The LuLac Edition #2257, November 8th, 2012

Obama on the trail. Now he needs to get down to hard core business. 

GOVERNING NOW 

The other night on WYLN TV 35 anchor Don Pachance asked if the 2012 Election was going to be transformation. It would appear from the results that it was a Status Quo election. GOP House, Democratic Senate and Democratic President. But digging deeper, perhaps this election might give the country and its politics the opportunity to transform itself from politics to governing. The Republican party can’t expand if its leaders don’t accomplish anything. Mitch McConnell’s comments on Tuesday night were not encouraging. Speaker John Boehner’s were. When asked if he would try to get rid of Obama Care, Boehner declared that after the election of the President, it was the law of the land. The cooperation must begin. The President needs to make up for lost time. Sure he was opposed but he also had a hubris that made him think everyone would magically follow him. He needs to get down in the trenches with the Republicans. He needs to bypass people like McConnell and reach out to people like Tom Coburn. The two parties have to start small at first but then get moving. Obama is playing for the history books, the Republicans better be playing for survival and not the favor of demagogues like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannitty and Anne Coulter who inexplicably have become the voice of the modern day Republican party. 

DON’T PISS OFF THE BLACKS 

I have heard this over and over again from my friends in the battleground states who told me weeks before the Election that the black vote was solidified. I was told that in 2008 they cast a vote for Obama to make history. This year they cast a vote for him because they were livid. First there was the Obama equation. Many black voters felt the President wasn’t given a fair chance. More importantly though, the stunts pulled by Republican Governors in key states championing voter ID and cutting short early voting made many blacks all that more determined to come out and vote for Obama.  Many remember how hard they had to fight southern Governors for that right. And now the Tom Corbetts, Rick Scotts  and John Kasicks of the world are trying to stop them? In Ohio alone, there was a 13% increase in Obama gaining the black vote. Had he not had that margin, Mitt Romney would have carried Ohio. 

CONTROL OF THE SENATE 

The GOP might have control of the United States Senate if not for the Tea Party. In the last two years, 5 Senate seats that could have gone Republican, including Harry Reed’s were lost by Tea Party candidates totally unqualified for the job. Christine Donahue in Delaware, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Todd Aiken in Missouri, Richard Mourdock in Indiana and Linda McMahon in Connecticut were such polarizing and unelectable figures that it put the Democrats in the driver’s seat. The Democrats have 53 Senate seats. If the GOP had not nominated a Tea Party right winger in those states,  they would have had the Senate majority right now. No wonder why Harry Reid is so smug. And smiling. It’s comical when you get beat by stupid. And it not only saves your political ass but gives you a MAJORITY. 

FREE RIDES FOR VETERANS 

The County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) will offer free rides to all armed services veterans on Monday, Nov. 12, in honor of Veterans Day. Veterans will have to show their VA card or discharge papers to COLTS drivers. “We feel that it is important to honor the sacrifices made by our distinguished veterans and their service to our country,” said Executive Director Bob Fiume. “Offering free rides is a small token of our appreciation.” COLTS buses will run on regular routes, but COLTS’ administrative offices will be closed, reopening on Tuesday. Veterans Day, which was first proclaimed a holiday in 1919 as Armistice Day in remembrance of World War I veterans, became a legal holiday in 1938. It later became known as Veterans Day in 1954 and is a federal holiday. 

VETERAN’S DAY PARADE 

The 2012 Wyoming Valley Veterans Day Parade will take place Sunday, November 11 at 2 pm, and will march from Kingston Corners to Public Square. This is the area's largest Veteran's Day parade, and will include bands, clubs, floats, schools, and more. Sponsored by American Legion District 12.  

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

 

 

MEDIA MATTERS 

AS VETERAN’S DAY APPROACHES, LOCAL MILITARY WIFE, AUTHOR, TV PERSONALITY IS “BATTLING BARE” TO SUPPORT PTSD AWARENESS “

I recently saw a news story about Battling BARE, a private organization seeking not-for-profit status. Its supporters are military wives from all over the nation who are baring a part of their bodies in support of greater Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) awareness. As the wife of a multi-tour combat veteran who has a keen interest in veterans’ affairs, Battling BARE’s PTSD awareness campaign moved me. I wrote Battling BARE and told them about my recently published book, Sleeping with Dog Tags, written in large part to explain what military spouses endure before, during and after deployment of their loved one to war. Not only did they react favorably to the book, Battling BARE recommended it on their Facebook page, which has nearly 40 thousand followers. I further wanted to demonstrate solidarity with their organization by participating in the Battling BARE effort. Our soldiers put their lives on the line for us daily, so putting a modest amount of skin on the line to generate greater awareness about the emotional wounds of war—the ‘war after war’-- is the least I can do.” –Tiffany Cloud Olson.
Many military wives write a version of the following upon their bodies for these photos: Broken By Battle, Wounded By War. My Love Is Forever—To You This I Swore. I Will Quiet Your Silent Screams, Help Heal Your Shattered Soul Until Once Again My Love You Are Whole. –Battle BARE Tiffany Cloud Olson is the author of Sleeping with Dog Tags, which hit Amazon.com’s Best Sellers List for military bio in October; the host of WYLN TV’s “Storm Politics,” taped in Hazleton, PA; & the wife of combat veteran & wounded warrior, SSG Erik Olson. Ashley Wise, Founder of Battling BARE will be her guest on “Storm Politics” in November. [More Info: http://www.facebook.com/BattlingBare] She will also interview Tony Seahorn on WYLN TV this month, co-author of the highly acclaimed Tears of a Warrior, a book about PTSD, with over 200,000 copies in circulation. 

SUNDAY MAGAZINE 

This Week on Sunday Magazine Brian Hughes speaks with chiropractor and former Congressional candidate Joe Leonardi weighs in on the results of the 2012 election and what it means for the nation, state and Northeastern Pa. And in honor of Veterans Day, an encore of Brian's interview with Kimberly Paige Burnham, who discusses her efforts to send thousands of Christmas cards to veterans at home and overseas, and how you can help. Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am on Great Country 93.7, 5:30am on 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X, 6:25am on Magic 93, and 7am on True Oldies 590, WARM. 

ECTV 

ECTV Live hosts Judge Tom Munley and David DeCosmo will welcome well know Clarks Summit businessman Barry Kaplan to their program for the week of November 12th. Mr Kaplan will outline plans for the Abington Community's annual Hometown Christmas program whcih includes musical presentations throughout downtown Clarks Summit and a visit from Santa. ECTV Live can be seen each day at Noon and Midnight on Comcast Ch19 with additional showings at 6pm on selected weekdays. 

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1967 

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson holds a secret meeting with a group of the nation's most prestigious leaders ("the Wise Men") and asks them to suggest ways to unite the American people behind the war effort. They conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war……………….President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Carl B. Stokes is elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major United States city….in Pennsylvania news, Philadelphia Mayor James Tate handily defeats Arlen Specter for the job as Mayor of Philadelphia……in Luzerne County, the Democrats take control of the County Board of Commissioners when Frank Crossin and Ed Wideman beat Jim Post, the GOP Majority commissioner  who finished fourth behind Ethel Price who  became the Minority Commissioner….For Luzerne County Judge, a Democrat Peter Paul Olzewski Senior and Robert Hourigan a Republican defeat Thomas Mack and Ralph Johnston…….Blythe Evans becomes the Luzerne County District Attorney beating Stephen Tellerr……in the Wyoming Area School District, Chick Adonizio, Tim Pribula, Stanley Yanick, John Barrett and James Langan win seats on the school board…in Lackawanna County the majority team of Patrick Melody and Edward Zipay prevail once more in the County elections and 45 years ago this week the number 1 song in LuLac land and America was the Cowsills “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things".
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