The LuLac Edition #3038, October 2nd, 2015

THE DA WEIGHS IN ON THE GEORGE FINANCE RECORD

Wilkes Barre Mayoral candidate Tony George. (Photo: Citizen's Voice).

This release came to me on Friday afternoon as I was at the WBRE TV Studio waiting to appear on Pa Live. It addresses the anonymous delivery of what were perceived to be irregularities in Wilkes Barre Mayoral candidate Tony George’s primary finance reports.

FRIENDS OF TONY GEORGE

CAMPAIGN FINANCE INVESTIGATION

District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis has released the results of the investigation into the campaign finance reporting of Anthony George, Candidate for Wilkes-Barre Mayor.
Following a referral to the District Attorney’s Office from Michael I. Butera, Esquire, solicitor for the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections, the District Attorney’s Office began an investigation into alleged discrepancies in the campaign finance reporting in the race for Wilkes-Barre Mayor. Mr. George had initially completed and filed the reports himself. Upon learning of the criticism of his filings, Mr. George hired an accounting firm to perform a complete review and to file amended reports.
The accounting firm of Eckersley and Ostrowski performed the review and related to investigators that at no time during their examination did anyone at the firm find any inclination of willful misleading pertaining to the reports.
In an August 20, 2015, interview with Attorney Butera, solicitor for the Election Bureau, he too indicated that he found no areas that appeared criminal in nature.
Investigators conducted multiple interviews with multiple individuals including, but not limited to members of the campaign, the accounting firm eventually hired by Mr. George and the candidate himself. Additionally, investigators performed a review of the relevant documentation that included, among other items, the finance reports, bank and accounting records and deposits.
Mr. George cooperated fully throughout the investigation.
As a result thereof, it is clear that Mr. George did not have any criminal intent to disguise contributions or expenditures in his campaign reporting.
Based on the foregoing, the errors in the instant filings are not criminal in nature and, as a result, criminal charges in this matter will not be forthcoming.

KIM DAVIS UPDATE

The Vatican clarified Pope Francis’ visit with Kim Davis, the Kentucky County Clerk who has refused to sign marriage licenses for gay couples. The Vatican said she was one of a select group who met the Pontiff (an uncle and aunt of mine had an audience with the Pope in the 90s but there were about twenty people there) and that he did not endorse her actions. Bottom line: her lawyers and Ms. Davis embellished the events (if there were any) that took place in the meeting.
Kim Davis: not only a bigoted bully but a fraud. Given the collective IQ of the state of Kentucky, Kim Davis will be a U.S Senator in a few years.

KEVIN McCARTHY SPEAKS THE TRUTH

Kevin McCarthy the rumored next in line Speaker of the House really told the truth the other day on Fox News’ Sean Hannity’s program. Under no duress whatsoever, McCarthy said one of the biggest accomplishments of the GOP tenure was the Benghazi Investigation which was designed to get former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton out of the 2016 Presidential race. He did not say the investigation was to get to the truth but to primarily eliminate an opponent.
He confirmed what many Democrats have always suspected. Smart majorities go after their prey in private, not proclaim to the world that yes indeed, we are using the death of four Americans to take out a candidate we don’t like or deem as strong.

McCarthy’s comments, made freely give you a window into just what the Republican party has been all about since the Democrats won the White House in 2008. Oppose, oppose, oppose. Perhaps Groucho Marx said it better than McCarthy ever could.

REPS. CARTWRIGHT, SCOTT, SENATOR CASEY INTRODUCE SWEEPING REFORMS TO BLACK LUNG BENEFITS PROGRAM

LEGISLATION AIMS TO PREVENT COAL COMPANIES FROM UNFAIRLY DENYING BENEFITS TO DESERVING MINERS AND FAMILIES

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright, Bobby Scott from Virginia’s Third District VA-and U.S. Senator Bob Casey proposed sweeping reforms to the federal program that provides benefits to coal miners suffering from black lung disease. Federal law requires that coal companies compensate disabled miners who contract black lung, which is caused by inhaling coal dust over an extended period of time, but coal companies routinely deploy an array of unfair tactics to avoid paying miners the benefits they deserve.
To help level the playing field for miners battling this debilitating, potentially fatal disease, theBlack Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2015 was introduced by Cartwright, Casey, and Scott, along with Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Sherrod Brown (OH) and Tim Kaine (VA), as well as Representative Frederica Wilson (FL-17).
“There is undeniable evidence that, as thousands of miners are being affected by black lung, coal company lawyers are determined to exploit loopholes preventing miners and their families from receiving the benefits they deserve. This legislation is needed to ensure that miners are able to obtain unbiased medical evidence, ample representation, and up-to-date benefit payments,”said Rep. Cartwright.
“We can’t stop working at this issue until we achieve a basic measure of justice for those miners who suffer from black lung disease,”Senator Casey said. “We know the black lung claims process is badly broken and in need of reform to target unethical legal and medical practices and to give miners a fair shot at justice. This is a commonsense approach that ensures impacted miners and their families don’t have the deck stacked against them.”
“Coal miners face a number of challenges pursuing federal black lung claims, including finding legal representation and developing sound medical evidence to support their claims,”said Rep. Bobby Scott. “The Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2015 ensures that miners have equal access to medical evidence and better access to legal resources. It also provides a remedy for those whose claims were denied due to recent discoveries of discredited medical evidence. This legislation will help miners and their families get the benefits they deserve.”
Analysis by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News found that doctors who are paid by coal companies have systematically misdiagnosed miners with black lung as having other diseases, thus preventing the miners from accessing benefits. Furthermore, hearings in the U.S. Senate showed that coal company lawyers have caused some miners’ claims to be denied by withholding medical evidence that proves that the miner has black lung.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor has taken several steps to address the issues identified in these reports, but without congressional action, disabled coal miners who deserve black lung benefits will continue to be unfairly denied.