Pure Politics? The New Jersey Definition of “Private and Personal”

People sometimes ask me why I am prejudiced towards New Jersey and/or politicians.

Depending on how much coverage the story below receives, the New Jersey Tourist Bureau may need to buy some more advertisements in the Washington area.

I will be curious to see whether this guy’s lawyers try to get charges dropped on the grounds that the city council member was merely doing in actuality what politicians do metaphorically for a living.
Or maybe they will claim that this guy was simply exercising the New Jersey version of Lese Majeste.
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Reports Link N.J. Politician to Arrest at Club
By Elissa Silverman and Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, November 10, 2008; B03

A City Council member from Jersey City was arrested over the weekend after patrons at a Northwest Washington nightclub complained that someone had urinated on them from the balcony, according to police and media reports.

A D.C. police spokesman said Steven Lipski was arrested about 9:50 p.m. and charged with simple assault. A police incident report, which did not name the suspect, gave his age as 44. Another police report listed Lipski as a resident of Jersey City. Public records for the Steven Lipski who sits on the Jersey City council list his age as 43 or 44.

Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Jersey City, said last night that she did not have all the details about what she termed a “private, personal matter.” ….

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5 Responses to Pure Politics? The New Jersey Definition of “Private and Personal”

  1. Jean November 10, 2008 at 1:43 pm #

    Jim, isn’t the use of this private and personal crap used when politicians or their siblings are caught using or selling drugs.
    It seems only the beautiful people can use this, while the rest of us have to rot in jail, or have their lives ruined by this.

    I was watching the local news and they reported that a uniformed Secret Service employee paid money to a hooker, who turned out to be a cop. My question is why isn’t the cop thrown in jail as well? Don’t you think these people could be doing something better than nabbing guys with an aroused cases of jumping hormones?

  2. willb November 11, 2008 at 11:23 am #

    What a rookie.
    He was supposed to shout down, “It’s raining!”

  3. Tom Blanton November 11, 2008 at 4:47 pm #

    “According to police and sources from Washington’s 9:30 Club, 44-year-old Jersey City, New Jersey Councilman Steven Lipski was ejected after being witnessed by club staff urinating onto fellow patrons from a second-floor balcony during a performance by a Grateful Dead tribute band.

    “We’ve dealt with this man before,” the source told the New York Daily News. “He’s never peed on anybody, but he gets really belligerent and drunk.”

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/City_councilman_pees_on_club_guests_1109.html

    Why does this clown come all the way down from NJ to see a Grateful Dead cover band at the 9:30 club? It sounds like he’s not particularly fond of Dead Heads.

    I heard on the news this a.m. that he admits to being an alkie and he’s going to get treatment.

    I think he should quit the booze and start taking acid and/or he should go to Fetish Balls where he might find consenting adults into the golden showers thing.

  4. Jim November 11, 2008 at 8:34 pm #

    Good point.

    This is the kind of behavior that might actually help get him reelected in Jersey City.

    On the other hand, if this dude had been a Republican, people would be taunting him with practicing trickle-down economics.

  5. David November 14, 2008 at 1:18 pm #

    Gotta love it. MIA on the story: party affiliation of the pisser who intent upon post election statements of clarity may have been targeting specific party affiliated pissees. Finally, a media moment that required no election contribution or on line covert questions of donor identity.