Free Republic

I am having an email argument/discussion with my son's social studies teacher. He distributed a study guide about how unfair it was that the founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention did not include African Americans, Native Americans, women and poor people. I discussed with my son who is 12, that the only people who received an education at the time were white wealthy land owning men. I disagree with the use of the word unfair and let the teacher know my feelings politely. It was indicative of the era. Why would we send uneducated people to a meeting to start...

I am having an email argument/discussion with my son's social studies teacher. He distributed a study guide about how unfair it was that the founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention did not include African Americans, Native Americans, women and poor people. I discussed with my son who is 12 that the only people who received an education at the time were white wealthy land owning men. I disagree with the use of the word unfair and let the teacher know my feelings politely. It was indicative of the era. Why would we send uneducated people to a meeting to start...

DALI, China — Justin Franchi Solondz, an environmental activist from New Jersey who spent four years evading charges of ecoterrorism in the United States by hiding out in this backpacker haven, was convicted by a Chinese court on Friday of manufacturing drugs. After serving a three-year sentence, Mr. Solondz, 30, who is on the F.B.I.’s most wanted list, will be deported to the United States, where he faces charges stemming from what the authorities say was his role in an arson rampage that destroyed buildings in three western states as a member of a group related to the environmental extremist...

DALI, China — Justin Franchi Solondz, an environmental activist from New Jersey who spent years evading charges of ecoterrorism in the United States by hiding out in China, was sentenced to three years in prison by a local court on Friday on charges of manufacturing drugs in this backpacker haven. After serving his time, Mr. Solondz, 30, who is on the F.B.I.’s wanted list, will be deported to the United States, where he faces charges stemming from what the authorities say was his role in an arson rampage that destroyed buildings in three western states as a member of a...

Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, November 23, 2009 Arrests Made in Case Involving Conspiracy to Procure Weapons, Including Anti-Aircraft Missiles Arrests were made today in a case involving a conspiracy to procure weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles. A criminal complaint, unsealed today, charged Dani Nemr Tarraf with conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles (FIM-92 Stingers) and conspiring to possess machine guns (approximately 10,000 Colt M4 Carbines). In addition, Tarraf and other defendants — including Douri Nemr Tarraf, Hassan Mohamad Komeiha, and Hussein Ali Asfour — were charged with conspiring to...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) - One day after signing with the San Diego Chargers, Jon Runyan says he'll retire at the end of the season and run for Congress in New Jersey. The 35-year-old offensive lineman said Wednesday that he told Republican officials in Burlington County of his plans to challenge Democratic Rep. John Adler in New Jersey's 3rd District. "I look forward to a successful end to my career on the field," Runyan said in a statement, "and a spirited campaign against Congressman Adler in 2010."

SNIPPET: “In about less than a week, India will mark the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks. After the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Chicago breakthrough, now Italy has achieved some headway in the investigations relating to last year’s terror events(26/11). The Italian police have arrested, after almost a year long monitoring and surveillance, two Pakistani nationals (Father and Son duo) from Brescia city who are accused of sending funds from their money transfer agency and providing the logistical support to Pakistani terrorists. The suspects Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and Aamer Yaqub Janjua, owners of the Madina Trading telephone...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl is one of the signatories. "Throughout the centuries, Christianity has taught...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Former NFL player Jon Runyan says he's considering running for Congress. In a statement issued Wednesday by the Burlington County Republican Committee, Runyan says he believes the country is being taken in the wrong direction by career politicians. Runyan, an offensive lineman, played 13 seasons in the NFL, the last nine with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 36-year-old is out of football this season, though he's talked to the Eagles and other teams about coming back. If he runs for Congress, it would be in New Jersey's 3rd District, which stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs to central...

From Yemen, Anwar Awlaki Helped Inspire Fort Dix, Toronto Plots Despite Terror Connections, E-mails with Major Hasan Did Not Raise Red Flags By RICHARD ESPOSITO, REHAB EL-BURI, and BRIAN ROSS Nov. 11, 2009 — In addition to his contacts with Major Nidal Hasan, the radical American cleric, Anwar al Awlaki, served as an inspiration for men convicted in terror plots in Toronto and Fort Dix, New Jersey, according to government officials and court records reviewed by ABCNews.com. Despite his ties to other plots, including the one against the Army post at Fort Dix, some 20 e-mails between Awlaki and Major...

Now that the gubernatorial election is over, Republicans in Burlington, Ocean and Camden Counties are starting to focus on recruiting someone to take on freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next year. There is a deep bench of potential candidates, but some Republicans have one in mind who could clear the field: Philadelphia Eagles legend Jon Runyan, a Mount Laurel resident. Sources tell PolitickerNJ.com that Assemblywoman Dawn Addiego (R-Evesham) - who knows Runyan because their children attend school together - has talked to him about running. Runyan, who is not currently active in the NFL but has not retired,...

In his election-night acceptance speech, New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie aimed straight at the Garden State's entrenched political class, vowing to "turn Trenton on its head." As his victory suggests, many residents would welcome such dramatic reform. He has the opportunity to harness popular anger with the previous administration and make real reforms. Christie inherits a state that's in arguably the worst financial condition in its 233- year history. Last year's $7 billion shortfall, closed with stimulus dollars and tax hikes, has resurfaced at an even larger $8 billion for 2010. Residents face crippling property taxes (an average of $7,000...

Harding Township Manages To Keep Taxes Very Low Because Residents Volunteer, Do Many Things Themselves HARDING TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) ― Across the Hudson River where property taxes are a hot button issue, homeowners in one New Jersey town know how to get more bang for their buck. What's Harding Township's secret? Lawmakers keep those taxes down and residents happy. It's a secret the residents don't want the rest of the state to know about -- how they've managed keep their property taxes down. When you step into Harding Township you feel like you've gone back in time. Horses, farms, barely...

Barack Obama and the Democrats want you to know they had a good week. Last Tuesday Republicans threw away a New York congressional seat they had held for a century, preferring to fight each other than win an easy contest. Excellent, say Democrats. Civil war in the Republican party augurs well for next year’s mid-term elections. What’s that, you say? Oh, yes, Democrats did lose the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, with huge swings to the other side, but this was to be expected with the economy in such bad shape. Read nothing into that, say Democratic strategists. Still...

In November 2008, 658,000 Americans under 30 voted in New Jersey and 782,000 did so in Virginia. In November 2009, 212,000 Americans under 30 voted in New Jersey and 198,000 did so in Virginia. In other words, young voter turnout this year was down two-thirds in New Jersey and three-quarters in Virginia

Pfizer (PFE) has laid off 26,300 employees since 2005, and hopes eventually to lay off a total of 30,900 through 2012, according to its 10-Q filing with the SEC. The company had several rounds of layoffs before its acquisition of Wyeth in an attempt to get $6 billion in annual savings out of its business model. The company has said it wants to ax about 19,500 jobs to make the Wyeth merger work. The new company will have about 130,000 workers. The layoffs are ongoing, Pfizer said: In the third quarter of 2009, we reduced our workforce by approximately 1,100...

Full County Results for New Jersey with results for most towns.

In Ohio, citizens marched to the polls on Tuesday and voted to allow gambling casinos in the state. This was obviously a message to President Obama that independent voters are not happy with the way the health care bill is going. Really, I don’t see how else you can interpret it. Ohioans were looking forward to the lower insurance costs that would come with a robust public option, and if the president can’t deliver, they’re planning to pay their future medical bills with their winnings at the roulette wheel. Also, people here in Cincinnati rejected a proposal that would have...

In the process, they blew the opportunity to send a solid Reaganite to Washington. Now it turns out Dede is a turncoat (so much for party loyalty). Again, the fact that Doug Hoffman, an unknown, lost by only four percentage points clearly demonstrates a shift to the Right—not necessarily to Republicans.

Tuesday's GOP gubernatorial sweep revealed an electorate deeply anxious about jobs, the state of the economy and the wider Obama agenda. We realize we sound like St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, but if the Democratic establishment wants to avoid a repeat in 2010 they'll dump their current ambitions and start over.--snip--Democrats entered this year well positioned to get political credit for a recovering economy, whether or not their policies had much to do with it. Yet a year later their willy-nilly expansion of government is creating fear and uncertainty that are inhibiting the animal spirits crucial to...

Thought you might want to see the red/blue divide in New Jersey, comparing the 2008 and 2009 elections. Red/Blue NJ, 2008 presidential Red/Blue NJ, 2009 gubernatorial

The peoples' Genie spoke yesterday. But will they keep speaking, or will the Genie ease back into the bottle? After watching the cram-down of astronomically expensive legislation and the accompanying explosion in national debt, the people's Genie tipped over the bottle and came out. Then the Genie's people spoke with bold passion at the August town hall meetings. As the fall approached, they kept speaking. They gathered at T.E.A. Party events along nationwide bus tours. They formed a huge crowd in Washington, D.C. on 9/12. They carried homemade signs in civil demonstrations in cities of all sizes across the land....

The news was official earlier than anyone expected: Chris Christie won the race for governor in New Jersey.On Election Day, we heard of eyewitness reports that convicted felons were going door-to-door in Morris Township in an effort to get out the vote for the Democrats. And we heard of automated phone calls for independent candidate Chris Daggett that were paid for by the Democrats. There was also a huge rise in absentee ballots, and allegations that ACORN workers had collected absentee ballots at East Orange General Hospital.One guy even showed up yesterday at his polling precinct to find that someone...

Just as many of us predicted the Democrat leadership is frantically spinning yesterdays election saying that Virginia and New Jersey are no big deal while NY-23 should....get this....actually reassure bluedog Dem's: Centrist, Blue Dog Democrats should be reassured on their healthcare vote by last night's election, White House senior advisor David Axelrod said Wednesday. Axelrod said that Democrats' victory in New York's 23rd congressional district should reassure Democrats who are concerned about the political ramifications of any vote for the House's health reform bill. Which is hilarity in the extreme. Owens is, as KOS described him in less then glowing...

Voters in New Jersey proved last night that they are way smarter than voters in Pennsylvania, who blew a chance to rid themselves of the odious Jack Murtha last year. The Republicans ran an outstanding candidate, Lt. Col Bill Russell; but Pennsylvanians decided to stick with the traitorous gasbag instead of electing an American hero. New Jersey voters at last, banished Goldman Sachs alum, John Corzine, who ran on a platform of being Obama’s BFF. The Obama- blessed incumbent offered the traditional Democrat vision: higher taxes and corruption on a scale that makes Mayor Daley look downright saintly. Inexplicably, the...

And David Plouffe said Obama considered this guy for Vice President

Pro-Life Advocates Excited by Defeat of Abortion Backers in Virginia, New Jersey Washington, DC -- Tuesday night provided a shot in the arm for the pro-life movement following the disheartening loss last year that resulted in the election of pro-abortion President Barack Obama. With victories in New Jersey and Virginia, pro-life candidates dispatched their pro-abortion opponents. http://www.LifeNews.com/state4542.html

WASHINGTON – The White House says that Republican wins in two governors' races were not referendums on the president. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that voters went to the polls in Virginia and New Jersey to work through "very local issues that didn't involve the president." The presidential spokesman said voters were concerned about the economy. "I don't think the president needed an election or an exit poll to come to that conclusion," Gibbs said. By contrast, Gibbs acknowledged that the 2010 midterm congressional elections will be more about the Obama agenda.

Congratulations to the new Governors-Elect of Virginia and New Jersey! I’d also like to offer a special word of support to the new Lieutenant Governor-Elect of New Jersey, Kim Guadagno, the first woman to hold that office. Of course, the real victors in this election are the ordinary men and women who voted for positive change and a return to fiscal sanity. Your voices have been heard

CHRIS Christie's gutsy win in New Jersey puts the arrogant big spender Jon Corzine in his place. But it is the election in Virginia that probably has more to say to marginal Democratic congressmen considering how to vote on health-care reform. Obviously, Christie's victory is a body blow to Obama after Corzine outspent the Republican by five-to-one and the president put on a serious push for the incumbent. Corzine's defeat sends a message that the nation is moving sharply against Obama. But Virginia results are the most important. More than 80 Democratic congressmen and 20 senators come from states that...

Barack Obama's Democrats have lost two key state governorships, Virginia and New Jersey, in a stinging blow to the party one year after Obama's historic election as US president. The Republican Party has won two governors' seats in off-year elections, dealing Barack Obama's Democratic Party a significant blow one year after its clean sweep of the White House and Congress. With most votes counted, Republican Chris Christie prevailed over Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine in New Jersey while Bob McDonnell scored an easy victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds in Virginia. The results are a big setback for Obama, who had campaigned...

American voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to Barack Obama by rejecting his allies in Virginia, the swing state that helped deliver him the White House almost exactly a year ago, and the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey. Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, trounced his Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds, for whom Mr Obama had campaigned, by 17 points to become Virginia governor. Republicans also won the races in Virginia for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Governor Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democrat, was defeated by Chris Christie in New Jersey, where no Republican had won state-wide since 1997. It was a...

Major Republican victories in two states last night left the fate of President Obama's signature health reforms in doubt and Democrats licking their wounds a year before the 2010 mid-term elections. The defeat of Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine by an estimated five points in the New Jersey governor's race was a serious blow for Mr Obama, who had campaigned intensively for Mr Corzine and urged crowds across the state to turn out for him as they did in the historic White House race a year ago. In Virginia, Republicans won a clean sweep in contests for Governor, Attorney General and...

Washington - Ein Jahr nach dem historischen Wahlsieg von US-Präsident Barack Obama haben dessen Demokraten zwei Niederlagen einstecken müssen. Aus den Gouverneurswahlen in den von Demokraten regierten Bundesstaaten Virginia und New Jersey gingen am Dienstag die republikanischen Bewerber als Sieger hervor, wie US-Medien unter Berufung auf Hochrechnungen berichteten. Die Abstimmungen galten als Stimmungstest für den US-Präsidenten. In Virginia unterlag der demokratische Bewerber Creigh Deeds nach Hochrechnungen mehrerer US-Medien mit 37 Prozent der Stimmen deutlich seinem republikanischen Konkurrenten Bob McDonnell. Dieser eroberte demnach mit 63 Prozent der Stimmen das Gouverneursamt, das bisher der Demokrat Tim Kaine innehatte. Nach Berichten der US-Sender...

Up shot of article (my snap translation):--Obama in a painful situation, because just one year ago, he took these states. Now, tonight, they fell to the Republicans.--It seems that with the election of the 2 Republicans and defeat of Obama, his prized "Health Care" program is in jeopardy.--The results show the sentiment of the American People in those states toward Obama and is a reflection of what might be expected a year from now in the 2010 midterm elections.--Obama had quite a year in Virginia (in 2008), which did not go for a Democrat for President in 44 years, and...

Though a majority of late-deciding New Jersey voters leaned toward incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, it wasn't enough to save the Democrat from anger in a state battered by high taxes and scarred by government corruption. Tuesday: Chris Christie stands with wife Mary Pat Christie and children Bridgett and Patrick ahead of their voting in Mendham, N.J. (AP Photo) Exit polls showed independent voters that gave President Obama a huge advantage in the state last year strongly favored Republican Chris Christie on Tuesday. Though a majority of late-deciding New Jersey voters leaned toward incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, it wasn't enough to...

Republicans win Virginia, New Jersey governorshipsReuters | 11/04/2009 12:11 PM WASHINGTON – Republicans rolled to victory in governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday in a sharp blow to Democrats that showed the limits of U.S. President Barack Obama's influence. After suffering a one-two punch in those two states, Democrats were trying to salvage a victory over a conservative candidate in a congressional district in upstate New York. The election outcome in Virginia and New Jersey could offer clues on the mood of America a year after Obama was elected president and a year before 2010 congressional elections...

Here is video of Chris Christie being declared the winner of the New Jersey Governor's race by Fox News. Christie defeated incumbent Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine. He is the first Republican to win a statewide race in New Jersey since 1997. . . (VIDEO)

EDISON, N.J. -- Republican Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, pulled out a win for the New Jersey governor's race against a deeply unpopular Democratic incumbent whom voters blamed for the state's high taxes and budget woes. The Associated Press called the race for Mr. Christie over incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine just after 10 p.m. With 71% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Mr. Christie had 50% of the vote to Mr. Corzine's 44%. Mr. Corzine ran a campaign that emphasized his experience with reducing the state's debt, getting children insured, and getting school aid more evenly divided among the state's...

Name Party Votes Vote % Christie, Chris GOP 878,955 50% Corzine, Jon (i) Dem 775,526 44% Daggett, Christopher Ind 95,766 5%

TRENTON, N.J. – Republican Chris Christie has defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey. With 71 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Christie had 50 percent of the vote to Corzine's 44 percent. Christie, a 47-year-old former federal prosecutor, became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey. The Republican victory deals a blow to President Barack Obama as he readies for next year's midterm elections. Obama campaigned heavily for Corzine.

BREAKING

TONIGHT: RESULTS... REPUBLICAN TAKES VA: 656,124 McDonnell [R] 427,075 [D] NJ: 11,652 Christie [R] 7,930 Corzine [D] 1,894 Daggett [I] NY: 9 PM Hoffman [C] Owens [D] ABCNEWS: Vast Economic Discontent Spells Trouble for Dems in 2010...

WASHINGTON – Republicans wrested political control of Virginia from the Democrats on Tuesday and New Jersey's unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine was fighting for his political life as independent voters swung behind the GOP in both states. It was a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds was a triumph for a GOP looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008. It also was a setback for the White House in a...

On Mark Levin's show tonight, just after 6:30 PM Eastern, Rush Limbaugh talked about how close exit polling in New Jersey is today and urged listeners to get in line before 8 PM when the polls close. Here's a brief segment:

That's what Hannity is reporting at 5:20 EST. GET OUT AND VOTE New Jersey GOP & Independents!!!

WASHINGTON — In this supposedly quiet off-year election, three contests taking place Tuesday are filling the void. Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will elect governors, while voters in upstate New York are filling a vacant House seat in a race with national implications.

Reports coming in from New Jersey indicate that voter turnout - this morning at least - was significantly higher in many Republican Districts than in Democratic Districts. These are not exit polls from New Jersey, but simply observations of turnout in key districts. That trend would seem to bode well for Republican Candidate Chris Christie against incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. The question is, will it continue into the afternoon and evening? Jim Geraghty reports that sources have told him the following: Again, this is based strictly on the morning turnout, and there's the afternoon and evening turnout could look...

Karl Rove gives his assessment on the New Jersey Governor's race and the says you have to be way ahead....He should know, they twice tried to win New Jersey in 2000, and 2004....(Video)

Follow those races here. Report turnout, exit polls etc. as they happen..