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Pro-Buono Gopal says he didn’t snub mayors with gubernatorial endorsements

By Art Gallagher

Monmouth County Democratic Charman Vin Gopal took issue with MoreMonmouthMusings’ assertion yesterday that Mayors Jon Hornik, Pat Menna and Matt Doherty were “noticeably absent” from the the Party’s announcement that they were endorsing State Senator Barbara Buono for the Democratic nomination for Governor.

“To suggest that our Mayors at at odds with the Party is not accurate,” said Gopal, ” I did not poll all 200 Democratic elected officials and chairs in Monmouth County to announce this endorsement.  As our announcement made clear, the endorsement was made by the Party Executive Committee, most of the Municipal Chairs and members of our advisory committees.”

The names of those who joined Gopal in endorsing Buono can be found by clicking the link below.

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Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Barbara Buono, Monmouth Democrats, Vin Gopal | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Marlboro Councilwoman Carol Mazzola Switches Parties

Former Republican joins the Democratic Party.  Says Local Democrats Put People First

Marlboro Councilwoman Carol Mazzola has joined the Democratic Party and will seek reelection this fall as a member of her new party, Muncipal Chairman and Council President Frank LaRocca announced today.

“Mayor Jon Hornik and Chairman LaRocca are doing phenomenal jobs,” Mazzola said. “It’s always people first with their team; not politics first. The Council is doing an excellent job and I feel very comfortable being part of their team. They have the best interests of Marlboro at heart.”

Mazzola is the second Republican to switch parties and join Mayor Jonathon Hornik’s and LaRocca’s team since they were first elected in 2007.  Coucilman Jeff Cantor, a former Republican Freeholder candidate, became a member of the Marlboro Democratic team in 2009.

Marlboro GOP Co-Muncipal Chair Selika Joshiah Gore said she was saddened by Mazzola’s decision.

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Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Marlboro | Tags: , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

Christie: “I am going to set flood elevation standards”

Answering a question from a Beach Haven West realtor at the Manahawkin Town Hall Meeting this afternoon, Governor Chris Christie said that he will set flood elevation standards for New Jersey construction, rather than wait for FEMA to do so.
Christie said that he will set aggressive standards next week that might exceed the eventual FEMA standards.  In that case, residents that rebuild to Christie’s standards will end up saving on flood insurance in the future.

FEMA’s advisory map standards will not be finalized for at 18 months to two years.  Christie is taking his action to prevent residents from waiting to rebuild until the FEMA standards are final.

Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration, FEMA | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »

Livestream coverage of Governor Christie’s Town Hall Meeting

Watch live streaming video from app_tv at livestream.com
Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

At Montclair State, you can call someone racist, but you can’t call someone fat

By Art Gallagher

Last September Steve Lonegan addressed a group at Montclair State University.  During his presentation, a fat guy asked Lonegan about his famous 2006 billboard controversy.  In case you forgot, Lonegan gained widespread press coverage in 06 for asking McDonalds to remove a billboard written in Spanish from a Bogota roadside.  Lonegan was mayor of Bogota at the time.

The fat Montclair State student proceeded to heckle Lonegan, calling him a racist and a shameful American fascist.  Fatboy was escorted from the meeting after he refused to shut up.  The incident was captured on video and posted to youtube where as of this writing it has only 510 views. (UPDATE: The fatboy youtube has been set to private)

Evidently fatboy has a fat girl friend. It’s not clear from the video who the girlfriend is, but Joseph Aziz, a graduate student at Montclair got himself into hot water for posting a comment on Youtube that the woman’s legs look like “a pair of bleached hams.”   Someone complained to the university administration, according to a surviving reporter at the Star Ledger,  They forbade Aziz from having any contact with the fatgirl or from posting her name anywhere on the Internet.  MoreMonmouthMusings was going to ask Lonegan if the girl was really fat, but we figured he wouldn’t know.

Aziz later joked about the incident and the fat girl in a facebook group.  He said he thought the facebook group was private.  Someone sent Aziz’s comments to the Montclair University Internet Police and Aziz was suspended from the university for a year.   Karen Pennington, Montclair’s vice president of student development, campus life and manners, cited New Jersery’s Anti-Bullying Law as justification for Aziz’s suspension and for denying his appeal of the suspension.  Aziz says the suspension puts his future career as a microbiologists at risk.

MMM has been told that the fatboy who called Lonegan a racist and a shameful American facist while disrupting the event received no disciplinary consequences from the Montclair State administration.

Neither fatboy nor Aziz should have been disciplined by the University.  Their friends and families should tell them they were being assholes. The only fascists in this sordid story are the administrators at Montclair who are abusing their power to forward a polictical agenda.

Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Art Gallagher | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

More financial troubles at New Jersey’s newspapers

The Asbury Park Press’s building is for saleThe Press of Atlantic City is for sale.

This morning, The Star Ledger announced that they are laying off 34 people, including 10% of the newsroom.

In a poll published on January 8, Monmouth University’s Patrick Murray said that since 2005 newspapers as the primary source of news has decline from 48% to 27% among New Jerseyans.  The shift has favored the interent where 28% now get their news, up from 6% in 2005.  Television as a news source has also declined since 05, according to Murray.  48% got most of their news from TV in 05.  Now 34%, still the highest percentage, are informed by television.

There is not much good news for the industry looking forward, according to Murray’s report. 45% of 18-34 year olds now look to the net as their primary news source, up from 33% in 2009.

Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Media, News, NJ Media | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

What about the pharmaceuticals?

As President Obama readies himself to announce his new executive restricts on gun rights, we might ask what he is doing about pharmaceuticals.

The following is the last facebook post of John Noveske, a gun manufacturer who died is a single driver car crash on January 4, a few days after the post:

Eric Harris age 17 (first on Zoloft then Luvox) and Dylan Klebold aged 18  (Columbine school shooting in Littleton, Colorado), killed 12 students and 1  teacher, and wounded 23 others, before killing themselves. Klebold’s medical  records have never been made available to the public.

Jeff Weise, age 16,  had been prescribed 60 mg/day of Prozac (three times the average starting dose  for adults!) when he shot his grandfather, his grandfather’s girlfriend and many  fellow students at Red Lake, Minnesota. He then shot himself. 10 dead, 12  wounded.

Cory Baadsgaard, age 16, Wahluke (Washington state) High School,  was on Paxil (which caused him to have hallucinations) when he took a rifle to  his high school and held 23 classmates hostage. He has no memory of the  event.

Chris Fetters, age 13, killed his favorite aunt while taking  Prozac.

Christopher Pittman, age 12, murdered both his grandparents while  taking Zoloft.

Mathew Miller, age 13, hung himself in his bedroom closet  after taking Zoloft for 6 days.

Kip Kinkel, age 15, (on Prozac and  Ritalin) shot his parents while they slept then went to school and opened fire  killing 2 classmates and injuring 22 shortly after beginning Prozac  treatment.

Luke Woodham, age 16 (Prozac) killed his mother and then  killed two students, wounding six others.

A boy in Pocatello, ID (Zoloft)  in 1998 had a Zoloft-induced seizure that caused an armed stand off at his  school.

Michael Carneal (Ritalin), age 14, opened fire on students at a  high school prayer meeting in West Paducah, Kentucky. Three teenagers were  killed, five others were wounded..

A young man in Huntsville, Alabama  (Ritalin) went psychotic chopping up his parents with an ax and also killing one  sibling and almost murdering another.

Andrew Golden, age 11, (Ritalin)  and Mitchell Johnson, aged 14, (Ritalin) shot 15 people, killing four students,  one teacher, and wounding 10 others.

TJ Solomon, age 15, (Ritalin) high  school student in Conyers, Georgia opened fire on and wounded six of his class  mates.

Rod Mathews, age 14, (Ritalin) beat a classmate to death with a  bat.

James Wilson, age 19, (various psychiatric drugs) from Breenwood,  South Carolina, took a .22 caliber revolver into an elementary school killing  two young girls, and wounding seven other children and two  teachers.

Elizabeth Bush, age 13, (Paxil) was responsible for a school  shooting in Pennsylvania

Jason Hoffman (Effexor and Celexa) – school  shooting in El Cajon, California

Jarred Viktor, age 15, (Paxil), after  five days on Paxil he stabbed his grandmother 61 times.

Chris Shanahan,  age 15 (Paxil) in Rigby, ID who out of the blue killed a woman.

Jeff  Franklin (Prozac and Ritalin), Huntsville, AL, killed his parents as they came  home from work using a sledge hammer, hatchet, butcher knife and mechanic’s  file, then attacked his younger brothers and sister.

Neal Furrow (Prozac)  in LA Jewish school shooting reported to have been court-ordered to be on Prozac  along with several other medications.

Kevin Rider, age 14, was  withdrawing from Prozac when he died from a gunshot wound to his head. Initially  it was ruled a suicide, but two years later, the investigation into his death  was opened as a possible homicide. The prime suspect, also age 14, had been  taking Zoloft and other SSRI antidepressants.

Alex Kim, age 13, hung  himself shortly after his Lexapro prescription had been doubled.

Diane  Routhier was prescribed Welbutrin for gallstone problems. Six days later, after  suffering many adverse effects of the drug, she shot herself.

Billy  Willkomm, an accomplished wrestler and a University of Florida student, was  prescribed Prozac at the age of 17. His family found him dead of suicide – hanging from a tall ladder at the family’s Gulf Shore Boulevard home in July  2002.

Kara Jaye Anne Fuller-Otter, age 12, was on Paxil when she hung  herself from a hook in her closet. Kara’s parents said “…. the damn doctor  wouldn’t take her off it and I asked him to when we went in on the second visit.  I told him I thought she was having some sort of reaction to  Paxil…”)

Gareth Christian, Vancouver, age 18, was on Paxil when he  committed suicide in 2002,
(Gareth’s father could not accept his son’s death  and killed himself.)

Julie Woodward, age 17, was on Zoloft when she hung  herself in her family’s detached garage.

Matthew Miller was 13 when he  saw a psychiatrist because he was having difficulty at school. The psychiatrist  gave him samples of Zoloft. Seven days later his mother found him dead, hanging  by a belt from a laundry hook in his closet.

Kurt Danysh, age 18, and on  Prozac, killed his father with a shotgun. He is now behind prison bars, and  writes letters, trying to warn the world that SSRI drugs can kill.

Woody  ____, age 37, committed suicide while in his 5th week of taking Zoloft. Shortly  before his death his physician suggested doubling the dose of the drug. He had  seen his physician only for insomnia. He had never been depressed, nor did he  have any history of any mental illness symptoms.

A boy from Houston, age  10, shot and killed his father after his Prozac dosage was  increased.

Hammad Memon, age 15, shot and killed a fellow middle school  student. He had been diagnosed with ADHD and depression and was taking Zoloft  and “other drugs for the conditions.”

Matti Saari, a 22-year-old culinary  student, shot and killed 9 students and a teacher, and wounded another student,  before killing himself. Saari was taking an SSRI and a  benzodiazapine.

Steven Kazmierczak, age 27, shot and killed five people  and wounded 21 others before killing himself in a Northern Illinois University  auditorium. According to his girlfriend, he had recently been taking Prozac,  Xanax and Ambien. Toxicology results showed that he still had trace amounts of  Xanax in his system.

Finnish gunman Pekka-Eric Auvinen, age 18, had been  taking antidepressants before he killed eight people and wounded a dozen more at  Jokela High School – then he committed suicide.
Asa Coon from Cleveland, age  14, shot and wounded four before taking his own life. Court records show Coon  was on Trazodone.

Jon Romano, age 16, on medication for depression, fired  a shotgun at a teacher in his
New York high school.

Missing from  list… 3 of 4 known to have taken these same meds….

What drugs was  Jared Lee Loughner on, age 21…… killed 6 people and injuring 14 others in  Tuscon, Az

What drugs was James Eagan Holmes on, age 24….. killed 12  people and injuring 59 others in Aurora Colorado

What drugs was Jacob  Tyler Roberts on, age 22, killed 2 injured 1, Clackamas Or

What drugs was  Adam Peter Lanza on, age 20, Killed 26 and wounded 2 in Newtown Ct
Roberts is  the only one that I haven’t heard about being on drugs of some kind.

Source: Natural News

Posted: January 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Aurora Massacre, Connecticut Murders, Gun Control, Gun Rights, Guns, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Second Amendment | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on What about the pharmaceuticals?

Joint Statement From Governors Christie, Cuomo and Malloy Regarding House of Representatives Action on Disaster Aid Bill

Trenton, NJ – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy released the following statement regarding passage today of the disaster relief package by the House of Representatives:

 

“We are grateful to those members of Congress who today pulled together in a unified, bipartisan coalition to assist millions of their fellow Americans in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut at their greatest time of need. The tradition of Congress being there and providing support for Americans during times of crisis, no matter where they live across this great country, lives on in today’s vote in the House of Representatives. We anticipate smooth passage when this package moves back to the Senate for final approval and for this long-awaited relief to finally make its way to our residents.” 

 

Posted: January 15th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Andrew Cuomo, Chris Christie, Congress, Dannel Malloy, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

House Approves $17 Billion in Sandy Aid. Another $33 Billon Expected To Be Approved Tonight

The House of Representatives approved the first of two bills expected to be voting on today which, if also approved in the U.S. Senate and signed by the Presdient, will provide $50 billion in federal funds to New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to rebuild from the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy.

The $17 billion approved this afternoon will pay for Sandy clean-up, dredging, small business loans and infrastructure repairs. The $33 billion to be voted on tonight will be for the longer term rebuilding effort.

The bills were split in two to accommodate members of the Republican caucus who support the $17 billion, but not the $33 billion.

According to The Star Ledger, New Jersey Republican Congressmen Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2) and Jon Runyan (NJ-3) ripped into their fellow Republicans for withholding support of the disaster assistance.

“To my colleagues who have sought funding themselves and now say we need to change the rules of the game: shame on you,” Rep. Frank LoBiondo (D-N.J.) said after the vote. “We need to have a new caucus, the hypocritical caucus.”

Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3rd Dist.) said he knew more than 30 of his Republican colleagues who oppose the bill even though they sought similar aid when disaster struck their districts.

“Mr. Speaker — I would say to my friends — why should New Jersey and New York be treated any differently? ” Runyon said. “My friends should ask themselves what would they do if it was their district that suffered the amount of catastrophic loss that many of the families and businesses in my district now face.”

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone said that Republicans that opposed the aid do not understand the extent of the damage.

Posted: January 15th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Congress, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Gopal Goes Pro Buono

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal went all in for State Senator Barbara Buono as the Democratic candidate for Governor.

Following multiple news stories yesterday that the Monmouth Dems would “unofficially” endorse Buono pending the outcome of the party’s convention, Gopal released his endorsement today including the names of 75 Monmouth County Democratic Municipal Chairs, party leaders, elected officials and former elected officials.

“I am pleased that over 40 municipal leaders will join me in supporting the candidacy of Barbara Buono as the next Governor of New Jersey,” Gopal said. “She has the guts, the independence, the courage and the will to take on Chris Christie toe to toe on every single issue. As the 4th largest county in the state with over 100,000 registered Democrats, we look forward to aggressively supporting Senator Buono for Governor. This past election cycle, we defeated eight Republican incumbents here in Monmouth County and not a single Democrat was defeated anywhere in the county. We look forward to building on that this November with Barbara Buono at the top of the ticket.”

Notably missing from Gopal’s pro-Buono list are Marlboro Mayor Jon HornikBelmar Mayor Matt Doherty and Red Bank Mayor Pat Menna, three of Monmouth County’s most prominent Democrats.

“Its January, said Hornik, “the filing deadline is not until April.  While I am fond of Senator Buono, I would like to see who else is running.  I don’t feel personally compelled to endorse anyone so early.

“I understand what the Chairman (Gopal) is doing.  I have great respect for him, but it is too early for me to be endorsing a gubernatorial candidate.”

Menna was surprised by Gopal’s announcement when reached by MoreMonmouthMusings, “I haven’t seen the letter. It’s still early in the race. Some are still surprised that Booker (Newark Mayor Cory Booker) didn’t run and Codey (State Senator and former Acting Governor Richard Codey) is looking like he might run.”

Doherty, who is running for reelection in Belmar this fall has a new bff in Governor Christie.  Christie and Doherty has been public in their admiration for the jobs they are doing in rebuilding post-Superstorm Sandy. “I don’t have any comment about that,” said the normally forthcoming Doherty when asked about Gopal’s efforts on behalf of Buono.

 

Posted: January 15th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Barbara Buono, Monmouth Democrats, Vin Gopal | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »