‘The Interview,’ On A YouTube Near You

The Interview was released on YouTube this aftenoon. Here’s the preview. The full movie can be viewed for $5.99

Update 12:20 p.m. EST: “The Interview” will be released at 1 p.m. Wednesday on YouTube, Google Play, and XBox video, Sony just announced. Original story: YouTube has reached a tentative agreement with Sony Pictures to stream the film “The Interview,” reports CNN Wednesday morning, citing “sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations.” The deal has not… Read the rest of this entry »

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Slouching Away From 9/11

By Matt Rooney, The Save Jersey Blog

I shared a quote with my Facebook friends last night from Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, on the eve of this 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks:

“The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic, and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.”

Pretty soul stirring, right?

Then I started to wonder if it was still true, Save Jerseyans.

Evidence to the contrary: (1) the NSA is intercepting our personal phone records and (2) Americans can’t board an airplane without invasive searches; (3) Government spending is now approaching 40% of the GDP, greater than any time in our history save for World War II; (4) Washington can compel you to buy anything that Congress wants you to consume provided that it’s accomplished under the guise of a “tax” or, in the case of real property, transfer yours to another private individual for the “public good”; (5) Government opposition groups suffer punitive tax audits and (6) major scandals are shamelessly covered up.

Shall I keep going?

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One Government Employee For Every 17 People

By Art Gallagher

Now that Senate President Stephen Sweeney has agreed with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver’s proposal that government employee pension and health benefit reforms be temporary and guts key elements of the reforms that Governor Christie and Sweeney agreed to, it seems as though we are in danger of business as usual  prevailing in Trenton. 

If Governor Chris Christie goes along with this “compromise,” real sustainable reform of New Jersey’s government is not going to happen.  “Reform” will just be a short term fix to get us through the tough economic times made with the rosy assumption that the economy will improve to the point where we can afford to bestow free health care and overly generous pensions to our “public servants.”

What I found most alarming about this Star Ledger article was not that Sweeney and Oliver may have outmaneuvered Christie (InTheLobby speculates that the unions have already agreed to the deal despite their public protests to the contrary and that Christie will go along with it), but the fact that the deal effects the state’s 500,000 public workers.

That’s one public worker for every 17 New Jersey residents. 

I’m assuming that includes county and municipal workers, as the U.S. Census reports that NJ has 154,000 state employees and 360,000 local government employees.  Will legislation currently being negotiated in Trenton override contracts that counties and municipalities already have in place?  If so, that would be terrible for Middletown taxpayers where the the governing body got the police to agree to pay 25% of their health care in order to avoid layoffs.  How would the 2% property tax cap work if the State makes deals that override better deals that municipal governments have negotiated.

Hopefully the Star Ledger reporter got his figures wrong.

Regardless of the largess we bestow on state and local government employees, 500,000 employees “serving” 8.7 million people seems like awfully big government.  And that doesn’t include federal government employees located in New Jersey.

I various government websites for about an hour trying to find how many federal government employees are located in New Jersey.  I found that the federal government, with 2,000,000 employees, not including the post office, is the nation’s largest employer.  85% of federal employees are located outside of the Washington DC metro area.  But I couldn’t find a state by state break down of the employees.  I wonder why that information is so hard to find.

Let’s assume its only 50,000 between Homeland Security, the military, law enforcement and social security offices.

That would mean that in New Jersey, one in every 16 people is on the government payroll.

It is little wonder that New Jersey is rank next to last in freedom.

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Freedom Isn’t Free

By Diane Gooch

When I learned of the tragic shootings in Tucson this past weekend, I was immediately taken back to a hot summer day just months ago, when I was standing at the Korean War Memorial in Washington DC reading the words “Freedom is not free.” Like most, I had viewed that phrase in the context of war. However, the horrific events of this past Saturday remind us that all too often civilians, public servants and occasionally political leaders are casualties in defense of our freedom, too.Promoting freedom is not something we only do in combat, but in living our lives in the American spirit and traditions so many fought to preserve, protect and defend. That is what Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was doing by hosting a “Congress on your Corner” event at a local grocery store. That’s what dozens of her constituents exemplified with their participation. That is the quintessential American political ideal in its most basic form.

Having lost my brother Paul in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, I chose to believe that the lives of almost three thousand Americans that day were not lost in vain; that in some way, their loss helped our nation grow stronger and more resilient. As we try to understand what happened in Tucson, the focus should remain on mourning the tragic losses, which includes a nine-year-old girl interested in civics and government, by helping their families and community know that the death of their loved ones will bring us closer as a nation, not exacerbate our divisions.

Every tragedy invites an inevitable pursuit of blame and accountability beyond the obvious culprit. But the reality is that this crime came at the hands of a lone gunman who needed no more provocation than his own demons and delusions. The unpredictable, senseless and evil tendencies of a madman should not connect dots that need not be connected.

The shootings that occurred in Tucson are tragic on so many levels; but have little to do with a partisan agenda or volatile political discourse. As Ross Douthat observed in The New York Times, “There is no faction in American politics that actually wants its opponents dead. That may seem like a small blessing, amid so much tragedy and loss. But it is a blessing worth remembering nonetheless.” That should be our starting point while searching for the “teachable moment” that can emerge from this horror.

We know the shooter showed signs of being troubled, and like most assassins in modern American history, was likely mentally ill. Reports indicate that he suffered from isolation, paranoia and schizophrenia. It is our mental health system, not simply gun laws, that failed to protect society from such a dangerous character.

During my work on behalf of pediatric acquired brain injury, I have been shocked to discover how far behind we are in scientifically understanding and medically treating brain disease and injuries, even minor ones. What we do know is that there is a direct correlation between these issues in youth and adolescence leading to mental health and behavioral problems in adults. The fact that brain research remains grossly under-funded and treatment so poorly developed, means we are not addressing such a pervasive and devastating problem. Our society pays the price.

I was back in Washington DC last week, participating in many events marking the start of the 112th Congress. In my meetings with several members of Congress, I sensed universal optimism and excitement to begin doing the work the people sent them to do. Congresswoman Giffords clearly exemplified that spirit, and was quickly back to work meeting with constituents just a day after returning from the capital. What a great work ethic and testament to her respect for the office she holds.

In the wake of this tragedy, let’s allow her example to reign and not those of the political opportunists who seek to define this tragedy as a point of division in our nation. Those who died that day will not have done so in vain if we remain a nation unified in mourning and determined to move together past this devastating event.
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