The LuLac Edition #5, 701, July 2nd, 2026

 

EAT NOTIS’ GYRO

DON’T SIGN WALTER’S PETITION!

Last Sunday there was a Pride Parade in Wilkes-Barre. 4,000 people, a lot of fun. But afterwards the Luzerne County bigots came out and threatened to boycott a gyro seller who has been part of the ethnic fabric of this community.

Here’s the comment his business made and a response from a local advocate. After reading this you will come to the conclusion that the only thing that needs to be BOYCOTTED is the stupid, bigoted petition to get rid of an ordinance passed by the Luzerne County Council, a duly elected body. NOW MORE THAN EVER, THIS INCIDENT PROVES THAT THE ORDINANCE IS NEEDED.

Notis comment

 It saddens us to have to start our week by writing a post like this.

After recently participating as a food vendor at a local Pride event and sharing our involvement across community pages, we’ve received an overwhelming amount of hateful messages, comments, and threats from people saying they’ll no longer support our business.

We’ve always been proud to be invited to serve at events that bring people together throughout our community. Our role has never been about politics or division—it’s about serving good food, supporting local events, and showing up for our neighbors.

At the end of the day, we believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. That belief extends to every event we attend and every customer we serve.

If choosing kindness, inclusivity, and respect means losing some customers, we’re okay with that. We’d rather build a business that welcomes everyone than one that makes people feel they don’t belong.

To those who continue to support us—thank you. Your encouragement means more than you know. We’ll keep showing up, serving our community, and leading with kindness.

Notis 

 

Luzerne County is becoming a moral abyss.

Yes, it's perfectly legal to boycott a business if you disagree with its public position. But sending threats to a business owner—like some MAGA activists are doing to a friend of mine who set up shop at the Wilkes-Barre PRIDE Parade—isn't activism. It's bigotry and hypocrisy.

These are the same Republicans who are outraged that someone suggested boycotting a business owned by a person who signed their anti-LGBTQ petition. They can't condemn boycotts on one hand while cheering intimidation on the other.

They'll tell you their petition is "bipartisan," but its purpose is to overturn the decision of a majority of the Luzerne County Council, which voted to enact a fairness ordinance designed to protect people from discrimination. The petition effort is being led by Walter Griffith and other well-known MAGA activists.

They also falsely claimed the ordinance gives "illegal immigrants" more rights than legal residents. That claim is nowhere in the ordinance. It's simply false.

Don't sign their petition. Read the ordinance for yourself, decide based on the facts, and don't be misled by misinformation.

 

Sincerely,

Scott Cannon

Video Innovations

https://videoinnovations.org/

(570)817-6216

 

A BIG YAWN

HE SHOULD KNOW

President Donald Trump said he hasn't decided whether he will sign a bipartisan housing bill, dismissing the landmark affordable housing legislation as "a big yawn" and "so unimportant" compared to an unrelated bill he supports to overhaul voting in elections.

Trump told reporters on Monday, June 29 that he won't make a decision on The 21st Century Road to Housing Act until it arrives on his desk.

The president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony last week for the housing bill and said he won't sign it until Congress passes the SAVE America Act ‒ a stalled bill he backs that would require photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and prohibit universal mail-in voting across the country.

  

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, REJECTS TRUMP’S RESTRICTIONS

The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship, ruling in a 6-3 decision that nearly all people born in the United States are citizens under the 14th Amendment.

Trump signed the executive order on January 20, 2026, the first day of his second term, directing federal agencies not to recognize U.S. citizenship for children born to parents who were in the country illegally or on temporary visas Scroll.in. The administration argued the policy would curb “birth tourism” and reduce illegal immigration, but critics said it violated long-standing constitutional precedent.

The Court, in a majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, reaffirmed the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause — that all persons “born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens, with only narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats  Roberts emphasized that the Framers intended citizenship to be a right to “freely participate in our political community” and that the right has been extended to “every free-born person in this land”

Lower courts had already struck down the order as unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court upheld those rulings

Dissent

Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 91-page dissent, arguing the Court was overreaching and that the 14th Amendment was originally intended to secure equal rights for freed slaves, not to be used for political projects AP News

Constitutional precedent: The decision reinforces over a century of judicial interpretation, including the 1898 Wong Kim Ark case the deep dive.

Executive power limits: It signals that the president cannot unilaterally rewrite the Citizenship Clause via executive order the deep dive.

Political context: The case was one of the first major immigration-related policies to reach the Court under Trump’s second term, and it came amid his broader immigration crackdown.

The ruling means birthright citizenship remains intact — children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporary visa holders retain U.S. citizenship, barring only a few narrow exceptions.

This is a major defeat for Trump’s litigation but a victory for people in this country that were subjected to the fear this past 6 months from this uncaring, pig of a President. (AP, CBS,LuLac)

 

 

THE BICENTENNIAL PRESIDENT

GERALD FORD

VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT

NOT A LINCOLN, BUT A FORD Part 4

 

For the past decade, Ford had been unsuccessfully working to help Republicans across the country get a majority in the chamber so that he could become House Speaker. He promised his wife that he would try again in 1974 then retire in 1976. However, on October 10, 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned from the vice presidency. According to The New York Times, Nixon "sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement." The advice was unanimous. House Speaker Carl Albert recalled later, "We gave Nixon no choice but Ford." Ford agreed to the nomination, telling his wife that the vice presidency would be "a nice conclusion" to his career. Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 12, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been implemented. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. After the confirmation vote in the House, Ford took the oath of office as vice president.

Ford became vice president as the Watergate scandal was unfolding. On August 1, 1974, Chief of Staff Alexander Haig contacted Ford to tell him to prepare for the presidency.  At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly designated vice president's residence in Washington, D.C. However, "Al Haig asked to come over and see me", Ford later said, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.'"

Swearing-in

Ford taking the presidential oath of office administered by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the White House East Room, while Betty Ford looks on.

When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Ford automatically assumed the presidency, taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House. This made him the only person to become the nation's chief executive without being elected to the presidency or the vice presidency. Immediately afterward, he spoke to the assembled audience in a speech that was broadcast live to the nation, noting the peculiarity of his position. He later declared that "our long national nightmare is over".

Ford did not move into the White House immediately because the Nixon family had little time to pack. Ford made his own English muffins and left for work from his modest house. A  telling fact about Ford was that at his residence when his dog had an accident, a Secret Service man started to clean up after the animal. Ford stepped in and told the agent, "No man should ever clean up after another man's dog, President or not". 

Nominating Rockefeller

On August 20, Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vice presidency he had vacated. Rockefeller's top competitor had been George H. W. Bush. Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made large gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation, and his nomination passed both the House and Senate. Some, including Barry Goldwater, voted against him.

On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must.

When Ford assumed office, he inherited Nixon's Cabinet. During his brief administration, he replaced all members except Secretary of State Kissinger and Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon. Political commentators have referred to Ford's dramatic reorganization of his Cabinet in the fall of 1975 as the "Halloween Massacre". One of Ford's appointees, William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.—the United States Secretary of Transportation—was the second Black man to serve in a presidential cabinet (after Robert C. Weaver) and the first appointed in a Republican administration.

Ford selected George H. W. Bush as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China in 1974, and then Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in late 1975.

Ford's transition chairman and first Chief of Staff was former congressman and ambassador Donald Rumsfeld. In 1975, Rumsfeld was named by Ford as the youngest-ever United States Secretary of Defense. Ford chose a young Wyoming politician, Dick Cheney, to replace Rumsfeld as his new Chief of Staff; Cheney became the campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.

One of Ford's greatest challenges was dealing with the continuing Vietnam War. American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the Paris Peace Accords, signed on January 27, 1973. The accords declared a cease-fire across both North and South Vietnam, and required the release of American prisoners of war. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty-day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces.

ord was the target of two assassination attempts during his presidency. In Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt .45-caliber handgun at Ford and pulled the trigger at point-blank range. As she did, Larry Buendorf,[ a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun, and Fromme was taken into custody. She was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison; she was paroled on August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years.

In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later. As he left the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, fired a .38-caliber revolver at him. The shot missed Ford by a few feet.  Before she fired a second round, retired Marine Oliver Sipple grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.

Ford reluctantly agreed to run for office in 1976, but first he had to counter a challenge for the Republican party nomination. Former Governor of California Ronald Reagan and the party's conservative wing faulted Ford for failing to do more in South Vietnam, for signing the Helsinki Accords, and for negotiating to cede the Panama Canal. (Negotiations for the canal continued under President Carter, who eventually signed the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.) Reagan launched his campaign in autumn of 1975 and won numerous primaries, including North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, and California, but failed to get a majority of delegates; Reagan withdrew from the race at the Republican Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The conservative insurgency did lead to Ford dropping the more liberal Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in favor of U.S. senator Bob Dole of Kansas.

In addition to the pardon dispute and lingering anti-Republican sentiment, Ford had to counter a plethora of negative media imagery. Chevy Chase often did pratfalls on Saturday Night Live, imitating Ford, who had been seen stumbling on two occasions during his term. As Chase commented, "He even mentioned in his own autobiography it had an effect over a period of time that affected the election to some degree."

Ford's 1976 election campaign benefitted from his being an incumbent president during several anniversary events held during the period leading up to the United States Bicentennial. The Washington, D.C. fireworks display on the Fourth of July was presided over by the President and televised nationally. On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, which was televised on the Public Broadcasting Service network. The 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts gave Ford the opportunity to deliver a speech to 110,000 in Concord acknowledging the need for a strong national defense tempered with a plea for "reconciliation, not recrimination" and "reconstruction, not rancor" between the United States and those who would pose "threats to peace". Speaking in New Hampshire on the previous day, Ford condemned the growing trend toward big government bureaucracy and argued for a return to "basic American virtues".

Televised presidential debates were reintroduced for the first time since the 1960 election. As such, Ford became the first incumbent president to participate in one. Carter later attributed his victory in the election to the debates, saying they "gave the viewers reason to think that Jimmy Carter had something to offer". The turning point came in the second debate when Ford blundered by stating, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration." Ford also said that he did not "believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union". In an interview years later, Ford said he had intended to imply that the Soviets would never crush the spirits of eastern Europeans seeking independence. However, the phrasing was so awkward that questioner Max Frankel was visibly incredulous at the response.

In the end, Carter won the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes compared with 48.0% and 240 electoral votes for Ford.

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA ENDORSE PAIGE COGNETTI FOR CONGRESS

CWA HAS BEEN CHAMPIONING WORKERS’ RIGHTS ACROSS THE NATION FOR NEARLY A CENTURY

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) today endorsed Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti’s campaign for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th District against Congressman Rob Bresnahan. In their endorsement, the union cited Paige’s solidarity with organized labor and her record of delivering for workers and their families.

“Paige’s commitment to empowering workers, her support for strengthening labor rights, and her solidarity with working families over billionaires and big business has earned her our support in this race. As mayor of Scranton, she’s invested in NEPA workers and we trust she will do the same in Congress,” said Mike Davis, International Vice President CWA District 2-13. “At a time when politicians are prioritizing personal profit, their wealthy donors, and corporate stooges, Paige is the pro-worker, pro-labor leader that we need in Washington.”

“I’m honored to have the endorsement of CWA and the workers they represent across our Commonwealth and our country,” said Mayor Paige. “In Scranton, I have stood by our workers by investing in apprenticeship and training programs, hiring local labor on public projects, and fighting for good-paying jobs. In Congress, I will fight to expand workers’ rights, pass the PRO Act, and protect the health, safety, and dignity of Pennsylvania workers.”

The Communications Workers of America represents workers across the globe, not only in the communications and information industries, but also in telecommunications, airlines, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service, printing and news media, food service, higher education, and law enforcement.

With their endorsement, CWA joins several other unions and labor champions – including Ironworkers Local 404, Local Painters Union IUPDAT DC 21, SEIU PA State Council, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the Pennsylvanian Association of Staff Nurses and Associated Professionals (PASNAP), Pipefitters and Plumbers Local 524, and Governor Josh Shapiro – in support of Paige’s campaign. These groups are throwing their support behind Paige because they know that in Congress, she will champion organized labor and fight for an economy that works for everyone.

ABOUT PAIGE:

Paige Cognetti lives in Scranton with her husband and two daughters. Prior to her tenure as Mayor, Paige served on the Scranton School Board in 2017 and as a special assistant to the Pennsylvania Auditor General in 2018 where she worked to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.

In 2019, Paige ran for mayor of Scranton as an Independent, taking on the local political establishment in a campaign that was referred to as “Paige Against The Machine.” Paige chose to run as an Independent after the then-mayor resigned after pleading guilty to federal bribery, conspiracy and extortion charges. Paige stunned Scranton’s political establishment when she won thanks to her promise to clean up the corruption in Scranton. Paige was the first woman ever elected Scranton Mayor, and was eight months pregnant when she won. Paige ran for reelection as a Democrat in 2021, winning a full term with over 71% of the vote and beating the Machine again. She beat the longtime local Democratic boss with 76% of the vote in the Democratic Primary in May of 2025. 

As Mayor of Scranton, Paige has made government reform a top priority. In office she has:

Turned down the city government car and gas card

Eliminated cash payments and took on no bid contracts

Took on utilities and fought big businesses gouging consumers

Held more than 100 public events across every neighborhood in the city

Cut red tape, slashing building permit fees

Led the city’s credit rating to investment-grade status

Saved millions for taxpayers by refinancing bonds

Paige has reinvigorated the city’s finances and helped attract new businesses while simultaneously laying a solid foundation for a brighter future — restoring confidence through responsible government and reimagining outdated ways of doing business.

Now Paige is running for Congress to clean up corruption in Washington and give the people of NEPA a Congresswoman who will work just as hard as they do. Congressman Bresnahan campaigned on a pledge to ban congressional stock trading, but has instead made more than 600 trades worth millions in assets since arriving in Washington. When pressed by WVIA on why he won’t stop trading stocks while in office, Bresnahan – who has reported assets in the tens of millions – complained that he did not want to “lose money and go broke.” Most recently, unearthed audio revealed that Bresnahan admitted to speaking with his financial advisor about his upcoming stock positions while voting in Congress.

 

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO ANNOUNCES NEW RISE PA GRANT FOR SANOFI PASTEUR, STRENGTHENING

PENNSYLVANIA'S LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY, REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS, AND CREATING JOBS IN MONROE COUNTY

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley visited Sanofi Pasteurs Swiftwater vaccine manufacturing facility in Monroe County to highlight a new Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) grant to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower energy costs, and improve efficiency.

Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley visited Sanofi Pasteur's Swiftwater vaccine manufacturing facility in Monroe County to highlight a new Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) grant to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower energy costs, and improve efficiency.

The company's $10,646,316 grant is part of the most recent round of RISE PA grants and will help replace eight natural gas fired dehydrators - used to process and dispose of egg waste generated during vaccine production - with a new paddle dryer and regenerative thermal oxidizer, modernizing the facility's operations with cleaner energy equipment and reducing natural gas use by approximately 65 percent.

"Here in Monroe County, we're helping reduce energy costs, create jobs, and cut down on harmful air pollution by ensuring businesses like Sanofi can operate more efficiently and continue their lifesaving work producing nearly half of our nation's flu vaccine supply," said Governor Shapiro. "Across the Commonwealth, I've heard from business owners who have told me that lowering emissions strengthens their operations, supports their workers and communities, and helps their bottom line - and my Administration is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to support their efforts to invest in their operations."

 

MEDIA MATTERS

WVIA NEWS  

WALN

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.

 

THE LAURIE CADDEN SHOW

Tune in every Saturday morning at 9am for The Laurie Cadden Show on WILK FM 103.1 and AM 980 and 910. Laurie’s program has been a northeastern Pennsylvania mainstay every Saturday. Tune in to hear her insights and take on local issues as well as entertaining and informative interviews.

 

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SUNDAY NIGHT SOCK HOP

 

BEATLE EDD’S FAB FOUR MUSIC HOUR

Tune 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.

 

THE LULAC TIME MACHINE

TALL SHIPS IN THE HARBOR

July 4^th, 1976

Operation Sail 1976 was a historic gathering of tall ships from around the world, forming a centerpiece of the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations.

Overview of the Event

Operation Sail 1976, also known as OpSail, was organized to celebrate the 200th anniversary of American independence. The event took five years to plan and featured an unprecedented assembly of tall ships, surpassing the 1964 gathering in scale and international participation

. It was coordinated by Operation Sail, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1961, and included both tall ships and modern naval vessels

Participating Ships and Races

The event included tall ships from over 14 nations, such as the Soviet Union’s Kruzenshtern, Italy’s Amerigo Vespucci, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s USS Eagle

. A notable feature was a race from the Canary Islands to Bermuda, followed by a parade from Newport, Rhode Island, to New York City

. The ships then sailed “in company” to New York Harbor, where they were greeted by a vast spectator fleet.

New York City Parade and Celebrations

On July 4, 1976, the tall ships paraded up the Hudson River, starting at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. More than 200 ships participated, attracting over six million spectators, making it the largest crowd in New York City’s history

. The parade was accompanied by an International Naval Review, featuring 50 warships from multiple nations, and President Gerald Ford reviewed the fleet from the USS Forrestal, complete with a 21-gun salute

Cultural and Historical Significance

Operation Sail 1976 was more than a maritime spectacle; it symbolized unity and celebration during a period of social and political challenges in the U.S., particularly in New York City

Frank Braynard, a key organizer, described it as “the biggest assemblage of ships since the Battle of Navarino in 1827”

The event highlighted international goodwill, maritime heritage, and sail training, leaving a lasting impression on participants and spectators alike .

The 1976 OpSail set a benchmark for future tall ship gatherings and remains a celebrated moment in maritime history. It combined racing, parades, and public engagement, showcasing the elegance of tall ships under full sail and reinforcing the tradition of Operation Sail events held on significant occasions.

The goodwill engendered by this event could never be duplicated now in this age of Trump where ships are in war, not peace. Where our allies laugh at us instead of celebrating with us. The number one song in America and LuLac land this fourth of Julu week was “Afternoon Delight” by the Starland Vocal Band.