The Jaffe Briefing - June 14, 2017
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - You thought all the political crazies in New Jersey would get a break from the breathtaking intrigue, now that the major parties have decided on their gubernatorial candidates. But, as Observer notes, the candidates only have until mid-July to select their running mates. Of course, that throws a whole bunch of new rumors into the smoldering cauldron. There are a lot of factors in this brew, like race, gender, geography, reputation, history, likability, availability, blind loyalty and, of course, what George Norcross thinks. Observer has its own list of front runners: read them here.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - In what has become this generation's version of the Red Scare, one New Jersey lawmaker is worried that Russians hacked into the state's election database. It seems doubtful there's an impact, as all our state incumbents won in the primary last week. But, still, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora is earning some ink in his response to a Bloomberg News report that 39 states had their voting systems compromised last Election Day. He wants Gov. Chris Christie to investigate. Or we can just ask Putin, now monitoring your every move through this computer screen.
HACKENSACK - Want your very own World War II submarine? Well, there's one ripe for the taking. The U.S. Navy gave the U.S.S. Ling to a veterans group in the 1970s as the centerpiece for a once-popular naval museum that it ran next door to The Record's former headquarters. Now that the Borg family sold its mini-media empire, it hopes to redevelop their 20-acre property. That means the naval museum is being dismantled and the submarine must go. It's now a rusty hulk that's longer than a football field. And, yeah, it's been bogged down for a few years in mud and muck on a shallow stretch of the Hackensack River. So, we bet almost any offer will be seriously considered.
NEW BRUNSWICK - There are 69,000 students enrolled at Rutgers University. But, as NJ 101.5 notes, not one of them is a voting member of the Board of Governors. There is now a resolution banging around Trenton, which asks Gov. Chris Christie and the university's Board of Trustees to appoint a student to the 15-member Board of Governors. Yeah, there's been a non-voting student representative for years and the feedback is warmly welcomed, blah, blah, blah. But shouldn't this massive population of 69,000 tuition-paying people get at least one vote that counts?
IN THE MEDIA
NEW BRUNSWICK - Rutgers University has been so liberal that the Scarlet Knight gallops from the left. But, as TAPInto New Brunswick reports, the election of Donald J. Trump is finally giving the conservatives a real voice on campus. They've been shouted down and marginalized for years, likely since the "Pardon Nixon" T-shirts in 1974. The news site launched a five-part series yesterday, expertly written by Jack Murtha, explaining the phenomenon and misperceptions on campus, as the Right is finally emboldened to demand equal space and time.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK - It's being called "Assault by Avocado," and the NYPD is taking the incident near Yankee Stadium very seriously, CBS reports. Two men pelted a deli worker with avocados and bananas on May 29, after a guy working the deli counter messed up a sandwich order. The worker suffered a broken jaw, as security footage shows a barrage of fruit thrown at a short distance with deadly accuracy. The two suspects remain at large, likely with guacamole.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." This national flag, according to legend, was designed by Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross at the request of Gen. George Washington. It made for a great story, which historians have been trying to prove since this day in 1777.
WORD OF THE DAY
Moue - [moo] - noun
Definition: A grimace or pout
Example:
Watch the TV reporter, with his moue, reporting how Attorney General Jeff Sessions talked for 2 ½ hours yesterday, but didn't say anything.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Cooler