The Jaffe Briefing - March 9, 2018
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
ON THE RAILS - Not only is President Trump against the Gateway Tunnel, it seems he is ready to shut down the entire federal government if any money is budgeted for the desperately-needed infrastructure project. The word from Washington is that Trump is ready to scorch the Earth if Gateway gets just one sawbuck from Uncle Sam. Of course, this dispels all logic and rational thinking, which means the only reason can be politics. Trump hates Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and the feeling is, of course, mutual. Unclear why New Jersey is caught up in all this, as we only mock Trump at the standard level of any other Blue state.
STATEWIDE - You know something is going to be done, because our governor says people are "mad as heck" over all these power outages. Gov. Phil Murphy says more than 225,000 homes were without power yesterday afternoon, after the late winter storms, wind and heavy snow. Murphy wants the state Board of Public Utilities to spring into action and examine what went wrong. Public hearings will also be held, dammit, right in the communities where JCP&L serves customers. The state is telling crews to stay here until every home has power, which is what we assume they would do anyway. Perhaps the solution is for the state to remove all its trees. Just one idea; happy to take other suggestions.
EDISON - As Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman received the blessing last night of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, she was quick to note she remains the only woman in the state's Congressional delegation. But there may soon be more traffic through the Capitol Hill women's room. Emboldened by Donald Trump's presidency, more women are interested in holding public office and pointing out the many ways in which the men are doing it all wrong. "I think that it was a moment where women realized that elections have consequences," Debbie Walsh, director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics, told NJ 101.5. The Center is holding its "Ready to Run" political boot camp for women thinking about a career in public life. Perhaps, finally, the Old Boys Club is being sent back to the mid-20th Century, where it firmly belongs.
STATEWIDE - It officially looks like the "Great Recession" is finally over in New Jersey. NJ Spotlight says it took 10 long and painful years, but finally the state has climbed back to the same employment levels as 2007, right before the economy nosedived. Now New Jersey has joined the happy states that have matched pre-recession employment levels - just in time for the governor to tout the fact in his budget message, to be delivered next week.
STATEWIDE - Wait, did you just wake up? Are we to believe you actually fell asleep in the middle of reading this? Well, sadly, you are not alone. The latest unofficial, unscientific "study" on the Internet shows the average New Jersey adult is missing 30.5 hours of sleep each month. That's according to some unknown source, "Sleepopolis." New Jerseyans are around the national average for sleep deprived people, but much worse than all those well-rested Vermonters, who are only losing about 21.7 hours of sleep each month. Alaskans are apparently the worst sleepers, losing 42 hours a month, which is a surprise because there is absolutely nothing else to do other than shoot elk. Sleep experts suggest us New Jerseyans should cut out caffeine, especially four hours before we go to bed. Ha. That's funny.
IN THE MEDIA
ON NETFLIX - Call it ObamaTV, or perhaps "Live! with Barack." Whatever you name it, 44 is back and ready for primetime. The former President is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that highlight inspirational stories. Netflix would pay Mr. and Mrs. Obama for exclusive content on the outrageously popular streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world, according to the New York Times. Compare those numbers with President Trump's 48 million Twitter followers and you can have a real tit-for-tat shaping up on your news alerts, as both sides gear up for Campaign 2020.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ANTHEM, AZ. - This story began Saturday, when a 14-year-old girland a pal wanted to celebrate her birthday by taking horses through the drive-thru at the local Starbucks to order Frappuccinos. Yet, through the fuzzy, inaudible speaker, a Starbucks employee squawked that horses are not allowed. Access de-neigh-ed! The girls did a K-turn on the horses, and rode off into the sunset, but later went on social media and urged a boycott. So, then, suddenly, the caffeine-infused PR department at Starbucks had yet another crisis. The corporate line: Yes, horses are allowed in the drive-thru, but Starbucks would appreciate advance notice, perhaps to set up a hitching post. Starbucks then reached out to the girl, urging her to gallop on over, which she did. Call it the pony espresso.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Her body is unnaturally stunning, defying all gravity. And her face radiates teenaged youth and vigor. Yet, on this day, Barbie is 59 years old.
WORD OF THE DAY
Rabble - [RAB-ul] - noun
Definition: A disorganized or confused collection
Example: With kids home from school for three snow days, the front hall is a rabble of hats, gloves, scarves and what appears to be the remnants of a peanut butter sandwich.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Melting