OPINION: China Must Be Confronted. The U.S. has enemies around the world. None of them is greater than China as their role around the globe continues to grow. While they have mostly remained on the sidelines in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they are much more active in other parts of the world. That is why China is brokering a deal that re-establish diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia—more frenemy than ally to the U.S.—and Iran is one of the more consequential recent foreign affairs developments. Plus, President Xi Jinping just started a new term and now holds the three main crowns of power in China—party, military and state—with no rivals or potential successors in sight. In our view, all of this is leading up to a reckoning over Taiwan. President Joe Biden has pledged to defend the island country that China sees as an extension of its homeland. The United States must confront China—economically and politically—to promote and protect our values here at home and across the world. Leadership of the world for the next century is at stake. It’s an enemy we beat before and one that we must defeat again. North-JerseyNews.com
Chinese leader Xi Jinping reportedly plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the Russian invasion, likely after he visits Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A direct conversation with Zelensky would mark a significant step in Beijing’s efforts to play peacemaker in Ukraine, which have so far been met with skepticism in Europe. It would also bolster Beijing’s credentials as a global power broker after it facilitated a surprise diplomatic breakthrough between Saudi Arabia and Iran last week. The Wall Street Journal
China’s new premier, the country’s No. 2 leader after Xi Jinping, sought to reinvigorate confidence in the faltering economy, promising that private-sector companies would be treated equally with state-owned ones and that the property rights and other interests of entrepreneurs would be strictly respected. Premier Li Qiang, who took office over the weekend, strongly endorsed the role of entrepreneurs after a decade in which the state and the ruling Communist Party have played a steadily growing role in China’s economy, with some pro-party commentators castigating big businesses. The New York Times
Sen. Bob Menendez would not commit to labeling drug cartels terrorist organizations until the Mexican government becomes more aggressive in dealing with them. “Slapping a designation isn’t in and of itself going to change anything,” said Menendez during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press March 12. “The question is: How do you go after the cartels? How do you dry up their money? How do you go after their leadership? How do you put them away? Those are some of the things that you can do that ultimately mean something at the end of the day.” The North Jersey lawmaker again raised questions about the Biden Administration’s immigration plan, stating he wants “a surge at the border” of resources to help with the crisis and if the administration continues down its current path, “I am afraid that the president will become the “Asylum Denier-in-Chief.” North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey will not cut ties with Walgreens after California’s governor said his state’s government won’t do business with companies that won’t sell abortion pills in some states. “I don’t expect we’ll take a stand like that,” Murphy said during a TV interview on CBS’s Face The Nation. Instead, the Democratic governor wants “Walgreens and CVS and others like that to do the right thing, which is to be there for especially women to uphold their freedoms and not take them away.” NJ.com
U.S. authorities took action late March 12 to contain the damage from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a once-obscure lender that focused on business customers, including start-ups throughout the tech sector. Officials announced that depositors with money at the California bank, which was closed by state regulators on March 10, would be paid back in full and be able to start accessing their money on Monday morning. They also disclosed that another lender, Signature Bank, had been shuttered by New York regulators and that its depositors would also be made whole. The New York Times
The N.J. Economic Development Authority will open a series of programs designed to provide emergency assistance to companies impacted by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. A survey taken over the weekend by the EDA found that “hundreds” of New Jersey companies were connected to Silicon Valley Bank. And while many had less than $250,000, meaning their complete deposits were insured by the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation, there are others who have multi-million stakes in the bank. ROI-NJ.com
Former Vice President Mike Pence said “that history will hold Donald Trump accountable” for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which he called “a disgrace.” Speaking at the Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington March 11, Pence stated “President Trump was wrong; I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.” He later added that “make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.” The New York Times
Lawmakers in the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. The four-page bill, which the House voted 419-0 to clear on last week, would require the Director of National Intelligence to “declassify any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Coronavirus Disease 2019” within 90 days of becoming law. New Jersey Monitor
Rep. Josh Gottheimer is relying on a high-octane blend of populism in his bid to block the proposed congestion pricing tolls facing New Jersey’s Manhattan-bound car commuters. “The MTA is just using us as their piggy bank, which I find beyond offensive, given how much we’re already giving them through the federal government,” said Gottheimer. “We believe when they actually…go into the depths that they should, they’ll see just how negative an impact this will have on the region on families.” The Record
Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. has announced he’ll be joining the House of Representatives’ Problem Solvers Caucus group within the 118th Congress. Kean said he is joining the bipartisan group, whose membership has grown to over 60 members and is co-chaired by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, to help find solutions for families and businesses in New Jersey. “Every day of gridlock in Washington is another day that issues impacting my constituents at home go unaddressed,” said the freshman Republican lawmaker. “This Congress needs to lead in a time when partisan gridlock often derails progress.” North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden moved to block future oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Ocean’s federal waters, part of a sweeping plan to protect 16 million acres of land and water in Alaska. The March 12 announcement comes as the administration is preparing to approve the massive Willow oil-drilling project in the Alaskan Arctic over the objections of environmentalists and many Democrats who wanted the project scuttled. The Wall Street Journal
Several civil rights leaders want the federal Department of Justice to take control of the Paterson police department, just as it did in Newark to stop the brutality there, and with the State Police to stop troopers who were targeting Black drivers. The call comes after the shooting death of Najee Seabrooks on March 3 when police department officials turned down at least two opportunities to find a peaceful solution. “We need federal oversight,” says Liza Chowdhury, the director of the state-funded anti-violence group that employed Seabrooks, the Paterson Healing Collective. “We need to do what Newark did.” NJ.com
Central Regional High School Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides indicated to reporters that the bullying that lead to the suicide of 14-year-old Adriana Kuch was a dispute over a marijuana deal with her attackers and she came from a broken family. Additionally, Parlapanides stated that “The father is very upset and has lost his child so sometimes you have to eat the shit sandwich.” Parlapanides is currently on paid administrative leave. NJ1015.com
A $135 million 2023 municipal budget that includes a 7% tax hike for property owners will be presented to the Hoboken City Council for introduction March 15. Mayor Ravi Bhalla said the spending plan provides for critical infrastructure investments, Vision Zero safety upgrades, and quality-of-life improvements despite rising inflation rates and increases in non-discretionary costs. The 7% hike equates to a $156 annual increase for the average property owner. The Jersey Journal
Gov. Phil Murphy says he fully supports President Joe Biden for reelection. “I haven’t really looked beyond that he certainly is going to run,” Murphy said. “He deserves to run. He’s earned that right. I think he’s had a great run here. And I’m gonna be 1,000% behind him.” NJ1015.com
State Sen. Fred Madden (D-4) will not seek re-election, bringing a 20-year career in the New Jersey State Senate to a close and setting up a competitive race in a district that became more competitive in legislative redistricting. A former acting Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Madden first elected to the Senate in 2003 when he ousted a Republican incumbent by 63 votes in what had been the most expensive legislative race in state history up to that point. The newly-drawn 4th is a swing district: Republican Jack Ciattarelli carried it by five percentage points in his 2021 race against Gov. Phil Murphy, but Joe Biden won it by seven points in the 2020 presidential election. New Jersey Globe
James Dodd, the former mayor of Dover, recently announced his plans to win back his former position. Dodd lost his reelection in 2019 after falling out of favor with Morris County Democrats, losing by 50 votes to current mayor Carolyn Blackman when he ran as an Independent. Dodd said he is running to be the Democratic nominee this year. InsiderNJ.com
Essex County Democrats awarded their organization line for State Senate in the 27th district to State Sen. Richard J. Codey over another incumbent placed in the same district during the latest round of legislative apportionment, State Sen. Nia Gill. Two assemblymen, Thomas P. Giblin and John McKeon, have party support for re-election in the 27th on the line with Codey. Meanwhile, Senator Steve Oroho, the Senate Republican Leader, and Assemblyman Hal Wirths, the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, announced their endorsement of Parker Space for Senate and Dawn Fantasia and Mike Inganamort for Assembly in the 24th LD. North-JerseyNews.com
Steve Lonegan has dropped his bid for the Republican nomination for State Senate in the 24th district, leaving a clear path for Parker Space to succeed Steve Oroho. “I terminated my campaign this past Sunday,” said Lonegan. “I am out.” Lonegan had moved from Bogota, where he had served three terms as mayor, to Sussex County last year with plans to seek Space’s open Assembly seat. He switched to the Senate after Oroho left the race. New Jersey Globe
Parsippany officials are reserving comment about an Open Public Records Act lawsuit filed last week that seeks the emails, texts and Facebook posts of a councilman under fire for opposing a union-friendly ordinance in town. Court papers state Alex Rosetti sought copies of emails sent or received by Councilman Justin Musella on “any email account used to conduct or participate or discuss township business whether the email account is government-owned or supplied or a privately-controlled account.” The request covered the period from September 15 through November 30 of last year as well as Musella’s Facebook account messages and text messages discussing township businesses between January 15 and November 30 of last year. The Daily Record
And finally…A nor’easter could dump over 12 inches of snow in parts of North Jersey tomorrow. NJ.com
