Any New Jersey expats here?

A nice reporter from The Star-Ledger of New Jersey would like to hear from any New Jersey expats who are planning on joining in the march next Thursday. She can be reached at this address.

Also some of you might have heard me speak about the group on Radio 5 Live with Matthew Bannister last night. I was a bit nervous at first due to the size of the audience, and the fact that my opposite in the debate was the chair of Republicans Abroad, but I was really enjoying myself by the time we said our goodbyes. I got in a plug for the group, and an OK soundbite: "I don't care how Bush talks, I care how he walks."

Comments

[Joanne Steiner]

While I am not totally in agreement with every decision and action of the Bush administration regarding both September 11 and some of the current issues, I am also not radically oppossed to the realities of what we now face as Americans regarding the representation of September 11. We have, indeed, become lax in how we administer the rights and regulations involving expatriation, the right to live and work in our country, and the risk of being so open regarding our borders and admissions of immigrants, legally and otherwise, that we have compromised the safety of our citizens - and of our legal immigrants and visitors to the US.

The bitterness expressed by such a completely non-objective assessment of the decisions and actions taken after September 11, including Gitmo, is not wisely considered.

Having said this, I respect your desire and commitment to express your opinons and to make a statement and wish you whatever success this can gather. But, I think the views are far too limited and extreme.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

By the way, I am a well-travelled American, having spent many years traveling on business and vacations -across the US and throughout the globe. Have visited emerging countries as well as those where economy and government are solidly in place...and I can understand some of the issues taken with our country but can also see many good things we have done to help other countries and peoples. Somewhere between the unrealistic policies of the Carter administration and the tight limits of the Bush administration, there must be something that will serve the better good for the most people...but, that remains to be seen. We live in a real world impacted by real world issues and just deciding that good will prevail if we follow kind and liberal guidelines is not a philosophy of survival today.

Too bad there isn't balance in reporting and reacting with regard to who makes the most noise. Oh, well...such is life.