The LuLac Edition #4,472, February 18th, 2021

 TED CRUZ'S NOT SO EXCELLENT ADVENTURE 

 

 

With Texas paralyzed by a winter storm, Sen. Ted Cruz took his family on vacation to Cancun, Mexico, drawing criticism from leaders in both parties and potentially damaging his political ambitions.

In a statement on Thursday, Cruz said he was returning to Texas. He said he accompanied his family to Mexico a day earlier after his daughters asked to go on a trip with friends, given that school was canceled for the week.

Really?

This is Republican entitlement front and center. Blame it on the kids who want to go on vacation. Hey I’m a good dad Ted says.

Yeah right.

This sniveling carnival barker wanted and had the means to get out of town while the dumbass Texans who voted for him, believed him.

Those folks SUFFERED AND FROZE while Ted flew First class to sunny Cancun.   Imagine if a Dem did that. The right wing propaganda machine would have a field day.

As many of you know who have read LuLac, I never put much stock in what Donald Trump has said over the years. But he did tell a few truths and one of them was when he called this poor excuse for a Senator Lying Ted Cruz.

He’s a coward and liar. He didn't answer questions from the press upon landing sneaking out a side door. 

But a good dad? Yeah well good dads don’t throw their daughters under the bus. 

 

BLAKE RESIGNING FROM PA. SENATE

 CARTWRIGHT SNAGS HIM FOR DISTRICT POST

Cartwright and Blake (Photo: Times Shamrock)

 22^nd District State Sen. John Blake will be resigning from the legislature to join U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright’s staff as district director, the Democratic lawmakers announced Monday morning in Scranton.

Cartwright, who represents Pennsylvania's 8th District, was elected chairman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee last month. During his 2020 reelection campaign, he spoke about his hopes to use that role to bring more funding to northeastern Pennsylvania.

Blake, who represents District 22 (Lackawanna County and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties), will leave office on March 8. He was first elected in 2010, and said Monday he had already decided not to run again in 2022.

Blake brings a great deal of experience to the job and is a worthy replacement for long time staffer Bob Morgan who left the position. Blake will focus on Economic Development.

 

FOUR WOMEN SET TO RUN FOR LUZERNE COUNTY BENCH

Four women have thrown their hats into the ring for two Judgeships in Luzerne County. Each has a different starting point career wise in making the jump to the Common Pleas Court. District Attorney Stefanie  Salavantis will try to duplicate the feat of her predecessors Patrick Toole, Chester Muroski and Corey Stevens who achieved that position after serving as DA. 

Pittston Area Magistrate Alexandra Kokura Kravitz will try to emulate the success of her predecessors Joseph Augello and Fred Pierontoni. State Representative Tarah Toohil will try to make the move from the State House as Corey Stevens did when he gave up his House Seat to run for DA and then became a Judge. Laura Dennis will launch her campaign as many Attorney have done in the past from a successful private practice. 

All candidates can cross file on both parties.   

 

 TRUMP'S ACTS AS PRESIDENT ARE 'FAIR GAME' FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES

Donald Trump's legal troubles are far from over, despite his acquittal in the U.S. Senate impeachment trial that ended on Saturday.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted this just moments after voting to acquit Trump, saying the courts are the proper forum for holding the former president accountable for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

 “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “He didn’t get away with anything. Yet.”

 Here's an explanation of how Trump's leaving office affects his criminal and civil exposure.

 Can Trump be prosecuted for acts he engaged in as president?

 Yes. Now that Trump has left office, any misconduct he engaged in as president is "fair game" for criminal charges, said Brian Kalt, a constitutional law professor at Michigan State University.

 Trump enjoyed more protection from prosecution while he was president because the U.S. Justice Department has concluded it would be unconstitutional to indict a sitting president. But there is no federal prohibition on charging a former president for acts committed while in office.

 "The immunity argument is about the timing of the trial; it is generally accepted that ex-presidents can be prosecuted for crimes committed in office," Kalt said.

Do Trump's official acts enjoy special protection from prosecution?

 No.

In some contexts, U.S. courts have drawn a distinction between a president's "official acts" and actions unrelated to the job of president. For example, in a 1982 case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in civil lawsuits, presidents are immune from liability arising from their official acts.

But if Trump violated criminal laws, the fact that he took those actions while president would not shield him from liability, said Randall Eliason, a law professor at George Washington University and a former federal prosecutor. (AP, The Hill) 

 

WHAT JOHN FETTERMAN BELIEVES 

 

(Photo: Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

The minimum wage should be a living wage of at least $15 an hour. All work has dignity, and all paychecks must too.

Health care is a fundamental human right – just like housing, food, and education.

Climate change is an existential threat. We need to transition to clean energy as quickly as possible, and we can create millions of good union jobs in the process.

Weed should be legal, nationwide — for jobs, justice, veterans, farmers, and revenue. It’s time to end the failed war on drugs.

Immigration is what makes America, America. We need a compassionate response to immigration reform that actually treats immigrants like human beings.

Black Lives Matter. John served as mayor of a city that’s more than 80% Black, and has championed the idea that Black lives matter since long before it became a hashtag.

The union way of life is sacred. It’s what built this nation, and it must be protected. 

A woman’s right to an abortion is non-negotiable. Women should have control over their own bodies and their own lives. Period.

LGBTQIA+ communities deserve equal protections under the law. John has always stood for equality, and was one of the first elected officials in PA to officiate a same-sex wedding – when it was still illegal.

Get corporate money out of politics. John refuses contributions from corporate PACs, and he signed the “No Fossil Fuel Money” Pledge.

 

CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES $56,000 IN COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS TO FIRE CO

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) today announced that five first responder agencies will be awarded a total of $ 56,689.70 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant – COVID-19 Supplemental Program Round 2 (AFG-S 2) to be used for personal protective equipment (PPE) and essential supplies. This is the second round of applications and awards.

“I often think of the men and women who serve in our fire companies and their families as I continue to push for more support for our safety infrastructure and local governments during this crisis,” said Rep. Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I consider it my duty to fight for them and ensure our first responders have what they need to keep themselves and our communities safe.”

AFG-S 2 provides funds for the purchase of PPE and related supplies for our nation’s first responders during the COVID- 19 response. The CARES Act authorized $100 million in supplemental funding for this program.

 

 

CASEY NAMED TO SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE OVERSEES U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND INFLUENCES U.S. FOREIGN AND NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY

 

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

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he was named to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the U.S. intelligence community and influences U.S. foreign and national security policy. Senator Casey previously served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2007-2013, and chaired its Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee for four years.

 “I look forward to having the opportunity to serve on the Intelligence Committee as our Nation faces threats of domestic terrorism at home and complex challenges abroad,” Senator Casey said. “As a member of the Committee, I will promote policies that keep our country safe and further our interests.”

The Committee was created by the Senate in 1976 to “oversee and make continuing studies of the intelligence activities and programs of the United States Government,” to “submit to the Senate appropriate proposals for legislation and report to the Senate concerning such intelligence activities and programs,” and to “provide vigilant legislative oversight over the intelligence activities of the United States to assure that such activities are in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

With Democrats in the Senate majority, Senator Casey will also serve as Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and as a senior member of the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committees.

   

MEDIA MATTERS

 

RUSH

I first heard Rush Limbaugh on Jim Ward’s WARD Talk station in 1988-89.Ward put him on from 3 to 5 and had Rob Neyhard as a lead in.

When he started, Rush was wildly entertaining. He was brash, he was bold. He had that touch of irony and political incorrectness that evened out the furrowed brow era of George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

As a centrist liberal Democrat, I could at least see the irony.

I loved the satire. I loved the radio show because he was an entertainer. It was akin to broadcast WWE, broadcast wrestling. You knew it was sarcastic and tongue in cheek but because at first he wasn’t mean.

But then as the years went by, the nuances, the wink of the eye changed because the satire and jokes became gobbled up as gospel by the listeners. The comic bits gave way to outright meanness. Then there were the dog whistles on race. Rush got canned from ESPN Sports Football for making a remark about black analyst Tom Jackson. To me, that rejection led to his all out assault on anything and anybody who was not a doctrinaire right wing conservative.

Then the ignorant and the crazies took him as their Jonh the Baptist who demonized anyone not white, conservative or willing to swallow his daily rants. Rush made Donald Trump possible. He defended him to the end.

Trump in turn paid Rush back with honors and kind words.

Rush saved AM Radio.  Having grown up on it, I was thankful for that. The results of that salvation, the dividing of this country, the mean spirited tenor and hate that his later shows engendered now make me wonder if that salvation of a broadcast medium was worth the price.

 

 WALN TV

 

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest will be Jimeal Calliste, President of the NAACP Wilkes-Barre chapter.  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.

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

 

1987 

 

Our 1987 logo.

37th NBA All-Star Game, Kingdome, Seattle, WA: West beats East, 154-149 (OT); MVP: Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics,…..Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane attempts suicide…… NY Stock Exch installs ladies restroom in the Exchange Luncheon Club……Philippine troops murder 17 civilians in Lupao Massacre…..British Airways begins trading stocks……England beat Australia 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup……Philippines constitution goes into effect…….US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site…… Survivors of a black man murdered by KKK members awarded $7 M damages……. Tigers' Jack Morris awarded $1.85 million salary by arbitrator……… Detroit Pistons-Philadelphia 76ers game draws crowd of 53,745 at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac; third largest crowd in NBA history; Pistons win, 125-107  ABC-TV begins broadcasting "Amerika" mini-series……Karlstad skates world record 10km (14:03,92)……Nikolai Guljajev becomes world champion skater……Masters champion Craig Stadler is disqualified from Andy Williams Open for kneeling on a towel to make a shot…..Daytona 500: Bill Elliott leads for 104 of 200 laps including the last 3; had won pole with record speed of 210.364 mph…..PGA Seniors' Championship Men's Golf, PGA National GC: Chi-Chi Rodríguez wins his second and final Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke from Dale Douglass…….Demjanjuk, accused of being "Ivan the Terrible" trial begins…. Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)……Michelle Renee Royer, 21, (Texas), crowned 36th Miss USA….and in 1987 the number one song in LuLac Land and America was   George Michael & Aretha Franklin’s “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).