The LuLac Edition #4, 631, November 30th, 2021

 

MAYBE I'M AMAZED

Our “Maybe I’m Amazed” logo.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that still another GOP Congresswoman has come after another member just because she is a Muslim. The Republican woman made certain allegations against Lauren Bobart who  lashed out at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in an anti-Muslim Twitter tirade last week. Boebert has since doubled down after several of her Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives rallied to her side over the weekend. This is the issue with these clowns in the Republican party. By endorsing this slob, they are endorsing racism and hatred. The GOP, the party of pigs.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..a day on Venus lasts longer than a year there.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that a former Doctor to the President is saying variants are a stunt being pulled by Democrat because of the 2022 election. Sonny Jackson who as Trump's doctor had us believe old Diaper Don was 215 pounds! He says the Dems want another issue with COVID to sustain mail in voting. His comments are putting people in danger but that’s nothing new for Doctor turned Congressman Jackson who hasn’t changed or grew in office.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…that cats can hear ultrasound.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that after the last local election in Luzerne County there has been very little news from both parties. The GOP thumped the Democrats very hard.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that the work of Governor Tom Wolf seems to be going u nnoticed as he continues to help small businesses during this continued pandemic.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that beavers were once the size of bears.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..but not while Joe Biden helped out at a food pantry during Thanksgiving old Diaper Don socialized at his dump in Florida whining that the 75-year-old Trump is still consumed by what he has repeatedly (and falsely) described as election fraud, A bystander stated, "He is frustrated and still angry about Biden beating him. He can't move on," Poor baby.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that elephants are capable of swimming 20 miles a day.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that Tiger Woods after his accident still ha the desire to perform and try his luck on the course.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that children grow faster during springtime.

MAYBE I’m AMAZED….at the huge hourly salaries and bonuses being offered by local employees who need workers to make their businesses work. The opportunity is there for those who want to take a chance on a really good paying job. 

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that Tony Bennett knocked it out of the park the other evening with his o star Lady Gaga in an incredible CBS presentation.

The LuLac Edition #4, 630, November 29th, 2021

 MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #4, 629. November 26th, 2021

 

THANKSGIVING EPILOGUE

This week has been quite hectic and this came across my desk a little late for publication on Thursday. However the message about Thanksgivings gone long ago stil resonate in memories in our hearts and minds. As we grow older we remember the people who are no loger with us. Our friend Dr. Joe Leonardi takes us back to the halycion days of high school football. His Jimmy Cefalo was my Tommy Gubiotti in terms of local gridiron  heroes. 

THANKSGIVING DAYS OF YORE

Graphic: James Howe

 

 This year, for the first time since I graduated way, way back in 1982, I began attending high school football games. My first impression was that of surprise at how few people were in the stands. Today, the bulk of the support comes via the students, district employees, cheerleaders, spirit band, pep squad and families of those involved.

Gone are the days when the marching band, drill team, color guard and majorettes blanketed the field from sideline to sideline and goal line to goal line. It is all much smaller today, however the school spirit is no less intense.

 The preparation put in by the students, instructors, parents and coaches is tireless and their efforts are rewarded by incredible performances. I am proud of my alma mater, yet … something is missing.

 In the October 18, 1924 edition of the New York Herald Tribune Grantland Rice wrote: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.”

 To this day, besides wishing I wrote it, the above quote sends a shiver down my spine. The words meld together and right in front of my eyes a gridiron visage unfolds. The vision I see is not one of Notre Dame and Army. No, my mind transports me to my childhood.

 The month: November.

The day: Thanksgiving.

The names: Jimmy Castellino, Dave Bachkosky, Tommy O’Malley and of course, Jimmy Cefalo.

 They may not have been the South Bend cyclone, but they were more than likely the most imposing foursome to ever, at the same time, don the Patriot red, white and blue.

 For many years, Thanksgiving football was a Greater Pittston tradition. Some claim that the Pilgrims and Native Americans played football on the very spot where Albert West Park now stands. Okay, perhaps I am exaggerating ---- just a bit, but for most of my formative years, Thanksgiving Day and high school football went hand in hand. Rivalries existed in many communities and some even changed over the years; however, with the mergers that created Pittston and Wyoming Area, the Susquehanna separated schools traditional turkey day tussles were not to be missed.

 The entire week before "The Game" was one of intense preparation.

Throughout the east side of the watery divide, homes of players’ families and non were decorated with signs of support and almost totally immersed in red, white and blue. Of course, on the other side of the river green and gold adorned just as many houses. Everywhere you went, there was only one topic of conversation.

In almost every residence, dinners were planned around the big game.

 When Turkey Thursday finally arrived, husbands and sons would help get the house set for the waist widening feast and then anxiously depart for kickoff. Once gone, minus male meddling, mom and grandma were free to prepare the turkey and all the trimmings. My first Thanksgiving Day football game is ingrained in my memory. My dad and uncle took me to a packed Charlie Trippi Stadium. Bleachers on both sides were teeming with people and the fence surrounding the field had nary a spot to stand. The assembled masses consisted of those with and without children involved in the game. Greater Pittstonians arrived, participated and watched as a singular family.

 On the PA side the fans were in unison shouting "GO! GO! GO!." Each "GO" was accentuated with heavy foot stomps and clanging cowbells. Those wooden bleachers nearly buckled under the fearsome force of the podiatric pounding.

 Nestled next to my father for warmth, I was mesmerized at the activity surrounding us. Even today I can still feel the shaking of the bleachers, I can hear the roars of the crowd, I can recall the resonance of the cowbells, I can see the cold breath exiting my mouth and I am, for a moment, a kid again.

 I attended the PA-WA game this year. It was played as intensely on the field as ever. The cheerleaders, spirit band, painted pep squad, students and family members in attendance were as loud and as forceful as days gone by.

 Unfortunately, gone was the sense of community surrounding the holiday contest. The discussions around town did not center on the game. Only a few homes were decorated. The stands on both sides were not packed full and the fence had too many open spots.

 Thanksgiving Day football no longer exists. It became extinct when the PIAA opted to institute a play-off system. While the cross river rivalry remains intact and is as important to the students as it was in days of yore, the communal feel, the bringing together of Greater Pittston for one glorious event --- those days, they are sadly, eternally lost.

 

 

 

The LuLac Edition #4,628, November 25th, 2021

THANKSGIVING 2021 

 WHY WE SHOULD THANK GOD FOR BIDEN

President Biden has had the most challenging year of a first year Presidency that I can remember in my lifetime.  He came in office succeeding a man child who refused to believe he lost the election in 2020 by the same margin that he won it in 2016. Essentially all of the norms associated with a normal Presidency were torn asunder and needed to be repaired ASAP. Then our democracy was under assault by a group of wrongheaded hateful so called Americans that now deny they tried to overthrow the country. So Joe Biden had an extraordinary amount thrown at him. From the lies being told about his election to the Pandemic to the anti vaccine proponents it has not been an easy road. Americans are a fickle people with short memories. Here’s  a gentle reminder as to why Americans should be grateful to have Joe Biden as their President.

1.     We have a President that every day comes out to the nation and addresses the problem or issue at hand. He does so with facts and no bluster.

2.     We have a President who doesn’t blame others for his failures.

3.     We have a President who is not prone to name calling and belittling other people.

4.     We have a President who relies on his staff to do the right thing. At this stage in the Trump Presidency, Diaper Don blew through staff like condoms at a Stormy Daniels rendezvous.

5.     We have a President who when faced with a problem doesn’t use the terms “disaster”, “It’ll be beautiful” or some nonsense like “”like you’ve never seen before”.

6.     We have a President who doesn’t hire their vapid kids.

7.     We have a President who has changed more in America in his first year than two entire GOP administrations in this century did.

8.     We have a President who is not afraid to admit a mistake.

9.      We have a President who has so far kept his promises. To those comatose Americans who say he hasn’t, I say, “read a newspaper!”

10.                        We have a President who values family and their basic needs.

11.                        We  have a President who might be older, flawed a bit and not that exciting……but at least he is NORMAL.

12.                        We have a President who will go down I  history as someone who cleaned up a mess and with the grace of God, saved America.   

13. Three shots in the arm. 

14. No scandal, no drama except for the wretched GOP party of snowflakes, liars and gun toting racist cowardly drama queens. 

 

 CASEY, LAMB INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR COLLEGE STUDENT

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives) 

This week, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and U.S. Representatives Conor Lamb (D-PA-17), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1), Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24) and John Katko (R-NY-24) introduced the bipartisan Promoting Advancement Through Transit Help (PATH) to College Act. The PATH to College Act establishes a new pilot grant program for public transit providers, in collaboration with eligible institutions of higher education, to increase access to public transportation for college students.

“A lack of reliable transportation should never stop a student from achieving their dreams,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation will improve public transportation so students can pursue education and training beyond high school, allowing them to focus on their education instead of how they’re getting to school every day. I’m proud to partner with Representative Lamb on this bill and I’ll keep fighting to get it over the finish line.”

“Too many students who want to pursue education or training beyond high school face challenges with the ability to simply get to school. This bill will improve accessibility to public transportation to ensure more students can access education and training opportunities in their community,” said Rep. Lamb.

“The cost and lack of access to public transportation are often barriers for students pursuing higher education,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “Our bipartisan legislation will increase public transit stops near college campuses, ensuring that students have a reliable and affordable way to get to class, so they are able to focus on their studies.”

“The lack of access to reliable transportation is one of the greatest barriers between students and their educational pursuits. Far too often, young people are challenged with the simple task of getting to campus. This legislation will improve access to public transportation to ensure that students can get to class easily and on time,” said Rep. Wilson.

The PATH to College Act authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Labor to award funds, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education and transit agencies for the purpose of improving transit accessibility for students attending community colleges, Minority Serving Institutions, or those with a large number of Pell-eligible students. A report from the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation indicated that just 57 percent of community colleges are currently accessible by transit.

Multiple higher education and workforce development advocacy organizations have endorsed the legislation, including Partner4Work, Association of Community College Trustees, College Promise, Student Veterans of America and more. Click here to read the endorsing letters.

 

REP. CARTWRIGHT VOTES TO PASS

HISTORIC BUILD BACK BETTER ACT

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives) 

 

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright  recently voted to pass the Build Back Better Act in the U.S. House. This historic legislation crafted by the President and Democrats in Congress will create good-paying jobs and bring more people back into the workforce, cut taxes for the middle class, reduce price pressures and fight climate change.

“The Build Back Better Act invests in workforce development, begins to tackle allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, boosts access to affordable child care and cuts taxes for working families. Most of this is paid for by asking the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. Together with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, this legislation will give all working people and families a better shot at a good middle-class life, and a fair chance to share in the success of a growing economy.”

According to a report from Moody’s Analytics, the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill together will:

Add 1.5 million jobs per year on average across the whole decade;

Increase labor force participation and accelerate the return to full employment; and

Increase our total economic output by $3 trillion throughout the next decade.

Moody’s also confirms that these bills will keep prices stable and decrease inflationary pressures as we continue our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Build Back Better Act: More Jobs, Tax Cuts for the Middle Class, Lower Costs

More Jobs

Workforce Development: The United States ranks near the bottom among the world’s biggest economies when it comes to training workers to seize the good-paying jobs of the future. In fact, funding for federal job training programs has dropped by nearly half since the beginning of the 21st century. The Build Back Better Act invests in training programs that will prepare Pennsylvania’s workers for high-quality jobs in fast-growing sectors like public health, child care, manufacturing, IT and clean energy. 20 public community colleges in Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to benefit from grants to develop and deliver innovative training programs and expand proven ones.

Job Creation Through Climate Action: Pennsylvania has experienced 37 extreme weather events over the last decade, which has cost more than $10 billion in damage. It reduces carbon pollution, makes infrastructure ready to withstand extreme weather and strengthens the American clean energy economy.

Tax Cuts for the Middle Class

Lower Taxes for Families with Children: The Build Back Better Act extends the life-changing tax cut of the Child Tax Credit of $300/month per child under 6 or $250/month per child ages 6 to 17.

Lower Costs

Prescription Drugs: The Build Back Better Act will begin to enable Medicare once again to negotiate for lower drug costs for seniors. It also:

Ensures Americans with Diabetes will not pay more than $35 per month for insulin; and

Creates a new out-of-pocket cap of $2,000 on what seniors pay for prescriptions in Medicare Part D.

Health Care: The bill expands Medicare to provide coverage for hearing aids as well as hearing assessment and treatment services. It dramatically lowers premiums in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Marketplace. It also makes historic investments to allow more seniors and the disabled to receive the services they need in their homes. These investments in the Build Back Better Act will help 122,000 Pennsylvanians gain coverage and hundreds of thousands more save on health costs each year.

Child Care and Early Education:

The average annual cost for child care in Pennsylvania is $11,402. The Build Back Better Act will expand access for over 700,000 young Pennsylvanians and ensure that no one pays more than 7 percent of their income on child care.

Only 16 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in Pennsylvania have access to publicly funded pre-K, while the average cost of private pre-K in the state is $8,600. The Build Back Better Act will ensure universal pre-school for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

54 percent of employers surveyed earlier this summer as part of a Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce-led study reported losing employees because of a lack of affordable child care options. These investments will help more parents rejoin the workforce knowing their kids are cared for.

A full White House fact sheet on the impact of the Build Back Better Act for Pennsylvania is at this link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Pennsylvania_BBB-State-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

 

 

ALL OF THE ABOVE THAT CARTWRIGHT VOTED FOR…….

MEUSER AND KELLER VOTED NO!

 

 

WOLF ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES $1.2 BILLION AMERICAN RESCUE ACT-FUNDED PLAN TO BETTER SERVE PENNSYLVANIANS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

Governor Tom Wolf (Photo: LuLac archives) 

Governor Tom Wolf today announced the spending plan for approximately $1.2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act federal funding to support Medicaid’s home and community-based services (HCBS) system throughout the commonwealth, allowing more Pennsylvanians the access to critical services in their communities.

The temporary funding enhancement will be directed toward Medicaid-funded essential care services to seniors, adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, adults with behavioral health needs such as substance use disorder or mental illness, and children with chronic complex medical needs.

“More than 3 million Pennsylvanians are able to access essential physical and behavioral health care because of Medicaid, but beyond that, Medicaid makes it possible for individuals to live safely and supported in their communities among their families and peers,” said Gov. Wolf. “As Pennsylvania continues to rebuild from a difficult two years, this funding will be an invaluable investment in normalizing and advancing services and supports for Pennsylvanians.”

The American Rescue Plan Act provides states with a temporary, one-year 10 percent increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain home and community-based services funded through Medicaid. States must reinvest the state savings to enhance, expand or strengthen HCBS under the Medicaid program.

“A robust, thriving home and community-based services system is an essential part of our health care system and recognizes the inherent freedom of individuals to live independently,” said DHS Acting Secretary Meg Snead. “Our service systems, providers and workforce have continued to deliver care throughout the pandemic with incredible resiliency and flexibility. This enhanced funding is an opportunity for us to invest in them as they invest in their communities and the people they serve. On behalf of DHS and the Wolf Administration, we are grateful for their dedication to their work, and we look forward to using this funding to recognize their service and support growth and innovation moving forward.”

Pennsylvania’s funding plan focuses on the following domains:

Increasing access to home and community-based services

Staff recruiting and retention

Providing necessary supplies to safely facilitate services

Additional trainings and learning opportunities through workforce support

Supporting families caring for their loved one

Improving functional capabilities of people with disabilities

Enhancing transitional supports

Home and community-based services capacity building

DHS first submitted its proposed spending plan to the federal CMS in June 2021, which was revised and resubmitted in late August following a public comment period and initial feedback from CMS. Pennsylvania’s plan is pending full approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), but planning is already underway so that DHS is prepared to implement the activities in the plan once the formal approval is received.

For more info here’s the link: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/coronavirus/Pages/American-Rescue-Plan-HCBS-Public-Comment.aspx

 

 

MEDIA MATTERS

 

WALN TV

 

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

 

You'll hear the program Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on 1400 am The Mothership and 7:30 am on 105 The River.

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SOCK HOP

SUNDAY NIGHTS!

 

1987

Our 1987 logo.

Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 265 kilometres per hour (165 mph) winds and a devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 812 deaths./….South African Airways Flight 295 crashes into the Indian Ocean off Mauritius, due to a fire in the cargo hold; the 159 passengers and crew perish……….Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers. North Korean agents are responsible for the bombing… "Dreamgirls" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 177 performances……75th CFL Grey Cup, BC Place, Vancouver: Edmonton Eskimos 10th Championship; defeat Toronto Argonauts, 38-36 on Jerry Kauric's last second field-goal…….France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll….. Joe Montana of SF 49ers completes NFL record of 22 consecutive passes and this week thr number one song in LuLac land and America was “Brilliant Disguise” by Bruce Springsteen.

The LuLac Edition #4, 627, November 24th, 2021

 

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo.

This week the Times Leader zeroed in on Frank Savo and his troubles with the feds. Here are their thoughts.

SCAVO LIED UNTIL HE COULDN’T HIDE HIS ACTIONS

Frank Scavo lied.

He lied until he was caught, and only then — when facing real consequences for the actions he lied about — did he express regret.

Regardless of anything else that comes from the Old Forge resident’s case (sentencing is scheduled for Monday), those facts should not be overlooked, or forgotten.

Give the activist his due. He organized 200 area residents for a trip to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 for what he contends — and we believe him on this point — was assumed to be a peaceful rally opposing the congressional certification of the November election that clearly made Joe Biden President. That’s Democracy in action.

And please leave any debate about Biden’s victory or his performance since being sworn in out of this. We’re talking about the former Old Forge School Board Director. Like many other protesters, he went too far, crossing police barricades to enter the Capitol Building. Then he lied about doing so.

Give him credit, also, for not being part of the destructive faction of those who entered the building by smashing doors and windows, and even took or damaged property once inside.

“He didn’t steal anything or break anything,” Scavo’s attorney Ernie Preate, Jr., said. “He regrets what he did on that day.” We find that easy to believe as well as the claim that Scavo truly came to D.C. expecting a peaceful protest.

We even give him credit for agreeing to a guilty plea for unlawfully entering a federal building and remaining there, and for telling the judge he regretted what he did. Again, all this happened after being caught and charged, but it still counts for something.

All of that may mitigate the wrong he committed. None of it mitigates what he said when first confronted with evidence strongly suggesting he was inside the building during the insurrection attempt to overturn an election by mob force.

As reported by staff writer Bill O’Boyle in Wednesday’s paper (and reported previously), two days after the insurrection, Scavo was asked if he had been inside the capitol, as two Getty photos appeared to show. The Republican said no, he was not inside the building.

“We stayed about 15-20 minutes and I took some photos,” Scavo told us and other media outlets. “We received a text from the D.C. mayor that a curfew would begin at 6 p.m. We decided to round up our people to return to the buses and leave.

“We didn’t see what was going on inside the Capitol.”

Scavo then tried to turn the facts on their head, contending that rather than being with a mob threatening to hang the vice president, he was concerned that it was the protest participants at risk of being harassed.

“This is America,” he said. “Why can’t we take a bus ride down to our nation’s capital to witness history and be a part of this without incident.”

You can. Indeed, had that been all that happened — a bus ride to witness history without incident — There would be no real story here. But there was an incident, instigated by the protesters: a physical assault on a vital symbol of democracy.

People died.

Scavo probably deserves a sentence on the lighter side of the guidelines for his actions Jan. 6. We doubt he was part of the actual violence; the Getty images of him suggest he was too busy just taking selfies.

But he made the mistake of trying to cover up his entry into the building. Had he simply conceded when asked that, yes, he was inside, but no, he didn’t participate in the damage, the assaults on police and the threats of violence, things would be a bit different. But Scavo took a coward’s path.

He lied.

And that warrants remembering in any of his future public or political activities.

— Times Leader