The LuLac Edition #5, 667, February 8th, 2026

 

FOOD-TASTIC NEWS

SUPERBOWL SNACKS

Superbowl Sunday has become a national tradition. The largest amount of wings and pizza are sold on this day.  Orders fly off the shelves like gang busters all across America. But there are other alternatives. 

LAYER DIPS

.his recipe is based on  zesty layers of guacamole, refried beans, and spiced-up sour cream. Be prepared to go back for chip after chip. Then there Hummus or a simple cream cheese dip with salsa.

DEVILED EGGS

This classic finger food is a hit at any party, Super Bowl or otherwise. Get ahead by making the hard-boiled eggs up to 3 days in advance.

SOFT PRETZELS

Want to impress everyone at your Super Bowl party? Serve homemade soft pretzels that are super chewy, flavorful, and easy to make. Or you can get a giant pretzel at Wegman’s or some really delicious ones at a WaWa.

AIR FRIED CAULIFLOWER BITES

These healthy cauliflower bites are crispy on the outside, tender in the middle, and seasoned to perfection with garlic powder and smoked paprika.

VEGETARIAN CHILI

Cook this easy chili a day or two ahead of time so that the smoky, spicy flavors have a chance to deepen in the fridge. When you serve it, set out toppings like sour cream, pickled jalapeños, pickled red onions, and/or shredded cheddar cheese so that guests can load up their bowls with all the fixings.

MEAT OR BEAN CHILI

Load it up with favorites, put in a crock pot and let it cook to perfection. Top with cheese, peppers or even Goldfish.

JALAPENO CORN BREAD

If you’re making chili, you need cornbread to go with it! Jalapeño peppers and cheddar cheese give this recipe an extra boost of flavor.

 

HOMEMADE MAC & CHEESE

Kids of all ages will love this! Creamy, comforting, and supremely cheesy, this classic game day dish is a crowd-pleasing addition to a Super Bowl spread.

CRISPY SMASHED POTATOES

These irresistible spuds are creamy in the middle, crisp around the edges, and packed with savory garlic flavor. Load them up with drizzles of chipotle sauce or sprinkles of Parmesan cheese!

CHEESE FILLED HOT DOGS OR BRATS

Easy to make, hand held goodness that will be a crowd pleaser. Very low maintenance.

DESSERT-CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH CHOCOLATE

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

When it comes to crowd-pleasing desserts, you can’t beat chocolate chip cookies. These ones have lightly crisp edges, chewy middles, and gooey chocolate in every bite.

BROWN BUTTER BLONDIE

These chewy dessert bars are so good that they even give these 5-star brownies a run for their money! Brown butter fills them with rich, butterscotch-y flavor.

Both of these deserts are handheld for better navigation in a group.

 

SUPER BOWL STATS

 

114 million parties will be held across the country, with an average of 14 guests at each.

Guests will consume a whopping 6,000 calories each, from pre-game snacks to the trophy presentation.

Collectively, fans will devour:

1.45 billion chicken wings

10 million pounds of ribs

11.2 million pounds of potato chips

304 million pounds of guacamole

Pizza orders will spike by 41% compared to a typical Sunday.

YONK SUPERBOWL FARE THROUGH THE YEARS

 

Chinese Food

Pizza

Spinach Pies

Hot Dogs

Brats

Chili

Wings

Fried Chicken

Seafood Chowder

Keep in mind we only hosted one party since 1982 so we are mindful of the 6,000 calorie pitfall. So the foods listed were two items per Super Bowl Sunday.  

 

 PREDICTION 

Pulling for Seattle and QB Sam but think New England will prevail 16-13.  

The LuLac Edition #5, 566, February 7th, 2026

 

THE FIRST CASUALTIES

OF THE NACANT

REVOLUTION

Crispus Attucks

Chris Seider

Crispus Attucks was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent who is traditionally regarded as the first adult person killed in the Boston Massacre, and as a result the first American killed in the American Revolution.

Historians disagree on whether Attucks was a free man or an escaped slave, but most agree that he was of Wampanoag and African descent. Two major sources of eyewitness testimony about the Boston Massacre published in 1770 did not refer to him as black or as a Negro; it appears he was instead viewed by Bostonians as being of mixed ethnicity.

Attucks became an icon of the anti-slavery movement in the mid-19th century. Supporters of the abolition movement lauded him for playing a heroic role in the history of the United States.

Attucks was born in Framingham, Massachusetts. Town histories of Framingham written in 1847 and 1887 describe him as a slave of Deacon William Brown, though it is unclear whether Brown was his original owner. In 1750, Brown advertised for the return of a runaway slave named Crispas. In the advertisement, Brown describes Attucks and his clothing when he was last seen. He also said that a reward of 10 pounds would be given to whoever found and returned Attucks to him. Attucks's status at the time of the massacre as a free person or a runaway slave has been a matter of debate for historians.

Attucks became a sailor and whaler, and he spent much of his life at sea or working around the docks along the Atlantic seaboard Attacks often went by the alias Michael Johnson in order to avoid being caught after his escape from slavery. He may only have been temporarily in Boston in early 1770, having recently returned from a voyage to the Bahamas. He was due to leave shortly afterward on a ship for North Carolina.

In the fall of 1768, British troops were sent to Boston to maintain order amid growing colonial unrest which had led to a spate of attacks on local officials following the introduction of the Stamp Act and the subsequent Townshend Acts. Radical Whigs had coordinated waterfront mobs against the authorities. The presence of troops, instead of reducing tensions, served to further inflame them.

After dusk on March 5, 1770, a wigmaker's apprentice mistakenly accused a British officer of not paying a bill. The officer ignored his insults but a sentry intervened after the boy began physically assaulting the officer. Both townspeople and nine soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot gathered. The colonists threw snowballs and debris at the soldiers. A group of men including Attucks approached the Old State House armed with clubs and sticks. A soldier was struck with a piece of wood, an act some witnesses claimed was done by Attucks. Other witnesses stated that Attucks was "leaning upon a stick" when the soldiers opened fire.

Five colonists were killed and six were wounded. Attucks took two ricocheted bullets in the chest and was believed to be the first to die.[31] County coroners Robert Pierpoint and Thomas Crafts Jr. conducted an autopsy on Attucks. He was "felled by two bullets to his chest, one of them 'goring the right lobe of the lungs and a great part of the liver most horribly'." Attucks' body was carried to Faneuil Hall, where it lay in state until Thursday, March 8, 1770, when he and the other victims were buried together in the same grave site in Boston's Granary Burying Ground. He was approximately 47 years old.

In an ironic twist, the future most vociferous of enemies against Britain, John Adams successfully defended most of the accused soldiers against a charge of murder. Two were found guilty of manslaughter. Faced with the prospect of hanging, the soldiers pleaded benefit of clergy, and were instead branded on their thumbs. In his arguments, Adams called the crowd "a motley rabble of saucy boys, negros and molattoes, Irish teagues and outlandish Jack Tarrs."In particular, he charged Attucks with having "undertaken to be the hero of the night," and with having precipitated a conflict by his "mad behavior."

Two years later United States Founding Father Samuel Adams, a cousin of John Adams, named the event the "Boston Massacre," and helped ensure it would not be forgotten. Attuck’s death was also cemented in the history books as the first adult to be killed in the conflict.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Christopher Seider (or Snider) (1758 – February 22, 1770) was a boy who is considered to be the first American killed in the American Revolution. He was 11 years old when he was shot and killed by British customs officer Ebenezer Richardson in Boston on February 22, 1770. His funeral became a major political event, with his death heightening tensions that erupted into the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770.

 Seider joined a crowd outside the house of Ebenezer Richardson in the North End. Richardson was a customs officer who had tried to disperse a protest in front of the shop of Loyalist Theophilus Lillie. The crowd threw stones that broke Lillie's windows and struck his wife. Richardson fired a gun into the crowd and wounded Seider in the arm and the chest. The boy died that evening.

Samuel Adams arranged for the funeral, which was attended by more than 2,000 people. Seider was buried in Granary Burying Ground, and the victims of the Boston Massacre are buried nearby.

The LuLac Edition #5, 565, February 5th, 2026

 

 

WHY AMERICA IN

2026 IS WORSE

THAN

GERMANY IN 1936

I’m sure there will be people who find this segment of LuLac an overreaction. Most likely I’ll be accused of overreacting to the situation we are living in today. The Trump MAGAs will laugh it off or accuse us of having Trump Derangement Syndrome which to me is a transformation of what their cult uses as a defense mechanism.

But the historical parallels are there.

1. In 1936 Germans were living in an economic boon that gave the defeated WWI nation a feeling of superiority and invincibility. That pride was built on he premises that only a segment of the country was exceptional, the rest, not so much.

In order to shield against any imperfections, human scapegoats were found to  be regarded as “less than”. This is happening here in the good old USA where rights for people of color, disabled, Immigrants and Jewish people are blamed for the problems.

2. But in Germany in 1936, an organization had grown into a full-fledged secret police sanctioned by Hitler. (It was founded in 1936 by Herman Goring) to silence those who did not see the perfect German state view. Immigrants and the “less thans” were targeted.  Today in 2026, under the guise of border control, masked ICE officers are dispatched to American cities. People of color, immigrants , despite utilizing the limited pathways opposed by the MAGA parties were chased down streets, and private homes invaded without a search warrant.

3. In Germany in 1936 brilliant artists, entertainers and people of letters were asked to conform. Most seeing what was coming left knowing that culture and critical thinking was frowned upon. Most of the rest were killed.

Today in America entertainers in Hollywood who speak their minds are now dubbed as elitists and vilified not by a supreme leader but by a duly elected President.

4. In 1936 in Germany the NAZI flag is adorned on almost every building. Uniforms are the same to identify that you are one of those. There are no reminders of great German artists and inventors. Books are banned from a country that gave us the printing press.

In America in 2026 names of institutions have an addition, history is rewritten at the Smithsonian Institution, libraries are under fire from MAGA sympathizers who barely read at 5^th grade level, Universities are bribed, the White House has been turned into a diamond  clown show, the front yard dug up and the assault on the senses bear not the name of the everyday heroes but a five letter word. Trump.

5. By 1936 Germany had ceased to be a Republic and was under the rule of one man and his party. The regime was characterized by aggressive foreign policy that centered on annexations of sovereign countries, retribution doled out to political enemies and no elections.

Here in 2026 our nation’s leadership muses about annexing Canada, Greenland, and getting involved in foreign conflicts under the guise of protecting us from immigrants, election fraud (from the viewpoint of one man’s itty bitty fragile feelings) and the prospect of nationalizing an election. That process has begun with bearded uneducated men who are vowing allegiance to “the fight” to the President and Steve Bannon opining that ICE will surround polling places on Election Day.

6. In 1936 Germany citizens are met with propaganda that defied logic and truth. Here in America in 2026 lies and murder are on video, right in front of us. Yet there are deniers that justify it.

7.  I’d venture to guess that if we lived in Germany in 1936 our neighbors on an individual basis would be kind. But collectively acquiesce to evil.

It’s the same here in this era. Individually our fellow parishioners, friends, coworkers and relatives individually are decent. But collectively, give in to the violation of norms that made this country a model for the rest of the world. The tribe they reside in validate THEIR beliefs, no matter the facts to the contrary.

The comparisons are there. Right before our eyes.  It might seem that these 7 similarities are bad enough.

But it’s WORSE.

Germany attempted to take over the world through lies, murder, intimidation, violence and lack of empathy for all things decent and human.

We are on that road. But unlike World War II, it is a road to nowhere but bad.

Because you see, Germany was defeated by a government, people and country that fought and died for saving democracy and a decent standard of life free for all.

The America of our parents and grandparents took those values to defeat oppression.

The America of today of chaos, cruelty and crazy CAN’T. We have become what we fought against.

Plus we are on the road to have no allies. As we approach America at 250, the nation that protected others, stands alone.

Germany learned the lesson that a nation couldn’t protect it from itself.  Sadly, we can’t or more tragically won’t!!

 America stood in the way of Germany’s tyranny. Today MAGA citizens here seem to want it.

Germany in 1936 happened because the people of grievance., real or imagined let it happen.

Some MAGA Americans in 2026 are vigorously advocating for it.

To sum it all up: 2036 vs. 2026.

We’re already 10 years ahead of scheduled tyranny.  

 

WRESTLER SECRETARY SCFEWS OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS (OCR) STAFF, VICTIMS

 

A new report from a government watchdog suggests the Trump administration's efforts to fire staff at the U.S. Department of Education cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

The report, from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), focuses on the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which investigates complaints of discrimination in schools based on students' sex, race, national origin, disability and more.

In March, the administration attempted to fire more than half of OCR's civil rights attorneys and staff. At the time, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the cuts reflected the department's commitment to "efficiency" and "accountable”.

But, when that reduction-in-force (RIF) was blocked by the courts and the Education Department was forced to retain and continue paying these staff, the department prohibited them from returning to work.

From March to September, OCR resolved more than 7,000 discrimination complaints, but about 90% were resolved by the department dismissing the complaint, meaning staff received information from complainants but did not proceed to investigate. To put that into perspective, the dismissal rate under the Obama administration was 49%.

To compare Trump’s first administration’s year (2017) to 2025’s resolved nearly 60 sexual harassment cases and 15 sexual assault cases in 2017. After Trump's second inauguration, the office did not reach a resolution agreement in a single case of school-based sexual harassment or sexual assault for the rest of the year.

So the bottom line here is this department has abandoned accusations of sexual assault of any kind. This is what happens when you hire a buffoon to run an important agency that deals with people’s safety and lives.

WHO IS THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION?

 

MELANIA’S MOVIE

Melania is a 2026 American documentary film that follows Melania Trump, the first lady of the United States, in the 20 days before her husband Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration. It is directed and produced by Brett Ratner. The project is unique in the sense that it’s a vignette into a constricted time frame.

Development started shortly after the 2024 presidential election and the project received bids from Amazon, Disney, Netflix, and Paramount Pictures. Amazon's offer of $40 million, the highest price ever paid for a documentary, also included a theatrical release and a follow-up docuseries. Trump retained editorial control and was heavily involved in the production.

Melania was released in the United States on January 30, 2026. It received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and has been called by some a pro-Trump propaganda film. It has grossed $7.1 million on a $40 million production budget.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Citizen Cane, you se how the newspaper publisher forced the talent of his significant other on unsuspecting opera fans. I see the same comparison with the obvious support of Trump’s 1%.

The content of the film is accurate but I’m struck by the that the First Lady used the song “Bille Jean” in it. I wonder about her marriage and relationship when I hear Michael sing the lyrics….. , "Be careful of who you love And be careful of what you do (oh-oh)  'Cause the lie becomes the truth”.

 

NATIONALIZE ELECTIONS?

HERE IT COMES

After the 2024 elections, a very wise woman told me that she wasn’t sure there’re would be a 2026 election.

Trump on Monday called on Republicans to "take over" and "nationalize" voting as he continued to make false claims about the electoral process in the U.S. with the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon.

Trump made the comments in an interview with former FBI Director Dan Bongino, who resigned from his post in December and returned to podcasting.

Trump alleged noncitizen voting was improperly influencing election outcomes, though experts insist such instances are incredibly rare and already illegal, and told Bongino it was "amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher on it."

"The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over,'" Trump said. "We should take over the voting ... in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked and they're counting votes."

The Constitution gives states the authority to conduct federal elections, subject to laws passed by Congress. The elections clause states, in part, that "state legislatures will establish the times, places, and manner of holding elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate."

Trump has used Georgia as an example of why he lost in 2020. But even if he won that election, he’d have still lost that election. To me this is another way to diminish belief in our system.

This is COIMING. Like everything he has ever tried to do, there was a trial balloon first.  That balloon needs to be burst. (ABC, LuLac)

 

 

BRESNAHAN RECOGNIZES LOCAL STUDENT FOR STEM INNOVATION IN 2025 CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE

U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) announced the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, David Colburn, an 11th grade student at Dallas High School.

“This achievement highlights the bright future of STEM innovation in Pennsylvania’s 8th District,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “David’s work on the Lanternfly Reporter shows how young people can use coding and creativity to address challenges facing our region.”

Colburn designed the Lanternfly Reporter, an app that allows users to identify, track, and report sightings of the invasive spotted lanternfly. The app aims to raise awareness and support efforts to address the environmental impact of the species through accessible, technology-driven reporting.

As the district winner, his app will be:

Featured on the Congressional App Challenge website and House.gov

Displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year

Awarded a Copyright Fee Waiver through the ARTS Act

Recognized with an invitation to the #HouseOfCode celebration in Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO UNVEILS 2026-27 BUDGET PROPOSAL TO KEEP DOING WHAT'S WORKING IN PENNSYLVANIA: CUTTING COSTS, GROWING THE ECONOMY, STRENGTHENING PUBLIC SAFETY, FUNDING EDUCATION, AND GETTING STUFF DONE FOR PENNSYLVANIANS

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: Governor’s office)

 

Governor Josh Shapiro presented his 2026-27 budget proposal to the General Assembly and the people of Pennsylvania - building on three years of historic progress by continuing to do what's working across the Commonwealth to lower costs, create economic growth, strengthen public safety, support students, and continue Pennsylvania's rise. The Governor's budget proposal maintains fiscal responsibility, continues to cut taxes, and ensures taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.

"From day one, my Administration has been laser-focused on delivering results for the people of Pennsylvania - and what we're doing is working," said Governor Shapiro. "By listening to Pennsylvanians and working together, we're solving problems and proving that government can be a force for good in people's lives. This budget builds on the progress we've made by making smart, responsible investments that strengthen our schools, keep communities safe, and grow our economy. At a time when dysfunction and division seem to dominate elsewhere, here in Pennsylvania we've shown that we can still work together to get stuff done and build on what's working - because Pennsylvania is on the rise."

Since taking office, Governor Shapiro has made historic investments in education, strengthened public safety, raised wages for workers who care for Pennsylvania's most vulnerable neighbors, and driven economic development that has created over 21,500 good-paying jobs and attracted more than $39 billion in private-sector investment across the Commonwealth. Under his leadership, Pennsylvania has increased education funding by nearly 30 percent, kept unemployment below the national average for 31 straight months, and become the only state in the Northeast with a growing economy. The Governor has cut taxes seven times - delivering relief for seniors, families, and small businesses - while making Pennsylvania more competitive and affordable.

 

 

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

February 1959

The day the music died

On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson.[The event became known as "The Day the Music Died" after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his 1971 song "American Pie".

At the time, Holly and his band, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, were playing on the "Winter Dance Party" tour across the American Midwest. Rising artists Valens, Richardson and vocal group Dion and the Belmonts had joined the tour as well. The long journeys between venues on board the cold, uncomfortable tour buses adversely affected the performers, with cases of flu and even frostbite.

After stopping at Clear Lake to perform, and frustrated by the conditions on the tour buses, Holly chose to charter a plane to reach their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Richardson, suffering from flu, swapped places with Jennings, taking his seat on the plane, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss. Soon after takeoff, late at night and in poor, wintry weather conditions, pilot Peterson lost control of the light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, which crashed into a cornfield, killing all four on board.

The event has since been mentioned or referenced in various media. Various monuments have been erected at the crash site and in Clear Lake, where an annual memorial concert is held at the Surf Ballroom, the venue that hosted the artists' last performances.

After the show ended, Anderson drove Holly, Valens and Richardson to nearby Mason City Municipal Airport,[22] where the elevation is 1,214 feet (370 m) AMSL. The weather at the time of departure was reported as light snow, a ceiling of 3,000 feet (900 m) AMSL with sky obscured, visibility six miles (10 km) and winds from 20 to 30 mph (17 to 26 kn; 32 to 48 km/h; 8.9 to 13.4 m/s). Although deteriorating weather was reported along the planned route, the weather briefings Peterson received failed to relay the information. María Elena Holly learned of her husband's death via a television news report. A widow after only six months of marriage, she suffered a miscarriage shortly after, reportedly due to "psychological trauma". Holly's mother, on hearing the news on the radio at home in Lubbock, Texas, screamed and collapsed.

Despite the tragedy, the "Winter Dance Party" tour continued. Fifteen-year-old Bobby Vee was given the task of filling in for Holly at the next scheduled performance in Moorhead, in part because he "knew all the words to all the songs."Jennings and Allsup carried on for two more weeks, with Jennings taking Holly's place as lead singer.[30] Other performers who were recruited for the remainder of the tour were Jimmy Clanton, Fabian and Frankie Avalon.

Meanwhile, funerals for the victims were held individually. Holly and Richardson were buried in Texas, Valens in California and Peterson in Iowa. Holly's widow, María Elena, did not attend his funeral.She said in an interview: "In a way, I blame myself. I was not feeling well when he left. I was two weeks pregnant, and I wanted Buddy to stay with me, but he had scheduled that tour. It was the only time I wasn't with him. And I blame myself because I know that, if only I had gone along, Buddy never would have gotten into that airplane."….and this week in 1959 the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Smoke  Gets In Your Eyes” by The Platters.