OPINION: Phil Murphy Cares More About Criminals Than Healthcare Workers

I’m no expert when it comes to healthcare. I’m the guy who hates hospitals and needles so much I almost waited too long to call for an ambulance in the middle of a heart attack because it didn’t hurt that bad.

But I do have two sisters and both work in healthcare. One is some kind of a big deal at a long-term care facility, the other gives you needles and takes your blood.

One of my sisters is pretty angry that Governor Phil Murphy decided to let a couple thousand inmates out of prison to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Being some kind of a big deal at a long-term care facility gives my sister and her coworkers the right to be angry. It was Murphy who ordered long-term care facilities to accept COVID-19 positive patients.

Murphy wrote in his March 31st directive to nursing homes:

No patient/resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the post-acute care setting solely based on a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Persons under investigation for COVID-19 who have undergone testing in the hospital shall not be discharged until results are available. Post-acute care facilities are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized patient/resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.

Yet eight months after forcing COVID-positive patients on nursing homes Murphy decides more than 2,000 inmates need to be released from prison to “mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.”

It makes no sense!

Murphy obviously did not care about the spread of coronavirus when he forced nursing homes to take patients. He sure as hell showed no interest in mitigating the spread of the coronavirus to the families of healthcare workers.

I’m guessing Murphy’s decision to release inmates from prisons has much more to do with getting re-elected than the spread of coronavirus. Plain and simple, it’s science and data, political science, there are a lot of members of the unions that represent corrections officers, more than the many nursing home employees that are not unionized.

Long story short: Phil Murphy cares more about criminals than healthcare workers.

Possible 2021 Action: Albano And Milam, “2021 – Stay Tuned”

Nelson Albano

Anybody else remember Troopergate? We do!

Apparently, the memories of former Assemblyman Matt Milam and former Assemblyman Nelson Albano aren’t as long as our memories.

Last evening, shortly after dinner, Bob and I began receiving messages with a screenshot from Milam’s Facebook account.

The post was innocent enough, two friends and former runningmates posing with an old campaign sign, but the message “2021 – Stay Tuned” at the very least makes it appear they were sending a message. The message appears to be either they are running for something or they want to relive Troopergate.

I waited until I got the screenshot from someone I actually know before deciding it is real (maybe I wouldn’t get messages from folks I don’t know if I wasn’t so free with my cell phone number).

Are these guys seriously considering running together again? Do Albano and Milam honestly believe they can take out state Senator Michael Testa, Assemblyman Erik Simonsen or Assemblyman Antwan McClellan?

Perhaps Albano and Milam were trying to be cute and floated a trial balloon with the Facebook post. Guess what? The trial balloon failed.

Troopergate is hard to forget. Mr. Albano came close to destroying the career of a State Trooper. It’s especially hard to forget that Albano was the first state lawmaker in 35 years to be fined by the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards. It’s almost laughable that even after being fined Albano claimed he was the one suffering “emotional trauma.” From NJ.com:

An attorney for Albano, William Harla of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole, said the lawmaker could not appear at the hearing today because of health issues. Harla said Albano accepted the penalty and would not challenge it.

"He deeply regrets and apologizes for the incident which is the subject of this hearing," Harla said. "He paid a price for his conduct, he was vilified in the last election campaign, he did lose his seat, and he continues to suffer emotional trauma."

I suspect that if Albano and Milam are considering running for office together again that Mr. Albano will end up suffering more emotional trauma because many people still remember Troopergate and all the lies that came with it.

Maybe “lies” is a strong word, so take a look at what NJ.com said and you decide if he lied:

The video, combined with statements Albano made when the newspaper first inquired about the stop, showed many of the allegations he leveled against the trooper were either false or unfounded. Albano has since withdrawn his complaint against the trooper, apologized and paid the speeding fine.

Sounds like he lied to me! 2021 is shaping up to be a fun year.

Does Science And Data Suggest COVID-19 Is Easier To Catch At Night?

Phil Murphy

By now you are probably aware Governor Phil Murphy has decided that “New Jersey bars and restaurants will soon need to close all indoor service by 10 p.m.” You will still be able to dine outdoors and get takeout or delivery.

I’m not a doctor or a nurse, neither is Murphy. Thanks to my limited medical training, I know the only way I can learn anything about viruses is to read, something the Governor should do. By reading I learned “the body clock plays a part in controlling the spread of a virus.” In other words, unless you are a mouse that took part in a University of Cambridge study on viruses (mentioned here), your internal body clock has a whole lot more to do with the spread of a virus than the clock on the wall.

Governor Murphy has on more than one occasion said that he is making his decisions based on science and data.

“We’re guided by science. Not politics. We’re guided by data. Not protests.”

Where is the science or the data to explain why Murphy is closing bars and restaurants between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.? Just like his reasoning for screwing up the election the only science he relies on is political science.

Murphy just keeps making decision after decision with almost no pushback because the legislature is controlled by his fellow Democrats. State Senator Joe Pennacchio and state Senator Michael Testa are the biggest voices of dissent in the legislature. They need help.

Help is where we all come in. 2021 isn’t just a gubernatorial year but also every Assembly and state Senate seat is up.

Get behind your local candidates for the Assembly and state Senate – get out from behind your keyboards and knock on doors or go to the phone banks. If for some irrational reason you are afraid of COVID-19 you can phone bank from home using the state GOP’s app. Your phone number will not appear on caller ID. No excuses. Do something. Winning seats in the Assembly and state Senate is the first step to fix our state.

We have two announced candidates for Governor – former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and former beauty pageant winner Hirsh Singh. Others will likely get in. Support who you want in the primary but if your candidate loses the primary don’t whine and cry and throw a hissy fit (that’s Hirsh Singh’s job) – do the right thing and get behind the winner because the ultimate goal is to get rid of Murphy. Don’t stay home and not vote because you don’t think the winner of the primary is Republican enough, even my dog would be better than Murphy.

We have a lot of work to do in 2021 and we better get started.