The LuLac Edition #4, 866, December 16th, 2022

  

WHAT BIDEN HAS DONE FOR AMERICA

President Joe Biden was in a reflective mood as he stood on the White House South Lawn on the chilly, late fall afternoon and prepared to enshrine marriage equality into federal law.

In front of 5,300 invited guests, Biden saluted the Americans who paved the way for what he called a “hard-fought victory generations in the making”: A new law mandating federal recognition of same-sex marriage and protecting interracial nuptials.

“It’s been a long road,” Biden said, striking a celebratory tone before signing the legislation into law on Tuesday. “But we got it done.” Biden can afford to celebrate as the year inches to a close. He and congressional Democrats are ending 2022 with a pile of late-year successes.

On the political front, Democrats defied history and the pundits in the midterm elections by hanging onto their narrow majority in the Senate and holding losses in the House to a minimum. The Democrats’ solid showing in what was supposed to be a GOP bloodbath comes as Biden himself is deciding whether to run for a second term.

The president's approval rating has ticked up slightly in the closing weeks of 2022. Forty-five percent of voters in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll said they approve of Biden’s performance, a two-point increase since October. Even more encouraging for Democrats, Biden leads former President Donald Trump by seven points in a hypothetical rematch in 2024, the poll showed.

In other news, a government report released this week showed inflation slowing in November for the fifth month in a row even though prices remain elevated from a year ago. Gas prices are falling, down sharply from last summer’s record highs, and are lower than they were this time last year.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is home from a Russian prison camp after the Biden administration negotiated a prisoner swap. A freight rail strike has been averted heading into the holiday season after Congress intervened at Biden’s request.

And a state dinner earlier this month for French President Emmanuel Macron – the first of Biden’s presidency – solidified the return of the White House social season after a prolonged pause triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The president is exiting the year with significant political winds and momentum, both in terms of his legislative record and really defying expectations,” said Ben LaBolt, a longtime Democratic strategist. “He exits the year with some extra spring in his step.”

Republicans are begrudgingly acknowledging Biden’s triumphs and re-examining their party’s political miscalculations.

“Conservatives’ hostility to the Biden administration on our terms tends to blind us to just how effective Biden has been on his terms,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lamented in a recent blog post.

“We dislike Biden so much, we pettily focus on his speaking difficulties, sometimes strange behavior, clear lapses of memory, and other personal flaws,” Gingrich wrote. “Our aversion to him and his policies makes us underestimate him and the Democrats.”

Biden’s aides and other Democratic strategists credit his political skills and legislative acumen –sharpened during his nearly 40 years as a U.S. senator from Delaware – with helping him navigate the presidency during his first two years in office despite Democrats holding the narrowest of majorities in the House and the Senate.

In short, they say, he knows how to get things done. (USA TODAY)

 

FUSARO CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

The last I checked, Election Board members were volunteers  who ratified the work of the Election bureau. They never weighed in on the work or even question the ethnicity, citizenship status or qualification of election workers. But the on saga of Election Vice Chair Alyssa Fusaro continues. Here’s a link to the incredible but not too far off allegations against this self proclaimed Trumpanzee. She denied being a racist or bigoted but when you have to deny it, you usually are https://www.timesleader.com/news/1591442/fusaro-refutes-reports-allegations 

 

CONGRESS PASSES BILL TO FUND POLICE DE-ESCALATION TRAINING

In one of its final acts of the year, the House passed bipartisan legislation late Wednesday that would empower law enforcement agencies across the country to adopt de-escalation training when encountering individuals with mental health issues as part of an effort to reduce the number of officer-involved fatalities.

The bill passed 264-162 with Republican support and capped off a modest two-year effort by Congress to pass police reform legislation after the killing of George Floyd sparked global protests against police brutality.

The proposal — first introduced by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island — will now go to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

“By giving law enforcement the tools they need to help those experiencing mental health emergencies and other crises, we can help make communities safer by building a stronger bridge between the criminal justice system and mental health care,” Cornyn said in a statement late Wednesday.

So let’s hope the passage of this bill put to bed the crap the GOP has thrown regarding how Democrats want to defud police. (MSNBC, LuLac)

 

ALLEGED PELOSI ATTACKER ALSO PLANNED TO GO AFTER HUNTER BIDEN, TOM HANKS AND GAVIN NEWSOM, POLICE SAY

The Associated Press reports that the man charged with attacking the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also had plans to target Hunter Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and actor Tom Hanks, according to a police officer who interviewed the alleged assailant.

San Francisco Police Lt. Carla Hurley testified in court Wednesday that David DePape revealed the target list to her during an hourlong interview at a hospital shortly after the attack on Paul Pelosi in October.

An earlier court filing said DePape had named several “prominent” state and federal politicians, their relatives and a local professor as other targets; it did not identify any of them.

Prosecutors played 17 minutes of Hurley's interview Wednesday as part of a preliminary hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to hold a trial on the six counts against DePape, who has been charged in connection with breaking into the Pelosis' San Francisco home and brutally attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

 

 REP. CARTWRIGHT VOTES TO ENSHRINE MARRIAGE EQUALITY UNDER FEDERAL LAW

Congressman Mt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08), voted to send the Respect for Marriage Act to President Biden’s desk. This landmark legislation takes  several key steps to defend marriage equality by officially repealing the “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), upholding couples’ rights to equal protection under federal law, and requiring states to recognize valid out-of-state marriages.

“Today, I proudly voted to ensure the federal government never stands in the way of marrying the person you love,” said Rep. Cartwright, a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act and member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. “This legislation sends a clear signal that hate and bigotry have no place in America.”

The Respect for Marriage Act will take several steps to protect same-sex and interracial marriages by:

-      Repealing the Defense of Marriage Act: While the Supreme Court effectively voided DOMA, the Respect for Marriage Act will repeal this statute once and for all.

-      Enshrining Marriage Equality into Federal law: This legislation will uphold married couples’ right to equal protection in all areas covered under federal law including Social Security, tax filings and veterans’ benefits.

      Barring discrimination by state officials: This legislation prohibits state officials from denying recognition of an out-of-state marriage on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.

 

CASEY INVESTIGATION DETAILS WIDESPREAD FAILURE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE WEB ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, OLDER ADULTS, AND VETERANS

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

The COVID-19 pandemic increased reliance on the internet to access basic services, but many people with disabilities are locked out of essential information due to inaccessible government websites

Report and recommendations are latest in Casey-led efforts to conduct oversight of government agencies and ensure compliance with law that federal tech must be accessible

 Casey report finds that Department of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly failed to make its technology accessible for people with disabilities

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Bob Casey (D-PA) is releasing Unlocking the Virtual Front Door, a report detailing the findings of an 11-month investigation that found widespread failure across the federal government to ensure that federal technology is accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal technology to be accessible for, and usable by, people with disabilities. However, Senator Casey’s report found that federal websites, particularly within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), are out of compliance—creating barriers for people with disabilities who rely on federal technology for essential services, including health care, employment, Social Security, and more.

 Specifically, the report found that:

The VA has repeatedly failed to make its technology accessible for people with disabilities;

Federal technology presents accessibility barriers for people with disabilities at departments and agencies across the government;

Federal departments and agencies can take years to address Section 508 violations; and

Insufficient oversight and enforcement of Section 508 has led to a lack of compliance, resulting in federal technology that is inaccessible for people with disabilities.

Senator Casey is also releasing 12 recommendations that set out solutions for the federal government to address these shortfalls. The recommendations call on Congress to consider amending Section 508 in order to adapt to advances in technology, inspectors general to incorporate Section 508 compliance into their oversight plans, and federal departments and agencies to appoint accessibility officers with direct responsibility for adherence to Section 508.

“For years, I have been leading efforts to ensure that federal technology is accessible to people with disabilities and that the public is informed about the government’s efforts to make it accessible. My report shows we still have a long way to go,” said Senator Casey. “The entire federal government needs to wake up to this issue because a whole-of-government approach is what we need to remedy it. We would not ask someone using a wheelchair to walk up the courthouse steps, but we are doing something similar when we ask people with disabilities to use federal websites that are not accessible. My report and recommendations provide those of us in the federal government with concrete steps to take so we can make the much-needed accessibility improvements that people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans deserve.”

 Unlocking the Virtual Front Door builds on Senator Casey’s work conducting oversight of longstanding accessibility issues across government agencies, including the VA. Using stories of people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans from Pennsylvania and across the Nation, the report shows how inaccessible federal technology creates barriers and locks people out of services, such as filing taxes and receiving a return, health care, education services, pension benefits, and more.

The investigation used internal VA data that identified hundreds of thousands of individual Section 508 violations, including a report VA produced in response to Senator Casey’s bipartisan VA Website Accessibility Act that found that roughly 90 percent of VA websites are not fully Section 508 compliant. For example, VA’s Pharmacy Benefits Management Services website and associated webpages contained more than 6,400 Section 508 violations. This included its webpage on Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution, which contains critical information on preventing opioid overdoses and instructions on obtaining and using VA naloxone. The report also recommended that federal agencies maintain capacity to continuously evaluate accessibility barriers after the investigation identified a cancelled VA contract that has left the department unable to scan its websites for Section 508 violations, and meet legally required reporting requirements, for more than a year. In 2020, Senator Casey passed the bipartisan VA Website Accessibility Act that required VA to report on the accessibility of the Department’s websites and kiosks. Since then, he has worked in a bipartisan and bicameral fashion and led letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Justice, and the Government Accountability Office and held a hearing in the Special Committee on Aging to examine this issue in-depth. Because of his efforts, the DOJ committed to fulfilling their obligation as mandated by Section 508 to send a report to Congress on web accessibility across the federal government.

 

GOVERNOR WOLF ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION IN AWARDS SUPPORTING SUCCESSFUL REENTRY FOR WOMEN

Governor Tom Wolf  (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Tom Wolf announced the award of $2 million in Women’s Reentry Services Initiative Grants to 21 recipients through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Championed by First Lady Frances Wolf, the program funds will support non-profit organizations to provide holistic reentry support services to assist women in their return to communities across Pennsylvania.

“This $2 million will not only save the state money in the future by reducing recidivism, but it gives an invaluable gift to these women and their families as they work to successfully reintegrate themselves into society,” said Gov. Wolf. “I’m incredibly grateful to Frances for her unwavering commitment to securing this funding before we leave office. Through her advocacy, she’s opened the eyes of many to the challenges women reentrants face and the importance of community support.”

“Women face countless challenges when they return to their communities after incarceration, and the support, guidance and hope that community organizations offer are immensely important,” said First Lady Frances Wolf. “By investing in these organizations, we are investing in the well-being of women, their families, and Pennsylvania as a whole.”

Eligible program activities and expenses for the $2 million grant program included, but were not limited to, supportive housing; workforce development services and employment assistance; job readiness support services; access to childcare; transportation assistance; access to effective treatment for healthcare, substance use disorder, mental health, and trauma; access to identification documents essential to obtaining employment, housing, and other government assistance such as driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and social security cards; peer supports and mentoring; and family reunification services.

“By aiming resources at addressing the dynamic risk factors associated with reincarceration, this initiative will help begin the healing process,” PCCD Executive Director Mike Pennington said.  “Reducing recidivism can help stabilize not only the women directly impacted, but their families as well.  This could result in less crime and victimization overall, which leads to safer communities.”

 

 MEDIA MATTERS 

 

DAVID DeCOSMO STILL IN THE GAME

Veteran retired Broadcaster David DeCosmo  recently was contacted by World Peace Records. Apparently a poem he had written was turned into a song with lyrics written by the award winning newsman. The singer is Taylor Sappe. Here is the link to this excising event in DeCosmo’s post broadcast career. 

https://online.pubhtml5.com/aqbh/vriw/?fbclid=IwAR2R0kLMRKLhX_Rei4EuyK29Ge4G7ZDSLuMuHVBfZdyCzMgBlBMh87lOlIs#p=26

 

 WALN TV  

 

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guests are Meghan Loftus, CEO of Friends of the Poor, and Linda Robeson from Family to Family.  They'll discuss Christmas food and gift distributions.  Tune in Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on The Mothership 1400am, and at 7:30 on 105 The River

 

BOBBY V’S SUNDAY NIGHT DOO WOP SOCK HOP

 

1975

 Our 1975 logo

The observation deck at 2 World Trade Center opened, giving visitors a chance to see New York City from the 111th floor of the nation's tallest building. The tourist attraction would host its last visitors on September 10, 2001, and would be 45 minutes away from its 9:30 am opening when the attack on the Twin Towers began on 9/11.,,,,,,,,,Pope Paul VI offered an unprecedented and symbolic reconciliation between his own Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, kneeling and then kissing the foot of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Chalcedon, Meiliton Hadjis. At the same time, Patriarch Demetrios I of Constantinople honored a representative of the Vatican in Istanbul. The East–West Schism between the churches in Rome and Byzantium had taken place more than 900 years earlier, in 1054…Four people were killed and 80 injured when a storage tank exploded outside the Hooker Chemical Company in Niagara Falls, New York, sending a cloud of chlorine gas across a wide area. All of the dead were company employees; many of the injured were bystanders who had been walking or driving by the factory……Arthur Treacher, 81, English character actor famous for portraying the proper English butler passed away. At the time of his death, Treacher was the lender of his name to the Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips restaurant chain, which had more than 800 franchises at the height of its popularity…

.Pakistan would successfully detonate its first atomic bomb on May 28, 1998…..Three days after taking office, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon announced the immediate halt of further mandatory contributions from employers and employees into the New Zealand Superannuation Scheme created earlier in the year, and that the money that had been paid into the national pension fund would be refunded in 1976. More than 30 years later, an investment strategist would describe the Muldoon government's action as "our worst economic decision over the past 40 years" that "transformed New Zealand from the potential Switzerland of the Southern Hemisphere into a low-ranking OECD economy"…The People's Republic of China handed over the remains of two U.S. Navy airmen who had been shot down over Chinese territory in the 1960s. At the border between China and Hong Kong, the American Red Cross received urns containing the ashes of Lt.Comm. James L. Buckley of Sioux City, Iowa and Parachute Rigger Kenneth W. Hugh of Lancaster, California……Sara Jane Moore, who had fired a bullet at U.S. President Ford on September 22, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted assassination, despite protests from her court-appointed public defender, James Hewitt.She would be sentenced to life in prison, but would be paroled after 32 years, on December 31, 2007, a little more than a year after Gerald Ford’sdeath…..The World Heritage Convention, passed on November 16, 1972 by UNESCO, took effect three months after it was ratified by 20 nations.[50]John Paul Stevens was confirmed as a new justice of the United States Supreme Court, in a 98–0 vote by the U.S. Senate, only 16 days after he had been nominated. He would retire on June 29, 2010 at the age of 92……Noble Sissle, 86, American jazz composer best known for "I'm Just Wild About Harry"

George and Kathleen Lutz moved into a new house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, along with their three children. Four weeks later, they would flee the house, claiming that it was haunted. They would tell their story to Jay Anson, who wrote it up as the bestselling book The Amityville Horror, which was would later be made into two films…….The Algerian Government orders the mass deportation of all 350,000 Moroccans from Algeria and this week in 1975 the number one song in LuLac land ad America was “Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers.