NJ Voices

You've got opinions, New Jersey

Jim Willse, editor of the Star Ledger, once told me that being made a paper-of-record (and getting the ad money from government entities that comes with that) does not influence the editorial policy of his paper since that money was not as vital as it would be for a smaller local paper. I believe him and, after some thought and a few more pieces of information, I now see why my column no longer appears in the Union County Local Source.

I was walking along the Hoboken pier yesterday at precisely the same time US Airways 1549 was skimming across the water; I just never looked in that direction. Of course since my head is consistently in the clouds, I just figured the armies of EMTs that sprung up on both sides of the river were in a 9-11 drill. And I reasoned that they were preparing for a plane-going-down-in-the-Hudson scenario. Back in my office building, someone said a US Airways plane was in the water. There's a reason why I have lost a half-dozen wallets over the past decade, not to mention an assortment of car keys, library books and cell phones, and this is it.

Watching the rescuers work their magic, a bunch of us noted the dusky orange sun coming through a whole in the clouds. It shined only on the wreckage and the flotilla surrounding it. Nowhere else. To find out later that everyone survived - I'm not sure if there is a word to describe that moment.

Deborah Jacobs, the ACLU NJ's executive director, posted this account of what happened earlier this month when she was waiting in the phone queue to ask Mayor Cory Booker and Police Director
Garry McCarthy questions about citizen complaints.

It is clear that the NPD is committed to the philosophy that attending to small violations of the law gets you a step up on crime. McCarthy says he doesn't want to send someone to jail for

A good many New Jersey Republicans got what they wanted when former U. S. Attorney Chris Christie hit the "send" button on his PC and, via e-mail to the media and his supporters, announced he intended to seek the Republican nomination for Governor.

If nothing else, a Christie victory in June will set up a competitive race in November --- something the other two announced Republican candidates cannot do. Two polls released today --- Monmouth University and Rasmussen --- make that abundantly clear.

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' no.2

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. This week Marvel adds a new title to it's Marvel Illustrated line of titles as the classic 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is being adapted into comics form by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. Leave your preconceived, Hollywood film fueled notions of Oz behind. This adaptation will be faithful to the L. Frank Baum series of Oz books, not the Judy Garland classic.

SARAH SIMONIS/FOR THE STAR-LEDGER

Violent crime is down in Newark. The number of murders and shootings is still too high for anyone to brag, and I don't think anyone is. There is reason to hope that something is changing for the better.

I have heard, or read the online, the comments of people who dismiss the statistics. They note than 32 fewer murders last year don't mean much against the 67 that were recorded. I agree, the numbers are still too high; the fact that 343 people were shot last year is an outrage, even if that was 53 fewer than the 2007. But I have a feeling that each of the 67 families who buried murder victims last year would have been happy to reduce the statistic by even one.

Amidst all today's news stories of troubles at home and abroad, I would like to go back some 150 years to recommend a book that rocked its world then - and can once again inspire readers to fight the good fight.

I recently finished "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and let me tell you, it is one compelling read. And yes, the book has lessons for us today as we look at issues facing New Jersey from an evangelical Christian perspective.