Some in the GOP are heavily engaged right now in deflecting, diverting, and dismissing. It's "D" week, here in New Jersey! To get you to look OVER HERE at some SHINY OBJECT so you won't think about the loss of nearly half a billion smackeroos to our schools. Or why the Governor's dillydallying on applying for $268 million federal dollars to hire back some of our teachers so class size is more manageable, for those same schools. Or whether all this may represent a fundamental lack of support for public education, and a defunding of same. And while, yes, the government still has to go on whilst an investigation of the events leading up to the Race to the Top "mistakes," it's funny how some people didn't get the memo that New Jersey politicians look ridiculous right now trying to blame the feds for a Jersey bout of incompetence, and how others continue tough-talking, using terms like "reform" with no apparent sense of irony for what and who they're willing to sacrifice for their own "reform". Cases in point:
Even if the administration did everything right, the Obama administration was never going to give the governor a nickel," DeCroce said. "There was no chance he was going to get that money from D.C.
Hearings: They're coming. And they'd better be well-run, with tough questions asked. That's the direction I'm looking in. Screw the shiny objects. Keep your eye on the ball, NJ Legislature.
I normally don't cross-post articles from my deciminyan blog that are not New Jersey-specific. But on this topic, even though it is at the Federal level, implementation will be highly a function of how the states proceed. With Governor Christie's track record, it is important to keep the pressure on him to avoid additional blunders from his administration.
With the exception of newlyweds and doting grandparents, there are few celebrations of a six-month anniversary or birthday. Yet, this month - September 23rd specifically - there is an important half-year milestone for the United States.
That day will mark six months since the President signed the historic Affordable Care Act into law. And while the implementation of the provisions of the act will be phased in over the next several years, some of its benefits will start on September 23rd.
The bill that was signed last March is severely flawed. It is complex and will result in 50 somewhat disparate systems because much of the implementation is left up to the states. A Single Payer approach ("Medicare for All") would have been a better, more fiscally sound system, and the current bill is a boon to for-profit insurance companies. Nevertheless, it is a good start with some tangible benefits to be realized this month.
Coverage Expansion for Young Adults - Young adults up to age 26 can participate in their parents' health care plan.
No Rescissions - Bans all health plans from dropping people from coverage when they get sick.
No Lifetime Limits on Coverage - Prohibits all health plans for placing lifetime caps on coverage.
Tightly Regulates Annual Limits on Coverage - Tightly restricts the use of annual limits by all employer plans and new plans in the individual market, to ensure access to needed care.
Free Preventive Care Under New Plans - Requires new private plans to cover preventive services with no co-payments and with preventive services being exempt from deductibles.
New, Independent Appeals Process for New Plans - Ensures consumers in new plans have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal decisions.
No Discrimination Against Children with Pre-Existing Conditions - Prohibits all employer plans and new plans in the individual market from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Already exists in New Jersey, but will now be extended throughout the country.
Other provisions of the new law such as insurance exchanges and elimination of annual caps are to be phased in more gradually as the Department of Health and Human Services and the individual states work on appropriate regulations and implementation strategy.
Despite these incremental improvements, there are a number of pitfalls ahead that have the potential of reversing the positive trend and keeping America in the bottom rung of affordable health care among developed nations.
First, there are the politically-motivated lawsuits being pursued by several states and corporate-funded conservative advocacy groups to have the Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional. They are against the provision that requires all Americans who can afford it to have health insurance. Apparently, the anti-health lobby would prefer the more expensive option of having people use emergency rooms for health care and eliminating preventative medicine for the poor. Given the number of conservative activists on the Supreme Court, there is a good chance that the Affordable Care Act could be nullified or severely neutered.
The other danger is a Republican take-over of one or both houses of Congress. The Republicans are campaigning on a three-fold platform - repeal of anything that President Obama has promoted (including the Affordable Care Act, which is very similar to what was proposed by President Nixon), endless and costly investigations once they get subpoena power, and more deficit-inducing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Repeal of the Affordable Care Act is a real possibility, and given the Republicans' adeptness for legislative chicanery, even the threat of a presidential veto is not guaranteed to maintain the positive momentum in this area.
The anti-health lobby has a tremendous advantage - lots of stealth corporate money, Fox "News", and right-wing hate radio - all working to limit care in the name of greed fiscal responsibility.
So we won the first battle - passage of the bill. Celebrate the ½ birthday with joy, but not with relief. Learn what's in the bill, and where improvements need to be made. We have a long war ahead of us. The anti-health forces are powerful, organized, and well-funded. We need to keep the pressure on our elected officials, demonstrate, and advocate for 21st century health care for all the people in the United States.
Chris Christie won the Governor election with less than 50% of the vote. That means more than half of the voters wanted someone other than him to govern.
He has consistently abused his power. He pulled rank as a US Attorney to get out of a ticket when he went the wrong way down a one way street, and also pulled rank when he got a speeding ticket in an unregistered car to avoid being towed. He failed to disclose his close financial relationship with top assistant Michele Brown, a conflict of interest. He gave huge no bid contracts to his boss (John Ashcroft) and the man who didn't prosecute his brother for securities fraud, while 19 others were prosecuted. He governs with a personal vendetta to the detriment of New Jerseyans.
Those are just off the top of my head. And they aren't "partisan policy disagreements". They are basic character traits of a man with a short temper who is set in his ways, come hell or high water. We already had a nightmare of a similar "leader" that just left the White House. And Christie is a disciple of that regime.
And this current situation with the $400 million in education funding that NJ students now lose out on after he took over the application process - accusations and documented support from Bret Schundler that Christie again is playing fast and loose with the facts all while lashing out at anyone who dares to point out the truth.
Understanding that many in the corporate media are overwhelmed and overworked, it would be nice to see some more reporting on this very disturbing pattern of reckless behavior and how these ethical issues on Christie's part are a danger to the state and its future. Christie has shown that he does not negotiate in good faith - if he even negotiates at all. He is not one to be trusted, and his word has been proven over and over to conflict with his actions and reality.
The $1 trillion Iraq war has gone from early successes, to the chaos of civil war, to a surge, and now to the draw-down to 50,000 troops. After eight years there has been immense suffering and loss on the part of Iraqi, American, and allied partners. President Obama spoke about the war Tuesday night from the Oval Office. New Jersey veterans, family of the fallen, and those who help returning vets have their opinions.
The President began his speech saying, "Good evening. Tonight I'd like to speak to you about the end of of our combat mission in Iraq." He went on to explain that violence will not necessarily end. Cranbury resident Sue Niederer, who lost her son, Army Lt. Seth Dvorin, to an explosion in February 2004, was quoted by the Star Ledger as saying, "The combat mission is in no way over. There's 50,000 of our soldiers over there and they have guns."
After eight years of different missions, Obama's goal is to create a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant country." He feels this goal is achievable. The true measure of the war, however, is yet to be written. There is no doubt its cost has been high.
Remarkable documents released yesterday by fired NJ Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler illustrate - if they're accurate - where this Race to the Top fiasco leads. Despite his bombast and attempts to offload fault on the loss of nearly half a billion bucks into NJ's public schools, onto Schundler, Obama, teachers, Rahm Emanuel and anybody else, these events may show there may be some deep problems in Chris Christie's administration. How decisions are made, and carried out. Competence. Transparency. Possible cover-up.
As the US ends its combat mission in Iraq, Blue Jersey honors those New Jerseyans who served there. Sketches of a few who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Schundler releases chronology, emails and documents regarding Race to the Top
Called a liar by Gov. Chris Christie, his fired Education Commissioner is firing back. Documents, timelines, emails to top Christie aide Maria Comella, and drafts of letters to US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, shown in stages with edits by Christie Chief of Staff Richard Bagger. Taken together, if Schundler's documents are accurate, they illustrate that the "lie" Schundler was fired for was not what Christie made it appear.
Property tax hikes in New Jersey will hit 23.5 percent factoring in loss of rebate
Christie's budget eliminated NJ SAVER homestead rebate for this year. Homeowners who qualified for the rebate last year saw an average check of $1,037 to offset a statewide average tax bill of $7,291. Average homeowner tax bill went up in 379 towns, down in 35, unchanged in just 1.
Against what most courtroom observers consider a legal long shot, lawyers for the Fort Dix Five filed a multipronged appeal Tuesday seeking to have the convictions of the jailed suburban terrorists overturned.
Passaic Democrats call for probe of sheriff's abrupt resignation
Passaic County Dems call for an investigation into the abrupt resignation last month of Sheriff Jerry Speziale, alleging county GOP officials got him a high-paying public job so he would abandon his reelection bid.
Local
North Plainfield: Yeah, it's probably not a good idea to be buying pot in the Rescue Squad ambulance, as 2 squad members were arrested for in nearby Plainfield.
Camden: Postponing decision whether to close one of its two remaining library branches.
Ramsey: Candidate for vacant seat launches bid for same seat in November.
Yay! WiFi on the choo-choo!
You might be able to blog on NJ Transit trains soon without a wireless card. (Did that just sound as geeky as I thought it did?)
This is an Open Thread. What do you think of this Schundler stuff, Blue Jerseyans?
A few minutes ago, former NJ Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, fired a few days ago for "lying" to Governor Christie about events connected to the state's bungled Race to the Top funding for NJ schools, released documents he believes will set the record straight that he is telling the truth, and it is the governor who is not being truthful. From the chronology, comes this extraordinary quote. Schundler:
I have thought about the possibility that beyond my being a scapegoat for his misstatement, the Governor might be angry at me for not telling him the interview was videotaped. In my defense, I never believed I needed to say, 'Governor, stick to the truth, there's a videotape.' Perhaps I should have.
First is a 7-page written chronology which begins with the dizzying events of the last few days, including a press conference called to blame the Obama administration for the funding loss, in which the governor said something Schundler says the governor knew was not true. Next come emails between Schundler and Maria Comella, a spokewoman and top staffer to Christie. Next is a draft of a letter to US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, submitted to Christie Chief of Staff Richard Bagger. It makes, as he says, points he knew the Governor's office wanted, but does not include a claim that Schundler's team provided the federal interviewers with the data NJ's application was missing. Finally come two rewrites Bagger did of Schundler's Duncan letter. In the first, you will see that an assertion has been added - apparently untrue - that Schundler provided those missing figures to the federal interviewers. In the second, Bagger has removed the false claim that Schundler provided those missing numbers to the interviewers, because Schundler had insisted that was not true. Schundler says he transferred Bagger's second rewrite to his letterhead, signed and emailed it to Washington, following up with a pdf of that letter.
This is all breaking now. We haven't had much time to sift through it, but I wanted to get it all up now to you raw, so you could begin to read it for yourself. Schundler provided all these documents, and we uploaded them from the first place we saw them, Asbury Park Press:
I have thought about the possibility that beyond my being a scapegoat for his misstatement, the Governor might be angry at me for not telling him the interview was videotaped. In my defense, I never believed I needed to say, 'Governor, stick to the truth, there's a videotape.' Perhaps I should have.
There's been a lot of talk about lies, who said what when, getting to the bottom of things, changing stories, etc. All of this can get confusing and obscure the basic facts of the Christie-Shundler blunder.
The Christie Administration's incompetence cost New Jersey's schools almost half a billion dollars.
Really, do we need to focus much on anything else?
As the U. S. ends its combat mission in Iraq, we honor those New Jerseyans who served there. Below are sketches of a few who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Cpl. Michael E. Curtin, 23, Howell - March 2003 The first New Jerseyan killed during the war in Iraq, he was a graduate of Howell High School where he played on the school football team and enjoyed recreational hockey and baseball. He worked as a tool-and-die apprentice for three years before enlisting in 2001. He was killed when a suicide bomber attacked an army checkpoint on a highway. His family said, "The outpouring of support, generosity and condolences on the loss of Michael has been truly overwhelming."
