The LuLac Edition #2138, July 26th, 2012

This grandchild's future is the next good meal. Deficit be damned. 

POVERTY IN AMERICA 

I have been saying this for years but it doesn’t seem to resonate with anyone. Poverty in America is on the rise and there seems to be a great concern that it is has become the new normal. A few facts: Poverty is at its highest rate since 1965. That was when LBJ declared a war on poverty. 
1 in 6 or 47 million people live in poverty. 
22% of children live in poverty. This trend has been increasing long before President Obama took office. The Stimulus helped some but not much. Most of the new poor fall into this category: 
People who are working either part time or for wages below the poverty level because companies want to make a huge profit. You tell me why a large corporation like Turkey Hill or Sheetz pays its “associates” minimum wage. 
A new class of poor are those people who have lost their benefits for unemployment and have stopped looking for work. Something is out of whack when 40 people apply for two job openings. I’d like to know exactly what Mitt Romney’s plan for job creation is except for “job creators” getting tax breaks! What is interesting about the poverty levels is this. Most sane people know that poverty exists. To hear some people “who have theirs” talk, poverty happens because people are lazy. But few people advocate cutting programs to help the poor. 
79% of Americans recognize that the gap between rich and poor has increased in the last twenty years. 
And get this, 67% oppose cutting federal funding for social programs to help cut the deficit. So says the Public Religion Research Institute. 
So next time you hear a deficit hawk on TV screaming about his grandchildren’s future, know that his grandchildren are not living in poverty. And know that the deficit that is so high was caused by two credit card wars and a prescription drug plan for seniors that was not paid for. And keep this in mind, the deficit has risen less under this much maligned Democratic administration than by any other President. 

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 

Mitt Romney, presumptive GOP nominee. 

ROMNEY’S TRIP ABROAD 

The new trend for nominees to be is to take a few trips to foreign countries so that voters, still not totally paying attention will have a chance to the candidate’s “gravitas”. Romney is heading to Israel to see his old Chum Benjamin Netanyahu and people say the trip was planned to coincide with the Olympics. The reason? If Romney has a gaff, most of the news will be about the games in London rather than Romney’s miscue. 

RELIGION AND THE VEEP STAKES 

Here’s something to keep an eye on. Watch for Mitt Romney to not only pick a vanilla running mate but one who is religiously safe. While his Mormon faith hasn’t been and issue, there are still some Americans afraid of the unknown just as people in 1960 were concerned about JFK’s Catholicism. Romney’s Vice President will have a religious background that will be solid and consistent. Same religion from birth, no detours, no conversions, just a solid record to balance out any concerns people might have about the Mormons. The person also will not be a bible beater, but a quiet person of a consistent faith. 

OBAMA’S GUN STANCE 

I am totally mystified by President Obama’s stance on guns. Especially not coming out in favor of extending the Brady Bill and the ban on assault weapons. He showed o guts at his State of the Union after Gabriel Giffords got shot. And he is showing no guts now. No NRA member is going to vote for him! No matter how he runs away from an assault ban, he will never, ever get the votes of the NRA! He is passing up a political gift. If he stood on principle and stared down the NRA, he’d get more respect and solidify some votes. I was a Hillary Clinton backer in ’08 and one thing I liked about her was that she showed common sense. If this President talked common sense to the American people and took a stand, not against hunters, concealed carries or hobbyists, but against weapons and clips that could kill hundreds of people in less than five minutes! he’d score big. But no, he’ll pander to a lobby that is not going to vote for him if he were last man on earth. Sometimes I wonder about him. And the people running his campaign. 

ANONYMOUS SERIAL KILLERS 

Did you see that orange haired scumbag in court the other day in Colorado? I think the media should limit showing his face and refer to him as the Colorado Theatre Killer. No name, no recognition, no fame. Just let the twisted little freak live out his life in the anonymity he so richly deserves.

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GOOD ENOUGH? 

It appears that the combination of lethargic parents and less than superb school teachers is again rearing its head here in Luzerne County. The Times Leader reports that six schools, two in the Hazleton Area School District and four in Wilkes-Barre Area School District – landed on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s “Low achieving schools” list released today. The list is generated as part of the “Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program.” Students who live within the attendance boundaries of a low-achieving school are eligible for scholarships to be funded through business contributions to a non-profit entity established for the purpose. The businesses get a tax credit worth up to 90 percent of the scholarship contribution. In Hazleton Area, Hazleton Area High School and Hazleton Area Middle School are on the list. In Wilkes-Barre Area, G.A.R. High School and three elementary schools – Dodson, Kistler and Heights-Murray – are on the list. The lists are derived by looking at combined state math and reading test results for each school. So unless I’m reading this wrong, being stupid is actually getting you a reward with a 90% tax credit for businesses? If that’s the case, people have to wonder why this country is sinking into an economic abyss. But hey, let’s give those teachers another raise and laud those parents for not taking the time to teach their kids…anything. 

MEDIA MATTERS 

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

 Join Shadoe Steele this week for Saturday night Live at the Oldies on WILK AM and FM. The show runs from 7pm to midnight with ABC News on top of the hour. 

SUNDAY MAGAZINE 

This Week on Sunday Magazine Brian Hughes speaks with Bob Vialiante, the co-ordinater for the 30th Annual Scranton Catholic Charismatic Conference, which will be held Aug 3rd thru the 5th at the University of Scranton. Bob discusses the conference, as well as the history of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. And Brian speaks with Janine Spagnola, a committee member of the 4th annual Joshua Miller Motorcycle Poker Run and Picnic, coming up on Saturday Aug 4th. The event is in honor of Joshua Miller, a State Trooper who lost his life in the line of duty, and this year's event will benefit the Wounded Warriors. Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am on Great Country 93.7, 5:30am on 97BHT,6am on 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93 and 7am on True Oldies 590, WARM.  

ECTV 

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1967 

An explosion and fire aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin leaves 134 dead……………….The 1967 Milwaukee race riots begin, lasting through August 2 and leading to a ten-day shutdown of the city from August 1. Egypt continues to enforce an Egyptian blockade of the Suez Canal which lasted till June 5th 1975 making the Suez Canal closed to all shipping and trapping fourteen cargo ships known as "The Yellow Fleet" which remained trapped in the canal for over eight years……Prices in the summer of ’67 were as follows, Gas per Gallon 33 cents Average Cost of a new car $2,750.00 Movie Ticket$1.25………in Pennsylvania U.S Senator Hugh Scott says that Lyndon Johnson might be ripe for the picking in terms of winning a second term as President. Scott says that Michigan Governor George Romney, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and former Vice President Richard Nixon could easily pose a challenge to the Democratic President……………..the Luzerne County Commissioners vote to purchase $50,000 worth of new furniture……and the number one song in America and LuLac land was “Light My Fire” by the Doors.