The LuLac Edition #4,404, September 17th, 2020

 THIS COMING MONDAY!!!!!

 

A few more days until this big anniversary event. But you must register. REGISTER NOW - www.kings.edu/ethics Click on “Events” “Get Tickets"

 

 BIDEN COMES HOME AGAIN

Former Vice President Joe Biden came to Moosic’s PNC Field tonight and rocked it. Answering questions from Anderson Cooper and invited guests, Biden did very well. I hope he put to rest the fact that he constantly uses a teleprompter, can’t think on his feet, can't stay on his feet,  and is out of it. 

Two takeaways we saw was Biden's assertion that the election is Scranton Vs. Park Avenue. That was very strong on Biden's part. Plus Biden seemed to have command and knowledge of all of the issues. On the Virus vaccine, he sited how something like that can be distributed fairly and within a realistic time period. It was obvious to me that medical and public health professionals briefed him and WAIT FOR IT, unlike Mr. Trump, HE LISTENED! 

Compared to the President, Biden did the following: 

1. He was empathetic, 

2. He was knowledgeable. 

3. He was engaging. 

4. He was a human being. 

One of the questions came from current City Council Chair of Wilkes Bare Bill Barrett. Biden acknowledged that he met Barrett when he (Barrett) was the Chief of police. Barrett's question had to do with unrest in American cities, crime and policing. 

All in all, it was a great night for the former Vice President and was watched by millions. Check out the national media shows tomorrow for more reactions. 

 TRUMP MEETS THE PEOPLE 

 The President and ABC TV's George  Stephanopoulos

Donald Trump had a town meeting Tuesday night, the likes of which he as never seen. Regular independent folks actually pushed back and didn’t let hi get away with his usual bullshit. To me, he looked like he was on speed. Just never took breath. An undecided voter confronted President Donald Trump over his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act during a town hall event on Tuesday, asking how the White House planned to protect those with preexisting conditions while actively fighting to undermine protections already in place. Ellesia Blaque, an assistant professor, pressed Trump during an ABC News town hall with voters in Philadelphia. During a tense moment, Blaque detailed her experience with a lifelong disease that costs her thousands of dollars annually in insurance copayments. “Mr. President, I was born with a disease called sarcoidosis, and from the day I was born, I was considered uninsurable,” Blaque said. “That disease started in my skin, moved to my eyes, into my optic nerves, and when I went to graduate school, into my brain. … With copays, I’m still paying almost $7,000 a year in addition to the copay.” The questioning grew tense after Trump interrupted to dispute claims that the ACA, also known as Obamacare, had already protected those with preexisting conditions. 

The people on Fox News said it was a “set up” and locally, former Lackawanna Ciunty Commissioner and Trump advocate Laureen A. Cummings posted this on Facebook. Wow...this is crazy watching this he has got to be out of his mind attending this event. I hope that he has a lot of security with him because these people including the host, are DANGEROUS. Did she NOT think ABC or the Secret Service had it covered? Trump was revealed for the ignorant slob he is with no sense of nuance or empathy. His followers and sycophants just can’t stand that truth. 

 SENATOR SUSAN "TEASER" COLLINS LAGS BEHIND

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is trailing her Democratic opponent in the closely watched Senate race by more than 10 points, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Susan Collins is now least popular senator, facing reelection A new Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters surveyed in Maine found the incumbent trailing her opponent Sara Gideon, the state's House speaker, by 12 percentage points. Collins is one of the last moderate Republicans from New England remaining in Congress. She has been critical of President Donald Trump – whose approval rating in the state is below the national average, according to the polls – on a number of issues. But her detractors say that despite her often verbal expressions of disapproval (the phrase "Susan Collins is concerned" has become something of a social media punchline) she has ended up voting with Trump on the most important issues, such as the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the impeachment trial Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is trailing her Democratic opponent in the closely watched Senate race by more than 10 points, according to a new poll released Wednesday. 

CARTWRIGHT LEGISLATION ENACTED IN 2016 HAS SAVED OVER $450 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY

 Congressman Matt Cartwright. (LuLac archives).

 In Case You Missed It – A new analysis found that legislation led by U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08), which was signed into law in 2016, has saved the federal government more than $450 million in taxpayer dollars since its enactment. The bipartisan Megabyte Act of 2016, sponsored by Cartwright in the House and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) in the Senate, requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and chief information officers of federal agencies to keep inventories of software licenses, train their IT management workforce on how to manage the licenses, and use that information to manage the agency’s software licenses in accordance with agency policy. In a recent report, Federal News Network wrote that the Megabyte Act “may just be the most successful federal management bill in the last two-plus decades:" Federal News Network: New data proves some federal management laws do work (September 14, 2020) “Here’s a thought to ponder: Has there ever been a federal management law that has been as successful as the MEGABYTE Act of 2016? Stop for a moment and think back over the last, say 20 or 25 years. I’ll wait … While you are going through the old Rolodex of laws whether it was the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) or the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) or the E-Government Act or even go back to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, have agencies successfully implemented any of these at scale and saw real change as intended by Congress? New data from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee combined with the 10th Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard demonstrates that the Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act (MEGABYTE Act) may just be the most successful federal management bill in the last two-plus decades. The committee found 13 agencies saved or avoided spending more than $450 million between fiscal 2017 and 2019. The Department of Health and Human Services accounted for $145 million of that savings or avoidance, while the Social Security Administration achieved $118 million in savings or avoidance during that two-year time span.” “Democrats and Republicans both agree that government works better when it works smarter, and that was the whole idea behind the Megabyte Act,” Cartwright said. “By improving IT management across our federal agencies, this successful law is helping improve government service and saving millions of taxpayer dollars in the process. I’m proud to see that the Megabyte Act is working as intended.” 

 CASEY, STABENOW: UNDERCOVER GAO INVESTIGATION SHOWS HOW CONSUMERS WERE MISLED INTO PURCHASING “JUNK PLANS” TRUMP ADMIN HAS ALLOWED JUNK PLANS TO FLOURISH, AS MORE THAN 26 MILLION AMERICANS MAY BE UNINSURED AND LOOKING FOR INSURANCE AS A RESULT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC 

 U.S. Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

Following a request from U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate “junk” health insurance plans being sold online, GAO found that junk plans were deceptively marketed to consumers as covering pre-existing conditions when the plans did not. The report details a “secret shopper” investigation, in which GAO made 31 undercover calls to insurance sales representatives, posing as consumers looking for health insurance that would cover their pre-existing conditions. There are an estimated 135 million Americans with a pre-existing condition. “We are in the midst of an economic and public health crisis, yet President Trump has continued to undermine Americans’ access to comprehensive health insurance, and has allowed substandard insurance plans to flourish. The report that Senator Stabenow and I requested reveals that, in almost one in every four of the calls made by undercover callers, they were sold junk plans that would not cover their pre-existing conditions,” said Senator Casey. “Families are being deceptively sold junk plans and are seeing bills skyrocket, and coverage denied. 

With an estimated 5.5 million Pennsylvanians having pre-existing conditions, that is simply unacceptable. Now more than ever, Americans need comprehensive coverage, and they need insurance that covers pre-existing conditions.” “It is outrageous that in the midst of this once in a generation pandemic the Trump Administration is making it harder for Americans to get comprehensive health care. This investigation made it clear that President Trump is pushing junk health insurance plans on unsuspecting families who are trying to stay safe and healthy. These plans don’t protect people with pre-existing conditions or cover basic services like prescriptions, hospital care and maternity care. While the Trump Administration is taking health care away from families, Democrats are fighting to stop the sale of these dangerous plans and ensure Americans have accurate information on enrolling in quality health care plans,” said Senator Stabenow. 

The Senators held a press call to release the findings of the report. Pennsylvania’s Insurance Commissioner, Jessica Altman, joined the call along with a representative from the GAO. “These plans are clearly not a long-term alternative to comprehensive coverage. Consumers may very well experience an upfront savings in premiums, but the affordability of these skinny plans will likely prove false,” said Commissioner Altman. “Those who need health care will run up against exclusions and limitations on coverage that, while making the purchase price more affordable, will do so only as a trade-off for reductions in benefit coverage and provider access. The complaints my Department has received have been devastating.” To address the issues uncovered in the report, Senators Casey and Stabenow are recommending steps to combat the deceptive practices of junk plans: allowing the FTC to crack down on deceptive, online advertising for junk plans, tightening consumer disclosure requirements for these plans and strengthening federal outreach efforts for ACA enrollment, so consumers know how to enroll in comprehensive coverage. S

Senator Casey released a report in October 2019 about misleading online advertisements related to junk plans. Senator Casey and Senator Stabenow are cosponsors of the No Junk Plans Act, which would undo the Trump Administration’s rule allowing enrollment in certain junk insurance plans for up to one year, with the option to re-enroll for up to three years. 

 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. 

 The People's Republic of China enacted the Communist nation's first income tax law since the 1949 Revolution, as legislation adopted by the National People's Congress. The taxes, applied differently for urban and rural individuals and commercial income earners, played a positive role in adjusting personal income level and increased national fiscal revenue. The proposed tax law had been announced on September 2. ……China also made further changes in its marriage law, superseding comprehensive reforms made on April 30, 1950…… A referendum on a new constitution was held in Chile on the seventh anniversary of the 1973 coup d'etat that installed a military government led by Augusto Pinochet. The new constitution, approved by a 54% to 46% margin on a yes/no vote, provided for Pinochet to legally have broad powers and to serve an eight-year term during a transition from military to civilian rule. …….Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser announced that new elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate would take place on October 18…… The island of Tobago, the lesser-populated and smaller part of the two main islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, was granted self-government for the first time since it had joined Trinidad in becoming independent in 1962…. Former President of Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle was assassinated 15 months after he fled to exile in Paraguay. Somoza had invested in farmland and was scheduled to travel there the next day for a month-long stay, but had a final appointment at a bank before leaving. [62] A Sandinista team of four men and three women carried out "Operation Reptile" in Asunción, tracking Somoza and waiting for him to be driven from his home by his chauffeur Cesar Gallardo, with four Paraguayan policemen following him. At 10:08 in the morning, as Somoza was passing through a residential neighborhood on Avenida España., a stolen pickup truck cut in front of his Mercedes and blocked him at the intersection with Avenida América. Three men in the truck were joined by two more from the house on the corner and fired automatic weapons (striking Somoza with 19 bullets). After shooting the chauffeur, Hugo Irurzún fired a rocket propelled grenade and destroyed the limousine. In addition to Somoza and Gallardo, the assassins had killed Somoza's financial consultant, Jose Baittiner, who had been riding along for the appointment at the bank. Iruzun was killed the next day in a shootout with Paraguayan police. …….The first vote of confidence since the restoration of democracy to Spain was held in the Congress of Deputies, and the new government of Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez was given narrow approval, 180 to 164. Iraq's President Saddam Hussein announced to the Iraqi Parliament that the 1975 border accord with Iran was "null and void". The Republic of Iraq and the Kingdom of Iran had signed an accord on March 16, 1975, allowing Iran partial control of the Shatt al-Arab, the combined estuary of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in return for Iran's agreement to discontinue support to Iraq's Kurdish rebels. And forty years ago the number one song in LuLac land and America was "Late In the Evening" by Paul Simon.

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