Category Archives: Opinion

By James J. Devine Nearly a decade after a Stockton University watchdog report warned that New Jersey’s tax expenditure reporting was a fiscal black hole, a new NJTODAY.NEWS analysis finds the state is still handing out billions in tax breaks while keeping the public in the dark about who benefits and whether the giveaways work.Continue reading “New Jersey quietly gives away billions in tax breaks — and nobody is watching”

By James J Devine In 2020, a monstrous crime shook New Jersey. A gunman, seeking to assassinate U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, killed her 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl and grievously wounded her husband. The response—Daniel’s Law—was born of grief and a genuine desire to prevent such horror from recurring. But grief is a poorContinue reading “The Price of Fear: “Daniel’s Law” is a weapon against the public that may get worse”

A line of cowardice on immigration runs straight from Bill Clinton in 1996 to Donald Trump in 2026. By James J. Devine Thirty years after President Bill Clinton signed a sweeping immigration crackdown, the machinery created with overwhelming bipartisan support has become the legal foundation for President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign — while a bipartisanContinue reading “Clinton-era immigration law built the deportation machine now running at full throttle”

By James J. Devine The United States celebrated its 250th birthday this year with fireworks, flags, military flyovers and solemn speeches about liberty and peace. The fireworks, at least, were historically appropriate. America was born shooting. And for most of the quarter-millennium that followed, somebody, somewhere, has been on the receiving end of American gunfire.Continue reading “The United States of America has been at war for 233 of its 250 years”

By James J. Devine Donald Trump’s most dangerous political idea is also his simplest: An election is legitimate only when Donald Trump wins it. Everything else follows from that premise. The lies about voting machines. The pressure on state officials. The fraudulent-elector scheme alleged by federal prosecutors. The effort to persuade Vice President Mike PenceContinue reading “Donald Trump is a severe threat to America’s process of holding elections”

His memoir reveals the late New Jersey civil rights lawyer’s determination to ensure that a disability never stood in the way of achieving success. By James J. Devine Ed Barocas was never merely “inspirational.” He was, more precisely, a formidable irritant—an institutionalized pain in the government’s neck. The distinction matters because the customary language ofContinue reading “Ed Barocas was relentless”

By James J. Devine At the end of The Wizard of Oz, Glinda told Dorothy she always had the power to go home. The ruby slippers were never the answer—they were just the reminder that what she needed was already inside her. But here’s the thing about power: knowing you have it is not theContinue reading “Dorothy always had the power to leave Oz. Why do American women refuse to escape injustice?”

By James J Devine I’m tired of winning. I’m tired of the “winning” that looks like a smoking crater where the global economy used to be. AI’m tired of a Commander-in-Chief who wouldn’t know a strategic victory if it parked itself on the White House lawn and started charging admission. Most of all, I’m tiredContinue reading “I’m tired of winning.”

By James J. Devine Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said it ‘offends’ him that Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the 9/11 ceremony, saying, “The reality is this ceremony is for the families and for America to remember historically,” and using anti-Muslim rhetoric and also sharing conspiracy theories during an interview on Newsmax. “Frankly, whateverContinue reading “Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg should have been banned from the 9/11 memorial”

By James J. Devine If loose lips sink ships, a president with a few loose screws can probably flounder the entire fleet. And what are we to make of the men and women in Washington who watch this happening—who see a moron with no naval expertise, no engineering background, and no discernible interest in nationalContinue reading “The cowards of Washington abdicate responsibility to stop tyranny”

By James J. Devine The United States celebrated its 250th birthday this year with fireworks, flags, military flyovers, and solemn speeches about liberty and peace. The fireworks, at least, were historically appropriate. America was born shooting and for most of the quarter-millennium that followed, somebody, somewhere, has been on the receiving end of American gunfire.Continue reading “America has been at war for 233 of its 250 years”

By James J. Devine Daniel Siad died before French investigators questioned him, but prosecutors say their investigation will continue as newly released records renew scrutiny of the modeling agencies, recruiters, financiers and powerful associates who repeatedly intersected with Jeffrey Epstein over decades. An independent researcher argues those connections should be examined as a potential racketeeringContinue reading “Is Epstein a racketeering case? French probe widens after death of model scout”

By James J. Devine On what would have been his 110th birthday, we are to remember First Sergeant Leonard Alfred Funk Jr.—paratrooper, Medal of Honor recipient, slayer of Nazis, and the original Antifa operative that every pearl-clutching conservative pretends never existed. Make no mistake: the United States Army in 1944 was the most formidable anti-fascist organization onContinue reading “Happy birthday, First Sergeant Leonard Alfred Funk Jr.”

By James J. Devine The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has plunged to levels not seen since the Carter administration began filling it up as the Trump administration’s disastrous conflict with Iran continues to drain the nation of blood, treasure, and its emergency energy reserves. Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday shows thatContinue reading “America is running on empty as Trump drains oil reserves down to 44-year low”

By James J Devine There is a war on. American sailors are in harm’s way. And the president of the United States — the commander in chief — is busy playing interior decorator with the world’s most expensive warships. Let that sink in. According to multiple reports, Donald Trump has demanded that the Navy redesignContinue reading “Trump’s fleet face-lift puts form over firepower for “The Aesthetic Admiral””

By James J. Devine The war launched against Iran is a strategic and political blunder of immense proportions. It is a war shaped more by bluster than by strategy—a conflict in which the president declared victory almost immediately, only to demonstrate that he had no clearly defined objective. The principal justification for the war, however,Continue reading “Iran could build a nuclear bomb, but religious zealots believe mass murder is wrong”

By James J. Devine The spectacle unfolding once again from the White House is a familiar one: a grainy rerun of a film we have all seen before. It is the spectacle of the world’s most powerful nation, frightened by shadows and tilting at windmills, with the American president and his Israeli counterpart at theContinue reading “The policy of a bully cloaked in the garb of a statesman reveals he is a liar & a fool”

By James J. Devine What would happen if we put a bunch of greedy, penny-pinching morons in charge of the world’s richest and most powerful country? They may devalue the dollar, alienate our allies, or perhaps start a war that causes the military to run out of ammunition… We appear to be at a momentContinue reading “The gang that couldn’t shoot straight seems to have run out of ammunition”