The LuLac Edition #5, 260, February 20th, 2025

 

MESSAGE TO MAGAs

“You can’t take our country …

And you can’t take our game!’

Justin Trudeau

 

WHERE’S KAMALA?

In light of the fact that there are virtually no Democrats willing to take on President Trump and the Republicans, I find it interesting that former Vice President Harris hasn’t stepped up to the plate and called out these ridiculous policies.

Call me a traditionalist but I grew up in a time when the losing candidate for President was the titular head of their party. Adlai Stevenson in the 50s and Richard Nixon in the 60s took on the policies of the party in power.

They were deemed “The Loyal Opposition”. Right now, Democrats can’t seem to find their footing and old solders like Chuck Schumer just aren’t cutting it with their outrage. To me, this is a chance for Harris to redeem herself in terms of public opinion. Now to be sure, she was vilified and lied about. So why go through that. But her reasons for doing so would be interesting.

1.   She most likely will never be nominated again so she has nothing to lose.

2.   As a candidate, she got under Trump’s skin. Her very presence would drive him crazy.

3.   She can show “normal” non cult members of U.S. society that THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE to vote for Trump.

4.   MAGAs will whine “she’s dividing the country” as they further inflame people with their support of the felon.

5.   She has a chance to save not only the country but history too because you can bet these bastards to try and rewrite it. Harris has a multi million dollar book deal and can either stay safe and recede into the depths of history.  Or she should be the bug in the MAGA bonnet.

This can be her moment as well as the nation’s.

 

HOW TRUMP IS SCREWING FARMERS

Here’s a few takeaways from Trump’s freezing of money and their subsidies. These die-hard supporters hopefully are learning their lesson as to trusting Republicans to give them a fair deal. Some people will say, “It serves them right” for siding with the party of lies and deception. I don’t want to go there but just want these farmers to think before ever trusting a Republican again.

1.   Executive orders issued by President Trump, including a pause on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, have caused uncertainty and financial strain for farmers.

2.   The halt in funding for USAID programs has disrupted agricultural research and threatens to impact global food security.

3.   Farmers are grappling with the uncertainty surrounding government payments and the potential for retaliatory tariffs, making it difficult to secure loans and plan for the future. 

4.   The delay in reauthorizing the farm bill and proposed cuts to farm bill spending further exacerbate the challenges faced by farmers already struggling with economic pressures.

 

TRUMP LIES ABOUT WAR

 

In a not so surprising but totally false and ignorant statement, Trump ran his bile mouth from his ugly face and blamed Vlad Zelensky for starting the war.

Let’s see……Russia attacked Ukraine. They invaded a sovereign nation without provocation. Russia bombed cities, hospitals, churches and schools.

The Ukraine fought back. They beat the asses off Trump’ beloved Russia. Here are THE FACTS (which won’t mean a shitting thing to the MAGAs.

 Using domestically produced sea drones, Ukraine destroyed one-third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The remaining ships have fled from Sevastopol’s port in Crimea to Russian shores. Today, Ukraine is exporting more grain — over 40 million tons in 2024 — than it did under the U.N. deal. Ukraine, without a conventional navy, put Russia’s mighty fleet on the run.

Russian Casualties in war

850,000 DEAD

People leaving Russia

1 MILLION

Ukraine deaths

500,000 DEAD and injured

 

President Trump on Wednesday ratcheted up his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of taking advantage of the United States and saying he has done a “terrible job” leading his war-torn country.

Trump went after Zelensky and questioned U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia a day after he appeared to blame the Ukrainian leader for starting the conflict. Zelensky responded to those earlier comments by saying Trump “lives in this disinformation space.”

Trump is now lying to win the Nobel Peace prize. Again, the man shoots his crap and gullible MAGAs believe it.

 

TRUMP’S DAY ONE CON JOB

Remember the campaign of ’24 when Trump supporters said they didn’t know enough about then Vice President Harris’ “policies?” Remember when entitled ingrates conveniently forgot the Biden administration got them through the pandemic despite an all-out war assault from the MAGA right? Then there was inflation. People who had enough money to fill stadiums, casinos and buy hundreds of dollars of scratch off tickets bitched about prices of eggs, bread and milk. But their lord and savior Donald Trump said he’d fix it on DAY ONE. Well, it turns out he did everything but THAT. The Gulf of America? Greenland? Battles with Canada and Mexico? Screwing Ukraine?

If Trump were serious about lowering prices, then he’d be working to ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes, not receive a massive giveaway. He’d be cracking down on monopolies and large corporations that use their market power to profit off consumers, not shutting down the agency that protects them. Unfortunately, it appears that Trump has pulled off another con job. Only this time, instead of the Atlantic City casinos left holding the bag, it’s American families.

Good job MAGA ingrates. 

 

THE CANADIAN DRUG LIE

 

Donald Trump is a proven indicted, sued and convicted liar. So, it is easy to let stuff slide that comes out of his ugly, foul mouth. But this one needs to be addressed.

Trump has claimed that fentanyl and drugs are coming from Canada. But here’s the REAL TRUTH. Just 0.2% of US border fentanyl seizures are at the Canadian border

Trump has lumped together the Canadian border and the Mexican border when talking about illegal fentanyl imports. The day after his inauguration in January, for example, he said, “The fentanyl coming through Canada is massive. The fentanyl coming through Mexico is massive.”

But there is a massive difference between the extent of the problem at the two borders.

Federal statistics show US border authorities seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl in the 2024 fiscal year. Of that amount, 43 pounds were seized at the Canadian border — about 0.2% — compared with 21,148 pounds at the Mexican border, about 96.6%.

There’s no indication of any substantial change in the first three months of the 2025 fiscal year (October 2024 through December 2024). Of the 4,537 pounds of fentanyl seized by US border authorities during that period, 10 pounds, about 0.2%, were seized at the Canadian border, while 4,409 pounds, about 97.2%, were seized at the Mexican border.

It is true that the quantity of fentanyl seized at the Canadian border increased in fiscal year 2024. Just 2 pounds were seized there in fiscal year 2023, and 14 pounds were seized in fiscal year 2022. And, of course, even tiny quantities of fentanyl can be fatal.

Still, the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment report did not even use the word “Canada.” It mentioned Mexico 86 times.

 

TRUMP BULLSHIT CLAIM #2

THE MILITARY

Trump claimed that Canada has no existing military. Well here are the facts.  ut that military very much exists — with more than 63,000 regular service members as of fall 2024, plus more than 20,000 reservists.

The Canadian military and US military jointly operate the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and conduct numerous other activities together, including strategic initiatives in Latvia and the South China Sea. In years past, the Canadian military has fought alongside the US military in the war in Afghanistan (in which more than 150 Canadian troops died), the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the Gulf War, the Korean War and both world wars (in which tens of thousands of Canadian troops died), in addition to participating in other wars and peacekeeping missions.

Trump qualified his claim with the word “essentially.” And he is entitled to question, as Canadian politicians have, whether Canada’s military is strong enough. But Canada certainly isn’t comparable to Iceland, a NATO member with no standing army.

“Canada’s military is not NATO’s largest, but it has regularly made significant contributions, such as holding down Kandahar, one of the toughest places in Afghanistan, with little help until Obama’s surge.

Stephen Saideman of   Carleton University in Ottawa and director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network. also noted that in absolute terms — not factoring in the size of each member’s economy — Canada is actually one of NATO’s largest spenders on defense; it was eighth highest in 2024 out of 31 members excluding Iceland. “Despite spending less than 2%, Canada is still one of the biggest spenders on military stuff — its economy is larger than most NATO members, so in absolute terms, it buys and spends a lot,” he said.

Years ago this song by Byron McGregor was heard on the radio with Canadians defending the United States. You aren’t going to hear anything like that anymore because our loyal, mild mannered, and normally polite neighbors are PISSED. (As well as they should be). 

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE IN ORDER TO PROTECT PENNSYLVANIA INTERESTS

PENNSYLVANIA STATE AGENCIES UNABLE TO ACCESS $1.2 BILLION IN CONGRESSIONALLY-APPROPRIATED FEDERAL FUNDING AS OF FEBRUARY 12, 2025, WITH AN ADDITIONAL $900 MILLION REQUIRING AN UNDEFINED REVIEW BY FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

 DESPITE EFFORTS TO WORK WITH PENNSYLVANIA’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AND MULTIPLE COURT RULINGS ORDERING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO RESTORE ACCESS TO FUNDING, DOLLARS FOR CRITICAL PENNSYLVANIA-BASED INITIATIVES REMAIN FROZEN.

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO IS TAKING ACTION TO UNFREEZE THESE FUNDS AND ENSURE PENNSYLVANIA IS LEGALLY PROTECTED.

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional freeze of federal funding. As of today – even after multiple court orders to release the federal funds and Governor Shapiro’s engagement with Pennsylvania’s federal representatives — state agencies still remain entirely unable to access $1.2 billion in federal funding, with an additional $900 million requiring an undefined review by federal agencies before it can be drawn down. To ensure the interests of our Commonwealth and its residents are protected, Governor Shapiro is taking legal action to restore access to this funding.

“The federal government has entered into a contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, promising to provide billions of dollars in Congressionally-approved funding that we have committed to serious needs – like protecting public health, cutting energy costs, providing safe, clean drinking water, and creating jobs in rural communities,” said Governor Shapiro. “With this funding freeze, the Trump Administration is breaking that contract – and it’s my job as Governor to protect Pennsylvania’s interests. Over the past two weeks, my team and I have engaged with our Congressional delegation to try to restore access to all the federal funding Pennsylvania has been promised under law – but despite those efforts, state agencies remain unable to draw down these critical dollars. While multiple federal judges have ordered the Trump Administration to unfreeze this funding, access has not been restored, leaving my Administration with no choice but to pursue legal action to protect the interests of the Commonwealth and its residents.”

Almost immediately after the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a directive on January 27, 2025, Commonwealth agencies realized that billions in federal funding appropriated by Congress to Pennsylvania were no longer accessible. Federal agencies suspended access to billions of dollars in funding without supplying a plausible explanation as to why certain funds are being suspended, giving any consideration to the harm their action would cause, or considering how Commonwealth agencies have relied on receiving that committed funding.

Since then, the Shapiro Administration has worked with its ners and Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation in an attempt to fully restore access to these funds. Simultaneously, multiple federal judges have ordered the Trump Administration to unfreeze this funding – however, because Pennsylvania was not involved in previous litigation, it is not guaranteed that future litigation in those cases will protect Pennsylvania's interests and funding.

As of February 12, 2025, despite those multiple court orders, over $1.2 billion in federal funding owed to Pennsylvania agencies remains suspended – and more than $900 million in funding is now marked as requiring further (but unarticulated) federal agency review before reimbursement requests can be approved.

While Commonwealth agencies cannot draw from certain federal accounts, they are stuck incurring debts and obligations in federally approved projects that the Trump Administration currently is refusing to reimburse. While agencies have some reserves and discretionary dollars to cover small, unexpected debts, the scope of the federal freeze will far exceed those reserves.

Federal funding is in jeopardy for critical Pennsylvania-based initiatives including reclaiming abandoned mine land, capping and plugging orphan wells, and lowering consumer costs. For example, abandoned land dollars that are currently frozen will allow the Commonwealth to reclaim 24,000 acres of abandoned mine land across Pennsylvania, construct or maintain 16 water treatment systems that deal with toxic runoff from abandoned mines, and respond to about 60 emergency events per year. Left unaddressed, abandoned mines can cave in and form sinkholes, causing significant property damage and even death – as happened in Westmoreland County in December 2024. Additionally, the federal funding freeze has restricted access to funding that would help plug more than 500 orphaned and abandoned wells that are releasing toxic chemicals in Pennsylvania communities, as well as funding that would help up to 28,000 Pennsylvania households lower their utility bills.

The U.S. Constitution clearly states that federal agencies do not have the power to suspend states’ access to money that Congress appropriated or to impose new conditions on money already appropriated and obligated. Governor Shapiro is taking action to unfreeze these funds and ensure Pennsylvania is legally protected so that Commonwealth agencies can continue their work to improve Pennsylvanians’ lives.

 

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.

 

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

MALCOLM & THE RUMBLINGS OF VIETNAM FEBRUARY 1965

Malcolm X was assassinated at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom at 564 West 166th Street in Washington Heights.[Shortly before 3:10 p.m., as he was preparing to deliver a speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity, he opened with the greeting As-Salaam Alaikum and the audience acknowledged with Wa-Alaikum-Salaam. At that moment, a man in the crowd shouted "N******! Get your hand outta my pocket!" to a person sitting next to him, an apparent signal for four other spectators to stage a fight. Malcolm said, "Hold it. Let's cool it, brothers", and was shot in the chest by a man who approached the stage with a Luger pistol. As a second man fired from a sawed-off shotgun, a third fired multiple times with a pistol. In all, Malcolm X was shot 16 times at close range, and was pronounced dead at the nearby Vanderbilt Clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at 3:30 p.m. Although the myth persists that the identity of the assassins was "never determined”, the third gunman, Thomas Hagan (a.k.a. Talmadge Hayer), was shot and wounded by one of Malcolm's bodyguards, arrested at the ballroom, and confessed to the crime. Two other men, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, would be arrested later and convicted of Malcolm's murder, although Hagan testified that they were not involved and may not have even been at the Audubon at all. Born as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925, Malcolm X, described as "arguably the most important contributor to the Black Power movement and a leading figure in American history", died at the age of 39.

And in Vietnam, A coup was attempted in South Vietnam at 1:00 p.m. local time. Units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) commanded by General Lâm Văn Phát and Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo launched the coup against the nation's head of state, General Nguyễn Khánh. Fifty tanks and a combination of infantry battalions, led by Colonel Dương Hiếu Nghĩa, seized control of the post office and radio station in Saigon, cutting off communication lines. The home of General Khanh, and Gia Long Palace, the residence of head of state Suu, were surrounded. The coup collapsed when the U.S., in collaboration with Generals Nguyễn Chánh Thi and Cao Văn Viên, assembled units hostile to both Khanh and the current coup into a Capital Liberation Force. Saigon was recaptured "without a shot" the next day by loyal troops,  and Khanh was restored to power, but would remain in office only two more days.

U.S. President Johnson decided, after a meeting with his National Security Council, to make continuous and regular bombing strikes against North Vietnam. Robert S. McNamara, at the time the Secretary of Defense, would note later that Johnson refused to announce his decision publicly and that "This judgment would eventually cost him dearly." and this week in 1965 the number one song in LuLac land and America was “This Diamond Ring” by Gary Lewis and the Playboys.