The Jaffe Briefing - June 27, 2022
TRENTON – There’s no clever angle to describe what’s happened to Roe v. Wade. Let’s just localize it for New Jersey, with confirmation from Gov. Phil Murphy that a woman’s right to decide what to do with her own body is safe in this state, for now. The governor said: “it is incumbent that we do more to fully secure reproductive rights and ensure access to reproductive health care without delay.” The governor is also opening the state’s doors to women from other states who no longer have access to an abortion. There’s now 167.5 million Americans who have lost a fundamental right that has been recognized since 1973. As this Trump court has already loosened concealed gun laws and struck down Roe v. Wade just law week, we shudder to learn what could possibly be next. Now’s not the time to binge watch the Handmaid’s Tale.
TRENTON – With a federal court thinking that concealed guns are a fine idea in this era of daily shootings, Murphy wants New Jersey to turn to some clever lawyers to ensure people of this state can remain safe. It will require some more anti-gun legislation, with the careful support of Democratic lawmakers – all up for re-election next year during a GOP resurgence – who will still need to be convinced. Murphy is calling for guns to be barred from gathering places, like public transit, voting places, malls, bars, hospitals, day care centers, stadiums, government buildings and many other logical places, Politico reports. “A right to carry a concealed weapon is, in actuality, a recipe for tragedy,” Murphy said, after the Supreme Court decided that gun owners should be entitled to pack heat all over the place, likely for “protection” against other gun owners, who are now carrying their own guns for “protection” against other gun owners. America: clearly more safe.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Household tip: Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
TRENTON – You have four days to decide. How would you spend $10 billion? Sure, we all have our own glorious opinions, but we need to rely on our elected representatives to figure out what to do with this historic $10 billion surplus, as the state marches toward adopting a $50 billion spending plan by June 30. NJ.com reports that there’s been lots of closed-door talks, as the Democratic leadership hammers out the final plan with Gov. Phil Murphy. There’s sure a lot of goodies to spread around, as well as plenty of calls for justifiable restraint as the national economy can nosedive at any moment. All eyes are watching how the balance will be struck this week. Regardless, Republican lawmakers won’t be happy.
TRENTON – Need a state judge in New Jersey? Good luck. It looks like there will be 70 or so vacancies – a fifth of all the trial court positions, NJ.com reports, with the state Supreme Court even dropping by three justices. And what does it all mean? Justice delayed or denied for thousands of residents. NJ.com notes a personal injury complaint could now take three to four years to go before a jury, with civil cases, like hate crimes, environmental issues and whistleblower cases, postponed indefinitely. And if you are a battered spouse? It could take several months instead of 10 days for a protective order to get OK’d. In response, the Senate Judiciary Committee vows to meet as early as mid-July to vet and review judges to get them confirmed before Labor Day. There’s a bottomless pit of lawyers in this state; plenty to choose from.
STATEWIDE – Could potential homeowners in New Jersey finally get a break? After years of soaring real estate prices – with that arrogant “bring your own checkbook” mentality – it looks like there could be “vulnerability” in Bergen, Essex, Ocean, Passaic, Sussex, Union, Camden and Gloucester counties. The Record reports that analysts believe these counties will be hit with post-pandemic foreclosure, mortgage balances that exceed property values, unemployment and homeowners who grossly overpaid on a house, with the thoughts that, heck, the value will only go up, right?... Right? New Jersey also has a national distinction for high “unaffordable housing,” where mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance consume more than 30% of the average paycheck. The most glaring concerns: Bergen County at 48.3%, Passaic County at 46.5% and Ocean County at 42.5%
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BOSTON – NASA’s main issue at the moment: dust and cockroaches. Space officials are calling on a Boston auction house to immediately stop selling moon dust collected during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that was then force fed to cockroaches. Why? It was all part of an experiment to determine if the lunar rock contained any sort of pathogen that posed a threat to terrestrial life. NASA lawyers are quick to note that the dust – and those now -dead cockroaches – are the official property of the U.S. government. All the material from the experiment, including a vial with about 40 milligrams of moon dust and three bug carcasses, was expected to sell at auction for at least $400,000. But with all the legal wranglings, it was pulled from the auction block. An excerpt from the humorless legal team: “All Apollo samples, as stipulated in this collection of items, belong to NASA and no person, university, or other entity has ever been given permission to keep them after analysis, destruction, or other use for any purpose, especially for sale.”
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1992 that the first fee-based public bathrooms opened in the United States, costing 25 cents in NYC. Seems like a downright bargain, based on circumstance.
WORD OF THE DAY
Oaf – [OHF] – noun
Definition: A stupid person; boob
Example: The loud, bumbling oaf now has seven job offers at shore restaurants.
WIT OF THE DAY
“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”
-H.L. Mencken
BIDEN BLURB
“Well, I thought the deal was, when you went to work for the government you weren't supposed to make money!”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Soakers