Menendez Just Spent More Time In Puerto Rico Than He Has In South Jersey

Bob Menendez

By now most of you have probably seen the photo of a shirtless U.S. Senator Bob Menendez talking to a bikini clad woman in Puerto Rico. I’ve decided against posting the photo because I have no desire to look at his topless photo again.

There are two things that have me mad about this junket. First, Menendez in just one weekend has spent more time in Puerto Rico than he did in South Jersey during his entire re-election campaign. Second, is that, at least according to his Twitter feed, Menendez is trying to make it appear he is there working on Hurricane Maria relief. Perhaps he forgot there are still folks in South Jersey who still haven’t fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy.

The fact that Menendez complains about “his wall” in the above Tweet really makes me angry. I’m sick and tired of people complaining about the wall who have no idea what they are talking about. I have friends who live and work along the border, places with very little security. I know one woman living in southeastern Arizona who leaves jugs of water on her property for illegal border crossers, not because she wants to, but because she fears what might happen to her if she doesn’t.

Has Menendez ever talked to her? No! Has he talked to any of the members of law enforcement I know who work along the border? Nope! Has he talked to any of the ranchers I know who make their living along the border? Again, no.

These are people who have had negative experiences with illegal border crossers. Talking to them doesn’t fit the narrative he and other Democrats are pushing. The truth is not every person illegally crossing the border is doing it for “good” reasons. Obviously, Menendez doesn’t want to take the time to lear about all the bad reasons people cross the border illegally.

For Menendez to try and make it appear that he is in Puerto Rico for any reason other than fun is a joke. This is a junket that was scheduled long before the partial government shutdown. He went there with at least 100 lobbyists and corporate executives and some members of Congress have family members with them.

Menendez may be a U.S. senator from New Jersey, but it is obvious he still doesn’t know where South Jersey is.

Governor Murphy Should Look In The Mirror Before Accusing Anyone Of Misguided Rhetoric That Is Hurting Our People.

Governor Phil Murphy

I didn’t get the chance to see President Donald Trump’s address to the nation last night. Instead I went to Salem County’s reorganization meeting. It could have been exciting because failed Salem County sheriff candidate Bob Gant and I were in the same room, but we never got close enough to each other for any fireworks. Maybe I’ll see him in court some day soon.

Anyway, enough of that. Because I didn’t get to see the President’s speech I decided to read about it and the responses to it this morning. Naturally, I stumbled across Governor Phil Murphy’s response. From Murphy’s website:

“President Trump continues to mislead to justify his nonsensical and damaging shutdown. There is a much better and smarter way for us to invest $5 billion than an impractical non-starter of a wall. The Gateway Project would do more to create jobs, promote economic and national security, and build critically needed 21st century infrastructure. Enough of the misguided rhetoric that is hurting our economy and our people, and making us less safe. Let’s get the government open and get to work to get Gateway done.”

After reading that the first thing I thought was who the hell is he to lecture anyone on the ‘smarter way’ to invest any money?

This is the guy who decided it was a good idea to set aside $2.1 million to help illegal immigrants fight deportation while taking at least $1.2 million, and possibly as much as $2 million, from our veterans. Personally, I think money for our veterans is more important than money to help people who enter the country illegally get a lawyer.

It’s rather odd that Murphy would make the statement, “Enough of the misguided rhetoric that is hurting our economy and our people,” when he hurt our people, our veterans, by cutting money from the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs in the budget.

Make no mistake, the cuts to our veterans in the state budget hurt people. We had Bob Garguilo on the radio show and he talked about how two bus loads of veterans were, for lack of better words, left stranded thanks to Murphy’s budget cut to our veterans.

Phil Murphy obviously didn’t care about hurting New Jersey’s veterans so maybe he should look in the mirror next time he wants to accuse anyone else about misguided rhetoric that is hurting our people.

Hopefully someone else will call out Governor Murphy on his BS rhetoric.

Is New Jersey Really The Most Moved From State?

Recently, thanks to a study by United Van Lines, lots of folks (politicians, activists and even the news) have been talking about New Jersey being the most moved from state. The thing is, another national moving company, Atlas Van Lines did a study of their own. According to their study, “Based on 71,092 Interstate and Cross-border Household Goods Relocations from January 1, 2018 through December 15, 2018” West Virginia is the most moved from state while New Jersey ranks tenth on their list. West Virginia doesn’t appear on United’s top ten of moved from states.

United Van Lines vs Atlas Van Lines moved from states

I’m not saying New Jersey isn’t losing people. It is and has been. I have personally left, more than once. Most recently I fled to New Mexico for five years, I’ve also moved to PA, SC, WV and MI over the years. For some reason I always find myself back in NJ.

Every time I left it was for the usual reasons, work and affordability. My rent in NM was about half of my rent here in NJ and I had a better view and a bigger place out west.

That said, what really led me to look in to whether or not New Jersey is truly the most moved from state is that according to the widely cited United Van Lines study the most moved to state is Vermont. That made absolutely no sense to me. I know several people who have left New Jersey and not one of them went to Vermont.

The Atlas Van Lines study claims Nevada is the most moved to state. That makes more sense to me, I actually know people who moved there from New Jersey.

United Van Lines vs Atlas Van Lines moved to states

Maybe New Jersey is the most moved from state in the nation, maybe it isn’t, it’s hard to tell. It appears United has twice as many trucks as Atlas, so United probably moved more people. There are also lots of folks who choose to move themselves, when I moved back to NJ I did it with a friend and a Budget rental truck. That was an experience!

About the only thing that is clear is after looking at the United vs Atlas moving survey and a little bit of U.S. census data and the Move.org website New Jersey definitely is in the top ten of moved from states and that’s not a good thing.

Move.org moved from states

Oddly, it appears Vermont may actually be one of the top ten moved to states.

Move.org moved to states

One has to wonder what Vermont has that New Jersey doesn’t. Maybe it’s the maple syrup?

As we head into the 2019 election season those who govern New Jersey, and those who want to govern, better figure out how to stop people from fleeing New Jersey. Perhaps stop taxing the residents to death and find a way to make Jersey more affordable. Just looking at the moved to and from data, it is obvious, New Jersey is not affordable. That means the state’s economy is something candidates will likely have to talk about in this election cycle. Making New Jersey affordable might be the key to winning elections this year.