The LuLac Edition #1443, Jan. 20th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: JOHN KENNEDY AND DWIGHT EISENHOWER, SARGENT SHRIVER AND MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR, LACKAWANNA COUNTY COMMISSIONER MIKE WASHO, LUZERNE COUNTY COUNCIL ASPIRANT HARRY HAAS AND OUR 1972 LOGO.

CORBETT BALL

Tom Corbett was sworn into office on Tuesday. The Inaugural Ball took place at the Farm Show Arena. PCN did a bang up job covering the event. Governor Corbett’s first big challenge is going to be the budget. There is a looming deficit that has to be dealt with. Former Governor George Leader (who was one of the youngest Governors ever elected in 1954) advised the new Chief Executive to use a scalpel rather than a sledge hammer in making his cuts. Good advice, I hope he takes it.

DAN MUESSER

Front and center at the festivities was former 10th Congressional candidate Dan Muesser. Muesser who was named Revenue Secretary by the new Governor attended the ball and was introduced to the crowd along with the other cabinet members. Muesser role will be key to economic development.

SARGENT SHRIVER

R. Sargent Shriver died the other day at the age of 95. Shriver was the founder of the Peace Corps. He also led Lyndon Johnson’s War On Poverty. (In the 90s Shriver said that people needed a chance to be brought out of poverty but needed to want to step out of it. ) Johnson dispatched Shriver to be Ambassador to France when it became clear Sarge’s brother in law Bobby Kennedy was going to run for President. Shriver ran for Vice President as George McGovern’s running mate in 1972. Shriver was a replacement after Missouri Senator Tom Eagleton revealed he had shock treatments for mental depression. Shriver also ran for President unsuccessfully in 1976. That’s the surface resume of Sargent Shriver. But on the more quiet side were some of the things that Sargent Shriver was involved in that pretty much changed the course of history.
1. During the Kennedy campaign of 1960 it was Sargent Shriver who brought the jailing of Martin Luther King Junior to the attention of then candidate John Kennedy. King was jailed on trumped up charges and was said to be in physical danger. King’s wife made a public plea for help for her husband but no one responded. It was Sarge Shriver who advised his brother in law, JFK to call and offer support and sympathy to Mrs. King. After JFK did that, Shriver’s other brother in law, Bobby Kennedy pretty much went crazy because he believed it would jeopardise Kennedy’s shot at the Presidency. He pretty much reamed out Shriver and wanted to delegate him out of the campaign loop. Events however proved Shriver’s move both morally and politically savvy. Martin Luther King Senior was so impressed with JFK’s concern that he stated publicly in his church that Sunday that he was voting for Kennedy. This was a seismic shift because prior to that, blacks in America had always favored the Republican party. (The Lincoln connection). Toward the end of the 1960s more than 90% of the black population was voting Democratic.
2. In 1968 Hubert Humphrey was in a quandary for a running mate. After the killing of Robert Kennedy, the only other candidate standing along with Humphrey was Senator Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy and Humphrey were never going to come to an accommodation on the war. Plus McCarthy pretty much disdained Humphrey because of his association with Johnson. Humphrey wanted a running mate free of politics. What safer pick than an Ambassador who was essentially out of the loop in the last year turbulant year of '67-68. The Humphrey people talked to the Shriver people about the Vice Presidency. It was pretty much a done deal finalized on the second day of the Convention in Chicago. Shriver had a flight booked on that Wednesday morning to arrive in Chicago for the announcement. The Humphrey people paid for the ticket. But then suddenly the Kennedy family stepped in with “concerns”. It was pretty much the fact that if Shriver took the Vice Presidency, it might block a path for Teddy Kennedy’s succession to the Presidency. If Shriver was the Veep, HHH might have moved closer to his calling for peace talks. Plus even though Edmund Muskie was a decent candidate, the cache of a quasi Kennedy would only enhance Humphrey’s down to earth Midwest roots. But it was not to be.
3. The Democratic Party’s national ticket has always had as its two candidates pro choice people. Shriver was the last Pro LIfe candidate on a Democratic national ticket. Roe Vs. Wade happened in 1973 after people screaming that the McGovern campaign would bring us Acid and Abortion. Roe happened under Richard Nixon’s watch.
Sargent Shriver had an impressive resume and he lived a long life. His accomplishments, both widely and little known make him one of the most compelling Americans of the 20th century.

KENNEDY INAUGURATION AT 50

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy. It was a very snowy day that January. I was kept home from school because of the snow. So was my sister. The factory my mom worked in was also shut down. My dad had just pulled a 16 hour shift cleaning snow off the railroad tracks. So, as a family we saw Kennedy's address.


HARRY HAAS COUNTY COUNCIL

I was getting worried when I was seeing some of the names of the people running for County Council. I was glad to see that Harry Haas is going to take a run at it. Haas is an educator, smart guy and a person concerned about the community. Haas will be making an announcement this Saturday on the steps of the Courthouse. Here are the details:
Saturday, January 22 at 10:00am
Location: The Steps of the Luzerne County Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre, PA.

WASHO SAYS GOODBYE

Lackawanna County Commissioner Mike Washo made a surprise announcement the other day. Washo said he was not running for another term as County Commissioner. Washo said he wanted to take some time with his family. Ands unlike other politicos I think the guy means it. Washo had a trip abroad a year back and I think he saw the advantage to being able to do that. Washo became a minority Commissioner after Randy Castellani resigned to take a state job. As Minority Commissioner Washo dealt with the frustration of dealing with the Cordaro/Munchak administration. In the 2007 primary Washo and Corey O’Brien prevailed. In that year’s general the duo plotted a flawless campaign and won election handily. Once in office the Washo/O’Brien administration enacted a tough code of ethics. It was assumed that among the Democrats, Washo was a lock and O’Brien, because of his failed Congressional campaign might have been the weaker candidate. This development puts O’Brien in as the lead dog. Essentially he can name his running mate. Names already being mentioned are former State Representative Jim Wansacz, former County Commissioner Joe Corcoran, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherrty, Carbondale Mayor Justin Taylor, Insurance Executive Gary DiBileo, Scranton School Director Chris Phillips (although that might not fly now because of his wife’s appointment in the district) Scranton School Director Patrick O’Malley and Evie Refalko McNulty and Patty Lawler. The latter two are interesting candidates because of their gender. Lackawanna County has never had a female Commissioner and Refalko McNulty made a good case for it in 2007 in her primary bid. I mean Washo’s move essentially upsets the Democratic applecart. A few scenarios:
1. O’Brien loses and DeBilio and Doherty win.
2. O’Brien wins and so does Edie Refalko cNulty who he did a number on in the 2007 race.
3. O’Brien loses and Joe Corcoran and John Wansacz win. The duo opposed each other in the 2010 primary when Senator Mellow’s seat was up.
4. O’Brien loses and Chris Phillips and Pat O’Malley, Scranton School Directors win. Phillips will have to explain why his wife got the principal’s job and O’Malley will have to explain why he supported it.
5. O’Brien wins but so does Carbondale Mayor Justin Taylor. No gray hairs there.
6. O’Brien loses and Refalko McNulty and Patty Lawler win. The Dems couldn’t elect a woman the last time and now they have two on the ticket.
7. O’Brien wins but has to run with someone totally unknown and out of the blue.
8. O’Brien loses because he has to run with an unknown entity who came out of the blue.
9. O’Brien throws his hands in the air and gives up saying he is going to run for Congress in 2012 which most folks think he’s going to do anyway.
10. John Webster and Marissa Burke are elected beating out by a thin margin long time radio guy Dave McAndrews and fellow blogger Tom Borthwick.
11. Both parties are so discombobulated that Michael Scott and Andy Bernard win the election because Scrantonians and Aechabalidians say, “I seen those fellas somewhere!”

STREAMING VIDEO?

The Times Leader reported this week that a Larksville man was arrested on charges he exposed himself in the lobby at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino and fought with police.
The man was arraigned Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre Central Court on charges of open lewdness, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $2,000 bail. The guy couldn’t afford bail but was ****ing his money away at Mohegan Sun?
According to the criminal complaint: Police said the urinator and a woman, who were both intoxicated, were arguing in the casino lobby at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Steele urinated on a lobby door and refused to remove his hands from his pockets when instructed by officers. This falls under the category that nothing good happens after midnight any place, whether it be a dingy dark alley or an opulent casino floor.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

MEDIA MATTERS

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

This week on WILK AM & FM Shadoe Steele hosts Saturday Night Live at the Oldies. The show airs 7pm to midnight with ABC News on the hour. Shadoe’s guests this week will be the super female group BananaRama.


SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Weekend on Sunday Magazine: Jan 23rd.
Brian Hughes speaks with Joseph Shock of Northeast Pa Paranormal Investigators about ghosts at various Northeast Pa landmarks, along with audio evidence. And Brian speaks with Roseanne Kolberg about a screening for the documentary “Out In The Silence” about a specific type of teen bullying. The screening will be held Jan 29th at 6pm at St Luke’s Episcopal Church, on Wyoming Ave in Scranton.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5:30am on JR 93.7, 6am on 97BHT & 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93, and 9:30am on WARM 590 AM.

THE L.A. TARONE SHOW

This week L.A. Tarone’s guest on his weekly TV show on WYLN TV 35 will be this blog editor. L.A. and I will be talking about local and state politics. The show airs: 6:00PM on Thursdays, 12:30PM Saturdays, 8:30AM Sundays, 4:00PM Mondays and 7:30PM Tuesday.

AGNES AND 72

A week ago we talked about that wonderful film documentary on the Agnes Flood. Here is a website link so you can learn about it and hopefully contribute to its completion. By the way, this is not a Paul Sorvino film for all of you people in the Lac should know your dollars are going through the historical society.
http://www.agnes1972.com/.

1972

A New Delhi bootlegger sells wood alcohol to a wedding party; 100 die................A Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi is discovered in Guam; he had spent 28 years in the jungle.....Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman, announces her candidacy for President.....Statewide, Senators Hugh Scott and Richard Schweiker tour the state in supports of the Nixon Agnew re-election effort. Both Senators say the efforts of the two candidates on the right John Ashbrook and on the left Pete McClouskey (two Congressmen will have no bearing on the GOP primaries and convention…..in Scranton Congressman Joe McDade advised he would be running for another term in Congress. He made the statement at the Chamberlain plant in Scranton and 39 years ago the number 1 song in America and LuLac land was "American Pie" by Don McLean. This song, along with "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" is one of the most overplayed oldies in the world.