Citizen oversight of government is essential. To perform adequate oversight of New Jersey public agencies, which include public schools, municipal, county, and much of State government, citizens must have information. In New Jersey, one of the tools citizens can use to acquire information is the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). Under OPRA, citizens have the right to inspect or request copies of “public records,” which are broadly defined as:

The Supreme Court is hearing District of Columbia v. Heller which will decide whether the 2nd Amendment gives rights to bear arms to the people or to the militia, or both for that matter. Right now the NY Times is reporting that a majority of the justices seem to be interpreting the 2nd Amendment as the right of the people to bear arms. This will be a great moment in history where one of our most vital rights, that of our right to have the ability to defend ourselves, family, and country, by bearing arms will be reinstated. There is one problem though, the Supreme Court is not so ready to decide what that means for gun control laws.

The highlight of the convention was the LP Presidential Candidate debate. There were 9 candidates present. Most of them are pretty good. I'll leave it to the website viewer to decide which of candidate is worthy of our nomination. Click the Read More link to view the debate.  When done be sure to vote in our poll.

The following was sent to the Star-Ledger’s letters-to-the-editor in response to an article that appeared on today’s front page.

In NJ anyone younger than 19 years old cannot buy cigarettes and now they are passing a law that will make it illegal to smoke in public if you are under 19. This is a very sad state of affairs. With all the pressing issues which our great state must deal with our elected officials are focusing on attacking our right to buy and smoke cigarettes. Now I don't smoke myself and I discourage all my loved ones from smoking, but to tell a legal adult, someone who can vote and die for their country, that they cannot buy or smoke cigarettes is ludicrous. It's the Nanny state telling its little children what they should do and what they shouldn't do, except instead of being sent to your room you are being fined and imprisoned. They are taking our freedoms one year at a time and it is unacceptable.

I attended the joint convention and it was a great experience. I met an array of VIP Libertarians, watched the presidential debate, and got elected to the position of Vice Chairman of the NJ Libertarian Party. I have to thank Lou Jasikoff for all the work he has done last year as Chairman and also for the opportunity that he and the rest of the party are giving me this year to further the cause of liberty in the state of NJ. I was also elected Chairman of the joint Somerset, Middlesex, and Union Libertarian County Committee. I have always believed that the key to success in our state is to establish strong local grassroots organizations and I am glad that I am now in a position to head up that effort. The slate of elected officials of the NJLP for this year is as follows:

Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), who's office I drive by quite often since it is near where I work, is crafting a bill that will bring Universal Health Care to NJ. It will force everyone in the state to buy health insurance and will require the raising of taxes to fund this program on a continual basis. And here is the kicker... Corzine is supporting this bill despite the fact that he has sworn to freeze state spending. Hmmmm... you mean to tell me that Universal Health Care won't raise state spending? And how about the $56 billion or so hole in the state pension fund? How does the state of NJ plan to plug all its holes in the budget by making the largest sinkhole of all?

Recently Mike Gomba, a Senior at my town's High School (Allentown/Upper Freehold), wrote a letter to the editor arguing that suspicionless drug testing is a perfectly acceptable practice for society to embrace. He claims that “it is for our benefit, our safety”. He gives the common statist excuse that if you have nothing to hide then you should gladly give up your rights.

While I applaud his choice not to partake in drugs, I find his attitude sickening and immoral. Our Constitution defines the moral underpinnings of our nation. It was written not to grant us rights, rather it enumerate rights that are fundamental and existed prior to government.

Bristol, Middletown, and Falls police departments are going to institute check points to catch DUI drivers between now and 3/19. Now this may sound like a good idea at first but this is akin to random drug testing or random audits by the IRS. It is a very clear violation of our rights. A few months ago I saw Scotch Plains police officers establish a check point to check the inspection stickers on people's cars. The reason behind this? For money! They wanted to rack up the fines they were handing out to increase the amount of money that the municipality was bringing in.

Bridgewater, NJ is going to have to increase taxes due to the need to expand affordable housing based on state requirements. Here is a quote from a Star Ledger article that outlines the situation.

The rules require that for every four market-rate housing units, a town must provide one housing unit that is for low- or moderate-income individuals. Using a calculation that combines projected growth rates and other factors, Bridgewater owes about 1,000 more units in affordable housing under the rules, said officials in the sprawling township.