Garden State Patriot

A number of top Democrat lawmakers have been named in a potential scandal involving ReGen Biologics. ReGen is the maker of a knee implant device which was twice rejected by the FDA. Subsequently, the firm started to line the pockets of several Democrats including Sen. Lautenberg, Sen. Menendez, Rep. Rothman and Rep. Pallone. The lobbyist hired by the firm, Michael Hutton, used to be Sen. Menendez’ chief of staff. In December of 2008, the FDA approved ReGen’s knee implant device. Here’s the full story.

Executives of a small medical-device company donated $50,000 in the 2008 election campaign to New Jersey Democrats who went to bat for the company’s knee implant at the Food and Drug Administration, according to campaign donation records.

Three top executives of ReGen Biologics Inc., based in Hackensack, N.J., began the donations in the fall of 2007, about a month after the FDA’s second rejection of the medical device. The three together made only two other political donations totaling $6,000 this decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group.

The New Jersey recipients were Sen. Robert Menendez, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Rep. Frank Pallone and Rep. Steve Rothman, as well as related political action committees. Rep. Pallone is chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the FDA. Sen. Menendez, who was not up for re-election in 2008, received $18,300, the highest sum.

ReGen spent $200,000 on lobbyist Michael Hutton, Sen. Menendez’s former chief of staff, according to House records. It didn’t retain lobbyists before 2007, the records show.

The New Jersey Democrats began pressing then-FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to become involved in the ReGen case in late 2007. Three of the lawmakers sent Dr. von Eschenbach a letter, and Sen. Menendez called the commissioner, according to ReGen’s lobbyist.

Through 2008, ReGen’s executives strove to get the FDA to approve the knee-surgery device called Menaflex. In October 2008, an aide to Rep. Pallone called FDA officials to discuss ReGen’s desire for input on the membership and agenda of an agency advisory panel, according to an internal FDA memo. The FDA’s top device regulator cleared Menaflex in December 2008.

ReGen said through a spokeswoman that it turned to politicians to prevent FDA scientists from applying what the company considered illegal standards of safety and efficacy. “In contacting members of Congress, ReGen’s goal was to obtain fair process and a timely decision” at the FDA, the spokeswoman said. She declined to comment about the donations.

All four New Jersey politicians have said through representatives that their involvement in the ReGen case was aimed at ensuring the company received fair treatment at the FDA.

ReGen Chief Executive Gerald Bisbee and his wife, who live in Connecticut, contributed $32,100 to the New Jersey candidates and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee between October 2007 and October 2008. John Dichiara, ReGen’s government-relations director, gave $20,800. The company’s chief financial officer contributed $2,500 to Mr. Menendez.

The approval of Menaflex is under investigation in the Senate Finance Committee. In addition, Rep. Michael Burgess (R., Texas) has asked the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel to review it.

“I am particularly troubled by the allegations” that normal procedures weren’t followed in the FDA’s approval process, Rep. Burgess wrote in a letter to Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.), head of that panel. Mr. Burgess cited FDA documents in ReGen’s case.

Corruption or typical Washington politics? Hopefully, a full and open investigation will unveil the truth.

By the way, next time these Democrats publicly complain about special interests and how they are destroying our country be sure to remember this story.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude! and Red County.

Senator Menendez has found himself in opposition to his own party over American policy toward Cuba. Democrats in Congress are seeking to lift travel restrictions to the island nation; clearly with an eye toward ultimately lifting the embargo on Cuba which has been in place for some 50 years now. Senator Menendez, rightfully, is standing up for the Cuban people.

Lest we forget – and apparently all too many are so willing – Cuba is a tyrannical, oppressive regime. The Cuban people have no freedom. Everything they do is controlled by the state. My words couldn’t nearly do as must justice to the horrid conditions Cubans live in, so I give you these from someone who has actually lived it:

Only a Cuban (or someone who has lived there long enough) can have a fair idea how twisted, perverse and paranoid that system is. I could write pages about this, but I’ll put it very simple. Nothing on Earth, I mean no money, no riches, anything is worth nothing when there is no freedom…

…The state controls everything, down to cellular level, the press, the mass media, education, what our children read, and learn. They indoctrinate children from kindergarten, all the way up. Not even Hitler’s nazis were so imaginative.

They control who you are, what you say, what you feel, what you do, what you eat, what you watch, where you work. They make all the decisions for you. They want Cubans to hang their brains to dry. They keep them “informed”, by hiding everything the whole world says, complete censorship. Why would Cubans need free access to Internet, if we can do a better job? Cubans have no access to internet, no international news, because everything coming from outside is wrong. “We” are right.

I have always found very hard to understand why most foreigners who “support” the regime in one way or another have never wondered if they would accept that type of lives in their countries of origin, for themselves.

Yet, liberals in Congress – and even some misguided Republicans like Senator Richard Lugar – are in favor of easing travel restrictions. Some even are blaming the U.S. for the lack of change in Cuba. This is ludicrous thinking as there is no one else to blame for the conditions in Cuba than Castro himself. 

If we are to open travel and trade with Cuba it will not save the Cuban people. It will only strengthen the Castro regime as it lines its pockets and use these resources to continue to its oppression against its own people. While openness to changing American policy toward Cuba may be well-intentioned, it is horribly misguided.

For his part, Senator Menendez has remained steadfast.

In a lengthy speech from the Senate floor this month, Menendez shot back at Lugar: “Over the years, millions of Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans, South and Central Americans, among others, have visited Cuba, invested in Cuba, spent billions of dollars, signed trade agreements and engaged politically. And what has been the result of all of that money and all of that engagement? The regime has not opened up; on the contrary, it has used resources to become more oppressive.”

Unfortunately, Obama and Congressional Democrats appear to be committed to undoing the only real leverage we have against the Castro regime; to the detriment of the very people we are trying to help.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude! and Red County.

Ever since Rick Santelli fired up the hoards on CNBC, tea party protests have erupted across the nation and the movement is now about to reach full steam. On April 15th, there will be numerous tea parties across the country with several to take place in New Jersey.

City: Morristown
When: April 15, 9:00 am – 12:00pm
Where: TBA
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info:
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

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City: Newark
When: April 15, 12:00 pm
Where: Gateway Center One – 782 McCarter Highway, Newark Offices of Senator Lautenberg and Menendez conveniently located in the same building.
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info:Parking: 66 Edison Place, Newark
Google Map: Click Here
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE
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City: Trenton
When: April 15, 11:30am – 4:00pm
Where: New Jersey State House, 125 W State St
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info:
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

Americans for Prosperity will also be holding their own tea party in Piscataway.

AFP-NJ Announces Taxpayer Tea Party to Protest Gov. Corzines’s Tax Hikes, April 15

New Jersey citizens urge Corzine to reduce spending, reject stimulus money

Join AFP-NJ along with grassroots activists across the country on April 15th at 5PM for a Taxpayer Tea Party to protest Governor Corzine’s proposed tax hikes.

NJ has the worst tax climate in the nation, and yet Governor Corzine continues to rely on tax revenues to support the state’s overgrown budget. This tradition has left us poorly positioned to deal with the economic recession.

Even with the so-called stimulus funds that are coming to New Jersey– totaling $2 billion– Governor Corzine has introduced a FY 2010 state budget with a $7 billion deficit, and massive tax hikes to go along with it.

Governor Corzine continues to increase taxes—it is the same mistake over and over again. Taxpayers have carried the burden of these mistakes long enough– It’s critical to fight back against this proposed budget and its tax hikes!

Urge Governor Corzine and state legislators to take the first step in mending this $7 billion deficit by cutting the size of the state budget and planning for New Jersey’s financial future.

What: Taxpayer Tea Party
Who: Americans for Prosperity
When: Wednesday, April 15, 5:00pm
Where: Johnson Park ( River Road, Piscataway Township)

For more information or to register, click here or call 201-487-8844.

Not surprisingly, the mainstream media has been largely ignoring these protests, but it will be hard to ignore on April 15th when thousands of us will be marching in cities all over the country at the same time. So, get out there and join the movement!

Geez, even bad movies wait a while for a sequel but the Democrats just can’t help themselves. This time it’s a $410B porkfest with 9,000 earmarks and pet projects! 9,000! One wonders when PETA will rise up to oppose it all.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats unveiled a $410 billion spending bill on Monday to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year, setting up the second political struggle over federal funds in less than a month with Republicans.

The measure includes thousands of earmarks, the pet projects favored by lawmakers but often criticized by the public in opinion polls. There was no official total of the bill’s earmarks, which accounted for at least $3.8 billion.

The legislation, which includes an increase of roughly 8 percent over spending in the last fiscal year, is expected to clear the House later in the week.

So, what earmarks and pet projects are there? So far the following goodies have been uncovered (via Michelle Malkin).

• $200,000 for “Tattoo Removal Violence Prevention Outreach Program
• Maine lobster earmark in the omnibus
• $5.8 million earmark for the “Ted Kennedy Institute for the Senate
• National Council of La Raza, $473,000 earmark from Sens. Bingaman and Menendez

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also…

• $1.75M in for “Mammoth Springs National Fish Hatchery—-complete visitor center”
• $1M earmark for “City of North Pole for wastewater system improvements project”
• $142K for greenie cars “CITY OF LV PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLE DEMO. PROGRAM”
• $480K for “Urban Horticulture”

I could go on but you can see for yourself here where Senator DeMint staffer Tom Jones has been listing them out all day.

Quite frankly, it’s a disgrace what is happening before our eyes. We are just digging ourselves a mountain of debt that is unsustainable and jeopardizing our nation’s future prosperity in a way heretofore unseen in our history.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude!

Wow, I’m so proud of the cast of characters we have representing us in this state. Now we have a Senator who can’t tell the difference between federal income tax and capital gains taxes. Nor can he tell the difference between 39.6% and 28%. Unbelievable.