The LuLac Edition #4,365, July 30th, 2020

TRUMP CALLS FOR DELAYED 
ELECTION 

STATES GOVERNORS SAY "NOTHING  DOING!" 

Funny thing about that Constitution! What a sad excuse,  for not a President, not a Republican but a god damn person. Right wing Christians say Trump was sent by God to save the country. Nope, this guy came special delivery from the devil.

OBAMA EULOGIZES LEWIS, SLAMS DIAPER DON DEFTLY

Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton gave speeches on Thursday at the funeral for Rep. John Lewis,the Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil rights icon who died earlier this month.
Obama delivered the eulogy, and used it in part to level criticism at what he sees as the Trump administration’s attacks on peaceful protesters and voting rights amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators,” Obama said. “We may no longer have to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar to cast a ballot. But even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darndest to discourage people from voting, by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the postal service in an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don’t get sick.” (AOL NEWS)

MY PICK FOR VEEP

Susan Rice former U.N. ambassador under the Obama administration. Why? 
1. Biden worked with her and would feel comfortable with her. 
2. she can concentrate on world affairs while Biden restores the domestic mess left by the Trump sludge and slime swamp dwellers. 
3. She has the full support o the Obama coalition. 
Plus she can take it to the President and his Veep, Mike Pence. 

18

That’s the number of people who said they wouldn’t go back to work if called because they were getting paid more with the $600.00 stimulus checks in their unemployment. That means 82% of the unemployed WANT to go back to WORK!
The Republican LIE machine is at it again saying that the money to make workers whole to pay mortgages, rent and get food is “too damn much!”
I urge everyone who has a past due bill to make a copy of it and mail it to:
Senator Mitch McConnell
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

7

7 is the number of evictions in the United States of America every minute of the day. People are losing jobs, homes, apartments and are living in cars. 7 evictions every minute!
THINK ABOUT THAT when you go to vote.
We have fallen way short of the command that states, “Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
We are falling short and falling fast.

DIAPER DON: AT IT AGAIN!

President Trump used a White House press briefing on Tuesday to wonder aloud why he was less liked than Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force.
“Nobody likes me,” the president said in a rare moment of self-reflection. “It can only be my personality, that's all.” The lament came on the same day that the nation surpassed the grim benchmark of 150,000 deaths as a result of the worsening pandemic.

TRUMP DISMISSES VIRUS AID FOR CITIES, LASHES OUT AT GOP

(Photo: AP)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands to include aid for cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republicans, saying they should “go back to school” if they reject money for a new FBI building in downtown Washington, D.C.
Trump, speaking alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the White House, signaled his interest in preventing an eviction crisis as a federal moratorium expires Friday on millions of apartment units. But he and his top emissary to Congress portrayed an otherwise dismal outlook as negotiations drag ahead of looming deadlines.
“It’s a shame to reward badly run radical left Democrats with all of this money they’re looking for,” Trump said at the White House, complaining about the “big bailout money” for cities.
Trump was publicly critical of his GOP allies over the $1.7 billion for FBI headquarters that's included in the bill, but which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell later said he opposes as not related to virus relief. The president wants to keep the building that sits across the street from his signature Trump International Hotel, which could face competition if the FBI moves and another hotel is developed there.
At the White House on Wednesday, Trump said the FBI building should remain in Washington, near the Justice Department. He added: "It’s the best piece of property in Washington. I’m very good at real estate. So I said, we’ll build a new FBI building. Let’s build a new FBI building, either a renovation of existing or even better would be a new building.”
“Republicans should go back to school and learn," he said. ”You need a new building.”
Trump's comments came a day after he dismissed the GOP's COVID-19 package as “semi-irrelevant.”  (AP)

U.S. SENATE REPUBLICANS' PANDEMIC RELIEF PROPOSAL IS AN INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS AND INSUFFICIENT TO ASSIST PENNSYLVANIA IN MOVING TOWARD A JUST RECOVERY

Following United States Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's introduction of the proposed COVID-19 relief package, the HEALS Act, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director, Marc Stier, released the following response.
“After months of inaction, and with the previously enacted enhanced unemployment protections set to expire this week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today unveiled the HEALS Act, a package that offers insufficient relief for those most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The legislation that McConnell plans to advance falls far short in scale, scope, and priorities, offering an inadequate response to the unprecedented public health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19. It provides no support for state and local budgets hit hard by the economic crisis and drastically cuts the unemployment insurance benefits that have protected those who have lost their jobs and that has helped the country avoid an even greater economic collapse.
"A glaring deficiency in the McConnell plan is the absence of substantial fiscal aid to state and local governments, which face massive challenges in funding essential services—education, health care, public safety, and more—as a result of steep declines in revenue that began in March and will continue well into 2021. As Pennsylvania House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody noted last Wednesday in a press conference hosted by PBPC, ‘We passed a five-month budget that will end in November, and we will likely be facing a well over $5 billion deficit. If states like PA don’t get meaningful help from the federal government, we could be forced to make unprecedented cuts where they hurt the most, like Medicaid.’ While the U.S. Senate Republicans’ proposed package would allow state and local governments more flexibility in using CARES Act funding to offset revenue losses, those funds are only available through the end of December and, with more than 60 percent of the CARES Act money already committed to immediate COVID-19 relief, are insufficient to prevent state and local leaders from being forced to consider drastic cuts to vital programs—including health care—and lay-offs of government-funded workers. Diminishing access to health care during a pandemic and increasing unemployment in the midst of an economic recession will ultimately affect every business in the state and only prolong and worsen the current crisis.
"The COVID relief package presented by Senator McConnell would also sharply reduce desperately needed support for Pennsylvania workers who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. The McConnell plan would immediately cut the increased weekly unemployment assistance implemented in the CARES by more than two-thirds, taking away $400 of the expanded weekly payment from struggling Pennsylvanians. Last week, PBPC released a report in conjunction with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities which found that ‘a large and growing number of Pennsylvania households are struggling to afford food and that hundreds of thousands of households are behind on rent.’ The paper revealed that earlier this month, nearly one million Pennsylvania adults reported that their households did not have enough to eat during the previous week, including more than half a million households with children. With the increasing hardships Pennsylvanians face, a proposal to significantly cut support for families that have lost income is not merely economically counter-productive, it is an act of cruelty.
"PBPC calls on Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey to reject this inadequate and offensive roposal and, instead, insist on a genuine relief and recovery package that is robust and expansive enough to respond to the enormous and unprecedented challenges we now face. A true relief and recovery plan should include: at least $1 trillion in fiscal aid to state and local governments, with a significant increase in FMAP so that Pennsylvania can adequately fund Medicaid coverage for the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who lost their employer-based health care when they lost their jobs.
an immediate extension of unemployment protections at previously-enacted levels or higher.
a 15-percent SNAP benefit increase for all SNAP households, which would provide roughly $100 per month more to a family of four.”

PHAN STATEMENT ON RELEASE OF GOP'S HEALS ACT IN THE SENATE

Following the release of Senate Republicans’ COVID-19 relief package in Congress, PHAN's Executive Director Antoinette Kraus released the following statement:
“As COVID infections surge and more than 7,100 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease and 1.9 million have filed for unemployment, millions urgently need help to get through this tough time and take care of their families. Despite the growing number of families experiencing hunger, employment, loss of health coverage, and other hardships, lawmakers in the Senate have proposed a package that does little to address their situation.
And without more robust investment in state and local government; unemployment and worker protections; and Medicaid, which millions rely on for healthcare, COVID will do even more harm to Pennsylvanians.
PHAN calls on Senator Bob Casey and Senator Pat Toomey to ensure that Pennsylvanians get the help they so desperately need. Congress can and must do better if we are going to beat COVID 19.”   (PHAN, LuLac)

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest is Jason Kavulich from the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging. Tune in Sunday morning at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on The Mothership 1340/1400 am, 100.7 and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on The River 105 and 103.5.

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.

Helen Hagnes Mintiks, 30, a violinist for the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in New York, was murdered during an intermission of a performance of the visiting Deutsche Oper Berlin ballet troupe. 

 At 9:30, she left the women's locker room and told a friend that she was on walking to the dressing from of the ballet's star, Valery Panov, but never arrived. Her body was found the next morning in a ventilating shaft at the Lincoln Center. Craig Crimmins, a stagehand at the Met, was arrested six weeks later and ultimately confessed to strangling Mintiks….As Honduras made its transition from military rule by a junta to civilian rule by an elected president, the Honduran Assembly voted to select the junta leader, General Policarpo Paz García, as the civilian government president, until the newly elected Constituent Assembly could approve a new constitution for the Central American republic. The 71-member unicameral parliament, with 35 Liberal Party, 33 Nationalist Party, and three from the Innovation Party, was unanimous in keeping General Paz….Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, 60, deposed Shah of Iran, died in Cairo from complications of lymphatic cancer.

The former absolute monarch, "hailed by some as a tough but progressive leader of a backward country and reviled by many as one of the worst tyrants of modern times" had been living at the Kubbeh Palace with his family since March 24 as the guest of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, and succumbed at the Maadi Military Hospital. Los Angeles Times reporter said of the Shah, "In the end, he was an almost pathetic figure, despised by most of his former subjects, shunned by many world leaders with whom he had hobnobbed and, despite a huge fortune, essentially powerless to choose his place of exile. Echoing what most Iranians felt about their former monarch, Tehran Radio interrupted its regular programming and announced "Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the bloodsucker of the century, has died at last….John Favara, who had accidentally struck and killed the son of New York City mob boss John Gotti on March 18, disappeared after leaving work in New Hyde Park, New York on Long Island. According to witnesses, three men confronted Favara as he was getting into his car, clubbed him, and threw him into a van. Three .22 caliber cartridges were found at the scene, suggesting that the 51-year-old Favara had been executed at the scene. Favara's body was never located…..The Islamic Republic of Iran officially adopted a new flag, retaining the green, white and red stripes used by the Imperial State of Iran, but with a new emblem and with the phrase "Allahu akbar" written in Persian script repeated 22 times across the border of the stripes….British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her government withstood a vote of censure within the House of Commons after a contentious six-hour debate. The vote was 274 in favor and 333 against.
Władysław Kozakiewicz of Poland broke the world record for the pole vault with vault of 5.75 meters (18 feet, 11½ inches at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. 

J. R. Richard, the star pitcher for the Houston Astros major league baseball team, collapsed after suffering a stroke during a light workout at the Houston Astrodome, ending his ten-season career.. Iran executed 24 men at Evin Prison in Tehran, including ten former members of the Iranian armed forces and a civilian who had been convicted on Tuesday of an attempted coup d'état. The other 13 included a former chief of the SAVAK secret police; a Jewish hotel administrator of Tehran's Royal Garden Hotel, who was convicted of "spying for Israel"; and three heroin dealers. All 24 were shot at dawn by a firing squad in the prison…and forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Give Me the Night” by George Benson.

The LuLac Edition #4,364, July 30th, 2020

RETURN TO THE HOMETOWN! ROCKIN’ THE COUNTY PART 2

Last Friday it was my pleasure to be driving behind the band “Mule Team” as they traversed the streets of Pittston. The flatbed truck made its way from Jack Williams Tire to the Oregon section of the town, down the boulevard past the Columbus statue and then down Main Street into the beautifully renovated downtown.
We next went through the Junction section (some people call it’s the capitol of Pittston though I’m sure many would beg to differ on that one) where I pointed out some of my boyhood haunts to Ted Wampole as the Mayor outlined further plans for the city.
It was great to see Pitttsonions like Jane Sabatelle dancing to the music and my old classmate and lifelong friend Paul Komensky on his front porch. They joined the crowd who waved as the band played on. 

Thanks to Bob Price for sharing his photos on Facebook posts and the great Tony Callaio for the photos seen here. The Greater Pittston Area has had its share of great photographers like John Rygiel, Angelo Bufalino, John “Ace” O’Malley, and Kenny Feeney, just to name a few.
In photo one is Michael Lombardo, Pittston mayor; Mary Kroptavich, Pittston City Main Street manager; me, Ted Wampole, Visit Luzerne County; and Michelle Mikitish, Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce. 

The second photo is everyone listed except Ms. Mikitish.
Wilkes-Barre is my home and will be until it all ends but Pittston is where I was raised with values, kindness and just a plan old affinity for life.

The LuLac Edition #4,363, July 29th, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo

This week we give you glimpse into what we do during my daytime job at the wilkes-Barre Health Department. 

COMMUNITY STEPS UP WITH GARDENING EFFORT

By Steve McCarsky, staff writer

The coronavirus pandemic made continuing the Wilkes-Barre Health Department’s Community Gardens Program an uncertainty this year, but staff and volunteers rallied to make it happen. The ability to grow new batches of vegetables in 2020 was in question when the pandemic sidelined dedicated gardeners in the spring, according to health department educator David Yonki.
The displacement of city employees after part of the roof was torn off City Hall in a freak April windstorm also delayed the program. Last year, the department rejuvenated the Community Gardens program with the establishment of three new gardens – at Community Counseling Services, King’s College and The Greenhouse Center Clubhouse.
In June, health department educators began work at the three sites established last year. The challenge was twofold: optimum planting season was running out of time, and the three established entities were essentially closed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
But the health department found a group of volunteers who agreed to weed, seed and plant the gardens. City officials then asked gardeners with the Restored Church Garden at Meade and Northampton streets, which was spearheaded by Councilwoman Beth Gilbert, and a plot of land at Barney Farms Community Park started by Attorney Kelly Bray Snyder and her neighbors if they would like to partner with the city.
The last addition at New Roots was planted on the Fourth of July weekend.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Safe and Healthy Communities grant, which funds education initiatives of the city health department, called for only one additional garden as a requirement. But city health director Henry Radulski asked, why stop at just one?
“We have staff here that not only want to meet expectations but continually exceed them,” Radulski said in a statement.
The success and expansion of the gardens wouldn’t have happened without a team of tenacious and energetic volunteers, according to Yonki.
“When we sought out the volunteer group, I knew right from the start they were going to be something special. The level of knowledge, energy and expertise was evident. But what was impressive for me was the commitment to do the work in such a compressed time period. We had, like, 25 days to do this and got it done with time toThe volunteer team met with Mayor George Brown at City Hall and briefed him on their work.
Ranee Dantone was the moving force behind this effort, according to Councilman John Marconi. Marconi met her during a neighborhood cleanup effort and passed her interest in gardening in the city to Radulski, who referred her to Yonki.
Dantone, of the Parsons section of the city, got together with friends Kristen Reap and Rose Yanko, and started a community garden in the North End of the city after forming the nonprofit Our Community Garden. That core group then helped organize efforts with the city’s community gardens program.
“The support from people around the city and kids in the neighborhoods was amazing,” Dantone said. FNCB Bank offered a sponsorship to assist with the garden project, Yonki said.
And gardens at agencies such as Community Counseling Services provides an outlet to staff as well as client program members. Gardening helps increase the life skills of members of the psychological rehabilitation program and helps given them a sense of accomplishment, said staffer Kathy Yendrick. When the gardens yield their harvest, the Health Department plans to conduct nutrition based educational workshops as well as have the garden participants distribute the produce to their clientele and the community.
Contact the writer: smocarsky@citizensvoice.com; 570-821-2110; @MocarskyCV

The LuLac Edition #4,362, July 28th, 2020

MAYBE I’M AMAZED

 

Our “Maybe I’m Amazed” logo.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that the major league broadcasters are doing the play by play this way. Not at the stadium where the guys are playing but in a room with a huge screen showing them the action. That’s shades of Ronald Regan calling the game by reading results off the wire at WHO in the 30s.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..during the Boston Tea Party, 342 cases of tea were thrown overboard.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that the Neo scene comet passes our way just every 6800 years. Take a look at this:

MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….but not really at the interest the old WARM, the Mighty 590 still holds with certain people. Yesterday original morning man Vince Kearney passed away and there was a great outpouring of sympathy as well as good memories. https://david-yonki.blogspot.com/
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that Mount Everest has grown one foot over the last 100 years.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….but not that President Trump on Monday said he does not plan to visit the U.S. Capitol over the next two days to pay his respects to Rep. John Lewis, the Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil rights icon who died earlier this month. Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn, Trump was asked whether he planned to visit the Capitol Rotunda, where Lewis’s body will lie in state for private ceremonies before his casket is moved to the steps of the Capitol for public viewing. “No, I won’t be going, no,” Trump said Monday when asked if he planned to attend the viewing of Lewis’s casket. The president spoke to reporters as he departed the White House en route for North Carolina, where he will participate in a round table discussion on the coronavirus crisis.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that Long Island is the largest such island in the Continental United States.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..Senate Republicans move to cut $600 weekly jobless benefit to $200. They can give billions to billionaires but NOTHING to the middle class. They ALL need to be defeated.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that the skull is made up of 29 bones.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..at how Speaker Nancy Pelosi has shown she has the best interests of the working class when she goes to D.C. Unlike the GOP members who are no friends of the working man. The impotent GOP Senate can’t get out of its own way.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that dim lights reduce your appetite.

The LuLac Edition #4,361, July 27th, 2020

REGIS PHILBIN

(Photo: BBC America)

My first memories of Regis Philbin was when he was the co host of the Joey Bishop late night show. I was at the age when my parents were letting me stay up to see the show. One of the most memorable things I saw was when Philbin walked off the show. I was stunned, no one did that, right? Well, he did.

Philbin, the iconic television personality best-known for his hosting duties on "Live!" with co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa, and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," has died at the age of 88.
President Trump tweeted about Philbin's death on Saturday, calling him "one of the greats."
"One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater airwaves, at 88," the president wrote. "He was a fantastic person, and my friend. He kept telling me to run for President. Holds the record for “most live television”, and he did it well. Regis, we love you...."
A New York native, Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born on Aug. 25, 1931. He was named after his father's alma mater, Manhattan's Regis High School. Philbin graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx before going on to Notre Dame, where he majored in sociology.
After college, Philbin joined the U.S. Navy. He then embarked on his decades-long career in television as a stagehand and a delivery boy for a station in Los Angeles, Calif. Quickly after, he became a news writer and was offered a job as a sportscaster.
Phlbin went on to San Diego as a news anchor for KOGO-TV. His first shot at national exposure came a few years later as the sidekick to Joey Bishop on ABC's "The Joey Bishop Show." Philbin then moved on to KHJ-TV in Los Ageles where he hosted "That Regis Philbin Show." The show was canceled due to ratings powerhouse Johnny Carson, but it brought Philbin to the midwest for "Regis Philbin's Saturday Night in St. Louis."
After three years of commuting to St. Louis each week for a local Saturday night show, Philbin became a star in local morning television -- first in Los Angeles, then in New York. In 1985, he teamed with Kathie Lee Johnson, a year before she married former football star Frank Gifford, and the show went national in 1988.
Celebrities routinely stopped by Philbin’s eponymous syndicated morning show, but its heart was in the first 15 minutes, when he and co-host Kathie Lee Gifford -- on “Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee” from 1985 to 2000 -- or Kelly Ripa -- on “Live! with Regis and Kelly” from 2001 until his 2011 retirement -- bantered about the events of the day. Viewers laughed at Philbin’s mock indignation over not getting the best seat at a restaurant the night before or being henpecked by his partner.
He was the host of the prime-time game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” briefly television’s most popular show at the turn of the century. ABC aired the family-friendly program as often as five times a week. It generated around $1 billion in revenue in its first two years -- ABC had said it was the more profitable show in TV history -- and helped make Philbin himself a millionaire many times over.
Philbin’s question to contestants, “Is that your final answer?” became a national catchphrase. He was even a fashion trendsetter; he put out a line of monochromatic shirts and ties to match what he wore on the set.
After hustling into an entertainment career, Philbin logged more than 15,000 hours on the air, earning him recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most broadcast hours logged by a TV personality, a record previously held by Hugh Downs.
Yet Philbin was a favorite of a younger generation’s ironic icon, David Letterman. When Letterman announced that he had to undergo heart surgery, it was on the air to Philbin, who was also there for Letterman’s first day back after his recovery.

Regis was good t everything he did. He excelled at being pretty good at a lot of things. That’s a lost art, perhaps because there’s not much call for it anymore. Philbin occupied the dwindling middle shelf of fame – it’s up there a little, but it doesn’t seem unreachable.

Philbin was the consummate utility infielder. He was an institution when we once revered them in entertainment. (AP, USA Today, ABC.com, LuLac)

The LuLac Edition #4,360, July 27th, 2020

MONDAY MEMES

The LuLac Edition #4,359, July 23rd, 2020

LULAC INTERVIEWED AGAIN BY FOREIGN NEWS PUBLICATION

Andreas Mink and your blog editor.

I chatted Tuesday afternoon at the always fabulous Istanbul Grille in downtown Wilkes-Barre with Andreas Mink and his photographer Tobias.
Mr. Mink was in town representing Neue Zurcher Zeitung am sonntag in Switzerland. It is the oldest German read publication in German speaking European counties. Our interview will be published on August 9th.
Subject matter: The 2020 election. I understand Andreas interviewed my Republican friends too.
Our interview will appear in the August 9th edition.

200 DAYS!

If you hear Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican Senators telling you how great they think the late Representative John Lewis was, watch what they DO and forget what they say.
There is a Voting Rights Bill passed by the House that is sitting over in the Senate and has been there for over 200 days. The party of Lincoln is now the party of voter suppression.
For you history buffs out there, the GOP is on a fast track to be the Whig Party of this century.
200 days and NOTHING!

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE U.S. ECONOMY IF THE $600 FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT ENDS?

NOTHING GOOD!!!!!

When the COVID-19 pandemic first drove the country into lockdown and tens of millions of workers lost their jobs, Congress voted to add $600 a week to whatever individual states paid in unemployment insurance.
That extra money was a desperately needed lifeline for many because state unemployment benefits typically replace less than half a worker’s paycheck. Adding the federal payment on top gave many low-income workers more than they earned before.
Now with the $600 boost about to end, Congress must decide whether to let it die, continue it or cut back the payment levels. Recent negotiations suggest lawmakers on both sides are open to extending only reduced or a more restrictive version of the payment.
Most Republicans argue that the present system encourages workers to remain on unemployment rather than go back to work. Ending or slashing the federal payments would help employers and investors by pressuring many of those employees to go back to work.
But maintaining the extra unemployment payments at or near present levels would help millions of workers keep paying their rent, writing mortgage checks, making car payments and caring for families.
That’s especially true right now, when the pandemic is getting worse in many parts of the country and local officials are moving to restore lockdown rules they had begun to relax when the danger seemed to be fading.
In addition to helping the jobless, keeping the extra payments at or relatively near the current level would provide a substantial boost to an economy still reeling from the impact of COVID-19. Conversely, abolishing or slashing the federal payments would undercut the economy.
Basic unemployment insurance payments are determined by each state. During the first quarter of this year, they averaged $373 a week. The additional $600 a week was part of Congress’s $2.2-trillion relief package known as the CARES Act and passed in March.
Beyond anecdotal reports of employers struggling to recall workers, one of the few attempts to measure the extent of the problem was a May 18 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-employer lobbying group. It reported that 18% of 685 respondents said an employee had declined a job offer in order to stay on unemployment benefits.
Predictably the GOP Senate is going to try and stall this and then in turn blame the Democrats. (LuLac, L.A. Times)

TRUMP UK AMBASSADOR AND JETS TEAM OWNER WOODY JOHNSON NOW UNDER FIRE FOR ALLEGED RACIST AND SEXIST REMARKS-ANOTHER ONE OF HIS BEST PEOPLE

Woody Johnson (Photo: NY Post)

New York Jets team co-owner Robert “Woody” Johnson got the chance to branch out from his NFL world in 2017 when he was picked by President Donald Trump to be his ambassador to the United Kingdom.
That official position is also why Johnson finds himself under scrutiny beyond what he’s probably used to as an NFL owner.
On Tuesday, a New York Times story said Trump asked Johnson to “see if the British government could help steer” the British Open to his Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that a State Department watchdog investigation over Johnson included allegations of racist and sexist comments.
CNN reported Johnson “made racist generalizations about Black men and questioned why the Black community celebrates Black History Month.” CNN said that information came from three sources and a diplomat familiar with the complaints to the State Department inspector general. Ahead of an event for Black History Month, CNN reported that Johnson “appeared agitated” and asked if the audience would be "a whole bunch of Black people.” Three of CNN’s sources said Johnson questioned why there was a separate month to celebrate Black history, and he said Black fathers that didn't remain with their families was the “real challenge.”
CNN also reported Johnson made “cringeworthy” comments about women’s looks and “it was a struggle to get him on board for an event for International Women's Day,” according to the network’s sources.

ONCE AGAIN, NO, 
PA. CONGRESSMAN MATT CARTWRIGHT DID NOT CALL FOR DEFUNDING THE POLICE

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

The Republican, Jim Bognet was caught in a lie. He is seeking to unseat Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat who represents northeastern Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, blasted him in a news release for calling to “defund the police.”
“Cartwright proposes to defund the Wilkes-Barre police,” the June 12 email from the Jim Bognet for Congress campaign said. Bognet is a consultant and former Trump administration official from Hazleton who previously worked for the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
That came from Jim Bognet, 8th Congressional District candidate
The Philly Inquirer wondered whether Cartwright, whose reelection bid in a district Trump carried in 2016 and is expected to be one of the state’s most competitive, really backs a movement that the president and his allies have seized on as an example of Democratic overreach.
He does not.
During a virtual listening session he hosted last month with the Black Scranton Project and the Wilkes-Barre and Monroe County chapters of the NAACP, Cartwright was asked whether he supports calls to defund the police, a movement that has gained steam in some progressive circles in the weeks since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
His response was clear.
“There have been voices calling for defunding and disbanding police forces. I personally do not agree with that,” Cartwright said, advocating instead for new investment in law enforcement officer training and an expansion of community policing.
An audio clip of the exchange is available on Cartwright’s Facebook page.
“I think that’s the answer,” he continued. “The idea of defunding, I don’t agree with that.”
The Bognet campaign news release accusing Cartwright of supporting defunding the police linked to another audio clip of the congressman speaking during that same virtual listening session. The clip appears on the YouTube channel of the Congressional Leadership Fund, which works to elect Republicans to Congress. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Jessica Calefati)

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

Tune in Sunday morning at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on The Mothership 1340/1400 am, 100.7 and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on The River 105 and 103.5.

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

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Former Governor of California Ronald Reagan accepted his party's nomination for president at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, and told viewers in his acceptance speech, "For those who have abandoned home, we'll restore hope and we'll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again."

Reverend Marjorie Matthews was selected as the first woman bishop in the United Methodist Church after 29 ballots. Reverend Matthews, whose jurisdiction was for nine states from Ohio to North Dakota, was selected in Dayton, Ohio after 29 ballots…..The 1980 Summer Olympics began in Moscow, Soviet Union and ran until Soviet basketball star Sergei Belov lit the Olympic torch to signal the start of the Olympics. Although 81 nations sent teams to Moscow, 82 boycotted the Games in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Athletes from 16 Olympic committees participated under a neutral flag, including three American citizens representing Puerto Rico, which had been sending a separate Olympic team since 1948….The Soviet Union expelled the three founders of the USSR's feminist movement and flew them and their families to Austria. Since September, Tatiana Mamonova, Tatiana Goritscheva and Natalia Nalachoskaya had covertly published the unauthorized monthly magazine Women and Russia…Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. announced in Indianapolis that it would begin human testing of biosynthetic insulin and, if testing was successful, would commence commercial production. The synthesis had been made with the use of recombinant DNA to direct bacteria to produce the hormone used to control diabetes…The New York Post, which had operated for 179 years as the world's largest-circulation an afternoon daily newspaper, published its first morning edition, after publisher Rupert Murdoch announced that it would print two more morning editions along with the three published in the evening. The move came after the morning Daily News' announced that it would soon publish an afternoon edition... The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted, 4 to 3, to eliminate rules that had limited the number of cable television channels that a local cable provider could provide its customers. The FCC also revoked its rules of syndication exclusivity which prohibited a cable provider from showing a syndicated program if a local TV station was carrying the same program…Two volunteers, William Behrle III and Michael Benson, became the first people in almost 16 months to set foot inside the radioactively contaminated Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. Wearing radiation suits, the two nuclear technicians made the first onsite review of the TMI-2 reactor containment building (located in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg for the first time since the March 28, 1979 meltdown of a nuclear reactor and stayed for 20 minutes, measuring radiation levels, conducting a visual inspection and removing some contaminated equipment for testing. A follow-up inspection was made on August 15 as Behrle and Benson were accompanied by two other volunteer technicians…and the number one song in America and LuLac land was “Magic” by Olivia Newton John. The New York Mets used that same tune as a reminder to their fans that the “magic was back” but sadly it was not.

The LuLac Edition #4358, July 22nd, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY (PART 2)

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PETER TROYAN'S NEWEST

Local author Peter Troyan has a new book out and it's on Amazon.It's about two people who are from different generations learning from each other as they find commonality in their lives. $13.77 exclusively on Amazon.
Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Ice-Mr-Peter-Troyan/dp/1699383383/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=autumn+ice+peter+troyan&qid=1595372387&sr=8-1

The LuLac Edition #4,357, July 22nd, 2020

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

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This week we pick out a letter penned to the Citizens' Voice regarding the conduct of Donald Trump as President. There would be many who will tell you this letter writer nailed it.

TRUMP, TREASON AND VLADIMIR PUTIN

Editor: President Trump has decided his road to reelection is to cry “hoax” and “treason” about every situation and person with which he is unhappy. Except Vladimir Putin.
The president calls Russia’s meddling in our election a “hoax,” even if the entire national security apparatus says it happened. He refers to climate change as a “hoax” even though science recognizes that it is happening. Unfavorable polls are also a “hoax” even when they are conducted by FOX.
COVID-19, according to Trump is a “hoax” which, to date, has killed 130,000 Americans. The need for police reform is a ”hoax” even though we have all witnessed brutal murders with our own eyes. Vote-by-mail is a “hoax” even though Trump himself does it. And finally, Russian bounties on American corpses are a “hoax” that the president does not have the courage to condemn. Especially to Putin.
James Comey and Andrew McCabe were accused of “treason” for trying to get to the bottom of the Russian interference and because they would not go easy on Michael Flynn. Congressman Adam Schiff and all Congressional Democrats were also “treasonous” because they impeached the president for “shaking down“ Ukraine to manufacture dirt on Biden. And, astoundingly, Trump accused former President Obama because he hoped it might help him in the polls.
But through all of this, Trump has never had a bad word for Putin. Why not?
We remember Trump standing next to Putin in Helsinki. Shockingly, we remember Trump believing Putin and denying the investigative results of the entire U.S. intelligence community. We remember Trump telling us that he believed Russia, the country that had launched a cyberattack against the United States, and that he intended to do absolutely nothing about it.
Why does Trump stand with Putin? Maybe ”treason” is the reason.
Andrea Glod
Wilkes Barre

The LuLac Edition #4,356, July 21st, 2020

MAYBE I'M AMAZED

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MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that Senator Marco Rubio opted a photo of the late Congressman Elijah Cumming when tweeting a tribute to Congressman John Lewis. Like I just want to know where the hell is there staff people!?!!!
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that MLB umpires wear black underwear just in case they split their pants.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..but glad that the Los Angeles Dodgers are giving fans an opportunity to buy a seat for the season. The deal is for $149.00 you can buy a cut out of yourself and have a seat assigned. Proceeds go to the Dodgers Charity Foundation.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…that spiny lobsters migrate in groups of 50 in a type of conga line on the ocean floor. Check out “Hollywood Steps Out” from 1941 to see a real cartoon conga line.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED….but not that the Coromavirus has changed the way we shop for groceries. Two simultaneous trends in our consuming habits are becoming clear. Many Americans are buying products they believe will boost their immune systems, in the hopes of fending off disease. At the same time, rising levels of anxiety and stress have pushed some to seek solace in the things they eat, resulting in an uptick in sales of comfort food.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED..that camel’s milk doesn’t curdle.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……..that parents and students in local school districts will be in for a rollercoaster ride when it comes to school attendance. While the President is pushing for schools to go at full speed, logistics will be a big issue.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……a shrimp’s heart is in its head. Then if shrimp falls in love, he or she can love with both their head and heart, right?
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that Mary Trump’s book has sold 1 million copies in just one day. That has to be driving the President nuts because he keeps track of numbers like that especially when the books are not kind to him.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….there have been 85 recorded occurrences of a pitcher striking out 4 batters in one inning.
MAYBE I'M AMAZED.....but not that the Beatles are the only group thus far in 2020 to hit a million dollars in music sales. Not bad for a group that split fifty years ago.

The LuLac Edition #4355, July 20th, 2020

MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #4,354, July 20th, 2020

THE MOON LANDING @ 51

Fifty one years ago man landed on the moon. Here's how that went down.

The LuLac Edition #4,353, July 19th, 2020

THE “TAKE OUT” CONCERT SERIES

Well that’s my name for it but last year’s successful Rockin’ the County concert series is now moving to the neighborhoods and towns. Last night it was Hazleton, the Mountain City.
I had the opportunity to drive in it right behind the flatbed truck containing the members of Indigo Moon Brass Band. These guys not only played like the proverbial musical champs but certainly stayed in place as the truck navigated the various neighborhoods of Hazleton. (No one fell off is what I’m trying to tell you!)
As far as the people we saw, at stops along the way people watched from their porches, lawns and a few businesses dancing, smiling and thanking Discover NEPA and the county Convention and Visitors Bureau for the free show. People followed the music as friends and neighbors enjoyed a street side take out of good music. As I drove along, the entire scene reminded me of my neighborhood in the Junction section of Pittston on a Friday night in the summer. Kids out of school, parents home from work, people on porches, small crowds gathering to see the spectacle and kids lined up for an ice cream treat from the truck that announced its arrival with the chiming bells. (Those ice cream truck proved that Haagen Daas is just for the winter).

Speaking of Pittston, the next concert is set for my old hometown Pittston July 24th!
From left to right before we got moving, Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat, Tony Brooks, me, Mary Kolessar from Discover NEPA, Mary Malone, Executive Director of the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce and Theodore “Ted” Wampole, Executive Director o the Luzerne County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. (Ted was also a member of the storied Killer Bees Softball team as was I).

CONGRESSMAN CARTWRIGHT STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF JOHN LEWIS 

Congressman John Lewis (Photo: The Atlantic)

Congressman Matt Cartwright offered this remembrance of John Lewis, Civil Rights pioneer. 
My heart breaks today with the passing of Congressman John Lewis.
John Lewis's lifelong quest for freedom and justice for all led to important progress in our nation and inspired so many others to join the fight. I was truly humbled to serve alongside him in Congress.
We will all miss this true American hero -- a man with the highest level of integrity. We can honor him by continuing his efforts to build a more just America.
I can’t help but remember visiting Selma, walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Mr. Lewis and thinking about the tremendous injuries he suffered there in the fight for justice. We owe it to him to not become complacent, to keep up the fight, and never stop working to bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice.

The LuLac Edition #4,352, July 16th, 2020

TRUMP RETWEETED A POST ACCUSING THE CDC OF LYING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS TO PREVENT HIS REELECTION

President Donald Trump retweeted a tweet written by game show host Chuck Woolery on Monday morning.
Woolery, the original host of "Wheel of Fortune," and a conservative, accused the CDC and doctors of lying about the coronavirus.
Woolery did not specify what lies were being told, but alleged it was "all about the election" — suggesting that the agency was emphasizing bad news to harm Trump's campaign.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump retweeted a tweet Monday morning which accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of lying about the coronavirus in order to obstruct his reelection.
The original tweet was written by Chuck Woolery, the original host of "Wheel of Fortune," who is also a conservative.
The tweet reads: "The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust.
"I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it."
The message did not make clear what lies the CDC is supposed to be responsible for. Trump and those around him have expressed skepticism in the organization and other government experts before.
It was the latest in a series of tweets in recent weeks, in which the president alleged that various organizations are working to ensure that he isn't voted into a second term.
As states pushed to enact mail-in voting in light of the coronavirus in May, Trump tweeted — without evidence — that such mail-in voting leads to fraud and would spell "THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY."
Nope Diaper Don, the person engineering that is YOU.

TRUMP'S PLOY TO DERAIL BIDEN, BULLSHIT LIES

DOCTORS CRY FOUL AS TRUMP, WHITE HOUSE TARGET FAUCI, CDC

As top White House officials criticized the nation's leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci -- including a top aide sharing a mocking cartoon -- four former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have penned an op-ed warning that "undermining" science and the "willful disregard for public health guidelines" is "leading to a sharp rise in infections and deaths" from the novel coronavirus.
"The four of us led the CDC over a period of more than 15 years, spanning Republican and Democratic administrations alike," Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan, David Satcher, and Richard Besser wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday in The Washington Post. "We cannot recall over our collective tenure a single time when political pressure led to a change in the interpretation of scientific evidence."
Trump has pressured the CDC to change guidelines for schools, a move the four former CDC directors called "extraordinary." They praised the CDC's experts.
"Unfortunately, their sound science is being challenged with partisan potshots, sowing confusion and mistrust at a time when the American people need leadership, expertise and clarity," the former directors, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, wrote.
The unusual repudiation came as the White House sought to discredit Fauci, who has provided a more blunt and sobering assessment of the state of the epidemic than the president and his top aides have sought to project -- one they see as politically inconvenient as Trump campaigns for re-election.

WOLF SIGNS BILL TO REFORM WORK LICENSE REQUIREMENTS FOR REHABILITATED CRIMINALS

Brandon Flood  and Tom Wolf. (Photo: AP)

Skilled workers with criminal records in the commonwealth will now have a second chance to move forward in their lives thanks to a newly-approved bipartisan Senate bill signed by Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 637 removes what Wolf’s administration is calling “outdated licensing barriers” that have proven to restrict skilled workers with criminal records from obtaining necessary professional licenses.
According to the governor’s administration, one in five Pennsylvanians – over a million workers – requires an occupational license from a board or commission to do their job.
Various occupations, including those in the fields of cosmetology, hairdressing, landscape architecture, social work, and vehicle manufacturing, dealing and sales and more all require professional licenses.
“Pennsylvania must be a place where hardworking people can put their skills to work,” Wolf said. “Arbitrarily denying someone a job license because of outdated rules against criminal records is wrong. This new bipartisan law is a commonsense way to allow people to pursue the American dream and build a better life in Pennsylvania. It’s good for skilled workers, their employers and the economy for all of us.”
The bill lists a number of changes for the 29 occupational licensing boards in the state.
Boards and commissions will no longer be able to use a person’s criminal history to deny that person a license, provided their criminal history is not directly related to the job in which they are seeking a license.
Boards will also be tasked with individually considering applications based on the offense, the amount of time since the conviction, the applicant’s personal progress and training, and other factors before withholding a license.
Secretary of Pardons Brandon J. Flood, an advocate for reform in the justice system, applauded the adoption of the new law, which he said will help those that have been rehabilitated rejoin society. Flood is uniquely familiar with the challenges of reentering the world after incarceration, as he spent the better part of a decade in prison on drug and firearm charges. While serving a sentence in Chester County, Flood enrolled in college classes, and upon release, he eventually secured a job in the state legislature that led to his current position, which he took on just last year.
“Today’s signing of this legislation serves as a hand-up and not a hand-out to many justice-involved Pennsylvanians who have made mistakes, learned from them, and are actively seeking to improve their lives for the better,” Flood said . “I would like to thank the Governor, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Senators DiSanto and Schwank for their leadership on this critically important issue.”
Though the Senate bill does encourage reentry to society for reformed criminals, certain cases are excluded. Boards cannot issue licenses to someone convicted of a sexual offense to practice health care.
As it stands, boards cannot take juvenile convictions or convictions expunged under the Clean Slate law when determining eligibility for a license.
Flood was the speaker for the Wilkes-Barre NAACP Freedom Fund banquet in October of 2019.
The Department of State and Pennsylvania’s licensing boards will develop a guide to help those with criminal convictions apply for a license. (Pocono Record, LuLac)

GOVERNOR SIGNS TWO POLICE REFORM BILLS INTO LAW IN PA

Governor Tom Wolf has signed two law enforcement bills that will implement more training, mental health evaluations, and expanded pre-employment background checks for officers by also establishing a police database system to assist departments in hiring.
Pennsylvania State Police and other lawmakers joined the Governor as he signed HB1841 and 1910 that were passed with bipartisan cooperation.
The framework for the police database will be established by the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission. Lt. Col. Christopher Paris of PA State Police and several lawmakers said the goal of the database is to keep 'bad apples' from being hired into police departments and from moving from one agency to the next.
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CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES $400,000 IN CARES ACT FUNDING FOR NEPA ALLIANCE

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright announced the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania (dba NEPA Alliance) received $400,000 in CARES Act recovery assistance through the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The funding will support their response to the coronavirus pandemic as they continue efforts to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.
“Throughout this crisis, the NEPA Alliance has been an important ally to the small businesses across our region, helping them navigate the federal and state relief programs available to them,” said Rep. Cartwright, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “I applaud the NEPA Alliance for supporting our community’s response to the pandemic right now while staying focused on our long-term economic recovery.”
“NEPA Alliance is very proud to serve our region of seven great counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania with our economic development programs. We are also very grateful for Congressman Cartwright’s support for the Economic Development Administration funding, which is integral to our ability to serve small businesses and the communities in Northeast Pennsylvania,” stated Jeffrey Box, President and CEO of NEPA Alliance.
The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, provided the EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities respond to coronavirus. The EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, provides a range of financial assistance to communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
The Economic Development Administration is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Their investment policy is designed to establish a foundation for sustainable job growth and the building of durable regional economies throughout the United States.

MEDIA MATTERS

WALN TV

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

Tune in Sunday morning at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on The Mothership 1340/1400 am, 100.7 and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on The River 105 and 103.5.

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.

hmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah, Sultan of Pahang was installed as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, elected as the ceremonial monarch of Malaysia by the sultans of Malaysia's nine states. Ahmad Shah filled the vacancy caused on March 29, 1979, by the death of his predecessor, Yahya Petra, Sultan of Kelantan. A 51-year old Atlanta man with heatstroke reached the highest-recorded survivable body temperature ever recorded in a human being. Even after having his temperature lowered by being packed in ice for 15 minutes and having ice water pumped into and out of his stomach, Willie Jones— whom nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital nicknamed "the Human Torch"— was measured at 116.7 °F (47.1 °C). Earlier attempts at measurement were beyond the range of conventional thermometers, but his physician estimated that Jones's temperature "must have exceeded 120 degrees" when he was brought in….Australia's first commercial FM radio station, 3EON, began full-time broadcasting at 6:30 in the morning on 92.3 MHz in Melbourne It had done some sporadic test broadcasting two days earlier of "its music format of 'rock and roll and heart and soul'." It is now called 3MMM as Triple M Melbourne.

Richard Queen, one of the 53 remaining U.S. Embassy personnel held captive during the Iran hostage crisis, was released on humanitarian grounds after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis….QUBE, a cable-television system in Columbus, Ohio with an interactive media channel that allowed viewer participation, sponsored a football game where the viewers were given the opportunity to decide the plays. In the game, a semi-pro football exhibition between the visiting Racine Gladiators of Wisconsin and the Columbus Metros, viewers were offered five choices for offensive plays (rush up the middle, rush to one side, and short, medium and long passes) and three defensive plays (straight defense, blitz or team choice). Metros coach Hal Dyer was required to follow whichever option received the highest tabulated number of viewer responses Roughly 5,000 of QUBE's 30,000 subscribers participated, and although the Metros took a 7 to 0 lead before the game was interrupted by a thunderstorm, they lost to the Gladiators, 10 to 3…Billy Carter, the brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was forced to register with the U.S. Department of Justice as a foreign agent for Libya. Billy acknowledged that he had accepted $220,000 from the government of Muammar Gaddafi…..Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford considered, then rejected, a proposal to run for Vice President as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan. Ford, who had served as vice president for ten months until replacing Richard M. Nixon as president in 1974, decided not to be on the ticket and informed the Reagan staff at 11:45 p.m. in Detroit.[Ford said later that if he had had more time to negotiate what his role would have been as Reagan's vice president, he might have accepted, but that that Reagan's advisers wanted a decision before midnight, saying "I felt that if we'd had a little more time, it might have worked out." Reagan then chose former U.N. Ambassador George Bush, his opponent in the primaries.
Before Ford declined to run, a number of American newspapers published early editions with the news of a Reagan-Ford presidential ticket, including the Chicago Sun-Times, with the headline "It's Reagan and Ford— Former president agrees to VP deal". The Courier-Journal of Louisville had the headline "Ford reportedly accepts No. 2 spot on GOP ticket….The two-day Liberty Bell Track and Field Classic opened in Philadelphia as an alternative to track and field athletics competition in the 1980 Summer Olympics. Athletes from the Olympic teams of 26 boycotting nations (and three others) competed in the U.S., three days before competition opened in Moscow. At the same time, other track stars (from boycotting and non-boycotting nations) were competing in the annual Bislett Games in Oslo. In all but two of the 19 men's events common to both games, and all of the 14 women's events, the athletes in Moscow fared better than those in Philadelphia. The exceptions were James Walker of the U.S. being faster in the 400m hurdles (48.6 seconds) than Volker Beck of East Germany (48.7) and Renaldo Nehemiah of the U.S. in the 100m hurdles (13.31 seconds) than Thomas Munkelt of East Germany (13.39).[75] Bob Coffman of the USA commented afterward, "This meet was someone's self-serving idea to humor the athletes. You don't come to Philadelphia when the competition is in Moscow." And forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land was “Tired of Toein' the Line” by Rocky Burnette.