The news that Charles Cummings died last week at the age of 68 strikes me as nothing less than a plot against Christmas. Cummings, a key member at the Newark Public Library for over four decades, was a talking book of Newark history and New Jersey lore in general. He not only authored books on New Jersey history, he also served as right-hand research man to Philip Roth, who was born in Newark’s Weequahic section and relied heavily on Cummings’ bottomless store of knowledge while writing American Pastoral and The Plot Against America.

Roth wrote this valediction for Cummings in the Sunday Star-Ledger:

A Pakistani man, Irfan Khokhar, is about to be deported.

Nov. 15 was the last time Sayyida was able to squeeze her husband’s hand.

That morning, Irfan, a 37-year-old Pakistani immigrant, left home to deliver documents to the immigration office in Newark. Since Irfan and Sayyida entered the United States in 1994 on visitor visas, Irfan had been working on gaining permanent residence in the country.

That night, Irfan called Sayyida and told her he had been arrested and was being held at the Elizabeth Detention Facility, a holding pen for persons awaiting deportation.

Mike Gilhooly, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement department, confirmed that Irfan is being held on a “final order of deportation.” The case is being appealed, he said.

How this doting father and husband wound up behind bars in Elizabeth isn’t entirely clear.

Sayyida blames a Union City attorney. Unbeknownst to her husband, she said, this attorney signed a paper stating Irfan agreed to be voluntarily deported. Once they found out, the couple fired that attorney and hired another. But due to a paper mix-up, they missed a hearing on Irfan’s case, she said.

But the new attorney got things moving, she said.

Besides the emotional tempest the detention has caused, it has thrown the family into a financial crisis.

Teachers and administrators at School 30, which the children attend, have rallied to help the Greenville area family. On Wednesday, teachers from the school brought the family a Christmas tree and Christmas gifts from various anonymous donors.

Having collected enough money to pay the Khokhars’ January rent, school employees are now collecting money to pay utility bills, Principal Addie Rufino said.

Amna had a simple Christmas message for her father.

“I miss you,” she said. “I wish you could come back home.”

That’s so sad. Honestly, if this man gets deported because of a simple mistake, I will lose what little faith I have in the U.S. Immigration Department.

Passed to Blue Jersey by Matt Stoller at MyDD. I think I might be cheating by posting it myself. Oh well. It’s Christmas the holidays!

Four jobs you’ve had in your life: Waiter, Grocery Stocker, Musician, Blogger

Four movies you could watch over and over: Star Wars, Anchorman, All The President’s Men, Scrooged

Four places you’ve lived: New Brunswick and Rockaway, NJ, New York City, and Dallas

Four TV shows you love to watch: Lost, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Saturday Night Live, My Name Is Earl

Four places you’ve been on vacation: Montreal, Florida, Yellowstone, Memphis

Four websites you visit daily: Waxy.org, TPMCafe, The Scowl, Yahoo News

Four of your favorite foods: Tumulty’s Black Angus Burger, Rendezvous Ribs, Popcorn (non-microwaved, please), Liz’s Macaroni with Turkey and Broccoli

Four places you’d rather be: Las Vegas, Yellowstone, the International Space Station, Disney World (make fun all you want…)

Now, everyone is passing this on to their friends in the blogosphere. That’s great. I encourage you all to post this meme on your own sites and pass it on as well. However, I’ve decided to pass it on to Enlighten. There are two reasons for this. One — the holiday spirit of forgiveness and renewal. Two — I think it’s hilarious. (I wonder if he’ll list “The Tape” under TV shows he loves to watch…)

And with that, happy holidays to all and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas everyone.

The Christmas edition of the Carnival of NJ Bloggers is up over at Media In Trouble (my other place).

Stop by in between egg nog sips and such.

For the non-Christians, Happly Holidays.

“Remember kids, don’t steal Christmas trees while drunk. You might end up President of a world superpower.” – George W Bush, 1966 (not an actual quote, but it should be)

“Every year I think it’s the prettiest year, but this year I really do think it’s the prettiest year.” – Laura Bush, 2005

In the most secular of spirits, I wish you all happy holidays.

I’ll be drinking the most secular of spirits in a very few hours.

Assuming she did it, this is shocking, and stupid. 

Assemblywoman Evelyn Williams was arrested for shoplifting on Monday at a variety store in Irvington. Williams, a former Deputy Mayor of Newark, is charged with changing price stickers on two items. She took office on December 12th after winning a special election convention to replace the late Donald Tucker.

The amazing thing about this is that she couldn’t have saved that much money.  She just ruined her reputation and probably lost her Assembly gig for a few bucks at a variety store.

It’s shocking how people will risk their livelihoods and families for bribes of $1,000, $2,000 or $5,000.  It’s unthinkable to do it for what probably amounts to less than $10.

Monmouth County tonight joined Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Union and Mercer counties as the 6th county to provide domestic partner benefits. The vote was 4-0, with one absence. All five freeholders of Monmouth County are Republicans making Monmouth the first Republican-controlled county to pass domestic partner benefits. The decision will extend pension benefits, but not health benefits, to domestic partners.

New Jersey’s domestic partnership law allows each municipality and county to decide whether to grant their employees domestic partner benefits. Laurel Hester, a 23 year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor’s office, is dying of lung cancer and her partner will lose their home if she cannot receive Laurel’s pension benefits. In response to the situation, the Asbury Park Press editorial board urged both Ocean and Monmouth County’s freeholders to pass domestic partner benefits. Since Laurel’s request, Mercer and Union Counties approved domestic partner benefits as a direct result of Laurel’s plight.

Monmouth County freeholder Tom Powers said that they also acted in response to Laurel Hester’s situation in neighboring Ocean County.

Hester, who has been told she has only a few months to live and who can no longer walk on her own, praised the Monmouth freeholders yesterday for their “courage.”

“If I were there, I would have given them a standing ovation, and that’s not easy,” she said.

Ocean County’s freeholders, who have double-dipped into the pension system, have made excuses about violating the “sanctity” of marriage and the “tremendous cost” (45 cents) to tax payers, but shamefully refuse to act. These are just lies and smoke screens. If Laurel had married a man, none of the freeholders would utter a word about the “tremendous cost”. These men feel threatened that a dying woman might expose their cold hearts and their willingness to appeal to a homophobic voting bloc, which is why they ran out the back door when pressed for an explanation from consituents at a recent freeholder meeting. It’s about time that they follow the example of their neighbors in Monmouth County and do the right thing. Laurel has given so much to her county – the least they could do is let her die a peaceful death knowing her partner will be taken care of.