The LuLac Edition #5, 289, April 3rd, 2025

 

 

TRUMP TARIFFS

1890 BACK TO THE

FUTURE?

Here are a few points on Trump’s tariffs. We’ll break it down in the next edition. But for now, here’s where we stand.

Sweeping tariffs: President Donald Trump declared a national economic emergency and announced tariffs of at least 10% across all countries, with rates going even higher for 60 countries deemed the “worst offenders,” according to White House officials.

China hit hard: China, the second top importer to the US behind Mexico, will now face a 54% tariff under the new policy. Beijing, along with the EU, Japan and South Korea have already threatened retaliatory tariffs. Here’s what some world leaders are saying and this is a breakdown of tariffs by country.

Markets rattled: US stocks plunged in after-hours trading as investors digested Trump’s decision to impose tariffs that could escalate a growing trade war and upend the global economy.

RICH BOY

BAD

SAY

CHEESE HEADS

By a comfortable margin, Wisconsin voters chose to preserve the state Supreme Court's liberal majority by electing liberal judge Susan Crawford over conservative Brad Schimel.

Musk made the election his personal project, pouring at least $20 million into boosting Schimel through ads, events and even handing out oversized checks and cash to Wisconsin residents.

More than $100 million was spent on a race for a Supreme Court seat that less than 10 years ago cost just $4 million. Of course, the stakes were much lower then.

Yet while the results were not promising in Republicans’ first statewide test of the second Trump administration, Trump advisers are — at least for now — brushing off the loss, noting it was an off-year election with lower turnout than the recent presidential race.

Maybe so. But this race was a crucial to this state with courts redefining the way business was done in Wisconsin. This race process a few things.

1.  There’s no substitute for Trump. We found that out in the 2024 primary where a field of candidates lost to him.

2.  Musk is no Trump. While Wisconsin voters may have tolerated a thrice divorced, four times indicted, six time bankrupted and once convicted felon,  they didn’t like his errand boy throwing money at them.

3.  To defend seats in Florida is a fool’s errand. The senior citizen ingrates down there aren’t worth the time and effort. Dems will say we’re closing the gap. I personally don’t want to hear that until they do what Wisconsin did. Win by a comfortable margin.

Wisconsin did that and for a while, stopped the slide of democracy.

 

TRUMP GUTS SMALL FEDERAL AGENCY FUNDING 

 

MUSEUMS 

 

AND LIBRARIES

THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES ADMINISTERS GRANTS WORTH ABOUT $160 MILLION IN ALL 50 STATES.

AP reports that an agency responsible for funding museums and libraries across the nation is the latest to be shrunk by President Donald Trump’s cuts to the federal government, with its entire staff apparently put on administrative leave Monday.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides grants to “advance, support, and empower” museums, libraries and similar institutions in the U.S. according to its website, was named in an executive order this month along with several other agencies.

Trump’s order directed the Institute of Museum and Library Services “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” shrinking it down to its statutory minimum.

That’s exactly what happened on Monday, when the agency’s roughly 75 staff were informed that they would be placed on paid administrative leave for up to 90 days, effective immediately.

A person at the agency, granted anonymity to discuss the issue, told POLITICO that staff learned the news from their managers on Monday afternoon and were instructed to return their equipment and badges before receiving an all-staff email from the director of human resources asking them to leave the building.

Within hours, staff were locked out of their email accounts and banned from the premises without receiving prior permission.

These grants make up about 3.2 million per state. They are for the preservation of history, upkeep of libraries, Educational programs and museums which in some cases are tourist attractions that bring in money to local communities.

Again, the Trumpanzees have shown themselves to be unaware of history and culture. Unaware that libraries are the citadels of knowledge. But THIS IS WHAT THEY DO!

They all know better but prey on people who are bitter and uninformed. (AP, Politico, LuLac)

 

WARNING

GOP LAWMAKERS IN 10 STATES INTRODUCE BILLS

TO TREAT ABORTION AS HOMICIDE

A growing number of Republican state lawmakers are introducing legislation that would treat abortion as murder in a push to give legal rights to fetuses.

Since the beginning of this year, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills in at least 10 states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho and North Dakota, that aim to charge pregnant women with homicide if they seek out or receive an abortion. While several of these bills have already failed to pass and the others are likely to meet the same fate, the influx of legislation shows more Republicans seeking to take a new step in restricting abortion rights: legally recognizing fetal personhood.

In addition to abortion, some legislation calls for amending state law to classify the destruction of zygotes, embryos or fetuses as homicide.

Plus, get this. All of the states where they have been introduced, with the exception of North Dakota, allow the death penalty for homicide cases. I know that this sounds alarmist and almost impossible to believe. But given what has happened in the last 10 years plus adding in the ignorance of the MAGAs and the justification of more intelligent people for their behavior, NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE AT THIS POINT.

 

 

THAT TRUMP THIRD

TERM WON’T BE FROM AN ELECTION

There’s been a lot of talk about a Trump third term. A lot of people feel it is bluster, some even think it is a deflection. But keep in mind Trump, upon taking office the first time, already was indicating in the first 90 days of 2017 that he would run for a second term. This is in character for him and should not be dismissed as pure speculation or folly. 

I think Trump might sue to overturn the Amendment that bas him rom seeking a second term. Or he’ll run anyway and lie his way into the office. Or worse yet, declare Martial Law because by that time the country under his leadership will be beyond repair. It will not surprise me that all the stuff he wrecked will be part of his logic to have people keep him in office. The country is so filled with MAGA dumbasses, I can see that happening.

And this isn’t just me saying this. Rep. Dan Goldman of New York compared President Trump’s suggestion he could run for a third term to Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently in his fifth term, saying Trump is not “imagining a democratic election.”

“I don’t think, by the way, that he’s imagining a democratic election for his third term. He is trying to be Vladimir Putin,” Goldman, a frequent critic of the president, said Monday during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.” “And we all know Vladimir Putin is in a democracy. He runs for election. It’s a bogus election.  But that’s Donald Trump’s goal,” he told host Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary. “That’s sort of his — you know, the ideal for who he could become, which is to ostensibly have an election, but not really.  And that’s where he’s heading.”.

Furthermore, It was at least the fifth time he has addressed the issue since being sworn into office in January. U.S. presidents are prohibited from being elected to more than two terms by the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution.  (LuLac, The Hill)

 

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO STANDS UP FOR PENNSYLVANIA FARMERS, APPEALS USDA'S UNLAWFUL DECISION TO CANCEL LOCAL FOOD PURCHASING

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Governor Josh Shapiro (Photo: LuLac archives)

Governor Josh Shapiro announced his Administration is appealing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) unlawful termination of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) Program, which provides funds to Pennsylvania's farmers who supply local food banks with fresh produce. The Governor has directed Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Russell Redding to immediately challenge USDA's abrupt and irrational decision to cancel Pennsylvania's $13 million contract for the LFPA program - which supports 189 Pennsylvania farms and 14 food banks across the Commonwealth.

Over the past two and a half years, the PDA has driven out more than $28 million in federal funding from the LFPA program to local farmers across the Commonwealth - and in return, food banks have gotten fresh, local food from Pennsylvania farmers to help them feed our most vulnerable neighbors. That same program was set to provide $13 million over the next three years to support the purchase of more fresh, locally grown food for food banks. However, earlier this month, the Shapiro Administration received notice from the federal government that they were abruptly canceling Pennsylvania's contract. This reckless cut comes amid increased strain the federal government is imposing on Pennsylvania farmers through reckless tariffs.

Governor Shapiro announced that his Administration is taking this action after hosting a roundtable discussion with local leaders and farmers from Adams, Cumberland, and Schuylkill counties at the Central PA Food Bank.

 

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

 

APRIL 1971

During this week in 1971, baseball player Curt Flood's free agency suit against baseball is upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was dismissed. It was part of a long slog for baseball and Flod over the reserve clause.

He was a center fielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Senators.

Flood was a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner for seven consecutive seasons, and batted over .300 in six seasons. He led the National League (NL) in hits (211) in 1964 and in singles, 1963, 1964, and 1968. Flood also led the National League in putouts as center fielder four times and in fielding percentage as center fielder three times. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn.

Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.

Flood signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1956 and made a handful of appearances for the team in 1956–57. However, Flood was deemed expendable with future star centerfielder Vada Pinson preparing to be promoted to the majors. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in December 1957.

For the next 12 seasons, he became a fixture in center field for St. Louis; although he struggled at the plate from 1958 to 1960, his defensive skill was apparent. He had his breakthrough year at the plate after Johnny Keane took over as manager in 1961: he batted .322, followed by .296 in 1962 with 11 home runs. He continued to improve offensively in 1963, hitting .302 and scoring a career-high 112 runs, third-most in the NL; he also had career bests in doubles (34), triples (9) and stolen bases (17) and collected 200 hits in an NL-leading 662 at bats. In that year he received the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves.

Despite his outstanding playing career, Flood's principal legacy developed off the field. He believed that Major League Baseball's decades-old reserve clause was unfair in that it kept players beholden for life to the team with which they originally signed, even when they had satisfied the terms and conditions of those contracts.

On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood, Tim McCarver, Byron Browne, and Joe Hoerner to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Allen, Cookie Rojas, and Jerry Johnson. Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium, and for what he alleged were belligerent—and racist—fans. Flood said, "That I didn't think that I was going to report to Philadelphia, mainly because I didn't want to pick up twelve years of my life and move to another city." Some reports say he was also irritated that he had learned of the trade from a reporter; but Flood wrote in his autobiography that he was told by midlevel Cardinals management and was angry that the call did not come from the general manager, further alienating him from Busch. He met with Phillies' general manager John Quinn, who left the meeting believing that he had persuaded Flood to report to the team. Flood stood to forfeit a lucrative $100,000 (equivalent to $809,683 in 2024) contract if he did not report; but after a meeting with players' union head Marvin Miller, who informed him that the union was prepared to fund a lawsuit, he decided to pursue his legal options.

In a letter to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent:

December 24, 1969

After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States.

It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.

After Flood's lawsuit failed, Flood was blackballed from baseball. There were questions similar to "Do you realize you won't be able to play in MLB ever again?" or "You realize you are going to lose your job?" Everyone Flood consulted was convinced he would be blackballed from baseball. Flood soon realized that his career was over as he later said,

It would be difficult to come back. And besides, I don't think I'll be getting the opportunity to play again. As big as it is, baseball is a closely-knit unit. I doubt even one of the 24 men controlling the game would touch me with a ten-foot pole. You can't buck the Establishment.

Flood sat out the entire 1970 season. During this period he was bombarded with hate mail from fans, who accused him of trying to destroy baseball; his teammate Bob Gibson estimated "He got four or five death threats a day." The Cardinals sent two minor leaguers to the Phillies as compensation for Flood's refusal to report. One of them—centerfielder Willie Montañez—went on to a 14-year major league career. In November 1970, the Phillies traded Flood and four other players to the Washington Senators. He signed a $110,000 contract with Washington but played only thirteen games of the 1971 season, with a .200 batting average and lackluster play in center field. Despite manager Ted Williams's vote of confidence, Flood left the team in late April and retired. He had a lifetime batting average of .293 with 1,861 hits, 85 home runs, 851 runs, and 636 RBI. Defensively, Flood posted a .987 fielding percentage in his major-league career. Later that year Flood published a memoir entitled The Way It Is in which he spelled out in detail his argument against the reserve clause.

In later years, there was a sort of vindication for Flood. In 1998, the federal government passed the Curt Flood Act of 1998.[34][35] The act, passed by the 105th Congress and signed into law by President Clinton, revokes baseball's antitrust status (save for expansion, minor leagues, and franchise relocation), a status that major league baseball had enjoyed for seventy-five years after the Supreme Court had ruled that baseball was eligible for the status under interstate commerce. This act did exactly what Flood wanted; it stopped owners from controlling the players' contracts and careers

Flood also helped bring about the 10/5 Rule, also known as the Curt Flood Rule. The rule states that when a player has played for a team for five straight years and played in MLB for a total of ten years, he has to give the club his consent to be traded.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995, Flood was initially given a 90–95 percent chance of survival. He underwent radiation treatments, chemotherapy, and throat surgery, which left him unable to speak.

On January 20, 1997, just two days after his 59th birthday, Flood died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, after developing pneumonia,   and was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood……and this week in 1971 the number one song in LuLac land was “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations.