NJ Watchdog: Phantom of New Jersey? Christie attends first state event in 51 days

Mark your calendars! Gov. Chris Christie made his first New Jersey public appearance in 51 days on Tuesday.

The governor has been a virtual phantom in the Garden State, especially since he officially announced his run for the White House in June. Since then, he has focused primarily on the town hall circuit in New Hampshire and other campaign activities.

Christie made a brief stop at a Paterson hospital to talk about drug addiction treatment. The governor “was in a big hurry, as he did not answer any questions in and out of the event,” according to NJTV.

In 2015, he has traveled outside New Jersey for all or part of 141 days — more than half of the ongoing year. The governor’s day-to-day activities are recorded by Matt Katz’s “The Christie Tracker” blog for WYNC radio.

In answering critics, Christie has claimed he can govern the state by telephone, email and Internet during his road trips. Yet New Jersey is further than ever from solving some of its most pressing problems.

The deficit in state pension and health benefit plans for public workers has reached $194 billion, a New Jersey Watchdog analysis revealed last week. Of that total, the state is responsible for $145 billion of that sum; local governments bear the brunt of the balance.

A separate report found New Jersey ranks worst in that nation for debt burden per taxpayer.

A Truth in Accounting report, updated with research by New Jersey Watchdog, pegged the state government’s total debt at $170 billion, or more than $55,000 for each taxpayer. That figure includes what the state owes for pensions, employee health coverage, bonds and other liabilities — but not the debts of the state's 21 counties, 565 municipalities and 610 school districts.

A gaffe by Christie during last week’s GOP presidential debate on CNN underscored the governor’s lack of presence, both physical and mental. During a discussion of climate change, he referred to himself as governor in the past tense.

“When I was governor, I pulled out of the regional cap and trade deal, the only state in the Northeast that did that. And we still reached our goals,” said Christie.

The faux pas was highlighted in a column by The Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine.

From Tragedy to Citizenshi​p

Here's a tragic story with happy ending thanks to Congressman Rush Holt. This story was the subject of his latest newsltter: 

In my office in West Windsor last Friday, officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services joined me in hosting a swearing-in ceremony for five women who had traveled a long pathway from tragedy to citizenship.


When Waqar Hasan came to the United States in 1993, he did so in search of a better life for his family. His wife, Durreshahwar, and four daughters, Nida, Asna, Anum, and Iqra, followed a year later, and the family settled in Milltown.

They epitomized the hardworking, optimistic spirit that immigrants have always brought to this country. And they were on their path to citizenship when Waqar Hasan lost his life for no other reason than he was a Muslim with a “Middle Eastern” face.

An angry young man walked into Waqar’s convenience store in Dallas, Texas on the night of September 15, 2001, four days after the 9/11 attacks, ordered two hamburgers, and then shot the 46-year-old father of four in the face with a .380 caliber handgun. Nothing was taken from the store. When asked by police why he shot Waqar, 32-year-old Mark Anthony Stroman expressed no remorse. “I did what every American wanted to do but didn’t.”

His death would have ended his family’s path to citizenship – but in 2004, Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill that I wrote to allow the Hasans to stay in the United States and to become American citizens.

Statement of Rep. Rush Holt, Oath of Citizenship Ceremony, March 16, 2012

Let’s not lose sight that this ceremony is, first, about five individuals. These five, like one million others each year, now formally tie their futures to the future of the United States of America. These five individuals – Duri, Nida, Asna, Anum, and Iqra – are taking the oath to be citizens of the United States.

In a real sense, though, this is about the United States of America as much as it is about these five women. These five were tied to America long before today. They have considered themselves American. And the United States of America has had an obligation to them for many years.

Today we see hope coming out of tragedy, a fair result out of an insane injustice, and compassionate concern out of impersonal laws and regulations. The USA intends to provide and strives to give hope, fairness, and compassion; but these are not automatic. Cruel fate or happenstance often threatens to crush hope and opportunity. Irrational human passions and prejudices can thwart justice and fairness. The demands of life in a busy, complicated society and the exigencies of a complicated legal code can crowd out compassion.

All across the country America reacted in dismay when they heard in September 2001 the news of the hate crime that took the life of Pakistan-born Waqar Hasan. When they learned that the murderer committed his brutality as a perverse retaliation for the attacks of September 11, as an act of twisted patriotism, they knew this was a blot on our country. And all Americans felt the pangs even more deeply when they learned that Waqar Hasan left behind a struggling widow and four little girls.

For most Americans that was the end of the story, as they went back to their busy lives. The wheels of justice will turn and take care of this, they thought. What they did not think about was that the United States had already incurred an obligation to the Hasan family. Nor did they consider how impersonal the law can be.

Duri Hasan and her four little girls were subject to immediate deportation because they had been in the U.S. legally only by virtue of Mr. Hasan’s working papers. He had taken the first steps to become an American citizen, but when he died, the family’s visas and their hopes of American citizenship died with him. He was building his future and theirs in America. They were already Americans in every sense but the legal sense. This was the country the girls knew. Mrs. Hasan was working hard so that her family could make it in America. The girls were studying in school and growing up like so many million other American girls. It was apparent to those of us who got to know them that these are brave, industrious people, the kind of people our country is made of. In the laws of this country there was no exception. It required a new law to create a place for this family.

Waqar Hasan was a victim of the hate of September 11 as much as the thousands of others we mourned then and now, but he and his family might have been forgotten. The law did not include a provision recognizing that obligation our nation had incurred. Still, many Americans did not forget this fine American family. They rallied to support them in their struggles and to make a place for them in our society and our country. Human rights advocates, religious organizations, and concerned neighbors and strangers from around the country pushed for special legislation that was eventually signed by President Bush in the fall of 2004. Today, finally, hope, fairness, and compassion prevail. It is wonderful and heartwarming to see this family here today becoming full-fledged, official citizens of the United States of America.

The people of the United States and our government have an odd attitude toward immigration and immigrants. Often forgetting our own origins, and even our own best interests, we resist diversity and even lash out against others, like ourselves, because we mistakenly think they are not like ourselves. Our country has a founding commitment and history of openness, however, punctuated with many instances of rejection, bias, and hatred. The historical record is very clear that openness toward immigrants and policies of inclusion have benefited us greatly. Yet human prejudices too often break through. We see it around the country even today. Today, here in New Jersey, though, we recognize and celebrate the realization of the aspirations of these five Americans—and the aspirations that Waqar Hasan had for his family – and we recognize the successful functioning—ultimately—of American law.

We must not forget that year by year over two centuries the United State of America has moved by means of laws to overcome these prejudices of humans and the impersonal forces of society to create opportunity and fairness and to build a compassionate and supportive society for each person. This is not a country that says, “You are on your own.”

We must lift our lamp by the golden door, but also keep the door and our laws and our hearts open.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt

Member of Congress

Learn to Speak Tea Bag

(Hat tip to Juan Melli and Jorge Santos via Rob Tornoe)

NPR.com
Learning a new language doesn't have to be hard, especially when "Tea Bag" is so minimalistic! Mark Fiore offers his personal take in this animation. The Wall Street Journal dubbed Fiore "the undisputed guru of the form." He creates political animation from an undisclosed location somewhere in San Francisco.

Can Canadians Purchase Private Health Insurance?

From Think Progress's Wonk Room -

The August Town Halls have buried any meaningful coverage of the health care debate. Groups like Freedomworks and Americans For Prosperity are generating wild rumors about the proposed health care reform and the overwhelming majority of media coverage has merely contrasted protesters' claims with administration retorts, while failing to correct the record. The format creates the illusion of balance and, by giving equal time to a false claim, pads disingenuous arguments.

Fortunately, this report from NPR's Sarah Varney is a respite from the norm. Rather than reprinting the claim that Canadian health care system indiscriminately rations care, Varney actually examines the Canadian health care system and concludes that it's getting a "bum rap." Just like Medicare beneficiaries who protest against "government health care," protesters who use Canadian care as an example of "government interference" or rationing, will be surprised to learn that the Canadian health care system relies on both government and private insurers to provide Canadians with comprehensive coverage:

Canada has a universal health care system that's paid for through income taxes and sales tax. All Canadians are covered, and they can see any doctor they want anywhere in the country with no copays or deductibles….And while the individual provinces and territories set their overall health budgets and administer the health plans, the delivery of medical care is private. Doctors run their own businesses and then bill the government.

As it turns out, the system works fairly well:

- Physicians in Canada earn a good living and aren't faced with the same administrative hassles that American doctors gripe about.

- The Commonwealth Fund looked at deaths that could have been prevented with access to quality medical care in the leading 19 industrialized countries. In the latest survey, the United States ranked last and Canada came in sixth.

- When federal spending on Canadian health care declined during a recession in the 1990s, lines for non-urgent procedures — and some urgent ones — grew. In response, Canada's government poured billions of dollars into reducing wait times in the five medical areas deemed most troublesome, including cancer care, cardiac care and joint replacement surgery. And wait times for these services has dropped: Most provinces now report those times on publicly available Web sites.

- Few Canadians go south for medical care. Canadian researchers say it's a bit like getting struck by lighting — it's extremely rare, but when it happens, everyone talks about it.

- Public opinion polls continue to show strong support for publicly financed, universal health care in Canada.

Varney contradicts the oft-repeated claim that Canadians can't purchase health insurance coverage by writing that many Canadians purchase private coverage for "optometry, dentistry and outpatient prescription drugs" — services the public plan does not cover. Yet at the end of the piece, she quotes a pollster who notes that the Canadian health care system "'is not something that everybody is completely satisfied with or complacent about.' About half of Canadians say they would like the option to buy a private health insurance plan. Currently, that's not allowed."

Canadians can purchase supplemental private coverage for services that are not covered by the public plan, but cannot purchase private insurance for basic services. As CBC News points out, private health insurance is "a crucial part of the system," and Canadians spent about $43.2 billion on private coverage in 2005. Private insurance covers "anything beyond what the public system will pay for. For instance, should you have to spend some time in the hospital, the public system will cover the cost of your bed in a ward, which usually has three other patients. If you want a private room, the extra charge will come out of your pocket, unless you have extended health coverage either through your employer or through a policy you have bought yourself."

Basic services are covered by the government precisely because the large risk pools allow the government to negotiate cheaper rates with providers and control health care costs. The government fears, with good reason, that if Canadians can leave the purchasing pools, the government's market power would diminish.

Cheney Has Moles in Obama Administration, Reporter Says

Raw Story -

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has moles in the Obama government which report back to him from the Pentagon, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh told NPR and MSNBC on Tuesday.

Speaking with NPR's Terri Gross, Hersh revealed that the former Vice President -- who he characterized as "really smart" -- has individuals that report back to him from key positions in government. He called these individuals "stay-behinds," an intelligence term generally applied to insiders left behind in foreign governments after the occupying power is driven out.

"He’s put people back," Hersh said. "They call it a stay-behind. It’s sort of an intelligence term of art. When you leave a country and, you know, you’ve driven out, you know, you’ve lost the war. You leave people behind. It’s a stay-behind that you can continue to contacts with, to do sabotage, whatever you want to do.

"Cheney’s left a stay behind," Hersh continued. "He’s got people in a lot of agencies that still tell him what’s going on. Particularly in defense, obviously. Also in the NSA, there’s still people that talk to him. He still knows what’s going on. Can he still control policy up to a point? Probably up to a point, a minor point. But he’s still there. He’s still a presence."

Click >>>HERE  to finsh reading this breaking story and to hear an audio clip explaining Cheney's actions

Quote of the Day

“People have to break out of some of the ideological rigidity and gridlock that we’ve been carrying around for too long.”

- President Barack Obama, responding to a question from NPR's Mara Liasson during his first press conference that was Nationally televised last night.

Anheuser-Busch Sues Belgian Suitor

NPR.org is reporting that Anheuser-Busch has sued InBev, calling the Belgian brewer's plan to buy the iconic U.S. brewer "illegal." Matt Sepic, of member station KWMU in St. Louis, says the suit seeks to bar InBev from soliciting support from Anheuser-Busch shareholders.

Click on the headline to read and hear all about it