Bruce Springsteen Mocks New Jersey Governor

Old Joysey · #**131** 02-10-2015, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknation

Now, I know that Stephanie's OD happened in New York, not New Jersey.

Jon also has a big friend in NY

http://youtu.be/ekomXrzOF3A?t=5m57s
Could it be that what was taken into account was that both Stephanie and her family are from NJ instead of focusing on the State where the OD occured? With that twist they made her fall under this new NJ bill and Jon was very grateful.

rocknation · #**132** 02-11-2015, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Joysey

Could it be that what was taken into account was that both Stephanie and her family are from NJ instead of focusing on the State where the OD occured? With that twist they made her fall under this new NJ bill and Jon was very grateful.

New York's "Good Samaritan" overdose law had been in effect for more than a year when Stephanie OD'd in late 2012.

And I'm sure Jon WAS very grateful -- the law may have saved his daughter's life, and it definitely saved her from having a criminal record. It's probably what inspired him to get involved with getting a New Jersey version passed.

Old Joysey · #**133** 02-11-2015, 01:25 AM

Sorry, I got confused, I thought there was no NY Good Samaritan law and the NJ one was the first one. Now I've just checked and it says "... New York's new 911 Good Samaritan Law that went into effect on September 18, 2011."

rocknation · #**134** 02-13-2015, 09:32 PM

Christie's relationships with first-class flying and his BFF ex-Port Authority chairman David Samson have collided in mid-air:

Quote:

NorthJersey.com 2/5/15: Federal prosecutors have demanded that the Port Authority turn over records related to the personal travel of the agency’s former chairman, David Samson, as well as his relationship with Newark Liberty International Airport’s largest carrier, United Airlines...

(A) subpoena issued last month appears to be part of a probe into a flight route initiated by United while Samson was chairman of the transportation agency that operates the region’s airports. The route provided non-stop service between Newark and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina — about 50 miles from a home where Samson often spent weekends...United halted the non-stop route on April 1 of last year, just three days after Samson resigned under a cloud...

United Airlines was in regular negotiations with the Port Authority and the Christie administration during Samson’s tenure over issues that included expansion of the airline’s service to Atlantic City and the extension of the PATH train to Newark Liberty...

Quote:

NorthJersey.com 2/11/15: Dan Mann, executive director of Columbia Metropolitan Airport, said in an interview that the twice-a-week Newark-Columbia flights — leaving on Thursdays and returning on Mondays — were unusual for a large carrier like United. He also said he was surprised that the route lasted as long as it did, 19 months, given the relatively low demand for it...

Samson, the co-founder of a powerful law firm in West Orange, a former state attorney general, and a key adviser to Governor Christie, referred to the route as “the chairman’s flight,” one source said...

“It was not performing well, and it hadn’t performed well from the start,” Mann said. He said he had no reason to believe there was any ulterior motive behind the flight route until he read recent news stories about the federal investigation...

Well, it certainly isn't David Samson's fault that the flights were only half full: it's United's fault for not employing the obvious solution of using planes with half the seating capacity, duh!

Quote:

Joe Brancatelli, editor of a non-commercial business travel website...noted that United did little, if anything, to publicize the new route...

Mann said...he had no reason to believe there was any ulterior motive behind the flight route until he read recent news stories about the federal investigation...(H)e assumed United had a business reason for maintaining the route...He said he did not remember whether United representatives had raised the idea of starting the new route. But he said he and airport officials had not prepared a “business plan” for the route, a common practice when trying to convince an airline to add new service to the airport.

A standard operating procedure in which he obviously should have been involved was not followed? Well, well -- isn't that EXACTLY how Bridge(t)-Gate got started?

rocknation · #**135** 02-14-2015, 05:29 PM

The latest dispatch from Crew Christie Airlines --"You're The Graft Beneath Our Wings":

Quote:

NorthJersey.com: Four (Port Authority) commissioners who flew through Newark Liberty and John F. Kennedy airports in the last four years requested and received special escorts from tarmac to curbside, bypassing regular security lines, boarding planes early, and getting shuttled to an airport lounge...according to documents released by the agency...Such VIP treatment is usually reserved for "high-profile" people who travel with security details, including...a "small" number of...elected officials, a Port Authority spokesman said...But it has also been one of the perks of being an unpaid, governor-appointed commissioner of the bistate agency that operates the region's major airports...

Commissioner David Steiner and his wife requested much of the VIP treatment, but escorts were also provided to former commissioners Anthony Sartor, Virginia Bauer and ex-chairman David Samson and their family members...Steiner is a real-estate developer who also owns Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, the largest film and television production complex outside of Hollywood...(For) Steiner's Aug. 19, 2013 flight to Moscow from JFK, with two friends and his wife, (a)irport officials started exchanging emails...three days in advance..."This is extremely important," Port Authority Airlines Supervisor Stephen DiTomasso wrote...to more than two dozen Port Authority employees. "As you can see, Commissioner Steiner is traveling a(nd) we MUST have a Port Authority Rep available to meet him."

Another airport official...said airport and Delta Airlines officials arranged for Steiner's friends, who were meeting Steiner at JFK after a flight from Washington, D.C., to be met by a representative of Delta, escorted through expedited screening and driven on a golf cart to a lounge...A week later, Steiner and his family arrived back at the airport. "All went well: assisted the Commissioner with luggage; cleared Customs; and walked him to his limo which was parked in the inner roadway closer to the taxi lane," ...an operations group supervisor for the Port Authority at JFK wrote...

Current Port Authority chairman John Degnan, who has tried to restore the agency's credibility in the wake of the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, said Thursday that the practice has "basically come to a halt."

Now before you start getting pissed off, remember that these commissioners are UNPAID: between making contributions to Christie and Cuomo large enough to qualify for PA commissions, and paying for their plane tickets out of what they can earn by doing things like running a movie studio, you're going to begrudge them a little free curb service? How petty can you get!

rocknation · #**136** 02-17-2015, 06:30 AM

During Jerry Jones-Gate, the Christie camp claimed that it was a partisan attack launched by a PAC supporting Hillary Clinton:

Quote:

Lehigh Valley Live: “Is anyone surprised pro-Hilary PACs like American Bridge and partisan organizations like the DNC are using the Governor’s support of a football team for a political hit?” Maria Comella, Christie’s spokeswoman, said.

In case you don't know, Hillary Clinton is a former and current Democratic candidate for United States president, a former U.S. senator, a former secretary of state (America's top-ranking diplomat), and wife of former U.S. president Bill Clinton. And in case you don't know, I guess I'd better supply an explanation of what a PAC is, too:

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OpenSecrets.org: A political (action) committee (is one) organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. Most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests. PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election (primary, general or special). They can also give up to $15,000 annually to any national party committee, and $5,000 annually to any other PAC. PACs may receive up to $5,000 from any one individual, PAC or party committee per calendar year...Many politicians also form Leadership PACs as a way of raising money to help fund other candidates' campaigns.

A PAC must register with the Federal Election Commission within 10 days of its formation, providing name and address for the PAC, its treasurer and any connected organizations. Affiliated PACs are treated as one donor for the purpose of contribution limits.

Quote:

HowStuffWorks.com: ...(T)he emergence of Super PACs has the potential to fundamentally alter the landscape of money in politics...That's because as of July 22, 2010, the FEC green-lighted Super PACs, all but eliminating the previous financial donation limitations...(I)ndividuals, corporations and unions can now contribute unlimited cash to Super PACs, which essentially means there is no ceiling to how much money is injected into elections.

The main prohibition placed on Super PACs...is that they cannot coordinate directly with the campaign staff of individual candidates...Super PACs can't contribute directly to candidates the way PACs do. The money Super PACs raise can only be used for such things as creating TV or radio ads supporting or excoriating particular candidates.

Well, Christie has officially launched his own PAC, which I'm sure he's all set to operate on a higher ethical plane than the Democrats:

Quote:

USA Today: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his allies have...tak(en) the first concrete step toward launching a presidential bid and joining the battle for the Republican Party's top donors. The(ir) PAC, called Leadership Matters For America, will allow Christie to build a political team and start to collect money ahead of a 2016 bid...Christie reportedly has lined up several key Republicans to take on fundraising duties, including...Phil Cox, the outgoing executive director of the Republican Governors Association...

And it looks like the first Christie super PAC is off the ground, too:

Quote:

Daily Record: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's supporters are getting ready to launch a super PAC that could raise and spend unlimited sums of money as he moves toward a formal campaign for president in 2016...That would put Christie on the same footing as many of his likely challengers for the Republican nomination as he continues to mull a run for president. The move would allow Christie to begin raising far greater sums than he is allowed to collect through his political action committee, Leadership Matters for America, which launched last month...Phil Cox, the former executive director of the Republican Governors Association who is working for Christie's political action committee, is likely to play a role...

Mr. Cox is going to fundraise for a PAC while working with a SuperPAC? I guess that's okay as long he doesn't tell Christie how much either one has raised -- or if he takes inspiration from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and attends the meetings in a coma. So much for operating on a higher ethical plane: that was a VERY short flight!!!

P.S. The Web address for Christie's PAC is LeadershipMattersForAmerica.Org -- LMAFO for short!

rocknation · #**137** 02-27-2015, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknation

As press secretary, (Michael) Drewniak was in charge of telling the public what Christie wanted the public to be told. It stands to reason that what he knew, Christie either knew also or should have. Yet, like David Samson, Drewniak has been able to hold on to his position despite such blatant incompetence and unprofessionalism while some of his colleagues got canned.

We last heard from Drewniak when he accused the child welfare workers union of playing politics when a counselor got stabbed just days after Christie budget cuts removed the security squads from their offices. No words of sympathy for the victim though. Aside from that, he's been keeping a lower profile in favor of fellow Christie spokesperson Kevin Roberts -- until now:

Quote:

NJ LawJournal.com: A New Jersey judge...ordered Republican Gov. Chris Christie to work with the Democrat-controlled state Legislature to find a way to replace $1.57 billion in pension funds that Christie diverted to balance the state's 2014 fiscal year budget.

Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson, in a 130-page ruling in Burgos v. New Jersey, said the administration violated the contractual rights of hundreds of thousands of current and retired public sector workers by line-item vetoing the pension payment out of the budget. Jacobson said Christie's decision "constitutes a facial violation of the funding requirements of the public pension statute." (She) denied the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and granted the unions' request for relief...

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, said..."Once again liberal judicial activism rears its head with the court trying to replace its own judgment for the judgment of the people who were elected to make these decisions...The governor will continue to work on a practical solution to New Jersey's pension and health benefits problems while he appeals this decision to a higher court..."

It would be an understatement to say that a big piece of Christie's presidential hopes are lying on selling his treasury looting -- I mean, pension reform -- policies. So if the going gets tough, it makes perfect sense to take off the kid gloves and unleash your lead attack dog. Well, I think Drewniak took a bigger bite out of Judge Jacobson than he could chew:

Quote:

NJ.com: No stranger to...the governor's ire, state Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson...ruled (that) Gov. Chris Christie violated public employee unions' constitutional rights by failing to make a promised $1.57 billion pension payment...

Here's a quick look at one of the most influential judges in the state:

...In 2013 (she) rebuked Gov. Chris Christie and declared same-sex marriage legal in the state...

Jacobson...quashed two subpoenas issued to former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and two-time campaign manager Bill Stepien as part of its investigation into the 2013 lane closings at the George Washington Bridge...

...Appointed in 2001 by former (New Jersey) Gov. Christie Whitman; earned tenure in 2008...

She ruled in Christie's favor in a Bridge(t)-Gate case? Doesn't sound like a knee-jerk partisan stooge to me. But while Jacobson is a Democrat, Christie Whitman is a Republican -- and if there's anything Republicans hate more than being publicly badmouthed by Democrats, it's being publicly badmouthed by other Republicans.

Quote:

NJ.com: Gov. Chris Christie's longtime spokesman Michael Drewniak is leaving Christie's office...Drewniak('s) often blustery and combative statements mirrored the governor's...He left the...Star-Ledger (newspaper)...to work at the U.S. Attorney's office in 1998...was kept on by Christie when he became U.S. Attorney in 2002...(and)...joined Christie's administration as soon as he was sworn in...

Wall Street Journal Metropolis.com: ...People who had spoken with him said he was increasingly tired of day-to-day battles with reporters after months of fallout from the George Washington Bridge scandal...Mr. Drewniak...has said he was not interested in working on a presidential campaign.

The spokesman...had appeared to lower the volume since profane emails he sent about officials and reporters emerged in the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge Scandal..In recent months, much of his work had been transferred to Kevin Roberts...who is expected to replace Mr. Drewniak...

He's tired? Well, why didn't he quit late last year, which would have given Roberts time to transition into taking the lead on helping sell Christie's 2016 agendas -- because he didn't have another job lined up? Does he look at Christie's presidential bid as a lost cause, or was he simply not invited? Or maybe it was strictly a public relations move: now that he's officially running for president, maybe Christie has been advised that one short-tempered obnoxious loudmouth per campaign is enough...

rocknation · #**138** 02-28-2015, 03:29 AM

This just in: I am now more convinced than ever that Christie received orders "from on high" to fire Mike Drewniak. Why?

Quote:

NorthJersey.com: Michael Drewniak, who served as Governor Christie’s combative spokesman and trusted advisor for much of Christie’s political career, has received a newly-created position at NJ Transit. Drewniak will have broad powers at the agency, overseeing policy, strategic planning, technology, safety and capacity planning for all bus and train services, according to a press release issued late Friday afternoon by NJ Transit.

Drewniak’s salary will be $147,400. His official title will be chief of policy and strategic planning.

Though getting rid of Drewniak may have bought Christie favor with the financial and political supporters of his presidential bid, an unemployed Mike Drewniak may have taken it upon himself to get a job blabbing to the feds about Bridge(t)-Gate and other Crew Christie shenanigans. But with a new year just beginning, Christie had no suitable job openings -- what to do? How about inventing a job where Drewniak gets six figures and does at NJ Transit what David Wildstein was doing at the Port Authority? His qualifications for the job? What do you mean? He don't have to show you no stinking qualifications!!!

rocknation · #**139** 03-03-2015, 07:02 AM

Before delving into this episode of As the World (of Chris Christie) Turns (Our Stomachs), we'll have to make a quick side trip to California, then backtrack fourteen years to when Arnold Schwarzenegger was running for governor:

Quote:

...The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay...Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a...plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the...illicit profits they carried off...

The biggest single threat to Ken Lay and the electricity lords is a private lawsuit filed (under) the "Unfair Business Practices Act." This litigation...would make the power companies return the $9 billion they filched from California electricity and gas customers. Who's the plaintiff taking on the bad guys? Cruz Bustamante, Lieutenant Governor and reluctant leading candidate against Schwarzenegger...

The evidence against the electricity barons is rock solid...So...George Bush's energy regulators...cook up a terrific scheme: charge the companies with conspiracy but offer them, behind closed doors, deals in which they have to pay only two cents on each dollar they filched...

Problem: the slap-on-the-wrist refunds won't sail if (Grey Davis)...the Governor of California, won't play along. Solution: Re-call the Governor. New Problem: the guy most likely to replace Davis is...Cruz Bustamante...Solution: smear Cruz Bustamante...

The pay-off? Once Arnold is Governor, he blesses the sweetheart settlements with the power companies...There aren't many judges who will let a case go to trial to protect a state if that governor has already allowed the matter to be "settled" by a regulatory agency...(Meanwhile)...the state of California is in the hole by $8 billion for the coming year...

To this day, Governor Ahh-nuld says he does not recall attending such a meeting. And Ken Lay died in 2006, resulting in the criminal conviction against him being vacated, a VERY private funeral, and his immediate cremation...unless he actually hopped into a plane or boat with a cargo of money and is living on a VERY private island somewhere.

All of which has what to do with Christie? Well, as the saying goes, if you don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it:

Quote:

New York Times: A long-fought legal battle to recover $8.9 billion in damages from Exxon Mobil Corporation for the contamination and loss of use of more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in northern New Jersey has been quietly settled by the state for around $250 million.

The lawsuits, filed by the State Department of Environmental Protection in 2004, had been litigated by the administrations of four New Jersey governors, finally advancing last year to trial. By then, Exxon’s liability was no longer in dispute; the only issue was how much it would pay in damages.

But a month ago, with a State Superior Court judge believed to be close to a decision on damages, the Christie administration twice petitioned the court to hold off on a ruling because settlement talks were underway. Then, last Friday, the state informed the judge that the case had been resolved...

Quote:

IBTimes.com: Only three months before New Jersey agreed to accept $250 million in cash from ExxonMobil to settle claims the oil giant sullied public land, Gov. Chris Christie was still signaling a hard line. The governor called the ecological damage from the firm’s refining operations “staggering and unprecedented,” and his administration continued to pursue a state lawsuit seeking nearly $9 billion in damages.

Yet as the Christie administration this week agreed to shut down its case for a fraction of its original demands, a little-noticed provision tucked into the governor's 2014 state budget appears to shed light on why he was willing to strike a settlement that quickly drew accusations of reckless lenience from environmentalists. The language in question -- the handiwork of Christie's own administration -- empowers the governor to divert money obtained from environmental litigation away from pollution cleanup programs and into the state’s general fund, where it can be used to fill budget gaps or finance corporate subsidies.

The provision explicitly takes precedence over other state laws designed to direct proceeds from environmental lawsuits into New Jersey’s environmental protection programs...And because the provision is temporary, remaining in force only until a new budget is enacted, critics say that it effectively encourages Christie’s administration to settle cases as quickly as possible to free up cash that the governor can then tap however he sees fit...

That works out to 2.7 cents on the dollar for the people of New Jersey. For the people of ExxonMobil, however, it works out to $6,108.00 on the dollar, because since 2010, they've made contributions of $1,475,000 to -- WAIT FOR IT!!! -- Christie's Republican Governor's Fund! What a lovely way of celebrating Christie's record NINTH credit downgrade! Take it away, Rachel Maddow...

http://youtu.be/O2AD8QN28_Y?t=3m32s

rocknation · #**140** 03-06-2015, 03:02 AM

Looks like Christie isn't going to skate as smoothly on his Exxon Mobil settlement as Governor Schwarzenegger did on his Enron settlement. Accepting 2.7 cents on the dollar has generated more than a little attention. Members of the New Jersey state assembly have filed a counter suit, are planning hearings and are calling for the resignation of the current state attorney general. And if you need to have it spelled out, no less than the venerable New York Times put in their two point seven cent's worth with an editorial titled Chris Christie’s Exxon Settlement Is Bad for New Jersey (an editorial -- they're in the business of all the NEWS that's fit to print). But is everybody overreacting? After all, nine billion dollars IS a lot a money, and courts have been known to reduce lawsuit settlements they deemed excessive.

Well, according to a couple of court documents that have been released:

Quote:

Why was the state seeking $8.9 billion?

According to a report prepared by Texas-based 3TM Consulting, the footprint of the contamination spanned more than 1,800 acres at the two sites...

The state's "primary restoration plan" was estimated to cost $2.63 billion. The consulting firm hired by the state also recommended an additional $6.4 billion to restore enough wetland and forestland "to compensate for the decades of harm at the two facilities."

So if all the money were spent on the environmental cleanup, the state would only break even? No wonder Christie slipped in that poison pill that would divert all but $50M of the settlement to the debt-ravaged state general fund! But that doesn't explain why Christie would settle for less money -- surely it doesn't take that much longer to write a $9 billion check than a $250M one.

Quote:

Critics say the temporary provision is an incentive for Christie's administration to settle quickly by lessening the fines, so the governor can use the cash to fill budget gaps or finance corporate subsidies. "Christie was trying to get this settlement in...because we won't repeat it in the (next) budget," (NJ State Senator Raymond) Lesniak said.

You mean, Christie's problem is that he wouldn't have TIME to spend $8.95 billion dollars -- especially if he plans for his next stop to be the White House -- and if he can't have it, nobody can? I'm sorry, Senator, but that doesn't explain it, either.

Quote:

IBTimes: The reported settlement follows a flood of campaign cash from the company to the Republican Governors Association, which Christie chairs. Exxon Mobil has donated ($1.457 million) to the group since Christie's first run for governor in 2009. When asked whether the settlement reduction represents a gift to Exxon Mobil, Lesniak...said "one can certainly see it that way."

DING DING DING -- State Senator Raymond Lesniak, you're our grand prize winner -- THAT certainly explains it!!!

Quote:

In two letters obtained by the IBTimes...Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said the state and Exxon Mobil were involved in "serious settlement negotiations" and asked Judge Michael Hogan to "defer" issuing a decision in the case.

Hoffman sent a third letter to Hogan dated Feb. 20 reporting the parties had reached agreement that would be published in the April 6 issue of the New Jersey Register and on the Department of Environment Protection's website for at least 30 days for public notice and comment. Both parties will then submit the settlement to the judge for final approval by mid- to late May "unless comments received during the public notice and comment period necessitate a change," according to the letter...

"Unless comments received...necessitate a change"? Obviously just a formality -- why would asking for 2.7 cents when you were supposed to ask for a dollar necessitate comment, never mind a change? Well, like it or not, a change IS gonna come -- take it away, Jon and Betty...

Bruce Springsteen Mocks New Jersey Governor

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