The ignorant fools on the Asbury Park Press editorial board have joined the left wing media chorus that will taint anyone who is critical of the Obama administration as racist.
In their editorial today, Fox resumes tired refrain, the disgraceful demagogues of Neptune smear Fox News, its viewers, or “devotees” as they call them, and “the right” as “bile-ridden,” stupid (“vacuous”), and racist.
The outcry over rapper Common’s appearance at the White House poetry night is what set off the race baiting yellow journalists of Gannett.
In case you missed it, Common is best known for his ” A Song For Assata” in which he glorifies JoAnne Chesimard, the former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member who murdered NJ State Trooper Werner Foerster on the NJ Turnpike in East Brunswick on May 2, 1973. In “A Song For Assata” (Chesimard changed her name to Assata Skakur) Common wrote and sang, “Your power and pride is beautiful. May God bless your soul.”
Apparently Fox News broke the story of Common’s White House appearance. The APP race mongers lament that Fox couldn’t give Obama “even a week” to bask in the success of the Bin Laden killing before “bashing” the President again.
The news of Common’s White House invitation made national news, including in the APP and its sister rags, prompting a strong reaction, especially from the New Jersey law enforcement community. NJPBA President Tony Wieners issued the following statement:
New Jersey State PBA Denounces Cop Killer Support
New Jersey State PBA President Anthony Wieners denounced rapper Common appearance at the White House. Wieners who is in Washington to honor officers during Police Week called Common’s take on Chesimard “utterly ridiculous”. “Lets not rewrite history to glamorize a terrorist from the 1970’s” , he said. “ In 1973 Chesimard killed a New Jersey State Trooper and then in 1979 she took two of our members hostage in her escape from jail, that’s the facts. While she may change her name, she may even have songs written about her, but in the end she is a cold blooded terrorist. No one should be praising her or lending her support.“
Wieners noted the irony of the controversy over Common occurred during Police Week. He should be ashamed of his presence at the White House this week while the nation’s law enforcement community gathers there to add more names to its wall of officers killed in the line of duty. “This week each year is our annual pilgrimage to Washington D. C. to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster is on that wall. As we pursue modern day terrorist, let us not forget those who made sacrifices to pursue the terrorist of our past. Let those terrorist of the past know that we will never falter in our attempts to bring them to justice.”
The APP apologises for Common because he wrote the rap more than a decade ago and he has written songs that extol “self-respect, community and taking responsibility your life and actions” since he glorified Chesimard. They bash the “Fox chorus” condeming Common’s appearance at the White House as “ignorant” and “empty headed” because “most Fox commentors and fans” don’t appreciate the virtuous raps that Common wrote.
Well the APP apparently didn’t appreciate this Fox commentator who likened Common to Shakespere and said his lyrics are being taken out of context. They ignored this Fox commentator who wrote a poem of her own that says the President should be working on more pressing issues instead of attending a poetry reading.
The APP got one thing right in their disgraceful editorial. They said:
What’s good about America is the ability of artists to express themselves freely, even when we disagree with their viewpoint or positions. What’s great about America is that even the ignorant get a soapbox to spew their empty-headed rhetoric.
That last line is self-referential, even though the APP didn’t mean it to be.
America would be even greater if the traditional 4th estate maintained its traditional role of skeptics of the government charged with holding our leaders to account. The APP and the rest of the leftstream media should refrain from playing the race card every time criticism of their darling in the White House sticks.
The media’s use of the race card to silence Obama’s critics was very effective in the 2008 campaign, especially after they successfully used it to smear even former President Bill Clinton’s criticism of candidate Obama during the South Carolina primary. We’ve seen that the media will employ such disgraceful tactics again in support of Obama during the 2012 campaign which has already started. This is yellow journalism of the worst kind, designed to silence legitimate critics and thwart debate.
The APP should be ashamed. Its customers, readers and advertisers alike, should put them on notice that there will be consequences to such irresponsible trash.
The Monmouth Park Task Force is pleased the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has reached an agreement with developer and entrepreneur Morris Bailey for a five-year private lease to operate Monmouth Park Racetrack in the Borough of Oceanport. The NJSEA expects to turn over track operations to the private operator by June 1, 2011.
“Governor Christie’s announcement of the agreement comes with the approach of Opening Day on May 14th. Monmouth Park Racetrack is poised to return to its place as the premier location for thoroughbred horse racing. We look forward to Mr. Bailey’s plans for revitalizing the facility and capitalizing on the OTW’s. I look forward to seeing Monmouth Park under his management.” ‘ Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon, Task Force ChairmanThe Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has been hoping a lessee would step forward who would be committed to maintain Monmouth Park as a racetrack and would be willing to forge a partnership with the Thoroughbred Horsemen to bring the industry to sustainability. This is critical for the Borough as we look to preserve jobs, protect the environment, maintain open space and preserve this historic centerpiece of horse racing in Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore.” Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon
“The Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has continued to maintain the position that VLT’s, slot machines, or an all out gaming casino in the Meadowlands is the only way to protect horse racing in New Jersey. All the surrounding states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland now have some form of gaming at their race tracks.
“This uneven Playing field enables our competitors to lure New Jersey horseman out of State with larger purses and better quality horse racing.” said Task Force member and Councilman Joe Irace. “This will continue to challenge the industry as Mr. Gural takes the reins at the Meadowlands and Mr. Bailey begins operations here at Monmouth Park Racetrack. The Borough of Oceanportwill continue its long standing relationship with Monmouth Park and welcomes Morris Bailey to our community.”
Trenton, NJ – Making good on his commitment to put the horse racing industry on a self-sustaining path, Governor Chris Christie announced tonight that live racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park will continue throughout 2011 and beyond. Beginning on June 1, both tracks will be in the hands of private-sector operators who, according to an agreement in principle, will assume the costs associated with running live racing at those venues. The private operators will also be responsible for all simulcast wagering at the tracks, the operation and future development of off-track wagering facilities and the continued operation of the State’s account wagering system.
“I was determined to bring this deal home,” Governor Christie said. “There are many beneficiaries: We’re saving a New Jersey tradition with the continuation of live horse racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park; we are saving and creating jobs; and we are helping to preserve New Jersey farmland and a way of life for many people, from horse farm owners and employees, to jockeys to racing enthusiasts. I want to thank all involved, from staff in the Governor’s Counsel’s Office, to the executive staff of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, to Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey, as well as representatives of the thoroughbred and standardbred horsemen.”
“First, I want to thank Governor Christie and his staff for all their hard work on something I initially thought was impossible,” said Jeff Gural, the New York investor and developer who will assume control of and redevelop the Meadowland Racetrack. “The deal that we’ve reached together will be good for the taxpayers, good for horse racing and great for the Meadowlands. I look forward to returning the Meadowlands to its former glory and pre-eminent position in horse racing in the United States.”
“I’m excited by the fact that we are completing a transaction that will bring about a new era for horse racing in New Jersey and Monmouth Park,” said Mr. Bailey. “I want to thank all of the parties involved, especially Governor Christie and his staff and the thoroughbred horsemen, for working so diligently to meet the challenges we confronted. With what we are accomplishing, we are creating one of the premiere race tracks in the country that will provide an attractive and exciting atmosphere to appeal to established horse racing fans and, I believe, the broader public.”
Since December of last year, the NJSEA has been negotiating with Mr. Gural over the lease of the Meadowlands Racetrack. Mr. Gural will assume all operations at the track beginning on June 1. He has successfully re-negotiated labor contracts with track employees and has taken steps toward the development of an off-track wagering facility in Bayonne. He has also worked with the harness racing industry on a reduced slate of racing days for 2011. In addition, Mr. Gural plans to invest more than $90 million through the construction of a new grandstand at the Meadowlands and the development of an Off Track Wagering facility in Bayonne. These investments will create construction jobs for the State as well as permanent employment opportunities for New Jerseyans.
In April, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority selected Morris Bailey as the winning bidder of an Request for Proposals for the lease of Monmouth Park. Mr. Bailey will assume track operations at Monmouth Park on June 1 as well. The thoroughbreds will also run a reduced slate of racing days for 2011, similar to the 2010 racing schedule. Mr. Bailey will also take over the operation of the OTW site in Woodbridge and will work with Mr. Gural on the development of future OTW’s.
Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey are successful real estate executives with proven track records in the gaming industry. Both are also horse racing aficionados who are committed to reversing the decline of the industry.
Taken together, these deals will put the New Jersey horse racing industry on the path of self-sufficiency and, as a result, save New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars annually and end the racing industry’s reliance on purse subsidies. Both private operators will pay property taxes and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT payments) as required by law.
With today’s action, the Governor has demonstrated his continued commitment to ensuring the preservation of live horse racing in New Jersey. The agreements reached today are subject to the execution of formal contracts, formal board approvals and other regulatory approvals. In addition to today’s developments, Governor Christie has taken many other steps this year to provide the racing industry with the tools it needs to become a vibrant, self-sustaining industry.
Hosts Discussion on ‘Parent Trigger’ Legislation Embraced in Chicago, California
Trenton— Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) today joined with the Heartland Institute to host a discussion with legislators and business, civic, and education leaders regarding proposed legislation that would give parents in failing school districts the authority to affect immediate change. The Parent Empowerment and Choice Act (S-2569), dubbed ‘the parent trigger’, would force certain organizational and administrative reforms in a school through community petition.
“Today in New Jersey, parents and students in failing school districts have two choices: move or to pay for a private education,” said Senator Kyrillos. “That is unacceptable to me, and it should be unacceptable to every taxpayer that foots the bill for a system that is too often unresponsive and slow to change. If enacted into law, my bill would give parents in these districts- some of the poorest and most dangerous in New Jersey- the ability to build a better tomorrow for their children by forcing immediate improvements to a school that is failing to educate its students.”
Kyrillos’s bill allows parents in a failing school, as determined by student test scores, to force the following changes through majority petition:
Reorganization as a charter school
Replacement of administrators and/or staff
Establishment of a tuition voucher system for any public or private school in New Jersey
The requested change would be required to take effect 180 days following certification of the petition.
Kyrillos noted that troubled districts in Illinois and California are embracing similar proposals. “Parents in one of California’s worst school districts, Compton, are already using the parent trigger to affect change, and Mayor-elect Rahm Emmanuel has voiced initial support for this reform in Chicago,” he said. “This is not an ideological issue. This is about rejecting the notion that children in failing schools should be denied a quality education because of administrative hurdles, legal obstacles, and an educational establishment that is resistant to change.”
The controversy over the venue for the Neptune High School graduation started last July when “a member of the public” objected to the venue on religious reasons at a workshop meeting of the board. Minutes of the school board meeting do not say who the person is.
A member of the Neptune Board of Education refused to reveal the name of the person, siting board policy.
Media reports in the APP and on News Channel 4 have said that the complainant is a “non-district woman,” and the grandmother of a student who graduated last year.
Blogfinger, who otherwise has done a very good job covering the story, including publishing a timeline of the district’s communication with the ACLU, is also protecting the ornery granny’s identity.
Even members of the facebook group that is rallying public support to keep they traditional graduation at the Great Auditorium are withholding the name of the grandmother.
I don’t get it. Commenting anonymously on a blog is one thing. Threatening legal action anonymously, and having that threat taken seriously is another.
MMM is going to find the identity of the ACLU’s client in this case. We will publish it when we do. If you know who it is, please post as much information as you have it in the comments.
Blogfinger is reporting that the Neptune Board of Education met with approximately 200 students, parents and residents last night to discuss the ACLU’s threat to file suit over use of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association’s Great Auditorium for the high school’s graduation.
Board President John Daniels said that the board “is one hundred percent behind the cause of this event….to continue at the Great Auditorium.”
Superintendent David Mooij said that no lawsuit has been filed, that the negotiations continue with the ACLU and that other venues for the graduation, including the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, will be considered if the ACLU gets an injunction against holding the graduation at the same venue where it has been held for six decades or more.
Mooij encouraged those at the meeting to rally public support for the traditional graduation by writing letters to the editor and speaking out at other forums, yet said that “the legal arguments will determine the outcome” rather than public sentiment.
The pantywaists running the Neptune school district are caving to the ACLU without a fight. What a bunch of kittens. Kittens, kittens, kittens.
As reported in the Asbury Park Press, the ACLU wants the Neptune school district to break a 60 year tradition of holding their high school graduation in the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association’s (GOD’S SQUARE MILE AT THE JERSEY SHORE), Great Auditorium.
The ACLU hasn’t filed suit. The are jawboning the kittens into compliance with the threat of a suit.
The ACLU is arguing that the graduation being held at a religious venue with crosses is a violation of the first amendment separation of church and state.
If the sight of a cross at a secular event violates the separation of church and state, then school buses should be prohibited from driving past churches, synagogues or mosques for fear that a student will see a religious symbol while being transported at government expense.
The ACLU’s chief bully, state legal director Ed Barocas told the APP, “They are making it uncomfortable for non-Christians to appreciate their child’s graduation. It gives the impression that there are certain people that are insiders and others who are outsiders.”
Well, there are certain people who are insiders and others who are outsiders. That has nothing to do with religion. Anyone who has a problem with that, like Barocas, is an outsider and a loser. Next he’ll be wanting to do away with football and cheerleading.
The head pantywaist, Superintendent David “Kitten” Mooij, has already caved to certain of bully Barocas’ demands. He has removed the convocation and the singing of “Onward Christian Soldiers” from the program. Bully Barocas is not satsified, he wants the graduation held somewhere other than the 3000 seat auditorium.
Bully Barocas is all wet and Kitten Mooij should stand up to him. Let the bully sue. Kitten Mooij is probably worried about the legal fees. He should ask the NJEA for help, they burnt $6 million on political ads last year that made absolutely no difference. The NJEA would get more good will from defending the kittens of Neptune than they will from their silly TV and newspaper ads bashing Governor Christie.
The Great Auditorium is building, an auditorium. It holds both religious and secular events. Tim Conway, Tony Bennet, Paul Anka and Frank Sinatra, JR are performing their in August. There is a Doo Wop Extravaganza scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
There has to be an attorney somewhere who can win this case, if there is a case.
If kittens like Mooij keep caving every time the ACLU calls, just because they call and the kittens don’t think they can pay for a fight, then the ACLU will always win and keep being a bully.
