Smith and Rubio Press Conference on China

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Gallagher Named To Top 100 NJ Media List

MMM publisher Art Gallagher has once again been named to InsiderNJ’s Insider 100 Media List…just barely this year, coming in at #99 after being number 47 in the inaugural list in 2017.

Thanks to Editor Max Pizarro for the recognition and especially for using better picture of Gallagher this year.

Congratulations to all the journalists, columnists and bloggers who made the list.

Special thank yous to U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Kivvit  for that ads congratulating all the recipients.

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Control of the House and Senate could hinge on New Jersey provisional ballot counts

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon is continuing to get the word out, statewide, about the impact of the new Vote-By-Mail law signed by Governor Murphy last month, which went into effect immediately.

If you voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, you won’t be able cast your ballot in the voting booth/machine this year, unless you opted out in writing by last Friday. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cory Booker: So much for stealing second

Originally published in The Stanford Daily Signal, February 19, 1992

Telling one’s own personal story is often the most powerful way to make a point, or, more importantly, to make people think. When grandiose statements entrenched in politically correct terminology are made, many may listen but few will hear.

When I hesitated in writing this column, I realized I was basking in hypocrisy. So instead I chose to write and risk.

New Year’s Eve 1984 I will never forget. I was 15. As the ball dropped, I leaned over to hug a friend and she met me instead with an overwhelming kiss.

As we fumbled upon the bed, I remember debating my next “move” as if it were a chess game. With the “Top Gun” slogan ringing in my head, I slowly reached for her breast. After having my hand pushed away once, I reached my “mark.” Read the rest of this entry »

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County Clerk Reminds Voters about the New Vote by Mail Law which will affect the November General Election

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon

FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon is reminding voters that a new law signed by Governor Phil Murphy in August dramatically changed the Vote by Mail rules in New Jersey. These changes are effective immediately and will impact the November General Election.

The new law mandates that all voters who voted by mail in the 2016 General Election be sent a Mail-In Ballot for the 2018 General Election, even if they did not request one. If these voters do not want to receive a 2018 General Election Mail-In Ballot, they must notify the County Clerk in writing to opt out.

“All of these 2016 Mail-In Ballot voters have been sent a letter from the County Clerk’s Office advising of this change, so it is important that voters be on the lookout for this letter,” said Clerk Hanlon.

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Kaepernick is poster child for human rights violator Nike

Colin Kaepernick, the former mediocre NFL quarterback who ignited the take a knee during the national anthem movement, is the face of Nike’s advertising campaign celebrating the company’s 30 years of global human right violations and it’s Just Do It advertising slogan.

Kaepernick has been under contract and paid by Nike while sidelined from the NFL since the end of the 2016 football season.  He recently renewed his endorsement contact with the company with a long history of labor violations globally. The company will produce Kaepernick shoes and t-shirts, according to the New York Times.

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Smith Leads Congressional Delegation To Ethiopia To Push For More Reforms, Release Of Political Prisoners

PM Abiy Ahmed held talks with a US Congressional delegation led by Congressman Chris Smith. The two parties exchanged views on a range of bilateral & regional issues. PM Abiy updated the delegation about Ethiopia’s current political and economic reform initiatives. #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/qfjDEQR8RZ

— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) August 23, 2018

Congressman Chris Smith with Ethipian-American leaders, July, 2017, after the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution condemning human rights abuses by the now former Ethiopian government

Congressman Chris Smith is in Ethiopia today, leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation to encourage continued political reforms, reinforce human rights issues, and press for freedom for Menashe Levy, an Israeli citizen who has been brutally imprisoned since July of 2015 and beaten in Ethiopia with no access to due process rights.

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Welle’s Tax Plan Would Increase Taxes For 21.3% of CD-4 Residents

Josh Welle, the progressive or centrist (depending on who he’s talking to) Democrat challenging Congressman Chris Smith in the fourth congressional district, proposed raising taxes on the top 5% of income earners yesterday during his appearance on FoxBusiness’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast.

The Welle Tax would impact 21.3% of the households in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, according to data provided by StatisticalAtlas.com.

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After horrible week of media coverage, Trump’s approval rating goes up

photo via Instagram

President Donald Trump has been almost universally criticized by the Washington political and punditry elites, on both the left and right, for his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Yet his approval rating went up, in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last night.

The four day nationwide survey of 900 registered started a day before the Trump/Putin summit. The pollsters reported that there was little difference in the results before and after the heads of state.

The 45% approval rating is the highest of Trump’s presidency.  It is up 1% from a June WSJ/NBC survey.

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O’Scanlon praises Supreme Court’s proposed Municipal Court Reforms—will introduce legislation to take the profit out of policing and local courts

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth County) today issued praise to the Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines and Fees for their comprehensive report which, after a 16 month investigation, “revealed a number of significant concerns where aggressive reform is needed. Many of those issues identified by the Committee undermine both the administration of justice and the independence of the Municipal Courts.”

“In law enforcement and judicial systems, profit is the mortal enemy of justice,” Senator O’Scanlon said. “We must take real steps towards reforming municipal court and ticketing procedures. Policing for profit is an unacceptable practice that tarnishes the reputation of all our upstanding police officers and often results in devastating consequences for petty infractions.”

“Municipal Courts should be about the administration of justice, not a profit center to plug holes in local governments’ budgets,” O’Scanlon continued.   “In the twenty-five years since our Courts were last reformed, too many towns have come to rely on fines to fund their municipal operations and too many local judges have turned into de facto tax collectors.  This is not justice and it has to stop.”

Among the reforms that O’Scanlon will propose in legislation are: Read the rest of this entry »

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