"Town Hall" in Irvington - ALL are welcome

For those of you lucky enough to be unemployed, or have the day off Thursday, Governor Chris Christie will be holding another one of his taxpayer funded partisan pep rallies "Town Hall" meetings, at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, Essex County.

If you go:
WHERE: Christian Love Baptist Church
                830 Lyons Ave.
                Irvington NJ 07111
WHEN: Thursday, January 19, Doors open at 9:30AM. Event begins at 10:30AM
RSVP by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/8yjoemc

Below is a screen shot from the Christian Love Baptist Church website. No Comment:

Elections Matter

They certainly matter to NJ Governor Chris Christie, who took a special interest in the election for State Senate in the 8th Legislative District, in which Olympic Gold Medalist and Willingboro native Carl Lewis had plans to run as a Democrat.

Now, it is hardly breaking news that the Governor is a petty, vindictive bully. By the time Lewis formally announced his candidacy on April 11, calling Christie a "good friend", Christie's plan to derail Lewis' candidacy was well underway, and the fate of the campaign had been all but sealed.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Christie sent one of his young thugs after Lewis, in a series of "increasingly tense phone calls", marked by attempted intimidation and implied threats:

(H)e received the first of increasingly tense phone calls from Frank Luna, a veteran political operative who performs constituent services for the governor.

Luna asked Walker, executive director of the Carl Lewis Foundation, whether Lewis was running for the Eighth District Senate seat. According to Walker, Luna told him: "The governor is concerned."

The two spoke daily the next two days, and on April 9, Walker said, Luna told him "the governor is very upset and disappointed, and Carl would be embarrassing himself by running."

Walker said that in that April 9 conversation, Luna told him, "How can you expect the governor to work hand-in-hand with Carl when Carl is working against him? You can forget about this program."

Christie and Lewis spoke April 10.

Christie knew that, should Lewis decide to declare anyway, the Republicans would challenge Lewis' NJ residency in court, and if the court punted, he could count on Lt Governor / Secretary of State Kim Guadagno to pull a Katherine Harris and rule against Lewis,

We get the government we deserve. For those Democrats who were disappointed with the Corzine campaign and decided to stay home in November 2009, or worse, voted for Christie thinking "how bad can he be?", consider this: It could have been Loretta Weinberg making the decision on Carl Lewis' eligibility to run in NJ.While we cannot know for sure how a Secretary of State Weinberg would have ruled, we can be reasonably sure that, stateswoman that she is, she would have given careful consideration to the facts of the case and ruled as Secretary of State, not as the Governor's sock puppet.

To paraphrase Bill Clinton: if you don't vote, you are, in fact, voting for the person you don't want. Let's not let that happen again.

Get out and vote today if your school district is holding elections today.

Get out and vote in November. We need a Democratic majority in the Legislature to hold this out-of-control Governor in check.

Remember, elections matter.
 

An Open Letter to NJ Assemblyman Paul Moriarty - Has Governor Christie Violated Election Laws?

The Honorable Paul D. Moriarty
NJ State Assemblyman, Legislative District #4
129 Johnson Road
Suite 1
Turnersville, NJ 08012

Dear Mr. Moriarty:

As a citizen and taxpayer in the State of New Jersey, I applaud your recent remarks criticizing Governor Chris Christie for his partisan political rallies, masquerading as "Town Hall" meetings, at taxpayer expense. I am proud to be represented by such a dedicated public servant, looking out for the best interests of the citizens of New Jersey.

You stated:

These are taxpayer-funded events organized and promoted by the taxpayer-funded governor’s office. If the governor sticks to public policy, that’s fine. But if the governor wants to campaign, he must dip into his own wallet.

I agree with you 100%

These so-called “Town Hall” meetings are, in fact, political rallies to benefit the Governor’s political agenda, characterized by:

• The events are purportedly open to the public, but appear to be planned in stealth and supporters are notified in advance. Public notice is typically two days before the event.
• It appears the non-supporters have been identified and purged from the Governor’s email list.
• The events are always held during the day, on a weekday, making it difficult or impossible for working people to attend, and all but ensuring a homogenous pro-Christie crowd.
• Governor Christie has in the past used the Q&A section of the events to rudely berate constituents who do not agree with him, for the benefit of his taxpayer funded YouTube channel. This practice has recently subsided in favor of Q&A involving what appear to be planted questioners lobbing softballs, again to be promoted on the Governor’s taxpayer-funded YouTube channel.
• The Governor typically makes a show of referring at least one of the questioners to his Constituent Relations staffer to make the event appear to be non-political.
• His most recent egregious partisan move at a “town hall” was to conscript a group of students from St. James School in Woodbridge to support passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, a proposed school voucher program. The students appeared wearing t-shirts supporting the Act.

In light of the above, and other examples not listed of which you are certainly aware, I respectfully request that you initiate in the Assembly, hearings and investigations of possible violations of the Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1, the Personal Financial Disclosure Act, N.J.S.A. 19:44B-1, and the Legislative and Governmental Processes Activities Disclosure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:13C-18, for the purposes of filing a complaint with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission ("ELEC") on behalf of the taxpayers of New Jersey.

Thank you for considering this request and your consistent excellent service to your constituents in the 4^th Legislative District.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jeffrey R. Pickens

Where's The Outrage?

 I know, I just asked for a moratoium on press coverage of Chris Christie's sham "Town Hall" meetings, which are really campaign rallies in disguise funded by NJ's taxpayers. But if you're going to spill any ink (or megabytes) on it, at least report on something of substance.

Here is what passes for journalism in the non-blog section of the Asbury Park Press: 

McGreevey's dad steals show at Christie town hall

And in the Star-Ledger:

Former Gov. McGreevey's father quizzes Christie on 'hot and sexy' comment

Thank goodness for  John Schoonejongen of the APP's Capitol Quickies blog, who at least reported on Christie's remarks about pension elimination "reform", along with this nugget:

...a group of about two dozen students from St. James School in Woodbridge — there to support passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, a proposed school voucher program — were part of the background.

Twenty-four students pulled from school, to lobby for public subsidizing of parochial schools? Why weren't these kids in school? Are these kids "drug mules" as well?

Remember the right-wing outrage over President Obama's televised back-to-school address to students? Where's the outrage here?

In the meantime, there is quite a lively discussion going on in the comments section of Capitol Quickies, over pensions and the like.

Enjoy.

Town Hall, Shmown Hall - Chris Christie's Taxpayer Funded Political Rallies

How about a moratorium on reporting on Governor Christie's so-called "town hall meetings" until one or more is held in the evening or on a weekend, when working people can attend? Now, if you are not on the Governor's coveted mailing list, you must scour the news websites for announcements, which typically come out with 1-2 days notice. By then, the Faithful have already been tipped off, and can make arrangements to attend, while the rest of us must either miss the event due to work, or jeopardize our jobs by calling in sick. There is a "town hall" scheduled for Woodbridge Tuesday morning. NJ.com dutifully announced the event on Thursday but managed to leave out the date and location. This has since been corrected in later versions of the post.

I have been to one of these, and from what I witnessed and have read about subsequent town hall meetings, they are routine, the same tired stories. The same script.

The Governor approaches the stage to wild applause, talks about "reform" (since when did "reform" become a synonym for "dismantling"?), blasts the usual scapegoats, the Legislature, public workers, and reminds us that his beef is not with teachers but the NJEA.

Then comes the Q&A, which may result in a "YouTube" moment, followed by his closing remarks, a heart-wrenching story about visiting his cancer-stricken mother on her deathbed, where she tells him to get back to work because "there's nothing left unsaid between us". Every town hall ends with this story, and there is barely a dry eye in the house.

Now, I am not in any way mocking Mrs. Christie's untimely death, but I cannot help but wonder, if she was the tough cookie he often describes, would she approve of her son cynically exploiting this intimate mother-son moment to score political points? I am sure my late mother would haunt my ass, big-time, if I pulled a stunt like that.

Note that, ever since the fiasco in Parsippany, where the Governor invited a questioner to the stage, berated him, and had him expelled from the meeting by his State Police detail, there have been no more reports of confrontations at these town halls. Is this the sign of a new, mellowed, improved Chris Christie, or has his staff become more adept at packing the hall with sycophants? Lately the format has featured the Governor performing in-the-round, in a roped-off area resembling a pro wrestling ring.

In my last post about possible 1st amendment issues with holding one of these town halls at a Catholic church facility, on Ash Wednesday, a Catholic holiday, Blue Jersey staff writer Deciminyan posted the following comment:

Is it time yet to post a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that these "Town Hall' meetings are really political events and should be funded by Christie's shadow campaign organizations instead of the taxpayer?

Good question. As long as these events continue to be held at a time to maximize a pro-Christie crowd, when it is difficult or impossible for working people to attend, the question remains, are they really "town hall meetings" or partisan campaign events?

If they are the latter, and each one follows the same predictable script, why bother covering them, other than to raise this question and explore possible FEC violations?

The Wall of Separation?

If you are one of the lucky few who have not been booted off Governor Christie's email list, or if you scour NJ.com as I do, you should know by now that the Governor is holding one of his "Town Hall" meetings at St Jude's Catholic Church in Hopatcong, NJ.

As a lapsed Catholic, it had only occurred to me yesterday that today is Ash Wednesday, a Catholic holiday (disclosure: my brother is a priest with the Diocese of Paterson).

How appropriate is it for the Governor to conduct State business on Catholic property, on a Catholic holiday? Will there be a photo-op of him receiving his ashes at St Jude's church before entering the parish hall to shill for vouchers, that will subsidize Catholic schools, like the ones his kids attend?

At worst, this is a blatant First Amendment violation, at best it is plain bad optics. I wonder if he plans future Town Hall meetings at other places of worship like a synagogue or a mosque.

If this troubles you, write to the Governor's office to object. Do not bother with the "Contact us" page on the Governor's website; you will not get a response.Go directly to Constituent Relations:

Constituent.Relations@gov.state.nj.us

If you're lucky, he just may answer you.

Or, maybe you do not see a problem with this. What do you think?

"Supersized Republican Governor" Gets Animated

"Big Luv for Big Guv" on NMA World Edition -

The Sound of Silence in Trenton

A Republican governor is elected in a traditionally "blue" state on the platform of restoring fiscal sanity. Upon taking office, he declares war on the public unions, including the teachers' union, firefighters, police. He scapegoats public sector workers and attempts to turn public opinion against the state workers, because, after all, their outrageously bloated salaries, benefits, and pensions are to blame for the state's fiscal woes.

Outraged, teachers, police, firefighters, and other public workers storm the State Capital by the tens of thousands, protesting the governor's attempts to balance the state budget on the backs of public sector workers.

The whole world is watching! Why is the Liberal Media not in Trenton covering this?

Because it's not happening in Trenton, it's happening in Madison, WI. Unlike their brothers and sisters in NJ, the state unions in Wisconsin decided not to wait. Perhaps they looked east and saw what happens when you have a governor run amok, storming the state, and now the country, ramrodding his anti middle class agenda and getting fawning coverage by the press while he's at it, and the people do nothing. The story in Wisconsin is fluid and it remains to be seen how this will play out. However, I'm certain there will be no "Scott Walker for President" movements anytime soon.

Barbara Keshishian, are you listening?
Hetty Rosenstein, are you listening?

The people of Wisconsin took a lesson from the complacency in New Jersey and decided to fight back now.

It's time the people of New Jersey take a lesson from Wisconsin.

Have You Written to Your Elected Officials Lately?

Have You Written to Your Elected Officials Lately? I have.

Recently I wrote to the triumvirate who represent  my Legislative District, #4: Senator Fred Madden (D), Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D), Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco Jr (R), along with Washington Twp Mayor Matthew Lyons (D). The subject was the growing number of once-thriving, now vacant, retail properties in the Township (which will be a topic for a future blog).

I received two responses: one from Mayor Lyons, who suggested that I attend the next planning meeting . The other was from Assemblyman DiCicco, the sole Republican Legislator in my District, who expressed that he shared my concerns, and included the usual Republican boilerplate about making NJ more business-friendly. I believe he was sincere. I am disappointed by the silence form the two Democrats who represent my District, especially Mr. Moriarty, who is a Township resident and former mayor. At least Mr. DiCicco had the decency to respond. Perhaps he is the only one who realizes that he is up for re-election this year, and re-election is not a given. 

I also wrote to the Governors office, one sentence:
"When can we expect the Governor to unveil his 2012 budget proposal?"

Here is the robo-response I received, which included a self-congratulatory link to a YouTube video from the recent Union City town hall:

Dear Friend:
As we continue our push for fiscal sanity, meaningful education reform and a lasting fix to our broken pension and benefits system, we've launched a website to detail the reforms and track our progress.  You can find it here:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/reformagenda
As we continue to hold open town hall forums up and down the state, I'll do my best to share them with you.  Here's a clip from our latest town hall in Union City last week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg19I46IDuM

Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Governor Chris Christie

My response was:

That's not what I asked.
I asked:
"When can we expect the Governor to unveil his 2012 budget proposal?"
 - JRP

I'll keep you posted.

and Life Goes On

Now that the football season is over, the NFL officiating team having handed victory to the Pissburgh Steelers, I have zero interest in the Super Bowl other than to wish the Packers well. And for all you Michael Vick haters out there, I hope you are happy that a serial rapist will be playing in the Super Bowl.

On to other things:

• Vacation next week
• Getting ready for the 2011 BBQ season
• Educate America about Chris Christie
• Keep writing

And look forward to the summer!

Is it too soon to start thinking about 2013? No!

No, it's not too soon, considering:
1.) Christie began running for re-election the day he was inaugurated (as do all incumbents)
2.) No potential Democratic candidate (as far as I know) has stepped forward
3.) We can draw important lessons from 2009 and the shoddy campaign run by Jon Corzine, as illustrated by my experience with a clueless Corzine campaign worker:

Late in 2009 gubernatorial campaign, a Corzine canvasser knocked on my door. I answered, and told him right off the bat we had five registered Democrats in my household; no need to give me a sales pitch. However, I told him three of us would be out of town on Election Day, myself on business, and two of my sons away at college, and we needed absentee ballots.

The canvasser told me about NJ's new vote-by-mail option, and had a stack of applications in his hand. I asked for three forms, and the canvasser refused to give them to me. I asked for the website so I could download my own, he said, no, he did not know the website. Just as I was telling him to get lost, as he was no use to me, he asked if I wanted a yard sign. I said, sure, put as many as you want on my lawn.

As soon as I slammed the door, I immediately fired off a nasty-gram to the campaign, informing them of the behavior of the canvasser and his refusal to help me out with absentee voting. A few days later a representative called me, apologizing, and explaining that this particular canvasser "doesn't believe in vote-by-mail" (!) and that is why he refused to give me the applications. I asked, how can you expect anyone to vote for your candidate if this is how you are running your campaign. I then asked if it was possible to vote at the County Store, and the person said no (this turned out not to be true). I also asked where's my yard  sign and was promised I would get one (I never did). 


County Stores, by the way, are these nifty one-stop shops for just about any government service. The service is friendly and effective. We have them in most malls in South Jersey. I am not sure if every County has one. 

Infuriated, and despite my temptation to sit the election out or vote for a third party candidate, I went to the County Store at the Deptford Mall, held my nose, and voted for Corzine,

I have a feeling I was not alone in my disappointment with the way the Corzine campaign was run, and Christie did not so much win as Corzine lost. He broke the cardinal rule of any job-hunter: Act like you want the job.

Let's not let this happen again.

NJ News Roundup for Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Of course the big news is yesterday’s State-of-The-State Message
Read reactions from the Bergen Record,  Asbury Park Press, Star Ledger (Mulshine), the Inquirer (Riordan), NJ Dems, and our own Deciminyan.
And, high praise from the other side.
What was Michelle Rhee doing there?

More snow
Up to a foot expected in some parts of the state, old hat by now. At least we know the Governor is in the State. Let’s see if he can do what he said he could have done from Orlando, but didn’t.

New Jersey Assembly to vote on film tax credits
Could this mean the next season of “Boardwalk Empire” will be filmed in New Jersey?

Meet the NJ Republican Party’s new state chairman
Saddle River Mayor Sam Raia, sworn in last night.

Who should pay for the $1.25B Christie squandered on the ARC tunnel?
Not the toll-payers, say the Democrats

Privatize the PATCO line?
Why mess with something that works?

Making college less affordable
Christie says he wants to do away with the 4 percent cap in tuition increases at the state's public universities, and let the market determine tuition.

Upcoming Events

Governor Christie Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, January 13
Paramus Elks B.P.O.E. 2001
200 Route 17 North
Paramus, NJ
Doors open at 10:00am

Public hearing on the impact of Gov Christie’s state education cuts
Hosted by Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex)
Thursday, January 20
6:00pm - 8:30pm
Edison High School Auditorium
50 Boulevard of the Eagles
Edison, NJ

Jury Duty - YEAH!

Most people go to great lengths trying to avoid jury duty. For me, it has been the opposite. The jury system seemed to be avoiding me. Until now.

At last, the Long Arm of the Law has caught with me, and after a 32 year dry spell, I finally got a Jury Duty summons yesterday.

Not that I've been trying to hide. Washington Township, Gloucester County, despite being "South Jersey's Premier Community" with a population of over 48,000, does not have its own  zip code. My part of town, Turnersville, shares a zip code with neighboring Blackwood, which happens to be on Camden County. So, from time to time, one of us gets a summons to appear for Camden County Jury. We fill out the form, saying we do not live in Camden County, end of story.

I thought I would never get called. I thought maybe I was disqualified due to my Jersey City birth certificate.

I don't know how they finally figured out I lived in Gloucester County. Maybe when I was photographed sitting on my hands while the rest of the crowd was applauding wildly at Governor Christie's town hall meeting here, they identified me through some facial recognition process and nailed me.

The last time I served on a jury, back in the Days of Yore, the mandate was a two week commitment, show up every day, and wait. On the last day of my two week stint at the Hackensack court house, I was picked to be on a panel. The case was a personal injury lawsuit, a three-way battle involving a plaintiff, defendant, and an insurance company. Not too interesting, but it got me out of work for an extra week. More interesting was the trial going on across the hall, the notorious case of Mario Jascalevich, also known as "Dr X", on trial for murdering an undetermined number of patients at the now defunct River Dell Hospital in Oradell, NJ. I tried to take a peek in the court room any chance I could get.

So, I'm looking forward to performing my civic duty by serving as a Petit Juror in the Gloucester County court system. One catch - I was scheduled for Monday, February 7, when I will be on vacation.

Due to the magic of modern technology, I went to the website, filled out the online form and expressed my willingness to serve, just not at that time. About an hour later I received an email from the Court, advising me that my time had been rescheduled to June 6. The ease with which that switch was made, I must admit, surprised me.

So, I'm looking forward to showing up at the Gloucester County court house in Woodbury on the morning of June 6, ready, willing, and able to serve.

Welcome Home, Governor

Dear Governor Christie:

Welcome home. I hope you enjoyed your trip to Florida. I am planning a vacation in the Caribbean myself next month and am looking forward to escaping the winter for a week. I break with my cohorts in the left-wing blogosphere in that I do not begrudge you and your family a vacation. I'm a dad myself and understand the importance of keeping a promise to your kids. Having said that, I am troubled by your characteristically arrogant behavior upon your return, specifically:

Your refusal to take any responsibility for the poor response to the blizzard:
"If someone is snowed into their house, that’s not our responsibility"

Your pathological inability to tell the truth, here is just one example:
"Christie said there were no reports of storm-related deaths"

Your callous disregard for human life:
"We did not have any significant loss of life"

In case you missed it, Governor, a 59-year-old Brick Township man died of a heart attack while he was attempting to walk home after his car was stuck in the snow while he was on his way home from work. This man's death may not be of any significance to you, Governor, but a family lost a father and husband. Did you attend this man's funeral, or extend any condolences to his family?

As for the snow clean-up: An "A" for effort and a "B" for results? I don't think so. My part of the state, Washington Twp, Gloucester County, was not as hard-hit as the rest of the state, but when I went to visit my recently  widowed, 79 year old father in Lakewood, I was appalled by the horrendous conditions of I-195, the Garden State Parkway, and Route 70, as well as the local roads.

I am sorry to see that 2011 is already an Annus horribilis for you, only four days in. As tempting as  it may be, at this time I will refrain from any Schadenfreude, as you are still my Governor, whether I like it or not.

I hope you have learned something from this experience, but somehow, based on your past and current behavior, I doubt it.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey R. Pickens
Washington Twp, NJ

Go Ahead, Senator Sweeney, Make My Day

Talk about "below the fold".

On Christmas Day, 1:00pm, when most people were not reading the Star Ledger or NJ.com, came the news that Governor Chris Christie and Lt Governor Kim Guadagno are both taking vacation out of state, leaving Senate President Stephen Sweeney as acting governor while both are away. Maybe I missed something, but wasn't the position of Lt. Governor created to provide for continuity in the NJ Executive branch while the Governor was unavailable to discharge his duties? How do they get away with leaving the state at the same time?

While we know that the Governor will be in Disney World in Florida with his family, it has not been released (not to this writer, at least) where Lt Gov. Guadagno will be, other than that she will be out of state. Perhaps she will be in Disney World with the governor, standing behind him, gazing longingly, Nancy-Reagan-like, while Christie hob-nobs with Mickey and watches his kids enjoy the rides.

According to the Star Ledger:
"Theoretically, Sweeney could sign legislation Christie hasn’t acted on or even file nominations Christie would never dream of filing. Sweeney could even re-nominate former state Supreme Court Justice John Wallace Jr. to the bench, whose pass-over by Christie in favor of attorney Anne Patterson angered Sweeney. But he won’t."

Says Sweeney:
“I wouldn’t do that to him. The guy is going on vacation with his family, and I’m not going to ruin it by creating mischief. The governor’s office is something that people shouldn’t think is a toy. It’s a serious responsibility.”

It speaks volumes that the governor has left the State government in hands of Sweeney, with full confidence that there will be no "mischief", where "mischief" may be defined as reinstating Justice John Wallace, or signing the "Back To Work NJ" and the anti-bullying bills.

While we're on the subject of missed opportunities, since this is a time when teachers, and many others, have the week off, this would have been the ideal time for the governor to defer his vacation and hold some "Town Hall" meetings at a time when his audience would include members of his constituency who typically cannot attend such meetings on normal weekdays. After all, if his "Reform" is so urgent, why leave the state now? Certainly a Disney vacation can wait until the next school break in the spring.

So, how about it, Senator Sweeney? You're right, the governor's office is a serious responsibility. So how about some mischief? .

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department....

Comes news that NJ Governor Chris Christie has compared the New Jersey Education Association to Alabama Governor George Wallace attempting to block the entrance to the University of Alabama to prevent integration of the school.

"Southern Strategy", anyone?

For my comment calling this "sending an obvious dog whistle to his potential Southern constituents for when he runs for President in 2012", I was called a simpleton and a dumbass. I guess I should wear these two labels as a badges of honor?

Sunday Night: Are You Ready For Some Softball?

You would not know it from the 60 Minutes website, but thanks to my friends at Blue Jersey I learned that Governor Chris Christie will be featured tonight. When I went to the site to check for information, there was nothing there about an appearance by the Governor of NJ. The featured preview was a story called "The Gift of Endless Memory" (interesting juxtaposition).

The good news is, ever since the "Heidi Bowl" (for those of us old enough to remember), we do not have to worry about the Steelers/Jets game being cut-off in favor of 60 Minutes while the Jets are in the throes of yet another nail-biting comeback. However if you're not quick enough on the channel changer after the game you may catch an unwanted glimpse of the bloviations of the Great Reformer of NJ, repeating the same platitudes in response to whatever softballs are lobbed his way. (Who would be best to interview Christie: Anderson Cooper? Katie Couric? I wonder if he can answer a hard-hitting question like "What do you read"?).

As an apprentice contributor to Blue Jersey, I am on self-appointed Christie-watch, so I will be watching, and taking notes. CBS News is good at timely posting of transcripts so anyone who cannot watch (or bear to watch) can read all about it the next day.

So, what do you think? Will this be the usual hagiographic puff-piece that the Governor has become accustomed to, or will our interviewer hit him with some real questions, other than his fandom of Bruce Springsteen and his "YouTube moments"?

I am not optimistic but I hope 60 Minutes surprises me and proves me wrong. After all, I'm still going through Boardwalk Empire Withdrawal.
 

Slacktivism: My New Favorite Word

Facebookers:

Have you seen this:
"Most people have 1000 wishes for Christmas; a cancer patient only has one,to get better. I know 97% of you won't repost this to your status, but my friends will be the 3% that do. In honor of someone who has died, or is still fighting, or survived cancer, copy this to your status."

Or this:
"Change your facebook profile picture to cartoon from your childhood. The goal? To not see a human face on FB till Monday Dec 6. Join the fight against child abuse. Copy and paste to your status and invite your friends to do the same."

"Slacktivism": Defined in the Urban Dictionary as "The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem, The search for the ultimate feel-good that derives from having come to society's rescue without having had to actually gets one's hands dirty or open one's wallet."

Now, I have nothing against fighting cancer or child abuse. In fact, I ride every year in the Philadelphia American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon, and contribute to others who participate in similar events. As for the cartoon character thing, I was taken to task by my otherwise sensible friends for not participating. My take: if you want to fight child abuse, do something about it, beginning with taking care of your own kids.

I am currently the administrator of a Facebook page called NJ against Chris Christie. How I became administrator was by accident. I came across the page in March, when I was angered by some of the items in the 2011 budget proposal, and wanted to engage in some slacktivism of my own. I contacted the creator of the page, exchanged some emails, and he made me the administrator. My duties consist of finding interesting news items and comments to post on the page, to spur some lively debate. Membership has grown to over 43,000, up from 60 in March.

This is all well and good, but not much gets accomplished except complaining and arguing. Very few members have actually attended any Christie Town Hall Meetings (I have). Very few have contacted the Governor or their State Legislators to air their grievances (I have).

I am ready to hand control of the NJACC page to someone else willing to preside over complaints and fat jokes. I am happy that my inaugural post to Blue Jersey was so well received and look forward to being a more regular contributor. I'm also teaming up with some friends on a special project which will be unveiled soon.

There is a great deal to be done in NJ politics in the near future: The next budget battle and State Legislature elections in 2011, keeping the White House and Senate Democratic in 2012, as well as gaining back the House majority, and of course, replacing the Current Occupant of Drumthwacket in 2013.

The next time someone asks you to join a Facebook group, "like" a page, join a cause, or sign an e-petition, ask them: "What are your DOING?"

An Open Letter to Governor Chris Christie

The Honorable Christopher J. Christie
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Governor Christie:

I am writing with respect to the "Town Hall" meetings you have been conducting across the state.

It is a common misperception that the attendees at these events are pre-screened and your supporters are given preferential treatment for admission. I know for a fact this is not true. I am a registered Democrat, and was not subjected to any political or ideological litmus test for admission to a recent event.

The reason, I believe, for this misperception, is that these events are always held in the daytime, making it difficult for anyone other than retired persons to attend. That these events are usually held in towns with a predominantly white population makes the demographic look very much like the Glen Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 2010.

I recommend that you consider holding some of your Town Hall meetings in the evenings, and in places like Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, and elsewhere, where you can get your message to a far more diverse crowd.

I also recommend that you scrap the "YouTube Moment" meme when inviting citizens to ask questions, and engage them in civil discussion, rather than berating them for the benefit of the camera. Having your State Police bodyguard manhandle a questioner, bring him up to the stage, scold and rail at him, then have the officer remove the citizen from the stage, without giving him the opportunity to respond, may make for entertaining television, but it is no way to govern.

It is also in direct contradiction to your repeated admonitions that "there is nothing left unsaid between us".

If you wish to get your message out to anyone other than the usual amen chorus that predominate your Town Halls, I suggest that you expand the demographic scope of the audience and engage in real discussion of ideas. Otherwise, you cannot expect to win the hearts and minds of anyone in your opposition, not one.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey R. Pickens