Click here to order or for more information.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Bar Association Names New PR/Marketing Chief
The Philadelphia Bar Association, the oldest association of lawyers in the United States, welcomes Meredith Z. Avakian-Hardaway as its new director of communications and marketing.
Avakian-Hardaway succeeds Mark Tarasiewicz, who assumed the duties of executive director on January 1, 2014.
We are delighted with this news and confident that Meredith Avakian-Hardaway will do an outstanding job in this pivotal role. We've known Meredith since she was a student at Temple University and it has been a pleasure to watch her achieve prominence as a respected and accomplished public relations professional.
"The 212-year-old Philadelphia Bar Association strives to foster understanding of, involvement in and access to the justice system," said Philadelphia Bar Association Executive Director Mark Tarasiewicz. "It was important for us to select a director of communications and marketing who understands our heritage as well as what it takes for us to 'raise the bar' for our members, their clients and the public."
Avakian-Hardaway joins the Philadelphia Bar Association from DuPont, where she spent nearly eight years in a variety of public relations and communications positions. Most recently, Avakian-Hardaway served as a regional public affairs manager. In this role, she led internal and external communications, including 24/7 issues and crisis communications support, for eight manufacturing plant sites in three states – Delaware, New Jersey & Rhode Island.
Avakian-Hardaway also serves as the Philadelphia Public Relations Association's vice president for external affairs and has won the organization's Fast Track Award and Dr. Jean Brodey Award. She also recently was named a "Rising Star of PR" by PR News, a "Hero" by the American Red Cross, and a "Notable Alumni" by Temple University's Department of Strategic Communications. Avakian-Hardaway also is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and has received national awards from the student chapter of the organization.
"Thousands of citizens are helped by the Philadelphia Bar Association through its mission of serving the profession and the public by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the rule of law," said Avakian-Hardaway. "I am honored to be a part of the team and look forward to working with some of the most talented people in Philadelphia and beyond."
The Philadelphia Bar Association, founded in 1802, is the oldest association of lawyers in the United States. The mission of the Association is to serve the profession and the public by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the rule of law. In so doing, the Association strives to foster understanding of, involvement in and access to the justice system.
Avakian-Hardaway joins the Philadelphia Bar Association from DuPont, where she spent nearly eight years in a variety of public relations and communications positions. Most recently, Avakian-Hardaway served as a regional public affairs manager. In this role, she led internal and external communications, including 24/7 issues and crisis communications support, for eight manufacturing plant sites in three states – Delaware, New Jersey & Rhode Island.
Avakian-Hardaway also serves as the Philadelphia Public Relations Association's vice president for external affairs and has won the organization's Fast Track Award and Dr. Jean Brodey Award. She also recently was named a "Rising Star of PR" by PR News, a "Hero" by the American Red Cross, and a "Notable Alumni" by Temple University's Department of Strategic Communications. Avakian-Hardaway also is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and has received national awards from the student chapter of the organization.
"Thousands of citizens are helped by the Philadelphia Bar Association through its mission of serving the profession and the public by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the rule of law," said Avakian-Hardaway. "I am honored to be a part of the team and look forward to working with some of the most talented people in Philadelphia and beyond."
The Philadelphia Bar Association, founded in 1802, is the oldest association of lawyers in the United States. The mission of the Association is to serve the profession and the public by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the rule of law. In so doing, the Association strives to foster understanding of, involvement in and access to the justice system.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Dan Cirucci Blog Correctly Calls Super Bowl Win
On December 29, right here, we predicted:
"Look for the Seattle Seahawks to win the first Super Bowl ever held in New Jersey."
We know nothing about football and even less about sports in general.
Be we do know this:
WE WERE RIGHT!
Keep following the Dan Cirucci Blog!
On Super Bowl Sunday: A Paean To New Jersey
To celebrate the Super Bowl being played in New Jersey today, we thought you'd enjoy this list of sup rising facts about the Garden State:
New Jersey has the second highest per capita income in the U.S.
New Jersey has three counties in the top ten U.S. counties by income.
New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights (Nov. 20,1789)
New Jersey is a peninsula.
New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.
New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.
New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba.
New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US.
Cartoonist Thomas Nast (Morristown) created the popular image of Santa Claus.
New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."
Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.
North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major ! shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.
New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.
New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.
New Jersey is home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.
The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.
And, Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world,
Not to mention salt water taffy.
New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.
The "Trial of the Century" (the Lindberg Baby kidnapping) was held in Flemington.
New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.
Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.
You haven't lived until you have eaten New Jersey sweet corn.
New Jersey is a leader in blueberry, dandelion and cranberry production.
In 1642, the first brewery in America, opened in Hoboken.
New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.
New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.
New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark), Liberty International.
George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington. On Christmas Eve 1776 he crossed the Delaware to attack the Hessian troops at Trenton.
The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory.
We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.
The first movie studio was in West Orange.
The first western was filmed by Edison in the hills of West Orange-"The Great Train Robbery."
Highest population density in the US
Home of the US Olympic Equestrian Team
Home to the United States Golf association (Far Hills)
The transistor was invented by Bell Labs in NJ
The telephone was invented in NJ
Samuel Morse's code machine was built in NJ (Morris Plains)
The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.
The first airmail (to Chicago) was started from Keyport, NJ.
The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.
New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.
New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. (Union, NJ!!!)
New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City.
The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.
NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).
The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.
The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1889 (Rutgers College played Princeton).
The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ, (but they're all gone now!).
New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK'S" pro football teams!
The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Thomas Armstrong.
The Great Falls in Paterson, on the Passaic River, is the second highest waterfall on the East Coast of the US. In 1778, Alexander Hamilton visited the falls and was impressed by its potential for industry. Later as the nation's first Secretary of Treasury, he selected the site as the nation's first planned industrial city.
All New Jersey natives: (Actually 'Born, Raised 0r Settled'): Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Derek Jeter Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, The Jonas Brothers, Alan Ginsberg, Yogi Berra, Larry Doby, Norman Mailer, Marilynn McCoo, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Edison, Frankie Valli, Charles Lindbergh, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joyce Kilmer, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Ice-T, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Fanny Brice, Annie Oakley, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gordon McRae, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm.Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas (Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Sammy Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia, Brian Williams, Charles Gibson, Martha Stewart, Andrew Fastow (!) and, of course, Francis Albert Sinatra.
You know you're from Jersey when . . .
You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."
You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.
You don't put pineapple on your pizza.
And, you don't buy pizza at a national "pizza" franchise.
You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.
You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.
At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen, and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.
You know what a "jug handle" is.
You know that WaWa is a convenience store.
You know that the Garden State isn't all farmland.
You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey--there's the shore--and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when you are there, you're not "at the shore"; you are "down the shore."
You know how to properly negotiate a circle.
You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.
You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (try . . . Mexico . . . York .! . . Hampshire-- doesn't work, does it?).
You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege.
Or, ketchup on a hot dog.
You don't think "What exit?" is very funny.
You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton--that's for out-of-staters.
You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.
Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.
You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.
You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from Central Jersey go to Belmar, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can be no other way.
You weren't raised in New Jersey--you were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.
You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Bamberger's and Orbach's.
You also remember Palisades Amusement Park and Olympic Park.
You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.
You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.
And finally . . .You've NEVER, EVER pumped your own gas!
New Jersey has the second highest per capita income in the U.S.
New Jersey has three counties in the top ten U.S. counties by income.
New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights (Nov. 20,1789)
New Jersey is a peninsula.
New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.
New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.
New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba.
New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US.
Cartoonist Thomas Nast (Morristown) created the popular image of Santa Claus.
New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."
Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.
North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major ! shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.
New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.
New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.
New Jersey is home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.
The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.
And, Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world,
Not to mention salt water taffy.
New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.
The "Trial of the Century" (the Lindberg Baby kidnapping) was held in Flemington.
New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.
Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.
You haven't lived until you have eaten New Jersey sweet corn.
New Jersey is a leader in blueberry, dandelion and cranberry production.
In 1642, the first brewery in America, opened in Hoboken.
New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.
New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.
New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark), Liberty International.
George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington. On Christmas Eve 1776 he crossed the Delaware to attack the Hessian troops at Trenton.
The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory.
We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.
The first movie studio was in West Orange.
The first western was filmed by Edison in the hills of West Orange-"The Great Train Robbery."
Highest population density in the US
Home of the US Olympic Equestrian Team
Home to the United States Golf association (Far Hills)
The transistor was invented by Bell Labs in NJ
The telephone was invented in NJ
Samuel Morse's code machine was built in NJ (Morris Plains)
The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.
The first airmail (to Chicago) was started from Keyport, NJ.
The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.
New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.
New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. (Union, NJ!!!)
New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City.
The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.
NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).
The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.
The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1889 (Rutgers College played Princeton).
The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ, (but they're all gone now!).
New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK'S" pro football teams!
The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Thomas Armstrong.
The Great Falls in Paterson, on the Passaic River, is the second highest waterfall on the East Coast of the US. In 1778, Alexander Hamilton visited the falls and was impressed by its potential for industry. Later as the nation's first Secretary of Treasury, he selected the site as the nation's first planned industrial city.
All New Jersey natives: (Actually 'Born, Raised 0r Settled'): Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Derek Jeter Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, The Jonas Brothers, Alan Ginsberg, Yogi Berra, Larry Doby, Norman Mailer, Marilynn McCoo, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Edison, Frankie Valli, Charles Lindbergh, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joyce Kilmer, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Ice-T, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Fanny Brice, Annie Oakley, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gordon McRae, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm.Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas (Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Sammy Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia, Brian Williams, Charles Gibson, Martha Stewart, Andrew Fastow (!) and, of course, Francis Albert Sinatra.
You know you're from Jersey when . . .
You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."
You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.
You don't put pineapple on your pizza.
And, you don't buy pizza at a national "pizza" franchise.
You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.
You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.
At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen, and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.
You know what a "jug handle" is.
You know that WaWa is a convenience store.
You know that the Garden State isn't all farmland.
You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey--there's the shore--and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when you are there, you're not "at the shore"; you are "down the shore."
You know how to properly negotiate a circle.
You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.
You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (try . . . Mexico . . . York .! . . Hampshire-- doesn't work, does it?).
You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege.
Or, ketchup on a hot dog.
You don't think "What exit?" is very funny.
You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton--that's for out-of-staters.
You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.
Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.
You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.
You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from Central Jersey go to Belmar, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can be no other way.
You weren't raised in New Jersey--you were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.
You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Bamberger's and Orbach's.
You also remember Palisades Amusement Park and Olympic Park.
You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.
You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.
And finally . . .You've NEVER, EVER pumped your own gas!
Phillip Seymour Hoffman Remembered: 1967-2014
Often, you didn't even realize that Hoffman was in a film or video until you saw the credits roll at the end and you found yourself saying: "Oh my God, that was him?"
He tricked you like that. And he did it frequently.
So, as Hoffman became a well-known presence in feature films you found yourself working extra hard to spot him when he appeared.
Who can forget Hoffman in the film Capote? His performance left us all but breathless. We weren't at all surprised that he won an Oscar for that role.
We last saw Hoffman on screen in Moneyball and once again we were impressed with his performance, this time as baseball manager Art Howe. And we loved his take on so many other characters in Doubt, Charlie Wilson's War, Almost Famous, State and Main, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and other movies. But Hoffman was also an accomplished stage actor and director. He was multi-talented.
Such talent often brings obsession with it - the drive to succeed, the determination to be consumed by the character and the work, the will to risk everything, the total immersion in one's craft. And where there is obsession you will find the seeds of addiction. They just seem to go together.
Still, when we heard today that Hoffman had been found dead in his New York City apartment of an apparent overdose, we were surprised. We didn't know that this extraordinarily accomplished actor struggled with addictions to drugs, liquor and reportedly, heroin.
As we heard this tragic news we were reading actor Tom Sizemore's book By Some Miracle I Made It Out Of There. In it, Sizemore details his own road to addiction and his numerous attempts to get clean followed by periodic relapses. Now, tabloids are reporting that Sizemore has apparently fallen off the wagon once again.
And before Sizemore's book we read the Stacy Keach bio All In All. Fortunately, Keach seems to have put his cocaine addiction behind him. But, if you read his book and Sizemore's book you will see once again that addiction is an illness -- an insidious illness that one is called to do battle with every day of one's life. Addicts don't necessarily recover. Rather, they are recovering. And each day of recovery is a blessing -- a triumph, a small celebration.
The scourge of drugs is pervasive throughout our society. And it seems particularly prevalent in the entertainment industry, as it has been for as long as we can remember.
Worse yet, more and more it seems like heroin is ascendent once again and is becoming the drug of choice for suburban youth.
Others may not agree with us but we feel that all this should be a particular warning to those who look casually upon drug use and who advocate legalized marijuana.
How sad that this great actor's life was lost to drug addiction.
This is an incalculable tragedy.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
GOP Grassroots Leaders Stand With Corbett
Today at the annual Winter Meeting of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, grassroots leaders officially endorsed Governor Tom Corbett and Lt. Governor Jim Cawley for re-election in 2014. They were joined by First Lady Susan Corbett and members of the Corbett family.
This is the 4th time the Republican Party of Pennsylvania has endorsed Tom Corbett for statewide office, including twice for Attorney General in 2004 and 2008, and the 2010 gubernatorial race.
“Jim and I are honored to once again have the support of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania as we seek re-election this year and are grateful for the grassroots leaders and volunteers of our party for the hard work they have done and will continue to do to deliver a victory in November,” said Governor Tom Corbett.
“For the last three years we have worked to turn Pennsylvania around, cutting wasteful government spending, responsibly balancing our budgets on-time and leading with a ‘More Jobs, Less Taxes’ agenda that’s keeping taxes low and putting more Pennsylvanians back to work in the private sector. With the help of a growing energy sector, Pennsylvania is once again open for business and unemployment is at a five year low. Pennsylvania’s best days are just ahead, and with four more years, we will be able to ensure that our children and grandchildren have the bright future they deserve.”
Lt. Governor Cawley added, “The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s endorsement and the work being done at the grassroots level will be critical not only in the coming weeks during the petition process, but over the next nine months as we continue to get out our message of reform and opportunity to continue making Pennsylvania a better place to live, work and raise our families.”
Pennsylvania’s Republican Congressional Delegation also showed their support for the Corbett-Cawley team at the Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, when Congressmen GT Thompson, Charlie Dent and Tom Marino presented Governor Corbett with a football helmet signed by all 13 Republican members.
“Jim and I are honored to once again have the support of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania as we seek re-election this year and are grateful for the grassroots leaders and volunteers of our party for the hard work they have done and will continue to do to deliver a victory in November,” said Governor Tom Corbett.
“For the last three years we have worked to turn Pennsylvania around, cutting wasteful government spending, responsibly balancing our budgets on-time and leading with a ‘More Jobs, Less Taxes’ agenda that’s keeping taxes low and putting more Pennsylvanians back to work in the private sector. With the help of a growing energy sector, Pennsylvania is once again open for business and unemployment is at a five year low. Pennsylvania’s best days are just ahead, and with four more years, we will be able to ensure that our children and grandchildren have the bright future they deserve.”
Lt. Governor Cawley added, “The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s endorsement and the work being done at the grassroots level will be critical not only in the coming weeks during the petition process, but over the next nine months as we continue to get out our message of reform and opportunity to continue making Pennsylvania a better place to live, work and raise our families.”
Pennsylvania’s Republican Congressional Delegation also showed their support for the Corbett-Cawley team at the Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, when Congressmen GT Thompson, Charlie Dent and Tom Marino presented Governor Corbett with a football helmet signed by all 13 Republican members.
US, Germany, Russia, France Top Blog Visits
Visitor sources for the week just ending:
Pageviews by Countries
Who Is David Wildstein And What Is The Story?
From our friends at the great Save Jersey blog:
Have you noticed something strange about the Mainstream Media’s coverage of the David Wildstein attorney letter, Save Jerseyans, alleging evidence of a direct tie between Governor Chris Christie and the Fort Lee lane closures?
Maybe this ABC News clip will help you see it:
They’re trying to reinvent a key character at the center of the Bridgegate scandal and it’s journalist malpractice, Save Jerseyans…
David Wildstein is not a Christie insider. Never was.
The most frequently cited email by the press from former Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien features the almost-NJGOP chairman telling Wildstein “[f]or what it’s worth, I like you more on October 2, 2013 than I did on October 2, 2009,” a reference to Wildstein’s past role as “Wally Edge,” the anonymous editor of PolitickerNJ, a website that frequently took a critical position towards Christie during his first statewide campaign.
Does that sound like a “close, longtime ally” to you?
The artist formerly known as Governor Edge made it to the Port Authority because he had a close relationship with former Executive Director Bill Baroni, a man who was closer to the center of Governor Chris Christie’s gravity but still not truly someone who was golfing with Christie on a daily basis.
So what’s going on here? I said it back in December 2013 a full month before the infamous Bridget Kelly/Fort Lee “time for some traffic problems” emails were leaked, Save Jerseyans: “There’s no national story here without a direct link to the Governor or one of his inner circle disciples to which Wildstein is connected, sure, but not a member.”
The media’s answer? ‘Cause they wanted a national story? Make David Wildstein a member of the Christie inner circle by repeating it over, and over, and over again.
To date, there’s absolutely zero hard evidence supporting this narrative. Christie’s denied it; all they have is a single, solitary photo of the pair standing near each other at an official 9/11 commemoration event. By that standard, Save Jerseyans, I’m an insider. You’ll find at least a few of the Big Guy and myself floating around online. And do any of you out there in Save Jersey land consider every last one of your high school class mates a “close, longtime ally”?
Of course not. Like any sane rational people would do, we’ll wait and see what hard evidence Wildstein’s attorney actually produces, if any. Not what the Governor’s many enemies including Loretta Weinberg hope he produces. Direct evidence? Circumstantial evidence? More hearsay or, alternatively, a thinly-veiled attempt to compel an offer of immunity only hours after Senate President Sweeney said none would be forthcoming from the legislature? Unredacted emails are supposedly forthcoming…
Until Mr. Wildstein’s legal team tips its hand, I’m with Rudy Giuliani, a man who knows as much about battling corruption as anyone else on the planet: this latest development is no bombshell.
Not yet. Who in his or her right mind would just ACCEPT a story, based on everything set forth above in this post, curiously leaked and dropped on a Friday before Governor Christie’s long-awaited Super Bowl showcase?
The Mainstream Media’s desire alone doesn’t make a scandal. Unfortunately, the standards for a “story” in 2014 are much lower when a Republican threat to Hillary Clinton’s aspirations is on the receiving end.
- See more at: http://savejersey.com/2014/02/christie-letter-attorney-bridgegate-fort-lee-knew-lane-closure-lie-david-wildstein/#sthash.1zeoLdUC.dpuf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)