. Set it up on the catastrophic care model — you pay for the routine stuff and the insurance kicks in when the bills get out of hand. That's how car insurance works; the insurance company doesn't pay for your gas and oil changes. So why should your health insurance pay when your kid has a cold?

A health care system where people pay their own damned bills is a health care system that will constrain costs. Doctors and hospitals and labs that charge "too much" will go out of business. We shop around for food and phone service and clothing and entertainment, but we don't even stop to consider the cost when we visit a doctor or pick up a prescription. Why?

Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper I've heard Republican politicians tout the need for Association Health Plans and selling insurance across state lines. Then there's tort reform, so the next John Edwards can't get rich exploiting vulnerable women. Why didn't RyanCare incorporate those features?

Beats me. But my guess is his donors didn't like the sound of Freedom.

Fox News posted that Donald Trump is "open" to a new health care bill. Here's my advice.

Repeal Obamacare. All of Obamacare.

Then craft a replacement that emphasizes Freedom.

Freedom to choose our doctors.

Freedom to choose the coverages we want. No mandates.

Freedom to pay cash if we desire to forego health insurance.

Freedom to determine our own destiny.

Freedom to fail, if that's what we chose to do. Because the Constitution wasn't designed to save us from ourselves.

Remember, the Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness; not actual happiness. That's up to you.

And I must say, a health care system that is built upon the idea of personal responsibility is a health care system that is sustainable, affordable, and inherently fair.

Posted at 21:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Repeal and Replace? Nah, the GOP plan is more like Obamacare Lite

Has anyone seen free market health care reform? I seem to recall a certain political party promising free market health care reform if Donald Trump won the presidency.

Instead they delivered Obamacare Lite.

There are plenty of posts out there summarizing the new GOP American Health Care Act, so I won't rehash them here. This one by Kemberlee Kaye is pretty good.

So let's get right into the objections.

Refundable tax credits are just subsidies by another name. Replacing one entitlement with another is not my definition of "reform."

Paul Ryan is touting his Medicaid cuts, but what he isn't telling you is that he's replacing them with a $100 Billion dollar slush fund for "high risk" state by state insurance pools. Meh. That's a lot of cash that'll be easy pickings for sticky-fingered bureaucrats. And it's not "saving" us anything.

But I could probably live with this plan if that's all it does in "repealing" Obamacare. Alas, the GOP definition of "repeal" must be different from mine, because they're retaining 3 of Obamacare's core provisions.

Lazy slackers will still get to sponge off their parents' insurance up through age 26. Sheesh, by age 26 I owned my first house and wouldn't have dreamed of saddling my parents with my bills. Why are today's twenty-somethings different?

And speaking of saddling someone else with your bills, the ridiculous pre-existing condition mandate remains in force. Look, for the 127,415th time, "insurance" for pre-existing conditions is merely a way for forcing me into paying your bills. When you have a pre-existing condition your costs are known, but Obamacare lite refuses to price your plan accordingly.

Now Paul Ryan et al do make one sop to reality here, if you have a pre-existing condition they require you to maintain continuous coverage or pay a 30% penalty. Which is good as far as it goes, but it still means you're rated as if you're not already sick when you're up for renewal. No actuary in his right mind would sign off on that.

Lastly, and most worrisome, Obamacare Lite preserves the ten minimum essential benefits mandate at the heart of Obamacare's escalating cost structure. So no, we can't choose the plan that's right for us, because every plan will still be required to cover "free" mammograms and birth control, pediatric dental (essential for a 59 year old guy like me!), and a laundry list of feel-good "preventative" services like diet counseling and anti-smoking incentives.

So much for being able to once again purchase a catastrophic care plan and self-insure for the routine stuff.

For that matter Obamacare Lite leaves out all the free-market reforms Republicans have said they wanted. Insurance still won't be sold across state lines, preserving 51 petty fiefdoms and forcing insurers to create a multitude of similar yet distinct plans. There are no association health plans either, which is yet another way for individuals to band together and reduce costs. And nowhere in this bill is any mention of tort reform.

Frankly I don't see this plan reducing my costs at all. It's essentially a full surrender to the forces of permanent liberalism.

Big Government Republicans are just as execrable as Big Government Democrats. And what we have here is a product of Big Government Republicans.

We can do better.

We must do better.

Repeal Obamacare, in its entirety.

Then, open health care to the free market. Stop treating health insurance as if it's health care. Trust people to decide what services and benefits they want to pay for. Free doctors from reams of regulations and let them practice medicine. It's easy if you try.

Posted at 10:11 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The IRS and Humana put two more nails into Obamacare's coffin

Thanks to a recent Executive Order from President Trump the Obamacare individual mandate is no longer mandatory.

Yowza! The individual mandate is dead! And with it, the funding "glue" that John Roberts decided was necessary to hold Obamacare together is gone, perhaps for good.

And if this news isn't enough to bury Obamacare, how about one of the nation's largest insurers pulling the plug on the exchanges?

Translation — we're losing too much money on old, sick people. Which is what everyone with a brain said would happen when Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi foisted this debacle onto us.

Did they listen? No. And so here we are, in the final stages of Obamacare's death spiral.

All we need to do now is wait, and get ready for the GOP replacement, coming soon to a congressional committee hearing room near you.

Posted at 14:54 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ Dems concoct a plan to soak taxpayers for federal dollars withheld from sanctuary cities

Three New Jersey Democrats think they've found a sure-fire way to sidestep President Trump's plan to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities — have NJ taxpayers make up the difference.

Let me put this in words you three turkeys can understand.

No. Way. Jose.

The people of Union City and the 33rd District may have voted for you, and you might think your loyalties lie more with illegal aliens and less with your taxpaying constituents, but that's not my problem, it's theirs. And I stand with President Trump in wanting to see equal enforcement of our immigration laws. Which means if anyone should be on the hook for your virtue signalling, it's the people in your District, and not the rest of us.

Then let's see how they feel about your activism when you're raiding their pockets. Because I'm thinking they're not gonna be too pleased.

Fortunately Governor Christie would be insane to sign this bill into law.

So it's all just grandstanding on the part of Hudson County progressives, for now. But if NJ's voters are dumb enough to put Phil Murphy into the governor's office next year then throwing tax dollars at illegal aliens will be the least of our problems.

Posted at 15:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The mayor of Prospect Parkistan, NJ lays out the welcome mat for illegals and jihadis

I don't understand the idea of welcoming criminals into your town. But I'm not a liberal. The mayor of Prospect Park, NJ is, and he's opening the gates and beckoning the barbarians inside.

Prospect Park Mayor, Mohamed T. Khairullah, signed an executive order to reassure residents that they will be protected from President Donald J. Trump's executive order to ban green card and visa holders, along with refugees, regardless of any resident's immigration status.

Break the law, we won't care!

His name's Mohamed, so I'm guessing if someone breaks Sharia law, he'll care, a lot. Immigration law, not so much.

In his executive order, he made it clear that all citizens, regardless if immigrant, refugee, green or visa card holder, are safe in Prospect Park and will not turn anyone to the federal government unless they have committed unlawful actions.

Yo, Chief, "citizens" implies "valid American." Ergo, no issue re immigration, green cards, visas, or refugee status. On the other hand, overstaying a visa, or sneaking into the US, they're "unlawful actions." Really, you could look it up. Then there's jihad; it's pretty "unlawful" too, not that you'd rat out your friends, right?

So it looks like Prospect Parkistan is now a safe haven for anyone looking to hide out from DHS, no matter why. What could go wrong?

Posted at 20:47 by Chris Wysocki   [/immigration]   Comments | Perm Link |
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It's official, President Trump's Extreme Vetting is now in effect

Barack Obama's open borders are closed until further notice.

Don't expect them to re-open any time soon either.

First there was The Wall, then President Trump signed an Executive Order today suspending visa entry into the U.S. from seven countries known to harbor radical Islamic terrorists: Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.

Naturally the usual suspects are aghast.

The "minority religion" of which he speaks is, of course, Christianity. Lefties hate Christians. And Barack Obama's government prevented persecuted Christians living in majority Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

President Trump vows to reverse that punitive and ill-conceived policy. Because "extreme vetting" should apply to the populations that breed terrorists, not to the folks who are victims of Islamic terrorism.

And right on cue, a slowdown on Muslim immigration is labeled as a "ban."

"These actions taken by Donald Trump are tantamount to a Muslim ban," Abed A. Ayoub, the legal and policy director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "This is the Muslim ban that was promised by him on the campaign trail."

Yo Abed, quick, who's the policy director for the Saudi-Christian Anti-Discrimination Committee?

I'll give you a hint. If he existed, he'd already be dead.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees that you, your gutter religion, and your pedophile prophet's ramblings are free to associate anywhere, anytime, anyhow. No one is "banning" Muslims. No one is shutting down your mosques or taxing your congregants. There are no "Christianity police" forcing hijab-wearing women to don bikinis.

And if you report a crime, you don't need to find 4 Christian witnesses before the police will take a report.

So tell me again how persecuted you are.

The plight of Christians in Muslim lands is real, and heart-breaking.

The "plight" of Muslims in the U.S. is known as the American Dream.

Pardon me if I don't feel bad for you.

And I won't apologize for wanting President Trump to help the thousands of Christians your co-religionists are persecuting day and night. You wanna help Muslim refugees? Call the Saudi embassy. Or call the Iranians, I hear they're flush with cash thanks to your buddy the former president. But don't expect us to take in any more Muslims; we've already done are part. If you don't like that, well, you're free to go back to Mecca.

Posted at 20:32 by Chris Wysocki   [/immigration]   Comments | Perm Link |
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President Trump's inaugural address put the "we" back into We The People

The thing that struck me most about today is how President Trump kept saying "we" and "us." Not "I." And not in the context of "this is not who we are" either.

He's genuinely proud to be an American. He's ready to work for us.

As one of his first 3 official acts he signed an Executive Order proclaiming a National Day of Patriotism. Pride in America is something we haven't seen in at least 8 years. It's a nice feeling to have it back. Because America is the greatest country on earth. America is special. America is that shining city on a hill.

To borrow a phrase, it's morning in America again.

The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And President Trump spoke eloquently.

Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another — but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.

This presidency isn't about him. It's about us.

He made it clear that he sees power in The People, not in Washington, DC, and certainly not in himself.

He spoke with conviction. And sincerity.

A nation exists to serve its citizens.

Such a simple, and yet immensely powerful truth. Has our nation served her citizens? Or special interests? I think you know the answer.

And he issued a new decree, "to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power" — America First.

Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.

America First. Write it down. Remember it.

Then he let us know that we're all in this together. That he will be the president for all Americans.

Again, simple words. Yet immensely powerful words too. America will be unstoppable. America will be great again. Because The People will be united.

Donald Trump is the captain of our ship. And once a long time ago during my childhood I watched a TV show where a different ship's captain captured the essense of We The People.

It is called Kirk's greatest speech, even if the episode itself is corny and contrived. It's a speech that I believe Donald Trump would heartily endorse, because I heard echoes of James T. Kirk from him today.

This was not written for chiefs. (general consternation) Hear me! Hear this! Among my people, we carry many such words as this from many lands, many worlds. Many are equally good and are as well respected, but wherever we have gone, no words have said this thing of importance in quite this way. Look at these three words written larger than the rest, with a special pride never written before or since. Tall words proudly saying We The People.

There's what this administration will proudly be all about. We. The. People.

God Bless America!

Posted at 17:27 by Chris Wysocki   [/president_trump]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Team Trump is preparing massive, "dramatic" cuts to the federal government

Donald Trump is determined to slash government spending. A lot. A preview of what's to come reads like a conservative activist's greatest fantasies. And why not? Most of it comes directly from our friends at the Heritage Foundation.

Every federal department will soon see its budget slashed and major programs eliminated. And get this, the first step will be to privatize the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and completely abolish the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities!

Yes my friends, no more taxpayer-subsidized lefty propaganda masquerading as "news" on NPR. No more cowboy poetry or homoerotic line drawings. "Artists" and "journalists" who want to produce that kind of crap will have to find a sympathetic liberal billionaire to subdisize their sophistry.

The goal is to reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years.

To get there the State Department will say goodbye to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and funding for the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Justice Department will shed the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Violence Against Women Grants, and the Legal Services Corporation. They'll also see huge reductions in funding for their Civil Rights, Environment, and Natural Resources divisions. And the Energy Department will roll back most funding to 2008 levels while dropping the Office of Electricity, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and the misleadingly named Office of Fossil Energy which is actually dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels. Frack, Baby, Frack!

Four corporate welfare boondoggles are also on the chopping block: the Minority Business Development Agency, the Economic Development Administration, the International Trade Administration, and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

That there is what those of us in the Drain The Swamp section call A Great Start.

But wait, it gets better! Because Trump has also pledged to reduce the entire federal workforce through attrition by implementing a hiring freeze. The unionistas are apopleptic of course. They consider every single federal job to be critical for government to function. Guess what? They're wrong.

There's a new sheriff in town and his two favorite words are "you're fired." When it comes to our bloated federal bureaucracy that's music to my ears.

Posted at 10:59 by Chris Wysocki   [/president_trump]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Legislating from the bench: NJ Supreme Court again decrees towns must build more slums

Reality took a back seat to social engineering today when the New Jersey state Supreme Court again unanimously ruled that every town in our fair state is required to provide "affordable housing." And after consulting their abacus they set forth a number to be built forthwith — 200,000 units, paid for, of course, by you and me.

Remember when Chris Christie was going to rein in our activist judiciary?

Yeah, me neither.

The premise of "affordable housing" itself is blatantly absurd. The social justice warrior crowd unilaterally decided poor people "deserved" to live in whatever town they wanted, regardless of whether or not that town's real estate market was priced out of their reach. Because "fairness."

Apparently working for what you want takes too long, and equality of outcome is better than equality of opportunity anyway. So, free houses for everybody! Ain't socialism grand?

Is everyone entitled to a nice car and fancy clothes too? How about golf club memberships and Disney vacations? Where does all this "fairness" end?

Time was people bought starter houses. Or they rented apartments and saved their pennies. And if you couldn't afford to live in Maplewood or Montclair you settled for Newark or East Orange until you got a better job. That's how my grandparents did it.

But nowadays folks want handouts, not a leg up. And why shouldn't they get to live in Short Hills without paying what everyone else who lives there paid? Our black-robed poobahs agreed, and decided to put a slum in every neighborhood. Except theirs, of course.

So COAH is reincarnated, and high-density, low-quality, traffic-inducing, school-overcrowding tenements will be foisted on us all. And not to put too fine a point on it, but the inhabitants of these housing projects are not always the most stellar of citizens, and they're not known for taking pride in their surroundings. Plus they expect certain "services" to be readily available, and I'm not just talking about check-cashing outlets and cash-for-gold storefronts. Think exotic pharmaceuticals and short-term female companionship, IYKWIMAITYD.

All of which slaughters property values and quality of life for those of us who were here first.

But the affordable housing activists don't care about that. They don't even actually care about "affordable housing." What they do care about are votes, and even in this deeply blue state there are pockets of Republicans to be infiltrated and subverted. Hence the imposition of affordable housing, and the Democrats who inhabit it. Import enough new voters and even the most conservative towns will flip to the Free Stuff side. And then the tax gouging can really begin because hey, this is where the rich guys live.

One of my Facebook friends is a former NJ resident who relocated to North Carolina. Every time he sees another story about how NJ is screwing the middle class he immediately adds the #GetOutNow hashtag. He has a point. Once the slums arrive it'll be too late.

Posted at 16:12 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Liberal hypocrites bailing on inaugural gigs conveniently forget about "Bake That Cake!"

Here we go again. Liberal fascists scored another "victory" when the B Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover group, reneged on their contract to play at the New Jersey State Society's inaugural ball. Why? President Trump, that's why.

Naturally they're being applauded by All The Right People for their bravery. Even as the organizers of the inaugural ball have to scramble to find a replacement. But that's no biggie, right? Trump's illegitimate!

So riddle me this Batman. Why couldn't Memories Pizza decline to cater a same-sex "wedding?" Why couldn't the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa show respect for their religious beliefs by politely referring a homosexual couple to another bakery? Why can't a Christian wedding venue freely choose which weddings they'll host without fear of lynch-mob reprisals?

Because, Tolerance!

You know, the same tolerance that ran Milo Yiannopoulos off the campus of UC Davis last week. And the same tolerance that forced Memories Pizza and Sweet Cakes by Melissa to close their doors for good.

To the fascist Left, tolerance means death threats. Tolerance means enforcing GroupThink. Tolerance means never having to associate with someone whose views are different from their own.

And so the B Street Band joins Andrea Bocelli and Jennifer Holliday in the Gay Mafia Hall Of Fame.

The rank hypocrisy is pathetic. When progressives stand up for their principles, it's bravery, just ask Meryl Streep, one of the Bravest Of The Brave, to hear her tell it.

But when Christians and conservatives stand up for their principles, it's Hate Speech.

Which of course is just one more reason why Trump won.

Posted at 11:10 by Chris Wysocki   [/liberals]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ's two senators don't exactly crown themselves with glory grilling Trump's nominees

When your two US Senators are Democrats you're bound to be repeatedly embarrassed by their antics. But sheesh, Cory Booker and Bob Menendez really outdid themselves today.

Booker broke with 228 years of tradition and became the first sitting US Senator to publicly speak out against the confirmation of his colleague Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Why? Because he's running for president in 2020, and he's a horse's ass.

As Democrats look to regroup after their unexpected loss to Trump, Booker's name has been floated as a potential front-runner to lead the Democratic Party's presidential bid in 2020. Publicity is likely a big motivator behind Booker's commitment to thrust his own views of Sessions into the spotlight.

He's gotta appear to be more radical than Lizzie "Fauxcahontas" Warren. And face it, the libtard wing of the Democratic party eats this shit up. Too bad he's an empty suit, with little appeal outside of New Jersey and other coastal enclaves. And then there's the small matter of his entanglement with the rampant corruption in the Newark Watershed Commission, where his protege Linda Watkins-Brashear pleaded guilty to multiple felonies involving bribery and official misconduct. Not to mention his sweetheat deal with his old law firm of Trenk, DiPasquale wherein they continued to pay him a salary when he was mayor of Newark while he steered lucrative no-bid city contracts their way.

It's like the Clinton Foundation, only without the foreign "investments." (Ah, give him time, I'm sure he can rustle up a few checks from the United Arab Emirates. -- Ed.)

Cory Booker won't be president. Of that I can assure you.

Meanwhile, his partner in mendacity, Bob Menendez, was busy making a fool of himself questioning Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson. Bob wanted to know why Tillerson supported Trump's border wall with Mexico.

I also want to point out that the last time a country tried to wall itself completely from its neighbor was in Berlin in 1961, and that wall was constructed by communist East Germany.

Wow.

Just wow.

Yo Bob. The Berlin wall was created to keep East Germans in. Trump's wall is gonna keep illegal aliens out. But other than that, the two walls are like totally the same.

Try reading a book Bob. You might learn something.

Hey New Jersey. You elected this bozo? Shame on you.

Oh BTW, he's under indictment. It's gotta take a boatload of corruption for a Democratic administration to indict a US Senator of their own party. Heck, the case must be ironclad, or political hack Paul Fishman wouldn't have put his John Hancock on it, because Fishman didn't touch Jon Corzine and you'd have to be blinder than Stevie Wonder not to see his guilt.

Sorry Bob, but your credibility is shot. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Completely unrelated, but fun to point out, the Feds raided Orange city hall today in an ongoing fraud investigation. Is Orange, NJ run by Democrats? Is there a mustache in Mexico? Yes to both! But you already knew that.

Cory and Bob, your ineffective and unsuccessful attempts at character assassination are noted, and rejected. Sit down. Shut up. Jeff Sessions and Rex Tillerson will both be confirmed. And then the Real Fun will begin!

Posted at 21:34 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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See this penny? It's no ordinary cent, it's my Chris Christie Sales Tax Cut!

Today is my lucky day! The daily $5 lunch special at Lakeside Deli cost me a whole penny less, because Chris Christie's sales tax cut kicked in!

Yup, 'tis true. NJ's 7% sales tax is now, drum roll please!, 6.875%.

A whopping 1/8 of a percent less!

Which means last week's $5.35 lunch bill is now $5.34.

Of course my euphoria is short-lived, because we only got this massive sales tax cut in exchange for a 23 cent per gallon hike in the gas tax. And I've already been paying that new tax for a few months now.

See how that works? Raise one tax by 23 cents. Cut another tax by 1/184th of that much. Because, fairness, or something.

So I guess I should save this penny for posterity. Or until the next time I need to buy gas, whichever comes first.

Thanks Governor!

Posted at 14:12 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Steve Sweeney's sneaky plan for hijacking the gas tax into bailing out NJ's public pensions

Last month when you voted to dedicate the newly raised gas tax to the Transportation Trust Fund I'll bet you thought that meant the gas tax revenue would be going into the Transportation Trust Fund.

Suckers!

State Senate President Steve Sweeney wants to divert it to, drum roll please, bailing out the public employee pension fund!

How? Easy! Just have the pension fund buy the TTF bonds. As in, New Jersey will borrow money from itself and then pay itself all the interest.

Nice obfuscation there Steve. The interest doesn't go to "Wall Street." It goes to mom and pop investors like me who buy government bonds. "Wall Street" is just the middle man, because New Jersey doesn't have a system like Treasury Direct that would allow individual investors to buy those bonds from the state, and "avoid paying bond underwriting fees."

Why not?, you might ask. Because then guys like Jon Corzine and Phil Murphy wouldn't get their cut, except it turns out, when the vig goes to the public employee unions instead. Then cutting off "Wall Street" is A-OK.

So there you have it. When they sold us on the gas tax they told us it was for important stuff like roads and bridges. But when they spend the gas tax it'll be going to some guy sitting on a beach.

Posted at 10:13 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Jill Stein drops her PA recount bid, meaning her other 2 recounts are now pointless

Jill Stein's proxy war to propel Hillary Clinton into the White House is over. She's abandoning her Pennsylvania recount, and with it any hope to reverse Donald Trump's Electoral College advantage.

Looks like her fund-raising fell short.

And so, without an opportunity to revert Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes to the Dowager Empress of Chappaqua, Stein's recount efforts in Wisconsin and Michigan won't matter. Trump will officially win the presidency on December 19th.

So why is she soldiering on?

In a word, to deny Trump legitimacy.

With 306 electoral votes Donald Trump's victory is a veritable landslide.

But suppose that her recounts drag out, and Wisconsin and Michigan fail to complete them by the December 13th deadline? Well then those states won't be able to certify their results, in which case their electors will not be bound to Trump.

Suddenly 306 electoral votes become 280. And a ten vote margin is hardly a mandate.

Still don't think Hillary's campaign is colluding with Stein on the recounts? Because if you don't, George Soros has a bridge in Brooklyn he can let you have, cheap.

There's no way that a nobody candidate who barely raised $3 million dollars in more than 2 years suddenly finds herself awash in more than twice that much cash in 2 weeks. Not unless a whole lot of prominent Democrats are writing her checks. And not unless she, overtly or not, promised them she'd help Hillary steal the election.

But wait, there's more proof that Hillary's harridan hordes are playing dirty. PA is doxing electors, leading to incessant harassment. Democrat Governor Tom Wolf, doing his best to one-up his convicted felon attorney general Kathleen Kane, released the names, addresses, and phone numbers of Trump's PA electors.

He didn't do this because he's for open government.

He did it to promote thuggery.

Remember all the holier than thou preening when Donald Trump said he "might not" accept the results of the election? Yeah, me neither. Because the preeners are now engaged in an all-out assault on our nation's electoral integrity.

Fortunately their machinations will amount to nought. But it goes to show us just how low they'll sink, how they'll leave no stone unturned in their quest for power. And thus they remind us of why we must remain eternally vigilant.

Posted at 21:53 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The Star-Ledger loves flag burners, but deletes questions about Koran burning

Today the uber-liberal Star-Ledger Editorial Board posted an opinion piece chastising Donald Trump for wanting to imprison flag burners.

OK, cool. It's their right. And they've got an endless supply of pixels.

Except, that "freedom of expression" thing doesn't apply to their comments section.

Here's what I posted:

How does the SLEB feel about Koran burning?

And Editor in Chief Tommy The Commie Moran deleted it faster than Hillary Clinton erased her email server.

Because liberals love flag burners. But they hate being called out for their hypocrisy. And nothing emphasizes their hypocrisy more than burning a Koran, which as we all know is a Hate Crime of epic proportions, and requires denunciation of Islamophobia as a matter of principle.

Except their Islamophobia is another man's anti-Americanism. And you can't get more anti-American than burning Old Glory.

Alas we don't blow shit up when our flag gets torched.

Yet.

But wait, it's time for the pot to meet the kettle.

These are all attempts to delegitimize - and even criminalize - political opinion he doesn't share.

Because it's not like the SLEB and their lefty friends have spent decades deligitimizing, and the past 8 years criminalizing, opinions they don't share.

Oh, wait, yes it is. They're the real fascists.

In New York City it is illegal, punishable by massive fines, to refer to a "transgender" person by anything other than its preferred pronoun. You know, because government needs to enshrine a constitutional right to mental illness.

Throughout the Old South monuments to Confederate heroes are being torn down in the name of "tolerance." It's a Hate Crime to fly the Stars and Bars. But I suppose burning one is A-OK, right SLEB?

Across the length and breadth of this great nation it is illegal to refuse to bake a gay "wedding" cake.

And coincidentally today, the homofascist mafia has set their sights on Chip and Joanna Gaines, for the unforgivable crime of attending a church which condemns same-sex "marriage." A more wholesome couple you won't find, anywhere. There could be no better role models for our children, or their parents. They are the very embodiment of loving, caring, goodness.

But, gack!, they're "anti-gay!"

Chip and Joanna (and in fact all Christians) are the enemy, they cannot be allowed to earn a living or star in a widely popular TV show. Their thoughtcrimes are repulsive. The death penalty must be the only option.

That's the mentality the Star-Ledger defends whilst vilifying Donald Trump and erasing comments which do not conform to their progressive worldview.

And they wonder why no one, including me, subscribes to their rag anymore.

Posted at 19:52 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The exodus from New Jersey picks up steam, 227,000 taxpayers out, 62,000 immigrants in

Will the last person to leave New Jersey please turn out the lights?

The population of the Garden State is shrinking, as productive taxpayers move out, replaced by a smaller number of low-income immigrants.

Most of our refugees ended up in Pennsylvania, Florida, California, North Carolina, and Texas. Which says to me, if you're leaving NJ for Kookyfornia, well, things here must be pretty bad. Those nuts just banned plastic grocery bags, and they don't have any water. Yet almost 13,000 people thought it was a better place to live than our not so fair state.

But those other states, they have vibrant economies. Us? We've got Chris Christie back, seeing as how his audition for Donald Trump's cabinet didn't go exactly as planned. Color me underwhelmed. He doesn't want to be here, and frankly, we don't want him to be here either.

Except, the only thing worse than a Governor Chris Christie is limousine liberal Phil Murphy, or God forbid John Wisniewski. Yet they're the front-runners to succeed Governor Gas Tax, who is inexplicably doing everything he can to torpedo the candidacy of Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.

Once upon a time our state slogan was "New Jersey and You, Perfect Together." Now it's "Get Out While The Getting Is Good."

Posted at 20:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Chris Christie (remember him?) vetoes unemployment benefits for striking workers

Taking some time off from his rapidly diminishing role on Donald Trump's presidential transition team, NJ Governor Chris Christie returned to Trenton today to whack some common sense into our state's legislative Democrats. He vetoed a bill that would have granted unemployment insurance benefits to striking Verizon and casino workers.

Good. The Democrats think we're stupid and we'll gladly pay their unionista buddies to go on strike. Except that's what their precious union's strike fund is for. And in the Real World, if you can't afford to go on strike, don't go on strike.

Alas our reprieve might be short-lived. The Democrats have cleared the decks for limousine liberal Phil Murphy (aka Jon Corzine 2.0) to run for governor next year. And since the NJ GOP bench is, shall we say, weak thanks to Chris Christie's "troubles," it's likely he'll win, handing the reins of NJ government over to the Tax-And-Spend crowd.

But a lot can happen in a year. And a win's a win. So thanks governor. We're glad you remembered where your office was. Don't be a stranger, OK?

Posted at 16:26 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Media hacks in the tank for Obama and Clinton whine that Trump won't bow before them

The White House Correspondents Association has it's collective panties in a knot because President-elect Trump doesn't consult them, ever.

"The White House Correspondents' Association is deeply concerned by President-elect Donald Trump's decision to reject the practice of traveling with a "protective pool" of reporters for his first visit to Washington since the election," White House Correspondents Association President Jeff Mason said in a statement. "In addition to breaking with decades of historical precedent and First Amendment principles, this decision could leave Americans blind about his whereabouts and well-being in the event of a national crisis. A pool of reporters is in place and ready to cover President-elect Trump. The WHCA urges President-elect Trump to allow it to do its job, including being present for motorcade movements, meetings, and other interactions. Not allowing a pool of journalists to travel with and cover the next president of the United States is unacceptable."

Listen up you sanctimonious stenographer for the DNC, President-elect Trump knows where your loyalties lie, because they most certainly do not lie with "First Amendment principles." You hacks have no principles. You exposed yourselves as whoring cheerleaders for progressive Democrats and now you demand that the object of your derision bow before your preening self-importance?

Let's get something straight sport. You need Trump. Trump doesn't need you.

There's plenty of alternative media. And a good portion of that media isn't permeated by left-wing bias. Which is how Trump became President-elect in spite of your best efforts to coronate Hillary Clinton.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Thursday that he would tell the Trump transition team that it has "a responsibility to communicate with the White House press corps."

Got a Constitutional citation for that "responsibility" Josh?

Didn't think so.

I have a feeling that President Trump will find a way to get his message out just fine, without filtering it through the JournoList clown show.

"Having a pool of reporters follow you around everywhere you go is inconvenient, occasionally annoying and takes a long time to get used to, but it serves an important purpose," Earnest said during the daily briefing. "And this White House has gone to great lengths to coordinate with all of you as you organize that effort and I would recommend that the incoming administration do the same."

The operative word there being "coordinate." We know all about the MSM / DNC coordination that's been going on. So tell me Mr. Journalist, will Glenn Thrush send his stories to President Trump for pre-approval? Will CNN secretly share their interview questions with him in advance? Will the LA Times bury an unflattering tape of his remarks?

I suspect not.

Because in the end your credibility is shot, beyond repair. Your elitist disdain for Trump and his voters cannot be denied. Like I said, he doesn't need you. And there really is no good reason he should even throw you a bone. I hope he banishes each and every one of you pressitutes to the wilderness where you can flounder in a pool of lost subscribers and diminishing revenue.

The MSM is dead, of a self-inflicted wound.

Good riddance.

Posted at 11:12 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Congratulations President-Elect Trump!

Yup, we stayed up until 3:30 AM to watch the victory speech. Sophie zonked out at around 1, but I woke up at 2:30 to tell her the good news.

God bless her, she made it to the school bus on time this morning!

Anyway, it's a good day to be an American. And since I'm basically running on coffee I'll just post some celebratory music to congratulate President-Elect Donald J. Trump.

We're gonna Make America Great Again!

Posted at 15:14 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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