The Morning Briefing - August 7, 2015
OCEANPORT - Tensions rose at the Oceanport council meeting last night, with former Acting Gov. John O. Bennett - currently the Oceanport business administrator - perhaps directing this Jersey salute to Councilman Joseph Irace. The pair was yelling back and forth, calling each other a liar, as the meeting descended into a shouting match. Social media and the local weekly, The Link, were all abuzz, as the council is divided over the future development of Fort Monmouth, among many, many other personal and professional issues. Meanwhile, mild-mannered Oceanport residents are aghast.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Fact checkers were bleary-eyed and exhausted after last night's GOP debate in Cleveland. Gov. Chris Christie claimed "we balanced an $11 billion deficit on a $29 billion budget by cutting over 800 programs in the state budget." The Record said he did not cut an $11 billion deficit. Rather, it was a "structural budget deficit," also known as a theoretical gap between what lawmakers want to spend and the actual money they have to work with. It's like wanting to own a Porsche, but taking over the financing on your mom's Kia. Interesting to see if Christie keeps this talking point in response to the nine credit downgrades New Jersey has sustained since he took office.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Probably the best response in last night's debate came from Rosie O'Donnell. Asking about Donald Trump's often-disparaging comments toward women - especially via Twitter - moderator Megyn Kelly asked: "You've called women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals." Trump raised his finger with a smirk to interrupt Kelly: "Only Rosie O'Donnell." Her great response on Twitter? "Try explaining that 2 ur kids."
AT THE PHARMACY - Time to stockpile. Beginning January 1, CVS will no longer cover Viagra under its prescription drug insurance plan. CVS says there are cheaper drugs that offer the same, er, result, like Cialis, which will still be covered under the plan. CVS says the decision is all about maintaining strong, steady and ongoing growth. (But CVS should contact a physician after four hours of a prolonged spike.)
JERSEY CITY - Maybe it wasn't worth it. A city man is looking at 20 years of hard time for robbing a man at gunpoint for $1. NJ.com says the man whipped out a steak knife on MLK Drive on Aug 3, demanding the victim fork over that buck. The suspect has a long rap sheet, including a conviction for attempted arson, so the judge will likely show little leniency. Perhaps this guy should have only demanded a quarter.
IN THE MEDIA
NEW BRUNSWICK - A note from our favorite fiction writer and former colleague, Brad Parks: "A little item for Morning Briefing consideration: the Deadly Ink Mystery Conference will be held at the Hyatt in New Brunswick today through Sunday. Basically, it's a bunch of mystery authors getting together and talking about creative ways to kill people, so there's a lot of News You Can Use here. There will be panels and workshops throughout the three days. On Saturday night there will be a keynote speech from the Guest of Honor - which is, ahem, me - entitled "17 Things I Know About Writing." The toastmaster is another former Star Ledger-ite from days of yore, Elaine F. Watkins. Should be a good time for anyone who loves a good mystery or has murder in their heart... which is pretty much everyone who has ever driven in New Jersey, right? More info: www.deadlyink2015.org."
ON THE AIRWAVES - It seemed like everyone appeared on the last episode of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" last night. Try to follow along: There was Hillary Clinton, Lindsey Graham, John Kerry, Rahm Emanuel, Bill O'Reilly, Wolf Blitzer, Chris Christie and John McCain, who got in their last digs ("So long, jackass," said McCain). There was a parade of former "Daily Show" correspondents, including Steve Carell, Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Rob and Nate Corddry, Mo Rocca, Larry Wilmore, Kristen Schaal, Darth Vader (who objected to being compared to Dick Cheney) and Gitmo the terrorist puppet (who learned he'd still be imprisoned in Gitmo). John Oliver was there; so was Wyatt Cenac. Then, finally, Stewart introduced Bruce Springsteen and thus "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" was officially played out, with "Born to Run."
Watch Stewart's last rant here.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BURLINGTON, VT - He said: "The name is Brosnan ... Piece Bronsan," but TSA agents really didn't care ... after scanners revealed a 10-inch hunting knife in his carry-on shoulder bag at Burlington International Airport. Agents patted down the 62-year-old James Bond actor before taking him into a private room for a more thorough search. Fellow passengers told the media that the actor appeared "embarrassed" and later "furious." Brosnan, who was traveling with his son Paris, 14, on Sunday, was allowed to board his flight to Detroit. Thanks to the ever-clever "Q," the TSA didn't find the garrote wire disguised as dental floss or phone concealed in the heel of his shoe.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day last year the NCAA was ordered to share some of the cash windfall from selling apparel with the names and images of student athletes. Now, these students will have some of profits dropped into trust funds they can access after leaving school. The line between "college kid who happens to play sports" and "celebrity athlete" gets fuzzier.
WORD OF THE DAY
Tittynope - noun
Definition: a small quantity of something left over
Example: Are you going to eat that tittynope or just play with it?