The LuLac Edition #2285, December 4th, 2012

Peter Clemenza. (Photo from “The Godfather 1”. )

THE GOLDEN PARACHUTE 

 If you are a State Representative that gets defeated? Never fear, “the family” will take care of you. In the case of Ken Smith and Joe Brennan from the Lehigh Valley, both landed gently on their feet with jobs worth more than $72,000 a year. The bad boy Democrats got incredible jobs despite having flawed tenures. Brennan was arrested for drunk driving while Smith still owes thousands in back taxes. Smith also stiffed his employees by not paying into the state unemployment system. Their “appointments” and I use the word lightly points to the problems Pennsylvania state government faces. Caucuses have too much money to throw around to just anybody. When people talk about the bloated legislature in the state, it not only includes the lawmakers. It encompasses the staffs, the party caucuses as well as the mad money available to hire the most qualified individuals. In the mafia movies, when a good soldier gets rubbed out, his family is taken care of. When the voters rub out a state Representative, he’ll be taken care of one way or another. Peter Clemenza would be proud. 

CLOUD OLSON HONORED 

NEPA Author and Military Wife Recognized By “Women You Should Know” 

WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW is an editorial site and community all about dynamic women. Founded by Jennifer Jones and Cynthia Hornig, it covers women’s drive and passion, their interesting stories and professional talents, what they care about, what they consume and how they live. Some of the women previously highlighted by WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW include Linda Kaiser, a member of the Hawaiian Swimming Hall of Fame who swam all 9 major channels in Hawaii; Carol Brodie, one of HSN’s top sellers of fine jewelry; and  Captain Brenda Berkman who served 25 years in the NYC Fire Dept, was a first responder on 9/11 and was featured in the 2006 PBS documentary Taking The Heat about the integration of women into the NYC Fire Department. 
Tiffany Cloud Olson, author of Sleeping with Dog Tags, a book about what she went through during her husband’s deployment to Afghanistan--which rose to #3 on Amazon.com’s Hot New Releases and hit their Best Sellers List in the military/spies biographies category on Oct 10, 2012--was selected by WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW on Oct 16, 2012. She resides in The Greater Hazleton Area. “Over the course of our careers and lives, we continue to meet women who inspire us or who we find truly interesting. They are accomplished, building their own self-made futures, reinventing themselves or just doing really cool things,” explains Jennifer Jones, Co-Founder and Managing Editor. “It is important for us to ensure that the many compelling stories that we come across serve as sources of inspiration that will encourage other women to realize their own dreams and perhaps even change the course of their own lives,” adds Cynthia Hornig, Co-Founder and Editorial Director. The editorial on Tiffany Cloud Olson is featured reads: http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/sleeping-with-dog-tags-military-deployment-from-a-wifes-perspective/ Upon receiving the news of her selection Cloud Olson stated, “I am humbled to be recognized by WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW & to be in the company of such a diverse group of inspiring, accomplished women. A military wife, I told my story to provide a window into what war is like for those manning the home front. I believe it’s important all Americans remember we are still at war and military families all over this nation wait, wonder and worry every day for their loved ones out there defending our freedoms.” Sleeping with Dog Tags is available on Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble NOOK and eBooks. To learn more, go to www.womenyoushoudknow.net or you can follow them on Facebook.