Garden State Patriot

Aside from politics, one of my other passions is rock music. I am an avid collector and big, big Led Zeppelin fan. So, as a little bit of indulgent fun while I am away, I will be posting what I consider the best 30 rock albums (in no particular order). Without these, your rock collection is incomplete.

Today, my first pick is Led Zeppelin I. Enjoy.

Did you get your EZ-Pass from a New Jersey agency? Well, if you did you may have to pay some 30% extra in tolls soon - unless Assembly Republicans successfully fight back against this extremely unfair policy handed down by the MTA. 

REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY MEMBERS ASK NEW YORK TO

RESCIND DISCRIMINATORY TOLL HIKE ON NEW JERSEY

 

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SET TO

DISCONTINUE E-ZPASS DISCOUNTS FOR NEW JERSEY DRIVERS

 

            Five Assembly Republicans sent a letter to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, asking the New York agency to rescind a policy that will discriminate against New Jersey motorists.

 

            Beginning July 12, E-ZPass users who did not purchase accounts through New York agencies will be charged the same rate as cash-paying customers. That means New Jersey E-ZPass users will face a 30 percent toll hike this month while those with New York accounts will have a 10 percent increase.

 

            “Although anyone may register for E-ZPass in New York , this decision discriminates against the multitude of New Jersey residents who already have registered for accounts in their home state,” the letter states.

 

            A copy of the letter – signed by several Republican northern New Jersey Assemblymen including Assembly Transportation committee member Scott T. Rumana, Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, Assemblyman Jay Webber, Assemblyman John Rooney and Assemblyman David C. Russo - is attached.

Meanwhile, where is our Dear Governor on this issue? Is he standing up for New Jersey drivers, particularly those who have to commute into New York for their livelihood? As usual, he’s nowhere to be found.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Democrat Congressman Henry Waxman, who has been a leading legislator on both C(r)ap & Trade, as well as healthcare legislation, has apparently been hospitalized.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful House committee chairman with a central role in President Barack Obama’s global warming and health care legislation has been hospitalized.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., was not feeling well Tuesday and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for “routine testing,” spokeswoman Karen Lightfoot said Wednesday.

She said that Waxman, 69, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is “feeling much better now.” She said his office had no further details to release.

Waxman just finished steering the climate change legislation through a close House vote and has been gearing up to tackle health care later this summer.

Now, I find this very upsetting. After all, if Congressman Waxman wants a single-payer, socialistic healthcare system, why didn’t he give it a try now? I say he shouldn’t have received any medical attention today. He should have waited at least 3 months, if not longer, to even get to see a doctor.

As a matter of fact, I know a way to get me to support socialized healthcare. I say we force every elected official and government worker to give up their current plan and make them live under the new government plan. Somehow, I doubt that any of them will actually want to live under the system they are advocating for.

Seth Grossman of Shore News Today has an interesting piece on the c(r)ap and trade bill passed by the House last Friday. According to Seth, this damaging legislation is nothing more than a slush fund for Obama and his cronies. Nice.

Last week the House of Representatives approved HR 2454, the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” by a vote of 219 to 212. If the Senate agrees, this proposed new law will create a huge slush fund of billions of dollars by jacking up every gas and electric bill in America. The money would then be “redistributed” to selected businesses, unions and other groups who are “friends” of Obama and the Democrats.

The House almost rejected the bill when 45 Democrats with principle voted no. The bill passed only because eight unprincipled Republican Congressmen sold out to vote yes.

Three of those “traitors within the gates” are from New Jersey – Frank LoBiondo (Salem, Cumberland, Cape May Gloucester, and Atlantic counties), Chris Smith (Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties), and Leonard Lance (Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties). All three were strong backers of Chris Christie for governor over Steve Lonegan during last month’s primary election.

Left-wing Democrat Henry Waxman of California introduced the bill as a 1,200-page proposed law just six weeks before it was brought to a vote. Hundreds of pages with special “earmarks” were later added to buy enough congressmen to win passage. One amendment of more than 300 pages was added at 3 a.m. the morning of the vote. Nobody knows exactly what is in it.

Read the rest of this entry »

A caller to Mark Levin’s show on Thursday revealed the true intentions of the Democrats vis-a-vis socializing healthcare. What they are really pushing for is healthcare for illegal immigrants. This effort is being led by none other than our own lowly Senator, Bob Menendez.

In the audio clip below (starting at around the 70 minute mark), the caller describes what took place at a LARASA (or “La Raza”) meeting which Menendez attended.

This information is critical because ultimately what this means is illegals will be getting back-door amnesty. From there, it’s only a few short leaps to giving them voting rights. And these people certainly won’t be voting (R) that is for certain.

Mark Levin Show

(h/t, Rich Zuendt, Conservatives with Attitude!)

Cross-posted at Red County.

Yesterday, the destructive, job-killing Waxman-Markey C(r)ap and Trade bill passed the House. While numerous Democrats broke ranks to oppose this bad legislation, it passed with some Republican support. That support, unfortunately, came from three so-called Republicans right here in New Jersey. Their names? Leonard Lance, Chris Smith and Frank LoBiondo.

Their votes in favor of this bill represent nothing less than a betrayal of Republican principles. Waxman-Markey, as I have pointed out previously, is a repressive tax for Americans. It will impact everything we produce and result in lost jobs and higher energy bills to the tune of up to $3,000 a year for the average family.

Lance, LoBiondo and Smith have now elevated themselves to the same level as Arlen Specter. Their votes are no less a betrayal as Specter’s was for the Porkulous bill.

As such, each of these Congressmen now no longer deserve our support. Each of them needs to be primaried out. Republicans need to send a strong and clear message that on certain issues you must toe the line and breaking ranks will not be tolerated. If you are a constitutent in the districts represented by these Congressmen make no mistake, they have not represented you, let alone this state and our nation. They need to be voted out.

I, for one, will do all I can to see that that is exactly what happens next year.

Last night as the news broke about Michael Jackson, you knew the media would be in full frenzy mode. Just like OJ before him, Lady Di, or even Anna Nicole Smith, the media salivates over these kinds of tragedies. Suddenly, we are subject to 24/7 of titillating coverage that serves as little else than entertainment.

Look, I liked Michael Jackson’s music as much as anyone. His gifts as an entertainer were bar none. His death certainly merits coverage but it does not merit all of our news organizations, including Fox, dedicating an entire night to his tragic death, morbidly following the helicopter as his body is transported to the coroner (played over repeatedly I might add) while completely ignoring other events going on in the world.

Did the Iranian protests and killings end yesterday?

Was the critical vote on the C(r)ap & Trade bill today in Congress suddenly of no meaning to us?

At what point does a news organization come down on the side of ethics and not ratings?

Michael Jackson’s death is significant - but only from a pop culture perspective. Yes, pop culture has its time and place and meaning in our society. But the death of one celebrity should not mean that serious news organizations should drop all other news coverage and act like TMZ.com.

What’s worse, though, is I bet most people know far, far more about Michael Jackson than a bill about to be voted on in Congress that will raise our taxes and seriously threaten our economic prosperity.

Scary.

My understanding is Congressman Frelinghuysen may vote for the destructive C(r)ap & Trade bill. There’s no time to lose so start contacting his office now.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
2442 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3011
(202) 225-5034

Legislative Office
Chief of Staff - Nancy Fox
Senior Policy Adviser - Steve Wilson
Scheduler - Tina Wei
Legislative Aide - Kathleen Hazlett
Legislative Aide - Dan Ostermueller
Legislative Aide - Marissa Watkins
Legislative Correspondent - Jeff Brabant

Open: Mon. - Fri., 9am to 5:30pm

NEW JERSEY
30 Schuyler Place, Second Floor
Morristown, NJ 07960
(973) 984-0711

Constituent Service Center
Constituent Services Manager - Pam Thievon
Scheduler - Michelle Moallem
Constituent Services Representative - Joan Hamilton
Constituent Services Representative - Kristin Jones
Staff Assistant - Judy Ceballos
District Staff Assistant - Mary Provost
District Staff Assistant - Bernie Tyson

Open: Mon. - Fri., 9am to 5pm

Here’s the good news: GSP will be getting married this weekend!

Here’s the bad news: Posting will be limited for the next few weeks.

I’m hoping to find the time to include some interesting and different content for the time I am away and will alert you if that is forthcoming. So, by all means keep checking in!