Ridgewood NJ, Today, Independent Women’s Voice announced that Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) has signed the ObamaCare Repeal Pledge. Garrett currently represents New Jersey’s 5th Congressional district.
As it turns out, pretty much nothing that Obama and his healthcare “experts” predicted about Obamacare actually came true. With 2017 rates now finalized across the country, in fact, Obamacare premiums are expected to increase an average of 25% nationally according to data from the Kaiser Foundation. Meanwhile, the 10 hardest hit states will see premiums increase an average of 62% while Arizona is officially the biggest loser with rates in Phoenix soaring 145%
Reg. Scott Garrett’s signature on the Pledge is a clear demonstration of his commitment to the full and complete repeal of ObamaCare and to end the harm that it is inflicting upon American families,” said Heather R. Higgins, President and CEO of Independent Women’s Voice.
“Scott understands that ObamaCare is hiking insurance premiums, diminishing quality of care, and reducing our choice and control in health care decisions,” added Higgins. “He understands that ObamaCare means bigger government and less freedom. For these reasons, and many more, it must be repealed.”
“ObamaCare has unequivocally failed,” said Rep. Scott Garrett. “Many Americans have lost their health insurance, and premiums and deductible costs have increased for families. I believe healthcare choices need to be in the hands of patients and doctors. I want to encourage innovation and competition while giving people more freedom and flexibility to make their own healthcare decisions. I want to take concrete steps to replace ObamaCare to achieve these better results for all Americans.”
“The Repeal Pledge was designed as a litmus test to help the American public understand which candidates and office holders are serious about repeal, versus those who claim to be but won’t actually take action,” continued Higgins. “With this commitment, Cong. Scott Garrett passes that test.”
The Repeal Pledge is a project of Independent Women’s Voice, a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.
For more information on The Repeal Pledge, including a complete list of signers, please visit www.TheRepealPledge.com.
Halloween tales in The Little Theatre, followed by trunk or treating in the RHS parking lot. $7 in advance / $10 at the door. Click here for more information and the registration form.
Earlier this morning we wrote about the obvious sampling bias in the latest ABC / Washington Post poll that showed a 12-point national advantage for Hillary. Like many of the recent polls from Reuters, ABC and The Washington Post, this latest poll included a9-point sampling bias toward registered democrats.
“METHODOLOGY – This ABC News poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Oct. 20-22, 2016, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 874 likely voters. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 36-27-31 percent, Democrats – Republicans – Independents.”
Of course, while democrats may enjoy a slight registration advantage of a couple of points, it is nowhere near the 9 points reflected in this latest poll.
Meanwhile, we also pointed out that with huge variances in preference across demographics one can easily “rig” a poll by over indexing to one group vs. another. As a quick example, the ABC / WaPo poll found that Hillary enjoys a 79-point advantage over Trump with black voters. Therefore, even a small “oversample” of black voters of 5% could swing the overall poll by 3 full points. Moreover, the pollsters don’t provide data on the demographic mix of their polls which makes it impossible to “fact check” the bias…convenient.
Ridgewood NJ, Today’s children grow up immersed in digital media, which has both positive and negative effects on healthy development. The nation’s largest group of pediatricians provides new set of recommendations and resources, including an interactive media use planning tool, to help families balance digital and real life from birth to adulthood.
Elk Grove Village, IL — Recognizing the ubiquitous role of media in children’s lives, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is releasing new policy recommendations and resources to help families maintain a healthy media diet. To support these recommendations, the AAP is publishing an interactive, online tool so families can create a personalized Family Media Use Plan.
The AAP recommends that parents and caregivers develop a family media plan that takes into account the health, education and entertainment needs of each child as well as the whole family.
“Families should proactively think about their children’s media use and talk with children about it, because too much media use can mean that children don’t have enough time during the day to play, study, talk, or sleep,” said Jenny Radesky, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, “Media and Young Minds,” which focuses on infants, toddlers and pre-school children. “What’s most important is that parents be their child’s ‘media mentor.’ That means teaching them how to use it as a tool to create, connect and learn.”
A second policy statement, “Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents,” offers recommendations for children ages 5 to 18, and a technical report, “Children, Adolescents and Digital Media,” provides a review of the scientific literature to support both policies. All three documents will be published in the November 2016 Pediatrics (online October 21).
A panel discussion for journalists about these media recommendations and the new online family media plan tool will be held from 9 – 10 a.m. PST on Oct. 21 in San Francisco, Calif., including the policy authors, Sesame Workshop and Common Sense. At 10:30 a.m. PT, speakers will participate in an AAP Facebook Live event (@AmerAcadPeds) to answer questions from across the country.
The AAP recommends parents prioritize creative, unplugged playtime for infants and toddlers. Some media can have educational value for children starting at around 18 months of age, but it’s critically important that this be high-quality programming, such as the content offered by Sesame Workshop and PBS, and that parents watch media with their child, to help children understand what they are seeing
For school-aged children and adolescents, the idea is to balance media use with other healthy behaviors.
“Parents play an important role in helping children and teens navigate media, which can have both positive and negative effects,” said Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement on media use in school-aged children and teens. “Parents can set expectations and boundaries to make sure their children’s media experience is a positive one. The key is mindful use of media within a family.”
Problems begin when media use displaces physical activity, hands-on exploration and face-to-face social interaction in the real world, which is critical to learning. Too much screen time can also harm the amount and quality of sleep. Organizations like Common Sense Media can help parents evaluate media content and make decisions about what is appropriate for their family.
Among the AAP recommendations:
For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.
Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.
Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.
The Family Media Use Plan tool will be launched on HealthyChildren.org on Friday, Oct. 21. A preview version is available for journalists to review at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan. This link should not be made public until 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, Oct. 21.
Today’s generation of children and adolescents is growing up immersed in media. This includes platforms that allow users to both consume and create content, including broadcast and streamed television and movies, sedentary and active video games, social and interactive media that can be creative and engaging, and even highly immersive virtual reality.
“Even though the media landscape is constantly changing, some of the same parenting rules apply,” said Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, MD, FAAP, lead author of the technical report. “Parents play an important role in helping children and teens navigate the media environment, just as they help them learn how to behave off-line. The AAP wants to provide parents the evidence-based tools and recommendations to help them make their children’s media experience a positive one.”
James O’Keefe and Project Veritas are filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
The decision comes amid increasing media coverage of the two videos released by O’Keefe, which expose apparently illicit actions by a group of political actors associated with the Clinton campaign, the DNC and the White House.
The establishment media was forced to cover O’Keefe’s videos after one subject, Robert Creamer, announced he would quit working for the DNC. This break came a day after the first video release prompted another subject, Scott Foval, to leave his job with another Democratic political group, Americans United for Change.
James O’Keefe told Breitbart News exclusively:
As the chairman of Project Veritas, our work is financially independent and beholden to nobody. Our work is funded by thousands of contributors, small, medium, and large. What I have learned about our media – and it’s frightening – is that almost everyone is compromised. Media companies are beholden to stockholders and I have sources that I am trying to get to go on the record to explain that these companies are afraid of reporting this story for fear of political retaliation. If the public knew the truth, I think it would change everything about American politics.
O’Keefe’s complaint states:
This criminal conspiracy involves the knowing and willful creation of coordinated expenditures from prohibited corporate sources. As is detailed numerous times in the Veritas transcript, attached as EXHIBIT A, the supposedly independent speech and actions of third-party groups were directed, controlled, or puppeteered by HFA or the DNC. Indeed, the record establishes not just simple violations of the FECA’s coordination provisions, but ongoing knowing and willful evasion of federal election law requirements through a complicated scheme. Because this conspiracy involves large numbers of employees, heightened travel, production, and distribution costs and because of the nationwide scale of the operation, upon information and belief, this triggers criminal penalties under 52 U.S.C. § 30109(d)(1)(A)(i).
By failing to abide by the law, these respondents misled the public about the true identity of speakers and funding sources for political protests and advocacy campaigns . This sort of evasion undermines the public’s trust in the electoral process and allows elite political operatives to operate above the law.
Donald Trump FULL Gettysburg Address Speech – October 22, 2016
Here’s a summary of Donald Trump’s Gettysburg speech, via Trump’s website:
“Gettysburg, PA: Today, in historic Gettysburg, PA, Donald J. Trump presented a game-changing plan for his first 100 days in office. This revolutionary “Contract with the American Voter” will ensure that America’s economy is revitalized and citizens are protected.
“I’m not a politician, and have never wanted to be one. But when I saw the trouble our country was in, I knew I couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. Our country has been so good to me, I love our country, I felt I had to act,” said Mr. Trump in his address.
“Change has to come from outside this broken system. The fact that the Washington establishment has tried so hard to stop our campaign is only more proof that our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime,” he continued.
“I am asking the American people to rise above the noise and the clutter of our broken politics, and to embrace that great faith and optimism that has always been the central ingredient in the American character. I am asking you to dream big.
“What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between Donald J. Trump and the American voter – and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington,” he concluded.
“Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:
FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;
SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);
THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated;
FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;
FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;
SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.
On the same day, I will begin taking the following seven actions to protect American workers:
FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205
SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator
FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately
FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.
SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward
SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure
Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:
FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama
SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States
THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities
FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back
FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.
Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:
1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
2. End The Offshoring Act Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.
3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act.Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to gives parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.
5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.
6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-site childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.
7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.
On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.
This is my pledge to you.
And if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people.”
Casino magnate Steve Wynn expresses his disappointment at the lack of discussion of the economy during the course of the presidential election in an interview on Thursday’s Hannity. Wynn also weighed in on the debate describing it long on negativity and short on substance.
Wynn said the printing of money by the U.S. Treasury under the guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the national debt have not been properly addressed albeit a short segment at the final debate.
“We take in $3.1 trillion and we spend $3.7 trillion,” Wynn said Thursday to guest host Eric Bolling. “And that $600 billion deficit is at the rate of $50 billion a month. Our government is printing money and it’s degrading the living standard of every person in America. It’s the cause of frustration, anger and confusion. I was disappointed we didn’t get in a real substantive conversation about that last night.”
Wynn also addressed health care and said the more than 10,000 people he employees “paid more money but did not get more coverage” under Obamacare.
Ridgewood NJ , The NYT reported yesterday that major websites were inaccessible to people across many parts of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internet’s infrastructure said it was under attack.
Waves of cyber attacks brought down many popular websites Friday, leaving millions of users without access and the Department of Homeland Security investigating the precise cause.
Users reported problems reaching several websites, including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times.This just a little over a month after the US Internet Giveaway to the U.N. and days after the Obama administration attempted to take Julian Assange founder of WikiLeaks off the internet.
This just a little over a month after the US Internet giveaway to the U.N. and days after the Obama administration attempted to take Julian Assange founder of WikiLeaks off the internet.
The attack, which is believed to be a coordinated effort, targeted a single Domain Name Server provider called Dyn. Dyn’s servers monitor and reroute internet traffic. The attack started just around 7am and is known as a distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS. No information is obtained with DDoS attacks, they create major frustration. The DDoS attack affected Dyn’s infrastructure that supports internet connections, meaning the attack did not affect websites themselves. Instead, it blocked or slowed users from gaining access to sites.
According to the NYT , the attack appears to have relied on hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices like cameras, baby monitors and home routers that have been infected — without their owners’ knowledge — with software that allows hackers to command them to flood a target with overwhelming traffic.
WikiLeaks believes its supporters were responsible and it urged its supporters to ‘stop taking down the US internet’, saying ‘Mr Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing’.
It then tweeted: ‘The Obama administration should not have attempted to misuse its instruments of state to stop criticism of its ruling party candidate.’
The Ridgewood Blog remained largely unaffected which was a great relief to both the staff and our IT department . Giving past attempts to take down the site by some politicians , local and otherwise and foreign governments ,founder James Foytlin aka PJ blogger said ,”it’s nice to be left out of the fray” . Other staff members postulated that perhaps a more open posture to Wikileaks had left the (Ridgewood)blog unscathed.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog Cesar A. Jerez and Elaine Sgambati cordially invite you and your guest to a showing of their Fine Art Oil Paintings
Work on exhibit: October 30th-November 12th
Opening Reception: October 30th, 2016 1:30-4:30pm
Meet the Artists Reception: November 6, 2016 1:30-4:30pm
Ridgewood NJ, C. Augustus Jerez is a longtime New Jersey resident, raised in Montclair and presently residing in Butler. After graduating from William Paterson University with a degree in Business Administration, Mr. Jerez studied at the Art Students League in New York City. There he studied with, and was class monitor for, both Robert Beverly Hale and Gustav Rehberger. Studying with Mr. Hale, the human anatomy was the center of focus. Studying with Mr. Rehberger, the focus was on being able to capture the human form quickly while gracefully depicting its elegance and beauty through form and composition.
After several years of figurative study at the Art Student’s League, Mr. Jerez directed his attention to painting. At the Ridgewood Art Institute in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he studied and monitored Arthur Maynard’s evening oil painting classes. Mr. Maynard was a disciple of the famous League instructor, Frank Vincent Dumond. He guided Mr. Jerez through the process of putting life into his art, landscape, seascape, still life or portrait.
Mr. Jerez captures the life of the subject by identifying the essential components of an object or scene and depicting them in the most simplistic manner to convey complete realism without neglecting the artistic elements of form and strong composition. He uses prismatic color and light effects in his paintings to create a sense of distance and drama while capturing both the weather conditions and the specific time of day.
His paintings have been exhibited nationally and are in many private collections. He was an exhibiting member of the National Arts Club, a member of The Hudson Valley Art Association, The Ridgewood Art Institute and a life member of the Art Students League. He is the recipient of many awards including The Lambertville Historical Society’s Friend of the Arts Award, The Ridgewood Art Institute’s Weber Marine Award and The Hudson Valley Art Association’s Prestigious Frank Vincent Dumond Award. Mr.. Jerez now teaches at The Ridgewood Art Institute.
Self taught at a very early age, Ms. Sgambati began her formal art training at 21 years old when she took her first oil painting class at the Ridgewood Art Institute in Ridgewood, NJ. She knew immediately that this was her medium and studied the whole of the subject including still life, floral, landscape, seascape and portrait painting. Her principal teachers were Arthur Maynard and Frank Giovinazzo. Four years later she was invited to join the faculty and taught adult and teenage classes for seventeen years. Her move to Vernon Valley, NJ opened up an opportunity for extensive plein air painting. Other opportunities for outdoor study took place in Monhegan Island, ME, Warwick and Chester NY, the Pocono Mountains and Bucks County, PA, the Hudson River Valley and towns bordering the Hudson River. Landscape painting became her passion and her love for the Hudson River School painters is evident in her work. Elaine furthered her art education at the Art Students League of New York, which brought her the opportunity to exhibit in this area, mainly the Salmagundi Club, the World Trade Center, Lever House and ABC Studios. Sales and commissions followed this exposure as well as representation in major galleries in the tri-state area.
For more info on this exhibition, please call Ms. Sgambatti at 973 869-9914 or Mr. Jerez at 973 953-5027
The Ridgewood Art Institute is a non profit organization providing the finest instruction in Classical Realism in a variety of mediums. Classes are offered on an open enrollment basis, and can be joined at anytime. Each student is taught in direct relation to their personal skill level. For more information on class scheduling, and future events please visit ridgewoodartinstitute.org
The Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Avenue
Ridgewood , NJ 07450
201 652-9615
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 20, 2016 at 5:58 PM, updated October 20, 2016 at 5:59 PM
Tolls on the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels will not be increased to help fund construction of new Hudson River rail tunnels, officials said Thursday after approving a financing plan for the Gateway Project.
Authority officials will discuss revising the agency’s 10-year capital plan next month to include Gateway, building a new Port Authority Bus Terminal and replacing the aging Newark Airport Monorail, said John Degnan, the board chairman.
Both Foye and Degnan said revising the capital plan won’t include a toll hike. The last toll hike took place last December as part of an increase that was phased-in over five years.
“The two governors said the Port Authority will take the lead for a financing plan,” Degnan said. “We’re not accepting that the Port Authority will pick-up the entire (local share of costs).”
The federal government and both states have agreed to a 50-50 financing plan for Gateway, but New York and New Jersey officials said they would turn to the Port Authority for some of that funding and to create a development corporation to apply for financing.
Ridgewood NJ, former Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli joined Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio, which is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake and has offices in White Plains, N.Y.. in November when he was unceremoniously pushed out by the Christie administration after a series of high-profile case losses.
To many Ridgewood residents the name Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio rings a bell .Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio is the firm of former Ridgewood planning board attorney Gail Price.
Interesting that Mollineli now works for Gail Price. He’s also the guy that cut a deal with the Ridgewood quarter thief, Ricca.
Rica, a Hawthorne resident, will pay back just under $250,000 of the $460,000 he admitted stole under a plea agreement.
Thomas Rica known in the Village of Ridgewood as ‘coin boy” or the “meter thief” was convicted and sentenced for stealing nearly 2 million quarters from the Ridgewood parking system.
Initially, Rica paid a $64,337.55 down payment, to be followed by $2,000 a month in monthly payments over the five years he will serve probation. Ricca also agreed to forfeit his $30,000 pension as part of the plea deal and $4,000 Ridgewood seized from his home. Shockingly Rica received no jail time .
Mollineli the Bergen County prosecutor at the time was later forced out of office .
Ridgewood NJ, The Village of Ridgewood is seeking an Assistant Water Superintendent for the Water Distribution Facility. Qualified individual must minimally have current NJDEP W-2, and the ability to advance to W-3 or higher licenses in the future. Strong leadership skills required, as well as at least 5 years’ experience in water distribution maintenance, repair, upkeep, and operation, and at least 2 years’ supervisory experience. Please send resume and salary requirements to Sharyn Matthews, HR Director, 131 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450 [email protected]
Rebekah Mercer is working to upend the party while getting its nominee elected
8 HOURS AGO
by: Mary Childs in New York
In the VIP section of what the Republican party planned as an election night celebration in 2012, big donors including Paul Singer watched the votes trickle in to determine whether Mitt Romney would unseat Barack Obama as US president.
A lesser known pair at the event — hedge fund manager Bob Mercer and his daughter Rebekah — had high hopes but it soon became clear Mr Romney was losing. When Fox News called Ohio for Mr Obama, top Romney operatives still insisted they had a chance. Republican strategist Karl Rove disputed the Ohio call on Fox — in vain.
“That was a moment of clarity for Rebekah Mercer,” said a person close to the family and to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. That night, he said, she realised that the cottage industry of consultants, donors and members of the media were all “phoney”.
“They’ve [squandered] $600m, $700m and we have nothing to show for it. She looked around, and she thought they were all fools, the whole lot of them.”
Paul D’Ambrosio and Susanne Cervenka , Asbury Park Press9:35 a.m. EDT October 19, 2016
Do you trust the voting system to be fair and honest in New Jersey? Take our poll below.
Thousands of the dead remain on New Jersey’s active voting rolls with a handful of votes cast in their names over the years, an Asbury Park Press investigation found, but all were likely due to clerical errors rather than fraud.
No election outcomes were changed, even in local races, the Press’ review of votes over the last decade in five of the larger counties in the state.
This week, GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump claimed that the upcoming Nov. 8 election is “rigged” and that there would be “large-scale voting fraud.” He pointed to one study that stated the voting rolls across the country were populated with 1.8 million “dead voters.”
Yet the idea that the dead could change elections on Nov. 8 remains highly unlikely, considering the vast number of votes cast in each election. And Trump has offered no proof that any fraudulent votes have been cast in past elections by the dead. Even GOP party members have said that there is no basis for a claim that the election will be fixed at the ballot box.
To find New Jersey’s dead on the voting rolls, the Press matched the 2016 voting records with the Social Security Master Death Index – the most comprehensive list of the deceased in the nation. It limited the search to voters still considered “active” but who died in 2011 or before. Name, dates of birth and hometowns were used to further narrow the search so common names would not be confused across both databases.
Note: This story has been updated with additional information
The following is a news media analysis and commentary
Regardless of who is your chosen – or least favorite – presidential candidate, independent minds should be concerned about the latest revelations in the news media’s unseemly relationships with government and political actors. While there are many responsible journalists working today, inside documents and leaks have exposed serious lapses constituting the most far-reaching scandal our industry has known. It’s our very own Newsgate.
Compromised reporting has always existed as a result of covert collaborations between reporters and political officials—Democrats and Republicans alike. For example, in my new book out next year, The Smear, I’ll report on instances of improper collusion that surfaced during the Bush administration. The most recent available evidence is heavy on Democrat-ties due to the nature of the available documents and leaks.
It can be argued that some individual accounts can be rationalized and are not serious breaches of ethics. But taken as a whole, it’s easy to see how we as journalists have done a poor job protecting ourselves from being co-opted by organized interests, often ones that are paid and politically-motivated. Whether we realize it or not, they’ve figured out how to exploit the media and use us to publish their propaganda. It implies a broad and growing trend that has seriously undermined the credibility of the news industry.
Opinion reporters and those who work for obviously ideological news groups are entitled to publish party propaganda. It’s one matter to provide viewpoint journalism. But it’s quite another for us to act as a tool of any interest, publishing narratives or talking points upon suggestion or demand, without disclosing we’ve done just that.
