Latino Action Network Announces Opposition to Opportunity Scholarship Act
For Immediate Release: December 5, 2011
Christian Estevez, Chair, Education Committee - 973-418-7012
Daniel Santo Pietro, Chair, Public Policy Committee - 732-496-9628
The Latino Action Network [LAN] today announced its opposition to the Opportunity Scholarship Act because it would drain money away from public education and give it to corporate interests so it could be doled out to private schools.
"The Opportunity Scholarship Act is a big gimmick that benefits corporate interests that would do nothing to help poor children stuck in failing school districts," said Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President of the Latino Action Network and Chair of the Education Committee. "Not one penny of corporate money would fund the scholarships established by this misguided legislation. The state would take money from our public schools and hand it to the corporations, who would then claim corporate philanthropy with our tax dollars."
Estevez concluded: "This is an educational gimmick of the worst sort. This legislation does nothing to address the core issues of housing and educational segregation. We pledge to work with legislators to address the real issues that hurt so many children of low and moderate-income families."
Below is the official policy statement of the Latino Action Network with regards to the Opportunity Scholarship Act:
Meet the newest Assemblyman, Troy Singleton, who won tonight along with his running mate Herb Conaway. Troy talked to Blue Jersey at his victory party in Mount Laurel tonight.
Our campaign is going up with our first television commercial tomorrow. And I wanted to give you - my friends at Blue Jersey - a sneak peak before anyone else sees it.
New Jersey is one of the states hardest hit by foreclosure in the country. Irvington is as hard hit as any municipality in the state. We want to do something about it. Let's start with the big picture.
The collapse of the housing bubble began in 2005. First to go was the subprime mortgage market. It all led up to the great financial crisis of 2008.
After that home prices dropped drastically. Now more than ten million mortgages are much higher than current prices, i.e., "underwater." That's because the houses were never really worth what they were sold for.
What did you see, my brown-eyed Son?
What did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a Red Knight, all covered in Armor,
Charge through a Blue Family, Broken Asunder!
I saw Family moaning, and say What a Headache
With heads all pushed, down in the sand
I saw union clans, counciling caution,
As their ranks were pushed so close to the edge...
And its a hard, Its a Hard
Its a Hard Rain Gonna Fall
The Carl Lewis saga continues to play out in the 9-time-Olympic Champ's favor, despite the Burlington Republican machine's concerted efforts to have him throw off the ballot. The BurlCoGOP likes things the quick-n-easy way for reasons too numerous to name here.
Anyway check of this video where Carl discusses issues like education, the millionaire's tax and jobs. Nadia Comaneci and Doctor Freud come as well.
Who wants to go to this tomorrow? - promoted by Rosi
Join the Fracking Ban Caravan and say NO TO FRACKING IN NJ AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY!
In less than one month, the Delaware River Basin Commission could be voting on plans to allow fracking in thousands of acres of land in NJ, NY and PA that are under their control. In addition to destroying open space and polluting the air, this move would put the Delaware River, the drinking water source for over 15 million people, at risk of serious contamination.
Many people from across the region will be convening in Philly on September 7 to rally against fracking. If you are coming from New Jersey, we hope you can join us for this carpool to the demonstration. We will have signs, window paints and stickers you can use to personalize your own anti-fracking message on your car so you can tell the world why you support a ban on fracking!
Like everyone, I'm still dumbstruck by the events of September 11, 2001. I was in Detroit, not here. Detroit, sharing a river, bridge & tunnel with Canada, is the nation's most vulnerable area to illegal entry. City was in lockdown. Travel between the two countries at dead-stop. On Woodward Avenue, National Guardsmen on jeeps with rifles on their shoulders.
But I've always believed that September 11 didn't happen to America, it happened to New York - and also to New Jersey & Connecticut. Because the people who died in the World Trade Center were our people. I can't imagine what it was to be here. In the middle school, kids throwing up whose parents worked in NYC. The flyers. The smoke and steam visible from our cities on the Hudson.
With the 10th anniversary coming, felt as deeply near the Pentagon, Christie's usual bombast seems particularly unwelcome now. In the last few days, Christie has called Mayor Bloomberg, whose city deserves respect right now, a Napolean a dictator and a putz. I realize part of what he's is after is to get recognition for Donald DiFrancesco, who was ever so briefly sitting as governor when 9/11 happened. That he wants a role for David Samson, Port Authority Chair, and not inconsequentially his appointee. That some of it is wanting to make sure NJ has a role in the commemoration, as we certainly had a role in the loss.
But, even giving the Governor that benefit of doubt, most of his embarrassingkicking and screaming is simply typical Christie conduct.
But as we come up to the worst national day in most of our lives, it's time for the Governor to tuck away his tantrums, and show respect - with his own behavior - for that loss. It's not the time for ungentlemanly name-calling or jockeying for position. Gov. Christie is the biggest of big wheels - okay, Governor, we all get it, bully for you. But arguing about the program? People died - try to keep your eye on the ball. Grow up a little before September 11, 2011. Try to remember that not everything is about you.
Postscript: At a presser this morning at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth, the Governor denied calling Bloomberg any of those things. I don't believe him for a minute.
I was supposed to be at this training, talking blogs. I had to cancel because of an accident, so apologies to the Monmouth Dems. I heard great feedback on your training - congratulations. - promoted by Rosi
Sometimes we seem to forget what the State Committee, Elected Officials, and County Leadership can do to build our team, write our playbook and foster our talent. More importantly, we often forget our responsibility as democrats to help ourselves! In Monmouth County we are setting ourselves on a track to implement an aggressive countywide organization with well trained party leadership, elected officials and party activists. On Monday, August 8th State Committee Communications Director (and social-media-guru) Jason Springer, Congressman Pallone and myself joined the Monmouth County Democrats for a a free training on how to use social-media to involve young people in the party, organize around a idea and better communicate our message.
Under Chairman Scudiery's leadership, Monmouth County has hosted a series of free trainings for elected officials, municipal chairs, activists and volunteers. Topics have included an ELEC training, candidates campaign training and advance fundraising. Not only were they free for the people attending, but were held at no cost to the county party.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up with one of the best public servants New Jersey has ever produced.
He is not well-known even in Democratic circles, let alone the state of New Jersey, and he last served in public office when Leonid Brezhnev was Premier of the USSR.
Frank Herbert, however is definitely not someone to forget, particularly if you're a New Jersey Democrat or - even more so - a progressive.
You see, Frank Herbert did 2 things that New Jerseyans and progressives should forever be grateful for:
1) He pushed for and got the Legislature to pass the law that created New Jersey Transit, a system that provides business and social lifelines for hundreds of thousands of our residents.
2) He is the only candidate in New Jersey history to win a Federal election as a write-in candidate. In doing so, he saved the Democratic Party from nominating a Holocaust-denying, KKK-loving extremist.
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.
It has been a year and a half since the midterm elections ushered a cold wind of malevolence into the halls of congress and created a chasm in government not seen in more than a hundred and forty years.
The Tea Party Patriots.
The last time a divisiveness this deep cast a pall across the nation, we were steeped in a civil war over the rights of one class of people who, literally, built the nation and, in fact, the nation's capital. The war for the freedom of the American slaves divided a nation, states and even families.
It's been a tough week of reckoning for New Jersey. This year, the Democrats in the Legislature introduced a budget that restored funding to programs providing health, education and welfare to the state's citizens. In drafting our alternative budget, we used revenue projections provided by the state's nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, whose staff economists are highly regarded for their impartiality and professionalism.
Right now, the New Jersey Democratic Party seems lost at sea. Factions are breaking out all over the State along regional and ideological divides. Governor Christie has masterfully exploited these cracks and enacted sweeping reforms of once untouchable issues like pension and healthcare benefits for public employees. As 2013 looms, there is no clear cut favorite to challenge Christie.
Right now I think there are three names to look out for: former Governor Richard Codey, Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono, and Congressman Rob Andrews.
I'm making a few assumptions in developing this short list. First, based off public statements and actions, I don't think Newark Mayor Cory Booker has any interest in challenging Christie. He seems more interested in heading to Washington - either as a US Senator or member of the Obama Administration. Next, having Andrews as the "South Jersey" candidate eliminates other rumored South Jersey candidates like Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assemblyman Lou Greenwald.
I know George Norcross is smart enough to get his entire organization behind one candidate, and Andrews makes the most sense for a slew of reasons. He has the strongest progressive credentials, has the highest name identification from previous statewide runs, and has the oratorical skills for a toe-to-toe matchup with Christie. I think the Norcross Machine gets behind Andrews and takes one last shot at launching him into statewide office.
It's no secret Senator Buono has an interest in taking on Christie. She has been the strongest progressive voice against his policies and has been touring the State for most of the past year. She is strong on liberal causes and is a woman in the male dominated New Jersey - something that could appeal to a female electorate that has been under assault by the Christie Administration. Her biggest problem is organizational support (including locking down Middlesex County where she was on the wrong side of the Chairmanship battle this past month) to have a chance at victory. The "outsider" strategy she has adopted can only take her so far. In order to gain any kind of traction, she is going to need some institutional organization.
That brings us to who I consider the wild card in this entire process: former Governor Richard Codey. Popular, affable, and an axe to grind with New Jersey's party bosses, he might be the only candidate that could overcome this uphill battle against Democratic power brokers aligned with Gov. Christie. The biggest question around a potential Codey candidacy is does he want to run? We all know he loved being Governor, but does he want to take on this type of race this late in his career?
Regardless of who our nominee is come June 2013, the healing process needs to start now with New Jersey Democrats to come together and unseat a Governor with a string of legislative victories already under his belt and a national donor network to tap into.
This is long, but interesting to read something of the man who was an inspiration to a young seeker of municipal office. Stephen, who as a teen was the first person to get a Blue Jersey account after founder Juan Melli, is a candidate for municipal office in Berkeley Heights. - Rosi
After I published my last article here (thank you to everyone who commented on it), I received an e-mail from a New Jersey friend of mine, and a sometime-Democratic activist. My friend wrote, in part:
"What the **** gives you the right to call out Sweeney? He was a labor leader when you were in diapers."
No, I'm not in a union. I don't believe graduate students have a union to join, although I could be wrong. And no, I don't have the "credentials" of Senator Sweeney when it comes to a labor background.
But I can tell you this - the movement for workers to gain their freedom is in my blood. Were it not for organizers like my Grandpa Harry, a Gloucester County ironworker could never have become the leader of the New Jersey State Senate.
(I'm lucky to be here at Netroots Nation which starts today, surrounded by sane and rational progressives. People I've talked to already lament the demise of democratic principals in the Democratic Party. Mr. Liberal's diary hits the nail on the head for the New Jersey incarnation of the new DiNoism. - promoted by deciminyan)
"I do let loose my opinion, hold it no longer"
- The Tempest, William Shakespeare
This is probably the least politic diary I have written on Blue Jersey in the last 5 1/2 years. As a young Democratic activist, I've thought, wouldn't it be politically inane to speak out against the leaders of my own Party? As a candidate for local office in a conservative part of New Jersey, I thought, wouldn't it make more sense to stay silent rather than alienate potential constituents?
Yet I cannot stay silent. I am a Democrat because I believe in the rights of workers - blue collar and white collar, male and female, of all races and creeds - to seek a just and better world for themselves and their families. It is that fundamental freedom - the right to organize - that I see under attack in New Jersey tonight.
The original tea party in Boston Harbor was about taxation without representation. Today, Governor Christie is pushing for a new form of taxation without representation: charter schools. While charter schools are publicly funded - in large part through property taxes - they are unlike traditional public schools whose budgets are voted upon by local taxpayers.
With charter schools there is no opportunity for local taxpayers to have a say over whether they want to pay for a new charter school that when opened, will draw students and scarce funding from traditional public schools. Allowing taxpayer funded charter schools to take advantage of a loophole letting them operate without voter approval makes no sense in these tough economic times.
Today, state funding for public schools has been slashed, parents are being charged to have their children play in the band or on the athletic field and property taxes continue to rise. Yet Governor Christie and Education Commissioner Cerf are encouraging, almost demanding, taxpayers take funds away from existing public schools and hand them over to charter schools without public approval and little or no oversight and accountability.
Even worse, the Governor's budget proposes the "elimination of certification requirements" for charter school employees. That means that teachers in these schools, which receive taxpayer dollars to operate, will not be subject to the same certification requirements as teachers in traditional public schools.
There are two unacceptable consequences from the governor's insistence of creating special rules for charter schools. (more below)
Every one is aware of the work the American Red Cross (ARC) does on disaster relief operations around the world. However, this is just a fraction of what they do. What many don't know is their blood services division brings in more than $2 billion a year, amounting to over two-thirds of their national revenue.
We appreciate the role they are playing in our communities and around the world, but that does not mean they get a free pass when it comes to ensuring the safety of blood donors and complying with fair employment practices. In fact, the real disaster is how the American Red Cross Blood Services Division treats its blood donation collection staff, and how that affects the safety of our blood donors and blood supply.
ARC's record speaks for itself. Since 1993, over $37 million in fines have been levied by the Food and Drug Administration because of significant violations of blood safety rules. As recently as last summer $16 million in fines were paid to the FDA - money HPAE believes would be better spent on safe staffing and other improved safety practices. Red Cross has also been cited over and over for labor law violations, violating terms of their collective bargaining agreements with many of the 3000 blood service workers across the country.
We posted over this last night with an update about the Dem state conference changes - sorry, deciminyan - so I'm pulling it up top for a bit. - Rosi
For many years, my wife and I have been lucky enough to take a week's vacation every summer on Long Beach Island. We look forward to a time of relaxation and enjoyment of the pristine beaches. But during his first term in office, Congressman Jon Runyan is working to take that pleasure away from us.
Working in lock-step with his Republican colleagues, Runyan is actively promoting off-shore oil drilling in the Atlantic and providing the wealthy oil companies (i.e his campaign contributors) with more financial benefits - as if they need them.
To be fair, Runyan is delivering on campaign promises. I don't understand why Ocean County residents would vote for someone who will put their tourism industry in jeopardy, but they did.
Now Runyan is making it even more attractive for oil companies to drill. He voted on a bill to allow these companies to obtain new leases, even while they owe the government payments for fines from previous sins. And while he's voting to cut Medicare in the (false) name of fiscal responsibility, he also voted against elimination of taxpayer subsidies to oil companies.
Drilling off the Atlantic coast is not the way to solve our insatiable lust for energy. It's not a matter of whether an oil spill will devastate Atlantic beaches, it's just a matter of when and how badly.
Our vacations on LBI have become even more cherished over the last couple of years, as we have started a family tradition of having our grandson (and his parents!) visit us at the beach each summer. They live 300 miles from the nearest ocean, so this is a special time for our grandson as well as us. Let's hope that Runyan's pro-oil, anti-tourism approach magically avoids Murphy's Law and that we don't see a repeat of the BP disaster in our back yard. For our grandson's sake and the sake of all those kids who love the beach.
How many more years will my son and grandson be able to enjoy LBI if Oilman Runyan has his way?
Since Governor Christie is such a fan of tossing sound research to the side when developing his policies, here's a decidedly unscientific (but interesting) look at who, exactly, loves Chris Christie. Of the last five adulatory tweets sent his way as of this writing, only one came from New Jersey. Starting with the latest and going back in time:
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