The LuLac Edition #1702, August 4th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: PICTURE FIRST ROW: KATE HOLOD, CO-CHAIRMAN INTERDEPENDENCE DAY; SONDRA MYERS, FOUNDER OF INTERDEPENDENCE DAY; SUSANNE HARPER, RICHARD FITZIMMONS; BETH BURKHAUSER, CO-CHAIRPERSON HEXAGON PROJECT; SECOND ROW: REV PETER DEANGIO, ST LUKES, SCRANTON; JOE GIBBONS AND BACK ROW: ANNE MARIE STAMFORD, UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON AND RABBI JOSEPH MENDELSOHN, ALL PARTICIPANTS IN INDEPENDENCE DAY 2011, THE GOP LOGO AND OUR 1972 LOGO.

TAXI TROUBLE

The owners of a Wilkes Barre Taxi Company are now going to avoid certain neighborhoods in the city because of a few robbery attempts. The latest robbery happened when a 26 year old man and two punks under the age of 16 pistol whipped a driver. Once more this is an example of criminals forcing business people to curtail services for citizens who have nothing to do with the crime. Can you imagine one of the good citizens living in that neighborhood and being denied something they want to pay for because of human garbage that is allowed to walk the street?! Thank heaven the police caught them, the next step is to have some Judge throw away the key. The Public Utility Commission weighed in and said the actions of the cab company were illegal. Maybe those fatheads at the PUC should call for a cab and ride along with the thugs. Maybe after they get the crap scared out of them, they might reconsider.

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2011

The Greater Scranton Interdependence Day Committee is making plans for the 2011 Celebration. The 2011 celebration will take place on Monday, Sept 12, 2011 at the William Nealon Federal Courthouse. The speaker for the event will be Patrice Broudeur, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair on Islam, Pluralism, and Globalization at the Faculty of Theology and the Science of Religions at the University of Montreal, Canada. For additional information please check out the Interdependence Day website at www.interdependencedaynepa.org.
Interdependence Day was launched in Philadelphia on September 12, 2003. 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.

GOP SUMMER SHINDIG

The local GOP will be having their summer fling event this Saturday afternoon at 41 South Main Street in Wilkes Barre between 1 and 3pm. Tickets are ten bucks and you can be sure there will be a lot of fun and political talk at the event. Believe me no one parties like these 6th District Republicans.

CHALLENGE TO OBAMA?

There are many Democrats totally unhappy with Barack Obama. But the question is would there and should there be a challenge to him in the Democratic primaries? One of the biggest fears the Clinton folks had in 1995 was the emergence of a challenger to Bill Clinton. That’s why Dick Morris started advertising Clinton’s accomplishments long before any one thought of entering the race. And keep in mind during a primary challenge, all an insurgent has to do is come up with a decent showing pointing out that the incumbent is weak even within his own party. One wonders if there is a true liberal out there who might take the plunge. The President bought off Congressman Dennis Kucinich last year with an airplane ride on Air Force 1 so he’s out. Look for former Senator Russ Fiengold of Wisconsin to seriously think about going after Mr. Obama in the Democratic primary process. Hell, I’d settle for George McGovern in his late 80s as a viable alternative to the “Caver In Chief” occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

TRUANT?

WBRE’s Joe Holden did a report last night on a Pittston Area woman who lost her license from PennDot because she was reported as “:truant” a dozen years ago. With Holden’s help and some heavy lifting by a few local legislators she did not lose her license. But the dumb downed mentality of the front line state workers she first encountered is a disgrace. Almost everyone she talked to said “there was nothing I could do about it”. I understand that most of these workers are usually from the lowest common intellectual denominator. By passing a civil service test they get the job. I give them credit for that but afterwards,once they begin working, they become chimpanzees. There is no creative questioning into what was an obvious mistake. Most likely she got people who just put their time in and didn’t want to rock the boat. It is sad that it took this woman calling a TV reporter to get to the bottom of what a good telephone rep might have handled with a manager. If it’s a letter that is even remotely above their pay grade, the state workers don’t even want to touch it. Another example of your tax dollars at work. And since I’m on a rant, how about this? How many times do you read about a person convicted for drunk driving with a suspended license going out there drunk and killing again! And these guys are worried about a truant from a decade ago??

LIQUOR PRIVATIZATION

Big news in the debate on whether the Pennsylvania State Stores should go to a private entity. Jonathan Newman, who used to be chair of the state Liquor Control Board, believes Pennsylvania has no good reason to be in the liquor business. "I think there is something inherently wrong going to state-controlled store that has a uniformity of selection, some of the highest taxes in the country, a flood tax from Johnstown in the 1930s that we are still paying for to this day," Newman said. State Rep.Tom Killion said he believes the state would do better under privatization because state residents who now cross borders to buy wine and liquor in other states would spend that money in Pennsylvania.
"I live in western Delaware County, six miles from the Delaware border, and I can tell you my neighbors do not shop in our state stores. My neighbors shop in Delaware at Total Wines," Killion said. Turzai hopes to get a vote on his bill, which would not affect beer sales, before the end of the year.This was a big get for supporters of a bill that would eliminate state stores. Some will argue that the descent of the stores has already begun with the introduction of kiosks in grocery stores.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Topic A Greatest Hits from David Yonki on Vimeo.

MEDIA MATTERS

ECTV

ECTV Live will feature Factoryville Mayor Gary Evans next week. He'll be discussing the annual Christy Mathewson Days celebration which brings thousands of people to the small community each year. Judge Tom Munley and David DeCosmo will co host the program which is broadcast each day at Noon and Midnight on Comcast Ch19.

STORM POLITICS

Tiffany Cloud welcomes Richard Hughes this week on her program. Storm Politics can be seen on WYLN TV 35 on the following days: Thurs 9:30pm, Sat 5pm, Sun 11am, Mon 9pm, Tues 4:30pm, only on WYLN TV.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Shadoe Steele this week welcomes Al Jarreau. Saturday Night Live at the Oldies is heard every week from 7pm to midnight on WILK FM and AM.



SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine, Aug 7th, Brian Hughes speaks with political activist Kevin Haggerty about the debt ceiling bill and Social Security, as well as Lackawanna County & Pennsylvania politics, and an online town hall meeting he is working on. And an encore of Brian's interview with author and financial expert Rick Ferri on the subject of passive investing. 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

Arthur Bremer is jailed for 63 years for shooting George Wallace...Dictator Idi Amin declares that Uganda will expel 50,000 Asians with British passports to Britain within 3 months.A huge solar flare (one of the largest ever recorded) knocks out cable lines in U.S. It begins with the appearance of sunspots on August 2; an August 4 flare kicks off high levels of activity until August 10......In Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo says he was glad he did not attend the Democratic National convention and said that George McGovern showed poor judgement and organization in choosing Thomas Eagleton as his Vice President. Rizzo said it would be very likely that he would support Richard Nixon for President in the ’72 election……in Lackawanna County, Commissioner Luger and Pettinato restructure and revamp the Human Services offices in the county, and 39 years ago the number 1 song in Lulac land was “Brandy” by Looking Glass.