The LuLac Edition #5, 720, July 22nd 2026

 

WRITE ON

WEDNESDAY

Our “Write on Wednesday” logo.

 

This week we’d like to share a brilliant piece from Luzerne County Councilperson Brittany Stephenson who has something to say about  where we were as a community a half century ago and where we need to stand now. United in purpose, not divided  in misunderstanding and and self interest.  

WHO WE BECOME — AFTER THE WATER RECEDES

Some places are remembered for the buildings they raised. Others are remembered for the battles they fought. After the past two weeks, I have come to believe that the Wyoming Valley — that Luzerne County — is remembered for something else entirely.

It is remembered for the way ordinary people have always found extraordinary ways to carry one another when life becomes too heavy to bear. It is remembered for how neighbors see one another, how communities respond in moments of uncertainty, and what people choose to remember about who they were when it mattered most.

I’ve lived in Luzerne County for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I would hear older folks and the parents and grandparents of my friends sharing stories of the Great Flood of ‘72. Unfortunately, many people who are my age, who have grown up in the Wyoming Valley over the years, have never felt the gravity of this tragedy in its entirety. They have not been educated on one of the most powerful pieces of this community’s history. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the showing of ‘Agnes’ for its 54th anniversary at the Kirby Center.

I sat in those theater seats as devastation rained across the big screen, watching Wilkes-Barre and other towns we love be demolished by Hurricane Agnes. There were many moments when tears filled my eyes as I witnessed homes destroyed, families losing everything, and people crying out for help. In those moments, my questions were: What kind of people were we after experiencing this disaster as a community? What made Luzerne County worth calling home again?

This was the first time I had ever truly seen and fully experienced the visual history of Agnes’ severity. Until then, I had never fully conceptualized the enormity of rebuilding Wilkes-Barre, nor the rest of the Wyoming Valley.

More than 10,000 people came together to answer then-Luzerne County Civil Defense Coordinator Frank Townend’s broadcast request for volunteers to bag dirt and reinforce the dikes. People came together from all corners of Luzerne County, all walks of life, regardless of their age, gender, political party, race, religion, sexual orientation, or background, to protect their friends, their families, and all they had. Hand to hand. Bag after bag. The people formed a human chain, packing and stacking as much as they could. But at 11 a.m. on June 23, 1972, they heard the famous words of David DeCosmo: “Get out. Get out now.” The levees had broken. Hurricane Agnes had risen 15 feet above flood stage, and the labor of love to protect their community as a collective had begun to wash away.

Hurricane Agnes was ruthless in her wake; she held no compassion. The floodwaters attempted to erase everything in their path. The waters crossed every boundary we had ever imagined mattered. Property lines disappeared. Neighborhoods became one. Politics didn’t matter. Wealth didn’t matter. Last names didn’t matter. After Agnes was gone, all that remained were the people left to pick up the pieces of their broken homes. What mattered was how those people would lend a hand to one another in such a difficult time.

Agnes revealed something deeply true about our community. That we, the people of Luzerne County, were powerful beyond measure and could overcome what seemed impossible together. It revealed our resilience, our interdependence, and our generosity. The character of this community isn’t measured in ordinary times, but in times of adversity. Through such tragedy, this community has always been made up of the kind of people who understand that another person’s hardship was never theirs alone to carry. The greatest thing Luzerne County ever built wasn’t a bridge; it was a culture. Where neighbors carried and supported their neighbors despite their differences. When the water receded, it wasn’t the government that first walked through every neighborhood. It was the neighbors. It was church groups. It was single mothers. It was the nurses. It was firefighters, veterans, and children carrying shovels to dig through the muddy remains the river had left behind.

Seeing this film, so many thoughts refused to leave my mind. As we know, the mud was cleaned up from the streets… Buildings were rebuilt. Time passed. Politics and resources changed, and the valley was never the same. But the question Hurricane Agnes answered for us has never disappeared and was essential to this community’s growth. What kind of people are we when our neighbors need us most? Perhaps that is why the conversations happening in Luzerne County today have stayed with me, in parallel to this documentary about Agnes. Although the circumstances are very different, underneath it all, we are being asked to answer that very same question once again.

More than 50 years have passed. Our challenges as a community look different. They don’t always arrive as rushing waters. Sometimes they arrive quietly—someone wondering whether they will be treated equally, someone being judged before they are known, or someone afraid to ask for fairness because doing so might make them a target.

Our parents and grandparents answered those questions with sandbags, shovels, soaked work boots, and blistered hands. They answered them by refusing to let their neighbors rebuild alone. They handed that answer to us. Our generation doesn’t have to face the river like they did. But every generation is given its own trial, and every generation inherits its own moment of decision. Every generation is asked whether the morals and values that carried us yesterday still guide us today. For me, this is what the conversation surrounding the Luzerne County Non-Discrimination Ordinance has ultimately become.

Not simply a debate over policy or rhetoric. But a question about whether we still believe what   our parents and grandparents demonstrated more than fifty years ago—that the strength of this community has never been measured by who we exclude, but by who we refuse to leave behind.

Although our trial may not be a flood at this time, it is about whether we still recognize one another as neighbors. Whether we still believe another person’s hardship is not theirs alone to carry. Whether we are willing to choose one another before we choose fear.

Luzerne County is moving forward, and we must ask ourselves, who have we always been?

When someone in this community is vulnerable, who do we decide to be?

Who will we become again when it matters most?

If Hurricane Agnes taught us anything, it is that the strength of Luzerne County has never been found in the waters that divided us, but in the people who refused to let one another stand alone. May we continue to be the kind of community those of the past believed we could become.

I share this reflection with you today, as a friend, and because I believe it reminds us of who we were, who we are, and who we still have the opportunity to become.

Not simply a community that remembers its history.

But one that lives by it.

One that understands that protecting the dignity and humanity of our neighbors is never someone’s responsibility alone.

It belongs to all of us.

The LuLac Edition #5, 719, July 21st, 2026

 

VERONICA, PAIGE AND MAKING HISTORY AGAIN

 

Former Congressman Paul Kanjorski has seen his quality of Congressional cohorts in his day. He has also seen a good candidate that succeeded him. Kanjorski was a big fan of Matt Cartwright who brought many good things to his district even if MAGA ingrates vilified his stellar record.

Kanjorski is impressed with the candidacy of Paige Cognetti the Scranton Mayor.  He sees his future with Paige. The former congressman sees a record of rebuilding and a sense of the common good with the Scranton Mayor. He also said that with Cognetti using her talents as the Mayor, maybe that spirit can be transitioned into the 8^th. He made the point that another point of view by a person like Paige might be transformative. Some naysayers say there may be push back because of gender but Kanjorski, a former page in the U.S. Congress recalls the last Scrantonian to be in Congress.

Veronica Boland is the only woman from Northeastern Pennsylvania to have served in the U.S. Congress. A Democrat born in Scranton, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from November 1942 to January 1943. She won a special election to complete the final two months of the term of her late husband. Because her term was brief and Congress was not in session for much of the time, she did not receive any committee assignments or make any floor speeches. She did not seek re-election.

Kanjorski wondered how is it possible that LuLac land or the district have never really had a woman before? There have only been 6 women in Congress statewide.  There are several more running this time. This could finally be the year of the women. Having worked with his share of Congressional women, he has said several times that it is a great thing that women could finally being represented at a higher level.

Veronica Boland made history 84 years ago. Perhaps its time for the district to see what a woman van do if given committee assignments and access to the levers of power to truly help the middle class that is being shellacked by  MAGA politicos out for themselves.

Kanjorski is invested in her candidacy, and this story can tell you why.  LuLac obtained a picture of her at the Obama Presidential Library where she was getting a pre-opening peek. If you notice she is  standing in front of a picture of Paul and Barney Frank with Chris Dodd and Speaker Polosi after they passed Dodd/Frank act (which our Congressman  wrote about half of, saving America from financial calamity of the great crash of 2008).

Kanjotrski observed. “Well it looks like I'm looking out from that picture at my future.”

We can only hope so Mr. Kanjorski and try like hell to make it happen.

 

 

TRUMP NOW JOINS CARTER AS IRANIAN VICTIMS OF PRESIDENTIAL IMPOTENCE

The AP reports Jimmy Carter used to be one of President Donald Trump ’s favorite political targets, a catchall foil for feckless Democrats that he could jeer at to make himself look strong and decisive.

But lately, Trump’s sentiments on the 39th president have become more wistful as he faces some of the same challenges the late Carter did.

Those include the war in Iran with no end in sight — and now escalating as the U.S. moves to control the Strait of Hormuz — and inflation, a drag on the economy Trump hasn’t tamed despite long insisting that his business background would wipe it out.

The comparison seems to be on Trump’s mind, too. Asked last month why he didn’t dispatch U.S. Special Forces into Iran to forcibly remove its enriched uranium, he responded, “I didn’t feel like being Jimmy Carter.”

That recalled the failed 1980 raid to free U.S. hostages that killed eight American servicemen. Trump also said in March that the unsuccessful mission “cost them the election” against Ronald Reagan in 1980, sounding cognizant of political realities in a way he didn’t when using Carter as a punchline.

The shift in tone coincides with Trump’s increased focus on his personal legacy and comes as the parallels between the two presidents become harder to ignore.

There is a parallel but the big difference is Carter had a situation where American diplomats were held hostage. THEY WERE OUR PEOPLE. Iran waited until Carter was out of office and Ronald Reagan took the oath. They were toying with Carter because the Iranians had the lives of hostages in their vary patient hands.

Trump on the other hand went into Iran guns blazing with thinking that right was might. Thinking this ruthless regime was going to capitulate before him like his Republican party syncopates. Uh WRONG Donnie. See, he KILLED the family of his adversaries. They were not provoking America and were in fact at the negotiating table.

Trump is seeing the consequences of the Iranian government which is to hold both Presidents hostage politically. One, Carter handled it without false claims of success, the other Trump without a workable plan.   Too bad instead of bashing Carter, maybe Trump might have had someone read him a book about Carter’s situation. (AP, LuLac)

 

BROKEN PROMISES FROM REPUBLICAN ICE KILLERS

 

Dozens of Democratic U.S. senators and the Independent senator from Maine pushed for more details Monday from Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the agency’s vetting practices for new agents and how officers conduct vehicle pursuits, even as they demanded that body cameras be swiftly rolled out to all officers.

The demands came in a letter spearheaded by Maine’s Independent Sen. Angus King, signed by 38 Democratic senators and sent to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. The demands follow two deadly shootings in which ICE officers shot and killed immigrants in Houston and Maine.

The Associated Press reported last week that the ICE officer in Maine who opened fire and killed a man from Colombia had a history of violent behavior toward family members that was detailed in family court records.

His first ex-wife, Ashley Brouillette, told AP he was physically violent with her, including once throwing boiling water at her while she was holding their child.

His second ex-wife, Lucinda Brouillette, sent a statement over the weekend alleging “a persistent pattern of abuse, intimidation, manipulation, fear, and control.”

“Throughout our marriage and in the years that followed, I have feared for a long time that his anger, aggression, and escalating behavior would eventually result in severe, life threatening violence, and I often believed I would be the one on the receiving end of it,” she wrote.

So ICE picked a guy who had and abused two ex wives and shot an innoce

nt family man WHO BELONGED IN THIS COUNTRY going to work. REALLY?

And as far as the body cams, Tom Holman who does not have an acquaintance with the English language NEVER ORDERED THEM.

This is unacceptable that a country of laws has REPUBLICAN ICE killers on the loose.

Hey MAGAs, the blood is on your hands. (AP, LuLac)

 

AND SUSIE STRIPTEASE VOTED FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ICE FUNDING

So by connection, Susan Collins has endorsed the killing of people in America by her actions approving billions for the ICE thugs. 

 

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 718, July 20th, 2026

 MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #5, 717, July 19th, 2026

 

 

WHAT DID THE

APOLLO 11

ASTRONAUTS

EAT IN SPACE?

It is 57 years ago that the Apollo astronauts walked on the moon.Neil Armstrong took the first step followed by Buzz Aldrin. Michael Collins circled the moon to drop them off and get them back. 
The trio were working hard, stsykmg busy and making history. But just what were they eating in this long journey to the moon and back. 
he Apollo 11 astronauts ate freeze-dried and packaged meals including beef, chicken, vegetables, bacon, cookies, fruit, and beverages like coffee and fruit drinks, with the first food on the Moon being communion bread and wine.
Types of Food.

During the Apollo 11 mission, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins consumed freeze-dried and packaged meals designed for space travel. Their menu included beef and vegetables, beef hash, beef with gravy, chicken with rice, pork with potato scallops, Canadian bacon, and apple sauce. Breakfast items included Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and snacks featured bacon squares, sugar cookie cubes, peaches, and pineapple-grapefruit drink. Buzz Aldrin described some meals as "delicious" despite the limitations of space food technology at the time.

Packaging and Preparation

The food was freeze-dried or dehydrated and packaged in color-coded, individually wrapped pouches labeled for each day. Astronauts rehydrated meals using a water probe that dispensed hot or cold water, and ate using a spoon or a “spoon bowl” designed to prevent food from floating away in microgravity 
. Some meals had antimicrobial tablets to reduce spoilage, and the packaging was designed to protect flavor, moisture, and prevent crumbling. 

First Foods on the Moon

The first food consumed on the Moon was part of a holy communion ceremony performed by Buzz Aldrin, consisting of bread and wine. The first scheduled lunar meal included bacon squares, peaches, sugar cookie cubes, pineapple-grapefruit drink, and coffee, eaten shortly after landing in the Sea of Tranquility 
Each astronaut was provided with three meals per day, totaling approximately 2,800 calories, though weight loss was common during missions, indicating that the food sometimes fell short of maintaining body mass in microgravity. 

The meals were designed to be nutritionally balanced while minimizing,

weight and packaging volume.

Post-Mission Quarantine Meals

After returning to Earth, the astronauts were placed in quarantine for 21 days, during which they ate Stouffer’s prepared meals, including items like macaroni and cheese, ravioli, and Salisbury steak, to ensure safety and maintain nutrition.
Apollo 11’s food system marked a significant step in space nutrition, introducing hot water rehydration, utensil use, and individually packaged meals, setting the stage for the more diverse and flavorful menus available to astronauts today

The LuLac Edition # 5,716, July 19th, 2026

 

 

GEORGE TAYLOR

REPLACEMENT SIGNER

 

 

George Taylor   was an American ironmaster and politician who was a Founding Father of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. His former home, the George Taylor House in Catasauqua, Taylor was born in the North of Ireland (now Northern Ireland), possibly Ulster, in 1716. He emigrated to the American colonies at age 20, landing in Philadelphia in 1736.

According to early 18th century biographies of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, he is believed to have been the son of a Protestant clergyman. To pay for his passage, Taylor was indentured to Samuel Savage Jr., who was ironmaster at the French Creek Iron Works in Coventry in Chester County northwest of Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

In 1738, Savage, his brother-in-law Samuel Nutt Jr., and his mother Anna Savage Nutt built Warwick Furnace, a cold blast, charcoal furnace to the west, which they named Warwick. Savage died in 1742, and the following year, Taylor married Savage's widow, Ann, whose maiden name was also Taylor. In 1745, under iron master John Potts, Taylor was made manager of the works, which consisted of the furnace and Coventry Forge. When Ann's son Samuel III reached legal age in 1752, the son assumed ownership of the mills by the terms of his father's will.

The Taylors continued to live at Warwick Furnace until 1755, when Taylor formed a partnership to lease the Durham Furnace in Upper Bucks County, north of Philadelphia. The ironworks, built in 1727, was started by a group of investors who were among Pennsylvania's wealthiest and most influential men, including James Logan, proprietor of the Pennsylvania colony for the Penn family, and William Allen, later the colony's chief justice and founder of Allentown, then called Northampton Town.

Shortly after becoming ironmaster at Durham, Taylor entered public life for the first time, serving as a justice of the peace in Bucks County, Pennsylvania from 1757 to 1763. When the lease for the Durham mill expired, the Taylors relocated to Easton, the county seat of Northampton County, where they purchased a stone house near the center of town and built a stable nearby. Continuing his interest in public affairs, Taylor was commissioned as a justice of the peace in Northampton County and was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. He also helped build a new county courthouse in Easton's center square.

George Taylor was sent to Philadelphia in July 1775 to replace members of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress who had refused to support independence The National Constitution Center+1.

When the Pennsylvania Assembly changed its position in April 1775, it recalled the delegates who had opposed separation from Britain and sent in a new group of five men willing to approve independence. Taylor was one of those five The National Constitution Center.

He arrived in Philadelphia too late to vote on the July 4, 1776 vote to adopt the Declaration of Independence, but he signed the engrossed copy on August 2, 1776. This all happened because before the vote for independence, five of Pennsylvania's delegates, all Loyalists, were forced to resign. On July 20, Taylor was among the replacements appointed by the Assembly. One of his first duties as a member of Congress was to affix his signature to the Declaration of Independence, which he did on August 2, along with most delegates. Of the 56 signers, he was one of only eight who were foreign born, the only one to have been indentured, and the only one to hold the position of ironmaster.  Of the 56 signers of the Declaration, Taylor was one of the 41 who owned slaves.

In failing health, Taylor moved back to Easton in April 1780 and died there on February 23, 1781, at the age of 65.  Taylor was buried in St. John's Lutheran Church cemetery across from his residence at Fourth and Ferry Streets in Easton. When the church property was sold in 1870 for construction of a public school, Taylor was re-interred at Easton Cemetery.[3] Residents dedicated a monument there in Taylor's honor in 1855, and his body rests in front of the memorial.  The house he leased in his final days is now known as the Parsons-Taylor House. Easton founder William Parsons built it in 1753 and is Easton's oldest still-standing house today.