The LuLac Edition #4,228, February 20th, 2020

HATE TRUMP BUT HE IS SMART LIKE A FOX

Our friend Joe Leonardi sent this missive on the President the other day. It is quite prescient.

TRUMP’S CHAOTIC GENIUS

He tweets about Stone being unfairly treated, the media and the prosecutors get all up in arms. People resign, others call for resignation. The judge publicly states sentencing will not be delayed.
He then commutes Blogo's sentencing, which he was over-sentenced anyway, just like Stone's recommendations are ridiculously long - both were political operatives and they were playing the game, but anyway...
The Trump pardons beloved former FortyNiner's owner Eddie, Jr.
So, when Stone gets sentences, Trump will come out and say he has now choice but to either commute or pardon him because the media backlash and outcry from other politicos clouded the judge's sentencing.
I'm not saying any of this reasoning is correct, but if it plays out this way, his base will cheer, cheer, cheer.... and Trump will have played everyone again.
The best way to make Trump irrelevant is to not take the bait and ignore him... the guy thrives off chaos... and the media is gonna keep giving him all the free press as last time, which helped him get elected in the first place.

DOWN BALLOT RACES SET FOR THE PRIMARY

With petitions already signed, sealed and delivered, the races for Congress and State Rep are shaping up in LuLac land. First off, in The Lu, here’s who’s running. The following Republicans filed to run in the 8th District primary — James Bognet of Hazle Twp., Earl Granville of Scott Twp., Harry Haas of Kingston and Michael Marsicano of Hazle Twp. The 8th District includes eastern Luzerne County, in addition to other Northeast Pennsylvania counties — Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and most of Monroe. The 9th District includes Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Montour, Berks and Lebanon counties, part of Northumberland County and western parts of Luzerne County.
Incumbents Cartwright and Meuser have filed. Once more the GOP is waging an intense primary fight that in the long run can only help the Democratic incumbent.
On the state Representative front, incumbents on the GOP side, Tarah C. Toohil, R-116, Karen Boback, R-117, and Aaron Kaufer have filed. Patrick Musto who was supposed to be on the ballot against Bobeck had his petitions rejected by the state. He is currently planning an appeal. Mike Carroll, D-118, Avoca; Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, Wilkes-Barre; Gerald Mullery, D-119, of Newport Twp.; and Aaron Kaufer, R-120, Kin Todd Eachus, the former state House Majority Leader who was defeated by Toohil a decade ago has filed as a Democratic candidate for the 116th state House District. And Kaufer will presumably be opposed by Attorney Joanna Bryn Smith, of Wyoming. Mike Carroll, D-118, A Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, and Gerald Mullery, D-119 all appear to have an easy ride in the primary and general election. 
In the Lac, Repreentatibe Marty Flynn in the 112th has his name on the ballot and appears to be on the way to another term. Former Penn Dot official James May is making a run for the seat in the 114th district. May is running to unseat Bridgit Kosierowski who won a specil election last year when Sid Michaels Kavulich passed away. May who almost ran for Representive a few years ago against Bobeck has been the face of Penn Dot for nearly a decade. He is well known, friendly and has a very pithy but effective message, "Cut the nonsense and fix the roads". This race come November will be the one to watch. 

LET’S GO AFTER SUSAN COLLINS HERE’S HOW!

When Susan Collins voted against the impeachment of Donald Trump, she said she thought he'd learned his lesson and wouldn't do the same thing again.1
How's that going, Senator Collins?
Everything Trump has done since his acquittal has proved that the only lesson he learned was that he can do literally anything and Republicans like Collins and other so-called "moderates" will never hold him accountable.
In fact, since day one of Trump's presidency, Collins has shown that she will never stand up to Trump or Mitch McConnell.
From tax cuts to Brett Kavanaugh to impeachment, Collins has been there to help McConnell push through Trump's agenda—all while disregarding her constituents and disingenuously expressing deep concern about how troubling all of this is.
Enough is enough. No one other than Trump himself bears more responsibility for the sorry state of our democracy than Collins—and she must go.
In the week after Collins uttered the inexplicable words that Trump had "learned his lesson," Trump has publicly insisted that he did nothing wrong and that the whole investigation was an illegal hoax, and he has declared that he absolutely wouldn't do anything differently.2
Then, Trump began taking revenge on those who testified honestly during the impeachment investigation. He fired the ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. He had security throw Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman out of the White House, and even fired Vindman's twin brother for no reason at all.3
Of course, Collins responded with a concerned statement that she opposes any retribution against impeachment witnesses.4
And now, Trump has triggered the biggest crisis at the Justice Department since Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre, by overruling the amount of prison time that federal prosecutors would seek for his buddy Roger Stone, leading all of the Justice Department lawyers working on the case to withdraw.
What's Collins going to do about that? As usual, nothing.
The good news is that voters in Maine are sick and tired of her act. The latest polls say that she's the least popular member of the entire Senate with her own constituents.
Change the rules of the Senate to ram through Neil Gorsuch on a near party-line vote? Collins voted for that.
Trump's massive tax giveaway to the rich? Collins voted for that, too, in exchange for McConnell promising to help her stabilize the Affordable Care Act insurance markets. Of course, when McConnell broke that promise, she did nothing.
And who could forget Collins casting the deciding vote to confirm sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, after promising not to support a nominee who was "hostile" to Roe v. Wade.6
Collins has gotten away with pretending to be a moderate for too long. Now it's time for her to go.
"Susan Collins' defense of her Trump vote just keeps looking worse and worse," CNN, February 12, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116772?t=8&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
2. "Our View: A week of lessons learned by Sen. Collins and the nation," Portland Press Herald, February 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116773?t=10&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
3. "Trump Fires Impeachment Witnesses Gordon Sondland and Alexander Vindman in Post-Acquittal Purge," The New York Times, February 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116729?t=12&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
4. "Sen. Collins says she opposes any retribution against impeachment witnesses," Portland Press Herald, February 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116774?t=14&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
5. "Roger Stone backlash: Democrats demand Barr's resignation, call for investigation, hearings," NBC News, February 12, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116775?t=16&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
6. "Susan Collins says she won't support a Supreme Court nominee who's hostile to Roe v. Wade," Vox, July 1, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/116788?t=18&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B
Join MoveOn in helping Susan Collins MOVE ON OUT OF THE SENATE.
https://act.moveon.org/donate/pac-donation-footer?suggested_ask=5&donation_type=recurring&source=mailingfooter&utm_medium=email&t=31&akid=257258%2E13475785%2ESqgE8B

REPS. CARTWRIGHT, MEUSER, STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS CALL FOR CONTINUED FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ABANDONED MINE CLEAN-UP

Matt Cartwright with your blog editor.

At a press conference at the Harry E. waste coal site, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08), U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA-09), and state and local elected officials welcomed recent progress on legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to provide Northeastern Pennsylvania with long-term federal funding for the clean-up of the more than 100 remaining unreclaimed abandoned mine land (AML) sites in the region.
The bill, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2019 (H.R. 4248), passed the House Natural Resources Committee last week, and it is awaiting a vote by the full U.S. House. Authored by Rep. Cartwright and co-sponsored by Rep. Meuser, this bill would reauthorize the AML Trust Fund, which allows states to collect small fees from active coal mine operators in order to pay for abandoned mine reclamation – largely focused in historic coal communities like those in Northeastern Pennsylvania and throughout the Appalachian region. The reclamation process is essential to cleaning up our waterways and protecting communities from the hazards of abandoned mines, such as acid mine drainage, dangerous highwalls, unattended explosives and waste coal piles.
In Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, there are more than 300 AML sites that have yet to be fully reclaimed. The cost to clean up these sites throughout the district is estimated to exceed $114 million, However, the AML Trust Fund will stop collecting reclamation funds in September 2021 if Congress does not act.
“The Swoyersville project should serve as a model for the hundreds of other sites across Northeastern Pennsylvania that can be transformed into places where our children can play safely, areas that can foster new businesses, and communities that will prosper,” said Rep. Cartwright. “If Congress fails to renew this fund, this urgent work will never be finished, and our local communities will be left to pay the price.
“It’s so important that we work together not only across party lines, but also across all levels of government, to make sure this important work gets done,” Rep. Cartwright continued. “Rep. Meuser’s support in Congress for this bill has been invaluable, and I’m proud that we’ve joined forces with our state and local leaders, as well as area businesses and nonprofits, to make this a team effort.”
“Lately, many headlines coming out of Washington aren’t very productive, so I am glad to come together today in a bipartisan way with meaningful solutions for mine-affected communities throughout our region,” said Rep. Meuser. “Coal is among our most important natural resources in Northeast Pennsylvania, but abandoned mines and coal refuse piles are a hazard to our public health and safety. Our efforts to incentivize coal refuse remediation and clean-up abandoned mines will make our communities safer, stimulate economic development, and create a significant difference in the quality of life for many Pennsylvanians.”
“I’ve lived in the center of the northern coalfields my entire life among the shadows of hundreds of abandoned mines, and they continue to pose health and safety risks like environmental degradation acid mine drainage,” said Robert Hughes, Executive Director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). “Our reclamation efforts around the area are making progress, but we can’t let them come to a halt now. Cleaning up these hazardous sites not only creates a safer, cleaner environment for our children; it also has the potential to create new economic and recreational opportunities in our communities. EPCAMR thanks Representatives Cartwright and Meuser for leading the charge to reauthorize the AML Trust Fund to ensure this important work can carry on.”
State Senator John Yudichak (I-SD-14), Swoyersville Mayor Chris Concert (I) and Sean Lane, Vice President of Olympus Power — a company that uses waste coal from the Harry E. site at its Panther Creek cogeneration plant in Nesquehoning — also spoke about how federal, state and local efforts to clean up AML sites create jobs, restore local communities and pave the way for new economic adventure.

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

ECTV'S Public Affairs program "PREVIEW" features Jamie Hailstone during the week of February 24th as he discusses plans for this year's Scranton Saint Patrick's Parade with host David DeCosmo. Scranton's three hour parade is one of the largest in the country!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.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
A coup in Suriname ousts the government of Henck Arron; leaders Dési Bouterse and Roy Horb replace it with a National Military Council.
M-19 guerrillas begin the Dominican embassy siege in Colombia, holding 60 people hostage, including 14 ambassadors….and forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was “And the Beat Goes On” by The Whispers.