The LuLac Edition #930, Sept. 3rd, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: THE PRESIDENT DOING A FIST BUMP WITH AN IMPRESSIONABLE YOUTH AND OUR 1964 LOGO.

JURY DUTY

A few of my good friends in the blogging industry think it might be a good idea to have a person run as a Write In candidate for Jury Commissioner. Events took shape this week when Jerry Bonner, the current Democratic Jury Commissioner was indicted on federal charges. The fear was that a crony would replace Bonner in this position. Word comes today that Judge Muroski might appoint someone if Bonner resigns. I sort of raised the ante by saying that if I ran for the office, I’d do everything in my power to eliminate the position. I e mailed this idea to a few of my friends as well as WILK’s Steve Corbett. Corbett on Thursday afternoon had some good words to say about me, this idea and the fact that politics as usual in this county cannot continue. I agree. I was set to call Corbett after my classes today and discuss this but a medical situation with Mrs. LuLac intervened. So right now, any thoughts I have are on hold because of that and also because of Muroski's pending announcement. The people who have been making suggestions to me as well as Mr. Corbett will get a full answer once things shake out one way or another on the home front and when we see what the President Judge does. In the meantime, the idea of a write in is one that should not only extend to Jury Commissioner. With the behavior and total impotency of all of our State representatives in Harrisburg, perhaps there should be write in candidates against those incumbents. This can’t continue and if it does, we get the government we deserve.

SORRY SUE

I did something today for the very first time. I actually turned off the Sue Henry show. Now I like Sue a lot. And I think she is a quality and entertaining broadcaster. But today the comments from her listeners were just too much for me to take. As a matter of fact, I have no idea how she put up with it. The big discussion came about because President Obama is giving an address to school students across America on Tuesday. The President will talk to young people in America about their education and country. The response was staggering. One listener thought Obama was “disgusting” for even thinking of speaking to the kids, another person said that the President was trying to “brainwash” the youngsters and still another said he was going to keep his kids home that day in protest. Yep, nothing like dear old dad stopping the kids from a day at school because he doesn’t like the President. Way to encourage free thinking there, pop. I’m glad I didn’t grow up in a tyrannical household like that. And we have to be careful of President Obama “brainwashing” these kids. I’ll bet those kids with single parent families and bi racial neighborhoods would see nothing in common with their President. Certainly his rise to success is something they could not identify with. Better to hear from mom or dad's new squeeze than the President who pulled himself up by his bootstraps. When Obama was first elected, many of my more liberal friends told me that Obama’s opposition would be too personal and that the right wing would try and destroy him. I didn’t think that would occur because we are Americans first, right? I mean when 911 happened, all people in this country backed President Bush. It wasn’t until he squandered the good will of the world when the Democrats come out in opposition to him. But I was stunned at the visceral hatred of the man and by way of association, the Presidency. As a child, I remember getting those Weekly Reader magazines. I saw pictures of Eisenhower, Kennedy, The Queen, the Pope and DeGaulle on them. They were world leaders of consequence at the time. And it would have been fascinating to have them beamed into my classroom if that were technologically possible at the time. But that was a different time in America. It was a time when we respected the Presidency and the man in it. It was a time when we weren’t outraged that a President would reach out to youth. We'd commend him, not damn him. It was a time when people knew less but weren’t as ignorant as they are today. It was a time when people were Americans first, then Democrats or Republicans. It was a time when “Country First” was more than a campaign slogan but a way of life. President Obama addressing your kids on the first day of school should be a source of pride for all, except for some of my friend Sue Henry’s callers. With them, ignorance is a prideful commodity on display every time she has to take their call. Pass the lady a cold compress and a stiff drink at 11:59AM.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Greater Scranton Interdependence Day Committee announces several community organizations, universities and colleges will host events in conjunction with this year’s Interdependence Day celebration throughout the month of September. Sondra Myers, co-found of Interdependence Day stated that Interdependence Day is September 12th but we chose the whole month of September to celebrate the cause of interdependence. The date was deliberately chosen as a post 9/11 symbol of regeneration, as a time to reflect on the tragedy of the incidents of terror, not only in the United States, but all over the world, and to ask ourselves "What next?" It seemed critically important to acknowledge the inevitability and significance of interdependence in our time, and set out to build constructively and culturally a global civic society. Stated Myers. Since the launching event in Philadelphia in 2003, there have been major Interdependence Day observances in Rome and Paris, along with Philadelphia and in communities and on campuses around the world, including Scranton, which has celebrated Interdependence Day since 2006. The commemoration is organized by a planning committee comprised of volunteers from the cultural community, the secondary and higher education community, local civic groups, religious groups, local libraries, county government and many others. This year’s celebration begins with the opening of the Hexagon Project on Friday, September 4, 2009 at the Melberger Art Center at Diversified Information Technology 123 Wyoming Ave, Scranton, starting at 6 p.m. The exhibit will on display for the month of September. This will be the third year for the Hexagon Project according to Beth Burkhauer, co-chairperson. This year’s exhibit will have over 300 hexagons from schools worldwide. Invitations have been sent to schools in Australia, Canada, Nepal, United States and other counties. The main celebration will take place on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at the Federal Courthouse, Scranton with a reception and ceremony with the keynote address by Kevin Klose, Dean of the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland. Klose is the former head of NPR. Also at the event Michael Hanley, Executive Director, United Neighborhood Centers will be presented with the 2009 Interdependence Award. The event is by invitation only. The United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties has announced this year’s Day of Caring is a signature project of the Interdependence Day celebration in Scranton. "The hallmark of the United Way is a deep rooted belief that by reaching out a hand to one, we can effectively influence the condition of all,” noted Gary Drapek, United Way president. “This belief forms the foundation of our work and is a guiding principle in the Interdependence Day movement,” he added. Groups sponsoring Interdependence Day events include the University of Scranton, Marywood University, Kiwanis Club of Scranton, Scranton Public Library, Leadership Lackawanna County, Electric Theatre Company, Misericordia University, Lackawanna College, Keystone College, Timmy’s Town Center, Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Penn State Worthington Campus, Everhart Museum and Power. A complete list of events can be found on the group’s website at www.interdependencedaynepa.org.. Myers said it is important in a society like ours that has promoted independence as its highest aspiration that we look to the 21st century as a time to give equal time to interdependence and learn that we can be our own individual creative selves, and at the same time make a commitment to people the world over. We need to do both, not one or the other.

TEDDY'S BOOK

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy wrote in a memoir being published this month that he made terrible decisions after the 1969 car crash that killed Mary Jo Kopechne, but said he was never romantically involved with her and was haunted by that night for his entire life.He also wrote in “True Compass” that he accepted the conclusion that a lone gunman assassinated his brother President John F. Kennedy. The memoir is to be published Sept. 14 by Twelve, a division of the Hachette book group. The 532-page book was obtained early by The New York Times and the New York Daily News.In it, Kennedy said his actions on Chappaquiddick Island on July 18, 1969, were “inexcusable.” He said he was afraid and “made terrible decisions” and had to live with the guilt for more than four decades.Kennedy drove off a bridge into a pond. He swam to safety, leaving Kopechne, a Luzerne County native, in the car. Even with this revelation there will be many people castigating Kennedy for this tragic events. They should give it a rest because Kennedy knew he did wrong and admitted it. He did panic. He paid for it. Buy the book, don't buy the book, burn it, do whatever you want but let him rest in peace.

1964

Indian poets are arrested on charges of conspiracy against the State and obscenity in literature.............World War One hero Sgt. . Alvin York passes away in Nashville at the age of 76.....The Presidential campaigns kick off in earnest with Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey taking on Barry Goldwater and Bill Miller...... Governor William Scranton urges Pennsylvania voters to re-elect the Republican Legislature in the State Capitol. Scranton said that over 250,000 more Pennsylvanians were employed since he took office in 1963......The 1964 Phillies continue to roll on taking two out of three against the San Francisco Giants. Jim Bunning improves his record to 16-4. The Phillies have an 82-52 record at the Labor Day weekend....Wilkes barre city endorses plans for a million dollar shopping center on the corner of South Main Street and Hazle Stret....and 45 years ago this week in Lulac land and America the number 1 song was Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman”.