The Morning Briefing - September 16, 2015
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – It is another Debate Night in America, as Gov. Chris Christie and 10 more of the most prominent Republicans in America will climb over each other to try and discredit Donald Trump and pray their sound bite goes viral on social media. Plenty of quips, one-liners and disapproving stares have been practiced and practiced, as these desperate candidates try to one-up an unabashed billionaire demagogue who hates every American but himself.
ON THE RAILS – It looks like New York may actually crack open the wallet, blow out the dust and throw some money toward the desperately needed tunnel from New Jersey. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie think they can somehow scrape up about half of the $20 billion pricetag, but the feds have to pay the rest. A federal low-interest loan could be used, the governors suggest, as well as other “funding strategies” to cover the states’ share. There’s nothing like a really loose, vague plan to encourage Uncle Sam to drop a few billion. But at least everyone is finally getting serious about this tunnel. Boy, we must be really screwed.
NEW BRUNSWICK—With schools closed yesterday, what better cure for cabin fever than to scare the living bejeezus out of kids? That was the unintentional scene at the State Theater where escape artist Spencer Horsman nearly drowned as he couldn’t quite get out of a 100-gallon Plexiglas tank, with 16 locks, a stunt performed at high noon to promote Criss Angel’s “Supernaturalists” at the theater. The watery exploit was certainly “death-defying,” - as fans watched the local ambulance crew — as opposed to escape artistry — serve as this guy’s savior. Maybe this stuff should stay in Vegas. See it here.
CAPE MAY – What would Jesus do? Would he fight the “Americans United for Separation of Church and State,” a Washington-based advocacy group, that filed a complaint to block Cape May from sponsoring a live stream of the papal visit? Or would Jesus take the more, uh, Christian, route, like Cape May town leaders, who have nixed municipal sponsorship of the papal Mass “viewing party” at Cape May Convention Hall? Now, a group of Cape May priests will be sponsoring the Sept. 27 event. Call this a shining win for democracy, we guess… Yippee?
LINDEN – One bad apple has made the Linden Tigers a national news story this morning, after a video has gone viral showing one football player rip the helmet off an Immaculata offensive lineman as he took him to the ground during Friday’s game. From there, the unidentified Linden player swung the player’s helmet, hitting the opposing player in the top of the head before throwing it several yards. The Immaculata player needed 10 stitches. Meanwhile, the schools’ athletic directors are working this out. One would assume this is the last day that kid will be in a Linden football uniform. See it here.
ONLINE – So much for all that optimism. Facebook will soon be allowing its users to also “dislike” posts. Facebook has resisted the “dislike” button for years, worried it would create this swirl of negativism that would shift the entire use of Facebook. But it also never made sense to click “like” when someone posts really personal struggle, such as they lost a loved one or has a serious disease. Clicking “like” just doesn’t show the right empathy. This is a real gamble for Facebook, as posters will soon go elsewhere when a slue of people “dislike” the photo of whatever they are eating for lunch or yet another image of their legs pointing to the ocean – the prime posts of many.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
DANVILLE, Ky, - It was an “assault with beef” in Kentucky on Sunday, as a woman took a hot flying brisket to the face at the Kentucky State BBQ. Apparently contestants in a cook-off were hotter than down-home, bourbon-infused sauce, as they tried to share the same cooker. The victim told police she was smacked with a hot slab of brisket, with authorities noting an estimated temperature of 200 to 250 degrees upon launch. The meat-slinger told police it was just an accident, adding a couple of “Shucks” and perhaps a “Yee-haw.”
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1984 that the ill-fitting linen suit, undershirt and sockless loafers were the fashion of a very brief moment, as Miami Vice is unveiled on NBC.
WORD OF THE DAY
Doryphore – noun
Definition: A special Debate Night word! Someone who delights in pointing out other people's mistakes.
Example: Tune into “Doryphore2016” on CNN, beginning at 8 pm EST.