The LuLac Edition #3710, February 13th, 2018

13 QUESTIONS

Our 13 Questions logo.

1. Are you following any the Olympics?

Not really. I was never one for winter sports and the summer ones I would only watch on a piece meal basis. I thought I was alone until I heard a talk show host on CBS Sports Radio say that he was going to a male friend’s engagement party and the his wife had to tell him who Tara Lipinski was.

2. How much more money are you seeing in your paycheck this February?

It is still too soon to tell. The Federal with holding went down $13 bucks. The Medicare went down 7 dollars. But there was $60.00 more because of the fact we have a new Health Care plan that screws us over pretty much. One co pay for Medication I have went from $0 to $812.00 bucks. To give you a more accurate answer I’ll have to see how it fares out later on in the year. But the millionaires are most likely doing well so I guess you and I can sleep well at night.

3. Will the statewide Congressional gerrymandering help or hurt some Democrats?

Well the Republican Legislature was given the opportunity but fumbled it big time.  Matt Cartwright's was tailor made for a GOP takeover. The 11th has shrunk  and Tom Marino's 10th takes up the entire "T" section of the state. The Governor should veto this and have the Courts take a hand at drawing it. Once more the GOP Legislature, ineffective and overpaid, completely overstepped its boundaries and proved themselves incapable of any sense of bi partisanship. 

 The bright blue is the 17th, (Cartwright), the light teal underneath is the 11th (Barletta-now open) and the dark teal that goes from Bradford to part of Crawford is the 10th, Marino.

4. Thoughts on The Super Bowl?

It was a fantastic game that no one, winner or loser should be ashamed of in the long run. Brady passed for over 500 yards and it was close for a while. But you have to give it to The Eagles, especially Nick Foles who showed determination and no fear. I always had a weakness for back up QBs going back to the days of Zeke Bratkowski so I’m glad Foles pulled it off.

5. 35 years of marriage. Doing anything different Valentine’s Day after all that time?

A few adjustments. No dinners in the middle of the week. Certainly very little dancing. The last few years we’ve been going to a Winery in Scott township for a multi course meal with friends. Here we are with our friends Bill and Gail Frew as well as a shout out to the Winery where we had a beautiful meal. 

Hey, when you have a marriage like ours, every day is Valentine’s Day!

6. What are you giving up for Lent?

Cable News? No just kidding. I never linked material sacrifices vs. my religion. So I won’t stop having a Hershey Bar once in a while. We do observe no meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays though.

7. What was the strangest thing you ever did with a toy as a kid?

I highlighted this in shocking pink for those who think I make up these questions. I don’t think I ever like, cut the head off one, or blew one up. I always tried to keep track of them because I knew how hard my parents worked to give us stuff.
This is going to be weak but this is all I got. When I was 8, summer of ’62, my sister got me this red, white and blue plastic rocket at Woolworth’s in Pittston. It was the size of a ruler and had a capsule on top along with three stages. After Scott Carpenter went up in space, (now that was May so this might have been late June) I remember running around the house outside screaming like a banshee doing orbits. That might not sound strange or weird but the neighbors most likely thought it was.

8. Have you every had a call from the FBI doing a background check? I never did.

Well both Mrs. LuLac and I have so count your blessings. When she was a young girl she had a baby sitter from her neighborhood. Fast forward a few years. When my wife was in high school, an FBI agent came to the door and inquired about her old baby sitter, living in D.C. who had applied for a job.
In 1981 I got a call from a very serious FBI person who called about a classmates of mine at King’s. It was very clear to me right from the start that I was there to only answer questions. There was no chit chat. So we both had the vetting process independent of each other. Both people by the way, were hired.

9. Many posters have said that you have mirrored Steve Corbett in your hatred of Donald Trump. Do you think that is the case and have you seen Steve around?

Here’s the thing. Those who write that still think they got Corbett dismissed, think that. With supporting Donald Trump, they need an enemy. There is precious little good to point to what this man has done. So when someone shines a light on what is being inflicted upon our country, you get attacked. Now comparing me to Corbett is something I look at as a way of them saying “They’re right, we’re wrong”. The untenable thing about that is Corbett had facts to back him up as well as I do too. I mean I would love to have a day where the stupid son of a bitch, Trump, just kept his mouth shut. But when stuff comes out, as a political blogger, I’m compelled to do this.
This humble little blog of mine is a record of our time. I would be remiss not to write anything about Trump.This is what opinion writers are supposed to do. I can't help if people, left and rights, D and R have an issue with what I write. I just call them as I see them and it appears to me that I'm pissing everybody off. That's a good thing for the only blog still standing on a regular basis in this area after more than a decade.
As far as running into Corbett, not yet, but he’s on my list to meet up. But because of my life and schedule, that’s a long list.

10. I see on Facebook you attended 7 movies in January? What were they and why so many?

Since Mrs. LuLac’s best friend passed away last January, she pretty much lost a movie partner. So we’ve been going a lot. In January, most of the Academy Award nominated movies were in so we saw “All The Money In The World”, “The Darkest Hour”, “The Post”, “Three Billboards”, “Lady Bird”, “Dunkirk” and “The Phantom Thread”. The latter was really a very twisted but intriguing love story. I thought it was an original plot but then I saw the same story line on an old episode of 77 Sunset Strip. I'm helping to fill a gap with her movie going and getting educated at the same time. Win, win.

11. What is the difference between JFK and FDR’s dalliances with women vs. the current President you attack?

Well first off, I truly believe all parties are at fault in terms of infidelity. The advantage of FDR and JFK was that their transgressions  happened at a different time. But Trump has fundamentally shown very little regard for most women overall. He’s like the ultimate bully boyfriend whereas there is no evidence that the aforementioned dead Presidents were anything like him. Not a defense but certainly a distinction.His recent defense of wife beaters certainly highlights the difference.

12. Why isn’t there a Lincoln Day Dinner AGAIN this year by the Luzerne County GOP?

The dynamics of the local party are tough to understand. Why they aren’t holding a breakfast in an election year is anyone’s guess. Maybe they should put me in charge to herd these cats.

13. What are you thinking about the tryout to replace John Dickerson on Face the Nation and do you watch the show?

Indeed I do. I have not seen anything regarding a tryout. One of the 2016 LuLac Women, Nancy Cordes hosted after he left and then Margaret Brennan picked up after that. Sunday, Major Garrett was on and did a good job. If I had to pick one out of the three I've seen so far, I'd go with Garrett. While Cordes was very good, Brennan too pedantic and bland in her questioning. Garrett has that gray in the hair with more experience that seems to fit the CBS mold. Still, don't discount the aforementioned women because Lesley Stahl was host of the show in the 80's. We'll see.  My buddies Bill Vinsko and Chris Langois are going to miss Dickerson for the content, presentation and those rep striped ties. Me too.