The LuLac Edition #4,945, April 6th, 2023

 

PAPER BALLOTS IN THE LU

The Times Leader's Jennifer Learnes Andes did an exhaustive report on the Luzerne County Election bureaus plans to use paper ballots.  All scenarios imaginable were covered and any issue that might arise will not come from lack of contingency plans or knowledge. Here's a link to he story: 

 Luzerne County’s hand-marked ballot plan dissected | Times Leader

 

UPDATE ON RACISM IN TENNESSEE  

GOP HOUSE IN TENNESSEE THROWS OUT BLACK MEMBERS

The snowflake Republican legislators who talked about “decorum” when three Democrats sided with the anti-gun people expelled two black members. They went and got their little itty bitty feelings hurt when two black men raised their voices to support those wanting to end the killing of children by AR assault weapons.

FACT: The GOP leaders who expelled the two legislators who they now made famous are cowardly racists.

FACT: They allow the killing of children to go on in this court. They are child killers.

FACT: They opened up a storm that they can’t control. Republican apologists will whine and say they are being picked on by the Democrats.

FACT: You ass wipes opened the door. Now stand by your beliefs so we can beat you with logic and votes.

 

IN TENNESSEE A LAWMAKER CAN HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH HIS MISTRESS/COUSIN (YEAH YOU READ THAT RIGHT) BUT I YOU DISAGREE……….YOU’RE OUT!

A growing chorus is pushing back against Tennessee Republicans seeking to oust three House Democrats for using a bullhorn to shout support for pro-gun control protesters in the House chamber, while the GOP has previously resisted removing its own members even when weighing criminal allegations.

Most recently, the Republican-controlled Statehouse declined to take action against a member accused of sexual misconduct, as well as those who have faced indictments or came under pressure. Nevertheless, Democratic Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson face possible expulsion for taking to the front of the House and chanting back and forth with gun control supporters who packed the gallery days after The Covenant School shooting in Nashville that killed six people, including three children.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, quickly promised the lawmakers would face consequences, warning he would not allow them to set a new precedent for breaking decorum.

In the days since, conservative figures have demanded Johnson, Jones and Pearson be removed, with many drawing a false equivalent between last week’s protest and the Jan. 6, 2021 siege at the nation’s Capitol.ure for liking nearly nude social media posts.

 

DEMOCRACY IN WISCONSIN

The Supreme Court decision on reproductive rights have emboldened other state courts to get in the legislating business. In the past off year elections for state Judicial offices were largely ignored. But the plethora of lawsuits against democracy has made these races important. Such was the case in Wisconsin Tuesday night. 

 

LIBERALS FINALLY BROKE THE FEVER IN WISCONSIN.

Their pick, Janet Protasiewicz, won the most expensive state judicial race in American history, and it's an election with consequences. After more than a decade in the wilderness, Democrats are picturing a future where Republicans don’t have an automatic lock on state government in one of the country’s most important swing states.

And, importantly, a liberal court is widely expected to knock down an 1840s era abortion ban that's been on the books and only revived after Roe v. Wade fell last summer.

Here are five takeaways from the biggest election of 2023 (so far).

A new era for Wisconsin Democrats

Although Tuesday’s election was technically nonpartisan, the biggest winner on Tuesday night was likely the state Democratic Party.

Democrats invested bigly into Protasiewicz’s campaign — they were the single largest contributor — and the win is a payoff for the state party’s now-formidable organizing machine.

Perhaps the biggest impact will be in the state’s legislative and congressional delegations. Despite the close-to 50/50 makeup of the state, Republicans have a near-supermajority in both legislative chambers, as well as a solid hold on the congressional delegation.

Tuesday’s election could be the beginning of the end of that. Protasiewicz regularly called the state’s political maps unfair on the trail, and Democratic-aligned groups are likely itching to bring a case looking to challenge them as illegal political gerrymanders.

A win for liberals isn't a panacea — there are major questions in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on what role state judiciaries can play in federal redistricting, and Democrats have some geographic challenges as well in the state — but it could open the door, at least, for a case.

“I think it's entirely possible that there might be” challenges to the map ahead of 2024, Ben Wikler, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, said before the election. But, he noted, the timeline stretches far beyond that. Protasiewicz “is going to be in office in 2031, when the next redistricting process happens. So we’re talking about the maps through 2041.”

WOW oh WOW

The counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington — collectively known as the WOW counties — have been the centerpiece of any Republican victory in Wisconsin for decades.

But they brought mostly bad news for Republicans on Tuesday.

The counties, which surround Milwaukee, have been emblematic of the shift in the state during the Trump era. They collectively have not voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson, but have gradually trended more Democratic over the last decade.

On Tuesday, former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly was still on track to win all three of those crucial counties. But the margins continue to shrink for Republicans there — a bright red, flashing warning side for the GOP ahead of the 2024 elections.

Notably, Protasiewicz came dangerously close to outright winning in Ozaukee County, trailing Kelly by roughly five points in a county that Mitt Romney won by roughly 30 points a decade ago.

And perhaps even more concerning for Republicans: A special election for a red-leaning state Senate seat in the WOW counties on Tuesday is a nailbiter. Should Jodi Habush Sinykin, the Democratic candidate, eventually pull off the win, it would flip the seat for Democrats — and prevent Republicans from picking up a supermajority in the state Senate.

 Tuesday’s election brought even more good news for Democrats elsewhere in the state.

Dane County, which is home to Madison, is one of the fastest growing regions. The area saw incredibly high turnout on Tuesday for a spring off-year election — and Protasiewicz won the county by a lopsided margin. The area is quickly turning into Democrats’ mini blue wall in the state.

We haven't seen the end of Dobbs' impact on elections yet

Protasiewicz’s win is a big sign that abortion is still a significant motivating factor for voters to show up — albeit in low-turnout, off-year elections — and to pull the lever for liberals.

 Wisconsin has a 19th-century law on the books right now that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances in the state, and providers have stopped performing the procedure.

Protasiewicz’s campaign and her Democratic allies in the state heavily emphasized this message; roughly a third of the TV ads from her side mentioned abortion, according to data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

A heavy rotation of ads highlighting the issue means that voters aren't turned off by this message — at least not yet.

Turnout for the race was also tracking through the roof on Tuesday, and has a chance of setting a record.

Protasieiwicz’s victory “is sending a clear message: don't attack our rights as Wisconsinites,” said Sarah Godlewski, the state’s recently-appointed Democratic secretary of state who hosted rallies on abortion rights in the state.

Godlewski argued that Tuesday’s results showed that the issue on abortion rights “has only gotten stronger” as a motivating issue for voters in the state. “If anything, we are seeing how the attack on abortion and on reproductive freedom is really only strengthening people's resolve to fight and use their voice and vote,” she said.

What happened to Republicans’ electoral advantages?

The pre-Trump Republican coalition was reliable. Voters showed up to vote no matter what — in the presidential, in midterms, and in off-years.

 But bigger shifts in the composition of the parties — accelerated by Trump — indicate that may no longer be true.

Liberal judges have now won three of the last four state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin, and broadly the party has overperformed expectations in the previous two midterms. Suburban voters nationally have gone from solid Republican voters to more than Democratic Party-curious. As a result, Republicans may be losing at least some of their stranglehold in some key swing states.

“The faithful, traditional Republican who votes in every election, some of those people are the type that’s turned away from the party and stayed home,” one former Walker aide admitted. “In Wisconsin, we’ve been able to resist that because of a strong state party.”

Another challenge for Republicans is that the rank-and-file has largely abandoned voting in any way other than in-person on Election Day.

At least 435,000 people voted early for this election — either via the mail or with in-person absentee voting — and that group is expected to lean heavily Democratic. Party officials estimated that Protasiewicz banked at least a 100,000 vote lead from those early voters.

That puts Republicans in a major hole wel before most of their voters headed to the polls. That is a psychological and financial disadvantage for Republicans — the Democratic Party doesn't have to spend last-minute resources to turn voters out, and can use those resources instead to target lower propensity voters.

The Wisconsin state GOP has been trying to flip that trend in the state, with a page on their website practically begging for their supporters to vote early. But Tuesday’s election shows they still have a long way to go.

Big money is here to stay in state elections

Spending in Tuesday’s election came in truckloads, and it wasn’t particularly close. Some $45 million has been spent on the contest as of late last week, according toWisPolitics.com, roughly tripling the previous state judicial race record.

Big money in federal races is nothing new, but that has increasingly trickled down into downballot contests. During the midterms, secretaries of state contests saw a record amount of spending, which is now making its way even further down the ballot.

It looks like state Supreme Courts are next.The spending in Wisconsin “is more than every state Supreme Court election that occurred in 2018 combined,” said Douglas Keith, who tracks Supreme Court races for the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice.

Keith argued that the increased spending in Wisconsin “is a direct response to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have made clear how important state high courts are,” noting that the nation’s top court have punted issues like abortion back to the states.

Another test of big spending in state Supreme Court races will likely come this year in Pennsylvania. There, the court has a 4-2 Democratic majority, with one vacant seat. There are primaries in May for a November general election for that vacant seat.

And while that race won’t determine the majority of the court, it will still likely attract a significant amount of attention given the state’s role as a perennial swing state.

“This election makes all past cycles and state Supreme Court elections seem quaint by comparison,” Keith said of Wisconsin. “I think what this race suggests is that we are really in a new era for judicial elections.”

 

CARTWRIGHT STATEMENT ON OFFICIAL RAIL CORRIDOR I.D. APPLICATION FILING

PENNDOT HAS SUBMITTED REGION’S CORRIDOR DESIGNATION AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION, JOINED BY NEW JERSEY TRANSIT AND PENNSYLVANIA NORTHEAST RAILROAD AUTHORITY

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

“The official submission of the Corridor I.D. application marks a major milestone in our region’s history. This is the moment so many have been working toward, and I am so excited we’ve reached this point in our collective efforts to get passenger trains rolling again from Scranton to New York City.

The decision on Corridor Designation and Project Development will be a competitive process, and I believe our rail application is second to none. Northeastern Pennsylvania has a very compelling and powerful case.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something transformational for the economy of Northeastern Pennsylvania thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This rail project is vital to jobs now and in the future and is a public investment in transportation critical to economic growth and quality of life.

Restoring passenger rail will drive tourism, boost local business opportunities and encourage investment across our region.”

About Cartwright’s Rail Restoration Efforts:

Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-08) has made restoring rail service one of his district priorities since assuming office in 2013. He led the formation of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Rail Restoration Caucus, a group of federal lawmakers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey with a focus on rebuilding 28 miles of track between Port Morris, New Jersey and Slateford, Pennsylvania.

Cartwright also convened and continues to lead a bi-partisan, bi-state, bi-cameral coalition that includes nearly 50 federal, state, county and municipal leaders in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, along with economic development intermediaries in both states as well as officials from PennDOT, New Jersey Transit and the Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad Authority. In addition, he is working with the offices of Governor Josh Shapiro and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Amtrak has done a complete economic impact analysis that concluded restoration of rail service will generate $84 million in new economic activity annually. In addition, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau’s economic analysis as a tourist destination concluded that passenger rail restoration in the Lackawanna Cut Off corridor will generate $73 million in new economic activity annually in the Pocono Mountains alone.

Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-08) has made restoring rail service one of his district priorities since assuming office in 2013. He led the formation of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Rail Restoration Caucus, a group of federal lawmakers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey with a focus on rebuilding 28 miles of track between Port Morris, New Jersey and Slateford, Pennsylvania.

Cartwright also convened and continues to lead a bi-partisan, bi-state, bi-cameral coalition that includes nearly 50 federal, state, county and municipal leaders in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, along with economic development intermediaries in both states as well as officials from PennDOT, New Jersey Transit and the Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad Authority. In addition, he is working with the offices of Governor Josh Shapiro and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Amtrak has done a complete economic impact analysis that concluded restoration of rail service will generate $84 million in new economic activity annually. In addition, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau’s economic analysis as a tourist destination concluded that passenger rail restoration in the Lackawanna Cut Off corridor will generate $73 million in new economic activity annually in the Pocono Mountains alone.

 

CASEY, WYDEN URGE CONTINUED MEDICARE COVERAGE OF COVID-19 AT-HOME TESTS

AS THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY COMES TO AN END, SENATORS NOTE SENIORS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES STILL VULNERABLE TO INFECTION

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging HHS to continue providing Medicare coverage for rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests after the public health emergency expires on May 11. The Senators note that seniors and people with disabilities remain vulnerable to COVID-19 infection but could find themselves without critical public health tools. As the Nation rebuilds its economy while recovering from the pandemic, continued access to and affordability of at-home testing is critical to ensuring older adults and people with disabilities can be included in rebuilding efforts as active members of the workforce.

“Easy access to testing with quick results has prevented the spread of COVID-19, reduced severe infection, and enabled many Americans to resume normal life…Ending Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests could undo much of this progress and make it harder for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain accurate and timely information about their health. For example, without coverage under Medicare, many older Americans will not be able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for these critical tests and simply won’t test,” the Senators wrote.

In January 2022, Senator Casey sent a letter to Secretary Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to advocate for robust Medicare coverage of at-home COVID-19 tests. Seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare are at the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and people over 65 account for the majority of deaths from the virus. Without Medicare coverage, they could be on the hook for potentially significant out of-pocket costs.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Mark Warner (D-VA) also signed onto today’s letter to HHS Secretary Becerra.

The Honorable Xavier Becerra

Secretary

Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Ave., SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretary Becerra:

We commend the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for taking the important step of providing Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests at no cost to beneficiaries, and we call on the Department to extend this critical coverage. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) at-home COVID-19 testing demonstration program has improved the health and wellbeing of Medicare beneficiaries around the country. It also ensured that Medicare beneficiaries have access to the same benefits as those with private insurance. As HHS determines which programs created during the public health emergency (PHE) should be maintained, we ask you to consider continuing to provide coverage for at-home tests beyond the PHE.

We appreciate that HHS’s hard work has protected the lives of countless older adults and people with disabilities. Despite the PHE being set to expire on May 11, 2023, seniors continue to live with the real threat of COVID-19 but could find themselves without this critical public health protection.

At-home diagnostic tests play an important role in helping identify and isolate cases of COVID-19. These tests allow people to test themselves as a precaution or when they first present symptoms, facilitating the delivery of timely, appropriate follow-up care such as a visit with a health care professional or the prescription of antiviral therapy. Easy access to testing with quick results has prevented the spread of COVID-19, reduced severe infection, and enabled many Americans to resume normal life.

Ending Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests could undo much of this progress and make it harder for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain accurate and timely information about their health. For example, without coverage under Medicare, many older Americans will not be able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for these critical tests and simply won’t test.

CMS’ demonstration program to cover at-home tests is slated to end along with the PHE. In addition to the issues identified above, we are concerned that CMS is preparing to end a program that has not been appropriately studied or evaluated yet. It is our understanding that CMS is presently conducting an evaluation of the demonstration and while it remains unclear when that evaluation will be complete, it is not expected before May 11. CMS should be making data-driven decisions, particularly on matters of this significance.

We ask HHS to provide us with information on its authority under Section 402 to conduct this demonstration and any basis for the belief that Section 402 does not provide the authority to continue the demonstration, as well as plans to potentially continue coverage of at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests beyond the end of the PHE.

Thank you again for your work to improve the lives of older Americans. We look forward to continuing to work together to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide Medicare beneficiaries with what they need to stay healthy.

 

ICYMI: “A GREAT MOVE,” PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS PRAISE GOVERNOR SHAPIRO’S “BIPARTISAN, APOLITICAL” PLAN TO INVEST IN 9-1-1 DISPATCH, FIREFIGHTERS, AND EMS PROVIDERS

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Shapiro visited the Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center in Eagleville to discuss his budget’s proposed investments of more than $50 million in county 9-1-1 systems and $36 million for equipment, training, and staffing needs for firefighters and EMS providers.

Governor Shapiro knows firsthand that local and county governments are on the frontlines keeping their communities safe, and his commonsense budget proposal prioritizes solving the most pressing issues Pennsylvanians face with an emphasis on public safety network investments – which is a top priority for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Read what local leaders and first responders had to say about Governor Shapiro’s budget investments in 9-1-1 dispatch systems:

County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania President and Venango County Commissioner Chip Abramovic: “Our number one priority as county commissioners and all 67 counties across this Commonwealth is 9-1-1 funding. That’s bipartisan, apolitical, and is one of the key things that we need. This is critical to every single resident in our Commonwealth to get that funding. When you call 9-1-1, they don’t ask if you’re Republican or Democrat – they ask what your emergency is. First responders do not care what political parties we are. What we need is to have the funding to help give them the tools, the opportunities, and the responsibility so we can be better, and we can help individuals in a time of crisis.”

Montgomery County Commissioner and Chair Ken Lawrence: “I’d like to welcome Governor Shapiro home here to Montgomery County and back to the Public Safety Center, where he spent many years and much time as chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, and I also want to thank him for his commitment to increasing state funding for county 9-1-1centers like ours. I truly appreciate his support because he knows firsthand the valuable work our 9-1-1 center performs. The increased funding in Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget will be essential in ensuring that Pennsylvania’s 9-1-1 centers can continue to make a difference in our communities across the Commonwealth. And I urge our state legislators to consider this when voting on the budget.”

Deputy Director of Emergency Communications for Montgomery County Jennifer Cass: “Welcome home, Governor Shapiro, and thank you for bringing attention to the important topic of 9-1-1 funding in Pennsylvania. The heart of our 9-1-1 system is composed of county based 9-1-1 centers and their highly trained staff of telecommunicators. Pennsylvania’s public safety answering points processed more than 15 million requests for service in 2021. The 9-1-1 fee is the primary funding source for our critical 9-1-1 systems and personnel that provide lifesaving services every day. Governor Shapiro’s budget recognizes the challenges counties and 9-1-1 dispatchers face and invests over $50 million in that system and ties that funding to the cost of living, so we’ll keep up with rising costs.”

9-1-1 Telecommunicator Kimberli Wilson: “I would like to thank Governor Shapiro for being here with us today. And for his proposal to increase funding for 911 centers like this one and others across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Governor Shapiro’s proposal to increase funding for 9-1-1 centers will be essential in keeping 9-1-1 center fully staffed, well trained, properly equipped and able to evolve with changing technology. Our local and municipal governments and county governments are on the frontlines of the efforts to keep everyone safe in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That’s why the Governor’s budget ensures that we have the resources that we need to do our jobs – to do them safely and to do them well.”

 

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 SUNDAY NIGHT SOCK HOP

 

1954

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Suffering from failing memory, legendary symphony conductor Arturo Toscanini is obliged to abandon plans for the German Requiem and introduce an alternative programme at his last concert….United States Senator Joseph McCarthy appears on See It Now to confront journalist Ed Murrow: he describes Murrow as "a symbol, a leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors"….US President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference. The domino theory is a geopolitical theory which posits that increases or decreases in democracy in one country tend to spread to neighboring countries in a domino effect. It was prominent in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s in the context of the Cold War, suggesting that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow. It was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War as justification for American intervention (destabilising target countries/regions by fomenting political unrest, deposing leaders, staging coup d'état, and aassassinations.  

Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 9: a Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard and a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star collide over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. The total number of deaths is 37, including 36 people aboard the two aircraft and one person on the ground.

South African Airways Flight 201: a de Havilland Comet 1, operated by South African Airways, disintegrates in mid-air as a result of fatigue failure while flying over the Mediterranean Sea from Rome to Cairo. All 14 passengers and seven crew are killed.[1bings, invasions, etc.) around the world….and this week in LuLac land and America the number one song was “Wanted” by Perry Como.