The LuLac Edition #5, 356, June 15th, 2025

 

SUNDAY SNOW

FLAKES 

THE RICH

BOYS 

DANNY 

AND ROB

 BOTH CUT PUBLIC 

MEDIA TO 22 COUNTIES 

If you people who voted  for Trump thought he’d never screw your children or grand kids, you were wrong.

Plus he was enabled by two local Congressman who knelt before the wanna be king and did his bidding. Meuser is beyond redemption. He always underrepresented the needs of his district by voting AGAINST an infrastructure bill that included better internet access for rural communities. But I bet he’ll take credit for what the real President, Biden did for his people.

Bresenehan though confirmed the late Maya Angelou’s quote, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time”.

With the passing of the outline for the Trump tax breaks for  billionaires, Bresnehan said it was just a blueprint. In Edition #5, 253, we even ran Bresnehan’s justification for his thoughts on the Trump plan. Unlike Meuser who can’t keep staff reportedly because of his entitled temperament, Bresnehan’s staff people, when in line with some priorities are cooperative.

But with this vote, Bresnehan has shown who he is. He will follow Trump unquestionably. By his vote he has deprived children in 22 counties early learning education. I guess millionaires want other people’s kids to be dumb, easy to manipulate you see. WVIA has a department of education that goes out to classrooms and EDUCATES. But that’s not important to a the two millionaires.

Now to be clear, I am not against millionaires. I even supported some Republican millionaires too. Loved Rockefeller and Romney (the dad) when I was a kid and thought the Scranton family never turned their backs on the middle class.

But these two…………..beyond hope.

If there is a 2026 election (watch these two closely because if Trump decides to cancel it, they’ll AGREE, WVIA should DROP their Congressional debates. These two were only too happy to appear on TV and spout their now confirmed lies for FREE coverage. But now, they decide Public Media is just not in the less than 1% budget. 

Meanwhile yesterday their lord and savior was hosting his military parade  and I bet they were cheering him like fifth grade majorettes at a mini football game.

WVIA has hope that the Senate will  override this cruelty, and maybe they will. But bottom line is they screwed their voters in plain sight.

You will hear Meuser on the Cordaro show whining with the late morning Mussolini and Breneshan will offer a justification but that is what snowflakes do.

In the meantime, here’s an article from The Voice.

Dan Meuser and Rob Bresnahan, the Republican congressmen from the Back Mountain in Luzerne County, both voted to eliminate $1.1 billion in federal funding for the next two years for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The House voted 214 to 212 Thursday to approve a rescissions package that also included slashing $8.3 billion to foreign aid programs.

WVIA Public Media receives approximately $1.2 million in annual federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is roughly 20% of its overall budget, WVIA president and CEO Carla McCabe said.

“This is a direct and unprecedented attack on public media. It’s no longer just political rhetoric or grandstanding — the threat is here. It’s happening now, and it’s at our front door,” McCable said in a statement on WVIA’s website. “If the Senate passes the bill, the funding will be eliminated immediately and permanently. That means cuts to trusted journalism, local programming, and educational content for the millions of residents in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.”

WVIA-FM is a National Public Radio member affiliate owned by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association along with WVIA-TV, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate. WVIA is based in Jenkins Twp. and serves more than 22 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

McCabe is urging viewers, listeners and supporters to help defeat the legislation by contacting their senators. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill in July.

 “If this funding is cut, local stations like WVIA could be forced to immediately reduce — or eliminate — the trusted local news, educational programs and resources, TV and radio programs, and emergency broadcasting services you rely on,” McCabe said.  “This vote is not just about dollars — it’s about the future of independent, locally-owned and operated public media like WVIA. We need your help right now.

The legislation to cut $9.4 billion is the first request by President Donald Trump to claw back money already approved through annual spending bills.

“Americans have a right to know where their taxpayer dollars are spent. The rescissions package does not end these programs, it merely works to eliminate the waste and abuse of American citizens’ tax dollars by the federal government,” Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., said in a released statement.

Okay Rob, where is the WASTE in this program? Is it education to kids? Is it local TV shows geared toward businesses development, the arts, medical needs, consumer information, the only local areas radio news team that covers you and Danny’s district?

Put up! WHERE’S THE WASTE.

And don’t you dare say it’s in the salaries or programs that other millionaire out of town owners have cut back on?

This is rich coming from you who supports the biggest grafter in American Presidential history. That parade yesterday cost 45 million dollars. That's not waste? That could have funded WVIA for the NEXT 45 YEARS! Plus, there's reason why we have Armed Forces Day in this country. Why not have a parade for ALL branches? 

Meuser, R-9, Jackson Twp., addressed the recissions package on the House floor Thursday.

” … why is the federal government still funding public television and radio when most people have hundreds of channels to get their news and information from? And these stations are some of the most partisan stations out there,” Meuser said. “Can you imagine, as I stated earlier, if a conservative station was funded? The left would have screamed, vilified and exterminated it a long while ago.”

No Dan, the left (and I have no idea who you think the left is) doesn’t have to scream and vilify  or  “exterminate” anything. You guys do that all the time by getting rid of Medicaid (nursing homes Dan) SNAP (food for poor people Dan) and now early education for kids via Public media.

According to a 990 tax filing for the fiscal year ending in June 2023, the nonprofit owner of WVIA reported nearly $6.1 in revenue and $7.4 million in expenditures. Revenue from contributions was $4.1 million, and investment income was $1 million.

The organization had 71 employees with five receiving compensation of more than $100,000. Employee salaries and benefits cost more than $3.4 million.

Trump asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s slated to receive during the next two budget years. About two-thirds of the money gets distributed to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations.  (LuLac Citizens’ Voice)

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 355, June 14th, 2025

 

 FLAG DAY

2025

A flag resolution was adopted 248 years ago, on June 14, 1777, according to the Smithsonian, that said, "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

However, it would be more than 100 years after the Continental Congress approved the flag, that Flag Day would be observed. The event was first observed in the late 1800s by schoolteachers around the U.S., according to the National Constitution Center, and in May 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 Flag Day.

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 354, Jume 13th, 2025

 

13

QUESTIONS

Our 13 questions logo

 

1. Baseball season is here and in play. What do you think of the Phillies slide recently?

They will come out of this I’m sure. What concerns me about streaks, especially during the Philadelphia slide is when a team goes on a losing streak automatically want to fire the manager.. I think that people sometimes make a big fuss over that and at some point regret it, especially when there is nobody in the wings to replace the chief.  The manager that is suffering through the streak is  just as worried  as the players.

 

2. What do you think of the defenders of the Los Angeles invasion of national troops by Trump when the Los Angeles police were taking care of business?

I have given up, trying to understand the psychosis of both Trump and his enablers. The fact is they listen to Fox and believe every single thing that they hear.Then they accuse thinking people of having been off their meds. In order to survive as a decent human being I try to see them as individuals and not as a mob. I think individually most people and I don’t wanna sound like Anne Frank here, but most people are good inside, But when they are inside as a group they tend to forget where they come from and look upon others with disdain.

 

3. I reread your Bobby Kennedy tribute from 2008 and to me it is one of the best pieces ever written about him, but my question is whatever happened to the seventh grade girlfriend?.

Well, thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. I remember that day very vividly.  when she graduated the eighth grade I believe her family moved to Maryland  The last I heard she became an airline stewardess and after that I lost touch with her. When her mom died I wrote out a card and dropped it off at the funeral parlor in Wyoming, where her mom was being buried from, But I didn’t see her then because I was going on a trip to the Bahamas that next day.

 

4. How about that Connie Francis song having a mergence?

I always kind of had a crush on Connie Francis and I was heartened to see her at the age of 87 get her due. A couple years ago Brenda Lee became famous all over again with her version, which is the best I believe of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" so well the Internet blew up. It's great to see  career veterans who have been in obscurity given them new life.  I did see Connie Francis  at the Kirby how small  she was in stature But she could certainly belt out a song when I did see her  30 years ago

 

5. What do you think about the use of drones in the Ukrainian war with Russia?

I think they have to use everything at their disposal to actually stave off the Russian invasion. I don’t know how this is gonna end, but I pray every day that Ukraine somehow will survive, but that’s not gonna be a slam dunk.

 

6. How do you feel about the fact that some Democrats aren’t happy John Fetterman speaks to the press?

He’s always been his own guy and we have to remember that you can’t be as doctrinaire as most of the Republican Party is in their blind belief of the Trump fascism. That’s sad. I think we should concentrate on what the Republicans are doing rather than what a guy like Fetterman  is doing with agreeing once in a while with what the Republicans.

 

7. Summer is coming up the actual day that it starts. Do you agree that it is almost like a mixed bag of feelings on that day?

Absolutely we have like 90 days of summer to enjoy when it arrives, but the downside of that is that the days start to get shorter and when that happens, no matter how early,  you tend to think of  another winter is on its way. I know I sound like Charlie Brown by saying that, but I can’t help feeling  that way.

 

8. Why are there two separate Juneteenth celebrations of this year in Wilkes-Barre when Scranton is having one big one?

I am no longer affiliated as an officer of the NAACP. I still am a member and believe in principles, but you’ll have to contact the local branch to find out why there are two. There is an event on the actual day on Public Square and that starts at 5 on June 19th. 

 

9. I saw on Facebook that you had a great time on the jazz weekend. Are you a big fan of jazz?

Here’s what I do like about jazz.  I like it when they take a standard from the American songbook playbook or a contemporary version of a tune and turn it into a brassy bold version. What I don’t like is when you have an individual jazz performer that goes on a 20 minute riff of either drumming or whatever instrument they’re playing, To me I have a low attention span to put up with that. I respect the endurance as well as the talent in doing that but at the stage in my life I don’t really like to waste time with something that’s not  for me.

 

10. What do you think of the local state of newspapers in the city Wilkes-Barre.

Well, if someone pointed out to me, we are still the only town in the state where we have two daily newspapers. But I have to tell you that the Citizens' Voice really is suffering a little bit because of the content that they put in the paper. They have great columnist and great reporters, but in a section like the Public Square, they put a big story in from Out of town. The other thing is their customer service is located in I think Thailand or something like that so when you try to contact them, it’s a problem.

I’m not dissing them. I’m just giving you a version of what people are telling me and what I’ve seen in the paper. It takes me like maybe five minutes to get through it and growing up  I was used to in-depth stories that rarely exist these days.

 

11. You’re closing in on your kickoff of the weight loss anniversary. Any thoughts.

I’m grateful that I did change my life and I’m grateful that I am consistently staying at the goal that I set out back in the summer of 2019. There were a lot of  Cifff bars for lunch that summer.

 

12. What do you attribute to the increase in daily readership to Lulac?

The only thing that I could think of is curiosity about what the political landscape is. But to be honest with you, I don’t know. I’m grateful but couldn’t explain it if I tried.

 

13. It’s been about five or six years since you explained the logo above this page. I know there’s a song involved. Can you play it?

Your command is my wish. Your wish is my command. 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 353, June 12th, 2024

MEUSER MELTDOWN: CAUGHT AGAIN ON CAMERA”

It appears Congressman Dan Meuser has once again been caught on camera behaving poorly—this time by CODEPINK, the women-led peace and justice organization known for confronting warmongers with bold truth (watch it here).

This isn’t Meuser’s first on-camera temper flare. About seven years ago, another clip surfaced—posted by none other than Laura Loomer, Trump’s #1 conspiracy cheerleader and sometime snitch—calling out Meuser for gasp contributing to Democrat Matt Cartwright’s campaign. That footage still makes the rounds (watch it here).

Of course, these public moments are likely just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll share one of my own: Several years back, I taught a television production class at Luzerne County Community College. Dan’s wife, Shelly Meuser, a student of mine, asked me to film their daughter playing a tennis match for possible college recruitment. But once filming started, their daughter appeared nervous and wasn’t playing her best. That’s when Dan—clearly frustrated—angrily barked, “Shut it down! Shut it down!” referring to the camera. I’ve never been more embarrassed for a child in my life.

That’s the Dan Meuser I knew—long before he entered politics by giving former Governor Tom Corbett over $75,000 in campaign cash, which conveniently helped him land the job of Secretary of Revenue. (Read more here.)

Today, Meuser remains a loyal foot soldier in Trump’s army—enabling the dysfunction and doubling down on MAGA extremism. Maybe he’ll jump ship before the Good Ship Trump hits the ocean floor… but I’m not holding my breath.

Subject: Pennsylvania’s Ethics Codes Fall Short on Hate Speech – Time to Speak Up

In yet another troubling development from our so-called public servants, I received word that a citizen was verbally berated in a public space by none other than State Representative Jamie Walsh. The individual had merely asked Walsh why he was so loudly and obsessively insulting the LGBTQ community — a reasonable question, especially given Walsh’s recent public tirades targeting queer people and drag performers. Instead of a civil response, Walsh reportedly lashed out with personal insults.

This behavior is disgusting — but apparently not unethical, at least not by Pennsylvania’s current standards.

After researching how to file an ethics complaint, I was shocked to learn that Pennsylvania’s Ethics Act only allows complaints if a public official financially benefits from misconduct. There is no mention — none — of hate speech, discriminatory slurs, or abusive behavior being considered unethical conduct under the current code. In short: elected officials can spew vile rhetoric, and unless they’re getting paid for it, they’re in the clear.

That is unacceptable.

Last month, Senator Lisa Baker issued a press release proposing a legislative package to strengthen Pennsylvania’s ethics and transparency laws. You can read it here:
 Baker Announces Legislative Package

Today, I sent a letter to Senator Baker asking whether her reforms will address hate speech, verbal harassment, and bigoted public conduct. Because they should. Our representatives are supposed to serve everyone — not target and belittle marginalized communities for political gain.

We can’t and won’t put up with this anymore. If you’re sick of officials like Jamie Walsh turning our government into a platform for cruelty, make your voice heard. Call your legislators. Demand better.

 You can contact Senator Lisa Baker here and tell her to make hate speech an ethics violation in her bill. https://www.senatorbaker.com/contact-me-2/

 

 

PENNSYLVANIA GOP FRESHMAN EYES NEXT FIGHT AFTER MEDICAID 

 

Congressman Rob Bresnehan (Photo: LuLac archives)  

Tthe Washington Examiner published a profile piece on U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) following his involvement in negotiations during the reconciliation process.

Five months into his freshman year in Congress, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) has learned how to elbow his way into key negotiations with decision-makers.

Bresnahan, who flipped a blue seat in November by beating incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright, knows his career in Congress depends on delivering for his northeastern Pennsylvania district that includes Scranton, former President Joe Biden’s hometown.

Working for his constituents means muscling his way into the conversations with powerbrokers who call the shots. On Monday, Bresnahan was the only freshman among a small group of GOP lawmakers to join President Donald Trump at the White House for an event on new savings accounts for children.

Bresnahan, who is only 35 in Congress and started working at his family business, Kuharchik Construction, at age 19, said he is used to punching above his weight.

“I’m traditionally accustomed to being the youngest guy in the room, but at the end of the day, we all have a job to do, and my job, at least the way that I perceive it, is to represent northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Bresnahan, a former electrical contracting company CEO.

As House Republicans battled to negotiate an agreement to advance Trump’s tax and spending bill, the freshman Pennsylvania Republican was publicly opposed and worked behind the scenes to advocate against steep cuts to Medicaid.

“Listen, we’re all for getting rid of waste, the fraud, the abuse, the illegal aliens, absolutely. But when it comes to providing the benefits for the people of northeastern Pennsylvania that deserve them, it was nonnegotiable, and I was very clear and adamant that this was not going to be something that we would support,” Bresnahan told the Washington Examiner during an interview.

About 27% of Bresnahan’s district relies on Medicaid, the second highest out of all congressional districts in Pennsylvania, making the issue a key priority for his district. 

The Pennsylvania Republican was also against reductions to the federal Medicaid assistance percentage, known as FMAP, pushed for by fiscal hawks as a means of reducing government spending due to the effect they would have had on two hospitals in his district that are struggling to stay open. 

“We have a hospital situation taking place in Lackawanna County right now, where Commonwealth [health system] is in the process of potentially closing two of our hospitals, and we need to do everything within our power to make sure there’s a continuity of care for the epicenter of our district. And we would not feel that we were doing right for the district if there were some kind of reconfiguration of the provider tax,” Bresnahan said, adding there was a proposal on the table during a meeting he attended with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other GOP members to reduce the provider tax over eight years.

Bresnahan continued, “There were gigantic savings in there. But again, there would be long-term consequences to our ultimate beneficiaries that deserve these benefits, as well as our hospital systems. And that wasn’t something that I was willing to wave on.”

In the monthslong negotiations over the massive spending bill, Bresnahan attended several meetings, including one late-night meeting at the White House, in which he and other GOP centrists expressed their opposition to any reductions to Medicaid spending, including to the federal Medicaid Assistance percentage.

When asked about Bresnahan and his time in office, a White House official called him a “workhorse member” who is on the path to be a “great leader for the Republican Party” in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

The official continued, “He is a trustworthy ally that has been working in tandem with the White House to advance President Trump’s agenda on behalf of the American people.”

He was also one of 12 Republicans who sent a letter to House GOP leadership declaring that they would not support a final reconciliation bill that would reduce Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.

Bresnahan and GOP centrists were successful in limiting cuts to Medicaid, fighting off a last-minute effort from conservative holdouts in the House Freedom Caucus who wanted to see steeper cuts.

Now, though, as the reconciliation bill sits in the Senate, Bresnahan is eyeing his next project: permitting reform to streamline infrastructure projects.

“I’m a big believer in infrastructure, and I’m very honored to serve as the vice chairman of highway transit. I think 25% of our district has structurally deficient bridges,” Bresnahan said. “There’s a lot that goes into infrastructure, but in order to have a functioning society … that foundation needs to be proper and adequately reinvested in.”

Pennsylvania is second in the nation in structurally deficient bridges, according to data collected by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. However, because of the current permitting process in the United States, it can take years for a bridge to get fixed, Bresnahan said, referring to one bridge in his district that is expected to take years to reopen. 

“And that means a main artery, a main thoroughfare leading in and out of our community, will be down for close to a decade, and it’s because of the permitting process, it’s the environmental studies, it’s the review periods, and I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Bresnahan told the Washington Examiner.

Bresnahan joined the newly formed Build America Caucus last month, which is aimed at making permitting and transmission reform, incentivizing the building of more homes, streamlining requirements for infrastructure projects, and “cutting red tape.”

“Ultimately, time is what makes any job the most unpredictable but also increases the cost exponentially,” Bresnahan said. “So getting shovels in the ground faster and getting these things built are ultimately going to save the taxpayer money, and it’s going to produce a result and a product significantly faster. So getting, again, government out of the way.”

  

SHAPIRO ADMINISTRATION HIGHLIGHTS THE CONSEQUENCES SNAP FUNDING CUTS WILL HAVE FOR PENNSYLVANIA FARMERS AND FAMILIES

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding emphasized the critical role Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits play in supporting Pennsylvania's ag industry at People's Provisions, a Perry County grocer that accepts SNAP benefits and sources entirely from local farms. Today's event included local business leaders, farmers, and community members who amplified real concerns about the impacts that proposed federal cuts to SNAP funding will have on Pennsylvania families, farmers, and grocery businesses if Congress follows through on the current version of H.R. 1.

Governor Josh Shapiro has made it clear that Pennsylvania cannot backfill these costs.

"Radical reductions in SNAP would hurt not only the two million people who recieve benefits and may be temporarily struggling, but the Pennsylvania farm families, and families of those in 12,000 grocery industry jobs across the state supported by SNAP spending," Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. "The Shapiro Administration is doing our part, investing to see that no family goes hungry in Pennsylvania. We are calling on Congress to keep its promises and remember their commitments to Pennsylvania farmers, families, and businesses."

 

 

MEDIA MATTERS

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

NBA Championship: Houston Rockets sweep Orlando Magic in 4 games

June 14^th, 1995

 

The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1994–95 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. Much pre-series hype concerned the meeting of the two All-Star centers—Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets—a matchup some compared to the Bill Russell–Wilt Chamberlain games of the 1960s. The Houston Rockets swept the Orlando Magic 4-0, repeating as champions and becoming the lowest-seeded team ever to win the Finals.

In the 1995 playoffs, the Rockets became the first NBA team to win nine road playoff games and to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason. It was the second NBA Finals sweep in the 2–3–2 Finals format (after the Detroit Pistons did so again ainst the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989). The Rockets also became the first repeat NBA Champion in history to keep the title with a sweep. In addition, the Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the title without having home-court advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16 team format in 1984.

The Orlando Magic, making their first NBA Finals appearance, began the series at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up 110–107 late in Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds of the game, and Kenny Smith hit a three-pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime as well as setting a new Finals record, with the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game with seven (later broken by Ray Allen, who hit eight three-pointers during Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals). The more experienced Rockets went on to win in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. In achieving this, they earned the distinction of being the only team to win both championships during Michael Jordan's first retirement (although Jordan did return in the closing months of the 1994–95 season), in addition to being the only team other than the Chicago Bulls to win multiple championships in the 1990s. This was also the second consecutive 90s championship series not featuring the Chicago Bulls, a streak the Bulls would end in 1996…and this week the number onbe song in LuLac land and  America was “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” by Bryan Adams.