The LuLac Edition #1678, July 14th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: 1972 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION NOMINEES THOMAS EAGLETON AND GEORGE McGOVERN, A NASTY LITTLE KID AND OUR 1972 LOGO.

SCORE ONE FOR CITIZENS

It seems like the middle class is under assault from not only the GOP backed House of Representatives but also Governor Tom Corbett and his GOP cohorts in the Legislature. However Governor Corbett back tracked on an important component of health care. We got the news from the Pennsylvania Health
Access Network. Check this out:
Governor Corbett will NOT be giving your health care money to private businesses! Thousands of you signed petitions, made phone calls, wrote letters, emails, op-eds, came out to rallies, trips to Harrisburg and more! Governor Corbett wanted to take the Tobacco Settlement Fund that has always been used for health care related programs and use it to pay for his budget (instead of raising revenue). What was even more offensive, was his proposal to use $220 million for a special program for private businesses, 'Liberty Loans'. After canceling adultBasic and leaving 42,000 people without insurance because there just 'wasn't any money,' Corbett found $220 million in health care dollars for a new business lending program.
PHAN immediately launched a massive, state-wide campaign to block Liberty Loans and to defend our health care dollars. After the great effort you put forth, the General Assembly decided not to adapt it.
So, what did we end up with? Generally speaking, the Tobacco Settlement Fund was kept separate, which means it was protected as a dedicated fund for health care purposes. Some adult health programs like Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities, kept their funding. Unfortunately, there was no successor program for adultBasic in this budget. PHAN will continue to work for those 42,000 and for all Pennsylvanians to have greater access to quality, affordable health care. In a political climate such as this and all the challenges that we faced, you have a lot to be proud of.

DISTURBED DEMOCRATS

Want to get a good Democrat crazy? Start saying you are going to tinker with Social Security and Medicare. But if you are a Democrat proposing that very thing, it can turn a fellow Democrat to take some action. Here’s a letter Wil Toole has sent out to the newspapers regarding the notion of Social Security and Medicare being “on the table”.
Dear Mr. President, All Senators and Congressmen,
It is time to stop the games which ultimately hurt us the former Working Middle Class and now known as the Working Poor.
Social Security and Medicare must never be on the negotiating table ...... PERIOD.
Our Republican leaders must stop using the psychological head games by referring to the top 5% of our population as the "Job Creators." They are the WEALTHY, they have not created jobs, they have shipped the jobs overseas and they do not invest their profits in America, they pocket them for the sole purpose of increasing their personal wealth.
Senator Mitch McConnell must stop saying that his main goal is to beat Obama in 2012. He must stop saying that there can be NO negotiated resolve while President Obama is in office. That attitude is un American and if he can't get past his Southern bigotry then he should resign his office.
Eric Cantor and John Boehner must ignore the crazy Right and remember that they represent Americans, not just American Business. When they say they will not vote to raise taxes, they present a monster lie. They make it sound like the Working Poor will have higher taxes when in fact they only protect that top 5%, the oil companies, GE and the other huge profit companies who take and give NOTHING back.
The American people have got to wake up and see that the only agenda of the Right is to protect big profits and balance the budget by killing Social Security and Medicare. The proof is that Speaker Boehner put Social Security up for a vote and the Boehner led Congress voted to KILL Social Security. Don't be fooled by their golden tongues and their ability to turn a phrase. They say they want to reform Social Security and Medicare to strengthen it for years to come. Translated, they mean they want to gut both programs and what little is left can survive because the benefits provided will be weak and miniscule in comparison to what we the people, the working poor need to simply exists. This is class warfare and Boehner is the General leading the charge to cripple we the working poor.
Is there a simple solution? How about if they simply increase the amount the wealthy pay into Social Security and Medicare on income up to $500,000? It has been said that this simple change will cure the fiscal problems of SS and MC for the remainder of the century.
Mr. President, it is time to produce the hope you promised and deliver it. Stop the one way negotiations, stand firm and if Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor want to bring the country to a standstill, then it is on them and those they represent.
We the working poor demand nothing less.
Wil Toole,
Dupont, PA

BLAKE GETS GRANT

State Sen. John P. Blake today joined the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute at Lackawanna College to announce a $75,000 state grant to conduct a health survey in the areas of Northeastern Pennsylvania affected by Marcellus shale drilling operations. The study, which will be conducted by Cancer Institute researchers, will determine the current health status of the population in Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Pike Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne and Wyoming counties and establish an important baseline of data for future comparisons and research regarding public health in the areas impacted by Marcellus operations. Blake succeeded Bob Mellow and has some big footsteps to fill in terms of bringing in money to his district. This is a start.

ANGELLI RETIRES

Ray Angeli President of Lackawanna Junior College announced his retirement the other day. Angelli led the junior college through some major growth. He previously served as an aid to the late Governor Bob Casey.

GOOD ON ‘YA

Kevin Lynn, wherever you are, check this story out. Kevin and I always shared the opinion that people who brought screaming unruly toddlers in restaurant should be aware that they are making the dining experience awful for others. I’ve been in some of the finest restaurants in the world but by far the best dining experience I ever had was at the Hanover Township Pizza Lovin’ in late 1998. A totally obnoxious kid was running wild and his clueless parents let him. It was getting to the point that the manager even talked to the parents and the pop pop and whatever biological remnants there with this little devil. After 50 minutes, the kid starts running again and by gosh and by glory trips over a paper dish he had thrown carelessly just minutes before. He crashed into a dishwasher cart that was making its way down the aisle and nearly knocked himself out. The little bundle of ignorance was scooped up by his idiot clan members and quiet was restored once more to the adults in the room. Sweet. Anyway, at McDain’s Restaurant, in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, kids don’t eat free, Yahoo News reports. And starting next week, they don’t get to eat at all. Mike Vuick, owner of the Pittsburgh area eatery has just announced a ban on children under 6 at his casual dining establishment.
After receiving noise complaints from customers about crying kids at neighbouring tables, Vuick decided to institute the policy, which will go into effect July 16.
In an email to customers, Vuick explained: “We feel that McDain’s is not a place for young children. Their volume can’t be controlled and many, many times, they have disturbed other customers.” The owner of the “upscale, casual and quiet” restaurant explains he’s got nothing against kids in general, but their endless screams at public dinner tables are “the height of being impolite and selfish”.

8TH STREET BLAST

I had a great affinity for the 8th Street Bridge. I passed that many times as a young boy on my bike making a trek to see my friends the Dellarte and Emershaw Bothers in Wyoming. On the way home I’d pass by ever so slowly near my 7th grade girl friend’s house. As a motorist driving over it was a challenge and a half but I survived keeping my side view mirrors in tact. This week the 8th Street Bridge was blown up. Scott Cannon of Video Innovations caught the action.


AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT



MEDIA MATTERS

STORM POLITICS

This week on “Storm Politics” Tiffany Cloud interview Congressman Lou Barletta. She talks about all things political and legislative but also about the Congressman’s softball playing ability. Storm Politics can be seen on WYLN TV 35 Service Electric Channel 7 in Wilkes Barre
Show times: THURS @ 9:30 PM • SAT @ 5 PM • SUN @ 11 PM, MON @ 9:00 PM • TUES @ 4:30 PM • WED @ 8:00 PM.

ECTV

Dave DeCosmo is on vacation but Frank Andrews has been filling in as co-host with Judge Tom Munley on ECTV Live. Their guest next week will be Erica Rogler who will be discussing the upcoming "Celebrate Our River Days" in Tunkhannock. The program airs live at Noon on Monday, July 18th and is recorded for re-broadcast at Noon and Midnight throughout the week,

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Shadoe Steele’s guest this week on Saturday Night Live At the Oldies will be Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet. Saturday Night Live at the Oldies can be heard every Saturday from 7pm to midnight on WILK AM & FM with ABC News on the top of the hour.



SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Weekend on Sunday Magazine July 17, Brian speaks with chiropractor Dr. Joe Leonardi, author of the book “Fat Then, Fit Now” on how he was able to lose more than 100 pounds, and how you can lose weight too.
Brian speaks with Lando Sabatini of Sabatini’s Pizza in Exeter about their new Gluten Free pizza and pasta.
And Brian speaks with Zumba instructor Gina Boyle about the “Dancing In The No Bully Zone” event coming up Saturday Aug 6th at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5:30am on JR 93.7 & 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93, and 9:30am on WARM 590 AM.

1972

The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida on July 10–13, 1972.
It nominated Senator George McGovern of South Dakota for President and Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri for Vice President. Eagleton later withdrew from the race when it was disclosed that he had undergone mental health treatment, including electroshock therapy, in the past, and he was replaced on the ballot by Sargent Shriver. The convention itself was one of the most unusual in recent American history, with sessions beginning in the early evening and lasting until sunrise the next morning, and previously-excluded political activists gaining influence at the expense of elected officials and traditional core Democratic constituencies such as organized labor. A protracted vice presidential nominating process delayed McGovern's acceptance speech until the early hours of the morning, after most television viewers had gone to bed. The 1972 convention was significant as the first implementation of the reforms set by the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, which McGovern himself had chaired before running for president. (McGovern resigned as chair to run for president, and he was replaced as chair by U.S. Representative Donald Fraser; the Commission is known as the McGovern-Fraser Commission). The 28-member commission was established after the tumultuous 1968 convention.
McGovern’s claim to the nomination was challenged by Hubert Humphrey who led a floor fight to rid the convention of the winner take all rule. HHH lost and McGovern won the nod. It was a very intense week as the Democrats tried to mount a campaign against Richard Nixon. Here’s McGovern’s acceptance speech.

In Pennsylvania, statewide Democrats like Milton Shapp and Ernest Kline did not make the convention because of flood recovery efforts. It was a good excuse not to get tethered to a losing campaign……in Lackawanna County, Commissioner Bob Petinanto and Charles Luger helped Luzerne County by sending some manpower to the city of Wilkes Barre…and the Stegmairer Brewey started passing out ice cold cans of water that were consumed by thirsty flood workers as they toiled in the hot sun and 39 years sago the number 1 song in America and Lulac land was “Where Is the Love” by the late Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack.