The LuLac Edition #2697, July 17th, 2014

JFK JUNIOR 15 YEARS ON

It was fifteen years ago yesterday that John Kennedy Junior died in that fateful plane crash. JFK Junior was a pop cultural icon since birth. His death was covered by all the cable news channels as well as the networks. Kennedy was en route to a family wedding of his cousin when his plane went down along with his wife and her sister.
His death is part of the Kennedy lore of tragedy and unfilled promise. What if Kennedy had waited until Saturday morning to fly? Would there have been a Senator Hillary Clinton? Would there have even been a Barack Obama? At the time of his death, Kennedy’s magazine George was taking on water and there was speculation he would sell it or bail. There was also talk that he might have been a contender for the Senate seat held by the retiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Like all things of Kennedy legend, one never will know.But 15 years fter his death, he appears on Time Magazine.

GERALDINE FERRARO 30 YEARS ON

1984 Democratic nominees Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferrarro. (Photo: USA Today).

Gerald Ford had thought about it. Even George McGovern in 1972 after the Eagleton debacle. But no one pulled the trigger on a women Vice Presidential nominee until Walter Mondale did it in 1984. Mondale picked New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his Vice President in an announcement before the ’84 convention in San Francisco.
Ferraro paved the way for other women candidates to reach for the Senate and yes even the Presidency. Ferraro was of course defeated in the Reagan/Bush landslide but acquitted herself well in her race against George Herbert Walker Bush. Her choice made it easier for future Presidential candidates to pick a woman on the ticket. A few were considered until 2008 when Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain’s running mate. After that encounter, Ferraro’s place in history went up.
Ferraro tried to run for the Senate twice from New York, in the 90s but lost in the primaries. She died in 2011 but is long remembered as being a very good teammate for Walter Mondale.

EBOLA SHLEBOLA!!!!

Are some Republican Congressman born stupid or do they get that way after going to Washington? This border mess is a tough call and it calls for measured common sense. Not lies. But Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia says that Americans can catch the Ebola virus from immigrant children crossing the border.
Ebola is primarily found in Africa which as I recall in Mrs. Fearick’s 7th Grade Geography class at St. John the Baptist in Pittston is a few miles away from where the kids came from. Hell it’s a continent away. Has to be the water in Georgia.

OH BABY

Okay, don’t want to sound like an old scrooge here but this week there was big news that a double amputee hurt in the Boston bombing had a child with his fiance. The news said that Jeff Bauman has done well in his rehabilitation and returned to his job at Costco. Good for him. The USA Today report also said that his squeeze Erin Hurley had a daughter. Their Face book post said “Everyone is healthy and happy”. But not married. Just saying.

CARTWRIGHT FUNDRAISER

Congressman Cartwright, your blog editor and Marion Cartwright at last year’ event. (Photo: LuLac archives).

This Saturday Congressman Matt Cartwright will have a Family Picnic. This is the third annual picnic held in the summer. It is fun, family oriented and is a good time. Here’s the information on it:

CARTWRIGHT ON CREDIT

One of the worst things that happened to poor and Middle Cass Americans in the first decade of this century was the obscene credit card rates charged by banks and lending institutions. Congressman Matt Cartwright co sponsored legislation to make that aspect of American life better. From the Congressman’s office comes this news: U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (D-PA-17) and Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) introduced the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act, legislation that would enact a cap on reform fees and rates associated with consumer credit products, including short-term and long-term payday loans and car title loans. U.S. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the legislation in the Senate.
Predatory lending – defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as the practice of “imposing unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers” – extracts approximately $27 billion in excessive fees and interest from 12 million Americans each year due to excessive rates which can top 300 percent, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Pennsylvania prohibits payday loan storefronts and is one of the few states to prohibit excessive rates. The state Supreme Court upheld this cap in 2010, though there have been recent efforts by certain state legislators and the payday loan industry to weaken the state law.
“Pennsylvania recognizes that predatory lending disproportionately harms economically disadvantaged individuals – people who are already struggling financially,” said Rep. Cartwright. “My consumer-friendly legislation would provide relief from exorbitant fees for many low-income consumers across the country. Capping interest rates and fees for all consumers will not only protect working families but also enable our economic recovery.”
In 2006, Congress enacted a federal 36 percent annualized usury cap for certain credit products marketed to service members and their families. This bill would extend that maximum cap of 36 percent to all consumer credit transactions for all consumers. The federal cap would not preempt stricter state laws. The bill would also encourage the creation of responsible alternatives to small dollar lending, by allowing initial application fees and for ongoing lender costs such as insufficient funds fees and late fees. To ensure compliance with the cap, the bill would create specific penalties for violations and supports enforcement in civil courts and by State Attorneys General. (Cartwright Congressional office).

BARLETTA IN COMMITTEE

Congressman Lou Barletta. (Photo: LuLac archives)

From Congressman Barletta's office: Congressman Lou Barletta proposed 27 resolutions in a markup session of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that would save taxpayers more than $900 million through the better use of federal office space. The resolutions were approved by the committee, where Barletta is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. Barletta’s subcommittee has previously identified more than $1 billion in savings to taxpayers, bringing the total so far to approximately $2 billion.
“I am pleased to say the cost of these capital projects is more than offset by the savings they will produce for the taxpayers,” Barletta said. “For example, a number of them are reconfigurations of existing government-owned space to allow agencies to get out of leased space and avoid future lease costs.”
Included in the 27 projects is a plan to reconfigure a courthouse in San Jose, CA rather than build a new one, saving taxpayers about $213 million. Additionally, the committee authorized alterations to a building in Detroit to allow the General Services Administration to exercise a $1 purchase option, resulting in a savings of $170 million over the term of the lease. The rearrangement of existing government-owned space will allow federal agencies to avoid future lease costs and save $438 million in additional expenses to the public.
In other areas of potential savings, leased space makes up more than half of GSA’s real estate portfolio, with approximately half of those leases set to expire over the next five years. With the real estate market in a downward cycle, lease rates are currently lower than in years past. Locking in current lease rates would benefit taxpayers, while also providing real estate brokers with long-term contracts and certainty they may otherwise lack.
“This can really be just the beginning,” Barletta said. “As so many leases are set to expire, we have a golden opportunity to change the way we look at government office space and save the taxpayers billions of dollars. As leases come due, we ought to be asking every time: can we do this better, and how can we save the taxpayers’ money?”
At a roundtable meeting in his subcommittee earlier this week, Barletta obtained a commitment from Public Buildings Service Commissioner Norman Dong to continue to work with lawmakers in creatively utilizing leases and office space to continue to find cost savings.

AND BY POPULAR REQUEST!!!!

MEDIA MATTERS

MSNBC BLUNDER

So after that plane was shot down at the Ukrainian/Russian border, the dimwits on MSNBC’s “The Cycle” took a phone call from someone saying he was a member of the Armed Forces. The moderator breathlessly introduced him as an eyewitness. He then made a reference to the force of the crash as being stronger than a blast of wind  from Howard Stern’s ass. The host then asked the next question and the prankster,  dumbfounded said she must have been really stupid and hung up. A few questions, how did he get past the screener, why wasn’t the host listening to the question and what Journalism schools are these Twinkies going to these days? This is not a little TV outpost, this is a Cable Network. Yep, put a hot chick on and all you get is news porn. Any local female reporter could have done better. But as JFK used to say, “Life is unfair”. Except if you get a gig on The Cycle. 
WARNING: THIS IS EVEN WORSE THAN I DESCRIBED.

ECTV

ECTV Live host David DeCosmo and guest Co-host Barry Finn will tackle a serious subject on the program during the week of July 21st. The Northeast Suicide Prevention Initiative (NSPI) is in the midst of planning its second annual suicide prevention and awareness walk which is scheduled for Saturday, September 6th this year. Kathy Wallace, President of the organization, will discuss the event as well as sharing information about the growing problem of suicides in our region. ECTV Live can be seen on Comcast Cable Ch19 each day during the Noon and Midnight hours. Regular viewers will want to note that co-host Rusty Fender is on special assignment with his regular job and plans to return to the program at a later date.

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine
Brian Hughes speaks with Alyssa Maria from Home Instead Senior Care about performing home safety checks to protect senior citizens from injuries in their home.
Kimberly Sawyer from Mediatracks speaks with Russ Madlener from Microsoft about the role technology plays in helping small businesses.
And an encore of Brian's interview with Dr. Ellen Marmur about choosing the correct SPF when shopping for sunscreen.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am. on NASH-FM, 93.7, 5:30am. on 97BHT, 6am. on 97.9X, 6:25am. on Magic 93, and 7am on Good Time Oldies 590, WARM.

GOLD BOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest on Community Forum will be Mike Serino, Administrator of District 17 Little League, discussing the state of the organization in its 75th year. Mike Remish and Jim Riley co-host Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker, 6:30 on The Game Sports Radio Network 1340/1400 and and 100.7 fm, and at 7:30 on 105 The River

SUE HENRY’S SPECIAL EDITION

Tune in to Sue Henry's "Special Edition" this week as Sue recaps the week's news. Special Edition is heard Saturdays and Sunday on these Entercom stations, WILK FM Saturday at 2pm Sunday at 6 am on Froggy 101 Sunday at 7 am on The Sports Hub 102.3 Sunday at 7 am on K R Z 98.5 Sunday at noon on WILK FM 103.1.

BUDDY RUMCHEK

Want to hear some great parodies on the news? Tune in to WILK Radio at 6:40 and 8:40 AM on Mondays. As Ralph Cramden used to say, “It’s a laugh riot!”

KAREL ON THE STREET

Tune in Wednesdays on WILK Radio for Karel on the Street. Hear some of the funniest and heartwarming comments on the issues of the day on Webster and Nancy with Karel Zubris.

Our 1974 logo.

1974

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus occurs………The Impeachment of President Nixon continues a year after Former White House aide Alexander Butterfield informs the United States Senate that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations……in Pennsylvania embattled State Director of Property and Supply Frank Hilton was fired by Governor Shapp. Auditor General Bob Casey had been calling for Hilton’s scalp since 1973 when it was revealed there were questions about financial irregularities in the Department. What really caused the Governor, loyal to fault to dispatch Hilton was the fact that he lied about a repayment of a loan to a bank. He was making irregular payments but all of a sudden the loan was paid in full. Hilton claimed a Luzerne County businessman paid it off but when questioned the businessman said he was in the dark about that story. The resignation and mini scandal came in the middle of Governor Shapp’s re-election campaign…in Wilkes Barre more downtown buildings damaged by the flood begin to be leveled as business people are bought out..and forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was Rikki Don't Lose That Number  by Steely Dan.