Matteson's absurd attacks on Parker Space

Far Left candidate Kate Matteson will attack her opponent, Assemblyman Parker Space, for almost anything.  We are surprised that she hasn't claimed yet that he had something to do with inconveniently scheduling the solar eclipse.

Matteson is a wealthy one-percenter (a real limousine liberal) who couldn't be bothered to vote in the past.  Now she's a big voice around the county telling everyone how things should be.  Don't you know?  Well according to Matteson, Sussex County is too rural, too backwoods, and we need to become more cosmopolitan and politically correct -- more like her -- and she's here to tell us how to make those changes.

Last week she was at the Newton Green arm-in-arm with someone protesting, carrying a "Black Lives Matter" sign.  Why?  Has there been an incident in Sussex County that we are not aware of?  She even posted it on her campaign website.

And Matteson has refused to comment on the position, taken by several groups she supports, to honor convicted cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur), a terrorist on the FBI's "most-wanted" list.  The Women' March organization issued a statement "celebrating" Ms. Chesimard's birthday, praising her as a "revolutionary" and stating that Chesimard -- who murdered a New Jersey State Trooper in cold blood -- "inspire us to keep resisting." 

But instead of telling us where she stands on this cop-killer, Matteson is attacking Parker Space on her campaign website.  They even posted a year-old photograph of some nut in a swastika tee-shirt and claimed that it was Parker Space's fault that the guy was wearing the shirt.

Did they ever check with Parker to ask if he even knew about it?  Was he supposed to know that some guy in "Newton Shop Rite" was wearing a Nazi shirt?  Should he make it his business from now on to stalk the aisles of the "Newton Shop Rite" to make sure nobody is wearing an inappropriate shirt?  Maybe he should hand out tickets?

Will these leftists never end?  Now they want a wardrobe police!  And they want Parker Space to be Chief Constable of Clothing for Sussex County.  Absurd!

In the same week that these fools were trolling to find something -- anything, even something absurdly unconnected -- to attack Parker Space with, he was putting out three fires -- saving the lives and property of others.  Because that is what volunteer firefighters do -- and that is what Parker and the Space family have been doing for generations.

But Kate Matteson wouldn't know any of that because, until very recently, she couldn't even be bothered to vote.

Herald should be careful not to harm Green's case

We cringed when the Herald recently ran a story about a controversial plan to drop a drug treatment facility into bucolic Green Township, Sussex County, and used these words to describe those concerned residents who formed a group to monitor the process:

"...Greenfield Action Committee -- a citizen action group formed to prevent the facility from coming to Green..."

In describing the residents in this way, the Herald is playing into the hands of an out-of-state corporate group that has used such characterizations to harness the power of the federal government to compel local governments to accept such facilities or face punitive consequences.  Fortunately, one of the citizen group's organizers clarified the group's purpose in a letter to the Herald.  It is printed in full, below:

Clarification about committee in Green

Posted: Jun. 22, 2017

Editor:

It was terrific reading the story about the Green Township Land Use Committee meeting in the Herald this morning, and thank you Katie for attending the meeting and giving our organization, the Greenfield Action Committee, a voice.

We do have a concern about one aspect of your story: You described us as a citizen action group formed to prevent the facility from coming to Green.

We're not comfortable with that characterization. We formed to ensure the conditional use variances Ambrosia seeks on Pequest Road were denied, believing suitable and appropriately designated areas already exist in the community that would be much less impacted.

We are not opposed to Ambrosia or its mission.

Jim Hohman

Greendell

And while we are discussing the Herald and its coverage of this issue, we should note that while the Herald is very vigilant regarding making anyone connected with a political campaign clearly identify who they are associated with and what position they hold, they are not so with corporate entities who have as much or even a greater impact on our community.  Individuals who are clearly associated with the addiction/mental health/rehab industry (and it clearly is an industry, just as your stockbroker if you don't believe us) are permitted to post on the Herald website without disclosing their affiliations.  This would never be allowed if it were a political campaign, so why is it allowed on something so important to not only Green Township, but to all of Sussex County?

And there is a political angle to all of this too, in the presence of Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, an attorney representing the addiction/mental health/rehab industry giant that wants to build the drug treatment facility in this rural community.  For some reason, the Herald misses this fact and never mentions the political muscle brought to the table.  Assemblywoman Schepisi, who is only identified as an attorney in the Herald story, is quoted at length and appears to have some hostility towards the residents:  

Holly Schepisi, attorney for Hunting Bailey, LLP, and representative for Ambrosia Real Estate, said that her client did not feel that a second variance would be necessary due to the nature of the proposed facility and that fact that it would be intended for one principal use.

At the suggestion of the board, Schepisi elected to use a five-minute recess to confer with her clients, who were present.

"One aspect of this facility cannot exist without the other," Schepisi said, speaking after the meeting had reconvened. "They are part and parcel. We still strongly believe that there is no need for an additional variance, but in order to avoid dragging this process out for my client, we have decided to return to this matter at the next meeting in July."

Schepisi said that her clients had agreed to submit an application for a second variance...

Schepisi said during the meeting that several members of the community had crossed the line from concerned to aggressive throughout the course of the proceedings so far.

"Many of the residents have been great, and are here tonight because they don't know what is being proposed, and they are here to ask intelligent questions and get a better understanding of what my client does," Schepisi said at the start of the meeting and prior to any objection. "But there are other people sitting here tonight who, unfortunately have expressed vitriol against my client, against the property owners, personal attacks against members of my firm, and personal attacks against me. Some of the people sitting here tonight went so far as to urge people to call a corruption tip hotline on me to try to scare me off from doing my job. We are here to set the record straight and to explain what it is my client is trying to do."

With the greatest respect to the Assemblywoman, her client has crossed the line many, many times when it has compelled local communities -- forced them, against their will, even as they screamed "no means no" -- to accept their facilities.  The addiction/mental health/rehab industry has been guilty of this over and over again. 

There is a perverse Darwinism at work here that is called "conservative" by some, like the Koch Brothers, but is in fact just capitalism sucking a crack pipe filled with money, greed, and corruption.  One upon a time there was an America of place.  Our nation was a community of smaller communities.  Both Republicans and Democrats agreed on this.  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's good friend Arthur Morgan wrote a book about it called, "The Small Community:  Foundation of democratic life."

Today we have a United States Supreme Court that allows corporations to use eminent domain for no better reason than to generate cash.  We have a State Supreme Court that uses COAH to destroy the rural aspect of communities and bring architectural blight to historic towns.  We have people, like the Koch Brothers, who believe that whoever has the most money should get their way and if they want to build a toxic waste dump on the village green they should be allowed to do it -- simply because they are richer and can buy more influence.  And if they don't get their way, they use federal law to cook-up some case to crush the small community that stands in their way -- just like the addiction/ mental health/rehab industry has been doing for years and years.

The addiction/mental health/rehab industry's mouthpiece, posting under the Herald article, threatened as much:

"...ultimately, the protection will be for the corporations and industry....the Town Leaders have a responsibility to the taxpayers. A long and costly battle with risk of federal penalties and fines isn't in the best interests of the taxpayers.  Historically, Ambrosia has prevailed when it encountered community resistance."

Should any community have to lay down for a threat like that? 

Maintaining the local democratic governance of the small community -- this conservatism of place -- is something that should concern not just Green Township, but all of Sussex County.  This is something, not only for the Sussex County League of Municipalities, but for the state League of Municipalities.  And not just this state -- but all states -- all small communities everywhere.  Reach out to other communities where this corporation has had its way or is threatening to have its way.  Reach out to all communities threatened by the Darwinian capitalist model used by this industry and others to have their way.  They can pick-off small communities like Green Township one by one, but banded together it becomes a much more difficult prospect.

Assemblywoman Schepisi should understand this.  In her role as a legislator, she recently conducted a public meeting on the effects of the unelected State Supreme Court's COAH rulings that mandate subsidized housing in New Jersey.  The un-democratic, politically-appointed Court has consistently pissed on local democracy, ignoring basic issues like clean drinking water for ever-expanding populations in the most densely populated state in America, while crushing the rights of a supposedly free people to determine how their communities will grow. 

We strongly, but respectfully, suggest to Assemblywoman Schepisi that she think of the small community of Green Township, and of the cause of local democracy, when engaging in negotiations with the residents there.  Maintain greater patience and calmly answer their questions and their process.  Make it work for the residents by showing on paper how it will lower their property taxes (and if it doesn't, have the corporation voluntarily pay a surcharge so that it will).  Make it so advantageous for the community that they are willing to put up with the changes to their beloved town that will most certainly come.  Convince them, do not attempt to compel them.  Remember, the only truly moral law is that derived from the consent of the governed.  All else is no more than brutal force under the guise of law.

In his own words: Nathan Orr is no conservative

When Nathan Orr first ran for the Legislature, two years ago, he tried to portray himself as a younger version of Parker Space -- which is a good thing.

But soon after the 2015 primary, Nathan began to go soft.  Maybe it's all those classes he's been taking on political science and feminism in college (Nathan Orr is a full-time student) that have mixed up his core values, but he has been posting a lot of weird crap on Facebook.

First, Nathan criticized Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus for standing up to Planned Parenthood:

For most conservatives, the right-to-life is a basic issue and a core value.

Not for Nathan Orr.

He recently posted on Facebook that abortion was not one of those issues that "truly matter".    According to Nathan, the issues that "truly matter" are "foreign policy, taxes, crime, and private business." 

At a time when the liberal media, liberal celebrities, and liberal activists of every stripe are engaged in the most brutal assault on a Republican President in memory, Nathan Orr went on Facebook to accuse Christians of "hate-fueled speech". 

What is up with Nathan Orr?

Then there is this crazy quote that he made to the New Jersey Herald last week (May 30, 2017):

"I am not a lockstep member of the Republican Party. I will not go to Trenton and simply vote the party line... People should not go into government to promote a political party or single ideology."

Nathan Orr is running for the New Jersey Legislature.  He is a full-time student at a local community college. He claims that his involvement in student government has prepared him for the rigors of Trenton, where Republicans must battle an entrenched Democrat majority, where negotiations are tough and victories hard won.

Maybe Nathan Orr should finish his schooling, get married, settle down, start paying taxes, get involved in his community, run for local office, and get some practical experience under his belt.  Then, maybe at the ripe old age of 30, he should put himself forward for higher office.  Nothing beats real-life experience for understanding the needs of your community and for anchoring your core values.  Heck, the lessons of life might even make Nathan Orr a conservative again.

A Sussex Grandmother on tomorrow's GOP primary

We saw this email and decided to distribute it.  It makes a number of good points.

From: "Andrea Bunny Cocula" <bunny123@warwick.net>

Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2017 13:13:33 -0400

To: 'Andrea Bunny Cocula'<bunny123@warwick.net>

Subject: Vote for Experienced Republicans OROHO-SPACE-WIRTHS

Vote for Experienced Republicans we Respect

Tomorrow's Republican Primary offers a clear choice between those who know how to get things done and who get things done vs. big talk and nothing to show for it.

Senator Steve Oroho has helped thousands of people in Sussex County and District 24. 

He is New Jersey's number one tax cutter and since 2011 has been responsible for billions in tax cuts to help business grow jobs, for senior citizens, for consumers, veterans, family farms, and working families.  He's brought back millions in property tax relief and prevented property tax increases that would have added nearly $600 more onto the average yearly bill.

Assemblyman Parker Space leads the legislature in proposing ways to tackle New Jersey's high property taxes -- with 55 bills that address every aspect of this problem.  Along with Steve and Hal, he supports Senator Mike Doherty's Fair School Funding Reform.  Like Steve and Hal. Parker is a Second Amendment champion and a fighter for the Right to life.

As Labor Commissioner, Hal Wirths cut millions in taxes for business and prevented a business tax increase.  He reformed the state's unemployment trust fund and tracked down and eliminated a billion dollars in benefits fraud.  Hal balanced the books when he was a Sussex County Freeholder, cut spending, and reduced the debt.  He will make a great Assemblyman.

Opposing them is a Trenton bureaucrat who has used regulation to gum up the works of worthy projects here in Sussex County, a young man who has yet to pay a property tax bill, and another candidate who has never voted in a Republican primary.

That's why I support Steve Oroho for Senate, Parker Space and Hal Wirths for Assembly.  Experience matters.  Doing counts for more than big talk.  Thank You ~ Bunny ~

DOT caught red-handed trashing signs to help Hayden

It is illegal for state employees to use taxpayers' money -- government time, government equipment, and government authority -- to favor one political candidate over another.  Now, employees of the New Jersey Department of Transportation have been caught doing so on behalf of fellow DOT employee William J. Hayden.

Several readers have responded to Watchdog's call requesting witnesses and video or photographic evidence.  All have agreed to testify at any forthcoming criminal or civil (federal civil rights) legal proceeding against one or more of following:  The New Jersey Department of Transportation, the individual employees, the CWA union, the Committee to Elect William Hayden, and William J. Hayden, individually.

Here is what one witness observed and then forwarded to Watchdog, along with photographic evidence:

"I witnessed NJ State DOT employees removing signage along Route 94 in McAfee and Hamburg.  I stopped and told them I believed their actions were illegal. They told me the signs were on State right of way and they were doing what their boss told them to do.  I do have a picture.  Call to discuss if you like."

"Attached picture taken on Route 94 across from entrance to Crystal Springs at 9:30 this morning.  Also removed signage on 638 in Highland Lakes, but miraculously Bills signs remain.  Check intersection of 515 & 638.  Orohos' signs removed, but Bill Haydens' remain."

William J. Hayden (AKA Bill Hayden, Dell Hayden, Skylands Patriot ) is an 18 year public employee of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.  He works as a supervisor, based in Trenton, where he pockets a salary and extras more each year than any legislator earns -- plus full benefits and a pension.  Hayden is a member of the CWA -- one of the most liberal unions in America.  Hayden's union has endorsed leftwing Democrat Phil Murphy for Governor.

Hayden doesn't vote much.  He made it last November, but the last time before that was 2010.  Now he thinks we should give him a second public job -- as our legislator.

Hayden is being aided and abetted by two cronies -- Nathan Orr and David Atwood -- who have chosen to endorse Hayden's behavior and tactics, and who are running a joint campaign with him.  Perhaps Orr and Atwood should be asked if they approve of using government money, personnel, and equipment to thwart free speech and to obstruct the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America.

But even more importantly, why are New Jersey's legislators voting to force taxpayers to fund the Department of Transportation, when this kind of undemocratic, 1930's middle-European thuggery is winked at?  Those involved should resign out of shame.