NJ Voices

You've got opinions, New Jersey

  It took only two days for Gov.-elect Chris Christie to sell out. In an interview with The Star-Ledger that appeared in Friday’s editions, Christie put out a plea for Bruce Springsteen to play at the inauguration. He sounded like Marcia Brady pleading with Davy Jones to play at her school dance. "I’m not beneath begging," Christie said. That’s... Full story »

  Don’t tarnish Michael Jackson’s name The Star-Ledger featured a review of Michael Jackson’s new film, "This Is It" ("Back in the spotlight, one last time," Oct. 29). The movie was fantastic, as the reviewer suggested, and Jackson was in top form. However, the review was horribly marred by added reminders of scandals in which the press reveled while... Full story »

  In our opinion . . . A review of some of the week’s Star-Ledger editorials: -- With the Legislature probably close to passing a bill that permits medical marijuana use, pardoning John Ray Wilson from the serious charge of maintaining or operating a drug production facility because he was growing marijuana behind his Franklin Township home makes sense. Otherwise, the state could... Full story »

  We haven’t seen this many people asking for forgiveness since the Mets held a team meeting. From Wednesday through Friday at the Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, the Fugitive Safe Surrender program allowed hundreds of nonviolent offenders to clear up open warrants voluntarily, with little chance of jail time. While providing an express lane through the legal process,... Full story »

  Rep. Steve Rothman got an earful when he agreed to meet with protestors from northern New Jersey who traveled to Washington, D.C., Thursday for a big rally against health care reform. "They’re my constituents," he said. "Many want me to vote against this bill." The Bergen County Democrat said he told the group that he supports universal health... Full story »

Well, that didn't take long. It was voters in my own Ocean County that gave Chris Christie a big chunk of his margin for victory, a 70,000-vote plurality. So where did he go the day after the election? To Newark, to shmooze with the Democrats. Apparently no one told Christie that his urban strategy was a disaster. He got just 3,269... Full story »

Tom Moran has an interesting column discussing the likelihood of a marriage equality bill coming up in the lame duck session this year. It's the same thing I've been hearing in private conversations since January..."Just wait until after the election, then we'll have it." It's a coward's way of seeking progress. The entire point of democracy is to make government... Full story »

"I haven’t made up a priority list yet beyond the first three — which is tax relief, spending cuts and reform of urban education"  governor-elect Chris Christie, 11/5/09 The first two priorities are bromides that would likely have been on for-now-governor Crozine's list.  The 'reform of urban eduction' would certainly not have been.  Here's why.  Full story »

There has never been a day that honors us; no parade, nor monument, nor warship commissioned.  Towns are named after others, as are parks, whole forests, schools and train depots.  When a bridge or an interstate or any other public work project gets built, and our public “servants” need a name for posterity purposes, they look not at those... Full story »

Two governors do not a revolution make.  Full story »

  Help for wildlife refuge Last week, Congress approved funding for the Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge thanks to the support of Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and Rep. Scott Garrett, and to an important federal program called the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This funding will protect two holdings, adding 184 acres to the Refuge. These purchases protect... Full story »

It was Macbeth who spoke wearily of life as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." But it might as well be your average political pundit plucking meager meaning from Tuesday’s off-year elections. National Public Radio reported the results "are being watched by national politicians as a referendum on President Obama and his... Full story »

  Richard Codey, soon to be kicked to the curb as Senate president, wants the world to know: He’s still got plenty of juice. Just ask the White House. The day after the election, Codey said that Gov. Jon Corzine, so despondent about dismal approval ratings and a car-wreck of a campaign he couldn’t pull from a ditch, almost... Full story »

One of the saddest/funniest aspects of local elections are the victory speeches of candidates who interpret getting more votes than their opposition as approbation of their tenure, policies, or personality when in fact, in gubernatorial election years like 2009,  it has almost nothing to do with any of that as the results in Union County bear out. Full story »