The Jaffe Briefing - June 23, 2022

TRENTON – Gun control may not be in the national headlines today, yet there needs to be a constant drumbeat to force lawmakers to act before the next crisis. So, let’s push it to the forefront, celebrating that the Assembly advanced a package of bills yesterday to further tighten the state’s firearms laws. These proposed bills are not yet before Gov. Phil Murphy for signature, but let’s highlight them now. Bills would raise the minimum age to purchase rifles from 18 to 21, would ban certain .50 caliber rifles, would allow the Attorney General to sue gun manufacturers and force people to receive firearm training to obtain a permit, among many other sensible actions. The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee is expected to take up seven of these bills today. Meanwhile, the NRA continues to block progress at every turn, arguing, apparently, that guns are more important than kids.

TRENTON – Ok, it may be a little early to talk about “Back to School.” That’s like choosing Thanksgiving recipes in July. But as the state puts its final touches on the fiscal ’23 state budget, leaders are calling for a 10-day tax-free holiday for Magic Markers, Trapper Keepers, Scooby Doo lunch boxes and all other critical supplies needed for the 2022-23 school year. That would be a 6.625% savings between Aug. 27 to Sept. 5 for all online and in-person sales, a nice response to the crazy inflation we are enduring. The big winner here would be teachers, many of whom pay hundreds of dollars to fill their classrooms with supplies the school district refuses to offer. And all those apples for the teacher? Well, they are already tax-free.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Most toilets flush in E flat.

TRENTON – President Biden is calling on the states to do their part to lower the price at the pump, calling for a federal gas tax holiday over the next three months. So that means his Democratic friends in New Jersey would suspend the state’s gas tax, too, right? Alas, no. The Record explains it’s just not that easy to do. Gas tax funds are directed to the Transportation Trust Fund, which helps pay the enormous cost of never-ending road and bridge repairs around New Jersey. “Here’s the problem. It’s constitutionally tied to infrastructure projects, which you’d have to stop, and then when you restarted them it would cost all of us, including taxpayers, more money,” Gov. Phil Murphy says. State officials note Biden can easily cut the federal tax, as the U.S. Mint could then just print more money. (Oversimplifying here.) New Jersey, however, can’t do the same, unless, perhaps, the local gas stations begin accepting state lottery tickets as payment.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

COLUMBUS, OH – So, who owns the word “the”?  Apparently, The Ohio State University. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office finally OK’d the university’s request Tuesday, giving it exclusive control over the use of “The” on all the branded merch worn by the Buckeye faithful. An OSU spokesman explained that “the” has been a rallying cry for the school for many years and it also rakes in big bucks: more than $12.5 million a year in licensing revenue. The patent office initially rejected Ohio State’s application, finding the trademark appeared to be used for “merely decorative manners” and as an “ornamental feature.”  But somehow the school prevailed, arguing the word “the” means so much more and must be protected.

ALL OVER – When Juul e-cigarettes hit the market a few years back, clearly targeting teens with hopes and prayers of lifetime addiction, many parents and consumer groups rightfully howled.  The FDA finally agreed after two years, ordering all of these menthol and tobacco-flavored products off store shelves and sending a clear message to the vaping industry: your days are numbered (hopefully.) Moreover, the feds are now requiring that all e-cigarette products must go through pre-marketing reviews at the FDA, making sure they are no longer targeting 12-year-old kids with babysitting money. Perhaps Juul would still be in business if it did not create all those fruity, fun products, as well as mint-flavored nicotine pods, which were mercifully yanked from the market in 2019.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

In a one-night-only benefit, the “Odd Couple” opened and closed on this day in 1991 at the Belasco Theater. And what a cast: Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Martin Sheen and Abe Vigoda (as Murray).

WORD OF THE DAY

Desiccate – [DESS-ih-kayt] – verb

Definition: To dry out

Example: I put my swim towels in this strong sun, causing them to immediately desiccate.

WIT OF THE DAY

“The task of the government is not only to pour honey into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine.”

-Vladimir Putin

BIDEN BLURB

“Foreign policy is like human relations, only people know less about each other.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Scattered