The LuLac Edition #3181, April 2nd, 2016

CRAWFORD/AULISIO: NO!!!!

Convicted KILLERS Crawford and Aulisio (Photo: Citizen’s Voice)

Kenneth Crawford III (the numbers one and two must be so proud, along with Joseph Aulisio are now asking to have their life sentences overturned. Little Kenny killed Diane Algar and Jose Molina at a Paradise Camp Resort in Hollenback Township when he was 15. Little Kenny, that old gunslinger shot them to death.
Little Kenny was a piker compared to Aulisio. Little Joey took a gun to 8 year old Cheryl Zaremba and her four year old brother Christopher depriving them of the opportunity to enjoy any more Old Forge Pizza and voting for Frank Scavo. Okay, that’s a little out there but not so far fetched. Algar, Molina, Zaremba and her brother were deprived of life’s joys and little things we take for granted.
But now little Kenny and little Joey are asking for a do over courtesy of that “liberal” Supreme Court. The Court ruled in 2012 that automatic life terms with no chance for parole for teenage killers should be struck down. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that ruling could not be applied retroactively. And they were right.
But in January of this year the Court ruled that the ruling should extend to those who were convicted in the “distant past” and who have had their appeals exhausted. That means these guys may go free.
Murder is murder. So that’s why I’m glad Lackawanna County DA Shane Scanlon says he will do everything in his power to make sure Little Joey doesn’t get near a parole board. This all could have been avoided if these guys had been fried in the first place.
Meanwhile this sends a message to youthful offenders everywhere that life just doesn’t matter. You’ll always get do over.
Unlike Algar, Molina, Zaremba and her brother Christopher.

SHADES OF 1968 AND BOMBS AWAY LEMAY

Time Magazine cover from October ’68 featuring Waalace and LeMay. (Time)

During the 1968 campaign (which no one in the national media ever references because they can’t think beyond the year their received their first Holy Communion) George Wallace’s running mate for his American Independent Party was General Curtis LeMay. Lemay was on the Joint Chiefs’ and staff during the Cuban Missile crisis and caused an uproar when he said, in regard to the Vietnam War, "We can win this war without nuclear weapons." He then added, (which no one heard) "But I have to say, we have a phobia about nuclear weapons. I think there may be times when it would be most efficient to use nuclear weapons”.
After that Wallace called his choice a fiasco and LeMay’s work in WWII was reduced to the trash bin of political history. LeMay designed and implemented an effective, but also controversial, systematic strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. During the war, he was known for planning and executing a massive bombing campaign against cities in Japan and a crippling minelaying campaign in Japan's internal waterways. After the war, he initiated the Berlin airlift, then reorganized the Strategic Air Command (SAC) into an effective instrument of nuclear war. He served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from 1961 until his retirement in 1965. (NY Times.com)
But all of that was pretty much gone after LeMay made his statement about nukes.
Now this week Donald Trump starts to talk about atomic weapons during the same week President Obama was meeting with world leaders in a Security Summit that had a work life of about six years. Major announcements were made on the reduction of stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in a variety of countries, including Poland and Kazakhstan, and an agreement to remove separated plutonium from Japan. The worry was not so much about rogue nations but about terrorists getting their hands on tools to build bombs.
While all that was going on, Trump said he was open to allow Japan and South Korea to acquire nuclear weapons to stop North Korea. He also declined to rule out using nuclear weapons in a military conflict in Europe, saying, “You don’t want to, say, take everything off the table.”
Holy shit!
LeMay never went that far and was politically crucified! He also said, “You have so many countries already — China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia — you have so many countries right now that have them. Now, wouldn’t you rather, in a certain sense, have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?” Didn’t he study History at Wharton? We bombed Japan with nukes. Japan has never possessed those weapons.
This is just one of the terrifying examples of why Donald Trump should tend to his golf courses, casinos and deals and not run for President. During this Summit, World Leaders of course asked about the Trump statement. Obama said earlier in the week that other nations looked on at the doings of the U.S. Presidential race with great interest. Yep, even the clowns get their attention.

TRUMP TRAILER STUCK IN PITTSTON

Trump trailer making (what else???) a right turn on Water Street Bridge. (Photo: Fabebook)

So the big ass Trump for President advertising truck got stuck in Pittston the other day turning right on the Water Street Bridge off Kennedy Blvd. It was just a few feet away from where JFK traversed the streets of downtown Pittston during the 1960 campaign. I’m sure somewhere in the great beyond JFK is asking Teddy, “Where was Bobby on Wednesday?”
The advertising tractor trailer was donated by former Scranton Mayoral candidate Bob Bolus.

CLOUD BECOMES TED'S SUNSHINE

Ted Cruz and Tiffany Cloud (Tiffany Cloud Olsen Face book page)

Our friend Tiffany Cloud Olsen had an encounter the other day with Presidential candidate Ted Cruz down in Hershey. Cloud and her mother Carol Drewniak have been staunch Cruz supporters and Carol is even running as a delegate. Tiffany and I differ on a lot politically but we both think Cruz (she by a lot, me not so much) agree Trump is not representative of the GOP or the country. Anyway Tiffany got a selfie with Cruz but here’s the prelude to that photo.
The fact that long time GOP members like Tiffany and her mother are a relief to guys like Cruz and national party leaders who are glad that not all Republicans have drunk the Trump Kool-Aid.
Pennsylvania Primary s April 26th.

MEDIA MATTERS

OLD WHAT’S HIS NAME

The late NBC Moderator of “Meet The Press” Tim Russert (Photo: NBC)

and POTUS' Julie Mason (Photo: you tube).

Mrs. LuLac and I were at my Myasthenia Gravis Support group meeting today and on the way back we had on the POTUS Channel on the satellite radio. She tuned out CNN because the aforementioned Mr. Cruz was making a speech and I was humming the theme of “Green Acres” which greatly annoys her. But after 34 years of marriage we have no Al and Tipper Gore exit strategy no matter how much we get under each other’s skin.
So we switch to the POTUS Channel and a show called “Press Pool” with Julie Mason. The subject was the career of David Gregory who was host of “Meet The Press” before Chuck Todd. Mason was opining on Gregory’s career status and how sad it was that he became a talking head sitting on stools on Cable Networks. (Jeez, I can imagine what she said about Brian Williams!) The conversation went to how Gregory didn’t capture or embrace the MTP audience and that it was tough to replace the person who previously hosted the show, and this is where she lost me, “Uh, what’s his name, he was on there for ages”. She was referring to Tim Russert. 
Russert's original NBC office is closing Father's Day weekend in the Washington, D.C. News-eum Museum.  It is relocated to Russert's hometown of Buffalo, New York in the fall. Perhaps Mason should pay a visit. 
First off, I’m stunned at the lack of preparation so called experts lack on national shows. But Mason is part of that generation that doesn’t respect or care to know about what was beyond their last Paycheck.
Second, it is a life lesson that no matter how hard you work, how much money you have, how many people watch you, even a revered figure like Tim Russert becomes “What’s his name?"

ON WISCONSIN

Friday on WBRE TV’s PA LIVE we spoke about the ramifications of the Wisconsin primary with co host Valerie Tysanner. It’s not Tim Russert quality but according to people like Julie Mason, we’re all has beens anyway as soon as we walk out of the studio.