Gottheimer’s Price Tag on his Principles: $462,520.00
September 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Congressman Scott Garrett was an early and vocal opponent of President Obama’s nuclear arms deal, repeatedly announcing his concerns about the President’s framework in April 2015, voting against the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 in May, and denouncing the deal itself as soon as it was announced in July.
Meanwhile, Josh Gottheimer was waiting to see which way the political winds would blow before he took a stance. He was silent on President Obama’s framework for the deal in April and again in May, on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 – legislation that paved the way for the deal. He waited a full month before announcing his opposition to the deal itself – and even then, made sure to praise President Obama’s approach. Is it possible that the reason for Gottheimer’s delay in taking a stance on this crucial issue was the series of major Washington, DC fundraisers with Democratic insiders he had scheduled?
From April 2, 2015 when President Obama announced the framework for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program to August 17, 2015, Josh Gottheimer was silent on President Obama’s nuclear deal. Instead, he spent time leveraging his political insider connections to raise $462,520.00, thanks to his Washington, DC lobbyist friends.
Since announcing his “opposition” to the deal, he’s gone on to campaign and fundraise with Members of Congress who embrace the deal and are frequent critics of the State of Israel. He’s also refused to condemn the “ransom” payment to Iran.
Looks like Josh Gottheimer will say anything he needs to in order to get elected, but his loyalties are firmly with those trying to send him to Congress: Washington, DC Democratic lobbyists.
citation: Josh Gottheimer for Congress two year summary of itemized individual contributions attached, as downloaded from FEC.gov on Mon Sep 19 15:55:03 GMT 2016.
“Do you know how HUD (US Dept of Housings and Urban Development) entices towns to take money and then …………..HUD takes over your rights with the Mayor and Council – you nor your Council have say in the decisions of the town in which you live and pay taxes.”
Teaneck NJ, Dr. Al Frech has been following HUD for the last eight years and is making a difference in Ringwood and Wayne by alerting citizens and town councils on the dangers of HUD grants.
Perhaps your town has taken CDBG grants in the past. Everything changed in July 2015 with the affirmative fair housing. They added 377 new pages. In one section they say they won’t change your zoning, but if your zoning happens to conflict with the Fair Housing Act, then that is of concern. They never really spell out for you what the Fair Housing Act now happens to control. Once you sign on the line, you sign a contract that you will do whatever the plan turns out to be for that Fair Housing Assessment.
The wording in the AFFH ruling is accurate, but somewhat deceptive. Actually, HUD wants nothing to do with a community’s zoning laws. However, to affirmatively further fair housing, grantees may be required to ignore or change them themselves. In other words, HUD will CONTROL.
The rule does not impose any land use decisions or zoning laws on any local government. However a paragraph later says, but we will assist recipients to adjust their land use and zoning laws to meet their legal obligation to Affirmative Fair Housing.
You can’t afford to be in the dark – your town, your property value and your community could be in the hands of others – not you nor your town council!
American Legion Hall, 650 American Legion Drive, Teaneck, NJ
photo Rep. Garrett with Jon Stewart discussing the Zadroga Act
September 18,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In response to misrepresentations of Congressman Garrett’s record, specifically on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, Garrett for Congress released the following fact check to clarify these falsehoods. Congressman Garrett voted for the legislation that first established the program and was a cosponsor of its reauthorization. He clearly supports the program, and clearly opposes its politicization – like when the legislation has been attached to unrelated tax increases or bloated spending bills. Additionally, many leaders in the Fifth District community are standing strong with Congressman Garrett, as seen by their statements below.
Robert Knapp, former Oakland Volunteer Fire Department Chief: “The community of Oakland is only a short car ride from New York City, and our residents remember both the heroism and the losses of September 11, 2001. In the days following the 9/11 attacks, I went to Ground Zero to lend my support. I saw the devastation and destruction first hand. Our residents also remember the advocates for our community in the aftermath – one of whom is Congressman Scott Garrett. Scott has fought for our First Responders and he has opposed efforts to politicize their struggles. Just as they stand strong in the face of adversity, we know we can rely on Scott to stand strong for them in the face of political pressure.”
Assemblyman Parker Space, former Wantage Fire Department Chief: “Scott Garrett is a champion for the brave men and women in uniform that serve the Fifth District. Any suggestion otherwise is a shameful smear manufactured to score cheap political points. I’ve known Scott for years and have personally witnessed his public service and dedication to our community’s First Responders. As a third generation firefighter, I’m deeply offended by the lies cooked up by some Washington, DC political operatives in a ploy to obscure the truth here in New Jersey.”
Freeholder Carl Lazarro: “After the horrible attacks of 9/11, thousands of firefighters, police officers and others have been out of work because of the illnesses they suffer as a result of their heroic sacrifices. Congressman Scott Garrett has been a vocal supporter of the Victims Compensation Fund established by the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and actively fought to have the program reauthorized. He has continually demonstrated his commitment to our First Responders and I am proud to stand beside him.”
Zadroga Fact Check
FACT: Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act bill in 2007 to provide compensation and treatment to workers who had been affected by the cleanup. This was a bipartisan piece of legislation, and solely addressed the needs of those affected by the 9/11 cleanup. Congressman Garrett was a cosponsor of this legislation.
FACT: Congressman Garrett again cosponsored the bill when it was reintroduced in 2009. Up through this, it was still a bipartisan effort and many were working together to find ways to pay for this program.
FACT: Democrats politicize the Zadroga Act by attaching it to a tax increase. Congressman Garrett voted against this legislation, outraged at this manipulation of the legislation.
FACT: Congressman Garrett voted for final passage of the Zadroga Act after the tax increases were removed by a Senate amendment. This legislation was then signed into law.
FACT: Reauthorization of the Zadroga Act was introduced in mid-April 2015. Congressman Garrett was again a cosponsor of this legislation.
FACT: Congressman Garrett wrote a letter to Congressional leadership asking for the Zadroga Act to be voted on by itself as stand-alone legislation, rather than being used as a political bargaining tool.
FACT: Congressional leadership attached the Zadroga Act to an unrelated year-end $1.1 trillion spending bill, using the legislation as an incentive to get votes for the passage of the underlying spending bill that was thousands of pages long and had a litany of other programs. Congressman Garrett could not support a $1.1 trillion government spending bill, despite strongly voicing his support for the permanent reauthorization of the Zadroga programs.
On this day in 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by 39 delegates in Philadelphia as it was sent on its way to the thirteen states for ratification. After rigorous debate in the states, this incredible document was ratified, officially creating a government that was based on the rule of law, not the rule of man. Today we celebrate this important moment in American history as a day when the revolutionary ideas of liberty and freedom, and a government by the people, overcame tyranny and oppression. Today we celebrate the Constitution.
Happy Constitution Day!
Rep. Scott Garrett
7 Things You May Not Know About the Constitutional Convention
SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 By Christopher Klein
For four months during the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention met “in order to form a more perfect union.” With the country’s legal framework finally drafted, the framers of the Constitution signed the document on September 17, 1787, before sending it to the states for ratification. Explore seven surprising facts about the delegates to the Constitutional Convention and their work in Philadelphia.
Paramus NJ, Tuesday September 20, 2016 7:00 PM Barnes and Noble will be welcoming bestselling author Ridgewood’s own Harlan Coben for a discussion and book signing. His newest thriller is entitled Home, book #11 in the ‘Myron Bolitar Series.’
With over 70 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben’s last nine consecutive novels, FOOL ME ONCE, THE STRANGER, MISSING YOU, SIX YEARS, STAY CLOSE, LIVE WIRE, CAUGHT, LONG LOST and HOLD TIGHT all debuted at #1 on the New York Timesbestseller list and lists around the world. His books are published in 43 languages around the globe and have been number one bestsellers in over a dozen countries.
Winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – international bestselling author Harlan Coben’s critically-acclaimed novels have been called “ingenious” (New York Times), “poignant and insightful” (Los Angeles Times), “consistently entertaining” (Houston Chronicle), “superb” (Chicago Tribune) and “must reading” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE was turned into the commercial and critical smash hit French film of the same name, starring Francois Cluzet and Kristin Scott Thomas. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in USA, won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music. The movie with subtitles is now available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and DVD/Blu-Ray.
Harlan is the creator and executive producer for both Harlan Coben’s THE FIVE, an original 10 episode, British crime drama, made for TV by Sky1, and NO SECOND CHANCE, based on his novel, a six-part French series, which scored the highest ratings for any French TV show in nearly a decade.
In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly funny” (People). After seven books Coben wanted to try something different. “I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron,” says Coben. The result was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller TELL NO ONE, which became the most decorated thriller of the year. Two books later, Bookspan, recognizing Coben’s broad international appeal, named NO SECOND CHANCE its first ever International Book of the Month in 2003 – the Main Selection in 15 different countries.
Harlan was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications including the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.
Harlan has received an eclectic variety of honors from all over the world. In Paris, he was awarded the prestigious Vermeil Medal of Honor for contributions to culture and society by the Mayor of Paris. He was won the El Premio del Novela Negra RBA in Spain, the Grand Prix de Lectrices in France, and the CWA/ITV3 Bestseller Dagger for favorite crime novelist in England. On the other end of the spectrum, Little League Baseball inducted Harlan into their Hall of Excellence in 2013, and Harlan is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame from his playing days at Amherst College.
Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in Ridgewood , New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.
Manuel Alfonso, 47, is the first Latino to pursue the position of Bergen County Sheriff and score a major party endorsement. The Cuban American Republican entered the race earlier this year after a January party switch by incumbent Sheriff Michael Saudino from Republican to Democrat left the GOP scrambling for a candidate.
While Alfonso has never run for office before, the candidate is a 26-year veteran in law enforcement. Currently he works as a high-ranking official in a government agency but says that he cannot disclose information about his department or position for campaign purposes due to ethics violations. In the past, Alfonso worked with the FBI joint terrorism task force for five years and with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Ridgewood NJ, Fox news reports The Pequannock Panthers started their season a week later than expected after a nasty outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) commonly known as coxsackie virus that has been spreading across northern New Jersey.
The Coxsackie virus or HFMD, caused by coxsackie viruses, usually causes fever, malaise, rash, and small blisters that ulcerate. The most frequent locations for the blisters/ulcers are on the palms of the hand, soles of the feet, and in the mouth. Coxsackie virus was first isolated from human feces in the town of Coxsackie, N.Y., in 1948 by G. Dalldorf.
Prevention is difficult; avoid direct contact with anyone with HFMD, and their stool, saliva, and blister fluid. Hand washing and cleaning of items handled by HFMD patients are the best additional methods for prevention.
The virus prompted the cancelation of games and after-school events at a number of high schools including Pequannock, High Point West Milford and Kinnelon, which just reported 8 cases.
Possible cases of the virus have been reported at a half-dozen high schools in New Jersey. But the state’s Health Department says that is not worth panicking over because outbreaks this time of year are common. In fact last year, there were six and the year before that 23.
HFMD usually occurs in children but can occur in adults. HFMD usually resolves in about 10 days with no scarring, but the person may shed coxsackie virus for several weeks. Lab tests for coxsackie viruses can be done, the vast majority of infections are diagnosed by clinical features (HFMD blisters/ulcers), but this may change with the onset of new outbreaks and causes of severe HFMD. There is no specific treatment or vaccine available for coxsackie virus infections.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In true “say anything to get elected” Clinton-style politics, Josh Gottheimer’s campaign rhetoric doesn’t match his actual beliefs.
Before he was a congressional candidate, Gottheimer was a political strategist who served as a surrogate for Obama/Clinton foreign policies as a frequent contributor on cable news and helped the Clinton’s raise money.
Gottheimer and his media allies continue to brag about his fund raising prowess, like the Clinton campaign Gottheimer has raised significant amounts of money from dubious sources like disgraced New Jersey former congressmen Robert Torricelli and a Saudi wife beater.
While Gottheimer and his media and political allies have attempted to paint Rep. Scott Garrett as an anti gay bigot and both Gottheimer and Clinton champions of the LGBT community ,money continues to flow to both campaigns from anti gay ,anti women and anti Jewish sources.
Petra News Agency reported in June that Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has provided 20 percent of the total funding to the prospective Democratic candidate’s campaign.
It gets worse ,one of Clinton’s largest contributors is Billionaire George Soros a Nazi collaborator who, “Says He Feels No Remorse For Collaborating With Nazis During WWII to Send His Fellow Jews to the Death Camps, and Steal Their Property.”
Many oil rich Islamic countries with strict anti LGBT have made massive donations to the Clinton campaign:
Algeria donated $250,000 to $500,000 to the Clintons
Saudi Arabia donated up to $50 million to the Clintons
The Nation of Brunei donated $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 to the Clintons
United Arab Emirates donated up to $11.5 million to the Clintons
Kuwait donated $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 to the Clintons
Qatar donated $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 to the Clintons
Lets not for get Anti-LGBT Russia were Bill Clinton earned $500,000 for a speech in Moscow paid for by a Kremlin-backed bank.
Gottheimer claims he opposes President Obama’s Iran (another anti LGBT country) deal but on FOX news he sounded very much like a supporter.
Voters in the Fifth District are curious to know – what does Josh Gottheimer really think? Is he saying one thing just to get elected, when really, he’s just a mouthpiece for a Democrat Administration? Is he willing to say anything and take money from anyone ?
When in doubt, hang up and call the number listed on your bill
September 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, is urging customers to be alert to scams demanding immediate bill payment via a pre-paid card.
“During the last several days, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of phone scams being reported,” said Greg Dunlap, vice president of Customer Operations for PSE&G. “Scammers can – and do – target anyone. But they tend to more often target small business customers, because they have larger bills than residential customers, but don’t have all of the checks and balances to prevent fraud that large business customers typically have.”
Here is how this latest payment scam works:
An individual pretending to be a PSE&G employee calls a customer and tells them that without immediate payment via a pre-paid card, their service will be shut off.
Customers are given a telephone number to call back after they have purchased the card. When they call that number, they hear interactive voice response prompts that imitate those they would hear when calling the real PSE&G customer service line.
When a fake representative answers the line, they ask for the number on the back of the pre-paid card. After the scammers have that number, they can take the money from the card – usually within a matter of minutes.
The only way to protect against these scams is for customers to be cautious when contacted by someone threatening service termination if they do not receive immediate payment via a pre-paid credit card. Before terminating service, PSE&G alerts customers in a number of ways: messages on their bill, letters and phone calls. The utility offers a number of payment options, and would never require a customer to use one specific type of payment.
“If you receive a call from anyone demanding immediate payment, do not give them any personal or account information,” said Dunlap. “Hang up the phone, and call the number listed on PSE&G’s website and bills: 1-800-436-PSEG (7734).”
“Nobody is even putting up a pretense here that the Democratic lobbying establishment isn’t trying to buy an election”
(Hackensack, New Jersey) – BuzzFeed News just posted an explosive story about how the Democratic lobbying establishment is looking to help buy Josh Gottheimer New Jersey’s Fifth District congressional seat:
“Josh Gottheimer has the entire D.C. Democratic political establishment working to help buy him this election. He doesn’t care about the views and values of Fifth District residents — he’s working to win the approval of the D.C. elite like lobbyist Steve Elmendorf and Goldman Sachs. This is merely a preview of what Josh Gottheimer would be like as a member of Congress. If Josh Gottheimer is so interested in representing Goldman Sachs’ values, maybe he should be their lobbyist, rather than a congressional candidate. Scott Garrett’s values are not for sale. He represents the people of the Fifth District — not the check-writing lobbyists in Washington, D.C.,” Neibart said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
Gottheimer is a former aide in the Clinton White House, and has not only the support of the Clinton machine but also Washington’s Democratic establishment. He also has outraised Garrett this cycle by a wide margin, taking in $2.9 million compared to Garrett’s $1.3 million, according to Open Secrets.
Democrats have made toppling him a priority. Last week, a political action committee connected to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi began running ads against him. And as election-day approaches, Garrett can expect that more is on the way, Democratic operatives warn.
But most damning for Garrett has been the campaign by Elmendorf and a group of other financial and technology lobbyists to end Garrett’s tenure in Congress by drying up his pool of potential corporate contributions.
Elmendorf and his allies began meeting with lobbyists for major corporations, focusing particularly on investment firms and banks, Garrett’s campaign finance life-blood.
[A] Republican campaign strategist insisted that regardless of where the business community stands on LGBT issues, the involvement of powerful lobbyists is little more than the sort of backroom dealings most Americans believe happen every day in Washington. “Normally, we like to pretend that lobbyists don’t have the kind of influence the rest of America thinks they do. But nobody is even putting up a pretense here that the Democratic lobbying establishment isn’t trying to buy an election,” the strategist said.
Glen Rock NJ, For the second time in as many weeks, a contractor performing a utility pole replacement project for PSE&G on Lincoln Avenue in Glen Rock, struck an underground utility line, this time forcing the evacuation of a nearby office building. On 09/06, a water main was unintentionally ruptured. Today, Wednesday, 09/14, a gas line was accidentally struck. Glen Rock PD and FD units responded to the incident along with a crew from Hawthorne Fire Company #4. The office building, at 849 Lincoln Avenue, Glen Rock, was evacuated and remained so until a PSE&G crew shut off gas service and repaired the break. No injuries were reported in the mishap.
From the PSEG website;
Call Before You Dig
Whether you plan to plant a tree or new garden; put in a sprinkler system, mailbox post or fencing; install ground rods for electrical systems; or excavate for a home addition, you need to call beforehand to know where it’s safe to dig. For your own well-being and the safety of PSE&G’s underground pipes, cables and equipment, please “Call Before You Dig”. It’s the law.
Call Before You Dig Program: To request a FREE mark out of underground facilities, call 811 or 1-800-272-1000 at least three full business days before digging starts. This call will automatically notify utility operators to mark out underground utilities lines that include natural gas, water, cable, telephone and electric.
Wait the Required Time: Wait three full business days after calling before doing any digging. Underground utilities will be marked with paint, flags or stakes. If the site does not have underground utilities, you will be notified.
Note the Expiration Requirements: The mark out permission will expire after 45 calendar days. Digging must begin within 10 days after the original mark out was requested.
Respect the Marks: Always hand dig and locate underground utilities within two feet of marked lines.
Dig With Care: Making the call before you dig will help prevent property damage and potential injuries. Please be sure to dig safely.
If you accidentally damage gas piping or smell gas when excavating, please call 1-800-880-7734 (PSEG) immediately from a safe area.
Please review the damage prevention booklet that provides additional information on safe excavating practices and the protection of underground facilities.
For additional information covering damage prevention initiatives, check out the following websites:
New Jersey One Call: https://www.nj1-call.org
Common Ground Alliance (CGA): https://www.njcga.com
811 Call Before You Dig: https://www.call811.com
WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — Gannett is laying off more than 100 employees at a New Jersey media company it recently purchased.
A company executive said Wednesday the layoffs are needed to improve the financial sustainability of the North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record, NorthJersey.com and other newspapers.
The McLean, Virginia-based Gannett purchased the news organization in July.
Tom Donovan, northeast regional president of Gannett East Group, said layoff notices will go out to 426 of the company’s employees this week. Among these, he said, more than 200 newsroom employees and about 60 in sales will remain with the company. Donovan declined to say how many people the company employs.
The layoff notices are required under state and federal law when a private company plans wide-scale layoffs.
Donovan said the changes are part of “an ambitious new reinvention” to make its newsroom and sales department more responsive to digital demands.
He said the company will invest in new equipment and “transform our strategy to better serve the sophisticated and increasingly digitally minded New Jersey audience and advertisers.”
Paul J. Larkin Jr. / David Rosenthal / @DL_Rosenthal / John-Michael Seibler
This week, the infamous “Bridgegate” scandal goes to trial, with former officials in New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration facing serious charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. Not since London Bridge came falling down in 1281 has an overpass caused such a stir.
The backstory: In 2013, Christie was running for re-election. Like every other politician in that position, he was trying to round up support from other state and local pols. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, however, declined to get on board. That is when the plot thickened.
The story is that several officials in Christie’s administration agreed to shut down some (but not all) of the traffic lanes across the George Washington Bridge into New York, creating a huge traffic jam in Fort Lee. That would “punish” Sokolich for his failure to “get in line.” It was a prank. A dirty trick. Think the end of “Animal House,” just real life.
As pranks or dirty tricks go, it was tawdry, even stupid. (Did they think no one would find out?) Christie himself described the lane closure as “abject stupidity.”
Once the story broke, Christie and his cohorts predictably took a drubbing from the notoriously tough New York media. Christie certainly paid a price in the media for the imbroglio and likely also among the electorate during his later run for the Republican nomination for the presidency.
No one has a constitutional right to avoid traffic or to use three or four lanes when approaching a bridge.
One might think that a media firestorm and political retribution were adequate penalties for a stupid, cheap, political dirty trick. But not in 21st-century America, where the U.S. Justice Department believes that political dirty tricks are actually crimes. The Justice Department has charged Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, along with David Wildstein and William Baroni, officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with multiple federal felonies for their parts in the Great Gridlock Shenanigans. The 37-page, 9-count indictment alleges these officials committed theft of federal government property, fraud, the deprivation of the civil rights of New Jersey residents, and that they conspired to do all of the foregoing. (If the defendants had dynamited an empty bridge, they would have committed fewer crimes.)
Wildstein pleaded guilty in 2015 to two counts of conspiracy and implicated his alleged co-conspirators. He will likely regret that because, as explained below, he pleaded guilty to nonexistent crimes.
What property did they steal? The bridge is still there—and probably the traffic, too.
What property did they misuse? The government alleges that the defendants misused “the time and services of unwitting Port Authority personnel.” Really? If that is a form of theft, then the Justice Department inspector general should investigate to make sure no DOJ employee uses a DOJ fax machine to send a permission slip to a child’s school, or uses the government’s WATS line to call a sick parent, or uses an office computer to check the scores on ESPN, or wastes away the day chatting with colleagues—or any of the other matters that go on in the federal government on a daily basis.
What was the fraud? Neither the defendants nor anyone else derived any personal financial benefit from the scheme. Was the fraud an implicit representation that politicians would not act like politicians? Puhleeze! We’re talkin’ “New Joisey” here! Besides, any DOJ prosecutor who thinks that politicians do not pull stupid stunts like this one is guilty of defrauding the federal government for telling his superiors that he is savvy enough to be a DOJ prosecutor.
The only benefit that Christie’s associates got was schadenfreude. If that is sufficient to violate the fraud statute, the Supreme Court has been wasting its time trying to interpret that law because, as Cole Porter wrote, anything goes.
Most outrageous is the civil rights charge. What civil right did the defendants violate? The constitutional right not to be ensnarled in traffic? Fuggedaboutit! Perhaps there is a constitution somewhere that includes a Traffic Clause (right after the Sanity Clause), but the American Constitution sure doesn’t.
The Constitution guarantees everyone a right to interstate migration, not interstate commuting — and certainly not speedy interstate commuting, let alone a right to “localized” driving, as the government’s indictment alleges. No one has a constitutional right to avoid traffic or to use three or four lanes when approaching a bridge. Besides, the defendants didn’t corral Fort Lee residents. There are numerous bridges, tunnels, and ferries into New York. Perhaps someone should show the prosecutors a map.
Look at this matter another way. It would not violate the Constitution for officials to funnel traffic into fewer lanes to repave the bridge. The only difference between that scenario and this one is that these officials are said to have acted with the intent to injure someone—not the commuters, however; they were just the delivery vehicle for the pain.
The defendants’ intent was to injure Mayor Sokolich—not physically, just politically—for not being a “team player.” Yes, that is a shoddy way to treat the public (which always seems to take it in the shorts whenever politicians act like, well, politicians). But the Constitution protects us against political mischief. It lets us vote the perpetrators out of office. That is the proper remedy, not a criminal prosecution.
In a case involving alleged political misconduct (a trade association’s gifts to politicians), the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that “a statute in this field that can linguistically be interpreted to be either a meat axe or a scalpel should reasonably be taken to be the latter.” Here, the DOJ prosecutors have gone with a scythe.
A lawyer representing Kelly wrote that “the intentional causing of traffic” has never been the subject of federal civil rights allegations. “No other federal criminal case,” according to counsel, “has been prosecuted anywhere, at any time, with facts even remotely similar to the facts there.” We haven’t looked everywhere, but, by God, we sure hope he’s right.
Last spring, the Supreme Court unanimously spanked the DOJ in McDonnell v. United States for trying to stretch the federal criminal law to punish tawdry political behavior. McDonnell was not an anomaly. It was just the latest in a series of cases (including McNally, McCormick, Sun-Diamond Growers, Skillingand Yates) in which the Supreme Court has told the Justice Department that it is up to Congress—not the DOJ—to come up with newfangled crimes and to define them with precision.
The prosecutors need to listen to the music, not just read the lyrics, in the court’s opinions. The district court should have dismissed this indictment in an opinion that read simply, “GMAB.” Were this case to result in a conviction and ultimately reach the Supreme Court, the court will need to send the DOJ to its room without supper yet again. Why? Because with this indictment the Justice Department has essentially flipped off the court.
It is a good thing that there will be a presidential election in November. It offers every hope that there will be a new attorney general come January 2017. The Justice Department could use some adult supervision.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – State voters are being promised that millions of dollars in new funding will flow to programs for senior citizens and the horse racing industry and to help a struggling Atlantic City if they approve a ballot question authorizing two new casinos near New York City. But what they’re not being told is what tax rate the new casinos in the northern part of the state would pay or how much new money would be available.
On Tuesday, a state lawmaker proposed specific tax rates for the new gambling halls. Assemblyman Ralph Caputo told The Associated Press a casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack might be taxed at 35 to 40 percent while a costlier one in Jersey City could pay 15 to 20 percent.
“We’ve lagged behind in terms of being transparent,” said Caputo, a northern New Jersey Democrat and former casino worker. “There’s no use kidding anybody about that. The tax rate needs to be established.”
The proposal came as pro- and anti-casino expansion forces are pouring millions of dollars into ads in the nation’s most expensive media market to influence the outcome of the November referendum.
By Sara Jerde | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on September 13, 2016 at 5:56 PM, updated September 13, 2016 at 5:58 PM
Gov. Chris Christie has again nominated Gurbir Grewal to be Bergen County prosecutor.
Christie announced late Monday that he would ask the state Senate to approve Grewal, who has been serving as acting county prosecutor. Christie previously nominated Grewal for the job in 2013, but the Senate did not approve the appointment.
Grewal was appointed acting prosecutor by Christie in January when former County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli retired from the job.
