“Restrictions on the exposure of the female breast are supported by the important governmental interest in safeguarding the public’s moral sensibilities,” the two-judge New Jersey Appeals Court panel.
A New Jersey Appeals Court ruled yesterday that women must keep their shirts on in public in order to safeguard the public’s moral sensibilites, according to The Star Ledger.
The plantiff, Phoenix Feeley, is appealing.
I must have been absent the day they taught moral sensibilities in Constitutional Law. I think the judges should have made up different reason: If we let Phoenix Feeley go topless, we’d have to let Snooki do it, and that would create all kinds of public safety issues.
New Jersey’s public employees pension system offends my moral sensibilities. Let’s take a poll. If the majority of the public agrees with me, let’s see the judges rule their own pensions unconstitutional.
Feeley, whose real name is Jill Coccaro, sued New York City in 2005 because she was arrested while topless in the Big Apple. New York’s top court had ruled years earlier that men and women have equal rights to bare their breasts. Feeley collected $29,000. In 2008 she came to Spring Lake and tried to score again.
“In America, the land of the free and where equality reins free, a woman can’t take off her shirt but a man can,” she said. “In another country, a woman can’t take a scarf off her face without getting stoned to death. What’s so different about the two?”
Stoning to death. That’s the difference.
Before appealing, Feeley should commission a poll to find if bare breast really do offend the public’s moral sensibilities. If not, challenge the appellate court’s ruling on the facts.
Red Bank Elks Hosting A FREE Will Planning Seminar, Tuesday September 20th
Red Bank Elks Lodge
The seminar, The Many Costs of Not Having a Will–or Having a Will that Can’t Be Probated, is open to the public and will be presented by Monmouth County Surrogate Rosemarie Peters.
Peters will give a 1 hour presentation starting at 7pm that will cover why you should have a will, common problems that can occur, and how the surrogate’s office can help you. Then there will then be 1 hour Q&A.
This free seminar will begin at 7pm, and will be held at the Red Bank Elks Lodge, 40 West Front Street, Red Bank NJ. Helping our community through important tasks such as this, is very important to the Red Bank Elks Lodge.
For more information about the Red Bank Elks Lodge and our other activities and programs, please visit the lodge’s website at www.redbankelks.org, or email the lodge at [email protected].
Holmdel Republican Chairwoman Marcy McMullen announced today that two term Township Committeeman Dr. Rocco Pascucci had withdrawn his candidacy for Township Committee. McMullen said that Pascucci would be replaced on the ballot by Greg Buontempo, Vice-Chairman of the Township Planning Board .
“Rocco has been a passionate advocate for fiscal responsibility and preserving the character of Holmdel,” said McMullen. “I’m sure I join many others in thanking him for his service to the Township and wishing him Godspeed in his future endeavors.”
McMullen said that in his withdrawal letter, Pascucci said his office spend the next year transitioning to an electronic record keeping system required by recent federal healthcare reforms which would take up much of his time and not allow him to serve the Township in the manner he would like.
“If you know Rocco, you know he doesn’t do anything halfway,” said McMullen.
McMullen called Buontempo an impressive candidate. “Greg is a smart, successful guy and a real go-getter. He shares the Holmdel Republican commitment to keeping the budget under control and preserving the character of Holmdel. When there’s work to be done, he’s the kind of guy who rolls up his sleeves and jumps in. I think when voters get to know him they’re going to be impressed.”
Buontempo, 46, is Branch Sales Director, National Accounts for Sprint Corp. He has a BS in Marketing from Seton Hall University and an MBA from Rider University. He has coached multiple boys and girls sports teams in the HYAA and is currently coach of the Central Jersey Hornets, a national girls softball travel team. He is married with two sons and a daughter.
Assembly Deputy Republican Leader Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, said that she is committed to continuing her ongoing efforts to reform the pay-to-play laws that were the subject of a report issued by State Comptroller Matthew Boxer today. Boxer said current laws contain “fatal flaws” in the determination of who will receive local public contracts.
“I have always been a staunch supporter of reform to prevent campaign contributors from benefitting from their political patronage,” said Handlin, who is a member of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. “The comptroller’s report confirms that the ‘fair and open’ provision in pay-to-play is not only vague, but it is a license for crony capitalism. This is another wakeup call for the Democrat-controlled Legislature to finally address an issue that is costly to taxpayers and undermines their trust in government.
Handlin has been a leading advocate in the Legislature for banning the practice of trading public contracts for political contributions since she was elected in 2006.
“Establishing a uniform set of criteria that applies to all levels of government when a contract is awarded will end the charade of the ‘fair and open contract’ exceptions for businesses that take advantage of existing loopholes,” continued Handlin. “Now that an independent entity has exposed the continued weaknesses in these laws, I hope that we can make substantive reforms.”
In the current legislative session, Handlin is the sponsor of three bills that address pay-to-play issues, including:
A-520 (introduced 1/12/10) – This bill prohibits loans to a candidate, political party, or committee, by corporations which are already restricted from making political contributions. For example, insurance companies, financial institutions, certain utility companies, and casinos would fall under this legislation. It also extends existing restrictions on contributing to candidates, candidate committees and/or joint committees to political parties.
A-521 (introduced 1/12/10) – Provides that an individual or business that has made a campaign contribution would be prohibited for one year from performing a contract for a public entity at any level of government until one year after the contribution is made. The bill also prohibits an individual or business that has entered into a contract with a public entity from making a campaign contribution during the term of that contract and for one year thereafter.
A-527 (introduced 1/12/10 and initially introduced in the 2006 legislative session) – This legislation places limits on campaign contributions which may be made to candidates, office holders, and political committees by entities which do business with the State, local governments and interstate agencies. The bill also limits the amount which a county party can give per election per year to candidates and certain political committees.
The Bergenfield school system has a long tradition of excellence and out of the box thinking. It is appropriate that one of their schools was chosen for the pilot program.
Senator Loretta Weinberg, whose district includes Bergenfield, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney used the occasion to issue a snarky partisan statement that has nothing to do with the merits of the teacher evaluation system.
Snark is par for the course with Weinberg, but I didn’t expect her to make such a blatant gaff about Bergenfield’s history and the history of a New Jersey Hall of Fame member, Jersey Boy Frankie Valli.
Weinberg and Sweeney opened their statement as follows:
“It is great to see the governor visiting the wonderful schools in Bergenfield, home to the outstanding music program where Frankie Valli got started.
Bergenfield does have an outstanding music program. It has for decades. But that is not where Frankie Valli got started. Valli grew up in Newark.
Bob Gaudio, Valli’s partner in The Four Seasons and the writer of most of the group’s hit songs, got his start in Bergenfield. Gaudio had his first hit record, Short Shorts, at the age of 15 while still a student at Bergenfield High School.
Guadio and Valli met in 1958 while they were both touring with different groups. Two years later they formed The Four Seasons.
Weinberg should know this. Not because it is Bergenfield trivia, but because she attended Gaudio’s honorary graduation from Bergenfield High School only two years ago in 2009.
That Gaudio didn’t graduate with his class is an example of the long history of out of the box thinking for Bergenfield educators. Paul Hoffmeister, then-principal of Bergenfield High School, helped Gaudio convince his parents to let him drop out of school to pursue his musical career, according to the Jersey Boys Blog:
But, in 1958 he was only a 15-year-old kid who had tasted the success of “Short Shorts” and knew in his gut that music would be his life.
Concerned parents
Now he only had to convince his parents that it would be a good idea for him to leave school so that he and the Royal Teens could go on tour with the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.
Though it was an easy decision for Gaudio, he knew it would be a hard sell to his parents.
But an ally came to his aid from a very surprising corner during a meeting with Bob, his parents and Paul Hoffmeister, then-principal of Bergenfield High School.
“My parents were very concerned,” said Gaudio, “and this meeting was my last resort to try and convince my dad, in particular, to let me go.”
“But I didn’t expect what happened,” he said. “I thought the principal would side with my parents, but he didn’t; and he shaped my future.”
“It was very astute of him,” said Gaudio, “and I think he was very tuned in to what kids were thinking and how they’re feeling at that stage in their lives.”
“I don’t know if he gave that type of advice to other people,” he said, “but it just made sense to him and was definitely the right decision for me, though I’m sure a major part of it was that I already had a hit record — I wasn’t just going to quit school and twiddle my thumbs and throw darts.”
Not only was Gaudio’s life shaped by Hoffmeister’s risk. American culture was shaped by it.
Weinberg and Sweeney should get their facts straight if they’re going to be snarky.
Yesterday’s radio show is a lot of fun. Just three Jersey Guys talking politics.
Fellow Monmouth County resident Chris Kniesler joined Dick LaRossa and me in discussing this year’s legislative races, the 2012 Presidential race and next years NJ U.S. Senate race.
Chris made a presidential race prediction that stopped Dick in his tracks for a moment. Dick, as is his custom, went off about the courts when Chris announced that the Third District Court ordered Carl Lewis back onto the LD 8 ballot, and I got on a roll about one of my favorite targets…the NJ media.
Kathy Horgan, right, with Red Bank Councilwoman Sharon Lee and Mayor Pat Menna in a 2010 campaign photo
Red Bank Councilwoman Kathy Horgan is expected to be tapped to fill the 11th district Assembly nomination vacated by Marilyn Schlossbach at County Committee convention in Asbury Park this evening.
Horgan will run with Vin Gopal for Assembly and Ray Santiago for Senate on the Democratic ticket.
Neptune Township Deputy Mayor Randy Bishop said he will not be a candidate for Assembly tonight when the 11th legislative district Democratic County Committee meets at that Asbury Park VFW to nominate a candidate to replace Marilyn Schlossbach. Schlossbach resigned her candidacy last week citing business obligations.
“During the nominating process in the spring I determined that I would not put my name up this year,” said Bishop, ” I have commitments in Neptune and in my personal life that take priority now. Too many of us in politics neglect our personal commitments.”
The list of potential candidates is a closely held secret. “All I know is that I’m supposed to show up at 6:30 tonight,” Bishop said, “if you hear who’s in the running, let me know”
One Democratic source said this morning that a final round of interviews had “just happened” and a party favorite had not been determined. The source wouldn’t say who has been interviewed.
If they have a quorum tonight, the 11th district Democratic County Committee members will nominate a running mate for Assembly candidate Vin Gopal and State Senate candidate Ray Santiago. Under Title 19, a quorum is 50% plus one of the county committee members.
The slate will face off against incumbent Republicans, Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande. Former Democratic Assemblyman Dan Jacobson is also running for Assembly as an Independent. Internal Democratic polling indicates that Beck, Angelini and Casagrande are heavy favorites to be elected in the newly configured district.
In what is being viewed as a stinging rebuke to President Obama, the largely Jewish 9th Congressional District of New York elected Republican Bob Turner to the House of Representatives yesterday in a special election to replace disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner.
The congressional seat had previously been held by Chuck Schumer and Geraldine Ferraro. The seat has been filled by a Democrat since 1923.
A MMM reader wrote:
You do not know how important this was. I lived in that district. When Schumer ran he would get 88-90 percent of the vote. R’s would put up a token. This is like a D winning in Rumson. This district is so ingrained with the New Deal it shows that Obama is very vulnerable because the district voters were not voting against Weprin or voting for Turner. They were voting against the Big “O.”
made up different reason: If we let Phoenix Feeley go topless, we’d have to let Snooki do it, and that would create all kinds of public safety issues. 
Feeley, whose real name is Jill Coccaro, sued New York City in 2005 because she was arrested while topless in the Big Apple. New York’s top court had ruled years earlier that men and women have equal rights to bare their breasts. Feeley collected $29,000. In 2008 she came to Spring Lake and tried to score again.
