Chris Christie's Diner Tour

Who's Chris Christie?


He's the REPUBLICAN candidate for Governor in New Jersey and he's doing all he can to run from George Bush, who's Christie's political sugar daddy.


And as much as I am a stickler for hospitality, I just HAD to roll out the welcome mat.... but the story doesn't end well.

With BH Honey, you can judge a book by its cover. 

Bh Honey Review

First impressions

Great packaging, best I've ever seen for Honey. Cool and modern but not oppressively so. The square-shaped jar is quite unique and speaks to foodies, design geeks and just about anyone who might be willing to spend $20 for 12 ounces of honey.  

The Smell test

Smells like honey.  This may seem obvious, but far too often commercial honeys can smell too pungent  or too "sweet" thereby changing the flavor profile of 1) the product and 2) whatever it's sweetening.  Thankfully in this case, the Bh Honey has the perfect amount of "sweet, sunny" taste and it won't leave your senses overloaded before you've even had a taste.

Bee nice and Show Me the Flavor!

Flavor alone is superb. Vaguely, mildly spicy. Tastes like honey is supposed to taste which is increasingly rare is a world where infusions, blends, and artificial aromas are increasingly used to "tempt" our over-stimulated palate.

When used in a steaming cup of Lady Grey black tea, Bh Honey enhances the taste without altering the flavor profile of the hot black tea.  Nice sweetness, not too perfume'y, floral or spicy.

Likewise Bh Honey went superbly with Tazo Passion red hot herbal tea.  The flavor and sweetness elevate the fruitiness of the tea for a pleasurable cup.  Bh Honey's mild, smooth fruity taste is most apparent with this tea.

Other stuff

This delicious honey is trucked in from the Pacific Northwest which is rather unfortunate in terms of Carbon Miles.  With foodies looking increasingly locally for their wares, I'm afraid this product's 3,000 mils journey does not comport with that vibe at all.   For me, this is worth a few demerit points. 

The website for Bh Honey is pretty cool.  Gives off a very "West Coast" sensibility. Not very current with their blog.  On the plus side, the website offers up a good range of gear for first time bee keepers.  

The Conclusive Buzzzzz

Tastes great. Looks great.  My tendency to purchase would come down to price point and (perhaps more importantly) how is was merchandised. 

With its sleek packaging and superior flavor, this honey should stand out for the right reasons.   

Please join me in supporting Menendez Pride Page!

Please join me in supporting Menendez Pride Page!

BlueJersey Blogger lands spot in this weekend's edition of Power&Politics

If you're one of those political junkie types who can't get enough of the redistricting debate, you simply must tune into this weekend's edition of Power&Politics on News12. The show airs Saturdays AND Sundays at 10am and 3pm.

Several segments discuss the state's new Congressional boundaries, and I get a chance to weigh in as well, debating my (mostly) friendly rival, Chris Russell from South Jersey. Monmouth U. Poll-meister Patrick Murray, Montclair State political scientist Brigid Harrison, GOP lobbyist Tom Wilson and PolitickerNJ's Alan Steinberg guest star as well.

With less than a month until election day, is trouble brewing within the Republican ranks in one of NJ's most closely watched races?

Apparently Vince Polistina's nasty campaign style is too much for even his running mates to handle. So they ditiched him according to the Press of AC they ditiched him:

Republican Assemblyman John Amodeo said that...he and his Assembly running mate, Chris Brown, separated their campaign from that of their state Senate running mate, Assemblyman Vince Polistina, because of a disagreement over the negative tone.

Says Assemblyman Amodeo, "after a period of time I brought on my own consultant because that's not the direction I wanted my campaign to go in."

Polistina is running against incumbent Democrat Jim Whelan to represent NJ's newly reapportioned 2nd Legisltive District.

Here's the real deal on Vince Polistina: policy wise he's a political lapdog. When he's not following Chris Christie around Trenton like a lost little man-child, Vince Polistina and his engineering firm are down in South Jersey suckling off the taxpayer's teat to the tune of over $6.6m!

Gasp

So notwithstanding corrupt republican Vince Polistina's "scorched earth" campaign tactics, is it any wonder even his fellow Republicans want nothing to do with him?

New Jersey Legislators stand up against Bullying

BBC interview on Historic British Election

The British media found my "political travels" to be quite novel and copy-worthy. Have a listen to this chat with the BBC about my trip and British politics.

Britian's Historic Vote goes down to the Wire

The most dramatic British election in decades just played out and I was right in the mix. Take a peek!

An update: Medical Marijuana in New Jersey

I get asked a lot about the status of New Jersey's newly signed Medical Marijuana law. So I decided to find out for myself.

New Jersey roundup Wednesday Jan 27, 2010

To revitalize its economy, Camden needs "top down" solutions to supplement the existing efforts of local resident and entrepreneurs. With Camden's Spanish-speaking population at over 40% (and rising) with city may be poor, but it's spicier than ever.

We've heard it all before, but there is optimism from Mayor Redd's office about the city's future, as well.

There's poverty here, too.

Does Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco need to work his own side of the street?

When snarky blogposts fail....

A boxed toy horse head for dual-officeholder Steven Sweeney? Not very original if you ask me.

Sticking with Senator/Senate President/Freeholder/Director Sweeney, the Courier Post editorial board is not amused with Sweeney's stubborn refusal to stick to his word on dual office holding. This article calls out Sweeney's Freeholder colleagues for tolerating it.

Haiti continued...

"For Shore Memorial ER doctor, a week of death, horror and healing in Haiti - and memories of kids' smiles."

New Jersey speaks.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver wants to hear from YOU! And that's why she scheduled bipartisan hearings in Trenton for feedback from residents how to improve the state.

It's hard out there for a conservative activist...

One day he's a pimp. Then he's a telephone repairman. Looks like his next roll might be as prison wife. Stay tuned.

This is an open thread, Blue Jersey. Leave a link if I missed something and I'll update the diary.

3 lonely rabbis at GSE Lobby Day 11/23/09

3 lonely rabbis at GSE Lobby Day 11/23/09
Originally uploaded by bluejersey

Scandal. Jersey style.

Politicians are assholes. especially Jersey ones.

Cherry Hill gets a New Council this November

Price List

Michelle Obama serves them Couture Politik in Europa

some people call her the new Jackie O, but Michelle Obama is too much an American original for such comparisons. While in Europe with her husband, President Obama,  for the G20 Economic Summit, it was our First Lady who made the biggest impressions on the Global stage.

Rocking the Red Carpet at the GLAAD Media Awards

How GLAAD am I?

Color me lucky. I just learned via email that i won a pair of tickets to this weekend's GLAAD awards in NYC.  For those of ya'll out there who don't know, GLAAD is the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation.  They've been fighting in the trenches dedicated to "promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation."

Saturday's event honors Keith Olberman, Tyra Banks, Vanessa Williams and Project Runway champ Christian Siriano.  

My tickets came courtesy of my favorite blog, the Bilerico Project, run by fellow Hoosier Bil Browning.  Word has it, there are still a scant few tix left.  So if you're in the Manhattan area this weekend, maybe I will see you there!!

Green Grass and Black History

(This is a reprint from 2007. The WIlliams sisters have won at every Wimbledon since.)

February is Black History Month, that once-a-year opportunity for white people to remind ourselves just how culturally sensitive we can be. So this year I wanted to avoid another culture-bound, Euro-centric tribute to Black America. And since Afro-American History seems offered up mostly for Caucasian consumption, I wanted to share a sliver of black culture that would actually give Black folks something (new) to contemplate, as well. As a tennis junkie, it wasn't hard to come up with the perfect example.

Did you know that Black Americans have triumphed on the lily-white lawns of Wimbledon sixteen times? Yes, that Wimbledon, a place so seeped in vanilla tradition that a white-clothing-only rule is still strictly enforced!

Althea Gibson won the first of her five titles in 1957. (see photo) Her achievement was all the more remarkable as she was the first player of either sex to to shatter the color barrier in international tennis. But it wasn't easy. According to ESPN.com,

She was the first black to play in the national indoor tournament in 1950 and finished second, which should have won her an invitation to the U. S. Nationals. No invitation came until after a letter from former champ Alice Marble appeared in the July issue of Tennis magazine. "If Althea Gibson represents a challenge to the present crop of players, then it's only fair that they meet this challenge on the courts," she said.

She would go on the with the U.S. Open and become the #1 player in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1975 Arthur Ashe reigned supreme at Wimbledon , along the way thumping world #1 Jimmy Connors who at the time was at the height of his lofty powers. To date, Arthur is the only black man to hoist the Wimbledon trophy. He is also the only Wimbledon champ ever to sport a (mini) Afro. After Arthur's death from AIDS complications in 1993, scholar and writer William Rhoden offered this tribute,

First and foremost Arthur Ashe was an activist. His vision was that athletes, especially African American athletes, would play a pivotal role in shaping a society in which they command an increasingly visible presence on the global landscape.

Much like baseball's Jackie Robinson, Gibson and Ashe will likely be remembered more for breaking barriers than for athletic accomplishments. Fast forward 20 years and things have definitely changed.
Venus and Serena Williams have dominated at Wimbledon for the past decade. Both Williams sisters clearly benefited from their predecessors Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson who struggled for just for acceptance.

Venus and Serena not obliged to fit in. Not when they can stand out instead. And their record is astonishing: 10 Wimbledons, 3 Olympic gold medals, and over $3o million in prize money between the pair. Add to that the $4o million Venus (pictured here after taking last year's title) was paid to wear Reebok and Serena's $30 million deal with Nike and it's clear that their stranglehold on women's tennis has earned them top dollar in the sports marketing world, too.

The Williams' influence extends beyond Center Court and Madison Avenue, however. All over American little black girls are taking up the sport. According to Tina Tharpe, Coordinator of the Arthur Ashe Tennis Academy in Philadelphia (and my former boss) girls comprise 70% of the Academy's enrollment. I reckon it'll be another dozen years before be know the legacy of the Williams Sisters. For now, they're still adding to their trophy case! At 25 (Serena) and 26, the sisters still should have time to add to their legacy--both on and off the court.

Sports has always been a good medium for advancing social causes. And when you consider that Black athletic progress has long been a step or two ahead of Black social progress, I think we can look at the successes of the Williams Sisters at Wimbledon and be kinda hopeful.
(Picture: Serena checkin' out the hardware)

Photos courtesy of the Wimbledon website.

Exploring Jersey's White House connections