How to get Christie to shut up

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The Passaic River makes or breaks Paterson.

Francis Scandale -- The Record's all-seeing, all-knowing editor -- carefully omitted Governor Christie's snub of Paterson in coverage of the Republican's crocodile-tears flood tour last week.


But on Sunday, Christie was at the side of President Obama, who cheered up Silk City residents and promised them federal aid in the wake of Hurricane Irene.


The voluble governor doesn't appear in today's Page 1 photo, and the story by Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson doesn't quote him. 


He didn't make a peep in any of the TV news clips I saw, either. A good thing. We've heard enough from the bully's big mouth.


Another huge error


Today's off-lead A-1 report on the grim jobless rate doesn't quote a single New Jersey resident -- what you'd expect when Scandale leaves such important stories to The Associated Press.


And at first glance, the headline on the continuation page seems ridiculous -- what you'd expect from Editor Liz Houlton's foot-in-mouth news copy desk:

Jobs: On average, 4.5 million people vie for each opening

But it's not only ridiculous, it's one of the biggest, bone-headed errors I've ever seen in the paper, because on A-6, the story clearly says "4.5 unemployed people, on average, are competing for each job opening," not "4.5 million."


Liz and Francis, aren't you embarrassed? How does this happen? You've failed to correct other major errors, but I hope you correct this one.


The third major element on the front page is another story in the 10th anniversary 9/11 series that began strongly with Staff Writer Leslie Brody's piece on the memorial to New Jersey victims, then sort of plotzed.

In his 9/11 piece on Sunday, Staff Writer Jeff Pillets explored the nation's "crisis of confidence."

But he fails to make the connection between our huge deficits, Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor does he ever say whether the wars made us safer.


I'm looking at Sunday's front page now, and just noticed the amateurish drop headline on Pillets' story: "The challenge of 9/2011."


Labored Day


Who would have thought an effete snob like Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin is the son of a proud union man, a typographer at the Daily News no less (A-13)?


Here it is Labor Day, but Doblin not only collects a paycheck from the rabidly anti-union Borgs, he's also defended Christie's assaults on unionized state employees, teachers and cops.


At least today's editorial puts the blame on businesses for rolling up huge profits and cash reserves, but refusing to hire new workers (A-13).


Edit me, please


Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes leads her Local section with another column by Mike Kelly that cries out for editing, starting with the first paragraph:

"In the months after 9/11, cops, firefighters and others headed to Ground Zero to sort through the debris. Here in North Jersey, Peter Killeen sorted through another kind of rubble."

Another kind of rubble? What the f--- is he talking about? In the next paragraph, he tells us the "rubble" is composed of "cops needing to vent" and later, he says the rubble is the "broken souls of first responders."


What kind of strained, amateurish writing is this? Where is his assignment editor, in the bathroom?


The bottom of L-1 is devoted to a new math curriculum in Englewood -- a story that doesn't tell readers outside of that city students in the elementary and middle school are 99% minority.


The inside pages are padded with stories by reporters whose names aren't familiar to readers of the Woodland Park daily, meaning they likely came from   
a North Jersey Media Group weekly.