HALFACRE TO HOLT: “JOIN ME IN A CALL FOR CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION INTO GLOBAL WARMING SCANDAL”

Republican Congressional candidate calls on Holt to condemn fellow scientists for altering data and suppressing opposing views

Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre, NJ-12 Republican Congressional candidate, today called on his opponent, Rush Holt, to call for Congressional hearings into the revelations that scientists at England’s University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and others altered climate research data and actively prevented opposing views on global warming from being peer-reviewed.

“As a man of science, I am sure Rush Holt shares my outrage that any scientist would alter data and suppress opposing views on any subject, especially one as important as global warming”, said Halfacre. “Given that this scandal involves some of the leading climate researchers in the world, and that economic and environmental policy around the world is being made in part based on the research provided by these men, I am sure Mr. Holt will join me in calling on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to hold hearings on this matter to determine if any other data has been altered or suppressed.”

Halfacre pointed out that Holt was a supporter of “Cap and Trade”, legislation passed in June by the House of Representatives which would result in staggering tax increases on energy use in the United States. “The argument for the necessity of Cap and Trade was based in large part due to the research done at East Anglia’s CRU”, said Halfacre. “I think there are a lot of Democrats who would like a do-over on that vote after these latest revelations.”

Halfacre called on Holt to denounce his fellow scientists for their actions.

“Mr. Holt continually refers to the fact that he is one of only two scientists in the Congress; moreso than others he bears a responsibility to denounce this stain on his profession. Scientists are supposed to be disinterested collectors of facts and data who follow those facts and data to their conclusion, not manipulative conspirators who cherry pick supportive data to support preconceived notions and who stifle dissent.”

“These researchers are an embarrassment to the scientific community and as a prominent member of that community, Mr. Holt should stand up and say so. Failure to do so can only mean one thing: that he shares the researchers ‘ends justify the means’ attitude on climate change.”

Most Prefer "Merry Christmas" Over "Happy Holidays"

From Rasmussen Reports:

Amidst all the holiday shopping craziness, most Americans at this time of year want to see holiday signs that wish them a "Merry Christmas."

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 72% of adults prefer "Merry Christmas," while 22% like "Happy Holidays" instead.

Older Americans favor "Merry Christmas" more than younger adults.

Married adults fancy the traditional greeting a lot more than unmarrieds, although there is virtually no difference in the views of those with children in the home and those who don't have children living with them.

Perhaps inevitably as with much of what is polled by Rasmussen Reports, there is a partisan difference on the question.
Ninety-one percent (91%) of Republicans and 70% of adults not affiliated with either major political party like store signs that wish them a "Merry Christmas," compared to just 58% of Democrats.

Last year, 68% of all adults wanted holiday signs to read "Merry Christmas," while 25% preferred "Happy Holidays."

In a spearate survey released just before Thanksgiving, seven percent (7%) of Americans said they've already completed their holiday shopping. But 57% of adults hadn't started yet.

The good news is that 53% of Americans said they were more thankful this Thanksgiving than they were last year at this time.

Happy Thanksgiving

America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this nation throughout its history. In keeping with America's heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to god for all of His blessings. On this day of thanksgiving, it is appropriate that we recall the first thanksgiving, celebrated in the autumn of 1621. After surviving a bitter winter, the Pilgrims planted and harvested a bountiful crop. After the harvest they gathered their families together and joined in celebration and prayer with the Native Americans who had taught them so much. Clearly our forefathers were thankful not only for the material well being of their harvest but for this abundance of goodwill as well.

In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks. As we celebrate Thanksgiving in 1981, we should reflect on the full meaning of this day as we enjoy the fellowship that is so much a part of the holiday festivities. Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do as individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance.

Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1981, as Thanksgiving Day. In witness where of, I have here unto set my hand this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth.

Governor-Elect Chris Christie Announces Additional Transition New Jersey Sub-Committee Members

TRENTON, NJ – Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced today additional members of the Transition New Jersey sub-committees, including Military and Veterans Affairs, State, Banking and Insurance, Community Affairs, Gaming, Sports and Entertainment, Agriculture and Authorities. These sub-committees will conduct a top to bottom review of their respective government department and agency.

Military and Veterans Affairs

Col. Mike Warner, U.S. Army (Ret.), Chair
President, SMH International

Dr. John de Talvo
Retired Superintendent of Schools, Perth Amboy

Robert Ferguson, Jr., USN
President, Ambrose Asset Management

Gen. Paul Glazar, ANG (Ret.)
Retired General and Consultant

Paul Goldenberg
Senior Adviser, Department of Homeland Security

Ronald Griffin, U.S. Army
Gold Star Father and Founder, Military Families United

Mary Annie Harper
Chief of Staff, Congressman LoBiondo

Col. Peter O’Hagan, USMC (Ret.)
Former Director, New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety

State

Lieutenant Governor-Elect Kim Guadagno, Chair

Jeff Booker
Consultant, Brown & Brown Metro Insurance

Joan Bramhall
Morris County Clerk

Jack Carbone, Esq.
Partner, Carbone and Faase

Carol Cronheim
Seminar Director, Leadership New Jersey and Ph. D. Candidate, Bloustein School, Rutgers University

Emlyn Koster
President/ C.E.O., Liberty Science Center

Ruth Lipper
Director, TeleTech Corp.

Terriann Moore-Abrams, Esq.
Chief Attorney, Essex County

Robert Morrison
President, Quadrant Arts Education Research


Banking and Insurance

Edward Deutsch, Chair
Chairman, Somerset Hills Bancorp and Partner, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP

Thomas Considine
Vice President of Government Relations, MetLife

Claire Eckert
Retired Executive, Goldman Sachs

James V. Gorman
Chairman, Blue Warrior Capital

Russell L. Hewit
Senior Partner, Dughi & Hewit, P.C.

Leo Leyva, Esq.
Shareholder, Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, PA

Bruce Meisel
President/CEO, Pascack Community Bank

Albert Preziosi
Co-Owner, World Auto Group

Cindy Radazzo
JT PAC, US Representative

James Ulrich
Director of Global Market Research, Deutsche Bank

Community Affairs

The Honorable Sandra Cunningham, Chair
State Senator, 31st District

Alfred Koeppe, Chair
CEO, Newark Alliance

Mayor John Bencivengo
Mayor of Hamilton Township

Bruce Blumenthal
Community Development Ombudsman, NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

Hank Butehorn, Esq.
Partner, Ronan Tuzzio & Giannone

William Cassidy
Senior Partner, The Human Resource Partnership LLC

George Louis Garcia
Managing Partner, Garcia Turula LLC.

Kelly Hatfield, PhD
Former Councilwoman, Summit

Mayor Kennedy O’Brien
Mayor of Sayreville

Ira Oskowsky
Regional Sales Director, CMG Mortgage Insurance Company

Michael Pane, Esq.
Partner, Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, PC

Gerry Scharfenberger
Deputy Mayor, Middletown

Charles Tahaney
Former Township Manager, Livingston

Tim Touhey
CEO, New Jersey Builders Association

Alan Zakin, Esq.
Principal, Alan Zakin Associates


Gaming, Sports and Entertainment

Jon Hanson, Chair
Chairman and Founder of the Hampshire Real Estate Companies
Former Chairman, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

Joseph Corbo, Jr.
Vice President and General Counsel, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Vince Curatola
Actor

Michael Gulotta
CEO, Deo Volente Farm

Carole Hedinger
Former Acting Executive Director, New Jersey Lottery

Mark Juliano
CEO, Trump Entertainment

Al Leiter
Commentator, YES Network

Allen Littlefield
Partner, Fishman, Littlefield & Fishman LLC

Bob Mulcahy
Former Athletic Director, Rutgers University

Jim O’Neil
Chief of Investigations, NJ Lottery

David Satz
Vice President of Government Relations and Development, Harrah's Enterntainment, Inc.

John Tsanas, Esq.
Attorney at Law

Lloyd Tulp
Principal, Tulfra Realty

Finn Wentworth
Founder, YES Network and Former CEO/COO, Yankeenets


Agriculture

George Gilmore, Chair
Chairman, Ocean County Republican Organization

Kurt Alstede
General Manager, Alstede Farms LLC

William Brooks
Farmer and Deputy Mayor, Upper Pittsgrove

Sam Fiocchi

Bob Greco
Chairman, Cumberland County Republican Organization

Paul Galletta
Owner, Atlantic Blueberry Company

Charles Kuperus
Former Secretary of Agriculture and Owner, Kuperus Farmside Gardens & Florist

Steven V. Lee, IV
Secretary/Treasurer, Lee Brothers, Inc

Peter Melick
Farmer, Melick's Town Farm and Former Member, State Board of Agriculture

Gregory Romano
Assistant Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation

Jack Tomasello
Vice-President/Co-Owner, Tomasello Winery

Hal Wirths
Freeholder, Sussex County


Authorities

Michael DuHaime, Chair
Managing Partner, Mercury Public Affairs, LLC

Andrew S. Berns, Esq.
Partner, Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost, P.C.

Matthew Boxer
State Comptroller

Joseph Buckelew
Executive Chairman, Conner Strong

John J. Carney, Esq.
Partner, Baker Hostetler, LLP

Oren Dabney, Sr.
CEO, Jersey City Incinerator Authority

Anthony Della Pelle, Esq.
Attorney, McKirdy and Riskin PA

Craig Domalewski, Esq.
Partner, Dughi and Hewit, PC

Daniel R. Lindemann, Esq.
Attorney, Lindemann LLC

Thaddeus Maciag, Esq.
Attorney, Maciag Law LLC

Steven H. Sholk, Esq.
Director, Gibbons P.C.

Charles H. Shotmeyer
President, Shotmeyer Brothers, Inc.

Dianne Solomon
Former Senior Account Administrator, Keane Organization

Mary Elizabeth Warner, Esq.
Corporate Counsel, Quick Chek Corporation

Aggravation Taxes

Some MMM readers know that I don't make my living as a blogger. It would be nice, maybe someday.

For the meantime I am a small business owner in New Jersey. My principle business is leasing commercial vehicles to other small businesses. I am also a used vehicle dealer which allows me to sell my vehicles at retail when the leases are over and the vehicles returned.

In this economy many businesses are struggling to make their payments on time and unfortunately I find myself repossessing and reselling or releasing quite a few vehicles.

A few months ago I repossessed a school bus from a small operator in Essex County.

After getting the bus back and spending a couple of thousand dollars repairing and reconditioning it I was fortunate to lease it a larger and more stable school bus operator and recover most of my investment.

As it turns out, I was not the only one the first customer wasn't paying. School buses are inspected every six months and MVC collects a fee for each inspection. This operator wrote a bad check for his last inspection on the bus I leased to him.

MVC wouldn't let me register the bus to the new customer because of the bounced check. They said I had to pay for the bounced check and a fee to restore registration privileges of the customer who bounced the check.

After a couple of weeks talking to various supervisors at MVC in Trenton each of agreed with me that this was inequitable. Someone else bounced a check to an agency of the state and I am being forced to pay his check and fines in order to use my property legally. By my paying the check and fines the other guy is now off the hook and free to operate vehicles again.

"Well you could sue him for the money," one supervisor told me. "You're the State of New Jersey, have him arrested, " I replied, "Do you have any idea how much it would cost me to sue him for the $240 you are holding me up for?"

Next time I'll just pay the fees rather than spend the time appealing it. I wasted too much time over $240 this time.

Climategate: Falsified Research Scandal Rocks the UK

Written by Robert Romano
Tuesday, 24 November 2009 08:24

"[T]he criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability."--Karl Popper, "Science as Falsification," 1963.

Karl Popper must be rolling over in his grave.

As world leaders prepare to meet in Denmark next month to discuss the implementation of the Copenhagen Protocol (the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol designed to cap carbon emissions in industrialized nations) one topic certain to be the buzz amongst attendees--at least unofficially--will be the growing "Climategate" scandal that currently rocking the United Kingdom.

Apparently, computer hackers broke into the servers of the University of East Anglia's (UEA) Climatic Research Unit. There, they found and published emails showing that researchers deliberately manipulated climate “change” data to hide the actual decline of the Earth’s temperatures.

What makes this highly significant is that, according to UEA’s website, the Climatic Research Unit’s data sets are “widely used in climate research, including the global temperature record used to monitor the state of the climate system.”

The site also boasts that the “Climatic Research Unit is widely recognised as one of the world's leading institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change.” At least, they were.

According to the UK Telegraph, “Around 1,000 emails and 3,000 documents were stolen from UEA computers by hackers last week and uploaded on to a Russian server before circulating on websites run by climate change sceptics. Some of the correspondence indicates that the manipulation of data was widespread among global warming researchers.”

The hackers also published an anonymous note alongside the emails: “We feel that climate science is too important to be kept under wraps. We hereby release a random selection of correspondence, code, and documents. Hopefully it will give some insight into the science and the people behind it.”

Amongst the gems released is one email from the Unit’s director Phil Jones in 1999: “I've just completed Mike's Nature [the science journal] trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie, from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline.” Apparently, the agenda is more important than the facts.

Lord Nigel Lawson, a Conservative politician and journalist, and long-time critic of the “science” used to justify radically reducing the carbon emissions of industrialized nations, has called for a public inquiry into the Unit’s practices. “They should set up a public inquiry under someone who is totally respected and get to the truth,” said Lawson.

The UK Climategate scandal comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suppressing a paper by Dr. Alan Carlin highly critical of the “science” behind the “global warming consensus”.
According to Carlin’s paper, “the EPA’s “Technical Support Document for Endangerment Analysis for Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act” (TSD) uses data that is out-of-date and ignores the decade-long decline in the earth’s temperature despite CO2 levels rising and CO2 emissions accelerating.

The EPA’s official findings, Carlin reported, are based largely on the International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) AR4 report published in 2007. That report’s data, according to Carlin, “is at best three years out of date in a rapidly changing field.”

Carlin wrote that the “IPCC projections for large increases [in temperature] are looking increasingly doubtful” in light of “recent substantial decreases in global temperatures”.

Making matters worse for the Hot Earthers, the bulk of the data that has been used by the International Panel on Climate Change in its computer models projecting “climate change” has repeatedly (and conveniently) been destroyed.
And that data was compiled by none other than the UEA’s Climatic Research Unit, as was revealed by National Review’s Patrick J. Michaels in September.

In the real scientific field, there is a principle called “falsifiability,” pioneered in 1963 by Karl Popper. It asserts that “the criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability.” Therefore, the only way to prove that a theory is not true is to show that it is false. For example, the only way fully reliable way to prove that all swans are not white is produce one that is black.

It is now clear to all that the folks at the Climatic Research Unit took a decidedly different slant on “falsifiability.” They decided that the only way to prove that their theory was true was simply to falsify the facts. And in so doing, they exposed themselves—and their adherents—to be nothing more than shameless frauds of the highest order.Naturally, that renders the Copenhagen Hot Earther’s love fest a groundless exercise in contrived futility—unless, of course, they intend to falsify their findings there, too. Which is likely the precise protocol they have in mind.

Robert Romano is the Americans for Limited Government Senior News Editor.

Global Warming Hoax Exposed

By Alan Caruba

The revelations that scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) doctored the data supporting the global warming claims of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) means that EVERYTHING attributed to or based upon “global warming” is invalid.

It means the Kyoto Climate Protocols that nations agreed to on December 11, 1997 and which entered into force on February 16 2005, and all subsequent agreements based on “global warming” have no validity, scientifically or as the basis for public action by any nation, state, province, city or town.

It means that Al Gore’s pusillanimous “documentary” is a fraud along with just about every other statement uttered by any scientist, academician, or politician claiming that something, anything, should be done to avoid “global warming.”

There is no “global warming”, if by that discredited term, you mean a dramatic increase in the Earth’s temperature, the vast rising of ocean levels, the melting of the polar ice caps, and the thousands of other things attributed to a massive fraud orchestrated by the IPCC and a vast network of scientists and environmental groups that benefited from the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars they received in grants and other payments for their “research.”

Global warming, allegedly the result of rising levels of “greenhouse gas emissions”, primarily carbon dioxide (C02), underwrites the sale of “carbon credits” that industries, utilities, and other entities purchased for the “right” to use energy and as further revelations about the doctoring and virtual invention of false scientific data become known, it means those sales were a complete fraud.

It was never really a secret. You could have read about in “Climate of Extremes: Global Warming Science They Don’t Want You to Know” and a dozen other books I can put my hand on this very moment. The only thing missing was the proverbial “smoking gun” and the revelations about the CRU now confirms what the “deniers” and “skeptics” kept saying.

It’s worth keeping in mind that in several Northeastern States, utilities were required by law to purchase these worthless carbon credits and spend millions, not on improvements to the electric grid, not on building more capacity to serve their customers, but on what is worthless paper.


Someone needs to go to jail.

The release of thousands of emails and other data, now believed to be the work of a conscious-stricken CRU insider, will as they are examined in detail reveal what has long been known to those actively opposing the “global warming” fraud. As Christopher Horner, the author of “Red Hot Lies”, recently noted, the CRU and its lead scientists refused for years to release the data which they alleged proved that “global warming” was happening.

This data and the periodic reports of the IPCC are the basis for the existence of the IPCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the “cap-and-trade” legislation awaiting a vote in the U.S. Congress. Horner observed “After running out of excuses, in September CRU’s Phil Jones simply claimed that he had lost the data so, sorry, no one can check it.” Horner called it “implausible beyond comprehension.”

And yet the United States and the representatives of many other nations will gather in Copenhagen in December for yet another UN conference on climate change, the now preferred synonym for “global warming.” Basing any international treaty on climate change or global warming is an utterly deceitful act.

The IPCC conference is based on the original Kyoto Protocol and, since there is no global warming, and since the science supporting it has been revealed to be false and misleading, no action should be taken other to disband the IPCC entirely.

All U.S. laws and regulations based on the so-called “global warming” should be reexamined and exorcised from the Congressional Register and from all state bodies of law. Most certainly, “cap-and-trade” should be withdrawn from further consideration.

Beyond that, school books about the environment must now be reviewed to determine how much of their content is invalid as well.

The undoing of this fraud must begin and begin NOW!

Alan Caruba is the founder of The National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information on “scare campaigns” designed to influence public opinion and policy. He blogs daily at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.

Art's comment:

Al Gore should get to keep the Oscar. Many who should have known better fell for that act.

Sarlo to Baroni: "That's Bulls**t Bill"

Senator Paul Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Mayor of Wood Ridge lost his cool today when he couldn't get one of his cronies confirmed for a third government paycheck, according to Bob Ingle.

Ingle quotes the double dipping Sarlo with at least four "bullsh**ts", one directed at Senator Bill Baroni.

I expect we'll be hearing worse coming out of Trenton in the months and years ahead.

Governor-Elect Chris Christie Announces Additional Transition New Jersey Sub-Committee Members

TRENTON, NJ – Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced today additional members of the Transition New Jersey sub-committees, including Corrections and Homeland Security, Energy and Utilities, Environmental Protection, Healthcare, Human Services and Children and Families, Law and Public Safety and Transportation. These sub-committees will conduct a top to bottom review of their respective government department and agency.

Corrections and Homeland Security

Joe Billy, Chair
Former Special Agent in Charge, New Jersey Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Warden Bill Fraser
Executive Board, New Jersey County Jail Wardens Association

Jerry Decicco
President, Jersey City Police Officer's Benevolent Association

Dr. Ralph Fretz
Director of Assessment, Community Education Center

Dan Lombardo
President/CEO, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, Inc.

Cornell Brooks
Executive Director, NJ Institute for Social Justice

Nancy Wolff
Director, Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research and Public Policy Professor, Rutgers University

Ralph McGrane
Retired Warden, Rikers Island

Jan Gilhooly
Former Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service


Energy and Utilities

Chair, Bob Martin
Retired Partner, Accenture, LLP

Laurence M. Downes
CEO, New Jersey Resources Corporation

Connie Hughes
Former Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

Walter Lynch
President, American Water Services

Russell Maffei
Business Administration Officer, City of Jersey City

Caroline Ehrlich
Chief of Staff, Woodbridge Township

Joseph Dominguez, Esq.
Senior Vice President, Exelon Generation

Ralph LaRossa
President/COO, Public Service Electric and Gas Company

Robert Clifton
Government Affairs Manager, Comcast


Environmental Protection

Chair, The Honorable Marcia Karrow
Former State Senator, 23rd District

John Abene
President, Delphi Energy

Peter deNeufville
Chairman, Voltaix, L.L.C.

Anthony Mauro, Sr.
Chairman, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance

David Pringle
Campaign Director, New Jersey Environmental Federation

Steve Santola, Esq.
Executive Vice President/General Counsel, Woodmont Properties

John Spinello, Jr., Esq.
Former Associate General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Edward Walsh
President, The Walsh Company

Anthony Slimowicz
Director, WCD Capital Partners, LLC

John Trela, Ph.D.
Former Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection

Rhea Brekke
Executive Director, New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology

Tony Monteiro
CEO, Dynamic Insurance Inc.

John Sartor
Exectuvie Vice President, Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor, LLC

Joseph Riggs
Group President, K. Hovnanian Homes

Bruce Katcher, Esq.
Partner, Manko Gold Katcher & Fox LLP


Health Care

Chair David Knowlton
President/CEO, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute

Dr. Alan Carr
Comprehensive Pain Management

Kevin Barry, MD
Anesthesiology, Morristown Memorial Hospital

Stewart Berkowitz, MD
Jersey Shore Brachytherapy

Judy Burgis
Senior Vice-President for Corporate Services, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Joseph Clemente, MD
President/CEO, Medical Health Center

Annette Catino
President/CEO, QualCare Alliance Networks, Inc.

Robert Hariri, MD PhD
CEO, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics

Patricia Kelmar
Associate State Director – Advocacy, AARP New Jersey

Mark Manigan, Esq.
Health Law Practice Group, Brach Eichler LLC

William McDonald
President/CEO, St Joseph's Healthcare System

Gary Puma
President/CEO, Springpoint Senior Living

Christopher Rinn
Director - Emergency Medical Services, Jersey City Medical Center

Brent Saunders
President, Consumer Health Care and Senior Vice President, Schering-Plough

John Sheridan
President/CEO, Cooper Hospital

James Orsini, MD
Essex Oncology Of North Jersey

Ryan Graham
Senior Sales Director of Employee Benefits, Fairview Insurance

Loretta Brickman
Co-Owner, BD Consulting & Public Relations


Human Services and Children and Families

Chair John Bonanni
Administrator, County of Morris

Anthony Ferrera
Director of Operations, Somerset Counsel for Alcohol and Drug Dependency

Gail Gordon, Esq.
Attorney, Brad Campbell, LLC

Peter Haytaian
Regional CEO, North Amerigroup Corporation

John M. Marchetti
Chief of Staff, Senator Bill Baroni

Jim Lape
Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health & Psychiatry, Trinitas Hospital

Robert Stack
President/CEO, Community Options

Richard Strobel, Esq.
Chief Counsel, Burlington County Board of Social Services

Charles Venti
Deputy Director, The Nicholson Foundation

Debra Wentz
CEO, New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies

Marianne Majewski
Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Metuchen

Sherri Larner
Marriage and Family Therapist


Law and Public Safety

Chair David Samson
Former Attorney General and Senior Partner, Wolff & Samson P.C.

Fred Alworth, Esq.
Director, Gibbons P.C.

Richard Badolato, Esq.
President, NJSBF and Partner, Connell Foley LLP

Peter Bogaard
Bogaard & Associates

Paula Dow, Esq.
Essex County Prosecutor

Norman Feinstein, Esq.
Founding Partner, FRBK and Former President, NJAA

Christine Hanlon, Esq.
Menna Supko & Nelson, LLC

Kenneth Laptook, Esq.
Partner, Wolff & Samson P.C.

Joe Oxley
Former Monmouth County Sheriff

Richard D. Pompelio, Esq.
Executive Director/Law Director, New Jersey Crime Victims Law Center

John Sierchio
Detective, Bloomfield Police Deparment

Mark Sheridan, Esq.
Partner, Drinker Biddle LLP

Wayne Positan
Partner, Lum, Drasco & Positan, LLC

Barbara Silver Hutcheon, Esq.
Wolff & Samson P.C.

Patrick P. Toscano, Jr., Esq.
President, The Toscano Law Firm, LLC.

Geoffrey S. Berman, Esq.
Partner, Greenberg Traurig, LLP


Transportation

Chair James Weinstein
Senior Vice President, AECOM

James Crawford
Executive Director, EZ Pass

Samuel Raia
Mayor, Saddle River

Frank Druetzler
Mayor, Morris Plains

Jerry Amedeo
Director, Camp Harmony

Ron Gravino
President, Ron Gravino Consulting

Jerry Langer
Chief Commercial Officer, Langer Transport

Jack Lettiere
President, Jack Lettiere Consulting, LLC

Nevins McCann
Partner, Connell Foley, LLP

Michael Misseri
CEO, Empire Coach

Dave Ragonese
Attorney, White and Williams, LLP

Bill Shiels
Police Sergeant, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Education

Sandra Chronic
Curriculum Supervisor, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

Kyrillos: Trenton Must Listen to Pleas of Discouraged Business Owners

Senator Joe Kyrillos, senior Republican on the Senate Economic Growth Committee, noted the New Jersey Business and Industry Association’s annual survey of current economic conditions shows business owners don’t believe that recovery will come in 2010. More importantly, survey respondents gave “record low marks to New Jersey as a place for expansion of their business facilities.”

“It’s time for Trenton to listen and respond to the pleas of the beleaguered business owners that New Jersey depends on to create jobs and economic growth,” Kyrillos said. “Business owners not only expect no growth in 2010 – business people are saying that New Jersey is a bad place to grow if they could expand.”

Just 11 percent of survey respondents say New Jersey is a good place for expansion of business facilities, down from 50 percent nine years ago and a high of 67 percent in 1987. A whopping 52 percent of business owners said New Jersey is a poor place to expand, up from just 9 percent in 2001.

“Business owners aren’t saying that New Jersey is a bad place to grow because of the recession,” Kyrillos said. “Big majorities say New Jersey is the worst place for taxes and fees, government spending, labor costs, regulation and anti-business sentiment.

“Governor-elect Christie won office because he promised to remove the record-high taxes, unnecessary regulations and bureaucratic obstacles that have depressed private sector job growth for the past eight years. Trenton needs to hear and respond to the pleas of our state’s business owners, and help Chris Christie restore the Garden State to economic prosperity.”

Quinnipiac: NJ Voters Want Christie To Cut Spending

New Jersey voters support 75 - 21 percent, including 70 - 26 percent among Democrats, a wage freeze for state workers to help balance the state budget, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, three weeks after Christopher Christie toppled Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. A wage freeze wins 75 - 20 percent support from independent voters and 79 - 16 percent backing from Republicans. Voters in union households back a wage freeze 62 - 33 percent.


Garden State voters also support 61 - 33 percent layoffs for state workers to help balance the state budget, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Support ranges from 50 - 43 percent among Democrats to 65 - 29 percent among independent voters to 69 - 25 percent among Republicans. Voters in union households split 49 - 48 percent.


A total of 97 percent of New Jersey voters say the state's budget problems are "very serious" or "somewhat serious."


Cut programs and services to balance the budget, 68 percent say, as 23 percent say raise taxes instead. Service cuts win 46 - 43 percent support from Democrats, 73 - 18 percent backing from independent voters and 86 - 8 percent backing from Republicans.

Read the entire poll release here.

Governor-Elect Chris Christie Announces Transition New Jersey Sub-Committee Members and Transition Counsel

TRENTON, NJ – Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced today members of the Transition Counsel, as well as members of the Economic Development and Growth, Education, Treasury, Labor and Workforce Development and the Office of the Governor Transition Sub-Committees. These sub-committees will conduct a top to bottom review of their respective government department and agency.

Transition Counsel

Stephen J. Edelstein, Esq., General Counsel to the Transition
Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso & Zitomer LLC

John Bruder, Esq.
The Law Office of John E. Bruder

David Catuogno, Esq.
Forman Holt Eliades & Ravin LLC

Mark Cimino, Esq.
Mark Cimino, Attorney At Law

Gabrielle Charette, Esq.
Megna Law Firm

William T. Cooper, III, Esq.
Cooper & Cooper

Paul Donini, Esq.
Donini & Ramsey

Denis G. Murphy, Esq.
Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso and Zitomer LLC

Anthony Kearns, Esq.
Rylak, Gianos, Kearns & Phillips

Stefani C. Schwartz, Esq.
Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso and Zitomer LLC


Economic Development and Growth

Mayor John McCormac, Chair
Mayor of Woodbridge and former State Treasurer

Dennis Bone, Chair
President, Verizon New Jersey Inc.

Jeff Altschuler
President and CEO, Allied Beverage Group, LLC

Daryl Brewster
CEO, Brookside Management

Linda Doherty
President, New Jersey Food Council

Debra Dowdell
President, New Jersey Restaurant Association

Richard DuHaime
Owner, Valentine Beauty Supply

The Honorable Bob Franks
Former United States Congressman and President of the Health Care Institute of New Jersey

John Galandak
President, Commerce Industry Association of New Jersey

Rich Goldberg
Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, DRS Technologies

Robert Harris
President, Harris FRC Corporation

Mitchell Hersh
President and CEO, Mack-Cali

Joe Jacobs
Former Vice Chairman, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority

Harrison LeFrak
Partner, Lefrak Organization

Ed Nyland
Director of Business Development, George Harms Construction Company, Inc

Brian O’Leary,
Senior VP & Tax Counsel, NBC Universal

Todd Rechler
Co-Chief Operating Officer and President, RXR Realty

Richard Roper
Director of the Planning Department, The Port Authority of NY and NJ


Education

Dr. Susan Cole, Chair
President, Montclair State University

Chris Angelillo
Principal, Kittatinny Regional High School

Dr. Richard Bozza, Ph.D.
Executive Director, New Jersey Association of School Administrators

Dr. Ada Beth Cutler
Dean, College of Education and Human Services, Montclair State University

Ross Danis
Associate Dean of Education, Drew University

Peter Denton
Chairman and Founder, Excellent Education for Everyone, Inc.

Kristen Hennessey
Teacher and NJEA Member

Sister Rosemary Jeffries
President, Georgian Court University

Kurt Landgraf
President, Educational Testing Service

Carlos Lejnieks
President and CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex Hudson and Union Counties

Stig Leschly
Founder and Managing Partner, Newark Charter School Fund

Pablo Munoz
Superintendent, Elizabeth Public Schools

Frank Palatucci
President, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association

Michael Pallente
Principal, Robert Treat Academy Charter School

Pat Pelosi
Interim Superintendent of Schools, Morris County Vocational School District

Mike Ritacco
Superintendent, Toms River Schools

Bret Schundler
Chief Operating Officer, The King's College

Lawrence Schwartz, Esq.
Managing Director, Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso & Zitomer, LLC

Shelley Skinner
Advocacy Chair, New Jersey Charter School Association

Luis Vargas
Project Director, PAAC

Brian Zychowski
Superintendent, North Brunswick Township School District

Treasury

Hon. Michael Ferguson, Chair
Former United States Congressman (NJ-7) and Chairman/CEO of Ferguson Strategies

Laurie Ehlbeck
State Director, National Federation of Independent Business

Louis C. Goetting, IV
Former Deputy State Treasurer

Steven Kass
Co-Managing Principal, Rothstein Kass

Richard Keevey
Director, Policy Research Institute for the Region at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University

Rick Lloyd
Executive Director, State Government Affairs and Community Relations, Johnson and Johnson

John Lutz
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, LLP

Mark Murphy
President and CEO, Northeast Private Client Group

Jeffrey Oram
Director, Marcus & Millichap

J. Thomas Presby
Director and Chairman, Audit Committee, Tiffany & Co.

Joseph Schmuckler
Senior Executive Officer, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., Ltd.

Peter Spirgel, Esq.
Managing Shareholder, Flaster Greenberg

Candy Straight
Investment Banking Consultant


Labor and Workforce Development

Debra P. DiLorenzo, Chair
President/CEO, Chamber Of Commerce Southern New Jersey

Don Abernathy
President, Extensis

Craig Alper
President and Owner, Alper Enterprises

Ray Bramucci
Public Policy and Business Consultant

Kurt Conti
CEO, The Conti Group

Rafael Fajardo
President, Elizabeth Board of Education

Nelson Ferreria
Owner and CEO, Ferreira Construction Company

Munir Kazmir, MD
CEO, Quality Homecare and Commissioner, State of New Jersey Lottery Commission

Robert Loderstedt
President and CEO, New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program

Bob Yudin
Owner, Yudin's Appliances, Inc.


Office of the Governor

The Honorable Peter Verniero, Chair
Former Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and former New Jersey Attorney General
Partner, Sills Cummis & Gross PC

The Honorable W. Cary Edwards
Former New Jersey Attorney General

Jim Harkness
Executive Director, New Jersey Senate Republican Office

Wayne W. Hasenbalg, Esq.
Partner, Decotiis Fitzpatrick Cole & Wisler, LLP

Patrick E. Hobbs, Esq.
Dean, Seton Hall Law School

Jane M. Kenny
Founding Partner and Principal, The Whitman Strategy Group

Brian M. Nelson, Esq.
Partner, Menna Supko & Nelson LLC

Rachel Donington Torpey

Colts Neck Longhorn Escapes To Marlboro

The Asbury Park Press is reporting that three Texas Longhorn steer escaped from a Colts Neck farm and headed to Marlboro.

Marlboro police put down two of the steer but haven't found the third. Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornick has not ruled out lassoing the cow himself.

No Ruling Out Hornik

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik told Politickernj that Democratic party members have asked him if he would be consider running for governor in 2013. He said he hasn't ruled it out, nor has he ruled out challenging 12th district Senator Jen Beck.

The Democratic mayor attributes his success in Marlboro to governing like a Republican and his willingness to do what ever he can to help the Democratic party.

Hornik also hasn't ruled out running for president should the Democrats need a Republican like candidate following the loss of congress in 2010, or for vice president should Joe Biden retire to join Sarah Palin on the speakers tour.

He hasn't ruled out being appointed to Frank Lautenberg's U.S. Senate seat should the Senator not complete his term, nor playing center field for the Yankees next year.

The mayor is not scheduled to be the opening act for upcoming Bruce or Bon Jovi concerts, but he hasn't ruled it out.

He has ruled out cancelling Republican fund raisers in Marlboro.

A Letter To President Obama

November 9, 2009


President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama:

On September 11, 2001, the entire world watched as 19 men hijacked four commercial airliners, attacking passengers and killing crew members, and then turned the fully-fueled planes into missiles, flying them into the World Trade Center twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 3,000 of our fellow human beings died in two hours. The nation's commercial aviation system ground to a halt. Lower Manhattan was turned into a war zone, shutting down the New York Stock Exchange for days and causing tens of thousands of residents and workers to be displaced. In nine months, an estimated 50,000 rescue and recovery workers willingly exposed themselves to toxic conditions to dig out the ravaged remains of their fellow citizens buried in 1.8 million tons of twisted steel and concrete.

The American people were rightly outraged by this act of war. Whether the cause was retribution or simple recognition of our common humanity, the words "Never Forget" were invoked in tearful or angry rectitude, defiantly written in the dust of Ground Zero or humbly penned on makeshift memorials erected all across the land. The country was united in its determination that these acts should not go unmarked and unpunished.

Eight long years have passed since that dark and terrible day. Sadly, some have forgotten the promises we made to those whose lives were taken in such a cruel and vicious manner.

We have not forgotten. We are the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and other family members of the victims of these depraved and barbaric attacks, and we feel a profound obligation to ensure that justice is done on their behalf. It is incomprehensible to us that members of the United States Congress would propose that the same men who today refer to the murder of our loved ones as a "blessed day" and who targeted the United States Capitol for the same kind of destruction that was wrought in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, should be the beneficiaries of a social compact of which they are not a part, do not recognize, and which they seek to destroy: the United States Constitution.

We adamantly oppose prosecuting the 9/11 conspirators in Article III courts, which would provide them with the very rights that may make it possible for them to escape the justice which they so richly deserve. We believe that military commissions, which have a long and honorable history in this country dating back to the Revolutionary War, are the appropriate legal forum for the individuals who declared war on America. With utter disdain for all norms of decency and humanity, and in defiance of the laws of warfare accepted by all civilized nations, these individuals targeted tens of thousands of civilian non-combatants, brutally killing 3,000 men, women and children, injuring thousands more, and terrorizing millions.

It is morally offensive to offer Constitutional protections to individuals charged with murdering 3,000 individuals, in essence, to jeopardize justice for war crimes victims, in order to make an appeal to the Muslim world. The use of Article III courts after the 1993 World Trade Center attack didn't stop any of the subsequent terrorist plots, including the attack on Khobar Towers, 19 Americans killed, the 1998 East African Embassy bombing, 212 killed, the USS Cole bombing, 17 sailors killed. The attacks of 9/11 were a resounding rebuke to the view that federal courts were an appropriate counterterrorism strategy. Afterward, we didn't send law enforcement personnel to apprehend the perpetrators, we sent the United States military, who captured them and held them pursuant to the 2001 Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF).

The American people do not support the use of our cherished federal courts as a stage by the "mastermind of 9/11" and his co-conspirators to condemn this nation and rally their fellow terrorists the world over. As one New York City police detective, who lost 60 fellow officers on 9/11, told members of the Department of Justice's Detainee Policy Task Force at a meeting last June, "You people are out of touch. You need to hear the locker room conversations of the people who patrol your streets and fight your wars."

On May 21, you stated that military commissions, promulgated by congressional legislation and recently reformed with even greater protections for defendants, are a legal and appropriate forum to try individuals captured pursuant the 2001 AUMF, passed by Congress in response to the attack on America. Nevertheless, you announced a new policy requiring that Al-Qaeda terrorists should be tried in Article III courts "whenever feasible."

We strongly object to the creation of a two-tier system of justice for terrorists in which those responsible for the death of thousands on 9/11 will be treated as common criminals and afforded the kind of platinum due process accorded American citizens, yet members of Al Qaeda who aspire to kill Americans but who do not yet have blood on their hands, will be treated as war criminals. To date, you have offered no explanation or justification for this contradiction, even as you readily acknowledge that the 9/11 conspirators, now designated "unprivileged enemy belligerents," are appropriately accused of war crimes. We believe that this two-tier system, in which war criminals receive more due process protections than would-be war criminals, will be mocked and rejected in the court of world opinion as an ill-conceived contrivance aimed, not at justice, but at the appearance moral authority.

The public has a right to know that prosecuting the 9/11 conspirators in federal courts will result in a plethora of legal and procedural problems that will severely limit or even jeopardize the successful prosecution of their cases. Ordinary criminal trials do not allow for the exigencies associated with combatants captured in war, in which evidence is not collected with CSI-type chain-of-custody standards. None of the 9/11 conspirators were given the Miranda warnings mandated in Article III courts. Prosecutors contend that the lengthy, self-incriminating tutorials Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others gave to CIA interrogators about 9/11 and other terrorist operations--called "pivotal for the war against Al-Qaeda" in a recently released, declassified 2005 CIA report--may be excluded in federal trials. Further, unlike military commissions, all of the 9/11 cases will be vulnerable in federal court to defense motions that their prosecutions violate the Speedy Trial Act. Indeed, the judge presiding in the case of Ahmed Ghailani, accused of participating in the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Kenya, killing 212 people, has asked for that issue to be briefed by the defense. Ghailani was indicted in 1998, captured in Pakistan in 2004, and held at Guantanamo Bay until 2009.

Additionally, federal rules risk that classified evidence protected in military commissions would be exposed in criminal trials, revealing intelligence sources and methods and compromising foreign partners, who will be unwilling to join with the United States in future secret or covert operations if doing so will risk exposure in the dangerous and hostile communities where they operate. This poses a clear and present danger to the public. The safety and security of the American people is the President's highest duty.

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "the challenges of terrorism trials are overwhelming." Mr. Mukasey, formerly a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, presided over the multi-defendant terrorism prosecution of Sheikh Omar Abel Rahman, the cell that attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and conspired to attack other New York landmarks. In addition to the evidentiary problems cited above, he expressed concern about courthouse and jail facility security, the need for anonymous jurors to be escorted under armed guard, the enormous costs associated with the use of U.S. marshals necessarily deployed from other jurisdictions, and the danger to the community which, he says, will become a target for homegrown terrorist sympathizers--like the recent Fort Hood shooter--or embedded Al Qaeda cells.

Finally, there is the sickening prospect of men like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed being brought to the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, or the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few blocks away from the scene of carnage eight years ago, being given a Constitutionally mandated platform upon which he can mock his victims, exult in the suffering of their families, condemn the judge and his own lawyers, and rally his followers to continue jihad against the men and women of the U.S. military, fighting and dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan on behalf of us all.

There is no guarantee that Mr. Mohammed and his co-conspirators will plead guilty, as in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, whose prosecution nevertheless took four years, and who is currently attempting to recant that plea. Their attorneys will be given wide latitude to mount a defense that turns the trial into a shameful circus aimed at vilifying agents of the CIA for alleged acts of "torture," casting the American government and our valiant military as a force of evil instead of a force for good in places of the Muslim world where Al Qaeda and the Taliban are waging a brutal war against them and the local populations. For the families of those who died on September 11, the most obscene aspect of giving Constitutional protections to those who planned the attacks with the intent of inflicting maximum terror on their victims in the last moments of their lives will be the opportunities this affords defense lawyers to cast their clients as victims.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators are asking to plead guilty, now, before a duly-constituted military commission. Mr. President, the families of their victims have a right to know, why don't you let them?

Respectfully submitted,



Dr. Kenneth Paul Ambrose and Mrs. Sharon Ambrose
Parents of Dr. Paul W. Ambrose, 32, American Flt. 77, Pentagon



Margit Kastel-Arias
Wife of Adam P. Arias, 37, Eurobrokers, Two WTC, 84th Fl



Donald C. Arias, Lt Col, USAF (ret)
Brother of Adam P. Arias



Thomas V. Arias
Brother of Adam P. Arias



Andrew D. Arias
Brother of Adam P. Arias



Lorraine Beliveau
Sister of Adam P. Arias



Lauren Lucchini
Sister of Adam P. Arias



Karen A. Arias
Sister-in-law of Adam P. Arias



Nicholas C. Arias
Nephew of Adam P. Arias



Maureen Basnicki
Wife Ken Basnicki, 48, Canadian citizen, One WTC, 106 Fl

.

Emily Schenkel
Goddaughter of Lorraine Bay, 58, Flight Attendant, United Flt. 93, Shanksville

And many, many, many more signers. You can sign the petition here.

10 Things You Should Know About Harry Reid’s Government-Run Health Care Experiment

RNC Research:

1. $493 Billion In Tax Increases On Health Insurance, Medical Innovation, Payroll And Small Businesses Would Pay For The Bill. (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

2. Americans Won’t See Benefits Of This Health Care Experiment Until 2014, But They Start Paying For It In 2010. (Page 13, Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

3. Reid’s Bill Allegedly Reduces The Deficit By $130 Billion In Ten Years, But The Obama-Reid-Pelosi Spending Agenda Produced Deficit Of $176 Billion Last Month Alone. (Table 3, Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

4. $465 Billion In Medicare And Medicaid Cuts Would Pay For Two New Unsustainable Entitlements. (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

5. Health Care Costs For The Federal Government – And Your Family – Would Increase, Not Decrease. (Page 16, Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

6. A New Medicare Commission Of Unelected Bureaucrats Would Ration Care. (Sec. 3403, H.R. 3590, Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute, “Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act,” Introduced 11/18/09)

7. The “Doc Fix” Provision That Would Add $250 Billion To The Deficit Is Not Included In The Democrats’ List Price For Their Health Care Experiment. (Page 17, Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

8. Taxpayer Dollars Would Fund Abortions. (Sec. 1303(a), H.R. 3590, Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute, “Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act,” Introduced 11/18/09)

9. A New Entitlement Program For Long-Term Care That One Democrat Senator Called “A Ponzi Scheme” Would Be Created. (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09; Shailagh Murray & Lori Montgomery, “Centrists Unsure About Reid's Public Option,” The Washington Post, 10/28/09)

10. States Burdened With $25 Billion In Unfunded Mandates From Medicaid That Would Force Them To Increase Taxes. (Page 7, Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Senator Harry Reid, 11/18/09)

** URGENT CALL TO ACTION **


After months working in secret behind closed doors, Harry Reid this week finally unveiled his 2,074-page government-run health care plan. His plan would increase health care premiums, increase taxes on families and small businesses by half a trillion dollars, cut Medicare by another half trillion dollars, and allow federal funds to be used for abortions.


Harry Reid has scheduled a critical vote this Saturday night that will allow the Senate to take-up his bill. If that vote succeeds, Harry Reid will be dangerously close to finally imposing President Obama's government-run health care scheme on America.


Two Democrat Senators - Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - are critically important to defeating Saturday's vote. The RNC urges every concerned citizen to call Sens. Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln TODAY and tell them to vote against Harry Reid's liberal bill when it comes up for a vote on Saturday.

Senator Ben Nelson: 202-224-6551

Senator Blanche Lincoln: 202-224-4843

This is the best opportunity there will be to stop President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi from imposing their government-run health care plan on America. Again, please call Sens. Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln TODAY and tell them to vote against Harry Reid's health care bill when it comes up for a vote on Saturday.

Guidelines Push Back Age For Cervical Cancer Screenings

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued new guidelines for PAP smears, saying that women should delay their first test until age 21, and be tested less often than in the past, according to a report in the New York Times.

"Arriving on the heels of hotly disputed guidelines calling for less use of mammography, the new recommendations might seem like part of a larger plan to slash cancer screening for women. But the timing was coincidental, said Dr. Cheryl B. Iglesia, the chairwoman of a panel in the obstetricians’ group that developed the Pap smear guidelines. The group updates its advice regularly based on new medical information, and Dr. Iglesia said the latest recommendations had been in the works for several years, “long before the Obama health plan came into existence.”

She called the timing crazy, uncanny and “an unfortunate perfect storm,” adding, “There’s no political agenda with regard to these recommendations.”

Dr. Iglesia said the argument for changing Pap screening was more compelling than that for cutting back on mammography — which the obstetricians’ group has staunchly opposed — because there is more potential for harm from the overuse of Pap tests. The reason is that young women are especially prone to develop abnormalities in the cervix that appear to be precancerous, but that will go away if left alone. But when Pap tests find the growths, doctors often remove them, with procedures that can injure the cervix and lead to problems later when a woman becomes pregnant, including premature birth and an increased risk of needing a Caesarean.

Still, the new recommendations for Pap tests are likely to feed a political debate in Washington over health care overhaul proposals. The mammogram advice led some Republicans to predict that such recommendations would lead to rationing."

Christie: "One way of another, change is coming."

N.J. Governor-elect Christie tells local officials to expect 'a continued period of pain'

The era error of "What's in it for me" is over.

Those Boobs In Washington

By Grace Cangemi

I can’t remember the last time I was this angry. The federal government, those folks that want to take over my “health care” says I should wait to get a mammogram. They have, with this guideline, begun the first step in denying care to women. And you can bet Nancy Pelosi’s plane it’s all about the money.

THIS IS ABOUT MONEY AND THIS IS ABOUT CHOICE.

Some may say that the science supports changing the guidelines. But if a woman’s doctor disagrees, her opinion won’t matter once insurance companies use these guidelines to start turning down mammograms. Insurance companies and, should the Senate have the temerity to pass the Health Care bill, government workers will decide if it’s worth their money for a woman in her forties to have a test that could save her life.

Experience proves it. Try to get a mammogram if you’re under forty. Even with a family history of breast cancer, most insurance companies will deny you. Now, with new federal guidelines calling it “unnecessary” for women under 50, it won’t be long before women in our forties are being turned down.

And survival outcome isn’t the only issue. Last month, I had an abnormal mammogram. I had some subsequent tests and, in the end, my results were benign, although I now have a marker that will allow my doctor to locate that “trouble spot” and keep an eye out for any further changes. To be honest, the first question that I asked myself wasn’t “Am I going to die?” With early diagnosis, breast cancer survival rates are very high. The first thought that went through my head was “Oh God, please don’t let them want to take my breast.” A friend who helped me through the process said that’s what she thought when, in her early forties, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Caught by an “unnecessary mammogram.)

The government guidelines talk about survival outcome, but breast cancer detection isn’t just about survival outcome. Treatment options are far greater and less aggressive with early detection. Most women would do whatever they could to avoid radical surgeries and treatments. Mammographies are a good place to start.

For this government to say that they can “fix” health care and then recommend lessening the availability of critical diagnostic tools that absolutely can and do save women is an affront to all women. There should be no question that this recommendation will be used to cut costs by denying mammographies to women who breasts and lives could be saved by them.

My health is my responsibility. My choices should be between me and my doctor. Combining recommendations such as this with a government health care system threatens to put my health, my care, and my choice in the hands of some government worker who worked his way up from the post office. The government already plays fast and loose with my money. I’ll fight like hell before they play that way with my health.

Senate Health Care Bill Will Bust the Budget and Hurt Patients

Washington, D.C., November 18, 2009—The Senate health reform proposal released today by Majority Leader Harry Reid contains no mechanisms that are likely to reduce the annual rate of health care cost inflation, but could jeopardize patient care, according to analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Despite claims to the contrary, most of the bill’s purported cost-cutting measures would be ineffective or would merely shift costs from the federal government onto the states or private payers, without affecting long-term health care inflation.

“Although the Senate Democrats’ bill appears to do more than the House alternative to rein in health care costs, looks can be deceiving,” said CEI Senior Fellow Gregory Conko. “Like the earlier bill reported out of the Senate Finance Committee, the only measures that could reduce the rate of growth in health care costs are those that erect government barriers between patients and their doctors, while jeopardizing long-term medical innovation.”

The Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary cost estimate for the Senate proposal suggests it would cost $849 billion over the 10-year budget window and reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion. But a review by CEI analysts shows that this estimate is based on “cost-shifting and accounting gimmicks” that even the CBO suggests will not significantly reduce federal expenditures or health care inflation. Two other measures in the bill, the creation of a “Medicare Commission” and a “Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute,” could prevent patients from receiving the care their doctors recommend.

“These programs are designed to adjust physician and hospital payment policies to keep patients from receiving costly and ineffective treatments,” said Conko. “But doctors know that what works for the average patient doesn’t always work for everyone. When it comes to medical treatments, doctors and patients need choices because one size definitely does not fit all.

“Eliminating genuine waste and inefficiency from government programs is a laudable goal, but centralized programs for comparative effectiveness, or ‘patient-centered outcomes research,’ run a substantial risk of becoming tools to control the practice of medicine in a way that puts patient health at risk,” Conko lamented.

Phatom Congressional Districts Getting Stimulus Dollars

The phantom congressional district scandal that has been in the news the last couple of days is growing.

Watchdog.org is reporting that there are 440 phantom districts throughout the country that have somehow received $6.4 billion to stimulus slush, including 18 districts in New Jersey.

Corzine: The gift that keeps on giving?

Rumors are running rampant that Frank Lautenberg will resign his U.S. Senate seat and that Jon Corzine will resign as governor to go back to the Senate. All this would have to happen before Chris Christie is sworn in as governor on January 19, 2010.

If such a scenario plays out Corzine would face the voters again next November in a special election to retain the Senate seat for the remainder of Lautenberg's term.

What more could the NJ GOP want? Corzine at the top of the ballot two years in a row would be like hitting the lottery.

Tolls On A Turkey Path

Christie Asks Corzine To Take Urgent Action With Respect To The Budget

Governor Elect Chris Christie sent the following letter to Governor Corzine today:


November 16, 2009

Honorable Jon Corzine
Governor
State of New Jersey
State House
Post Office Box One
Trenton, NJ 08625-0001

Re: URGENT ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE BUDGET

Sent Via Hand Delivery


Dear Governor Corzine:

I am writing to follow-up on our conversation last week, and to thank you for your kind and gracious offer to take all possible steps to
ensure a smooth and orderly transition. During that discussion, you indicated that you would be taking additional steps to address
weak revenue collections that threaten to deplete this year’s planned budget surplus and aggravate next year’s multi-billion dollar
structural budget deficit.

As you know, I am deeply concerned about the state of New Jersey’s economy and the effects that the deepening fiscal crisis for both
fiscal years 2010 and year 2011 could have on New Jersey taxpayers. In order to prevent the crisis from worsening and budget hole
we are in from deepening during this critical transition period, I respectfully request that you take the following actions:

1) Place all discretionary grant and state aid accounts, including, but not limited to, Special Municipal Aid and Extraordinary Aid, in
reserve.

2) Freeze all new paid appointments and re-appointments to boards and commissions.

3) Line item veto any legislation with a fiscal impact on the State budget.

4) Veto all discretionary spending items in authority minutes.

5) Freeze all professional service, public relations, and consulting contracts.

6) Freeze all pending regulations that would incur additional spending.

7) Freeze all nonessential hires, promotions and raises.

8) Freeze all non-contractual personnel actions, including title changes and transfers.

9) Freeze all transfers of funds and directory letter appropriations.

10) Freeze all new leases, long term purchasing contracts and other long term obligations including certificates of participation.

11) Freeze the retention of all new outside professionals, manager selections, and new contracts for managing alternative investments
with respect to New Jersey’s pension funds.

12) Advise and provide advance notice to transition staff and major financial transactions.

13) Strictly enforce, and refrain from relaxing, any existing spending constraints and financial controls.

14) Hold 50% of all operating accounts in reserve to ensure that agencies are not spending more than half of their operating budgets
prior to the commencement of the second half of the year.

As we have advised your staff, I have named two experienced New Jersey natives and budget experts, Bob Grady and Rich Bagger, as
Co-Chairmen of the Transition Task Force on Budget and Taxes.

I have asked them to assemble a team to make recommendations to address the budget crisis and put New Jersey on a more sustainable fiscal footing. I ask that your staff continue to cooperate with them in providing information and assistance.

I appreciate your cooperation on these vitally important matters.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,



Chris Christie
Governor-Elect

Cc: David Rousseau, Treasurer

Rible Takes Name Out Of Consideration For Sheriff

Assemblyman Dave Rible(R-11), the newly elected Minority Whip, has informed Lieutenant Governor Elect Kim Guadagno and Monmouth County GOP Chairman Joe Oxley that he prefers not to be considered as Guadagno's replacement as Monmouth County Sheriff.

Rible told MoreMonmouthMusings that he believes he can do more to assist the Christie-Guadagno administration from his leadership position in the Assembly.

Guadagno will resign as Sheriff upon her swearing in as New Jersey's first Lieutenant Governor. Governor Christie will appoint her successor with the advise and consent of the Senate.

Holt and Pelosi: Perfect Together

Photo: Mike Dill/For The Times of Trenton
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gerard A. Compito, MD, Princeton Radiology Associates, Representative Rush Holt and David C. Youmans, MD, Chairman UMCP Department of Radiology take a tour of the University Medical Center at Princeton where Pelosi spoke about healthcare reform.

Congressman Rush Holt brought Speaker Nancy Pelosi to New Jersey yesterday. They went to the University Medical Center at Princeton.

The Carrier Clinic must have been booked.

Click here to send these crazies home.

Tragedy At Fort Hood

By Allen West, first published at Red County on November 8, 2009

This past Thursday 13 American Soldiers were killed and another 30 wounded at a horrific mass shooting at US Army installation, Ft Hood Texas. As I watched in horror and then anger I recalled my two years of final service in the Army as a Battalion Commander at Ft Hood, 2002-2004.

My wife and two daughters were stunned at the incident having lived on the post in family housing.

A military installation, whether it is Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or Coast Guard, is supposed to be a safe sanctuary for our Warriors and their families. It is intended to provide a home whereby our “Band of Brothers and Sisters” can find solace and bond beyond just the foxhole but as family units.

A military installation is supposed to be a place where our Warriors train for war, to serve and protect our Nation.



On Thursday, 5 November 2009 Ft Hood became a part of the battlefield in the war against Islamic totalitarianism and state sponsored terrorism.

There may be those who feel threatened by my words and would even recommend they not be uttered. To those individuals I say step aside because now is not the time for cowardice. Our Country has become so paralyzed by political correctness that we have allowed a vile and determined enemy to breach what should be the safest place in America, an Army post.

We have become so politically correct that our media is more concerned about the stress of the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The misplaced benevolence intending to portray him as a victim is despicable. The fact that there are some who have now created an entire new classification called; “pre-virtual vicarious Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)” is unconscionable.

This is not a “man caused disaster”. It is what it is, an Islamic jihadist attack.

We have seen this before in 2003 when a SGT Hasan of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) threw hand grenades and opened fire into his Commanding Officer’s tent in Kuwait. We have seen the foiled attempt of Albanian Muslims who sought to attack Ft Dix, NJ. Recently we saw a young convert to Islam named Carlos Bledsoe travel to Yemen, receive terrorist training, and return to gun down two US Soldiers at a Little Rock, Arkansas Army recruiting station. We thwarted another Islamic terrorist plot in North Carolina which had US Marine Corps Base, Quantico as a target.

What have we done with all these prevalent trends? Nothing.

What we see are recalcitrant leaders who are refusing to confront the issue, Islamic terrorist infiltration into America, and possibly further into our Armed Services. Instead we have a multiculturalism and diversity syndrome on steroids.

Major Hasan should have never been transferred to Ft Hood, matter of fact he should have been Chaptered from the Army. His previous statements, poor evaluation reports, and the fact that the FBI had him under investigation for jihadist website posting should have been proof positive.

However, what we have is a typical liberal approach to find a victim, not the 13 and 30 Soldiers and Civilian, but rather the poor shooter. A shooter who we are told was a great American, who loved the Army and serving his Nation and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) stating that his actions had nothing to do with religious belief.

We know that Major Hasan deliberately planned this episode; he did give away his possessions. He stood atop a table in the confined space of the Soldier Readiness Center shouting “Allahu Akhbar”, same chant as the 9-11 terrorists and those we fight against overseas in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation.

No one in leadership seems willing to sound the alarm for the American people; they are therefore complicit in any future attacks. Our Congress should suspend the insidious action to vote on a preposterous and unconstitutional healthcare bill and resolve the issue of “protecting the American people”.

The recent incidents in Dearborn Michigan, Boston Massachusetts, Dallas Texas, and Chicago Illinois should bear witness to the fact that we have an Islamic terrorism issue in America. And don’t have CAIR call me and try to issue a vanilla press statement; they are an illegitimate terrorist associated organization which should be disbanded.

We have Saudi Arabia funding close to 80% of the mosques in the United States, one right here in South Florida, Pompano Beach. Are we building churches and synagogues in Saudi Arabia? Are “Kaffirs” and “Infidels” allowed travel to Mecca?

So much for peaceful coexistence.

Saudi Arabia is sponsoring radical Imams who enter into our prisons and convert young men into a virulent Wahabbist ideology….one resulting in four individuals wanting to destroy synagogues in New York with plastic explosives. Thank God the explosives were dummy. They are sponsoring textbooks which present Islamic centric revisionist history in our schools.

We must recognize that there is an urgent need to separate the theo-political radical Islamic ideology out of our American society. We must begin to demand surveillance of suspected Imams and mosques that are spreading hate and preaching the overthrow of our Constitutional Republic……that speech is not protected under First Amendment, it is sedition and if done by an American treason.

There should not be some 30 Islamic terrorist training camps in America that has nothing to do with First Amendment, Freedom of Religion. The Saudis are not our friends and any American political figure who believes such is delusional.

When tolerance becomes a one way street it certainly leads to cultural suicide. We are on that street. Liberals cannot be trusted to defend our Republic, because their sympathies obviously lie with their perceived victim, Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

I make no apologies for these words, and anyone angered by them, please, go to Ft Hood and look into the eyes of the real victims. The tragedy at Ft Hood Texas did not have to happen. Consider now the feelings of those there and on every military installation in the world. Consider the feelings of the Warriors deployed into combat zones who now are concerned that their loved ones at home are in a combat zone.

Ft Hood suffered an Islamic jihadist attack, stop the denial, and realize a simple point.

The reality of your enemy must become your own.

LTC Allen West, (U.S. Army Retired) is a candidate for congress from Florida's 22nd district.

Bloggers: Rock Stars of the '60s and Bruce?

In a guest column at InTheLobby, Richard A. Lee, Communication Director of the Hall Institute of Public Policy-NJ and a former journalist, argues that songwriters of the sixties were the alternative media of the day. They were raising issues and questions ahead of the mainstream media much like bloggers do today.

"Forty years ago this week, Seymour Hersh broke the story of the My Lai massacre, in which hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers. Hersh later was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting, but he may have been scooped – not by another journalist, but by a then 20-year-old singer/songwriter named Arlo Guthrie.

Two years before Americans learned about civilian casualties from Hersh, Guthrie addressed the issue in “Alice’s Restaurant,” an 18-minute musical narrative that begins with his arrest for littering and ends at the Draft Board, where a Sergeant notes the arrest on young Arlo’s record and asks him if he has rehabilitated himself. Arlo replies with a mixture of anger and sarcasm: “Sergeant, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I've rehabilitated myself. You want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after being a litterbug.”

During the 1960s, young Arlo was not the only singer/songwriter running ahead of mainstream media outlets. Protest music actually functioned as alternative media during the Vietnam War era, regularly asking questions and raising issues that were absent from the mainstream media."

Lee states that additional research is required before definitely declaring bloggers as cultural leaders.

He goes on to describe another disconnect between the mainstream media and what people really care about that he observed while exploring Bruce Springstein's work:

"My goal was to learn how Springsteen has kept in touch with his working class New Jersey roots while becoming a multi-millionaire and international superstar. I began by searching for connections between Springsteen’s music and the major news stories that have taken place in New Jersey during his career.

When I found none, I realized I was looking in the wrong place. I was looking at the major stories the New Jersey news media had reported, but I didn’t take into account the possibility that the items the news media deemed most important to cover might not be the same as the issues on the minds of working class New Jersey families – and that these working-class New Jersey families have more in common with the messages of Bruce Springsteen’s songs than they do with the news that makes headlines.

A number of media scholars have suggested that there is a gap between the type of news that is reported and what is actually of importance and interest to the citizenry. Much like protest music did in the 1960s, Springsteen’s music fills this gap. For example, people may gain a better understanding of the dire economy from the characters and the stories in Springsteen’s songs than they do from news reports filled with numbers, percentages and statistics."

I point this out not to pump up bloggers...God know some of us take ourselves too seriously already. Lee's piece creates an interesting context for blog participants...writers, readers and commentors alike.

It also gave me an opportunity to create a funny picture and tweak a few of my friends.

Halfacre Takes Holt To Task For Supporting ACORN

OUT OF TOUCH HOLT CONTINUES TO DEFEND ACORN

Halfacre:”172 Democratic Congressman voted for something that was unconstitutional??”

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre, a Republican Congressional candidate in NJ-12 in 2010, today took Representative Rush Holt to task for his continued support of controversial community-action group ACORN, calling the Congressman’s comments at a townhall meeting in West Windsor Thursday night part of a continued pattern of siding with the extreme left wing of his party and against the wishes of his constituents.

“By continuing to support ACORN, once again Rush Holt has shown how out of touch he is not only with his constituents, but even members of his own party”, said Halfacre. “172 of his Democratic colleagues voted for the motion..is he saying they voted for something unconstitutional?”

“More importantly, does Congressman Holt actually believe that an organization like ACORN, which is under investigation in multiple states for voter fraud should continue to receive taxpayer dollars? Does he believe that an organization which was caught on tape counseling young people how to commit mortgage fraud and didn’t blink an eye at suggestions of child prostitution should continue to receive taxpayer dollars? Apparently so. ”

Halfacre pointed out that both the motion to recommit on HR 3221 and the separate legislation HR 3571 do not specifically target ACORN, but “any organization” which meets certain criteria set forth in the bill, giving ACORN as an example.

Halfacre went on to say “To sneeringly dismiss the mountain of evidence that ACORN is a corrupt and partisan organization as ‘trial by Twitter’, is proof positive that Rush Holt is not interested in the truth of the matter. That fact that Mr. Holt is willing to bend over backward and misapply constitutional law to defend a group like ACORN instead of standing up for taxpayers, is just one more piece of evidence that he is out of touch not only with his constituents but even the mainstream of his own party.

Rasmussen: 60% in NJ Say Most Christie Supports Were Voting Against Corzine

From Rasmussen Reports:

Sixty percent (60%) of New Jersey voters say most of Republican Chris Christie’s winning support last week came from those who were voting against his opponent, incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Garden State finds that just 22% think the Republican candidate won the race with support from those who were actually voting for him rather than against Corzine. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure.

When pressed for specifics, 45% of voters in the state say the primary reason Christie was elected governor was dissatisfaction with Corzine’s job performance. Twenty-seven percent (27%) think the economy was the main reason for Christie’s victory, while 16% point to a general desire for change.
Only five percent (5%) name Christie’s campaign promises as the chief reason he was elected. Two percent (2%) attribute victory to his record as a prosecutor.

Voters are almost evenly divided in their opinions of Christie. While 49% have a favorable opinion of the governor-elect, 47% view him unfavorably. Those ratings are virtually identical to those in the last Rasmussen Reports survey in the state before Election Day.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters in the state say Christie’s first order of business as governor should be to cut government spending. Thirty-two percent (32%) say cutting personal taxes should be the new governor's priority, while 10% think he should cut business taxes first.

However, 86% of voters believe it will be difficult for Christie to fulfill his campaign promises working with a Democratic-controlled state senate and assembly. Forty-three percent (43%) say it will be very difficult. Just six percent (6%) of voters do not think Christie will have a difficult time fulfilling his promises.

But 51% do find it likely Christie will be able to root out and crack down on corruption as promised. Forty-four percent (44%) say it is not very or not all likely that he will be able to do so.

Voters are less confident in Christie’s ability to deal with the state’s struggling economy. Forty percent (40%) say it is at least somewhat likely that the new governor can improve the economy, but only seven percent (7%) say it is very likely. Fifty-four percent (54%) think it is unlikely.

Sixty-one percent (61%) also say it is not very or not at all likely Christie will be able to cut state property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation. Just 36% believe the governor-elect is at least somewhat likely to cut them.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters say they learned the most about the gubernatorial candidates from television and radio news stories, followed by 34% who learned the most from newspaper articles.

Campaign TV ads and word of mouth were the primary source of information for four percent (4%) each, with candidate updates (2%) and candidate direct mail (1%) bringing up the rear.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of New Jersey voters now approve of the job Corzine is doing as governor. Sixty-one percent (61%) disapprove. These numbers are down slightly from just before Election Day.

This poll is good news for Governor Elect Christie and bad news for the Democratic legislature. Voters' expectations are low for Christie, but the majority thinks that cutting spending should be his first priority. That is exactly what he is setting out to do.

Expectations were low for Christie when he started as U.S. Attorney and he surprised even those who believed in him them. I expect he will do the same as governor.

Governor-Elect Christie Announces Chairs of Transition Task Force on Budget and Taxes

Trenton, NJ – Governor-Elect Chris Christie today named two budget and fiscal experts to chair a special Transition Task Force on Budget and Taxes and asked them to get to work immediately on developing recommendations to help address New Jersey’s fiscal challenges.

The Governor-Elect named Richard H. Bagger of Westfield, an executive at Pfizer Inc and a former Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and Robert E. Grady, a Livingston native, former aide to Governor Thomas H. Kean and former top official at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as Co-Chairmen of the task force.

“Addressing the problems facing New Jersey’s economy is my highest priority, “ Christie said, “and with these two experienced budget and fiscal experts helping me spearhead our efforts we are able to get to work right away.”

The Task Force Co-Chairmen will help develop recommendations to address the fiscal deficit that state experts have estimated at over $8 billion for the coming fiscal year 2011, and to respond to the shortfall in projected state revenues in the current fiscal year 2010. They will recruit additional Task Force members and staff experts to address various components of the State’s fiscal emergency.

Bagger served in the New Jersey Assembly from 1993 to 2002 and in the State Senate from 2002 to 2003. He was Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee from 1998 to 2002. He was a former Councilman and Mayor of Westfield. Currently, he serves as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Public Affairs at Pfizer Inc. Earlier in his career, Bagger served as Assistant General Counsel of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and was an attorney with the law firm of McCarter and English.

Grady served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Representative Millicent Fenwick, as Director of Communications for former Governor Thomas H. Kean, and as Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Associate Director of OMB in the Administration of former President George H.W. Bush. For the last decade, he had been the partner in charge of venture capital investing at The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. Before retiring this summer and joining Cheyenne Capital Fund, a private equity firm, he served as Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in 2006-2007 and as a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business from 1994-2004.

Governor-Elect Chris Christie Announces Transition New Jersey Leadership Team

Trenton, NJ – Today, Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced his Transition New Jersey Leadership Team, which is being led by former Attorney General David Samson. The Transition Team is made of bi-partisan leaders in both the public and private sector who will bring their combined management experience, knowledge and know-how to spearhead transition efforts over the next few months.

Chairman David Samson said, “I am excited we have been able to put together a talented, bi-partisan and dedicated group of individuals to help guide Governor-Elect Christie’s transition efforts. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are ready to help execute Chris’ vision for changing the way our government does business.”

Governor-Elect Chris Christie added, “There is no doubt we have our work cut out for us, but I am confident that the team we have put together to lead my transition will set the tone for the rest of the Christie Administration.”

Governor-Elect Christie Transition New Jersey Leadership Team

David Samson, Esq. – Chairman
Former New Jersey Attorney General
Senior Partner, Wolff & Samson PC

Dr. Susan A. Cole
President of Montclair State University

Senator Sandra B. Cunningham
State Senator (31st Legislative District)

Debra P. DiLorenzo
President/CEO of the Chamber Of Commerce Southern New Jersey

Michael DuHaime
Managing Director, Mercury Public Affairs, LLC

George Gilmore, Esq.
Partner, Gilmore & Monahaný

Jon Hanson
Chairman and Founder of the Hampshire Real Estate Companies

Alfred C. Koeppe
Executive Director of the Newark Alliance, former President and COO of PSE&G

Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr.
State Senator (13th Legislative District)

Mayor John McCormac
Mayor of Woodbridge, former State Treasurer