New Jersey's Filth, Failures, and Flaws.

February 20, 2016 at 3:15 P.M. I may have to visit New Jersey, briefly, to collect some papers. If I were to be arrested for J-walking on this occasion, then shot for trying to escape from the police, I doubt that any federal criminal investigations of persons in New Jersey would be terminated. 

I will not greet (or chat with) anyone during this visit. 

At issue in this matter is the integrity of New Jersey's courts as well as the legitimacy of America's legal system. 

In a nation and state where African-Americans (and others) are often shot and killed -- like dogs in the street -- for public officials in Trenton to continue to be protected from all liability for their crimes and unethical conduct is disgusting because it makes a fraud of our criminal laws and ethics rules, Mr. Rabner, Mr. Christie, New Jersey and New York prosecutors. 

No response to (or denials of) the accusations, evidence, and information supplied to the authorities -- who seem to be concerned, evidently and exclusively, to protect persons in New Jersey -- has been received by me. 

The whole world is watching. Access to my profile is often blocked. I endure the usual censorship and harassment in writing these essays. 

I will be continuing my writing at Critical Vision, eventually at Philosopher's Quest and Mind Games, until I can create a new blog online. 

As new scandals arise in New Jersey, all three of the branches of government are afflicted with disgrace because even more officials face arrest and criminal charges. 

I will focus in this essay upon all of the branches of government in N.J. that are now subject to new federal investigations -- despite computer crime making writing and/or revising very difficult today -- including additional accusations against Mr. Christie from his own former subordinate(s) and a statewide scandal involving criminal fraud aimed against insurance companies featuring the participation of lawyers and doctors as well as politicians, casting doubt on the integrity of the state's judiciary from the Supreme Court down to Municipal Courts. ("New Jersey's Political and Judicial Whores.") 

Continued lies and cover-ups in matters pertaining to me in which the Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) has obstructed justice by falsifying evidence and lying about it, as well as by withholding materials that should have been shown to me, in light of the information provided to federal and N.Y. prosecutors, makes it uncertain whether the truth will ever be disclosed, voluntarily, by Trenton officials who are now desperate to insulate themselves from liability. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")  

Among N.J. officials implicated in these new scandals with a role in matters pertaining to me are: Felix Roque, Albio Sires (Mr. Roque's so-called political "Daddy"), Senator Menendez (whose difficulties are increasing), Mr. Christie, and Chief Justice Rabner who presides with sublime inattention (or incompetence) over a sadly failed legal system. 

Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Codey, both lawyers, have failed the unions and public employees who supported them for years and who now must hold them responsible for a fraudulent deal with the governor. These men and many other distinguished members of the bar and legal ethics officials have been accused, publicly, of lying and frauds. ("Stuart Rabner's Selective Sense of Justice" and "Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?" then "Is Stephen M. Sweeney, Esq. a Liar?")

To protect crooked judges or politicians in New Jersey in these very public matters is a terrible mistake that undermines the integrity of the entire U.S. legal system. There is no legal system on earth where the failure by all prosecutors and law enforcement agencies contacted to respond to serious evidence and accusations of criminality that are made public can be interpreted as anything other than massive corruption and/or incompetence that makes a lie of our rights and laws. ("An Open Letter to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Esq.") 

It is vitally important for justice to be done and to be seen to be done in this case.

A list of 100 sources relevant to this essay and current events in New Jersey (and beyond) will be attached to this essay in the days ahead if I am able to overcome computer warfare to continue writing at this blog.

Alterations of the text by hackers from New Jersey may take place at any time.  

Jeff Green, "4 Charged in Alleged Health Care Scam: Passaic Chiropractor Among Targets of Probe," The Record, June 5, 2015, p. L-1. (A statewide fraud scheme targeting insurers on the part of lawyers, judges, doctors and politicians has been broken-up. More targets will be announced in the days and weeks to come. "New Jersey is the Home of Living Dead" and "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.")

Mike Kelly, "America's Rabbi Making Political Waves: Biotech Foundation Drawing Cash and Controversy," The Record, May 26, 2015, p. A-1. (Mr. Menendez and Mr. Christie are recipients of "humanitarian" awards from a New Jersey-based "alleged" Israeli front-group aligned with a person calling himself "Terry Tuchin." "An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin ["Arthur Goldberg"?] and Diana Lisa Riccioli" and "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")

Thomas Zambito, "Menendez Trial to Stay in N.J., Judge Decides," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 17. ("Rejecting a bid to move corruption case to D.C., jurist cites the senator's deep political ties to Jersey.")

It appears that Mr. Menendez will lose his effort for a complete severance of trials between his matter and Dr. Melgen's case. These early motion outcomes make it more likely that Mr. Menendez will be convicted and, if convicted, he will serve at least 10 years under federal sentencing guidelines, depending on the exact charges of which he is found guilty.

Jay Weaver, "Menendez Ally is Let Out of Jail Before Fraud Trial: Bail Amount Not Yet Determined," The Record, June 9, 2015, p. A-7. (Dr. Melgen will be "joining" Mr. Menendez before a federal judge and jury. Bail may be in the millions. Dr. Melgen may have agreed to cooperate to some extent with the feds. Dr. Melgen has "agreed" to tie-up all of his assets in the bail package making a sudden departure unlikely.)

Kate Zernike, "Ex-Official Says Christie Broke Grand Jury Law," The New York Times, June 8, 2015, p. A18. (It is a federal crime to disclose aspects of a sealed grand jury proceeding. Mr. Christie may have made such disclosures in the presence of more than one subordinate.) 

Christopher Baxter, "Mayor Indicted in Kickback Scheme Worth About $250,000," The Star-Ledger, June 10, 2015, p. 17. (Felix Roque -- whatever happened to his alleged C.I.A. friends? -- and Albio Sires, the mayor's so-called partner in crime, may have to answer questions concerning their roles in my life-story and insulting statements said to have been made by Mr. Roque about me and persons close to me. This incident of kickbacks for referrals may be connected to the "accident scams" against insurance companies that were made to pay for expensive and unnecessary MRI tests. Was Armando Hernandez, Esq. -- my old friend -- among the persons sending and receiving "referrals" to these doctors in accident cases for a small fee? Jose Ginarte, Esq.? Has Mr. Ginarte been disbarred? Mr. Edgar Navarete?)

Lindy Washburn, "Mayor Indicted in Medical Scam: Hudson Official Allegedly Got Paid for Referrals," The Record, June 10, 2015, p. L-1. (West New York officials -- including new Municipal Court Judge Mr. Hernandez? -- are associated with various scams still under federal investigation by multiple government agencies.)

Linh That, "DPW Misconduct: North Bergen Witness Said 2 Underlings Helped Him," The Record, June 11, 2015, p. L-1. (Officials in North Bergen guilty of corruption were assisted by town employees who are now also targets of new investigations. In addition to the state investigations of Mr. Cabrera and/or Mr. Martinez, more of the regulars from the area are looking at real time in cases that cannot be "fixed" by Big Nicky Sacco and/or Bob Menendez. "Jay Romano and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey" and "North Bergen, New Jersey is the Home of La Cosa Nostra.") 

Kate Zernike, "Court Rules Christie Can Skip Pension Payments," The New York Times, June 10, 2015, p. A23. (Christie LIED when he promised a "full payment" -- that was his phrase! -- into employee pension funds only to violate his promise by making a half-full payment. The Supreme Court in Trenton, as usual, did not care about the unions or the "little people," as Jaynee LaVecchia would say, nor about the governor's now proven lies as a member of the bar. The Supreme Court was intimidated, politically, and failed to protect citizens. "New Jersey Supreme Court's Implosion" and "New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Faces Ethics Charges.")

"Mr. Wildstein's statement, in a civil case separate from the federal prosecution in the bridge case, offers the first insider confirmation of a long-rumored tale of New Jersey political corruption [emphasis added] and places Mr. Christie at the center of it. It also portrays the governor, a former United States Attorney, [and a member in good standing of the New Jersey Bar Association today,] casually revealing information about a grand jury proceeding he had overseen, which violates federal law." (N.Y. Times, 6-8-15, p. A18, emphasis added.)

It is curious that during the very week when David Wildstein, Esq., a former Port Authority official and "friend" of David Samson, Esq., also the admitted mastermind of the bridge access-lane closings, accused Mr. Christie of violating federal law and lying about it by denying the violation, the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed Mr. Christie to lie, AGAIN, to unions and get away with it by breaching his promise to make legally-required payments into pension funds after deducting funds from employee paychecks to do so. ("David Samson, Esq. Resigns.")

Mr. Wildstein's remarks seemed to indicate that other persons were present when Mr. Christie made these criminal disclosures:

" ... in June, 2010, Mr. Wildstein met in the governor's private office with Mr. Christie and others, [emphasis added] including Bill Baroni, then his [Mr. Wildstein's] boss and Mr. Christie's top appointee at the Port Authority; Michelle Brown, then [from] the governor's division of appointments; and Richard Bagger, then Mr. Christie's Chief of Staff." (N.Y. Times, 6-8-15, p. A18, emphasis added.)

These persons, presumably, also heard Mr. Christie's criminal identification of a witness who testified before a federal grand jury and his political motivations for making an appointment that would require the appointee to "get rid of" his "war chest," that is, money that could go to N.J. Democratic candidates and issues. 

The governor was, in effect, using public funds and positions of trust as perks to advance a partisan Republican agenda at the people's expense and in violation of his own ethical standards. (Again: "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "Christie's Bridge of Sighs.") 

The disgraceful performance and cowardice on the part of the tainted New Jersey Supreme Court and Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) only further tarnishes the soiled legal profession and judiciary of America's "leading" mafia or so-called "Soprano State":

" ... the 'Jersey Comeback' the governor promoted has failed to materialize -- the state economy has lagged behind his forecasts, and behind neighboring states and the nation -- Mr. Christie said [this excused] the payments he promised in the law. [emphasis added] That has left New Jersey with one of the nation's largest pension liabilities, and a record NINE credit downgrades from Wall Street rating agencies." (N.Y. Times, 6-10-15, p. A23, emphasis added.)

New Jersey ranks below many Third World states in credit worthiness and has achieved levels of corruption that make FIFA look like the Vatican by comparison. ("New Jersey is the Home of the Living Dead.")

On the other hand, New Jersey has been great for Exxon and other major polluters and, for insurance defense firms refusing to pay compensation to accident victims and/or to persons dying from cancers caused by illegal pollution. 

In terms of the legal ethics consequences of the Supreme Court's failure to protect N.J. public workers (possibly because of fear of political consequences or corruption) and new accusations of lies, broken promises, as well as the commission of a new federal crime by Governor Christie, the only conclusion must be that (to quote a dissenting justice) there will be a "loss of public trust" in the law that is "staggering." ("Is Christopher Christie 'Mentally Deranged' and a 'Liar'?" and "Christie Gives a Donor $1 Million of New Jersey Money.")

"Staggering" is certainly the right word for ethical failures in a state whose judiciary and legal profession have been described, allegedly, by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as "embarrassing" to America: 

"The mayor of West New York, an anesthesiologist and a former Army officer who swept into office four years ago as a 'reformer,' has been indicted on charges that he accepted CASH -- including election campaign contributions -- in exchange for referrals for high-priced imaging scans." (The Record, 6-10-15, p. L-1, emphasis added.)

Mayor Felix Roque is rumored to be close to Congressman Albio Sires (R) and New Jersey's indicted Senator Bob Menendez (D) as well as presiding over West New York's disgraced police department whose former Chief, Mr. Oriente, served federal prison time and has often been seen following me on my walks in Manhattan. Mr. Roque is alleged to have received ...

" ... $250,000 from [indicted scam artist] Ray Zubari from 2007 to 2012, according to the state. Some of the payments he received were personally delivered by Zubari [bags of cash, no cocaine?] to the mayor's office in Town Hall, the indictment said. Others were disguised as campaign contributions, the state alleged." (The Record, 6-10-15, p. L-1, emphasis added.)

It is not clear whether Mr. Roque (or his former CIA friends who have read my blogs) were sharing these "funds" with Bob Menendez and/or Albio Sires and/or Dr. Melgen perhaps. ("Menendez Croney's Office Raided.")

However, it is certainly clear that Mr. Menendez's political organization in Hudson County is being destroyed, piece-by-piece, by the feds and that there is much more coming for the Hudson Machine. ("Does Senator Menendez Have Mafia Friends?" and "Menendez Charged With Selling His Office.")

"Mayor Roque put his personal wealth and political career ahead of his patients' needs," 

The acting state attorney general, John J. Hoffman, said: 

"We are intent upon ensuring that a medical practitioner's professional opinion is not for sale in New Jersey." (The Record, 6-10-15, p. L-1.)

The selling of professional opinions in New Jersey is reserved for lawyers and judges. ("New Jersey's Tainted Legal Ethics" and "New Jersey's Politically-Connected Lawyers On the Tit.")

Mr. Roque made insulting comments not only about me, but also about some racial groups in New Jersey and America. 

This loathsome behavior by Mr. Roque allows me to ignore his comments disapproving of me as the "despicable lies of a despicable liar." 

Do you speak to me of "ethics," New Jersey? ("Is America's legal ethics a lie?")

Sources:

Ross Bultner, "Speaker's Tab Includes Cars, Clubs and 'Other,'" The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A1. (Mr. Sheldon Silver's friends at the Times strike back at new speaker Carl Heastie.)

Scott Shane, "Drone Victims' Families File a Federal Law Suit," The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A7. (Are drone strikes deliberately killing innocent civilians a slight violation of international law, Mr. Obama? As anticipated the law suit was dismissed; another is being brought by different victims of these weapons, both within the U.S. legal system and before international tribunals.)

Somini Segupta, "List of Abuses Bypasses Israel and Hamas," The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A9. (Protecting Israel by denying the obvious undermines the credibility of the UN and the General Secretary. What this protection of Israel -- due to American and Israeli lobbying -- tells persons who feel aggrieved is that there is no peaceful mechanism for the expression of legitimate outrage at terrible crimes. The result will be more terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere. Hamas being protected from international criticism in order to equate Israeli actions with those of the terrorist organization makes things worse.)

Noel Remnick, "Released After 27 Years An Ex-Inmate is Mindful of a Detective's Cases," The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A18. (Shabara Shakur, 50, served 27 years for a murder everyone now agrees he did not commit because of fabricated evidence by a police officer who sought to increase his "success" in prosecutions following arrests. "John McGill, Esq., the OAE, and New Jersey Corruption" and "Crooked Cop Lies to Convict People.")

Michael Schwirtz & Michael Winerip, "Man Held at Riker's Jail For 3 Years Without Trial Commits Suicide at 22," The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A20. (What happened to due process of law? Another African-American life thrown away by the U.S. legal system. "Driving While Black [DWB] in New Jersey" and "Albert Florence and New Jersey's Racism.")

Benjamin Wieser, "De Blasio Administration Urging New Jersey to Reject Exxon Pollution Settlement," The New York Times, June 9, 2015, p. A20. (N.J.'s "paid-for" governor is protecting Exxon at the expense of the people of the Garden State. Perhaps efforts are being made from New Jersey to generate -- or aggravate -- controversy between Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo.)

Monica Davey, "Chicago Pays $5 Million Over Killing of Teenager," The New York Times, April 16, 2015, p. A15. (One of TWENTY questionable shootings of African-Americans by police in the nation over a typical 7-day period. There may have been more shootings, assaults, false arrests, body searches of young African-Americans, who have committed no crimes, during this same period. "So Black and So Blue in Prison.")

Benjamin Muller, "Outside Judge is Named For Police Shooting Case," The New York Times, April 16, 2015, p. A17. (It is necessary to go outside the local judiciary -- as in New Jersey -- because judges are "close" to police and prosecutors. Otherwise, police will be protected -- again, as in New Jersey -- even in cases of murder in South Carolina and elsewhere when shooters are cops and victims are African-Americans. Fire-bombing an African-American church should surprise no one in the home of the KKK. Lyndsey Graham is from South Carolina but has not been heard, publicly, on these matters. So far, 7 African-American churches have been firebombed or torched. "Is Lyndsey Graham, Esq. an Enemy Combatant?")

Michael Barbaro, "Even in New Hampshire, 'Bridgegate' Dogs Christie," The New York Times, April 16, 2015, p. A19. (Mr. Christie is at 1% among Republicans. He is at 0% with me. For the first time that I can recall a New York Times editorial, politely, suggested that Mr. Christie -- on the day after his announcement for the Republican nomination -- has difficulties telling the truth and should not be president. It is unusual for such a strong statement to be made by a major American media outlet so early in the process, but it is a sentiment already being echoed by others. )

"Governor Christie's Phony Truth-Telling," (Editorial) The New York Times, July 1, 2015, p. A28. ("There are lines between brash and belligerent, between open and obnoxious, and most important, between 'telling it like it is' and not telling the truth. Mr. Christie crosses those lines all the time, [emphasis added] as Tom Moran, the editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger of Newark, DOCUMENTED in a blistering catalog of Mr. Christie's lies. ..." [emphasis added!] Blatant lying by members of the bar -- such as Mr. Christie, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Rabner through his silence, and John McGill, Esq. of the OAE, as well as many others -- undermines the credibility of all lawyers in New Jersey to the extent that they have any credibility left. "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics" and "New Jersey's Politically-Connected Lawyers On the Tit.") 

Steve Edel & Michael Barbaro, "Rubio Career Bedeviled by Financial Struggles: A Senator Dogged by Debts, Lapses and Losses," The New York Times, June 10, 2015, p. A1. ($800,000 rescue from a "publisher" and a billionaire friend turns a bankrupt failure into an overnight success. Has Mr. Rubio been "bought" like Bob Menendez? "Marco Rubio Lies About His Past" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")

Shaila Dewan, "Poor, Accused and Punished by Bail System: Critics Point to Debt and Ruined Lives," The New York Times, June 11, 2015, p. A1. (The "crimes" of punishment and race in America's legal system illustrate our economic inequality as well as its burdens throughout our society. Few impoverished African-American defendants in the criminal law system are "rescued" by billionaire admirers. "Freedom For Mumia Abu-Jamal" and "Justice For Mumia Abu-Jamal" then "Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meaning(s) of Prison.") 

Shawn Boburg & Peter J. Sampson, "Defense Team May Call Christie: Kelly and Baroni Plead Not Guilty in GWB Case," The Record, May 5, 2015, p. A-1. (New difficulties arise for Mr. Christie who will probably be accused of further lying and may be subject to cross-examination by defense counsel. The presidential run for a politician facing these kinds of troubles is a truly Quixotic venture. Mr. Christie's campaign may be a way to avoid facing or trying to resolve the issues arising in New Jersey for its absent governor.)

Mike Kelly, "Governor's Ex-Allies Look to Change the Narrative," The Record, May 5, 2015, p. A-1. (Did Christie's aides have no choice about what they did? If so, who did have a choice or initiate the policy that resulted in the crisis at the GWB? On what other matters is New Jersey's governor "clueless" or "out of the loop"?)

"Politics of the GWB: The People of Fort Lee Were Just Pawns," (Editorial) The Record, May 5, 2015, p. A-8. (Will Mr. Mastro say on behalf of Governor Christie: "It wasn't about the people of Fort Lee!" Did Menendez and Christie see me as a "pawn" in their power-games?) 

Brent Johnson, "First Lady Concedes Enthusiasm Has Dropped for a 2016 Bid," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 3. (What happened to Mr. Christie's campaign for U.S. President? Mr. Christie was not "stronger than the storm"? Chaos and confusion seem to define Mr. Christie's campaign indicating that a Christie presidential administration would be Nixon-like in its "bunker mentality" and frequent liberties with the law and truth.)

Louise C. Hochman, "Judge Indicted on Charges That She Hindered Apprehension of Boyfriend," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 13. (Suspended Middlesex County Superior Court Judge CARLIA M. BRADY has been indicted on charges that she protected her boyfriend after being told by an officer of an outstanding warrant against him. Yes, Judge Brady's first name appears to be "Carlia" -- unless the press got it wrong. Is Estela De La Cruz still a Superior Court Judge despite her undenied fondness for prostitutes and possible RAPE of Marilyn Straus? Who asked you to act against me from behind my back, Estela? Menendez? "Marilyn Straus Was Right!" and "Diana's Friend Goes to Prison!") 

Christopher Baxter, "Poll Finds Sharp Divide in Belief That Authorities Will Act Fairly," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 14. (As many as 75% of N.J. residents believe, accurately, that race or politics -- corruption? -- and other illicit factors will alter or determine police and prosecutorial responses, or non-responses, as well as the actions of state judges. This means that legitimacy has been lost in New Jersey's legal system: "An Open Letter to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Esq." and "Albert Florence and New Jersey's Racism.") 

S.P. Sullivan, "Documents Raise New Questions in State's Exxon Deal," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 17. (It appears that the infamous Exxon deal was the result of "undue influence" exerted against the state's "compromised" governor. Is this New Jersey's legal ethics, Mr. Rabner? Again: "John McGill, Esq., the OAE, and New Jersey Corruption" and "New Jersey's KKK Police Shocker" and "Organized Crime Group in New Jersey's State Police.")

Bill Wichert, "School Board Quietly Fires Teacher Over Letter to a 'Cop Killer'," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 25. (Teacher whose students wrote to Mumia Abu-Jamal is fired, whereas Maria Martinez is made Principal of Leonia's Middle School, allegedly, partly as a reward for services rendered to Mr. Menendez and/or the OAE against me, despite her fraudulent disability claims in New York. I wonder who approached you, Maria? Gilberto Garcia? John McGill? Diana Lisa Riccioli? Has Mr. Garcia been disbarred? Mary Anne Kriko? How about Estela De La Cruz, Maria? Was Ms. De La Cruz your "friend," Maria, even as she was seeking assistance against me? Diana Lisa Riccioli? Your neighbor "Terry Tuchin"? Bob Menendez and/or Lilian Munoz? "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest!")

Ben Horowitz, "Educator Pleads Not Guilty in Sex Abuse Case," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 28. ("A former Roxbury High School Assistant Principal pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that he sexually touched  a teenage boy who lived with him on a part-time basis." Roger Schneider, 55, is looking at prison time, but claims that he knows Richard J. Codey "personally.")

"Prosecutor Ordered to Turn Over 11 Years of Dash Cam Videos," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 28. (A judge in Middlesex County ordered the County Prosecutor to turn over 11 years of dash cam videos in a transparency case. I continue to receive no response other than "no comment" from any authorities concerning my requests for the truth to which I am legally entitled from New Jersey. Not even denials or discussions of the facts, nor explicit refusals to proceed with an investigation, simply, "no comment." This suggests, strongly, a clear attempt to protect someone in Trenton in violation of the law and ethics rules. Again: "An Open Letter to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Esq.")

Ben Horowitz, "Kickbacks Ringleader Could Implicate Dozens," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 28. (Ray Zubari is the new Solomon Dwek. After pleading guilty to paying kickbacks to lawyers, doctors, politicians and judges, probably, Mr. Zubari has begun "cooperating" with the state to shorten his sentence. Dr. Melgen? "Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?")  

Erin O'Neill, "Sandy Victims Plan Statehouse Protest," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 28. (Victims of "Superstorm Sandy" protest disappearing funds and lack of assistance that was "promised" by Mr. Christie. Mr. Christie's record of keeping promises is shaky at the moment. New Jersey's governor refuses to assist residents of the state who are not the Exxon corporation or other millionaire contributors to the Republican party.)

Mary Ann Spoto, "Police: Man Sexually Assaulted Teenage Girl," The Star-Ledger, May 14, 2015, p. 28. (Michael A. Traynor, 27, was charged with assault on a 14-year-old girl, just like Bob Menendez, allegedly. "New Jersey Lesbian Sends Nude Photos to Minor" and "Menendez Consorts With Underage Prostitutes.")

Peter J. Sampson, "Medical Bribe Scheme Reached a Grand Scale," The Record, May 27, 2015, p. A-1. (Lab paid doctors and lawyers -- probably MANY judges and politicians were in on the scams! -- and got rich from referrals. This is an ongoing story that is only beginning to unfold in New Jersey. "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "Cement is Gold!")

"Cost of Passaic Politics: Taxpayers foot the bill for raises, freeholder lawsuit," (Editorial) The Record, May 27, 2015, p. A-10. (New Jersey residents lose, again, as politicians award themselves a raise for doing an "outstanding" job. Again: "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.") 

"Protecting Patients: More Questions Raised About Ragi Case," (Editorial) The Record, May 27, 2015, p. A-10. (Medical doctor sexually assaulted victims/patients under his care. Will Dr. Ragi go to prison? "Terry Tuchin"? Diana Lisa Riccioli? "New Jersey Lesbian Professor Rapes a Disabled Man.")

Peter J. Sampson, "Child-Porn Sharer Gets 6&1/2 Years in Prison: Wayne Resident Says He Grew Up Thinking Images Were Normal," The Record, May 27, 2015, p. L-1. (Bob Menendez-supporter and alleged friend, MANUEL FERNANDEZ, 34, could face deportation to Costa Rica after his 6&1/2 years in prison. Is this the same person with the byline "Manny Fernandez" at the Times? "Everybody does it!" Mr. Fernandez is alleged to have explained. "Union City New Jersey is Meyer Lansky's Whore House.")

Stephanie Dazio, "Police Seeking Man Who Netted $100,000 in ATM Tampering," The Record, May 14, 2015, p. L-3. (A man who used a "skimmer" device stole about $100,000, but may receive a humanitarian award from America's rabbi. "New Jersey's Feces-Covered Supreme Court.")

Salvador Rizzo, "Decision Day for Pension Dispute: Ruling Looms as Dire Warnings Over Budget Emerge," The Record, June 9, 2015, p. A-1. (Mr. Christie's $32.5 BILLION budget is about $9 BILLION short, in real dollars as opposed to Trenton's "Monopoly Money," even with a favorable Supreme Court decision.)

Melissa Hayes, "Ex-Christie Aide is Fined $500 for Email Violations: Told Spouse About State Business," The Record, June 9, 2015, p. A-3. (Ms. Renna will pay $500 for an "indiscreet" email that, unethically, disclosed government meetings that would make her late in getting home to her husband who may have worried about her. Mr. Christie's disclosure of grand jury information in violation of federal criminal laws will be ignored by ethics officials and prosecutors. Perhaps this is an excellent example of New Jersey's legal ethics. "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")   

"Help For Victims of College Frauds," (Editorial) The New York Times, June 11, 2015, p. A26. (Professors falsifying credentials and accepting money to insult or manipulate students whom they sexually violate as "false mentors" is only one kind of fraud. More prevalent is fraud in the presentation of course materials that are slanted, ideologically, whether for the Right or Left, or to coincide with the politically correct views of particular trendy faculty members of any and/or all genders. "America's Nursery School Campus" and "Whatever.")

Victoria Burnett, [Lizette Alvarez a.k.a. "Manohla Dargis,"] "Cubans Try For a Piece of the Outsourcing Pie," The New York Times, June 12, 2015, p. A4. (I am denied access to the Internet from my home; 2 personal computers have been destroyed by N.J. hackers. I live in N.Y. Cubans may have greater computer access and freedom than I do. Is this the "freedom of speech" favored by the odious Mr. Rubio? Lourdes Santiago, can you shed any light on these crimes? "Marco Rubio Lies About His Past.")

Don Bilesky, "Comments On Women in the Lab Sour Outcry," The New York Times, June 12, 2015, p. A4. ("A Nobel laureate has resigned as honorary professor at University College[,] London[,] after saying that female scientists should be segregated from male colleagues because women cry when criticized and are a romantic distraction in the laboratory." Women may be a "romantic distraction" elsewhere than in the laboratory; but men may also be a romantic distraction for heterosexual women in the laboratory and elsewhere. I suggest that men and women, equally, refrain from wearing provocative clothing in laboratory settings or revealing shapely legs. "'The Stepford Wives': A Movie Review.") 

"A Pill to Boost Female Libido," (Editorial) The New York Times, June 12, 2015, p. A26. (Will this "boosting" of female libido be allowed in the laboratory? Are we sending contradictory signals to women concerning "displays" of sexuality or erotic energy? Like most women, as a male person, I feel quite sufficiently "boosted" sexually speaking.)

Richard Perez-Pena, "Black or White? Woman's Story Stirs Up [sic.] a Furor," The New York Times, June 13, 2015, p. A1. ("Rachel A. Dolezal" identifies as "black" and "presents as black or African-American," but claims society is trying to force her into a false category, for her, as a "White" person. Is race -- like gender -- socially constructed, and/or arbitrary, or merely subjective in America? Or is racial identity determined by power and history? Who decides identity issues concerning race and gender? Government? Popular vote? Flip a coin? After all, everything is "relative" we are told. "Is Western Philosophy Racist?")

Richard Perez-Pena, "N.A.A.C.P. Chapter Leader Resigns Amid Claims She Lied About Ethnicity," The New York Times, June 16, 2015, p. A12. (Rachel Dolezal has been forced to resign as Chapter President of the N.A.A.C.P. because of intolerance of her "choices" as to racial-orientation. Isn't it all relative, racially as much as sexually? "John Finnis and Ethical Cognitivism" and "Is there a gay marriage right?")

Benedict Carey, "Science Under Scrutiny: A steady increase in study retractions has alarmed journals and researchers," The New York Times, Science Times, June 16, 2015, p. D1. (Fraud and incompetence in scholarly and scientific writings are an epidemic in today's America: "Is the universe only a numbers game?" and "Nice Babies and Bad Psychologists" then "Nihilists in Disneyworld.")   

Christopher Drew & Dave Philips, "Burnout Forces U.S. to Curtail Drone Flights," The New York Times, June 17, 2015, p. A1. (ISIS and Taliban, also Hutis, are renewed and stronger than ever partly as a result of the failure of the U.S. drone policy condemned by the world. We have killed thousands of innocent persons to make things worse in Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Oman as well as in other "secret" locations.)

Ben Hubbard, "ISIS Takes Root, Mixing Service With Strictures," The New York Times, June 17, 2015, p. A1. (Northern Syria and large sections of Iraq belong to ISIS. The Hutis are in Yemen and Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Al Qaeda is in all of these organizations and countries after 10 years of warfare. It is believed by many officials that Al Qaeda and ISIS are also within the United States of America.)

Benjamin Brewer, "Man Accused in New Jersey of Planning to Aid ISIS," The New York Times, June 19, 2015, p. A20. (Is the culprit Mr. Christie?)

David E. Sanger, Nicole Perlroth, ["Jennifer Shuessler,"] Michael D. Shear, "Attack Gave Chinese Hackers Privileged Systems," The New York Times, June 21, 2015, p. A1. (China calls it payback for U.S. computer spying and theft from their systems; the U.S. calls it Chinese computer crime. I agree with both countries. A concerted attack on the New York Stock Exchange on the part of several countries is probably being covered-up by U.S. authorities.)

Brent Johnson & Matt Arco, "Wildstein Claims Christie Revealed Grand Jury Information, Report Says," The Star-Ledger, June 9, 2015, p. 3. (If Mr. Wildstein did Mr. Christie's dirty work for years and the governor threw Wildstein "under a bus," Mr. Wildstein certainly owes Christie nothing any more. Much the same must be true for anyone who "served" Mr. Menendez's ambitions. "Boss Bob" cannot help anyone now. Help yourselves by cooperating with the feds. Donald Trump may do better than Christie in the nomination fight.) 

Susan K. Livio, "Lawyer: Founder of Gay Therapy Group ["Terry Tuchin"?] Misled About Success," The Star-Ledger, June 9, 2015, p. 5. ("Arthur Goldberg," a scam artist who is probably misusing the name of a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, founder of JONAH, may receive a humanitarian award from Rabbi Shmuely author of the "Kosher Sutra" who is self-proclaimed as "America's Rabbi," but Mr. Goldberg certainly should go to prison. "An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli.")

Samantha Marcus, "Report Finds Fault in N.J. Budget Strategies," The Star-Ledger, June 9, 2015, p. 7. (Theft, corruption, incompetence, and more frauds in Trenton: "New Jersey is the Home of the Living Dead.")

"Pension Funding: Court Rules Christie Can Reduce Payments," (Editorial) The Record, June 10, 2015, p. 1. ("Christie has little credibility left." The New Jersey Supreme Court may have less credibility than the governor: "New Jersey's Political and Supreme Court Whores" and "New Jersey's Feces-Covered Supreme Court" then "Christie Rails Against New Jersey's Corrupt Judges.")

Samantha Marcus, "A $1.6 BILLION Christie Victory," The Star-Ledger, June 10, 2015, p. 1. (Christie is allowed to rip-off the pension funds. Now what about the looming $9 BILLION gap in the budget.)

Mark Mueller, "Decision Near On Sex Charges," The Star-Ledger, June 10, 2015, p. 5. (Carol D'Annunzio, who claimed to be a lesbian, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a then 15-year-old boy. Is it O.K. when lesbians rape children or women? Perhaps only when rape victims are male is it O.K. for "feminists" to commit such crimes, right Diana Lisa Riccioli? "New Jersey is the Home of Child Molesters.")

Jeff Goldman, "Police Charge Uber Driver With Harassing a Passenger," The Star-Ledger, June 10, 2015, p. 20. (A man who locked a woman in a vehicle before fondling himself has been charged by Avalon police. Initial reports that the culprit was Senator Menendez cannot be confirmed, but the arrest of Nayal Salem, 57, of Philadelphia suggests otherwise. "Senator Bob, the Babe, and the Big Bucks" and "Menendez Consorts With Underage Prostitutes.")

Jean Rimbach, "Earlier Groping Claims Surface: Doctor Warned by State 9 Years Before First Indictment," The Record, May 26, 2015, p. A-1. (Dr. Ragi has a thing for unconscious women, like Estela De La Cruz and Diana Lisa Riccioli. Hypnosis, Dr. Ragi? "Marilyn Straus Was Right!" and "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest!")

"More Transparency: Open Government Best Serves the Public," (Editorial) The Record, June 11, 2015, p. A-12. (Stop LYING and COVERING-UP for the OAE, Mr. Rabner and New Jersey, and tell me the truth. "Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?" and "Stuart Rabner's Selective Sense of Justice.")

Stephanie Clifford, "$6.5 Million Deal for Cleared Man," The New York Times, June 24, 2015, p. A20. (Jonathan Fleming spent 24 years in prison for a crime he could not have committed because he was in a different state from the one in which the killing took place and this was provable at the time of his conviction as well as being known to the police. Ethics? "Prosecutorial Misconduct.")

Kate Zernike, "Newark Schools Chief, Picked by Christie, Is Out," The New York Times, June 23, 2015, p. A1. (Cami Anderson, 43, a Christie appointee and his latest disaster, is forced to leave office amid questions concerning the "administration" of a $100 million gift to Newark schools.)

S.P. Sullivan, "Groups Go to Court to Block Exxon Settlement," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 17. (Will the people of N.J. overcome the sweetheart deal between Christie and Exxon?)

Samantha Marcus, "Governor, Unions at Standoff After Ruling," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 17. (Unions regard Mr. Christie, accurately or allegedly, depending on your point of view, as a "pathological liar" who is not to be trusted. How will any agreement between N.J.'s "governator" and the unions be reached in the future?)

Keith Brown, "Security Guard at School Accused of Sex Assault," The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2015, p. 20. (Ross Vega-Amador, 34, a security guard at Central Trenton High School was involved in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. Sex with minors is usually reserved for teachers and administrators in New Jersey schools. "New Jersey Lesbian Sends Nude Photos to Minor" and "Diana's Friend Goes to Prison!")

Alex Napoli, "Public Employees Nabbed in Drug Sting," The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2015, p. 20. (Police officers and public officials -- possibly lawyers and judges soon -- were nabbed as part of a sting operation that may lead to more New Jersey judges. " ... the police seized $400,000 in drugs in the massive sting.")

Dave Hutchinson, "Deliberations Begin in Graphic Photo Case," The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2015, p. 20. (Alleged sexist and racist, who may have been humiliated in a public debate against me, W. Brian Stack, Esq., "prosecuted' Thomas Blumberg, 57, who disseminated lewd images and who may have tried to sexually assault a minor. Is Mr. Stack one of the persons who was also "Malbus"? Is there a secret life for Mr. Stack on-line? Rematch, Brian?)

Mathew Winter, "Why New Jersey Lost the Confidence of Investors," The Record, June 16, 2015, p. A-9. (Corruption, incompetence, public lies, organized crime influence and tainted courts help to explain N.J.'s difficulties with finances. Is this New Jersey's legal ethics? The poor pay a price for the corruption and ineptitude of politicians and judges? "New Jersey Supreme Court's Implosion.") 

Minjae Park, "Hackensack Man Accused of Assaulting Boy, 14: Alleged Victim Told School Counselor," The Record, June 11, 2015, p. L-2. (It may be that these individuals -- more than one of the men sexually assaulted the boy -- will be protected unless there is public scrutiny: MANUEL J. ZUMBLA-CHOMBLY, 36, and EDWIN SANGORIMA, 19, like to rape 14-year-old boys and claim to know Bob Menendez. "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?")

Ted Sherman, "Financial Woes Deal a Blow to N.J. Colleges: Moody's Downgrades the Credit Ratings of Some [N.J.] Universities, Warns Others On Outlooks," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 1. (The financial catastrophe that is New Jersey government has affected the state's colleges and universities, private and public, so as to devalue degrees received by students. Merely being in New Jersey "devalues" your education and degree if you are going to school in the Garden State.)

Ben Horowitz, "In Recording, Attorney Says Prosecutor is 'In My Pocket,'" The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 3. ("A Morristown attorney claimed in a recorded conversation that Morristown Prosecutor FREDERIC KNAPP is 'in my pocket.' ..." Much the same has been said of N.J. Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner by Solomon Dwek. The attorney making this statement -- who is not the subject of ethics proceedings and who has "business" in other counties -- is WILLIAM LAUFER, ESQ. who may serve on the N.J. legal ethics committee. This sort of pronouncement, often accurate, is not unusual in New Jersey's legal circles. Is this what the OAE means by "legal ethics"? More attorneys, apparently, have been recorded in their offices, along with judges in their chambers, with surprising results. Perhaps the OAE will alter transcripts of such recordings? "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics" and "John McGill, Esq., the OAE, and New Jersey Corruption.")

"Christie in Wonderland: Making Up a Lie About Court's Pension Ruling," (Editorial) The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 18. (Mr. Christie faces MORE accusations of lying and fraud from his fellow attorneys and colleagues in politics, from both parties, in New Jersey. New Jersey's governor is about to declare his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States of America. Are these "habits" of untruthfulness and fraud Mr. Christie's "Republican family values" that are reflective of N.J. legal ethics? May we expect more daily lies, frauds, insolvency in New Jersey thanks to Mr. Christie?)

"There he goes again. Governor Christie went on national television Sunday morning and did violence to the truth, this time on pension reform. If only the national audience knew him like we do." (TSL, 6-17-15, p. 18.)

V. Coleman, "Police Captain, Ex-Cop Charged in Data Theft," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 20. (Further police and prosecutor misconduct and LYING as well as computer crime in New Jersey. Captain ANTHONY BUONO, alleged "capo" of the Genovese crime family, fittingly enough, was arrested in connection with an alleged data theft and computer crime scheme. "Censorship and Cruelty in New Jersey.")

Noah Cohen, "More Than $16,000 Seized in Heroin Arrest," The Star-Ledger, June 17, 2015, p. 20. (Further organized crime activity that may involve local police is reflected in this story. About $3,000 may not have been listed as "collected" at the scene and could have "disappeared" after cops "seized" the money. Strange?)

Samantha Marcus, "Pension Plan's Toll On Jersey Schools," The Star-Ledger, June 18, 2015, p. 1. (Christie could not care less about teachers, their union, or the schools.)

"A Jersey Morality Tale," (Editorial) The Star-Ledger, June 18, 2015, p. 24. (More frauds against insurance companies with the assistance of attorneys and doctors in addition to the matters involving Mr. Roque and others. Things must be tough in personal injury practice these days if lawyers are resorting such scams.)

Rob Spahr, "Township Man is Accused in Sexual Assaults of 4 Girls," The Star-Ledger, June 18, 2015, p. 24. (A Tom's River resident, DANIEL ROY PLUMMER, 34, was arrested for sexually assaulting 4 underage young girls. Bail was set at $250,000, no 10%, and Mr. Plummer was only 1 member of a possible "group" of fellow enthusiasts, allegedly. Several of the victims may have been under 10-years-old. "New Jersey is the Home of Child Molesters" and "Edward M. De Sear, Esq. and New Jersey's Filth.")

Anthony G. Alterino, "11-Year-Old Boy Goes Missing After he Leaves School," The Star-Ledger, June 18, 2015, p. 24. (New Jersey continues to be the most dangerous state in the nation for children. Brian Delacruz has vanished from Perth Amboy, New Jersey and is sought by police. "Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?" and "New Jersey Welcomes Child Molesters!")  

Dustin Racioppi, "Lottery to Fall Short Again Under Private Operator: Despite Record Sales, Budget Goals Won't be Met," The Record, June 19, 2015, p. A-6. (Mysteriously, creative accounting cannot conceal or explain vast sums of money that seem to be "missing" from the lottery in New Jersey. "Mafia Influence in New Jersey Courts and Politics" and "More Mafia Influence in New Jersey Courts and Politics.")

Kibret Marcos, "Six in Lucchese Crime Family Plead Guilty of Racketeering," The Record, June 19, 2015, p. L-1. ("In an enterprise that ranged from a multi-billion dollar gambling ring to a prison drug-running scheme involving the Bloods street gang, six Lucchese crime family members pleaded guilty and more convictions are pending." Obviously, police and prosecutors are part of this operation in New Jersey. Judges are also, usually, on the mob's payroll.)   

Matt Arco & Ted Sherman, "Stop Presses: Gov. Christie Finally Ready to Enter Race," The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2015, p. 1. (New Jersey's now admitted "lying governor" will seek the U.S. presidency as he faces new or additional ethics and criminal investigations. This is clearly the man we need as president. At the moment Mr. Christie trails the Republican pack.)

Tom Morgan, "With Christie in the Race, Jersey is Also the Loser," The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2015, p. 1. (" ... the real problem with this campaign, which he's expected to announce Tuesday, is that New Jersey is the sure loser.")

Steve Strunsky, "P.A. Hikes New Jersey Rent -- By 875,000%," The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2015, p. 5. 

"In February, 2012, the board of commissioners [sic.] of the Port Authority voted to let N.J. Transit use the lot essentially for free."

I wonder why they would be so generous?

"The arrangement raised concerns among some because the Port Authority's chairman [sic.] at the time was David Samson and his law firm, then known as Wolff & Samson, had been retained by N.J. Transit to help maximize revenue from its park-and-ride lots."

By paying Samson's law firm -- which probably "took care of" Mr. Samson -- N.J. Transit saved a fortune from the costs of the lot; Mr. Samson got rich from using his public position to send business to his firm. Corruption? Conflict of interest? Theft? Mr. Samson was protected from criminal consequences and ethics liability. I am sure that David Samson will show his appreciation to Chief Justice Rabner for all his help. A legal ethics system that winks at such crimes, but goes after radical defense lawyers, is a lie and a farce. This is what the world calls "hypocrisy." ("Is America's Legal Ethics a Lie?" and "David Samson, Esq. Resigns.")

Susan K. Livio, "Jury: Gay Therapy Claims a Fraud," The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2015, p. 13. ("Arthur Goldberg" a.k.a. "Terry Tuchin" a.k.a. "David Cohen" is found to be a fraud and a liar. This person -- who presumably has a real name! -- can no longer be protected by Ms. Poritz. Will the truth about this JONAH group's activities finally be known? Rape. Theft. Assaults. Will anyone go to prison for these crimes? "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" then "Marilyn Straus Was Right!" and "Diana's Friend Goes to Prison.")

"Christie, Democrats Share the Blame For New Jersey's Crashing Credit," (Editorial) The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2015, p. 14. (New Jersey heads towards insolvency, also towards further investigations as well as more corruption in Trenton.)

Matt Arco, "For Christie's Approval Ratings, Poll Numbers Are at An All-Time Low," The Star-Ledger, June 24, 2015, p. 3. ("Gov. Chris Christie's job approval rating has hit a record low in New Jersey ..." Should this man be president? Exxon thinks so.)

Tom Haydon, "Linden: Man Gets 20-Year Term for Emailing Child Porn," The Star-Ledger, June 24, 2015, p. 11. (John Ellenbacker, 49, disseminated videos of child porn to a NETWORK of fellow enthusiasts who have not been named and may have included persons like him and not only in New Jersey in addition to undercover cops. New Jersey seems to be home to lawyers, judges, and -- perhaps -- a U.S. Senator with a fondness for child porn: "Neil M. Cohen, Esq. and Conduct Unbecoming to the Legislature in New Jersey" and "Menendez Consorts With Underage Prostitutes.")

Tim Darragh, "Law Helps Victim of Sex Trafficking [sic.] to Rebuild Her Life," The Star-Ledger, June 24, 2015, p. 17. (A woman raped, forced into prostitution, tortured, finally, testified against her abusers and may have an opportunity to rebuild her life by escaping from lesbian tormentors. Let us hope that she will be kept far away from Diana Lisa Riccioli and Estela De La Cruz. "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest!" and "New Jersey Lesbian Professor Rapes a Disabled Man.")

Susan K. Livio, "Lawmakers Act Swiftly to Aid Hospital Headed by Norcross," The Star-Ledger, June 23, 2015, p. 9. (South Jersey political boss, George E. Norcross, III, will receive New Jersey's notorious "socialism for the rich" from Trenton officials. How much will it cost Mr. Norcross and/or exactly what amount is coming back to his "friends" in the state Assembly remains unclear.)

Brent Johnson, "Three Cabinet Members Leaving, Governor Says," The Star-Ledger, June 23, 2015, p. 13. (Rats fleeing a sinking ship? Curiously, these same persons may be subpoenaed to testify in connection with the disclosure of grand jury information by Mr. Christie. I am sure that the threat that they will be called as witnesses had nothing to do with their departures.) 

Christopher Baxter, "Indictment: Ex-Firefighter Got Disability Pension While Doing Jiujitsu," The Star-Ledger, June 25, 2015, p. 16. (Maria Martinez may be right: "In New Jersey, everybody does it!")

AP, "State Senator Looks to Block $225 MILLION Exxon Mobil Settlement," The Record, June 20, 2015, p. A-3. ("Shyster Ray" Lesniak, Esq. sues to halt the Exxon Deal. There's nothing in it for him. Lesniak is from the affected area. Christie may have to buy Lesniak's approval with "something." Enough of a perk so Lesniak can "wet his beak" will always get "Shyster Ray's" vote.)

Joe Malinconico, "Schools Warned of Spiraling Deficits: Auditors Fear $186 Million Shortfall for Paterson," The Record, June 20, 2015, p. L-1. (The shortfall may be greater in Newark and Elizabeth. I can only hope that the authorities in Leonia, also parents and children, are notified of a matter that may concern children endangered in the town's grammar school.)

Peter J. Sampson, "3 Years for Sending Photos of Child to Bergen Cops," The Record, June 20, 2015, p. L-3. (I am sure that any number of Bergen cops and judges would welcome these child porn photos. Regrettably, for him, George Billak, 36, sent filthy and revolting images of child sexual exploitation to the one cop in town who seems to have a problem with it. Next time George may send the photos to Estela De La Cruz. "Edward M. De Sear, Esq. and New Jersey's Filth.")

Linh That, "Request For Ruling On Duress Delays DPW Supervisor's Trial," The Record, June 19, 2015, p. L-3. (Were employees of North Bergen's DPW "coerced" to perform jobs for their "boss" at home on the taxpayers' dime? Probably. TROY BUNERO, FRANCIS LONGO, JAMES WILEY will probably be convicted together with their "boss." Sure enough, they were convicted. I wonder what, if anything, happened to Jorge Prado and Yael Martinez, or Hugo Cabrera? "North Bergen New Jersey is the Home of La Cosa Nostra.")

Adam Liptak, "Equal Dignity: 5-4 Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide -- Forceful Dissents From the Court and Nation," The New York Times, June 27, 2015, p. A1. (Mr. Christie is outraged. I am not surprised: "Is there a gay marriage right?")

Erik Eckholm, "In a First, New Jersey Jury Says Group Selling Gay Cure Committed Fraud," The New York Times, June 26, 2015, p. A18. ("Terry Tuchin" a.k.a. "Arthur Goldberg" a.k.a. "David Cohen," a proud supporter of Mr. Netanyahu, will finally go to prison, if prosecuted -- unless Mr. Rabner comes to the rescue -- and he will have to reimburse those he bilked of funds for fake cures. Rumors that "America's rabbi" will be giving "Mr. Goldberg" a humanitarian award cannot be confirmed. "An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli.")

Andy Newman, "Rabbi Who Had Naked Chats in Sauna Looks to Keep His Job," The New York Times, June 25, 2015, p. A23. (Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt -- who forced boys as young as 12-years-old to join him naked in a sauna -- will not be charged with a crime or ethics offense of any kind and may get to keep his job. What the hell, right Mr. Vance? If this person were African-American, would he be shot dead without benefit of trial? I suspect so. "An Open Letter to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Esq.")   





















  

    

Is clarity enough?

June 5, 2015 at 1:02 P.M. A package containing the form mentioned, allegedly from the U.S. Attorney's Office, has been mailed by overnight mail to Preet Bharara, Esq., U.S. Attorney for New York, via tracking number EK 773841028 US. Delivery is to take place on the next business day, Monday, June 8, 2015 before 12:00 Noon. 

There are 15 pages included in the package of materials that are self-explanatory, including a previous overnight mail receipt for the same form already received by the U.S. Attorney for New York and a copy of the envelope in which the form was received by me (for the second time) purporting to come from the U.S. Justice Department's "Crime Reports Unit."

Inquiry indicates that there is no "Crime Reports Unit" in the U.S. Justice Department unlike the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Jersey City, New Jersey.  

May 18, 2015 at 1:24 P.M. I am in receipt of the exact same form allegedly sent to me once before by the U.S. Justice Department requesting information about the Invicta matter. Having previously returned this form to the Justice Department (which never sent it in the first place), I will now do the same, yet again, with proof of having supplied the requested form and information previously. Evidently, this "letter" was placed by hand in my mailbox. 

Alterations in the sign-in page may be a prelude to new difficulties in signing-in to this blog. I will struggle to continue writing. ("Censorship and Cruelty in New Jersey.")

It may be that the U.S. Attorney and Justice Department are O.K. with New Jersey officials (or former officials) sending letters claiming to be the federal prosecutor's office. 

These tactics appear to come from "R. Schnetzler" and "Fernando Fernandez." The goal may be to frustrate and discourage my efforts to pursue the truth in this matter. ("An Open Letter to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Esq.")

I will also continue to struggle for a resolution of the issues I have raised and for the truth from New Jersey. I will post the overnight mail receipt number at this blog for the new package to be sent to the U.S. Attorney for New York so that readers may follow the tracking number. 

No doubt the size of the text in this essay will be altered or deformed, other attacks against this work must be expected. The text was altered 3 times on the first day that the work was posted. 

May 16, 2015 at 12:33 P.M. A fire alarm was set off yesterday at NYPL, Morningside Heights branch. All library patrons were required to exit the facility. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete my writing session for the day at computer #4. 

This is the fourth time the alarm has gone off in about a year, always when I am at a computer at this branch. I am sure that this is only a coincidence. ("How censorship works in America.")

What follows is a response to a collection of essays by self-described "feminist analytical philosophers" on epistemology and other issues within different branches of the subject. 

I.

For decades philosophers have debated whether there are women's ways of knowing (or knowledge) and, if so, whether such knowledge and ways of knowing are (or should be) denigrated in our intellectual culture. 

Feminist philosophers have recognized that attitudes about women and logic, or reasoning and truth have developed, historically, along gender lines because of the "sexism" that pervades Western intellectual culture. 

So many issues are entangled or confused in this discussion that, as usual, very little progress can be made without some effort at clarity about the fundamental concepts that are inevitably implicated in the debate, or even in what is understood to be at issue in this controversy. ("Robert Brandom's 'Reason in Philosophy.'")

It is necessary to ask, initially, whether there are "women's ways of knowing" that are different from "men's ways of knowing" because granting the existence of such a sexual cognitive difference may confirm the very stereotypes feminists have opposed for centuries. (A dark twist on this problematic and a brilliant meditation on questions of consciousness, identity, power, gender and freedom is the recent film Ex Machina.)

If you admit a natural rather than artificial difference in men's as distinct from women's ways of knowing or thinking, you may expect that, soon, men's "ways of knowing" and reasoning will be deemed superior to "women's cognitive styles." 

Acceptance of this tendentious distinction in how men and women "think," in other words, could lead to very unwelcome consequences for all women, especially for feminist intellectuals who are politically active. ("David Stove and the Intellectual Capacity of Women" and "Arthur Schopenhauer and the Metaphysics of Art.")

Setting aside this foundational difference or difficulty, the question becomes whether any alleged gender-difference in thinking depends on the nature of the "inquiry" rather than the cognitive skills of "inquirers." 

Why is this issue of sex-based differences in thinking so troubling to analytical philosophy? Why is analytical philosophy at the same time so attractive to young women philosophers who often fail to see what have been called the "disturbing" sexist assumptions structural to any form of analytical logic or linguistic philosophy as a movement in twentieth century English-language thought? 

Why assume or believe that analytical philosophy provides the only intellectually respectable or "scientific" way of doing philosophy in today's intellectual setting? Is the notorious "secondary role" for philosophy a "scientific" or philosophical conclusion as opposed to a mere prejudice? ("Judith Butler and Gender Theory.")

When studying mathematics or chemistry, for example, will women who think well about the issues and subject-matter not reason exactly as men do to arrive at identical conclusions or "correct" answers? Will reasoning and conclusions necessarily differ for men as compared with (or opposed to) women scientists as well as male and female philosophers? Is the "form" of reasoning different for philosophers as distinct from scientists? If so, why does this difference exist? ("What is Memory?")

Is it easier to accept that men and women will differ over, say, Jane Austen's novels rather than the basic principles of logic? Why are culture or the arts trivialized as "lesser" or unimportant inquiries by analytical philosophers as compared with science as a model of "knowing"? Why is the attitude to the arts and culture so different in the Continental tradition? Is this assumption or distinction concerning what is "serious" or "rigorous" (to say nothing of what is "important") not part of the very sexism that feminist philosophers have struggled against? 

Given the understanding of "rigor" or "powerful" argumentation admired within analytical philosophical circles it is difficult to avoid the conclusion, again, that so-called "masculine" notions of logos are structural to analytical philosophy of all varieties. 

One way to begin exploring the issues is with an effort to achieve some much-desired and -needed "clarity" concerning what is meant by analytical philosophy in the Anglo-American tradition -- clarity from the people seeking "clarity" is most welcome -- then to look, specifically, at the branch of philosophy called "epistemology" that long predates the existence of analytical philosophy. 

Has epistemology been "changed" by feminism apart from, or independently of, analytical philosophy, so that a comparison can be made? Has -- and, if so, in what ways -- feminist philosophy changed "everything" with regard to epistemology and metaphysics, not only ethics and politics or the arts and culture? 

One way of examining the issue is to focus on a recent essay by a self-professed "analytical feminist." (See Part III of this essay.)

Feminism is seen by commentators as a general philosophical stance "relevant" to politics, law, ethics, even metaphysics and aesthetics, but how does feminism "apply" to epistemology?

"Relevant" is a problematic term in this context: Should feminism accept or reinvent analytical philosophy? Or is feminism inevitably "altered by" the discoveries in logic resulting from twentieth century analytical philosophy? ("Richard Rorty's Ethical Skepticism.") 

For reasons that I hope will become clear during the course of my discussion, I suggest that it is feminism that is the more important term in this discussion and not analytical philosophy. 

Feminism changes all of Western philosophy if the full depth of the feminist critique in Modernity is taken to heart. It is not analytical philosophy that alters feminism, nor is analytical philosophy the only intellectually serious or respectable option for women and men in philosophy who are feminists. 

If there are feminine ways of knowing in our society that are favored, presumably, by men and women then we may wonder whether these ways of knowing -- or intellectual methods -- are also reflective of the conditions affecting women (whatever "feminine" may mean to thinkers) to which feminists have objected because they are unequal and unjust in relation to the situation of men and the "masculine" (whatever that is). ("A Doll's Aria.")

Feminist concerns may extend to the foundational assumptions of analytical philosophy as a movement and/or to science as it is understood in our culture and not only to politics or law. 

It would be surprising if a total critique of Western thought and knowledge were to exclude a major intellectual movement and style of thought in the contemporary world. ("Roberto Unger's Revolutionary Legal Theory.")

"Feminine" and "masculine" are contentious and tendentious terms as well as anything but clear concepts for reasons that go beyond the limits of analytical concerns. ("What you will ...")

To achieve clarity in terminology and in the use of concepts that are not only mistaken or confused, but which may actually be harmful, is not exactly ultimate progress in dealing with fundamental feminist issues. 

It is better than nothing, I suppose, to realize what is confused or mistaken. However, if analytical philosophy (at best) can only take us so far as to demonstrate confusions and linguistic "muddles" then more than analytical philosophy will be needed to improve things for women and men.  

To see the philosopher's role as limited to the achievement of such narrow clarity, on rare occasions, may ignore more substantive issues of values and/or justice as "ambiguous" and practical reforms as "non-philosophical." 

This limited analytical role for philosophy seems mistaken and inaccurate as defining the boundaries of thought, or feminism, for many of the same reasons. ("William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft" and "Master and Commander.")

Analytical philosophy is a notoriously ambiguous term that is an ominous label for a movement primarily concerned with "clarity" about language and precision in conceptual thought. The term analytical philosophy does not merely identify a single group of philosophers sharing core values and principles for the study of the subject focusing on "analysis" of the propositional contents of sentences, close examination of logic in reasoning, concepts, terms, or "logical form" with the primary goal of achieving clarity in substantive discussion of underlying issues in human ethical and political life, say, or concerning the ultimate nature of existence.

Rather, analytical philosophy has dispensed, for the most part, with all substantive discussions to become obsessively concerned with logic, linguistics, concepts and speech, seemingly, for their own sakes from the perspective of an outside observer: 

"Analysis, as practiced by Russell and Moore, concerned not language per se, but concepts and propositions. In their eyes, while it did not exhaust the domain of philosophy analysis provides a vital tool for laying bare the logical form of reality [emphasis added] ... Today, it is difficult to find much unanimity in the ranks of analytical philosophers. There is, perhaps, an implicit respect for argument and clarity -- an evolving though informal argument as to what problems are and are not tractable, and a conviction that philosophy is in some sense continuous with science. The practice of analytic philosophers to address one another rather than the broader public has led some to decry philosophy's 'professionalization' and to call for a return to a pluralistic, community-oriented style of philosophizing. Analytic philosophers respond by pointing out that analytic technique and standards have been well represented in the history of philosophy." 

Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 1995), pp. 22-23. 

Does reality have a "logical form"? This seems to be a doubtful proposition: 

"For Bohr, quite simply, '[t]here is no quantum world. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature.' On this view -- endorsed with certain reservations by [Bas] van Frassen -- there is no point in seeking a more 'complete ' (i.e. realist or causal-explanatory) theory of the kind proposed by physicists such as Einstein, Shrodinger, and Bohm." 

Christopher Norris, "Is it possible to be a realist about quantum mechanics?," in Quantum Theory and the Flight From Realism (New York & London: Routledge, 2000), p. 30.

For comparisons, see Ted Hondreich, ed., The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1995), pp. 28-29 and Simon Blackburn, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1994), pp. 14-15. 

For philosophers to presume to instruct physicists on the nature of empirical reality as distinct from the "meaning" of reality or ultimate truth is bizarre. 

For a powerful critique of the analytic-linguistic movement, see Brand Blanshard, "The Philosophy of Analysis," in H.D. Lewis, ed., Clarity is Not Enough (New York: Humanities Press, 1963), pp. 76-100 then Brand Blanshard, Reason and Analysis (Illinois: La Salle, 1962), pp. 382-381:

"Here we come again to the fundamental view of philosophy and the linguistic view. On the standard view, philosophy is an attempt to gain fuller and clearer knowledge by reflecting on the nature of things; on the linguistic [analytical] view at what seems to me its best, it is still an attempt to gain such knowledge, but now by ridding one's language of absurdities. The chief criticism we have offered is that the only way to detect these absurdities is to consider the objects thought of [and not merely the language used to express them.]" (Reason and Analysis, pp. 367-368.)

Among philosophers taking up the critique of analytical limitations from within the analytical camp many distinguished recent thinkers -- including Richard Rorty, Bernard Williams, Edward Craig and others -- may be mentioned.

Analytic or analytical philosophy, then, founds philosophy on linguistic clarity and the disciplined as well as careful definition of terms together with precise conceptual usage and adherence to logic regardless of the goals of thought. 

Logic is placed at the center of the philosopher's tool-kit and efforts along with respect for the methods and findings of science. There may be no "goals of thought," we are told, except for "thinking well about thinking well."

One could be an "analytical philosopher" and also a sexist, or many other unpleasant things, without these beliefs and habits affecting the quality of one's philosophical work for other analytical philosophers. ("Hilary Putnam is Keeping It Real.")

Analytical philosophy views the essence of philosophy as instrumental, methodological, incidental to ultimate purposes or values. 

Much the same is true of science for such instrumentalist thinkers: Science is "good" based on whether it works, as science or technology, whether in building a hydrogen bomb or developing antibiotics for logical positivists and analytical-linguistic logicians.

Analytical philosophers hope for a scholarly and scientifically-minded form of inquiry among "experts" as opposed to a civilized dialogue concerning the great questions of life to which all are invited. 

Cultural factors play a marginal (or no role) in philosophical efforts for analytical thinkers whereas they are much more important for Continental philosophers who tend to concentrate on a different list of distinguished thinkers when drawing from the history and literature of philosophy in their scholarly efforts.

Comparisons between, say, P.F. Strawson's (analytical) writings and the works of Hans-Georg Gadamer (Continental) provide a useful contrast to illustrate the differences in styles and also where the two traditions in Western thought are found today: 

"The self-conscious employment of the linguistic method produced brilliant and often amazing results. It destroyed much and revealed much. It should continue to play a great part in philosophy, acting as an indispensable control on extravagance, absurdity, and over-simplification; revealing more and more of the fascinating substructure of our thinking. But it no longer appears that it can, by itself, satisfy all the demands of philosophical inquiry. Above all, it cannot by itself satisfy all the persistent philosophical craving for generality, for the discovery of unifying pattern or structure in our conception of the world."

P.F. Strawson, "The Post-Linguistic Thaw," Philosophical Writings (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 2011), p. 74. 

And Hans-Georg Gadamer explains: 

"Being that can be understood is language. ... However, the traditional formation of ideas, especially the hermeneutic circle of whole and part, which is the starting point of any attempt to lay the foundations of hermeneutics, [or social theory,] does not necessarily require this conclusion. The idea of the whole is itself to be understood only relatively. The totality of meaning that has to be understood in history or tradition is never the meaning of the totality of history."

Truth and Method (New York: Crossroad, 1982), pp. xxii-xxiii. ("John Searle and David Chalmers On Consciousness.")

II. 

Analytical philosophy relies on crucial epistemological assumptions concerning what constitutes philosophical "knowledge" if there is such knowledge: 

"Epistemology" is understood as the "study of knowledge, and logos, explanation, the study of the nature of knowledge and justification; specifically, the study of (a) the defining features; (b) the substantive conditions, and (c) the limits of knowledge and justification ..."

Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, p. 233. 

Analytical philosophers hold that linguistic imprecision, ambiguities, confusions and the absence of logical sophistication largely explain theoretical difficulties which can be removed from thought or discourse leading to total "elimination of nonsense" in thought. Presumably, all philosophical confusions may some day be "dissipated." ("A Philosophical Investigation of Ludwig Wittgenstein.")

Opposed to this view is the idea that philosophical issues concerning good and evil, for example, consciousness and justice, freedom and love are far more than linguistic puzzles or confusions. Such concepts (however "ambiguous" they may be) and the discussions to which they lead inhere in the "human condition."

Accordingly, these issues or problems will never be "eliminated" from human life, fortunately, nor will they ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. The value of philosophy for many thinkers lies in the struggle to come to terms with such questions and/or to resolve them for oneself. 

It may be that puzzlement about ultimate questions and spiritual/intellectual suffering resulting from the human inability to answer these questions, definitively or permanently, is part of what persons and civilized societies are defined by and not a form of neurosis or illness and/or obfuscation, or confusion, to be cured by being "clarified" away thanks to the efforts of Oxbridge logicians of any (or all) genders. ("Bernard Williams and Identity" then "John Finnis and Ethical Cognitivism.")

Curiously, for analytical philosophers -- who are suddenly admired by many self-professed feminists -- "nonsense" (Wittgenstein's "language on holiday") tends to be identified with such "feminine" concerns as doubts about identity in metaphysics, alterity studies in ethics, or (say) gender issues as epistemological-political problems; whereas "clarity" is associated with "masculine" rigor and powerful argumentation that is "truly logical" and focused on war and money or big trucks, perhaps, and other allegedly important subjects. (Again: "Judith Butler and Gender Theory" then "Cornel West and Universality" and "Carlos Fuentes and Multiculturalism.") 

Analytical philosophy's foundational assumptions and values, furthermore, concerning what is meant by precision and logical rigor cannot escape the controversial sexist assumptions that are central to the feminist critique of Western thought that includes analytical philosophy. 

The feminist critique is now several centuries old and long predates the existence of analytical philosophy. 

Feminism has challenged the "theft of the logos" by the so-called "masculine subject" of Western thought as reflective of inequality in power and culture by men as compared with women in our civilization as a whole. 

Logic, reasoning, intelligence and many other aspects of our intellectual culture are subject to this critique which is valid in many respects, overstated in other respects, certainly a matter of continuing debate and controversy. ("'The Stepford Wives': A Movie Review" and "Abuse and Exploitation of Women in New Jersey.")

For a feminist to accept or identify with the premises of analytical philosophy, as traditionally understood, also as distinct from disciplined and serious logical thought in general, or within rival traditions, may be to "give away the game." 

This acceptance by feminists reflects the pervasiveness of the offensive sexism that is the enemy (Foucault, Butler), but which is deeply ingrained in us long before we study philosophy -- or anything else -- at a sophisticated level. ("Jacques Derrida's Philosophy as Jazz" and "Michel Foucault and the Authorship Question.")

We are told that logic and science-dominated forms of discourse are what "real men" must specialize in, as philosophers, in order to be taken seriously by their colleagues even when these "real men" are women who call themselves feminists. ("Oh, to be in India.")

Why are such "no-nonsense" approaches taken seriously? 

"No-nonsense," evidently, means science-based and logic-centered (this may be contradictory) whereas "nonsense" presumably means focused on the arts and language more generally or upon the examination of social forms. "Nonsense" is often a powerful and deadly force in human societies that should be exposed as nonsense rather trivialized and/or ignored by lofty philosophers. ("Behaviorism is Evil.")

What constitutes "nonsense" in discussions of human subjectivity and its creations, like legal systems or art works and religions, may not be the sort of issue best resolved by logicians and math geeks who tend to assume one controversial definition of what is nonsensical or the opposite. 

Analytical philosophy -- like spontaneity -- has its time and place.

After women have dealt with society's serious philosophical questions, for instance, it may be O.K. to let men quibble about logic and language by deploying their curious "male logic," but we should never confuse important questions of life and death with issues pertaining to tenure or publication in Mind. Seriousness may not require solemnity, nor mathematical or logical notation in one's essays. 

If there are dismissals of "feminine logic" then why not dismissals of "male logic"? "Why not" indeed. ("A Doll's Aria.")

Philosophy can be written elegantly, or by way of literary and other artistic works, without any necessary loss of rigor. Among the open questions in philosophy is: "What constitutes a sound argument?" What is "cogency" as opposed to "persuasiveness"? Where do we draw the line between rhetoric and logic? (Again: "Bernard Williams and Identity" and "John Searle and David Chalmers On Consciousness" then "The Allegory of the Cave" and "Metaphor is Mystery.")  

Continental skepticism, grounded in the works of Butler, Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva and Lacan is outlawed as "non-professional" by mainstream or traditionally-minded analytical philosophers, mistakenly believing that they are very daring in their views, when they are merely repeating the prejudices of their elders in a new vocabulary. 

Simone Weil and other thinkers have argued for a place for mystery in philosophy as well as the arts. This suggestion is anathema to analytical philosophy.

There seems to be a horror among analytical philosophers of "mere" literary or cultural theory. This has always seemed bizarre, to me, because all philosophy is literary in the sense that the entire tradition is concerned with written texts and their interpretations.

Professionalization of philosophy and attempts to eliminate metaphysics may turn out to be only another of the ideologies of the twentieth century. 

Not only are such ideologies absurd in the new century, but they may tend to reinforce hateful sexist and racist assumptions about the nature and merits of different styles of writing and thought concerning philosophical issues that are eternal and inescapable for persons everywhere. ("Is Western Philosophy Racist?")

In the introduction to a recent collection of scholarly essays by "analytical feminist philosophers" much is made of comments by John Silber and Colin McGinn concerning the triviality of feminist contributions to philosophy in the English-language analytical tradition. Notice how specific and narrow is the claim made by Professors Silber and McGinn. 

I believe that these men are mistaken in their views as evidenced, to take only two examples out of many, by Jennifer Hornsby's and Jane Heal's recent writings within the analytical philosophical tradition. 

I am sure, however, that McGinn's and Silber's comments were not intended as an insult of women philosophers. Rather, the focus was on the definition of analytical philosophy as "separate" from political philosophy and other types of philosophical writings dealing with topics other than logic and epistemology concerned with applied philosophy. 

It is the "separateness" issue which is taken for granted by McGinn and Silber, but not by me. 

If feminism is accurate there is no aspect of our thinking that is entirely "separate" from sexist-power relations. If one accepts the standard definition of analytical philosophy (or calls oneself an analytical philosopher), however, then McGinn and Silber may be correct. None of this is to suggest the nonsensical claim that "it's all relative." ("Why I am not an ethical relativist" and "Immanuel Kant and the Narrative of Freedom.")

It would surprise us if Wall Street financiers were to identify themselves as "Marxist Communist Revolutionaries." It is equally surprising for active and politically-aware feminists to call themselves "analytical philosophers" implying that their primary professional interest is neutral analysis of language and logical precision in "thought about thought" as opposed to the politics of the real world and violence against, as well as oppression of, women. (Compare "Not One More Victim!" with "Abuse and Exploitation of Women in New Jersey.")

Much of the hostility to the opinions of Silber and McGinn by women in philosophy results from serious misunderstanding of the issue between philosophers in the various schools who do not seem to agree upon, or appreciate, what is meant by "analytical philosophy," logic, epistemology, or even feminism. 

If disagreement and confusions, along with failures to achieve mutual understanding concerning the scope of the issues, is so common among analytical philosophers, it makes sense that such confusions and misunderstandings are also a daily reality in academia and politics, more generally, and in legal controversies pertaining to women's issues. 

Before women in philosophy "burn the books" of Professors Silber and McGinn -- who are not David Stove-like misogynists -- consider the comments of feminist philosopher Susan Haack in opposition to the very idea of a "feminist analytical epistemology":

"The rubric 'feminist epistemology' is incongruous on its face, in somewhat the way of, say, 'Republican epistemology.' And the puzzlement this prompts is rather aggravated than mitigated by the bewildering variety of epistemological ideas described as 'feminist.' Among self-styled feminist epistemologists one finds quasi-foundationalists, coherentists, contextualists; proponents of epistemic naturalism, and unabashed relativists; some who stress connectedness, community, the social aspects of knowledge, and who stress emotion, presumably subjective and personal; some who stress concepts of epistemic virtue; some who want the 'androcentric' norms of the 'epistemological' [tradition] to be replaced by 'gynocentric' norms, and some who advocate a descriptive approach; etc., etc. Even where there is apparent agreement, e.g., that feminist epistemology will stress the social aspects of knowledge, it often [leads to] significant disagreement about what this means: that cooperative inquiry is better than individual inquiry; that epistemic inquiry is community-relative; that only a social group, not an individual, can properly be said to inquire or to know; that reality is socially constructed, and so forth. As Louise Antony observes, 'there simply is no substantive consensus position among feminists working in epistemology.' ..." 

Susan Haack, "Knowledge and Propaganda: Reflections of an Old Feminist," in Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate (Chicago: U. Chi. Press, 1998), pp. 124-125.

Professor Haack is led to an obvious conclusion:

"Sometimes we are told that feminist epistemology represents 'women's ways of knowing.' This reversion to the notion of 'thinking like a woman' is disquietly reminiscent of old sexist stereotypes -- as, for example, Andrea Nye's 'feminist critique of logic' disquietly echoes those old complaints that women are 'so illogical.' Still, there are disquieting truths, so this doesn't settle the matter." Ibid.

Professor Haack expresses serious doubts about any notion of an analytical feminist epistemology or exclusively linguistic philosophy, as a pragmatist, because analytical philosophy of all varieties in order to be properly called ANALYTICAL philosophy aims at a gender-neutral, objective, science-like approach to the examination of the propositional content of sentences as well as language/thought on the assumption that philosophical issues reveal confusions in language, lack of clarity, category mistakes. 

To be an advocate for women or favor "women's cognitive styles" necessarily places a thinker outside the scope of analytical philosophy. 

It seems to me far more important to advocate the need for philosophy for women -- who are required to appreciate the absurdity of many of the values and concepts used to injure them -- than to be a "proper" analytical philosopher whatever that may be.

It is at least doubtful for many students adhering to different philosophical approaches whether the goal of philosophy is only clarity in thought or expression. 

Analytical philosophy has certainly made contributions to the development of linguistics and is also valuable, instrumentally, for any number of reasons to students of philosophy. However, given what analytical philosophy means, the concerns of philosophers in that movement or school are -- and must be -- secondary to what, I believe, is central to philosophical inquiry and especially to philosophers with a feminist commitment. 

Philosophy should be concerned with genuine intellectual issues, I have suggested, or the problems of meaning and purpose experienced by persons in every historical period -- problems irremovable from what used to be called "the human condition."

Political philosophy is not, primarily, about the analysis of language-use or logic of conceptual usage, even if such analyses and sharp intellectual skills, again, are undeniably useful in developing such philosophy. 

That subject matter is concerned with the attempt to resolve dilemmas of justice in society, for instance, the plight of women, and issues pertaining to the contents of reality, or what may be called knowledge versus opinion, balancing competing values and defining identity as well as other issues of metaphysics and culture, or comparing religious traditions. 

If you see the proper subject-matter of philosophy as limited to linguistic usage or focused on the clarity of statements then substantive questions concerning gender, race, poverty and power, meaning and religion will be deemed beyond the scope of philosophy. 

Students posing such ultimate questions will be directed to "linguistic therapists." Worse, many charlatans will appear offering snake oil solutions to ordinary metaphysical or existential anxieties.

I am confident that profound questions of meaning and metaphysics belong in philosophy and are even central to what philosophy is and should be about or "for." The point of developing philosophical intelligence must be to improve the effort to cope with (if not to resolve) such weighty issues. 

Logical positivism, logic-based or Oxford-style philosophy and other once dominant ways of doing philosophy in the English-speaking world will always be inadequate to the task of philosophy if they are limited to methodological objectives. Clarity is not enough for philosophers.

Philosophy is not merely an "adjuct to the sciences" whose purpose is linguistic purity. Pluralistic methods, different styles and ways of doing philosophy are needed that are respectful of the humanistic and humane (traditional and non-traditional) values of the discipline: 

" ... to say all philosophic problems have arisen out of verbal confusions seems to me almost certainly false; I do not think that the problems of evil and immortality first pressed themselves on men's minds because of linguistic confusions, nor do I think that when we now wonder whether chairs and tables continue to be when unobserved has anything to do with language or has a linguistic cure. But even if every philosophical problem without exception arose out of linguistic confusions, it would still not follow that philosophy is essentially the detection and correction of such confusions. When one takes a gun and goes hunting in a populous jungle, one's failures will probably arise from the misuse of one's instrument, but the aim of hunting is not simply to avoid such mistakes." 

Blanshard, "The Philosophy of Analysis," in Clarity is Not Enough, p. 105. 

III. 

Professor Anne E. Crudd promises to concentrate in her essay contribution to a celebrated collection upon the works of "feminists working in the analytic tradition of feminist philosophy." (p. 15.)

Professor Crudd speaks confidently of "feminist philosophy's contributions to all of the major areas of philosophy." (p. 15.)

Presumably, this contribution includes feminist logic, feminist philosophy of mathematics and science, feminist epistemology and metaphysics. 

Given what analytical philosophy is understood to mean, however, the notion of a single feminist analytical epistemology or logic appears "problematic" as they say in the faculty lounge.

Please contrast Anne E. Crudd, "Resistance is (Not) Futile: Analytical Feminism's Relation to Political Philosophy," in Sharon L. Crasnow & A.M. Superson, eds., Out From the Shadows: Analytical Feminist Contributions to Traditional Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 2012), p. 15 with Walter Brogan & James Risser, eds., "Introduction," in American Continental Philosophy: A Reader (Indiana: Indiana U. Press, 2000), pp. 1-15. (Contributions from Continental philosophers Judith Butler, Seyla Benhabib, along with many others.)

It is articles such as Professor Crudd's essay, I suspect, that Professors McGinn and Silber object to in their infamous comments: Kantian scholar John Silber, for example, attacked the notion of a separate feminist logic and epistemology as an "assault on reason." (Crudd, p. 16.) 

Professor McGinn said: "Feminism now has a place in many philosophy departments, for good or ill, but it has not made any impact on the core areas of the subject." (Crudd, p. 16.) 

Much depends on how Professor McGinn is using the word "subject" in this statement. Perhaps some analytical clarity is called for: If by "subject" is meant "analytical philosophy in 'traditional' Oxbridge terms" then he is correct, perhaps or "arguably"; but if Mr. McGinn is suggesting that feminism is irrelevant to all of the philosophy of the last two hundred years, analytical or otherwise, then he is certainly mistaken. 

Given Professor McGinn's assumed premise concerning what analytical philosophy "is" his statement may be accurate. The declaration has certainly endeared Professor McGinn to new generations of feminist scholars. (Much depends on the definition of "is" in this statement as Bill Clinton will remind us.)

It is equally bizarre that Professor Crudd alludes to great contributions to analytical political philosophy by feminists since classical analytical philosophers generally regard political theory as outside the scope of their style of philosophy. Professor Crudd provides the examples of Judith Butler and Seyla Benhabib to illustrate her point, but they are both Continental philosophers and the opposite of "analytical." (Crudd, p. 16.)

As a matter of fact, all of the themes focused upon by Professor Crudd as "revolutionary" have been standard themes of political theory in the Continental tradition for more than a century. 

The social nature of identity and critiques of the liberal subject date, at least, from the writings of Rousseau and Hegel as well as Marx, all of whom were men and hardly "feminists," even if their ideas have been used by recent feminists offering new interpretations of their writings that would have horrified these men.

Professor Crudd fails to realize that philosophy is not and should not be ideology. 

Philosophy is also not identical with political advocacy. Philosophy should be much more of a shared search for truth. This understanding of philosophy assumes 1). truth exists; 2). intelligent and professional inquirers can obtain or achieve truth; 3). it is at least possible to communicate, truthfully, with others concerning philosophical issues so that the effort to do so is worthwhile. There may even be "truth" in political philosophy. 

The enemy of philosophical study and effort is not (I hope) the "male gender" (whatever that may be) or "mainstream" philosophy (whatever that is), but ignorance and nihilism, or acceptance of the futility of all philosophical work. Resistance is not futile? (Again: "John Finnis and Ethical Cognitivism.")

Professor Crudd's suggestion is that the "feminist approach gradually becomes the analysis of the influence of gender more generally on what had always been seen as the central topics and issues of the field, [analytical philosophy?] branching eventually to the analysis [emphasis added] of masculinism [?] as well." (Crudd, p. 17.) 

This is to place philosophy outside the definition of the analytical tradition that Professor Crudd ostensibly defends. 

In appropriating the label "analytical" for what, I interpret, as her ideology, Professor Crudd does not offer a definition of feminism as a philosophy, does not make clear what she means by analytical philosophy, nor does she identify "mainstream philosophy or philosophers," except for McGinn (analytical) and Silber (Kantian), neither of whom is particularly "mainstream." ("Colin McGinn's Naughty Book.")

Much of the difficulty (for me) in reading Crudd's fairly typical essay in this collection is wading through a trendy, politically correct, jargon-studded academic prose that contains many sentences such as this: 

"When one is not opposing it, but simply going with the dominant flow of thought, it can be difficult to see that [what?] as involving epistemic or moral error." (Crudd, p. 18.)

This sentence may be meaningless. It is difficult to tell what the words are even intended to convey. Is it the "dominant flow of thought" or "going along with it" that involves epistemic or moral error? What is the "dominant flow of thought"? Is this an example of the analytical and logical precision that we may come to expect from professional analytic philosophers? 

Presumably, this statement indicates that Professor Crudd is an "ethical cognitivist" who accepts the possibility of "moral error" and a "realist" about truth who asserts the existence of epistemic error. 

Professor Crudd "identifies and presents as" a "linguistic analyst" who insists on high standards of clarity in philosophical prose and fails to acknowledge any of these categories or even the issues arising from the use of these terms. ("Whatever" and "Why Jane Can't Read.")

None of the traditional or "mainstream" ideas involved in these assertions are defined by the author. Furthermore, this quoted sentence is far from the most confused or incoherent statement in Crudd's essay.

Incidentally, Professor Crudd, "Annette Baier" (Kantian) and "Virginia Held" (Kantian-Rawlsian) may be aligned with politically Conservative philosophers like Robert Nozick or Roger Scruton and are not "analytical philosophers." 

If analytical or linguistic philosophy seeks the clarification of concepts, focuses on logical precision and rigor in argument, is respectful of science, then the method must be available, equally, to men and women studying philosophical issues of all kinds. 

If feminist thinkers are concerned -- as I am -- that Western rationality is infected with sexist notions of truth and knowledge then they are raising a meta-critique of the entire intellectual project of Western civilization and identifying a weakness or flaw best found, perhaps, in analytical philosophy and other similar developments. Accordingly, to speak of analytical feminist epistemology and logic seems absurd. The lapse into total incoherence by Professor Crudd is difficult to miss: 

" ... feminism has continued to challenge the mainstream and build coherent and complex critiques of mainstream political philosophy. Analytic feminism has walked a fine line between these twin dangers and the internal critique of feminism that it [what?] has tried to present." (Crudd, p. 29.) 

Please tell me who are the "mainstream philosophers" intending to "exclude feminists"? Who counts as an "analytical feminist"? What is "analytical feminism"? 

Feminism, again, is a world view that is much broader than analytical philosophy which may be held by Conservatives -- even much-dreaded Republicans -- such as Mary Anne Glendon and many others. Feminism is not monolithic in method or (except at the most general level) in objectives. 

Continental thought is much freer than analytical philosophy and allows more room for the type of project sought by many of the contributors to this misclassified collection of essays by women in philosophy. 

Many of the essays in this collection seem like examples of the point being made by Professor McGinn. 

There are philosophers reinventing analytical methods to cope with public issues and controversies. For example, Jennifer Hornsby on pornography and issues of women's rights as well as Susan Hack uniting pragmatism with analytical and logical precision. Maria Pia Lara, in the Continental tradition, applies phenomenological-hermeneutics to questions of evil that are relevant to feminists. Judith Butler applies the same methods to gender issues and other political matters. Existentialists Mary Midgley and Mary Warnock have used philosophical discipline to deal with questions of applied ethics. The same may be said of Marxist Angela Davis and Hegelian Kimberly Hutchins or Kantian Christine Korsgaard. 

There are many options beyond analytical philosophy which is often described as "bankrupt" these days.  Women interested in philosophy need not be tied down to analytical approaches that are far from satisfactory or without the taint of sexism. 

Feminists have placed foundational and methodological issues back on the agenda of philosophical scholarship in the twenty-first century. The battles fought by generations of feminists to win a new freedom of approach for students should not be lost now by an uncritical acceptance of logic-centered and science-dominated philosophical methods that are being modified or discarded in their places of origin.   

"I came to philosophy in the hope of revelations about how things are. Analysis is interesting enough at a subordinate level, and I have devoted a lot of time to it, but as a conception of philosophy it is hopelessly inadequate, above all because no problems of substance are soluble by it. The solution of important and interesting problems always calls for new ideas, new explanatory theories, and it is for these, not for analysis, that we look to philosophers of genius. Many are the reliable professionals who can carry out a workmanlike analysis of any given set of arguments or concepts. All that this task requires, over and above a certain minimum level of professional competence, is time, concentration, thoroughness and assiduity. It is certainly hard work, and those who can bring to it an extra flair and a deeper than ordinary level of penetration make personal reputations. But the difference between doing this [analysis] and producing new ideas is like the difference between being a musicologist and being a composer."

Bryan Magee, Confessions of a Philosopher: A Journey Through Western Philosophy (New York: Random House, 1997), p. 398 and Brand Blanshard, "Sanity in Thought and Art," in The Uses of a Liberal Education and Other Talks to Students (La Salle: Open Court, 1973), p. 249. ("A hundred years from now men [and women] will look back with wonder at eminent philosophers insisting that the business of philosophy is with linguistic usage.")

Sources:

Linda Alcoff & Elizabeth Potter, eds., Feminist Epistemology (London: Routledge, 1993).

Brenda Almond, The Philosopher's Quest (New York & London: Penguin, 1988).

Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 1995). 

Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (New York: Random House, 1974), H.M. Parsley, trans.

Simon Blackburn, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1994). 

Brand Blanshard, Reason and Analysis (Illinois: La Salle, 1962).

Brand Blanshard, "The Philosophy of Analysis," in H.D. Lewis, ed., Clarity is Not Enough (New York: Humanities Press, 1963), pp. 76-100. 

Brand Blanshard, "Sanity in Thought and Art," in The Uses of a Liberal Education and Other Talks to Students (Illinois; La Salle - Open Court, 1973).

F.H. Bradley, Writings On Logic and Metaphysics (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), pp. 3-100. ("Judgment, in the strict sense, does not exist where there exists no knowledge of truth and falsehood; and, since truth and falsehood depend on the relation of our ideas to reality, you cannot have judgment proper without ideas.") 

Walter Brogan & James Risser, eds., American Continental Philosophy: A Reader (Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 2000). 

Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (London: Verso, 2004).

Claudia Card, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Simone de Beauvoir (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 2003), pp. 168-189. (See especially Judith Butler's contribution to this anthology or her critical commentary on the French philosopher's works.)

Nancy J. Chodorow, Feminities, Masculinities, Sexualities: Freud and Beyond (Lexington: U. Kentucky, 1992).

Drucilla Cornell, Beyond Accomodation: Ethical Feminism, Deconstruction, and the Law (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999). (The feminist reading of Derrida. "Jacques Derrida's Philosophy as Jazz.")

Anne E. Crudd, "Resistance is (Not) Futile: Analytical Feminism's Relation to Political Philosophy," in Sharon L. Crassnow & Anita M. Superson, eds., Out From the Shadows: Analytical Feminist Contributions to Traditional Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 2012). 

Angela Davis, An Autobiography (New York: International, 1974).

Angela Davis, Women, Race & Class (New York: Vintage, 1983). 

Thomas Doherty, ed., Postmodernism: A Reader (New York: Columbia U. Press, 1993), pp. 363-443. (Postmodernist Feminism that is non-analytical.) 

Emma Donohue, Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature (New York: Barnes & Noble, 2010). (Sensitivity, perception, emotional knowing as expressed in literature by women for all readers.) 

Lillian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and the Love Between Women From the Renaissance to the Present (New York: William Morrow, 1987). (Women's "secret" ways of "knowing" and "sharing.")

Anthony Flew, How to Think Straight (Chicago: La Salle, 1995). (No irony intended.)

Marjorie Garber, Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995).

Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch (London: Paladin, 1991). 

Susan Haack, Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate (Chicago: U. Chicago Press, 1998).

Donna Haraway, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reunification of Nature (New York: Routledge, 1991). 

Sandra Harding, Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? (New York: Cornell U. Press, 1991).

Jane Heal, Fact and Meaning: Quine and Wittgenstein On the Philosophy of Language (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989).

Ted Hondereich, ed., The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1995). (An extreme feminist claim is that "logic is a phallic and patriarchal device for coercing other people." See p. 132 et seq.)

Jennifer Hornsby, "Descartes, Rorty and the Mind/Body Fiction," in Alan Malachowski, ed., Reading Rorty (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990), p. 41. ("Richard Rorty's Ethical Skepticism.")

Kimberly Hutchins, Hegel and Feminist Philosophy (London: Polity, 2013).

Christine Korsgaad, "Kant," in Robert J. Cavalier, James Gournilock, James P. Sterba, eds., Ethics in the History of Western Philosophy (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989).

Christine Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 1996). 

Patricia Jagentowicz-Mills, ed., Re-Reading the Canon: Feminist Interpretations of Hegel (Pennsylvania: U. Penn. Press, 1996), pp. 109-119, pp. 299-321. (A volume in this series is devoted to Kant.)

Alison Jaggar, "Love and Knowledge: Emotion in a Feminist Epistemology," in Women, Knowledge, and Reality (Boston: Unwin-Hyman, 1989), pp. 127-155. (F.H. Bradley on emotion in judgment; Sartre on "the transcendence of the ego.")

Judith Jarvis Thomson, Rights, Restitution, and Risk: Essays in Moral Theory (Cambridge: Harvard U. Press, 1980). (The epistemology of abstract thought experiments in the abortion debate.)

Bryan Magee, Confessions of a Philosopher: A Journey Through Western Philosophy (New York: Random House, 1997).

Colin McGinn, The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth Century Philosophy (New York: Harper-Collins, 2002).

Carolyn McMillan, Woman, Reason, and Nature (Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 1982). 

Lois McNay, Foucault and Feminism (Boston: Northwestern, 1992). (Foucault on the strictures of power in alignment with concepts of gender as formulating the "episteme" -- or regime of knowledge -- under which we cannot avoid thinking and/or resisting sexism within our culture. The trajectory from "The Order of Things" to "Discipline and Punish" then "The History of Sexuality" in terms of feminist concerns is explicit. "Whatever.") 

Iris Murdoch, Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (London: Penguin, 1992). (The inescapable moral dimension to personhood and the "call" of the other. Notice the influence of Simone Weil on Murdoch's thinking.)

Christopher Norris, Quantum Theory and the Flight From Realism (New York & London: Routledge, 2000).

Camille Paglia, Vamps & Tramps (New York: Random House, 1994).

Janet Radcliffe-Richards, The Skeptical Feminist: A Philosophical Inquiry (Boston: Routledge & Keegan, 1980).

John R. Silber, "The Copernican Revolution in Ethics: The Good Re-examined," in R.P. Wolff, ed., Kant: A Collection of Critical Essays (New York: Anchor, 1967), p. 266. 

P.F. Strawson, Introduction to Logical Theory (London: Methuen & Co., 1952). (Classic treatment of analytical themes in philosophy and logic.)

P.F. Strawson, Philosophical Writings (Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 2011).

Nancy Tuana, The Less Noble Sex: Scientific, Religious, and Philosophical Conceptions of Woman's Nature (Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 1993).

Mary Warnock, Women Philosophers (London: J.M. Dent, 1996).

Mary Whiton Calkins, The Persistent Problems of Philosophy (New York: MacMillan, 1917). (A neglected masterpiece of American philosophy which is a "book-within-a-book" -- or a work that is "in disguise" -- by a major early twentieth century thinker who studied under Royce, James, and Santayana. The original publication date is 1917, but the work was written earlier. The book anticipates developments in Continental thought nearly a century later, especially Gadamerian hermeneutics and Derrida's "deconstruction.")

Bruce Wilshire, Fashionable Nonsense: A Critique of Analytic Philosophy (New York: SUNY, 2002).  

Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman (London: Penguin, 1982). (Still the indispensable work to read when beginning the study of modern feminist thought. I recommend both Janet Todd's massive biography and Claire Tomalin's more literary biographical work for those fascinated, as I am, by one of the great philosophers of the Enlightenment, Ms. Wolstonecraft. The original publication date for this masterpiece was 1792. "William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft" and "Master and Commander.")