The LuLac Edition #4,493, April 8th, 2021

 

 LUZERNE COUNTY JUDGESHIP ADS UP

Candidates for Luzerne County Judge have ads up and running. Attorney Laura Dennis has a creative ad that she hopes will boost her name recognition. But here she discusses her candidacy with Sam Lasante. 

Jim Bobeck has gone with the tried and true ad introducing himself to the public with  no gimmicks.

Alexandra Kokura Kravitz has this informational piece from the Sam Lesante Show.

State Representative Tarah Toohill and former District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis will surely follow suit.

 

BOEHNER BLASTS TRUMP, SAYING HE 'INCITED THAT BLOODY INSURRECTION'

Former house Speaker John Boehner has been blasting fellow Republicans. It is refreshing to see a traditional Republican take his own people to task. The Ohio Republican issues a stinging denunciation in his new book of Donald Trump, saying that the former president “incited that bloody insurrection” by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and that the Republican Party has been taken over by “whack jobs.”

The criticism from Boehner in his book, “On the House: A Washington Memoir,” represents an extraordinary public rebuke by a former speaker of the House toward a former president from his own party and shows how much the Republican Party has shifted since Boehner left Congress in 2015. And his remarks came as Trump has sought to retain his grip on Republican lawmakers’ loyalty from his new political base in south Florida.

Trump, he goes on, “incited that bloody insurrection for nothing more than selfish reasons, perpetuated by the bullshit he’d been shoveling since he lost a fair election the previous November.” Boehner writes, “He claimed voter fraud without any evidence, and repeated those claims, taking advantage of the trust placed in him by his supporters and ultimately betraying that trust.”

In an emailed statement, Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump, called Boehner a “Swamp Creature” and accused him of favoring “Communist China”  Again bullshit from Trump’s and his people, citing the ex Speaker as a Swamp creature who has been out of office since 2015.

 

STAGGERING INEQUITIES AND INADEQUACIES IN PA'S K-12 FUNDING

The PA Budget and Policy Center (PBPC} and Keystone Research Center released new data that lays bare the staggering inequities and inadequacies in the state's K-12 education funding. PBPC Director Marc Stier was joined by Senator Vince Hughes in presenting the brief.

It is well-known that Pennsylvania’s K-12 schools are inadequately and inequitably funded. But the extent of the problem is not fully understood. The brief uses new data and methods to demonstrate just how unfair—and in fact, morally unsustainable—is the funding of elementary and secondary education in the Commonwealth.

Example: Affluent districts spend 33% more per pupil than the state’s poorest districts. Assuming a class size of 33 students, the data suggest that the wealthiest school districts are spending $94,427 more per classroom than the lowest spending districts. These inequities also have a racial dimension as schools primarily attended by Black children are funded at lower levels than those attended by white children.

During the presentation Stier said, "Our new research conclusively demonstrates that funding for K-12 education in our state is not only inadequate but highly inequitable. The underfunding of school districts that teach a high share of students living in poverty, Black students, and brown students, is a moral scandal. And because our economy depends on enabling our kids to make the best use of their talents and abilities, it undermines the future for all us."

Senator Hughes added, "Education funding in Pennsylvania is separate and unequal, and that has to change,”  He said, “There are two separate school systems in Pennsylvania: One that receives the wealth that perpetuates disparity and one that is waiting for its shot at fair funding. When we fail to fund our public schools, we fail the entire commonwealth and our nation because we fail to produce the learners needed to bring innovation, build up our economy and so much more. We must end the education inequity and create a better present and future for our youth.”

 

CASEY, TOOMEY INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL LEGISLATION NAMED AFTER BUCKS COUNTY PILOT TO IMPROVE AIRPLANE SAFETY

SARACINI ENHANCED AVIATION SAFETY ACT INTRODUCED TO PREVENT AIRPLANE HIJACKING

 

 U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced the Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act (S.911) to strengthen legislation that would make airplanes less susceptible to hijacking. The legislation is named after a Bucks County resident, Captain Victor Saracini, who piloted United Flight 175 when it was hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Provisions of the Saracini Aviation Act were enacted in 2018 and required the installation of a secondary barrier between the passenger cabin and cockpit door on each new aircraft purchased in the United States. This enhanced bill would mandate that secondary barriers be applied to all passenger airplanes, not only newly manufactured planes. U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), André Carson (D-IN-07) and Chris Smith (R-NJ-04) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“The Saracini Aviation Act made air transportation safer for all pilots and passengers,” said Senator Casey. “This ‘enhanced’ version of that legislation is an important step in preventing future disasters by protecting pilots’ cockpit doors during flights in all passenger airplanes. Secondary barriers have been shown to significantly decrease the threat of a hostile takeover of the cockpit. Congress must take up this legislation to step up security in commercial travel and prevent potential hijacking.”

“On September 11, 2001, Bucks County native Captain Victor Saracini was piloting United Flight 175 when a group of terrorists hijacked the flight and flew it into the World Trade Center. With the help of Captain Saracini’s wife, Ellen, we enacted legislation requiring secondary barriers to be installed on all new commercial passenger aircraft. But the barriers can’t help protect all commercial travelers if they are not required for commercial aircraft already operating. That is why this legislation requires secondary barriers to be installed on all commercial passenger aircraft – whether new or currently operating. I am grateful for Ellen Saracini’s tireless work to advance this legislation, and am proud to work with Senator Casey in honoring Captain Saracini and protecting the traveling public,” said Senator Toomey.

“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s aircraft is paramount to protecting the American public. Congress previously made progress in ensuring that all future commercial aircraft are equipped with secondary barriers, so we must build on that momentum in this 117th Congress and include the same requirement for all existing commercial passenger aircraft,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “I am proud to stand with my constituent, Ellen Saracini, along with Senators Casey and Toomey and Representatives Gottheimer, Carson, and Smith as we continue our fight to ensure that the devastating horrors of 9/11 never happen again.”

In 2019, Senators Casey and Toomey sent a letter to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao, urging DOT to strictly enforce their legislation. The Senators pushed back against voices in the airline industry that had argued that the Saracini Aviation Act only applied to new “models” of aircraft, when in fact the legislation mandates that secondary barriers be installed on all new aircrafts for commercial passenger air carriers in the United States, not just new types, or models, of aircraft.

  

TOOMEY STATEMENT ON ATTACK AGAINST CAPITOL POLICEMAN

 

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey  issued the following statement regarding today’s attack on Capitol Police officers:

 “The Capitol Police officers who were ambushed today outside the Russell Senate Office Building are heroes. They put themselves in harm's way and stopped an individual who was attacking the Capitol. I hope all Pennsylvanians will join me this Easter weekend in praying for the officer who was killed, the officer who was injured, and both of their families and colleagues.”

 

REP. CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES $1.8 MILLION FOR MATERNAL AND FAMILY HEALTH SERVICE

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)  

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright  announced that Maternal and Family Health Services, Inc. (MFHS) received $1,800,000 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funds will help mothers and families in Northeastern Pennsylvania have access to much-needed medical care.

“Every American deserves quality, affordable health care and it is crucial that we keep investing in community health centers that provide essential services for families in need,” said Rep. Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I’m proud to support Maternal and Family Health Services and grateful for their continued work providing this critical care in our communities.”

“We are pleased that our organization, once again, has been awarded this critically important grant,” said Maria Montoro Edwards, Ph. D., President and CEO of Maternal & Family Health Services. “As a Title X grant recipient for nearly 50 years, MFHS has served the women, men, and teens of Northeast Pennsylvania, ensuring that all of our family planning clients will receive the critical support and care they need to make informed, educated decisions about their reproductive health. When women have access to comprehensive reproductive health and prevention services, they are better able to plan and space their births. This leads to positive health, social and economic outcomes for women and families in our communities.”

Since its founding in 1971, MFHS has helped families in Pennsylvania receive medical and preventive services, including pregnancy care, support for first-time mothers, and nutrition education. These services are available in 16 Pennsylvania counties, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne.

 

MEDIA MATTERS

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1987 

 

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The Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to A's for 3 minor leaguers……..Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of English rock band Queen, is diagnosed with AIDS. He dies four years later after making his diagnosis public………The Fox Network makes its primetime debut with the pilot episodes of Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show…….Harold Washington is re-elected Mayor of Chicago and in 1987 the number one song in LuLac land and America was  “The Finer Things” by  Steve Winwood.