Sunday, January 29, 2012

New Jersey Nonsense

Don't get full up, readers:

"Wealthy N.J. county has dramatic rise in food stamp clients" December 18, 2011|By Elise Young, Bloomberg News

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey’s Hunterdon County, the hilly region of horse farms and weekend retreats where last year’s median household income was almost $100,000, is a surprising new face of federal food aid.

Hunterdon, whose 2010 median household income of $97,874 was the highest in New Jersey and fourth-highest in the country, saw food stamp usage surge 513 percent between 2007 and 2010.

The percentage of US households using food stamps more than doubled in six of the 10 wealthiest counties in the nation as more residents find themselves out of work and unable to sell their homes....

Nationwide, requests for food assistance rose during the past year in 25 of 29 cities surveyed by the US Conference of Mayors. Unemployment was the primary reason for requesting aid, followed by poverty, low-wage jobs, and high housing costs, according to a recent survey. Eighty-eight percent of the cities reported an increase in the number of people requesting food assistance for the first time....

--more--"

"N.J. synagogue residence firebombed" January 12, 2012

RUTHERFORD, N.J. - New Jersey law enforcement officials urged residents and religious institutions to be vigilant after a Rutherford synagogue and its rabbi’s sleeping quarters were firebombed early yesterday, the fourth such incident within a month that has been classified as a bias crime against a Jewish center or religious institution in northern New Jersey.

Bergen County prosecutor John Molinelli said there was no evidence yet linking the four incidents, but investigators had not ruled out that they might be connected. In addition to being classified as a bias crime, Molinelli said, yesterday’s fire at Congregation Beth El in Rutherford was possibly the work of more than one person. He said several incendiary devices were thrown at the building, which houses a synagogue on its first floor and the rabbi’s living quarters on the second. Molinelli said it was being classified as an attempted murder, after an incendiary device was thrown into the rabbi’s bedroom.

No one was seriously hurt.

Within the last three weeks in Bergen County, just across the river from New York City, a fire was set at a synagogue in Paramus and anti-Semitic graffiti were discovered at two other synagogues, one in Hackensack and the other in Maywood.

--more--"   

Related: Hate Crime Hoaxes Appearing All Across America

Now maybe this one is real and everything the media says it is; however, you can understand my skepticism, right?

"Man, 19, charged with bombing synagogues" Associated Press, January 25, 2012

PARAMUS, N.J. - The suspect in two firebombings of New Jersey synagogues is a virulent anti-Semite who was so intent on sowing fear and destruction that he rode his bike to both locations when he couldn’t get access to a car, authorities said yesterday.

Anthony Graziano, of Lodi, an unemployed recent high school graduate, was charged with the Jan. 11 attack on a Rutherford synagogue and the Jan. 3 firebombing of a synagogue in Paramus. He was being held on $5 million bail.  

That's a lot of pedaling with explosives on your perso.... oh, never mind.

The charges include nine counts of attempted murder, bias intimidation, arson, and aggravated arson. Graziano, 19, is scheduled to make an initial court appearance this morning.

“We have no doubt that the arson and attempted murder in Rutherford were a direct result of Mr. Graziano’s hatred of people of the Jewish faith,’’ said Bergen County prosecutor John Molinelli yesterday.  

It's not the faith or anything else that bothers me, it is the action of a select minority.

Molinelli and other authorities didn’t speculate on what may have spurred Graziano to action. They described him as a 2010 high school graduate and loner who lacked access to a car but searched for nearby synagogues on the Internet and rode his bike to the two locations and, at the Rutherford synagogue, threw several Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices before fleeing.  

Nothing like a stoo-pid lid leaving a directional arrow back to himself.

He is believed to have acted alone.  

Why is it every time the authorities or their mouthpiece claim such do I now doubt it?

Graziano’s father, whose name is also Anthony Graziano, told The Record newspaper that he sees his son infrequently but that his son had never said anything to suggest he had any animosity toward Jews. He called his son a great kid but said “he’s confused.’’

The Rutherford attack, which caused a fire in the residence of Rabbi Nosson Schuman, could have caused serious injury and possibly death.

--more--"

"Synagogue arson suspect faces new charges" Associated Press. January 28, 2012

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Authorities leveled additional charges yesterday against a teenager accused in the firebombing of two synagogues, saying that he had plotted a similar attack on a Jewish community center and had conducted Internet searches for creating Molotov cocktails and instructions on blowing up buildings.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said investigators found multiple Molotov cocktails this week in a wooded area near the Jewish Community Center of Paramus and traced the evidence to a foiled attack they said suspect Anthony Graziano was planning for Jan. 7.

Graziano, 19, was charged yesterday with aggravated arson, bias intimidation, and other charges for the planned attack on the Paramus Jewish community center.

Graziano was arrested earlier this week and has already pleaded not guilty to nine counts of attempted murder as well as bias intimidation and arson charges for a Jan. 11 attack on a Rutherford synagogue and a Jan. 3 firebombing of a Paramus synagogue.

--more--" 

Let's try a different religion: 

"Janitor convicted of murdering NJ priest in 2009" Associated Press, December 23, 2011

NEWARK - A former church janitor was convicted yesterday of murdering a New Jersey priest who was stabbed more than 30 times while brewing a cup of coffee in his kitchen.  

Pooper-pump victim?

Jose Feliciano, 66, of Easton, Pa., did not deny stabbing the Rev. Edward Hinds to death in the rectory of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Chatham in October 2009. But his lawyer told jurors during closing arguments on Monday that Feliciano killed him in a fit of rage over sexual blackmail.

The prosecution said Feliciano “slaughtered’’ the priest after Hinds discovered that Feliciano had an outstanding arrest warrant in Philadelphia from the 1980s for sexually touching a child, and fired him.

Feliciano contended the priest demanded sex in exchange for keeping quiet about the warrant.

Feliciano, who testified for eight days during the trial, was found guilty in Morristown of murder, felony murder, two counts of robbery, and two weapons counts. He is to be sentenced in February.

“I am proud and honored to have been part of a process to vindicate Father Hinds’s murder and the slander of his reputation, which obviously the jury soundly did not believe,’’ said Morris County prosecutor Robert Bianchi, who tried the case.

Hinds, 61, was in his clerical robes when he was killed while brewing coffee. His body was found on a Friday morning after he failed to appear for Mass.

The slaying rocked Chatham, a well-to-do community of about 10,000 residents, where Hinds was a familiar face and beloved presence.

--more--"


Also seeChristie says he would veto gay marriage bill in New Jersey

N.J. woman gives birth on train to Manhattan