President Obama's Address on Afghanistan

by: Hopeful

Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 07:38:52 PM EDT

In finding Bin laden and bringing him to justice, we have struck a serious blow to  Al Qaida's leadership that has allowed us to reevaluate the wisdom of pursuing a broad and open-ended strategy, where the mounting costs are far too high - in lives lost, blood spilled, traumatic injury to our brave men and women in uniform, and in real dollars spent. Nearly 1,500 brave men and women have lost their lives in Afghanistan, nearly 12,000 have been wounded in action. The price tag, at a time when we are scrutinizing every dollar in Washington and making cuts to critical domestic programs, is a staggering $10 billion a month.

The main news that some 30,000 "surge" troops will be withdrawn by the end of next year has already been given to the NYT and WaPo.  (Update: End of next year is should be end of next summer. On the other hand, this is equivalent to the 'second' surge of troops.)  

Big Victory for Westboro Baptist "Church" in U.S. Supreme Court

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Mar 02, 2011 at 04:29:25 PM EST

more below

Ending the Dark Night of Discrimination Against LGBT Service Men & Women

by: Bill Orr

Sat Dec 18, 2010 at 12:39:27 PM EST

It was long overdue. Public opinion polls, the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, members of the armed forces and even some Republicans were ready to move forward. Before the vote to limit debate, Senator Lieberman said, "Removing legalized discrimination is an American value." The vote was 63-33.

Having ended the filibuster, the Senate is expected to formally vote on DADT later today. The House already passed the bill earlier this week. For procedural reasons the repeal will not take effect until at least 60 days.

Senator McCain shamefully said, "today is a very sad day. This can cause men to lose their lives." Other unhappy Republicans suggested that the future of an arms treaty with Russia was endangered by Democratic efforts to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. Before the DADT cloture vote Republican Senators blocked the Dream Act that would create a path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrant students who came to the United States as children and  completed two years of college or military service.  After the vote Sen. Lautenberg said, "Senate Republicans have turned their back on promising students who are working against all odds to reach their full potential." Another key Senate bill to fund medical care for 911 First Responders is facing an uncertain fate. Republicans heap praise on these individuals but show little concern for their failing health.  

NJ Congressional House Dems did right on DADT repeal - NJ's Senators want to vote now

by: Rosi Efthim

Thu Dec 16, 2010 at 11:25:00 AM EST

As expected, New Jersey's congressional delegation split along party lines in yesterday's historic stand-alone vote to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the wildly misnamed, ineffective and exclusionary rule that has governed the United States Armed Forces since 1993 during the Clinton administration.  The policy was never fair, and it never worked. Theoretically it restricted the military from efforts to discover or reveal closeted gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers or applicants, while at the same time barring those who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military service.

Here's the House Clerk vote tally for DADT repeal.  

Today in Congress

by: Hopeful

Thu Dec 09, 2010 at 06:12:57 PM EST

A minority of Republican senators blocked the Defense Authorization Act. Senator Lautenberg tells it like it is:

"Senate Republicans refuse to even begin debating a repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.  The other side has run out of excuses.  Eliminating 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is the right thing to do and would ensure that our military policy reflects the values of our nation.  

"The fact that Republican Senators are willing to hold up a bill that provides vital resources to our troops and ends discrimination in our military is deplorable.  I will continue working to pass a Defense Authorization bill that provides our military with the equipment and services they need while also bringing an end to discrimination within the ranks."

Of course, Democrats letting Republicans takes "hostages" will go on as long as our Senators and our President let them. Why did they add DADT to the bill if they give up anyway? What was the point?

More below on the Anthrax investigation, water supplies for the Delaware River Basin, 9/11 Responders, and Iran.

Memorial Day Reflections: Lessons Learned by a Latter-Day Soldier

by: Tod Theise

Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:15:05 AM EDT

My military service best falls under the heading better late than never.  I had hoped to enter the Army or Marine Corps after college but acquiesced to my parents' wishes to attend law school.  It meant a great deal to them as I would be the first "professional" in our family.  Upon graduating law school in 1987, I once again flirted with entering the military.   Unfortunately, my father suffered a massive heart attack that summer and I opted to take care of my family.  Two decades later, I would be given another chance to give something back to my country as a soldier.

In January 2007, I was commissioned into the New York Guard (the "Guard") as a 1st Lieutenant.  The Guard was created during WWI in response to homeland security concerns.  The prospect of German U-boats surfacing off the shores of Long Island and Brooklyn were enough to have the State of New York charter what amounted to a State Militia.  The Guard allowed men and women such as me who were too old to serve in the "regular" armed forces an opportunity to participate in domestic defense initiatives.  

I had initially attempted to enter the Guard in 2004, but the particular unit I was applying through made errors with my paperwork.  I was frustrated, yet never gave up the dream I harbored since childhood.  In 2006, I reconnected with the Guard through a fellow attorney who served as recruitment coordinator for the 7th Civil Affairs Regiment.  I told my wife that I wanted to join and explained the nature of and duties inherent in the Guard.  I also told her how much this meant to me.  With her blessing, I entered the Guard.

My unit is a remarkable collection of men and women.  Our personnel include Judges, partners at major New York law firms, attorneys from various backgrounds and non-professionals who bring myriad experiences to bear in performing their duties.  We receive no compensation for our service and provide anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000 in legal services to soldiers and their families every year.  We also receive training in numerous areas of homeland defense.  I have received certifications in suicide bombing prevention and response along with completing nearly a dozen learning modules in emergency preparedness.  I have also been trained at a very basic level in dealing with weapons of mass destruction.  

This training is critical given that I and my comrades are first and foremost soldiers.  The fact that I work just a few blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan brings a sense of immediacy to my service.  My BDUs (battle dress uniform) often hang in my office and I have made my peace that in the event we are attacked again, I will put them on and do whatever is necessary to protect our nation and save as many lives as possible.      

My tenure in the Guard has had an indelible impact on how I view not only war, but peace.  When my unit travels to Fort Hamilton, Floyd Bennett Field or some other military facility to perform what we affectionately refer to as "will drills," we are confronted with a reality most Americans never witness.  It is a sobering experience to sit down with a young man or woman to discuss things like the disposition of their remains or draft a health care proxy in the event they return from Iraq or Afghanistan incapable of making decisions regarding medical care.  It is heart rending to make small talk with a twenty-year-old about how he wants his kid brother to get his prized hot rod if he doesn't make it back.  Even more difficult is addressing issues involving children and what happens to them when mommy or daddy comes home in a flag-draped casket.  

Our soldiers are not action movie characters or cartoonish fodder for our entertainment.  They are flesh and blood.  They are our brothers and sisters.  They are our sons and daughters.  They have precious dreams that they sacrificially defer in order to preserve our liberties.  I often find myself looking for a quiet place amidst the frenzy of our legal services operation to bow my head, say a prayer and shed some tears at the prospect that some of these soldiers will not be coming home or that their lives will be forever changed by the hell that is war.  That their families will sit down for Christmas dinners to come with an empty place setting that will never be filled.  That their children will grow up never knowing their mothers or fathers.  That they will leave a piece of their soul in an Iraqi desert or Afghani mountain range.

Sending servicemen and women into the line of fire is the most solemn decision any elected official will ever make.  Before such a decision is made, it is incumbent upon those in power to consider exactly what they are placing at risk.  I subscribe to a very simple standard for whether to commit troops to the field - would I send my own son or daughter to fight.  Most politicians could not answer this question in the affirmative.  Yet they wrap themselves in the flag and reflexively send other people's children across the globe to fight for causes not worthy of their own progeny's blood.  I hope there is a special corner of hell carved out for these hypocrites.  

My service in the Guard has, more than anything, taught me to value our troops at a very human level.  I pray on this Memorial Day that I never discount who they are for the sake of political expedience.

Tod Theise
Democratic Candidate for Congress
5th District - NJ        

House votes to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell

by: Jason Springer

Thu May 27, 2010 at 10:08:06 PM EDT

Update by Hopeful: Here is the Roll Call vote.  All NJ Democrats voted yes and all NJ Republicans voted no.

Update 2 by Hopeful: Here is President Obama's statement on the vote

Update 3 by Rosi: Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16-12 in favor of that body's version.

Rush Holt's prisoner interrogation reform goes into effect

by: Hopeful

Tue May 18, 2010 at 04:32:26 PM EDT

"The Pentagon's long awaited regulation of the provision I secured in last year's National Defense Authorization Act continues the process of putting our detainee policies back on sound legal footing while improving our ability to get actionable intelligence," Holt said. "As President Obama and local law enforcement officials across the country already know, we get better intelligence and protect both the interrogator and the person being interrogated by requiring recordings."

These taped interrogations must be kept at the appropriate level of classification, and will be available to intelligence personnel who could examine them for any potential intelligence benefit. As stated in Holt's amendment and in the new rule, troops in the field in contact with the enemy are not required to videotape or otherwise electronically record tactical questioning sessions of detainees.

The Wall Street Journal notes that these reforms apply to the prisons at both Guantanamo and Bagram. Holt is pushing for a similar provision to be applied to CIA interrogations and I certainly hopes he succeeds.

In my opinion this is just common sense. Recordings will allow intelligence officers to get the most out of the interviews, especially when new information brings the need to go back and review cases. It also helps discourage abuse. In turn, the video can discredit any false claims of abuse.  

*For all our nit-pickers, digital cameras are okay.

No Good Reason for Don't Ask, Don't Tell

by: Congressman Rush Holt

Wed Feb 03, 2010 at 02:30:46 PM EST

For those who believe, as I do, that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is a horribly misguided and discriminatory policy that has done a great disservice to our armed forces, this has been a remarkable week.

During his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his intent to end the 17-year-old policy, leading to a standing ovation that included Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Yesterday, at a Senate hearing, Secretary Gates said "I fully support the president's decision" and announced a working group to produce an implementation plan for repeal. At the same hearing, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made a strong appeal for repeal, saying that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do." The current policy, he said, "forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

In 2006, John McCain said, "the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility."

At yesterday's hearing, he said he was disappointed in their testimony. Apparently, the advice of military leadership doesn't count for much now.

It should be evident that it is a matter of when, not if, DADT is repealed and gay men and women will be able to serve openly in our armed forces.  I hope we see that day sooner, not later.

Overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not simply about providing equal rights. It's about preventing the hemorrhage of critical military talent from an already-overstretched American military engaged in two wars. When I travel to the Middle East to meet American servicemen and women in the war theater, no one discusses their personal lives. Nobody should because it doesn't matter. What matters is what they are doing to complete their missions and strengthen American security.

The real question is why are we depriving our armed forces of some of their most important resources? Why are we discharging skilled Arabic linguists, fighter pilots, and weapons officers? Why have we discharged more than 13,000 service members since 1994?

There is no good reason, as Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen made clear.

This week's developments are encouraging, but, although Executive Branch action would be good, what is needed is Congressional action that would make equality the law. The bill I support - sponsored by my colleague Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, a Veteran of the War in Iraq - has more than 180 cosponsors. We should not wait to pass it.

No one would agree to deprive our military of ammunition or armor, so why deprive it of its greatest necessity, highly talented servicemen and women?

Obama asks and tells

by: Bill Orr

Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 08:46:59 AM EST

Name that base

by: Jason Springer

Fri Oct 02, 2009 at 10:30:00 AM EDT

Fort Dix is being merged with the neighboring McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station to make the military's first three-branch base, a 65-square-mile behemoth stretching through farmland and forests and given the clunky moniker Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

It's part of a strategy of reorganizing and standardizing the services. Twenty-six bases around the country are to be merged into 12 new joint bases, a move Defense officials say could save $2 billion over 20 years.

And even though the Air Force will be in command of the joint base, it did not seem to ruffle the feathers of Army and Navy personnel.

"We fight together anyway. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there are soldiers (from all the branches) fighting side by side. We also already train together and go to school together. So our young service members understand what this is all about," said Army Col. Joseph Poth, the joint base's deputy commander. "And now we'll be able to look at things from three different perspectives. That's the way it should be if we expect to win America's wars. Especially the kind of warfare we're currently involved in."

Grosso said $275 million worth of projects are still under construction that will help the joint base reach its full potential.

And Adler said efforts are ongoing to secure even more funding for the joint base, money he said would trickle down to surrounding communities.

"A lot of the people who work here commute here from nearby towns," Adler said. "We have an opportunity to grow the economies of Ocean and Burlington counties ahead of the rest of the nation in coming out of this recession."

Saxton said one of the main reasons he fought so hard to keep the bases open was the negative effect that closing them would have on the surrounding communities.

"There are close to 30,000 people who come to work here," he said. "Closing them would have left a tremendous gap in the local economy that would be irreplaceable."

Pandora's Box - The Backlash

by: carolh

Tue Aug 11, 2009 at 06:28:25 PM EDT

Members of these two tribes have been denied not only their very history, (by the report approved by the Secretary of State and the Governor) and the very artifacts made by their own family members, they have even been denied VETERAN'S  benefits by the Newark VA and have had their Federal VA benefits, disability benefits, and even the funding for the Indian museum in Paterson recently cut.  (The museum funding was cut immediately after I blogged about it as a place for the public to go and learn about the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians tribe and see pictures of their Indian crafts store from decades ago.)  

There are known attempts to actually discredit these folks at colleges around the state.  I have found slanderous letters written about the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians to history professors in NJ, and know of ham-fisted attempts to silence bloggers who are sympathetic to their plight.  Someone has seen to it that even the Wikipedia entry about Native Americans in NJ wipes them off the map while mentioning three OTHER tribes claiming recognition, two of which are not indigenous to NJ.  In fact, New Jersey does not have any recognized tribes, according to the Governor, who goes so far as to say that there is no criteria for recognition.  Nevertheless, the Governor?s predecessors HAVE celebrated the Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee as the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ.

It appears our own government (just who in the government is still a mystery) wants to silence these folks by actually denying them military and state benefits and any semblance of a mention even on the internet, which is why my blog diaries incur so much wrath.   (Or perhaps  Creed is simply short for Screed).

Chairman Holloway, a former marine and police officer, has had his home broken into, has been accosted on the street, and is constantly under surveillance.  I worry every day about his safety. Before this lawsuit, Chairman Yonaguska had been scheduled to speak at an event in Weehawken about the 400th Anniversary of Hudson meeting the Lenape.  Suddenly, his invitation was revoked.  By whose orders?

Chairman Holloway's cousin is the closest living relative to the 1500 year old Lenape remains found in Paterson and repatriated to his family, and the man who helped the Ramapough re-organize themselves, and the former Chief of the oldest indigenous tribe which was the ONLY recognized Tribe by the Smithsonian in 1948.  He is also very well known at the UN for his work with indigenous peoples around the world, but he too was denied his Veteran's benefits for what appears to be his role of speaking out on behalf of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians.

Another Native American from the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band tribe - one of the oldest Cherokee tribes in NJ, is waiting on a response from Veterans disability TDIU, in Newark.  He has been fighting these folks since 1983. They have been ordered by the Secretary of thel VA under Bush to address this, and the new Secretary of the VA has also concluded that he is entitled under the law to RECEIVE these benefits.  Despite two different Secretaries of the VA intervening, Newark has actually increased its "run around" since the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians have filed their lawsuit and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band Onaselagi became publicly known as allies.

Another tribal member, a Cherokee grandmother, retired as a senior truant officer in a NJ city and was denied her full disability and insurance with more than 27 years on the job.  She was one of the founders of the truancy task force and is the grandmother of children who are also tribal members of the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi Northeastern Band and have allegedly been discriminated against by their school district for being Native American.  Because of the denial of benefits after 27 years on the job, she's lost her home, her insurance, her health has deteriorated because of her medical condition and stress, and she has even been denied back pay because of convenient "filing errors".  Her ordeal has been dragging on for a year.  

Allegedly, someone wants the Lenape-Cherokee and now the Cherokee-Lenape punished. Genocide is an apt word.  Denying retired grandmothers and disabled veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and/or fought in Special Ops during Viet Nam, their benefits, is reprehensible.  If that isn't genocide, it might as well be.  

About the NJ Commission on Indian Affairs, though.  What is the Commission's alleged motivation for denying recognition of the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ?   That is where this all starts and where it must be rectified.

If the Commissioners finally recognize the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians as the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band as one of the oldest Cherokee tribes in NJ, it may diminish their role.   After all, the Ramapough, which one of the Commissioners comes from, is technically no longer a tribe, while some are descended from Lenape, they were considered simply a group that was once called the Jackson Whites with no formal tribal structure at all, until a former Chief of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians helped them form their non-profit organization in the 1970's.  The very man the Chair of the Indian Commission disrespected when he appeared in front of the NJ Indian Commission in September.   His factual accounts of the formation of the Ramapough, as well as how the other two tribes in NJ came to exist, may be uncomfortable for the Commissioners to admit, but the truth is the truth.  

Members of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi, have been treated terribly by the Federal Government and the State of NJ and the VA of Newark, while the Indian Commissioners prance around the state claiming to care about Native Americans.   Perhaps you can sense the anger in my writing. I am sorry, but this cannot be allowed to continue.  I demand the Governor investigate the mistreatment and the stonewalling, and the denial of benefits simply because someone in Trenton or Newark - perhaps on the Indian Commission, but perhaps not, wants these individuals to disappear, or literally die from lack of benefits.

We should demand the IMMEDIATE restoration of earned military or government benefits for ANY members of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians Band of Lenape-Cherokee or the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band Onaselagi Northeastern Band who have been retaliated against.

What is truly frightening and infuriating is that the VA of Newark can so flagrantly disregard orders from the Secretary of the VA so they can continue to discriminate against indigenous veterans for speaking up.  Whose orders are they following?  

The Troops to College Program

by: Jason Springer

Sat Jul 11, 2009 at 03:46:47 PM EDT

The bill (A-3360) would require the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, in consultation with the Department of Veterans' and Military Affairs, to establish the Troops to College Program.

The program would assist New Jersey's public institutions of higher education in coordinating a comprehensive array of services to help veterans make the transition into the college classroom.

The bill also would require an online resource to consolidate pertinent information specifically for veterans attending that institution.

Under the program the commission would be required to include certain information on its Internet site that would be designed to assist veterans in accessing the higher education opportunities that exist in the state.  The information must include, but need not be limited to:

Contact information for the campus veterans? assistance officer at each of the public institutions of higher education; and

Information on the array of programs and services available to veterans at each of the public institutions of higher education.

Rush Holt on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

by: Hopeful

Fri May 08, 2009 at 04:27:30 PM EDT

I know the President does not support the current discriminatory policy. He stated so plainly in a handwritten note to another Army officer dismissed under the current policy that he inherited --2nd Lt. Sandy Tsao. This is a situation where the President needs the help of Congress in correcting this policy. I am an original cosponsor of a bill (H.R. 1283) that would overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We have 140 cosponsors on this bill at the moment, more than enough to justify moving it expeditiously through the House Committee on Armed Services and to the House floor before the July Fourth holiday.

It seems to me that the President is moving slowly to gain the support of the generals and avoid a disaster like Bill Clinton's, but Holt shows there is enough support in Congress to act now.

Will Frank LoBiondo block defense contracting reform again?

by: Hopeful

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 04:40:07 PM EST

Recently that public trust has not always been kept.  Over the last eight years, government spending on contracts has doubled to over half a trillion dollars.  Far too often, the spending is plagued by massive cost overruns, outright fraud, and the absence of oversight and accountability.  In some cases, contracts are awarded without competition.  In others, contractors actually oversee other contractors.  We are spending money on things that we don't need, and we're paying more than we need to pay.  And that's completely unacceptable.

Last year, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, looked into 95 major defense projects and found cost overruns that totaled $295 billion.  Let me repeat:  That's $295 billion in wasteful spending.  And this wasteful spending has many sources.  It comes from investments and unproven technologies.  It comes from a lack of oversight.  It comes from influence peddling and indefensible no-bid contracts that have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.

"Contractors actually oversee other contractors" is a major part of what wrong in Deepwater. Obama's new presidential memorandum should help, but Congress also needs to act:

NJ-04: Chris Smith Voted to Double Prescription Drug Co-Pays for Military Families

by: Zeitz for Congress (NJ-4)

Tue Jul 01, 2008 at 10:12:58 AM EDT

According to research, many military families face difficult financial challenges. Over 20% of military families report having received WIC aid or food stamps from the government. While a few dollars saved might not mean much to Chris Smith, who has voted to raise his own salary by $32,600 since 1999, every dollar helps our military families afford basic necessities.[Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation Military Families Survey March 2004 CRS: Salaries of Members of Congress Updated January 8, 2008; 1999 Vote #300; 2000 Vote #419; 2001 House Vote #267; 2002 House Vote #322; 2003 House Vote #463; 2004 House Vote #451; 2005 House Vote #327; 2006 vote #261; 2007 Vote #580]

"Before veterans are veterans, they are servicemen and servicewomen. Military families deserve to know why Chris Smith voted to double their prescription drug co-pays," said Josh Zeitz campaign manager Steve D'Amico.

This vote is another example of why I'm working to elect Josh Zeitz and bring Chris Smith back to New Jersey. I know you know want to turn the seat blue, so if you can volunteer, please email me at: ian_at_joshzeitz_dot_com. To learn more about Josh and his stance on the issues, please visit his website.

NJ-4: Chris Smith Opposed Bankruptcy Protection for Our Troops

by: Zeitz for Congress (NJ-4)

Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 08:46:31 PM EDT

This year, roughly half of New Jersey's National Guard is being actively deployed to Iraq. According to recent data, over forty percent of Guardsman and Reservists lose income when they leave their civilian jobs for active duty. Many reservists left thinking they would be deployed for 6 months and have ended up staying for a year or even longer and may be shipped out again. Additionally, many military families face difficult financial challenges. Over 20% of military families report having received WIC aid or food stamps from the government. [Los Angles Time 5/16/05; Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation Military Families Survey March 2004]

Instead of offering reasonable protections to members of the military, Chris Smith voted to raise his salary by $32,600 since 1999. [CRS: Salaries of Members of Congress Updated January 8, 2008; 1999 Vote #300; 2000 Vote #419; 2001 House Vote #267; 2002 House Vote #322; 2003 House Vote #463; 2004 House Vote #451; 2005 House Vote #327; 2006 vote #261; 2007 Vote #580]

"While Chris Smith was busy raising his own salary he was also denying bankruptcy protection to servicemen and servicewomen who are taking a pay cut to fight for their country. They deserve an explanation," said Josh Zeitz campaign manager Steve D'Amico.

This kind of vote is exactly why we need to elect Josh Zeitz and bring Chris Smith back to New Jersey. I know you know that already, so if you can volunteer, please email me at: ian_at_joshzeitz_dot_com. To learn more about Josh and his stance on the issues, please visit his website.

The Canadians are coming!! The Canadians are coming!!

by: Juan Melli

Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 03:28:22 PM EDT

In a political move that received little if any attention by the American news media, the United States and Canada entered into a military agreement on February 14, 2008, allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis, according to a police commander involved in homeland security planning and implementation.

"This is a military plan that's designed to bypass the Posse Comitatus Act that traditionally prohibited the US military from operating within the borders of the United States. Not only will American soldiers be deployed at the discretion of whomever is sitting in the Oval Office, but foreign soldiers will also be deployed in American cities."

Mega-Base coming to Jersey?

by: Jason Springer

Wed Feb 07, 2007 at 06:42:34 PM EST

Some $85 million in the President's budget would go for new construction, buildings to accommodate 750 full-time and 1,600 part-time military personnel from Willow Grove and their aircraft. The reserve center is home to C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, heavy Marine helicopters and other aircraft.

A separate section of the budget for annual military construction budget requests includes $17 million for a combined maintenance facility for Army vehicles at Fort Dix is part of the 2008 military construction budget submitted to Congress this week, Saxton said.

Bonus Quote(s) of the Day

by: JRB

Thu Jan 11, 2007 at 04:48:19 PM EST

In his address to the American people last evening, President Bush said 'where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with' him. However, the immeasurable hardships caused by this war don't rest with him - they rest with the thousands of American troops currently deployed to Iraq and those preparing for their next rotation to the region.

I commend the President for working to change the dynamic in Iraq and for putting a new team of military leaders in place to lead that effort.