News
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- Written by: Sean Colon
- Category: Selected Blogs
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the deficit from 2010 to 2019 will be $9.3 trillion, 2.3 trillion higher than previously estimated by Pres. Obama's administration. What a big surprise, Obama underestimated his spending when he plans to increase the size government to the largest it has ever been in US history. This should have not been a shocking revelation to anyone. If you add up the costs of the bail out, continuing troop deployment, his universal health care plan, education reform, energy programs, blah de blah blah then it should be easy to understand why the deficit is going to be huge.
You can find the article here.
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- Written by: Sean Colon
- Category: Selected Blogs
President Obama has finally done something right. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced yesterday that the Justice Department will no longer be raiding Medical Marijuana dispensaries. The bad news is that this is being done to focus more on other aspects of the drug war such as going after the dealers who are selling Marijuana illegally (as defined by state and federal law). Pres. Obama took a very small step in the right direction but for the wrong reason. He should not be stopping the raids because he needs to redirect his Justice Department resources but rather because it was a flawed policy to begin with.
You can find the article on here.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
March 19, 2009
Office of Professional Standards
New Jersey State Police
810 Bear Tavern Road - Suite 310
West Trenton, NJ 08628 (via Fax only to 609-882-2033)
RE: Complaint against Troopers Locchetto and Howell
Dear Sir or Madam:
Today, I read the Appellate Division's unpublished decision in State v. Vernett Shaw and Paul Green, Docket No. A-4829-07T4, on the Judiciary's Internet site [Endnote 1]. After reading it, I came away with the conclusion that it's the policy and practice of the New Jersey State Police to conduct motor vehicle searches without regard to whether or not a search warrant is legally required.
As a life-long New Jersey resident, I was distressed at what I read and decided to file an Internal Affairs complaint against Troopers Lewis Locchetto and Howell [Endnote 2] for their actions arising out of a motor vehicle stop occurring at about 9:40 p.m. on February 24, 2007. Please accept this letter as my complaint.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
In a published decision released today (March 17, 2009), the Appellate Division held that the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) did not permit Monmouth County to withhold from the public an agreement that the county entered into to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The Appellate Division also ruled that the Asbury Park Press and I, who had filed separate OPRA lawsuits seeking access to the settlement agreement, were entitled to recover our attorney fees from the county. I was represented by attorney Walter Luers at both the trial court and the appellate levels.
The decision is on-line at NJ Judiciary website.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
The Mercatus Center of George Mason University has released a report studying the level of freedom in the United States. They rank each state based on economic, social, and personal Freedom. Unsurprisingly NJ ranked at the bottom.
New Jersey is a highly regulated state all around, #46 on economic freedom, #45 on personal freedom, and #49 overall. Taxes and spending are high. Spending on education is particularly high. Property taxes are among the highest in the country, and individual income taxes are also high. Gun control is extensive. Marijuana laws are subpar. New Jersey has primary seat-belt enforcement, motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws, a cell phone driving ban, an open-container law, sobriety checkpoints, and mandatory liability and personal injury coverage for automobiles. Fireworks are prohibited. Asset forfeiture is largely unreformed. Cigarette taxes are stratospheric, and smoking bans are as draconian as any in the country. On the positive side, alcohol is taxed fairly reasonably, and, like Nevada, casino and slots gambling are legal statewide. More importantly, private and home school regulations are surprisingly light, extending only to broad curriculum requirements. Civil unions are also recognized. On economic regulation, labor laws are predictably costly, statewide land-use planning (“smart growth”) is in force, and there is extensive community rating for private health insurance. On other issues, however, New Jersey is about average.
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- Written by: Sean Colon
- Category: Selected Blogs
I know that this sounds like something The Onion would write as a satire in one of their articles but it is horrifyingly true. NJ officials are proposing to ban Brazilian wax jobs which are a waxing of the genital region. Why are they doing this? Because two clients were injured at a salon in NJ. Hmmmm... I guess that makes sense. I got cut shaving yesterday, they should ban that. I tripped over a curb a week ago, they should ban those.
The NJ Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling has stated that it has always been illegal though it is not stated in the current regulations. Is this a good excuse? No! That is not a reason for banning anything.
You can find the article here.
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- Written by: Pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
In New Jersey and elsewhere, if a person wanted to enter a profession or a field, one has to be licensed by the state or the federal government. If one wanted to get into, for example, the financial services industry or the real estate industry, one has to be licensed by the state. If one wanted to participate in the import/export business, one has to be licensed by the federal government. If one wanted to braid hair,one,in Washington, D.C., has to be licensed by the local government there. It goes on and on, ad infinitum.
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- Written by: Pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over the years, on issues such as abortion, doctor-assisted suicide, euthanasia, infanticide, human experimentation and others, I have been struck by proponents arguments. I mostly been fascinated by the statements and arguments they use, particularly when they state that "You Should Not Legislate Morality," and "Society Cannot Impose Morality." I find these statements and arguments weak and flawed for the reality of the matter is that society and government legislate morality all the time. They legislate little else. The question becomes Whose Morality and What View Of Morality becomes dominant. What it all comes down to is the ideas and the pressure groups involved, and whether or not those pressure groups are strong enough to influence the legislative and executive branches of government.
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- Written by: Lou Jasikoff
- Category: Chair's Report
Fellow Libertarians,
The last few months have been extremely busy and exciting for me as business is really taking off. I have traveled and will continue to travel extensively both domestically and internationally and must apologize for the lack of time I have spent in New Jersey. It is not that I have not been working on projects to promote Liberty because I have, and in fact just this week attended the State Chairs conference in Charleston, South Carolina representing the NJLP. In speaking with other chairs, and reflecting on the last two years as chair, I have come to the conclusion that two years is enough. It is time for a fresh set of eyes to move us forward. In that regard, I will not be seeking reelection as chair. I wanted to give everyone a little heads up before the convention.
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- Written by: Frank R. Stockton
- Category: Latest News
Sticky - scroll down for more recent articles.
Tax Day Tea Parties are being planned across the nation. In NJ, Tea Parties are confirmed in Belmar, Flemington, Hackensack, Morristown, Newark, Trenton, and Vineland.
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This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. : April 15th 12:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 16th Avenue Boardwalk. -
Flemington: April 15th, Noon - 2:00 PM. The northwest corner of Main Street and Court Street.
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Hackensack: April 15th, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. Bergen County Court House.
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Morristown: April 15th Noon, On The Green at the center of Morristown.
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Newark: April 15th, 782 McCarter Highway, Gateway Center One. Lautenberg and Menendez's office. Noon - 6:00 PM.
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Piscataway: April 15th, 5:00 PM. Johnson Park (River Road, Piscataway Township).
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Trenton: April 15th, in front of the State House steps. 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM.
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Vineland: April 15th, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 722 E Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
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Middletown: July 4th, from 11-1 at 1750 Highway 35 (Arin Park Bldg).
Originally published in 1896 by Frank R. Stockton (1834 - 1902). This was in reference to an event that occurred on December 22nd, 1774 in Greenwich Township, Cumberland County NJ.
At the time when the American colonists began to be restless under the rule of Great Britain, the people of New Jersey showed as strong a desire for independence as those of any other Colony, and they were by no means backward in submitting to any privations which might be necessary in order to assert their principles. As has been said before, the people were prosperous, and accustomed to good living, and it was not likely that there was any part of America in which a cup of well-flavored tea was better appreciated than in New Jersey.
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- Written by: Pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
There are many politicians and others, liberal, "moderate," and conservative, that take the position that if a particular legislative action or policy has failed, the people should judge them by their "good" intentions and not if the action or policy is successful. They will say that their "motives" were "good," That their "idea" was "good,"That their "belief" was "pure," no matter if the policy or action has caused hardships and difficulties for individuals. It is a way to excuse it all and not do much else. This often causes problems for society at large.
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- Written by: Adrian Moore
- Category: Latest News
NJ Libertarian Party Members,
On Friday, March 13 at 10:00 PM, John Stossel and ABC News has a special, "Bailouts, Big Spending and Bull." As John put it in his announcement, this special is produced in partnership with Drew Carey and Reason Magazine. Indeed most of the segments are based on videos from Reason.TV.
Subcategories
NJ Libertarian Blog
Imported from NJ Libertarian News from the published feed
Videos
This is a page of various videos that we have either created or found interesting. Be sure to check out and follow our YouTube page.
Open Government Advocacy Project
The Open Government Advocacy Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels of government. Articles posted here are a subset of the work of the committee. For more information visit the Open Government Advocacy Project blog.
If you would like to demand accountability and ensure that your local governing body or school board adheres to the Open Public Records Act we can help you request information from them. Contact John Paff, the project chair here.
Insight New Jersey
NJ government is huge and complex. Private industry is shrinking while the size and cost of government bureacracy continues to grow. The articles posted here provide a guide of the NJ State Government and can be used by citizens and candidates for office to evaluate what departments can be reduced drastically in size.
We'll start with just some of the departments and provide a breakdown on what they do (or purport to do), how many employees they have and how big their budget is.
Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
The New Jersey Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project (“the Project”) seeks to get New Jersey municipalities to repeal loitering ordinances that should have been -- but were not -- repealed when the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice was enacted in 1979. The Project has successfully had loitering ordinances repealed in over 30 towns. For a summary listing of all the towns see Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project page.
Police Accountability Project
The Police Accountability Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to search out cases of police misconduct, file former Internal Affairs (IA) complaints when appropriate, and to publicize violations of rules and laws by the police. There may be other stories posted on the NJLP Police Internal Affairs Complaint Blog page.
If you would like to help or know of a case we should be looking at, contact the committee at
Legislative Affairs Committee
The Legislative Affairs Committee was created to allow a select core of Volunteers to take action on legislation and policies which directly affects the people of New Jersey.
[INTRO VIDEO - HOSTED ON NJLP STATE YOUTUBE AND EMBEDED HERE]
Staff
Legislative Director and Committee Chair
Volunteers: