Now, media must focus on issues -- not polls and popularity

Hillary Clinton making history on Thursday night in Philadelphia, where she accepted the Democratic nomination for president after pledging to work to improve the lives of women and everyone else. (Photo credit: UPI)

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With just over three months until the Nov. 8 presidential election, readers can only hope the hysterical news media will focus on the issues that affect our lives.

When will The Record and other news outlets start a serious discussion of the candidates' positions on gun control, immigration, climate change, the minimum wage, taxing the wealthy and so many other compelling issues -- and then take a stand?

In the case of the Woodland Park daily and Editor Deirdre Sykes, readers shouldn't hold their breath.

Partisan politics in New Jersey and the nation have been shoved down their throats by Columnists Charles Stile and Herb Jackson for far too many years.

And Columnist Mike Kelly has taken so many pot shots at President Obama readers have to wonder whether the veteran reporter has been infected by the racial animus apparent in the Republicans who gridlock Congress.

Seeing history made 

At least one of The Record's editorial writers -- commenting on Hillary Clinton making history -- had the good sense to admit:

"We are missing an extraordinary moment. We are so caught up in the pettiness of politics and personalities that we are not seeing the history made in Philadelphia, the city where our history began" (A-18).

"...Before Wednesday is another forgotten moment, savor it not as a partisan, but as an American."

Endless politics

On the front page of The Record today, the lead USA Today story on Clinton's speech to the Democratic National Convention is filled with partisan politics, and actually includes a rebuttal from wacko racist Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee (A-1 and A-6).

The stark differences between the candidates have been glossed over.

For example, Trump wants to a tax break that would put an extra $1.3 million in his pocket and in the pocket of every other member of the 1%, but backs an increase in the minimum wage to only $10.

Clinton calls on the wealthy to pay higher taxes to help finance social programs for families and to bolster Social Security. 

Holes in coverage

The Record's story is missing most of Clinton's attacks on Trump as a potential leader, but the New York Port reported she "savaged" the businessman:

"He loses his cool at the slightest provocation. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man you can trust with a nuclear weapon," she said of Trump, "mocking her ... rival's claim that he knows more about ISIS than American's military leaders."

The Post also reported that Clinton:

• "Accused Trump of 'being in the pocket of the gun lobby,' while saying she had no intention of repealing the Second Amendment.
• "Slammed her opponent for having his clothing line and furnishings for his hotels made in other countries while he talks about bringing jobs back to America.
• "Said large corporations should pay their 'fair share' of taxes, and not accept tax breaks with one hand while handing out pink slips with the other.
• "Vowed to support police officers while at the same time reforming the criminal-justice system to rebuild trust between cops and the communities."

A horse race

What will likely happen now that the conventions are over, The Record and other news media will go back to publishing polls that purportedly show the closeness of the White House race.

But you won't see the media reflecting on how their endless coverage of partisan politics and conflict has produced one of the world's most apathetic electorates.

To all Democrats: Don't take election of Clinton for granted

Filmmaker Michael Moore (@MMFlint) tweeted five reasons he thinks Republican wacko racist Donald J. Trump will be the next president of the United States.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

"Donald J. Trump is going to win in November," filmmaker Michael Moore predicts.

"This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is going to be our next president," Moore said in a call to the voting booth that appears on his website, MichaelMoore.com and on Twitter.

One major problem, Moore noted, is that in poor, black and Hispanic neighborhoods, where Democrat Hillary Clinton has widespread support, "everything is being done to literally stop them from casting a ballot ... so in most elections it's hard to get even 50% to turn out to vote."

But in what Moore calls "the last stand of the angry white man," Trump's "crazed fans are going to be up at 5 a.m. on Election Day, kicking ass all day long ...."

Today's paper

To tens of thousands of Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, agnostic and atheistic readers, the retirement of the Newark archbishop is a non-event, so why does the story take up so much precious space on A-1 of The Record today?

Trump has pledged to build a wall on the Mexican border and deport 11 million illegal aliens, so why is Columnist Michael Kelly wasting our time with a Page 1 piece that has readers' eyes rolling:

"Trump a dilemma for many Hispanics"

Kelly's second column appears today on the Opinion section cover (O-1), where he looks ahead to the Sept. 12 trial of Governor Christie's key allies in the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

In the court of public opinion, Christie himself has been found guilty of involvement in the politically motivated traffic jam, but Kelly doesn't seem convinced.

Citing Christie's prosecution of Clinton at the Republican National Convention last week, Kelly fails to remind readers the GOP bully also erased emails, as well as text messages, related to Bridgegate, and "lost" his cellphone for two years, according to reporting by WNYC-FM.

Amateur hour

Don't bother with Better Living's amateurish appraisal of Fort Lee's diverse dining scene or the wildly exaggerated comparison to Manhattan (BL-1).

Staff Writer Elisa Ung has been reviewing North Jersey restaurants and writing about food for about a decade -- yet she still hasn't discovered Hiura, which opened on Main Street about 25 years ago.

Many consider the BYO with fewer than 30 seats the best sushi and Japanese restaurant around.

She also ignores BCD, a Korean restaurant in Fort Lee that serves organic soft-tofu soup and superior side dishes.

Media regurgitate nominee Trump's empty promises, lies

This photo from Getty Images shows Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump delivering his acceptance speech to close the party's national convention on Thursday night in Cleveland. Pretty scary, don't you think?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A big, black headline dominates Page 1 of The Record today, reporting wacko racist Donald J. Trump "promises [a] safer, more prosperous nation."

The Republican presidential nominee's speech was little more than a pack of empty promises and lies from a member of the 1% who is at the root of all of our problems (A-1).

The Daily News fact checked Trump's Republican National Convention speech: Six major things Trump got wrong.

Editor Deirdre Sykes of The Record, on the other hand, was too busy editing a daily update polishing Governor Christie's image from Columnist Charles Stile, the paper's chief apologist for the GOP bully (A-1).

What else would you expect from Woodland Park, home of the only major New Jersey daily that didn't demand Christie's resignation after he endorsed Trump?

Nor does Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin's opinion column on A-17 suggest Christie should be "locked up" for those missing emails and texts related to the Bridgegate scandal.

And shame on Doblin for today's editorial listing Lincoln in the long line of Republican presidential nominees leading up to the disgraceful Trump.

"These are troubling times" is all Doblin can say about today's mean-spirited Republican Party (A-16).

Why four days?

Covering the four-day Republican National Convention seems to have sucked all of the energy out of The Record newsroom, judging from another local-news section dominated by police, fire and court news (L-1, L-2, L-3, L-5 and L-6).

Why all of this blanket coverage of what amounts to little more than a political pep rally, and why are the Republican and upcoming Democratic conventions four days long when only one day is devoted to the actual presidential election?

Seafood pasta 'disaster'

A pricey seafood pasta was "a total disaster" ($22), with watery sauce and "could-have-been-fresher calamari rings," and the spaghetti and meatballs came with "mushy" pasta and a "bland" tomato sauce ($16). 

Yet Della Cucina in Hillsdale gets 2.5 out of 4 stars from Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung, who swoons over the "great desserts" (BL-12).

Does the restaurant serve "great" salads or fresh fish besides all of the mystery chicken, veal and pork dishes she liked? 

Readers don't have a clue.

The first two paragraphs of the review are devoted to a history of the year-old restaurant, and a discussion of two Italian-American families that own the place.

If you want to know whether the meat and poultry were raised naturally, you're out of luck.

Wacko racist and demagogue set to accept GOP nomination

Republican Ted Cruz refused to endorse wacko racist Donald J. Trump, because the nominee trashed the Texas senator's family during their nasty primary battle, according to the New York Post. You may recall Trump also said Governor Christie is guilty in the George Washington Bridge lane closures, but now the GOP bully is hoping to become the next U.S. attorney general. (Photo credit: New York Post)

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

One of the few human interest stories in The Record today is the Page 1 interview with Adele Dunlap, a Jersey girl who at 113 holds the title of Oldest American, but remains coy about her age.

Besides that, all Editor Deirdre Sykes can offer is to continue to polish Governor Christie's image as Donald J. Trump's attack dog, and seemingly related coverage of the Just Pups pet store chain (A-1, L-1).

Tonight, the wacko racist New York businessman, who has been compared to Hitler, is set to formally accept the Republican Party's presidential nomination. 

Trump is a true demagogue: a political leader who gains power by appealing to passions, prejudices and ignorance rather than by using rational argument.

Local news?

You won't find much human interest news in Local, where profiles of prominent residents don't appear until after they die.

The only humanizing touch on L-1 is a large photo of Kayden Kinckle of Englewood at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack. 

Otherwise, L-1 today is filled with court, council and water commission news, plus the gripping account of an environmental cleanup in Ridgefield.

If you miss the Law & Order news you usually find on the Local front, don't worry.

There is plenty of it on L-2, L-3, L-5 and L-6.

Trump ducks AARP questions on plans for Social Security

On his HBO show Friday night, satirist Bill Maher unveiled a mock issue of Us Weekly revealing the "25 Things You Don't Know About" Donald J. Trump, the Republican Party's candidate in the November presidential election.

 

No. 4. "Mar-a-lago is Spanish for "House of Douche." See more below.

Editor's note: In writing this post, I confused Mike Pence and racing driver Mike Spence, who died in a practice crash leading up to the Indy 500 in the state where Pence is now governor. That doesn't augur well for the Republican Party, which is expected to crash and burn in the presidential election.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You can kiss your Social Security goodbye, if wacko racist Donald J. Trump is elected the next president of the United States.

AARP, the leading advocacy group for Americans who are 50 and over, asked Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for their positions on Social Security, noting, "If our leaders don't act, future retirees could lose up to $10,000 a year."

Trump and Clinton were asked to answer two questions: 

"What will you do to make Social Security financially sound for future generations? What specific plans do you have to ensure that Social Security provide adequate benefits to meet the needs of future retirees?"

In a 600-word statement in the July-August issue of AARP Bulletin, Trump's campaign evaded both questions, and answered in generalities:

"The key to preserving Social Security ... is to have an economy that is robust and growing. For too long, Americans have had a great deal of uncertainty in their lives, and the reforms I will bring to D.C. will ... restore confidence in the American economy." 

Asked for specific plans, Trump repeated his first answer:

"As was stated above, I will work with Congress to ensure we have a pro-growth agenda in place."

Hillary Clinton

Clinton's campaign, on the other hand, didn't pull any punches on how she planned "to guarantee dignity in retirement for future generations"

"Hillary understands that there is no way to accomplish that goal without asking the highest-income Americans to pay more, including options to tax some of their income above the current Social Security cap, and taxing some of their income not currently taken into account by the ... system."

She also pledged to fight Republican attempts "to gamble seniors' retirement security on the stock market through privatization," to reduce annual-cost-of-living adjustments and to raise the retirement age."

Asked for specific plans, the campaign said:

"Hillary will expand Social Security for those who need it most -- including women who are widows and those who took significant time out of the paid workforce to take care of their children, aging parents or ailing family members."

No. 7. "I saved the box Melania arrived in so I can return her when she turns 50."

No. 8. "I never actually believed Obama was born in Kenya. Because I thought the name of the country was Kanye."

No. 22. "I cry at movies. Because they're integrated."

Today's paper

You'll search The Record in vain today for any discussion of the future of Social Security or any other issue at stake in the presidential election.

Thanks to Editor Deirdre Sykes, Columnist Charles Stile and other Trenton reporters, this Sunday edition is a journal of partisan politics, as has been the case so many times before.

Since Governor Christie took office in early 2010, Stile has transformed himself from a hard-nosed Trenton reporter into the GOP bully's personal groomer.

Who needs to read yet another Page 1 column on Christie's "decline" after he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump, but was denied the chance to be the racist's vice presidential running mate (A-1, A-6, A-8)?

Also on A-1 today is a dated story on Trump's selection of Gov. Mike Pence, a crackpot Christian conservative from Indiana, as his plus one in the November election.

Pence has waged war against the LBGT community and food-stamp recipients in his state.

"Exciting, huh?" satirist Bill Maher commented Friday night on HBO. "Nobody knows who this guy [Pence] is. Chris Christie is crushed. Today, his chair said, 'Now you know how I feel.'"

Failed coup

Even given the large number of Turks living in North Jersey, leading the paper with a failed coup in their native country is a huge waste of the front page in a local daily paper (A-1).

Of course, that doesn't mean readers of Local will find any real news of their towns today.

Teterboro Airport -- the source of so much annoying noise for residents of Hackensack, Teaneck, Englewood and other towns -- has its image burnished with photos of a 5K run to benefit the Bergen County United Way (L-1).

The larger photo shows runners "cooling down by standing in mist after the race," raising a question:

Is this one of the sprayers used to de-ice business jets in winter, and if so, was any chemical residue sprayed on runners?

Better Living

Don't bother looking for food news in Better Living today.

Elisa Ung, the paper's chief restaurant reviewer, devotes her entire Corner Table column today to a bake shop in Hawthorne that is high on the "not recommended" list of the National Institute of Diabetes (B-1).

Don't complain

In a letter to the editor today, Moshe Schuldinger of Hackensack puts the battle over raising the gasoline tax in perspective (O-3).

Schuldinger says Bergen County residents have only themselves to blame for high taxes, because they resist the kind of consolidation of services found in Virginia and other states.

Residents of Fairfax County, Va., pay much lower property taxes than Bergen residents, because they have one countywide police department, one fire department, one sanitation department and a school system with one board of education.

"Compare that with Bergen County's roughly 70 town boards, police departments and multiple local boards of education and school districts."

"It's their choice," he says of apathetic voters and others who don't want to get involved. "They shouldn't complain."

On the front of the Opinion section, does Columnist Mike Kelly expose one of those do-nothing police chiefs or school superintendents in Bergen County?

No. Instead, he praises the police chief in Dallas (O-1).

9. "I can peel a banana with my feet."

18. "When I get bored around the office, I make Chris Christie dance around a diaper."

24. "The original name for Trump Tower was My Big Shiny Penis Building."

Trump's hate speech may encourage rash of terror attacks

Today's cover of the New York Post commenting on the Bastille Day attack on a crowd watching fireworks in Nice, on the French Riviera. (The town's name is pronounced "NIECE," not "NICE.") Below, a Post cover from February, when Governor Christie endorsed wacko racist Donald J. Trump for president in the apparent hope -- now dashed -- the billionaire would pick him as the GOP's vice presidential candidate.

Seven major New Jersey dailies -- six of them owned by the Gannett Co. -- cited the endorsement of Trump when they called on Christie to resign. However, The Record didn't, and it's unclear whether that position will change now that Gannett has purchased the Woodland Park daily.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Is there anyone Donald J. Trump doesn't hate?

Eleven million immigrants, all Muslims, women and legions of others are on the hit list of the Republican Party's presumptive presidential candidate.

Now, as we try to absorb yet another attack on innocent people in France, you have to wonder whether Trump's venomous speech is encouraging terrorism here and abroad.

"Has anyone else noticed?" CoCoWats tweeted on Thursday afternoon (@WatsJo). "Terrorist attacks have drastically increased since Donald announced his candidacy."

Meanwhile, Trump's fellow Muslim hater, Governor Christie, now is out of the running for vice president on the GOP ticket.

Instead, Trump has picked just what we all really need -- another heartland conservative, Gov. Mike Spence of Indiana, where only 6.6 million people live, many of them on farms.

Today's paper

In a Page 1 column today, Staff Writer Charles Stile, The Record's chief apologist for Christie, reports Spence is Trump's choice.

But the headline -- "Former mentor delivers hit to Christie's hopes" -- makes it sound like the GOP bully still is in the running for the Republican Party's all-hate, all-the-time ticket.

The headline on the continuation page (A-6) also is outdated, given the apparent selection of Spence:

"STILE: Former mentor's guilty plea delivers hit to VP hopes."

"Former mentor" is a reference to former Port Authority Chairman David Samson, who Christie has called a "father figure."

Samson pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to bribery charges for pressuring United Airlines to launch what amounted to private jet travel to his vacation home in South Carolina (A-1).

Samson, who Christie named to the powerful job of Port Authority chairman, was charged as part of the FBI investigation into the politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.