Free Republic

UNION CITY, N.J.—In his 30-plus years as a player in New Jersey politics, Senator Robert Menendez has cultivated dozens of friends and allies in positions of influence. But recently, on Sept. 5, one of his allies, a New Jersey business owner and a major fund-raiser for Mr. Menendez, showed up in a curious place: in front of a grand jury in Newark, where he was questioned about the financing of terror bombings in Cuba during the 1990’s. Also appearing in front of the grand jury was the former accountant of a deceased ally and donor for the Senator. The fund-raiser,...

Some people get mad at me when I tell them not to vote. But I believe there is a right time to abstain from casting a ballot – particularly if the only choice is a Democrat or Republican who are indistinguishable on the major issues of the day. A good example of a race where a protest vote for a third party candidate or a non-vote would be the right thing to do on Election Day is the New Jersey Senate race between incumbent Robert Menendez, the Democrat, and Republican challenger Thomas Kean Jr. (Column continues below) Pollsters say the...

Congressman Bill Pascrell (D) invites you to join him and 37 year Marine Combat Veteran & Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha at Montclair State University, Montclair New Jersey.October 23 starting at 3:00 until 4:30. John Murtha will be discussing his views on National Security and Ending the War in Iraq. contact number for more information 973-523-5152 ( office of B. Pascrell)

Who's laughing now? New Jersey, the state that spawned a thousand wise-guy bumper stickers and became the butt of a million late-night jokes, is actually a nice place to live. The research group Morgan Quitno crunched the numbers this year and yesterday ranked New Jersey the fifth-most-livable state. As for its neighbors? Pennsylvania finished 30th, New York 32d. "The people we talk to say they wouldn't live anywhere else, and I have to go along with that," said Mark Moran, a Bloomfield resident and one of the editors of Weird New Jersey magazine. "Whether it grows on you or people...