Garden State Patriot

Following the rally and meeting with some of our representatives, Steve Lonegan gave his take on the day’s events. 

And here some more video of the rally from AFP.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude!

Yesterday, scores of New Jersey patriots – and patriots from all over the country – descended on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Our message was clear: KILL THIS BILL!

We were greeted by several terrific addresses from Congressional Representatives like Michelle Bachmann, Mike Pence and Scott Garrett. Mark Levin, Jon Voigt and our own Steve Lonegan also joined the chorus of speakers.

Afterwards, our delegation fanned out - some meeting with Congressman Garrett and others with Reps. Rothman and Adler.

Here is the first of my videos from the rally. Unfortunately, I was much too far away to capture all the speakers but this will give you a sense of the size of the crowd and you can hear all the speeches in their entirety. I will upload more later (as it’s been a bit time-consuming!). So please look for more shortly.

And at the end of the day, a rainbow formed over the Capitol! A sign of good fortune? We can only hope!

Also, here is an article of interest on yesterday’s protest focusing on Steve Rothman.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude!

Earlier today I posted about the ‘Congressional House Call’ day being planned by Americans for Prosperity. This event is growing by the minute. I just got off a phone call with Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, AFP’s Tim Phillips and Steve Lonegan. In just a day and a half, Steve Lonegan has 20 buses ready to go from New Jersey area alone to DC. If this is any inkling, we could be on the cusp of witnessing an unprecedented event on Thursday – with thousands of activists prepared to go to Washington, go to the Capitol, and tell their representatives face-to-face that we do not want this!

So, if you haven’t yet joined up and wish to, there is still time. Here is the specific info on buses that will be leaving from the New Jersey area.  

To join the New Jersey Delegation Bus to Washington, DC with Rep. Scott Garrett, Steve Lonegan and your fellow activists, click here.

New Jersey Transportation:
*6:30am- Blue Heron Park and Ride
(located off of Rte 15 at the Blue Heron Exit in Sparta)

*7:00am- Ridgewood Park and Ride
(located on Rte 17 south in Ridgewood)

*7:00am- Shore Mall (behind Value City)
6725 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Twp, NJ 08234-3904

Philadelphia Transportation:
*Rockledge/NE Philadelphia- 8:00am
Huntingdon Valley Mall
Huntingdon Pike and Rockledge Avenues ( Abington, PA)

* Center City ( Philadelphia)- 8:30am
On 3rd Street between Chestnut and Walnut
(outside Independence National Park Living History Museum)

* South Philadelphia-9:00 am
Oregon Diner, 3rd and Oregon Streets

Please email infonj@afphq.org or call 201-487-8844 with any questions.

If you cannot come to DC, I would also suggest that you go to AFP’s web site and see what you can do to do something locally at your representative’s office.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

When you are done voting, it will be no time to rest on your laurels. The healthcare battle will begin in earnest this week, with the House ready to vote on a bill by the end of this week. As I have posted time and again, we the people need to stand up NOW to try to stop this. 

There are a number of things you can do this week to contribute. First and foremost, Mayor Lonegan is organizing bus trips to Washington, D.C. that will leave on Thursday morning. Here is Steve’s message:

This Thursday, I will be joining Congressman Scott Garrett, Congresswoman Michelle Bachman and dozens of other national leaders on the steps of our Nation’s capitol and I need you to join me.

Together, we can stop the Obama-Palosi-Reed attack on our health care, but only if you act now.

We beat them at Town Hall meetings, we outnumbered them in phone calls and letters and every poll in America tells them the vast majority of Americans are opposed to their radical agenda. THEY JUST DON’T CARE! They have a plan for your future and you will have no say, no control, no other opportunity to fight back unless you act now.

To stop this radical attack on our nation’s future and our individual liberty I am sending buses of freedom loving Americans to Washington DC this Thursday morning for the Hands Off our Health Care rally and for meetings with House of Representatives members in the afternoon.
For departures and information go to taxpayerminute.com
We are going to flood the Congressional office building with great Americans like you and I need you there, your children need you there and your country needs you there.

Buses are now leaving from locations in Bergen County, Sussex County and Atlantic County as well as Philadelphia. I need volunteers to help organize buses, get fliers out and help in organizing this historic and challenging effort.

This is crunch time, folks. Now let’s see what we are made of.

If you can help in any way, contact me at 201 487-8844 or email steven.lonegan@afphq.org

If you can not come to D.C., Americans for Prosperity is urging people to go to the local offices of the representatives. This from AFP’s Tim Phillips:

This Thursday join our “Congressional House Call” day. It’s easy. Just go to your closest House or Senate local office at 12 Noon your local time to make sure they hear your voice one last time before the House vote. To find your closest office and to let us know you will take a stand Click Here: http://americansforprosperity.org/cong.php

We’ve got to show them they’re wrong. Join the “Congressional House Call” day this Thursday by going to your member’s district office this Thursday at 12 Noon your time. Take pictures of your visit and send them to me at TimPhillips@afp-mail.com or post them on my Facebook by clicking here http://www.facebook.com/timphillipsafp

If you cannot go in person use the link to call your member of the House and Senate at 12 Noon this Thursday and tell them you’re making a “Congressional House Call” by phone.

We’re at a crucial time in this health care battle. Please take action!

Personally, I would suggest to all of you to start contacting your representatives tomorrow. We need to put as much pressure on as possible. We can not wait around for tomorrow’s election results to pour in. And even if Chris Christie wins, it is no time to become complacent. Tomorrow’s elections are important but the most important thing going on this week is going to be taking place in the halls of Congress – where the freedoms we hold dear are going to be under a full-blown assault. As, Congressman Pence tells us here, ‘Make your voice heard!’

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Steve Lonegan took a little trip to North Bergen to show us where our Green Acres funding has been spent. The video says it all.

And so does this one from Hoboken:

For more, go to StopHigherTaxes.com.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Why should you oppose Ballot Question #1? Because not only does the money pile debt on top of mountainous debt, but because the money is also abused by politicians to pay for things that have nothing to do with open space. Like astroturf fields, skating, parks, and parking garages. Steve Lonegan explains:

How is this money spent?

Instead of rural and suburban communities, the program spends millions on “recreation” programs in urban areas.  Grants are weighted so that cities receive three dollars for every dollar spent in rural and suburban communities.  

Is there anything “green” about building parking lots on the last remaining open space in North Bergen – or laying artificial turf over farmland in Burlington County?

These headlines tell the story:

Hoboken siphons $2M in state funds (Jersey Journal, 05/15/02)
Hoboken has shifted $2 million in Green Acres funding, earmarked for a stalled project, to three projects they can begin right away… About $1 million will go to rehabilitating the soccer field which was constructed about three years… About $250,000 will go to constructing a one-half-acre skating park… About $400,000 will go to creating the Jackson Street Garage Park.

Hudson athletic fields to get synthetic turfs (Jersey Journal, 04/27/09)
The county received about $7 million in grants this month from New Jersey’s Green Acres Program… the cost of construction for a new dual use synthetic turf field for soccer and football, as well as the installation of a sports lighting system, permanent bleachers, fencing, landscaping and a restroom building…

Green Acres helps to fund stadium in park (Herald News, 06/11/09)
“It seems like a conflict of the mission of Green Acres,” said Tony Lopez, who has lived across from the park for 23 years. “Park space in urban areas is scarce, and they’re taking 4 acres. I can’t describe it. It’s a tragedy.”

Artificial turf risky for kids?
Critics also worry about impact on ecosystem (Record, 11/23/07)
The artificial turf is generally made with plastic fibers stitched onto a nylon mat to resemble blades of grass. Granules of chrome rubber, sometimes mixed with sand, are sprinkled on the field to make it spongier…  The irony, environmentalists say, is that a number of these fake grass projects have been subsidized by the state’s Green Acres program — money intended for land preservation.   In recent years, state officials have Green Acres funds for 13 artificial turf projects.

Plans move ahead for turf field in Mt. Laurel (06/12/08)
Plans are moving forward to install a synthetic turf field at the Conrow Farm site on Mount Laurel Road, including lighting and parking.  Under that program, up to 50 percent of acquisition costs are paid by the state and 25 percent each by the county and township.  

And as Steve mentioned, like education dollars, this money isn’t distributed fairly. Urban areas take the bulk of the dollars – and then waste it on things like the aforementioned projects.

What happened to the $200 million they borrowed just two years ago?

Well, $47 million of it was cut out and earmarked for recreation projects like stadium parking lots, artificial turf, and skateboard ramps.  Where did that money go? 

Well it didn’t go to suburban and rural communities.  That’s because of a funding formula that uses a bias in favor of urban areas.  Under this formula, cities get three dollars for every dollar that goes to suburban and rural communities. 

(Scan pages 3, 4, & 5 of the 2009 Green Acres Program Project Descriptions document.)

Take a look at the millions going to cities and urban counties.  Note, by comparison, the paltry amounts going to rural and suburban communities.

(Scan pages 7 through 39 of the 2009 Green Acres Program Project Descriptions document.)

Notice something missing?  There’s no mention of any money going to Sussex and Hunterdon Counties – two of New Jersey’s most rural counties.

Ask yourself:  Is this program based on the considerations of open space, or is it based more on political considerations?

Be sure to send trenton a message this Election Day. Say “NO” to more spending and debt. Vote “NO” on Ballot Question #1! For more go to StopHigherTaxes.com.

At last weekend’s Conservative Leadership Breakfast (hosted by Conservative with Attitude’s own Michael Illions), Steve Lonegan gave a presentation on the open Space ballot initiative. Steve is leading the opposition to this initiative which will only add to the state’s already out of control taxes and debt.

In the following two clips, Steve explains in detail what Ballot Question #1 is all about and why you should emphatically vote “NO!”

For more on this, go to Stophighertaxes.com

Steve Lonegan also had an opportunity to address the activists at the AFP Summit this weekend. Steve primarily focused on an initiative that will be on the ballot regarding open space. This measure, as Steve details, would only add to New Jersey’s debt. Check out his address here and I will certainly have more on this as we head towards November’s election.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

When leftists cry, we BUY!

Here’s the situation as conveyed by Steve Lonegan.

As many of you know, the Wall Street Journal recently published a write-up by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey that was in favor of free-market reforms as regards health insurance. Click here to read that article.

Naturally, this caused great consternation amongst some collectivists, some of whom decided to boycott Whole Foods. On the other hand, pro-liberty forces — who appreciate Mr. Mackey’s suggestions — have been showing their support for Mr. Mackey and Whole Foods by attending what are being called “buy-cotts” — going to a store and showing your support for it (for example, by buying some of its merchandise).

This Monday — October 5th — from 4 PM to 7 PM there will be a buy-cott at the Whole Foods store at 300 Bergen Town Center, in Paramus, New Jersey. We invite you and any of your pro-liberty friends and family to attend. Feel free to pass on this invitation to them!

Importantly, the Paramus Whole Foods buy-cott plans to have in attendance Gina Loudon, the St. Louis, Missouri woman who created the buy-cott concept. (While she is in our area, Gina will also appear on the Jon Stewart Show to discuss the buy-cott.)

In addition, we are told there is a good chance that some local and perhaps even national media folks will show up for the Paramus event.

Click here to read a press release with more details about the Paramus Whole Foods buy-cott.

For more about the buy-cotts in general, please click here.

So, if you are in the area, skip Shop Rite and Pathmark and show your support for Whole Foods!

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

This quote appeared in yesterday’s e-mail from Assembly Republicans called ‘The Pulse.’ When I first saw it I was a little taken aback. It seemed to me to be a bit of a slap at conservatives and typical of a party that continues to stake out the moderate/Dem-Lite/RINO territory. Well, I wasn’t the only one with a reaction.

Steve Lonegan also questioned its intent. Here is his e-mail response today:

Conservatives were surprised to read the following quote from “The Pulse”, the official newsletter of the Assembly Republican Caucus:

“The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower, Quoted in The New York Times, November 10, 1963

This quote was not accompanied by a link to the entire New York Times story of November 10, 1963, so we don’t know the context of President Eisenhower’s remarks.  Perhaps he was talking about the planned speech by Malcolm X, scheduled for later that evening.

What we do know is that this quote was unearthed and published at a time when tens of thousands of our fellow Americans are protesting at town meetings and “tea party” events, against attempts by a Democrat administration to enact socialist health care and the cap & tax energy scheme.

These Americans have been called “extremists”, all summer, by the liberal media and left-wing politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

For decades conservatives in New Jersey have been marginalized and treated with disdain by the Republican establishment.  This pattern continues.

In light of current events, the thought process behind including this comment is questionable, and the judgment, poor.

We expect more from people who call themselves “Republican leaders”.

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more. I’d like to hear someone in the Assembly try to explain this one away.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!