The New Jersey State Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has named Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ4) its 2015 Legislator of the Year.
VFW State Legislative Director William F. Thomson presented Smith with the award Monday in Hamilton, Mercer County. VFW State Commander Jack Kane announced the honor on June 19 at its annual convention in Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, N.J.
“The men and women in uniform make tremendous, selfless sacrifices for our nation,and they must know that when they come home they will receive the care and assistance they earned,” said Smith, who chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 2001-2005 and authored more than a dozen veterans’ laws. It is an honor for me to accept this award, but it is more of an honor to work for our veterans.”
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” — Juliet of the House of Capulet
I’ve written columns for many outlets over the past 15 years, and one practice I’ve always maintained is to spell out the whole “N” word when it is being used in an historical context, as in, “Slave owners referred to blacks as “N.” I do the same when quoting another person, as in, “He called him a “N.” I’ve also reserved the right to spell it out in condemnation of the word itself, as in, “It’s wrong to call anyone a “N.”
My thinking was that the “N” word is an insult when intended that way. I owe my American brothers and sisters with superior protective pigment the courtesy of not using that word as an insult, because it is worse than other words on the insult scale.
However, I don’t owe anyone a distortion of history. I don’t owe anyone less than exactitude when it comes to a quote, lest I be distorting history myself.
Yet every single editor I’ve had changes the spelled out word to the abbreviated “N word” before my column is published (I’m using the abbreviated “N” word now instead of spelling out the word, in recognition of Ricochet’s past practice).
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t use the word casually. I don’t use it in my own conversations and have not done so in decades. I think the only time I ever really used it was during a fistfight on the playground. There are different rules when throwing down — I would get called a cracker, a honky, etc. and I would yell out as many reciprocal remarks as I could. None of the white or black kids watching considered it racist. Afterwards, even the combatants did not. When you are in a fight, the rules of decorum are suspended. You’retrying to insult the guy you’re punching in the face.
As the recovery from Hurricane Sandy drags on for the thousands of residents still not yet back in their homes, a bill cleared an Assembly panel on Monday afternoon that supporters said would offer storm victims “breathing room” while rebuilding their homes. But an opponent of the measure, which proposes a three-year stay on foreclosure proceedings… Read the rest of this entry »
Private companies are mail soliciting Monmouth County homeowners to pay between $79 and $89 for certified copies of the deeds to their homes, according to a statement by County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon. Those same copies can be had from Hanlon’s office for $10.00.
“It is unfortunate that companies would prey upon citizens who are sometimes already struggling financially, especially our senior citizens in Monmouth County who are living on fixed incomes,” Hanlon said, “for a very minimal fee, residential and commercial property owners can request and receive a copy of their deed, and other property documents, directly from the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.”
Hanlon cautions property owners to be on the lookout for these solicitations because they appear as if they are coming from a government agency, but they are not.
TRENTON — Democratic lawmakers on Monday are expected to reveal their plan for a state budget they say would bridge the gap between the $1.3 billion Gov. Chris Christie wants to spend on public worker pensions next year and the $3.1 billion unions are demanding. That plan likely relies on the controversial millionaires’ tax and a… Read the rest of this entry »
ASBURY PARK —Funeral services have been set for the Neptune mother of nine gunned down in Asbury Park by her former husband, a Neptune police officer. Visitation is scheduled for Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Holy Spirit Church in Asbury Park followed by a funeral mass at noon Monday at the church, according to… Read the rest of this entry »
ASBURY PARK — Before Tuesday’s fatal encounter with his ex-wife, a Neptune police sergeant contacted two of his children and told them he planned to harm her, NJ Advance Media has learned. A source close to the investigation into Tamara Seidle’s fatal shooting said police were aware of the threat against her before her ex-husband, Neptune… Read the rest of this entry »
NJ2AS protest outside Sen. Sweeney’s home Video taken by the New Jersey Second Amendment Society shows how a confrontation between their members and state Senate President Steve Sweeney outside his West Deptford home lead to the senator turning on his sprinklers to disperse activists. The protesters had hoped to press Sweeney to relax the state’s gun… Read the rest of this entry »
Daniel Alfano, 25, a Class II Special Police Officer in Seaside Park, was arrested by the Hazlet Police Department yesterday on charges that he engange in sexual activity with a 15 year old girl in his Parkview Dr. home.
According to a statement by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, an investigation by the Hazlet PD revealed that Alfano engaged in sexual activity with the girl on May 2.
Alfano was released from custody after posting $100,000 bail as set by Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.
TRENTON — Democratic lawmakers on Monday are expected to reveal their plan for a state budget they say would bridge the gap between the $1.3 billion Gov. Chris Christie wants to spend on public worker pensions next year and the $3.1 billion unions are demanding. That plan likely relies on the controversial millionaires’ tax and a… 