Since New Jersey was redistricted late last month, leaving the state with one less congressional district and a volatile, unsettled Democratic Party beginning what looks to be an ugly primary contest between Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman, focus has been on the 9th, the district Rothman declined to run in.
That leaves the 5th an open question; who will challenge Tea Party darling Scott Garrett?
I don't know much about Gussen, except that 3 years when he was a councilman ago he filed to primary Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson, who serve LD-37 with Sen. Loretta Weinberg, and then dropped out.
Bergen folks, I'd be interested to know your impressions of Gussen and how strong he might be against Garrett.
22,439 people were arrested in New Jersey for possessing less than 50 grams* of cannabis in 2009.
FreedomIsGreen.Com, a local blog devoted to advancing more enlightened cannabis policy in New Jersey is reporting an an intriguing new bill on the Assembly docket that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in the Garden State.
The bill, which already has 18 co-sponsors (5 from the GOP) was introduced by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris), the same bi-partisan duo that introduced the state's nascent medical marijuana law.
Yesterday, Blue Jersey's own Senator Loretta Weinberg, one of the women legislators he has openly insulted, asked some of the same questions in an Open Letter to Gov. Chris Christie.
Today, in case you didn't catch it, this is how Star-Ledger's editorial board illustrates - perfectly - the hostility Gov. Chris Christie has shown to New Jersey women legislators who dare to disagree with him. And, at the same time, an depiction of the gender gap between how men view the way Christie's doing his job, and the way women do. Star-Ledger's graphic is titled: Hey, Christie, what is it about women?
As thousands of New Jersey's first-responders - firefighters, police, corrections officers emergency medical services members & many of the people they protect every day - rallied outside the State House, many of their signs expressed their disgust with Senate President Steve Sweeney, members of NJ's other legislative body were out in force at yesterday's massive rally.
Below, in video shot by the Assembly majority office, Democratic legislators look out at a sea of blue:
On Monday, the Legislature passed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, a bipartisan initiative that will make New Jersey's schools safer for all of our children. As the author of one of the nation's first anti-bullying laws passed in 2002, I realized how prevalent this problem was when people began approaching up to me on the street, in the bank, and at public events thanking me for sponsoring the bill. I have since amended the law in 2007 to adapt to changing technology and the prevalence of Facebook by including cyber-bullying.
The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, the most recent update to New Jersey's bullying statute, has been in the works for nearly ten months, and protects all students who are harassed, bullied or intimidated for any reason. The tragic death of Rutgers' student Tyler Clementi altered the trajectory of this issue, propelling it to national significance, and now we need to take the necessary steps to make sure it never happens again.
The need for this bill was again underscored by yet another horrific bullying incident announced by the State Attorney General's office yesterday. According to the announcement, the AG's investigation of the Emerson school district concluded that its Board of Education violated the state's anti-discrimination law by not addressing the continued harassment and assault of a student that lasted six years. That is simply unacceptable.
At a recent town hall meeting Gov. Chris Christie accused the Legislature of being on 'vacation' and not coming back to Trenton until Nov. 8, a comment that I found to be offensive and ill-informed.
When my colleagues and I are not in Trenton working to find realistic solutions to the issues facing New Jersey residents, we're in our district offices speaking with families, elderly residents and unemployed workers who are worried about their futures.
By implying that our constituent discussions amount to a vacation, rather than a critical part of the legislative process, it's clear that Gov. Christie has little understanding of state government and even less consideration for the valuable input of the voters who elect legislators to represent them.
This fall Gov. Christie traveled out of New Jersey to campaign for candidates all over the country.
Instead of going to Ohio or California, I invite Gov. Christie to come to my legislative district the next time he hits the road. I am sure that he will find that what legislators do in their districts is just as vital as the work we do in Trenton and certainly impacts the way we approach legislative matters.
By all reports, Tyler Clementi of Ridgewood, New Jersey was a young man of great promise and enormous talent. Can we imagine what desperate feelings Tyler might have been experiencing as he drove to that spot on the George Washington Bridge? Can we imagine secretly having our most intimate moments photographed and sent viral over the internet? Can we imagine being 18, just starting college and finding out your roommate "spied" on you with a hidden camera to make the pictures into a "joke"? How desperately sad for Tyler and his family and indeed for all of us.
What could have made these two young college students think this cruel idea was a "funny prank"?
We've all asked each other the most appropriate questions. We've written and talked about how in our State gay folks do not have all the same rights as the rest of us do! We comment on people who think being gay is a choice which can be "cured"! We know how some in our community still think they can bully and torment others, snicker and make them the brunt of awful jokes. Tyler Clementi's suicide is being discussed in the national media. The higher incidence of suicide among gay teenagers is dissected. A new blog by Perez Hilton called "It Gets Better" was announced on CNN (and even on Fox News), and is designed to reach out to gay teens.
People are asking should the two idiots who dreamed up this horror be prosecuted under hate crime laws. Should our laws be re-written or changed? We know that Garden State Equality has been working with Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Valerie Vaineri Huttle to re-work our anti-bullying law to make it more appropriately stringent.
How will we work to build a community where these laws won't be so necessary? This week I don't have very many answers. As an affilliated Jew in the Bergen/Hudson area, I receive a weekly newspaper which I greatly respect: The Jewish Standard. Last week they printed their first engagement announcement of a gay couple. This week, they announced that they will not do "this" again. Their editor's note said they received many letters of condemnation as well as letters of support, but because of the sensitivities expressed by a strong segment of leaders in our religious community, they do not want to divide the community or offend these sensitivities. That is certainly their editorial right to do so. But coming in the same week as Tyler Clementi's suicide, it makes me even more sad.
So here's a letter to the Jewish Standard, written by Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu, a member of our Teaneck community:
Tyler Clementi's fatal plunge off the GW Bridge last week spurred the legislation, introduced by Sen. Shirley Turner. A bipartisan bill - termed the "anti-bullying bill of rights" by Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri and Mary Pat Angelini - is currently being written and will be introduced shortly.
A less indecisive Sen. Beach.
As one of the Democrats who voted against gay marriage equality, Turner might seem a dubious choice to lead the charge in this battle. The NJ-ALCU legal director issued a withering denunciation of Turner and her colleagues, namely Senate Pres. Steve Sweeney whose non-vote on marriage create a climate of inequality that imperils our kids to begin with. It's a fair argument and I am glad someone made it.
But I'm also glad that Shirley Turner --regardless of her vote -- is sponsoring this legislation and that Sweeney called for a moment of silence to honor Tyler Clementi. If Steve Sweeney wants to sign on as co-sponsor that'd be a bonus.
Come to think of it, I'd invite all the Democrats who voted NO (or abstained) on marriage to sign on as primary co-sponsors to Senator Turner's Bullying Bill of Rights. Senators Beach, Sarlo, Van Drew, and Madden this means YOU!
It's hard to forgive and forgive and move on from that cold winter day when the Democratic caucus folded on gay rights in New Jersey. But what's on the table at the moment is a different opportunity: to craft and pass a bill that's so darn good at protecting kids from bullying and harassment that 49 other states want to import it for themselves.
If I'm being naive, it wouldn't be the first time.
CNN is reporting (via the Breaking News banner) that a body pulled from the Hudson River has been identified as violinist, Ridgewood resident, and Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, 18, the victim both of an apparent suicide jump off the George Washington Bridge and of two classmates who broadcast a secretly recorded private sexual encounter over the internet.
At Blue Jersey, we're subdued today, so troubled by apparent cruelty, so saddened by the loss of a talented young man getting ready for the world at our state's university. More than anything, we want to join you in any efforts toward strengthening our young people - all our young people - so that we don't miss out on what glory they can bring to us with their hopes, their dreams, and their long, long lives.
Rest in Peace, Tyler Clementi. We've got you, little brother.
As details of the Rutgers University cyber/voyeur/bullying tragedy continue to emerge, a nation comes to grips with the shocking suicide of Tyler Clementi.
#TylerClementi Twitter feed
Evidence suggests the harassment by his roommate was chronic and that Clementi possibly reached out for advice about the invasive bullying just hours before his apparent suicide. Gawker:
Though not as bothered with his roommate's actions as he likely should have been (Clementi) is clearly disturbed by the disregard for his privacy-and the bigoted disgust-shown by both his roommate and the people commenting on his roommate's Facebook page "with things like 'how did you manage to go back in there?' 'are you ok?'" He says he'll file a roommate change request form, and "see what [the school] can offer" him.
Clearly it's a ghoulish intersection of voyeurism and cyber-bullying at play here. After all, "Being brave on the internet is one thing-facing a privacy-free dorm full of bigots, day in, day out, is another thing entirely."
NJ Senator Loretta Weinberg suggests that, " this terrible tragedy demonstrates a bigger problem. Despite anti-bullying laws and efforts to teach children tolerance and acceptance, unprovoked acts of cruelty continue to take place, resulting in tragic deaths of youngsters across our country (like this.)"
Students at RU: "stunned, angry." Photo courtesy Santiago Melli-Huber
I awoke to 100+ email messages about this incident (see sampling below the fold) and the "seizure of conscience" it evoked feels reminiscent of Matthew Shepherd's murder in 1998.
It's too early for the blame game or for silver linings, I can't help but hope this incident spurns our own legislature in Trenton to renew their commitment to anti-bullying legislation to protect youngsters from the viral viciousness which led to Tyler Clementi's death.
Tyler Clementi, a violinist and student at Rutgers University, is the man police believe jumped to his death off the south walk of the George Washington Bridge last Wednesday night. His body has not been found, but a wallet was left. He was 18 years old.
Tyler: The story is still developing, but all signs point to Clementi's suicide, and tie his death to his humiliation by two fellow students, who police believe set up hidden cameras in his dorm room on the Davidson campus, recorded a sexual encounter, then broadcast it widely via the internet. The students, Dharun Ravi of Plainsboro and Molly Wei of Princeton, have been charged with invasion of privacy.
Asher: Last week, Houston 8th-grader Asher Brown shot himself in the head after what his parents say was relentless bullying. Picked on because of his size, his religion and because he didn't have the fashionable shoes. Some kids also said he was gay, and performed mock sex acts on him in gym.
Chris: This week, at the University of Michigan, the school's first openly gay student body president - Chris Armstrong - is the subject of a breathless, angry blog written by alumnus Andrew Shirvell, a Michigan Assistant Attorney General who describes himself as a "Christian-American." Chris Armstrong Watch is creepy as hell. CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed Shirvell last night and nailed him as "obsessed with this young gay man." The video is must watch, a view of "Christianity" full of sick obsession and - my read - terrifying sexual jealousy.
The stakes: These are the stakes in all equality questions. It's why life and death are tied by advocates to such docile domestic issues as "marriage" and "kids." We look at people and decide they're allowed only so much of what we think is ours to dole out as we please. If you don't see people as equals, it's easy to depersonalize them, reduce them to losers, or to jokes. Not for you - you're not worth it. Stealing from people's humanity, you may not know how much you take. High price. Tyler Clementi may have paid that for us. And Asher Brown, 13. That crazypants in Michigan wants Chris Armstrong to pay it, or he wants something else entirely. But this shit isn't funny. It never was.
Monday's Senate failure to override Gov. Christie's veto for women's health funding was infuriating - for the women and men who may lose access to crucial medical care, screening and advice, and for the apparent sacrifice of reason & responsibility to pure zombie party discipline. I have so much appreciation for legislators who fought the good fight, for women and men who showed their support, and for the resilience of lawmakers like Loretta Weinberg and Linda Stender, who refuse to get mowed down and continue to propose solutions. Just after the vote, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Democratic legislators announced new legislation, for only $5M of $7.5M Christie cut from the budget, requiring the state to apply for federal matching dollars for Medicaid-eligible health care consumers. Too early to know how that will fly, but it would be welcome to see movement now on the GOP side. It's been a disappointing few weeks watching some of them.
In the fight to retain needed funding for health care access for women and men who often have nowhere else to turn, here are some of the things legislators on the right side of this issue have done:
answered a Governor's veto with a solid alternative plan;
found revenue-neutral plan suggested by non-partisan OLS;
asked NJ Treasurer his reasoning why that funding source wouldn't work;
invited him to testify, messaged him, took a delegation to his office;
When he would not answer, OPRA'd his documentation;
gave requested extensions for that OPRA'd info - twice;
ran a full Senate override vote and lost - Monday;
lost by the # of GOP Senators who yanked support for GOP party discipline;
undaunted, will now approach funding from another angle.
And the Governor - whose actions here seem more and more wrapped in anti-choice disapproval and distortions and less and less (as he insists) a function of budgetary concern - has done nothing but stay silent as his GOP party chair muddied discussion with warped rhetoric. No, that's not even what he did. Asm Jay Webber went on a major nutty about sex, and implied somehow that family planning advocates are trying to prevent poor women from having babies. Gov. Christie's silence made him complicit, and brand him an ideologue.
Today, Republican Senators, who were for this before they were against it before their orders from on high refused to override the veto of a governor whose ascendant power they apparently view as more powerful than their own ability to decide, whose executive branch they may take more seriously than the branch of this government they serve. It failed by pure party line vote. A show of GOP party impressively disciplined and disappointingly reasoned.
Some people are more culpable than others. Jay Webber's so far gone on this issue he sees abortionists hiding under every bed and in every closet. Gov. Christie, likely ditto. GOP senators Diane Allen, Christopher "Kip" Bateman, Andrew Ciesla, Christopher Connors, Sean Kean, Robert Singer traded in some dignity August 3rd. Jennifer Beck joined them today. I'd like to think that some of these GOP Senators will redeem themselves, if they see possibility in this compromise. I'm going to say there's hope there.
After the fold, I'll post the full statement of Sweeney and colleagues' statement, which offers more detail about the compromise solution, and quotes. Also after the jump, a short video of Asw Linda Stender's response to the loss. So, jump:
Whenever I get my fill of whining about Government, I simply strap on my bitchboots, grab my videocamera and head to Trenton. Sometimes there's a juicy issue cooking that I want to follow. Like today.
This past Thursday was a busy day for many of us, but if one just read the mainstream press, you might not have realized it.
It was Women's Healthcare Week, and many of our women legislators decided to mark the occasion by protesting Governor Christie's wiping out all the dollars ($7.5million) in the Family Planning budget. As has been noted before, this money is earmarked for uninsured or underinsured men and women who get HIV testing, cervical cancer screening, family planning information and general reproductive health care through these centers. Joined by Assemblywomen Valerie Huttle, Linda Stender, Linda Greenstein, Elise Evans, Cleopatra Tucker, Pam Lampitt, Annette Quijano, Mila Jasey, Joan Voss, and Connie Wagner, we held a well attended press conference, that is except the press! Though, NJN did stop in for a brief moment or two. Apporximately 50 pink shirt supporters joined us bringing along hundreds of signed post cards protesting these cuts! The cards were delivered to the Governor's office. Do you think he'll read them? In my remarks, I suggested some cuts to other programs withinthe budget to transfer much needed funds to this program. Let's see if the Governor will look at these re-ordering of priorities, and we'll know if this budget cut is a matter of dollars or a matter of philosophy!
My next stop was the Senate State Government Committee meeting to speak for my bill giving the Governor veto power over the minutes of the Passaic Valley Sewer Authority and the North District Water Commission. These were the only two commissions we could find which were State appointments with no governor veto power. I reminded the committee, that I started on this road several years ago and first coined the description "shadow governments" to describe these authorities. In 2007 when Assembly colleagues Gordon Johnson, Valerie Huttle and I first took a look at the PVSA, we found that over a six year period, they spent more than $13 million on legal fees, and more than $3 million on consultants. Included in the consultant fees was $100,00 for a well connected flak to produce a children's coloring book called, "Messy Marvin". Makes Brian Christiansen look like one of the pikers of the hangers on at the PVSA. It's all so outrageous!
And as outrageous, is it took several years to get this bill posted in committee. Since Governor Christie has rightly made an issue of these "shadow governments" which spend millions of our tax dollars and user fees with very little accountability, this bill should pass both houses before the summer break.
Next was the Judiciary Committee meeting where we approved the nominations of Lori Grifa as the Commissioner of Community Affairs and Harold Wirths as the Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development. Acting Commissioner Wirths was closely questioned about his lack of experience (he has been a Republican county Freeholder) in the area of labor relations. I was concerned with his continuing in his Freeholder position while serving as an "acting commissioner". Asked OLS for an opinion on the subject, and they said it was important to get an Ethics Board ruling. It was claimed that such a ruling had been forthcoming last February which gave him permission as long he turned down his Freeholder salary. I still believe this could be a court challenge, but since he was resigning both his elected position and his service on a bank board with his confirmation, it became moot. Both nominees now move to the full Senate for a vote.
We all know we have a reduced statehouse press corps., and they were covering the Millionaire's Tax hearing and the Lesniak theater action for the voucher bill held on the statehouse lawn. Curious juxtaposition! Several hundred religious and private school students were brought to Trenton to support the Lesniak/Kean bill. I didn't hear anyone from the Governor's office refer to them as "Drug Mules" or denounce them as youngsters who had no idea why they were there. Don't get me wrong - I think it was great that these young people got to see their government in action! They probably learned more that day than they would in classrooms. I do, however, think the Governor's "double standard" is quite evident! Students who support Christie's initiatives can get the day off from school, but those students who disagree with his cuts to public schools deserve to be derided and insulted.
The prior Monday, I had the great pleasure of joining Senator Ray Lesniak for our book signing at Kean College for "What's Love Got to Do With it", about the fight for Marriage Equality in the New Jersey State Senate. It's a beautiful book with wonderful pictures and contains many of the words which were shared on January 7, 2010. There were more than 100 people who turned out for this event at the new Kean Human Rights Institute. My thanks to Ray for including me in this adventure. Yes I know: Lesniak & Weinberg - definitely an odd couple - but fun nevertheless!
So all this while the very much smaller group of print media folks were elsewhere. And how about Channel 12? Do they ever really cover New Jersey News live? Seems every time I turn them on they are doing the "Weather on the Ones" or the "Pet Doctor". We need to keep NJN. They are the only statewide New Jersey television news. I've written to the administration to try and find out if anyone has actually worked on a plan to transition NJN into a private company. And what happens to their state owned assets? Lots of unanswered questions here, but we must work to preserve this NJ television news.
Below is an alphabetical list of NJ pols who voted YES on medical marijuana. If you know -- or are rep'd by -- anyone on this list, take note. Hopefully you'll get a chance to thank them one day.
From the Senate (Republicans in bold):
Senate:
Baroni,
Bateman,
Beach,
Buono,
Ciesla,
Cunningham,
Gill,
Girgenti,
Gordon,
Kean,
Lesniak,
Pennacchio,
Ruiz,
Sacco,
Sarlo,
Scutari,
Singer,
Smith,
Stack,
Sweeney,
Turner,
Van Drew,
Vitale,
Weinberg, and
Whelan
When the NJ Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly passed a medical marijuana bill yesterday it put the Garden State in line to be the 14th state in the union to decriminalize cannabis for sick people.
Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll has the QOTD in this one for sure.
I've posted so many videos on this site and elsewhere I can't hardly remember them all, but this issue is possibly the most satisfying day I've has as an activist since the Obama/Alder double victory.
So take a minute to meet the heros of this battle.
Isnt that just the silliest thing you've heard this week ? Gordon Johnson, a TV star. But its true, sort of.
It was recently pointed out that Gordon Johnson did a print ad for Freight Rail Works, and that was a conflict of interest. Apparently on Jupiter, not Planet Earth.
The most nefarious charge was:
I am suspicious because if there were no conflict, why did he use the title he used (retired sheriff) instead of assemblyman or councilman?
