The Morning Briefing - November 24, 2015
PATERSON – If it was up to many of our national politicians, a Syrian family of seven would not be moving into a Paterson apartment next week. But an interfaith group of Muslims, Christians and Jews are quietly defying Gov. Chris Christie’s call to bar Syrian refugees and are coordinating the settlement, the Record reports. This is a fortunate family, no doubt, as some U.S. leaders are suggesting that only Syrians of Christian faith be permitted, while others are pushing for an all-out ban, and perhaps a wall, some electrified security fences and a protective bubble over all us descendants of the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
TRENTON – So, how’s the state lottery doing? We know that it has missed its revenue projections in recent years, as perhaps more people are using their hard-earned money for other items, perhaps bread and milk. State officials will be probing the state’s 15-year deal with a private company to oversee lottery operations and hash out some more ways in which it can target those who happen to have both a dollar and a dream.
ATLANTIC CITY – And speaking of legalized gambling, it looks like the state’s gaming mecca is on a streak. Even though the casinos looked like ghost towns at last week’s League of Municipalities conference – featuring corporate–sponsored tumbleweeds – the state Division of Gaming Enforcement reports gross operating profits actually increased by 61 percent in the third quarter of this year. The eight remaining casinos reaped $237.4 million in July, August and September, compared to $147.5 million in the same period last year. That number includes casino revenue, as well as all the other stuff the hotels sell you – like the $22 eggs on the room service menu, (plus tip and service fee.)
PARAMUS – Growing up in Paterson, the rapper known as “Fetty Wap” knew what it was like to struggle. And perhaps that’s why he was found at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus this weekend, throwing wads of cash over a balcony as he passed through with his daughter. The total bounty was $2,000, with Wap tweeting, “never no who needed it," which we translate as “You never know who may need money.”
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
LONDON – And speaking of mutilating the English language, a British woman who poisoned her husband’s drink was convicted because of a dumb spelling mistake. The wife tried to kill her luv on Christmas Day in 2013 by spiking his drink with antifreeze, and then handed a note to the ambulance crew that stated he did not want to be resuscitated, Reuters reports. The forged note showed a misspelling of the word dignity as "dignerty.” When cops later asked her to write the word, the wife made the same error – proving she was the author, and the culprit.
IN THE MEDIA
ON THE AIRWAVES – For more years than we care to admit, we’ve been listening to New Jersey 101.5 morning show host Jim Gearhart give his spin on state politics. Often, we didn’t agree with him, but we never disputed his desire for a more affordable Garden State and more accountable public officials. He has been off-air because of an unrevealed injury, and now he will be officially replaced – after 25 years on the air. Townsquare Media New Jersey said Gearhart’s microphone has gone to Bill Spadea – the guy from “Chasing Jersey” – who has been a morning fill-in since last year. We wish him well in filling such big shoes.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1995 that many in Ireland reminisce with relief, as voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment legalizing divorce.
WORD OF THE DAY
Mythomania (mith-oh-MAY-nee-ah) — noun
Definition: A compulsion to exaggerate or tell lies.
Example: Still clinging to the outrageous lie that Muslims in Jersey City applauded 9-11, the Presidential candidate is clearly suffering from mythomania.