City Belt

HOW SAFE IS YOUR VOTE?

By Barbara Solow

This election, Mercer County resident Rebecca Mercuri will be mailing in an absentee ballot -- something she’s been doing for the last few years, ever since electronic touch-screen voting machines have become widely used in New Jersey and nationwide.

Mercuri is registered as a permanent absentee, a status made easier by the state’s two-year-old “no fault” rules that allow voters to cast absentee ballots without having to give a reason.

Hers is straightforward: “I’ll unregister as that when we have safer voting machines,” Mercuri says.

AFTER THE BATTLE, A NEW FIGHT

War veterans, including John Kerry, talk about Iraq and veterans' issues at rally for Menendez
By Leigh Davis

Flanked by veterans of several wars, including Afghanistan and Iraq, Sen. John Kerry stood in front of a New Jersey firehouse earlier this month to lend support to incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez, talk about protecting veterans’ benefits, and to discuss the amendment he introduced with Sen. Russ Feingold this past summer to bring the troops home from Iraq within a year. Menendez was one of only thirteen senators to vote for the bill.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SCARY TIMES

Halloween always makes for some great photoblogging. For a while, I thought this was an actual human being in costume. But now I'm pretty sure it's completely fake. Or is it? This was taken on Kennedy Blvd. in Jersey City by "Channel Z."

We know more of you are out there, taking pictures of New Jersey. We want to feature you here -- so in Flickr, tag your NJ photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us. If you do either, you might be next week's Photo of the Week.

On the Web:
Channel Z's Flickr page
City Belt's Flickr page

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK
 

 

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POEM: IN THE AIRPORT

In the Airport

In Newark, New Jersey

I went with James to keep him company before his flight

And sat and waited for the plane to be announced

THE AGENDA: EXECUTIVE ORDER

For full calendar listings, check The Agenda. To have your event listed, please e-mail the editors.

Friday | 10.27.06
Comedy. "Ice cream flavors, what do you want, we've got 31, the flavor of the week, the flavor of the month, but political parties -- we're down to two, jeez. Sources of information, media companies down to five, banks, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, chemical weapons, oil companies-used to be seven, down to three, pretty soon it's gonna be two. But if you're lookin' for a bagel or a fuckin' donut, hey, what do you want-pineapple supreme, hazelnut; we've got everything you want." George Carlin stops by Bergen PAC tonight for two shows -- it's sure to be a happy time.

DAY JOB: MEAT: THE CLEAVERS

Meat: The Cleavers, live at the Court Tavern, as painted by Jenny Blankenship

Meat: The Cleavers, the brainchild of New Brunswick’s Chris Caccavale, plays its own brand of come-down music for acid heads, that much can be sure. But behind the heavy delay and whispered vocals lies song structures that are stark and beautiful. The details aren’t completely clear to me, but, the best I can tell, Matt Riddle joined Caccavale in the band for a while -- though it looks like this Saturday’s show in Philly will be Riddle’s last for an unspecified time being.

COURT TAKES FIRST STEP -- LEGISLATURE MUST FOLLOW

By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The New Jersey Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage was good. It could have been better but it’s good. Hopefully the legislature will not simply create civil unions for gay couples, like in Vermont, but create one category for all New Jerseyans: either marriage for all or civil unions for all. That’s the only way to make it truly equal. And for the sake of simplicity they should just extend marriage rights to gay couples, rather than have couples before 2006 married and after, civil union-ed, or something like that. 

It seems so silly that the government knows or cares about who we date or marry. I work part-time at a staffing company and I always feel silly and intrusive when I have to ask an employee who forgot to fill out a W-4: “Are you single or married?” I feel like it sounds as if my follow-up questions will be: What are you wearing and can I smell your panties?

A wedding should be a state-free affair that’s about buying a new dress or suit and eating french fries, steak and ice cream cake – or whatever your favorite foods are.

But nevertheless marriage is the imperfect system we have and it gives couples and families all sorts of necessary protections – health insurance, custody rights, and medical decision making rights, just to name a few. So if this is what we’ve got, the protections have to be equally available to both straight and gay couples.

Take Action

Contact your state representative and ask them to create one system for all New Jerseyans – either civil unions or marriage. They have 180 days to implement the court’s decision.

Garden State Equality has a handy form here.

E-mail the author

BALLOT INITIATIVES? WHAT BALLOT INIATIVES?

Our endorsements: No on 1, Yes on 2 and 3

With initiatives on the ballot in other states regarding abortion, same-sex marriage, stem cell research, immigration and affirmative action garnering the headlines, we wouldn't be surprised if many New Jersey voters weren't even aware that we have three on the ballot this November. With that in mind, we give you our thoughts on the three Public Questions as the first in a series of endorsements. After all, most people reading this know who is running for Senate and the House, and likely know who they'll vote for. We hope that by bringing these initiatives to your attention early, you'll do your own research and determine how you'll vote, rather than randomly picking "Yes" or "No" in the voting booth.

MEET THE CANDIDATES: TOM WYKA

Democrat Tom Wyka is attempting to unseat the incumbent Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District this fall. At first, Frelinghuysen, who has been in office since 1995, wouldn't debate Wyka, but he has agreed to a debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, that is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 9 pm, at Morristown High School. We appreciate Wyka taking the time to answer our questions on the important issues facing New Jersey, unlike so many of the other candidates running for Congress this fall.

City Belt: There are more than one million New Jerseyans without health insurance. What will you do to advocate for the uninsured? Do you believe health insurance is a fundamental human right? Would you support HR 676, John Conyers' plan for a transition to a national single-payer universal health care system?

Tom Wyka: All Americans are entitled to health insurance coverage and I would support H.R. 676 as sponsored by Congressman Conyers. It's about time we joined every major industrialized country in providing for our citizens. Mr Conyers's proposal includes paper work reduction clauses and the eventual integration of the Department of Veteran Affairs health program  - one of America's few medical insurance success stores - into the plan. It's fiscally sound - and I will apply that same fiscal responsibility test to all legislation I sponsor or support.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: THE FIRE BALL

This shot of "Fire Ball" is nice, dark, and very Jersey. It was taken by Pat Marella.

We know more of you are out there, taking pictures of New Jersey. We want to feature you here -- so in Flickr or SmugMug, tag your NJ photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us. If you do either, you might be next week's Photo of the Week.

On the Web:
Pat Marella's Flickr page
City Belt's Flickr page

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK
 

 

E-mail the editors