The Solution to Illegal Immigration

This comic is sadly funny in an awfully true way... or maybe border patrol should order 60 Remington 870s?

The IRS is Buying Guns, and So Should You

It seems as if the IRS is in the market for sixty (60) Remington 870 shotguns. I don't know about the exact cost of the specific model the IRS intends to purchase, but for what it's worth, you can head over to your local Dick's Sporting Goods and purchase a Remington 870 Express 5 round, 12 gauge for yourself (with your FID of course) for about $300 after taxes.

I'm not sure why the IRS needs shotguns to collect income taxes, maybe because they recognize that gun sales means a more peaceful society, but I will say that I know firsthand that the Remington 870 is a great weapon and I would recommend having one, just in case someone ever tries to illegal break into your home looking for money or some other personal belongings... and by someone I mean like a gang or some other group of thugs, not the IRS of course... For a few dollars, you can also learn how to safely and properly handle such a firearm and use it in a defensive situation which I also recommend.

PS. End The Income Tax!

It was Everything But the State of the Union

My apologies for being away from my blog for so long with no update. I'll give my own State of the Hogan Household in a moment, but first let me add my $0.02 (free to you) on Obama's First State of the Union address.

First, let me say that I personally expect, and believe, that the State of the Union address is supposed to be a chance for the President to tell We The People of the CURRENT condition of our Union of State. After telling us the CURRENT condition of our Union of States, the President can then lay out his agenda and plan to improve the State of the Union. Perhaps my understanding or exceptions are what is wrong.

So as I listened to President Obama last night, I could not help but think that his State of The Union speech lacked one critical component of the State of the Union speech: an assessment of the CURRENT State of the Union. His speech sounded more like a campaign speech full of wishful thoughts and more promises of things to come rather than a real assessment of the current State of the Union. Ie, "I'm going to repeal don't ask, don't tell". Ok fine, what is the current State of the Union's military? Are we winning wars, losing wars, getting out of wars as promised a year (or two) ago? How did "I'm going to close Gitmo" work out? What is the current State of the Union's Gitmo detention center? "I haven't raised a tax on the middle class". What is the current State of the Union's middle class? Are they not 10+% unemployed and down 20-30-50% on their retirement funds? And unless you call small business owners part of the middle class, then to borrow from Joe Wilson, "You Lie". Maybe I'm just a right wing gun toting lunatic, it is possible but I'd never admit it, but I just didn't hear a State of the Union, all I heard were more promises and campaigning, more asking We The People (and Republicans) to just go

along with him on everything and never question his wisdom or agenda.

So let me give an example... suppose *I* were asked to give the State of the Hogan Household... it might go something like this:

Despite a 10% decrease in revenues for the year ended 12/31/09 compared to the year ended 12/31/08 due to a pay cut early in the year, savings are up 4% for the year, 7% extra was paid towards my mortgage each month... and now I'm like a real Republican and have 'invested' (poorly) in a Mr. Fancy Pants High-End German car.

Additionally, I have accepted an additional 2-4 hours per day work load to make up for a decrease in new production during the other 8 hours of work due to a decrease in staffing at my place of employment. I have spent $X to repair or improve infrastructure throughout my home without borrowing additional money which has raised the assessed value $Y.

Further, I have invested an additional $A on educational opportunities for myself including first aid training, cpr training, firearms safety courses, work-related computer programming training which I believe has raised my value as an employee and makes future work opportunities available to me.

And that really is my current State of The Hogan Household and why I haven't had time to update my blog as frequently as I would like. It is also why I MAY not consider another run for Congress against Mr. Frank Pallone this year but the good news is that several well known and respectable Republicans are considering a run against him and I will do my best to assist any worthy candidate, from any party, to defeat Pallone this year.

Anywho, I just wish President Obama had provided an honest assessment of the current State of the Union. I wish he noted that we're still, and deeper, into two foreign wars despite his old promisses. I wish he noted that despite TARP and auto bailouts and other non-sense bailouts, unemployment is still at 10+% nationwide and GM still went bankrupt. People are still losing their homes to banks who are providing limited loans at high interest rates and giving back .000000001% interest on savings... which is then taxed as income. Obama could have noted that the divide between the rich and the poor has never been greater, that party lines have never been more divided or more black and white. He could have noted that the American people (rightly) gave millions to rebuild Haiti but Detroit still looks like Mogadishu and the American people do nothing to rebuild (because that would be socialism?). Obama could have noted that (if you believe the NRA) firearm sales are high, and crime low. Instead, I just heard heard more promises of things to come, without mention of things that didn't come, despite pledges that they would happen, but again, maybe I'm just a stupid right wing fanatic who won't give Obama credit for the nothing that he's said or done.

The Gov't Health Insurance Disclosure Box

The Federal Reserve, love 'em or hate 'em, has this federal law in place which essentially forces all of the credit card companies to disclose, in plain English and in a simple to follow box, all of the information about the terms of the card. If you have a credit card of any sort, you know the box I'm talking about, first line says APR: $X, next line Other APRs: $Y, Grace Period: Z days... and so on.

And now the Democratics, not the US Senate, the Democrats, have passed this new Gov't Healthcare plan.

I ask a simple question... which Senator will be the one who reads all 232,34,345,756,234,345,541,646 pages of the bill, referenced bills, other bills, laws and guidelines and puts together all of that information into the same, easy to read, easy to understand Summary of Benefits that I'm used to seeing? Let me give the example of what I would like to see based on a format that my HR people send me year after year, and maybe someone out there can point me this information presented just this way:

Plan	Your Monthly Contribution
Single	$0
Employee & spouse	$200
Employee & child(ren)	$200
Family	$400

Now, I'm pretty sure that most of my readers are Republicanish, aka have jobs, and have seen a chart like this at every place they have ever worked for. The numbers might be higher or lower but I'm sure that the format is similar. I doubt the Democrats who vote for this healthcare bill have constituents who have seen such a chart but I'm pretty sure that if you are one of them you'll understand it very quickly - you pay $X and get "coverage" for the number of people specified.

Now comes the second half of the information that the HR people will send me which outlines what "coverage" means. It looks something like this:

Benefit	Cost/Co-Pay
Physical Examination, including immunizations for persons to age 19 in accordance with Company's schedule of covered well exams	$0
Physical Examinations, including immunizations for persons over age 19 in accordance with Company's schedule of covered well exams	$25 per Visit
Mammogram	$0
Routine Gynecological Care	$25 per visit
Inpatient Care: Semi-Private Room and Board	$250 Copayment per Day to $1,250 Maximum per Admission, $2,500 Maximum per Year

... and so that list would go on and on with the costs *I* would have to receive some kind of professional service(s).

So, with that said, would a polite Democrat from either the house or senate please send me:
1) My monthly contribution (ie, the total number of tax dollars I will give to the gov't for healthcare)
2) My summary of benefits

I'll also note that ALL of the important, to me, information is condensed neatly into an easy to understand *2* page document, I'll be generous in understanding that Democrats are a bit dimwitted and settle for up to 4 pages to summarize my costs and benefits. I'll provide a fax number if needed. Thank you.

Oceanport Needs to Get Vocal About Fort Redevelopment Again

From Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace ( a copy of the attachments are The Bill and The Response E-Mail)

All-

Please read the attached e-mails from Oceanport resident Jay Coffey regarding Senate Bill 10, the "Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority Bill." His concerns regarding this pending legislation are spot on and I couldn't agree more. This issue is time sensitive as it is being discussed in the Senate on Thursday, December 3.

The future of Fort Monmouth has been one of my passions since before I was elected Councilman for the Boro of Oceanport. Unfortunately, Oceanport has been forced to accept many things under the current structure of FMERPA. In fact, Oceanport was one of 2 towns to vote against the Redevelopment Plan in 2008. Many of our residents have been very outspoken in their belief that the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth will not be a benefit for the taxpayers of Oceanport but rather a detriment.

In my position as a Councilman, I have even advocated the possible use of deannexation. Many years ago, the federal government took possession of the land now known as Fort Monmouth for use as an Army base. Deannexation is the process by which Oceanport would refuse reacceptance of this same land. We may be able to simply walk away perhaps leaving the land to another town. Maybe Fort Monmouth would remain it's own entity and become its own community within Monmouth County.

I am deeply concerned about the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment Bill as it currently stands. This Bill is being sponsored by a Senator from Union, New Jersey. While the bill is co-sponsored by a Senator from Monmouth County, I can't help but wonder what interest a Senator from Union has in Monmouth County? What's in it for his district?

Why is this bill being pushed through a "lame duck" session rather than waiting for the new Administration? I believe the voters of New Jersey have spoken and therefore, new legislation should be held until January of next year inorder to insure that the wishes of our State residents are respected. If the voters had wanted the current form of government, I believe our current governor would have been reelected.

My concerns regarding this bill are numerous:

The Bill calls for 5 votes by appointees of the Governor and 4 votes from the towns and County most affected by its passage. Why does the State need a majority? Shouldn't the local communities have a majority say in what occurs in our communities? Again, the voters have placed their trust in Governor Elect Christie. Shouldn't we wait for him to make any/all appointments?

Why does the Governor appoint the Chairman of the Committee? Subsequently, the chairman would appoint a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Chairman should be voted on by the members of the Committee and approved by a majority vote inorder to insure fair representation of the local entities.

What exactly is a Fort Monmouth Special Improvement District? Why do we want this? What exactly is a Transportation Improvement District and why do we want one? What exactly is an Infrastructure District and why do we want one? Do these "districts" involve ratable sharing and COAH sharing across the Fort Monmouth communities? Why can't each community operate on its own within the confines of the plan?

How is COAH going to be handled? While probably not specific to this bill, we would want each town to handle it's own COAH obligations and not share among the "redevelopment district."

Why is the potential use of Eminent Domain included?" Is there a plan for future use? As we've learned from neighboring towns, residents don't look favorably on the use of Eminent Domain by Federal, State or Local Government.

There is no mention of when or how this new Committee will "expire." Do we really need that much oversight here or can each town handle it with the help of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority? Are they trying to create more levels of Government?

I will not stand by while Oceanport gets the short end of the stick. I stand ready to do whatever it takes to stop this from bill from passing in its current form.

I have posted additional information on my Facebook page.

We need your help to stop this Bill from moving forward. Please call Senator Beck and voice your concerns. Her office number is 732-933-1591 or email SenBeck@njleg.org.

Thanks!
Joe


Folks:

For a change, this isn't a sports related or humorous e-mail. Instead, I am writing to alert you to the fact that the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, including our very own State Senator, Jennifer Beck, is looking to push through a last minute bill before the new Governor takes office. This bill will vest control over the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth in a brand new Authority created by the State of New Jersey. Senate Bill No. 10 ( a copy of which is attached to this e-mail for both of you who really like to read legislation), entitled the "Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority Act" is up for consideration on Thursday by the Senate. This bill is being co-sponsored by Senator Ray Lesniak of Union County and Senator Jennifer Beck of Monmouth County. The net effect of this bill is that the State of New Jersey, through its Economic Development Authority, will both staff the newly created Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority AND act as the master developer for the development of the Fort property. Once again, similar to what happened in the previous legislation, the three host communities (Oceanport, Tinton Falls, and Eatontown), the entities having the greatest and most intimate interest in the redevelopment of the Fort, are being given a combined three votes (one for each Mayor) and the State is being given five votes. The ninth voting member is from the County.

Asking you to read and comprehend this bill, which was only introduced on November 23, 2009, is a bit much. I read it last week and I was so outraged by its content that I ended up writing a nine page screed to four of our council members (a copy of the cleaned up version of that screed is also attached to this e-mail). Asking you to read and comprehend my screed at this late date is also a bit much. But I can give you ten reasons why we should be vehemently opposed to this bill and they are set forth at the bottom of this e-mail.

The Borough of Oceanport's Municipal Council meeting has been moved up from December 3rd to December 2nd (tonight at 7:00 pm). This bill will be a hot topic of discussion. If you are ever going to attend a Municipal Council meeting, this would be a good one to go to. Some of Oceanport's elected officials will be going down to Trenton on Thursday to oppose this bill. They will be spitting into the wind, however, without our help. Whether you have the time to read the bill or my screed or not, the fact is that our local elected officials are dead set against the bill. Even if you don't have the time to read the bill, the fact that it is being rushed through in the lame duck session before the new State administration is in place smacks of something being done that is not completely on the up and up. We need to contact Senator Jennifer Beck and tell her that the citizens of Oceanport are against Senate Bill No. 10. and that she should withdraw her co-sponsorship of it at once. She needs to be told, in no uncertain terms, that the residents of Oceanport want this bill to be stopped dead in its tracks right now. Senator Beck is operating under the assumption that we, her constituents, are asleep at the wheel and that this bill will pass without anybody raising a fuss about it. Oceanport's Municipal Council was not consulted on the contents of the bill until after it was completed. If this was a Municipal Council action, we would be showing up in big numbers at Council Meetings to oppose it. State legislators don't have to worry about that because hardly anybody will take the trip to Trenton to complain and, even if they do, there is no guarantee that they would be given the opportunity to be heard. The only real way to be heard on this issue is to contact Senator Jennifer Beck's office. Her Senate phone number is 732-933-1591. Take a few moments, place a call and let her know how you feel about the bill. You can also send an e-mail to her (and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblyman Declan J. O'Scanlon) by visiting her Senate website at:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=303

Click on "contact your legislators", check all three names, click on "Select Your Representatives" and then fill out the e-mail form. In the e-mail subject box you should type "Senate Bill No. 10". If she doesn't hear from us, then we only have ourselves to blame.

Thanks for indulging my rant.

Jay Coffey

10 Things That I Hate About Senate Bill No. 10 (A/K/A: The NJ Economic Development Authority's Lifetime Employment Act of 2009)

1. Our Senator, Jennifer Beck, is co-sponsoring a bill she only saw for the first time a week before it was introduced and co-sponsor is Union County Senator Ray Lesniak.

2. It creates another NEW authority (the "Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority" or "MERA") to oversee the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth.

3. The host communities have no real say in the development of the Fort. MERA has nine voting members, only three of whom are from Oceanport, Eatontown and Tinton Falls. Five voting members are State appointees. The ninth voting member is from the County.

4. It creates a NEW office within the N.J. Economic Development Authority with which to staff MERA.

5. MERA must pay for the costs associated with the NEW office staff from the NJ Economic Development Authority

6. It authorizes MERA to enter into an agreement with the N.J. Economic Development Authority which will make the latter the "master developer" of the Fort Monmouth property. The NJ Economic Development Authority has absolutely NO experience as a master developer of this type of project.

7. The legislation contemplates, promotes and/or creates debt creation vehicles and financing schemes such as the Fort Monmouth Special Improvement District, the Fort Monmouth Transportation Planning District, infrastructure districts and franchise assessments.

8. Municipal site plan approval and municipal subdivision approval shall not be required for any project undertaken by the NEW authority or the EDA.

9. The plan and the development and design guidelines and land use regulations adopted by the authority shall supersede the master plans, the zoning and land use ordinances and regulations, and the zoning maps of the host municipalities.

10. This is a lame duck bill that is being pushed through the legislature in an expedited fashion before the new Governor takes office. There can be no good reason (for the host communities) why this bill is on such a fast track.

BONUS REASON: The Legislature of the State of New Jersey (the people who brought us EnCap, Xanadu, and the New Jersey School Construction Corp. fiascos) has a multi-billion dollar budget gap and we are being asked to entrust the management of our financial future to the very same people who can't even manage their own fiscal affairs. The State will control the development and we will be left with the fallout.

As an unrelated note from me - I find it worth noting that the NJ State Senator in question, Jennifer Beck, is the same Jennifer Beck who was too busy to vote against the One-Gun-A-Month legislation that was passed earlier this year.

The Problem in America

In case you didn't know it, today, the day I write this blog entry, is December 2, 2009.

You might, or might not, know that last night, on December 1, 2009, US President Barack Hussein Obama delivered a important speech outlining his plan for US involvement in Afghanistan including sending an additional 30,000 troops, costing another $30 billion (because why measure in lives lost or destroyed by taking young men from their home life and family or mention that the cost is just a low estimate at best). I'll leave the other details for you to read on your own, because this blog entry is really just here to note the problem in America.... which I again will not state, but demonstrate in this picture.

This is why we'll never see reduced taxes, a smaller, less powerful government or any of our most rights, The People, as a whole, just don't seem to care. Maybe those calls for a War Tax or The Draft might be on to something, people just aren't paying attention to the severity of the wars our country has been engaged in for the past decade. Another US Serviceman was KIA today it's not showing in Google Trends, no one seems to care.

Today marks 220 Years of Freedom in NJ

On this date in 1789, The Great State of New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. Regardless of what today's broken legislative and judicial systems tell you, all of these years later, you still have these most basic rights, and the government can not, and must not, take these rights from you:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

So go ahead and exercise your rights today New Jersey. We were first to think these were great ideas 220 years ago and in my humble opinion, these are all still great ideas today.

With that said, I'm go leave work early, head over to a church then go shoot guns at Brick Armory. If any readers are interested in joining me to exercise these rights, I'll even consider letting you use one of my guest passes for the range to save yourself a few bucks, I might even let you test drive part of my arsenal if your nice.

And if you believe that NJ has infringed on most of these rights (and you might be right), it's worth noting that North Carolina, which seems to be a hot spot for people escaping NJ, celebrates this same honor tomorrow.

Lonegan 2012... And Not Pallone 2010!

As of 10:30pm NJN is saying 49%/44% Christie winning with 81% of the votes counted (5% for Daggett)

So as the numbers trickle in, and it appears Christie will beat the odds and win this Gov. race, let me (hopefully be first to) suggest this:

Steven Lonegan's endorsement of Chris Christie was more powerful than Obama's endorsement of Jon Corzine COMBINED with Corzine's millions of Wall St dollars.

Surely the power of Lonegan can mean only one thing - Lonegan for President of the United States of America 2012!

On a separate note - it could also mean that come next November, Obama won't be able to help Frank Pallone, nor will Frank Pallone's millions of extorted dollars be able to stop a strong conservative from taking his seat in the house.

I have no idea how he'd feel about it, but I'd sure love to see a guy like Hank Butehorn, who I believe resides in the right district, take on Pallone, and I'm sure Hank could earn the Lonegan endorsement he'd need to win. How about it Hank?

For anyone who might not know Hank, Google can help.

P.S. Yes, I'm suggesting that I MIGHT not try to run again, we'll see. :-)

City of Long Branch Arbitrarily Age Discriminates

The City of Long Branch (New Jersey) has officially advised that:

A curfew has been established for all persons within the City of Long Branch under 17 years of age, to be invoked on October 30, and 31, 2009. The curfew will extend from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 am. each night. Director of Public Safety, William Richards has been directed by the Mayor to strictly enforce the policy.

I have to say that "when I was your age..." I would trick or treat with Mom and Dad all over Keansburg, all day long, where I grew up, and then we would head over to Keyport until 9-10 at night. It was a good time and once it was dark out, the general (unwritten) rule was don't go knock on doors where the lights are all out and bother people. Must have been simpler times ALL of those years ago.

And why 17? Isn't the magical number to be an adult 18? or is it 21? I think it might even be 40 to purchase cigarettes now. So when did it become 17? And why 17 for this curfew, why not 37, or all ages. Isn't this age discrimination? This NYRA Analysis is worth a read.

And if this is due to a concern of annoying the neighbors, then I can state for the record that I'll be more annoyed at a 62 year old grandma, or a 18 year old trick-or-treater for that matter, ringing my door bell at 1am than I would be at a 13 year old. I expect the kids to be out in the dark on Halloween begging for free candy - Religious Zealots beware - it's a day for the kids to have some fun with the ghosts and goblins, no harm no foul, no one is indoctrinating witches on the 31st to the best of my knowledge.

And if the claim is safety for these youngsters, then I'd say maybe the Mayor could ask Mr. Richards to have the clowns over at public works report the street light that is out in front of their public works yard on Branchport Ave (pole number is 53434, nearest address is 164 Branchport Ave, and nearest cross street is Irving Pl). I'd report it but I much prefer to be nearly run over by Long Branch police officers who speed through the lot on their cell phones at night (ok, since this has only happened to me 4 times in the 3 years I've been walking the dog past this location every night), plus it's fun for me to wait and see how long it takes the police, who are supposed to look out for public safety, ignore the street lights that are out. As a FYI - the light right beside this one is also out (#466 if you care to report it that one too). There are also two lights out in front of the Board of Ed building on Broadway which I refuse to report myself, call me negligent.

Curfew's stink, regardless of age. They aren't preventing any crimes, only preventing the good citizens from enjoying a night out. Those who are going to commit crimes could care less about the date and time, or the existence of a curfew.

P.S. - For the record, I'm thinking about going out trick-or-treating myself after 8pm, free candy and thanks to the mayor discriminating against them, no competition from the kids.

Another "Unlikely"Dagget Endorsement

Remember Gene Baldassari, New Jersey's First Candidate from the Modern Whig Party? In a press release today, Baldassari has endorsed Chris Daggett for Governor of New Jersey. The press release follows:

Baldassari Supports Daggett in Unlikely Endorsement

Hamilton, NJ - In an unlikely advocacy, 14th District Assembly candidate Gene Baldassari has endorsed Chris Daggett for Governor. According to Baldassari, “Some people are accusing me of departing from my lifelong support of small government, fiscal responsibility, and freedom.”

“However”, Gene added, “the real issue in this election is the inability of Chris Christie and Jon Corzine to properly represent NJ citizens. At least Chris Daggett would not be attached to the powers that have held our State hostage to an incurable addiction of spending and taxation.”

Baldassari is running under the banner of the Modern Whig Party. This movement, restored by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and centered in Washington, has Chapters in 26 States. Along with their prescribed principles of fiscal responsibility, common sense, and rational thinking, the Modern Whig’s promote an end to party bickering by supporting candidates and officials who advocate a citizen oriented platform, regardless of party affiliation.

Links:

Full Text of Baldassari Endorsement:

http://www.votegene.com/who-should-you-choose-for-governor/

Baldassari Campaign Site

http://www.votegene.com/

Campaign Contact:

Dan Sexton: 609-528-4979

The endorsement really is "UNLIKELY" for several reasons as the two candidates could not be further apart on the issues. I would have expected someone with Baldassari's positions to endorse a candidate like Jason Cullen. The only way this endorsement of Daggett makes sense is, as Gene Baldassari has noted, if people simply vote third party (Daggett) and vote for Baldassari because they voted for an Independent Gov.

I personally still want to believe that people are doing their homework on each candidate and voting for the candidate who best represents their own beliefs and opinions, not the person that they think might win, or the person that they think offers the loudest protest vote, or the person who represents a party (or not) rather than their own individual interests.

November should be interesting... if I were a betting man, I'd say based on the polls, the media coverage, the endorsements and the undeserved support of Daggett by people who likely have no idea where he stands on most issues and probably wouldn't vote for him if they did, NJ should be prepared to deal with Corzine for another 4 years when he wins re-election with well over 60% of the vote.

Barack Hussein Obama and Yasser Arafat - Fellow Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Yes, Barack Hussein Obama has joined, terrorist, Yasser Arafat as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nothing more to see here, move along...

Hopefully I'll have an update to my Monmouth Park Junkyard story later today.

Bring your Cash 4 Clunker to Monmouth Park?

I'm trying to get some information about the parking lot full of junk cars over at Monmouth Park along RT 36.

There seems to be somewhere between 100 and 120 cars/trucks/van in the lot. I was only able to find 3 with license plates, the rest have no plates. Several have flat tires and won't be moving on their own without a tire fixing. At least one has "NO START" shoe polished into the side/rear window.

I suspect that I'm looking at Cash 4 Clunker trade-ins that are waiting to be carted off/chemically disabled/crushed/etc. Some of my immediate concerns in no particular order:

1) Have all hazardous fluids been removed from these vehicles? Oil, Gas, brake fluid, coolant, etc?

2) Does MP have the proper permits from DEP/OP to operate a junk yard/auto storage facility?

3) Are taxpayers (who paid for the C4C program) now paying MP to store these cars, if so, how much is it costing us taxpayers to store these cars? How long will we be paying to store cars at MP?

I'll try calling over there tomorrow to get some information unless a reader happens to have some information that they can pass along. Some more pictures of the junk yard (and my puppy) are available here, mind my poor photography skills.

... in fairness, I'm speculating... it is possible that these cars were purchased by a wealthy celebrity to be donated to local needy kids for free (plus tax!) at an event this weekend at MP... hey, it's possible....

Will Frank Pallone lose his Federal Pension?

It seems like based on Frank Pallone's bribery, racketeering and fraud regarding his actions with ReGen and the FDA, Pallone might as well just turn in his federal pension now.

In case you missed it, Frank Pallone's extortion scheme of ReGen is Big News.

Frank Pallone - One Set of Rules For Himself - One for Everyone Else.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj06_pallone/pr_apr18_corruption_legislation.html

CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE, JR. Sixth District of New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Andrew Souvall April 18, 2005 or Jennifer Cannata (202) 225-4671

PALLONE TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION THAT STRIPS CORRUPT OFFICIALS OF THEIR FEDERAL PENSIONS ---Bill Would Also Double Financial Penalties--- Long Branch, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced today that he will introduce legislation this week in the U.S. House of Representatives instituting tougher penalties for government officials convicted on federal corruption charges. The New Jersey lawmaker's legislation excludes convicted officials from receiving any federal pensions once they are found guilty in federal court, and doubles the financial penalties corrupt officials are required to pay. Under current federal law, governmental officials, whether elected, appointed or hired, are still entitled to their federal pensions if they are convicted of any crime, with the exception of treason, in a federal court. In 1954, Congress passed legislation prohibiting the distribution of federal pensions to federal officers and employees, including Members of Congress, who were convicted of various offences relating to disloyalty. Eight years later, the legislation was amended to only include the loss of pensions for federal officers and employees in instances of disloyalty on issues relating to national security and defense. Pallone pointed to former U.S. Rep. James Traficant, a Democrat who represented a congressional district in Ohio for 18 years, who was convicted in federal court in 2001 of ten charges including bribery, racketeering, fraud and tax evasion. Despite his expulsion from the House and the fact he's now serving a ten-year prison sentence, Traficant still has access to the federal pension that he accrued during his 18 years in the House. "It defies reason to allow a government official access to a pension after they've been found guilty of a federal crime," Pallone said. "My legislation will broaden federal laws to prevent any convicted official from receiving his or her federal pension." Pallone's legislation also doubles the financial penalties corrupt officials are forced to pay once they are convicted. Currently, under federal "anti-corruption" statutes, any government official faces up to 15 years in prison, but cannot be fined more than $250,000 if they are convicted of bribery in a federal court. The federal statute calls for fines of up to three times the monetary equivalent of the value of the bribe, or $250,000, whichever is greater. Pallone's legislation doubles those federal fines to $500,000. "The federal government has to send a stronger message to government officials who betray the trust of the American people," Pallone said. "We should double these fines as a way to deter governmental officials from breaking the law." ###

Frank Pallone: I won't listen to YOU PEOPLE, or Science!

First, I certainly won't be providing any new "news" on this subject, so if you were looking for any information about how corrupt Mr. Frank Pallone is today, you can review some news stories here here here here here here or here.

With that sad, the summary of the story goes something like this:

ReGen, a company who makes a [defective] knee meniscus replacement device was EXTORTED out of over $50K by several of New Jersey Democratic representatives including our own Frank Pallone. This $50K in addition to the $200K extorted by Sen. Menendez through an aide of his. So in order to have their product approved by the FDA for use, after being rejected twice, ReGen was EXTORTED by Mr. Pallone, who happens to be the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health, and used the payoff as incentive to put "extreme pressure" on the FDA to approve the product. Then, having recognized that he could be caught, Mr. Pallone decided to back track and try to play the good guy by asking the FDA to review what went wrong.

SO, if you recall from last month's Pallone town hall meeting, the one where Pallone told the people "NO, I won't represent you", then this situation further demonstrates that Pallone is not in office with the intentions to represent the people, he is there to EXTORT money and shove garbage, in the form of bad legislation and bad medical devices, down the throats of us taxpayers. Mr. Pallone REFUSED TO LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE at the FDA and forced them to accept this device just as Mr. Pallone REFUSES TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE and the accounting facts and wants to force government healthcare upon We The People.

In my opinion, Mr. Pallone should be immediately removed from his Chairman position and removed from Congress pending the outcome of an EXTORTION inquiry. Worth noting here, again, that Mr. Pallone was one of only a few Congressman who voted to continue to fund ACORN. This vote after ACORN was caught on camera providing information to a pimp and his ho on how to commit crimes.

Further, what company, or companies, is Mr. Pallone EXTORTING, by promoting ObamaCare? This certainly isn't the first time that Mr. Pallone has EXTORTED money from a company to get their device approved (or banned) as I'd have to doubt that a first time offender would know how to put "extreme pressure" on the FDA. EXTORTION.

How NOT to run for office

If you browse the archives here, I explained the steps I took to run for office last year in my first posts. Not that I had such great results that I have tons of room to talk, but my advise would be that if any of my readers are going to be running for office for their first time, don't be like this guy!

To be fair, that story might have a bit of a writers bias to it, so here is another story which doesn't paint Mr. Katz as such a fool.