as I said six months ago
christie is faltering at just the right time-4 new polls show the same thing
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/2/12849/2025
NJ-Gov: Still tightening
by kos
Share this on Twitter - NJ-Gov: Still tightening Fri Oct 02, 2009 at 08:52:03 AM PDT
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4% (8/3-5 results)
Favorability
Favorable Unfavorable No Opinion
Corzine (D) 37 (35) 53 (56) 10 (9)
Christie ® 47 (44) 36 (29) 19 (27)
Daggett (I) 26 12 62
Corzine is up a net 5 points, though still suffers from an ugly /-16 favorability rating. Christie is in better shape, at +11, but that's down four points since early August. Looking at the crosstabs, we find that Christie's numbers among independents are down eight, from 47-24 to 47-32 (compared to Corzine's 29-61, up five since August). Those trends may appear modest, but they appear to be driving a narrowing in the race:
Corzine (D) 42 (40)
Christie ® 46 (48)
Daggett (I) 7 (-)
Undecided 5 (9)
Note, we didn't poll Daggett in early August, so this isn't a perfect apples to apples comparison. The results speak for themselves -- the numbers are moving in Corzine's direction, and while the results are technically within the margin of error (making it a statistical tie), other polling has consistently shown a small Christie lead. A Monmouth University poll (PDF) released yesterday had Christie leading 43-40-8. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday gave Christie a 43-39-12 lead. Both those polls also showed a narrowing race.
An interesting data point -- of the 5 percent who are undecided, the vast majority are voters of color. While just one percent of white voters are undecided (and they break for Christie at a 55-35 clip, 25 percent of African Americans, 12 percent of Hispanics, and 13 percent of "other" remain undecided. All three of those categories are solid Corzine demographics. The governor leads black voters 71-4, leads Hispanic voters 56-31, and leads "other" 57-31. If Corzine can turn them out at these percentages, the bulk of that five percent undecided would slot into his column.
Full Version: Does NJ governor's race show a disconnect?
MUST READ NJ EXPOSE: http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...t&p=1025990
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 3 2009, 10:19 PM) 
"Work-visa fraud in the high-tech industry has become a hot button issue at a time when American workers are furious about massive layoffs and the offshoring of jobs. I'm Steve Hamm, a senior writer at Business Week, and I've spent the last few months investigating a little known segment of the tech industry - the host of small services outfits that provde many of the temporary workers for corporate America. It is within this sub-industry I call the high-tech jungle where much of the fraud takes place. I headed from Manhattan to New Jersey which is home to thousands of small tech services outfits. The Garden State is ranked #2 in the nation behind California for the number of H-1B visa applicatons filed in 2008, more than 58,000. The epicenter for hgh-tech consulting servces is Edison in central NJ... " (more video at link)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...50034732629.htm
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...50034732629.htm
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
.
let's get back to the NJ Gov's race
Corzine is coming on strong, polls now tied, democrats always do better than poll shows
3rd party canddiate is taking away votes from the fatman
and the undecideds are Corzine's natural voters
all shaping up as a 5% VICTORY for Corzine, who with a third party candidate, will only need 45% to win.
Corzine is coming on strong, polls now tied, democrats always do better than poll shows
3rd party canddiate is taking away votes from the fatman
and the undecideds are Corzine's natural voters
all shaping up as a 5% VICTORY for Corzine, who with a third party candidate, will only need 45% to win.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 3 2009, 06:52 PM)
as I said six months ago
christie is faltering at just the right time-4 new polls show the same thing
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/2/12849/2025
NJ-Gov: Still tightening
by kos
Share this on Twitter - NJ-Gov: Still tightening Fri Oct 02, 2009 at 08:52:03 AM PDT
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4% (8/3-5 results)
Favorability
Favorable Unfavorable No Opinion
Corzine (D) 37 (35) 53 (56) 10 (9)
Christie ® 47 (44) 36 (29) 19 (27)
Daggett (I) 26 12 62
Corzine is up a net 5 points, though still suffers from an ugly /-16 favorability rating. Christie is in better shape, at +11, but that's down four points since early August. Looking at the crosstabs, we find that Christie's numbers among independents are down eight, from 47-24 to 47-32 (compared to Corzine's 29-61, up five since August). Those trends may appear modest, but they appear to be driving a narrowing in the race:
Corzine (D) 42 (40)
Christie ® 46 (48)
Daggett (I) 7 (-)
Undecided 5 (9)
Note, we didn't poll Daggett in early August, so this isn't a perfect apples to apples comparison. The results speak for themselves -- the numbers are moving in Corzine's direction, and while the results are technically within the margin of error (making it a statistical tie), other polling has consistently shown a small Christie lead. A Monmouth University poll (PDF) released yesterday had Christie leading 43-40-8. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday gave Christie a 43-39-12 lead. Both those polls also showed a narrowing race.
An interesting data point -- of the 5 percent who are undecided, the vast majority are voters of color. While just one percent of white voters are undecided (and they break for Christie at a 55-35 clip, 25 percent of African Americans, 12 percent of Hispanics, and 13 percent of "other" remain undecided. All three of those categories are solid Corzine demographics. The governor leads black voters 71-4, leads Hispanic voters 56-31, and leads "other" 57-31. If Corzine can turn them out at these percentages, the bulk of that five percent undecided would slot into his column.
christie is faltering at just the right time-4 new polls show the same thing
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/2/12849/2025
NJ-Gov: Still tightening
by kos
Share this on Twitter - NJ-Gov: Still tightening Fri Oct 02, 2009 at 08:52:03 AM PDT
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4% (8/3-5 results)
Favorability
Favorable Unfavorable No Opinion
Corzine (D) 37 (35) 53 (56) 10 (9)
Christie ® 47 (44) 36 (29) 19 (27)
Daggett (I) 26 12 62
Corzine is up a net 5 points, though still suffers from an ugly /-16 favorability rating. Christie is in better shape, at +11, but that's down four points since early August. Looking at the crosstabs, we find that Christie's numbers among independents are down eight, from 47-24 to 47-32 (compared to Corzine's 29-61, up five since August). Those trends may appear modest, but they appear to be driving a narrowing in the race:
Corzine (D) 42 (40)
Christie ® 46 (48)
Daggett (I) 7 (-)
Undecided 5 (9)
Note, we didn't poll Daggett in early August, so this isn't a perfect apples to apples comparison. The results speak for themselves -- the numbers are moving in Corzine's direction, and while the results are technically within the margin of error (making it a statistical tie), other polling has consistently shown a small Christie lead. A Monmouth University poll (PDF) released yesterday had Christie leading 43-40-8. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday gave Christie a 43-39-12 lead. Both those polls also showed a narrowing race.
An interesting data point -- of the 5 percent who are undecided, the vast majority are voters of color. While just one percent of white voters are undecided (and they break for Christie at a 55-35 clip, 25 percent of African Americans, 12 percent of Hispanics, and 13 percent of "other" remain undecided. All three of those categories are solid Corzine demographics. The governor leads black voters 71-4, leads Hispanic voters 56-31, and leads "other" 57-31. If Corzine can turn them out at these percentages, the bulk of that five percent undecided would slot into his column.
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 3 2009, 10:19 PM)
NEW MUST READ NJ EXPOSE:
http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...t&p=1025990 "Work-visa fraud in the high-tech industry has become a hot button issue at a time when American workers are furious about massive layoffs and the offshoring of jobs. I'm Steve Hamm, a senior writer at Business Week, and I've spent the last few months investigating a little known segment of the tech industry - the host of small services outfits that provde many of the temporary workers for corporate America. It is within this sub-industry I call the high-tech jungle where much of the fraud takes place. I headed from Manhattan to New Jersey which is home to thousands of small tech services outfits. The Garden State is ranked #2 in the nation behind California for the number of H-1B visa applicatons filed in 2008, more than 58,000. The epicenter for hgh-tech consulting servces is Edison in central NJ... " (more video at link)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...50034732629.htm
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
.
http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...t&p=1025990 "Work-visa fraud in the high-tech industry has become a hot button issue at a time when American workers are furious about massive layoffs and the offshoring of jobs. I'm Steve Hamm, a senior writer at Business Week, and I've spent the last few months investigating a little known segment of the tech industry - the host of small services outfits that provde many of the temporary workers for corporate America. It is within this sub-industry I call the high-tech jungle where much of the fraud takes place. I headed from Manhattan to New Jersey which is home to thousands of small tech services outfits. The Garden State is ranked #2 in the nation behind California for the number of H-1B visa applicatons filed in 2008, more than 58,000. The epicenter for hgh-tech consulting servces is Edison in central NJ... " (more video at link)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...50034732629.htm
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 4 2009, 04:03 AM)
let's get back to the NJ Gov's race
.
.
Yes, let's go. Read the article, graham. The cover story of BUSINESS WEEK magazine's October issue should have been titled: Suburban New Jersey's High-Tech Sweatshops. Is your hometown mentoned as the site of one of those illegal NJ-based human trafficking operations? All the companies exposed were NJ based, graham.
Final statements in the video:
"The visa program needs to be reformed and the abusers need to be brought to justce. This is Busness Week and I'm Steve Hamm."
This is about the governor's race, graham, and our state's leadership. I look forward to hearing from the candidates on this subject.
speaking of sweat
do you notice, Chris Christie sweats more than dick Nixon did
they could solve the water problem worldwide with all the sweat the fat man sweats
Chris Christie is disgusting
phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
a hypocrite
a liar in his ads
and he sweats like a pig
yet he drives worse than a blind man
and he lost the debate big time
Chris Christie is falling hard
(and if he fell into the ocean, there would be a tsunami)
do you notice, Chris Christie sweats more than dick Nixon did
they could solve the water problem worldwide with all the sweat the fat man sweats
Chris Christie is disgusting
phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
a hypocrite
a liar in his ads
and he sweats like a pig
yet he drives worse than a blind man
and he lost the debate big time
Chris Christie is falling hard
(and if he fell into the ocean, there would be a tsunami)
I got this week a great surprise...
my yearly home rebate check...about $1400.00...
THANK YOU JON CORZINE!!!! This is SOLELY due to you...the reppublican Chris(the fat sweaty turd) wanted to do away with them...
Just wish that $1400 would go to more than 1/2 my health insurance,(something Chris Christie (the fat sweaty turd) also wants to raise.
I LOVE JON CORZINE!!!
my yearly home rebate check...about $1400.00...
THANK YOU JON CORZINE!!!! This is SOLELY due to you...the reppublican Chris(the fat sweaty turd) wanted to do away with them...
Just wish that $1400 would go to more than 1/2 my health insurance,(something Chris Christie (the fat sweaty turd) also wants to raise.
I LOVE JON CORZINE!!!
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 3 2009, 12:11 PM)
"...By resisting the urge to avert our eyes, we can glimpse the blinding beauty that lies in the humblest acts of optimism, generosity and hope."
- Heather Havrilesky
http://www.sundancechannel.com/brick-city/
Series to be re-aired on Sundance Channel
EPISODE 2: Sunday October 4 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 3: Sunday October 11 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 4: Sunday October 18 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 5: Sunday October 25 at 9:00PM
- Heather Havrilesky
QUOTE(believe_it @ Sep 12 2009, 01:57 PM)
NJ residents span the economic spectrum and include some of the wealthiest and poorest Americans. SUNDANCE Channel will be airing BRICK CITY (on five consecutive nights) beginning September 21 at 10PM. Have a look. Rebroadcast on consecutive Sundays beginning September 27.
QUOTE
http://www.sundancechannel.com/brick-city/
BRICK CITY
Created and directed by the award-winning filmmakers Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin, BRICK CITY, is a five-part documentary series that captures the daily drama of a community striving to become a better, safer, stronger place to live. Against great odds, Newark’s citizens and its Mayor, Cory A. Booker, fight to raise the city out of nearly a half century of violence, poverty and corruption. In the five one-hour episodes of BRICK CITY the lives of Mayor Booker, citizens on the front lines, and key figures re-making the city – from developers to gang members and youth mentors - intertwine in a portrait of a city at a critical moment in history.
Newark, New Jersey is known as "Brick City" for its architectural style, urban strength and human resilience. The city has consistently been a battlefield of high stakes drama, and in the wake of the riots and rebellion that exploded in 1967, it became a symbol of American urban decline. Filmed in the second full year of Mayor Booker's administration, BRICK CITY follows the Mayor and member of his administration and average Newarkers who are engaged in the complex, difficult and essential work of urban renewal.
Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Forest Whitaker is the Executive Producer.
BRICK CITY
Created and directed by the award-winning filmmakers Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin, BRICK CITY, is a five-part documentary series that captures the daily drama of a community striving to become a better, safer, stronger place to live. Against great odds, Newark’s citizens and its Mayor, Cory A. Booker, fight to raise the city out of nearly a half century of violence, poverty and corruption. In the five one-hour episodes of BRICK CITY the lives of Mayor Booker, citizens on the front lines, and key figures re-making the city – from developers to gang members and youth mentors - intertwine in a portrait of a city at a critical moment in history.
Newark, New Jersey is known as "Brick City" for its architectural style, urban strength and human resilience. The city has consistently been a battlefield of high stakes drama, and in the wake of the riots and rebellion that exploded in 1967, it became a symbol of American urban decline. Filmed in the second full year of Mayor Booker's administration, BRICK CITY follows the Mayor and member of his administration and average Newarkers who are engaged in the complex, difficult and essential work of urban renewal.
Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Forest Whitaker is the Executive Producer.
http://www.sundancechannel.com/brick-city/
Series to be re-aired on Sundance Channel
EPISODE 2: Sunday October 4 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 3: Sunday October 11 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 4: Sunday October 18 at 9:00PM
EPISODE 5: Sunday October 25 at 9:00PM
QUOTE
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2009/09/2...city/index.html
"Brick City": Like "The Wire," but true
The Sundance series finds beauty in the intrepid public servants of Newark, N.J.
By Heather Havrilesky
Sep. 20, 2009
Cynicism is a luxury item. You might be able to afford it, but not everyone can. If you're young, you can roll your eyes at the world without paying much of a price. If you're rich, you can shake your head and sigh from the comfort of your climate-controlled, pest-free, meticulously clean square footage.
But if you're poor or black or overweight or old or handicapped or depressed, if the world isn't coming up roses for you unless you fight hard, every day, to make it work, cynicism can mean a slow downward spiral to death. Once you've suffered loss or stumbled and fallen hard, cynicism looks less like harmless fun and more like quicksand.
Of course we all like to pretend that our nice things and our education and our highly professional, dry-cleaned existence means that we're above hope, that we don't have to believe in something like the little guy does, that we don't have to help out or worry or lend our voices to the voiceless. But that's all an elaborate game of make-believe.
You may be able to afford the luxury of cynicism now. But when cynicism becomes a way of life, eventually, you pay the tax with your soul.
Another brick in the wall
Sure, it's tough to fight your own skepticism when you witness how ugly the world can be, day after day. Now imagine growing up in a place that most people see as ugly: Newark, N.J. Its inhabitants are mostly poor and have been plagued by terrible crime rates for decades. But when you watch Sundance's "Brick City," a five-part miniseries that airs every night this week (10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, through Friday, Sept. 25) (and you'd better watch it), you get a different view. Once you get past the fact that you're hearing the same old glowing promises out of Mayor Cory Booker that you've heard from every politician under the sun, once you get past the inherent hopelessness of a former Bloods gang member named Jayda trying to kick the gang life, once you look beyond the same old shots of beleaguered cops and overwhelmed high school teachers and tearful community activists, mourning innocent kids gunned down in the streets, there's something beautiful at the core of this series.
It takes a while to let your cynicism slough off, partially because watching a real-life version of HBO's "The Wire" is a little too brutal to take to heart at first, because you've been trained, by that show and by the local news, to avert your eyes from such a gut-wrenchingly dim scenario. Booker, who comes across as charming and slightly nerdy, is still determined to reduce crime in the city of Newark drastically. He wants to make the streets safe for the children of Newark, and keep more of them in school for longer. Can you feel the deep sighs coming already?
While the access that filmmakers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin, along with producer Forest Whitaker, managed to get to intimate conversations and backroom meetings is truly impressive, it's not always easy to craft a narrative around an endless flow of dismal planning sessions, homicides, press conferences and the latest fight between Jayda and her boyfriend (a member of the Crips). During the first hour or so, it's tough to see how this story will ever take shape.
And that's not to mention the desperation of this picture: Of course the city is broke. Of course Police Director Garry McCarthy is faced with trying to do more with less, but still has to alternately rally and bully his troops in scenes that could've come straight from David Simon's keyboard. Of course Booker is running on fumes and idealism, repeating his own mantras over and over, trying to get all of the beleaguered city officials and community organizers and cops to catch the spirit. Even when the mayor is full of inspiration and a burning desire to fix his city, most of his city officials look like they could use a stiff drink.
But by the third episode -- and I would beg you to stick with this series until then -- something beautiful starts to reveal itself. Suddenly, we stop seeing Jayda as just another former gang member, or Booker as just another politician, or Ras Baraka, the principal of Central High School in Newark, as just another disappointed school administrator. Suddenly we can see straight through to the hearts and souls of these people. Maybe it just takes two and a half hours of this very patient, day-in-the-life documentary to recognize how special the people on-screen are, or maybe it takes that long for its subjects to forget that the cameras are on, or maybe it just takes a while to appreciate how good filmmakers Levin and Benjamin are at ferreting out salient moments so that we really get to know these subjects.
After some dark moments in the first few hours, Jayda starts to really come alive for the camera. She's obviously smart and dynamic from the beginning, but her ability to connect with younger women only becomes clear when she starts a mentoring group for at-risk high-school-age girls called Nine Strong Women. During a sleepover for the girls at her apartment, Jayda warns them against falling in with the wrong crowd, telling them, "Be careful about who you call a friend." One of the girls is annoyed that Jayda is looking straight at her when she says that.
"You want to know why I look at you? Because you have a beautiful heart and you are gullible as hell. You will believe anything. And that is the worst type of person to be in 2008 living in Newark, New Jersey."
Meanwhile, Jayda's boyfriend Creep, who still hangs out with his fellow Cripps gang members, says he doesn't want to be living in Newark at all. When the two of them go looking for a new apartment to share with their baby, plus Creep's daughter and Jayda's young son, Creep spells it out for Jayda.
Creep: I wanna live ...
Jayda: In a neutral zone.
Creep: ... in the business hood, where I go outside and it's like "How you doing this morning, sir? How you doing?" "expletive deleted"ing suits. That's where I wanna live at.
Jayda: Where in Newark could we find that?
Creep: I ain't say nothin' about Newark.
So why not just move to a prettier place? Sure, some can't afford it. But crucially, a lot of the people we see on-screen aren't merely interested in making their own lives prettier (like so many of us). They're interested in somehow, some way, pulling their community out of a deep, dark pit of despair.
"When you say a kid doesn't want to learn, that's like saying a moth doesn't want to be a butterfly," says Principal Baraka of the challenges of teaching kids with so much turmoil in their lives. "Kids learn every single day. We learn every single day. The question is, what do we learn?"
Baraka and Vice Principal Todd Warren aim to teach their kids lessons that many of them aren't learning at home. In one heartbreaking scene, Warren addresses a group of freshman boys taking part in the Freshman Boys Overnight, a program at Central High that seems to encourage the boys to make the school a sort of second home.
"You're playing around in the classroom, but those kids in [predominantly white] Millburn have their faces in a book," Warren says, but no one looks all that convinced. "But you're too foolish to see that! We're telling you this stuff because we love you, man."
Warren looks around the room and his voice softens. "Some of you don't know anything about real love, though. You've never had any type of interaction with a real man before. Who here is being raised by a woman?" Almost every single kid in the classroom raises his hand.
"Those of you who don't have men in your lives, your fathers, strong male figures, listen. Mr. Baraka and Mr. Warren love you. Mr. Baraka and Mr. Warren are here for you." Even the toughest kids in the room look like they're about to cry when Warren says this.
Boys may always grow up without fathers and Newark may always be a tough place, but this city's heroes give us all something to aspire to. As most of us struggle mightily to improve our own lives, these people fight every day to make the world a safer and better place for their neighbors. In revealing their trials and toils, Sundance's "Brick City" makes our luxuries, from our comforting things to the comfort of our cynicism, look downright foolish by comparison. By resisting the urge to avert our eyes, we can glimpse the blinding beauty that lies in the humblest acts of optimism, generosity and hope.
.
"Brick City": Like "The Wire," but true
The Sundance series finds beauty in the intrepid public servants of Newark, N.J.
By Heather Havrilesky
Sep. 20, 2009
Cynicism is a luxury item. You might be able to afford it, but not everyone can. If you're young, you can roll your eyes at the world without paying much of a price. If you're rich, you can shake your head and sigh from the comfort of your climate-controlled, pest-free, meticulously clean square footage.
But if you're poor or black or overweight or old or handicapped or depressed, if the world isn't coming up roses for you unless you fight hard, every day, to make it work, cynicism can mean a slow downward spiral to death. Once you've suffered loss or stumbled and fallen hard, cynicism looks less like harmless fun and more like quicksand.
Of course we all like to pretend that our nice things and our education and our highly professional, dry-cleaned existence means that we're above hope, that we don't have to believe in something like the little guy does, that we don't have to help out or worry or lend our voices to the voiceless. But that's all an elaborate game of make-believe.
You may be able to afford the luxury of cynicism now. But when cynicism becomes a way of life, eventually, you pay the tax with your soul.
Another brick in the wall
Sure, it's tough to fight your own skepticism when you witness how ugly the world can be, day after day. Now imagine growing up in a place that most people see as ugly: Newark, N.J. Its inhabitants are mostly poor and have been plagued by terrible crime rates for decades. But when you watch Sundance's "Brick City," a five-part miniseries that airs every night this week (10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, through Friday, Sept. 25) (and you'd better watch it), you get a different view. Once you get past the fact that you're hearing the same old glowing promises out of Mayor Cory Booker that you've heard from every politician under the sun, once you get past the inherent hopelessness of a former Bloods gang member named Jayda trying to kick the gang life, once you look beyond the same old shots of beleaguered cops and overwhelmed high school teachers and tearful community activists, mourning innocent kids gunned down in the streets, there's something beautiful at the core of this series.
It takes a while to let your cynicism slough off, partially because watching a real-life version of HBO's "The Wire" is a little too brutal to take to heart at first, because you've been trained, by that show and by the local news, to avert your eyes from such a gut-wrenchingly dim scenario. Booker, who comes across as charming and slightly nerdy, is still determined to reduce crime in the city of Newark drastically. He wants to make the streets safe for the children of Newark, and keep more of them in school for longer. Can you feel the deep sighs coming already?
While the access that filmmakers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin, along with producer Forest Whitaker, managed to get to intimate conversations and backroom meetings is truly impressive, it's not always easy to craft a narrative around an endless flow of dismal planning sessions, homicides, press conferences and the latest fight between Jayda and her boyfriend (a member of the Crips). During the first hour or so, it's tough to see how this story will ever take shape.
And that's not to mention the desperation of this picture: Of course the city is broke. Of course Police Director Garry McCarthy is faced with trying to do more with less, but still has to alternately rally and bully his troops in scenes that could've come straight from David Simon's keyboard. Of course Booker is running on fumes and idealism, repeating his own mantras over and over, trying to get all of the beleaguered city officials and community organizers and cops to catch the spirit. Even when the mayor is full of inspiration and a burning desire to fix his city, most of his city officials look like they could use a stiff drink.
But by the third episode -- and I would beg you to stick with this series until then -- something beautiful starts to reveal itself. Suddenly, we stop seeing Jayda as just another former gang member, or Booker as just another politician, or Ras Baraka, the principal of Central High School in Newark, as just another disappointed school administrator. Suddenly we can see straight through to the hearts and souls of these people. Maybe it just takes two and a half hours of this very patient, day-in-the-life documentary to recognize how special the people on-screen are, or maybe it takes that long for its subjects to forget that the cameras are on, or maybe it just takes a while to appreciate how good filmmakers Levin and Benjamin are at ferreting out salient moments so that we really get to know these subjects.
After some dark moments in the first few hours, Jayda starts to really come alive for the camera. She's obviously smart and dynamic from the beginning, but her ability to connect with younger women only becomes clear when she starts a mentoring group for at-risk high-school-age girls called Nine Strong Women. During a sleepover for the girls at her apartment, Jayda warns them against falling in with the wrong crowd, telling them, "Be careful about who you call a friend." One of the girls is annoyed that Jayda is looking straight at her when she says that.
"You want to know why I look at you? Because you have a beautiful heart and you are gullible as hell. You will believe anything. And that is the worst type of person to be in 2008 living in Newark, New Jersey."
Meanwhile, Jayda's boyfriend Creep, who still hangs out with his fellow Cripps gang members, says he doesn't want to be living in Newark at all. When the two of them go looking for a new apartment to share with their baby, plus Creep's daughter and Jayda's young son, Creep spells it out for Jayda.
Creep: I wanna live ...
Jayda: In a neutral zone.
Creep: ... in the business hood, where I go outside and it's like "How you doing this morning, sir? How you doing?" "expletive deleted"ing suits. That's where I wanna live at.
Jayda: Where in Newark could we find that?
Creep: I ain't say nothin' about Newark.
So why not just move to a prettier place? Sure, some can't afford it. But crucially, a lot of the people we see on-screen aren't merely interested in making their own lives prettier (like so many of us). They're interested in somehow, some way, pulling their community out of a deep, dark pit of despair.
"When you say a kid doesn't want to learn, that's like saying a moth doesn't want to be a butterfly," says Principal Baraka of the challenges of teaching kids with so much turmoil in their lives. "Kids learn every single day. We learn every single day. The question is, what do we learn?"
Baraka and Vice Principal Todd Warren aim to teach their kids lessons that many of them aren't learning at home. In one heartbreaking scene, Warren addresses a group of freshman boys taking part in the Freshman Boys Overnight, a program at Central High that seems to encourage the boys to make the school a sort of second home.
"You're playing around in the classroom, but those kids in [predominantly white] Millburn have their faces in a book," Warren says, but no one looks all that convinced. "But you're too foolish to see that! We're telling you this stuff because we love you, man."
Warren looks around the room and his voice softens. "Some of you don't know anything about real love, though. You've never had any type of interaction with a real man before. Who here is being raised by a woman?" Almost every single kid in the classroom raises his hand.
"Those of you who don't have men in your lives, your fathers, strong male figures, listen. Mr. Baraka and Mr. Warren love you. Mr. Baraka and Mr. Warren are here for you." Even the toughest kids in the room look like they're about to cry when Warren says this.
Boys may always grow up without fathers and Newark may always be a tough place, but this city's heroes give us all something to aspire to. As most of us struggle mightily to improve our own lives, these people fight every day to make the world a safer and better place for their neighbors. In revealing their trials and toils, Sundance's "Brick City" makes our luxuries, from our comforting things to the comfort of our cynicism, look downright foolish by comparison. By resisting the urge to avert our eyes, we can glimpse the blinding beauty that lies in the humblest acts of optimism, generosity and hope.
.
Excellent series...is Booker for real?
It was impressive -- watched it on demand...
this has NOTHING to do with the election
stop hijacking the thread
stop hijacking the thread
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 5 2009, 07:19 AM)
this has NOTHING to do with the election
stop hijacking the thread
stop hijacking the thread
I was responding to believe_it -- I did not see you chiding him for jacking the thread?
Lighten up, my friend...or you are not going to have anyone to play with...
There has been a lot of discussion this year about whether a state could seceed from the union. When I think of N.J., I often wonder if the USA could expell a State...
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 5 2009, 09:19 AM)
this has NOTHING to do with the election
stop hijacking the thread
stop hijacking the thread
BRICK CITY is a documentary about Newark, NJ.*
Newark is NJ's largest city.
Chronic blighted conditiions in some regions of NJ's largest urban area have nothing to do with the NJ governor's race?
Again, according to you, Newark has nothing to do with the assessing the best leadership for state government?
If you watch the program, graham, among other things you'll learn why the differences in public education policy between Christie and Corzine matter enormously to the parents of children attending failing schools. Chris Christie was born in Newark, incidentally, and I grew up there.
And if you read the Business Week article, you'll learn appalling information about widespread criminal suburban-NJ high-tech sweatshops. I can't imagine Christie ignoring that. What's Corzine doing? The affluent NJ town immediately adjacent to the governor's mansion was mentioned in the report, by the way.
Both issues should matter to NJ voters when selecting their next governor.
*(specifically dealing with the city government's response to the challenges facing people living in the Central Ward)
Chris Christie is a fat turd.
and ugly
and sweaty
and fat
and ugly
and sweaty
and fat
Looks like Corzine is pulling back up...Christie is just 2.5 percentage points ahead in the RCP average now.
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 5 2009, 09:10 AM)
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 5 2009, 09:19 AM)
this has NOTHING to do with the election
stop hijacking the thread
stop hijacking the thread
BRICK CITY is a documentary about Newark, NJ.*
Newark is NJ's largest city.
Chronic blighted conditiions in some regions of NJ's largest urban area have nothing to do with the NJ governor's race?
Again, according to you, Newark has nothing to do with the assessing the best leadership for state government?
If you watch the program, graham, among other things you'll learn why the differences in public education policy between Christie and Corzine matter enormously to the parents of children attending failing schools. Chris Christie was born in Newark, incidentally, and I grew up there.
And if you read the Business Week article, you'll learn appalling information about widespread criminal suburban-NJ high-tech sweatshops. I can't imagine Christie ignoring that. What's Corzine doing? The affluent NJ town immediately adjacent to the governor's mansion was mentioned in the report, by the way.
Both issues should matter to NJ voters when selecting their next governor.
*(specifically dealing with the city government's response to the challenges facing people living in the Central Ward)
Indeed it is...
QUOTE
QUOTE
http://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/lieute...news/1013504079
Lieutenant Governor Debate - NJN News (4 minute clip)
.
Lieutenant Governor Debate - NJN News (4 minute clip)
.
QUOTE
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/n...or_candida.html
N.J. lieutenant governor candidates Weinberg, Guadagno, Esposito face off in debate at Monmouth University
By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
October 08, 2009, 9:57PM
New Jersey's first-ever candidates for lieutenant governor sparred over taxes, corruption and health care tonight as they clashed in their first and last debate before the November election.
They also got personal, dishing out sharp critiques of one another and especially the gubernatorial candidates.
Democratic state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Republican Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno and independent Frank Esposito held their 90-minute debate at Monmouth University amid a feisty live audience that often interrupted with cheers and boos. All three agreed on the nasty tone of the race -- and at times, added to it.
"I know you’ve been in Trenton a long time," Guadagno said to Weinberg, a veteran state lawmaker running with Gov. Jon Corzine. "I've been working every day while you've been in the Legislature passing rules and spending taxes."
Weinberg responded that Guadagno, Chris Christie's running mate, is hardly an outsider: "I think that you, sheriff, were on your local council. You served as sheriff."
At another point, Guadagno called Weinberg "confused," while Weinberg said Guadagno was distorting the truth: "you're really entitled to your own opinion but not your own set of facts."
Esposito, running with independent Chris Daggett, repeatedly said he was bewildered by the Democrats and Republicans' focus on attacking one another. He touted Daggett's plan to cut property taxes by expanding the sales tax, which he called the only serious proposal put forward.
"This campaign between the two major parties has focused on all kinds of distractions," he said. "New Jerseyans are sick of this partisan game."
Inside the Pollak Theatre, Corzine and Christie sat separately in the front row. Daggett sat behind them in the second row.
Tonight's meeting is the only face-off between the running mates before the Nov. 3 election. The gubernatorial candidates debated on Oct. 1 and will do so again Oct. 16 and Oct. 22.
When the candidates got the chance to question one another, Guadagno and Weinberg seized the opportunity to push core campaign themes. Guadagno got Weinberg to agree that taxes are "too high" in New Jersey.
But she said the state was cutting spending while preserving property tax rebates for seniors and people on the lower side of the income scale. Weinberg also criticized Christie's fiscal proposals.
“A cut in the income tax would cut direct property tax relief. I am still waiting to hear a specific plan from Chris Christie, from Sheriff Guadagno,” she said.
Questioning Guadagno, Weinberg said Christie has accepted campaign contributions from health insurance companies and asked Guadagno if that was linked to his proposal on mandate-free policies.
Weinberg repeatedly said Christie's health care plan would eliminate mandates, including ones that require insurance companies pay for mammograms and 48-hour hospital stays for new mothers.
"I don’t think New Jersey should be giving up our hard-fought mandates," she said.
Guadagno said Weinberg was mischaracterizing Christie's plan, which would allow residents to be cheaper, out-of-state insurance plans. She dismissed the campaign donations as irrelevant said Weinberg, as an advocate for women, should have spoken out against what she called Corzine's scare tactics.
An odd exchange occurred when a questioner asked whether the campaign has gotten too negative.
“In New Jersey, politics is a blood sport,” Guadagno said. “We get in the game anyway because we believe there’s something more important to fight for.”
Weinberg said there has been negative campaigning, but said it’s important to point out who their opponents really are.
“I’m not talking about anybody’s driving record,” Weinberg said. “I’m talking about how one faces the responsibility of what happens when somebody does something inappropriate. It’s a question of character.”
A moderator asked Weinberg if she thinks Christie is fat, referencing a Corzine advertisement that says Christie "threw his weight around."
The camera showed Christie shrugging at the stage while the running mates smiled.
“I don’t think there’s too many of us in this race who could make it into the finals of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette,” Weinberg said.
Weinberg said there was nothing in Corzine’s ad that was “overt” in referring to Christie’s weight.
“In terms of Chris’ weight, I think the cats out of the bag,” Guadagno said. “It has absolutely nothing to do with the issues facing our state.”
Esposito said it’s been an “incredibly negative campaign.”
Chris Megerian and Claire Heininger/Statehouse Bureau
.
N.J. lieutenant governor candidates Weinberg, Guadagno, Esposito face off in debate at Monmouth University
By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
October 08, 2009, 9:57PM
New Jersey's first-ever candidates for lieutenant governor sparred over taxes, corruption and health care tonight as they clashed in their first and last debate before the November election.
They also got personal, dishing out sharp critiques of one another and especially the gubernatorial candidates.
Democratic state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Republican Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno and independent Frank Esposito held their 90-minute debate at Monmouth University amid a feisty live audience that often interrupted with cheers and boos. All three agreed on the nasty tone of the race -- and at times, added to it.
"I know you’ve been in Trenton a long time," Guadagno said to Weinberg, a veteran state lawmaker running with Gov. Jon Corzine. "I've been working every day while you've been in the Legislature passing rules and spending taxes."
Weinberg responded that Guadagno, Chris Christie's running mate, is hardly an outsider: "I think that you, sheriff, were on your local council. You served as sheriff."
At another point, Guadagno called Weinberg "confused," while Weinberg said Guadagno was distorting the truth: "you're really entitled to your own opinion but not your own set of facts."
Esposito, running with independent Chris Daggett, repeatedly said he was bewildered by the Democrats and Republicans' focus on attacking one another. He touted Daggett's plan to cut property taxes by expanding the sales tax, which he called the only serious proposal put forward.
"This campaign between the two major parties has focused on all kinds of distractions," he said. "New Jerseyans are sick of this partisan game."
Inside the Pollak Theatre, Corzine and Christie sat separately in the front row. Daggett sat behind them in the second row.
Tonight's meeting is the only face-off between the running mates before the Nov. 3 election. The gubernatorial candidates debated on Oct. 1 and will do so again Oct. 16 and Oct. 22.
When the candidates got the chance to question one another, Guadagno and Weinberg seized the opportunity to push core campaign themes. Guadagno got Weinberg to agree that taxes are "too high" in New Jersey.
But she said the state was cutting spending while preserving property tax rebates for seniors and people on the lower side of the income scale. Weinberg also criticized Christie's fiscal proposals.
“A cut in the income tax would cut direct property tax relief. I am still waiting to hear a specific plan from Chris Christie, from Sheriff Guadagno,” she said.
Questioning Guadagno, Weinberg said Christie has accepted campaign contributions from health insurance companies and asked Guadagno if that was linked to his proposal on mandate-free policies.
Weinberg repeatedly said Christie's health care plan would eliminate mandates, including ones that require insurance companies pay for mammograms and 48-hour hospital stays for new mothers.
"I don’t think New Jersey should be giving up our hard-fought mandates," she said.
Guadagno said Weinberg was mischaracterizing Christie's plan, which would allow residents to be cheaper, out-of-state insurance plans. She dismissed the campaign donations as irrelevant said Weinberg, as an advocate for women, should have spoken out against what she called Corzine's scare tactics.
An odd exchange occurred when a questioner asked whether the campaign has gotten too negative.
“In New Jersey, politics is a blood sport,” Guadagno said. “We get in the game anyway because we believe there’s something more important to fight for.”
Weinberg said there has been negative campaigning, but said it’s important to point out who their opponents really are.
“I’m not talking about anybody’s driving record,” Weinberg said. “I’m talking about how one faces the responsibility of what happens when somebody does something inappropriate. It’s a question of character.”
A moderator asked Weinberg if she thinks Christie is fat, referencing a Corzine advertisement that says Christie "threw his weight around."
The camera showed Christie shrugging at the stage while the running mates smiled.
“I don’t think there’s too many of us in this race who could make it into the finals of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette,” Weinberg said.
Weinberg said there was nothing in Corzine’s ad that was “overt” in referring to Christie’s weight.
“In terms of Chris’ weight, I think the cats out of the bag,” Guadagno said. “It has absolutely nothing to do with the issues facing our state.”
Esposito said it’s been an “incredibly negative campaign.”
Chris Megerian and Claire Heininger/Statehouse Bureau
.
Chris Christie can't take care of his weight, how can he possibly run the state
especially as he has NO specifics at all
Corzine by 5 on election day
(and I wouldn't be surprised if Christie himself told the press to make negative remarks about his being so f'n fat just to attempt to get
sympathy...but like that pudgy fat Winnie the Pooh, Corzine was caught with his hand in the Hunny jar. (sticky mess he is in).
especially as he has NO specifics at all
Corzine by 5 on election day
(and I wouldn't be surprised if Christie himself told the press to make negative remarks about his being so f'n fat just to attempt to get
sympathy...but like that pudgy fat Winnie the Pooh, Corzine was caught with his hand in the Hunny jar. (sticky mess he is in).
God is Great
Chris Christie is NOT
Chris Christie is Fat, sweaty, bulging and he never told us a detailed plan
Because he ate the recipe, one night when the fridge was empty
Is Chris Christie a food addict? A user of utensils? Or a user of his fingers?
How high does Chris Christie stack his plate at an all you can eat (and if not too high on the plate, how many different times does he go back?)
all questions Chris "The Fat Man" Christie never answer.
He took the fifth (portion of the cheesecake at the cheesecake factory I guess).
(am I satirical or what?)
Chris Christie is NOT
Chris Christie is Fat, sweaty, bulging and he never told us a detailed plan
Because he ate the recipe, one night when the fridge was empty
Is Chris Christie a food addict? A user of utensils? Or a user of his fingers?
How high does Chris Christie stack his plate at an all you can eat (and if not too high on the plate, how many different times does he go back?)
all questions Chris "The Fat Man" Christie never answer.
He took the fifth (portion of the cheesecake at the cheesecake factory I guess).
(am I satirical or what?)
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 10 2009, 01:09 AM)
http://www.politickernj.com/editor/33908/a...governor-debate
Correction: Streaming Video 24/7 repeating both debates IN FULL
- NJ Lt. Governor debate (90 minutes)
- NJ Governor debate (90 minute)
QUOTE
http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/...-backs-christie
Key environmental group calls Corzine 'hugely disappointing' and backs Christie
By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
October 8, 2009
Citing a string of broken promises from Gov. Jon Corzine, New Jersey's largest environmental group today backed former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor - the first time the organization has endorsed a statewide Republican since its inception.
Members of the political arm of the New Jersey Environmental Federation - which endorsed Corzine in 2005 -- said they were "hugely disappointed" by Corzine's first term environmental record. They specifically mentioned his lack of action in working to create more cooling towers for nuclear plants, a drop off in waterway protection, lack of a commitment to environmental justice and failing to takes sides on a proposed coal plant in Linden.
"We expect our political leaders to take on our environmental issues and problems and provide good solutions that are in the best interest of the environment," said Sharon Finlayson, who chairs the NJEF's five-member Vote Environment Committee. "When that fails it is time for change. We believe that the change we see will be found in Chris Christie."
The state's three major environmental groups have all snubbed Corzine this year. The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club went for independent Chris Daggett, a former Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner and regional EPA administrator. The other major group, Environment New Jersey, opted not to endorse anyone.
The NJEF's leaders said they were won over by Christie's opposition to deepening the Delaware River; his promise to restore the DEP's Division of Science and Research, which was eliminated under Corzine; his support for retrofitting diesel engines used under state contracts; stop the "fish slaughter" from cooling systems at Salem and Oyster Creek and his stated opposition to the Linden coal plant.
"We've been hugely disappointed [in Corzine]" said Ben Forest, a member of the committee that voted to endorse Christie. "A lot of environmental promises and he failed to effectively lead. On many levels, I am sorry I cannot support his re-election."
Christie, who was flanked at today's press conference by environment-friendly Republicans -- state Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton) and U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) -- burnished his record prosecuting environmental crimes as U.S. Attorney - most notably against the Atlantic State Company.
Christie blamed Corzine for the elimination of hundreds of streams from the C1 classification - the highest standard of waterway cleanliness - saying that he caved to political pressure from lobbyists and special interests to downgrade the classification. He also ripped into Corzine for failing to commit to funding open space - a complaint often cited by environmental groups - and the "decimation by his Attorney General of the environmental crimes bureau."
"Our DEP and this governor's office will make the decision based upon science, and not upon who brings what political pressure to bear inside the governor's office," said Christie.
Christie said he wants to create a constitutionally dedicated fund for open space, and that using a portion of the sales tax "makes the most sense to do that."
Amy Goldsmith, the NJEF State Director, said that candidate viability did factor into the group's endorsement making process, but that "we really looked at the strength of the commitments on the issues. It actually weighed more than issues of viability."
David Pringle, the group's Campaign Director, said that Christie had the best environmental platform regardless of viability.
"Chris Daggett's a great guy... this endorsement isn't a criticism of him,' he said. "This endorsement is because [Christie] is the environmental candidate in this race, and this Governor is not."
Pringle said that he was concerned about press accounts from April, when Christie - who was then enmeshed in a competitive primary race with conservative Steve Lonegan - promised significant cuts at the DEP. But Christie appeased the group with his interview and questionnaire answers.
Attending the press conference but not participating was Sierra Club New Jersey Director Jeff Tittel, who later voiced deep skepticism about Christie's environmental promises.
"He said a lot of good things when we interviewed him, too," he said. "But the concern we have is people who run for office tell us everything and do the opposite, like Whitman in ‘93 and Corzine in '05."
Nevertheless, Tittel said he was happy that Christie proposed a "strong environmental agenda" and said the endorsement demonstrated that all of the state's environmental groups "believe Jon Corzine has done a poor job or has failed."
Although the endorsement was unprecedented, it is not likely to change the dynamic of the governor's race, according to Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray, who attributed the endorsement to a "tiff between different wings of the environmental movement here in New Jersey at odds with each other."
"At the end of the day, these environmental groups don't put voters in the polling booths," he said.
Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.
Key environmental group calls Corzine 'hugely disappointing' and backs Christie
By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
October 8, 2009
Citing a string of broken promises from Gov. Jon Corzine, New Jersey's largest environmental group today backed former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor - the first time the organization has endorsed a statewide Republican since its inception.
Members of the political arm of the New Jersey Environmental Federation - which endorsed Corzine in 2005 -- said they were "hugely disappointed" by Corzine's first term environmental record. They specifically mentioned his lack of action in working to create more cooling towers for nuclear plants, a drop off in waterway protection, lack of a commitment to environmental justice and failing to takes sides on a proposed coal plant in Linden.
"We expect our political leaders to take on our environmental issues and problems and provide good solutions that are in the best interest of the environment," said Sharon Finlayson, who chairs the NJEF's five-member Vote Environment Committee. "When that fails it is time for change. We believe that the change we see will be found in Chris Christie."
The state's three major environmental groups have all snubbed Corzine this year. The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club went for independent Chris Daggett, a former Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner and regional EPA administrator. The other major group, Environment New Jersey, opted not to endorse anyone.
The NJEF's leaders said they were won over by Christie's opposition to deepening the Delaware River; his promise to restore the DEP's Division of Science and Research, which was eliminated under Corzine; his support for retrofitting diesel engines used under state contracts; stop the "fish slaughter" from cooling systems at Salem and Oyster Creek and his stated opposition to the Linden coal plant.
"We've been hugely disappointed [in Corzine]" said Ben Forest, a member of the committee that voted to endorse Christie. "A lot of environmental promises and he failed to effectively lead. On many levels, I am sorry I cannot support his re-election."
Christie, who was flanked at today's press conference by environment-friendly Republicans -- state Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton) and U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) -- burnished his record prosecuting environmental crimes as U.S. Attorney - most notably against the Atlantic State Company.
Christie blamed Corzine for the elimination of hundreds of streams from the C1 classification - the highest standard of waterway cleanliness - saying that he caved to political pressure from lobbyists and special interests to downgrade the classification. He also ripped into Corzine for failing to commit to funding open space - a complaint often cited by environmental groups - and the "decimation by his Attorney General of the environmental crimes bureau."
"Our DEP and this governor's office will make the decision based upon science, and not upon who brings what political pressure to bear inside the governor's office," said Christie.
Christie said he wants to create a constitutionally dedicated fund for open space, and that using a portion of the sales tax "makes the most sense to do that."
Amy Goldsmith, the NJEF State Director, said that candidate viability did factor into the group's endorsement making process, but that "we really looked at the strength of the commitments on the issues. It actually weighed more than issues of viability."
David Pringle, the group's Campaign Director, said that Christie had the best environmental platform regardless of viability.
"Chris Daggett's a great guy... this endorsement isn't a criticism of him,' he said. "This endorsement is because [Christie] is the environmental candidate in this race, and this Governor is not."
Pringle said that he was concerned about press accounts from April, when Christie - who was then enmeshed in a competitive primary race with conservative Steve Lonegan - promised significant cuts at the DEP. But Christie appeased the group with his interview and questionnaire answers.
Attending the press conference but not participating was Sierra Club New Jersey Director Jeff Tittel, who later voiced deep skepticism about Christie's environmental promises.
"He said a lot of good things when we interviewed him, too," he said. "But the concern we have is people who run for office tell us everything and do the opposite, like Whitman in ‘93 and Corzine in '05."
Nevertheless, Tittel said he was happy that Christie proposed a "strong environmental agenda" and said the endorsement demonstrated that all of the state's environmental groups "believe Jon Corzine has done a poor job or has failed."
Although the endorsement was unprecedented, it is not likely to change the dynamic of the governor's race, according to Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray, who attributed the endorsement to a "tiff between different wings of the environmental movement here in New Jersey at odds with each other."
"At the end of the day, these environmental groups don't put voters in the polling booths," he said.
Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.
How wide is the backside of Chris Christie
Like Alice Kramden said, when Chris Christie walks down the street, there is NO other side
Like Alice Kramden said, when Chris Christie walks down the street, there is NO other side
the biggest newspaper in New Jersey endorsed Daggett the independent...(I find the Star-Ledger a bit conservative for my liking)
It is concievable that the winner will recieve less than 40% of the vote if Daggett runs up a big total.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009..._independe.html
Star-Ledger endorses independent Chris Daggett for N.J. governor
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...
October 10, 2009, 5:00PM
Ed Murray/ The Star-LedgerIndependent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett at the Star-Ledger editorial board meeting on Friday.
The Star-Ledger today endorses independent candidate Chris Daggett and recommends his election as the next governor of New Jersey.
The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight.
Only by breaking the hold of the Democratic and Republican mandarins on the governor’s office and putting a rein on their power will the state have any hope for the kind of change needed to halt its downward economic, political and ethical spiral.
New Jersey needs radical change in Trenton. Neither of the major parties is likely to provide it. Daggett’s election would send shock waves through New Jersey’s ossified political system and, we believe, provide a start in a new direction.
It would signal the entrenched leadership of both parties — and the interest groups they regularly represent — that an ill-served and angry electorate demands something better.
The lamentable fact is that the two parties are, themselves, little more than narrow special interests. Their competition for short-term political and/or monetary gain has jeopardized the state’s long-term economic health and left it with a tarnished national reputation.
Where the major parties have differed, their differences have been inconsequential. Where they’ve been the same, their similarities have been destructive.
They have contributed equally to gross overspending in Trenton by consistently pandering to the pay, pension and retirement policies demanded by powerful public employee unions. Democrats have financed the spree with tax hikes, Republicans with borrowed money, and both with pension-fund raids.
How do we now signal them that this has got to stop if not by rejecting their anointed candidates? How if not by electing Chris Daggett?
The most disappointing of the three candidates is Christie. Six months ago he seemed an almost certain winner, a highly successful federal prosecutor facing an embattled governor saddled with a collapsing economy and soaring budget deficits. He could run a rocking-chair campaign, it seemed, make only safe commitments, avoid controversy, and win.
Unfortunately, that’s mostly what Christie has done — a strategy that looks less promising now that his double-digit early lead has melted away.
Christie’s game plan for dealing with a looming, record budget deficit of $8 billion has been a work in progress. After pledging for months to cut taxes deeply despite the budget red ink, he disclosed Friday in an interview with The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran that he has put most of the tax reduction on the shelf until the economy begins to recover.
But he’d still lower income taxes on the state’s wealthiest households by roughly $1 billion and restore a portion of the nearly $600 billion in property tax rebates rescinded last year — a neat trick while still balancing the budget.
Christie’s principal claim on voter support is based on his record as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey — and it’s not without merit. The Star-Ledger opposed his appointment to that post originally, only to be pleasantly surprised as Christie surrounded himself with capable, qualified people and performed well.
But his sketchy budget plans and his relative lack of familiarity with the details of state government, as evidenced in debates and before The Star-Ledger editorial board, give us pause.
Corzine is an eminently decent and likable man, and not without achievement. We especially salute his unflagging commitment to state education and his success in changing the Abbott school aid formula to ensure that money intended to help poor children follows them whether or not they live in specific districts.
But his shortcomings as a leader are serious. They’ve become all too apparent in his dealings with public employee unions, an often unruly Legislature and a Democratic Party that is, at best, an ethically compromised ship and, at worst, harbors a corrupt crew.
The governor may be the nominal leader of his party but there’s mounting evidence its commanding figure is George Norcross, an unelected South Jersey political deal-maker who’s currently rearranging the Democratic leadership in the Senate and Assembly.
Corzine is the chaplain on a pirate ship, not really its captain.
Like Christie, neither Corzine nor Daggett has adequately explained how he’d tackle the vast budget deficit. All three, to some degree, are like Dickens’ hapless Wilkins Micawber, hoping "something will turn up." But only Daggett has produced anything close to a coherent plan to cut property taxes. He’d chop them by up to $2,500 per homeowner — but only if their municipalities kept spending increases in line with the Consumer Price Index. In effect, he’d require local officials to choose between their union supporters and taxpaying voters. It’s not a panacea, but at least a start.
As for government experience, Daggett, who has a doctorate in education, has at least as much as his rivals, having worked for both Democratic and Republican governors and served as regional administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. His mastery of detail is impressive.
The reservation one hears about Daggett among the surprising number who say they’d like to vote for him is that he can’t win. And, indeed, the ballot position assigned Daggett and other independents makes his task daunting. You’ll have to hunt to find him.
But the value of a vote is not limited to picking a winner. The real value lies in the signal it sends about what the voter believes is best for the city, county or state — not merely at the moment, but long-term.
We believe Daggett is best.
For disappointed Democrats and Republicans, a decision to vote for Daggett will mean a break with party loyalty — no easy thing. What we’re suggesting is a temporary suspension of that loyalty as a way to begin changing the corrosive culture of Trenton. Daggett would owe nothing to either party establishment; he’d be free to recruit best talent wherever he found it. As he told The Star-Ledger editorial board, he’d feel no obligation to honor the traditional Democratic-Republican deal that requires bipartisan balance on the Supreme Court. He’d apparently take the best he could find regardless of party affiliation — or lack thereof.
For too long, the cliche about New Jersey’s two great parties has seemed all too true — that Democrats are corrupt, Republicans incompetent. Nothing will cause them to change their ways for the better except repudiation at the polls Nov. 3.
The election of Chris Daggett would deliver that repudiation and put a highly qualified occupant in the corner office at the Statehouse.
It is concievable that the winner will recieve less than 40% of the vote if Daggett runs up a big total.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009..._independe.html
Star-Ledger endorses independent Chris Daggett for N.J. governor
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...
October 10, 2009, 5:00PM
Ed Murray/ The Star-LedgerIndependent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett at the Star-Ledger editorial board meeting on Friday.
The Star-Ledger today endorses independent candidate Chris Daggett and recommends his election as the next governor of New Jersey.
The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight.
Only by breaking the hold of the Democratic and Republican mandarins on the governor’s office and putting a rein on their power will the state have any hope for the kind of change needed to halt its downward economic, political and ethical spiral.
New Jersey needs radical change in Trenton. Neither of the major parties is likely to provide it. Daggett’s election would send shock waves through New Jersey’s ossified political system and, we believe, provide a start in a new direction.
It would signal the entrenched leadership of both parties — and the interest groups they regularly represent — that an ill-served and angry electorate demands something better.
The lamentable fact is that the two parties are, themselves, little more than narrow special interests. Their competition for short-term political and/or monetary gain has jeopardized the state’s long-term economic health and left it with a tarnished national reputation.
Where the major parties have differed, their differences have been inconsequential. Where they’ve been the same, their similarities have been destructive.
They have contributed equally to gross overspending in Trenton by consistently pandering to the pay, pension and retirement policies demanded by powerful public employee unions. Democrats have financed the spree with tax hikes, Republicans with borrowed money, and both with pension-fund raids.
How do we now signal them that this has got to stop if not by rejecting their anointed candidates? How if not by electing Chris Daggett?
The most disappointing of the three candidates is Christie. Six months ago he seemed an almost certain winner, a highly successful federal prosecutor facing an embattled governor saddled with a collapsing economy and soaring budget deficits. He could run a rocking-chair campaign, it seemed, make only safe commitments, avoid controversy, and win.
Unfortunately, that’s mostly what Christie has done — a strategy that looks less promising now that his double-digit early lead has melted away.
Christie’s game plan for dealing with a looming, record budget deficit of $8 billion has been a work in progress. After pledging for months to cut taxes deeply despite the budget red ink, he disclosed Friday in an interview with The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran that he has put most of the tax reduction on the shelf until the economy begins to recover.
But he’d still lower income taxes on the state’s wealthiest households by roughly $1 billion and restore a portion of the nearly $600 billion in property tax rebates rescinded last year — a neat trick while still balancing the budget.
Christie’s principal claim on voter support is based on his record as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey — and it’s not without merit. The Star-Ledger opposed his appointment to that post originally, only to be pleasantly surprised as Christie surrounded himself with capable, qualified people and performed well.
But his sketchy budget plans and his relative lack of familiarity with the details of state government, as evidenced in debates and before The Star-Ledger editorial board, give us pause.
Corzine is an eminently decent and likable man, and not without achievement. We especially salute his unflagging commitment to state education and his success in changing the Abbott school aid formula to ensure that money intended to help poor children follows them whether or not they live in specific districts.
But his shortcomings as a leader are serious. They’ve become all too apparent in his dealings with public employee unions, an often unruly Legislature and a Democratic Party that is, at best, an ethically compromised ship and, at worst, harbors a corrupt crew.
The governor may be the nominal leader of his party but there’s mounting evidence its commanding figure is George Norcross, an unelected South Jersey political deal-maker who’s currently rearranging the Democratic leadership in the Senate and Assembly.
Corzine is the chaplain on a pirate ship, not really its captain.
Like Christie, neither Corzine nor Daggett has adequately explained how he’d tackle the vast budget deficit. All three, to some degree, are like Dickens’ hapless Wilkins Micawber, hoping "something will turn up." But only Daggett has produced anything close to a coherent plan to cut property taxes. He’d chop them by up to $2,500 per homeowner — but only if their municipalities kept spending increases in line with the Consumer Price Index. In effect, he’d require local officials to choose between their union supporters and taxpaying voters. It’s not a panacea, but at least a start.
As for government experience, Daggett, who has a doctorate in education, has at least as much as his rivals, having worked for both Democratic and Republican governors and served as regional administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. His mastery of detail is impressive.
The reservation one hears about Daggett among the surprising number who say they’d like to vote for him is that he can’t win. And, indeed, the ballot position assigned Daggett and other independents makes his task daunting. You’ll have to hunt to find him.
But the value of a vote is not limited to picking a winner. The real value lies in the signal it sends about what the voter believes is best for the city, county or state — not merely at the moment, but long-term.
We believe Daggett is best.
For disappointed Democrats and Republicans, a decision to vote for Daggett will mean a break with party loyalty — no easy thing. What we’re suggesting is a temporary suspension of that loyalty as a way to begin changing the corrosive culture of Trenton. Daggett would owe nothing to either party establishment; he’d be free to recruit best talent wherever he found it. As he told The Star-Ledger editorial board, he’d feel no obligation to honor the traditional Democratic-Republican deal that requires bipartisan balance on the Supreme Court. He’d apparently take the best he could find regardless of party affiliation — or lack thereof.
For too long, the cliche about New Jersey’s two great parties has seemed all too true — that Democrats are corrupt, Republicans incompetent. Nothing will cause them to change their ways for the better except repudiation at the polls Nov. 3.
The election of Chris Daggett would deliver that repudiation and put a highly qualified occupant in the corner office at the Statehouse.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 11 2009, 06:58 AM)
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009..._independe.html
Star-Ledger endorses independent Chris Daggett for N.J. governor
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
October 10, 2009, 5:00PM
...Christie’s principal claim on voter support is based on his record as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey — and it’s not without merit. The Star-Ledger opposed his appointment to that post originally, only to be pleasantly surprised as Christie surrounded himself with capable, qualified people and performed well...
.
Star-Ledger endorses independent Chris Daggett for N.J. governor
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
October 10, 2009, 5:00PM
...Christie’s principal claim on voter support is based on his record as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey — and it’s not without merit. The Star-Ledger opposed his appointment to that post originally, only to be pleasantly surprised as Christie surrounded himself with capable, qualified people and performed well...
.
Thanks for posting the editorial, graham. What's an honest NJ resident to do?
QUOTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiDOMuhpqUo
Deja Vu
by Crosby, Stills & Nash
(live performance of deja vu opening the acoustic concert in 1991)
Deja Vu
by Crosby, Stills & Nash
(live performance of deja vu opening the acoustic concert in 1991)
Reid's in trouble, McDonnell strong in Va,:
Sunday, October 11
Poll Results Spread
Virginia Governor - McDonnell vs. Deeds Mason-Dixon McDonnell 48, Deeds 40 McDonnell +8
Nevada Senate - Lowden vs. Reid Mason-Dixon Lowden 49, Reid 39 Lowden +10
Nevada Senate - Tarkanian vs. Reid Mason-Dixon Tarkanian 48, Reid 43 Tarkanian +5
But the "fat and sweaty" attacks seem to work on New Jersians:
New Jersey Governor - Corzine vs. Christie
Poll Date Sample Christie ® Corzine (D) Daggett (I) Spread
RCP Average 9/28 - 10/7 -- 42.2 41.0 11.6 Christie +1.2
Democracy Corps (D) 10/6 - 10/7 614 LV 38 41 14 Corzine +3
SurveyUSA 10/5 - 10/7 639 LV 43 40 14 Christie +3
Rasmussen Reports 10/5 - 10/5 750 LV 47 44 6 Christie +3
Fairleigh Dickinson 9/28 - 10/5 667 LV 37 38 17 Corzine +1
Daily Kos/R2000 9/28 - 9/30 600 LV 46 42 7 Christie +4
(Of course, if the Democratic sponsored poll is eliminated, Christie is up 3+%, but that's still way down from his 10 point lead a few months ago.)
I guess the New Jersey race next month is going to be the barn-burner.
Sunday, October 11
Poll Results Spread
Virginia Governor - McDonnell vs. Deeds Mason-Dixon McDonnell 48, Deeds 40 McDonnell +8
Nevada Senate - Lowden vs. Reid Mason-Dixon Lowden 49, Reid 39 Lowden +10
Nevada Senate - Tarkanian vs. Reid Mason-Dixon Tarkanian 48, Reid 43 Tarkanian +5
But the "fat and sweaty" attacks seem to work on New Jersians:
New Jersey Governor - Corzine vs. Christie
Poll Date Sample Christie ® Corzine (D) Daggett (I) Spread
RCP Average 9/28 - 10/7 -- 42.2 41.0 11.6 Christie +1.2
Democracy Corps (D) 10/6 - 10/7 614 LV 38 41 14 Corzine +3
SurveyUSA 10/5 - 10/7 639 LV 43 40 14 Christie +3
Rasmussen Reports 10/5 - 10/5 750 LV 47 44 6 Christie +3
Fairleigh Dickinson 9/28 - 10/5 667 LV 37 38 17 Corzine +1
Daily Kos/R2000 9/28 - 9/30 600 LV 46 42 7 Christie +4
(Of course, if the Democratic sponsored poll is eliminated, Christie is up 3+%, but that's still way down from his 10 point lead a few months ago.)
I guess the New Jersey race next month is going to be the barn-burner.
Yes, Christie is Fat
Asked directly by the editorial board of the Atlantic City Press if he thought challenger Chris Christie ® was fat, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) touched his bare head, smiled and said, "Am I bald?"
Asked directly by the editorial board of the Atlantic City Press if he thought challenger Chris Christie ® was fat, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) touched his bare head, smiled and said, "Am I bald?"
QUOTE
http://www.politickernj.com/wallye/33990/c...kipping-gannett
Inside Edge
Is Corzine skipping Gannett?
By Wally Edge
October 12, 2009 - 9:28pm
Gov. Jon Corzine has a public event at 11AM tomorrow, which is the same time Gannett New Jersey has an editorial board debate scheduled. Does that mean Corzine will skip the Gannett event with Republican Christopher Christie and Independent Christopher Daggett, essentially conceding that Gannett newspapers will not endorse his bid for re-election?
.
Inside Edge
Is Corzine skipping Gannett?
By Wally Edge
October 12, 2009 - 9:28pm
Gov. Jon Corzine has a public event at 11AM tomorrow, which is the same time Gannett New Jersey has an editorial board debate scheduled. Does that mean Corzine will skip the Gannett event with Republican Christopher Christie and Independent Christopher Daggett, essentially conceding that Gannett newspapers will not endorse his bid for re-election?
.
Don't worry, previous debates are still available via continuous live video-streaming. Don't miss the Lt. Governor debate, graham. I expect a bump in Christie/Guadagno's numbers in polls after 10/8.
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 10 2009, 11:02 AM)
http://www.politickernj.com/editor/33908/a...governor-debate
Streaming Video 24/7 repeating both debates sequentially IN FULL
Streaming Video 24/7 repeating both debates sequentially IN FULL
- NJ Lt. Governor debate (90 minutes)
- NJ Governor debate (90 minute)
New video here: http://christiefornj.com/
I saw the debate
boy oh boy did Chris Christie suck big time
He is not ready for prime time
by the way, did you know he was so freakin' fat?
and I take partial credit for getting the fat meme out there
but people in general do not like Chris Christie, he is NOT what NJers like.
I would say there is a better chance that Daggett wins, then Christie wins...but not much better.
And Corzine hasn't even broken a sweat yet, nor has he spent much...wait til he starts.
Corzine by five come election day.
boy oh boy did Chris Christie suck big time
He is not ready for prime time
by the way, did you know he was so freakin' fat?
and I take partial credit for getting the fat meme out there
but people in general do not like Chris Christie, he is NOT what NJers like.
I would say there is a better chance that Daggett wins, then Christie wins...but not much better.
And Corzine hasn't even broken a sweat yet, nor has he spent much...wait til he starts.
Corzine by five come election day.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 12 2009, 09:52 PM)
I saw the debate...
There have been 2 debates. Did you miss the strong Lt. Governor's debate? Very informative and the clear winner was Guadagno (who stated she is pro-choice by the way).
If you missed it, click through link above, open window with continuous live-steaming loop, keep computer on mute and do multtasking until Lt. Governor's debate appears, then watch with sound - you will be transfixed (complete with audience reactons shots of all three gubernatorial candidates to a wide range of questions, including your irrelevant pet charge about Christie). Stupidity and seriousness mixed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33241481/ns/ms...chris_matthews/
HARDBALL ridicules Corzine ad: The Sideshow
and Matthews covered the topic on a second day, in more depth, including an interview with an academic discussing subliminal advertising in political campaigns.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 13 2009, 06:59 AM)
SORRY TO BREAK INTO THE THREAD, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ALL AT CGCS, PLEASE READ AND RESPOND BY PM TO EITHER SNUFFYSMITH OR ME and let's get the total down to zero in pledges...
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 13 2009, 06:57 AM)
Of the $1440 needed, $725 has been pledged....CGCS needs $715 in pledges more...
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Oct 12 2009, 01:26 PM)
From Michael:
Hello everyone,
Currently (thanks to donations) CGCS is solvent until the end of December 2009. The cost of keeping the forum running is $120.00 per month. This is $1,440.00 per year. I have never taken any money from CGCS and have spent quite a bit. Generous donations from subscribing members have really been what is keeping the forum going. The subscription fees aren't really covering expenses.
If the forum is to continue into 2010, we need donations to make us solvent. Most subscriptions won't need to be renewed until April 2010 so we can't count on much help there. What we need is about $1,500.00 per year to keep going. I know some have suggested increasing subscription fees, but I don't see that as a sure source of income. Some have suggested advertising, but we only get money if people click through the ads and I really like that the site is ad-free.
Therefore, I see the only realistic means of keeping going is donations.
$150.00 each from 10 people would do it.
$75.00 each from 20 people would do it.
$50.00 each from 30 people would do it.
I know this is a tough economy, I can attest to that personally because I have been struggling to find work for over a year and my personal savings are just about depleted. This is mainly why I have not been around much, but thankfully it seems that the number of disputes that needed to be resolved (those that can be) have been very few over the last year. I have been struggling for my own survival, have no health care and have been battling serious illness for over a year and paying out of pocket for prescription meds.
I really don't want this to be a discussion about the shortcomings of the forum, just a call for donations. Are there 30 subscribing members than can donate $50.00 each to keep this forum going, or some combination of the above list?
Please respond here or feel free to PM me if you would rather contact me privately.
As always kindest regards,
Michael
Hello everyone,
Currently (thanks to donations) CGCS is solvent until the end of December 2009. The cost of keeping the forum running is $120.00 per month. This is $1,440.00 per year. I have never taken any money from CGCS and have spent quite a bit. Generous donations from subscribing members have really been what is keeping the forum going. The subscription fees aren't really covering expenses.
If the forum is to continue into 2010, we need donations to make us solvent. Most subscriptions won't need to be renewed until April 2010 so we can't count on much help there. What we need is about $1,500.00 per year to keep going. I know some have suggested increasing subscription fees, but I don't see that as a sure source of income. Some have suggested advertising, but we only get money if people click through the ads and I really like that the site is ad-free.
Therefore, I see the only realistic means of keeping going is donations.
$150.00 each from 10 people would do it.
$75.00 each from 20 people would do it.
$50.00 each from 30 people would do it.
I know this is a tough economy, I can attest to that personally because I have been struggling to find work for over a year and my personal savings are just about depleted. This is mainly why I have not been around much, but thankfully it seems that the number of disputes that needed to be resolved (those that can be) have been very few over the last year. I have been struggling for my own survival, have no health care and have been battling serious illness for over a year and paying out of pocket for prescription meds.
I really don't want this to be a discussion about the shortcomings of the forum, just a call for donations. Are there 30 subscribing members than can donate $50.00 each to keep this forum going, or some combination of the above list?
Please respond here or feel free to PM me if you would rather contact me privately.
As always kindest regards,
Michael
(I donated about an hour ago after reading the message on another thread.)
QUOTE
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news...atesponsor.html
Posted on Mon, Oct. 12, 2009
Star-Ledger out as NJ gubernatorial debate sponsor
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - The Star-Ledger of Newark has withdrawn as a participant in Friday's gubernatorial debate after endorsing a candidate before the event.
The newspaper's managing editor, Kevin Whitmer, confirmed in an e-mail message that columnist Tom Moran will no longer be a panelist in the debate at William Paterson University in Wayne.
Election Law Enforcement Commission rules restrict media outlets involved in the debate from endorsing candidates before the Oct. 16 event.
The Ledger endorsed independent Chris Daggett on Sunday, becoming the first major newspaper to make an endorsement in the race.
The other debate co-sponsors are unaffected.
The second gubernatorial debate includes Daggett, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and GOP challenger Chris Christie.
Posted on Mon, Oct. 12, 2009
Star-Ledger out as NJ gubernatorial debate sponsor
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - The Star-Ledger of Newark has withdrawn as a participant in Friday's gubernatorial debate after endorsing a candidate before the event.
The newspaper's managing editor, Kevin Whitmer, confirmed in an e-mail message that columnist Tom Moran will no longer be a panelist in the debate at William Paterson University in Wayne.
Election Law Enforcement Commission rules restrict media outlets involved in the debate from endorsing candidates before the Oct. 16 event.
The Ledger endorsed independent Chris Daggett on Sunday, becoming the first major newspaper to make an endorsement in the race.
The other debate co-sponsors are unaffected.
The second gubernatorial debate includes Daggett, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and GOP challenger Chris Christie.
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 13 2009, 07:07 AM)
(I donated about an hour ago after reading the message on another thread.)
QUOTE
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news...atesponsor.html
Posted on Mon, Oct. 12, 2009
Star-Ledger out as NJ gubernatorial debate sponsor
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - The Star-Ledger of Newark has withdrawn as a participant in Friday's gubernatorial debate after endorsing a candidate before the event.
The newspaper's managing editor, Kevin Whitmer, confirmed in an e-mail message that columnist Tom Moran will no longer be a panelist in the debate at William Paterson University in Wayne.
Election Law Enforcement Commission rules restrict media outlets involved in the debate from endorsing candidates before the Oct. 16 event.
The Ledger endorsed independent Chris Daggett on Sunday, becoming the first major newspaper to make an endorsement in the race.
The other debate co-sponsors are unaffected.
The second gubernatorial debate includes Daggett, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and GOP challenger Chris Christie.
Posted on Mon, Oct. 12, 2009
Star-Ledger out as NJ gubernatorial debate sponsor
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - The Star-Ledger of Newark has withdrawn as a participant in Friday's gubernatorial debate after endorsing a candidate before the event.
The newspaper's managing editor, Kevin Whitmer, confirmed in an e-mail message that columnist Tom Moran will no longer be a panelist in the debate at William Paterson University in Wayne.
Election Law Enforcement Commission rules restrict media outlets involved in the debate from endorsing candidates before the Oct. 16 event.
The Ledger endorsed independent Chris Daggett on Sunday, becoming the first major newspaper to make an endorsement in the race.
The other debate co-sponsors are unaffected.
The second gubernatorial debate includes Daggett, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and GOP challenger Chris Christie.
This is actually shake your head funny, isn't it.
The cover story of BUSINESS WEEK magazine's October issue should have been titled: Suburban New Jersey's High-Tech Sweatshops. All the companies exposed were NJ based. Has anyone seen this story reported anywhere else, including local NJ/NY newspapers, television or radio? I haven't. Maybe during Friday's debate? There would be lots of interest, judging from the number of comments online at BUSINESS WEEEK.
QUOTE
http://app.businessweek.com/UserComments/c...roductCode=spec
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
All Reader Comments (560)
.
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
All Reader Comments (560)
.
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 3 2009, 10:19 PM)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...50034732629.htm
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
From the video: "Work-visa fraud in the high-tech industry has become a hot button issue at a time when American workers are furious about massive layoffs and the offshoring of jobs. I'm Steve Hamm, a senior writer at Business Week, and I've spent the last few months investigating a little known segment of the tech industry - the host of small services outfits that provde many of the temporary workers for corporate America. It is within this sub-industry I call the high-tech jungle where much of the fraud takes place. I headed from Manhattan to New Jersey which is home to thousands of small tech services outfits. The Garden State is ranked #2 in the nation behind California for the number of H-1B visa applicatons filed in 2008, more than 58,000. The epicenter for hgh-tech consulting servces is Edison in central NJ... " (more video at link)
Final statements in the video:
"The visa program needs to be reformed and the abusers need to be brought to justce. This is Busness Week and I'm Steve Hamm."
.
America's High-Tech Sweatshops
U.S. companies may be contributing unwittingly to the exploitation of workers imported from India and elsewhere by tech-services outfits
By Steve Hamm and Moira Herbst
October 12, 2009
From the video: "Work-visa fraud in the high-tech industry has become a hot button issue at a time when American workers are furious about massive layoffs and the offshoring of jobs. I'm Steve Hamm, a senior writer at Business Week, and I've spent the last few months investigating a little known segment of the tech industry - the host of small services outfits that provde many of the temporary workers for corporate America. It is within this sub-industry I call the high-tech jungle where much of the fraud takes place. I headed from Manhattan to New Jersey which is home to thousands of small tech services outfits. The Garden State is ranked #2 in the nation behind California for the number of H-1B visa applicatons filed in 2008, more than 58,000. The epicenter for hgh-tech consulting servces is Edison in central NJ... " (more video at link)
Final statements in the video:
"The visa program needs to be reformed and the abusers need to be brought to justce. This is Busness Week and I'm Steve Hamm."
.
As Daggett's number go UP...Christie's go DOWN.... 
QUOTE
http://centraljersey.com/articles/2009/10/...fe423470965.txt
TRENTON: Panel laments erosion of watchdog press in NJ
By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Posted: Monday, October 5, 2009 7:18 PM EDT
TRENTON — New Jersey’s news industry is in crisis, and if the growing deficit of state and local government reporting continues, citizens will suffer and government waste and corruption may be allowed to proliferate without public airing, according to a report released Monday by New Jersey Policy Perspective.
”New Jersey faces a growing crisis in coverage of news and public affairs,” according to the report “Less News is Bad News,” authored by Scott Weingart, a 2009 graduate of Princeton University.
”As a result of the state’s chronic news deficit, the people of New Jersey know less about their state than people elsewhere in the country know about theirs,” according to the report. “Lower levels of knowledge about politics have distorted campaigns and elections in the state and may be a factor in the endemic problem of political corruption,” it states...
.
TRENTON: Panel laments erosion of watchdog press in NJ
By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Posted: Monday, October 5, 2009 7:18 PM EDT
TRENTON — New Jersey’s news industry is in crisis, and if the growing deficit of state and local government reporting continues, citizens will suffer and government waste and corruption may be allowed to proliferate without public airing, according to a report released Monday by New Jersey Policy Perspective.
”New Jersey faces a growing crisis in coverage of news and public affairs,” according to the report “Less News is Bad News,” authored by Scott Weingart, a 2009 graduate of Princeton University.
”As a result of the state’s chronic news deficit, the people of New Jersey know less about their state than people elsewhere in the country know about theirs,” according to the report. “Lower levels of knowledge about politics have distorted campaigns and elections in the state and may be a factor in the endemic problem of political corruption,” it states...
.
QUOTE
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/gov...f-final-version
Gov. Corzine signs 'EnCap reform' legislation; Sierra Club highly critical of final version
Monday, 12 October 2009 16:12
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Gov. Jon Corzine Monday signed the so-called "EnCap Reform bill,'' which requires businesses receiving any combination of government financial assistance totaling more than $50 million to file independently audited financial statements annually with the state treasurer.
"Today, we are putting in place aggressive reforms that will ensure a similar situation is not repeated in the Garden State," Corzine said in North Arlington. "Had these safeguards been in effect prior to EnCap, the project would have been shut down at the first sign of trouble. As stewards of public resources, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to maintain public trust through accountability and transparency. This bill accomplishes that goal."
For any contract that falls under the new standard, the private business must spend a minimum of $1 for every $5 received in public funds; the government agency must reserve 10 percent of the total government funding to be disbursed upon the successful completion of the project, and the business provide a performance bond, the amount of which would be tied to the government funding.
One group that is not praising the new standard is the Sierra Club of New Jersey, which charges 90 percent of the original reform legislation was gutted by the Senate amid the last June rush to summer recess.
Jeff Tittel, Sierra Club director, said Corzine signed the bill without any strong reform.
"With all of the indictments and corruption over development that has taken place in New Jersey, the failure to have any kind of meaningful reform is outrageous,'' Tittle said. "In fact, in some areas, this bill loosens oversight over existing regulations.
"This bill was originally intended to strengthen oversight when public money is involved. Instead, it has been so weakened that it is a sham. All this bill will do is give cover to pay to play and other abuses of public money without providing any real oversight.
"Under this bill, we haven't stopped another EnCap,'' Tittle said. " We've empowered many more EnCaps. We had asked Governor Corzine to conditionally veto the bill and send it back to original form that Assemblyman Gary Schaer put forward. Instead, he took the side of special interests over public interests."
Schaer (D-Passaic) praised the version of the bill Corzine signed.
"Quite simply, the public cannot afford to finance another EnCap-style debacle," he said. "Putting these protections in place will help ensure that the mistakes made with EnCap cannot and will not be repeated. EnCap's failure highlighted the need for more oversight in the way the state provides public money for private redevelopment. The breakdown of checks and balances that precipitated EnCap's collapse must not happen again."
AIG is now honoring its obligation to fund the cleanup of the Meadowlands site. That cleanup is currently underway.
As a result of the EnCap financial disaster, the state lost approximately $200 million, $50 million of which has not been recouped. While $150 million of the losses was covered from insurance by AIG, that company was recently bailed out by the federal government. EnCap borrowed from state government entities, such as the New Jersey Infrastructure Trust, that did not have adequate insurance or bonds to back up the lands.
.
Gov. Corzine signs 'EnCap reform' legislation; Sierra Club highly critical of final version
Monday, 12 October 2009 16:12
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Gov. Jon Corzine Monday signed the so-called "EnCap Reform bill,'' which requires businesses receiving any combination of government financial assistance totaling more than $50 million to file independently audited financial statements annually with the state treasurer.
"Today, we are putting in place aggressive reforms that will ensure a similar situation is not repeated in the Garden State," Corzine said in North Arlington. "Had these safeguards been in effect prior to EnCap, the project would have been shut down at the first sign of trouble. As stewards of public resources, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to maintain public trust through accountability and transparency. This bill accomplishes that goal."
For any contract that falls under the new standard, the private business must spend a minimum of $1 for every $5 received in public funds; the government agency must reserve 10 percent of the total government funding to be disbursed upon the successful completion of the project, and the business provide a performance bond, the amount of which would be tied to the government funding.
One group that is not praising the new standard is the Sierra Club of New Jersey, which charges 90 percent of the original reform legislation was gutted by the Senate amid the last June rush to summer recess.
Jeff Tittel, Sierra Club director, said Corzine signed the bill without any strong reform.
"With all of the indictments and corruption over development that has taken place in New Jersey, the failure to have any kind of meaningful reform is outrageous,'' Tittle said. "In fact, in some areas, this bill loosens oversight over existing regulations.
"This bill was originally intended to strengthen oversight when public money is involved. Instead, it has been so weakened that it is a sham. All this bill will do is give cover to pay to play and other abuses of public money without providing any real oversight.
"Under this bill, we haven't stopped another EnCap,'' Tittle said. " We've empowered many more EnCaps. We had asked Governor Corzine to conditionally veto the bill and send it back to original form that Assemblyman Gary Schaer put forward. Instead, he took the side of special interests over public interests."
Schaer (D-Passaic) praised the version of the bill Corzine signed.
"Quite simply, the public cannot afford to finance another EnCap-style debacle," he said. "Putting these protections in place will help ensure that the mistakes made with EnCap cannot and will not be repeated. EnCap's failure highlighted the need for more oversight in the way the state provides public money for private redevelopment. The breakdown of checks and balances that precipitated EnCap's collapse must not happen again."
AIG is now honoring its obligation to fund the cleanup of the Meadowlands site. That cleanup is currently underway.
As a result of the EnCap financial disaster, the state lost approximately $200 million, $50 million of which has not been recouped. While $150 million of the losses was covered from insurance by AIG, that company was recently bailed out by the federal government. EnCap borrowed from state government entities, such as the New Jersey Infrastructure Trust, that did not have adequate insurance or bonds to back up the lands.
.
QUOTE(tazvil04 @ Oct 15 2009, 02:16 PM)
As Daggett's number go UP...Christie's go DOWN....
QUOTE
Among Daggett voters, Christie is their next choice
October 14, 2009 - 6:09am
By Wally Edge
If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important. Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice. Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.
.
October 14, 2009 - 6:09am
By Wally Edge
If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important. Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice. Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.
.
QUOTE(tazvil04 @ Oct 5 2009, 08:59 AM)
http://www.sundancechannel.com/brick-city/
BRICK CITY
Excellent series...is Booker for real?
It was impressive -- watched it on demand...
BRICK CITY
Excellent series...is Booker for real?
It was impressive -- watched it on demand...
This is a more comprehensive view of NEWARK, NJ (which BRICK CITY never claimed to be).
QUOTE
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/n...overshadow.html
Newark middle class is overshadowed by Brick City documentary
By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger
October 16, 2009, 5:35AM
NEWARK -- Zinnerford Smith has a well-kept home, his grandson plays on a manicured lawn, and his Mercedes is parked in his driveway. There are no drug dealers on his corner, no liquor stores on his block, no cars with tinted windows creeping by waiting to unleash automatic rounds of terror.
But Smith and some other middle-class Newarkers say that, especially recently, popular perception is that they don’t exist.
For the past month, images from "Brick City" -- a five-hour documentary highlighting gang violence and blighted streetscapes on national TV -- late night jokes about Newark from "The Tonight Show" host Conan O’Brien and regular news stories about violence in the city have perverted the reality of a cultural and economic demographic that has been part of the city for decades, said Mamie Bridgeforth, chair of the social sciences department at Essex County College, and other members of the city’s middle class.
"We’re standing up and saying there’s another part of this," said Bridgeforth, who lives in the Upper Vailsburg section of Newark and calls the documentary "civic pornography."
"People here do everything from wine tastings to book clubs," said Byron Clarke, who lives in Forest Hill and works for Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie. Clarke, 39, says that "middle-class activities" are just as prevalent in Newark as in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 34 percent of Newark households earn more than $50,000 a year and nearly 10 percent earn more than $100,000, outpacing cities such as Camden and Paterson. The majority of homes owned in Newark cost between $300,000 and $500,000.
While the city has one of the highest murder and unemployment rates in the state and visible signs of urban decay, it also is home to six universities, making it the biggest college town in New Jersey. Newark houses four major hospitals; the Prudential Center, a major league sports and entertainment arena, and the Newark Museum, the largest in the state and one of the most prestigious in the Northeast.
"This is a part of Newark that often escapes the broader lens of the media," said Mayor Cory Booker, blaming a sensational press for the misconceptions.
Clement Price, professor of history at Rutgers Newark, said the city’s reputation born from destruction caused in the 1967 riots, masks its positive attributes, making its middle class "invisible."
Price also sees something deeper at play when it comes to the city’s middle class.
"I think historically this country has been fascinated with African American people on the margins," Price said, adding that aside from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, black images on magazine racks still deal mostly with thuggish portrayals of men and women caught up in street life, much like images seen in "Brick City."
When the movie premiered at Newark Symphony Hall in September, Booker was among many to attack its myopic focus.
"This is just a narrow window into the city of Newark," he said adding that Newark is attracting regular "transplants" from New York where many residents have been priced out.
One of those transplants is Sherrell Dorsey. The Seattle native teaches at Newark School of the Arts, studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and volunteers at Newark Symphony Hall. Dorsey tried living in Manhattan, but found Newark more inviting.
"There’s more of a sense of community," Dorsey said of her Lincoln Park neighborhood. "It’s more of a neighborhood -- more of a support system."
The 22-year-old walks home at night without fear, goes to the museum, nearby restaurants and night spots, all without being worried for her safety.
Safety is still a tough sell in a city that this year has seen children and grandparents caught in the crossfire of gang warfare, but police say crime is largely localized in specific neighborhoods. They cite a 38 percent drop in murders, a 43 percent drop in shootings and a 20 percent drop in overall crime, all since 2006.
Price and others say crime and safety are not the biggest hurdle to a greater expansion of Newark’s middle class.
"Newark will go but so far, until it fixes its public school system," he said.
Only 52 percent of Newark high school students graduate in four years and 49 percent of the city’s elementary students will pass the state language arts and math proficiency tests. And though the middle class is masked by Newark’s reputation, 37 percent of households are still earning less than $25,000 a year and the city hit a benchmark unemployment rate of 14.8 percent in July.
Newark residents and community leaders said poverty, crime, and struggling schools are burdens that belong to most inner-cities. Zinnerford Smith said the middle class thrives because many of the city’s residents take an active role in building and maintaining their neighborhoods.
"We believe that this is a community," Smith said. "And a community is going to be what you put into it."
.
Newark middle class is overshadowed by Brick City documentary
By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger
October 16, 2009, 5:35AM
NEWARK -- Zinnerford Smith has a well-kept home, his grandson plays on a manicured lawn, and his Mercedes is parked in his driveway. There are no drug dealers on his corner, no liquor stores on his block, no cars with tinted windows creeping by waiting to unleash automatic rounds of terror.
But Smith and some other middle-class Newarkers say that, especially recently, popular perception is that they don’t exist.
For the past month, images from "Brick City" -- a five-hour documentary highlighting gang violence and blighted streetscapes on national TV -- late night jokes about Newark from "The Tonight Show" host Conan O’Brien and regular news stories about violence in the city have perverted the reality of a cultural and economic demographic that has been part of the city for decades, said Mamie Bridgeforth, chair of the social sciences department at Essex County College, and other members of the city’s middle class.
"We’re standing up and saying there’s another part of this," said Bridgeforth, who lives in the Upper Vailsburg section of Newark and calls the documentary "civic pornography."
"People here do everything from wine tastings to book clubs," said Byron Clarke, who lives in Forest Hill and works for Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie. Clarke, 39, says that "middle-class activities" are just as prevalent in Newark as in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 34 percent of Newark households earn more than $50,000 a year and nearly 10 percent earn more than $100,000, outpacing cities such as Camden and Paterson. The majority of homes owned in Newark cost between $300,000 and $500,000.
While the city has one of the highest murder and unemployment rates in the state and visible signs of urban decay, it also is home to six universities, making it the biggest college town in New Jersey. Newark houses four major hospitals; the Prudential Center, a major league sports and entertainment arena, and the Newark Museum, the largest in the state and one of the most prestigious in the Northeast.
"This is a part of Newark that often escapes the broader lens of the media," said Mayor Cory Booker, blaming a sensational press for the misconceptions.
Clement Price, professor of history at Rutgers Newark, said the city’s reputation born from destruction caused in the 1967 riots, masks its positive attributes, making its middle class "invisible."
Price also sees something deeper at play when it comes to the city’s middle class.
"I think historically this country has been fascinated with African American people on the margins," Price said, adding that aside from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, black images on magazine racks still deal mostly with thuggish portrayals of men and women caught up in street life, much like images seen in "Brick City."
When the movie premiered at Newark Symphony Hall in September, Booker was among many to attack its myopic focus.
"This is just a narrow window into the city of Newark," he said adding that Newark is attracting regular "transplants" from New York where many residents have been priced out.
One of those transplants is Sherrell Dorsey. The Seattle native teaches at Newark School of the Arts, studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and volunteers at Newark Symphony Hall. Dorsey tried living in Manhattan, but found Newark more inviting.
"There’s more of a sense of community," Dorsey said of her Lincoln Park neighborhood. "It’s more of a neighborhood -- more of a support system."
The 22-year-old walks home at night without fear, goes to the museum, nearby restaurants and night spots, all without being worried for her safety.
Safety is still a tough sell in a city that this year has seen children and grandparents caught in the crossfire of gang warfare, but police say crime is largely localized in specific neighborhoods. They cite a 38 percent drop in murders, a 43 percent drop in shootings and a 20 percent drop in overall crime, all since 2006.
Price and others say crime and safety are not the biggest hurdle to a greater expansion of Newark’s middle class.
"Newark will go but so far, until it fixes its public school system," he said.
Only 52 percent of Newark high school students graduate in four years and 49 percent of the city’s elementary students will pass the state language arts and math proficiency tests. And though the middle class is masked by Newark’s reputation, 37 percent of households are still earning less than $25,000 a year and the city hit a benchmark unemployment rate of 14.8 percent in July.
Newark residents and community leaders said poverty, crime, and struggling schools are burdens that belong to most inner-cities. Zinnerford Smith said the middle class thrives because many of the city’s residents take an active role in building and maintaining their neighborhoods.
"We believe that this is a community," Smith said. "And a community is going to be what you put into it."
.
believe_it -- did you see the latest polls...you were off again...instead of a bump for Christie --- Corzine now has his first lead in the NYT poll... 
New York Times poll shows dead heat: Corzine 40%, Christie 39%, Daggett 14%By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine leads Republican Christopher Christie 40%-39% with independent Christopher Daggett at 14% among likely voters, according to a New York Times poll released today. Without leaners, Corzine is ahead 40%-37%, with Daggett still at 14%.
Corzine's lead over Christie is within the poll's margin of error,
The paper led not with the horse race numbers, however, but with data showing that the public is skeptical about both major party candidates.
Wrote reporter David Halbfinger: "the decision facing New Jersey voters is startlingly bleak."
http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/...s-over-christie
As soon as the people of NJ learned that Christie has no ideas for NJ....they made an about face...
Though it is still early...and hopefully Daggett keeps his lead...and Corzine keeps surging...
New York Times poll shows dead heat: Corzine 40%, Christie 39%, Daggett 14%By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine leads Republican Christopher Christie 40%-39% with independent Christopher Daggett at 14% among likely voters, according to a New York Times poll released today. Without leaners, Corzine is ahead 40%-37%, with Daggett still at 14%.
Corzine's lead over Christie is within the poll's margin of error,
The paper led not with the horse race numbers, however, but with data showing that the public is skeptical about both major party candidates.
Wrote reporter David Halbfinger: "the decision facing New Jersey voters is startlingly bleak."
http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/...s-over-christie
As soon as the people of NJ learned that Christie has no ideas for NJ....they made an about face...
Though it is still early...and hopefully Daggett keeps his lead...and Corzine keeps surging...
QUOTE(believe_it @ Oct 15 2009, 04:08 PM)
QUOTE(tazvil04 @ Oct 15 2009, 02:16 PM)
As Daggett's number go UP...Christie's go DOWN....
QUOTE
Among Daggett voters, Christie is their next choice
October 14, 2009 - 6:09am
By Wally Edge
If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important. Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice. Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.
.
October 14, 2009 - 6:09am
By Wally Edge
If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important. Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice. Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.
.
This is true...which is why what I said is true...as Daggett goes up numbers go down...
But Daggett says he is staying in the race...and as long as he does Christie is hurt and Corzine helped...
I think that some of Daggett's voters will trend to Christie on election day...the question is how many...
The way I see it if Daggett gets 13% or more of the vote Corzine wins...
If He gets 10% or less --- Christie wins... and in between its a toss up...
Corzine now will win with or without Daggett
Fatso Christie is in freefall (and when a fat guy falls, the concrete will break, or the water in the pool will all come out
Fatsos don't become governor in 2009
republicans come close each time, but if KeanJr couldn't do it, a fat slob surely won't
Fatso Christie is in freefall (and when a fat guy falls, the concrete will break, or the water in the pool will all come out
Fatsos don't become governor in 2009
republicans come close each time, but if KeanJr couldn't do it, a fat slob surely won't
QUOTE
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/busi...Bvt7bbQNAHq0bWN
BusinessWeek editor-in-chief resigns
By Keith J. Kelly
Last Updated: 7:17 PM, October 20, 2009
Posted: 7:03 PM, October 20, 2009
Steve Adler has resigned as editor in chief of BusinessWeek, effective with the impending takeover by Mayor Mike Bloomberg's company, Bloomberg L.P. He made the announcement in a memo to staffers late today.
Bloomberg L.P. last week emerged as the winning bidder for the McGraw-Hill property.
This is a BREAKING NEWS update. Check back for details.
BusinessWeek editor-in-chief resigns
By Keith J. Kelly
Last Updated: 7:17 PM, October 20, 2009
Posted: 7:03 PM, October 20, 2009
Steve Adler has resigned as editor in chief of BusinessWeek, effective with the impending takeover by Mayor Mike Bloomberg's company, Bloomberg L.P. He made the announcement in a memo to staffers late today.
Bloomberg L.P. last week emerged as the winning bidder for the McGraw-Hill property.
This is a BREAKING NEWS update. Check back for details.
Outstanding investigative reporting by Business Week magazine above (Post 231). The topic wasn't mentioned at the final governor's debate and I haven't seen any follow-up in local media. Too soon?
It's best to ignore this subject, isn't it?
The NJ e-voting case has still not been resolved (see below). NJ represents 20% or Sequoia's market according to testimony by Sequoia executive Edwin Smith as reported by Princeton Professor Andrew Appel here: http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/appe...fense-witnesses
QUOTE
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...ess=389x6819965
Sequoia Voting Systems hacks self in foot-"Inadvertently Releases Code" Violates Law!!!
Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 03:20:17 PM PDT
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7477
Sequoia Voting Systems hacks self in foot-"Inadvertently Releases Code" Violates Law!!!
Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 03:20:17 PM PDT
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7477
The NJ e-voting case has still not been resolved (see below). NJ represents 20% or Sequoia's market according to testimony by Sequoia executive Edwin Smith as reported by Princeton Professor Andrew Appel here: http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/appe...fense-witnesses
QUOTE
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/appe...fense-witnesses
Princeton University's Freedom to Tinker is hosted by Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, a research center that studies digital technologies in public life. Here you'll find comment and analysis from the digital frontier, written by the Center's faculty, students, and friends.
NJ Voting-machine Trial: Defense Witnesses
By Andrew Appel - Posted on May 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 am
I've previously summarized my own testimony and other plaintiffs' witnesses' testimony in the New Jersey voting machines trial, Gusciora v. Corzine.
The defendant is the State of New Jersey (Governor and Secretary of State). The defense case comprised the following witnesses: See link
Princeton University's Freedom to Tinker is hosted by Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, a research center that studies digital technologies in public life. Here you'll find comment and analysis from the digital frontier, written by the Center's faculty, students, and friends.
NJ Voting-machine Trial: Defense Witnesses
By Andrew Appel - Posted on May 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 am
I've previously summarized my own testimony and other plaintiffs' witnesses' testimony in the New Jersey voting machines trial, Gusciora v. Corzine.
The defendant is the State of New Jersey (Governor and Secretary of State). The defense case comprised the following witnesses: See link
QUOTE
http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releas...challe-20090519
Trial Ends in Challenge by Rutgers Law School’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic to Insecure Electronic Voting Machines
May 19, 2009
Newark, NJ – The trial in Gusciora v. Corzine, a case in which the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers School of Law–Newark challenged New Jersey’s use of insecure digital voting machines, has concluded after 15 weeks. After receiving post-trial briefs from both sides, Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg is expected to hand down a ruling by the end of 2009. The Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action is the main plaintiff.
At the trial Clinical Professor Penny Venetis, co-director of the Rutgers clinic, argued that the AVC Advantage voting machines, manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems, are vulnerable to physical and digital attacks that could compromise elections. New Jersey currently uses 11,000 of the Sequoia machines. Expert witnesses in the case demonstrated multiple hacks of the machines’ source code and user interface, attacks on the machines’ circuitry, and methods for circumventing New Jersey’s proposed physical security measures. Professor Andrew Appel from Princeton University’s Computer Science Department, Dr. Roger Johnston of Argonne National Laboratory, and Professor Wayne Wolf of Georgia Institute of Technology testified that vote-stealing software could be installed by attackers without specialized training or expensive equipment.
The trial was the culmination of a five-year effort by Professor Venetis and her students in the Constitutional Litigation Clinic to improve election security in New Jersey. The Division of Elections missed multiple deadlines set by the State Legislature for redressing security flaws. Rutgers’ litigation efforts, supported by the Newark office of law firm Patton Boggs LLP, have so far resulted in the addition of a paper record system for the Sequoia machines.
Initially the machines provided no backup method for verifying election returns. The state has proposed numerous tamper-indicating seals in an attempt to bolster the machines’ physical security. All of the seals were introduced during the litigation and all, Professor Venetis points out, were defeated by Dr. Johnston.
The plaintiffs in the case are Assemblyman Reed Gusciora of the 15th District, the Coalition for Peace Action, New Jersey Peace Action, and Stephanie Harris, who attempted to vote on a Sequoia Advantage voting machine in 2004, but received no indication that her vote was recorded after multiple attempts.
.
Trial Ends in Challenge by Rutgers Law School’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic to Insecure Electronic Voting Machines
May 19, 2009
Newark, NJ – The trial in Gusciora v. Corzine, a case in which the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers School of Law–Newark challenged New Jersey’s use of insecure digital voting machines, has concluded after 15 weeks. After receiving post-trial briefs from both sides, Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg is expected to hand down a ruling by the end of 2009. The Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action is the main plaintiff.
At the trial Clinical Professor Penny Venetis, co-director of the Rutgers clinic, argued that the AVC Advantage voting machines, manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems, are vulnerable to physical and digital attacks that could compromise elections. New Jersey currently uses 11,000 of the Sequoia machines. Expert witnesses in the case demonstrated multiple hacks of the machines’ source code and user interface, attacks on the machines’ circuitry, and methods for circumventing New Jersey’s proposed physical security measures. Professor Andrew Appel from Princeton University’s Computer Science Department, Dr. Roger Johnston of Argonne National Laboratory, and Professor Wayne Wolf of Georgia Institute of Technology testified that vote-stealing software could be installed by attackers without specialized training or expensive equipment.
The trial was the culmination of a five-year effort by Professor Venetis and her students in the Constitutional Litigation Clinic to improve election security in New Jersey. The Division of Elections missed multiple deadlines set by the State Legislature for redressing security flaws. Rutgers’ litigation efforts, supported by the Newark office of law firm Patton Boggs LLP, have so far resulted in the addition of a paper record system for the Sequoia machines.
Initially the machines provided no backup method for verifying election returns. The state has proposed numerous tamper-indicating seals in an attempt to bolster the machines’ physical security. All of the seals were introduced during the litigation and all, Professor Venetis points out, were defeated by Dr. Johnston.
The plaintiffs in the case are Assemblyman Reed Gusciora of the 15th District, the Coalition for Peace Action, New Jersey Peace Action, and Stephanie Harris, who attempted to vote on a Sequoia Advantage voting machine in 2004, but received no indication that her vote was recorded after multiple attempts.
.
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 19 2009, 09:55 AM)
Corzine now will win with or without Daggett
Fatso Christie is in freefall (and when a fat guy falls, the concrete will break, or the water in the pool will all come out
Fatsos don't become governor in 2009
republicans come close each time, but if KeanJr couldn't do it, a fat slob surely won't
Fatso Christie is in freefall (and when a fat guy falls, the concrete will break, or the water in the pool will all come out
Fatsos don't become governor in 2009
republicans come close each time, but if KeanJr couldn't do it, a fat slob surely won't
Graham somewhere I recall that you yourself were on the large side...if so why would you demonize Christie like this?
Self loathing?
I think you are very wrong about Daggett in this race...this election is very similar to the Clinton-Bush-Perot 1992 election...
Daggett will help to determine the outcome and if he quit the race...Chrisite would have a good chance of winning...
All the politicos on both sides of the aisle I speak with agree with this assessment...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/...eds-or-Christie
Chris Christie (R-NJ)
This kind of says it all:
Christie has seen his once-commanding lead evaporate, and a few polls have shown Corzine taking slim leads. The trend doesn't appear to be slowing, with almost daily bad news rocking the Christie camp. I mean, what kind of idiot gets in front of people and a camera, and admits he was hired as US Attorney not because of competence, but because of his political connections to Bush?
"There's no mystery to the fact that I was appointed to this job because, in part, I had a relationship with the President of the United States.(GEORGE W.BUSH)
Anybody who receives a political appointment -- I am a political appointee -- there's going to be some measure of politics involved with that appointment."
But Christie was on a downward trajectory even before this video hit the news a couple of days ago. His tenure as US Attorney -- a supposed strength -- has become an albatross. He charged taxpayers to stay in ritzy hotels, used his influence to avoid a traffic ticket, had a suspicious (financial) relationship with a subordinate, who then attempted to block Freedom of Information requests into the office, and so on. Also not helping is the Christie's campaign incessant whining about references to his weight (he's a big guy). Whether those slights are real or perceived, fact is people don't like whiners. And really, all Christie is doing is drawing attention to his weight and making that the media narrative, not whatever message he's trying to sell to voters (probably taxes). He would've been better off ignoring.
So look at that chart again -- the race is tied. But here's the punchline -- Corzine's favorability rating remains in the 30s: 37-51, Manmouth. 33-49, NY times. 40-53, Quinnipiac. 37-53, Research 2000. 37-54, Farleigh Dickenson University. Christie is losing ground to a guy whose approval ratings are in the dirt.
The Democrats will win this race in two weeks
Chris Christie (R-NJ)
This kind of says it all:
Christie has seen his once-commanding lead evaporate, and a few polls have shown Corzine taking slim leads. The trend doesn't appear to be slowing, with almost daily bad news rocking the Christie camp. I mean, what kind of idiot gets in front of people and a camera, and admits he was hired as US Attorney not because of competence, but because of his political connections to Bush?
"There's no mystery to the fact that I was appointed to this job because, in part, I had a relationship with the President of the United States.(GEORGE W.BUSH)
Anybody who receives a political appointment -- I am a political appointee -- there's going to be some measure of politics involved with that appointment."
But Christie was on a downward trajectory even before this video hit the news a couple of days ago. His tenure as US Attorney -- a supposed strength -- has become an albatross. He charged taxpayers to stay in ritzy hotels, used his influence to avoid a traffic ticket, had a suspicious (financial) relationship with a subordinate, who then attempted to block Freedom of Information requests into the office, and so on. Also not helping is the Christie's campaign incessant whining about references to his weight (he's a big guy). Whether those slights are real or perceived, fact is people don't like whiners. And really, all Christie is doing is drawing attention to his weight and making that the media narrative, not whatever message he's trying to sell to voters (probably taxes). He would've been better off ignoring.
So look at that chart again -- the race is tied. But here's the punchline -- Corzine's favorability rating remains in the 30s: 37-51, Manmouth. 33-49, NY times. 40-53, Quinnipiac. 37-53, Research 2000. 37-54, Farleigh Dickenson University. Christie is losing ground to a guy whose approval ratings are in the dirt.
The Democrats will win this race in two weeks
Yes, but the race still turns on Daggett...
If half his supporters enter the polling booth and say...why am I voting for a guy who has no chance to win...the only way to get change is with Christie -- then Corzine loses...
As negative as Christie's favorables are...he still repesents change...
And Corzine could get hurt by the change bug like Florio was...if Daggetts supporters break for Christie because by a large % point they favor Chrisite over Corzine...
If half his supporters enter the polling booth and say...why am I voting for a guy who has no chance to win...the only way to get change is with Christie -- then Corzine loses...
As negative as Christie's favorables are...he still repesents change...
And Corzine could get hurt by the change bug like Florio was...if Daggetts supporters break for Christie because by a large % point they favor Chrisite over Corzine...
daggett could outright win if anyone thought he could actually win
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 21 2009, 03:26 PM)
daggett could outright win if anyone thought he could actually win
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
Daggett could win if he had money...he had $104,000 as of the last posting which is no money at all to do anything...with the debates over he has no way of garnering support...
QUOTE(tazvil04 @ Oct 22 2009, 11:57 AM)
QUOTE(graham4anything @ Oct 21 2009, 03:26 PM)
daggett could outright win if anyone thought he could actually win
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
christie the fatso sweaty unkempt triple chinner may just finish third
the establishment likes Corzine though, so that gives him an advantage
Daggett could win if he had money...he had $104,000 as of the last posting which is no money at all to do anything...with the debates over he has no way of garnering support...
and the fat turd is imploding (not a pretty site, I picture THE LIFE OF BRIAN, remember that Chris Chrisitie imitator in that movie
vabooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmm
Dagget's up to 20 now
http://www.totallyfuzzy.net/ourtube/lenny-..._683c06733.html
It Ain't Over Til It's Over
By Lenny Kravitz
"That song just came out one day, and I knew it had a classic vibe. And I still love that song very much today", Kravitz said in an interview for VivaMusic.com in 2000. The line is based on a Yogiism, or quotation from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's over."
It Ain't Over Til It's Over
By Lenny Kravitz
"That song just came out one day, and I knew it had a classic vibe. And I still love that song very much today", Kravitz said in an interview for VivaMusic.com in 2000. The line is based on a Yogiism, or quotation from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's over."
QUOTE
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/d...rzine_prep.html
Daggett, Christie, Corzine prep for final debate before N.J. election
By The Associated Press
October 22, 2009, 5:42AM
NEWARK -- The three main candidates for governor of New Jersey will hold one final debate tonight, 12 days before Election Day.
The debate will air at 8 p.m. on WBGO-FM in Newark, WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, WNYC in New York, WBJB-FM in Middletown, and NJN Radio's nine stations across the state.
.
Daggett, Christie, Corzine prep for final debate before N.J. election
By The Associated Press
October 22, 2009, 5:42AM
NEWARK -- The three main candidates for governor of New Jersey will hold one final debate tonight, 12 days before Election Day.
The debate will air at 8 p.m. on WBGO-FM in Newark, WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, WNYC in New York, WBJB-FM in Middletown, and NJN Radio's nine stations across the state.
.
what's that I hear coming from the distnance...
it ain't over til the fatso sings?
Well I see Chris Christie's mouth opening...
I hear tones coming out of it.......................................
Good God Jim.....It's an tsunami of dolcetone singing....................
the fatman is singing
the fatman is singing
the fatman is singing
stick a fork in his mouth
cuz Chris Christie is eating.................he is done.................................
it ain't over til the fatso sings?
Well I see Chris Christie's mouth opening...
I hear tones coming out of it.......................................
Good God Jim.....It's an tsunami of dolcetone singing....................
the fatman is singing
the fatman is singing
the fatman is singing
stick a fork in his mouth
cuz Chris Christie is eating.................he is done.................................
According to remarks made during last night's news, NJN television is scheduled to broadcast the 10/22 debate (aired live on radio last night) tonight @ ?8 and again over the weekend. ODDLY, no mention of this online that I can find.
QUOTE
http://poststar.com/news/state-and-regiona...b119d52187.html
Candidates for NJ governor tussle over taxes
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Posted: Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:15 pm
There were no laugh lines in the last debate before Election Day among the three main candidates for governor of New Jersey, but there was plenty of tussling over the nagging issues of property taxes and corruption.
The debate, held at Newark jazz radio station WBGO and aired on public radio across the state, was light on improvisation. Instead, Republican Chris Christie, Democratic Incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine and Independent Chris Daggett restated the cases they've been making for months.
The race, one of only two governor's seats in the nation to be filled this year, looks very close. Recent polls have showed Christie and Corzine statistically tied. A Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Thursday showed Daggett with his most support so far: 20 percent.
For Corzine, the debate was another opportunity to try to persuade voters that he has helped the persistently vexing property tax situation even though he cut state rebates to more than 1 million taxpayers and the average bill has now passed $7,000.
The governor took credit for expanding a program that freezes the property taxes of some senior citizens and that has slowed the growth of the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes the last two years.
There's now a 4 percent gap on property tax increases for local governments and school boards. Corzine said he would lower it further if needed. He also said he would restore property tax rebates to households earning up to $250,000.
"We already have a cap on property tax levies at a local level," he said. "We have to keep looking for every possible consolidation and reduction in costs."
For Christie, the debate was a chance to lay out an entirely different vision that includes a pledge to restore property tax rebates and to make cutting other taxes a priority. He said that he would build his state budgets in a new way _ and no program would get an automatic exemption from cuts.
"It is not going to be a program that's going to be fixed with a silver bullet," Christie said.
Daggett, a former state and federal environmental protection official, continued to push a plan that would change the tax system. He wants to extend the sales tax to more services and use the extra revenue mostly to slash local property taxes.
He opened with sharp criticism of both major-party candidates, saying Corzine "led our state to near fiscal ruin," and said Christie is running "a campaign that's without substance and lacking in intellectual integrity."
The debate also turned to corruption on the day former Bergen County Democratic chairman Joseph Ferriero was found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud.
Christie, who as U.S. Attorney oversaw Ferriero's indictment, blamed Corzine for enabling him by donating $400,000 to the Bergen County party organization.
A clearly perturbed Corzine said he stood up to Ferriero and called Christie's accusation "just a joke."
Daggett said both of the other candidates use money to skirt fair political practices: Corzine by spending so much of his fortunes on politics and Christie because his brother donated $200,000 to the Republican Governors Association, which is running television ads attacking Corzine and Daggett.
.
Candidates for NJ governor tussle over taxes
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Posted: Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:15 pm
There were no laugh lines in the last debate before Election Day among the three main candidates for governor of New Jersey, but there was plenty of tussling over the nagging issues of property taxes and corruption.
The debate, held at Newark jazz radio station WBGO and aired on public radio across the state, was light on improvisation. Instead, Republican Chris Christie, Democratic Incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine and Independent Chris Daggett restated the cases they've been making for months.
The race, one of only two governor's seats in the nation to be filled this year, looks very close. Recent polls have showed Christie and Corzine statistically tied. A Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Thursday showed Daggett with his most support so far: 20 percent.
For Corzine, the debate was another opportunity to try to persuade voters that he has helped the persistently vexing property tax situation even though he cut state rebates to more than 1 million taxpayers and the average bill has now passed $7,000.
The governor took credit for expanding a program that freezes the property taxes of some senior citizens and that has slowed the growth of the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes the last two years.
There's now a 4 percent gap on property tax increases for local governments and school boards. Corzine said he would lower it further if needed. He also said he would restore property tax rebates to households earning up to $250,000.
"We already have a cap on property tax levies at a local level," he said. "We have to keep looking for every possible consolidation and reduction in costs."
For Christie, the debate was a chance to lay out an entirely different vision that includes a pledge to restore property tax rebates and to make cutting other taxes a priority. He said that he would build his state budgets in a new way _ and no program would get an automatic exemption from cuts.
"It is not going to be a program that's going to be fixed with a silver bullet," Christie said.
Daggett, a former state and federal environmental protection official, continued to push a plan that would change the tax system. He wants to extend the sales tax to more services and use the extra revenue mostly to slash local property taxes.
He opened with sharp criticism of both major-party candidates, saying Corzine "led our state to near fiscal ruin," and said Christie is running "a campaign that's without substance and lacking in intellectual integrity."
The debate also turned to corruption on the day former Bergen County Democratic chairman Joseph Ferriero was found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud.
Christie, who as U.S. Attorney oversaw Ferriero's indictment, blamed Corzine for enabling him by donating $400,000 to the Bergen County party organization.
A clearly perturbed Corzine said he stood up to Ferriero and called Christie's accusation "just a joke."
Daggett said both of the other candidates use money to skirt fair political practices: Corzine by spending so much of his fortunes on politics and Christie because his brother donated $200,000 to the Republican Governors Association, which is running television ads attacking Corzine and Daggett.
.
NJN television is scheduled to rebroadcast the 10/22 debate today at 2PM (cannot find this on any schedule, however) or listen to audio podcast below.
http://www.njn.net/newspublicaffairs/cover...orrace/debates/
QUOTE
http://www.wbgo.org/news/ondemand/2009_gub...rial_debate.php
On October 22, all three major candidates in the New Jersey Governor’s race met and debated on WBGO Jazz 88.3FM (Newark Public Radio, Inc.). The debate was produced and moderated by WBGO News Director, Doug Doyle, who has been covering New Jersey politics for the past 25 years. WBGO Evening News Anchor Andrew Meyer and WBGO/WHYY State House Reporter Phil Gregory asked questions of the candidates... The one hour debate with Jon Corzine, Chris Christie and Chris Daggett began at 8PM on October 22 in the WBGO Performance Studio in downtown Newark...
On October 22, all three major candidates in the New Jersey Governor’s race met and debated on WBGO Jazz 88.3FM (Newark Public Radio, Inc.). The debate was produced and moderated by WBGO News Director, Doug Doyle, who has been covering New Jersey politics for the past 25 years. WBGO Evening News Anchor Andrew Meyer and WBGO/WHYY State House Reporter Phil Gregory asked questions of the candidates... The one hour debate with Jon Corzine, Chris Christie and Chris Daggett began at 8PM on October 22 in the WBGO Performance Studio in downtown Newark...
http://www.njn.net/newspublicaffairs/cover...orrace/debates/
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