Andy Unanue is dropping out and being replaced by Dick Zimmer, a former Republican Congressman who currently works in DC as a lawyer and lobbyist. Is a DC lawyer/lobbyist what we are looking for in a candidate. No. That kind of record doesn't exactly scream "reformer". He got beat out by Rush Holt about a decade ago while under fire for some suspicious activities.

So far, the NJLP's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project has successfully effected repeal of loitering ordinances in six towns across New Jersey. Those municipalities are: Butler Borough (Morris County), Elmwood Park Borough (Bergen County), Flemington Borough (Hunterdon County), Highland Park Borough (Middlesex County), Manasquan Borough (Monmouth County) and West Milford Township (Passaic County).

More information on the Project is available on-line at the LP of Central NJ Loitering Web Page

The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) just released its rating of the 1st session of the 110th Congress. Meanwhile Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has released its Pig Book.

Atlantic City is currently trying to pass an ordinance that would limit smoking in casinos to smoking lounges where there can't be any slot machines or gambling tables. Right now a compromise exists between the city and the casinos where no more than 25% of the casino floor can allow smoking. Many vices exist under the same roof in the casino and somehow smoking is seen as the worst of them.

In NJ where the subsidized health care system is riddled with holes and workers' compensation is managed by incompetent jurists; the huge bureaucracy that is the NJ state government is now supposed to take responsibility for another program which will inevitably be riddled with holes and bogged down by incompetence and laziness.

I saw a dirty white jeep pull over another car for speeding. Two men wearing black shirts with "Police" in white lettering across the front and back step out and walk over to the other car and get his license and registration. When I first saw the white jeep I was thinking to myself "This can't be an undercover cop." I was probably wrong but the risk is still there.

I have been searching the NJ Legislative web site and found that they list all the bills currently in committee. I sifted through some of them and found a few I liked and more than a few I didn't like. One bill, S784, raises minimum wage to $8.50, then makes annual adjustments based on increases in the Statewide average weekly wage.

The North Carolina Libertarian Party has collected approximately 102,500. North Carolina requires 69,734 for ballot access for the presidential election. If the petition is found to be valid then this will be the largest numerical ballot access hurdle that any new or minor party has overcome since 1995, when the Reform Party and the Natural Law Party both complied with California?s requirement of 89,007 registrations.

Since former Congressman Bob Barr has announced that he has going to run for President, two Libertarian candidates have dropped out to endorse him, Bob Jackson and Daniel Williams. Former Senator Mike Gravel is also running for the Libertarian nomination for president. With the entrance of Bob Barr into the race there has been a shake up among the candidates.

From the Internet Freedom Coalition:

A problem?

On November 19, 2002, the first official warning was issued by "powerful computer and Internet companies" that if Congress did not regulate the Internet, it would fall prey to network providers that would block access to Internet sites, or abuse their market power by slowing online content of competitors to a crawl.