The LuLac Edition #1898, January 12th, 2012

Courtroom Scene from "Trial By Jury". Pick out the staff members if you can.


Attorney General candidate Patrick Murphy.


Mary Garm, David DeCosmo's guest this week on ECTV.


Our 1967 logo.



Our Como-Phobia logo.

YOUNG DEMS MEETING TONIGHT!!!!

Luzerne County Young Democrats are holding a meeting at Rodano's Public Square Wilkes-Barre tonight to discus the upcoming Pennsylvania Primary Election. Candidates welcome to attend. For more information contact Young Democrats President Thomas Shubilla at 570-239-3432 or use the computer and e mail him thomshubilla@gmail.com. Get there at 7pm and you'll be fine.

POSTING POLICY

A few rules on LuLac posting.
1. Anyone who reads can post. Because they live in America they can be obnoxious, smart, dumb, funny and say what they want. They can also be condescending and insulting as long as they stay clear of physical appearance jokes or thoughts. Just because someone posts lengthy ideas and opinions doesn’t mean they “high jacked” the blog site.
2. We reserve the right to edit any thought or comment because this is our site.
3. We reserve the right to promote any candidate we like and criticize any candidate/politico not doing their job.
4. We welcome all people who will read us and comment on us. We appreciate your following us.
5. If anyone does not like the posters, my format, my thoughts or the way I run this site, you are more than welcome to go elsewhere. There are plenty of blogs out there but you won’t find one that is pretty much superior to all the others in content, format, originality, style, institutional knowledge and creativity. I appreciate you reading but if one or two posters are too much to bear, maybe you’re not as open minded or tolerant as you appear to be. (Plus you can do what I’ve been doing since I was a kid with newspapers, if you find something not of interest, skip over it).
All that said, “CASE DISMISSED!”

REMEMBRANCES OF 1968

This Republican race for the White House is starting to remind me of the 1968 race. That was the year that Mitt Romney’s father flamed out before the primaries. The front runner who got no love or respect was Richard Nixon. The former Vice President was dubbed as a loser and someone who could not win in the fall. The left of the party wanted Nelson Rockefeller to run and after a much ballyhooed announcement, he turned it down. Only a month later did he change his mind and get back in. Nixon the liberals said was too old school. The conservatives thought he wasn’t “right”enough and shoved a California Governor named Reagan onto the national stage before he was ready. Nixon it turns out was the only logical alternative.
In 2012, Mitt Romney seems like a giant compared to the people he’s running against. Romney has plenty of money, has a message and looks the part. His opponents have not roughed him up yet but are certainly giving fodder to the Democrats in the fall. Ron Paul says that Romney will be a Bush conservative and run up deficits. Gingrich and Santoirum are using lines out of Wall Street protesters to attack capitalism. Who would ever think a fellow Republican would attack capitalism? Jon Huntsman pretty much shot his load in New Hampshire and can help Romney by being perceived as being too liberal. And Rick Perry has not gained any traction and continues to stumble. Like Bill Clinton, Romney’s best friends can be his worst enemies politically.
Romney goes to South Carolina with money and two wins in his arsenal. South Carolina can trip him up or be his affirmation. The troubling part about the Romney candidacy is that over 55% of voters in New Hampshire said that they weren’t excited about Romney as a nominee. I think the GOP wants to win so badly that they are afraid to give a total thumbs up to Mitt Romney. Romney, like Nixon in 1968 is not loved, revered or worshipped. Nor does he have the movie star glamour of an Obama. But if he continues to ploddingly win, build up majorities and campaign on a consistent message, maybe the stiff and mildly insincere businessman just might dim the lights on the Rock Star President. Romney characterized the Obama Presidency as a detour. Every election is a reaction to a previous one. Jimmy Carter’s “I’ll never lie to you” win was a reaction to the Nixon scandals and the Ford pardon. Reagan’s election was a reaction to the perception that Carter was a weak leader. Americans in 2012 might say, “Okay, we reacted to the Bush presidency of undeclared wars and paying for stuff with no thought on how to pay for them. We did our due diligence and hired a Democrat and a black one at that. Maybe this is a detour”. It’s a long way to the nomination and the General Election but Romney appears to be the grown up in the GOP field swatting at the gnats trying to infiltrate that perfect hair do.

QUESTIONS WE SHOULD HAVE ASKED

When people run for Judge, we tend to treat them a tad differently than your run of the mill candidates. Even though they run the political gamut, attending picnics, events and dinners we allow them to talk about serving with integrity, honesty, honor and restoration of faith. We all ask them those questions. But it is apparent that maybe we should have asked some of these candidates who ran in ’11 about issues like “cooperation”, “taxpayer concerns” and “team players”. County Controller Walter Griffith has stated publicly that all department heads should meet with the Interim Manager about new hires when the county is in so much debt. Interim Chief Tom Pribula expressed disappointment on TV the other night with the lack of cooperation by some departments. Pribula said he also advised all departments to stop hiring new employees until the 2012 budget is finalized. But according to my sources, Tom Burke is starting to fill jobs up on the third floor and has made no move to eliminate or consolidate others. This week 6 secretaries to the Judges were hired as well as ten law clerks. Some of these newly elected Judges shared a secretary in their firms. And in other states, a law clerk is not paid a salary but is indeed a law student studying under a Judge. Look, the new Judges are entitled to staffs but if every County department is being asked to bite the bullet, why not the Courts? And even though there has been a huge backlog, what’s the rush? Also, what about pooling resources in tough times? Next time there’s a campaign for Judge, after we hear the obvious platitudes, we should ask some house keeping questions or ask the prospective jurist if they will be part of the County team or just a perpetuation of the problem?

MORELLI’S SHOTS

I don’t understand some of these tax payers screaming at Rick Morelli Tuesday night at the County Council meeting. Morelli last week revealed what everybody in the county pretty much knew, that three non female, non Hispanic white guys were being considered for the Manager’s Job. Morelli said the names should be released, he was voted down and then when asked after the meeting who they were, Morelli pointed the reporters in the right direction. Morelli has been out in front in the media from day 1 ever since the idea of a county council was formed. What is the big shock that he talked to the press? He isn’t the Chairman or the Vice Chairman. He was asked a question and was not bound by an oath of secrecy. Surely there are more important questions to be asked of Council members regarding where this budget is going to be cut and how the county will function. Morelli did something he has always done, citizens slapping their foreheads in indignation and surprise isn’t getting us anywhere.

NOT A BIG SHOT

So Doug Richards who is a convicted felon and a former Human Resources person for Luzerne County was “not a high ranking official”. He got paid in the bhigh 70s and sifted through all the resumes under the dome. Yet his defense attorney, Bill Ruzzo is asking a three judge appellate panel to throw out the sentencing by Federal Judge James Munley. Ruzzo says Richard as not high ranking but had to go through layers to hire and fire people. Ruzzo said that the sentencing guidelines caused Munley to impose a heftier sentence on Richards. A crime is a crime is a crime. I can just see a pot dealer using this line of defense, “Hey Judge, I wasn’t a big shot here man!” Jesus.

MURPHY GETS ENDORSEMENT

Patrick Murphy is running for Attorney General. An important component for an eastern Pennsylvania candidate is to line up support in the Western part of the state. Murphy has gotten some heavy lift from Western Pennsylvania politicos that can only help him in his run for AG.
TODAY, Allegheny County’s top political and labor leaders endorsed former prosecutor and Iraq war veteran Patrick Murphy for Pennsylvania Attorney General. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, veteran U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, President and Business Manager for Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania Philip Ameris, State Senator Wayne Fontana, State Rep. Dan Frankel, State Rep. Dan Deasy, State Rep. Matt Smith, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner, Pittsburgh City Controller Mike Lamb, Pittsburgh Councilmen Bill Peduto and Pittsburgh Councilman Corey O'Connor highlighted Murphy's experience as a combat veteran and prosecutor in explaining why they believe he gives Democrats the best chance to win in Western Pennsylvania and across the Commonwealth.
"One thing I have learned about Patrick over the last few years, is that he is a tireless worker. He comes from a working-class background. He's one of us in Western Pennsylvania, with good blue-collar roots, who has served our country with distinction. He is truly a hero to go out and keep the rest of us free," said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "We have a man here who has integrity...and we respect that here in Western Pennsylvania."
In a statement, U.S. Representative Mike Doyle wrote, "Patrick was someone who immediately established a reputation for fighting on behalf of working families to protect them from the abuses that cost so many their homes or their jobs. He’s a blue collar guy who never forgot his roots, something we can appreciate here in Pittsburgh. He is a man of courage, passion and conviction and I know I can trust him in this very important office to do the right thing for all Pennsylvanians. That is why I support him for Attorney General."

BARBOUR’S PARDONS

I always like Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. When he was Chairman of the Republican party, I always liked his straight shooter style. But the sheer number of pardon he gave to criminals (over 200) was way out of line. Some of the people he pardoned were murderers too. What was the guy thinking? Obviously he was colored by the fact that prison trustees worked in the Governor’s mansion. He also has signaled that he has no ambitions to be Vice President or have a serious role in a future GOP administration. I know in my heart people, even killers need a second chance to redeem themselves. But my head says that there are murder victims in their graves while these “pardoned” individuals are on the sunny side of the earth. If I can think of something like that, why can’t Haley Barbour! This is a disgrace. (Note: Judges in the state are now looking into the pardons that were granted).

MEDIA MATTERS

STORM POLITICS

On WYLN TV 35's "Storm Politics", a special week IN HONOR of our returned Iraq War Veterans...You may know him as Mayor Dane Watro of McAdoo...but prior to this, he served in Iraq and was on the team that guarded Sadaam Hussein. Hear his story, and this week on Storm Politics, only on WYLN TV. Additional airs: Th 930p, Sat 5p, Sun 11a; Mon 830p, Tues 930p.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

This week on Saturday Night Live at the Oldies, WILK’s Shadoe Steele hosts The Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson. Saturday Night Live at the Oldies can be heard from 7pm to midnight with ABC News on top of the hour.

ECTV

ECTV Live hosts Tom Munley and David DeCosmo will welcome Mary Garm of the Lackawanna County Library System during the week of January 16th -22nd. The trio will discuss a Children's Library program to mark Chinese New Year which
officially begins on January 23rd, They'll also be outlining plans for the Library's "Cabin Fever program" and other activities scheduled for the Library System
during the coming year. ECTV is presented each day at Noon and Midnight on Comcast Ch19 in the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area will additional showings at 6pm on selected dates. ECTV Live highlights events, activities, and organizations that are designed to improve the quality of life in the area and are
presented free of charge to the general public.

WILK’S RATING SLIP

WILK slipped a little bit in the latest ratings. The full Fall ratings came out earlier this week and WILK lost some audience. It fell from a 6.1 in the summer (12+) to a 5.0. That’s its lowest M-F number since the FM was born. From what I see, Most of the erosion went to The Talker. It went from a 1.0 to
a 1.8. The significant thing here though is that the decrease came in a season fall which featured a hot, local election – in which local talk radio usually booms. All of that said, radio ratings run in cycles, and you can get too high or too low. I’m sure there will be a rebound in the future. When I worked at Rock 107 in the nineties, 107 was # 1 in the important 25 to 54 demographic beating out KRZ and Magic 93. My sales manager at the time was momentarily happy but then got gloomy. When I asked him why he said, “We’re bound to go down”. And they did. Then were back up. But this drop in a busy election season is significant.
Here’s a link: http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb175.

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine
Brian Hughes speaks with Mollie Marti, author of the book “Walking With Justice”, about the life and times of her mentor, the late Luzerne County Federal Judge Max Rosenn. Magic 93’s Frankie in the Morning speaks with Michelle West from Leadership Wilkes Barre about a supply drive to benefit the Blue Chip Animal farm. And Brian speaks with Tara Reynolds from MassMutual about the small business outlook for 2012, and what small business owners should do to plan for the future.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5:30am on JR 93.7 & 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93, and 9:30am on WARM 590 AM.


BLANKLEY DIES

Tony Blankley, a conservative author and commentator who served as press secretary to Newt Gingrich during the 1990s, when Republicans took control of Congress, has died. He was 63. Blankley was a regular in the 90s on “This Week With David Brinkley” explaining the policies of the Gingrich Revolution. Blankley had been suffering from stomach cancer. In his long career as a political operative and pundit, his most visible role was as a spokesman for and adviser to Gingrich from 1990 to 1997. Gingrich became House Speaker when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives following the 1994 midterm elections. Earlier, Blankley spent six years in the Reagan administration in a variety of positions, including speechwriter and senior policy analyst. From 2002 to 2007, he served as editorial page editor of The Washington Times. In recent years, he also wrote a syndicated newspaper column and provided political commentary for CNN, NBC and NPR. He was also a regular panelist on "The McLaughlin Group." He was the author of two books and a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at the Heritage Foundation. Born in London, Blankley moved to California with his parents as a child and became a naturalized American citizen. He worked as a child actor in the 1950s, appearing in such TV shows as "Lassie" and "Highway Patrol" and playing Rod Steiger's son in the movie "The Harder They Fall."

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT




SNARLIN’ARLEN FOR HILLARY

The Philadelphia Inquirer says Specter was asked in a Tuesday meeting with the Inquirer editorial board whether Clinton should replace Vice President Joe Biden as Obama's running mate. The paper says Specter called that "the second-best alternative." He continued "A better alternative is to make Hillary the nominee. As long as we're talking about dumping, let's go to the core problem." Asked if he was serious that Democrats should dump Obama, Specter said he wasn't getting involved in what he called "that selection problem." And the Republican-turned-Democrat said Obama should keep Biden, whom he called "a very effective voice" for the administration.

QUALIFYING FOR FOOD STAMPS

Pennsylvanians seeking food stamps will soon have to A Pennsylvania newspaper says former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has suggested that Democrats think about supporting Hillary Clinton rather than Barack Obama for president in 2012. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the asset test slated to take effect May 1 would bar anyone under 60 from receiving food stamps if they have more than $2,000 in savings or similar assets. The limit would be $3,250 for anyone over 60. Houses and retirement benefits would be exempt but second cars with a value over $4,650 would count. The Department of Public Welfare tells the Inquirer the new policy will prevent someone from taking benefits if they have their own resources. Critics say the new test hurts seniors and the newly unemployed while making it harder for the working poor to save enough to escape poverty.

1967

The Doors' self-titled debut album is released………Charlie Chaplin launches his last film, A Countess From Hong Kong, in the UK........USMC and ARVN troops launch Operation Deck house Five in the Mekong River Delta.....Operation Cedar Falls starts. Segregationist Lester Maddox is sworn in as Governor of Georgia....Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to use cryonics to be preserved with the intent of future resuscitation.........In Pennsylvania, incoming Governor Raymond Shafer and his Ltn. Governor Raymond Broderick tour the Capitol meeting with Legislative leaders. GOP Speaker Ken Lee and Senate leader Robert Flemming…..in Scranton Mayor James Walsh beefs up the police department with 5 new hires. The patrolmen were sworn in during a ceremony in the Mayor’s office and 45 years ago this week the number 1 song in LuLac land and America was “Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron” which was a holdover from the 1966 December top ten.



COMO PHOBIA (Be not afraid!)

The embed link to this version from the movie "Dollface" was disabled. Check it out, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPoZeeOuY5s.
COMO PHOBIA is our latest, newest LuLac feature.