Friday, January 27, 2012

The LuLac Edition #1919, January 27th, 2012


"Maybe I'm Amazed" logo.

MAYBE I'M AMAZED

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that the new County Manager Robert Lawson is “happy as all get out” to be coming to Luzerne County. What is even more amazing is that he thinks this job is going to be a day at the beach. But hey, let him have the honeymoon. I think we should all welcome him with open arms, wish him luck and support him when he starts to make the very tough decisions.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that the national media keeps linking the late Joe Paterno to the Sandusky scandal. Paterno did nothing heinous in terms of those kids. He was not part of nor was he involved in a sex scandal. He failed to follow up on something he may not have fully grasped or wanted to understand. But he should not be linked to it in that way.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that (a) Jerry Sandusky had the stones to release a statement of mourning when his former boss died and (b) the national media actually ran it as news. I mean under the definition of “no shame” in the dictionary should be Sandusky’s mug.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that Charlie Sheen came to town to pay his respects to the late Dick Cosgrove. Sheen has always gotten a bad rap for being the bad boy of celebrities but when push came to shove, he was there, here thousands of miles away from the glitter to support his friends the Cosgroves.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……..that during the County Budget hearings with the County Council , the Union President Paula Schnelly said the Council members should go into the offices and look in the eyes of the people they are laying off and see their tears. Lays offs are a tough thing but they happen in private business every day. To lay that emotional guilt trip on the County Council members who are working until midnight most nights really is harsh. But in light of the fact that the Council chose to not raise taxes and take the easy way out, maybe the Union head has a point! On the other hand, Kudos to Steve J. Urban (Steve Junior) who related that he had to personally face two downsizing of his private industry positions in the last ten years. Urban Junior’s comments should be reminders to those employed in the County and elsewhere that there is a real world out there in terms of jobs and market forces.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…that 8 coaches have led the Oakland Raisers since this century began. 8. Remember when there was John Madden and then Tom Flores for a few decades?
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that people took out of context Newt Gingrich’s comments about space exploration. Gingrich said that if there was going to be a colony on the moon, Americans should be there first. I watched his entire speech and he was speaking about the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and how the two brothers beat out a government supported program to fly the first aircraft. Gingrich’s point was that this country needs business to stay competitive and handle space exploration rather than the government. I’m not a defender of Gingrich but this constant lampooning of what he was trying to say was symptomatic of today’s attention span of citizens who get only half the truth. And what Gingrich says has a grain of truth in it. Our friend Wil Toole tells the story on how NASA spent millions of dollars developing a pen that could write upside down in outer space while the Russians sent their guys up with a pencil.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..at this quote from Interim County Manager Tom Pribula who told the County Council, “The bright side is you’ve got a new manager coming in that’s going to have all the answers and he’s going to solve all your problems and everything’s going to run like a clock. ” Pribula said that after warning the Council not to do too many quick or temporary fixes with this year’s budget.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that there are people out there who still think there are not two Americas. Listen to this: a Wall Street businessman paid $240,000 to rent a 70 foot RV stocked with prime beef, lobster and caviar, staffed by two waitresses, a driver and a chef to transport him and 5 other people to the Giants/Packers playoff game a few weeks ago. Not envious, the guy could do what he wants with his money but my heavens, what an extravagance.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that some numb skull dad in Nanticoke who was causing a problem at a bar told the police “God was watching”his children (all under 8) at home. When Children and Youth came to investigate, they found safety issues in the home as well as some pretty unlivable conditions for the tykes. The guy though was driving a Jaguar when he was arrested by police. This “Father of the Year” should be detained a long time. And by the way, where were (a) the mom or (b) the moms?
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..at just how good Pittston Area native Jimmy Cefalo was in giving one of the eulogies to Coach Paterno. Cefalo was just plain wonderful. He has a morning talk show on WIOD in Miami and was of course a 9 year member of the Miami Dolphins. I’m amazed because I remember a halting Cefalo doing news on the old WPTS/WARD during the summers when he was home from Penn State. Cefalo, most likely with the inspiration from a Paterno/Penn State education made himself into a world class broadcaster.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that Pat Sajak admitted to ESPN 2 that he and Vanna White sometimes got a little tipsy in Mexico when on remote for “Wheel” while doing several tapings. Both never looked worse for the wear.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that Robert Hegyes who played Epstein on “Welcome Back Kotter” played football at Wilkes College. Hegyes died the other day at the age of 60.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that the Indianapolis Colts are sitting on the story that Payton Manning most likely won’t be back next year. You don’t get rid of a GM, and a Head Coach, have a number 1 draft pick waiting and expect your injured QB to stick around. But your city is hosting the Super Bowl and to speak of that situation would detract from the big game.

14 Comments:

At 5:26 PM, Anonymous Junction said...

Dave, are you REALLY amazed that the Lac commish Munchak pleaded on the news the other day that he should be given leniency because he has donated large quantities of blood. WOW that is an original if you ask me. I bet the judge had a to hold in not to laugh his head off.
Maybe he can continue giving blood when the have blood drives at the prison he is staying at after 30 Jan. It should be interesting to see how all this smoke and mirrors shakes out.

 
At 7:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm Amazed that Bob Cordaro and A.J. Munchak are entering their last weekend of freedom likely for a long, long time.
They blew it no question, but I still have a hard time with the Highland Associates CEO's credibility. The A.J. Munchak I knew would not have taken the cash.
Justice called for seperate trials.
Munchak made some mistakes, but he deserves a fair shake now. I hope he gets it.

Pete Cassidy

 
At 8:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"He failed to follow up on something he may not have fully grasped or wanted to understand."

Great quote, David. If Joe Paterno was that stupid, he should have been fired. The time for blind hero worship is over.

 
At 10:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your Friend and Political Sparing Partner has left a new comment on your post "The LuLac Edition #1919, January 27th, 2012":

"He failed to follow up on something he may not have fully grasped or wanted to understand" and Paterno was man enough to admit that he could have done more. When asked why he didn't; instead of making up some sad ass excuse or blaming others, he simply said he didn't know why, but wished he had.

Character isn't about simply doing the right thing all the time, character is about recognizing when you may have been able to know more and admitting it.

Joe Paterno was fired for following the University's written policy. And media whores sensationalized his part for no other reasons than to get ratings. I mean really, how many times did that WILK talk show host say the child was "anally raped?" Was that terminology necessary to get the point across? Of course not, but the WILK talk show host had to exploit what happened to the child for his own personal ratings.

 
At 10:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The LuLac Edition #1919, January 27th, 2012":

Maybe I'm amazed ... National media keeps linking Paterno to Sandusky Scandal .....
Tell that to the local talk show host EVERY DAMN DAY he has something condemning Paterno about the Sandusky case. That guy is a media whore at it's worst. He can't let that story go. Every day when he gets no callers he always brings this story up. And he's like a dog on a bone with it. He just keeps on crucifying him. I guess it's easy for a coward like the local radio talk show host to attack the dead, when they can't defend themselves.

 
At 11:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Kotter,
Please excuse Juan from class today. He is with the angels.
Signed,
Epstein's mother

A tribute to my favorite sweathog...

from Karin Cabell's Facebook page...

 
At 11:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

RIP
I thought in the beginning, Let him coach out the season. I caved from that viewpoint when the frenzy of immediate gratification was on, but now that some dust has settled, I'm back to my original reaction. What harm would it have done to let the Man finish the season? The Cancer was Jerry Sandusky and it spread. It should have been cut out right away! I always thought Joe Paterno would die shortly after he retired like Paul Bryant. I figured that was why he didnt retire.

 
At 8:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just a thought ... Seems to me Sandusky is receiving less trouble over this case than Paterno did. JP seemed to get most of the grief and condemnation in this case. You hardly ever hear about Sandusky.

 
At 8:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes..boohoo for the poor county employees who may get laid off,,,and how much are they paying toward their health insurance? and how many sick days do they get annually? maybe if the union conceded a bit on other issues these clowns coud keep their jobs.

 
At 8:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yonk, the quote from Pribula that the new manager will have all the answers seems like a bit of sarcasm to me.

On another note, maybe I'm amazed that you accept layoffs like they are a good thing simply because they occur so often. Let me tell ya something, in private industry in which I do have some management experience, I can tell you first hand that often times profit is the only deciding factor in layoffs. People are so thrilled that county workers will lose their jobs that they simply overlook the fact that the out going commissioners prepared a bullshit budget that was designed to fail. There have been many posts in LuLac land explaining how big ticket items were not listed in the budget but that does not seem to be a concern. As long as people lose their jobs, that's a good thing. These people serving on council working till midnight is an absolute joke. If they had any backbone at all, they would have done what is necessary an raise taxes enough to make government work. The courts will end up filing a suit against the county because these mental midgets refuse to acknowledge that they have a responsibility to fund the courts and to acknowledge understanding that the courts have legal mandates to fulfil. Now, being forced to file suit, the courts will ask for all they need rather than accept what they could squeeze by with. You pushed for this form of government and you were told often enough by various posters that it would not work and that is a true outcome. All 11 Council members have proved is that they allow the tail to wag the dog.

 
At 10:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What would of Joe Paterno done if it was his son in the shower? Or his grandson? Bet the the outcome would of been different! Just by the actions he took before this was public, "Joe knew". Just didn't want to make waves at the time. Who would ever think the biggest scandal in college football comes out of PS? When you preach to the choir all these years, this is what happens!

 
At 7:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

@ 10:19AM
If it was Paterno's son or grandson his decision would have been made based on a FIRST hand experience with a family member involved! He would have done what you or I would have done!!!!...and then it would be reported.

It's easy second guessing an 85 year old who expected the same kind of commitment he afforded those he answered to for 50 plus years.

Let's go back and listen to his statement on the matter with a little quiet reflection.

Rest In Peace JoPa. Everything is now evident to you.

 
At 8:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

8:49, you make a lot of sense and I agree that the council is playing t othe audiance. Pribula called for public straw votes and that was a mistake. The Dirty almost Dozen could never sit at a public meeting and say they were in favor of taxes regardless of the reasons. I have to give credit to the four who did stand up and I also want to pint out that I vote for Brominski but I never dreamed he would be such a showman and wimp all at the same time. He wont raise taxes he will raise taxes he wont raise taxes. I have to wonder who is in the audiance pulling his strings. Wimp!

 
At 11:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Go Colts in 2013.......

 

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