Published Again

In the eyes of the law, Bullock got a fair trial

By Express-Times Letters to the Editor
on August 28, 2015 at 1:08 PM, updated August 28, 2015 at 1:09 PM

In response to Steve Wilson's letter ("Bullock trial should have been handled on state or federal level," Aug. 10), the trial was held in state Superior Court. Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault are not federal crimes.

So much moral indignation about this case. It is not at all surprising that there are conspiracy theories about "collusion" and "corruption" on the county level because the judge in the case once worked as a prosecutor where the defendant also served as sheriff. The crime, as described, occurred within the jurisdiction of Warren County. Vicinage 13 is very small. Why not call everyone who ever received a favorable verdict in northwest New Jersey a kiddy rapist? Mass hysteria and jumping to conclusions feels good but it hurts victims.    

The jury was tasked with putting an 86-year-old man who requires a wheelchair and breathing tube in jail for 90 years. The accuser had a criminal record, including time in prison in Wisconsin. This case was lost for one reason: First Assistant Prosecutor Michael McDonald put forward not one unimpeachable shred of evidence to support the accuser's case.

In the eyes of the public, Edward Bullock is guilty as sin. Under the law, he got a fair trial. Not guilty does not mean innocent. Please educate yourself about the law before tarring and feathering an actually innocent man next time.

Erik B. Anderson

San Diego, Calif.

Formerly of Independence Township

LETTER: Why is ex-sheriff Bullock still getting a pension?

By Express-Times Letters to the Editor 
on March 08, 2014 at 12:59 AM, updated March 08, 2014 at 1:03 AM

 It is encouraging to hear that the state of New Jersey “may reconsider” whether or not to continue dispensing a pension to retired Warren County Sheriff Edward G. Bullock in light of his recent indictment on six counts of child sexual abuse, allegedly committed while on duty as sheriff. Those who vote with an eye toward fiscal issues will be very pleased, I am sure.

 In the sixth paragraph of The Express-Times article about this, however, I was astounded to find that Bullock has yet to turn himself in. The indictment was handed up 10 days ago. Last month.

Any reasonable person would presume he collected another payment on March 1. I do hope that we will not have to wait until after April 1 for an arrest warrant to be issued. That would be the worst kind of joke.

ERIK B. ANDERSON

Independence Township

The (dis)Honorable Judge John C. Stritehoff, Jr., ladies and gentleman.

Law clerk's complaint dismissed

Retired judge was accused of sexual harassment. He kissed the woman.

Express-Times, The (Easton, PA)-May 22, 1999 / Author: WILLIAM GUHL

       TRENTON - The state Supreme Court on Friday reprimanded a retired Warren County Superior Court judge for kissing his law clerk, but dismissed the clerk's sexual harassment complaint against the judge. 

      Retired Judge John Stritehoff Jr., who retired in May 1998, was reprimanded for "conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute." 

       A law clerk who worked for Stritehoff from 1997 to 1998 claimed that the judge on numerous occasions kissed her against her will, discussed intimate matters with her and often asked if she was thinking of him. 

       She filed a complaint with an assistant trial court administrator in January 1998. 

       Stritehoff denied the allegations, but admitted kissing the clerk on the lips to congratulate her on passing the bar exam and to wish her happy holidays at Christmastime in 1997.

LTTE: Violence Against Women Act steps on due process

By Express-Times Letters to the Editor
on March 07, 2013 at 12:50 AM

The problem is not that the Violence Against Women Act discriminates against men by not “protecting” alleged victims who are men. It’s that it purports to be protecting “victims” against so-called “abusers” without allowing the due process of law to determine exactly who is a victim and who is an abuser.

Since complaints of this nature are now heard in family court instead of criminal court, the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard is replaced by the much less stringent “preponderance of evidence.” Restraining orders and protection-from-abuse orders can be granted without the accused even knowing about the complaint, much less able to defend against it

And what a scandal if anyone objects! After all, if you’re against VAWA, your political opponents can say you are for violence against women!

This is not a free country.

ERIK B. ANDERSON
Independence Township

Source

LTTE: Public officials see ‘threats’ everywhere

Public officials see ‘threats’ everywhere

View full sizeAP Photo | MATT ROURKE

Warren County Sheriff David Gallant essentially says he “can’t tell” what a threat is anymore because of the rise of social media websites (“Threats to judges taken seriously in age of Facebook and Twitter, authorities say,” Feb. 24).

Oh, how easy it is for public officials to blame their own ignorance on some indescribable patina of mystification descending on us all by a strange new mysterious phenomena.

Blah, blah, blah. Bollocks, I say.

There’s no confusion about what a threat is. Look it up. This is a serious issue that needs to be clarified, quick.

Last week a man in Cincinnati was ordered by a judge to post a groveling apology to his wife on Facebook because of a previous post that said “all you need to do is say that you’re scared of your husband or domestic partner and they’ll take (your child) away.”

That’s political speech. A judge ordered a man around for it. Not an isolated incident.

Concerned citizens need to vent, but the Violence Against Women Act ensures an accused man will be punished even if the accusation turns out to be false.

In most cases, judges are immune from prosecution, even if their erroneous decisions profoundly harm families.

And if it’s in family court? The watchdog eye of the media is forbidden to ever know what happened.

This is pure insanity. If we are made to be afraid to vent by easily offended ignorant public officials, it’s time to have them removed from office.

ERIK ANDERSON

Independence Township

Published: Monday, February 27, 2012, 4:21 AM

New Jersey needs people to stay, fight

Letter to the Editor - Express-Times Newspaper

An expatriated friend of mine encouraged me to “get out of New Jersey” the other day. That phrase comes up a lot (usually preceded by “dirty jerzy,” corruption, property taxes, “the Soprano state,” etc.) and for the umpteenth time now, it perplexes me. I was always taught the grass is greener on the other side. If I were to leave, where would I go?

I was born in Morristown. Except for a few years of college, I have lived in the Garden State my whole life. I can trace my family tree back to pre-revolutionary New Jersey. I don’t know anything else.

I feel very much trapped here. Many things are beyond frustrating, but what really gets me mad is the knee-jerk reaction so many people have just to flee the state.

How is it patriotic to fight for our country and not for our state? Stay. Fight. Make things better for the next generation. Abandonment is not a solution.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “A man who hasn’t found something he is willing to die for is not fit to live.”

If staying here and suffering makes me crazy, then I’m crazy, but so was Dr. King.

ERIK B. ANDERSON
Independence Township

This letter is being discussed on HackettstownLife.com.

Read the Express-Times Tomorrow! 9/16/10

I wrote a letter to the editor. A response to Nancy Baumgartner's September 9th letter below. I got confirmation that they are going to print it. Check the news stand or http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/.

Tea Party: Limit feds to constitutional powers
Its not surprising that a significant number of vocal TEA Party critics do not even know what the acronym, “TEA” stands for and what the purpose of the movement is. TEA stands for “Taxed Enough Already.” With the average small business already paying more than 40 percent in earnings to state and federal taxes and fees, this is obviously true.

Moreover, TEA participants are here to remind our now-hostile federal government that expanding its power past those enumerated in the U.S. Constitution will not go unchallenged. Our government is to govern, and it has veered into ruling.

Finding a problem with TEA activities indicates that there are now Americans who prefer to become subjects rather than citizens. Tragic.

NANCY BAUMGARTNER
Oxford

UPDATE: Here's my letter:

Fight, don't join, the terrorists

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The tea partiers are consciously trying to induce a public nervous breakdown.

Whether they are sending death threats to a congressman's 5-year-old son in Florida, violently throwing money at a man with Parkinson's disease on an Ohio sidewalk or maliciously shouting the "N" word at African-American representatives at an event in Washington, D.C., the effect is utterly terrifying.

The mass hysteria that is today's Tea Party shows that the majority of us have forgotten we are supposed to be fighting terrorists, not becoming them. Do they really think the end justify the means?

When are we the people going to realize that we are not crazy after all? When will we stand up to all of this bullying? We are not safe in public. We are not safe in our homes. What will the future of our country be like if no one risks stepping out and fighting back?

Erik B. Anderson

Independence Township

Someone Questioned What Planet I Live On in the Newspaper!

I’d feel safe walking with folks in a Tea Party rally

Express-Times Newspaper - April 03, 2010

In response to the letter from Erik B. Anderson, I would like to ask “What planet is Independence Township on?” I think I know. It’s the planet that only receives the alphabet networks on TV.

Anderson sounds like all the other sound-bite political gurus. I ask him to do some research on the Tea Party movement to find out what the protests are all about. They’re about big government, high taxes and out-of-control spending. How are these people terrorists?

He might also do a bit of research about how the “left” handles themselves during their protests. Go back and look at the hatred that was spewed from the “left” about the previous administration. I think you’ll see a marked difference in behavior between them and the Tea Party protests.

And if you really want to see what’s going on, research how the mainstream media covers both kinds of events. You may be surprised.

I guess The Express-Times hasn’t been covering the massive unrest and crime wave in Independence Township, but here in Nazareth, I am safe both on the streets and in my home. Although I haven’t attended a Tea Party rally yet, I would feel perfectly safe there also.

CRAIG RIFENDIFER
Bushkill Township

This is exactly the tactic that I described in my March 31, 2010 letter to the same newspaper. Craig Rifendife slandered my name. People like him depend on Ad Hominem attacks to win their arguments.

They also depend on Straw Man Fallacies. Who is "The Left" he is referring to? I'm right handed.

I am writing a response now.

Sincerely,

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

Published Again!

Fight, don't join, the terrorists
The Easton Express Times
Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The tea partiers are consciously trying to induce a public nervous breakdown.
Whether they are sending death threats to a congressman's 5-year-old son in Florida, violently throwing money at a man with Parkinson's disease on an Ohio sidewalk or maliciously shouting the "N" word at African-American representatives at an event in Washington, D.C., the effect is utterly terrifying.

The mass hysteria that is today's Tea Party shows that the majority of us have forgotten we are supposed to be fighting terrorists, not becoming them. Do they really think the end justify the means?

When are we the people going to realize that we are not crazy after all? When will we stand up to all of this bullying? We are not safe in public. We are not safe in our homes. What will the future of our country be like if no one risks stepping out and fighting back?

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township

Show compassion for troubled person - LTTE

Letter to the Editor - Express-Times Newspaper  - Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I've been thinking a lot about the man who was arrested for taking a bath in public in Belvidere. He had been living in his car outside the Warren County Courthouse for several months after he lost his house. Finally, The Express-Times reported he had had enough and tried to get the filth off of himself in public because he thought he had nowhere else to go.

I met this man over the summer, just a few weeks before the incident. So I read the article with interest. He had a sign on his car window that said he was running for Warren County surrogate because he didn't like the way Susan Dickey had handled his case after the last of his parents died. He had a genuine tin-foil helmet in his backseat.

I am not writing to continue the ridicule that this man has surely received since his face appeared on the front page of the paper under the headline, "Naked man arrested." I am sorry if this letter has that effect on him. The real intent of this letter is to encourage readers to be more compassionate to him. I certainly hope his accusations are false, but if some of them are true, I hope the officials who made the mistakes will read this and do their jobs in an exemplary manner in the future. With the economy going the way it is going, one thing is certain: We are going to encounter more cases such as this.

ERIK B. ANDERSON
Independence Township