The citizens of New Jersey are being subject to over-taxation and over-regulation while our civil liberties are disappearing.

The actions of our state government are chasing business out of the state. Those who can afford to get out are leaving as fast as they can. Our state population is evolving to include only the poor and the very rich.

In the name of security our liberties are being stripped away. Our Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches are being taken away in the name of fighting drugs.

Fortunately however, NJ citizens are waking up! Our legislature must act quickly to drastically reduce the size of state government and make doing business in NJ more profitable for the small business person and individuals alike. Returning to business as normal is not an option.

What can the NJLP do to help? Absolutely nothing without YOU. Get involved! Run for office, write letters to the editor, join the party, donate, write for the newsletter, write for this website, or come up with your own way to help!  We are looking for candidates to run at all levels.

If you are not coming to our annual convention, contact us and let us know how you would like to help.

I think I am going to start a "Ridiculous Crime Of The Week" post since the state of NJ supplies me with enough of them. On Friday a man was arrested in Cranford for possessing a hypodermic needle. I wasn't even aware that this was illegal, I don't even know why this is illegal though I can imagine. My guess is that the government believes that anyone with a hypodermic needle is going to use it to administer illegal drugs to themselves or someone else. If this is true then my question is what happened to innocent until proven guilty? Is it right to arrest someone for something they might do illegally because I can't think of anything else you can do with a hypodermic needle which would be illegal.

A recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal explained why Barack Obama is beating Hillary Clinton- the answer is, not surprisingly, SALES. The article sums it up, "With no disagreement on policy, Democrats opt for a top salesman…if you are selling a dream you need the best possible salesman to make it seem somehow possible. They found him in Barack Obama." If it is true that the Democrats have found their salesman (unfortunately to sell a corrupt, damaging and dysfunctional liberal tax and spend dream), then I believe that the Libertarian Party has a once in a lifetime opportunity standing before them. You see I am not just Barack's match as a salesman and communicator of a political message. I am Barack Obama's college classmate. Yes, we are graduates of the same college (Columbia University), same class (Class of '83), same major (Political Science). We graduated on the same day 25 years ago. Never before in the history of American politics have two college classmates run against each other for President. Talent aside, sometimes you just need a bit of luck. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined running for President in the same election as my college classmate.

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Examiner. It is reprinted here with Brendan Benedict's permission.

Yikes! Note that this chart is a few years old. It is reported to be much worse now. Click the chart for more.

On February 11, 2008, after learning that the Mount Holly Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) had failed to record executive session meeting minutes for at least ten years, in blatant violation of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), I asked Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi to do more to ensure compliance with the OPMA by public agencies within Burlington County.

I received a February 19, 2008 response from Assistant Prosecutor Thaddeus E. Drummond informing me that he had contacted the MUA's attorney about the ten-year lapse, but his letter did not address the larger issue of his office's proper role in generally enforcing the OPMA.

All the correspondence, including my March 4, 2008 reply to Drummond, is on-line at: http://www.lpcnj.org/OGTF/MtHollyMUA1.pdf

John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey

Now that Ron Paul's presidential campaign is winding down many of his supporters are looking for a place to turn. Both the Libertarian Party and the Constitution party share similar beliefs.

In response to members of the Constitution party claiming Ron Paul supporters should join them I've put together a matrix of many of those beliefs in comparison to Ron Paul's stances.

Information and On-line Registration Here

Full Convention Schedule & Mail in registration form here  

Note: The NJLP shall hold the general business meeting on Saturday morning. Attendance at the business meeting is free.  Also note the early bird price is extended to March 1st!

Here is an interview of so called Libertarian candidate, Daniel Imperato, being interviewed on New York's Capital Outsider .  He puts forth many unlibertarian principles.  He believes the federal government should ban abortion, is anti-gay marriage, pro-Patriot act, pro-FDA and wants to create new government run charities. He wants us to go into Afghanistan and destroy their soil.

He has some bizzare ideas. We really should prescreen our candidates in someway.

What's the criteria setting one candidate apart from another?

It's not the platforms usually. Serious Libertarian candidates, of course, share basic Libertarian principles. They may indeed differ on individual issues, but generally they agree on most issues since as Libertarians they share a fundamental dedication to liberty and freedom.

Since candidates are not usually unique in the Libertarian platform they espouse, how do we select the best presidential candidate for our party?