Governor Christie and Gun Control

By Bader George Qarmout

In the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut school massacre in December of 2012, many politicians moved to give the appearance of doing something about gun control. My heart continues to brake for the families who will always feel an emptiness in their life. New Jersey politicians were not immune from the pressure of passing gun control bills. I was opposed to new laws and urged others to join me in opposition.  The thirteen bills passed by the New Jersey legislature that landed on Governor Christie’s desk did little to address the real issues and did nothing to prevent a similar massacre from reoccurring.

Last week Governor Christie addressed the last three of the thirteen bills. The first ten bills were signed into law by the republican governor. The National Rifle Association classified 2 of the 10 as a benefit to gun owners and two were opposed by NRA. I remain opposed to the signing of those 2 bills. The remaining six bills had a negligible impact on gun owners and were not opposed. This week Gov. Christie Vetoed and returned the remaining 3 of the 13 bills. Of all thirteen bills the three remaining bills were most intrusive and an offense to the Constitution and violated Liberty. My family and I are proud gun owners and members of the NRA and New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS). I urge all good patriots who support the 2nd Amendment by joining either or both organizations.

I want to thank and applaud Governor Christie for vetoing the remaining gun control bills because I truly believe when you take guns away from law abiding citizens; you empower the criminals and embolden the government against the citizenry.  Thank you Governor for defending the 2nd amendment and standing with 1 million lawful gun owners in New Jersey who are law abiding citizens, because to punish the innocent along with the guilty is no justice at all.

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Governor Chris Christie Eases Access to New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana Program for Sick Children

Calls for Lifting Three-Strain Cultivation Limit, Allowing Edible Consumption for Children and Giving Parents Choice

Trenton, NJ – Acting with the belief that parents, and not government regulators, are best suited to decide how to care for their children, Governor Chris Christie today acted to ease access for sick children to New Jersey’s medical marijuana program. The Governor acted to lift the three-strain cultivation limit on authorized growers and to make the treatment available to children in edible form. His actions will provide qualifying minors a wider variety of treatment options under the state’s program and empower parents to make choices based on their own reflections, study and physical consultation to provide their children appropriate treatment consistent with their age and medical needs.

“As I have repeatedly noted, I believe that parents, and not government regulators, are best suited to decide how to care for their children,” said Governor Christie in his conditional approval of the bill. “Protection of our children remains my utmost concern, and my heart goes out to those children and their families who are suffering with serious illnesses. Today, I am making commonsense recommendations to this legislation to ensure sick children receive the treatment their parents prefer, while maintaining appropriate safeguards. I am calling on the Legislature to reconvene quickly and address these issues so that children in need can get the treatment they need.”

Governor Christie added that medical review and doctor sign-off before entering the program should be maintained. Media reports have mischaracterized the current requirements and regulations: while a qualifying minor must be approved by both a pediatrician and a psychiatrist, no additional approvals are required if either one of those physicians is registered with the program. This approach is endorsed by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Governor believes it should remain in place.

While the Governor believes that children should have access to edible forms of medical marijuana, he made modifications to the bill to ensure that these forms will only be available to qualifying patients who are minors.

A copy of the Governor’s message is attached.

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Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 5

By Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

We visited the City of Sderot and received a briefing at a lookout point over Gaza from Captain Kobi Harush, coordinator of Security for the city.  Sderot is along the Gaza Strip and is regularly under rocket attack.  Most of the exploded rockets are from Hamas, but lately, with the instability in the region, more rockets are coming from places like Libya and Sudan. Seeing the remnants of these rockets that were launched into Israel was like seeing a museum of terrorist weapons.

Sderot is the closest city to Gaza.  Because of the short distance these rockets are often shot from playgrounds, schools and hospitals in Gaza, knowing there won’t be a counterstrike.  Since the Arab spring, these rocket attacks have increased.

My visit to the old City of Jerusalem included a visit to the Western Wall – or what is known as the Wailing Wall – a sacred site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries.

I had a very informative meeting with fellow legislators who are Members of the Knesset, the Legislative branch of the Israeli Government.   The 120 members of the Knesset not only pass all laws, but elect the President and Prime Minister as well.  They serve four-year terms, but it is their party that is elected and the party chooses the member.   Fascinating to see the differences between Israel’s form of Democracy and that of the United States.

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GoTopless President Schools Pallone On Women’s Rights

Nadine Gary, President, GoTopless.org

August 12, 2013

Dear Honorable Congressman Pallone,

My name is Nadine Gary, and I’m writing to you on behalf of GoTopless (www.gotopless.org), a U.S. women’s group devoted to obtaining our constitutional right to go topless in public wherever men have that right.

During Asbury Park’s Night Out last week, you were asked by reporter Art Gallagher about GoTopless activist Phoenix Feeley, who is currently into Day 8 of the hunger strike she has begun as an inmate at the Monmouth County Jail. This brave woman has not only gone to jail, serving a 16 day sentence but stopped eating to protest discriminatory topless laws in New Jersey.

Ms. Feeley went through the N.J. court system to fight for her constitutional rights and she is now appealing her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. We hope it will rule on this important gender equality issue that until now has been neglected at the federal level.

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Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 4

By Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

The American Jewish Council once again did an amazing job of making sure we received a broad understanding of what is going on in Israel today.  On Thursday we visited Ramallah in Palestine and met with the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority negotiating team. Both Israelis and Palestinians remain hopeful of positive discussions when Secretary of State John Kerry visits next week. He has a huge challenge ahead of him with these peace talks. Everyone brings to the table thousands of years of their people’s history as well as their personal experience to the discussions.

Friday we visited Yad VaShem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum, and it was an incredibly moving experience. It is difficult to imagine how a people moves forward after 6 million are murdered, including 1.5 million children. The museum serves as a stark reminder that there is true evil in the world.  The resiliency and spirit of the Jewish people is astounding.

The individual memorials also serve as a reminder to “Never Forget.” I was particularly drawn to the one for a doctor who took care of children whose parents were missing or killed.  When the children were ordered to be deported to a camp he went with them, reasoning he wouldn’t leave them alone in life nor should they be alone in death.  He is just one of the many heroes in the holocaust.

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Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 3

By Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

I feel very fortunate as a Christian to have been able to visit two of the actual sites I have heard about in Sunday sermons and read about my whole life. First I visited The Basilica of the Beatitudes, which is on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee on the traditional site of Jesus’ delivery of the Sermon on the Mount.

We were also brought to the location of the Biblical account of Jesus instructing His disciples to throw their nets over the right side of the boat and then their nets were overflowing with fish. The spot where Jesus was cooking the fish is preserved:  Sacellum Primatus Sancti Petri, the Table of Christ. I also saw a boat that was recently discovered by two fishermen on the shores of the Sea of Galilee that carbon dates back to the time of Christ.

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Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 2

By Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

Before coming to Israel I read the book StartUp Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. It describes how Israel’s policies on immigration, research and development, and military service have lead to a tech boom here. Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than Korea, Japan, Singapore, India and all of Europe combined. We heard from the CFO of an angel investment company today, who explained Israel’s multifaceted success story. A portion of that success can be attributed to the elite tech units in Israel’s Army.

Before entering college most of the nation’s young people receive millions of dollars in training in the military where they also have access to Generals. Students call teachers by their first names here, which they say leads to a business culture that’s flat and very helpful in a start up environment. Israel has a Chief Scientist who has the responsibility of fostering research and development. There are also great incubator programs subsidized by the government that include free educational seminar speakers and workspace. A percentage of the property tax portion of the rent for tech company start-ups is forgiven.

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Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 1

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

By Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

I am here in beautiful Israel as part of Project Interchange, a program of the American Jewish Council. Despite the worldwide travel alert, I feel very safe.

For my first seminar, we had a fascinating introduction to Israeli society and politics with Dr. Elinat Wilf, a former member of Knesset. She described Israel for us as an idea of the mind. At the end of the Seder you say, “To next year in Jerusalem.” The worldwide Jewish community decided to make that happen literally by founding Israel. It is an incredibly diverse nation of immigrants. It is a Jewish state, which can be confusing for Americans, who are used to the separation of church and state. Zionism is an idea about bringing ethnic Jews together. I found it very surprising when our speaker identified herself as a Jew who is an atheist. She said many people in Israel are non-practicing Jews religiously, but practice the culture. Israel has a very sizable minority population – approximately 20 percent Muslim and Christian.

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5 Reasons Why I Loved My SeaStreak to Citi Field Trip

By Greg Kelly

Baseball and boats. They do go together and in wonderful fashion this past month with me and my two children. Highlands, NJ-based SeaStreak Ferry recently served up a grand helping of sun and fun for me and mine. Here are five grand slam memories of the outing with my fabulous son and daughter:

1) Bond Building—Both of my kids are knowledgeable sports fans. Both like the Mets. I’ve been a fan since 1969—the Amazing Mets signature year. My 19-year-old son Kyle (he’s entering his second year at George Washington U in DC) and my 17-year-old daughter, Lauren (soon to be a senior at High Tech High School in Lincroft) and I were the guests of SeaStreak and their superb direct ferry service to Citi Field. That’s the home of the New York Mets. And I’ll remember always the happiness that we shared that day. It was a magic time. I’ve been talking to my kids about the Mets since they were little. Lauren went through a time where she watched all the games and got me back into watching. Kyle has a head for the history of the game and went with me to my first ferry-ballgame excursion.

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Franchisee of T.G.I. Friday’s Targeted in “Operation Swill” to Pay $500,000 for Replacing Premium Alcohol with Cheaper Substitutes

-Briad Group Will Employ Compliance Officer and Update Employee Training and Inventory Software —

photo via facebook

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Director Michael Halfacre today announced that the Briad Group, a franchisee of the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants in New Jersey raided in May as part of “Operation Swill,” will pay a fine of $500,000 and not contest charges that eight of its restaurants were serving customers alcoholic beverages other than what they ordered.

“Briad’s restaurants were scamming customers by serving them a cheap substitute for what they ordered,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “This unlawful practice took advantage of consumers who were cheated out of what they thought they were purchasing. This fine should send a clear message to every bar and restaurant throughout New Jersey that customers should get what they pay for every time without exception.”

ABC and Division of Criminal Justice Investigators raided 13 T.G.I. Friday’s owned by Briad during “Operation Swill” and seized approximately 250 bottles of spirits from those locations. Eight of those establishments were charged and included in the settlement. Those locations were in West Orange, East Windsor, Old Bridge, Piscataway, Freehold, Marlboro, Hazlet and Linden.

As part of the settlement, Briad will employ an ABC-appointed monitor through June 30, 2014. The compliance officer will have the full cooperation of Briad’s restaurants and its employees as well as access to all books, records, compensation programs and any other information the monitor deems appropriate. The compliance officer will then report his findings to the ABC. In addition, Briad will make internal changes that include updating employee training and inventory software.

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