I was going to comment on Gov. Jon Corzine’s comments on civil unions, but Monroe’s own John Bohrer beat me to it on BlueJersey, making the same points I likely would have made. check it out.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
The suspensions handed down today seem pretty fair, though Knicks’ coach Isaiah Thomas should have faced some disciplinary action (or have been fired) for creating an atmosphere designed to trigger this kind of stuff.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
John Lynch is set for sentencing in the morning.
There are those — longtime friends, colleagues and family — calling for leniency, who point to charitable acts and the like. But it is important, I think, to remember this:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Chiesa wrote in a memo to the judge that “Lynch’s authority was unquestioned and his influence unfettered” in New Jersey politics and called his crime a “serious breach of the public trust.”
“It is important that the sentence demonstrate to the public that even this state’s most powerful figures are abound by the same laws that govern its ordinary citizens,” Chiesa wrote.
John Lynch’s actions make it more difficult for New Jersey’s citizens to believe in their government, weakening it and weakening the ties that bind us all together. That is aegregiousus act and he deserves a heavy sentence.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Here is how the full Senate voted Thursday on the proposed civil union legislation:
Adler, John H. — Yes
Allen, Diane B. —
Asselta, Nicholas — No
Bark, Martha W. — No
Bryant, Wayne R. —
Bucco, Anthony R. —
Buono, Barbara — Yes
Cardinale, Gerald — No
Ciesla, Andrew R. — Yes
Codey, Richard J. — Yes
Coniglio, Joseph — Yes
Connors, Leonard T. — No
Doria, Joseph V. —
Gill, Nia H. — Yes
Girgenti, John A. — Yes
Gormley, William L. — Yes
Inverso, Peter A. — No
James, Sharpe — Yes
Karcher, Ellen — Yes
Kavanaugh, Walter J. — No
Kean, Thomas H. — Yes
Kenny, Bernard F. — Yes
Kyrillos, Joseph M. — No
Lance, Leonard — No
Lesniak, Raymond J. — Yes
Littell, Robert E. — No
Madden, Fred H. — Yes
Martin, Robert J. — Yes
McNamara, Henry P. — No
Palaia, Joseph A. — No
Rice, Ronald L. —
Sacco, Nicholas J. — Yes
Sarlo, Paul A. — Yes
Scutari, Nicholas P. — Yes
Singer, Robert W. — No
Smith, Bob — Yes
Sweeney, Stephen M. — Yes
Turner, Shirley K. — Yes
Vitale, Joseph F. — Yes
Weinberg, Loretta — Yes
The Assembly voted this way:
Albano, Nelson T. — Yes
Barnes, Peter J. — Yes
Baroni, Bill — Yes
Bateman, Christopher — Yes
Beck, Jennifer — Yes
Biondi, Peter J. — Yes
Blee, Francis J. — Yes
Bodine, Francis L. — No
Bramnick, Jon M. — Yes
Burzichelli, John J. — Yes
Caraballo, Wilfredo — Yes
Carroll, Michael Patrick — No
Chatzidakis, Larry — No
Chivukula, Upendra J. — Yes
Cohen, Neil M. — Yes
Conaway, Herb — Yes
Conners, Jack — Yes
Connors, Christopher J. — No
Corodemus, Steve — No
Cruz-Perez, Nilsa — Abstain
Cryan, Joseph — Yes
Dancer, Ronald S. — No
DeCroce, Alex — No
Diegnan, Patrick J. — Yes
Doherty, Michael J. — No
Egan, Joseph V. — Abstain
Epps, Charles T. — Yes
Fisher, Douglas H. — Yes
Giblin, Thomas P. — Yes
Gordon, Robert M. — Yes
Green, Jerry — Yes
Greenstein, Linda R. — Yes
Greenwald, Louis D. — Yes
Gregg, Guy R. — No
Gusciora, Reed — Yes
Hackett, Mims — Yes
Handlin, Amy H. — Yes
Holzapfel, James W. — Yes
Johnson, Gordon M. — Yes
Karrow, Marcia A. — No
Kean, Sean T. — No
Lampitt, Pamela R. — Yes
Malone, Joseph R. — No
Manzo, Louis M. — Yes
Mayer, David R. — Yes
McHose, Alison Littell — No
McKeon, John F. — Yes
Merkt, Richard A. — No
Moriarty, Paul D. — Yes
Munoz, Eric — Yes
O’Toole, Kevin J. — No
Oliver, Sheila Y. — Yes
Panter, Michael J. — Yes
Payne, William D. — Yes
Pennacchio, Joseph — No
Pou, Nellie — Yes
Prieto, Vincent — Yes
Quigley, Joan M. — Yes
Roberts, Joseph J. — Yes
Rooney, John E. — Abstain
Rumpf, Brian E. — No
Russo, David C. — No
Scalera, Frederick — Yes
Schaer, Gary S. — Abstain
Stack, Brian P. — Yes
Stanley, Craig A. — Yes
Steele, Alfred E. — Abstain
Stender, Linda — Yes
Thompson, Samuel D. — No
Truitt, Oadline D. — Yes
Vainieri Huttle, Valerie — Yes
Van Drew, Jeff — Yes
Vandervalk, Charlotte — Yes
Vas, Joseph — Yes
Vega, Silverio A. — Yes
Voss, Joan M. — Yes
Watson Coleman, Bonnie — Yes
Whelan, Jim — Yes
Wisniewski, John S. — Yes
Wolfe, David W. — Yes
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
I’ve written about this kind of thing a lot recently (here and here), but there is a quotation in this New York Times story that pretty much sums up the problem with religious displays on public property:
Several Council members said they were concerned that allowing a menorah display would open the door for other religious groups and organizations to request that their displays also be included.
“Someone said there are 79 recognized religions in the world,” said one member, Karen Weitkunat. “Where do you draw the line?” Another member, Diggs Brown, said: “If we were to open it up to a menorah, then everyone wants to get involved. You’re going to get sued if you allow religious displays, and you’re going to be sued if you don’t have them.”
I know where to draw the line: Move the symbols to private property. Seems simple to me.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 