firstamend07 Posts

New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney was right that making larger payments toward pension debt benefits pension fund. Seems logical, yes? Chris Christie, naturally, thinks otherwise.

Ok,cut the running around and start organizing things in this State.
Evacuation plans in place?
National guard on stand by ?
Utilities prepared?
Hey Gov, stop playing the BIG DEAL and handle these problems. People want to know that someone is in charge.
...

SWEENEY TO ANN COULTER: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF
TRENTON - Senate President Steve Sweeney issued the following statement today regarding comments by conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who referred to President Obama as a "retard" on Twitter. In 2010, the Senate President sponsored legislation that removed the "R" Word from the state's laws and regulations:
"It really does not get any more despicable than this. I honestly don't know if there is another person on this planet as shameless as Ann Coulter. She has no morals, no boundaries, and no sense of common decency.
"Her t...

Remember the " outrage"? State Senators sending letters demanding answers. Assembly leaders vowing " more hearings and more answers". News reporters doing real investigative reports. Legislative hearings with tough questions. Powerful people like Palatucci and Clancy trying to cover their tracks to save their multi-millin dollar business.

Now? NOTHING!

Follow up hearings? Nope.

New legislation? Nope

Answers to questions being made public? We are still waiting.

It is well known that the Halfway House incarceration business has been very generous to many legislators on both sides of the aisle. This past generosity apparently has had an effect on the " reform" initiative.

I hate to be cynical but has money once again trumped " right" ?

All of this silence must be of design.

Am I wrong?  

Can you believe this idiot said this!

http://politicalticker.blogs.c...

All the campaign money in the world cannot hide these comments or spin them in a positive manner.

Does Christie think the same way?  

Christies Job creation plan really means that he has created jobs on his staff while the State unemployment rate remains high.

Read this please :

http://www.app.com/article/201...

Our " small government" Governor has created a publicity staff that is second to none.ALL ON TAXPAYER MONEY!

His puppet mouthpiece Drewniak tries to defent all of this but it comes out as very self serving.

What a hypocrit!  

In another twist to the fight to expose the inept and possibly corrupt Halfway House business,a lawsuit has been filed by the family of a tragic murder victim.

Here is the link:

http://www.northjersey.com/gar...

This is the 2nd lawsuit filed in 3 days regarding the failed security at Halfway Houses.

Something must be done.

Legislators had hearings. State Senator Weinberg wrote a very detailed request letter tothe NJDOC Commissioner and received a response that has not been revealed.

It is time to stop playing politics and pick sides.

Reform or the status quo.

It is clear that Christie wants to keep things exactly the same. I heard certain legislators voice concern but there has been no action.

Do we need more deaths? Escapes? security breaches?  

Romney's first major decision was to put the Tea Party and their philosophy one step away from the most powerful position on the planet.

Romney's constant flip flopping is one thing but Ryan is NOT a flip flopper.

Can you imagine a Ryan presidency with a GOP congress?

The Tea Party has grown from a sideshow into a position where they can transform a whole country.Their plan is working!

Romney has made a very serious error. He is not a Tea Party person ,however his horrible decision on a VP pick has now elevated that group to one medical problem away from running this country.

Say what you want about Christie,but one thing is for sure,he is not a Tea Party person.

The whole direction of what has occured in the past 75 years in this country now rides on this election.

Should Romney win we must pray everyday that he remains healthy because he has putthe " wing nuts" next in line.

The Tea Party one heart beat away........  

S 927 will allow oversight of privatization contracts. JUST NOT HALFWAY HOUSE PRIVATIZATION CONTRACTS!

The Governor has made it very clear. He will not allow any new oversight of Halfway House contracts. His two vetoes indicate that he is very content with the current oversight requirements.

So after the NY Times articles, after two legislative hearings, after two legislative attempts at new oversight,and after multiple complaints and numerous news articles, THE SYSTEM REMAINS THE SAME.

The Governor has forcefully stated, " hands off" the Halfway House system model. He likes things just the way they are currently structured.

Is this now all over?

What is next?

.......and now the Drug Courts will become part of this enterprise......

The Bill that was passed regarding financial oversight of NJDOC privatization contracts was changed today with a Conditional veto.

The Governor eliminated the section of the Bill that would have the State Auditor do an audit withing 90 days of the first year of the contract.

What he substituted was that an " independent auditor" do an audit at " the end" of the contract.

He also restricted what this auditor would " have to" include in his report.

Bottom line? Not what was wanted but certainly a lot more than the Governor would have proposed on his own.  

This excerpt from todays Star Ledger Auditor column:

A Fox in the halfway house

While the New York Times was building its investigation into New Jersey's troubled halfway houses, Community Education Centers, the contractor at the center of the story, hired one of the state's most adroit Democrats, Jamie Fox.

The Auditor learned that Fox's lobbying and communications firm, Fox & Shuffler, went to work for CEC more than six months ago and is helping John Clancy, its chief executive, and Palatucci, a senior vice president and general counsel, navigate a minefield of policy and communications issues.

It's not the first time Fox and Christie find themselves on the same side. Fox sat out the 2009 gubernatorial race, agreeing to a truce with Christie instead of attacking him on behalf of Corzine, the Democratic incumbent.

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THIS makes it official.Clancy/Palatucci/Christie and CEC are REALLY WORRIED as to where all of this " investigating" will end up.

Jamie Fox is THE PLAYER in the State of New Jersey. Politics is a blood sport for him. You do not hire him unless you want " political" solutions.

He will do his best to influence any Halfway House legislation behind the scenes.

A Clancy/Fox/ Palatucci lobby trio will pull out all the stops.This group cannot allow restrictive legislation regarding private contracts with the NJDOC to be promoted at exactly the same time that the new and lucrative Drug Court contracts are being issued.

Tens of millions are in play.

That is why Jamie Fox was hired.

From press reports:

TRENTON - State-run institutions for people with developmental disabilities in Woodbridge and Totowa will close in five years, under a binding vote taken by a task force today.

The governor and legislature agreed to accept and abide by the panel's recommendations.

The decision is sure to please the families and employees associated with Vineland Developmental Center.

This is great news for South Jersey!

The Senate Hearing was pretty tame,but did open up some new possible questions.

Will the Assembly members of the Law and Public Safety Committee ask any of these tough questions?

Mainor,Charles-Chair

Wilson, Gilbert L. - Vice-Chair    

Albano, Nelson T.    

Benson, Daniel R.    

Connors, Sean    

Cryan, Joseph    

Kean, Sean T.    

McGuckin, Gregory P.    

Peterson, Erik    

Rible, David P.    

Watson Coleman, Bonnie    

1. Please show the documents that prove that under this NJDOC Commissioner Halfway Houses are EACH being visited 6 times a quarter as was stated.

2.The Commisioner needs to provide a current number of how many people work as  Contract Administrators.He said he has enough people,how many does he have ?

3. Why are Halfway Houses,which are designed to be reentry vehicles, being used as overflow jails for the county jail system,therefore mixing inmates who want help with those who have not even been sentenced,is this part of the contract?

4. Why does the NJDOC have a  "special arrangement" pertaining to contract procurement? Why do they not follow State Treasury rules for RFP's?

5.Why did the NJDOC Commissioner disband a special security investigative unit that handled Halfway House issues?

6.Why has no one addresed the " dummy company " arrangement that CEC has created to skirt the law that says only non-profits can attain Halfway House contracts?

7.On June 18 Governor Christie ordered his Corrections Commissioner to " step up" investigations of Halfway Houses. On Monda yit will be 36 days since that order. The NJDOC Commissioner must detail what new " stepped up" procedures he has enacted.  

Here are the members of the Legislative Oversight Committee:

Legislative Oversight    

Gordon, Robert M. - Chair    

Buono, Barbara - Vice-Chair    

Kean, Thomas H.    

Kyrillos, Joseph M.    

Ruiz, M. Teresa    

Sarlo, Paul A.    

Will they be interested enough to ask the tough questions?

The lucrative Halfway House industry will be out in full force with their message of " positive prison alternative." They will pull out all stops to save their $100 million business.

The focus of the hearing must not be a debate on the " idea" of Halfway Houses ,but rather about contract compliance.

The real story is not that Halfway Houses exist,but that they exist with no oversight!

Will the Senators know the details of the RFP's that were signed ?

Will the Senators know to ask the NJDOC why contract compliance is so lax?

Will the Senators blame the Halfway Houses for taking advantage of the lack of financial and security oversight or will they blame the NJDOC for letting it get so bad?

Did the NJDOC purposely not do their oversight job for political reasons?

Why were the oversight departments in the NJDOC disbanded or reduced since Governor Christie took office?

There is a important " human side" that must be discussed about Halfway House failures,but the real issue is the failure of contract compliance and the failure of the NJDOC to do its job as contract policeman.

It is up to State Senators Buono,Ruiz, Sarlo,and Gordon to get to the bottom of what is happening to the $100 million of taxpayer money.

Will they care enough on a hot Trenton day at 2:00 to do THEIR oversight duty?

The taxpayers deserve answers.

Progress?

It has been 18 days since the Governor had ordered the NJDOC to step up investigations.

The public response from that Department?

Silence.

No press release. No acknowledgement.

After all the negative publicity would it not make sense to let the taxpayers know what is going on? Especially since the Governor vetoed oversight language in the Budget bill and has yetto sign S 927,another financial oversight Bill for the NJDOC.

Simple question Governor," Has the NJDOC stepped up investigation of Halfway houses over the past 18 days?"

Somehow, knowing Christie, if they did begin this task we would have known about it.

If they have not begun this task,WHY NOT?    

The State Senate President made a decision to fully back this Bill and in record time legislation was passed that will enforce independent ,financial oversight of ALL privatization contracts awarded by the Department of Corrections.

Not one Republican voted in favor of the Bill in either house ( Senate 24-16 / Assembly 48-30)

Tens of millions of dollars in contracts will now be  "officially" reviewed by the State Auditor in an unbiased manner that will guarantee that taxpayers are paying for the services that are contained in the contracts.

This will also put the Halfway House system on notice.INDEPENDENT REVIEW IS ON THE WAY!!If they have nothing to fear than this will be a good thing. If they are not providing the proper services than they will be exposed and their contracts will be pulled.

Thanks of course go to the State Senator Jeff van Drew and his legislative partner in District 1 Matt Milam for sponsoring the Bill.

Special thanks to the  shepherd of the Bill , Senate President Sweeney.

NOW ON TO THE GOVERNOR!

Here is the full article:

http://www.northjersey.com/new...

Simply put, S 927 has been " in the hopper" for 8 years. It was reintroduced back in January.

It was moved out of one committee weeks ago.

It is simply a financial oversight Bill for NJDOC privatization contracts.

BUT THE SENATE REPUBLICANS ON THE BUDGET COMMITTEE WENT BONKERS AND ALL VOTED NO TO THE BILL YESTERDAY. It still passed 8-5 and will be voted on by the whole Seante this monday.

But why did they get so upset? Why did they attack Van Drew?

This is just more proof that the human warehousing issue of Halfway Houses has really struck a sensitive nerve with Christie and his Party. What are they hiding? Why are they fearful of simple financial oversight?

It appears that the effort to coverup is in full swing!

After listening to Van Drew defend the Bill even he was shocked!

Something stinks here............

John Clancy is the perfect NJ /American Business success story.

He expanded a business with a commodity that needs no special attention. The commodity never goes bad.The replenishment is guaranteed. With the best thing being that you have no responsibility if something goes wrong.Something goes wrong you just replace it with another " item".

Inmate warehousing is a great business.

You work " the system" so that contracts and the law guarantee your success. You make sure that ALL  of the important decision makers are sponsored with the maximum campaign donations allowed by law. You are neither a Democrat or Republican, you are an entrepreneur.

You eliminate any problems with this commodity by building your warehouses in poor neighborhoods. Who cares if those people complain about your commodity. You make sure that the politicians and community leaders in those areas are taken care of properly.All legal of course!The average taxpayer does not care,or want to know what happens to your commodity.

Your commodity? They will not complain since they know that complaining will get them sent back to prison.

THIS IS THE PERFECT BUSINESS PLAN! Guaranteed supply ,free of charge,of your commodity,and all you do is get paid for storage!

You do not worry about State Auditors or news organization like the NY Times. The decision makers are on your side. Politicians, community leaders,Governors,and maybe even the President of the United States looks on you and your warehousing of inmates as a good and cheap operation.

Throughout history human warehousing has always been very profitable.

Nothing has changed............................  

Thisfrom the StarLedger today:

TRENTON - In response to a newspaper report documenting widespread escapes and other problems at the state's halfway houses, Gov. Chris Christie today directed the state Department of Corrections to inspect the facilities and an assemblyman called for hearings on the issue.

WHAT A JOKE!

RFP's are issued and contracts signed between the Owners of the Halfway Houses and the NJDOC .In those contracts are " monitoring" clauses which are ignored year in and year out.

So what is Christie's answer to the Halfway House Debacle. HE ORDERS THE NJDOC TO INVESTIGATE! The same people who sign the contracts and do not enforce the contracts are now in charge of special " cleanup" investigations!

THE LEGISLATURE SHOULD DEMAND AN INDEPENDENT ,OUTSIDE AUDITING TEAM COPRISED OF INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AND CORRECTIONS EXPERTS TO INVESTIGATE!

This Halfway House scam is costing tens of milions of dollars. It takes away money that can be used for PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMING AND EDUCATION  inside the NJDOC.

Christie ,the NJDOC Commissioner ,and many powerful politicians want this to go away.

Clancy and Palatucci have too much money riding on this scam.

Let the NJDOC investigate itself and you will never hear a word about this again.  

May 31,2012
Honorable Loretta Weinberg Senator, District 37 545 Cedar Lane Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
Dear Majority Leader Weinberg:
The Department snares your vision that a productive use of time through education while incarcerated does increase the prospective employment opportunities of the ex-offenders and reduces recidivism.
Our Office of Human Resources plans to coordinate with th« Department of Military and Veteran Affairs to publicize the employment opportunities that exist within the Department of Corrections. Our selection process always takes into consideration New Jersey's merit system which provides preference to our veterans.
The Department is currently interviewing for the current staffing needs that exist
due to retirement. We will continually re-examine our resources to find the best fiscally
responsible manner to enhance or expand our academic and vocational programming,
including the requirements of Legislative Bill A-4202, Thank you for your continued
support.

Gary M. Lanig; Commissioner