A Senatorial Monday

Mrs. Stroock takes the Stroocklettes to see family in Indiana on Wednesday. We're stocked up on alcohol and tobacco supplies. Expect to see this headline, 'A New Jersey man...'

We'll finish our World War 1990: The Weser readthrough today or tomorrow. From there we write the final chapter. We'll also have to make some editions to the existing MS. This really needs a Soviet POV character. As of right now, The Weser stands at 60,000 words. 

The jokes about fake Indian Senator Elizabeth Warren having the Wuflu write themselves. 'Did Trump give her a blanket?' we heard. She'll need some big medicine, that's for sure.  For shame. This blog would never laugh about such things. Our own man child Senator Corey Booker has tested positive too. You know we voted for him. Why not? New Jersey has had 6000+ Wuhan Virus cases for several days now and our transmission rate is well above 1. While Governor Murphy has said, 'All options are on the table' he still hasn't said much about mask mandates. We'll see. 

Sticking with news about senators, Senator Joe Manchin has killed the subliterate named Build Back Better Bill. This means we'll have to write yet another Inforos column explaining BBB, Manchin, West Virginia and the filibuster. 

Which brings us to Monday Metal. Here's Dover Delaware's own Love Seed Mama Jump doing a punk version of Country Roads. These guys were a really big thing when we went to college in Dover, 92-95. They're still around doing shows, weddings and Bar mitzvahs. Enjoy:

We Nuke, CNN Nukes

There we were, lying in bed about to fall asleep when we felt that gentle nudge, 'Honey are you awake?' Of course, we mean that metaphorically. We checked our email this morning and saw that line of Cyrillic letters which can only mean one thing. Our KGB handler wants more collusion. Bah...We don't feel like writing about Covid transmission rates and vaccines and R numbers.

So Chris Cuomo is suspended indefinitely from CNN. They'll change that status to definite, don't you worry about that. We'd like to tell you people a story. Back in '99 we worked at CNN Washington (click here for some reminisces). One day some numbskull got the idea to let Algore guest host Larry King Live. People were pissed. There were legit arguments about it in the hallway. Many thought giving Algore the mic when he was running for president was inappropriate and bad ethics. The plan was dropped by the afternoon.  

Governor Phil Murphy is a smart man: 'There are no immediate plans to implement lockdowns or other restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey despite growing concerns over the newly discovered omicron variant that has the possibility to spread more easily, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.' The usual caveats followed. But still... The man does not enjoy lockdowns and mandates, unlike certain former tristate area governors who killed thousands of old people and had to resign from office because they're a sex pest.

Moving on to other former tristate area governors, Hot Air points out Chris Christie's book sales are terrible, 2,289 the first week, and there's no constituency for him in the Republican Party. We don't like his Trump attacks but we'll point out that when he was governor, Christie made all the right enemies. The teacher's unions hated his guts. Oh well. Maybe Christie can be AG in the DeSantis admin. 

We had another great day of reading The Great Salvation of 1976. Things just moved and flowed. We read through chapters covering the president's reconstruction commission and education in the post-war US. That is, we read a lot of scenes taking place in libraries and school houses. What's happening? What's it like? This is the stuff we think is interesting. We think George Will arguing with Carl Sagan about fossil fuels is cool. But will readers?

We spent some mental energy on our desert mercs novel. We even outlined the opening three chapters. Should we?

20 Years After Will's 2001

Having just come off one Wuhan Virus from Wuhan China surge, New Jersey is beginning the next surge: ' New Jersey on Tuesday reported another 1,305 COVID-19 cases and 24 confirmed deaths as the rate of transmission continues to increase above the key benchmark that indicates the outbreak is once again expanding. The Garden State’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests increased to 1,418, up about 31% from a week ago and 9% from a month ago.' You know, we used to tell friends who didn't want the vax that you'll either get the vax or you'll get Covid. But we're all going to get Covid anyway, aren't we?

We had something of a breakthrough editing The Great Nuclear War of 1975 yesterday. We're adding just a few scenes that will add so much to the story. This is why one waits. This is why one reads again and again. One reads the MS 10 times and on the 11th time one finally see's the opening. Overall the editing job his halfway done. We are very good at what we do.

What Will's Watching, Seinfeld on Netflix. These are the original and unedited episodes, presented as they were upon first airing in the 90's. At least in the NYC TV market, the original cold openings had been edited out in syndication. We haven't seen these one minute bits in a couple of decades. In truth we only watch the last three seasons of  Seinfeld. These are a postmodern farce. Festivus anyone?

Forgive this blog a bit of nostalgia, please. But it was 20 years ago right about now that we had settled into something of an alternate lifestyle. That July we had moved to our rustic farmhouse in bucolic Peapack, New Jersey. Having just spent the last six years in Northen Virginia, this autumnal November seemed a bit chilly. We were going back to school, online. On a dial up. Our classes were German Military History, Ancient Warfare of Medieval Warfare, the last two with Professor Brian Todd Carey, whose books you should really buy.  

It was an odd autumn. Most of our profs were reservists, and we assumed they were going to be called up. For that matter we were wondering if we should, you know...Didn't happen, so we plugged away at our studies as always. One Saturday night we stayed up to the wee hours working on a paper and decided we liked it. So for the next several weeks we slept in and worked late. We'd start about 10 and take our first break at about 12:15 to watch Politically Incorrect. Don't scoff, after 9/11 Maher was brilliant. He suffered no excuses for the terrorists and their apologists. From there we'd work till about 3 AM before turning in. 

That first late night paper was about Alfred the Great. We got an A, of course. Said paper became our first feature length magazine article. We wrote that paper with some secondary sources as back up. But we primarily used the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser's Life of Alfred. We spent nights feeling like we were in Excalibur. The lights dimmed, the fires rose, the farm house grew cold....it was the dark ages...One could almost hear armored hoofbeats. How many Vikings does it take to change a lightbulb? None. The light from the burning monastery is more than adequate. 

We will be revisiting that 20 year old Autumn.

Fill this up

The people running New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Service really don't want you to show up in person. Which is fine. They mailed us a driver's license renewal form that allowed renewal via mail or online. We chose the latter option and renewed our license in five minutes. Just one of the many reasons why this blog doesn't hate Phil Murphy. Actually the MVS was first streamlined in the early 2000's by former governor Jim McGreevy, about whom the less said the better. 

It cost us $75 to fill up our Honda Pilot yesterday. We vaguely remember hearing about the 'Energy Crisis' in the late 70's. Well the energy crisis is coming back, isn't it? Thanks Joe. 

Five years ago yesterday we made America great again. The Trump record:

-Last president lawfully elected
-Hillary denied
-Courts remade
-Greatest economy ever
-Energy independence
-Secure border
-Isis defeated, Soleimani and Baghdadi killed
-Abraham Accords
-Operation Warp Speed

To be clear on the top line point, the Dems stole the election of 2020. Stole. The election of 2020 was fraudulent, unfair, dirty, corrupt. In other words the election of 2020 was stolen by the Democrats. To be clearer, Trump won.*

This blog will believe Joe won when critics can present evidence that the election was fair.

Should Trump run again? He's already been elected twice. But a strong case can be made that Trump's moment has passed. Time and distance allow for an honest assessment. We've found flaws. Why go with the original software when you can upload version 2.0, say DeSantis? The laws of political gravity being what they are, DeSantis being the hot candidate now all but guarantees he won't be the hot candidate in 2024. 

*Yes, this blog supports Jack's decision not to concede. What's the rush? No, this blog does not think Phil Murphy stole the governor's race.

The Authorities Showed Up

There was a knock on the door yesterday evening, polite but insistent. We went to the foyer thinking, 'Feds. It's finally happening.' We opened the door to see two men. They wore gray suits, white shirts, black ties. Each gave the impression of being serious and unassuming professionals. Less Law and Order and more Dragnet.

'Crocket,' we nodded. 'Tubbs.'

These two had no sense of humor.

Both held up gold badges.

'Heavy Metal Police,' the one on the right said.

'We need to have a talk, sir,' said the one on the left.

'What seems to be the problem, officer?' We asked.

'You posted a Janet Jackson video for Monday Metal,' the one on the right said.

'Look,' we replied. 'Sometimes we do a not-Metal thing where...'

The one on  the left cut us off, 'Today is the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin IV's release....'

We hung our head in shame and accepted our ticket with as much quiet dignity and grace* as we could muster.

A tremendous oversight on our part. Why, we remember the first time we heard Led Zeppelin IV. Just like Kid Rock sung, it was 1989 our thoughts were short, our hair was long. We wore a black t-shirt and dayglo green and black checkered shorts. We were in the rowboat (which we still have) at the lake house and had just cast a line. We popped Led Zeppelin IV into our Walkman. We haven't looked back.  

Hey, folks, we had a lot to do yesterday. We got to the gym and did a great hour on the treadmill. We did some serious writing on World War 1990: The Final Storm, and made some changes that make The Great Nuclear War of 1975 just a bit better. 

Also, we colluded: 'Last week Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia governor. Youngkin won 50-48%, with the remainder of the vote going to third party candidates. Republicans won the race for Lt. Governor and Attorney General, and also flipped the Virginia House of Delegates. Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, quoted a high ranking McAuliffe campaign surrogate, ‘It’s a bloodbath’ for Democrats. McAuliffe conceded the race the morning after the election. The Washington Post’s exit poll shows Youngkin won 55% of independent voters.' Click it.

It was...18 years ago that we were lifting weights in our basement (in bucolic Peapack, NJ, across the street from the swan park). We were 30 years old. It was summer. The air was cool but a touch humid after a hot summer day. We were playing air guitar to some Zeppelin and thought, Gee, it'd be great if we could do that for real. And soon, because we started running, and finally earned our BA, and gotten our first article in print and because it was the summer of 2003 we figured, Why not give it a try?

And so did. And so we did...

*Reference.

Happy Unity Day, Comrade

Good morning! After a late and restless night on election night we slept in a bit this morning. Besides, the girls have the next two days off as these are in-service planning days for the teachers. Because these people haven't had enough time off the last few years. 

Do recall we've been a substitute teacher, a full time teacher at a second rate Yeshiva in Passaic and a college prof. So when we talk about teaching, we know what the fuck we're talking about. The gig ain't rocket science. Of course the teaching class will tell parents one needs a masters degree to assign chapters one and two, odd numbers only. 

Here in New Jersey, they called the gubernatorial race for Murphy. This blog is not surprised. As of this writing we know of no evidence of fraud. Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney was taken out by a truck driver who spent a couple of hundred bucks on his campaign, about half at Dunkin Donuts. Too bad, we liked Sweeney, he fought Murphy on taxes. Even so, this is pretty cool.

Two questions about the Virginia elections. Since the Democrats didn't steal the gubernatorial race, does this mean they didn't steal the presidential race last year? Second, does Youngkin's win mean the GOP doesn't need Trump to rally the base and win? This would be the 'Trumpism without Trump' particle that physicists have yet to locate. Discuss.

They'll be no Russian collusion from us this week, as Thursday and Friday are holidays over there. Day of Unity? Looks like we're celebrating the expulsion of Polish troops from Moscow, the foundation of the Romanov dynasty and the end of the Russian 'Time of Troubles'. Yeah, 'cause that's when the Russian troubles stopped. Who's your favorite Czar? Post in comments. 

Friday Polling and Russian Collusion

Will colludes twice in a week:  'Right now America is in the midst of a durable goods shortage and the term ‘supply chain crisis’ saturates the news. After a long lag due to the Wuhan Virus, demand is up once more. But America lacks the dock facilities to unload and store imports. As a result, more than a hundred merchant container ships lay at anchor awaiting their turn to offload their cargos at Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest ports on the West Coast. Compounding the crisis is a nationwide shortage of truckers brought about by onerous Covid regulations and high unemployment payments discouraging work. This observer can personally attest to the shortages. Here in northern New Jersey, there is an acute shortage of new cars and the wait for new furniture extends into 2022.'What's Russian for click on through?

Our handler wrote us (in secret code, mind you), 'Will, write article undermining American faith in supply chain. Will pay many rubbles.' To which we responded (also in code), 'Da, Comrade. Is honor to serve party.' Note to Nightingale Russia (you pussies) this is just an example of our dry, witty, and over-the-top farcical sense of humor. You see, there are no codes or rubbles. 

Whoa: 'Gov. Phil Murphy leads Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli by 6 percentage points heading into the final stretch of the race for New Jersey governor, according to a new poll. The Emerson College/PIX 11 survey released Thursday found the Democratic incumbent ahead of Ciatarelli 50% to 44% as he seeks a second term in the Nov. 2 election, while 7% of voters remain undecided. It’s the second straight poll that shows a single-digit margin in the race after a string of surveys early on showed Murphy leading by double digits in the Democratic-leaning Garden State.' 

So says NJ.com. This is about where we thought the race would be. Jack has run a tough and relentlessly on point campaign about taxes and spending. We saw him speak at a school rally earlier this year. Jack gave a short, sharp, perfect speech. It lasted like, a minute and a half. As noted previously, one see's tons of Jack gear, but hardly any Murphy gear. Don't get too excited. We still think Murphy wins. Hmmm...Here's another poll, 52-48. Holy Bon Jovi.

On another note the Wuhan Virus from Wuhan China transmission rate is now .87. Any number over 1 means the Wu-flu is spreading. So another wave is ending. I've walked into places without a mask that you wouldn't believe. It is our belief that Murphy is going to institute mask and vax mandates so...

*Breaking, Must Credit Stroock's Books*
Begin: William Stroock formally endorses Jack Ciattarelli for governor...
Stroock: Murphy's a tosser. Will impose mandates...

Further Stroock: A Jew never votes Irish when there's an Italian on hand...Developing....

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 10/17/21

The knee nags. We grumble. A little better every morning. A little less sore at night. We didn't blow out our knee on the treadmill or lifting. We did it walking, which somehow triggered gout. We smite thee! From hell's heart we stab at thee!

It's sportsball day. Mrs. Stroock's Eagles played Thursday. You know, the Giants haven't played a big game in a goddamn decade. This year they're 1-4 to start. Pathetic. Looks like we picked the right time to bail on the NFL. We'll catch some of the game tonight as Mrs. Stroock will be watching. 

We haven't been closely following the governor's race here in New Jersey. We expect Murphy to win decently though not overwhelmingly. Say...51-43 or something like that? Murphy has wisely eschewed mask and vax mandates though he insists those options 'remain on the table'. We had an epiphany yesterday. Murphy will institute mandates after the election. Won't he? 

As far as Virginia goes, we admit Terry McAuliffe is a bad candidate in bad circumstances. That's two out of three of Will's election keys.* Maybe McAuliffe's ideas suck too. We can't opine about Youngkin's campaign. Most polls show a dead heat. We'll believe it when we see it. Prediction, Youngkin will be ahead right up till the time Richmond reports. The Democrats will just happen to have enough votes to tip things to Hillary's bagman. Like always. 

Will's good idea for the week of 10/17/21. Sometime next year this blog will hit 5,000 posts. By then we'll have kept this blog going for 7 years. That's a hell of a lot longer than most people. We're a writer, that's what we do.

Once we hit 5,000 posts we may shutdown the blog. We began this blog in 2015 so we'd have something to do in the afternoon after class. We blog in the morning. We had hopped to blog about being a college prof. Well we blew that up, didn't we? Over the years this blog's readership has become...more selective**. We have no idea how to gain a bigger audience. Anyone dropping suggestions in comments gets banned. We've already tried/thought of that. 

This blog is mostly just an exercise, a way to juice the brain in the morning. Sure we enjoy it. We enjoy vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles too, but have it very rarely. 

Heh, we actually have something else set up and ready to go. But we're not sure we'll do it. If you people want it, you'll have to pay money for it. We'll see. 

*Circumstances, ideas, candidates.

**Reference.

Will in New Jersey and Russia

New Jersey is adding 4,000 Wuhan Virus cases per day, and the health department predicts that could surge to 10,000. Here in Somerset County we see wild fluctuations between 50 and 150 + new cases per day. Since Beijing released the bug, Bridgewater has reported 757 cases and 75 deaths. Reported. Our friends who caught the bug exbibit classic flu symptoms and say they're getting a bit better everyday.  

Governor Phil Murphy has announced new restrictions and 'reserves the right' to order a total lockdown. We don't think he'll do that. We can't really complain about Murphy's handling of the crisis, even before the pandemic we didn't think he was that bad, you know, for a Democrat. The main difference between Murphy and Andrew Cuomo is attitude. Murphy doesn't get off on bullying people. Don't be a 'knucklehead' he admonishes. Also, Murphy doesn't like unleash the Gestapo against the Jews like Obergrupperfuhrer Cuomo. Look, Murphy's not perfect, but he also ain't no Gavin Newsom.

Anyway, here's our latest bit of Soviet disinformation:

A few days before the presidential election, this observer predicted President Trump would win about 50% of the popular vote and around 325 electoral votes. Obviously that didn’t happen. But most polls and poll aggregates predicted a Blue Wave leading to a Joe Biden landslide. That didn’t happen either. And while Biden has won the popular vote, at the risk of sounding like a sore loser, the matter of the electoral college has not yet been settled. The media can say the presidential race is over all it wants, but until the votes are certified by the state legislatures and the electors meet, it isn’t over. As we write, President Trump is exercising his legal options.

Click on through... 

New Jersey is Cancelled

New Jersey has twenty-nine Coronavirus cases including one in our town of Bridgewater. Mrs. Stroock reports the grocery store was mobbed, and many shelves empty.

The governor has banned gatherings of more than 250 people and our local board of education has closed schools till the 27th. The girls brought home the contents of their lockers. We had them wipe down the surfaces. The schools are going to use Google Classroom for the next two weeks. This will be a combo of online assignments and facetime class sessions and is planned to last four hours. We'll see. We're already talking to the girls about other things they'd like to learn.

Tucker Carlson was a responsible reporter last night, bringing on people who had information to convey, like a doctor and a supply chain expert. Bottom line on the later, production is fine it's just that demand has sky rocketed.

12/10/19 in New Jersey

Governor Murphy comes down from the Mountain and declares Central New Jersey to be a thing:

That’s it, New Jersey. Put down your fists. Gov. Phil Murphy just put an end to one of the Garden State’s greatest debates. “As Governor of the Great State of New Jersey, I hereby declare that CENTRAL JERSEY DOES EXIST,” Murphy tweeted Monday afternoon.

A quick look at the map will show New Jersey is a pair of satellites orbiting two poles, New York in the north and Philly in the south. To put it another way, Giants* country vs Eagles country. People up north like the Devils, while down south in the 609 areacode, well, that's Flyer's territory.

We've heard our own Somerset County described as 'Central New Jersey' but we've always rejected this. We're 30 minutes from Newark International and the Lincoln Tunnel, for crying out loud.

New Jersey could split into two states and it would make some sense and neither would miss the other.

*Yes there are Jets fans in northern New Jersey, but their fan base is Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.

12/2/19 in New Jersey

We're having some sort of winter storm here today in New Jersey:

With New Jersey set to see its first snowstorm of the season just as people hit the roads to return home, to work, and to school after Thanksgiving, Gov. Phil Murphy warned residents Sunday morning to brace for two days of messy weather and travel conditions — and urged them to practice patience and caution.

No shit?

One of the annoyances of modern politics is that northern governors feel they have to give twice daily updates from impressive sounding 'command centers' and what not.

Chris Christie did it best. As Hurricane Irene bore down on New Jersey the corrupt mayor of the corrupt Atlantic City decided people should hunker down in a local gymnasium rather than get the hell off the coast. Christie took to the airwaves and said you've been warned, you're on your own and 'you're not blaming us.'

We loved our governor.

8-6-19 in New Jersey

NJ.com gives us a quick rundown on New Jersey gun laws, and they're pretty tough, 2nd toughest in the nation according to the piece.

The article says, 'The Garden State also ranks 45th among the 50 states in the number of per capita gun deaths per year, according the center. Only Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts have fewer. New Jersey averages 5.3 gun deaths per 100,000 people a year. The national average is 11.9.'

Food for thought.

The Bookers

Turns out the Booker family is well connected in New Jersey. Just look at Cory Booker's brother, Cary:

After working as a policy consultant on Murphy’s campaign in 2017, Cary Booker became the administration’s senior education adviser in 2018, earning $120,000. This June, six days before Murphy stumped for Cory Booker’s presidential campaign in Iowa, the Democratic governor’s administration awarded Cary Booker a new $150,000 position leading the state’s Division of Early Childhood Education, which focuses on birth to third grade.

Yet Cary Booker has never worked in preschools in any capacity, and his primary experience with young elementary school students was at Omni Prep, according to a resume obtained through an open records request. His tenure as an administrator at the small charter school should raise questions about how qualified he is to lead a department shaping pre-K and early elementary education for an entire state, former employees said.

This little tidbit about Cary Booker's failed school matches our own experience teaching at a second rate Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva on Terhune Avenue in Passaic, NJ.

The financial woes weren’t a shock — when the school opened the previous fall it provided no books, no curriculum and almost no training for its novice educators, former teachers said in interviews with NJ Advance Media. But now the charming and charismatic face of the school offered no solution.

Booker's parents were IBM execs. Cory attended Stanford and played college football. He's a pretty interesting man, according to his bio, one of the reasons we voted for him. 

Too bad he's an idiot man-child.

7-1-19 in New Jersey

Insider New Jersey reports that President Trump congratulated Senate leader Steve Sweeney and the NJ legislature for standing strong against Governor Murphy and his virtue signaling millionaire's tax:

The legislature is run by machine Democrats, including Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Steve Sweeney, who together are locked in an ongoing political fight with progressive Democratic Governor Phil Murphy.

At various junctures of the budget battle, which ended yesterday on the last day of the month when Murphy signed the legislature’s $38.7 billion budget rather than force a government shutdown, the governor and his rivals each attempted to paint the other as the more Trump-friendly side of the divide.

Murphy repeatedly pointed out that Trump’s tax policies and SALT deduction freeze punished New Jersey’s middle class, which could benefit from a state millionaire’s tax in the name of tax fairness.

Machine Democrats. 

Do we detect a taste of sour grapes from editor Max Pizarro? 

As far as the SALT Deduction freeze goes, hey Progressives, you love taxes. Pay 'em!

It's not like Trump knows anything about New Jersey's business environment.

6-28-19 in New Jersey

While Governor Phil Murphy continues to win friends in New Jersey, proposing a tax on opioids, Paul Mulshine reports that Senate President Steve Sweeney continues to be eminently sensible:

“Opioids is a crisis, but now I’m gonna tax medication that people rely on? That some people need?” he said yesterday. “Maybe the next idea is we’ll go after diabetic medications.”

Some staffer thought of this, didn't they? I know, let's tax pain killers! There's an opioid crisis right? Right?

Steve Sweeney for Governor! 

6-18-19 in New Jersey

Well this is no surprise:

MADISON - One-third of adult New Jersey residents cannot name the state’s current governor, according to a poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University.  

The survey by the school found that only 67% of adults surveyed knew that New Jersey’s governor is named Gov. Phil Murphy.

Some New Jerseyans could only remember the name “Phil” or “Murphy”, while others referred to the governor as “William Murphy” or “Bill Murphy.”

And apparently 21 out of the 802 people surveyed said that they knew the name of the governor and then named former Gov. Chris Christie.

Murphy is pretty forgettable while Chris Christie, for whom we twice voted, is not.

As we have stated before, in New Jersey the governor's office is more or less a non-partisan thing. You really have to piss people off to be hated. 

Ask Jim Florio, Florio Free in '93!

NJ12 reports that 1/3 number is in line with other states.

6-17-19 in New Jersey

New Jersey Legislature to Governor Murphy: Drop Dead:

In the state budget they will unveil Monday, Democratic lawmakers reject Gov. Phil Murphy’s calls for tax hikes on millionaires and increased fees on gun owners, corporations, opioid manufacturers and bear hunters in New Jersey, NJ Advance Media has learned.

The Democrats who control the state Legislature have insisted they won’t support a millionaires tax, and their proposed $38.7 billion budget preserves just one of the Democratic governor’s proposed tax increases. They would raise a single tax — paid by HMOs — while taking money out of the state rainy day fund, cutting spending and tweaking revenue estimates for the coming fiscal year to balance the budget.

Rainy. Day. Fund.

New Jersey, while expensive, is actually pretty well run. The roads get fixed. The snow gets cleared.

New Jersey is also not as blue as you think. We've had a GOP governor in every decade since the 70's, including the last one. The northwest part of the state is mountain wilderness with an anual bear hunt, which the usual dip heads want to end. Hence the legislsature killing the hunting and gun fees.

Anyway, this budget is a victory for New Jersey, common sense, and not becoming California.

6-14-19 in New Jersey

Public sector unions rally to support Governor Murphy's stupid Millionaires Tax:

The coalition of unions included members of the powerful New Jersey Education, which represents teachers, and the Communications Workers of America, the largest state workers union. The unions have supported Murphy...

Well of course they do! Tax payer's money, who wouldn't want more of that! And they get summers off, a week vacation in the spring and at Christmas. Tough work, those teachers do.

But he needs the Democratic-controlled state Legislature to agree to the tax hike. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, remain against it, arguing that cost-cutting government reforms should come before taxes.

Sweeney is pushing a comprehensive 27-bill reform he calls a “Path to Progress,” saying New Jersey can no longer afford soaring costs.

The unions are steadfastly opposed to Sweeney’s plan because it includes cuts to their benefits. They are deriding it as “a path to poverty.”

Path to poverty...Oh my god....

Taxpayers, no matter how much you pay into their pensions it will never be enough for the public sector unions.

6-13-19 in New Jersey

Governor Phil Murphy presses ahead with his stupid Millionaires Tax. 

Murphy has been pushing for months for New Jersey to enact a millionaires tax to infuse the taxpayer-funded state budget with more money for education, transportation, and public-worker pensions.

But he needs the Democratic-controlled state Legislature to pass the plan. And the top lawmakers who decide which bills come up for a vote — Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex — have remained fiercely opposed to a millionaires tax. They say the upcoming budget doesn’t need the money and New Jersey is already rife with taxes.

That's the Dems telling Murphy no, mind you.

Senator Sweeney would much rather do something about the state's huge unfunded liabilities:

Meanwhile, Sweeney is pushing his own controversial “Path to Progress” proposals to scale back public-worker pension and health benefits, which is opposed by government-employee unions and unlikely to be supported by the progressive Murphy. The Senate president said the current cost of pensions and benefits is not sustainable for the state.

Quite right and sensible of Sweeney, no?

Murphy understands that Trump is going to be reelected and wants to be in position to run in 2024, doesn't he?

If virtue signaling toward the Dem nomination means turning New Jersey into California, then Murphy's willing to do it.