Middlesex GOP and Lieutenant Governor Step Up For Anna Little

The Middlesex Republican Women's Club hosted a fundraiser for CD-6 GOP Candidate Anna Little on Sunday which drew quite a crowd! 

Somerset, Union and Monmouth Counties were represented too.


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I Almost Feel Sorry For Flippy’s Team

They’ve Got NOTHING To Run On, Not Much To Run With

By Art Gallagher

I didn’t feel too bad for Flippy’s team on Friday at the MODC candidates luncheon when they were sitting all by themselves in the back of the room.

Freeholder Amy Mallet, Sheriff Candidate Eric Brophy, Flippy, Freeholder Candidate Janice Whatshername

After all, this was a group of business people, why would Flippy’s team know business people?

I did feel for them a bit when I saw their handouts on the tables.  Word on the grapevine is that they’ve been having a hard time raising money for their campaign.  It must be true, because their handouts are embarrassing.

The handout was printed on flimsy office paper that you could see through and the disclosure reads “Printed in House, Labor donated.”   Hey, I’m all for volunteer efforts in a campaign, but how are those union printing houses going to feel about the Democrats cutting them out?  Didn’t they get the memo from Pallone and Rush?   Democratic volunteers get paid $10 per hour.

I stopped feeling sorry for them when I read the content of their piece.

Their priorities.

* Cut waste. Eric, John and Janice will slash inflated county government department budgets.

This is why he’s called Flippy. 

Freeholder D’Amico came into office advocating the building of a new court house.  He blocked the closure of the Youth Detention Center in the year the Democrats had the majority and he voted against the closure this year when the Republicans closed it, saving taxpayers $2.5 million per year.   Cut government?!  Please these are Democrats.  In the one year Flippy and the Democrats had power, they tried to increase the size of county government by creating an new level of bureaucracy, an Inspector General, and former State Democratic Chairman Joe Cryan was recruiting Democrats from Union County to come and take six figure jobs in Monmouth.   Now they say they are going to govern like Chris Christie?

Well, not quite.  Check out their next priority:

Spur job creation:  Utilizing federal stimulus funds, our team will promote economic development by addressing critical road, bridge and mass transit needs.

How are Freeholders and a Sheriff going to allocate federal stimulus funds?!   What if there isn’t federal stimulus funds next year? If there is another federal stimulus package next year it means the economy is still in the tank and Phoney Palloney and Rush and still in congress.  Heaven forbid!  It also means that Chinese will become the second language of choice taught in our schools.

 I think this priority translates as a message to the trade unions: “Please give us money to fund our campaign.  We’ll get you all the prevailing wage jobs that we can, really, we will.”

Environmental protection. Brophy, D’Amico and Venables oppose off-shore drilling and will reduce congestion and pollution through infrastructure investment.

Huh?  What authority does a Sheriff or a Freeholder have over off-shore drilling?  New infrastructure will increase congestion.  Been to Middlesex, Union or Bergen Counties lately?  How is building new roads going to reduce pollution?

Open, honest government. Our team will appoint an all-volunteer ethics board of citizens to ensure integrity in government and to make it transparent.

Does that mean we can’t trust you if we elect you?  If you’re trustworthy, what do we need an ethics board for?

How are volunteers going to make paid staffers be transparent?  I see costs for attorneys creeping into this all volunteer witch hunt.

That’s just one side of the embarrassing piece.  Later in the week I’ll ridicule the other side.

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Frank Pallone…Call Secretary Sebelius, Stat!

By Art Gallagher

On Friday, Congressman Frank Pallone issued a press release stating that the committee that he chairs, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee, will hold hearings to do a thorough review of why health insurance premiums are increasing by double digits.  25%-35% in some cases.

Pallone better check in with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius before he issues any subpoenas to health insurance company executives.  Sebelius issued an stern warning to insurers on September 9th, threatening them with being cut off from the new government-run health insurances exchanges that are scheduled to begin under Obama Pallone Care in 2014, and preventing citizens from being able to use government subsidies to buy insurance from companies who are telling their customers that the increases are do in part to Obama  PalloneCare.

If Pallone puts health insurance company executives under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, will he also grant them immunity from Sebelius’ threats if they tell the truth about how Obama PalloneCare is contributing to the increase in health insurance costs?

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Treaspass? Eminent Domain? Why Are They Ending Road Work Anyway?

How long has that sign been on my property?  I’ve been keeping odd hours lately, but how did I miss it?  Surely government workers were working overtime on Saturday to post that sign on MY PROPERTY.

Who do I call?  Mayor Little?  Hmmm, I live on a county road, is it too early to call Director Burry?

How much rent should I charge?  I think I’ll charge $15,000.  That would cover the property taxes I pay in Highlands for a year.  But this is a county road, prime real estate.  Thousands of commuters, including Oceanport Council President Joe Irace drive past my house everyday on their way to the SeaStreak ferry to NY.   We’re coming into the prime sign season as politicians are usually very nice to me around now so that I’ll let them put their signs on MY PROPERTY.

I’ll have to think this through and consult an attorney.  How long will the road work be going on?  Maybe I can charge enough rent to cover property taxes for two years!   Maybe I can get the 5 acre requirement for farm designation waived so that my property can be declared a fish farm and I’ll get a property tax break forever!

Here’s what I’ll do.  I won’t file trespassing charges and I won’t charge rent. Why would I want to gouge my neighbors and friends anyway?  I’ll let the sign stay there for free so long as the union workers who do the road work earn market rate wages instead of “prevailing wage.”  If I’m not going to gouge my neighbors, why should they?

That sounds like a fair deal to me.  Draw up the papers Lillian, I’ll be calling.

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Towns Need Passage of 33 Bills in Mayor’s Toolbox Legislation

By Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, Middletown

Now that the legislature is back in session, all eyes are focused on Trenton as the debate over Governor Christie’s “Mayor’s Toolbox” begins in earnest.  The 33 bills contained within the “toolbox” are critical to give local governments the ability to cut spending that they are legally unable to do now.  It is imperative that the legislature act quickly to implement these essential reforms.  Unfortunately, it appears that resistance is growing to many of the bills from special interest groups that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, regardless of how damaging it is to those who pay local property taxes.  These special interests appear oblivious to the current economic crisis the country is facing.

The only hope that residents of New Jersey have to cut the state’s highest in the nation property taxes is to allow their local officials to cut their budgets, get reasonable concessions from the unions, have significant pension and benefit reform and remove education funding from the backs of local property owners.  The people of New Jersey simply cannot afford to subsidize a system that has grown way too big and way too expensive.  Many residents, if they are lucky enough to still have a job, have often had to accept a pay cut or a pay freeze, contribute 30% or more to their health care, and fund their own retirement through a 401k or similar plan.  It is time for government to be brought in line with the private sector and Governor Christie’s reforms will allow local officials to do just that.

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Pallone: “I feel vindicated” by Gulf Oil Spill

Congressman Frank Pallone said he “feels vindicated” by the Gulf oil spill, because for years he has been arguing that the technology doesn’t exists for save drilling.  In his next breath he said there are already plans for new drilling rigs in even “twice as deep” that those of the incident in the Gulf of Mexico on the Deep Water Horizon.

Pallone was speaking before the Monmouth-Ocean Development Council’s annual candidates luncheon.

What a Phoney Palloney double speaker.

Far from feeling vindicated, Pallone should be hanging his head in shame for his failure as a senior member of the congressional committee with over sight of the Minerals Management Services, whose corruption and failure to properly inspect the Deep Water Horizon and other rigs lead to the disaster in the Gulf.

Phoney Palloney has NOT consistently opposed deep water off-shore drilling.  He voted for the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act of 1995, which authorized deep water drilling, twice  before he voted against it and before President Clinton signed the bill into law.

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Who Is the Tea Party, Part 3

In this final installment of my interview with Barbara Gonzales, the founder of the Bayshore Tea Party, we discuss the motivations of the groups members and leadership, the diversity of the members and the truth about who the Tea Party is vs the perception the media is attempting to create about them.

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StopPallone.Com

The Freedom Defense Fund recently released this ad.

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Weekend@Monmouth

Greg Kelly at Monmouth County Life did the leg work for you. 

If you’re going out for dinner, visit one of our advertisers.

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Wayne’s World

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