The LuLac Edition #2023, April 13th, 2012

 

13 QUESTIONS 

 1. It looks like we are going to be getting an Obama second term. Thoughts? 

I’m not convinced of that. The red states are going to stay that way. Obama has not convinced them of anything. This election equation is 45-45-10. 45% will be for Obama, 45% for Romney. That 10% is going to be up for grabs. Obama will paint Romney as a rich, out of touch Republican who will bring the country back to the Bush years of despair. Romney will paint the President as a power grabbing socialist who wants to destroy America. That 10% will have to finds the truth or lack thereof in both of these Arguments. The election will be 51% to 49% in the popular vote and a virtual stand off in the Electoral College. Count on that.

 2. What is your take on Ebooks and how people were gauged for pricing? 

Apple did what American business does. They priced a product, people bought it. The fact that they tried to fix the prices is the thing that got them in trouble. Right now there are 15 states suing Apple for price fixing. Court documents allege that publishing executives at companies including Penguin Group USA Inc., Macmillan Holdings LLC and Simon & Schuster Inc. met over expensive dinners in New York to hatch plans to set prices beginning in 2008 and culminating in deals with Apple in 2010. In my estimation, this is going to be tough to prove. E books were a new consumer item, you could make them available for free but that would defeat the purpose of making a profit. Since this was the Internet, this was uncharted territory. A company can charge what they want for a product, they can charge as much or as little as they want. The ultimate Judge and Jury of their actions though are the consumers. If they think it’s too expensive, they won’t buy them. So again, this is going to be tough to litigate. I was IN A STORE ON Thursday night and saw green seedless grapes. I grabbed a pack and at the checkout line the clerk told me the total price for those grapes was $8.01. I did not notice that the grapes were $399.00 a pound. A week earlier, in another store, I bought the same amount for 99 cents a pound. I said “no thank you” to the expensive grapes and went on my way. If Consumers buy e books or anything at a set price, that’s that. 

3. Tim Holden says Matt Cartwright contributed money to Conahan and Ciavarella. Will that hurt him?

 It did hurt Jackie Musto Carroll being linked to those two. Cartwright’s law firm did indeed give money to the disgraced Judges. So did a lot of people. I think it is a desperate ploy by Holden’s camp. The Jackie Musto Carroll campaign had a lot of other dynamics going on. First, there was an energized Republican party focusing on that race alone. Second., there was the indictment of Ray Musto, the retired Senator from the 14th District. Third, Musto Carroll focused in on the duties of her office while her opponent Stefanie Salavantis was at every event in every corner of the county. It was almost like a mad scientist cloned a half dozen Stefanie Salavantis’. That hurt Musto Carroll. Fourth: While it was not related, the Sanduskey scandal broke at Penn State the weekend before the election. And while certainly Musto Carroll had nothing to do with that, child abuse was all over the media that weekend. The day of the Election, when I co hosted on WILK’s Morning News program, no one talked about the election. Juxtapose that with the “Cash for Kids” commercials, and that brought Salavantis across the finish line. Finally, no one who knows Matt Cartwright will tell you that he was not appalled the night Conahan and Ciavarella first plead in January of 2009. I was on a panel with Cartwright on WYOU TV that night, and believe me, Cartwright was outraged on and off the air that night regarding the behavior of the Judges and what it meant to the legal profession. 

4. How do your ball teams look for this year? 

The Indians are in a tough division with Detroit. I look for them to finish third because the Tigers look tough. The Pirates on the other hand are getting incrementally better. They are scrappy but I’m not seeing a division title just yet. 

5. What do you make of the Lenny Piazza situation? 

I think Piazza did a very good job. He should have had a Deputy (a position I had applied for a few times) that carried the handbook in case something happened to him. This firing without corrective actions does not give the new Council form of government a good start. I think the Election Board and Council have to re-open the position, have Piazza apply for it and then with provisions, rehire him. Tom Pisano ran the office from 1981 to 1993. But a lot of technology has come down the pike and I’m not sure Pisano has kept current with it. That said, he was the logical and only choice because no number 2 was in place. But that’s water under the bridge. I hope Len is returned to the position if he wants it. One thing though has to be delineated though by the Council and Manager. Why can’t a fellow employee investigate the goings on of another office? Is that against policy and is that a crime? And given the past corruption in Luzerne County, where does that leave a “whistle blower” situation in the grand scheme of things? Someone knows something is wrong and tries to blow a whistle..does that mean the Manager fires that person outright? A lot of questions. 

6. Do you think Marco Rubio would be a good choice as Romney Voice President? 

No. Too young. Too untested. Has had some foreclosure and debt issues in his past and quite frankly I don’t think they need him to carry Florida. 

7. The Indians might sign Johnny Damon. Good move? 

Definitely. The guy can still play. I’m excited. 

 8. Okay Yonk, I think “Madmen” is really boring this year. You love the show, tell me why I should keep watching. 

The show, especially for new viewers starts out slow. I gave up on it the very first season but watched an entire marathon when I was a captive audience in the summer of 2008 when I was in the hospital. Give it a chance, the characters will keep you interested despite the long pauses that occur sometime.

 9. Would you support Hillary Clinton again if she ran for President? 

Definitely. 

10. Last week there was a video you posted which was a theme of “Madmen” and an old Nat King Cole song. Was the woman who sang it really Brian Williams’ daughter? 

Yes.

11. Do you like the new High Def set that WBRE TV has and will WYLN TV eventually head that way? 

Yes and no. 

12. Will Tom Corbett have any impact at the GOP contention in Tampa this year? 

Not really. Corbett has a whole slew of problems he has to deal with in terms of the Penn State scandal, the Marcellus Shale debate and a few other things keeping him occupied. He never impressed me as a political impresario like Ed Rendell, a climber like Tom Ridge or a consultative kingmaker like Ray Shafer. So I don’t think he’ll have a high profile. Look for Pat Toomey to get some play mainly because he was the guy Rick Santorum passed over for an endorsement of Arlen Specter in 2004. That’s a good back story. 

13. Do you think the GOP will eventually cut the State Legislature? 

Yes. And they are able to do it politically with almost no downside. Sam Smith, the new Speaker says the Legislature should be cut. Most people agree. Smith becomes a hero for proposing it. The voters will eventually vote for it on a referendum and the GOP which controls the State House, rewrites the districts to its advantage. The GOP gets the moral high ground for proposing it and keep a majority for years to come because they have the power to rewrite the districts. It’s a win win for everyone. As the British say, “Brilliant”.