We Nuke, CNN Nukes

There we were, lying in bed about to fall asleep when we felt that gentle nudge, 'Honey are you awake?' Of course, we mean that metaphorically. We checked our email this morning and saw that line of Cyrillic letters which can only mean one thing. Our KGB handler wants more collusion. Bah...We don't feel like writing about Covid transmission rates and vaccines and R numbers.

So Chris Cuomo is suspended indefinitely from CNN. They'll change that status to definite, don't you worry about that. We'd like to tell you people a story. Back in '99 we worked at CNN Washington (click here for some reminisces). One day some numbskull got the idea to let Algore guest host Larry King Live. People were pissed. There were legit arguments about it in the hallway. Many thought giving Algore the mic when he was running for president was inappropriate and bad ethics. The plan was dropped by the afternoon.  

Governor Phil Murphy is a smart man: 'There are no immediate plans to implement lockdowns or other restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey despite growing concerns over the newly discovered omicron variant that has the possibility to spread more easily, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.' The usual caveats followed. But still... The man does not enjoy lockdowns and mandates, unlike certain former tristate area governors who killed thousands of old people and had to resign from office because they're a sex pest.

Moving on to other former tristate area governors, Hot Air points out Chris Christie's book sales are terrible, 2,289 the first week, and there's no constituency for him in the Republican Party. We don't like his Trump attacks but we'll point out that when he was governor, Christie made all the right enemies. The teacher's unions hated his guts. Oh well. Maybe Christie can be AG in the DeSantis admin. 

We had another great day of reading The Great Salvation of 1976. Things just moved and flowed. We read through chapters covering the president's reconstruction commission and education in the post-war US. That is, we read a lot of scenes taking place in libraries and school houses. What's happening? What's it like? This is the stuff we think is interesting. We think George Will arguing with Carl Sagan about fossil fuels is cool. But will readers?

We spent some mental energy on our desert mercs novel. We even outlined the opening three chapters. Should we?

12/10/19 in New Jersey

Governor Murphy comes down from the Mountain and declares Central New Jersey to be a thing:

That’s it, New Jersey. Put down your fists. Gov. Phil Murphy just put an end to one of the Garden State’s greatest debates. “As Governor of the Great State of New Jersey, I hereby declare that CENTRAL JERSEY DOES EXIST,” Murphy tweeted Monday afternoon.

A quick look at the map will show New Jersey is a pair of satellites orbiting two poles, New York in the north and Philly in the south. To put it another way, Giants* country vs Eagles country. People up north like the Devils, while down south in the 609 areacode, well, that's Flyer's territory.

We've heard our own Somerset County described as 'Central New Jersey' but we've always rejected this. We're 30 minutes from Newark International and the Lincoln Tunnel, for crying out loud.

New Jersey could split into two states and it would make some sense and neither would miss the other.

*Yes there are Jets fans in northern New Jersey, but their fan base is Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.

12-9-19 In New Jersey

New old Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano promises to recruit heavily from New Jersey high schools:

While speaking to folks on the sideline, including current Rutgers wide receiver Bo Melton and NJ.com, Schiano never took his eyes off the field. “We will always target New Jersey players first and foremost,” Schiano said. "Whether you’re ranked No. 1 or anywhere else, you always want the best players. That’s what we’re trying to do right now.“Excellent,” Schiano added when asked about the talent level of New Jersey football. “New Jersey football remains some of the best anywhere. The players and people we have met so far have been exceptional.”

Of course college football sensation and current NY Giants star Saquan Barkley is from Newark but went to Penn State, a Rutgers Big Ten rival and serious football program which manages to graduate players and remain scandal free.*

We wish Schiano luck.

*Except for letting pedophile ex-coaches run wild on campus.

12/2/19 in New Jersey

We're having some sort of winter storm here today in New Jersey:

With New Jersey set to see its first snowstorm of the season just as people hit the roads to return home, to work, and to school after Thanksgiving, Gov. Phil Murphy warned residents Sunday morning to brace for two days of messy weather and travel conditions — and urged them to practice patience and caution.

No shit?

One of the annoyances of modern politics is that northern governors feel they have to give twice daily updates from impressive sounding 'command centers' and what not.

Chris Christie did it best. As Hurricane Irene bore down on New Jersey the corrupt mayor of the corrupt Atlantic City decided people should hunker down in a local gymnasium rather than get the hell off the coast. Christie took to the airwaves and said you've been warned, you're on your own and 'you're not blaming us.'

We loved our governor.