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43-490: Jersey Girl may refer to: Jersey Girls , or "Jersey Widows", the media name for four American women who lost their husbands in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks Jersey Girl (1992 film) , an American romantic comedy starring Dylan McDermott and Jami Gertz Jersey Girl (2004 film) , an American romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler "Jersey Girl" (song) ,

86-492: A U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Following The Raw Deal and Big Lies , Conason wrote It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush (St. Martin's Press, January 2008). The title comes from Sinclair Lewis ' 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here , which portrays an American dictatorship. In this book, Conason discusses what he views as a move towards authoritarianism during the administration of George W. Bush . During

129-730: A Different Sort of Post-Presidency", was later included in Best American Political Writing of 2006, published by Thunder's Mouth Press . The Raw Deal: How the Bush Republicans Plan to Destroy Social Security and the Legacy of the New Deal , about what Conason claims was the Bush administration's efforts to "end Social Security as we know it", appeared in 2005 with a preface by Al Franken , another liberal writer who later served as

172-538: A columnist, political editor, executive editor, and national correspondent for the New York Observer , a weekly publication whose founder, Arthur Carter, had previously been associated with The Nation . During the presidency of Bill Clinton , Conason's investigative reporting on Whitewater brought him national media attention, and he was a frequent cable television guest during Bill Clinton's impeachment trial from 1998 to 1999. During this time, he wrote about

215-547: A degree in history from Brandeis University in 1975. After college, Conason was appointed co-editor of the East Boston Community News and then he joined the staff of The Real Paper , an alternative weekly based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He covered environmental, racial, and political issues for both publications. From 1978 to 1990, Conason worked as a columnist, staff writer, and national correspondent for

258-477: A firestorm of controversy with her remarks about the Jersey Girls. Coulter wrote: They first came together to complain that the $ 1.6 million average settlement to be paid to 9/11 victims' families by the government was not large enough ... These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities ... These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11

301-517: A meeting with him in his office in Manhattan. Kristen [Breitweiser] had done impeccable research. She'd looked up all of his companies. So I asked him, 'Mr. Kissinger, do you have any Saudi clients?' He mumbled something. And then he asked if someone would pour him some coffee. So then I said, 'Do you happen to have any clients by the name of bin Laden? He almost fell off the couch. A few months before

344-438: A nonprofit journalism center. In July 2011, Conason founded a daily political newsletter called The National Memo to try "to bring to readers a very sharp take on the day's news, a fair amount of original news, and aggregation." According to The National Memo , it aims to combine "the spirit of investigative journalism with new technology and ideas." They cover various political related stories including campaigns, elections,

387-479: A political point ... The New York Daily News reported that the Jersey Girls "tried to stay above the name-calling fray" by emphasizing that the nation shouldn't focus on Coulter's words but on security problems like porous borders, wasteful Homeland Security funding and intelligence agencies that don't work together. 'Our only motivation ever was to make our nation safer,' they said in a statement. 'We have been slandered. Contrary to Ms. Coulter's statements, there

430-604: A song composed and originally sung by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits See also [ edit ] Jersey Boy Jersey Boys (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Jersey Girl . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jersey_Girl&oldid=1141776837 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

473-420: A very disturbed, unraveled person." Lorie Van Auken said she "was stunned by the vitriol"; and "Having my husband burn alive in a building brought me no joy. Watching it unfold on national TV and seeing it repeated endlessly was beyond what I could describe. Telling my children they would never see their father again was not fun. And we had no plans to divorce." Nevertheless, Coulter has repeated her criticism of

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516-416: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Jersey Girls Survivors and family members of the victims were the most vocal and persistent in the call for the creation of an independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks. The leaders of several 9/11 family groups began to work together to lobby political leaders. The Jersey Girls were part of

559-492: Is the co-author of The Hunting of the President : The 10 Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton ( St. Martin's Press , 2001) with Arkansas journalist, Gene Lyons . The book focuses on what he describes as a " vast right-wing conspiracy " to bring down Bill Clinton—a term initially used by Hillary Clinton in defending her husband against accusations during his ultimately successful 1992 presidential bid —by identifying

602-405: Is the founder and editor-in-chief of The National Memo , a daily political newsletter and website that features breaking news and commentary. Conason was formerly the executive editor of the New York Observer , where he wrote a popular political column for almost 20 years. He was also a columnist for Salon.com from 1998 to 2010. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications around

645-421: The 2016 United States presidential election campaign, Conason and Gene Lyons published a free e-book called The Hunting of Hillary , which was primarily based on their previous book, The Hunting of the President . The e-book reviews more than twenty years of alleged Clinton scandals including Whitewater with a particular focus on Hillary Clinton . In September 2016, Simon & Schuster published Man of

688-409: The 9/11 Family Steering Committee , whose members were instrumental in the creation of the 9/11 Commission and in pressing the commission to oversee a thorough and credible investigation. According to Matthew Purdy of The New York Times : "The commission grew largely out of pressure from families of victims, including four New Jersey widows who call themselves 'the Jersey Girls.' It's no mistake that

731-530: The Patriot Act ." The Jersey Widows were interviewed on the television series NOW on PBS and in the documentary film 9/11: Press for Truth (2006). Kristen Breitweiser won the Ron Ridenhour Prize for "truth-telling", in 2005, for her work with the Jersey Girls. Joe Conason Joe Conason (born January 25, 1954) is an American journalist, author and liberal political commentator. He

774-547: The " Arkansas Project ", a secret, multi-million-dollar plan funded by conservative Pittsburgh billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to find (or invent) negative material about the Clintons. In 2004, Conason was one of the first journalists to delve into the background and finances of the group known as the " Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ", which had targeted Democratic presidential nominee and Vietnam veteran John Kerry . Since 2006, he has served as editor of The Investigative Fund,

817-532: The 9/11 families, particularly the so-called 'Jersey Girls,' the four telegenic suburban widows who have forced the administration to reverse its stonewalling of the 9/11 commission at nearly every juncture. Rush Limbaugh labeled Kristen Breitweiser a Democratic operative. Bill O'Reilly sounded the alarm that 'some 9/11 families have aligned themselves with the far left.' But this stab at damage control went nowhere. In her book Godless: The Church of Liberalism (2006), conservative commentator Ann Coulter created

860-542: The Bush family and the National Security Advisor as conflicts of interest. Mindy Kleinberg said, "As executive director, he has pretty much the most important job on the commission. He hires the staff, he sets the direction and focus, he chooses witnesses at the hearings." Joe Conason wrote that the widows "fear that even with the best of intentions, Zelikow's connections to the Bush White House will 'taint

903-529: The Commission released its report, Kean said that the Jersey Girls "call me all the time. They monitor us, they follow our progress, they've provided us with some of the best questions we've asked. I doubt very much if we would be in existence without them." The eventual appointment of Philip D. Zelikow to the position of Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission was also troubling to the Jersey Girls who demanded his resignation. They cited close personal ties with

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946-469: The Commission; when she refused to testify under oath in March 2004, "they walked out in silent protest." The White House, in a "dramatic about-face," gave in and Rice testified. When it became clear to them that the Commission had omitted crucial information from its report, the widows called for a new independent panel. "I'm very disturbed, and I want to get some answers," said Breitweiser. "I want to know what

989-431: The Jersey Girls. I feel sorry for all the widows of 9/11 ... [but] I do not believe that sanctifies their political message. ... They have attacked Bush, they have attacked Condoleezza Rice, they're cutting campaign commercials for Kerry. But we can't respond because their husbands died ... I think it's one of the ugliest things the left has done ... this idea that you need some sort of personal authenticity in order to make

1032-659: The Philippines to write about politics there. In 1989, he arrived in Beijing the night after the Tiananmen Square massacre and reported on the tragic aftermath for The Village Voice . After leaving The Village Voice in the early 1990s, Conason served as editor-at-large for the Condé Nast 's Details magazine, which focused on lifestyle, political, and social issues. For almost two decades (from 1992 to 2010), Conason served as

1075-649: The Truth (2003). His Man of the World (2016) focuses on the post-presidency of Bill Clinton . The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism (2024), chiefly criticizing Donald Trump , exposes fraudsters and charlatans within the ranks of American conservatism and the religious right . Conason was born in New York City and grew up in White Plains, New York . The family's surname

1118-575: The Truth , addresses what he labels right-wing bias and purporting to debunk ten lies he claims are perpetrated by conservative propaganda . This was Conason's second New York Times -bestselling book. Conason profiled Bill Clinton for Esquire in December 2005, after traveling to Africa with the former president and covering the inaugural conference of the Clinton Global Initiative . The cover story, titled "The Third Term: The Dawning of

1161-582: The White House and presidency, Congress, and beyond. In 1992, Conason wrote an article for Spy Magazine that claimed then President of the United States George H. W. Bush had cheated on his wife, Barbara . Conason explained in a later Salon article, "I examined the rumors and allegations — and knocked down most of them. Yes, I quoted many anonymous sources on the subject. But I also quoted Washington journalists Jack Germond , Fred Barnes and

1204-477: The White House put New Jersey's most popular politician ( Tom Kean ) in charge." Kean became the Commission's Chairman after Henry Kissinger resigned the position; according to Peter Lance , "The Jersey Girls could take some of the credit for his hasty departure." Van Auken told Lance: We were shocked. Kissinger had huge conflicts of interest -- major dealings with the Saudis ... The day before he resigned, we had

1247-564: The World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton , Conason's account of the 42nd president's post-presidency. Conason interviewed Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton and many of Clinton's friends, aides, rivals and supporters to offer a comprehensive analysis of Clinton's post-presidency. In 2024, Conason published The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism , which chiefly criticizes Donald Trump , exposes fraudsters and charlatans within

1290-561: The counter-cultural The Village Voice in New York City where he made a name for himself as an experienced and skilled reporter as well as a sharp commentator. His investigative reporting in 1985 exposed the hidden Manhattan real estate holdings of President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos (and his wife, Imelda ), thereby helping to topple their dictatorial government. During 1986–87, Conason traveled repeatedly to

1333-461: The great Walter Pincus — along with the president's son George W. — denying any substance to such allegations ... If I have any qualms about the Bush story, they're the same ones that I felt at the time. The headline — 'He cheats on his wife' — oversold what we were publishing, as I told [ Spy editors Kurt] Andersen and [Susan] Morrison. They disagreed. And the Spy style tended to preface allegations with

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1376-450: The legislative process.'" There were other 9/11 victims' families who supported the Bush campaign. For example, Debra Burlingame, whose brother flew in the plane that was crashed into the Pentagon, responded to the widows: "The Jersey Girls criticized President Bush because he wasn't rounding up Arabs in airport lounges before Sept. 11. These are the same people who are now decrying the use of

1419-422: The main participants, revealing their tactics, tracing the millions of dollars spent on their efforts, and examining how (and why) mainstream news organizations helped those determined to bring down the Clintons. The book, a New York Times bestseller, was later turned into a documentary in 2004, which Conason co-produced. Conason's next endeavor, Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts

1462-609: The people who were reporting to them." As the 2004 election neared, the widows criticized Bush for the failure to enact the recommendations of the commission; many interpreted this as an endorsement of Bush's opponent John Kerry; the New York Times reported, "In a statement clearly meant to influence voters in next week's election, the group did not explicitly endorse Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, but said Mr. Bush had 'allowed members of his own party to derail

1505-469: The safety and security of our country." After the 9/11 Commission issued its report, the Jersey Girls pressured the Administration to follow its recommendations. They specifically commended the Commission for not politicizing blame in the report. "The USS Cole was bombed under Clinton's watch, and 9/11 happened under Bush's watch," said Rosemary Dillard. "I don't blame either administration; I blame

1548-426: The truth is." She called the 2004 findings "an utterly hollow report." The Jersey Widows testified before a hearing chaired by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on July 22, 2005. The Jersey Girls have been the target of attacks at various times. In 2004, Frank Rich wrote in the New York Times : The phenomenon has sufficiently alarmed the White House that earlier in the month its media allies tried to discredit

1591-435: The validity' of the commission's final report. Their demand that he resign or be fired has been rejected by the commission's co-chairmen, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean and former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton. 'We respectfully disagree with them,' replied Al Felzenberg, the commission's press spokesman, who said Zelikow was chosen 'for his scholarly credentials and his knowledge of national security issues.' He hastened to praise

1634-487: The widows for doing 'a very positive thing,' adding that while he understood their concerns, he expected that "they're not going to be satisfied with everything we do." As part of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee they helped form, the Jersey Girls monitored and often criticized the 9/11 Commission after they lobbied successfully for its creation. The Jersey Girls pressured the U.S. government for months to have National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testify in front of

1677-636: The word "alleged" less diligently than other publications." In February 2000, Conason published an investigative profile of George W. Bush in Harper's Magazine that examined his business career in Texas and how his former business partners potentially profited from state investments after Bush became governor . This story was revived in 2002, early in Bush's presidency , when his ties to Harken Energy came under scrutiny. Along with Arkansas journalist Gene Lyons , Conason

1720-503: The world including The New York Times , The Washington Post , The New Yorker , The New Republic , The Nation , The Guardian , The Village Voice and Harpers . A winner of the New York Press Club's Byline Award, Conason has covered every American presidential election since 1980. Conason's books include The Hunting of the President (2000) and Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts

1763-859: Was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them. ... I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much ... the Democrat ratpack gals endorsed John Kerry for president ... cutting campaign commercials ... how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies ? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy . These statements received national attention after an interview on The Today Show , and were widely criticized. The Jersey Girls themselves also responded critically to Coulter's remarks. Kristen Breitweiser stated: "I'd like her to meet my daughter and tell her how anyone could enjoy their father's death ... She sounds like

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1806-416: Was no joy in watching men that we loved burn alive. There was no happiness in telling our children that their fathers were never coming home again. We adored these men and miss them every day.' And Senator Hillary Clinton found it "unimaginable that anyone in the public eye could launch a vicious, mean-spirited attack on people whom I've known over the last four and a half years to be concerned deeply about

1849-507: Was originally "Cohen". He was named after his paternal grandfather, Joseph Jacob Cohen , an organizer and journalist of the American anarchist movement during the 1920s and 1930s. Conason's parents, Eleanor (née Levinson; August 20, 1917 – January 5, 2002) and Emanuel Voltaire Conason (1912–2008), co-owned Ellie Conason, a contemporary design and crafts store in White Plains. Conason earned

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