Bruce Springsteen Mocks New Jersey Governor
 

At the December 2012 Hurricane Sandy benefit, Bruce gave a warm, sincere welcome to one of his "biggest" fans, New Jersey governor Chris "Governor Soprano" Christie:

http://rocktivity.com/Graphics/bruce_christie.jpg

More recently, Bruce mocked Christie's "Bridge(t)-Gate" scandal with an assist from talk show host Jimmy Fallon:
http://youtu.be/VKHV0LLvhXM

while Jersey boy Jon Stewart of The Daily Show finds that not even he could explain it all without help from "The Boss":
http://www.rocktivity.com/video/tds_christie.webm

I loved this - Bruce and Rachel Maddow are my heroes LOL

Since not everyone here is an English-speaking American, I added the Daily Show video for the benefit of the non - New Jerseyites, LOL

Found the lyrics:

Jimmy Fallon (walks out on stage strumming guitar): All Right.
In the day we sweat it out on the streets,
stuck in traffic on the GWB.
They shut down the tollbooths of glory
'cause we didn't endorse Christie.

Sprung from cages on Highway 9,
we got three lanes closed, so Jersey get your ass in line.
Whoa, maybe this Bridge-Gate was just payback.
It's a bitch slap to the state Democrats.

We got to get out but we can’t.
We’re stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s
Fort Lee New Jersey Traffic Jam.
Yeah! Hey, Yeah! Yeah!

The real Bruce Springsteen joins Fallon on stage.

Jimmy Fallon: I can’t hear you. Hey.

Fallon sees Springsteen; gives him a nod.

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_...e_full_600.jpg

Bruce Springsteen:
Governor, let me in. I want to be your friend;
there’ll be no partisan divisions.
Let me wrap may legs ‘round your mighty rims
and relieve your stressful condition.

You got Wall Street masters stuck cheek-to-cheek with blue collar truckers,
and man, I really got to take a leak. But I can't.
I'm stuck in Governor Chris Christie's Fort Lee New Jersey Traffic Jam.

Springsteen & Fallon: One, two, three, four …

Jimmy Fallon:
Highway’s jammed with pissed off drivers with no place left to go.
And the press conference went on and on.

Bruce Springsteen: It was longer than one of my own damn shows.

Jimmy Fallon:
Someday, Governor, I don't know when,
this will all end, but till then

Springsteen & Fallon:
You're killing the working man
who's stuck in the Governor Chris Christie
Fort Lee New Jersey Traffic Jam.
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.

Bruce Springsteen: I gotta take a leak.

Jimmy Fallon: Whoa, oh oh oh

Bruce Springsteen: I really gotta take a leak.

Jimmy Fallon: Whoa, oh oh oh

Springsteen & Fallon: Down in Jerseyland.

Cheers for that, it was a far more entertaining explanation than all the googling I had to do earlier in the week.:p

My husband works at Port Authority/PATH and he says that the rumors are flying. Gossip hasn't been so good there for years LOL

Well, it all comes down to one simple question: If the Ft. Lee lane closure was conducted without Christie's knowledge or approval, why didn't he question his staff about it the minute it started? Who else could have obtained and set out the extra traffic cones -- the local college fraternity pledges?

Well the people in charge of the Bridge were told not to question the closed lanes. The people responsible for that request are now gone ie. Bill Baroni. Still, the Bridge manager is the person ultimately responsible - and he is still there and on the job.

Here's the latest:

More:
A Guide To The Four NJ Mayors Who Say Chris Christie Was One Big Bully

This is turning into TV worth watching LOL. There are new allegations daily. Today the FBI is involved:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/ny...=nyregion&_r=0

Okay, now he's getting just plain sloppy.
 

Bullshit, toro turd, and grade-A male cattle droppings!

Are we supposed to believe that this lawyer took Kelly's case not knowing that technically, he WORKS for Christie? And does Christie think we've already forgotten that he FIRED Kelly, whereas he allowed the others involved in Bridge(t)-Gate to resign? So why in the world did Timpone go within ten miles of Kelly in the first place? My theory:

• Christie told Kelly he was firing her strictly for appearance's sake, but not to worry, he'd get her a good lawyer. Or
• Christie arranged for Timpone to approach Kelly and offer to take her case.
• Kelly and Timpone work up a defense strategy, during which, of course, Kelly pours her heart out about life with "Governor Soprano."
• Timpone suddenly remembers that he serves under Christie on the election board commission, and therefore has no business doing business with Kelly. He withdraws from the case, citing a conflict of interest.
• Timpone fills in Christie on Kelly's defense strategy, giving Christie an advantage in coming up with his own defense strategy. Mission accomplished!

I think Kelly was set up with Timpone in order to BE set up. What's that you say -- lawyers aren't supposed to share a client's information like that? They AREN'T supposed to -- but that's why it's called NEW JERSEY politics, baby!

Also today, subpoenas have been served upon Christie's re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican party:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireS...n-gop-21640915

Wow - did not know this part - gonna send this to my poor long suffering husband. He may be looking for another job himself he is so sick of the politics in the agency.

Here's something else I guess "Governor Soprano" didn't know about:

Richard Constable also just happens to be the other Christie appointee who allegedly told the mayor of Hoboken that she'd get no Sandy funding if she didn't approve her city's land development project!


By the way, Christie vetoed an effort to add an extra level of accountability to the fund disbursements, claiming it was an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy!

Allegation of the the Day
 

Just a coincidence, I'm sure. But darn it, if that monitor had been working, the pollution readings would have gone up high enough to trigger a response that could have culminated in Christie being notified and the lanes being re-opened. Unless...

Unless the shutdown of the air quality monitor was deliberately engineered by those evil, secretive minions of his -- and precisely because they KNEW that a high reading would probably result in the lane closures being interrupted. Is there no end to their underhanded evildoing, and their cruel soiling of poor, innocent Christie's spotless virtue? Cue the violins!
http://rocktivity.com/Graphics/nopity.gif

Thought you'd get the weekend off? Not so fast...
 

So why was the plan ignored, especially when it was most likely commissioned as a result of Hoboken being flooded by Hurricane Irene in August of 2011? And once again, Christie finds himself at the mercy of a treacherous employee who didn't report to him directly? Woe is him!

Okay, this isn't brain surgery: O'Toole is implicated in the investigation whether anyone likes it or not, and he CANNOT remain on the committee, or he'll be investigating himself. But Christie, O'Toole, and Kean are Republicans: their sticking together is logical if not ethical. Sweeney, on the other hand, is a Democrat -- what's his excuse?


So by leaving O'Toole on the committee, Sweeney gets to thank Christie for not backing the fellow Republican who ran against him and Christie has a potential spy in the enemy camp, effectively undermining the state-level investigation before it even starts. Which means that O'Toole will either have to recuse himself or be ousted on an ethics ruling:

Uh, never mind...

Bruce is in great shape for someone in their mid 60s. He has biceps of someone in their 20s.

I noticed that, too -- if I were Fallon (age 39), I'd be embarrassed to be looking so pale and flabby, LOL!

"Close ties" to Governor Soprano? That's an understatement -- the owner of Wolff & Samson, David Samson, also happens to be the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey! Which means that though the position pays no salary, a lovely little paycheck would have been waiting for him at W&S once the Hoboken development deal went through.

I wonder what made the Rockefellers so nervous all of a sudden. It can't be that Christie gave Samson the Port Authority job -- that happened three years ago. And so what if the chairmanship doesn't pay? Samson can make a nice enough living off his clients who need to do business with the PA. It's all quite a mystery, LOL!

Chiriste and Wildstein: Not Exactly The Best Pen Pals
 

The letter was sent by Wildstein's attorney to the Port Authority? Hmm, I wonder how it ended up in the press?

Christie retaliated with an email to his supporters, one of whom must have sent it to the press because HE wouldn't stoop to doing anything so pathetic:

Why did Wildstein's request for legal financial aid get rejected faster then Baroni's? Perhaps because Wildstein refused to answer any state investigation questions without the promise of immunity from prosecution, whereas Baroni cooperated -- however untruthfully. If you need to be defended, you should get the best legal assistance you can. But if all you want is immunity, why waste your money when you can get a public defender, LOL!

Renna was in charge of interfacing with governmental constituents such as the mayor of Ft. Lee. If she received his complaints about the lane closures, she would have passed them up the chain of command to Kelly (who would have passed them to chief of staff Kevin O'Dowd, who would have passed them to Christie).

Since Christie didn't fire her at the same time as Kelly, he evidently doesn't blame Renna for anything. So what is she worried about -- being accused of not telling Kelly about hearing from the mayor of Ft. Lee?

Hmm. Well, I can see where she'd be worried about being questioned about THAT!

Update: Renna's resignation
 

But fear not -- it turns out that there's a reasonable explanation for Ms. Renna's omission:
You see? He doesn't have a financial interest in the SJG pipeline project because it hasn't happened. And as of now, he's only the president of the pipeline project's PARENT company -- why in the world would anyone expect him to be able to gain financially from a mere subsidiary?

P.S. Good thing for the Rennas that he got the promotion just a few weeks after the scandal started -- I'm sure he got a raise which should help round out his wife's unemployment checks! :rolleyes:

Oops, they did it again
 

About that message that was emailed to Christie's supporters -- those scheming, anonymous staffers of his have undermined him once again!


The "unflattering" coverage may have been the result of the email coming across as the work of a clique of spiteful adolescents, particularly the section on his ex-employee David Wildstein:

With a personal qualities like that, why in the world would Christie hire such an unseemly person in the first place?
Resume? He ain't got no resume. He don't need no resume. HE DON'T HAVE TO SHOW YOU ANY STINKING RESUME!!!

How Can You Be Your Own Chief Investigator AND Your Own Prime Suspect?
 

Last week, Christie traveled to Texas and Florida to host Republican party fundraising events. Unfortunately, lots of Texas and Floridia Republican VIPs found that they were unable to attend. But now he's back home, rejuvenated, and ready to take on an internal investigation of Bridge(t)-Gate!

Christie used to be a prosecutor, but I guess he's a little out of practice. Even if the Zimmer camp still had the documents in question, Governor Soprano is not legally entitled to see them until AFTER he's indicted.

Zimmer says it was Christie's lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno who delivered the message. Maybe she's the person he should start his internal investigation with:

You know how the murderer always seems to get caught because he makes one teeny tiny little mistake? Christie's mistake seems to be not taking into account that American multi-state agencies (such as the Port Authority of New York AND New Jersey) are under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Christie had his ducks in a row as far as being able to control any state-level investigation. He was in the process of promoting his chief of staff (the #3 person in his inner circle) to the position of attorney general -- the highest-ranking lawyer in New Jersey -- when Bridge(t)-Gate broke. Had he been successful, it would have effectively given Christie the power to control the outcome of any state-level investigation. Since then, a member of the state investigative committee whose name appears in the Bridge(t)-Gate emails not been removed, and Christie has installed a new director to the state ethics commission, as I mentioned before.

Christie doesn't have the power to control "the Feds," however, and it looks like they are not concentrating on Ft. Lee and Hoboken alone:

Nothing makes the Feds crankier than doing naughty things with money that they give you.

Yeah - no shit LOL. I have a suspicion (and maybe it's just me) that with this wider investigation Christie is gonna fall. As you say - he could control the NJ investigation but he can't control the federal investigation. Killing that tunnel project made him a lot of powerful enemies - I can only hope that they uncover where all the bodies are buried - and fry his ass.

UPDATE:
Bridge investigation committee member could face subpoena

It's been so long since you last posted, I thought that maybe the investigation was getting too close to your husband and you had to become fugitives, LOL!

Nah - if truth be told my husband is responsible for saving the Port a ton of money by re-writing certain contracts that pissed off Christie and his bunch very early on. Though at the time my husband didn't know the extent of "Christie's Bunch". If those projects get reviewed (which they might) his name would be involved but he would come out squeaky clean. Most of the actual engineers there are pretty clean - they work hard and get absolutely no credit. He is hoping that some of the dirt that he knows is out there comes to the attention of the correct people.

THIS JUST IN: The head of New Jersey Transit (railroad) is resigning effective March 2!

Holy crap - you're right. I didn't see that one coming but should have.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-...sions-assailed

The decision to leave trains in a flood zone was heavily criticized and <horrors> people had to wait a long time for a train after the Superbowl. :roll:

I'm glad Mr. Samson is "too ethical" to collect paychecks from both the PA and his law firm's clients that do business with the PA. According to The Rachel Maddow Show, here's a heartwarming story about a paycheck that Mr. Samson DID pick up:
Okay, I'll do the math -- the entity saves $899,999 a year, New Jersey loses $899,999 worth of tax revenue a year, and Wolff and Samson pockets at least two million dollars.


But before you start accusing Mr. Samson of unethical-ness below and beyond the call of duty, you'll be happy to know that he has seen the error of his ways and has sought to make amends:
So you see, it was just another of those satellites of misunderstanding that revolve around Planet Christie: Samson's vote was recorded correctly, but his declining to vote wasn't. Voting for the rent reduction was the "wrong" thing to do -- setting it up at taxpayer expense for his personal gain was perfectly okay. And he has now turned his wrong into a right!

The next step, of course, is for Mr. Samson to "retroactively recuse" the money that "the entity" paid his law firm. But that might take a while, because the entity is New Jersey Transit -- who VERY recently lost THEIR chairman!

Dear God - the brain boggles reading that post LOL. However the fact that Samson is a slimebag comes through loud and clear.

Two more things that Christie "didn't know"
 

1. The good news is, a new chief of staff has been appointed to the new deputy director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The bad news is, Christie must be unaware that she is implicated in the Bridge(t)-Gate emails and is under subpoena!

2. Apparently Christie didn't know that the lawyer he hired to head up his "internal review" is also heading his law firm's defense of the PA in a lawsuit against its toll hikes. The lawyer has withdrawn from the lawsuit, but his firm has not, so the conflict of interest remains.

Another Bridge(t)-Gate subpoena recipient has vacated his post:

And speaking of implicated Port Authority cops:
He didn't? How unfortunate. If Michaels the cop had mentioned it to Michaels to adviser, who had advised the governor that there was an unauthorized lane closure on the George Washington Bridge, maybe none of this would have happened -- fine friends THEY are!

And nobody even knew that that is who she is. Lots of people are working with her at the Port and were not aware of her affiliations or her implications.

From people who have been at the Port for 30 years - "It's never been this bad". Yes there are always people you need to be aware of - it's never been this polarized.

This serving of "Life On Planet Christie" comes with a side order
 

...of anti-Semitism.

Remember those documents David Wildstein turned over to the state investigative committee? Parts of them were blacked out, and Wildstein said he could delivered them non-blacked out in exchange for immunity. Well, he has since released the un-blacked out records -- sort of:
Baroni wondered if he was about to be fired? That doesn't mesh with what Christie has said:
Christie appeared to have scored a tactical coup by appointing a new head of the state ethics commission. But maybe not:
Well wave THIS off, Governor Soprano: Mr. McKeon was appointed to head the state's Assembly Judiciary Committee -- which means that while Republicans may control the committee that rules on ethics violations, Democrats control the committee that rules on impeachment proceedings!

It's the hypocrisy, stupid
 

The state investigative committee has officially slid into irrelevance.

Coleman screwed up royally, of course -- she effectively convicted Christie while his trial was still in progress. But let's take a closer look at exactly what Wisniewski said:
The (of calling for the governor's resignation) part ISN'T a direct quote. And it strikes me as bending the rules of journalistic impartiality to even imply that Wisniewski would (or should) torpedo his own investigation.


But there is a silver lining -- Coleman went THERE:
Though it was at the cost of her position, getting that hypocrisy back out into the open was worth the price. Avoiding even the appearance of impropriety is as vital to being ethical as avoiding impropriety itself. As long as an implicated participant of Bridge(t)-Gate is on the state committee, it isn't any more relevant or credible than Christie's "internal" investigation of himself.