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Luzerne County zoning office is cracking down on occupancy permits

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Letter to the Editor: Care received at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital appreciated, says DeMarco family

<p>Former President Bill Clinton seemed smitten all over again when he told the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night how he ended up marrying his best friend.</p><p>Except with friends like him, well, you know the rest. Right, Monica, Paula, Juanita, Kathleen? But Clinton, who always has been more popular than his wife, wants to get back into the White House as the First Whatever, so he had to convince everyone that the two are soul mates, and in a way they are. When it comes to lusting after power and money, they are unrivaled equals.</p><p>Bill Clinton told one syrupy tale after another, including how &#8220;in the spring of 1971, I met a girl,&#8221; but not just any girl. Hillary Rodham was so magnetic, she intimidated him. He said he wanted to introduce himself but, &#8220;Somehow I knew this would not be just another tap on the shoulder, that I might be starting something I couldn&#8217;t stop.&#8221;</p><p>But law school student Bill had to have this irresistible creature with the &#8220;thick blonde hair,&#8221; &#8220;big glasses&#8221; and no makeup.</p><p>Theirs, it seems, was a love story akin to the one in &#8220;Titanic.&#8221;</p><p>Although Hillary turned him down twice, Bill&#8217;s third marriage proposal was the charm. He said that, unbeknownst to her, he bought a house in Arkansas that she had admired. &#8220;Now you have to marry me,&#8221; he told the enraptured delegates. Bill and Hillary lived happily ever after, &#8220;walkin&#8217; and talkin&#8217; and laughin&#8217; together&#8221; since that first romantic encounter when their eyes met across a crowded library.</p><p>When he was running for president in 1992, Bill Clinton told Americans they would be getting two for the price of one. Hillary pretty much has warned the nation of the same thing. She said, if elected, she will bring her husband out of retirement to create new jobs.</p><p>Whether he&#8217;ll be allowed some time off to continue capitalizing on his presidency, making $250,000 to $500,000 for speeches, remains to be seen. Making no apologies for those outrageous fees, he quipped earlier that he had to pay the family&#8217;s bills. After all, Hillary had said that when they left the White House in 2001, they were dead broke. That must have been true because they tried to take off with the White House china, but they were caught.</p><p>JUNTOS SE PUEDE.</p><p>That message was among the signs swaying at the convention center, along with &#8220;Stronger Together.&#8221; Press two for English. For a minute there, I thought they moved the Democratic National Convention from Philadelphia to Mexico.</p><p>There were other interesting moments, just as there were at the Republican convention a week earlier.</p><p>The Dems trumped the GOP controversy of Melania Trump reciting some lines verbatim from a speech that First Lady Michelle Obama gave years ago. Michelle delivered a rousing speech Monday night, saying how great America is. She had this epiphany when her husband became the party&#8217;s nominee in 2008. Back then, she said it was the first time in her life that she was proud of her country. Thankfully, Melania&#8217;s speechwriter didn&#8217;t insert that gem into her speech.</p><p>Also at the convention this week, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to resign after emails surfaced showing that the committee was working behind the scenes to undermine the surging candidacy of Bernie Sanders.</p><p>That&#8217;s pretty brazen for a party whose members scream bloody murder that voters are being disenfranchised whenever some states try to pass voter-identification laws. Who cares if Mickey Mouse wants to vote for the next U.S. president? What&#8217;s important is that Mickey is given his inalienable right to do so.</p><p>But poor Bernie. He complained all along that the system was rigged. Then, when he had actual proof, he lets bygones be bygones, and he urged his followers Tuesday night to support Hillary for unity&#8217;s sake. The thousands who marched down Philly streets didn&#8217;t seem to get the message.</p><p>You have to give Bernie credit though. Republican loser Ted Cruz accepted a prime-time speaking role at the Republican convention and then refused to endorse his former rival Donald Trump. Where Cruz was booed, Bernie is a hero for steering Hillary Clinton more to the liberal left and promising to fight for his causes of free college education for the masses, and for 55-year-olds to be allowed to buy into Medicare. Like most political Santa Clauses, they never say who&#8217;ll pay for all of these entitlements.</p><p>Whether she wins or loses in November, Hillary Rodham Clinton will still go down in history as the first woman ever to be nominated for president of the United States.</p><p>FELICITACIONES!</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Zeroing In</p><p>Betty Roccograndi</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Betty Roccograndi, a former Times Leader reporter and award-winning journalist, is a freelance columnist. Reach her by email at broccograndi@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Zeroing In: Picture Bill Clinton again roaming the White House. Dios mio!