hey there, gene. I'm from New Jersey also. This man Baraka is supposed to be our poet laureate. He was chosen by McGreevey in particular for his racial (racist) views. While he does not represent the most important thing about our state, he's emblematic of it. Let's see, we live in a state where: Boy Scouts are vilified as evil by the (NJ) Supreme Court, we switch candidates who are doing poorly, though it's against the law, the Supreme Court (of NJ) routinely makes law, rather than interprets it, even Republican congressmen see fit to force hospitals to perform abortions, we are on the verge of not having any auto insurer stay in the state, because insurance profits have been confiscated through state regulation, our water systems are so decrepit that we are always under water alert, we are told that we must allow bears to roam through our suburbs, our state is the gridlock capital of the world, etc. etc. I've lived here now for eight years. I'm not impressed.
What these wise seers DON'T mention is the crap and corruption in their own back yards.