Racism and Brutality on N.J. Highways.

Richard G. Jones, "Convicted Former Detective Sues Over State Police Stop," The New York Times, December 13, 2006, at p. B5. (The "conviction" alluded to in this newspaper title is for a traffic offense.)

New Jersey has a history of enforcing an unwritten criminal offense "DWB," driving while black. It is well-understood that any African-American driver in a late model automobile is, for that reason alone, suspicious (or a source of envy) to cops, who will find an excuse to stop the person and may even physically assault or otherwise brutalize the victim, then come up with a framed-up "charge" against him or her that will serve to excuse the cops' crimes. This sort of incident probably takes place every day somewhere in New Jersey. "Negro" drivers will probably be deemed "unethical" persons per se. ("America's Holocaust.")

Some people have even been brutalized for years in subtle ways by powerful persons in New Jersey, who often experience almost a sick sexual thrill from violating others. Diana? Rape and physical assault of persons under custody is not unusual. This reality is known to the state's highest court, which does nothing to halt the abuse. Rape, cybercrime, theft, and worse crimes are permitted to New Jersey's agents of law enforcement over decades against politically chosen targets. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")

A number of Jews served as Nazi informers, assisting in the execution of fellow Jews. Similarly, some minority members will, happily, lend themselves to legitimating such loathsome actions in exchange for professional and financial rewards. Albio Sires? Senator Bob? John McGill? Mr. Padilla in Hackensack? Anybody want an Orio cookie? I am dismayed to discover that many such persons are Cuban-Americans or Latinos. Anthony M. Suarez, Esq.?

"TRENTON, Dec. 12 -- A former New Jersey police detective has filed a lawsuit accusing two New Jersey State Police troopers of punching him, improperly drawing a weapon and using excessive force during a traffic stop more than two years ago on the Garden State Parkway."

"Videotape from a camera mounted on the dashboard of a state police patrol car showed that within moments of stopping the vehicle, on Aug. 17, 2004, the troopers had ordered the detective, at gunpoint, to produce his license and registration, unbuckled his seat belt and removed him from the car."

"It showed one trooper hitting the detective in the BACK of the head before the other shoved him to the ground, where he was doused with pepper spray and handcuffed. "

"The detective Gary S. Wade, who worked for the Police Department in Tinton Falls, N.J., for eight years, was driving an unmarked police car and wearing his badge on his belt."

This sort of brutality is a routine aspect of N.J. police encounters with minority group members. Legitimation is achieved through contrived charges for traffic offenses ("careless driving"), which are heard in kangaroo courts established in each New Jersey municipality. Detective Wade was "convicted" of "careless driving" and fired. Hackensack's Ken Zisa makes use of such administrative charges as intimidation tactics, allegedly.

I am not surprised that Jersey City's Mayor Healy was "convicted" in such a proceeding in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. Honest politicians are dangerous in the Garden State. I believe that Mumia Abu-Jamal was the victim of a partly bungled police frame-up in south Jersey or Philly. Assatta Shakur was probably subjected to similar experiences.

I wonder whether Detective Wade wore his seat belt at all times? I guess he must have.

Subject to political and other influences, judges in such municipal courts are really more like clerks, whose job is to raise revenues for the town by finding everyone guilty -- revenues that can then be split up among the various crooks wielding power in local political power-structures, usually with a "big boss" on top.

I wonder how Senator Menendez is doing these days? I wish him luck with that Grand Jury matter. Is it several Grand Juries? Or only one? Probably too soon to tell.

Only when a member of the political in-group is charged with an offense will an aquittal be likely. "You gotta take care of Joey," a judge will be told, "he beat up some guy." This is usually followed by a low chuckle from a cigar-smoking politico. "Geez. Them guys, I dunno know. Whatta-ya-gonna-do?" Ken Zisa?

This minority police officer, Mr. Wade, lost his job and has had his life destroyed because he will not accept what was done to him. I don't blame him. I wouldn't either -- and I don't.

"I just look at it like a bad dream," Mr. Wade, 33, said in an interview on Tuesday night. "I was treated wrongly here on this side of the road for no reason whatsoever. At that point, it made me feel like: if they're treating police officers like this, in uniform, what is going on in the state police?"

Terrorists in New Jersey -- Besides the Ones in Government.

I am unable to post new items at my msn group. I will struggle to continue posting essays here. Numerous posts have been damaged or destroyed over the past few days, both here and at my msn group. I will continue to struggle to make repairs and corrections.

New Jersey's Supreme Court Justices must face themselves in the mirror and wonder what they have become? I know the rest of us certainly do: We wonder how people so covered in their own feces can comment on the cleanliness of others, while wearing black robes of office and such charming smiles.

David Kociniewski, "6 Men Arrested In a Terror Plot Against Fort Dix," The New York Times, May 9, 2007, at p. A1.

"CAMDEN, N.J. -- Six Muslim men from New Jersey and Philadelphia were charged on Tuesday with plotting to attack Fort Dix with automatic weapons and possibly even rocket-propelled grenades, vowing in taped conversations 'to kill as many soldiers as possible,' federal authorities said."

I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about taped conversations soon.

It would have to be federal authorities halting this plot because New Jersey's own ace prosecutor, Stuart Rabner, "demurred." Good old Stu is busy looking into the issue of smoking in public places. Hence, the feds in Newark -- with half the personnel of New Jersey's AG/OAE -- lead the nation in political corruption convictions against officials in the most crime-infested, inept, corrupt and sold-out political and legal system in the country, in a territory which leads the country in chemically-induced cancers resulting from unprosecuted illegal pollution.

New Jersey welcomes terrorists with open arms -- as long as they've got cash to bribe public officials and judges -- especially in Camden and Hudson.

"The arrests came after a 15-month investigation during which the FBI and two informers who had infiltrated the group taped them training with automatic weapons in [the] rural [countryside]. ..."

New Jersey is perfect territory for would-be terrorists. Police and state officials are incompetent or sold-out -- sometimes both on a good day! -- and the court system is a joke. Driver's licenses, official records and identifications are for sale, including U.S. birth certificates, usually from public officials in local courthouses or the county clubhouses.

Federal resources should be committed to the struggle against corruption, incompetence and organized crime's infiltration of government in the Garden State, since the situation has now reached levels of criminality where national security is endangered.

It isn't simply that New Jersey is a national and international joke about "Sopranos"-like criminality among judges and other officials, but that the so-called "war on terror" is endangered by the grotesque caricature of American government thriving in Trenton and the state's notorious feces-covered courts.

New Jersey law enforcement has chosen to concentrate on whether Mr. Corzine wore a safety belt in his Chevrolet Suburban when involved in a recent car accident.

Call the feds if you can help put a stop to New Jersey corruption.

Political Skullduggery in Trenton Over Budget Battle.

A lot of computer harassment today makes writing difficult. The following essay should be sufficient explanation for these familiar developments.

Ronald Smothers, "In a Return to Normal in Trenton, Sniping Over Ethics in Budgeting," in The New York Times, May 6, 2007, at p. 38.
David W. Chen, "Corzine Plans to Resume His Duties Tomorrow, 25 Days After Crash," in The New York Times, May 6, 2007, at p. 39.


It is alleged by some that the motive for any attempt against Corzine or the undisguised delight on the part of many of his fellow Democrats after his recent accident had to do with the upcoming budget battle and expected indictments by federal prosecutors of numerous New Jersey machine politicians. Two billions dollars have been "misplaced" in budget calculations. New Jersey is painfully "short," financially speaking. Yes, that is 2 BILLION guacamoles.

The Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court faces mandatory retirement on June 17. The Jersey Boys are dreading the possibility that someone outside their "family-like" group will be appointed to that office. The goal, allegedly, was to keep Corzine out of the picture until after the budget "shenanigans" and appointment of a new Chief Justice. Perhaps Wayne R. Bryant might head the court. Good old Wayne takes care of his friends. "Just let us wet our beaks a little," the Jersey Boys say.

An honest or competent person in charge of New Jersey's judiciary would be highly dangerous to "their" interests. Luckily for the Trenton Syndicate, this possibility has always been remote in the past. With Corzine returning to office today, such a thing might actually happen.

"Honest judges in Jersey? Nah ... Wadda-ya-kidding? Badda-bing, badda-boom."

"TRENTON, May 4 -- On both sides of the political divide, Gov. Jon S. Corzine's life-threatening injuries from his traffic accident three weeks ago seemed to suck much of the energy from the everyday political battles here -- except for a few stray elbows thrown among the staffs of the governor and his stand-in, Senate President Richard J. Cody."

I have attached a safety belt to every seat in my home, including my toilet.

See what I mean? Corzine's people did not take kindly to the smear campaign against their boss while he was incapacitated, a campaign which was allegedly orchestrated by "fellow-Democrat" Richard J. Cody. Questions have been raised concerning the shifting facts in the story about the Ford pickup truck that turned out to be a Dodge Ram, allegedly, or the hyping on the lack of a seatbelt, while downplaying the causal factors in the accident: careless driving either by a state trooper or by another driver, not by Corzine. Hints that Corzine was not competent or never remained in the state on the weekends were salt on Corzine's wounds and offensive to many citizens, regardless of party affiliation.

If only they can get a picture of Corzine with a woman wearing a beret, they'd have it made.

"If accusations of Christmas tree spending sound familiar, it may be because such charges are at the heart of an investigation by the United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, into possible corruption."

"The subpoenas served by Mr. Christie on legislative offices, however, indicate that he is looking only at items inserted in the budget after 2004, when Democrats controlled the Legislature. Republican lawmakers have taken great pleasure in pointing to those subpoenas as evidence of what they say is ethical bankruptcy among their Democratic colleagues."

The smear campaign against Christopher Christie to one side -- Mr. Christie is an "equal opportunity corruption buster," as Republicans in Monmouth County discovered -- this limitation of the inquiry may be only a result of scarce resources. No help from the N.J. Attorney General is likely to be forthcoming. Stuart Rabner continues to "demur." Needless to say, Mr. Rabner is a leading candidate to be appointed as new Chief Justice upon Mr. Zazzali's forthcoming retirement from the bench. Hey, let's send Zazzali a fruit basket. Whatta-ya--say?

The smears against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may not be entirely unrelated to these events. Every U.S. president seeks to appoint U.S. attorneys whose politics are compatible with his or her own. Persons tend not to be shocked at the allegation that politics entered into the decision to fire U.S. attorneys, which is wrong and inexcusable.

When a Democrat is in the White House the same political firings will occur in a more subtle form. People will use code words to get rid of those suspected of disloyalty to any Administration's agenda. The struggle for legal independence is unending. The best policy is to do what Mr. Christie is doing: be very effective at getting important convictions, regardless of politics, and you are sure to be reappointed.

Bluster among the Jersey Boys has led to the confident pronouncement from Roberts and Cody that it's all "business as usual." Whenever you hear that from Jersey politicians, hang on to your wallet.

"Mr. Corzine said that before the crash, he was not aware of the vehicle's speed because he was working on some papers."

" ... 'I was engrossed in that which I typically am, sending off a to-do list to whoever I happened to be picking on at that moment, and editing papers,' he said, 'I trust the people who are driving the car, so I wasn't paying attention to what [the driver] was doing.' ..."

Trust in people around him may be unwise in Trenton. Mr. Corzine may wish to hire some personal bodyguards and to avoid prolonged visits to the Camden Area in the future. This time it was Corzine. Who will be the next target of the Jersey Boys? A federal prosecutor? An honest judge? You? Me?

The Jersey Boys Are Up to No Good Again!

Hackers have inserted errors into a number of these posts. I will continue to make corrections on a daily basis. Somebody does not want people paying too much attention to what goes on in New Jersey with your tax dollars. I wonder why? A New Jersey government committee has been established to investigate the Corzine accident and aftermath, a committee which will include former Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R).

"Trenton: Panel will review legislator's conduct: A legislative ethics panel yesterday agreed to investigate whether a state assemblyman from Hudson County violated conflict-of-interest laws when state grant money was given to a day care program headed by his estranged wife. Assemblyman BRIAN STACK, a Democrat, who is also the mayor of Union City, said he welcomed an investigation by the Legislative Ethics Committee. Mr. Stack's wife, Katia, heads Union City Day Care, which has received at least two $100,000 state grants in recent years."

The New York Times, May 4, 2007, at p. B6.

"Newark: New Lawyer for Medical School: The embattled University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey [from which 100 MILLION DOLLARS disappeared over the past few years!] has hired a new general counsel, Lester Aron. Mr. Aron is a member of the Newark law firm Sills, Cummis, Epstein & Gross. He represents about three dozen New Jersey school districts and serves as a trustee of Kean University, [a very fine institution.] Mr. Aron replaces Vivian Sanks King, who resigned in 2005. A federal monitor is overseeing the operations of the university under an agreement with the United States attorney's office that allowed the school to avoid federal prosecution for medicaid fraud. The monitor criticized the university in July for its delay in hiring a new general counsel."

Now if they can only do something about improving the facade of the new building at Seton Hall University School of Law, there might be some hope for higher education in New Jersey. (The school is great, but the new building's architecture is best classified as "nondescript.")

"Newark: Postal Official Admits Theft: The former postmaster of Dover pleaded guilty yesterday in Federal District Court to misusing more than $10,000 in Postal Service funds, federal prosecutors said. [The Jersey Boys like to have somebody in the post office who can provide them with access to mail or their enemies' personal information.] The postmaster, PHILIP J. HALL, 51 of East Orange, admitted that he had a postal worker do five weeks of carpentry work at the home of his ex-wife while the worker was on postal service time. Mr. Hall also said he allowed five employees to donate vacation time to his ex-wife, and then falsified their attendance records to show that they were working at times when they were not on duty. As a result, his ex-wife -- who is also a postal worker -- got an extra two months of leave, he admitted. He also admitted taking cash in exchange for steering business to a contractor."

The New York Times, at p. B6.

Call the feds if you can help to end the disgusting corruption in New Jersey government and courts.

Attacks and Smears Against Corzine Continue!

David W. Chen, "The Governor Of New Jersey Often Wasn't In New Jersey," in The New York Times, April 29, 2007, at p. B29.


With Mr. Corzine's return to Trenton, attacks against him -- disseminated by media friends or employees of the Jersey Boys -- are increasing in intensity and viciousness. Mr. Corzine's trips outside the state are now being subjected to scrutiny. Zulima Farber's experiences are pleasant by comparison. Recently Corzine was depicted dancing with a woman with whom he was "involved" for some reason. What Corzine does with his own money or the history of his relationships is an irrelevant distraction from the crimes committed by the Trenton Syndicate.

Corzine is accused of "escaping" the Garden State (for which I would not blame him). Actually, it is well-settled that a person with "reasonable fear" for his physical safety has every right to depart a jurisdiction under the doctrine of "necessity." No one is required to return to a torture chamber or to make himself available for assassination.

Given the mysterious habits of drivers of red pickup trucks -- and some state troopers -- Mr. Corzine would do well to stay off the roads in New Jersey for a while, also to hire his own bodyguards and keep his back to the wall at all times. Don't eat any lunch brought to you by Richard J. Codey, Jon.

I wonder if Corzine regrets leaving the U.S. Senate? I suspect so.

In addition to threatening a victim's physical safety, the Trenton Syndicate likes to have underlings (or hirelings) file grievances or complaints -- even preparing them, sometimes, for "complainants" who often cannot even read them -- against those they target for destruction. Attacks against Mr. Corzine will always come while his back is turned. Preferably, from someone who calls himself a supporter or "friend" of the Governor. This is yet another reason for Mr. Corzine to be wary of remaining in New Jersey unprotected.

New Jersey's swamplands have been known to contain more than one corpse floating by on pleasant summer evenings, adding to that punget odor of ethical rot for which the state's swamps and the "Old Raritan" are justly famous. Many such corpses were once popular politicians in the state, but are now only victims of New Jersey's rough political tradition of mob dominance of government and the judiciary. "Hey, they had it coming ..." the Jersey Boys say.

Meanwhile, as politicians scheme to destroy one another's lives, GM has fallen behind in global car sales for the first time in 75 years to Japan's leading automaker, Toyota. Global pollution rates are reaching dangerous levels -- and nowhere more so than in New Jersey's "cancer alley" -- while technology and science students are increasingly recruited from other countries, for the same reason corporations hire foreign workers over Americans in high tech jobs: education levels are better and so is performance in many places outside the United States. Ireland, for example, is the destination of choice for insurance companies and high tech industries looking for a well-educated work force at reasonable rates. Also, Iraq is less than a glowing success for the U.S. government. Headlines focus on alleged love affairs between governors and union leaders. Who cares? I don't.

Rather than admitting errors -- or even crimes -- "ass covering" operations designed to conceal atrocities and obvious bungling are the tired responses of old school, machine politicians in places like New Jersey. This is usually combined with character assassination "attempts" against critics in the mass media and rival politicians. The results for the state and country are not good.

"How the hell are ya?" Trenton's politicians ask, with a greasy hand extended and a capped-toothed smile, reeking of insincerity and halitosis.

Isn't it time to do the right thing? Get well soon Governor Corzine.

More Shenanigans in New Jersey!

Today I have experienced many difficulties in doing my work. This makes me more determined to continue writing and struggling.

Ronald Smothers, "Senator's Trial Set for 2008 In Fraud Case In New Jersey," in The New York Times, April 10, 2007, at p. B8.
"Trenton: McGreevey Seeks Joint Custody," The New York Times, April 10, 2007, at p. B8.

"TRENTON, April 9 -- State Senator Wayne R. Bryant pleaded not guilty [irony?] on Monday to federal fraud and corruption charges and then waved his right to a trial within 70 days, setting the stage for a trial to be held next year."

"Mr. Bryant, 59, who was named in a 20-count indictment on March 29 after a nearly yearlong investigation by federal prosecutors, entered his plea in United States District Court here before Judge Freda L. Wolfson."

"His co-defendant in the case, Dr. R. Michael Gallagher, former dean [sic.] of the school of osteopathy at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, also pleaded not guilty [sense of humor?] in the 20-minute court hearing."

There is much speculation that recent news accounts of an alleged "sexual payoff system" for New Jersey officials -- possibly including judges and "justices" -- may be linked to Dr. Gallagher's activities. If true, this suggests that taxpayers in New Jersey were financing Dr. Ghallager's sexual habits, along with his hotel rooms and thousand-dollar wine bottles, also allegedly.

No wonder you can't build a high school in New Brunswick for $187 million -- there's just not enough corruption involved -- what with the increased cost of cement and all. No matter how many moronic obstructions or harassments I deal with to write and post these essays, I will continue to say these things.

These politicians' "shenanigans" can neither be confirmed nor denied by anyone, anywhere -- at any time. Rumors swirling in the dark corners of Trenton concern alleged "secret" cooperation on the part of Mr. Bryant with federal authorities that may result in an offer to Mr. Bryant (through his counsel) of a plea to lesser charges -- say, "urinating on the sidewalk" -- in exchange for information concerning some of Bryant's former political associates and, allegedly, "partners in crime." This is neither known nor unknown at this time, to the best of anyone's knowledge or recollection, except for those who do know but are not telling -- yet.

I wonder what, if anything, Mr. Bryant can tell the feds about Senator Bob?

Shady characters in Camden County (are there any other kind?) have been losing sleep lately. Since most of Camden County's political community is on the, shall we say, "shady side of politics," this has resulted in a dramatic increase in the sale of sleep medication in south Jersey. Hudson County is next, so there has been an increase in the sale of rosary beads in Union City.

We have to wonder why it is minorities that seem to be turned over to federal authorities when the heat rises in Trenton. Bryant, Senator Bob, unfavorable news reports concerning Sharpe James -- are all of these accounts merely distractions from the activities of "others" in Trenton? I wonder what Speaker Roberts and his behind-the-scenes "friends" (or Senator Richard J. Cody) are up to these days? They look a little nervous for some reason. Why are they keeping their distance from Mr. Bryant all of a sudden? I wonder if my difficulties accessing my group this morning are related to these news accounts?

"In all, Mr. Bryant was being paid about $175,000 a year for his government jobs, including his $49,000 salary in the State Legislature. The indictment charges that he used the three positions to artificially boost his state pension to $81,000 a year from $28,000."

Extensions of time this early in the litigation process suggests that "creative bargaining" is underway.

"Former Governor James E. McGreevey, who resigned in 2004 after anouncing that he was gay, is seeking joint custody of his five-year-old daughter and is seeking to bar her from accompanying his estranged wife on a tour to promote her book. In court papers filed on Thursday in State Superior Court, Mr. McGreevey also asks the court to ensure that he is not cut off from his child, Jacqueline, because of the 'seemingly irrational fears' of his estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, about his sexual orientation. A lawyer for Ms. Matos McGreevey, John N. Post, did not return telephone or e-mail messages for comment. Ms. Matos McGreevey's tell-all book about their marriage is scheduled to be released on May 1."

There are those who say that Ms. Matos McGreevey's concern is not with Mr. McGreevey's current sexual preference, but with his (alleged) shady associations with New Jersey's somewhat sinister, allegedly, "political operatives." This is neither confirmed nor denied by the Times reporter. No one wishes to have a child associate with mobsters.

The best is yet to come. Allegedly.

New Jersey Forced to Divert Billions Endangering Pension Fund.

Mary Williams Walsh, "New Jersey Diverts Billions Endangering Pension Fund," in The New York Times, April 4, 2007, at p. A1.
Ronald Smothers, "With Corzine's Signature, Taxpayers' Burden Lightens," in The New York Times, April 4, 2007, at p. B3.
David W. Chen & Jo Craven McGinty, "Senators' Pensions Draw Fire in Trenton," in The New York Times, April 4, 2007, at p. B5.
Richard G. Jones, "New Jersey Lawmaker Makes First Court Appearance on Fraud Charges," in The New York Times, April 4, 2007, at p. B5.
Winnie Hu, "$187 Million Public School, Under a Cloud in New Jersey," in The New York Times, April 8, 2007, at p. B27.

"In 2005, New Jersey put either $551 million, $56 million or nothing into its pension fund for teachers. All three figures appeared in various state documents -- though the state now says that the actual amount was zero."

That's probably because the $551 million that should have gone into the account, or which they "mistakenly" listed as in the account, was split up among a bunch of hoodlums through several intermediary entities created to "address social issues" -- like who's getting a new Mercedes Benz and an addition to the house at taxpayers' expense.

If you were to empty the prisons in New Jersey and put the politicians in jail, then let the inmates run the state, you'd probably get better and more honest government. The inmates would feel obligated to leave something for the people. The politicians in New Jersey are greedier -- they steal everything.

These shenanigans take place in a state where kids shoplifiting merchandise worth one hundred dollars, routinely, are sent to jail. Preferably, by a minority group member appointed to the "bench" and proud of it, who will lend him- or herself to the dirty work in order "to show we're tough on crime." Isn't it time to get tough on New Jersey politicians' crimes? I think so.

None of these public officials -- until recently -- have been arrested for, say, drawing five salaries and seeking inflated pensions from a pension fund that has been "played with" for years by the organized crime family that really runs the state and its feces-smeared courts, where moronic judges are obsessed with procedural niceties -- as politicians and/or criminals steal everything -- so that judges may depart the judicial bench in their undergarments, but wearing a lovely corsage and smiling for newspaper cameras. (See "Is New Jersey Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz unethical or only incompetent?") An "error" was inserted in this sentence since my last reading of this essay. I have now corrected it.

"The phantom contribution is just one indication that New Jersey has been diverting billions of dollars from its pension fund for state and local workers into other [alleged] 'government' purposes over the last fifteen years, using a variety of unorthodox transactions authorized by the Legislature and by governors from both political parties."

It's mostly the Democrats -- who are Democrats in name only! -- that you have to worry about in New Jersey. If you criticize them, they just change the subject: "How about Bush and the war in Iraq?" Then they go on stealing and trying to silence Internet critics or inconvenient journalists by hacking into their pages and deleting letters from written texts. New Jersey Democrats have cybercriminals on staff to discourage criticism on-line.

"The state has long acknowledged that it has been putting less money into the pension fund than it should. But an analysis of its records by The New York Times [sic.] shows that in many cases, New Jersey has overstated even what it has claimed to be contributing, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars."

"The discrepancies raise questions about how much money is really in the New Jersey pension fund, which industry statistics show to be the ninth largest in the nation's public sector, with reported assets of $79 billion."

How much of that money really is "available" is anybody's guess. $46 BILLION "short" in March, 2010.

"... examination of New Jersey's pension fund showed that officials have taken questionable steps again and again. The state recorded investment gains immediately when the markets were up, for instance, then delayed recording losses when the markets were down. It reported money to pay for health care costs as contributions to the health care fund, though that money would soon flow out of the fund. It claimed it had 'excess' assets that allowed it to divert required pension contributions to other uses, like providing financial assistance to poor school districts."

Financial assistance really went to the politicians. The best financial assistance New jersey politicians can give the people of the state is for them to emigrate to another country. Let's send them to Iraq, so they can help with the war effort and show their patriotism while still criticizing Bush.

"... At least 5 of the 12 retiring [N.J.] senators have held other government jobs at the same time as their legislative posts, which currently pay $49,000 a year -- potentially qualifying them for additional pension pay."

Multiple pensions for politicians as the system faces a financial crisis. Makes sense, right?

"The most prominent is Sen. Wayne R. Bryant, a Camden County Democrat, who on Tuesday appeared for the first time in Federal District Court ... to face corruption charges. One of the charges is that he stockpiled government jobs requiring little or no work over the past three years to increase his pension to about $81,000 from $28,000."

This is in addition to his other pensions. Ethics? Mr. Bryant was beloved for years by the OAE. Is the OAE incompetent or corrupt? Most lawyers say "a little of both."

"Holding multiple government jobs is hardly uncommon in New Jersey, with its patchwork of municipal and county governments, school districts and regional authorities. And the total fiscal impact of those multiple pensions is miniscule [not to those receiving them or the citizens paying for them!] compared with the system's multibillion-dollar shortfall [SHORTFALL INDEED -- it's more like a BIG FALL!] which stems from a dearth of state contributions coupled with some questionable financial practices over the past decade."

O.K., kids. Can you say "CORRUPTION"? Yes, good. You can be a New Jersey Legislator or state Supreme Court Justice!

"... making his first public appearance since being indicted last week, Mr. Bryant said little during a 15-minute hearing before United States Magistrate Judge John J. Hughes to formalize the beginning of the federal case."

"Even as Mr. Bryant was leaving the courtroom a group of longtime friends and colleagues announced that they were planning a public show of support."

Poor people, especially African-Americans, are most hurt by the blatant criminality of many New Jersey public officials. Elected officials "representing their interests" -- between stealing sprees -- should not be fighting these efforts to reform the system. They should be helping to clean things up.

$187 MILLION and they can't finish building a high school in New Brunswick. After spending that much money, they have nothing to show for it in New Brunswick. For close to that amount of money, Trump can build a casino and hotel in Atlantic City. That's because $181 million in tax money is probably stolen, only the remaining $7 million goes towards building the school. Take that $181 million and pay it out to New Jersey teachers as a bonus. Then purchase an old building and refurbish it with the remaining $7 million. You'll have happy teachers, a new high school, and money left over.

For years, none of this questionable activity created an interest in Mr. Bryant on the part of New Jersey's tainted OAE, although Mr. Bryant is an attorney. So is Senator Bob, whose fate is still in the hands of a Grand Jury that must be hearing a lot of stuff since it is taking months and months of "factual presentation" and they have yet to reach a decision. Ethics? You're joking, right? New Jersey doesn't have any ethics. The legal culture of the state is a sewer. When you flush America's legal toilet, the refuse flows into New Jersey's legislature and courts. ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "New Jersey is the Home of the Living Dead.")

If you really want to ask some tough questions, how about these: Why is the lightning falling on Mr. Bryant? Why was he selected (or set up) to take the hit, while others in New Jersey politics who are probably WORSE than him are sitting this one out from behind the scenes -- probably after having secretly informed against Mr. Bryant to divert attention from their own thievery. "Freudian slip, Richard?"

Who are the other big bosses in Camden County again?

I wonder what other prominent politicians in New Jersey have "borrowed" through intermediaries, say family members working for non-profit entities receiving millions in public money and paying hundreds of thousands in "consulting fees" to political spouses for "tips" on where to put the coffee machine. Senator Bob, are you getting nervous? Inserting a spelling "error" in these essays is not much of a response, boys. Try inserting another "error."

Talk of property tax cuts is a joke under these circumstances. The money to cover-up these shenanigans will have to come from somewhere. Guess who's going to pay for these little "peccadillos" and "skullduggery"? That's right, YOU. Can anybody spell the word: "CHUMPS"? That's right, boys and girls, New Jersey's taxpayers are "chumps" -- according to the Jersey Boys, who should know. Do not remain silent about this disgusting criminality among elected officials, judges and "justices" in New Jersey. Hey, how about another inserted "error," Mr. Rabner? ("Stuart Rabner and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")

"Welcome to the Garden State!"