The LuLac Edition #4, 989, August 3rd, 2023

 TRUMP ARRAIGNED THIRD TIME 

 Donald Trump was arraigned in Washington, D.C. today on four counts that can get him 55 years in jail. When leaving Washington he said everything was a hoax, he won the election and that the nation's capitol looked terrible.   

And half of America think this guy should come back? JESUS SAVE US ALL. 

 

TRUMP PISSING MONEY AWAY WITH PAC FUND

FROM 105 MILLION TO JUST 4 IN HALF A YEAR A LOSS OF 101` MILLION BUCKS!

Former President Donald Trump's leadership PAC is running low on cash after shelling out millions on legal bills amid his mounting indictments and court cases.

The New York Times reported that Trump's PAC, Save America is now "nearly broke" after reporting less than $4 million in its account. The PAC began last year with more than $105 million in the bank.

The struggling PAC has even requested a refund of a $60 million donation previously made to pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc. Federal records showed that Make America Great Again Inc has sent back nearly $13 million to the group covering Trump's legal fees, closely mirroring the amount the super PAC raised from donations in the first half of 2023.

The Republican frontrunner has seen his legal costs balloon in recent months. The ex-president has been twice indicted, found liable of sexual abuse and defamation, and likely faces other impending criminal charges in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and efforts to overturn the 2020 election in D.C. and Georgia.

 

FOR TRUMP, THE MORE INDICTMENTS, THE MORE LOYAL HIS FANS

The headline tells you the real problem here. The usage of the word “fans” to describe Donald Trump followers gives you a clue as to how broken our political world has become. Citizens are no longer voters weighing in on consequential issues but rather devotees of drama that would make soap opera watchers blush. Once upon a time in American politics, a whiff of scandal would do a candidate in. It still might. But Trump has seemed to inoculate himself from harm just by being a brazen prick.

As mushrooming criminal probes threaten his political ambitions and his liberty, Donald Trump has been able to console himself with one encouraging constant: blockbuster polling numbers.

"I'm the only person (who) ever got indicted who became more popular," the former president and 2024 Republican primary frontrunner grinned in Iowa recently, an observation added to his stump speech in recent months.

Trump has been indicted in two criminal cases, with felony counts in two further investigations seemingly imminent, yet his popularity among his ultra-loyal base has not been dented in the slightest.

a New York Times/Siena College poll of likely primary voters showed Trump crushing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by a staggering 37 points.

And the poll is hardly an outlier: the ex-commander-in-chief's lead has risen from 16 to 36 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls since he was indicted in Manhattan four months ago for falsifying business records.

During that period he has been found by a jury in a civil trial to have raped a writer in New York and has been charged with a further 40 federal felony counts over his handling of national security secrets and alleged obstruction of justice.

"By the time we get on the debate stage on August 23, the frontrunner will be out on bail in four different jurisdictions -- Florida, Washington, Georgia and New York," fellow Republican White House hopeful Chris Christie told CNN on Sunday.

While poor headlines for DeSantis may have contributed to the widening polling gap, Trump's favorability rating -- 39.4 percent -- is exactly the same as it was the day he was first charged.

A shift between now and Iowa's first-in-the-nation vote in January remains possible -- but a turnaround that dramatic has never been seen in the modern presidential primary season.

Analysts contacted by AFP to discuss Trump's poll numbers pointed to the lasting appeal of his populist message among blue-collar Americans.

Trump has been indicted in two criminal cases, with felony counts in two further investigations seemingly imminent, yet his popularity among his ultra-loyal base has not been dented in the slightest.

On Monday, a New York Times/Siena College poll of likely primary voters showed Trump crushing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by a staggering 37 points.

And the poll is hardly an outlier: the ex-commander-in-chief's lead has risen from 16 to 36 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls since he was indicted in Manhattan four months ago for falsifying business records.

During that period he has been found by a jury in a civil trial to have raped a writer in New York and has been charged with a further 40 federal felony counts over his handling of national security secrets and alleged obstruction of justice.

"By the time we get on the debate stage on August 23, the frontrunner will be out on bail in four different jurisdictions -- Florida, Washington, Georgia and New York," fellow Republican White House hopeful Chris Christie told CNN on Sunday.

While poor headlines for DeSantis may have contributed to the widening polling gap, Trump's favorability rating -- 39.4 percent -- is exactly the same as it was the day he was first charged.

A shift between now and Iowa's first-in-the-nation vote in January remains possible -- but a turnaround that dramatic has never been seen in the modern presidential primary season.

Analysts contacted by AFP to discuss Trump's poll numbers pointed to the lasting appeal of his populist message among blue-collar Americans.

"Multilateral trade agreements, open borders, forever wars and globalization left many hardworking Americans without jobs and with little future prospects," said Michael J. O'Neill, counsel at the conservative Landmark Legal Foundation.

 "Trump gives a voice to that demographic. His supporters see Trump as a disrupter that is not beholden to the entrenched elite and gives everyday Americans a shot at a better life," O'Neill added.

For David Greenberg, a journalism and history professor at Rutgers University, 77-year-old Trump and his diehard loyalists have always been able to bond over a "common set of enemies" that has expanded to include the justice system.

"So when Trump is indicted, to them it's just more proof that their man, their champion, is being targeted by forces they fundamentally distrust," Greenberg told AFP.

The bottom line here is that Trump is controlling the narrative.

Trump left office in 2021 after a scandal-plagued single term in which he lost the White House and both chambers of Congress and was impeached twice.

Many aides were convicted of felonies, including his 2016 campaign chairman and deputy campaign chairman, his White House chief strategist and national security advisor, his personal lawyer and two foreign policy advisors.

His company, The Trump Organization, was convicted on multiple charges of tax fraud and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg admitted grand larceny, tax fraud and falsifying business records.

Trump himself was found by a jury in a civil lawsuit in May to have raped the writer E. Jean Carroll in New York in the 1990s and he has been accused by more than 20 other women of sexual misconduct.

Trump's impeachments were both related to alleged attempts to cheat in the 2020 election -- first when he was found to have withheld vital military aid from Ukraine as he demanded it dig up dirt on Biden, and again for inciting an insurrection to prevent his opponent's eventual victory from being certified.

Even some Democrats give him credit for managing to convince millions of Republicans that a never-ending "witch hunt" by a mythical "deep state" is to blame for the whiff of scandal around his presidency.

"Trump has done an excellent job of not only controlling the narrative, but staying ahead of it," Democratic election strategist Amani Wells-Onyioha told AFP.

"He has consistently told his supporters that he is being unfairly attacked and that any accusations are lies aimed to take him down. They believe what he says because his indictments only feed into that narrative."

That narrative might give him the GOP nomination but certainly not the Independents needed to win a Presidential race.

 

 

REPS. CARTWRIGHT AND MOORE NAMED CO-CHAIRS OF HOUSE MILITARY DEPOT CAUCUS, JOIN SENIOR ARMY LEADERS ON CAPITOL HILL

LEGISLATORS BRIEFED ON MILITARY MODERNIZATION AND READINESS AT ARMY DEPOT CAUCUS BREAKFAST

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) and U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT-01) have been named Co-Chairs of the bipartisan House Military Depot and Industrial Facilities Caucus and delivered remarks at the Army Depot Caucus Breakfast on Capitol Hill.

The Congressional leaders were also briefed by Gen. Charles R. Hamilton, Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command, on the Army’s Organic Industrial Base (OIB) modernization plan and the critical role it plays in ensuring Army readiness.

The OIB manufactures, resets and maintains Army equipment, providing critical materiel and sustainment support to warfighters across the Joint Force. The Army’s industrial base is made up of 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants, including Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County.

“Today’s increasingly complex and unstable global environment reinforces, more than ever, the importance of synchronizing and integrating our military’s capabilities and resources so that our Nation can rapidly respond to any threat,” said Rep. Cartwright in his opening remarks. “Our depots, arsenals and ammunitions plants are the most important element of military readiness and in my district, the hardworking men and women at Tobyhanna Army Depot toil tirelessly to keep the American war fighter equipped with the best technology. From navigational equipment to missile guidance and control, Tobyhanna is a role model for government efficiency and American ingenuity. Across the country, our military industrial facilities are fundamental to ensuring our freedoms and I’m thrilled for this opportunity to continue to advocate for them. That’s why I’m proud to join the House Military Depot and Industrial Facilities Caucus as a Co-Chair and look forward to working alongside Rep. Moore to provide the resources our industrial bases need to serve and protect our Nation."

The bipartisan House Military Depot and Industrial Facilities Caucus advocates for American military depots, arsenals, ammunition plants, shipyards, energetic material production facilities and military industrial facilities throughout the nation and world. The group educates members of Congress and the public on matters of critical importance to the military depot and industrial facility community, and champions policy to keep American military airplanes flying, ships steaming, and stock moving worldwide. 

 “Since 1943, the Ogden Depot has served both our nation and Northern Utah’s rapidly growing economy. Originally a support to the war effort during WWII, it has now expanded into today’s sprawling Air Logistic Complex and the Air Force’s premiere ‘Fighter Depot.’ The Ogden Depot’s nearly 9,000 military and civilian servicemembers provide maintenance support to both our legacy air platforms and emerging next-gen technologies,” said Rep. Moore. “More importantly, the Ogden Depot serves as the heart and soul of Northern Utah’s communities, providing diverse opportunities, including entry-level trade and technical jobs to highly skilled scientific positions. The future of Hill Air Force Base and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex is strong, and the Depot Caucus further strengthens Capitol Hill’s coalition advocating for our Depots. I am thrilled to welcome Congressman Cartwright as our new Co-Chair, and I am eager to champion our nation’s depots across all services.”

 

 

CASEY SECURES VICTORIES FOR PENNSYLVANIANS IN 2024 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

CASEY’S BIPARTISAN BILL TO SCREEN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY INVESTMENTS IN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES OF CONCERN PASSES DEFENSE BILL

NDAA INCLUDES CASEY PROVISIONS REQUIRING DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TRANSPARENCY ON PFAS CLEAN-UP

PA’S SENIOR SENATOR SECURES INVESTMENTS IN SEVERAL PA MILITARY INSTALLATIONS

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that several provisions he advanced have been successfully adopted and passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. These include his provisions to screen U.S. investments in national security sectors made in countries of concern, advance PFAS clean-up efforts, and improve safety and accountability in the handling of dangerous pathogens.

“This year’s defense authorization tackles the toughest national security issues we face, including the threats posed by the Chinese government accessing our national security technology and know-how. That’s why I fought to include the bipartisan Outbound Investment Transparency Act, which would shed visibility on U.S. investments going to China in highly sensitive and critical sectors,” said Senator Casey. “From strengthening our Nation’s military capabilities to protecting our people from toxic contaminants and pathogens, I will continue to work to ensure the security of Americans both abroad and at home.”

The bill now heads back to the House of Representatives for consideration before it can be signed into law.

Specifically, the 2023 NDAA includes priorities for which Senator Casey advocated in the following areas:

 Outbound Investment Transparency: Senator Casey’s Outbound Investment Transparency Act, passed through the NDAA by an overwhelming vote of 91-6, seeks to screen U.S. investments in national security sectors that are made in countries of concern, including the People’s Republic of China. The bill would give the U.S. visibility into vulnerabilities and risks posed when the Chinese government has access to American technology and know-how in national security sectors. The industries included under the bill are: advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence, quantum information science and technology, hypersonics, satellite-based communications, and networked laser scanning systems with dual-use applications.

PFAS: As part of his ongoing efforts to address the toxic effects of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, Senator Casey helped secure the inclusion of multiple provisions advancing a path towards remediation of toxic exposure to PFAS. For years, he has been at the forefront of efforts to address PFAS contamination in drinking water in Bucks and Montgomery Counties as a result of the use of a toxic firefighting agent at military installations.

This year, Senator Casey helped to include a provision requiring that the Department of Defense (DoD) provide a proposed schedule and cost estimate for PFAS cleanup efforts. Additionally, he helped support a provision directing the DoD to issue regular, timely reports about the status of cleanup on PFAS contamination sites.

Pennsylvania Military Installations: Senator Casey laid the groundwork for over $11 million in federal funding for vital capabilities at the First City Troop Readiness Center in Philadelphia, Letterkenny Army Depot, and Harrisburg International Airport. This funding will support military construction, vehicle maintenance, missile production, secure entry control facilities, and other sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects.

Select Agent Reporting: Senator Casey ensured that a provision requiring the DoD to notify Congress within 45 days of any theft, loss, or release of a biological select agent that might cause a threat to public safety. Requiring disclosure to Congress will improve safety and accountability in the handling of dangerous pathogens which could cause the next pandemic.

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO’S OFFICE ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT BUDGET IMPASSE

There are a few Pennsylvanians out there wondering about what effects the budget impasse will have on how the state operates. Here is some questions answered by the administration. 

Question 1 – What is a budget impasse?   

Answer: By June 30 of each year, the Commonwealth must approve a budget that sets funding levels for the following fiscal year (FY), which begins on July 1. If a budget has not been approved, the Commonwealth is prohibited from making many payments. This period, known as a budget impasse, continues until a budget is approved.      

Question 2 – Will a budget impasse create any risks to the general public?   

Answer: No. The Commonwealth will continue operations for all critical functions that impact the health, safety and/or welfare of the citizens of Pennsylvania.      

Question 3 – Will a budget impasse affect public access to any Commonwealth operated facilities?   

Answer: No. The Commonwealth will continue operations for Commonwealth-operated facilities, such as county assistance offices, prisons, youth development facilities and PennDOT locations. Citizens will continue to have access to state parks. 

Question 4 – What Commonwealth operations will be impacted by a budget impasse?   

Answer:  Many Commonwealth expenditures cannot be made without an approved budget and will be delayed until that occurs.  

Question 5:  What type of payments can be made in a budget impasse? 

Answer: The Commonwealth will continue to make payments and continue operations in all areas that affect the health, safety, and protection of Pennsylvanians or as required under Federal Law, state court decisions or the Pennsylvania Constitution, including:   • Public benefit programs administered by the state, including cash assistance, support for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); • Health care services paid for through Medical Assistance, for hospitals, other healthcare providers and nursing homes; • Unemployment Compensation • Child care subsidy payments; • Home and community based services, including attendant care, for seniors and people with disabilities; • Prescription drug coverage under the PACE program; • Pension programs for Blind and Paralyzed Veterans; 2 of 3    Updated as of 7/5/23  • Medicare Part A and B premium payments;  • Early intervention, autism and intellectual disability services; • State Workers’ Insurance Fund payments;  • Commonwealth employee payroll;  • Food and nutrition payments. • Public Protection payments • Domestic Violence program payments 

Question 6: What payments cannot be made during a budget impasse? 

Answer: Most payments to vendors or to grantees for programs or expenditures incurred during FY 2023-24 that are authorized through the budget will be delayed until a budget is approved.   

Question 7: How will the budget impasse affect education funding? 

Answer: To the extent these funds must be appropriated by the General Assembly, payments will not be processed until a budget is approved for FY 2023-24. 

Question 8: How will the budget impasse affect highway construction projects? 

Answer: Construction can proceed for all work and payments funded from prior year appropriations. Examples of programs with available prior year funding include:  Maintenance, Construction, Welcome Centers, Re-investment in Facilities, Aviation Operations, and Safety Administration. Vendor payments for goods or services incurred in FY 2023-24 will not be made until a budget is approved. 

Question 9: Will Commonwealth agencies process invoices from vendors? 

Answer: Yes. Vendors with state contracts who continue to provide goods and services to Commonwealth agencies can submit invoices and Commonwealth agencies will process all invoices received. All invoices held during the budget impasse will be sent promptly to the State Treasury for processing after the FY23-24 budget is enacted.    

Question 10:  How will the budget impasse affect existing contracts? 

Answer: Most state contracts include language addressing this situation, which states that the Commonwealth’s obligation to make payments shall be subject to the availability and appropriation of funds and that contractors may not stop work or refuse to make delivery because of non-payment. If the Commonwealth’s untimely payment results in a default situation, the contractor may pursue the remedies set forth in the contract. 

Question 11: Can Commonwealth agencies enter into new contracts for 2023-24? 

Updated as of 7/5/23  Answer:  Agencies may enter into new contracts for FY 2023-24. The contracts will clearly state that payment is subject to appropriation.   

Question 12:  Will Commonwealth revenues continue to be collected and deposited during a budget impasse?  

Answer: Yes. 

 

MEDIA MATTERS

CORDARO’S HARD ON FOR HUNTER

WILK’s Bob Cordaro has a new promo out where he is screaming about the Justice Department’s decision to not charge Hunter Biden on counts regarding tax fraud because the statute of limitations has run out. The mid-morning Mussolini screams that if your kid had the same investigation, they’d surely get worse than Hunter. Really? If the statute runs out, it runs out right? I mean wasn’t that what Diaper Don was hoping for in his bid for re-election? Robert’s has seem to forgotten his law school knowledge or else he’s twisting it to fit his narrative, a thing he often accuses Liberals of doing.  

 

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

Our 1954 logo

The First Indochina War ends with the Vietnam People's Army in North Vietnam, the Vietnamese National Army in South Vietnam, the Kingdom of Cambodia in Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Laos in Laos, emerging victorious against the French Army. The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) was fought between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vietnam), and their respective allies, from 19 December 1946 until 20 July 1954.[27][full citation needed] Việt Minh was led by Võ Nguyên Giáp and Hồ Chí Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia.

At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the allied Combined Chiefs of Staff decided that Indochina south of latitude 16° north was to be included in the Southeast Asia Command under British Admiral Mountbatten. On V-J Day, September 2, Hồ Chí Minh proclaimed in Hanoi (Tonkin's capital) the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). In late September 1945, Chinese forces entered Tonkin, and Japanese forces to the north of that line surrendered to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. At the same time, British forces landed in Saigon (Cochinchina's capital), and Japanese forces in the south surrendered to the British. The Chinese accepted the DRV under Hồ Chí Minh, then in power in Hanoi. The British refused to do likewise in Saigon, and deferred to the French, against the ostensible support of the Việt Minh by American OSS representatives. The DRV ruled as the only civil government in all of Vietnam for a period of about 20 days, after the abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại, who had governed under the Japanese rule. On 23 September 1945, with the knowledge of the British commander in Saigon, French forces overthrew the local DRV government, and declared French authority restored in Cochinchina. Guerrilla warfare began around Saigon immediately, but the French gradually retook control of Indochina. Hồ Chí Minh agreed to talk with France but negotiations failed. After one year of low-level conflict, all-out war broke out in December 1946 between French and Việt Minh forces as Hồ Chí Minh and his government went underground. The French tried to stabilize Indochina by reorganizing it as a Federation of Associated States. In 1949, they put former Emperor Bảo Đại back in power, as the ruler of a newly established State of Vietnam.

The first few years of the war involved a low-level rural insurgency against the French. By 1949 the conflict had turned into a conventional war between two armies equipped with modern weapons, with the French supplied by the United States, and the Việt Minh supplied by the Soviet Union and a newly communist China.French Union forces included colonial troops from the empire - North Africans; Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese ethnic minorities; Sub-Saharan Africans - and professional French troops, European volunteers, and units of the Foreign Legion. The use of metropolitan recruits was forbidden by the government to prevent the war from becoming more unpopular at home. It was called the "dirty war" (la sale guerre) by leftists in France.

 

The French strategy of inducing the Việt Minh to attack well-defended bases in remote areas at the end of their logistical trails was validated during the Battle of Nà Sản. French efforts were hampered by the limited usefulness of tanks in a forested environment, the lack of a strong air force, and reliance on soldiers from French colonies. The Việt Minh used novel and efficient tactics, including direct artillery fire, convoy ambushes, and anti-aircraft weaponry to impede land and air resupplies together with a strategy based on recruiting a sizable regular army facilitated by large popular support. They used guerrilla warfare doctrine and instruction developed from China, and used war materiel provided by the Soviet Union. This combination proved fatal for the French bases, culminating in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. An estimated 400,000 to 842,707 soldiers died during the war as well as between 125,000 and 400,000 civilians.[16][26] Both sides committed war crimes during the conflict, including killings of civilians (such as the Mỹ Trạch massacre by French troops), rape and torture. At the International Geneva Conference on July 21, 1954, the new socialist French government and the Việt Minh made an agreement which gave the Việt Minh control of North Vietnam above the 17th parallel, an agreement that was rejected by the State of Vietnam and the United States. A year later, Bảo Đại would be deposed by his prime minister, Ngô Đình Diệm, creating the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Soon an insurgency, backed by the communist north, developed against Diệm's anti-communist government. This conflict, known as the Vietnam War, included large U.S. military intervention in support of the South Vietnamese and ended in 1975 with the defeat of South Vietnam to the North Vietnamese and the reunification of Vietnam………The West German airline Luftag acquires the name and logo of the defunct airline Deutsche Luft Hansa. Renamed Lufthansa, it will begin flight operations in April 1955…..Emilie Dionne, age 20 passed away. He was one of the Dionne quintuplets, of asphyxiation following an epileptic seizure. She is the first of the five to perish, and three of them survive into the 21st century…and this week in 1954 the number one song in LuLac land and America was Frank Sinatra’s “Young At Heart”.