FBI Announces New Policy for Notifying State and Local Election Officials of Cyber Intrusions

Affecting Election Infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a new internal policy to clarify and guide the timely federal notification of appropriate state and local officials of cyber intrusions affecting election infrastructure.

Protecting the integrity of elections in the United States against criminal activity and national security threats is among the top priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI. Cyber intrusions affecting election infrastructure have the potential to cause significant negative impacts on the integrity of elections. Understanding that mitigation of such incidents often hinges on timely notification, the FBI has established a new internal policy outlining how the FBI will notify state and local officials responsible for administering election infrastructure of cyber activity targeting their infrastructure.

The FBI’s new policy recognizes the necessity of notifying responsible state and local officials of credible cyber threats to election infrastructure. Each state has a designated person to serve as its chief state election official with ultimate authority over elections held in the state, which often includes certifying election results. However, most election infrastructure is owned and operated by local governments. Likewise, the local election process is overseen by local election officials. The FBI’s interactions regarding election security matters must respect both state and local authorities. Thus, the FBI’s new policy mandates the notification of a chief state election official and local election officials of cyber threats to local election infrastructure.

The new policy is informed by existing FBI policies surrounding cyber incident notification thresholds and cyber victim notification in general. The new policy, however, provides updated and additional guidance on the timely dissemination of notifications and/or threat reporting; the protection of victim information and disclosures; and coordination between FBI and other agencies in regard to election security for maximum impact. Decisions surrounding notification continue to be dependent on the nature and breadth of an incident and the nature of the infrastructure impacted.

It is the intent of the FBI that this new policy will result in increased collaboration between all levels of government for the integrity and security of U.S. elections.

Towns in New Jersey Join Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement

CNBNews.net

NEW JERSEY—Some towns in New Jersey have joined the Second Amendment sanctuary movement, according to

ammoland.com

This

movement is a form of civil disobedience that has taken off in Virginia, and it is also making strides in Kentucky.

CNBNews graphic files

Alexander Roubian of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society stated that two towns in the Garden State have already declared themselves as Second Amendment sanctuary jurisdictions, while “we are aware of dozens of others that are supportive of passing similar measures. We have been working non-stop to help spread resolutions to towns and cities throughout New Jersey with a tremendous amount of positive feedback.”

One can look at the summaries of the

Virginia

and

New Jersey

laws available via NRA-ILA’s web site and ask if the movement does any good in the latter state. One thing New Jersey lacks that Virginia has is a specific provision in the state constitution protecting the right to keep and bear arms.

New Jersey’s constitution does declare that citizens have rights when it comes to “defending life,” “protecting property,” and “pursuing and obtaining safety” – but somehow, the officials in New Jersey have gotten away with infringing on the right to own the implements that are the best at achieving those objectives. Despite that current state of illogic, Roubian still sees signs of hope in New Jersey.

“While there is a much more restrictive baseline for Second Amendment rights in New Jersey, we commend the law enforcement officers that have always honored and respected the Second Amendment in our State and expedite gun permits while others claim it takes 6-12 months to process an application. There are many police departments that already do the right thing when it comes to an individual making a hyper-technical violation of New Jersey\’s draconian and discriminatory gun-licensing scheme and we commend those officers and departments,” he said.

CNBNews Hunting and Fishing

CNBNews Sports

David Richter Calls for Three Constitutional Amendments to Fix a Broken Congress

VINELAND, NJ

– David Richter, Republican candidate running to represent New Jersey’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced yesterday that if elected, he intended to draft and introduce three proposed amendments to the United States Constitution to fix what he termed a “broken Congress.”

During a speech Richter gave last night to the New Jersey Constitutional Republicans at the Ramada Inn in Vineland, New Jersey, he said that “the biggest challenge to the long-term success of our country is our huge national debt, now more than $23 trillion and growing by an additional $1 trillion every year. We face within the next 20 to 30 years a national debt so high that it imperils the economic futures of not only ourselves but our children and grandchildren, as well.”

The three proposed amendments would include: (1) a Balanced Budget Amendment, which would require Congress, except in times of war, to enact and implement a balanced federal budget, (2) a Line-Item Veto Amendment, which would give the President the right to strike individual spending items from the federal budget passed by Congress, and (3) a Term-Limit Amendment, which would prohibit members from serving more than 12 consecutive years in the same house of Congress by limiting U.S. Senators to two consecutive terms and U.S. Representatives to six consecutive terms.

“The United States Constitution is the greatest political document ever drafted,” said Richter. “We don’t need to in any way fix it, but we do need fundamental structural change in how Congress operates or we risk within the next generation or two the insolvency of this great nation,” he added.

The New Jersey Constitutional Republicans is a group dedicated to restoring the initial principles of the Republican Party that are derived from the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The group is dedicated to teaching citizens about our nation’s founding documents and the original intent our founders had for the purpose of government in securing the rights of the people who consent to be governed.

Richter is challenging former Democrat Jeff Van Drew for the Republican nomination for the Second District seat. “The citizens of South Jersey need a real Republican in Congress who will work hard for smaller government, lower taxes and secure borders, and who will fight to protect, not undermine, their constitutional rights. Despite his recent switch to the Republican Party, Van Drew voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 91% of the time last year and with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 84% of the time. He voted against the interests of small and family-owned businesses, against the interests of law-abiding gun owners, and against the interests of working families,” added Richter.

The Second District includes all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties, as well as parts of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Richter is the former CEO of global construction management firm Hill International. A lifelong Republican, he grew up in and has spent most of his life living and working in South Jersey. He earned two bachelor’s degrees and a law degree from Penn as well as master’s degrees from Oxford and Harvard. Richter and his wife Michelle, who have been married for 20 years, are the parents of four daughters.

For more information on the David Richter for Congress campaign, please visit our website at

www.Richter2020.com.

Salem County Republican Chairwoman Linda DuBois Endorses Van Drew

Salem County Republican Chairwoman Linda DuBois released the following statement endorsing incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew for re-election.

“Congressman Van Drew has a deep understanding of the issues facing South Jersey, particularly when it comes to the needs of our agricultural community,” said DuBois. “Congressman Van Drew has stood up for South Jersey and with President Trump, so it has been no surprise to see the overwhelming support the Congressman has received. I am proud to join the thousands of rank and file Republicans who have come up to him in coffee shops, diners and out on the streets of South Jersey in offering my full support to Congressman Van Drew.”

DuBois served on the Pittsgrove Township Committee for 27 years including 5 years as Mayor. Since taking over as the county party chair, DuBois has successfully lead the party’s efforts to regain and maintain Republican control of county government.

State Assemblywoman Joann Downey Endorses Stephanie Schmid for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th District

Joann Downey, who has served as State Assemblywoman for LD-11 since 2016 and is the top ranking female Democratic official in Monmouth County, announced today that she is endorsing Stephanie Schmid to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th District.

Joann Downey

“Stephanie has the background and expertise as a retired Foreign Service Officer, US Diplomat and human rights attorney to finally flip this seat and represent our district,” said Assemblywoman Downey. “For years we’ve watched Chris Smith attack women’s healthcare in our name, and that needs to end now. I had the pleasure of getting to know Stephanie personally as she volunteered and worked hard for not only my race but so many of our local races. I look forward to having a partner at the federal level to work for our community and what truly matters to our constituents.”

“Assemblywoman Downey is someone I respect and admire for her incredible dedication to our community. She is a woman who has won tough elections and I look forward to her mentorship and full support in taking Chris Smith head on,” said Schmid. “I have spent my career, not in service to a political party, but in service to those who have not had the voice they deserve in our democracy. I am thrilled for the opportunity, as the first woman ever to represent this district, to finally fix our broken healthcare system, address the excessive tax burden on middle class families in New Jersey, and be a transparent, present representative that our community can be proud of.”

NJ Democrat and Republican Legislative Leadership For The New Session

Senate Democratic Leadership:

(Additional Leadership to be announced)

Senator Stephen M. Sweeney (3), Senate President

Senator Loretta Weinberg (37), Senate Majority Leader

Senator M. Teresa Ruiz (29), Senate President Pro Tempore

Senate Republican Leadership:

Senator Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (21), Republican Leader

Senator Robert W. Singer (30), Deputy Minority Leader

Senator Kristin M. Corrado (40), Conference Leader

Senator Chris A. Brown (2), Deputy Conference Leader

Senator Steven V. Oroho (24), Budget Officer

Senator Joseph Pennacchio (26), Whip

Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (16), Deputy Whip

Assembly Democratic Leadership:

(Additional Leadership to be announced)

Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin (19), Assembly Speaker

Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (6), Majority Leader

Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (37), Speaker Pro Tempore

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (20), Majority Conference Chair

Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (29), Assembly Budget Committee Chair

Assembly Republican Leadership:

Assemblyman Jon M. Bramnick (21), Republican Leader

Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz (21), Conference Leader

Assemblyman John DiMaio (23), Co-Conference Leader

Assemblyman Edward H. Thomson (30), Republican Whip

Assemblyman Harold J. “Hal” Wirths (24), Republican Budget Officer

Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (12), Deputy Republican Leader

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce (26), Deputy Republican Leader

Assemblywoman Holly T. Schepisi (39), Deputy Republican Leader

Assemblyman Erik Peterson (23), Parliamentarian

Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (13), Deputy Republican Whip

Assemblyman Jay Webber (26), Appropriations Officer

Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove (9), Policy Co-Chair

Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf (9), Policy Co-Chair

N.J. Working Families Demands Criminal Investigation Following Release of EDA Report

(

January 17, 2020)–N

ew Jersey Working Families State Director Sue Altman (photo)released the following statement in response to yesterday’s task force report:

“The task force’s new report unearthed a staggering level of corruption unprecedented in New Jersey history. George Norcross,

his brothers and his companies conspired to cheat taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars – and they did it with the full cooperation of the Christie administration and legislative leaders.

“This is Trenton at its worst. Norcross lied to the Legislature, and no one dared ask him hard questions or hold him accountable.

“It’s time for law enforcement to step in and provide justice for New Jersey taxpayers. If politicians could be charged for taking cash out of coffee cups, then political insiders who robbed taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars need to ex

Community Reformers Call on DPRA Members to Investigate Questionable Land Dealings

CAMDEN CITY, NJ (January 17, 2020)(Gloucestercitynews.net)-

-Community reformers jammed the Delaware River Port Authority meeting on Wednesday calling on the governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania

to investigate the connection of the DRPA board members with political

Sue Altman, state director of New Jersey Working Families was dragged from a hearing in Nov. where George E. Norcross III testified he did not manipulated New Jersey’s controversial tax incentive program for his benefit (photo courtesy of

The Philadelphia Inquirer)

power broker George Norcross III.

The

Philadelphia Inquire

r reported the progressive political groups specifically cited the two parcels of land that the agency sold or optioned for development projects in Camden.

“It is time for a full accounting of the facts and to clean house in an agency that has acted for too long as a tool of special interests,\” wrote leaders of the two groups, New Jersey Working Families and Pennsylvania Working Families, in a letter addressed to Govs. Phil Murphy and Tom Wolf on Wednesday.

The groups also made that request in person Wednesday morning, when about a dozen activists filed into the DRPA’s 11th-floor conference room in Camden.

Seven of them addressed the agency’s board, composed of members appointed by the governors of both states.

“There are people on the DRPA board, certainly on the New Jersey side … with very, very strong political connections and financial connections to a political machine that, in our opinion, prioritizes the lining of its own pockets and corporate interests over the interests of the public dollar and of public opinion,” said Sue Altman, state director of New Jersey Working Families.

The letter follows

an Inquirer article

, published last month, that detailed how South Jersey political power broker George E. Norcross III came to acquire a three-acre parking lot near the Camden waterfront. Both the DRPA and the Camden Redevelopment Agency held rights to the land, which was appraised at $2.3 million.

The DRPA’s interest in the land was appraised at $800,000, and in 2016 the agency sold the parcel for that amount to Liberty Property Trust, the onetime developer of a major waterfront project fueled by a controversial state tax-credit program. Liberty later sold the land to Norcross and his business partners for $350,000 according to

The Inquirer.

(read more)

DOWN WITH TYRANNY! DOWN WITH \’KING\’ GEORGE NORCROSS-cnbnews.net

CNBNEWS POINT OF VIEW: Our Elected Officials Need to Remember Who They Represent

How to Take Care of Your Backyard

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 16, 2020)–When you have a backyard in your home, it’s crucial that you take care of it. The last thing you are going to want is a patch of overgrown mess behind your property. Not only will this look bad, but you won’t be able to use it to its full advantage either. When guests come over you’ll be embarrassed about the look of your yard, and the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to tidy.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

Many people don’t really know how to take care of a backyard. They may never have had one before, or perhaps someone else always looked after it in the past. It could be that you don’t have a ‘green thumb’ and you’re just not confident in yard work. However, it isn’t so difficult to keep your yard looking neat and tidy and usable. Here are some tips.

Get Help

The first thing to do when you have a backyard that needs taking care of is to work out which jobs you can do yourself and which you are going to need professional assistance with. It will depend on your level of physical fitness, your budget, and how much time you have. You could get a gardener in to do all the work, or you might just want a

tree company Lake Mary

to come in and ensure the trees in your yard are safe and tidy.

This is the first step you should think about when you want to take care of your yard. Once you know what you need to do and what someone else can do, you can determine a plan of action to get it all completed in a reasonable time frame.

Keep it Clear

It’s easy for a backyard to become full of debris and trash over time. If you’re renovating the interior of your home, for example, your yard could be where you store your equipment and everything that really needs to go to the dump. Or it might be that you have children and they leave their toys and games all over the lawn.

The debris in your yard might not even be manmade. Leaves that fall can turn into mulch and become slippery and unsightly, so making sure you

rake them up

and remove them is important.

The clearer your yard is, the more enjoyable it will be. Even if you don’t do anything else to it, keeping the trash out of your yard is a good idea.

Use Fertilizer

If you really want to take care of your yard then using fertilizer to ensure the plants, flowers, fruit, vegetables, saplings — or anything else you might choose to plant outside — grow well is a great option.

Fertilizer gives your backyard the right amount of extra nutrients that it can’t get elsewhere, and this stimulates growth. To have your backyard looking its best, fertilizer is always going to work for you, and it’s cheap too — if you can speak to a farmer or stables about collecting their

horse manure

, you might even get it for free.

Following Trump\’s Lead, Cape May County Republicans Rally to Van Drew

In the short time since he announced his intentions to join the Republican party, Congressman Jeff Van Drew has been warmly welcomed by an overwhelming majority of Cape May County Republicans. Following President Trump’s lead, elected officials at the county and local level have lined up in support of the incumbent

Republican’s re-election campaign.

“We now have an incumbent, Republican Congressman, endorsed by our Republican President,” CapeGop Chairman Marcus Karavan declared. “I plan to to follow our President’s lead and work hard to reelect Rep. Van Drew to the US Congress.”

At the County level, all five members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, along with County Sheriff Robert Nolan and County Clerk Rita Fulginiti, have welcomed Van Drew to the fold and pledged to support his re-election.

Congressman Van Drew has been meeting with county and municipal elected officials over the last several weeks, stressing his long history of service to Cape May county and the many positions he has taken in support of the president’s agenda and the Republican party’s conservative platform.

Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton pointed to many years of cooperation with Van Drew on important projects, working across party lines for the greater good.

“No matter his position or party, Jeff has looked to do good work and put politics aside,” Thornton said. “We have joked with him for years about crossing over and joining the party of common sense. Any past differences pale in comparison to the good work we can now accomplish as partners fighting for a better Cape May County.”

At the local level, Mayors, Committeeman and Council Members have been meeting with the Congressman, continuing a dialogue centered on infrastructure improvements, lower taxes, small business development and protecting citizens’ rights and freedoms. Several endorsements from local Republicans are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“Despite some past political differences, we have always been able to work with Jeff, when it comes to helping the folks we represent,” Lower Township Mayor and Assemblyman-Elect Erik Simonsen said. “A united front of hard-working Republican leaders from top to bottom in our county will be critical if we are to truly push back against the progressive insanity that has infested the Democrat party, both in Trenton and Washington, DC.”

Middle Township Mayor and CapeGOP Second Vice-Chair Tim Donohue echoed Simonsen’s sentiments.

“Politically, we have battled Jeff Van Drew in the past, but every election is about the future,” Donohue said. “In speaking with the Congressman and his staff, I believe our visions for our county, state and country are very much aligned. On the issues that affect our quality of life locally and the principles that are most important to our voters, we stand on common ground.”

Congressman Van Drew stood as one of the few voices for common sense in the current Democrat party. When told by party bosses that he would lose their support if he dared to oppose impeachment, Van Drew stood on principle, voted NO on impeachment and left the party he no longer recognized as working for the best interests of the American people.

“Let’s be honest, my conservative positions often put me at odds with Democrat leadership,” Van Drew said. “After nearly a year in Washington, it became clear to me that the radical agenda of the far-left elements that now control the Democrat party is inflicting real damage on our country. Like the hard-working, common sense people in South Jersey, my views and vision for a better America are in line with President Trump’s plans to make America great again.”

The congressman officially announced his intentions to join the Republican party from the White House on December 20th with President Trump by his side.

“Jeff will be joining our growing Republican Party and has my full endorsement,” President Trump said in a December 20th tweet. “This is a big win for the GOP and a big win for South Jersey. South Jersey is Trump country, so I know all NJ Republicans will be join me in supporting Jeff Van Drew.”

###