The LuLac Edition #2329, January 13th, 2013

Our “13 Questions” logo. 

13 QUESTIONS

1. Your thoughts on the lack of diversity in Obama’s second term cabinet? 

A mountain out of a mole hill if you ask me. In the President’s mind, he is picking the best people available. I mean really, you want a Sarah Palin or Michele Bachman over a Chuck Hagel? Who is the more qualified Republican. As Jerry Seinfeld used to say, “it all evens out”. In Obama’s first Cabinet he had Hillary Clinton. He might have had Susan Rice if John McCain and his twin Lindsay Graham didn’rt take temper tantrums. McCain is showing why the GOP never embraced him and why America was shit scared of voting for him for resident. He has a vindictive nasty streak politically and likes to settle scores. His o[deposition toward Susan Rice had more to do than her Benghazi statements, rather it was her statements on the campaign trail in ’08. It will even out. 

 2. Okay, how ‘bout those Packers? 

They had a rough game. Tarone and I got it backwards yesterday when we were sporting our hats. He said that the 49ers Quarterback didn’t have the experience in a big game. I said the Packers might be in a tough spot and might be challenged. Hah! More like walloped. But I have had too many 3 and 13 seasons as a Packer fan to complain. They made it to the final eight. 

3. Should the Hall of Fame voting be revamped? 

Yes and it should start with the voters. There has to be a new alignment into the 21st century. More media members should get votes from TV and Radio. The Baseball Writers Association needs company. When the Sunday Dispatch in Pittston gave me the opportunity to write a sports column in the 80s, I saw first hand some of the sainted and famed baseball writers. I found out quickly that they thought they crapped vanilla ice cream and they could hold grudges if a players was not nice to them. (You can hear a lot by staring straight ahead and not saying nothing many times). There still should be a 75% threshold to get in but the voters should be more than baseball writers. They should include a more diverse media group. 

4. When do you plan to implement some of the suggestions from the people who responded to the LuLac poll? 

We’re looking at possible elongations, add ons, a few things. We just might not change anything and go with less frequent use of a feature. We still have “The Interview” segment but haven’t used that in a while since I don’t have the time for as many one on ones since April. We’ll see. I’ll tell you. And I appreciate those (more than 200) who participated. 

5. Is it true that on Friday night’s Topic A you crossed yourself when you said Teddy Kennedy’s name in reference to a debate you and Tarone were having? 

Yes. But realize I always try to do a few things to get a rise out of him, which is pretty easy. 

6. What is the toughest part about doing LuLac? 

Ideas are always floating in my head. That’s why there is more than 85% original content here. Or more. But the most labor intensive is when you have to enter in a lot of data and photos and video. Plus (and those goes back to my days at the Sunday Dispatch and The Metro) you want it to look readable. And in sync, not like it’s thrown up there like a plate of spaghetti on a wall. 

 Anne Rutherford, circa 1940s.

7. We all know that you adore Geena Davis and Julia Roberts, but if you were alive in the 40s, what movie star would you have the hots for? 

Anne Rutherford hands down. My dad was an Anne Sheridan man though. 

8. When you were a kid, (pre teens) what magazines did you read? 

Baseball Digest, The Sporting News and Sport Magazine. The first two were passed around our neighborhood. One kid got them and passed them on. But a treat for me was go get a new Sport Magazine at Borr and Casey in Pittston on Saturdays when one of my parents had business in downtown Pittston. The cover photos were incredible. 

Jenna Elfman, tall star of "1600 Penn". 

9. Have you seen “1600 Pennsylvania Ave” yet and what do you think? 

Well, it’s not NBC’s or anyone’s answer to “Modern Family”. I don’t see the need for the overgrown idiotic character “Skip” played by Josh Gad that causes mayhem all the time. I never liked characters like Kramer, or McHale’s Navy Ensign Parker who were so over the top you just got annoyed watching them. It isn’t “West Wing” I’ll tell you that. But it was great to see Jenna Elfman back on TV. She is,  as you know, very, very tall. 

10. What food have you stayed away from for years but have recently returned to? 

Interesting question. We had two similar e mails like this before Christmas. I have found myself eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I think the last time I had one was when I was in high school. My job is in a location a few miles away from food and I only get a half hour for lunch. So I find the old PB and J to be efficient, filling, easy to just throw in my briefcase and scarf down with a banana. I also started eating Kellogg's Corn Flakes again and mixing them with Cheerios for breakfast.. Great question. 

11. Santa bring you any books for Christmas? 

Yes. John Meecham’s biography of “Jefferson” and a Tony Bennett biography. 

12. Were you surprised by the lack of coverage of Richard Nixon’s 100th birthday? 

No. Nixon is a distant figure to many in this country as is JFK. So it didn’t surprise me. Nixon took up a large part of my political life starting when I was 6 and in first grade. This was the guy running against “The Catholic”. And if I didn’t know much at 6, I sure as hell knew I was Catholic. The Nixon Library will I’m sure make note of it this year. 

13. Nixon and Humphrey. Was that your first Presidential election you followed? 

No. I was only 6 when JFK faced off against Nixon but was aware of it being something big. My dad took me to see Kennedy when he rode up N. Main Street in the Junction. The first one I followed was 1964, I was 10 and followed that year. I remember Governor Scranton running and listening intently to his progress on WARM. And my uncle Timmy Pribula actually drove to the Democratic Convention at Atlantic City and got to shake LBJ's hand. I recall my mom letting me stay up until after midnight because even though LBJ won in a landslide, Freshman Congressman Joe McDade won a tight race over Jim Haggerty, an Attorney from Scranton and in law of the Lynett clan. The first race I worked in was ’68. I handed out flyers for Humphrey that year. Rode my bike to bowling alleys and stores and plastered HHH flyers on them. Then I campaigned on the West Side for Dick Adams who was running against Frank O’Connell in that State Reps race. And by the way, it was 35 years ago today, 1978 that Hubert Humphrey died from cancer.