Free Republic

The reconstruction of Sandy-battered Route 35 is soaking New Jersey taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in cost overruns, an Asbury Park Press investigation reveals. The newspaper found that the project, announced by Gov. Chris Christie in 2013, is already $76 million over budget and a year behind schedule. The potential final cost of $341 million means that the 12.5-mile road construction in Ocean County will cost a jaw-dropping $27.3 million per mile — making it one of the most expensive road projects in the state. The Asbury Park Press, which called the project a “boondoggle,” found that the...

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from May 1 to 3, 2016 with 301 New Jersey voters likely to vote in the Republican presidential primary. This sample as a margin of error of +5.7 percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ. If the Republican primary election for president was today, would you vote for: Donald Trump 70% John Kasich 15% Ted Cruz 11% Other 0% Undecided 5%

It's the stuff of mafia lore -- a doomed target thrown into the depths of the ocean, with his feet encased in cement. And yet, on an unseasonably cool morning in Brooklyn, a body with so-called "cement shoes" washed ashore this week, igniting the mystery of who committed the crime, and why. Authorities have identified the body as that of a 28-year-old suspected gang member named Peter Martinez. Martinez was found wrapped in "black plastic bags, his arms were tied behind him, and his feet were submerged in poured concrete," said New York Police Chief of Department Robert Boyce. Martinez'...

We hope Sens. Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand are giving that devastating new profile of resident Obama’s foreign-policy guru a careful read. Because they’ll learn how they were all played for fools on the Iran nuclear deal by that aide, Ben Rhodes — and the resident. That applies especially to Schumer, who will be the Senate Democratic leader come January. Booker and Gillibrand hewed to the party line in backing the deal. Schumer gave it a thumb’s-down — but then refused to lobby his colleagues to take his side. Sen. Bob Menendez, on the other hand, is looking...

As Bob Dylan told us long ago, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” These days, a foul wind blows from City Hall. With subpoenas issued, investigations spreading and at least one federal grand jury at work, the question isn’t whether Bill de Blasio’s administration has a corruption problem. The questions are how big is the problem, how many agencies are tainted and how high up the pecking order does it go? […] The two biggest and most recent scandals involve lucrative gifts and cash given to current and former top officers in the NYPD,...

On April 8, 2016, military historian and author Patrick K. O’Donnell spoke at the Heritage Foundation to discuss his book “Washington’s Immortals,” a book about the forgotten people and battles in the revolutionary war. The author discusses facts of the war that many schools fail to recognize; these include details of the colonists’ struggles with the loyalists, the soldiers’ shortages of clothing and food, and the sacrifices of many wealthy colonists. The stories in this book of the band of brotherhood and the sacrifices of the colonists are beneficial for students in order for them to fully understand American values....

Well, so much for suspense. The networks called Indiana for Donald Trump about five seconds after the polls closed, and within two hours Ted Cruz announced he was suspending his campaign. Trump is winning a majority of the vote and will likely win all 57 delegates. Even if a few delegates stray back across the line, this win clinched the nomination for Trump. He will now have well over 1,000 bound delegates, which is less than 200 from what he needs to make it a lock. And that's without the unbound delegates he definitely has in Pennsylvania and is sure...

November 20, 2015 In Poll After Poll Trump Beats Clinton - And That Scares The Hell Out of GOPe Globalists... by sundance The latest fear mongering approach from the Globalist GOPe advocates (progressive republicans) is to claim they need to attack Donald Trump because he cannot beat Hillary Clinton. This claim is a total sham intended to hide their ulterior motives and here’s why. First to the substance of the claims – In poll after poll of head-to-head match-ups Donald Trump clearly beats Hillary here are recent examples:Fox News Poll – October Trump beats Clinton 45-40 Minnesota Poll – Trump...

(RNS) More than 50 conservative Catholic activists and political leaders have come out in support of Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz in an effort to shore up Catholic backing for Cruz as an alternative to Donald Trump. Among them is a priest from South Carolina who may be skirting the edges of his own church’s policies against clerics becoming involved in politics. Trump is currently leading the three-man GOP field and has drawn strong primary support from Catholic voters despite his controversial rhetoric and past stands on key issues like abortion rights, which he once supported. The Catholics endorsing Cruz,...

(CNSNews.com) -- Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital and its current Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry, said that transgenderism is a “mental disorder” that merits treatment, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder. Dr. McHugh, the author of six books and at least 125 peer-reviewed medical articles, made his remarks in a recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal, where he explained that transgender surgery is not the solution for people who suffer a “disorder of ‘assumption’” – the notion...

Champagne delivered mail in Pennsauken. Prosecutors say he admitted stealing 72 U.S. Department of the Treasury checks totaling $443,000 and giving them to other people, who weren't named in court documents. Fishman says those people paid Champagne $50 per stolen check in 2014. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is Aug. 3.

Our top-heavy economy has come to this: One man can move out of New Jersey and put the entire state budget at risk. Other states are facing similar situations as a greater share of income — and tax revenue — becomes concentrated in the hands of a few. Last month, during a routine review of New Jersey’s finances, one could sense the alarm. The state’s wealthiest resident had reportedly “shifted his personal and business domicile to another state,” Frank W. Haines III, New Jersey’s legislative budget and finance officer, told a State Senate committee. If the news were true, New...

Atlantic City has so little money left that it could miss a $1.8 million bond payment due Sunday, a step that would make it the first New Jersey municipality to default on debt since the Great Depression. The Jersey Shore gambling destination has endured years of strain as a third of its casinos shut down. But now its cash levels are low enough that bankruptcy is a possibility for the 39,000-population city, according to Mayor Don Guardian.

CNBC: Cruz will make major announcement at 4PM

n this case, however, the Google search on the slogan or hashtag allows the Propaganda Man to verify for himself that Al Sharpton did indeed tell his listeners, "I don't believe in marching! I believe in offing the pigs! Well, they got pigs out here! You ain't offed one of them!" and "I'll off the man. Well, off him! Plenty of crackers walking around here tonight!" The Propaganda Man can also verify independently that Hillary Clinton has made at least two appearances at Sharpton's National Action Network, where she praised Sharpton and essentially solicited his support for her candidacy. This...

federal appeals court has ruled a New Jersey couple can't sue to keep a stolen 7.35-carat diamond, even though it was given as a gift from mother to daughter, the couple's attorney confirmed on Monday. The pear-shaped diamond was stolen in 2003 and made its way through various sellers before ending up purchased for $175,000 by Saddle River resident Frank Walsh, according to previous reports. In 2012, Walsh's wife gave the diamond as a gift to their daughter, Suzanne, and son-in-law Steven Zaretsky. When the Zaretskys tried to have the diamond insured, a jeweler discovered the gem had been stolen...

ALBANY — The head investigator for the state Board of Elections probed the 2014 fundraising efforts by Mayor de Blasio and his team on behalf of the Senate Democrats and found enough “willful and flagrant” violations to warrant a criminal referral to the Manhattan DA’s office. The Daily News obtained a bombshell memo state Board of Elections Chief Enforcement Officer Risa Sugarman sent to the board’s four commissioners on Jan. 4 recommending the referral. “I have determined that reasonable cause exists to believe a violation warranting criminal prosecution has taken place,” Sugarman wrote. “The violations discovered by this investigation can...

Cadets from the United States Military Academy at West Point learned about different faiths earlier this month by touring Jersey City's diverse cultural groups. The cadets spent time with Coptic, Jewish and Muslim groups, among others, during a three-day tour of the city for their class, "€œWinning the Peace," which has annually brought cadets to Jersey City for over a decade. During their April 15 visit to the Muslim Federation of New Jersey at 530 Montgomery St., cadets asked questions about Islam, ate traditional Pakistani dishes and attended a prayer session with the local Muslim community.

A New Jersey school board member resigned Friday after backlash over posts she made on Facebook disparaging Muslims. […] (Gladys) Gryskiewicz posted on Facebook earlier this year that Muslims should stay “in your desserts (sic) and follow your religion in your own countries.” In another post, she wrote: “Why now are we giving into (sic) the Muslims way of life? The French told them to get lost. This is what our President should be emulating.” Her comments drew outrage, including from some students, state lawmakers and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which called for her resignation. …

“Well, I think it would be a bad idea to put little girls in a bathroom with grown men,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told CNN on Thursday. But the senator also made it clear that the issue is not one of major national importance, as far as he is concerned: “All I can say is that the only bathroom I can control is in my office, and you can use the bathroom in my office without bringing your birth certificate.” …