The LuLac Edition #5, 092, April 11th, 2024

ARIZONA RULING GOT PERMISSION FROM THE OVER TURNING OF ROE V WADE

 

The woman of 1864

You might wonder how a Supreme Court in Arizona produced a decision from 160 years ago that affects modern day women. Well, that seed as planted in the very decision to change the Abortion bill. Arizona women will soon be living under an abortion law from when Arizona was a frontier territory and that predates the light bulb and antibiotics.

CNN reports that this is exactly the type of law that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito referred to in the majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“Roe’s failure even to note the overwhelming consensus of state laws in effect in 1868 is striking,” Alito’s majority wrote, noting the year the 14th Amendment was ratified. It was under the 14th Amendment that the court in 1973 created a woman’s constitutional right to obtain an abortion until a fetus was viable outside the mother’s womb. It was in citing laws like that of the Arizona frontier that the court in 2022 took that national right away.

Laws from the 1860s in states and territories like Arizona, enacted decades before women in the US had won the right to vote, helped lead the 2022 Supreme Court to the “inescapable conclusion … that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions. “And so, with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that replaced Roe, justices turned away from the ’70s idea that women should have certain rights and returned to the 1860s idea that states should have them instead.

The patchwork of access created by the Dobbs decision has created abortion rights states and abortion ban states. The decision by Arizona’s state Supreme Court to return to the 1864 law is just the latest evidence of the tortured fallout.

In Pennsylvania abortion remains legal up to 24 weeks but that is not expressly protected by the state. Thirteen states have banned it all together, six have it legal within Legal with a gestational limit of 6-18 weeks. The rest of the states have it as legal with varying week limits.

Once more the Supreme Court’s decision has now upended the political landscape. Even two years out, that action has caused more trouble for Republicans who for years embraced it, not imagining the fallout from people who were used to more than a half century of Roe being the law of the land. Not to be trite here but the right to choose was taken as such, a right. An entitlement to a choice. Once an entitlement or choice is degraded or in some cases taken away, voters do not take kindly to that type of thing. Especially when it involves a tricky situation like bringing a newborn into the world. Having a baby is not like taking a blood test, it is a medical procedure with many things that can go wrong.

Look for pro-choice advocates, voters of all political persuasions to make their voice heard. Arizona which might have been a state in play in 2024 now is more of a toss up than ever before. Plus, the binary choice between Trump and Biden might even give speculation to the fact that like 2022, Democrats and the embattled Joe Biden might be stronger than people think. (CNN, LuLac)

 

 CASEY VISITS WILKES-BARRE

Senator Robert Casey visited Luzerne County Democratic headquarters last Saturday and before a crowd of devoted Democratic workers outlined his efforts to win re-election. Casey talked about the projects he and the Biden administration were working on to improve the lives of people in northeastern Pennsylvania. He was met with great enthusiasm. Here are a few photos:

State Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, your blog editor, Meghan Kocher, SEnator Casey and County Council member Patricia Krusnowski. 

A group photo of the canvasing team at Democratic headquarters.

Adam Ciehcoski, a Casey guy since 2006,  the Senator anbd County Chair Tom Shubilla.

 

 TRUMP GETS DESPERATE AS HE TRIES TO DELAY TRIAL IN NEW YORK

We’re a week out from jury selection in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York. So expect this week to include rejections of desperate defense attempts to further delay the criminal case.

One of those rejections will likely include Trump’s request that Judge Juan Merchan recuse himself. A clue that Trump will lose his recusal motion is that he has already lost it before.

Merchan rejected a recusal attempt last summer that cited the judge’s daughter’s work for a digital marketing agency that works with Democratic candidates as well as nonprofits. In denying that strained effort, Merchan wrote that Trump had failed to demonstrate “concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds.”

Nonetheless, Trump has rehashed the recusal bid just ahead of the trial. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg cast it as another delay attempt that Merchan should reject, with his office writing that Trump’s “rewarmed arguments identify no new law or fact that calls into question this Court’s prior conclusion.”

Trump’s delaying tactics are annoying, defensive and tiresome. While there are many Trump enablers and cult members, there is a segment of the American people that are just sooooooooooooooo fed up with his whining, justifications and insistence that he is a victim. The fear is that these voters will just stay home  and not express their displeasure. My hope is that those fed up would ask themselves this one question and then act accordingly:  If Trump is so innocent, why doesn’t he want a speedy trial to clear his name? Or is he waiting  to get elected and pardon himself or pull a Jack Ruby and die first so that he will go down in history as never been convicted? (MSNBC, LuLac) 

 

CARTWRIGHT: BOLSTERING THE MIDDLE CLASS

FROM MATT CARTWRIGHT

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

In Congress, one of my top priorities is to support policies that strengthen the middle class and bring good jobs to our region. I know our country succeeds when the middle class succeeds and that's why I'm fighting to support jobs in manufacturing, to invest in job training programs and small businesses, and to ensure that millionaires finally pay their fair share in taxes.

That’s why I was proud to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance, and energy costs while fighting inflation, reducing the deficit, and making the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.

I also helped pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will give all working people and families a better shot at a good middle-class life, and a fair chance to share in the success of a growing economy.

This Bipartisan legislation will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails – including passenger rail from NEPA to New York City - expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities like Northeast Pennsylvania that have too often been left behind.

Most importantly, this legislation will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs throughout our district. Workers’ rights are the pillars of a strong American middle class, especially in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I  also believe in expanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs so that students have a well-rounded education and can be competitive on the global stage. We live in a changing world with an evolving skill-based economy. Many companies now hire based on skills, rather than looking at formal degrees, which is why we need to support apprenticeships and other training programs.

 Strengthening the middle class is key to building a robust economy and making sure that everyone has a chance at the American Dream. Working families make up the backbone of our economy. It is imperative that we help them prosper, so our country prospers.

 

CASEY URGES CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU TO FINALIZE RULE CAPPING EXCESSIVE OVERDRAFT BANK FEES, PROVIDE RELIEF TO MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

RULE WOULD CAP OVERDRAFT FEES THAT CAN BE CHARGED BY BANKS

LETTER COMES AS CASEY HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING GREEDFLATION AND OTHER EFFORTS, INCLUDING HIDDEN, BOGUS FEES, BY LARGE CORPORATIONS TO SQUEEZE THE BUDGETS OF AMERICAN FAMILIES

ACCORDING TO CFPB, CONSUMERS PAID $9 BILLION IN OVERDRAFT FEES IN 2022 ALONE

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives)

– U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra in support of the CFPB’s proposed rule to crack down on excessive overdraft banking penalties. As American families struggle to make ends meet, large corporate banks are profiting off of their customers by charging excessive overdraft fees, roughly $35 per overdraft.

“Large corporate banks should be expected to provide their customers with transparent information about the services they offer and to charge fees that are in proportion to the actual costs the fees are covering. I believe that this proposed rule will be a positive step forward, and on behalf of Pennsylvania consumers, I strongly encourage CFPB to finalize the proposal as soon as possible,” Senator Casey wrote.

Since November 2023, Chairman Casey has been investigating corporate price gouging and other actions by big corporations that have squeezed the budgets of American families and contributed to the increase in inflation. CFPB estimates that this rule will save consumers $3.5 billion per year or $150 yearly per household that pays overdraft fees.

In January 2024, Casey released the fourth report of his greedflation series, “Additional Charges May Apply: How Big Corporations Use Hidden Fees to Nickel, Dime, and Deceive American Families” detailing how big corporations are tacking on excessive fees at the tail end of everyday purchases, from internet plans to ATM withdrawals. Senator Casey believes that no Pennsylvanian should be blindsided by a junk fee and that the negative impacts of hidden fees can be mitigated by: fighting deceptive practices that allow corporations to hide the fees they charge consumers; preventing corporations from deceptively passing along their expenses to working families through bogus fees; and protecting businesses that are honest about their pricing structures.

 

April 1, 2024

Dear Director Chopra:

On January 24, 2024, I released a report entitled, “Additional Charges May Apply: How Big Corporations Use Hidden Fees to Nickel, Dime, and Deceive American Families.” My report details how corporations use hidden fees to deceive consumers and increase corporate profits, which leaves families paying more than they expect for everyday purchases. My report tracks the variety of junk fees, including overdraft fees, that families trying to pay their bills face. My findings estimate that an average Pennsylvania family may pay nearly $1,000 in junk fees alone over a single month.

Overdraft fees, loans, or credit can be issued by banks when a customer’s spending exceeds the balance of their account. Overdraft services were first developed as a courtesy service for banking customers who may have accidentally overdrawn on accounts using paper checks. However, as CFPB identified, the practice of charging customer overdraft fees has expanded despite electronic banking and automation—today, large banks charge roughly $35 for an overdraft fee, even though most overdrafts are for a small amount, are repaid quickly, and do not generally cost banks $35 to process. Roughly 23 million households pay overdraft fees each year, and estimates indicate that 26 percent of Americans reside in a household that faced an overdraft fee or non-sufficient fund fee in the last year.

Notably, overdraft fees are often unexpected. Among households that incurred an overdraft fee, 43 percent did not expect the fee. Because the majority of overdraft fees are exempt from the Truth in Lending Act, banks are currently able to establish complicated processes that mislead consumers, leaving them unaware when they will be charged an overdraft fee and for what amount. For some customers, this can be devastating, ultimately resulting in them losing their checking accounts.

Overdraft fees generate substantial profit for corporate banks. According to CFPB’s estimates, consumers have paid roughly $280 billion in overdraft fees over the last 20 years and paid $9 billion in just 2022 alone. Big banks have taken notice, using overdraft fees to generate substantial revenue and deceive vulnerable consumers. For instance, in 2022 Wells Fargo was ordered by CFPB to repay over $200 million to consumers who had been charged surprise overdraft fees that were assessed despite the consumers having available funds in their accounts.

As I discussed in my January 2024 report, junk fees are eating into families’ budgets. In this report, I laid out my priorities when it comes to combatting junk fees: (1) fighting deceptive practices that allow corporations to hide the fees they charge consumers; (2) preventing corporations from deceptively passing along their expenses to working families through bogus fees; and (3) protecting businesses that are honest about their pricing structures. CFPB’s efforts in this proposed rule to require banks to provide their customers with proper loan and credit disclosures and to cap overdraft fees at a realistic level meet these goals—and should be applauded.

Large corporate banks should be expected to provide their customers with transparent information about the services they offer and to charge fees that are in proportion to the actual costs the fees are covering. I believe that this proposed rule will be a positive step forward, and on behalf of Pennsylvania consumers, I strongly encourage CFPB to finalize the proposal as soon as possible.

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO SPEAKS WITH DOCTORS AND ADVOCATES AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD TO DISCUSS HIS ADMINISTRATION’S NEW HEALTH INSURANCE GUIDANCE FOR OVER-THE-COUNTER CONTRACEPTION

“WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO IS CUT THROUGH THAT RED TAPE, CUT THROUGH THE B.S., AND GET STUFF DONE – WHICH IS OUR MANTRA. IN THIS CASE, MAKING SURE FOLKS HAVE ACCESS TO THE PILL AND THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO IT FOR WHATEVER REASONS THEY DETERMINED WITH YOU THEY NEED. AND TOGETHER, I KNOW WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA. – GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Josh Shapiro urged health insurers in Pennsylvania to make contraception more accessible and affordable, announcing new guidance on insurance coverage that may save women nearly $250 a year for over-the-counter contraception. This new guidance is a continuation of Governor Shapiro’s commitment to defending a woman’s right to choose and to have access to a full scope of reproductive healthcare.

After making the announcement, Governor Shapiro met with doctors and reproductive healthcare advocates to discuss the importance of women’s freedom to make their own healthcare decisions and the right to access the full scope of reproductive healthcare.

Governor Shapiro has always fought for a woman’s right to choose – including launching a website for reproductive healthcare resources to help Pennsylvanians find information about both medication abortions and in-clinic procedure abortions, and joining the multi-state Reproductive Freedom Alliance to safeguard abortion access, protect abortion providers, and affirm abortion rights.

Read key excerpts from the conversation below.

Governor Josh Shapiro: Thank you so much for joining me for this conversation. We’ve got a big announcement today which we’re really excited to make, and I’m excited that you’re part of it. But you know, it centers around creating access to birth control over the counter without having to jump through a bunch of hoops with insurance companies and you all are on the front lines every day of helping deliver healthcare and full range of reproductive healthcare for women. I just want to get your sense of what this means and why is this necessary?

Dr. Sharee Livingston: I think the most important message that I send to my patients as an OB/GYN physician is that oral contraception pills are safe, and they’re effective. That’s what they need to know.

Tara Murtha, Women’s Law Project: 88% of young people in recent survey said that they didn’t have adequate access to contraception […] We definitely need over the counter access.

Governor Josh Shapiro: And the pill has been around for decades. It has a lot of different uses, right? I think sometimes people hear ‘birth control pills’ and they think of pregnancy.

Dr. Sameera Mokkarala: One of my specialty practice elements is working with patients who are variously medically complex. And for those patients what they need from their birth control, may not be birth control. It may be the management of you know, menstrually precipitated seizures. It may be headache control, cramps, and heavy bleeding. You know, you shouldn’t have to make excuses to your insurer – you shouldn’t have to go through options that certainly won’t work for you before you’re allowed to try the option that will.

Governor Josh Shapiro: I think that justification piece you’re talking about – that infuriates me. And I’m sure it infuriates women all across Pennsylvania. I mean, if I’ve got allergies and I want to go to the store and get an allergy pill, I shouldn’t have to justify that. We’re talking about needs that women have, and they should be able to get that. I get so angry when opponents of freedom go out there and they talk a big game about freedom – and then they’re constantly trying to restrict what women can do with their own bodies, what doctors – who have gone through all the training have all the degrees, all the requirements – what you’re allowed to do with your patients. And I’m curious how all this lands on you? Like how do you think about these issues of freedom? How do you think about your own professional responsibility?

Dr. Sharee Livingston: It’s terrifying. Not under a month ago, I had a patient that I was ruling an ectopic pregnancy out. Ectopic pregnancy is the number one cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester – weeks 0 to 14. And so the issue then becomes, well, what if it’s not really an ectopic pregnancy? And what if it’s an intrauterine pregnancy that’s undiagnosed? Well, now I’m kicking the can down the road. I’m delaying care and putting her at risk for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Which could kill her. This is what OB/GYN physicians are struggling with.

Dr. Sameera Mokkarala: I feel very fortunate to practice in a state like Pennsylvania because I have friends all over the country who are practicing in these restricted states and knowing the barriers that they face to take care of their patients in a way that is consistent with the oath that we all took – to do no harm.

Governor Josh Shapiro: The average woman that has to go to the pharmacy to pick up her pill and then has to jump through hoops with insurance companies. What are they thinking?

Tara Murtha, Women’s Law Project: I mean, the people that I talked to are well aware that the barriers before them are strategically placed there. They know that the purpose is really – it’s an obstacle course. It’s really a war of attrition, you know, and unfortunately, a lot of that war of attrition of can somebody – do they have the energy, time, and money to scale all of these cumulative barriers?

Dr. Sameera Mokkarala: My staff and I are on the phone to patients about this – on the phone with insurers about this all the time. And so we very directly get the frustration from patients about ‘Why isn’t this being filled? Why isn’t this being approved?’ They’re aware of the reason why those barriers are in their way, and they hate it.

Governor Josh Shapiro: Well, that’s what we’re trying to do is cut through that red tape, cut through the B.S., and get stuff done – which is our mantra. In this case, making sure folks have access to the pill and that they have access to it for whatever reasons they determined with you they need. And it doesn’t cost them anything, or costs them, you know, very little. I’m really grateful that you’re here and that you’re on the frontlines doing this work. And together, I know we’re making progress here in Pennsylvania. And I’m just really thankful for the work you’re doing.

 

MEDIA MATTERS 

 

JOURNALISTS ROUND-TABLE

This week, Journalists Roundtable meets with Borys Krawczeniuk of WVIA, Scott Schaffer of WNEP-TV, and Dave Janowski of The Citizens' Voice. Thursday night at 7 PM.

Watch on cable in PA or stream FREE with PCN Select. 

 

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 

 

BEATLE EDD’S FAB FOUR MUSIC HOUR

une in every week to the Home of Rock and Roll for a jam packed, unpredictable hour starting at 9am Sundays. Host Edd Raineri gives you facts and great music from the immortal Fab Four on ROCK 107.

 

1984

Our 1984 logo

At the Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Juli Inkster wins the first of her 7 major titles in a sudden-death playoff with Pat Bradley, with a par on the 1st extra hole….at 56th Academy Awards: "Terms of Endearment", Robert Duvall & Shirley Maclaine win and : Linda Hunt becomes the first person to win an Oscar for portraying a character of the opposite sex, Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)….. Canada Health Act, the country's public funded heath insurance scheme (Medicare), passed by the Canadian House of Commons …. Challenger astronauts complete 1st in space satellite repair……General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko named President of the Soviet Union……NASA Space Shuttle Mission (41C): Challenger 5 returns to Earth…..13 Pete Rose becomes 1st NL to get 4,000 hits in a career….at the  48th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Crenshaw wins the first of his 2 green jackets, 2 strokes ahead of 1977 & 1981 champion Tom Watson…….and this week in 1984 the number 1 in LuLac land and America was the late John Lennon’s “Nobody Told Me”.