"Learning cursive will provide New Jersey students with 'the skills they need to read our nation’s founding documents'...."

Said New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, quoted in "Cursive Makes a Comeback in New Jersey Schools/In one of his final acts in office, Gov. Philip D. Murphy signed a bill on Monday requiring third, fourth and fifth graders to learn cursive" (NYT).

Proponents of cursive cite studies that link handwriting to better information retention and writing speed, and say — as Mr. Murphy did in a statement released as he signed the bill — that knowing script can help people read the original U.S. Constitution....

On Tuesday, Gabrielle and Kurt McCann, of Lebanon, N.J., were waiting to break the news to their 9-year-old son, Atlas McCann, when he got home from school. “I think it is important that kids are able to use that refined motor skill,” Ms. McCann said in an interview shortly after a meeting where she said she had taken all her notes in longhand.

But Atlas, she said, was thinking, “What’s the point of having to sit here and torture myself?”

The poor boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders. And now, this additional burden — handwriting! What for? Who reads the Constitution in the original handwriting? It's not even cut-and-paste-able. It's not searchable in handwritten form. Atlas will grope forward, if the time ever comes, asking AI what constitutional clause goes with whatever is the issue of the day. What constitutional clause deals with transgender women in girls sports? What constitutional clause gives cis gender girls the right to undress at public school in a single-sex locker room? The ancient handwriting will not say. AI will.

Let's consult not a politician but an expert:

“Oh, God,” Morgan Polikoff, an education professor at the University of Southern California, said when he learned of the New Jersey law.... He attributed the renewed affection for the style’s curlicues and squiggles to “boomerish nostalgia,” and said he was struck by cursive’s bipartisan appeal, with states as different politically as Arkansas and California requiring its instruction. Conservatives, the professor said, promote its utility for reading old documents; liberals like it for its beauty as an art form....

Fight the decline lest the day come when we cannot read the documents. Then what?

"Sherrill quickly brought up a central theme - Ciattarelli is a Trump acolyte. She challenged him to say where he disagrees with the president."

"Ciattarelli really did not go there. But he did talk about the good things he said Trump has done for New Jersey, He said they included opposition to wind farms off the Jersey shore, opposition to congestion pricing in New York City and increasing the deduction cap for state and local taxes, or SALT...."

I'm reading "Sherrill v. Ciattarelli: Who Won the First 2025 Gubernatorial Debate?" (Inside New Jersey).

Answering the question in the headline: "It is always worth wondering if debates change minds. This one probably didn't. No candidate, for example, said anything really stupid."

Comparing 3 states based on how they billed us for skipping the toll booths on a recent trip to NYC.

Pennsylvania — charged $0 and advised that we'll have to pay next time.

New York — required to pay the toll amount ($16).

New Jersey — must pay the toll amount — $3.95 and $9.85 — plus a $50 administrative fee — with the amounts billed separately and the administrative fee charged twice. That's $100 extra on top of $13.80 in tolls.

NOTE: There was no option to stop and pay the toll. There was no one in the booth, presumably because of Covid.

This CNN headline seems like it's trying to portray the Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey as the underdog: It feels like pre-spinning a feared defeat.

"Phil Murphy tries to become first Democratic governor to win reelection in New Jersey in more than 40 years."

IN THE COMMENTS: Balfegor has a sound interpretation that I want to sign onto:

I mean, [that headline is] what it leads with, but it also notes:

Murphy's lead over Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in a number of late polls appears to be at or near double digits,

I don't think it's pre-spinning a feared defeat in New Jersey at all. I think it's trying to set up a counter-message against a feared defeat in Virginia, where Republicans do seem to have a good chance. If Republicans win there after Democrats won by 10 points in 2020 (much of the civil service living and voting in Northern Virginia), that would be a shocking reversal. But if you can counterprogram by saying Democrats beat a 40 year trend to win in New Jersey, it might help guard against demoralisation heading into 2022....

Right. The idea is to make Murphy's victory seem amazing. 

"That Thing You Do."

I'm sorry to say this happened: "Adam Schlesinger, Songwriter for Rock, Film and the Stage, Dies at 52/He made suburban characters shine in Fountains of Wayne songs and brought pop-rock perfection to the Tom Hanks film 'That Thing You Do!'" (NYT).

In Fountains of Wayne, which was started in 1995, Mr. Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood perfected a novelistic form of hummable pop-rock in a style derived from the Kinks and from 1970s groups like Big Star and the Cars.

They chose northern New Jersey and boroughs outside Manhattan as thematic territory, chronicling the lives of suburban mall shoppers, Generation X slackers and down-market cover bands in songs like “Hackensack” and “Red Dragon Tattoo.”...

I lived in Wayne for nearly all of my teenage years (1964 to 1969), and I remember when the first mall went up. Lost times. Sad to see that now we've lost the beautifully talented Schlesinger.

Anomaly at the Brat Fest.

"Series of fights Saturday causes Brat Fest carnival to shutter early in 'anomaly' incident."

That was here in Madison, Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, at the Jersey Shore: A "wild brawl erupted near the iconic Lucy the Elephant attraction in Margate on Saturday."


"Lucy" photo by Robert Brizel.

ADDED: "Amid continuing incidents of gunfire, including a home invasion Tuesday in which a Madison man was killed, the city is still struggling with how to partner with local nonprofits to create a 'rapid response' to gun violence aimed at providing immediate help to victims and their families and preventing further shootings...."

“We’re dealing with chronic stress and chronic trauma in our community,” said Jerome Dillard, director of re-entry services for Focused Interruption and state director of EXPO, Ex-Prisoners Organizing. “We need to get boots on the ground to get the outreach we need to get these lives on track. Many of our young people don’t see themselves as being part of America.”...

“We do have a plan,” Deputy Mayor Gloria Reyes said, noting that the mayor’s 11-member rapid response team of city, Dane County and nonprofit representatives that has been shaping the initiatives will continue to meet regularly.... “It’s unfortunate we have community members and leaders who refuse to look at the bigger picture... It became about the Boys & Girls Club. It became about who was going to get funded and not get funded. It’s very unfortunate.”

"She told me, 'Don’t worry, everything is fine'... She said where they lived, on the other side of the river, was very safe."

She = Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, the one person killed in the Hoboken commuter train disaster.

She was commenting after the recent bombing in Chelsea.

ADDED: We're hearing so little about the cause of the crash. Here's an article in yesterday's NYT about how federal investigators have not even looked at "most of" the train or interviewed the train's engineer.

Jim Southworth, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said... "Because of the asbestos, because of the unsettled structures that we’re not sure about, I’m not allowing anybody to go in there... None of the evidence in there is perishable, so I have the time to go in there."

None of the evidence in there is perishable, but what about the evidence that's not in there? Have officials excluded terrorism?

"When I made the 'Hope' poster, I did it as a grassroots endeavor. I thought, 'I’m a street artist who’s been very critical frequently of government policy.'"

"There’s no way that Obama’s campaign will think that I’m anything but toxic.'... I’m really happy that the ‘Hope’ poster has become a reference point, and I have very complex feelings about Obama as president, about how my art is sometimes reinterpreted.... But it’s a net-positive because I think what I did, coming from very few resources and from an outsider perspective, demonstrates that grassroots art can make a difference."

Said Shepard Fairey, who's got a new huge mural of a wave in Jersey City.

"Red Mascara, Whose Song ‘I’m From New Jersey’ Almost Became a State Anthem, Dies at 92."

"Born Joseph Rocco Mascari on July 7, 1922, Mr. Mascara changed his name in the 1950s in the hope that it would help his songwriting career..."

“I know that New Jersey’s made fun of,” Mr. Mascara says in a trailer for the documentary. “But you know, they made fun of Sinatra in the beginning, too. I just want to say to New Jersey, don’t give up. We’re going to make it. And I want to make you proud.”

ADDED: I love the way Mascara says — at the end of that 5-minute video — that after all these years with no state song, New Jersey should just realize that his song — which isn't very good! — is the best it's going to get.

Here's a list of the state songs, showing New Jersey as the only state with no state song. Some states have more than one — such as Wisconsin, with a song ("On, Wisconsin!") and a state ballad ("Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams") and a state waltz ("The Wisconsin Waltz"). Tennessee has 10 state songs (putting the "ten" in "Tennessee"). Massachusetts has a state folk song, "Massachusetts" by Arlo Guthrie (which seems unfair to The Bee Gees).

I remember years ago there was some talk of making "Born to Run" the New Jersey state song. They're proud of Bruce Springsteen. But "suicide machines" followed closely by "suicide rap" is just so inappropriate! Me, I busted out of New Jersey in 1969. I didn't especially like it, but I wouldn't say it ripped the bones from my back.



ALSO: "The 22 Most New Jersey Songs Of All Time/Surprisingly, they’re not ALL by Bruce Springsteen." What if you had to pick one to be the NJ state song?

TPM says Chris Christie "Blows Up At Woman."

It's interesting that he's talking about Bruce Springsteen and going on about his friendship with the rock star, but I wouldn't call this blowing up:



Here's the author of the article, Tom Kludt. He doesn't look like he grew up in Newark, like Chris Christie. Can Chris Christie get away with talking to women like that? I don't know, generically. But I'm a woman, and I have no problem with that kind of vigor, I don't perceive it as losing his temper. But then I've spent some time in New Jersey.

AND: Kludt is a native of South Dakota, according to his TPM profile.

At the Rub Your Neck Café...

... you're a good doggie!

(Althouse and Bassett Hound photographed by Meade near The Peninsula at Packanack Lake.)

A journey into the past.

A week ago, we took a road trip east, and we stopped in Wayne, New Jersey, where I lived from 1964 to 1969, when I graduated from high school. I hadn't been there in over 40 years. I'd lived on Mountainside Drive in Packanack Lake (and looking it up to get a link, I see that Tom Cruise was my neighbor, an elementary school kid when I was a teenager (maybe he noticed me... I never noticed him)).

So it was very strange going back, to that little lake.



I live surrounded by lakes now, in Madison, Wisconsin, but Packanack Lake is mythic to me. Ah! There's the bridge. We walked across that bridge in the evening when we were 18....



How mysterious it all was! Does anyone see me here in 2014, in this place that seems as though it shouldn't even be real, but should be lost in the past, in the summer of 1969, when we spent the whole night out on The Peninsula?

"Here we are... Super Bowl, in New Jersey... Christie can appear on the scene... look like he’s got all this behind..."

"... him, and the lawyer releases the letter precisely on the eve of the big day in order to ruin it."

ADDED: TalkLeft — who's no Christie fan — says:

The lawyer's letter, which was carefully and ambiguously worded, didn't prove anything, let alone that what Christie said at the news conference was false....

She's looking closely at the text of the letter and the transcript of the press conference.

The letter doesn't even allege to whom the Administration Order was communicated. If the lawyer meant it was communicated to Christie, why didn't he say so? And alleging evidence exists "tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge" isn't a claim there's evidence Christie did have knowledge. Why the word play?

More at the link. 

Cory Booker surprised by the need to fight for that New Jersey Senate seat.

Politico observes, noting there's a debate today:

For Booker, it’s a chance to show he is engaged in the race, and not the celebrity candidate who’s off giving speeches at colleges, as Booker has, during the waning days of the campaign...

Working in Booker’s favor is the fact that the debate is on a Friday, in the middle of the day. It won’t be widely broadcast, meaning most voters will learn about it from the media. It minimizes the potential impact of any gaffe or slip-up....

"In one case, a New Jersey bar allegedly mixed rubbing alcohol with caramel food coloring and served it as Scotch."

"In another, a bar is accused of pouring dirty water into an empty bottle and passing it off as liquor."

This week's action was the result of a year-long undercover investigation, in which agents from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) used a new instrument — the True Spirit Authenticator — to analyze alcohol samples quickly and cheaply. Early this year, agents visited 63 establishments and ordered straight shots of premium brands of liquor, then slipped off with a total of 150 samples; 30 were not as advertised.

They called it "Operation Swill."

A New Jersey problem that makes it utterly different from Wisconsin.

"A 1947 [New Jersey] law, passed to curb the organized crime that flourished in the years after Prohibition, allowed one liquor license for every 1,000 residents per town..."

Flemington had just three—two belonging to establishments in strip malls and one for a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall.

Having a decent bar, it turns out, is helpful to reviving small downtowns, development experts say. So, in February, the developers came up with a novel but expensive solution, buying the Italian restaurant that owned a license and eventually transferring it to the downtown hotel. The price: about $1 million for the permit alone.

In Wisconsin, from what I've seen — and I've driven around a lot — even the smallest place you could possibly call a "downtown" has multiple bars — bars on any commercial block.

(Link via Instapundit.)

Judge by day, stand-up comedian at night — not acceptable under state ethics rules?

Part-time municipal judge Vince Sicari appeals to the Supreme Court of New Jersey to overturn the decision of the state ethics committee, which found an ethics violation.

Kim D. Ringler of the state attorney general's office argued in favor of the ban, saying municipal judges represent the most frequent contact the public has with the justice system. Some of the characters Sicari has depicted on TV could confuse the public and reflect badly on the judiciary, she said.

"His actions detract from the dignity of his judicial office and may reflect adversely on the judge's impartiality," Ringler said of Sicari's performances....

Sicari makes $13,000 a year as a part-time judge... He never cracks jokes on the bench and never lets on that he moonlights as a comic, [his lawyer] said. On stage, he doesn't touch lawyer jokes, the lawyer said.

On Tuesday, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner questioned whether Sicari's comedic routines touched on topics considered commonplace in the comedy world, including "remarks demeaning individuals on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socio-economic status," which are prohibited under judge's rules of conduct.

Britcher said Tuesday that much of Sicari's comedy is derived from personal observations outside of work, such as his upbringing as an Italian Catholic.

On Monday night, Sicari headlined at Caroline's comedy club in New York and brought down the house with his acerbic takes on current events, including the scandals surrounding Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius. None of the jokes targeted the legal profession, but his humor did touch on the categories Rabner mentioned.

He headlined at Caroline's comedy club and he's not even tapping the material he must have in his head about lawyers? What a drag it is to be a judge! The requirement of sobriety is easy for some, a terrible burden for others.

I hope Sicari wins his case, but if he loses, I hope he dumps his day job and lets us hear all the lawyer jokes he's been keeping to himself in his effort to avoid confusing the public and reflecting badly on the judiciary. If you're really good, Mr. Sicari, bust loose and confuse the hell out of us with all the bad reflections you've got.

Several justices questioned whether the public had the ability to separate Sicari's position as a judge from roles he has played on the ABC hidden camera show "What Would You Do?" in which he has portrayed homophobic and racist characters.

Associate Justice Anne M. Patterson asked about a person who watches such a skit on TV and then comes into court for a traffic ticket hearing. "Is that person going to have their confidence in the dignity of the judiciary affected?" Patterson asked.

Ringler, arguing that the roles of judge and comedian are incompatible, cited the example of the actor Larry Hagman, who was said to have been berated in public by fans who associated him with his role as the conniving J.R. Ewing in the long-running television series "Dallas."

Oh, no. People are dumb, and people must go before judges....

"I wouldn’t be wasting time on a Bob Menendez political obituary."

"I think Bob Menendez is a very tenacious person, and he has the advantage of six long years and a fairly forgiving political environment in New Jersey."

According to — who better to say? — Bob Torricelli.

Think of all the Bobs who've thrived in fairly forgiving New Jersey.

It's all about the time frame. Torricelli had to withdraw when allegations emerged in the midst of a campaign. He didn't have any leeway for riding out the New Jersey forgiveness arc.

"Officials in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have asked power companies to concentrate on bringing electricity back to polling places first..."

"... but they aren't betting on that."

‘‘Some of the voting machines do have battery backup,’’ New York State Board of Elections spokesman Tom Connolly told the Associated Press. ‘‘We are also planning to get generators to polling sites, but it’s not like we have an unlimited supply of generators.’’ In New York City members of the Board of Elections have been assessing the damage to polling places, and Mayor Bloomberg said they might have to use alternative locations in some cases. The Daily News reports that in devastated areas like Breezy Point and the Rockaways, voting may take place in tents equipped with generators.

While Christie has been occupied by relief efforts, in New Jersey Secretary of State and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said on Thursday that the state is planning to deploy military trucks to polling stations that have lost power. Guadagno said people at these locations will vote using a paper ballot....

Presumably, there will be a way for everyone who tries to vote to be able to vote, but fewer people will try. There's some complacency: "Since the states hit hardest are all solidly blue, lower voter turnout won't swing the presidential election...." The state gets the same number of electoral votes regardless of how many people actually vote. That means, however, that lower turnout concentrates the power of those who do vote. If enough of the "red" people in those blue states get out when the "blue" people stay home, the state — and all its electoral votes — could go to the "wrong" candidate. Or do you imagine that would only happen if the election ended up being a blowout for Romney anyway?

How far back do you need to scroll in the history of Electoral Maps to get to a year where New Jersey/New York/Connecticut picked the Republican? 1988 to get New Jersey and Connecticut. 1984 to get New Jersey and Connecticut and New York. 1984, of course, was a complete blowout for Reagan, with Mondale getting only his home state of Minnesota, but 1988 was pretty much of a blowout too.

A recent New Jersey poll — just before the hurricane hit — had Obama ahead by only 10 points. He won by 16 points in 2008, and older polls showed him with a bigger lead. It's not inconceivable that the state that elected Chris Christie could choose Romney even without a hurricane-depressed turnout.

Did Chris Christie "sudden love-in" with Obama hurt Mitt Romney?

"Sudden love-in" is the Washington Post's terminology.

There is no professed motivation for Christie’s newfound feelings for the president, other than that the two men are now partners in a massive effort to rebuild his state. Asked about the election on “Fox & Friends,” Christie said, “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” adding: “If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me.”

I want to say Chris Christie is saying and doing the right thing, not only morally and in his own political interest, but in the interest of Mitt Romney and the GOP. Saying it's not political and acting like politics are suspended, the best approach morally, happens also to be the best approach politically.

It's good politically because it's a vivid demonstration of devotion to public service and the capacity to rise about partisanship and do the things that need to be done.

Compare the Christie's interaction with Obama to the way Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco interacted with President Bush after Hurricane Katrina. Here's how Bush described some of it in his book "Decision Points" (at page 308-309):

The initial plan had been for me to land at the New Orleans airport, pick up Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin, and survey the damage on an aerial tour. But on the Marine One flight from Mississippi, we received word that the governor, mayor, and a Louisiana congressional delegation were demanding a private meeting on Air Force One first.

The tone started out tense and got worse. The governor and mayor bickered. Everyone blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency for failing to meet their needs. Congressman Bobby Jindal pointed out that FEMA had asked people to email their requests, despite the lack of electricity in the city. I shook my head. “We’ll fix it,” I said, looking at FEMA Director Mike Brown. Senator Mary Landrieu interrupted with unproductive emotional outbursts. “Would you please be quiet?” I had to say to her at one point.