This morning, ShapTalk.com officially partnered with TheAlternativePress.com, the State of New Jersey's first all-online local newspaper to provide political commentary for the online newspaper.* If you currently link to ShapTalk.com, please move your link to TheAlternativePress.com
TheAlternativePress.com offers daily local, regional' [...]
According to the Office of Legislative Services, the only way for residents of New Jersey to contact Legislators by email is through an online form available on the website for the New Jersey State Legislature, [www.njleg.state.nj.us]/ The online form has a number of significant problems that make it [...]
This past month, Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig and Joe Trippi, former campaign manager for Howard Dean and senior advisor to John Edwards in their runs for the White House, teamed up to form “Change Congress,” a national movement to help end corruption in the United States Congress (www.change-congress.org). The [...]
Last week's rapid decline of Governor Eliot Spitzer and this week's elevation of Lieutenant Governor David Patterson to the highest office in New York State Government bear important lessons for New Jersey politics. Voters will elect the first Lieutenant Governor of the State in 2009, when Governor Corzine runs for [...]
As we approach another Presidential election, the terrorist menace facing our nation and the world has fallen in prominence in polls and in the news. Meanwhile, its network, which was in place on 9/11, has grown considerably in the past seven years and, thanks to the misguided and badly bungled [...]
First it was Hillary Clinton?s New Hampshire Co-Chair Billy Shaheen, then Clinton pollster and top strategist Mark Penn, and finally BET Television Founder and prominent Clinton supporter Bob Johnson, who raised the question of drug use by Barack Obama WHILE HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. Clinton surrogates have continued to [...]
The Party Democracy Act, sponsored by New Jersey State Senators Diane Allen (R) and Loretta Weinberg (D), is a step in the right direction. How the major County political parties operate in New Jersey is largely unknown. Yet, they have a great deal of power, including the ability to fill [...]
Yesterday, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released a report calling for a massive gas tax increase. This proposed tax hike would raise gas prices up to 40 cents per gallon within five years and as much as 91 cents in 20 [...]
Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) have announced that they will unite in an attempt to pass meaningful reform legislation in 2008. Weve heard similar rhetoric before from both sides of the political aisle in Trenton. It may be suggested that this is the final [...]
With recent polls showing more than half of the residents of New Jersey support the death penalty, it was a bit surprising to see the Legislature abolish it and the Governor concur. In support of its abolition, there are the moral and religious issues that one should never kill [...]
Time and again our States residents are told that professional sports teams will pay the full cost of stadium construction and are promised that no public funding will be used in the process. Yet, nearly every time our taxpayers wind up handing over big bucks to subsidize these professional stadium [...]
If Im John Edwards or John McCain or Fred Thompson, Im feeling pretty good right now. Im slightly behind the front runners in my Party and the folks who are ahead of me are engaging in an all-out negative assault against each other. Thats where John Edwards and John McCain [...]
The school aid plan that is slowly being leaked to the public and being reported on by the media continues a trend of increasingly distributing state aid based on each school districts wealth while taking away aid from so called wealthy school districts. As a result, property taxes, the majority [...]
Nearly all of the Democratic candidates for President have pledged to roll back the tax cuts enacted under President Bush and some have also said they will raise taxes in addition to the roll back. Although the roll back is a possible solution to our nations fiscal woes, before candidates [...]
What is Joe Bidens position on the budget deficit? What is Chris Dodds platform? Why is there virtually no coverage of Bill Richardson? Why have there been so media stories laced with connotations that John Edwards has already lost? Why are there so many headlines regarding Barack Obama as a [...]
As Governor Corzines tenure continues, it is becoming more and more apparent that he is realizing his vision of a fiscally responsible and ethical government will not come to fruition during either his current term or a second term, should he seek one. He took office thinking that his vast [...]
A recent study by Rutgers University shows residents of the Garden State are leaving in large numbers. More than 72,000 residents left New Jersey than arrived here just last year alone. As a result, tax revenue was reduced by nearly $700 million while New Jerseys economy lost approximately $10 billion [...]
Despite the enactment of Pay to Play legislative initiatives throughout the State, legalized bribery continues unabated in New Jersey. Loopholes are continually being exploited to raise money for candidates and political causes on the backs of those with business before the government or those seeking to receive such business. As [...]
A recent Quinnipiac poll revealed that nine out of ten New Jersey voters believe that corruption is a very serious or somewhat serious problem. However, a sizeable majority of voters polled said that the issue would not sway their vote to the Republican column despite the announcement of several recent [...]
When the building of the new Jets/Giants stadium was being debated, taxpayers were repeatedly assured that it would not cost them a dime. Soon they were saddled with costs for improved roadways leading to the stadium and other similar services. Now, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) has [...]
In the wake of several high-profile corruption stings in the State of New Jersey, it is an opportune time to seriously improve the condition of Garden State politics. The following roadmap for reform is meant to provide some thoughtful ideas to help generate a public and constructive dialogue about these [...]
This past week, eleven elected officials were arrested by the FBI and charged by United States Attorney for the State of New Jersey Chris Christie with accepting bribes in exchange for steering public contracts to private companies. The eleven range from former members of the Pleasantville Board of Education to [...]
Just last year, Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr. (R-Union) was running as an ethical reformer against Bob Menendez (D-Hudson) for the United States Senate. Kean ran a negative campaign, hammering Menendez with allegations of unethical conduct, including accusations about campaign fundraising and donations. Fast-forward less than a year and [...]
Federal election law allows retired elected officials to donate campaign funds that remain in their election accounts to charities, political parties, and candidates. The law prohibits such officials from using the funds for personal expenses. Despite this prohibition, the use of campaign funds by retired elected officials is a cause [...]
Approximately one-third of the electorate is composed of people who do not ascribe to either the Democratic or Republican Party, while the other two-thirds are almost evenly split between the Democratic and Republican parties. The Independents are generally people who believe the Parties are too partisan, too close-minded, and are [...]
Recently, State Senator Joseph Coniglio of Bergen County was informed that he is a target in an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office into the now-infamous “Christmas Tree” grants provided by the New Jersey State Legislature. “Christmas Tree” grants are legislative grants added on [...]
In recent weeks, a good deal of mainstream media ink has been spilled discussing Senator Lautenberg's age and whether it makes him vulnerable to defeat in November 2008. During the same time, polling reveals that New Jersey residents are concerned about his age, but not enough to toss him out [...]
Recently, President Bush commuted the 30-month sentence of Scooter Libby, Vice-President Cheney’s former Chief of Staff and an accomplished attorney. Libby had been convicted of lying to the grand jury. By commuting his sentence, the President ensured that Libby would serve no jail time. This is [...] 
By: Representative Scott GarrettNew York PIRG has created a Straphanger's Campaign in the State that provides information to commuters, including how to best file complaints, a blog for commuters to discuss issues, and methods for them to become active in transit issues for the betterment of all riders. In New Jersey, no [...]
Although he has not yet formulated a proposal regarding the State’s toll roads, Governor Corzine’s recent announcement that he would not sell or lease them to a for-profit company or a foreign operator is a wise one. Residents of New Jersey generally opposed the sale or lease of the State’s [...]
