The Jaffe Briefing - August 3, 2021

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Welcome back to the stage, former Sen. Diana Allen. The moderate Republican from South Jersey is making a comeback, as the running mate for GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli. Allen is to be rolled out tomorrow as the candidate for lieutenant governor, with as much hoopla as possible. Allen is a good pick, a veteran news anchor from Philly who knows how to communicate. Her time on the air, as well as her service in the Senate, brings her some street cred and some notoriety. Will it really move the needle in a contest in which Gov. Phil Murphy is heavily favored and has all the cash? Maybe. A Ciattarelli/Allen ticket is strong and competent. In the right year, as Republicans, they could have a fighting chance. But that’s likely not this year.

STATEWIDE – With the rise of the Delta variant, it is a no-brainer. So, finally, New Jersey is now requiring public and private workers in health care settings to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or submit to weekly testing, as these darn infection numbers continue to creep. The new standard, which needs to be followed by Sept. 7 for hospitals, long-term care facilities and jails, may just be the beginning, Murphy vows. “If we do not see significant increases in vaccination rates among the employees in these settings, we are ready and willing to require all staff to be vaccinated as a condition of their employment,” he said. Sounds good here. And we would have written that same sentence in March.

STATEWIDE – And how about taking this a huge step further? It is obvious, based on every single medical study written, to date, that vaccines greatly reduce the death rate from this lingering pandemic. So, why can’t Murphy order public workers to get vaccinated? The Record explains that it’s all about politics. Murphy is relying on employee unions that represent teachers, government workers, firefighters, etc. Ordering them to get vaccinated is a touchy subject. Heck, there is even pushback by some who don’t want to be forced to wear masks. Some union leaders say any of these mandates should be hashed out at the bargaining table as if public health is a give-and-take goodie like vacation time. And some think they should be paid overtime just to get tested. We all love our labor unions, sure, but not everything should be a negotiation.

BRIEFING BREATHER

In Switzerland, it is illegal to own just one guinea pig. (That’s because guinea pigs are social animals; they are considered victims of abuse if alone.)

STATEWIDE – Most people who donate to political campaigns know the tried-and-true tactics to create urgency. Others, who don’t contribute, don’t care. But New Jersey Monitor wants to show everyone the strategy, with all the fake deadlines, etc. Ciattarelli’s team sent out a solicitation promising to waive an “initiation fee” for donors who gave in the next 30 minutes. The 30-minute deadline did not actually exist. Murphy’s campaign also touted an apparent fake deadline, writing that “we are just two days away from our July fundraising deadline, and it looks like we are not on track to reach our goal before the deadline passes.” Some are calling for ethics and transparency in the process.  Most others are oblivious, dismissing it as part of the marketing clutter that fills inboxes throughout the business day. Meanwhile, you only have 73.5 more seconds to send us $100. Do it now.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

ALL OVER – Scientists have been doing plenty of thinking this summer about nothing but air. But air is pretty darn important, especially for those who are wondering, how exactly all this breathable air got stuffed into our atmosphere, thus creating life. There’s a new study in Natural Geoscience that thinks the planet decided one day to start slowing down on its rotation around, perhaps, 2.4 billion years ago. And, when that happened, the days got longer. And when that happened, the extra daylight supercharged some bacteria, which then started churning out all this wonderful oxygen. And then – poof! – life as we know it. Any questions?

MILWAUKEE – True aficionados of truly tasteless beer are mourning Molson Coors’ decision to mercifully end the production of some of its worst brands. So, we bid farewell to some “gas station beer” that just should never, ever have been brewed – like Miller High Life Light or Milwaukee’s Best Premium or Keystone Ice, which marketers finally admit just wasn’t that “Keylightful.” We are also losing 8 percent APV Icehouse Edge, which even the most ardent low-budget beer drinkers have spit out. Other sudsy losers: Hamm's Special Light, Steel Reserve 211 (although the fruity spinoffs appear to be surviving), Olde English HG 800 and Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve. Don’t worry if you never heard of any of these beers; they are now, thankfully, thrown in the back, near the used motor oil.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1992 that Paramount Pictures unveils a detailed set depicting a street in NYC, as opposed to, say, actually filming on a street in NYC.

WORD OF THE DAY

Dally – [DAL-ee] – verb

Definition: To waste time

Example: Now we all know where they came up with the term “dilly-dally.”

WIT OF THE DAY

“Stupid people are ruining America.”

-Herman Cain

BIDEN BLURB

“The American public is a lot more sophisticated than we all give them credit for. And on complicated issues, I'm going to give them straight answers. And if it takes more than three minutes, I'm going to do it."

-Joe Biden 

WEATHER IN A WORD

Clouds