The Russians Gave America A Monument As A Memorial To The Victims Of September 11 And It’s In New Jersey

The attacks of September 11, 2001 brought the world together. Even Russia and the United States.

I know this to be true because one of the many times I came back to New Jersey from another state put me right in the middle of getting the gift of a monument to the victims of September 11 to New Jersey from Russia.

Shortly after the untimely death of the late state Senator and Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham I ended up in Jersey City working with then Councilman Steve Lipski. Lipski was one of several candidates running in the special election to fill the unexpired mayoral term of Cunningham. I came back and set up shop with my still friend and former partner in the old Kush and Associates, James Barracato.

At some point during the campaign Lipski informed me that I needed to meet someone because Cunningham had been working to have a monument from the Russians placed in Jersey City but since his passing they were now getting a lot of push back. Lipski set up a meeting with Emily Madoff, who was the American lawyer to the Russians at the time.

Long story short. In the middle of a special election campaign, James and I agreed to work on bringing this monument to Jersey City. We didn’t realize the significance of the monument at the time, it was more of a, “how dare they dishonor Glenn” kind of thing.

We worked our butts off getting support for this monument. Unfortunately, for some reason there was a very vocal group fighting it. We set out educating the public on the significance of this gift and collected tens of thousands of petition signatures in support, the powers that were didn’t want to hear from us.

Barracato and I went to Madoff and informed her we needed to step up the pressure. She asked what we suggested. The answer, “Let’s run a tasteful commercial on cable.” She agreed.

Great, in the middle of a mayoral campaign, now we have to find the time to produce a commercial, no way that was happening. I enlisted the help of the late Tom Blakely, Tom was awesome, early in my career he always encouraged me, I still miss him. Anyway, Tom put us to work with Al Riberio, then a part of the Jamestown Associates team, and still one of the nicest guys in the world.

Together, Riberio, Barracato and I put together a nice 30 second spot.

Apparently, that spot caught the attention of then Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria. And that’s where the monument stands today. If you get the chance stop and see it. It’s a beautiful monument.

And, that’s my 9/11 story. Oh, yeah, there was a brief argument with the Secret Service because we arrived at the dedication incredibly early, maybe the only time Barracato was ever early for anything, and we parked in the spot that was reserved for former President Bill Clinton’s motorcade. It might go down in history as the only time I ever backed down from an argument.

Hypocrite Phil Murphy Still Pushing For $15/Hour Minimum Wage

Governor Phil Murphy

Last week Phil Murphy made it clear that he is going to keep his campaign promise of a $15 per hour minimum wage. According to WHYY:

Murphy promised a $15 minimum wage during his campaign, and he has vowed again that he will make good on that promise.

“For the business community, we’ve got to be careful of the sticker shock. You can’t make that leap overnight,” he said. “So this has to be phased in over a series of years.”

Then, toward the end of the story comes the line of BS:

“Employees aren’t a cost item to be kept as low as possible. This is not goods or materials. They are what help businesses grow and succeed,” he said. “And when employees earn a livable wage, morale increases, and turnover decreases.”

And, why is that line a bunch of BS? How about because, as reported in this blog, Phil Murphy once tried to pay a professional with a master’s degree nothing, not one penny. That’s right, Phil Murphy wanted a sport scientist to come to his team as an unpaid intern. He certainly wasn’t concerned with practicing what he preached when it came to his soccer team.

This is how it was explained by the sports news website, Deadspin:

Sky Blue uses part-time staff to fill nearly every position. From trainers, to assistant coaches, to general manager Tony Novo, the team’s staff is paid part-time salaries for what amounts to full-time work. Former assistant coach David Hodgson was initially hired as a sport scientist for Sky Blue FC. “I got [connected with] Sky Blue via U.S. Soccer,” he told Deadspin, “who had mandated that every club needed to have a sports scientist on the books. I was 30 minutes away and U.S Soccer trusted me to do a good job.”

Originally, Hodgson said, the club wanted to bring him on as an unpaid intern. “They offered me no money,” he recalled, “and I’m like, ‘I’m 38, I don’t do internships with a master’s degree.’ U.S. soccer pushed them and they gave me $15,000. And that’s how that happened.”

Hodgson took over as interim head coach, alongside Grieg and goalkeeper coach Jill Loyden, after Sky Blue parted ways with Christy Holly in August of 2017. He returned as an assistant coach before being let go in June.

Hypocrite Phil Murphy did eventually get forced to pay $15,000 for a season that lasts 6 months, but that is less than the $15,600 a $15 per hour employee would have made.

The obvious question is why is a guy who wanted to pay nothing, and was eventually pressured to pay a professional with a master’s degree less than $15 per hour pushing for a $15 per hour minimum wage? The obvious answer is he’s a big hypocrite.

We’re going to keep calling Murphy out over his hypocrisy on this issue at The Bob & Steve Show because New Jersey’s mainstream press doesn’t care.

PRESS RELEASE: NJGOP Chairman Calls On Kim To Take Down Ad

NJGOP Chairman Calls On Kim To Take Down Ad

Trenton, NJ - Earlier today, independent fact checkers at the Washington Post determined that Andy Kim's latest campaign ad includes false claims about Kim's resume. 

The Washington Post reported that Andy Kim engaged in “a classic case of resume puffery”, oversold “his bipartisan credentials”, and stretched “his resume to elastic extremes”.

This is not the first time Andy Kim has been caught lying on the campaign trail. Earlier this year, Kim embellished his resume when he claimed to have served as a “strategic advisor” to Generals David Petraeus and John Allen in Afghanistan back in early 2011 but, later in 2011, confessed to being a simple “Notetaker.”

Kim was forced to change the language on his website after the truth regarding his position was revealed.

"Once again, Andy Kim was caught red handed trying to fool voters in South Jersey. Integrity dictates that he pull his ad from the air immediately and replace it with an apology," said NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt. "If Kim isn't comfortable running on his true, professional experiences, then perhaps he’s figured out for himself that he’s not qualified to serve in Congress."

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