The LuLac Edition #2146, August 3rd, 2012

Our “Maybe I’m Amazed” logo. 

MAYBE I’M AMAZED 

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that the local newspapers that cover the Luzerne County Courthouse (and they all do an outstanding job) say that there might be 90 more layoffs under the dome by Manager Bob Lawton. Personally, I have a gut feeling that there will be more as Lawton tries to deal with the problems of years ago that face this county. In private business and even in government, there is an element of “right sizing” that needs to happen. It can occur by using a band aid or a full blown overhaul to get services in line with the taxes and revenue coming in. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……..that the Pennsylvania Economy League has not approved the plan between the city of Scranton’s Mayor’s office and the City Council. The PEL has done nothing to advise the city work this problem out. Granted, the city has ignored some of the warnings through the years but the PEL’s decree smacks of a bunch of bureaucrats that are out of touch. To me it’s like a lifeguard standing by and criticizing the life jackets of the parties in the pool trying to save the victims going under. The Pennsylvania Economy League is a joke. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED………that Mitt Romney goes to three countries on a foreign tour that are not that friendly to the President. And what does he do? Makes blunders in all of them. In England, he disuses the host city. He was like a guy being invited to a pool party and criticizing the host’s wife for how she looks in a swimming suit! As the guy who saved the Olympics, all he had to say was “Looks fine to me”. In Israel, possibly playing up to the likes of big Jewish donors, he said the Israeli culture gave them an economic advantage over the Palestinians. That inference gave you the idea that people other than those in Israel were still swinging from the trees. No one has been a more staunch backer of Israel than me, but this was not helping in long term peace in the region. As a matter of fact, it inflames it. In Poland, Romney refused to answer questions from a rude, shrill but justifiably passed press corps that did not get a chance to ask him questions on this “tour”. When you have to defend something that your staff thought was a great venue, that’s not very good. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……….that Chick Fill A has become a more recognizable brand name because of the founder’s stance on heterosexual unions. People I have spoken to had never even heard of the restaurant before this flap. While I am for civil unions and protection of long term partners, I think that the owners has a right to say whatever he wants and let the free market decide if they want to boycott his business or not. This stance, whether you agree with it or not, has made Chick Fill A more of a household name than ever before. Top of mind awareness is a thing of beauty to walk in businesses like fast food joints. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED………that the GOP in Pennsylvania has ended a safety net for the poor which existed since the Great Depression. The Republicans put an end to the $200 monthly stipend for the poor who have no other income. I personally know three people who have been getting that for the last three years. Thank heavens all are gainfully employed now but that $200 kept them afloat. Their houses went to hell and they only bought food and gas but it was something. They weren’t druggies, they weren’t on welfare and they weren’t criminals. They just needed help. With the elimination of this, you’ll see more petty crime because people will need to eat. Everything you ever need to know about the Republican party is encapsulated in this action. I got mine, I hope you got yours but if not, screw you. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……..that the Scranton City Council and the Mayor have finally sat down and worked out a plan to get the city back on its financial feet. I got a kick out of my friend Rob Nyehard toadying saying that all Chris Doherty did was criticize former Mayor Jimmy Connors when he was running for Mayor in 2001. Doherty was right. Connors put the city in more debt because he refused to raise taxes. That made him look like a hero but in the meantime, the city was getting in deeper trouble. Anyway, the two warring parties seem to be working it out. Who knows, from this mess might emerge a viable candidate (maybe even Doherty himself) for the 2013 Scranton’s Mayor’s race. Also, true to form, the public sector unions are showing their true, piggish colors. They are getting back pay which is fine with me but the union head wants 6% interest on the money. Keep it up pal, and you are going to lose any sympathy you had with Scranton voters and commuters who are going to shave to pay taxes to keep the city afloat. Public service unions can never see the forest before the trees, all it is from them is “game, game, game”. That’s a disgrace but not very surprising. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that the people who are supposed to know about the New Voter ID law in Pennsylvania can’t point to the fraud the law is trying to protect, can’t tell a court what the law intends and can’t come up with a straight story about what voters need in the coming election. And in Luzerne County, we are going to be screwed because we won’t have Lenny Piazza around to straighten things out. Even though Tom Pisano ran that office years ago, the operative words there for fear are “years ago” and “Tom Pisano”. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Des Bryant might spend a year in jail for domestic violence. Seems Bryant, 23, hit his mother with a baseball cap., ripped her shirt and knocked her around some. His mother is 37. What was that in the 90s about “babies having babies?” 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that Pete Rose will have his own reality show on TLC this fall. Rose will be featured in a series of shows regarding his third wedding to a former Playboy model. One of the shows will have to do with breast reduction. A few years ago, one of my friends went to Cooperstown on Hall of Fame weekend and this woman who was with Rose literally stopped traffic in the small town. 
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……….that Dennis Rodman’s 71 year old father had 29 children with 16 women. Equally amazing is that his father’s name is Philander Rodman. More amazing than that is that Philander Rodman is a Junior. His father’s name was Philander Rodman Senior. No count on Rodman Senior’s progeny.