I have thought about the possibility that beyond my being a scapegoat for his misstatement, the Governor might be angry at me for not telling him the interview was videotaped. In my defense, I never believed I needed to say, 'Governor, stick to the truth, there's a videotape.' Perhaps I should have.
There's been a lot of talk about lies, who said what when, getting to the bottom of things, changing stories, etc. All of this can get confusing and obscure the basic facts of the Christie-Shundler blunder.
The Christie Administration's incompetence cost New Jersey's schools almost half a billion dollars.
Really, do we need to focus much on anything else?
We spent a long time analyzing Chris Christie here on Blue Jersey back when he was just a twinkle in the Governor's Race's eye. We started off giving him some credit, but over time we came to the conclusion that he was an arrogant, incompetent glory-hound who never saw a camera he didn't like or an opponent he wouldn't berate and belittle.
And after the election "huntsu" decided to take a break, because we really couldn't warn folks anymore. Christie's behavior as Governor would be there for all to see, and we'd be proven right or wrong over time.
Today with the firing of Bret Shundler, we can safely say, "We told you so." In fact, we can say it while sticking out our tongues, waggling our fingers in our ears and dropping trou.
This was a perfect example of Christie's arrogance, dishonesty and inability to admit wrong.
First he screws up by scrapping a deal his own Commissioner of Education negotiated in good faith with the teachers' union, and has the whole thing re-written.
When it comes out that the new version had basic comprehension errors, he blamed "one clerk" and the culture in Washington for not telling Christie about the error.
Then video comes out that demonstrates the folks down in DC did tell the NJ folks about the error, and Christie is proven a liar. (He was previously convicted for the same offense, as well).
So after being proven an incompetent and a liar, Christie fires Bret Shundler who had negotiated an application that would have won the $400 million for NJ students
Blue Jersey was just about the only outlet that had this guy pegged while others were writing hagiography and comparing him to Spider Man. Occasionally there was a blip of criticism, but not very often.
Maybe now the media can wake up and tell the truth about the lying, incompetent Chris Christie.
"...regularly spent beyond federal guidelines on business travel while U.S. attorney..."
"The newly released travel records show that Chris Christie occasionally billed taxpayers more than $400 a night for stays in luxury hotels and exceeded the government's hotel allowance on 14 of 16 business trips he took in 2008."
Once again, Christie has been caught being a petty self serving liar. I'm not sure if these ethical lapses will turn out to be actionable violations of law; but clearly the guy was abusing taxpayer's money to feather his own nest.....and his defense is clearly not credible.
"Christie said he stayed in more expensive hotels only when cheaper ones weren't available."
These are the facts...
"The vouchers show Christie and Brown stayed at the NineZero Hotel in Boston on Oct. 16, 2007 and each billed taxpayers $449 plus taxes and fees for their rooms, more than double the government allowance for a Boston hotel room at the time, according to a General Services Administration travel reimbursement table.
A liberal ethics group called Christie's travel history "astonishing," noting a stay at the Four Seasons in Washington, one of the city's best hotels."
"I'm sure he knew better, and he chose to ignore the rules," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "There is never a situation where the only available hotel in Washington is the Four Seasons. If you stay there, you've chosen luxury and you've chosen to ignore the rules."
Oh, and it turns out that his underling, (you know, the woman he loaned all that money to) also got the best rooms in the finest hotels when they traveled together.....
"On trips in 2007 and 2008, his top deputy, Michele Brown, also exceeded the guidelines after Christie approved her requests for rooms in the same five-star hotels where he was booked."
Who knows how many more damaging (drip drip drip) "revelations" will come out about Christie between now and election day!
Christie is now burnt toast.
With Christie melting and Daggett on the rise, the new threat is a surging Daggett.
New Jerseyans who may now feel like saying "A pox on both your houses" have to be given New Jerseyans a positive strong and substantial emotional/gut level narrative for them to give Jon Corzine another shot....and that's where Loretta Weinberg being in the same commericals and podiums with Jon Corzine can help to rehabilitate his own negatives.
So, I was wrong about Chris Christie. I though he admitted to defaming his opponents in the election he lost, but it turns out that he lied his way into his sole term as a Freeholder.
After graduating from the University of Delaware and Seton Hall School of Law and joining a small firm in Cranford, Mr. Christie had a short political career of his own, beginning with a successful but ugly race for a seat on the Morris County board of freeholders. It ended with his defeat in a primary race for renomination three years later. In that time he also lost a primary race for an Assembly seat.
In his first campaign, in 1994, Mr. Christie said, inaccurately, that the incumbent freeholders were under investigation by the county prosecutor; the freeholders sued him. That case was settled.
An architect who did work for the county also sued him for defamation; that case was later voluntarily dismissed.
After his 1997 campaign, Mr. Christie filed a defamation suit against two opponents. That case was settled three years later.
Mr. Palatucci, a confidant through the turmoil, acknowledged Mr. Christie's political mistakes and said he was ''probably too abrasive.''
Mr. Christie's old adversaries have mixed recollections. ''He went on TV and he lied,'' said Cecilia Laureys, one of the freeholders who sued him in 1994. ''I stuck to my guns and I won.'' Having accepted as the settlement an apology by Mr. Christie in the local newspaper, she says that hard feelings have healed and that he is now ''doing a great job.''
Some are less forgiving. ''He was known as a slimy guy out here,'' said Rick Shaftan, a conservative consultant who worked for Mr. Christie's opponent, Michael P. Carroll, in the 1995 Assembly primary. ''He just popped on the scene and started spending money.''
This means that Christie won one election by cheating, something he admitted, and then lost every subsequent election.
Well, we already know how honest one candidate for the House seat in NJ7 is going to be:
Kate Whitman, daughter of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman, announced her candidacy today for a congressional seat in the 7th district.
"I'm running for Congress because I believe I can provide the type of first class representation and constituent service that the people of the 7th Congressional District want and deserve," Whitman said in a statement. "People are tired of politics as usual in Washington, and as a small businesswoman and mother of two, I will bring a unique perspective that will achieve results."
Small businesswoman? She is the paid executive director of a political action committee her mother founded and co-chairs and "runs her own consultancy business" though no one knows what she consults on. That last one is the same line Mike Ferguson foisted on us in 2000 -- she takes advantage of her mother's contacts to get paid for doing little.
Before this she was the communications director for the New Hampshire Republican Party when the party illegally jammed the Democrats' phone lines on election day.
If you want to bring a small businesswoman mother of two to Congress, Linda Stender is your candidate. She's not only brought up her kids, but also ran the family florist and has spent 20 years as a Councilwoman, Mayor, Freeholder and Assemblywoman. Stender has the experience, the know-how and the intelligence to make a difference in DC.
The language of the resolution is taken from both the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and the After Downing Street Organization. It's tailored for our legislature in New Jersey, but the substance of the text can be used in any state with the "mechanical particulars" adapted to the requirements of each state's process.
A Resolution to Impeach President George W. Bush
and Vice President Richard B. Cheney
WHEREAS, George W. Bush subverted the Constitution, its guarantee of a republican form of government, and the constitutional separation of powers by undermining the rightful authority of Congress to declare war, oversee foreign affairs, and make appropriations. He did so by justifying the war with false and misleading statements and deceived the people of the United States as well as Congress. He denied the electorate the right to make an informed choice and thereby undermined democracy; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired with others to defraud the United States of America by intentionally misleading Congress and the public regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush, abused his power by failing to take care that the laws were faithfully executed by directing or authorizing the National Security Agency and various other agencies within the intelligence community to conduct electronic surveillance outside of the statutes Congress prescribed as the exclusive means for such surveillance, and to use such information for purposes unknown but unrelated to any lawful function of his office; he also concealed the existence of this unlawful program of electronic surveillance from Congress, the press and the public; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush has admitted to ordering the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, duly constituted by Congress in 1978, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, Section 1805; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush, abused his power by violating the constitutional and international rights of citizens and non-citizens by arbitrarily detaining them indefinitely inside and outside of the United States, without due process, without charges and with limited – if any – access to council or courts. He failed to faithfully execute the laws of the United States by allowing his administration to condone torture, failing to investigate and prosecute high-level officials responsible for torture, and officially refusing to accept the binding nature of a statutory ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in violation of the “Federal Torture Act” Title 18 United States Code, Section 113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention, which under Article VI of the Constitution are part of the “supreme Law of the Land;” and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney acted to strip American citizens of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention without access to legal counsel, without charge and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the President of a U.S. citizen as an “enemy combatant,” all in subversion of law; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush, in his conduct of the Office of the President of the United States, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, arrogated excessive power to the executive branch in violation of basic constitutional principles of the separation of powers; and
WHEREAS, In all of this George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney acted in a manner contrary to their trust as President and Vice President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of New Jersey and of the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, Petitions from the country at large may be presented by the Speaker of the House according to Clause 3 of House Rule XII; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson’s Manual Section LIII, 603, states that impeachment may be set in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State;
Be it resolved that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrant impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States;
Be it resolved further, by the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, That our Senators and Representatives in the United States Congress be, and they are hereby, directed to cause to be instituted in the Congress of the United States proper proceedings for the investigation of the activities of the George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, to the end that they may be impeached and removed from such office;
Be it resolved further, That the Clerk of State of the State of New Jersey be, and is hereby, instructed to certify to each Senator and Representative in the Congress of the United States, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, under the great seal of the State of New Jersey, a copy of this resolution and its adoption by the legislature of the State of New Jersey. The copies shall be marked with the word “Petition” at the top of the document and contain the original authorizing signature of the President of the Senate and Speaker of the Assembly of New Jersey.
Here in the Garden State, things don’t look so rosy these days. Though our state enjoys life above the national average, there are really disturbing trends that prove we’re moving in the wrong direction. According to the latest census figures, New Jersey ranks first in median household income at $61,700; BUT —
• NJ income was down by 2.8% last year;
• The NJ poverty rate is up by almost 1%, from 7.8 to 8.7% since 2000;
• An estimated 38% of New Jersey homeowners, and 47% of tenants,spend more than 30% of their incomes on housing costs;
• The number of New Jersey people without health care continues to climb, from 14.6 to 15.2%. These numbers are a direct result of Bush policies.
As of September 19, 2006, according to Survey USA, a private company which monitors public opinion for 50 television news organizations, President Bush is disapproved more than approved in 45 states. Only Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska and Texas — barely — approve more than disapprove him. In Rhode Island, 76% disapprove Bush with only 22% supporting him. In New Jersey today 64% disapprove Bush and 32% like what the president's doing. Nationwide Bush has 39% approval against 59% disapproval. If you're fed up with what Bush is doing, you're in the majority by a landslide.
We're proud of our American heritage, so we have to wonder what future generations will think as we continue doing nothing when we actually know the truth, that the President and his Vice President knew there were no weapons of mass destruction, and that the White House consciously and deliberately lied in order to put our country to war against Iraq. That violates our Constitution, an impeachable offense.
The United States of America is now plagued with perpetual fear, perpetual war, constant mission creep and increasing cost with no sense in sight. We were told that Iraq, presently sitting on top of two trillion gallons of unrefined crude, would be able to pay its own reconstruction. Three years ago, the Bush administration had that specific proposal before it and failed to pursue it because it was a Democratic idea. This Administration has never vetoed a spending bill and we are going on nine trillion dollars in debt. Think of that number: $9,000,000,000,000.00. Mismanagement is understatement; we're really facing five years of corruption, incompetence, lies and warmongering.
Remember the Downing Street Memo? The memo of a meeting of the British Prime Minister and his ministers documents that the Bush team “fixed” the intelligence on Iraq so it would support the president's mania for war. It’s another violation, another impeachable offense. And the memo was swept under the table. The normal responses by this White House are change the theme and fire anybody who disagrees with its official version. Enough is enough. There are about 118 weeks left of Bush. His gang must be stopped. Honesty, integrity and trust are crucial to the life of our country.
The Bush administration demonstrates consistent contempt for all Americans.
They cut taxes on the richest of us and turn their backs on the people they order to battle. They send our service people to battle without adequate body armor even though they can easily acquire the best body armor. They put our service people on the road to death in Iraq in humvees with no armor. And they issue orders that no pictures can be taken of flag-draped coffins of our troops being shipped into Dover Air Force Base.
They authorized torture in Abu Ghraib and in Guantanamo prisons in violations of the Geneva Convention, the Nuremberg Convention, and the United Nations charter, to all of which our country is a signatory and constitutes the supreme law of our United States.
They initiated programs of wholesale spying on Americans without justification, let alone warrants. It’s another violation, another impeachable offense. We are citizens who have come to the sad conclusion that the present leadership of the United States betrays the people, and the Bush administration must be held to account and investigated for criminal actions and treason against the United States.
The great Thomas Jefferson had the vision to anticipate a time when a Congress is become so corrupt, or bribed, or decadent, that it’s no longer responsible to the needs of the people they are elected to serve. In Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practices, which is part of the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, he created a mechanism by which a state legislature can transmit a resolution to impeach to the House of Representatives in Washington, and effectively direct the U.S. House to address the question of an investigation to determine whether to impeach a civil officer of the United States, a judge, or a president.
The evidence proves George Bush and Richard Cheney subvert the Constitution and engage in conspiracy to impose fraud and deceit on the United States.
Our country is in a state of intense crisis. We don’t believe the situation is hopeless. People in New Jersey are can-do people, and it's not too late to save our country. As citizens of our troubled, great, beloved country, we have an obligation to fix it. We can do this in New Jersey.
The bottom line for us all is the fact that success is not guaranteed does not relieve our state of its obligation to do all it possibly can to defend the United States Constitution according to the oath of our officers. We believe our legislators can meet this obligation and offer a true profile in courage. The politicians cannot meet this obligation by themselves. It requires large and vocal support from us. It requires citizenship and devotion to democracy. When treason is committed we are compelled to take action.
If you’re fed up, it’s time to stand up for democracy. It’s time to stop the spinning and focus on winning. Now’s the time to act to save our country. Democracy is your birthright.
Accordingly, people in New Jersey are joined in a campaign to pass our state legislature, A Resolution to Impeach the President and the Vice President. We are one group among several in our state dedicated to removing the Bush administration from power. Our group’s membership is only 75 people, but we have collected hundreds of petitions to impeach, and our members are from all over, from Warwick to Paterson to Princeton to Atlantic City, from Teaneck to Clinton, and as word spreads of our efforts, and as the situation in West Asia and here gets worse, more and more people will join this effort.
We hope concerned patriots will agree to work to restore democracy and reclaim our country. We hope people will contact us. The text of our resolution is taken from a draft by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, http://ccr-ny.org and another by http://afterdownings... – http://pdamerica.org – http://impeachbush.t... - and modified to meet the requirements of our legislature.
From unreliable electronic voting machines and millions of uncounted ballots, to partisan election officials and 10 hour waits at the polls, it’s clear our electoral system is in dire need of an overhaul. To build a more just, secure and robust dem-ocracy, support the following 10-point Voters’ Bill of Rights:
1. Eliminate Rigged Voting Mechanisms — Hard Copy Paper Ballots are Most Reliable It’s demonstrated indisputably that no type of voting machine produced is “tamper-proof.” All mechanisms available today, whether voting by lever, computerized electronic machines, optical scan devices, even systems that offer “paper trail receipts” can record your vote as cast but actually vote for the other candidate in the tally — the final vote count. The only real tamper-proof system is voting by paper ballots with votes physically marked by the voter, and those votes tallied with non-partisan oversight conducted under oath with federal penalties for misconduct in the election vote counting. This must be our national standard for democracy.
2. Replace Partisan Oversight with Non-Partisan Election Commissions It’s time to overhaul our federal, state, and local election agencies to guarantee fair elections. We must replace the current system of partisan election administration, in which partisan secretaries of state, county clerks, election commissioners, and other partisan officials are able to issue rulings that favor their own political parties and themselves, with a non-partisan, independent system of running elections. We must end the practice of contracting out fundamental election functions, such as the maintenance of voter lists, to private corporations. We must also insure that independent internnational and domestic election observers are given full access to monitor our elections.
3. Celebrate Democracy: Make Election Day a National Holiday People should not be forced to choose between exercising their right to vote and getting to work on time. While the laws of 30 states guarantee the right to take time off from work to vote, many workers and employers are unaware of these laws. Holding national elections on a national holiday will greatly increase the number of available poll workers and polling places and increase overall turnout, while making it much easier for working Americans to go to the polls. Election Day is already a holiday in Puerto Rico in presidential election years, and many Puerto Ricans celebrate and make Election Day a fun and festive party with a purpose. It's time for the United States to follow Puerto Rico's lead.
4. Make it Easier to Vote Many citizens are discouraged from voting by unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and restrictions. We must simplify and rationalize voter registration so that no one is again disenfranchised for failing to check a superfluous box, as occurred this year in Florida, or for not using heavy enough paper, as nearly occurred in Ohio. We must require voter registrars to sign affidavits promising to submit any registrations in their possession in a timely manner. We must eliminate police intimidation, language, physical disability, extra-legal requirements of personal identification, and other barriers to voting. To ensure that all qualified voters are able to vote, we must follow the lead of states like Minnesota and Wisconsin by replacing restrictive voter residency requirements with same-day voter registration, allowing qualified voters to register at the polls on Election Day itself.
Our current system forces millions of voters to wait up to 10 hours to vote. This is unacceptable, and it disenfranchises those who cannot afford to wait. To increase access to the polls, all states must provide sufficient funding for enough early voting and election day polling places to guarantee smooth and speedy voting. To ensure equal access and minimize the wait at the polls, election authorities must allocate resources based upon the number of potential voters per precinct. We must put an end to the government-backed practice of allowing partisan activists to challenge the voting rights of individual voters at the polls. Instead, the government must invest in campaigns designed to educate voters about how they can exercise and protect their right to vote.
5. Count Every Vote! Voters must know that their vote will count and make a difference. Every recent presidential election has been marred by the discounting millions of spoiled, under-vote, over-vote, provisional and absentee ballots. This discounting of votes has disproportionately impacted people of color, especially African Americans, and is a fundamental voting rights and racial justice problem. Election officials must ensure that every voting precinct and wards is adequately staffed with sufficiently trained personnel and professional supervision; that old and unreliable voting machines are done away with; that absentee ballots are mailed with a sufficient time for delivery; that all ballots, including provisional ballots, are counted; and that provisional ballots count for statewide and federal contests regardless of where the vote is cast. Election officials should wait until after any recounts have been completed to provide final certification of election results.
6. Re-Enfranchise Ex-Felons & Non-Felons The permanent disenfranchisement of former felons, a practice that falls outside of international or even U.S. norms, is an unreasonable and dangerous penalty that weakens our democracy by creating a subclass of four million excluded American citizens. The practice has also been used to purge voter lists of hundreds of thousands of citizens never convicted of any felony. Because the criminal justice system disproportionately penalizes African American males, this disenfranchisement is racist in its impact and is constitutionally suspect. Those states that permanently disenfranchise felons (Florida, Virginia, Nebraska, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa, Alabama, and Arizona) must amend their laws and practices to restore full citizenship to ex-offenders.
7. IMPLEMENT INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING (IRV) AND PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (PR) We must replace our current “first-past-the-post” system with Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). Unlike our current system, which forces voters to reject their preferred candidate in favor of a “lesser evil” who may have a better chance of defeating the candidate they most fear, IRV allows them to choose both. In this way, it eliminates the so-called “spoiler” and “wasted vote” effects and gives voters a more democratic set of choices. Under IRV, voters simply rank candidates in order of their preference (first, second, etc.). If a candidate wins a majority of first choice votes, that candidate is the winner. If no candidate gets a majority of first choices, the lowest vote-getting candidate is eliminated, and his/her votes are given to the candidates whom the supporters of the eliminated candidate chose as their second option. Counting continues until one candidate has received a majority. IRV therefore not only allows voters to voice their real preferences; it also ensures that the will of the true majority, not a mere plurality, produces the winner of each election. In addition, IRV makes it possible to conduct the runoff count without the need for a separate and expensive runoff election. Instant Runoff Voting is used successfully around the world, including Ireland, Australia, and most recently, San Francisco.
The right of representation belongs to all citizens. Our winner-take-all elections award representation to the largest factions and leave everyone else, often the majority, unrepresented. The winner-take-all system unnecessarily restricts choice, polarizes politics and limits political discourse. We must adopt Proportional Representation (PR) for legislative elections to ensure the fair representation of all voters. Millions of Democrats in Republican areas and Republicans in Democratic areas are unrepresented in our system, and the majority of Greens, Libertarians, and other independents are unrepresented at all levels of government. Our system should provide fair representation to all voters, in proportion to their numbers.
8. Replace Big Money Control With Public Financing and Equal Air-Time In a system where the amount of money a candidate spends is directly related to their likelihood of winning, it is not surprising that voters think politicians are more concerned with big campaign contributors than with individual voters. We must follow Maine's lead by establishing a nationwide system of full public financing for all ballot-qualified candidates. We must require the broadcasting corporations that license our public airwaves to provide air time for debates, and free time for all ballot-qualified candidates and parties.
9. Guarantee Equal Access to the Ballot and Debates In our current electoral system, independent parties such as the Greens and Libertarians face a host of barriers designed to limit voter choice and voice. Ballot access laws and debates specifically designed to exclude independent party candidates discourage voting and undermine the legitimacy of our elections. In most cases, the established parties have never themselves met the signature require-ments they impose on independent parties. We must eliminate prohibitive ballot access requirements, and replace the partisan Commission on Presidential Debates with a non-partisan Citizens Debate Commission.
10. Abolish the Electoral College and Enact Statehood for the District of Columbia It is time to end the safe state/battleground state dichotomy and make all votes equal, no matter the state of the voter. We must amend the Federal Constitution to replace election of the President by the Electoral College with direct election by the voters. At the same time, for so long as the Electoral College persists, we must amend our state laws and constitutions to allocate each state's electors proportionately to the popular vote.
It’s also time to end the disenfranchisement of the over half million Americans who reside in the District of Columbia. DC residents deserve the same political rights enjoyed by citizens of our nation's fifty states, namely full voting representation in both houses of the U.S. Congress, as well as legislative, budgetary, and judicial sovereignty. Washington D.C. is the only existing majority African American federal jurisdiction, and the denial of DC voting rights is thus inherently racist. Furthermore, the denial of DC voting rights can’t be defended on the basis of population size; the majority white State of Wyoming has a smaller population. It’s time to grant statehood to the District of Columbia. North Jersey Impeach Group
117 Chestnut Drive • Wayne • NJ 07470•5639
Contact impeachthem@gmail.com
• info@impeachthem.com
In March 2005, Mike Ferguson announced the following [pdf] in questioning the director of the National Institute of Health:
Of course, the question of when life begins is not a question of someone’s personal ethics or their religion or anything else. It is a question of science. I think that is important to note for the record.
I will give Mike $200.00 from my own checkbook for his campaign if he can show me one scientific experiement that proves life begins when an egg is fertilized. One that conclusively shows that it is that moment, and not when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterus. Or when the fetus could live on its own outside the womb. Or at 24 weeks. Or when you can see fingers on the untrasound.
Seriously. $200.00 from my checking account he can report to the Federal Election Commission and use as proof that I have supported his campaign in return for one scientific experiment that proves a fertilized egg is a human being.
But I am not looking for sophistry, where you simply argue for it using sophistic methods. I'm not looking for you to say, "Human beings start when the genetic material is set, the genetic material is set when the egg is fertilized, so a human being starts when an egg is fertilized." That's just a circular argument where you define something in a way that proves your point, then proclaim your point is proven. Watch, I can do it too:
"Human life starts when an individual can live on their own outside the womb, fetuses have been kept alive outside the womb using modern science as early as 21 weeks, so life begins at 21 weeks."
But that's not science. That's philosophical logic, and flawed philisophical logic at that. Really, it's just asserting something you believe to be true but cannot prove.
But you say it's science. And the basis of science is that something we consider true must be demonstrated by experiement, and that the experiment must be repeatable under similar conditions. So get me that experiment and I'll drive the check over.
But if you can't produce that experiement, stop saying it's science. 'Cause it's not.
On Monday, I received the latest issue of the Garrett Gazette, an e-mail newsletter aimed at misleading residents of New Jersey's Fifth District. Scott Garrett, of course, has to mislead his constituents so he can continue serving his masters at the Club for (Malignant) Growth, Americans (who want to drown their government in a bathtub) for Tax Reform, and the Republican National Calamity.
The claim:
Unless Congress acts to make the various tax relief provisions enacted between 2001 and 2005 permanent, in 2011... 115 million taxpayers will see their annual tax bill increase more than $1,700
The emergence of Al-Qaeda, a non-state actor and a technologically advanced global terrorist network, represents the most clear and present danger to American interests both at home and abroad.
The tragic attacks on September 11, 2001 redefined and refocused our foreign policy objectives in the new millennium and changed the way we view our economic and security relationships with members of the international community.
The current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are extensions of that new focus.
Who the hell does he think he is? Mr. Ethics has such little respect for the truth and the people he hopes to represent, that he's willing to put his own revisionist spin on the administration's lies and deceptions. He's auditioning to be a foot soldier in the culture of lies that seeks to justify the ends by any means. With values that include lying about why we are at war, we should expect that as a Senator, he would be willing to lie to us to send our children to war, too. We already have enough war-mongering habitual liars in power - Thanks for the offer, but we'll pass on this one.
Today the New York Times reveals that the Kean Jr campaign is self-funding a swiftboat-style smear campaign against Senator Menendez. These repeatedly discredited lies are so sleazy that nobody else - not the RNC, RSCC, or any independent groups - are willing to fund them, so the campaign has to do it themselves. It's too dirty even for Karl Rove, but as they say, Tom Kean Jr personally approved this message. The New York Times pulls back the curtains (emphasis mine):
The Republican candidate for Senate in New Jersey, Thomas Kean Jr., intends to make a campaign film that accuses his Democratic opponent, Robert Menendez, of "being wrapped up in the rackets for 30 years" despite public records and statements by former federal prosecutors that contradict Mr. Kean's most serious charges.
Mr. Kean's chief campaign consultant, Matt Leonardo, a strategist for Republican candidates, disclosed the plans in an interview and said the film would be "very similar" in purpose to the commercials used to attack the military record of John Kerry during the 2004 presidential race.
Both the New York Times and the Star Ledger recently exposed the Kean Jr campaign as a bunch of liars, but they're going to keep digging themselves in the hole anyway.
Mr. Kean's charges are not, however, supported by the public record and were repudiated by independent authorities including the four assistant United States attorneys who prosecuted Union City officials of that era for racketeering and corruption. There is no truth, those former officials say, to the Kean campaign's charge that Mr. Menendez made a deal to keep himself out of prison.
....
Mr. Leonardo did not directly dispute that information, published Sunday in The New York Times and The Star Ledger of Newark, but described it as a "set of views" and said other people held different views.
The only "different" view you can have from the truth is a lie. To be fair, there is one big difference between this smear campaign and the attacks on John Kerry:
Both he and Ms. Hazelbaker said that the source — campaign money as opposed to a 527 committee — was the primary distinction between the Swift boat commercials and the planned film on Mr. Menendez.
You read that correctly - they seem to be proud of the fact that the campaign is directly funding this. I've always assumed that Kean Jr wasn't really in this to win, but rather to set himself up for a future race. The way the campaign has been completely mismanaged, it's hard to conclude otherwise - but this latest news seals the deal. Nobody serious about winning would hold on to such wildly incompetent campaign staff. A broken magic 8 ball could be more effective.
What Junior might not realize it that it's his indifference to this idiocy that will doom his future prospects, too. What began as his only asset - the Kean family name - is being eviscerated by his immature, selfish ambitions. One of the largest newspapers in the country has exposed him as a liar, but he stubbornly pushes forward with his sleazy lies. If he hasn't already, his actions will ruin the chances of any future political ambitions he may have. The formerly respected "Kean" name will become a burden on the rest of his career and nothing but a shameful legacy to future generations.
In a New York Times piece out today titled Conservative Blogs are More Effective, Corzine's campaign blogger Matt Stoller cites the example of a New Jersey conservative blog that spread rumors about Corzine which were picked up by radio stations and eventually news papers:
Shortly before the election, a conservative Web site claimed that politically damaging information about Corzine was about to surface in the media. It didn't. But New Jersey talk-radio shock jocks quoted the online speculation, inflicting public-relations damage on Corzine anyway.
These lies were spread by the blog Enlighten-NJ, and we exposed the situation over a month ago. It has been 46 days since the website threatened that an incriminating tape of a drunk Corzine spouting racial slurs would appear. The tape of course doesn't exist.
Despite being outed as a lying smearmonger by a national publication, Enlighten uses the occasion to rejoice about how effectively his blog was used to smear Jon Corzine in a blog post titled Conservative Blogs Rock! Considering his complete lack of ethical and moral standards, this shouldn't come as a surprise. He knew from the beginning that he was lying, and his plan all along was to smear a good man through cowardly anonymous posts. Why should we be surprised that he would celebrate the recognition of his accomplishment?
