The LuLac Edition #3730, March 15th, 2018

THE CONGRESSIONAL 18th REDUX

 Winner Lamb on the campaign trail. (Photo: KION.com)

The race in the Congressional 18th gave the Democrat, Conor Lamb a narrow victory over his Republican opponent. The race is an indicator that while Democrats are making strides, there is still a Trump loyalty aspect that will be a factor in the 2018 off year races. It is significant that a Democrat won this District vacated by Representative Murphy who resigned because he had encouraged his lover to abort her pregnancy despite holding a strict public anti-abortion stance. Subsequent reporting described a culture of endemic abuse and harassment in Murphy's congressional office.
Years ago this district was held by Representative John Dent, a long time stalwart Democrat but things changed. It is interesting that this “union” district has had a long track record of voting Republican. A big deal was made about the fact that Trump carried it by more than 20 points in ’16. But McCain carried it by 11, and Romney by 17. So it appears that there were always union ingrates in this district.
Interestingly enough the union endorsed Lamb because his stances were similar to theirs. The Democrats need to get candidates who fit the district, just like Lamb did. There is nothing wrong with a return of some blue dogs to the fight against Republican destruction of the government under Trump.
The party that says loud and proud they are diverse needs to be more so with those who don’t necessarily go in lockstep with the ultra Liberal ideology. It is worthy to note that the last national Democrat who was pro life was Sargent Shriver in 1972 when he ran for Vice President.
Lamb fit the district and ran a better campaign. Also Trump’s performance on behalf of Rick Saccone didn’t help. Only his lemming base thinks he is “cute” when he acts out as his rallies.
All that stated, it is still troubling that a weak candidate like Saccone, even in a strong GOP district had such a strong showing.
While this is a win for the Dems, it is only one of 6 Special elections for Congress they have won since Trump took office. The fight for control of the House started here in this big off year. The path while promising, is still not going to be an easy one.

TILLERSON LEAVES

Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo (Photo: Washington Post.com)

How would you like to find out you got fired on Twitter? Rex Tillerson, the deposed Secretary of State did. It is stunning to me that Donald Trump is such a wuss when it comes to firing people. This bellicose braggart bully can’t fire anyone man to man. Tillerson was dispatched because Trump wants someone more comfortable with his beliefs to be in this job. Bottom line, he wants a yes man at State. Now any President and his chief diplomat have to be in agreement with his policy options. Ronald Reagan’s dismissal of Alexander Haig is a prime example. But Donald Trump has very few Foreign policy chops, never reads the briefings and executes by his gut. With any other President, I’d say, he has the right to do it. But there is a decimated State Department in terms of staff and we spent the last year or so with Tillerson being the face of a disjointed and laughable Foreign Policy that has made the United Stares a wild card in World events. Like many who tried to serve Trump, Tillerson leaves sullied by the association with him.
As far as the successor, Mike Pompeo, I saw him on Face The Nation Sunday and damn if that wasn’t an audition for this job. The rise of Pompeo is stunning. A right wing Tea Party candidate, he won the election handily despite some controversy when he had this on his Twiiter account. It was a
blog post calling his Indian-American opponent a "turban topper" and then-President Barack Obama an "evil Muslim communist".
Pompeo served on the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the following three subcommittees: the United States House Energy Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, the United States House Energy Subcommittee on Energy, and the United States House Intelligence Subcommittee on the CIA. He was also on the United States House Select Committee on Benghazi. Yeah he was one of those guys grilling Hillary for hours and essentially came up with nothing.
But back to Pompeo in the new job. He is certainly qualified with his military background and experience with the CIA. Today the President likes him and feels comfortable with him. Just like he did with Tillerson. In the first few month’s, or weeks, given this administration’s timeline of dog years with staff members, you’ll see Pompeo echoing the Trump line on what he wants to do with the world. But at some point, Pompeo, a West point grad is going to have to either educate this President on the ramifications of foreign policy when he disagrees with him or walk the straight Trump line, whatever that may be on a given day. When that conflict happens, he may suffer the same fate as Tillerson.
Pompeo has had a fast track since he got to Washington in 2011. Let’s hope for his sake, and ours that he won’t be derailed by a President that has that has exhibited very little expertise in delicate state department protocol and policies.

BARLETTA THANKS TILLERSON FOR SERVICE, CONGRATULATES POMPEO IN MOVE TO SEC. STATE

Congressman Lou Barletta (LuLac archives)

Congressman Lou Barletta released the following statement on Secretary Rex Tillerson’s departure as Secretary of State, and Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo’s subsequent nomination to fill the position.
“I thank Secretary Tillerson for his service and dedication to our nation. He served the American people with honor and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
“President Trump made an exceptional choice for his next Secretary of State. Director Pompeo is a good friend who served with me in the House of Representatives for many years. He has a first rate knowledge of the challenges America faces and the strategies we must adopt to overcome them. I look forward to working with Director Pompeo to make our country great again, both at home and abroad, for the American people.”

STUDENT GUN PROTEST

Students taking a walk in LuLac land (Photo: WNEP.COM)

I was taken all the way back to the 1960s the other day when people my age and younger were wringing their hands about students across the nation walking out of classes in support of the 17 who died in Florida. The ridiculous comments by otherwise responsible adults, some college professors was stunning.
These students are doing a non violent protest on an issue that should be front and center for everyone, their safety. But the arm chair loudmouths who were calling talk radio during the day, (most likely collecting pensions with nothing better to do) castigated students for speaking their mind. Kind of reminds me of ’67 and ’68. We should stand with these kids because long after we are gone, they will be running things. Hopefully they’ll do better than what we have now in this country regarding guns.

REPUBLICAN HATE COMES THROUGH AGAIN

Remember that young woman who was so articulate in the aftermath of the Florida killings? Well she was attacked via social media by a Republican from Maine. Leslie Gibson, who is running unopposed in the 57th District called 18 year old Emma Gonzalez “a skin headed lesbian”. When it was discovered, the hypocritical Republican apologized and lauded the efforts of the students. We all know what Emma Gonzalez looks, like, short cut hair, Hispanic, always sitting cross legged in every camera frame. (Photo below: aol.news)

But I’d like you all to look at Leslie Gibson on the right. My main purpose is so you can see the face of Republican judgemental ignorance and hate. We want to see haters like this coming!

PROPERTY TAX OBSTRUCTIONISTS

Senator Blake, John Gordner, Rep. Ed Pashinski. Mike Carroll do not support HB/SB 76. Lets get involved and put the pressure on them to support 76. This is it if you don't take action then you deserve the government you got.Here they are: 

Sen. Blake #570-207-2881 

Sen. Gordner #570-784-3464 

Rep. Pashinski #570-826-5436

Rep. Carroll #570--655-4883
Ed even got an award!  (Click to enlarge)

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

Tune in Sunday morning at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on 1400-The Game, NEPA's Fox .Sports Radio and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on 105 The River.

ECTV LIVE

ECTV Live Host David DeCosmo welcomes Laurie Fleming to the program during the week of March 12th.Ms. Fleming is Director of Active Older Adults programs for United neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. She'll unveil plans for this year's edition of Senior's Got Talent, an actual talent competition featuring performers from those centers.

ECTV Live can be seen on Comcast channel 19 (61 in some areas) and is aired during the Noon, 6pm and Midnight hours each day of the week. Following Monday's Live program the show will become available on Electric City Television's YouTube channel which can be viewed on your computer.

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!”

1960

Our 1960 logo.

Author Ian Fleming was a dinner guest at the home of future American President John F. Kennedy, and described to the assemblage some humorous suggestions for how James Bond would get rid of Fidel Castro, including causing Castro's beard to fall out. CIA official John Bross, another dinner guest, called agency director Allen Dulles afterward and reported Fleming's "ideas", some of which were tried later.

 A total lunar eclipse afforded astrophysicist Richard W. Shorthill the opportunity to make the first infrared pyrometric scans of the lunar surface, and led to his discovery of the first lunar "hot spot" observed from Earth. Shorthill found that the temperature of the floor of the Tycho crater was 216° Kelvin (—57 °C), significantly higher than the 160°K (—113 °C) in the area around the crater….West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer met with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, the first time a German leader had conferred with a leader of the Jewish state. Two weeks earlier, the two countries had secretly negotiated German financial and military aid to Israel… Northwest Airlines Flight 710 crashed, killing all 63 persons on board. The wings fell off of the Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop airplane at an altitude of 18,000 feet while the flight was en route from Chicago to Miami, and crashed into a soybean field near Cannelton, Indiana at 4:20 p.m., leaving a 12-foot-deep (3.7 m) crater.........

Following a 2:30 meeting at the White House with Allen Dulles and Richard Bissell of the CIA, President Eisenhower authorized the agency to train and equip Cuban exiles to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro, an operation which would become, in 1961, the Bay of Pigs Invasion.... Dallas Rangers general manager Tex Schramm announced that the new NFL team was going to change its name to avoid a conflict with the minor league baseball team of the same name. "It seems Dallas is becoming big league in baseball as well as in football", Schram said, "and since both 'Rangers' will be around here for a long time, and since the baseball club had the name first, we're changing ours." The new name selected was the Dallas Cowboys….

LeRoy Collins, the Governor of Florida, surprised the state and the rest of the world in a televised speech. Though he had been a defender of Florida's segregation laws, Governor Collins endorsed the goal of sit-in demonstrations to allow African-Americans to eat at lunch counters. "People have told me that our racial strife could be eliminated if the colored people would just stay in their place," said the Governor, "but friends, we can never stop Americans from struggling to be free……in Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Morgan Davis expressed no interest in succeeding Governor Lawrence saying it was premature to talk about a Governor’s race even before a Presidential race took place….in Scranton Catawba Wine broadens its distribution area creating more jobs and fifty eight years ago the number one song in LuLac land ad America was “Sandy” by Larry Hall.