News
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
In a 25-page opinion issued on July 13, 2010, Union County Superior Court Judge Kathryn A. Brock ruled that while I am not entitled to a police surveillance video under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), I am entitled to it under the common law right of access.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Latest News
Voters in the Borough of Spring Lake Heights (Monmouth County) employed a little-used statutory mechanism to force the Borough Council to reconsider two ordinances that would have raised salaries for some Borough officers and employees. The purpose of this posting is to explain the mechanism so that voters in other municipalities can also avail themselves of it.
At issue are Ordinances 05-2010 and 06-2010, which were both enacted on June 14, 2010. The ordinances, respectively, sought to raise certain employee and officer salaries retroactively to January 1, 2009 and January 1, 2010.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Letters to Editor
The following letter to the editor by NJLP member, Eric Hafner, was published in the Two River Times, The Examiner, and the Atlantic Highlands Herald.
Dear Editor,
Has anyone been able to keep track of how many gang-related shootings there have been in Monmouth County, so far this year?
Our elected officials are quick to give useless, politically correct answers to stopping the violent street gang epidemic, often by wasting your tax dollars on youth sports programs that do nothing to fight gangs.
Come devour Big Government!!
Hosted by NJLP Congressional Candidate Russ Conger
15 Conifer Court, Little Egg Harbor, NJ
Saturday, July 17th Noon (business meeting is at 1:00 PM)
Meet our Candidates!! Enjoy great food!!
Donation of at least $5 requested
Bring side dishes
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
Right-To-Die Billboard Causes Uproar In N.J.
Final Exit Network Says It Provides Guidance To Adults With Painful Illnesses, But Many Residents Upset With Ad
HILLSIDE, N.J. (CBS)
This billboard on Route 22 in Hillside, N.J., has many people up in arms.
The message on a billboard in New Jersey is stirring up a lot of controversy.
It centers on whether a person suffering from a painful disease has the right to take his or her own life.
The billboard looms over a busy section of Route 22 in Hillside, facing the eastbound lanes. Some drivers said they are confused by the message.
The NJ Libertarian Party platform calls for "the repeal of all laws interfering with the right to commit suicide as infringement of the ultimate right of an individual to his or her own life." We congratulate the Final Exit Network on their billboard.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Some years ago, on the Sean Hannity radio show, Mr. Hannity was interviewing KABC Los Angeles libertarian talk show host Larry Elder. Mr. Hannity asked at the time why was it that Libertarians, when running for political office, only get 3% of the vote. Mr. Elder was quick in his reply “The reason is because people fear freedom.” I was taken aback by that statement, but now I fully accept it. Americans, sadly, do fear freedom and what it entails.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
Libertarian think tank, CATO, has recently released a bulletin, Immigrants and Crime: Perception vs. Reality, that finds crime among recent immigrants is less than or no higher than the rest of the population.
Data show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born, a pattern confirmed by a 2008 study of data from California.
The bulletin summarizes with:
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
On the Fox Nation blog, a question was asked about the Founding Fathers. The question went like this: "What would the Founding Fathers think of Independence in America Today?" In my humble estimation, they would be very disappointed and rightfully so.
If they were alive today, the Founding Fathers would be saddened that the U.S. Constitution and other founding documents are not taught in schools anymore. They would be disappointed that the federal government has grown tremendously in size and scope. They would be disappointed that the United States has a federal income tax. They would be disappointed that the U.S. has career politicians. They would even be more disappointed that true liberalism has been replaced with a cancer known as progressivism.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, June 23, marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision. Today the Libertarian Party published the following open letter:
We, the state chairs of the Libertarian Party, and members of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), wish to call attention to the fifth anniversary of the wrongful Kelo v. New London decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Susette Kelo and her co-plaintiffs simply wanted to be left in peace in their homes, but the New London Development Corp. wanted their land for its own development purposes, and convinced the City of New London to condemn their property for its benefit.
The following story and video were brought to my attention in a Downsize DC dispatch sent earlier today.
The federal government is hampering the clean up effort in the Gulf Area through the enforcement of bureaucratic regulations and protectionist policies.. The Obama administration refuses to waive the anti free market Jones Act that would allow foreign vessels to assist. The Jones Act is a 1920's era labor protectionism law that does not allow foreign competition in our waterways. Belgian, Dutch, and Norwegian firms who offered assistance have been turned away.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
Previously we reported on the antics of former police officer Gennaro Mirabella. Last year he was arrested for vandalizing vending machines and breaking into the Garwood municipal hall while on duty. We reported on his charges getting dropped "in the interests of justice."
Now he has been arrested for shoplifting deodorant from a Frenchtown, NJ IGA.
We are currently waiting for a decision in Paff versus the Borough of Garwood concerning their denial in allowing us to have a copy of the videotape of Genaro Mirabella breaking into the municipal hall.
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- Written by: Guest Author
- Category: Latest News
WASHINGTON - Wes Benedict, executive director of the Libertarian Party, issued the following statement today:
The federal government and BP share the blame for the large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
When the CEO of BP appeared at a Congressional hearing yesterday, Republicans and Democrats predictably engaged in finger-pointing and blame-ducking, trying to score political points. Their fingers should have been pointed at themselves.
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Latest News
FIJA Demonstration of 5/25/10
I arrived at the U. S. District Court at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan, NY at 11:40 am on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. It was a warm and sunny day. Immediately a Homeland Security officer approached me and told me to leave. He was joined by officer Valenti, who told the first officer that I would be arrested. I continued to pass out the American Jury Institute pamphlet entitled “A Primer for Prospective Jurors” along with my handout which reads:
The judge will instruct the jury that it must uphold the law as he gives it.
He will be lying.
The jury must judge the law as well as the facts.
Juries were instituted to protect the citizens from the tyranny of their government.
It is not the duty of the jury to uphold the law.
The jury’s duty is to see that justice is done.
At 12:00 noon Officer Barnes and a sergeant approached. Officer Barnes asked me to put down my sign, so that I would not hit him on the head with it. I declined saying that: “I am not going to hit you. It is not my style.” Officer Barnes stood 5 feet in front of me and glowered. The sergeant stood 5 feet behind me.
I passed out literature, and Barnes kept staring at me. I said to Barnes, “Nice day isn’t it.” He replied “Don’t try to be friendly with me. I am not your friend.” I apologized for offending him.
At 12:25 pm, I moved about 20 feet into the shade so that I could see the face of my cell phone better. Barnes yelled that I could not move there, but I ignored him. He placed me under arrest. Immediately I fell to the ground, as I always do when placed under arrest.
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- Written by: Len Flynn
- Category: Latest News
Longtime NJLP activist Ginny Flynn must go to Germany to get special medical treatment to try and save her life. She was diagnosed with a rare and lethal cancer Leiomyosarcoma in January 2010. Thanks to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other medical restrictions she and her husband (currently dormant NJLP Newsletter Editor) Len have to travel to Prien Germany for the treatment.
The treating physician Rigdon Lentz, MD is an expatriate American doctor driven out of the USA and prosecuted and fined by FDA for botching the clinical paperwork requirements for his cancer treatment device. The “immunepheresis” device removes blockers that cancer cells have to hinder the body’s immune system (Tumor Necrosis Factor [TNF]). It is approved for sale in the European Union but not here in the USA.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
Today, June 11, 2010, Judge Kathryn Brock heard more argument in my OPRA and common law access case against the Borough of Garwood. At issue, readers may recall, is a DVD of former Garwood Police Officer Gennaro J. Mirabella, while in uniform, entering the locked office of Garwood's Chief Financial Officer and opening her desk drawers.
Background on the case can be found at OPRA Case To Be Heard In Union County and Interesting Friday In Judge Brock's Courtroom.
First, Judge Brock decided that Mirabella, since he has not contacted the court with a request to be heard, is not interested in the case and thereby has conceded that he has no claim that his privacy would be violated by release of the DVD.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
Diner: "Waiter, theres a fly in my soup!"
Waiter: "Your soup? We don't respect private property anymore, its his soup too."
Unable to purchase an old Sears building in Camden using fair negotiations, Campbell Soup Company has asked the Camden Redevelopment Authority to use government force to acquire the property for them.
Campbell soup has begun a revitalization of the area known as the Gateway neighborhood. In 2007 the State of NJ named Campbell as the master developer of the area. Campbell has invested heavily in the Camden area, building a new headquarters.
The old Sears building sits in Campbell's redevelopment area. The current owner, Ilan Zaken, refuses to sell, so Campbells has resorted to using the guns of government to take this property. Campbell Soup wishes to tear down the building and turn the area into an office park. Mr. Zaken has slowly been fixing up the building with plans to turn it into a restaurant supply distribution center.
The threat of of eminent domain exists throughout the city. This past April, the Camden Redevelopment Authority sent threatening letters to four homeowners notifying them that their homes would be taken from them. The Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act of 2004 authorized the theft of private property.