The LuLac Edition #5, 675, June 3rd, 2026

 

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write on Wednesday” logo

 

This week we look to Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI, humanity and the future of it all. NPR’s Scott Simon spoke of this in his weekly commentary.

 

POPE LEO REMINDS US OF THE VALUE OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY

Pope Leo released his first encyclical this week. He called it Magnifica Humanitas — or Magnificent Humanity. In it, he compares the swift, irresistible rise of Artificial Intelligence in our lives to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, which ends with God punishing humans for their hubris.

Though the pope says he welcomes the advances AI can make in medicine, research, and education, when he presented his encyclical at the Vatican, he wrote, bluntly:

"Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences and indicating paths forward for humanity."

The encyclical is book-length, and hard to summarize in a concise report. Maybe AI could. But we can read some of Pope Leo's own words.

The pope worries about all the people whose jobs are likely to be, and are already being, replaced by AI, and reminds us that work gives human beings a sense of purpose.

"Work is not simply an instrument," he writes. "The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs. The economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good."

Pope Leo also argues that all the data and information AI amasses in such fantastic amounts still doesn't equal the understanding people can develop by living: through joy, loss, fear, accomplishment and human connection.

AI systems "may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom… through choices, mistakes, forgiveness and fidelity."

A chat bot can absorb and impersonate human expressions, sending out "words of advice, empathy, friendship and even love," which, the Pope writes, can be engaging and at times genuinely helpful.

"However," he cautions, "it can also be misleading, creating the illusion of a relationship," which can make those who feel lonely and anxious — and don't we all sometimes? — most vulnerable to being fooled.

The question Pope Leo's encyclical asks us to keep in mind is: will human beings use Artificial Intelligence to enrich not just world economies, but all of humanity?  (Scott Simon, NPR Morning Edition 5-30-26.)

 

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 674, June 2nd, 2026

 

PASHINSKI SENIOR FAIR.....

 

Dropped by the Wilkes-Barre Area High School Saturday  morning for the annual Senior Fair started by Representative Eddie Day Pashinski. The event is designed to give area seniors information about making their knowledge base increase by tools provided by vendors.

It was great to catch up with Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich as well as some of the folks attending the event. 

Was so glad to see staffers from the Area Agency on Aging there,  Adult Center Manager Toni Mathis and Nutrition specialist Cathy Lockman. 

Wonderful to see 121st district Democratic nominee Jessica McClay in the house (and with providence and luck, THE HOUSE) 

as well as PashinskI Constituent Service Advisor  Kymberly Rosencrans who graciously greeted the folks. 

 

Wayne Mitchell and I had a meet up and Senator Flynn staffer Vince Speduto and Teri Andrews. 

 

Here I am with Eddie Day  Pashinski brandishing my swag bag as well  as  talking with Secretary Kavukich with Harrisburg’s Ken Smith.Smith is Senior District Operations & Outreach Specialist for the State House. I was eying Ken's  fantastic rep tie.

As Luzerne/Wyoming County Chair of the  Advisory Board, I say thanks  to all who made this worthy effort a great success which has been the norm for Eddie's tenure in the Capitol.

 

HOW TRUMP’S RACIST HATRED OF OBAMA SCREWED HIMSELF

When Donald Trump took office in 2017, his mantra seemed to be fire, shoot ready. There were a lot of things he didn’t think through. One of them was the rejection of the Obama-Kerry accords which made Iran accountable to inspections of its nuclear capabilities. Trump and the GOP lapdogs came after Obama for essentially giving millions of their own sanction money back to them. Trump’s knee jerk reaction caused a rift with Iran as well as freeing them from the agreement.  Not satisfied with ending the agreement, Trump started a war with Iran at the same time he was negotiating a “deal” with them.

Now it appears that Trump’s only way out is to give MORE money to Iran to stop the war he himself created passively in 2017 and accelerated in 2026.  The sad part is that in an intervening set of years, by Truimp’s actions, the Iran nuke capability has grown. Saturday Ivo Daalder,  former NATO Ambassador  Obama said this to NPR’s Scott Simon.  

“We had an agreement in 2015, negotiated by President Barack Obama in concert with our European allies, the Russians and the Chinese, that prevented Iran from acquiring the capabilities necessary to build a bomb and, if it were to break out of that agreement, to take more than a year to do so. And look where we are today. If this agreement had still been in force and President Trump had not walked away from it in 2018, today Iran would have had no more than 300 kilograms of enriched uranium enriched to 3.67%, which is sufficient for fueling its research reactor. That would be the case today.

What is in fact the case is that Iran now has 8,500 kilograms of enriched uranium, some of it - 500 kilograms - enriched to 60%, other material enriched to 5% and 20%, sufficient to build not one but perhaps 10 and perhaps even more nuclear bombs. And that's the situation we find ourselves. This has been created by the president deciding to walk away from an agreement that was working and replacing it with, frankly, nothing other than now the use of force, which still hasn't fundamentally altered the nature of the Iranian threat - nuclear threat - as it is today.

On the attack last year in June and the start of war in February, the Ambassador also said, “I think the fact that the United States has now launched two wars - one in June and again now this time - against Iran increases the incentive for the Iranians to maintain the capacity, if not the actual building a nuclear weapon. And I think that's the legacy of this war. Rather than eliminating the nuclear threat, it is more likely to aggravate it over the long run”.

So, there ya go. By Trump’s blind ignorance and hatred, he has not only screwed himself but our standing in the international world community. (NPR, LuLac) 

 

MEDIA MATTERS 

 

Andy Mehalshick announced yesterday that he was retiring from WBRE/WYOU. Andy has been a permanent fixture at the station and we will be sorry to see him go. Here's one of his biggest reports.  

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 673, June 1st, 2026

•  MONDAY MEMES 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The LuLac Edition #5, 672, May 31st, 2026

 

SAM ADAMS CELEBRATES AMERICA’S 250

Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams is celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary by traveling back to the country’s founding.

The beer brand named for the Founding Father is rereleasing the Brewer Patriot collection, a limited edition four-pack that contains brews made with ingredients inspired by the 1770s. Flavors include porter, hard root beer, dark wheat ale and honey ginger ale.

Shelley Smith, Samuel Adams’ master cicerone, said the unique flavors are reminiscent of the rebelling spirit on which the Sam Adams brewery was founded. The pack was originally launched in 2006.

Each alcoholic beverage was inspired by a Founding Father and gives a nod to craft beer’s history at the time of the nation’s founding. According to Boston Beer, Thomas Jefferson and his wife brewed 15 gallons of beer every two weeks at their estate. James Madison is named as a champion of establishing a national brewery, and George Washington brewed his own recipes at home.

The patriot pack includes ingredients that typically aren’t found in modern craft beer options, including molasses and licorice root. These were popular in the 1700s because it’s what people might have on hand, but some ingredients were used for perceived health benefits and medicinal properties.

The beers also have a subtle smoky character, because malts were dried using fire, as opposed to the modern kilns used today, Smith said.

“It is pretty fun to go back and think about what ingredients would have been included in beers from that time and bring those back, even though they’re probably not what you would typically find in a beer on the shelf today,” Smith said.

The four-pack is available for a limited time on GiveThemBeer.com for $17.76. 

America’s 250th anniversary is prompting a wave of patriotic innovations across food and beverage, with several other beer giants marking the occasion, including Yuengling and Budweiser.

In addition to the Patriot Pack, Samuel Adams is releasing a Star-Spangled variety pack for the 250th anniversary. It features four of its classic summer flavors with special packaging. The pack includes summer ale, blueberry lager, American light lager and Porch Rocker, a lemon radler.

When considering innovation, Smith said the brewery looks to meet consumer demand, which leans toward low- and no-alcohol beverages, as well as high alcohol content above 9%. Fruit-forward beers are also in demand, which Smith said the Star-Spangled variety pack taps into.

“It’s about driving innovation and thinking about what the drinker [is] looking for today and really being thoughtful and driving that unique experiential opportunity,” Smith said.

 

THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE FOODS

Patriotic food promotions

Major brands are rolling out red, white, and blue themed products and limited-time menu items:

Cheerios launched a Birthday Cake cereal with red, white, and blue sprinkles, free of artificial dyes.

Coca-Cola debuted custom bottles and collectible mini-cans, each featuring a unique state or territory design.

Mountain Dew rebranded as American Dew for the summer Fox News.

Oreo introduced the Firecracker Pop cookie.

Kraft Heinz partnered with America250 for community programs and marketing America250.

Snack brands like Cheez-It, Doritos, Ruffles, and Totino’s are releasing limited-edition flavors and packaging.

Culinary projects

Chef’s Table and America250 are launching the official America250 Cookbook and the Americana Dinner Series. The cookbook features 250 recipes as a portrait of American cuisine, with a digital companion and cooking tutorials. The dinner series will host nine one-night-only events in national parks, culminating in a D.C. dinner PR Newswire.