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Morning Docket: 11.04.09

Christopher Christie Christopher J Christie Chris Christie fat heavyset overweight obese.jpg* Prosecutors prevail at the polls: former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (pictured) wins the gubernatorial race in New Jersey, and former state attorney general Robert McDonnell seizes victory in Virginia. Both are Republicans. [New York Times]

* Meanwhile, Maine voters reject a state law that would have allowed same-sex marriage. [Associated Press]

* Lawyers for John Allen Muhammad, the “D.C. Sniper” behind random shootings that killed 10 people, want the Supreme Court to stop his execution. [Washington Post]

* Former Day Casebeer lawyers, embroiled in messy disciplinary proceedings over discovery problems, claim their ex-client Qualcomm misled them. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Which three law firms are involved in the gigantic, $34 billion Berkshire Hathaway / Burlington Northern deal? [Am Law Daily]

* Police recover loot from the infamous celebrity-targeting burglary ring. [Popsquire]

* An Italian judge will soon issue his ruling in a trial over the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. [Associated Press]

* Have we learned nothing from the unfortunate tale of Adam “Bulletproof” Reposa? Don’t make an obscene gesture in front of a judge. [Chicago Sun-Times]

P.S. We worked for Chris Christie in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2003 until 2006. Congratulations on your hard-won victory, Chris!

Comments

1 Posted by Trollercoaster | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:07 AM

IT HAS BEEN A RED DAWN

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2 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:13 AM

Nothing about BofA general counsel?

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3 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:14 AM

Did Christie win by eating Corzine?

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4 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:14 AM

Of all the pics to use for Christie, you use the unflattering one Corzine used in the 'he's too fat to even stand" ad. Shame on you.

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5 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:16 AM

Smugglers Blues this morning in Maine.

6 Posted by Gunnery Sergeant | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:16 AM

Who cares who won the stupid fucking elections? Politicians only make policy. Marines make history!

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7 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:17 AM

Was Elie fired?

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8 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:18 AM

7 - No, Lat always does Morning Docket on Wednesdays.

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9 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:18 AM

i'd rather be fat than bald. i can always lose weight.

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10 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:19 AM

Smugglers Blues this morning in Maine.

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11 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:20 AM

I thank God I woke up in a red state this morning. I am sick and tired of my incredibly high state income taxes and my incredibly high property taxes skyrocketing ever upward to provide for a virtual welfare state we provide in NJ. Democrats have to learn that throwing ever more money at problems that do not get any better is not a way to live. I am still waiting for the regionalization of federal income taxes....oh wait, the NYC suburbs are already paying a hefty portion of the nation's taxes. Why don't we just carry Canada and Mexico on our backs as well! And while we're at it, let's pay for everyone's health care. Fuck that.

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12 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:25 AM

9 - yeah but fat people die at 55 from heart attacks.

13 Posted by JaKe Emeritus | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:25 AM

I see that Sarah Palin's candidate lost in upstate New York. This is most unfortunate. I was looking forward to Mr. Hoffman focusing on such issues as how the government is trying to kill citizens via swine flu vaccines, thus diverting attention away from the fact that I use my obscene wealth to hire competent accountants who help me avoid paying taxes.

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14 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:28 AM

4 - Note the postscript from Lat:

"P.S. We worked for Chris Christie in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2003 until 2006. Congratulations on your hard-won victory, Chris!"

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15 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:28 AM

Great to see that some folks still believe that two men fucking each other doesn't qualify as a marriage.

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16 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:29 AM

MAINE SUCKS.

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17 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:29 AM

12 - not funny. You can disagree all you want with a man's politics. You don't relish the thought that he'll die.

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18 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:30 AM

11- second that. Corzine a guilty liberal fuckstick. the last straw was phasing out the paltry prop tax rebate for the "wealthiest" NJers, you know those making a whopping 75K and above. Now he can go hit on guidettes in Hoboken for all I care. Worst . . . Governor . . . Ever.

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19 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:31 AM

Who is fatter, Mystal the Walrus or Christie?

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20 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:34 AM

12 -- yeah, cuz Corzine was the picture of health! his body fat was probably 18% compared to christie's 23%. it's funny to watch two middle-old aged out of shape fat dudes bicker about who's in better shape.

in any case, perhaps corzine should have spent a little less time working out and a little more time fixing the dysfunctional hell hole that is NJ.

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21 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:35 AM

@11 and @18 - Is the view good from the cheap seats? It seems to me that if you're that pissed off, you'd go out and actually *do* something about what irks you rather than yapping about it here. Or are you two more of the "I'd rather watch the weather channel than open a window" persuasion?

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22 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:35 AM

I will hold it against Christie, though, that he blew a great opportunity to have a daughter named Christie Christie.

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23 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:36 AM

Go MAINE!

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24 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:38 AM

Lat, what's with the "Royal We" when you refer to yourself? You sound like a complete tool.

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25 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:42 AM

Actually, men in Maine have been fucking each other since the formation of the state. Maine men are well-known to fuck each other and to fuck any animal found in the barnyard. It's ok to be a pervert, but getting married is out of the question.

26 Posted by Gunnery Sergeant | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:43 AM

Number 25, do YOU suck dicks?

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27 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:44 AM

21, I assumed they, you know, voted for Christie (if that counts as "do[ing] something about it") and that they were here to discuss how happy they are that the results came out as they wanted.

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28 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:45 AM

McDonell "seizes victory"? That sounds a little too martial for purposes of reporting the results of a democratic election? I guess like most GOP dudes, Lat just has a thing for strongmen.

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29 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:46 AM




深深地 操 所有擂奥夫人的所的大爷


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30 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:48 AM

gays should have just as much right to be miserable and get divorced as everyone else

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31 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:48 AM

21, why would you deride them as do-nothing whiners? They won. Why don't you just come out and say you're not happy with the results and you don't want to hear from people who are?

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32 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:49 AM

I wonder if Eskimos also stalk Christie like they do Mystal.

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33 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:52 AM

11 & 18: you are idiots. No governor, Republican or Democrat, can do jack shit about NJ's ridiculous property taxes. I don't remember Christie Whitman solving the problem, just as McGreevey and Corzine failed to do so. The state is a mess, and will continue to be that way in four years.

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34 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:54 AM

4: Well, Christie is Lat's former boss afterall.

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35 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:59 AM

I live in Gowanus.

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36 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:04 AM

9 - I'd rather be bald than fat. Baldness is something people have no control over, whereas fatness of ass is a symptom of a major character flaw.

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37 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:07 AM

@31 - I don't care either way, as I don't live in the NE US. The questionable grammar of @18's "Corzine a guilty liberal fuckstick" and @11's less-than-constructive rhetoric "Why don't we just carry Canada and Mexico on our backs as well! And while we're at it, let's pay for everyone's health care" aside, grace in victory is generally more palatable than the alternative.

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38 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:13 AM

I am from N.J. What is this virtual welfare state of which 11 speaks?

11 and 18 are presumably unaware that Corzine was able to ram through a property tax reform package that capped annual increases at 4 percent. And Corzine even engineered a shift of the tax burden to sales taxes away from property taxes. (This made N.J's system more regressive -- isn't this what you want, 11?) Property taxes are still very high, but Corzine had a very difficult situation to deal with, especially given the state's declining revenues caused by the recession and the fiscal mess he inherited, courtesy of the last four governors.

Meanwhile, Christie seems to believe that he can solve the state's fiscal woes while cutting taxes for people making over $400k per year. Good luck with that. What will probably happen is that Christie will end up feuding with the legislature and his agenda by and large will not be accomplished, barring a change in party control during the state midterm elections. (This of course assumes that he actually has an agenda. It's not clear that he does, since he sure didn't give any indication during the campaign that he has many concrete plans.)

Ultimately, what's really hurting Jersey right now is the bad national economy, something over which local politicians have very little control yet still pay for at the ballot box. (Same goes for Bloomberg in NYC, who squeaked by on a much smaller margin than anyone anticipated.) The federal government is much more able than any state government to affect the economy. And fortunately for New Jersey -- as well as the rest of the country -- people like 11 and 18 are not running the show at the national level.

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39 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:20 AM

38 = Corzine

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40 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:20 AM

Over the years, I've developed a real disgust for fat people. They are ruining our Country with all of their healthcare needs, SUV needs, XXXXL clothing needs, extra space on buses, trains, airplanes, elevators, and urinals needs, red meat needs, etc. (I could go on).

On another subject, who in their right mind actually believes in the sancticity of marriage? There is sanctity in honest, loving relationships, but certainly not the institution of marriage. What's so sacrosanct about it? Please advise.

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41 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:20 AM

stay classy 29.

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42 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:37 AM

Check out the caption for the Christie picture. it reads "fat heavyset overweight obese."

nice work....

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43 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:38 AM

38, perhaps you forget that Corzine actually had the balls to propose elimination of the property tax deduction in its entirety on the state level and was rear ended even by his own party ton that one o phase it out for taxable units above $250K (you know, those of us who already pay most of the taxes). That he eliminated altogether the measly rebate for those above 75K is laughable. And yes, the Governor absolutely can do something about property taxes, but Corzine did jack shit. In fact, he exacerbated the situation. Hard to believe but he was worse than McCreepy.

44 Posted by Res Ipsa | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:51 AM

Yeah, I'm sure Day Casebeer attorneys had nothing to do with the withheld emails.

In every case I have dealt with, corporate clients don't even know what they have in their email records, and so electronic discovery is ultimately conducted in Boolean, with terabytes of emails--many ultimately pointless--being exchanged in discovery. Yet, in this one case, the client was miraculously aware of massive numbers of relevant emails, and it specifically lied about those to prevent its well-meaning counsel from discovering them.

Right...the same vile FTT purveyors of delay and procedural fencing, who claim attorney-client and work product privilege for everything, had nothing to do with documents falling behind the electronic bookshelf. The best part is, these amoral, anti-just BigLaw FTT hacks, whose job consists of ludicrous discovery tactics rather than actual legal practice, are actually considered great lawyers for what is nothing more than gamesmanship.

Gone are the days when a lawyer's greatness was measured by whether he could speak in complete paragraphs, sans notes, before a jury or a panel of judges. Now, an FTT BigLaw lawyer's greatness is measured by how many glorified idiot FTT clerks, hardly worth the grossly excessive $170,000 annual to which they claim entitlement, he can recruit to pour through documents, "inadvertently" failing to pull the most damning ones or baselessly claiming privilege to prevent their seeing light of day.

These lawyers should be fined three years' salary for their actions that strike at the heart of fairness in the justice system. Only then will the hundreds of other FTT BigLaw lyncanthropes who have not gotten caught doing the same thing will give some pause.

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45 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:55 AM

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF CLOWN POLITICS AND THE HUSSEIN DICTATORSHIP BEGAN LAST NIGHT!

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46 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:58 AM

38 - 11 here. Typical snide response from a know-it-all. Real political courage in NJ is not capping property taxes at 4%. It is changing the nature of the welfare state in which virtually all of the state's tax revenues gets flushed down the collective hole that is our major cities. It also entails eliminating county government, forcing municipalities to consolidate services, making NJ a better environment for business and eliminating the rampant wasteful spending and pork-barrel projects.

Being an apologist for Corzine's piss-poor record does not make him a good Governor. NJ has structural problems at the state level, primarily related to a state government that has its hands in everything from civil war re-enactments to stem cell research. Why the fuck is a state government involved in funding stem-cell reseach, particularly when we are the home of big pharma? It's only one of the things that drives me batty about the fuckers who run this state.

The bottom line is that Corzine is an incorrigible tax and spend liberal no matter how you slice it. I don't have a lot of hope for Christie because I haven't heard him address the structural problems that make NJ's problems persist. If Steve Lonegan hadn't been such a nut, I could have voted for him on the simple basis that he wanted to eliminate 30% of NJ government and its attendant spending. That's a start in the right direction. Unfortunately for 18 and me, people who think government can fix everything and that 60% of Americans should carry the other 40% on their backs (40% of Americans pay no federal income tax) and provide free health care and God-knows-what-else are in control right now. At least we're down one elitist, tax and spend fucker. I can cheer for that, no matter how small the victory.

As for health care, if the gov't cannot distribute one lousy shipment of H1N1 properly, how is it going to administer health care to 300 million people and 30 million illegals? I have lived in Western Europe and their vaunted health care. It's great if you have the sniffles and they give you some of that witch-doctor potion, but God help you if you need a hip or knee replacement, an MRI or treatment for cancer. The mortality rate for prostate cancer in Germany is something like 65%, in the U.S. it's well below 20%. That's because there are no resources for early detection and endless waiting on a bread-line to get real services that matter. All you need to know is that Philadelphia has more MRI machines than all of Canada.

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47 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:09 AM

I have to agree with the commenter ragging on Lat's use of "we" again. If it truly is a "we", who at ATL was it that worked for Christie during that period of time provided?

Otherwise...knock it off with using "we" to refer to your singular self. It's just bad writing.

48 Posted by Affirmative Walrus | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:19 AM

I hate those damn Eskimos and their sharp sticks.

Anyway, last night was a dark, dark, uh, night.

Racist McDonnell took VA by 17 points. Fat Christie (ignore the hypocrisy) took solidly blue state NJ by 5 points (curse you Glenn Beck for keeping ACORN at home) and ME gave equality the finger.

Fortunately, all that was meaningless. The real story is that a Democrat won NY-23! I mean, the Republican in the race was so overpowered by hope and change that she dropped out and endorsed the Democrate over the 3rd-party candidate. Take that conservatism! With the help of the Republican candidate, we smoked your 3rd-party candidate by a whopping 4 points!

Last night was anything but a referendum on Obama. I mean, Barack hasn't even done anything yet to warrant such a backlash. Except be black. Racists.

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49 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:37 AM

15 - Those same folks also think that a man and woman fucking each other doesn't qualify as marriage. In fact, the only argument they have, aside from tradition, is that state support for marriage should be based on a public policy of supporting procreation, but they aren't willing to bar (heterosexual) people who can't procreate from marriage. Your point is empty. But by all means, keep thumping away at whatever moral script you endorse.

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50 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:39 AM

The real story is that Obama and Cristie have been having a long-term sexual affair. Obama apparently prefers fat people, and men most of all.

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51 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:55 AM

49 FTW

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52 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:57 AM

15 seems to know a lot about two men fucking each other and whether that is a marriage. Personal experience?

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53 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:00 PM

Washington state voted to give teh gheys equivalent marriage rights last night.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7460-Spokane-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m11d3-Washington-State-2009-Election-Results

There is yet work to be done, Walrus.

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54 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:05 PM

48 - can't tell if you are being facetious but I like it if you are. A congressional race in northern NY state couldn't be more meaningless. I agree that the elections are not a referendum on Obama. Unfortunately, it's the same old shit. The fact that Christie and McDonnell won shows you how sick people are to keep paying taxes like they are in a socialist country.

The middle class, what is left of it, needs tax relief to the extent of 20% or so overall. That can be a combination of various state and federal taxes, but it needs to happen for this society to survive as a largely middle class society. The AP yesterday ran an article that 50% of children under the age of 18 will be on food stamps at on point or another. That is an appalling statistic and all you really need to know about where this country is going. There are many reasons for this: breakdown of the family, the multiculturalization of our society (because of the resulting incompatible political and social agendas), the slow but steady economic decline (as a % of global GDP) since the 1960's (much of which is attributable to Europe and Asia's rebuilding after WWII), political parties being hijacked by extremists, etc.

With the advent of global trade and the unsustainable loss of blue-collar jobs, we are already on a path to becoming a banana republic. I have no love for Western Europe, but their protectionist measures of industry and their trades keeps those societies stable and relatively prosperous. I don't know that anyone can really do anything to stop this slide, short of pulling back on total globalization in the name of cheap prices, but I just don't see how the government taking everything over can be beneficial. Middle class Americans must pay somewhere around 50-60% of gross income in taxes of one form or another. How can that kind of taxation spur this country toward another avenue of growth? In those countries where the government is the primary employer, GDP growth is flat or negative and the populace never advances. We are approaching the time when the federal government has its hand in virtually everything. Is this really what the people who elected Obama want? Most of the white people I know who voted for Obama did so to prove to themselves that they are not racist and that they can vote for a black man. I assume virtually all black people voted for Obama because he is black. Congratulations, we elected a black president who most blacks do not consider "black enough." My belief is that most people voted for Obama for the reason above and because of his charisma, but not on the actual issues or because they share his ideology. And a lot of it was a protest vote against republicans. So be it.. Any objective observer would have realized this guy was too inexperienced to be President, a fact which has been borne out by the fact that his entire team is made up of ex-Clintonites.

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55 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:13 PM

I don't believe anyone (hetero, homo, bi) should be allowed to marry. So there.

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56 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:17 PM

Enough of this gay marriage red herring debate. gays are already allowed to marry, just not each other.

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57 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:19 PM

NJ Bar Results being released Monday, Nov. 9th at 4 PM.

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58 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:23 PM

Now Lat kisses Christie's fat ass after dropping jibes for several weeks as to his intelligence and how he got and kept his US Attorney post. It must kill Lat that a Seton Hall trained lawyer was his boss and is no Governor while he has to look at Elie all day.

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59 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:28 PM

Maine voters figured out that gay marriage killed the dinosaurs.

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60 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:54 PM

So Chris Christie is the new NJ governor? Who's gonna be the lieutenant gov, Markie Mark?

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61 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 1:01 PM

No, dumbass.

Mark Markie.

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62 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 1:21 PM

58 FTW

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63 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 2:19 PM

ATL commenters only care about gay marriage because it will allow them to rack up more divorce fees.

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64 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 2:22 PM

Prosecutors always prevail at the polls. All prosecutors are inherent persecutors (AKA politicians).

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65 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, November 4, 2009 3:40 PM

Commenter 54 is obviously a Socialist fifth columnist. Middle class tax relief obviously needs to be AT LEAST 31%.

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