FYI, John is a long time participant in LPCNJ.

Also, the meeting starts at 1:00 PM.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  John Paff at this Sunday's General Meeting
Date:  Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:34:06 -0500
From:  Len Flynn <lenflynn@...>
<snip/>

I am pleased to announce that activist extraordinaire John Paff will
speak at the NJLP membership meeting at Tumulty's Pub in New Brunswick.
He hopes to inform and inspire the members attending so that next year
we may find a higher level of Libertarian political activity.

<snip/>

In Liberty,

Len Flynn
len@... <mailto:len@...>
732-591-1328

EC: John Paff, Cal Beatty

--
Frank Warren, Jr.   KB4CYC
kb4cyc@...    http://kb4cyc.WebWarren.com/
     PGP Key IDs: DH/DSS: 0x635E3B05  RSA: 0xE553A1B7
Vice-Chairman and Webmaster - Libertarian Party of Central NJ
Somerset County Representative to the NJ Libertarian Party State Board
2004-2008 NJLP Petitioning Coordinator
     http://www.LPCNJ.org/ http://www.NJLP.org/ http://www.LP.org/

   Proudly voting Libertarian, since the only wasted vote is the
    one NOT for smaller government (i.e., Republicrat, et al.).

Sean and Frank:

Sorry I have nothing to announce.  However we need to schedule a meeting
for LPCNJ.  We haven't had a meeting since around April 2007.

We have been invited to several street fairs this autumn and have the
opportunity to host booths there for out candidates or for other
activities.

Also we received a bill for the post office box and need to decide if we
want to keep the box.


Everyone:

Would someone please forward this to our Chairman Sean Colon?  I don't
have his e-mail address and I'm not sure if he is on this list.  Thanks.

Howard Schoen
732 572-0207

The monthly meeting of the Libertarian Party of Central New Jersey
will be this Sunday, February 25, at 7:00 P.M., at Marita's Cantina (1
Penn Plaza, New Brunnswick).  Marita's is on Albany Avenue at
Easton Avenue, across from the train station.  Free parking is
available in the adjacent Ferrin parking deck.

Also note that the New Jersey Libertarian Party'a annual Convention
will be March 23 through 24 at the Bayside Resorts Quality Inn, 8029
Black Horse Pike, Atlantic City West.  Full details and registration
information is at http://njlp.org/convention/.

Judge Alexander P. Waugh issued his decision today (January 22, 2007)
in the case of Paff v. Monroe Township Board of Education.

He granted my motion for summary judgment and denied the Board's
cross-motion for summary judgment.  He also ordered the Board to pay
my court costs.  In pertinent part, Judge Waugh held that "the
paramount public policy [behind the Open Public Meetings Act] is not
the convenience of the public entity, but rather the right of New
Jersey citizens to have adequate advance notice of and the right to
attend all meetings . . . [and to] vindicate that right, the Board
must make a good faith effort to provide the public with as much
knowledge as possible without endangering the 'public interest' or the
rights of others."

The full text of Judge Waugh's decision and the legal briefs and other
pertinent documents are available at

www.LPCNJ.org/OGTF/MonroeBOEWebready.pdf

John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey

Oral argument in the case of Paff v. Monroe Township Board of
Education was heard by Middlesex Superior Court Judge Alexander P.
Waugh on Friday, January 19.  I believe that the argument went well
and the judge stated that he was inclined to rule "that the Board
cannot continue to do what it has been doing."  Judge Waugh said that
he wanted to think about the case and issue a written decision.  I
will post that decision on-line upon receipt.

Also, below is an article that appeared in Thursday's Home News
Tribune.  Note that the article directs readers to the LPCNJ's website
address.

As he did in the article, the defendant's attorney, James F. Schwerin
of Parker McCay, attacked my motivations in bringing the suit during
oral argument.  After reminding the court that I did not reside in
Monroe Township, he accused me and the Libertarian Party of having
"ulterior motives" and a "hidden agenda."  Judge Waugh, seemingly
unimpressed with the accusations, asked whether Mr. Schwerin was
challenging my standing to bring the suit.  Upon learning that my
standing was not being challenged, he let the matter drop without comment.

John Paff
---------
Judge to rule on school board's resolution
Legislation may violate state's Open Public Meetings Act

Home News Tribune Online 01/18/07

By REBECCA LERNER STAFF WRITER
rlerner@...

MONROE — A Middlesex County Superior Court judge will hear arguments
by phone tomorrow before deciding whether the resolution the school
board routinely uses to go into closed session violates the state's
Open Public Meetings Act, also called the Sunshine Law.

The resolution is too broad and vaguely worded to satisfy legal
requirements, said John Paff, head of the Open Government Task Force
of the Libertarian Party of Central New Jersey, the open-government
watchdog who brought the suit against the board in December.

The school board denies the allegations, saying its closed-session
resolutions comply with the Sunshine Law.

Under the law, governing bodies must tell the public the "general
nature" of what is to be discussed in private and why it is not
appropriate for public session. Closed sessions are allowed by law for
discussion of pending litigation, land acquisition, labor contracts
and personnel.

"For several years, the board has passed identical resolutions before
going into closed session. The resolutions inform the public only that
the board will "discuss personnel, negotiations, legal and student
matters.' My contention is that such a vague notice really informs the
public of nothing and that (state law) requires the closed session
topics to be more precisely identified," Paff said.

Paff is seeking a decision from Judge Alexander P. Waugh and payment
of his legal fees by the school board.

Schools Business Administrator Wayne Holliday, in documents filed with
the court, said being more specific in closed session resolutions
would curtail the board's ability to "react to situations as they
occur" because the school board would have to set its agenda in
advance of meetings and stick to it. Expecting his office to be aware
of everything to be discussed ahead of meetings is unrealistic,
Holliday added.

Board attorney James F. Schwerin, of the Lawrence- and Marlton-based
law firm Parker McCay, attacked Paff in the legal briefs, saying the
watchdog is suing the board for his own political gain. Paff is not a
resident of Monroe, Schwerin noted.

Asked whether he filed the suit for political gain, Paff told the Home
News Tribune he believes voters would consider electing Libertarian
candidates if they were fully informed of what their current elected
officials were up to.

Paff said he will appeal if the case is decided in the school board's
favor. If he wins, Paff said, he'll use the ruling to convince other
governing bodies to adopt more specific resolutions.

It is unclear exactly what effect the decision will have on other
public bodies in the state, said Frank Askin, director of
Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers Law School. While the
decision is likely to be "persuasive," it would not be binding, Askin
said. An appellate court decision would have a stronger impact, Askin
said.

A trial court in 1995 ruled against the Trenton State College board of
trustees for using similar resolutions to go into closed session.
Trial-court opinions, however, are not binding on other courts, Askin
said.

Paff's lawsuit is indicative of the growing spotlight on transparency
issues in the state, said Elizabeth Mason, president of the New Jersey
Foundation for Open Government. While she declined to comment on the
significance of the case just yet, Mason said NJFOG will be watching
the outcome closely.

On the Web:

Legal briefs are available at

www.LPCNJ.org/OGTF/MonroeBOEWebready.pdf

Rebecca Lerner:
(732) 565-7271

Editorial - The Sentinel (East Brunswick, NJ)
December 21, 2006
Letters to the editor to: ebsent@... or P.O. Box 5001,
Freehold, NJ  07728

See also, related news story and photo at
http://nbs.gmnews.com/news/2006/1221/Front_Page/029.html
---------------------
Advocate helps keep N.J. gov't an open, public place

Slowly but surely, John Paff is making New Jersey government more open
and accessible to the public. Paff has spent the past couple of years
peeking into the workings of local government agencies, which he often
chooses at random, to make sure things are on the up and up when it
comes to open public meetings laws and public records.

Paff, who does this as the volunteer chairman of the Central Jersey
Libertarian Party's Open Government Task Force, often finds exactly
what he expects: that governing bodies, intentionally or not, are
violating state laws in some way or another. In Milltown, for example,
a recent stop at borough hall to browse closed-session minutes
revealed that the Borough Council had discussed topics in closed
session that should have been primarily hashed out in public. In
Monroe, Paff took issue with the vagueness of the Board of Education's
wording for going into closed session at the end of each meeting.

"I find that the vast majority of towns are out of compliance, at
least as I define it, some worse than others," Paff told Greater Media
Newspapers. Such a statement is telling of the need for enforcement of
state laws, and unfortunately Paff seems to be in something of a law
enforcement field all his own.

What Paff cannot predict is how a town will respond to him.

He tells communities of their alleged violations in a letter with an
explanation of the law in question, and he explains why a certain
matter should have been handled differently. Some towns, as in
Milltown's case, take his position as constructive. Others, who choose
to ignore his correspondence, have found themselves in court defending
against a lawsuit. As far as the outcome, Paff has won favorable
settlements in many of his lawsuits, outright victories in others. He
did lose one of two lawsuits in Perth Amboy.

Paff has also filed numerous record-denial complaints with the state
Government Records Council and said he has won or settled favorably in
90 percent of those.

As Paff works his way around the state, and as his reputation becomes
known, one can almost see local government in New Jersey slowly moving
toward greater transparency. And in a day and age when trust in public
officials is hard to come by, it is imperative that we have the most
open government possible under the law.

New Jersey needs people like John Paff, watchdogs who are there to
help keep an eye on those making decisions that affect our tax
dollars. Paff doesn't take no for an answer in his efforts to bring
about change, and for that we should all be grateful.

Complaint alleges board violated open meeting law
Thursday, December 07, 2006
By LESLIE MURRAY

GARWOOD -- The Libertarian Party of Central New Jersey (LPCNJ) last
week filed a complaint with the Union County Prosecutor's Office
alleging that the local Board of Education has committed numerous
violations of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).

District officials denied any wrongdoing on the point of the board,
and it is not yet clear whether the complaint will lead to an
investigation.

In papers filed Nov. 29, the LPCNJ's Open Government Task Force listed
three instances of executive session minutes from the board which it
said did not justify a closed meeting, provided an insufficient
description of the closed meeting, or were not "reasonably
comprehensible." The meetings listed in the complaint occurred on Oct.
18, 2005 and April 6 and June 20 of 2006.

John Paff, chairman of the task force, said the group is focused on
ensuring that government bodies within Somerset, Middlesex, and Union
counties adhere to OPMA guidelines. The task force regularly performs
audits of municipal councils and school boards on a random basis, Paff
said.

The group has filed complaints against the Roselle Park Borough
Council and Union Township Committee, and its efforts pressed the
Kenilworth and South Bound Brook school boards to comply with OPMA
rules, he said.

In the complaint filed last week, Paff said, "What I pointed out were
representative of the issues I was having with the minutes. I'm not
just picking on Garwood here."

State law allows government bodies to exclude the public during
discussion of several types of issues, such as pending litigation,
contract negotiations and personnel evaluation. The reason for the
closed session must be described at the time, and minutes of the
discussion should be made public when the reasons for non-disclosure
no longer exist.

In the complaint, the task force alleged that the board did not meet
those guidelines. During the June meeting, the board spent an hour in
a meeting closed to the public for "personnel matter, staff" and
"other permitted by law," according to the minutes. However, one
section of the minutes reads, "Automatic building controls has come to
Lincoln School to assess the needs for correcting the glycol problem."

In the complaint, Paff wrote, "It does not appear to us that privately
discussing a 'glycol problem' in one of the schools is permitted by
any of the exceptions" allowed by OPMA.

The complaint goes on to state that the law "requires the Board to do
more than to simply inform the public that 'other' topics will be
discussed."

Finally, the complaint states that during the October and April
meetings the minutes were not "reasonably comprehensible," or were so
vague that it was impossible to tell what decision, if any, the board
came to during the closed meeting.

In October 2005, the minutes state that the board met for 30 minutes
in closed session "regarding the matter involving Mr. Monty Brown" and
that the board attorney "advised the board that there is no action to
take regarding the matter with Mr. Brown." But an outside observer,
Paff said, might not realize that Brown is a member of the board and
would not know what the "matter" was (likely, Brown's arrest that fall
in Cranford on marijuana possession charges).

Additionally, the minutes for a closed session meeting in April 2006
that stretched from 8:51 p.m. to 1:17 a.m. are three sentences long;
they make reference to discussions about "projected staffing" and
"contract negations regarding Dr. (Bill) Murphy," the school
district's superintendent.

"This is really the public's right to know," Paff said. "These are
people serving the public, and they should act like it."

He said his task force has received no response from the Board of
Education and has not received notice from the Prosecutor's Office
about whether an investigation is planned.

Asked for comment, Murphy said, "The Board of Education did act
appropriately."

He deferred all other questions to John Geppert, the board's attorney,
who repeated the same message: "The board has handled everything
appropriately."

Leslie Murray is a staff writer for the Chronicle. She can be reached
at (732) 396-4205 or lmurray@....

LPCNJ September Meeting

Date: Sunday September 24, 2006
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Marita's Cantina - New Brunswick
Street: 1 Penn Plaza (Albany and Easton Avenue Opposite the Train
Station) New Brunswick, NJ
Phone: (732) 247-3840 (Marita's)

All are invited to the next meeting of the Libertarian Party of
Central New Jersey.

Sunday, August 27, 2006 7 p.m.

Marita's Cantina, which is right near the New Brunswick train station.
See http://www.maritascantinanewbrunswick.com/ for directions.

Dear Friends of Liberty,


For the past several years I have enjoyed keeping you informed about the
positions of our Senators and local Representatives on crucial
legislation dealing with war, peace and civil liberties, as well as
opportune times to attempt to influence their positions. In the future
these legislative alerts/updates will be posted on the discussion list
(LPSMC@yahoogroups.com).

I have appreciated hearing from some of you in the past who took action
as a result of my alerts. If you would like to continue to receive them,
you can either subscribe to the discussion list or write to me at
hschoen@.... I would also be happy to give information about
the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War to anyone who is
interested.

I end with some bad news and some good news.  The bad news is that our
new Senator Menendez voted for the flag desecration amendment.  The good
news is that the amendment failed in the Senate by one vote on Tuesday.

Althea Schoen
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War

Dear Friends of Liberty,


*FLAG AMENDMENT*:

Our new Senator Menendez needs calls IMMEDIATELY to ask him to vote
against the flag amendment that is scheduled to be voted on pronto. This
bill passed in the House last week (286-130) with the help of Rep. Frank
Pallone, who had appeared willing to take another look at his stand on
this issue when we confronted him last summer, but apparently did not
(aargh!). Rep. Rush Holt voted against.

The fate of the amendment is calculated to hang by ONE VOTE in the
Senate.  Jon Corzine, when senator, voted against the flag amendment,
but SENATOR MENENDEZ HAS A HISTORY OF repeatedly VOTING FOR THE
AMENDMENT as a House member. (If you do not read this alert in time to
act before the vote, you could call Menendez' office after the fact to
see what he did and let his office know what you think about that.)

The flag amendment will give Congress the power to criminalize physical
desecration of the flag, creating for the first time in our nation's
history an exception to free expression. It undermines the principles
for which the flag stands--a very bad situation, especially in the
context of President Bush's on-going, reckless DESECRATION OF THE
CONSTITUTION and disappearing of our liberties.

As you know, if passed, this amendment to the Constitution must be
ratified by 75% of the states; what you may not know is that EVERY STATE
IN THE COUNTRY HAS PASSED A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE AMENDMENT'S
PASSAGE!

Please call Senator Menendez; if you are in Pallone's district call and
ask to speak to his aide on civil liberties to voice your great
displeasure and demand an explanation; if you are in Holt's district
call and thank him. (See CONTACT INFORMATION at end.)

*IRAQ WAR DEBATE:*

Some other news on Senator Menendez is that he, along with Senator
Lautenberg, voted last week for the Kerry-Feingold amendment to the
Defense Authorization bill. If the amendment had not lost 86-13, it
would have mandated that our troops in Iraq be redeployed out of Iraq by
July 1, 2007 (unfortunately, with some exceptions.) Both Menendez and
Lautenberg also voted for the weaker Levin amendment, which was defeated
by a lesser margin.

It is not necessary to call Senator Lautenberg on the flag amendment
since an aide assured me that the Senator has always voted against the
flag amendment, but of course you might want to let him know that you
appreciate that, as well as his vote on Kerry-Feingold. And while you
are on the phone educating Senator Menendez about the flag issue, you
can also thank him for his vote on Kerry-Feingold if you like.

*PENTAGON RECRUITMENT DATA BASE:*

In part due to the dogged efforts of COALITION and legislative committee
MEMBER KARINA WILKINSON, we have some partial good news on another
matter related to our civil liberties, specifically the Pentagon
recruitment data base, officially known as Joint Advertising, Market
Research and Studies (JAMRS). This is the data base of highly personal
information on millions of American teens and young people, including
their school grades and interests, illegally maintained by the Pentagon
in cooperation with a private company, in order to better target recruits.

A version of an amendment sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer to the
Defense Authorization Act was passed by unanimous consent, stipulating
that "Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on how the
data, including social security numbers, contained in the Joint
Advertising, Market Research and Studies (JAMRS) program is maintained
and protected, including the security measures in place to prevent
unauthorized access or inadvertent disclosure of the data that could
lead to identity theft."

Unfortunately, two of Boxer's original amendments were tabled (in
Congress this usually is equivalent to rejection).  These would have
prohibited the Pentagon from collecting and maintaining Social Security
numbers for purposes of the JAMRS program and from disclosing
information collected in the data base to anyone not engaged in military
recruitment, would have provided mechanisms for persons to opt out from
the JAMRS program and would have required notification to persons of
their being in the data base.

A hearty thanks to Karina for championing the privacy and lives of our
young people. As you can see, there is more work to be done in this
area. If you would like additional information on this issue you can
write to Karina through notowar@....

*CONTACT INFORMATION:*

You may reach any Senator or Representative at the Capitol switchboard's
toll-free number: 800-614-2803.

LAUTENBERG can also be reached at 202-224-3224. You can email him at
http://lautenberg.senate.gov.

MENENDEZ - call toll-free numbers above. You can email him at
http://menendez.senate.gov.

PALLONE can also be reached at 202-225-4671 or you can email him at
http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

HOLT can also be reached at 202-225-5801. Or you can email him at
http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

Thanks for your participation on this important issue!

Althea Schoen
for the Legislative Committee
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War

LPCNJ Meeting

*Friday May 26, 2006** at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Howard Schoen
2602 Merrywood Drive
Edison 08817
732 572-0207

Directions to 2602 Merrywood Drive:

  >From I-287 South:
Exit 3 (Metuchen/New Durham).  Bear right on ramp towards New
Durham; ramp lets you off on New Durham Avenue going towards
Edison (Red Roof Inn is on your right).  Go to first light
(Talmadge Road) and make left.  Take Talmadge Rd. to first light
(Brunswick Ave.) and make right.  Follow Brunswick Ave past where
it bears slightly to the left and continue for less than a mile.  Right
after the sign
"No Trucks" is the entrance to Edison Manor on the right.  This
is also Merrywood Drive.

  >From I-287 North:
Exit at route 27 South.  (The preceding set
of exits is Route 1)  Follow route 27 to the sixth traffic
light, which is Plainfield Ave (County Road 529; extinct gas
station on far-right corner).  Make right turn.  The third
light on Plainfield is Brunswick Ave.  Make right turn.
Brunswick Ave is a divided "highway".  After the divider
ends, take the second left into the development called
Edison Manor (you will be on Merrywood Drive).

**>From New Brunswick
      Go north on Route 27 to Plainfield Avenue (County Road 529) (first
traffic light
after Tops Plaza on left).  Make left at light.  Go to the third traffic
light and make right (Brunswick Ave).  Brunswick Avenue is a divided
street.  **After the divider ends, take the second left into the
development called
Edison Manor (you will be on Merrywood Drive).
*
*In Edison Manor:
Follow the slightly serpentine Merrywood Drive.  Shortly after
you cross a speed bump, Merrywood Drive will turn sharply to the
left, but if you keep going straight you will have building 26 on
your right.  2602 is the second unit in the building.  Park where
you can and look for the door marked 2602.



*

Dear Friends of Liberty,

Yesterday's legislative alert from the Central Jersey Coalition Against
Endless War (CJCAEW) accidentally was garbled and truncated.  I
apologize for the inconvenience.  Here is the complete alert:

Let us join with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Friends
Committee on National Legislation and many other organizations and make
this week National Call-in-Week (or month, for that matter) to call our
Senators and tell them how outraged we are by the unfolding revelations
of the Bush Administration's unconstitutional invasion of our privacy as
well as by Congress' failure to act!

By now you are no doubt familiar with the fact that the National
Security Administration has compiled a vast data base, with the
complicity of most telephone companies, documenting whom and for how
long we call anyone. (You might consider changing your phone carrier to
Qwest, the only company that did not comply.) This is not about catching
terrorists--this is Big Brother to the max!

Call our Senators and tell them

1) to call for a FULL, PUBLIC INVESTIGATION of the N.S.A. surveillance
program,

2) TO REJECT ENABLING LEGISLATION, e.g. S. 2455 and S. 2435, that would
give the President new surveillance powers protected from oversight by
Congress and the courts.  S. 2455, the Terrorist Surveillance Act of
2006, introduced by Senator DeWine, would allow the N.S.A. to conduct
its warrantless wiretapping on U.S. citizens for 45 days and then to
continue to spy with only a minimal explanation to selected members of
Congress. S. 2435, the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006,
introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Specter, would EXPAND the
President's program (or what he has thus far admitted to) to allow
tapping of calls between two people in the U.S. who are totally
unconnected to terrorism. The bill would approve whole programs, such as
the data mining program and presumably anything else that the President
would or has already concocted, for renewable 45 day periods. Tell our
Senators that it is essential that they oppose both bills.  (Of course,
in addition to the unconstitutionality of these programs, there is the
SHEER INCOMPETENCE factor. Rather than keeping us safer, flooding the
FBI with information about millions of phone calls will make us less
safe--remember a few years ago when it was said that it would take about
10 years to fix the FBI's computer system?! And the science that could
make meaningful sense of sifting through millions of bits of data is
only in its infancy.)

3) to OPPOSE THE NOMINATION OF GENERAL HAYDEN, the head of the National
Security Agency when both the illegal wiretapping and compilation of the
phone call database were put in place, as head of the C.I.A..

4) To sign on to the Feingold CENSURE RESOLUTION.  With the President
asserting that in his constitutional role as the Commander in Chief he
can legally authorize wiretapping of U.S. citizens, etc. we have reached
a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. Please call, and keep calling, our Senators and
demand that they honor their oath to defend the Constitution and provide
a check on out-of-control executive branch power.


[CONTACT INFORMATION:

You may reach our Senators at the Capitol switchboard's toll-free
number: 800-614-2803.

LAUTENBERG can also be reached at 202-224-3224. You can email him at
http://lautenberg.senate.gov.

MENENDEZ - call toll-free number above. You can email him at
http://menendez.senate.gov.

Thank you for your on-going participation.

Althea Schoen
for the Legislative Committee
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War

Dear Friends of liberty,

By now you are no doubt aware that the National Security Administration
has compiled a vast data base, with the complicity of most telephone
companies, documenting whom and for how long we call anyone. (You might
consider changing your phone carrier to Qwest, the only company that did
not comply.)  This is not about catching terrorists--this is Big Brother
to the max.

Let us join with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Friends
Committee on National Legislation and many other organizations and make
this week National Call-in-Week (or month, for that matter) to call our
Senators and tell them how outraged we are by the unfolding revelations
of the Bush Administration's unconstitutional invasion of our privacy!

About a week or so ago staffers in both Senator Lautenberg's and Senator
Menendez's offices informed me that neither Senator had reached a
position on the Feingold resolution of censure.  So they are definitely
needing to hear from us about this matter also.

Althea Schoen
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War
Legislative Committee

The Friday, April 28, 2006 meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the
home of Secretary John Paff.

Address: 1605 Amwell Road, Somerset, NJ 08873

Please use mapquest or a similar service to obtain directions or email
John Paff at paff@....