The LuLac Edition #1218, June 24th, 2010

PHOTO INDEX: THE LATE HUGH BEAUMONT WHO PLAYED WARD CLEAVER, A FATHER WILLING TO BE A FATHER BUT STILL ADMIT WHEN HE WAS WRONG. HE DIDN'T GET THAT FROM A DAMN GOVERNMENT WEBSITE. KRISTEN SNOW, MY NEW FAVORITE STATE EMPLOYEE AND OUR 1966 LOGO.

FATHERHOOD.ORG

Puhleeze. I voted for President Obama and think he is doing some pretty good things. I’d like him to go a bit bigger than he has been because I think he has to stop taking half measures. I also think the President has to get control back of the national argument. But Presidencies are sometimes defined by the minutia and the latest thing out is a Father’s Day prime for how men should be fathers. Obama very aware of some issues of fatherhood in the nation among all cultures okayed a pedantic website that instructs men on how to be good dads. If they have no clue when they are brought the living being outside the delivery room, than a website ain’t gonna help them. It amazes me that people will scream about giving condoms to people for safe sex but will think an idea from the government on how to be a good dad, once the horse has swam into the barn is just fine. This website might be Obama’s Cardigan Sweater (Carter) or Ketchup as a vegetable (Reagan) moment.



…AS THE DRIVEN SNOW

I hesitated running this story because my friend Doc Leonardi and I had a discussion about this and we both agreed that (A) most men are dogs and (B) This rumor is nothing more than that and is basically no one’s business. On the other hand the Doctor’s students have stopped reading my blog because they think I censor the thing too much. So I’m just presenting the story as it came from Philadelphia Magazine. That said, women can be attracted to a variety of characteristics that men possess. Brains, power, intellect, money, etc. That makes them infinitely more civilized that us men. Most likely by running this story I’ll forfeit my annual Christmas Card from Big Ed but I got 7 of them already so I’m ahead of the game. And besides, rumors like these are, uh kind of flattering.
The July edition of Philadelphia Magazine is hot off the presses with a story on the long-running rumors about Gov. Rendell and Dr. Kirstin Snow, the director of Commonwealth Media Services who was Miss Pennsylvania in 1994 and Mrs. Pennsylvania in 2005. It's not quite a tell-all, since the only people willing to be interviewed for the record about rumors of an affair were Rendell and Snow. And they both deny it. The three-page article includes a full-page portrait of a smiling Rendell seated with Snow standing behind him, resting her arms on his shoulders. Some key points in the story, which hits newsstands on Friday:
"Absolutely not," Snow said when PhillyMag Features Editor Robert Huber asks if she's having an affair with Rendell. "No way. And if I had a nickel for everybody who told me that, or told me they heard that, I wouldn't have to come to my job."
Snow tells the magazine she is surprised it has taken this long for the rumors to go public and worries about the gossip hurting Rendell's wife, Midge, a federal judge. Snow is clearly surprised when Huber tells her he has heard that Rendell is describing her as the love of his life. Rendell says he values Snow's insight on political issues and her attractiveness helps add some "pizzazz" when he brings her to fund-raisers. He says his recent weight loss -- he's down 60 pounds -- had nothing to do with a new romance. "You know, like a lot of people in politics I get hit on by women all the time," Rendell tells Huber. "There are political groupies just like there are sports groupies. I got hit on when I was 260 every bit as much as when I'm 200." Rendell scoffs at the notion that he would ever use the phrase: The love of my life. He speculates that people probably heard him joking about Snow, saying something like: "Oh yeah, she's great. She's hot as can be, she's the cat's meow." Rendell has an appreciation for people, women included. When Hillary Clinton came to King's I was trying to get a photo with her and the Governor was trying to help. Even he couldn't break the crowd so the young coed I had prevailed upon to hold my camera took a picture of me and the Governor. After she took the photo, he asked, "Your daughter?" and I said "No". I joked, "Women didn't look like that when I went to King's after she left and he gave me a knowing smile. No matter what is true here, God forbid if you become enthusiastic in your praise over anybody in this world.

MUNDY VS GOLDY

State Rep. Phyllis Mundy on Monday called for a one-year moratorium on new natural gas drilling permits in Pennsylvania. "We are allowing this industry to move ahead too fast," Mundy said. Mundy plans to introduce the moratorium in Harrisburg, She will also champion two other bills protecting drinking water from contamination due to Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
In a press release Mundy’s opponent Bill Goldsworthy accused the representative of trying to have it both ways. Twenty-year State House incumbent Phyllis Mundy is talking out of both sides of her mouth on issues surrounding Marcellus Shale gas exploration and drilling in an effort to help her re-election campaign.
Goldsworthy went on to explain that natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale deposits across Pennsylvania has been occurring for more than 14 years. In fact, there are currently more than 500 wells in the Commonwealth and over 3,100 drilling permits issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The fracking process has been used for the last five years. “In her 20 years in office, Ms. Mundy hasn’t said a single word about this issue, other than to want to tax it to pay for more wasteful spending,” said Goldsworthy. “She has never worked to develop a proactive plan to deal with the oversight and environmental issues involved with this issue. Where has she been? She has done nothing.” Goldsworthy sees exploration of the Marcellus Shale natural gas as vital to the economic future of Pennsylvania, but only as long as it is done in an environmentally responsible manner that protects the quality of our drinking water and overall environment. You can bet this will be a bone of contention in this year’s General Election between the two.

JIMBO’S ICE CREAM SOCIAL

121st District Legislative candidate James O’Meara held an ice cream social last night and from what I understand it was a huge success. O’Meara is running an uphill battle against Eddie Day Pashinski but is doing the leg work and making the inroads through the district that has been heavily Democratic for as long as I’ve been alive.

CURLY CREAM

We’re closing in on the fourth of July and one of Luzerne County favorite ice cream haunts Curly Cream Ice Cream is still closed. Usually the eatery opens after Memorial Day with its lead off signature flavor Tangerine/Vanilla Twist. Not yet.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


1966

French President Charles De Gaulle starts his visit to the Soviet Union………in Pennsylvania State Secretary John Tabor announces that 19 counties are eligible for Appalachia Funding in cooperation with the Federal Government program. Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties were designated as primary growth areas by the Secretary….in Wilkes Barre Judge Richard Bigelow grants a ruling to Plymouth Borough to require the Pagnotti Coal Enterprises Company to show cause as to why the company should not be held in contempt of court for strip mine violations going back to 1962 and 44 years ago the number 1 song in America and LuLac land was “Along Comes Mary” by the Association.