"The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters" -- Even in New Jersey.

Why are you so frightened by what I have to say? Why do you attempt to destroy my work? Guilty conscience?

Spacing will be affected in this post, "errors" will be inserted on a regular basis, and it will be difficult to make corrections sometimes.

David W. Chen, "Making Ex-Bedfellows In Trenton, Strangely Fast," in The New York Times, July 18, 2007, at p. B5.


"TRENTON, July 17 -- A Republican could not have said it any better."

"This week, Joseph Cryan, the Democratic Party chairman" -- shouldn't it be "Chairperson" or "Chair"? -- "gave the state's political establishment a bit of a start when he said on a television program that two state senators under indictment on corruption charges -- Sharpe James, Newark's former mayor, and Wayne R. Bryant of Camden -- should resign immediately."

"In fact, the comments were so pointed that Tom Wilson, the state Republican chairman, issued a news release on Monday that praised Mr. Cryan and challenged the party's de facto leader, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, to do the same thing."

It is highly unusual for a member of an, as yet, unconvicted politician's own party to issue statements such as this. One theory is that there is a split in the New Jersey Democratic party -- which is Democratic in name only -- between the old school Jersey Boys ("The Mob") and African-American and other minority group members looking to change the power-structure.

Bob Menendez, as always, was eloquent: "On the one hand," Bob said, and added: "but on the other hand." Senator Bob is firmly neither here nor there, but he is with all of us in spirit -- except when he is not.

"Mr. James, 71, was indicted last Thursday on charges that he used city-issued credit cards to ring up $58,000 in personal expenses and allowed a female companion to buy city property at cut-rate prices, and then quickly sell them at a profit of more than $600,000."

"In March, Mr. Bryant, 59, was indicted on charges that he was given a $37,000-a-year no-show job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in exchange for bringing it millions of dollars in grants and padding his pension in the process. ..."

These "gentlemen" are as "gentle" as the Spring breezes and every bit as honest when compared with the ruthless, greedy, and lecherous trolls happily placed in positions of power and in dangerous proximity to the people's money, somewhere near the New Jersey Supreme Court's chambers. New Jersey's Supremes have handed down a decision recently interpreting the state constitution to require that each of their faces be added to the sculptures at Mount Rushmore. Where are the $300 MILLION, Jaynee?

The interesting question for the Garden State today is whether government by organized crime and judiciary by corrupt mediocrities has a future. On behalf of so many current and former victims of the state's hopelessly tainted institutions, I hope that the days of mob rule are numbered.