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The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season-Finale Recap: Lowered Standards

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The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season-Finale Recap: Lowered Standards


This would possibly go down because the worst trip in Actual Housewives historical past. Positive, positive, COVID restrictions are most likely a bit responsible, however the entire crew (minus Teresa) is staying in a McMansion someplace within the suburbs and Frank has been pressured to sleep not with the fishes however with a doll assortment that appears the time Stanford Blach went residence with a confirmed bachelor with an insane fetish. There is no such thing as a glamour to be discovered anyplace, irrespective of what number of sizzling private cooks you rent to serve breakfast or sizzling celebration planners you rent for Tiki Barber to ogle.

The nadir of the journey, nonetheless, needs to be the group biking exercise. First, there was final week’s singing fiasco, and now they’re on an enormous bicycle the place everybody has to pedal however there’s additionally a bar within the center. That is by far essentially the most embarrassing factor I’ve ever seen on tv. Why would a bunch of grown adults do that? Not solely are you holding up site visitors and making asses of your self fist-bumping in the course of the road, however you’re additionally getting disgusting and sweaty within the solar. That is as positive of a recipe for a hangover as ingesting Lengthy Island Ice Teas out of a porn star’s jock. (What occurs in Fireplace Island doesn’t keep in Fireplace Island as a result of it often must be handled on the mainland about 4 days after.)

Sure, Nashville is now the bachelorette celebration capital of the world. I used to be terrified after they all arrived on the Sprocket Rocket, the title of their celebration bike, and there was an entire fleet of them within the parking zone. How are there so many Individuals making choices as dangerous as hiring Rudy Giuliani to be on The Masked Singer? I completely perceive bachelorettes seeking to play ingesting video games within the afternoon, however grown adults? Develop some dignity and go to a whiskey tasting for fuck’s sake. There’s not sufficient cash on this planet to get me on a type of frat homes became a Citi Bike. Even when Kyle Cooke’s face was the seat, I wouldn’t sit on a type of.

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Now that I’ve spent half a recap making enjoyable of the issues drunks love to do, possibly we must always truly speak concerning the Actual California Pizza Kitchens of the Backyard State Plaza. As a lot as I hate their ill-fated conveyance, it’s good to see everybody collectively having a very good time, identical to it was at their softball sport. It is a nice solid, and the relationships between the fellows and the ladies is basically a good time, like when Joe Gorga holds a rooster wing consuming contest that he has to persuade Invoice to bow out of simply so his fragile ego received’t must bear the burden of a loss. (Essentially the most I’ve ever appreciated Jennifer Aydin was when she was cheering on her husband and saying to Joe, “What? Are you ingesting milk? Does this little boy want milk?”)

Nonetheless, Teresa is as soon as once more intent on ruining the whole lot. When everybody sits all the way down to lunch, she decides that proper then is the time she wants to speak to Margaret. However she doesn’t attempt to begin a dialog; she goes over there with a problem as if daring Margaret to battle along with her once more in public. Fortunately Margaret and everybody across the desk speak her out of doing this in a crowded public place once more. Evan is true, actions with these ladies are enjoyable, however after they sit down, all hell breaks free.

I’m glad that Joe, Melissa, Dolores, and a number of the others stand as much as Teresa at lunch, particularly since at breakfast, Margaret staged a one-woman intervention about how all of them deal with Teresa. Margaret brings up that Teresa fat-shamed her at dinner the night time earlier than and nobody stopped her. Everybody agrees that fat-shaming is dangerous, however once more nobody piped up. Jennifer tells Marge, “You do ask numerous questions,” however she has stopped asking these questions. The final two occasions Teresa attacked her, Marge hadn’t been doing something. They’re simply rage aftershocks as a result of Teresa isn’t getting the edit she desires.

As everyone seems to be having fun with their lunch, poor Jackie is looking for one thing on the menu that she will be able to eat. I do know that she’s attempting and struggling, however I simply really feel so dangerous for anybody who would deny herself fried rooster fingers, the TGIF Friday’s branded ambrosia of the gods. Positive, she does order some coleslaw, however what about later within the episode after they go to dinner and so they carry out “rooster and waffle lollipops.” You may see the look in Jackie’s eyes that say, “Abort! Abort! Depart instantly” in the meantime, I’m attempting to determine tips on how to crawl by means of the display like Carol Anne in Poltergeist to get me one in all them rooster and waffle lollipops. I joke about this as a result of that’s how I address troublesome issues, and we’ve seen nothing harder than Jackie’s consuming dysfunction. I as soon as once more must commend her on her bravery in sharing this with the world. If she doesn’t be a part of me for rooster fingers, I’ll at the least meet her at coleslaw (and possibly a dessert of some variety).

The ultimate rooftop celebration of their journey reveals us not one however two scenes that I discover actually disgusting, and no, I’m not speaking about Luis’s jacket with what seemed to be a bedazzled spinal column up the again, although Luis is concerned in each scenes. The primary is when Luis pulls Joe Gorga apart and asks him for his sister’s hand in marriage. Ugh. The fucking patriarchy is robust on this one. Of all of the ridiculously outdated traditions on this planet, can we at the least do away with this one? Joe has no proper to inform Luis what he can and may’t do together with his life. The one one who ought to make this determination is Teresa, and leaving this alternative between two males makes her appear to be a lot cattle. Burn all of it to the fucking floor and begin over. Abolish marriage! Abolish monogamy! Abolish males! Abolish billionaires! Abolish four-part reunions!

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Whereas I’m disgusted by the very concept of this scene, I believe that Joe handles himself effectively and at the least asks Luis, “So, um, what’s up with all of those experiences we’re listening to about you?” He has to ask! Everybody has to ask. Margaret is taking all the warmth for asking the questions that everybody ought to have been asking Teresa. And, know what, Luis’s reply (which I don’t solely consider, however no matter) is that after he received divorced, he was in a bunch of shitty relationships and he wasn’t at all times an ideal man, however he’s labored on himself, and now he’s prepared to like Teresa and deal with her proper.

That’s all he wanted to say. That’s all he ever wanted to say, however as a result of a lady was asking him these questions, he didn’t really feel the necessity to reply. When Joe asks, then he solutions. It wasn’t that tough to handle all of this, was it? This wasn’t the worst of Luis’s moments, although. What about when Margaret walks away from Teresa, and he says, ever so snidely, “Thanks. Have an ideal night time.” Ugh. Or what about when he tells Teresa he’s not preventing anymore and he desires to go. “I’m completed. Significantly,” he says to Teresa and the entire rooftop and the viewing public. “I don’t want this. I can work exhausting so that you by no means must work a day in your life. How fortunate is that? Let’s go transfer into our 15,000 sq. foot home.”

I simply barfed. To begin with, that home is being paid for by what Teresa is doing proper right here. It’s mortgaged on preventing on actuality tv and if Luis thinks he can carry within the form of money the present does with all of his bankrupt companies, then have at it. However there’s no means he’s going to. Margaret says it greatest, “I used to be proper about Siggy. I used to be proper about Danielle. I’ll be proper about Luis.”

As for Marge and Teresa’s speak on the rooftop, it’s rather more civil than I assumed it might be, and Teresa is much more sincere than she’s been up to now. I believe the true crux is when Teresa says, “I lastly discover somebody I like, and this has to occur.” I don’t suppose she means Margaret; I believe she means the scrutiny that her man is getting. I believe it’s concerning the worth of fame, and he or she doesn’t wish to must take care of the experiences that he may not solely be who he claims to be. That is about Teresa’s life decisions — being on the present, sticking with Joe for therefore lengthy, going to jail and shedding time along with her mother and father — and the adverse penalties that they’ve wrought. However that doesn’t imply that she ought to blame all this on Margaret; possibly she ought to blame herself.

However Teresa can’t do this. She will’t even apologize. She will’t even express regret to Margaret for throwing all of these drinks on her and ruining a white gown. That’s how exhausting up Teresa is; she will be able to’t even situation a Housewives apology. “I’m sorry I misplaced my mood and ruined your gown, however you drove me to it.” Even that is an excessive amount of for her. Teresa nonetheless thinks that she was good to Margaret and that she has caught up for her up to now, regardless of the litany of misdeeds that Margaret brings up. Sure, Marge is not any saint. She poured water on Danielle. She pushed Marty within the pool. However Teresa has by no means completed something to help Marge.

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Margaret says it greatest when she says that everybody lowers their expectations round Teresa. Jennifer, the strongest girl in her household, turns into a sniveling sycophant. Dolores twists herself right into a human pretzel (which is difficult along with her new butt elevate) simply to excuse Teresa’s dangerous habits. Jackie has to lose a number of IQ factors simply to have a dialog with this girl. Melissa has been at her beck and name for a decade now to maintain peace in her household when Teresa doesn’t even meet her midway. Teresa received’t even throw out simply half the sprinkled cookies. Everyone seems to be giving her participation trophies. Everyone seems to be ignoring their decency and customary sense simply to maintain shut sufficient to her that they get one other contract, one other renewal. I hope that Marge can lastly rally the troops to do the proper factor and, primarily based on what we’ve seen of Joe Gorga on the reunion, she would possibly lastly be making some headway.



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New Jersey State Police Gave a ‘Free Pass’ to Motorists with Courtesy Cards or Ties to Police, Investigation Finds – Insider NJ

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New Jersey State Police Gave a ‘Free Pass’ to Motorists with Courtesy Cards or Ties to Police, Investigation Finds – Insider NJ


The Office of the State Comptroller found even motorists suspected of dangerous driving offenses were let go by New Jersey State Police.

TRENTON—An investigation finds that New Jersey State Police troopers routinely gave preferential treatment to certain motorists who presented a courtesy card or asserted a personal connection to law enforcement—even when motorists were suspected of dangerous offenses, like drunk driving, according to a new report by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller.

OSC’s Police Accountability Project reviewed body worn camera footage of 501 no-enforcement stops by New Jersey State Police–meaning stops where New Jersey State troopers did not issue tickets or make arrests. In 139 or 27 percent of these no-enforcement stops, motorists presented a courtesy card, claimed to have a friend or relative in law enforcement, or flashed a law enforcement badge and then were let go, OSC’s report said. In some cases, the trooper released the motorist immediately, offering some version of “you’re good.” The report found that courtesy cards are in wide usage and function as “accepted currency” by state troopers. (In all but one case, the troopers gave the courtesy card back to the motorist, enabling the card to be used again.)

Reviewing more than 50 hours of body worn camera footage of the stops, which took place over ten days in December 2022, OSC found that troopers regularly decided not to enforce motor vehicle laws after receiving a courtesy card or being told the driver has ties to law enforcement. For instance, one motorist, who was stopped for driving over 90 miles per hour, admitted to drinking alcohol but was let go without a sobriety test after he presented two courtesy cards. Another motorist was stopped for driving over 103 miles per hour and was released after she volunteered that her father was a lieutenant in a local police department. The most significant consequence the troopers imposed in these stops was advising the motorists that they had left a voicemail message for the law enforcement officer named on the courtesy card or invoked as a friend or relative. OSC has released video excerpts of the footage.

“Our investigation shows that some people are being given a free pass to violate serious traffic safety laws,” said Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh. “Law enforcement decisions should never depend on who you know, your family connections, or donations to police unions. Nepotism and favoritism undermine our laws and make our roads more dangerous.”

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Overall, close to half of the 501 non-enforcement stops reviewed by OSC involved speeding, many for more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. In three stops, drivers stopped for reckless driving, careless driving, and/or speeding, also admitted to drinking alcohol, yet were released without being asked to step out of the car for a field sobriety test. Both drunk driving and speeding are major causes of traffic fatalities. According to data compiled by the New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, in 2022, New Jersey recorded 646 fatal collisions that resulted in 689 deaths or 1.89 fatalities per day. This was among the highest number of traffic-related deaths in New Jersey in the past 15 years.

OSC initiated this investigation in response to reports that law enforcement officers’ decisions not to enforce motor vehicle violations were influenced by improper factors, including courtesy cards. Courtesy cards, often referred to as PBA cards, FOP cards, or gold cards, are given out by police labor associations to law enforcement officers. They also can be purchased through “associate memberships” with police associations and are sold by private companies.

OSC’s investigation found that courtesy cards are widely used. In 87, or 17 percent, of the no-enforcement stops OSC reviewed, motorists presented courtesy cards that came from municipal police departments, county and state agencies, as well as inter-state and out-of-state law enforcement agencies. They all appeared to be equally effective at getting motorists released without enforcement.

Asserting a relationship with law enforcement appeared to carry equal weight, OSC found. In 52 or 10 percent of the no-enforcement stops reviewed, the driver or passengers did not present a courtesy card but claimed a connection to law enforcement, and the trooper decided to let them go. In 29 of those stops, the motorist or passenger identified themselves as current, retired, or in-training law enforcement officers. Other stops resulted in no enforcement when the drivers or passengers claimed a relative, friend, or neighbor worked in a law enforcement agency.

In one stop, a trooper said he stopped a motorist for driving 97 miles per hour. After an extended conversation about the “friends” they had in common, the trooper told the driver to “stay safe” and let him go. In another stop, a trooper performed a computerized look-up of the driver’s credentials and discovered the driver had an active warrant for his arrest. But when the driver’s friend introduced himself, letting the trooper know that he was also an off-duty trooper, the stopping trooper walked back to the motorist, apologized for stopping him, and let him go without even mentioning the warrant. OSC was unable to determine from the footage what the warrant was for.

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Other findings include:

  • Providing preferential treatment to motorists who present courtesy cards or assert close personal relationships with law enforcement appears to have a discriminatory impact. Of the 87 courtesy cards observed in the sample, for instance, 69 were presented by White drivers.
  • Even when courtesy cards were not present, racial disparities were observed in the sample. New Jersey State Police policy requires troopers to request all three driving credentials (license, registration, proof of insurance) when making motor vehicle stops, but OSC found overall, White and Asian drivers were less likely to have all three of their credentials requested and verified when compared to Black and Hispanic/LatinX drivers. Additionally, troopers conducted computerized lookups of Hispanic/LatinX drivers 65 percent of the time, while looking up White drivers only 34 percent of the time.
  • In many stops, OSC was unable to ascertain why the troopers made the decision not to enforce motor vehicle violations because of the quality of the video footage or other factors. Still, OSC observed several of those stops involved dangerous offenses, underscoring the importance of reviewing no-enforcement motor vehicle stops, which are not routinely reviewed.

OSC made 11 recommendations, including that New Jersey State Police regularly review no-enforcement stops to better understand racial/ethnic trends in motor vehicle data and determine if additional training is needed. OSC also recommended that the Attorney General consider issuing a directive that would explicitly prohibit law enforcement officers from giving preferential treatment to motorists because of their ties to law enforcement or possession of courtesy cards.

Read the report. 

Watch excerpts of the body camera footage. 

Sign up now for OSC’s newsletter.



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Authorities Debunk Viral Explanation for NJ Drone Sightings

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Authorities Debunk Viral Explanation for NJ Drone Sightings


U.S. News

The drones spotted over the Garden State were probably not looking for a missing shipment of radioactive material.

Newsday LLC/Newsday via Getty Images
Zachary Folk

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.



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N.J. weighs making underage gambling no longer a crime, but subject to a fine

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N.J. weighs making underage gambling no longer a crime, but subject to a fine


Should underage gambling no longer be a crime?

New Jersey lawmakers are considering changing the law to make gambling by people under the age of 21 no longer punishable under criminal law, making it subject to a fine.

It also would impose fines on anyone helping an underage person gamble in New Jersey.

The bill changes the penalties for underage gambling from that of a disorderly persons offense to a civil offense. Fines would be $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense, and $2,000 for any subsequent offenses.

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The money would be used for prevention, education, and treatment programs for compulsive gambling, such as those provided by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.

“The concern I had initially was about reducing the severity of the punishment,” said Assemblyman Don Guardian, a Republican former mayor of Atlantic City. “But the fact that all the money will go to problem gambling treatment programs changed my mind.”

Figures on underage gambling cases were not immediately available Thursday. But numerous people involved in gambling treatment and recovery say a growing number of young people are becoming involved in gambling, particularly sports betting as the activity spreads around the country.

The bill was approved by an Assembly committee and now goes to the full Assembly for a vote. It must pass both houses of the Legislature before going to the desk of the state’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy.



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