The LuLac Edition #4, 929, March 9th, 2023

CARLSON AGAIN ON THE LYING SIDE

Carlson telling us the size of HIS BIG LIES (Photo: Rolling Stone)

How many times can you tell a lie and get away with it? If you are a Fox News commentator apparently a lot.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson was granted exclusive access to the trove of more than 44,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. On Monday night Carlson released the first installment of his analysis of the tapes, telling viewers that most of the protestors who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 were not insurrectionists but “orderly and meek” sightseers.

Carlson opened his Monday night monologue by reiterating the network’s claims of 2020 election malfeasance, stating that the “2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy given the facts that have since emerged about that election. No honest person can deny it.”

From that jumping point, Carlson used cherry picked, time-stamp free clips to paint a picture of peaceful protesters who were being targeted by the Department of Justice and the Democratic party. Carlson’s use of the footage essentially amounted to a declaration that because Fox had identified some images of trespassers milling about, nothing uncouth happened in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Fox host and his guests crafted an image of peaceful protesters, who were ushered into the Capitol by police officers and spent their time exploring the complex with an air of “reverence.” Charlie Hurt, appearing as a guest on the show, falsely asserted that there was “no evidence” rioters inside the capitol were armed.

Carlson declared that members of the Jan. 6 Committee “lied about what they saw and then hid the evidence from the public, as well as from January 6th criminal defendants and their lawyers.”

e episode rehashed many of the issues Carlson had previously covered, the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, the suspected affiliation of protester Ray Epps with federal law enforcement, and the death of Ashli Babbitt, who Carlson said his team was unable to obtain footage of.

Bizarrely enough, the episode featured plenty of images of rioters battering through police lines, breaking through windows and doors, and fighting with cops. Carlson would use this footage to claim that images of violent rioters were a propaganda tool used to paint all the rioters as violent, when the majority were simply milling about the Capitol. If one looks at the scope of charges brought against those who unlawfully entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, the narrative crumbles. Only about half of the estimated 2,000 participants have been charged, a majority of those with non-violent offenses including trespassing, disorderly conduct, and obstructing an official proceeding. Relatively few of those found guilty have been sentenced to prison.

McCarthy’s decision to provide exclusive access to the footage to Carlson and his team prompted bipartisan backlash against the pair, especially given Carlson’s well-established habit of obfuscating and downplaying the events of Jan. 6 on air.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the decision “an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police,” in a memo to House Democrats, and told CNN that it was “not clear” to him that law enforcement had the chance to vet the footage and assess any security risks before Carlson was given access. (LuLac, MSN) 

 

McCONNELL NOW A RHINO ACCORDING TO TRUMPANZEES

The Republicans not only eat their young, they eat themselves. After Mitch McConnell made this statement he wound up in the doghouse. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a scathing rebuke of Carlson and Fox on Tuesday, holding up a copy of the memo and saying he wanted to associate himself “with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on Jan. 6.”

“It was a mistake, in my view, [for] Fox News to depict this in a way completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official in the Capitol” described, McConnell said.

It’s an unusual position for the host of one of Fox’s most-watched programs, who, while often a magnet for the ire of the left, seldom gets such direct criticism from those on the right. But God forbid if you went against the party line. Long forgotten by the right is how McConnell shepherded three right wing Supreme Court Judges which resulted in overturning Roe V Wade as well as changing the direction of the court for decades to come.

The reaction to McConnell’s statement just goes to show us that Trumpanzees have no regard for their own party leaders (except Diaper Don) and are at the least ingrate domestic terrorists with no real love of this country. (AOL News, LuLac)

 

PRESIDENT BIDEN RESPONDS TO JAN. 6^th LIES

 

President Joe Biden slammed Tucker Carlson over the Fox News host's portrayal of the Jan. 6 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol amid growing bipartisan condemnation of coverage that downplayed the insurrection.

"More than 140 officers were injured on Jan 6. I’ve said before: How dare anyone diminish or deny the hell they went through?" Biden said in a tweet Wednesday. "I stand with the Capitol Police. I hope House Republicans feel ashamed for what was done to undermine our law enforcement.

 

McCARTHY'S  IRRESPONSIBLE ACT

Kevin McCarthy (Photo: Rolling Stone)

By giving a Fox News flunkies the complete set of video on the attack at the Capitol, McCarthy may well have enabled worldwide. terrorists the way into the protected entities and buildings. Any blood shed because of this will be on his hands.

 

THESE WERE NOT TOURISTS

MAY LANDS ON FEET

James May (Photo: PA LIVE)

What’s the difference between a losing Republican candidate and a losing Democratic candidate?  That’s an easy one. Democrats get a hand shake and a free beer while Republicans land on their feet. When former WNEP anchor Tom Williams was beat in a primary in 2022, he landed a job with State Senator Lisa Baker.

The latest refugee from the non-employed is James May who has Congressman Dan Meuser to thank for his new job. The Republican party who constantly talks about bringing yourself up by your bootstraps stands at the ready to employ and compensate handsomely a three-time loser. Too bad that generosity doesn’t extend to the average Jane and Joes when they lose their jobs.   

 

CASEY: INSULIN PRICE ANNOUNCEMENT SHOWS INFLATION REDUCTION ACT CONTINUES TO LOWER COSTS FOR FAMILIES

CASEY: DEMOCRATS AND THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT PAVED THE WAY FOR LOWER DRUG PRICING ANNOUNCEMENT

Senator Bob Casey (Photo:  LuLac archives)

U.S. Senator Bob Casey released a statement today on Eli Lilly’s announcement to automatically cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month. In August 2022, Democrats in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is already lowering costs and improving health care for millions of Americans. Effective January 1, 2023, insulin copays are capped at $35 per month for more than three million people with diabetes covered by Medicare. Despite efforts by Democrats to expand the cap to the private market, many Senate Republicans blocked the provision, leaving millions of Americans to continue to pay exorbitant prices for lifesaving medication.

“Democrats fought hard to lower the cost of insulin in the Inflation Reduction Act. Though Senate Republicans blocked us from cutting insulin costs for millions of Americans who need it, we still delivered relief for many. The Inflation Reduction Act is not the end of the conversation, but the beginning. Democrats are going to keep fighting to lower everyday costs for Americans and ensure that families don’t have to choose between their health and their bank account,” said Senator Casey.

Starting January 1, 2023, drug manufacturers are required to pay rebates to Medicare if they increase their prices for certain drugs at a rate that exceeds the rate of inflation. Thanks to the IRA, adults on Medicare Part D have access to covered vaccines, such as shingles and Tdap, at no cost. In addition to capping annual out-of-pocket costs, the IRA expands cost-sharing assistance for low-income people with Medicare, a provision Senator Casey championed through his Lowering Medicare Premiums and Prescription Drug Costs Act. These policies alone save seniors in Pennsylvania and across the country hundreds of dollars on their health care costs, keep millions of people healthy, and prevent dangerous complications associated with diabetes, shingles, and other serious diseases. 

 

REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA ARE PRAISING GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO’S COMMONSENSE BUDGET

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal is receiving bipartisan praise from leaders across the Commonwealth for its commonsense approach to addressing the challenges Pennsylvanians are facing. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike are lauding how Governor Shapiro’s budget priorities will solve problems, create opportunity, and advance real freedom here in Pennsylvania – and the Governor is ready to bring people together to pass this budget and deliver real results for the people of Pennsylvania.

See what leaders across the Commonwealth are saying about Governor Shapiro’s commonsense budget:

Speaker Joanna McClinton: @PaHouseDems are ready to work to get @GovernorShapiro’s proposed budget across the finish line! His proposal was one that had ALL residents in mind. From our #youngestneighbors to our #wisestneighbors, we’re ready to ensure YOU are covered when this is finalized in June.

President Pro Tem Kim Ward: The governor said a lot of things that we can all get on board with.

Sen. Lisa Baker: During today’s budget address, Governor Shapiro identified several priority issues that are important to residents of the 20th Senatorial District — helping individuals and families keep more of their hard-earned money, creating workforce development and job opportunities, ensuring safe communities, expanding rural access to health care and mental health services, investing in roads and bridges, high speed internet, and other infrastructure improvements.

Rep. Jim Struzzi: All Indiana County school students stand to benefit under his proposal, including an emphasis on mental health funding. The governor’s desire to increase the Homestead Farmstead Exemption would provide property tax relief and his proposed investments in first responders, law enforcement and roads and bridges would increase public safety and strengthen our infrastructure.

Sen. Jim Brewster: The governor’s budget provides a solid framework for building upon recent improvements to education, public safety, and the environment. I’m looking forward to working with the administration to fill out the framework with the details that will help communities thrive and keep our neighbors safe and healthy.

Rep. Donna Bullock: @GovernorShapiro’s budget proposal invests in Pennsylvanians! I’m grateful to see investments in education and school buildings, in seniors through expanded property tax & rent relief, and in our communities by addressing #gunviolence.

Sen. Lindsey Williams: I was incredibly encouraged to hear that Governor Shapiro included extending the Universal School Breakfast program and expanding access to free lunch in his first budget address. These programs provide our students with healthy meals that allow them to be ready to learn every single day. Providing breakfast and lunch is just as essential to learning as providing textbooks and desks—students can’t learn when they’re hungry.

Rep. Seth Grove: Gov. Shapiro’s proposed budget is a reasonable start to the process.

Sen. Maria Collett: I’m happy to see Governor Shapiro kept his word to prioritize putting money back into the pockets of Pennsylvanians and boosting our economy. This budget eliminates state cell phone taxes, increases childcare subsidies, and finally raises Pennsylvania’s shameful minimum wage.

Sen. David Argall: During Governor Shapiro’s first budget address today, he offered many good ideas, including finding a new way to fund our public schools and breathing new life into old towns and neighborhoods.

Rep. Sherly M. Delozier: I am glad the governor prioritized our police officers, nurses, & teachers. Supported criminal justice reform and our Troopers.

Sen. Jay Costa: @GovernorShapiro has put forth a thoughtful, reasonable, and doable budget. This budget prioritizes our children, our educators, our workforce, our small businesses, and our seniors.

Sen. Tracy Pennycuick: After hearing the governor’s budget address, I believe there are many areas where we will find common ground and some significant places where continued work is needed. I was pleased that the governor chose to support several important family and senior centric programs.

Sen. Dan Laughlin: I think some of the areas we can agree on include funding for mental health issues, some of the education funding issues

Treasurer Stacy Garrity: We know the start budget will hit a fiscal cliff before long, so it’s good the Governor didn’t propose reaching into the Rainy-Day Fund this year…I’m also encouraged by his support for workforce development, including investments in technical education and manufacturing. Additionally, I appreciate his attention paid to senior on fixed incomes, law enforcement, first responders and frontline workers.

Pennsylvania State Troopers Association (PSTA) President David Kennedy: Gov. Shapiro recognizes the first duty of government is the safety of its citizens. We would like to commend him for providing a dedicated funding stream for the Pennsylvania State Police and proposing four new cadet classes in the next state budget to hire 384 new troopers, as well as the additional steps he wants to take to provide more law enforcement officers for Pennsylvania’s communities.

Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia President and CEO Chellie Cameron: The Chamber is pleased to see the Governor’s call for investments in Pennsylvania’s education and workforce, public safety, and energy development.  We share the Governor’s vision for the Commonwealth as a leader in innovation, job creation, and economic development through a more competitive business tax and regulatory climate.

Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) President and CEO Andy Carter: HAP and Pennsylvania’s hospitals thank Governor Shapiro for calling attention during his budget address to the importance of investing in the health care workforce, Pennsylvanians’ mental health, and access to care in rural communities.

API-PA Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman: We look forward to working with Gov. Shapiro and his administration to accelerate economic growth in our state’s energy sector and attract new investment while protecting our environment – priorities that will build a stronger Pennsylvania.

AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David Henderson: As the governor pointed out, Pennsylvania is facing a budget surplus, which presents many opportunities for investments in this commonwealth. Our union will be strongly advocating for our members – the public employees who keep the state running – to be included in those investments.

REFORM Alliance: Thank you @GovernorShapiro for using your first budget address to call attention to probation reforms. So many lives are impacted by this broken system, and your commitment to public safety solutions is historic.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan: I congratulate Governor Shapiro on delivering a thoughtful budget address that outlines a host of investments in critical resources. Specifically, we are hopeful that the urgency Governor Shapiro conveyed surrounding our Commonwealth’s constitutional and moral obligation to provide every child with a ‘thorough and efficient’ system of public education was recognized and taken to heart by legislators throughout the Commonwealth.

PA Women’s Health: Ending the Maternal Mortality Crisis is a cornerstone of WHC’s platform. We are pleased to see @GovernorShapiro’s budget proposal include a $2.3M investment into the Maternal Mortality Review Committee to expand programming and address this crisis.

PA State System of Higher Education Board Chairwoman Cynthia Shapira: We are thankful to Gov. Shapiro for his support of State System universities and his efforts to evaluate higher education funding in Pennsylvania. With nearly 90 percent of our students being from (the) commonwealth, and the vast majority staying here after graduation, funding for the State System is an investment in the future of Pennsylvania. We look forward to working with the governor and General Assembly on investments this year and beyond that prepare students for success and meet the needs of the workforce.

PASSHE Chancellor Dr. Daniel Greenstein: We appreciate Gov. Shapiro’s commitment to PASSHE and fully support his proposal to review structural challenges with post-secondary education funding and other issues. These challenges are confronting states across the country and leave too many jobs unfilled due to a lack of qualified workers and leave behind too many people and communities. This is an opportunity for Pennsylvania to be a national leader in addressing the cost of higher education, aligning programs to workforce needs and opening doors of opportunity for hardworking students and adults in every community.

Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners President-Elect Amanda Laskoskie: While more still needs to be done to address this issue, we applaud Governor Shapiro for announcing new tax credits that will incentivize nurses to practice and care for patients in Pennsylvania. We should be doing everything in our power to attract and retain our talented nurses, and this is an important step. Now further action must be taken to prevent our valued health care professionals from leaving to neighboring states that already offer these incentives, such as full practice authority for nurse practitioners.

 

MEDIA MATTERS

 

NANCY TAKES ON A MORON

Yesterday morning WILK's Nancy Kman had to quiet down a moronic caller from Lackawanna County (Bob from Simpson) who upon being recognized by the hosts started launching into a non-stop diatribe and called her a “snowflake”. She politely told him he was behaving like a ten-year-old. It was a typical Trumpanzee performance by the fool who called her a name and then got his little itty-bitty feelings hurt because she didn’t give in to his childish behavior. With people like that accusation is always confession and this guy not only was a snowflake but obviously one who wet the bed and was waiting for mommy to change him. 

 

WALN TV 

 

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guests will be Meghan Loftus and Linda Robeson from Friends of the Poor discussing the upcoming Easter food basket program.  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 DOO WOP SUNDAY NIGHT SOCK HOP

 

1954

Our 1954 logo.

American journalists Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly produce a 30-minute See It Now documentary, entitled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”. See It Now was an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, with Murrow as the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, See It Now won four Emmy Awards, and was nominated three other times. It also won a 1952 Peabody Award. Don Hewitt was the director. Aluminum Company of America sponsored the program. Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina combined, through its active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry: technology, mining, refining, smelting, fabricating, and recycling. Its broadcast run was between November 18, 1951 through July 7, 1958.

The revealing See It Now documentary analysis on Senator Joseph McCarthy (airing March 9, 1954) that has been credited with changing the public view of McCarthy and, being a key event leading to McCarthy's fall from power. It was an extension of the duo's continuing probe of the conflict between McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade and individual rights.

The previous fall, Murrow and Friendly had produced a notable See It Now episode on the topic, when the show probed the case of Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Milo Radulovich, who had lost his security clearance because of the supposed leftist leanings of his sister and father—evidence the Air Force kept sealed. Five weeks later, Radulovich was reinstated by the secretary of the Air Force. Radulovich was granted leave of his duties that same year, however, when he was forced to move temporarily to Phoenix, Arizona to care for his nephew who had recently been involved in a dog mauling incident.

After See It Now ended, in the Summer of 1958, Friendly and Murrow worked together on its successor, CBS Reports, although Friendly alone was executive producer and Murrow no more than an occasional reporter and narrator. Their most famous CBS Reports installment—the probe of migrant farm workers Harvest of Shame—aired in November 1960 and still is considered one of television's finest single programs.

Edward Roscoe Murrow was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for the news division of CBS. During the war he recruited and worked closely with a team of war correspondents who came to be known as the Murrow Boys.   A pioneer of radio and television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports on his television program See It Now which helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, Bill Downs, Dan Rather, and Alexander Kendrick consider Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures. Murrow used excerpts from McCarthy's own speeches and proclamations to criticize the senator and point out episodes where he had contradicted himself. Murrow and Friendly paid for their own newspaper advertisement for the program; they were not allowed to use CBS's money for the publicity campaign or even use the CBS logo.

The broadcast contributed to a nationwide backlash against McCarthy and is seen as a turning point in the history of television. Its provoked tens of thousands of letters, telegrams, and phone calls to CBS headquarters, running 15 to 1 in favor. In a retrospective produced for Biography, Friendly noted how truck drivers pulled up to Murrow on the street in subsequent days and shouted "Good show, Ed."

Murrow offered McCarthy the chance to respond to the criticism with a full half-hour on See It Now. McCarthy accepted the invitation and appeared on April 6, 1954. In his response, McCarthy rejected Murrow's criticism and accused him of being a communist sympathizer [McCarthy also accused Murrow of being a member of the Industrial Workers of the World which Murrow denied. McCarthy also made an appeal to the public by attacking his detractors. Murrow's hard-hitting approach to the news, however, cost him influence in the world of television. See It Now occasionally scored high ratings (usually when it was tackling a particularly controversial subject), but in general, it did not score well on prime-time television and this week in LuLac land and America the number one song was “Teach Me Tonight” by Dinah Washington.