Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Stands With Striking Prisoners

Bonnie Watson Coleman

Believe it or not there is a national prison strike happening in the country. The striking prisoners even have a website. I assume the prisoners believe they are involved in some sort of war because they refer to themselves as “Rebels.” Or maybe they are a bunch of communists and socialists because they also speak of “comrades.”

Perhaps less shocking is the fact that U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman supports this strike. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but I’m guessing she supports the prison strike because she feels a certain kinship with them given the fact her son and stepson did some time in jail.

Watson Coleman is so supportive of striking prisoners that she penned a piece in the Star-Ledger and is in favor of the list of the strikers’ 10 demands writing:

All of this is to draw attention to a list of 10 demands:

1.      Immediate improvements to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women.

2.      An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under U.S. jurisdiction must be paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.

3.      The Prison Litigation Reform Act must be rescinded, allowing imprisoned humans a proper channel to address grievances and violations of their rights.

4.      The Truth in Sentencing Act and the Sentencing Reform Act must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to "death by incarceration" or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole.

5.      An immediate end to the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans. Black humans shall no longer be denied parole because the victim of the crime was white, which is a particular problem in southern states.

6.      An immediate end to racist gang enhancement laws targeting Black and brown humans.

7.      No imprisoned human shall be denied access to rehabilitation programs at their place of detention because of their label as a violent offender.

8.      State prisons must be funded specifically to offer more rehabilitation services.

9.      Pell grants must be reinstated in all states and territories.

10.  The voting rights of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called "ex-felons" must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count!

Each of these demands is important, reasonable and deserves to be heard.

I’m not going to answer this list point-by-point, mostly because it’s full of BS, but also because I have a day job and don’t want to waste too much time. Still, I have to ask, is she nuts?

Watson Coleman thinks prisoners should be paid “prevailing wage.” That’s crazy! How about they pay market rate for rent, the three meals a day they are served and any healthcare they receive.

No one should “serve any sentence without the possibility of parole.” Does this mean that Bonnie Watson Coleman believes murders should have a possibility of parole? That’s the way I read it.

Here’s an idea Bonnie – don’t do the crime of you don’t want to do the time.

Folks – if Bonnie Watson Colman’s op-ed isn’t enough to make you want to head over to the Kipnis for Congress website and give his campaign a donation, I don’t know what will.

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.