The LuLac Edition #4,216, January 30th, 2020

BOLTON BOOK MIGHT FORCE VOTE

After days of saying “we’ve heard nothing new”, the book John Bolton wrote just might be the catalyst to get a vote on witnesses in the Trump impeachment. This is a game changer that will put the Senate on notice. Do they want to hear the case evidence or not?
There might be some cracks but I’m not convinced the cowardly and sycophant GOP lap dogs will let the information come out. NBC sources said Republican Senate leaders "whipped the vote" — although there was no official vote count — against calling for witnesses at the private GOP Senate meeting Tuesday afternoon, which came after Trump's defense team wrapped up arguments.
Several Republican senators wouldn’t divulge to NBC News the substance of what they discussed, telling reporters to "check with the whip" about any directives from leadership.

DETAILS ON TRUMP'S AFFAIRS AND HOW 'FIXERS' COVERED THEM UP REVEALED IN NEW BOOK

A new book is uncovering the salacious details behind President Trump's affairs and how men in Trump's circle used hush money to cover them up.
Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfeld’s "The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossip mongers And Porn Stars Who Created The 45th President" uncovers the people who helped propel Trump to becoming the president.
The reporters share a 2019 Pulitzer Prize for their reporting in The Wall Street Journal on the hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to prevent them from going public about their affairs with President Trump. The book unveils the details behind Trump's affairs with the women.
"The Fixers" also focuses on the president's relationships with men who covered these affairs up, such as Michael Cohen, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Rudy Giuliani, who is now at the center of the Ukraine scandal that led to the president's impeachment.

CARTWRIGHT 2020 RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF AND PETITION PARTY

January 31st – 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Greenwood Fire Department

3727-41 Birney Avenue

Moosic, PA 18507

CASEY, COLLEAGUES SECURE COAL MINERS’ HEALTH CARE AND PENSIONS IN MUST-PASS END OF YEAR BILL

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

Following extensive efforts to fulfill our Nation’s promise to our retired coal miners who have kept the lights on for generations, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and a number of his colleagues announced an agreement on several key provisions in end-of-year spending legislation to shore up retired coal miners’ pensions and health care.
“Coal miners powered this country for decades and I am proud to say that after years of fighting, we have reached an agreement to keep our promises to the men and women who helped build our Nation,” said Senator Casey. “I’d like to thank Senator Joe Manchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their unrelenting efforts to ensure that miners continue to receive their pensions and health care. I am proud to say that I have stood with miners throughout this fight and will keep on fighting to pass the bipartisan, House-passed, Butch Lewis Act to ensure that pensions for our Teamsters, Bakery and Confectionery workers and all other Pennsylvanians remain secure.”
Included in the agreement for the end-of-year funding package is the bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019, of which Senator Casey is an original cosponsor. This legislation would include provisions to shore up the 1974 Pension Plan, which is headed for insolvency due to coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis. It would also ensure that miners, whose healthcare is at risk due to 2018 and 2019 coal company bankruptcies, will not lose their health benefits.
Senator Casey has been a consistent fighter for miners’ benefits, pushing for protections to miners’ pensions and health care to ensure a permanent pensions and health care fix for retired coal miners and their families. In July of this year, Senator Casey hosted a roundtable discussion with miners and their families affected by Black Lung disease. During the discussion, Senator Casey introduced the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act (S. 2205) that would ensure that miners can access essential health and disability benefits.

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 PREVIEW

Eileen Miller has been a regular guest on Electric City Television's "Preview program." Eileen has been conducting a personal campaign to get Pennsylvania to adopt a "Hands Free" Cellphone law since her son was killed by a distracted driver in 2010. Preview host David DeCosmo invited her back during the week of February 3rd because of some major developments in her quest for new legislation. Preview can be seen three times daily on Comcast channel 19 and on the electric city television YouTube page. Preview airs on ECTV during the Noon, 6pm, and Midnight hours.

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!”

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

1980

Our 1980 logo

Burning of the Spanish Embassy: The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is invaded and set on fire, killing 36 people. It is called "Spain's own Tehran", similar to the 1979–80 Iran American crisis.....Abscam: FBI personnel target members of the Congress of the United States in a sting operation.....The New Mexico State Penitentiary riot takes place; 33 inmates are killed and more than 100 inmates injured…..Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran and forty years go the number one song in LuLac land and America was . “Coward of the County” by Kenny Rogers.

The LuLac Edition #4,215, January 29th, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo

This week we feature a Citizens’ Voice editorial that calls for Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey to join others in calling for witnesses in the Impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Toomey,  a few days after the editorial appeared asked for a witness one on one swap. Remember it was Toomey who was unavailable to even attend the GOP convention in Cleveland in 2016 when Trump was nominated. He should at least try to be impartial in hearing more.

TOOMEY, BE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL

Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is temperamentally and politically moderate — not unlike his Democratic counterpart Sen. Bob Casey and, for the most part, the commonwealth that they both represent in the Senate. That is especially so in comparison with the partisan flamethrowers and Trump acolytes who have come to dominate Toomey’s party.
President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, as it has been structured by hyper-partisan Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, raises the question for Toomey whether that partisan prerogative will supersede the pressing need for comprehensive disclosure of President Donald Trump’s conduct.
There are two juries that must render verdicts on that conduct.
Senators themselves are jurors by constitutional designation, although many of them — including McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — already have violated the jurors’ oath to be fair and impartial. Just about everyone recognizes that the Republican majority in the Senate will acquit Trump.
The second jury comprises all but the 100 Americans who are not U.S. senators, especially voters. They are entitled to all of the information necessary to render their own verdicts, including documents that the Trump administration has refused to release and an array of witnesses who have first-hand knowledge of the matters at hand.
Impeachment testimony in the House demonstrated clearly that Trump tried to strong-arm the Ukrainian government into announcing an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and to support a long debunked conspiracy theory promulgated by Russia that Ukraine, rather than Russia, had meddled in the 2016 president election with the goal of helping Trump. There also is no doubt that Trump attempted to stonewall the House investigation.
It’s one thing if the Republican senators’ partisanship leads them to conclude that such conduct by a president is acceptable. It is unacceptable, however, for those senators to deny relevant information to the second set of jurors.
Toomey should be among Republican senators who vote to call witnesses and subpoena documents in the cause of comprehensive disclosure of the president’s conduct.

The LuLac Edition #4,214, January 28th, 2020

MIKE TURZAI WILL NOT RUN

Turzai in 2018 (Photo: The Morning Call)

Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai, who has been doing battle with Democratic Governor Tom Wolf announced that he will not return as Speaker of the Pa. House. Turzai will remain Speaker and carry out his duties and responsibilities but will not return for another term.
First elected in 2001, Turzai had made a half hearted effort to run for Governor in 2018. He also has been rumored to be in the GOP mix for 2022. But he has dispelled those rumors. One thing is clear, he will not be in the Legislature in 2021 because he chose not to run for his seat. He is opting to end his career after two decades.
But Turzai, who has been a state lawmaker since 2001, announced an expiration date on his tenure as speaker Thursday morning, revealing that he will not be running for re-election to his House seat.
Turzai has been combative but at times polite. He never took his arguments with the Democrats personal either which most likely enraged his Democratic foes.
Look for Turzai to wind up in the public sector after his term ends.

RALLY FOR FAIR TRIAL HELD ON SQUARE

(Photo: Times Leader)

With the Impeachment proceedings going on in the Senate, on Sunday a rally was held to promote a Fair Trial Rally on Public Square. A fair trial of course means witnesses and not a series of tweets by the defendant demeaning a process developed by our Founding Fathers. It was organized by Represent Us and Clean Money Squad, a citizens groups dedicated to political reform.
25 people were supportive as speakers called for the U.S. Senate to allow witness testimony and additional evidence in the ongoing impeachment trial of the President. The rally was a good thing because even though the turnout wasn’t the best, at least this community that Trump carried overwhelmingly in 2016 has made it clear that not all of us have our heads in the sand regarding this act of treason.
Kudos for the effort.

The LuLac Edition #4,213, January 27th, 2020

SPACE TRAGEDY 53 YEARS AGO

Grissom, White and Chaffee.  (Photo: NASA) 

On Jan. 27,1967, three of the first group of NASA astronauts - Virgil Gus Grissom,Edward White and Roger Chaffee died during a routine ground test of the Apollo capsule, later named Apollo 1.
The astronauts suffocated when an electrical spark ignited a fire that engulfed their high-pressurized, pure-oxygen cabin. The Apollo 1 ground test had notbeen designated as potentially hazardous, the NASA History Web site said.
These were the first U.S. astronaut deaths associated with spaceflight. Sadly, that accident was not the last such tragedy.

The LuLac Edition #4,212, January 27th, 2020

MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #4,211, January 26th, 2020

LITTLE SUSIE COLLINS GETS OFFENDED

Susan "I want to do the right thing but won't" Collins. (Photo: Time)

So the strip tease artist of the Senate (should I take it off or leave I on) Susan Collins got offended by Adam Schiff’s usage of something that was attributed to a Trump staffer. It was if a GOP Senator did not support Trump in this Impeachment process, their heads would be on a pike.
It was a horrible statement to say and Schiff repeated it to make a point. But little Susie Collins was offended because he repeated it. This sorry excuse for a nator has to be kidding us. She has stood by this lying President because all she cares about is her own sorry political ass.
When she speaks, no one really should take her seriously. She has no allegiance to the word of law, her country or her state.
Only to her boy Diaper Don. Like Trump, she is a disgrace to the office she holds.
Here’s link if you want to get her the hell out of he Senate. https://www.defeatcollins.com/

POMPEO ACCUSES RADIO REPORTER OF LYING ABOUT HIS BEHAVIOR AFTER INTERVIEW

Secretary of State Pompeo (Photo: CNN)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday accused a National Public Radio reporter of lying to him and violating "the basic rules of journalism and decency" after she said Pompeo repeatedly cursed at her following a testy interview.
NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly said on Friday that Pompeo cursed at her and repeatedly "used the F-word" in a shouted diatribe after she questioned him about Ukraine and the ousted American ambassador to Kiev during a nine-minute interview.
In a statement on Saturday, Pompeo said Kelly had lied to him twice - once in setting up the interview, and then again in agreeing to conduct their post-interview conversation off the record.
"It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency. This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President (Donald) Trump and this Administration," Pompeo said.
"It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity."
The dispute centers on an interview that Kelly conducted with Pompeo for NPR's "All Things Considered" program in which she asked him about Iran and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was ousted by Trump last May.
Here’s my question about all this. Why would Kelly lie about any of this? Kelly is a top notch reporter who knows her stuff. She called out Pompeo and he reacted like his mentor Diaper Don. Pompeo is just one more person who used to be a high quality person (finished first in his class at West point) and has had his reputation sullied by his allegiance to Trump. In the history of this nation, I can think of no Secretary of State that became a sycophant to his President.

By issuing a denial on State department stationary and from said department, he has signaled to the rest of the world that his Foreign policy objectives do not include free speech and or the right to opinion. It is just one more example of the Trump administration’s war on the press.
Pompeo is a sad excuse for a Cabinet official, and a man. (LuLac, aol.news)

The LuLac Edition #4,210, January 23rd, 2020

NAACP MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY EVENT AIRS 5PM SUNDAY ON PCN

Check your local cable companies for listings. In the Wilkes-Barre area on Service Electric, PCN is on 516 and the broadcast starts at 5pm. Then later on in the evening the MLK event is broadcast at 8pm on Service Electric Channel 9.

HEY DEMOCRATS, WE NEED YOUR JOHN HANCOCKS NEXT WEEK FOR

MATT CARTWRIGHT’S

2020 Re-election Campaign Kick-off and Petition Party!

5:30 PM Greenwood Fire Department, Moosic, Pa.

AND FOR JOANNA BRYN SMITH

Get Joanna on the Ballot!

Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 11 AM – 4 PM

26 E Union St, Kingston, PA 18704-4816, United States

Show Map

Hosted by The People for Joanna Bryn Smith

MR. PEANUT DIES IN AD

The news came swiftly and with a big surprise. It seems like the beloved Mr. Peanut that we all knew and loved has died in an auto crash at the age of 104.
What was a guy that age doing driving anyway? Hey I can ask that question because people said that about my before the Cornea transplant. But I digress.
The demise will be chronicled on the Superbowl broadcast in the third quarter. Will it be the end of Mr. Peanut or will be be resurrected Ala Mr. Spock from Star Trek in Star trek II, The Wrath of Khan?

We hope that Mr. P. fares better than the original headquarters of Planters that went down for the count on South Main Street a few years back.

TULSI GABBARD SUES HILLARY CLINTON OVER 'RUSSIAN ASSET'

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) has sued Hillary Clinton over an interview last fall in which Clinton called Gabbard a “Russian asset.”
Gabbard’s defamation lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court on Wednesday, claims the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee lied about Gabbard “with obvious malicious intent” to harm the congresswoman’s 2020 presidential campaign.
“Clinton falsely stated that Tulsi ― an Army National Guard officer and United States Congresswoman who has spent her entire adult life serving this country ― is a ‘Russian asset.’ Clinton’s false assertions were made in a deliberate attempt to derail Tulsi’s presidential campaign,” the complaint says.
Clinton didn’t specifically identify Gabbard by name in the October interview with David Plouffe when she said that “somebody who’s currently in the Democratic primary” is “the favorite of the Russians” and is being groomed to become a “third-party candidate.”
A Clinton spokesperson, when later asked if it was Gabbard whom Clinton was referring to, appeared to confirm that was the case, telling a reporter: “If the nesting doll fits.”
Gabbard’s lawyers had demanded that Clinton publicly retract her comments, but to no avail. As a result, her lawsuit claims, she suffered more than $50 million in personal and professional damages.
“Scientifically conducted opinion surveys have shown that Clinton’s false, malicious statements about Tulsi were accepted as true by millions of Americans, including large numbers of voters in battleground Presidential primary states,” her lawsuit states. “In short, Clinton got exactly what she wanted by lying about Tulsi — she harmed her political and personal rival’s reputation and ongoing Presidential campaign, and started a damaging whisper campaign based on baseless, but vicious, untruths.”
Hillary's comments were irresponsible and she needs to be made an example out of. Tusli is a solider who fought for her country and is now running for office. She does not deserve to be called a traitor to her nation by anyone and it crossed the line. It amazes me how many Democrats defend this garbage out of Hillary. Like really folks, Hillary isn't even running? Why are you people running with this and tolerating her? You all know it is unfounded and not true, but yet it is defended like somehow this is correct. And to the tool calling everyone Vlad, your stupid is showing.
Look Congresswoman, here's the thing. While we respect your service to our country as a Veteran, politics is not for the faint of heart. Hillary has been called a killer, traitor, you name it. If you can't stand the heat, don't come into the kitchen! (AOL News, LuLac)

STEYER: "AS LONG AS [TRUMP'S] TWEETING AT ME, HE'S SCARED"

Billionaire Tom Steyer (Photo: CNN)

I'm still for Joe Biden but I'm beginning to warm up to Tom Steyer. I love how he busted Diaper Don's balls in response to the President calling a billionaire running against him a "loser". Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer said that President Trump’s insulting him was a sign of panic as the Senate impeachment trial got underway.
On Wednesday morning, Trump retweeted a comment mocking Steyer over a clip of the candidate attempting to converse with Sen. Bernie Sanders following a campaign event in South Carolina, calling the billionaire “a major loser” who “just doesn’t get it.”
Steyer replied a half hour later, tweeting, “Donald, you're just jealous nobody wants to say hi to you. Impeachment is forever bye. This has to hurt.”
He was interviewed on Yahoo News’ “Hot Mic With Brittany Shepherd.”
“I think I basically tweeted at him to remind him he’s the one who’s been impeached and is on trial,” said Steyer. “So maybe he should be paying a little more attention to that.”
“I don’t listen to what Donald Trump has to say,” he continued, “and in fact I think he’s obviously scared. He only reacts out of panic and fear, so as long as he’s tweeting at me, that means he’s scared of me, so as far as I’m concerned, ‘Bring it on, Donald.’”
Steyer urged Trump’s impeachment long before the process began in the House last fall, spending heavily on his “Need to Impeach” campaign, along the way building an email list he eventually leveraged in his presidential run. While Steyer remains in low single digits in national polling, he has reached the top three in surveys of both Nevada and South Carolina, where he has vastly outspent his competitors on television advertising. (AOL News, LuLac)

CASEY, BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS PRESS HUD SECRETARY ON RADON DANGERS IN PUBLIC HOUSING

PA MAP SHOWS RADON CONCERNS ACROSS COMMONWEALTH

Senator  Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Senator Bob Casey today joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues requesting a meeting with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson. The senators wrote to Secretary Carson to get answers on why the agency has failed to protect tenants living in federally-subsidized housing from the cancer-causing dangers of radon and to chart a path forward to resolve this serious health hazard.
“Because HUD has not answered previously-asked questions regarding the presence of radon in public housing, we respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss ways we can work together to solve this issue once and for all,” the senators wrote today in a letter to Secretary Carson. “We are eager to work with you to protect Americans – especially the elderly, those with disabilities, and children and families – living in federally-subsidized housing from the risks posed by high radon levels, and urge you to take swift action to address this problem.”
Despite a federal mandate to “develop an effective departmental policy for dealing with radon contamination... to ensure that occupants of [public housing] are not exposed to hazardous levels of radon,” recent investigative reporting by The Oregonian showed that tenants of public housing across the country continue to be exposed to hazardous levels of radon.
In addition to a meeting with Secretary Carson, the senators also asked the Administration include in the President’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget a request for funds to sufficiently help public housing agencies test for and mitigate high radon levels in federally-subsidized housing.
Senator Casey was joined by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in sending the letter to Secretary Carson. 

HELP CARTWRIGHT WORK FOR YOUR HEALTH CARE

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

In response to a Republican lawsuit, a federal court ruled in December that the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. This ruling is a big victory for Republicans who have been working to sabotage the ACA without a replacement plan.
This reckless path Republicans have pursued on healthcare puts 134 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions at risk. I’m dedicated to fighting for all those with pre-existing conditions, friends. That’s why I have fought every single GOP attempt to take healthcare away in Congress, opposed this nonsense lawsuit, and why my re-election campaign is all about protecting healthcare.
Even worse, National Republicans are now trying to hide the negative effects of their ACA lawsuit by asking the Supreme Court to wait until after the 2020 election to take up their case. We have to make sure every single swing voter knows about this and what’s at stake, team. Will you chip in a contribution so we can get the truth about the GOP’s reckless healthcare agenda far and wide?
While National Republicans have been busy trying to take healthcare away and make coverage less affordable, I’ve been doing the opposite. I recently voted for the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would allow Medicare to negotiate down prices directly with drug companies, and create caps on out-of-pocket drug expenses.
If you want to continue to see my approach to healthcare in Congress, will you consider making a small donation today so I can keep fighting for you?Here’s that link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cartwright-january/healthcare_fund

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

New Mayor George Brown taking the oath of office on January 6th, 2020 at the FM Kirby Center. (Photo: Times Leader)

This week’s program features Mayor George Brown of Wilkes-Barre talking about his new administration.
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 PREVIEW

Preview host David DeCosmo welcomes Justin Behrens, Director of the Keystone Mission to the program during the week of January 27th to discuss major developments in the organization's efforts to establish a rehabilitation center for the homeless in the area. As envisioned the center would provide temporary housing, counseling, and job training services for homeless men and women. Preview is seen on Comcast channel 19 and on the electric city television YouTube page.

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!”

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

1980

Our 1980 logo

Andrei Sakharov, Soviet scientist and human rights activist, is arrested in Moscow…..The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad is ordered liquidated due to bankruptcy and debt owed to creditors……Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations. Canadian Caper: Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran, as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, on Swissair. Years later they made a movie about it called "Argo".

The Rubik's Cube makes its international debut at The British Toy and Hobby Fair, Earl's Court, London and forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Do That to Me One More Time” The Captain & Tennille.

The LuLac Edition #4,209, January 22nd, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our "Write On Wednesday" logo.

With the Impeachment trial of President Trump starting the week, what better time to share this insight on it from Dr. Joe Leonardi. Leeonardi, a former candidate for Congress gives some crucial insights into what we are seeing this week. His take on it is refreshing considering the number of "experts" you see on Social Media.

IMPEACHMENT

These days I tend to keep my political opinions pretty much to myself. They are my opinions and it is not my goal in life to endlessly and fruitlessly influence, debate or argue with others.
I am not going to give any indication of my view on the impeachment and trial of President Donald John Trump. The House has already impeached, and The Senate will decide on removal. The outcomes will be what they will be, regardless of expositional opining.
One thing that concerns me about the process, is the ignorance of the process. It is not a criminal proceeding. Rules of evidence to not apply. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt is not the standard. The House's Impeachment, and The Senate Trial, are one- hundred precedent political proceedings. What is not discussed, perhaps because it is not realized, is that it is much more political than it was intended to be. People and pundits and supposed "Constitutional Scholars” (Scholars? Read the document, Hemingway would have been proud of its concise language and ease of understanding) like to claim insight and knowledge of the Founders intentions, but what is not discussed was what the Founders did not plan for or foresee --
•Political Parties
•Popular Election of Senators
One of the underlying themes of my novel, One Day I Was, is the that the founders did not make provisions for the two party system which currently casts a horrible shadow over all of United States politics. The Founders did not take into consideration just how partisan impeachment could be, because of the fact that they did not make provisions in The Constitution for the repugnance of recognized, ruling political parties. Yes, there were factions, but the Founding Document makes no arrangement for what became political parties. If anything, they went to great, albeit unsuccessful, lengths to prevent their assertion and ascension. The House and Senate, The Congress as a whole, was not to share a political affiliation with the head of The Executive Branch, The President.
Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, The Senate was designated as the upper chamber -- A group of legislators which was to be above popular, partisan, political contests. The beauty of the bicameral chamber was to give the people a voice through The House, and the other chamber, The Senate, was supposed to be a check on The House, because their members were to be chosen in elections which were indirect, removed from the winds and whims of popular opinion.
Today, we can see the damage the foolhardy pandering 17th amendment has wrought. Instead of being an objective, above populist politics chamber -- One side is intent on removal of The President, and the other side, so afraid of incurring a tweet-storm wrath, and what that wrath may bring at a popular ballot box, has in essence, opted to make a decision without full, or due, consideration of the articles of impeachment presented.
This was a similar problem when President William Jefferson Clinton went through the process, one which was, and is, more about defending and defining political ideology than upholding and defending The United States Constitution. And for that, as a veteran of our Armed Services, I am sickened and sad.

The LuLac Edition #4,208, January 21st, 2020

TIMES DOUBLE ENDORSEMENT A COP OUT

Times endorsement winners, Klobuchar and Warren. (Photo: FX)

The New York Times showcased their endorsement of the two leading female candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination hunt. It was debuted on the very good program shown on FX called The Weekly. The Times chose Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
First off. I really think it is really too early to endorse anyone, especially in such a big field.
Second, I really don’t think endorsements matter anymore. Hillary Clinton was endorsed by a majority of newspapers, Donald Trump by two. That should tell you all you need to know.
The board’s decision to back not one but two candidates was pretty much like a football game tie or to use the worn out phrase, “Like kissing your sister!” While that might be perfectly acceptable in Mississippi, it really was no decision at all from supposed group of learned employees who shape public opinion from the paper of record for the United States. What they did was blend the “realist” and “radical” wings f the party. The board completely by passed Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg . Their comments about not endorsing those two was like an old ladies sewing circle gossip get together . Biden was way passed his prime and Buttigieg wasn’t emotive or emotional enough. Then there were those who used the word ":excitement" when referring to a candidate. Jesus, you'd think after Trump, you wouldn't care about "excitement". Biden even said he thought he was in trouble and not get the nod. The board said Trump should be defeated but never took a stance on how to do it. They split the difference between moderate and left wing progressive writing that both sets of ideas “warrant serious consideration.”
NO SHIT SHERLOCK!
(The editorial board is separate from the New York Times newsroom.)
Then they added this: “Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate. May the best woman win.”
I support women candidates all the time BUT if the Times think that either of these candidates will bring any white males to the Democrats this fall, they are seriously delusional.
I’m not saying another woman on the ticket would be a disaster but you know the Trump/GOP attack machine will be out in full force. If the GOP took apart a three time medal honoree and a veteran in 2004 (John Kerry) watch what they do to either of these two.
The Times made news. But for God’s sake we are not even voting yet. Plus by doing this, the Times has once more stamped itself as elitist and telling all of us what we should think. If I thought that, imagine what a mid-western Conservative Republican might be thinking.
(The editorial board is separate from the New York Times newsroom.)

CONGRESSMAN CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES 2019 SERVICE ACADEMY NOMINATIONS FOR LACKAWANNA AND LUZERNE COUNTIES

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

Congressman Matt Cartwright proudly announced the students from Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties nominated for appointments to attend the United States Service Academies. Each student nominated by Congressman Cartwright will go through the academies' competitive application process. If offered an appointment, the students will join their respective academy's Class of 2024.
“It is my distinguished honor to nominate these exceptional young men as candidates for appointment to our esteemed United States Service Academies,” Cartwright said. “Each student nominated is among the best and brightest of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and they represent the next generation of great American leaders.”
Cartwright continued, “I want to thank these outstanding young adults for their willingness to commit to serving their country. They give me hope that our best days are surely ahead.”
Cartwright’s Class of 2024 U.S. Service Academy nominees from Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties include:
Colby DeSando, Dunmore, PA., Michael Huntington, Dallas, PA., Tyler Kotowski, Scott Township, PA., Stephen Postupak, Dallas, PA., Jakob Quanbeck, Clarks Summit, PA., Dylan Rowland, Carbondale, PA., and Charles Valvano, Dunmore, PA.

The LuLac Edition #4,207, January 19th, 2020

KING DAY PROGRAM AT COURTHOUSE 

Friday night more than 100 people attended the Martin Luther king Day event at the Luzerne County Courthouse.  I had the honor of being part of the program. 
Here are two newspaper links from The Leader and The Voice. 

yonkat the podium .jpg (62 KB)

mkc .jpg (71 KB)

https://www.timesleader.com/news/769778/kings-dream-lives-on-at-naacp-event

https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/local-naacp-honors-life-of-dr-king-1.2584514

We'll add the video taken by Scott Cannon at a later date. 

The LuLac Edition #4,206, January 16th, 2020

JUDGE ROBERTS ARRIVES TO SWEAR IN SENATORS 

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES SENT TO THE SENATE

The United States Congress has now forwarded the two articles of impeachment of President Donald John Trump. weeks after the House voted to impeach President Donald Trump. The move kicks off a formal trial against the president.
House Democrats had been engaged in a lengthy standoff with Senate Republicans over procedural issues. Pelosi insisted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lay out the rules for the trial before she would transmit the articles.
"We need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?" Pelosi said.
But McConnell didn't agree.
"There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure," McConnell said.
It will be instructive to see if Senators will vote to hear witnesses in the case. Three Republican Senators to watch, LaMar Alexander of Tennessee, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Susan Collins, the strip tease artist of the U.S. Senate, (look, look I’m gonna show ya….uh nope I won’t!) cannot be relied on to do the right thing. She was outraged about Brett Cavenaugh’s behavior but not enough to vote against him.

ON HIS PERMANENT RECORD

Even though it is questionable that Donald Trump ever legitimately got through school, (I still want to see his grades) on his political permanent record it will say IMPEACHED!

NEW EVIDENCE

House impeachment investigators turned over shocking evidence from Lev Parnas, the Rudy Giuliani associate who is awaiting trial on campaign finance charges. The emails, text messages and documents appear to show the president’s connection to Parnas and the general Ukraine plot.

MLK EVENTS MARKED FOR THIS WEEKEND

The NAACP Wilkes-Barre branch announces the schedule of events taking place in the community to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King. . The first event will be held on Friday evening January 17th at the Luzerne County Courthouse and starts at 6pm. “Walk Together” features Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Ron Felton President of the NAACP Wilkes-Barre branch recites a speech from Dr. King, historical perspective from Constance Wynn, and songs of inspiration from Gloria Nervana of Pastor Patrice’s Powell’s Salvation Christian Center.
On January 18th, the NEPA Women’s March, starts at 11:00 am at Millennium Circle on the Wilkes-Barre Riverfront and hosted by NEPA NOW, Action Together and Queer NEPA. Confirmed speakers are --Dr. Helen Davis, professor of Women’s Studies, Wilkes University, Shari Jacobson, Moms Demand Action, Jessica Rothchild, Scranton City Council member, Marilyn Calderon, teacher and community advocate and Michaela Spaid, Queer NEPA.
Monday January 20th, 11 am, at King’s College the program “Moving Forward” consists of the Mount Zion Choir and Praise Dancers as well as an address by NAACP Wilkes-Barre branch President Ronald Felton. The King’ event will be held at the Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center, Third Floor.
Thursday January 23rd, 11 am at Wilkes University, the Office of Diversity Initiatives invites the public to “A Call for National Unity” in the UCOM Building, rooms 126 and 127. The speaker will be Dr. Leon John , Junior, Director of Alumni Engagement at East Stroudsburg University.
David Yonki, Chairman of the NAACP Wilkes-Barre branch Martin Luther King, Junior program said, “The Wilkes-Barre branch is honored to work with such fine partners in not only celebrating one day and event in honor of Dr. King but coordinating these events that honor his life of peaceful, thoughtful protest and equality for all”.
These 4 programs are free and open to the public.

CAMPAIGN FOE SAYS: SHAPIRO WILL SEEK TERM AS TEMPORARY ATTORNEY GENERAL

Heather Heidelbaugh (Photo: Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Making no bones about his ambition, Josh Shapiro this week announced plans to run for Temporary Attorney General in the 2020 elections, an office he considers a convenient parking place until he can launch his campaign for governor.
The 46-year-old Shapiro hopes to add attorney general to a long list of temporary posts he has held while seeking higher office.
He previously served as Temporary State Representative in the 153rd District of Pennsylvania before leaving that position to be a Temporary County Commissioner in Montgomery County. Shapiro then ditched that position to run for Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
While the post traditionally was not designed as a temporary office, Shapiro later transformed it into one shortly after he was seen examining the curtains in the governor’s office.
“Josh is excellent at almost every job he quits,” said one political pundit. “I have watched a lot of career politicians come and go in Harrisburg, but Josh quits jobs like nobody I’ve seen. He was born to quit this job.”
Shapiro’s side recently announced that he has $3 million in campaign funds heading into the 2020 election.
“This is an awesome amount of money from a lot of grateful special interests,” observed the pundit. “With that kind of dough, Josh is well positioned to quit any job he likes. I expect him to easily outdistance any quitter in the field.”
Shapiro likely faces widely respected Pittsburgh litigation attorney Heather Heidelbaugh in the November general election, though Shapiro’s camp has expressed skepticism about Heidelbaugh’s chances because she plans to serve a full term and focus on prosecuting crime.
“To Josh, something like that just seems too counter-intuitive,” said one observer. (From Heather Heidelbaugh campaign)
Keep in mind it was Shapiro, a Democrat who was only the second Attorney General of his party to get elected.

BASEBALL CHEATING

Not since The Black Sox scandal has an event rocked baseball. Two managers fired, (Houston and Boston) as well as the Mets are or might be unemployed. There was a sign stealing scheme that compromised the game. Houston.
Manfred mentioned Cora by name 11 times in a nine-page report, saying he "originated and executed" the scheme in which Houston used a center field camera to decode catchers' signals to pitchers, then banged on a trash can to relay the signs to batters so they would know what type of pitch was coming.
The Astros fired manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, making that announcement an hour after Manfred suspended them for the 2020 season for their roles in the cheating scheme. Cora met Tuesday with Boston management and they issued a release saying they had “mutually agreed to part ways.” New Mets manager and former Astros player Carlos Beltrán also was implicated by Manfred in his report Monday — the only player mentioned. Manfred decided that no players would be disciplined for breaking rules prohibiting the use of electronics to steal catchers' signs in 2017 after levying penalties against Boston and the New York Yankees.
The Mets declined comment on Beltrán's status.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros and again in 2018 to the Red Sox.
Dodger fans want Houston and Boston to relinquish the titles because of the sign stealing system using a camera, banging on a garbage can and audio cues. Kudos to Jeff Crane Hoston GM for doing the right thing.
The dots to Boston’s Alex Cora who used the system in Boston after serving as the bench coach for wait for it….the Astros!

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest will be Adam Marco, Marketing Director for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
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 PREVIEW

Electric City Television's new Stage Studio is the setting for David DeCosmo's Public Affairs Program "PREVIEW" during the week of January 20th, His guests are historian Robert Wolensky and producer Albert Brocca who, along with Brocca's cousin David, are about to premier a new documentary about the Knox Mine Disaster which effectively ended deep coal mining in our area. PREVIEW is seen 3 times daily on Comcast channel 19 and on the electric city television YouTube page.

BUDDY RUMCHEK

Want to hear some great parodies on the news? Tune in to WILK Radio at 6:20 and 8:20 AM on Mondays. As Ralph Cramden used to say, “It’s a laugh riot!”

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

1980

Our 1980 logo.

The London Gold Fixing hits its highest price ever (adjusted for inflation), at US$850 a troy ounce.
MS Athina B is beached at Brighton (England), becoming a temporary tourist attraction.
At least 200 people are killed when the Corralejas Bullring collapses at Sincelejo, Colombia.
January 22 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet scientist and human rights activist, is arrested in Moscow…..The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad is ordered liquidated due to bankruptcy and debt owed to creditors….and forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson.

The LuLac Edition #4,205, January 15th, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo

This week we delve back in a little recent history with Iraq. That country, thanks to the recent trouble kicked up by President Trump’s reckless actions has been in the news. It is instructive to see why Iraq and our invasion and subsequent nation building put us in a precarious position. That’s this week’s “Write On Wednesday.”

IRAQ INVASION THE BLUNDER OF 21ST CENTURY

Columns of black smoke rising Tuesday above the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad were exclamation points on the folly of the U.S. misadventure in Iraq and further proof that the 2003 invasion was the overwhelming U.S. foreign policy blunder of the 21st century.
The fires were set by Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen who had stormed the compound in response to earlier U.S. airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah militia targets, strikes that were in response to an earlier militia rocket attack that killed an American contractor. And on it goes.
Despite the militia group’s close ties to Iran, it and the U.S. military worked together to defeat the Islamic State, the Sunni Shiite terrorist enterprise that itself grew from the power vacuum created by the U.S. destruction of the Sunni-dominated Iraqi Army.
Following the Gulf War in 1991, President George H.W. Bush declined to take the fight to Baghdad. He reasoned that the displacement of Sunni Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein would clear the way for Shiite-dominated Iran to vastly increase its influence over the entire region.
Just over a decade later, however, President George W. Bush defied his father’s wisdom and went all -in with neocon advisers Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Pearl and others. He authorized the invasion of Iraq based on multiple false premises, including that it somehow had a role in the 2001 terrorists attacks on the United States that were far more associated with Saudi Arabia, and that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction that threatened the region and U.S. interests.
It’s now clear that false premises and outright lies were the true weapons of mass destruction. They always are a threat, even though Americans usually have the power to destroy them at the ballot box.