Presidential campaign takes on a new low

As America approached the seventh anniversary of 9/11, the presidential campaign took on a new low of irrelevance with Republicans taking a comment by Democratic nominee Barack Obama totally out of context. As it turns out, John McCain used the same line about lipstick on pigs earlier in the year in remarks specifically directed at Hillary Clinton while Obama made no comparable reference to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

With concrete differences between Obama and McCain on a host of issues, the national media dutifully wasted days on this nonsense. This is the genius of the Republican propaganda outlet, Fox News, because its role in subverting the attention of the voters actually turns real news organizations into weapons of mass distraction consequent to their 'follow the leader' mentality.

The meaningless flap was mentioned in at least 2,684 articles from newspapers, television, radio and other media. Instead of dealing with news, America's news organizations are talking about Palin who -- despite being unqualified, hypocritical, a religious extremist on par with anyone in al Qaeda and an ultra-right wing nut -- is the most widely discussed distraction in the campaign. John McCain used his years of Washington experience instead of putting country first by choosing as his vice presidential running mate an oddity who will enable the media to keep voters from thinking about any of the dozens -- maybe hundreds -- of reasons why a third presidential term for Republicans should be unthinkable.

A third presidential term for Republicans should be unthinkable.

The government wasted millions of dollars on no-bid contracts handed out for Hurricane Katrina work, including paying $20 million for a camp for evacuees that was never inspected and proved to be unusable, investigators say. New Orleans residents remain scattered and robbed of their property: homes, hospitals, schools and neighborhoods.

American troops remain bogged down in Iraq, while Afghanistan grows more turbulent and our military is dangerously unable to respond to other global threats or domestic emergencies.

The challenge of defeating crazed religious extremists is growing more complex and more dangerous, as one of them has been selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Al Qaeda, strengthened by years of Arab antipathy toward America due to the Iraq War, has begun a new campaign of terrorist bombings at US embassies.

McCain has spent most of his quarter-century in Congress advocating deregulation, the kind of lawlessness that allowed money market funds, insurance companies, banks and other traditionally conservative institutional investors to gamble in securities linked to subprime mortgages and other risky debt.

U.S. stocks tumbled as bank lending seized up in the wake of the government's takeover of American International Group Inc., raising concern that more of the nation's biggest financial companies will fail. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, the two independent Wall Street securities firms remaining after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed and Merrill Lynch & Co. was taken over, plunged the most ever. Wachovia and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan association, are being watched for signs of an impending death.

General Electric Co., the world's third-biggest company, fell 8.7 percent and U.S. Steel Corp. slid 11 percent. Yields on three-month Treasury bills sank to a 54-year low as investors sought the relative safety of government debt, and a measure of corporate borrowing costs surged to the highest since the crash of 1987. Global banks racked up $516 billion in credit losses and asset writedowns stemming from the first nationwide decline in home prices since the 1930s.

Americans have over $3.5 trillion deposited in money market funds and, if that money cannot be withdrawn, we could be looking at a depositor panic such as that of 1933, when thousands were pounding on bank doors to retrieve their lost life savings.

As the Bush administration takes over trillion-dollar AIG, there is a growing tide of anger as layoffs, long-term unemployment, home foreclosures, students struggling with college loans, and retirement savings evaporating become problems encountered by more and more people.

Republicans seem able to find sums seemingly too large to calculate being spent to bailout billionaires in the wake of reports of larcenous CEOs departing shipwrecks of their own making with untold millions while at least $10 billion a month is wasted bringing death and destruction to Iraq. The fact that our tax dollars are killing children has yet to emerge in the American consciousness, but 46 percent of the violent deaths involving coalition forces in Iraq were children younger than 15.

From the standpoint of your average American, the Republicans have done everything wrong.

The Republicans tried to 'privatize' Social Security and gamble your retirement on the stock market, which then crashed as a result of deregulation, another Republican initiative that created an atmosphere of lawlessness among investment banks, securities brokers as well as traditional thrift and insurance companies.

The Republicans shipped American jobs overseas plus sold off the companies that once paid taxes and employed US workers. They allowed unfair foreign trade competition to destroy America businesses and then permitted unsafe products from other countries to invade our markets.

The Republicans imposed racist barriers that prevented many people from legitimately pursuing the American Dream, but failed to control the borders so the number of undocumented immigrants doubled to 12 million after 9/11.

The Republicans decided it is okay to hold captives without charges indefinitely, deny such prisoners access to lawyers or courts, and even subject them to torture. The Republicans disgraced the meaning of our Constitution. They engaged in illegal spying on American citizens and retroactively forgave the telecom companies that aided in that crime.

The Republicans killed hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq without any cause because George W. Bush wanted to be remembered in history as a 'war president.' The Republicans lied to get approval to invade Iraq, they botched the job after our brave soldiers, sailors and marines executed their orders, and they created more sympathy for our terrorist adversaries. In doing so, they squandered they unanimous worldwide sympathy and support for America that followed the 9/11 attacks (which occurred while the Republicans were asleep at the switch) and instead they repeatedly exploited those horrors purely for political gain.

The Republicans have still failed to capture Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda is reported to be twice as large as it was seven years ago. Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers or the Pentagon.

The Republicans have for many years consistently made bad decisions in favor of big corporate special interests instead of America's working families.

The Republicans think they can fool Americans, and the sad part is that they did it successfully in 2004 and, at least according to polls, they have a chance to do it again this year.

Voting for Republicans is not patriotic, it's idiotic.

Here is an interesting turn of events that merits some exposure. Newspapers and journalists sometimes call themselves objective or suggest they are independent of the subjects they cover.
The Star-Ledger, for example, claims to hold itself to a high level of ethics and intergrity. In fact, the Ledger is a partner in Union County government corruption either willingly in as a result of manipulation, and it is being noticed.

Tina Renna wrote a column published online at http://countywatchers.blogspot.com/ titled: The Star-Ledger has a stunning reversal in policy.

"When the New Jersey State Attorney General's office served subpoenas at the Union County Improvement Authority where the Director is the Union County Democrat chairman Charlotte De Filippo just weeks before the general election in 2007, the Star-Ledger chose to suppress the news claiming it is their policy not to interfere with local elections," she wrote, adding, "DeFilippo had been served with subpoenas in September and October..."
"In direct contrast to that policy on Friday, May 30, 2008 just 4 days prior to the Primary Election, and today May 31 just 3 days prior to the Primary Election, in which Elizabeth Board of Education board member president, Armando DaSilva, an outspoken opponent of Elizabeth Mayor Bollwage and the Union County Democrat Committee is running for City council, the Star-Ledger chose to break a story and continue by publishing another story the following day about the Corzine Administration sending a team of inspectors to the Elizabeth school district that week after auditors alleged they have found far-reaching spending abuses. Lucille Davy, the state’s Education Commissioner whose husband James was in Governor James McGreevey’s cabinet and currently has a no-bid county consulting contract, issued the subpoena on behalf of the state Board of Education," scribed Renna. "Quoted in today’s Ledger article is Kirk Nelson, general counsel for the Elizabeth board 'The politicization of the state Board of Education is frightening on the weekend before a municipal election.'"

Renna might be taken to task for run on sentences, but she makes a valid point.
Either a news black out serves to keep elections honest or the public is able to discern the meaning of politically-charged allegations loosed on the eve of balloting.

You cannot have it both ways and still claim to be independent.

Then the Star-Ledger took one step more in the direction of openly taking sides. In a precedent setting move, the Voice of New Jersey failed to publish a story about the hotly contested Elizabeth mayoral election. Nothing. Nada. Zip, Zilch.

In what can only be described as an extention of Mayor J. Christian Bollwage's "No news is good news" philosophy, the state's largest daily newspaper completely ignored the campaign of challenger Edward Bryant Koon, the first black Democrat to mount a serious attempt at becoming mayor.

The council candidate who was sullied by the politically-inspired subpoena, DaSilva, never got a paragraph describing his herculean door to door effort.
Former Councilman Sammy Rodriguez, pursuing a return to public office 20 years after his unsucccessful challenge to the previous mayor, was also ignored by the Ledger.
Democrat George O'Grady, who won a closely contested ward council race in 2006 only to have the victory stolen by political bosses who riggest the election, did not get a brief mention because the Ledger failed to publish even an abbreviated missive about the candidates mounting a challenge to political insiders whose corruption is manifest.

Mayor Bollwage was sued by the ACLU after he went around destroying copies of a newspaper published by his political adversaries and now a former newspaper publisher says Bollwage inspired a criminal conspiracy to deprive him of taxpayer revenue.

If this sort of behavior is accomodated by the state's largest newspaper, how much freedom of the press is left? Is the Ledger undermining its future by sacrificing integrity?

Vladimir Putin erased political opponents and other critics of the government from Russian news and political talk shows. Political humor has been exiled from television.

Senior government officials in Russia and Union County deny the existence of government infringements on the press, but the Ledger is going to find it harder to explain why they missed two stories that had a direct bearing on two different elections while running one that had a substantial credibility gaps.

Bollwage belongs in jail instead of City Hall

by James J. Devine



I have known Chris Bollwage since my childhood. We grew up in the North End of Elizabeth. His father was a mailman and before mine died, he had been a reporter at the Daily Journal and director of the city's industrial commission.



As an adult, I worked closely with Bollwage in city politics. I helped him become a city councilman and encouraged him to run for mayor. I thought he was my friend.



Chris Bollwage is a person with deep and wide character flaws. He is fundamentally dishonest. Bollwage's inadequacies and fears have compelled him to act in a manner unfitting any public official.I have heard him use the words 'spooks' to describe black people and 'spics' for Latinos.



As mayor, Bollwage traded favors from government with those who gave him campaign contributions,cash and travel, accommodations or even sexual rewards. Instead of using his office to serve the public that elected him, Bollwage evolved into a Jim McGreevey politician.



I could not provide law enforcement officials with proof sufficient to assure a conviction, but that does not absolve my inaction. Bollwage kept cops among his closest allies and allowed corruption to plague the Elizabeth police force. It’s hard to prove bribery, official misconduct or any other crime of public trust. You see the results, however.



When Mayor Bollwage turned against me, he initiated a criminal conspiracy to inflict political retribution by stopping my business from earning government money. When my newspaper reported that half of Bollwage's council candidates lost the 2006 primary elections, the mayor insisted that political bosses cut off the News Record, New Jersey's oldest weekly newspaper, from all revenue by county government sources.



Now, first of all, it is a crime to withhold public money as a form of political revenge, so Bollwage was demanding that some of Union County's most well-known and respected people participate in a criminal act.

Second, many of those involved -- Sen. Ray Lesniak, Charlotte Defilippo, Sheriff Ralph Froehlich and others -- knew me as a friend.

Bollwage was asking them to commit a crime to hurt a friend.

Finally, the ideas 'liberty of expression' and 'freedom of the press' are subjects at the very heart of democracy.Bollwage was asking people to hurt a friend by committing a crime that violated the core values of America.

That's what they did -- Lesniak, Defilippo, Froehlich -- all of them.



This contributed to the destruction of my business. It almost killed New Jersey's oldest weekly newspaper, which was saved by an inexperienced but brave new publisher, Lisa McCormick.



The unfair application of power is evil. This abuse of power is a crime against not only me or today's taxpayers, but against the concepts of freedom that make America great. These crimes by Chris Bollwage may be overlooked or punished by the voters, but your choice will influence the lives of your children. As Americans, it is our duty to struggle for a better nation.



I do not expect to run for any office but I can help worthy candidates achieve their goals and fulfill the sanctity of this democratic republic. Ray Lesniak has declared that he is a power broker and he calls me an 'extortionist.' The truth is that on Dec. 20, 2006, when he asked if I "wanted to talk" about Bollwage, I replied: "There is nothing to talk about."



There may be no negotiation on principle, regardless of the cost. Instead of bargaining with corrupt powerful officials, I would seek to remove them from the elected positions that empower them. Maybe my economic status could have been restored, but that is worth far less than my freedom and many times less than the right of my children to be free men.



People who only value money may not understand why I refuse to trade, but if you value integrity the simple truth plainly makes sense.



Now it is up to you to vote. As a Democrat, I am staking my faith on you. I trust that you will do the right thing, because anything else would be wrong.



Power brokers like Ray Lesniak and those who do their bidding -- from Jim McGreevey to Chris Bollwage -- can only be exposed. The power to stop them rests in your hands and your ballot.



You can stop Bollwage by voting in Tuesday’s primary election.



Bollwage and Lesniak say I am bad, but I admit my errors and beg your forgiveness.

Meanwhile they show no regret or remorse. I lost some money, which led to being put in jail for failing to pay alimony and getting evicted from my apartment.

These indignities are far less a price to pay for freedom than many others have paid.

I will get back on my feet, but am telling you what kind of people hold power in the Union County Democratic Party so that you can react.



I am asking you to end the corrupt reign of Chris Bollwage, a perverted thief with no values, no morality and no conscience. I am also asking you to forgive me for going along with political bosses who promoted unqualified or otherwise flawed politicians. Whether I was kept unaware or mere deluded myself, I should have known better and fought. I have made my statement and I stand by every word. I shall willingly submit to any examination to evaluate my accuracy, honesty and sincerity.



I have met the person running against Mayor Bollwage on June 3.

Edward Bryant Koon is a senior detention officer who has served to protect and rehabilitate juvenile offenders in our county for 23 years.

I advise you to place your confidence in him, along with former Councilman Sammy Rodriguez, Armando DaSilva and George O'Grady by voting Column D in the June 3 Democratic primary election.



If these Column D candidates are not Democrats you can trust, they still can be no worse than crooks you have in there now.

Howard Dean made some good points in his recent message about John McCain's huge gaffe... but he made a statement that raises a fundamental question about what ought to be America's real priority in the debate about the Middle East conflict.

Here's what the chairman of the Democratic National Committee said:"John McCain so badly misunderstands Iraq that he's content to stay there for 100 years, something he's said multiple times. He has also failed to explain how he would pay for a war that is now costing you and me $12 billion each month -- money we could be using to help our economy here at home."John McCain wants us to believe that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead our nation's war with terrorists."

Unfortunately for McCain, we need a leader who can defeat terrorism and command the global respect needed to achieve peace. Clearly, Barack Obama meets this qualification better than any other prospective nominee on either side of the political fence.

Obama's vision has been compared to that of Bobby Kennedy -- and his combination of talent, experience and youth provide assurances that we can rely on his leadership although the GOP sleaze machine will undoubtedly try to tear this nation apart before he enters the White House.

Where I think Dean's comments missed an important point is that the $12 billion in American taxpayer money wasted each month by the Republican war machine is the smallest cost of this conflict.

People are dying. Human beings are being maimed and mutilated. Life itself is being squashed, children are subjected to terror, families are being torn apart.

A general declared that "War is Hell" and we must never forget that fact.

Millions, billions, trillions... you cannot measure the value of human life in dollars. The destructive power of the American military is great, but it is the most terrible thing about this country.

America is not defending itself in Iraq. George Bush is not plotting an invasion of Iran to protect you. Our nation's unforgivable aggression is contributing to greater hostility against us and causing rapid growth in the terrorist networks that would really hurt our children.

America must stop killing other people and sacrificing the lives of our military troops in this unjust cause.

To achieve peace, America must be strong enough to accept peace. America must be resolute, courageous and principled. Fortunately, we are capable of that goodness.

I believe Americans would gladly save $12 billion, but saving the lives of thousands of children and other innocents is the real reason we need to stop the war.

Another taxpayer-funded political hack job
Voice of the People
by James J Devine

The first New Jersey lieutenant governor will be elected in 2009. When New Jersey selects our first lieutenant governor next year, that person will still not be someone with a statewide electoral mandate if he should come to succeed a governor who leaves office, whether by death, impeachment or resignation.

The Legislature created an office of lieutenant governor that deprives voters of any meaningful role in the selection process.

The choice of a lieutenant governor be entirely in the hands of one person the candidate for governor who wins the general election. No convention will ratify the choice. Nobody will "run" for lieutenant governor because the job will be filled by one person who casts the only vote.

A vice presidential nominee for a major political party is selected by the same convention delegates who formally nominate each presidential candidate. That's how Dick Cheney and Al Gore each got the job.When Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller were appointed vice president, they had to win the approval of a majority in both houses of Congress.

The New Jersey Legislature virtually guaranteed that our state will never have the best qualified lieutenant governor. The gubernatorial nominees will pick someone expected to enhance their capacity to attract votes among some segment of the state's population, such as a geographic area, sex, race or ethnic group.

If a lieutenant governor should die in office, quit or be impeached, the constitution authorizes the governor to name a replacement without the approval of the voters, the Legislature or anyone else.

The Legislature created another taxpayer-funded job for a political hack, and by doing so, it improved the chance that succession will ultimately fall into the hands of a tool of corrupt politicians instead of some genuinely decent public servant who is interested in service the people.