Free Republic

The Rev. Vincent Fields says he didn't plan to speak out against same-sex marriage when he offered the invocation at the opening of the Senate session on Monday. At first, he prayed for wisdom and understanding for the senators. But then, the Absecon pastor recalled yesterday, "the Holy Spirit took over, and I had to pray what he said." What Fields said next -- on a day a Senate committee advanced a bill allowing civil unions for same- sex couples -- has gotten the pastor banned from giving future Senate invocations. "We curse the spirit that would come to bring...

New Jersey Senate President Richard (Dick) Codey is the driving force behind New Jersey's recent efforts to require “childproof guns” when the technology becomes “economically viable.” Codey recently issued a statement regarding a protest in front of the New Jersey state capitol, held by the Second Amendment Sisters. That statement mocked the group by referring to them as the “twisted sisters,” all because of the group’s opposition to his proposed gun control laws. Actually, the Second Amendment Sisters simply advocate a woman’s “right to choose” to own and carry firearms. But Dick Codey thinks the government should make that choice...

Codey to push stem cells in State of State Acting governor seeking $500 million investment Tuesday, January 04, 2005 Acting Gov. Richard Codey plans to propose investing $500 million in stem cell research as a key component of the State of the State speech he will deliver next week, according to two administration officials and a state lawmaker.Codey, who has long championed stem cell research, believes the move is necessary for New Jersey to stay competitive with California, which approved a $3 billion bond issue for stem cell research last fall.The money would help fund the Stem Cell Institute of...

Supporting embryonic stem cell research is not only morally misguided but fiscally irresponsible, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler told a cheering crowd of 200 anti-abortion activists who gathered on the Statehouse steps yesterday to blast acting Gov. Richard Codey's $380 million research proposal. Schundler accused Codey of using the moral debate over whether stem cells should be extracted from embryos for potentially life-saving research to distract voters from the price tag. "To come up with that money, what are they going to do, of course? They are going to increase your taxes," Schundler told the crowd. "They have a $2...

Gov. Richard J. Codey is working on a plan to bolster the state's Transportation Trust Fund with a temporary increase in the gasoline tax and additional money generated by privatizing the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway, according to a published report. The Record of Bergen County, citing an unnamed administration source, reported in Thursday's editions that the plan calls for a small gas tax increase to be pushed through shortly after the Nov. 8 election. The increase would be rescinded or phased out after the lease deal is signed and begins to generate cash. The Transportation Trust Fund...

N.J.'s big-bucks experiment Sunday, June 19, 2005 Series archive: Betting on BiotechFirst of four partsWith little fanfare and no direct approval of the electorate, the state of New Jersey has spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting the biotech industry.Powerful forces are hard at work in Trenton, selling biotechnology as a way to simultaneously bolster the state economy and improve the health of citizens. Acting Governor Codey has been front and center, promoting a plan to spend $380 million more on research into embryonic stem cells.Much is at stake in a state where 200,000 jobs depend on the pharmaceutical industry...

November and December are the months when newly elected officials and their allies finally start telling voters about things they didn't want to mention during the campaign. New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine and his predecessor, outgoing Acting Gov. Dick Codey, finally 'fessed up about the Garden State's precarious fiscal health Thursday in speeches at the convention of the state's League of Municipalities. And it ain't pretty. "We're pretty much broke," conceded Codey. "We have more debt than we can afford. Next year's budget deficit is at least $5 billion. School construction and transportation funding have virtually dried up. And we...

Corzine Ready To Lower Tax Boom On N.J. CBS 2 Speaks To Upset Residents, Many Hint At Leaving Image Marcia Kramer Reporting (CBS) BERGENFIELD New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine unveils his belt tightening new budget on Tuesday. But even before the announcement, New Jersey taxpayers were expecting the worst. When Corzine voted for himself to become governor of New Jersey he knew that one day he would have to make some difficult and unpopular budget decisions. That day is Tuesday. And already people are lining up to oppose his expected tax hikes. ”It’s utterly ridiculous we have to have the...

In January, shock jock Craig Carton caused an uproar by insulting the acting governor's wife. More recently, he took aim at Asian-Americans. On Thursday afternoon, the NJ 101.5 WKXW-FM radio personality switched off his irreverent persona and turned on his serious, public-service side to host a live, two-hour debate among five of the Republicans running for governor of New Jersey. "Hopefully people know that at times we have the ability to be serious and straight and at other times, when it warrants it, to have a good time and not be so straight," Carton said during a commercial break at...

An Odd Kind of Jockeying January 9, 2005 By TERRY GOLWAY and JOSH BENSON HACKENSACK YES, Senator Jon S. Corzine is running for governor. No, that is not why he is sitting next to his prospective opponent, Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, at a swearing-in ceremony on a wet and dreary winter day in Hackensack. "I would be doing this whether or not I were running for governor," Mr. Corzine said from the shelter of an umbrella after Sheriff Leo P. McGuire of Bergen County took the oath of office last Monday. Mr. Corzine is a declared candidate for governor....