The LuLac Edition #596, Oct. 9th, 2008

PHOTO INDEX: CONGRESSMAN PAUL KANJORSKI

OUR TOP 40 LOGO AND STATE REP. FRANK ANDREWS SHIMKUS.

FUZZY FRANK

WNEP TV and The Scranton Times are reporting that State Representative Frank Andrews Shimkus is facing some ethical questions regarding a per diem amount he recieved for the month of January 2008. This is the last thing a state representative who is holding a seat needs in this volatile election year. His foe, Democrat Kevin Murphy is adding fuel to the fire saying Andrews could not be in two places at the same time. According to WNEP: "The Murphy campaign alleges Shimkus either lied under oath or improperly pocketed nearly $1,000 in taxpayer-funded per diems.
Per diems are bonuses of $152 that state lawmakers can collect for days when they're at work in Harrisburg. According to the state, Shimkus, in one term, has collected more than $35,000 in per diems tax free, on top of his salary and benefits. The questions come about after a commonwealth court case before the spring primary. Shimkus lost that case and his name was thrown off the Democratic ballot however his testimony in court remains a matter of public record." The problem for Shimkus is that he got his dates mixed up as to when he had two accidents, one a fall, one an auto crash. To me, those are significant events you remember. If you wreck a car, get hurt and need to go to the hospital, head injury or not, you remember the date. You have medical records and family members to remind you of the date. Coming just before a crucial election where this is trending toward a Democratic year and the fact that taxpayers are fed up with the overpaid Legislature and their per diems, this can result in a serious fall from power on November 4th for Frank Andrews Shimkus. If he doesn't remember that date, then there's no hope for the guy.

FROM MR. MITCHELL

Ed Mitchell, Paul Kanjorski's media man sent an interesting piece the other day which we will print in its entirety. The missive talks about the "Political Courage Test".

Wilkes-Barre, PA - Lou Barletta declined the opportunity to answer questions in the "Political Courage Test" from Project Vote Smart on the important policy matters of the day. Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) did answer the group's questions. You can go to http://www.votesmart.org/npat.php?can_id=27047. Project Vote Smart is a respected, non-partisan organization that, according to the group's website, researches "the backgrounds and records of thousands of political candidates and elected officials to discover their voting records, campaign contributions, public statements, biographical data (including their work history) and evaluations of them generated by over 100 competing special interest groups."Kanjorski Campaign Spokesman Ed Mitchell said about the questionnaire: "Of course he didn’t respond because that would force him to have positions that he would have to stand by. On most issues, Barletta refuses to even stake out a position. On others, Barletta flip-flops whenever his policies could do harm to his poll position. He changed his response to questions on the economy recovery package, among other things. If the wind blows one way, you can be sure that Lou Barletta is headed that direction."For example, while we don't know now where he stands on privatization of Social Security, Barletta has said previously he supports private accounts and he has accepted more than $80,000 in Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions from privatization supporters. "On September 25th, Barletta told a Scranton Times-Tribune reporter he backed the bailout. But by September 30th, Barletta was telling newspapers, including the Politico, that he opposed the proposal." The Political Courage Test asks candidates what they would do if elected about the following topics:
· Abortion Issues
· Gun Issues
· Budgetary, Spending and Tax Issues
· Health Issues
· Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform
· Immigration Issues
· Crime Issues
· International Aid, Trade Policy
· Education
· National Security Issues
· Employment
· Social Issues
· Environmental and Energy Issues
· Social Security Issues
· Legislative Priorities
· Welfare and Poverty Issues

ELECTION TOP 40

BORDER SECURITY #27

McCAIN

Securing Our Borders First. John McCain's top immigration priority is to finish securing our borders in an expedited manner. Governors of border states will be required to certify that the border is secure. Steps to border security include: Setting clear guidelines and objectives for securing the border through physical and virtual barriers. Ensuring that adequate funding is provided for resources on the ground, but also training facilities, support staff and the deployment of technologies. Dedicating funding to US Attorney's offices in border states. Implementing sound policies for contracting Department of Homeland Security software and infrastructure. Deploy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and other aircraft where needed and appropriate in the border region. Continue implementation of the US-VISIT comprehensive visitor security program.

OBAMA

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama spoke to the about his plan for immigration reform. That plan includes boosting border security, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, improvingthe immigration system and creating a legal pathway for undocumented immigrants already in the United States to gain citizenship.