The biggest frauds are perpetrated by Christie, not voters

Even on the best of days, traffic in downtown Englewood moves sluggishly, aggravated by city officials' refusal to install more turn lanes at such major intersections as Palisade Avenue and Dean Street, above. On Tuesday, road and sidewalk work only aggravated the situation.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's reporters and editors continue to do a great job as stenographers -- but fail miserably as journalists -- especially when it comes to Governor Christie's charges of voter fraud.

Today, the sub-headline on Page 1 legitimizes another Christie lie, even though the actual quote doesn't appear until deep on A-6:

"Calls automatic sign-up
a 'cocktail for fraud'" 

Christie and other conservative Republicans aren't really worried about fraud; they suppress voting and count on newspapers like The Record to do a poor job of covering issues, especially in the local elections that determine the size of property tax bills.

Voter apathy is a far bigger problem; in 2013, when Christie was reelected, the turnout was the lowest for any gubernatorial election in New Jersey history.

Lies before truth

Even before reporting that "voter fraud is extremely rare," Staff Writer Dustin Racioppi loads his first paragraphs with charges from Christie and wacko racist Donald J. Trump, the GOP presidential nominee:

"Trump has warned of 'rigged' elections and claimed there could be widespread voter fraud" (A-1).

Today's stories on Christie rejecting a pair of bills that would make it easier to register to vote and on the 10 bills he signed into law don't mention the fate of a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2021 (A-1 and A-7).

Local news?

Good luck finding local news today in a section called "Local" that is filled with police and court news.

The entire Local front reports on child porn arrests, a judge rejecting a builder's suit, crooks who got away while Paterson police were picking up donuts, a widow's complaint against a driver who killed two pedestrians, and probation in a coin theft case.

In fact, every page in the section is filled with similar Law & Order news.

Slams health focus

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung reports an acclaimed new chef, Christopher Albrecht, is emphasizing health, not just duplicating the dishes served before new owners took over at Park & Orchard in East Rutherford (BL-14).

All of his meats are antibiotic and hormone free, and most of the beef he serves is grass-fed, unlike the original restaurant and -- though Ung doesn't dare say it -- unlike all of those incredibly expensive steakhouses she raves about.

She seems to put a lot of store in complaints from "some regulars," and notes the wine list is "much less ambitious."

And, as usual, she goes bananas over three desserts the vast majority of her older readers wouldn't touch out of concern for their cholesterol and sugar intake.

So, there's no explanation for why Albrecht gets only 2.5 stars out of a possible 4.

Christie move helped mobster, Garrett opposed cops

An NJ Transit train stopping at the Anderson Street Station in Hackensack. Governor Christie's decision to cancel the Hudson River rail tunnels stuck the mass-transit agency with an $8.1 million debt to the family of a jailed mobster, The Record reports today.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You could call today's paper the mean-spirited-Republican edition -- with stories on Governor Christie and Rep. Scott Garrett, and their opposition to everything good and decent.

The Record reports on Page 1 that Governor Christie's cancellation of the Hudson River rail tunnels in 2010 led a court to rule the state owes $8.1 million to the family of convicted mob boss Carmine Franco (A-1).

Screw voters, workers

Christie also came out in favor of voter I.D. laws, which courts say are "discriminatory and, in some cases, racially motivated" (A-1 and A-6).

Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- basically, his wealthy donors -- the GOP bully also didn't waste any time dumping on workers fighting to raise the minimum wage (A-6).

"I'm tired of hearing about the minimum wage, I really am," Christie said.

Christie's net worth is put at $4 million by celebritynetworth.com.

Screw cops, too

Meanwhile, Garrett, a Wantage Republican seeking a seventh term in Congress, supported cuts to a program "that funds federal grants to cities and towns to hire police" (A-7).

So, you can add opposition to more police in Paramus to the growing list of what Garrett opposed, including Sandy aid and legislation to help women.

Roy Cho, a Hackensack attorney, is seeking to unseat Garrett, a Tea Party icon from the 5th Congressional District, which includes Bergen County.

Internet or rent?

The Page 1 story on people who can't afford Internet service runs with a big photo of some of them using computers in the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack (A-1).

But there is absolutely no reference to the demonstration against cuts to the library's funding that took place Tuesday night at the Hackensack City Council meeting (L-1).

Isn't the Internet or rent story a poor choice for the front page?

For years, The Record took no notice of people, most of whom are black and Hispanic, who can't afford cars and were forced to ride on decrepit NJ Transit buses to get to work.

More Law & Order

Most of the thin Local news section today is filled with police and court news, including yet another story about Teresa Giudice (L-3).

Editors hide Christie's brand of voter suppression

A Page 1 story in The Record today claims the developer and architect for twin 47-story residential towers in Fort Lee "spent nine hours sketching ... their vision" of what they hope will be the gateway to North Jersey. The account doesn't explain why the first building, above, resembles little more than an enormous, glass tombstone.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The all-seeing and all-knowing editors of The Record haven't bothered to explain the historically low turnout on Nov. 5, when Governor Christie won a second term.

Fewer than four of every 10 voters cast ballots after enduring months of distorted TV ads, and campaign coverage that ignored Christie's failed economic policies.

Now, researchers suggest that long commutes adversely affect being engaged in civic affairs, according to a report on National Public Radio.

"There's something uniquely stressful about commuting, and so when you get home after a hellacious day, you really have nothing to give to other people in terms of civic engagement, in terms of getting involved in your neighborhood politics," NPR Science Correspondent Shankar Vedantam reported on Tuesday.

In New Jersey, the commute -- by car, bus or train -- has become more of an ordeal since Christie took office in 2010.

First, he killed Hudson River rail tunnels that promised the biggest expansion of public transit in decades. Then, he rubber stamped higher tolls.

Instead of forcing the Port Authority to expand the PATH rail system and add a second reverse bus lane into the Lincoln Tunnel, Christie packed the bistate transportation agency with his cronies.

After all those hours caught in massive rush-hour traffic jams or standing in the aisles on buses and trains, who wants to go to the polls and vote?

Today's paper

The front-page centerpiece on twin Fort Lee residential towers -- called The Modern -- doesn't explain why the design of such prominent buildings are so uninspiring (A-1).

You can't miss the first 47-story monolith, which is sheathed in glass that reflects the setting sun and blinds some drivers approaching the George Washington Bridge.

If this enormous, glass tombstone actually ends up causing accidents and killing drivers, developer Allen Goldman and architect Howard Elkus might want to rename it The Dead.

On A-2, The Record acknowledges misspelling the name of a restaurateur who paid big money to advertise in the 2014 Dine Out Guide.

Counting cars

The Road Warrior column on L-1 today claims "50,000 or so Manhattan-bound commuters" get caught in the Route 4 east bottleneck in Teaneck each day.

Given Staff Writer John Cichowski's reputation for inaccuracy, I doubt the figure.

On Sunday, Cichowski reported incorrectly that a red-light camera study had been performed by Rutgers University.

To read about that and other flaws in the column, see the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

Road Warrior makes readers see red

Witness is mum

Photos of Samantha Perelman -- daughter of Revlon billionaire Ronald Perelman -- show her on the stand during her testimony in the Hudson News inheritance battle in state Superior Court in Hackenack.

In today's L-1 photo, she has one hand to her chin and her mouth is closed, yet the caption claims she is "testifying."

On Tuesday's Page 1, she is shown slouched in a chair with her mouth tightly shut, but the photo caption insists she is "answering questions."  

Also on L-1 today, The Record reports Joseph Mellone, the Hackensack "construction official mired in scandal over alleged sexual harassment and code-enforcement oversight," has told city officials he will retire.

Mellone, an ally of the Zisa family, heads one of the city's most unreponsive departments.