News
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
Following is the New Jersey Libertarian Party Police Accountability Project's open letter to the mayor and council of Merchantville Borough (Camden County).
At issue is: A motor vehicle stop and an arrest were made by Merchantville Police officers in another municipality and a judge found that no probable cause existed for the stop. The stopped and arrested
motorist sued the police and recovered an $11,000 settlement. Yet, the Mercantville Internal Affairs Unit found that the officers "followed the appropriate departmental policies and procedures."
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
The New Jersey Libertarian Party will be exposing thousands of youth to the party and to the fight for liberty at the upcoming Van's Warped Tour concerts in Camden (July 21st) and Oceanport (July 24th).
The concerts will be at the Susquehenna Bank Center in Camden on the 21st and at the Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport on the 24th. Dozens of alternative rock bands will be playing on multiple stages. We attended two years ago and had a great time while giving out literature and the World's Smallest Political Quiz to the crowd. Our NJLP booth was a real eye-catcher and got a lot more attention from the young crowd than many of the left-leaning booths around us. All activists are invited to come man (or woman!?) the booth and hang out for the day. Please contact the NJLP Chair, Jay Edgar, to volunteer for this event.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Since the Progressive Era, a belief has been established by the American people that when something is wrong in society, that it is the duty of government to act and get involved. Often times, the remedies that they put forth and enact make matters only worse for the people that it is suppose to serve. Furthermore, when the situation does make the matter unbearable, government cures it all with more government intervention. For example, if there aren’t adequate housing apartments in a great metropolis, government forces landlords and landowners to reduce their rents through Rent Stabilization laws, i.e. Rent Control. This causes even more of a shortage of housing apartments (We see this case in New York City). If people are worried about high incidents of crime being committed afterhours in big cities like Newark, New Jersey, they call on the City Council and The Mayor to act. Recently, the City Council passed and Mayor Cory Booker signed a law that if business establishments were open afterhours, then these businesses must hire contract security. This law will cause some businesses to close and will cause others to lose money. If the automobile industry is not building enough hybrid or fuel efficient motor vehicles, then government uses CAFE standards to punish these businesses until they comply, never mind that some of these standards causes safety hazards in designs and construction.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Suppose that the welfare state, with its promise of cradle to grave entitlements and its promise of wealth redistribution, “social justice,” and “benefits,” ceased to exist. Suppose that the welfare state, constructed during the progressive and New Deal era and afterwards, ended totally and permanently. What would happen? If we are to believe the progressive philosophy, old people, the unemployed, the weak and the needy, children, the disabled and others would suffer immensely. The progressives, along with “moderates” and “compassionate conservatives” would claim that the streets of every town, hamlet and city would be littered with a sea of human misery and awash in human tragedy. I believe otherwise.
If the welfare state were to end, the following would transpire:
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
On May 19, 2011, the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Police Accountability Project filed an Internal Affairs Complaint against State Trooper Scott Sanders. The complaint was based on a decision of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division in which a two judge panel found that Sanders conducted an improper, warrantless search of a motor vehicle.
The court's decision caused suppression of "five dime bags of high grade marijuana, approximately a half ounce of cocaine, seven bricks of heroin, and five sealed blunts containing tobacco." Because of evidence the suppressed, the conviction and the six year prison sentence against the driver was reversed.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
In his book, ‘Leviathan,” it was Thomas Hobbs that wrote that in the state of nature, man is entitled to everything. He or she is not only entitled to his or her own property and possessions, but also to the property and possessions of others. To some in this society, this kind of reasoning is a sacrilege and an abomination to civilized and human norms. However, when one survey’s the environment and the politicians not only in Washington, D.C. but around the globe, there is no question that Hobbs’ philosophy is followed down to the last letter.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Police Accountability Project
Last week we reported on Maplewood Township enforcing a repealed ordinance against "public intoxication."
A letter concerning the matter was sent to the Essex County Trial Court Administrator. As a result of the letter, Mr. White's conviction has been reversed and his fines have been refunded.
The reply we received from the Trial Court Administrator can be viewed here.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
In American Society today, there is a great many misconceptions of what is meant by “The American Dream.” There are forces in the mainstream press, in politics, in academia and elsewhere who claim that the dream is to own a home, regardless if one can afford it or not; that it entails having a government sponsored heath care system and other entitlements; that it means getting paid by government to do, what they believe, is “the right thing;” and that it entails society being controlled by a central power located in a distant capital.
It is not nor will it ever be any of these things.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
The NJLP Summer Picnic and General Membership Meeting will be on Saturday July 9th starting at 3:00 PM at Len Flynn’s home in Morganville (Marlboro Township). The general membership meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM and the picnic will follow.
Come hang out with fellow freedom lovers and meet our 2011 Candidates for Office.
At dusk we will be kicking off an evening of libertarian movies with a showing of Fight of the Century: Hayek vs. Keynes: Round Two followed by the documentary Guns and Weed: The Road To Freedom.
Please bring: Your own meat plus one dish to share. Gas grill and tubs of ice with cold soft drinks will be provided along with snacks and picnic utensils. Extra lawn chairs would help.
For those willing to stay extra late the documentary will be followed by another libertarian themed movie. Bring a sleeping bag and a tent and stay the night!
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
ALERT: EMINENT DOMAIN IN MOUNT HOLLY ON HOLD.
Read on for more details, then please CALL the Mount Holly Township Council at 609-845-1100 and tell them to let the Gardens homeowners stay in their community. Their e-mails are also available here:
- Thomas Gibson, Mayor:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
This Memorial Day, let us remember the soldiers of past and present and demand an end to our foreign interventions. The United States has over 369,000 soldiers stationed in over 150 countries across the world. Soldiers are sacrificing their lives without making Americans any safer. The best that can be said for our efforts is that we provide free defense to other nations. Democrats and Republicans have both pushed for endless war, at an enormous cost in both money and lives. Thousands of Americans, Iraqis, and Afghans are killed and maimed while the band plays "Waltzing Matilda."
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
On June 4th a silent dance in is planned for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Dancing will commence at noon. The facebook event has 673 people who have RSVP'd so far.
This began back in 2008 when Mary Obwetter was arrested for silently dancing in place in celebration of Thomas Jefferson's birthday. An appeals court upheld her conviction.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
In April 2010, Police in Maplewood Township (Essex County) cited a man for violating the Township's "public intoxication" code even though the Township Committee repealed that provision of the code approximately a year and a half earlier. The municipal court accepted the man's guilty plea and assessed $80 in fines and costs.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
An Open Government Forum was held in Hunterdon County on Thursday. Three of the four panelists are NJLP members. The forum was reported on by Lehigh Valley Live:
Open-records advocate John Paff estimates 80 percent of governing bodies in New Jersey knowingly or unknowingly fail to follow portions of the Open Public Meetings Act.
"I don’t think the system works very well," Paff said, a Libertarian from Somerset County who has waged numerous open records fights. "We're it. We're the enforcement."
Paff was one of four panelists taking part in an open government meeting Thursday at the Historic Hunterdon County Court House in Flemington.
Read the full story on the Lehigh Valley Live Website.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Police Accountability Project
In a May 23, 2011 letter, the chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Police Accountability Project asked Egg Harbor Township (Atlantic County) Mayor James McCullough to review and update the police department's on-line internal affairs reporting form.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
In every war that the U.S. has fought in, from the Korean conflict to today, these wars were never declared by the institution called Congress. They were declared, instead, by the presidency, both in Democratic and Republican hands. Under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, the power to declare war is the sole responsibility of Congress and no other. Yet, as with most issues, Congress has been diverting more and more power to the executive branch. Even the War Powers Act of 1973 allows for the President to commit troops to battle provided that Congress is notified 60 to 90 days of deployment. This act is nothing more than a poor and faulty attempt at compromise. The question of whether it is the president or Congress that has the power to declare war has never been decided by the Federal Courts, let alone the U.S. Supreme Court.
If I had the standing, I would challenge the authority of the executive not only to wage war, but to also commit troops overseas. I would file the papers in court if I were allowed to do so. I am surprised that a member of Congress, who would have more of a standing than I, has never filed with the courts on such an important issue such as war, peace, life and death. It is high time that the question be answered once and for all. Can one person decide to send young men and women to face gun fire? Or is that the duty of 535 persons? Can the executive commit troops to battle? Or is that the right of the legislative? These and other questions must be resolved and must be answered for the sake of the future and the sake of the American people.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
At the request of the NJ Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project, Brick Township has moved to repeal their illegal loitering ordinance. The Brick Patch quotes the Project's Chairman:
"The ordinances are clearly unenforceable, and they confuse people - including the police," Paff said, explaining that a person mistakenly arrested or ticketed for loitering could turn and sue the township. "The laws against loitering were so often abused or misunderstood. It used to be just too easy to pick on certain groups."
Read article at The Brick Patch.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Police Accountability Project
Libertarians demand that cops live under the same laws as the rest of us
| Contact: Jay Edgar Office: 732-962-NJLP Cell: 848-525-0578 |
For Immediate Release |
Tennent, NJ, May 18, 2011: Prompted by recent Star Ledger articles regarding police officers' habitual failure to enforce drunk driving laws against State Trooper Sheila McKaig, the New Jersey Libertarian Party (NJLP) has formally petitioned the New Jersey Attorney General to take corrective action.
On May 16, 2011, the NJLP State Board unanimously voted to send a "petition for rulemaking" to Attorney General Paula Dow asking for "some rules that genuinely and substantially address the problem of police showing favoritism to fellow officers. A copy of the petition, which was submitted to Dow on May 17, 2011, is on-line at http://njlp.org/uploads/petitionToAG.pdf.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
The public comment portion of a Mount Laurel Board of Education meeting (the date of the meeting is not known) is below.
The comments are from students and parents praising and supporting certain teachers. By sliding the timer to 6:15, viewers will witness the board's determination that since the speakers are all making similar comments, future speakers will be ejected from the meeting unless the topics of their comments are "different" than what the board has already heard.