President Barack Obama released copies of his “long form” birth certificate to the media this morning. In his remarks to the press the President said the was “amused” over the last two years that questions over the country of his birth persisted. He said that he was putting the issue to rest now because over the last two weeks while he as dealing with the fundamental differences between the House Republicans budget and his own, that the issue of his birth was dominating the news cycles.
In an apparent swipe at Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, TV star and potential candidate for the GOP nomination for President, Obama said the country can not afford to be distracted by “side shows and carnival barkers.”
Donald Trump, speaking in New Hampshire, said that he was honored and proud of himself for his role in “hopefully” putting the issue of Obama’s eligibility to serve as President to rest. Trump said Obama should have put the issue to rest “a long time ago.” He said he hopes the certificate is authentic and that he country can move on to other issues.
Obama’s long form birth certificate can be viewed here.
The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would establish term limits for volunteers who serve on autonomous county boards and commissions.
The county has seven such boards and commissions; the Parks Commission, Mosquito Commission, Library Commission, Board of Health, Monmouth County Improvement Authority, Bayshore Regional Outfall Authority and the Brookdale Board of Trustees.
If the resolution is approved, boards whose members have terms of three years will be limited to four consecutive terms. Those boards with four year terms will be limited to three consecutive terms. Boards whose members are appointed for five years will be limited to two terms.
The resolution allows for former board members to apply for different boards when they are term limited out and to reapply to the board they served on after sitting out a full term.
The resolution will go into effect on May 1, 2012, if approved.
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, in her capacity as Secretary of State, has overturned an administrative judges ruling that former Olympian Carl Lewis meets the constitution requirements to run for state Senate.
Lewis and the Democratic party are likely to appeal Guadagno’s ruling to the State Appellate Court.
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission meets in Trenton this morning.
It is the commission’s first meeting since the Think Progressblog reported that Lonegan apparently lied about his compensation from Americans For Prosperity when he sought and received $2.7 million in taxpayer “matching funds” for his 2009 Republican gubernatorial primary bid against Chris Christie.
ELEC forbids candidates from receiving matching funds if they were “involved in anyway” in the management of a political advocacy organization unless the organization discloses the names of its donors. Lonegan, who is and was the Executive Director of Americans For Prosperity-NJ, said the disclosure requirements did not apply to him or AFP because he was paid from the organization’s education account rather than its lobbying account. Think Progress says they’ve seen tax records that reveal he was paid by the lobbying branch.
The Lonegan controversy is not on the commission’s published agenda, however it could come up in public comments or executive session.
In addition to the fund raising controversy, our friends at The State-NJreport that Governor Christie’s office has suggested that AFP national president Tim Phillips prevail upon Lonegan to tone down his rhetoric.
Machiavellian gay American Jim McGreevey’s bid to become an Episcopal priest has been rejected by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, according to a report in the New York Post.
The former governor was not rejected because of his sexuality, but because he’s “a jackass,” according to a source quoted by the Post. Church leaders sited McGreevey’s bitter divorce and their concerns that he might be using the Church to recover his public image as reasons for his rejection. McGreevey can try for the priesthood again after more study and charitable work.
Maybe McGreevey would fare better in his vocation if he joined the faculty of a college affiliated with the Episcopal Church, like Bard College. Bard is a 2 1/2 hour drive from McGreevey’s Plainfield home and they have a High School Early College Program in New York City. If they would have him, it would be doable. But how would he continue to accumulate his state pension credits?
I don’t recall getting a sample ballot in the mail, like I do for general elections. Sample ballots for Monmouth County school board elections can be found here.
Polling hours vary by municipality. All polls close at 9PM. In Atlantic Highlands the polls are open all day, from 7 AM through 9PM. In Highlands, the polls open at 2 PM, Middletown, 3PM, Fair Haven 4 PM.
In Wall Township, Red Bank polls open at 2 PM. In Neptune Township and Manalapan the polls open at 3 PM.
You can find the polling hours for your town on your sample ballot, which is posted on the County website, here.
Lawsuit challenges the validity of the New Jersey Legislative District Map
Red Bank, NJ – The Bayshore Tea Party group along with 38 Plaintiffs, representing all 21 counties in New Jersey, filed a civil action today against the Democrat members of the New Jersey Apportionment Commission, the 11th Member, Alan Rosenthal, Kim Guadagno, in her official capacity as Secretary of State of New Jersey, Paula Dow, Attorney General and Robert F. Giles, Director of the Division of Elections of the State of New Jersey, in Superior Court, Chancery Division, Ocean County.
The action claims the Legislative district map approved by the commission on April 3, 2011, is in violation of the Federal and New Jersey Constitutions. It is further stated that other federal and state laws were violated against the interests of the registered voters of New Jersey.
According to the preliminary statement filed today in court, the Commission Map in its current construction dilutes or nullifies the voice of the voters in the southern half of the state and in the state’s two largest municipalities, Newark and Jersey City. The lawsuit claims the Commission Map over-packed the southern half of the state causing an unconstitutional 18% deviation, which is 8% higher than the 10% deviation permitted by US Supreme Court precedent. Also, alleged in this suit are illegal splits of Newark and Jersey City from three districts each to two. These splits dilute the representation of these urban municipalities by reducing the number of elected legislators from 9 representatives to 6 in violation of New Jersey Supreme Court precedent.
Barbara Gonzalez, founder of Bayshore Tea Party Group and a Plaintiff in the suit said “After reviewing the commission map, I noticed several violations affecting the voter’s integrity. This lawsuit is crucial to protect the longstanding ‘one person, one vote’ principle. I hope our diligence will raise voter awareness of the voters of New Jersey to recognize the value of their vote.”
The 42 page complaint can be viewed and downloaded here.
The State University of New Jersey is following up the $32,000 appearance by Snooki with a speaking engagement by Valerie Jarrett, a Senior White House Adviser and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.
Jarrett also is the Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Who knew there was a White House Council on Women and Girls? President Obama created in by Executive Order back in March of 2009. The mission of the council is to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges faced by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families.
In July of 2009, the NY Time published a 8100 word profile on Jarrett, The Ultimate Insider. The author said he spent four months researching Jarrett and couldn’t figure out her “ineffable raison d’etre in the Obama White House.”
That makes Jarrett the perfect follow up for Snooki, who’s raison d’etre is equally ineffable.
