News
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
Today, I wrote the following letter, which should be self explanatory, to Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford. The exhibits referred to in the letter are on-line here: http://ogtf.lpcnj.org/2010105pJ//b10418HolmesExhibits.pdf
John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey
------------------------------
April 18, 2011
Marlene Lynch Ford, Esq.
Ocean County Prosecutor's Office
119 Hooper Ave
Toms River, NJ, 08754 (via E-mail toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )RE: State v. Holmes
Ind. No. 10-06-01190-ADear Prosecutor Ford:
Karl de Vries's August 27, 2010 Star Ledger article ("Hillside cop receives 3 years probation in domestic shooting") reported that Hillside police detective James Holmes was sentenced to three years probation for "shooting his stepson during a domestic dispute in his Toms River home." A copy of that article is attached as Exhibit Page 1.
After reading that article, I endeavored to learn whether Officer Holmes was, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2C:51-2, a) required to forfeit his position as a Hillside police officer and b) disallowed from holding public office or employment in the future.
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Latest News
The Appellate Division of the Superior Court issued a decision today on April 7, 2011, in State v. Bradley, which can be found on-line at http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a0430-09.pdf
The decision is significant, in that it lays down a categorical rule that no pro se (i.e. a litigant proceeding without an attorney) complainant is permitted to appeal from a municipal court’s dismissal of his or her complaint for want of probable cause no matter how erroneous the probable cause determination. Further, given the text of Court Rule 3:23-9(d), even if the pro se complainant, after dismissal, were to hire an attorney to perfect the appeal, the county prosecutor could simply refuse to give “assent” to the attorney being a "prosecuting attorney" thus defeating the appeal.
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Police Accountability Project
- Details
- Written by: Wes Benedict
- Category: Latest News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2011
Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail:
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222
Libertarians say Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton
WASHINGTON - In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:
"Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan.
"Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
BY MURRAY SABRIN
Murray Sabrin is professor of finance at Ramapo College and was the Libertarian Party nominee for governor in 1997 and a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2008.
IT WAS REPORTED last week that General Electric paid no federal income taxes in 2010. Should we be angry that one of the world’s largest corporations paid no federal income tax while middle income and upper income Americans pay federal, state and in some cases city income taxes?
Americans also pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, state unemployment and disability taxes, sales taxes and property taxes, and a host of utility and other taxes. In short, Americans pay taxes to all levels of government in order to receive a number of benefits from the “public sector.”
- Details
- Written by: pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
On K Street in Washington, D.C., there are many offices that are occupied by special interest groups. Everyday, those offices send a lobbyist for the purposes of attempting to make some members of Capital Hill and The White House to support their causes and their endeavors. About 95% of the time, what these lobbyists request is tax monies to fund their projects as well as lobby for other spending legislation and monetary support. It is these special interest groups and their political supporters whom are an impediment to reducing the size and scope of government, and an impediment to reducing this nation’s $14 Trillion dollar and counting national debt.
- Details
- Written by: pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
There are many progressive and so-called “moderate” politicians like Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that always claim that they are “pro-choice.’ However, when you look at their records and what they support, you will see that they are only “pro-choice” when it comes to the issue of abortion and nothing more. They are not “pro-choice” when it involves the right of an individual to own and purchase a firearm; they are not “pro-choice” when it comes to the right of parents to decide whether to send their children to private or parochial schools; they are not “pro-choice” when it comes to the right of an individual to smoke in public or private places; and they are not “pro-choice” when it comes to the right of individual to not join a Labor Union or opt out of government programs like Social Security.
- Details
- Written by: David Schneck
- Category: Latest News
Trenton should stop mandates to towns, eliminate income tax
In order to find real solutions to the problem with New Jersey's highest-in-the-nation property taxes, it is critical that we accept the truth as to what is actually causing the problem. The proposal to use state power to pressure small (and not so small) towns to consolidate offered by Senate President Stephen Sweeney and detailed in last Sunday's opinion piece by Andrew Bruck completely ignores the factors that have caused my property taxes to nearly double in the last decade.
My town of Belmar was here 10 years ago. It is not as if we used to be part of a larger town and seceded. In 2001, it was a small town with reasonable taxes. All the services we enjoy today were provided then. There is no major change in the way the town has been run. In fact, we had the same mayor from 1990 until his retirement this year. So what has changed?
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
The Party elects new officers, nominates candidates for office, plots forward path, and listens to interesting speakers
| Contact: Jay Edgar Office: 732-962-NJLP Cell: 848-525-0578 |
For Immediate Release |
Tennent, NJ, March 15, 2011: Last weekend the NJ Libertarian Party held their 40th annual State Convention at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ. The convention consisted of a morning business meeting, a noon luncheon, and an afternoon filled with speakers on a variety of topics.
Election of new Officers
An early order of business was to elect new officers.
- Details
- Written by: Joseph Dunsay
- Category: Latest News
The USA Supreme Court defended freedom of speech this year when it ruled in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church on First Amendment grounds. The effects are rippling across the Atlantic. Today, JP Floru, a UK commentator at the Adam Smith Institute, used the Westboro Baptist Church case as an example of how a free society can safely tolerate extreme views. The example bolstered his argument against UK plans to have professors report students for their views. Inverventionists want to use America's military might to spread freedom across the globe, but this approach rarely works. The best way to spread freedom is to be a shining beacon on the hill. If we just make America as free as possible, people in other nations will learn from our good example.
- Details
- Written by: pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
When people talk about blindness, it is usually meant with regards to an individual losing one’s own eyesight; however, truthfully, there are other ways that an individual could become blinded. A man or woman could be blinded due to one’s own ego and pride. A man or woman could be blinded by living in denial and being oblivious to it all. A man or woman could be blinded by a cause or an endeavor. Finally, there are the men and women that become blind due to ideology.
To me, this can be all too dangerous.
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
In reaction to Judge Belvin Perry's illegal order, NJLP member Julian Heicklen has traveled to Florida to perform Fully Informed Jury pampleting and juror education. Judge Perry's order bars anyone from pampleting or demonstrating outside the Orange and Osceola County Courthouse.
Despite the order, Julian was unmolested.
Julian is a true freedom fighter. He has been arrested multiple times demonstrating against injustice. We are proud to have him as a member.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
Sunlight needed urgently in N.J
Whenever anyone utters the acronym OPRA, John Paff's ears ring.
For 23 years, the man behind the state Libertarian Party's Open Government Advocacy Project has waged legal battles against many New Jersey government entities. He expands OPRA via case law, increases records access under Common Law, pushes to eliminate the enforcement of local government ordinances in conflict with state laws and ensures officials properly publish or disclose records.
Read the full story on Courier Post Online.
- Details
- Written by: Joseph Dunsay
- Category: Latest News
On Tuesday I attended a presentation by Americans for Prosperity at the West Bergen Tea Party meeting. The speaker discussed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) which New Jersey joined in 2007. This program is a cap and trade system for limiting carbon dioxide emissions. It requires owners of coal, oil, and natural gas power plants to buy emission permits for every ton of carbon dioxide that they release into the air. The State of New Jersey collected $65 million through RGGI in 2009. Rather than use these funds on carbon sequestering programs, Governor Christie put them into the general state coffers. RGGI raises energy prices to fund our government's fiscal irresponsibility. It is time for New Jersey to withdraw from RGGI.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
|
|
|
Atlas Shrugged Coproducer, Harman Karslow with NJLP Chair Jay Edgar and his daughter at the NYC Premiere |
This past week I got a phone call from screenplay writer, Brian O'Toole, inviting me to the New York City Premiere of Atlas Shrugged, Part 1. On Thursday, my daughter and I traveled into the city to view the movie.
Originally published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged is about the struggle of the productive class against a society that uses politics to limit the success of the productive for the benefit of those who are less capable. Communist laws such as the "Equalization of Opportunity Bill" force capable businessmen, engineers, scientists, and industrialists to withdraw from the system. The parasitic classes no longer have productive elements on which to feed. The "strike" forces society to fall apart.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Whenever there is an argument about cutting spending and cutting the deficit, often times there will be those voices that will claim that the supporters are hurting a segment of the population, hurting children, hurting workers, etc, or engage in the fine art of denial. Recently, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) claimed that by cutting spending for things like public television, supporters wanted to hurt Elmo and Big Bird. In Wisconsin, there are protesters that are saying that by cutting spending deeply, it is tantamount to Nazism. Some people, like propagandist filmmaker Michael Moore, are even claiming that there is no budget crisis and that states and the federal government have tons of money available. All in all, when you hear the opponents of debt reduction and spending restraints talk, it is not only comical but tragic as well. It is as if they are alcoholics and drug addicts who do not want to admit that they have a problem.
States like New Jersey, Wisconsin, Florida, New York and others are facing big budget and state deficits; the federal government’s national debt is at $14 trillion and counting. Painful choices will have to be made and the days where we lived in blindness are very much over. This nation has to face reality, and while reality is not pretty, it is better than living in denial.
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
Yesterday, Judge Andrew Napolitano discussed Julian Heicklen's FIJA demonstrations, arrests, and harassment on yesterday's Freedom Watch Show. See the Freedom Watch website for watch the Judge's comments. The good Judge also includes comments on the First Amendment issues like campaign speech laws and the suit against the Westboro Baptist church of racism as it pertains to freedom of speech.
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
The Institute for Humane Studies produced a two-minute video featuring Harvard Professor Jeffrey A. Miron.
The video, "What it means to be a libertarian" does an excellent job explaining the difference between libertarians, conservatives, and liberals.
Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in economics at Harvard University. He blogs at http://jeffreymiron.com and is the author of Libertarianism, From A to Z.
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
Donald Trump was recently interviewed by Rush Limbaugh. During the interview Trump demanded isolationist foreign economic policies like huge tariffs. Professor Donald Boudreaux responded via an open letter on Cafe Hayek:
Mr. Rush Limbaugh
EIB Network
New York, NYDear Mr. Limbaugh:
During your radio interview yesterday of Donald Trump, you missed several opportunities to ask probing questions – questions that would have exposed the sheer ignorance that underlies The Donald’s economic pronouncements. For example:
- “Donald, you say that America ‘doesn’t make things any more.’ Are you unaware that, in 2009 (the latest year for which we have data), the value of U.S. manufacturing output was nearly 30 percent higher than that of China, the world’s second-ranking country in terms of manufactured output?”