No False Modesty For Trump At UN

Nobody will ever accuse Donald Trump of false modesty. In his typical kingly fashion, he let the United Nations know about all the wars he stopped. He was subdued about the wars he would supposedly end on day one, Gaza and Ukraine. There, he has emboldened Netanyahu and Putin to ratchet things up.

While he and MAGA continue their self congratulator interplay, the rest of the world is forced to be silent and polite. After all, the United States remains the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, even if our current leadership is very quirky.

While we have had issues with the UN for decades, previous presidents had met the situation with attempts to gain better value for our investment, as opposed to Trump's dismissive and disruptive posturing.

Better Grades For School Board

The upcoming election for Allentown School Board has five grade A candidates. Among them are two veterans of previous boards, again volunteering their experience.

Bob Smith Jr. is a well known activist in Allentown, with several previous school board terms on his resumé. The same applies to David Zimmerman, who also again is offering his experience to the troubled district.

The current board and administration has been very preoccupied with racial identity. While that is an important consideration in a system with a minority majority, education and leadership will always be the most valuable attributes for student success. With that in mind, I make the following recommendations.

Two Year Opening

Bob Smith Jr. for two year term. Smith is also on the ballot for a four year spot, but my vote will go for the two year slot, that way we can get five great board members.

Four Year Openings

1. Evette D'Amore- Evette has two sons at Dieruff, and is very active in the school system.

2. David Zimmerman- Dave is experienced on school matters and willing to serve again.

3. Tom Houck- retired city policeman and activist

4. Dianne Michels- Special Ed teacher with Masters in Education.

Trump As Biff In Back To The Future

We're in a dangerous time. We have a bully in the White House, who isn't anywhere near bright as he thinks. Back from England, he said of broadcast media,"They're 97 percent against(me); they give me only bad press. I mean, they're getting a license...I would think maybe their license should be taken away." 

Ted Cruz was critical of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's statement to networks "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way", but not exactly for the right reason. Cruz is afraid that such heavy handedness by the FCC will hurt conservatives when the Democrats come back into power. 

After eight months of Trumpism, it's encouraging when somebody even suggests that the emperor has no clothes. There will be more of Cruz speaking up, because Trump will say something about the Texas senator being out of line...Trump can't help himself. Because Trump's mouth runneth over, eventually, more Republicans will put on their big boy pants...hopefully in time to repair some of the damage.

While late night comedy thrived on making fun of Biff/Trump, Trump did Jimmy Kimmel a favor. Kimmel will emerge somewhere as the official spokesman against the naked emperor. Who knows, he might even run for congress.

In the meantime, the Trump machine had a revival yesterday at Charlie Kirk's memorial service. Vance was front and center, hoping to be the heir apparent for 2028.

First Amendment Issues In Lehigh Valley

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has made its way into the Lehigh Valley... Last week Kelly Keegan in Northampton County, and this week in Lehigh County with Josh Siegel. Both have been accused of making insensitive comments concerning Mr. Kirk's life and death. Although Siegel's comments were more measured, they still garnered backlash.

Additionally, two late night hosts have lost their slots, and the Trump administration is expanding the previous parameters of hate speech.

I find all of this disturbing, especially as a blogger, who scrutinizes local government. More disturbing is corporate America being intimidated by the government, against their employees and talent. Expect less jokes on your late night television.

Siegel's Canned Speech

After Iannelli recorded the Business Matters debate between Josh Siegel and Roger MacLean, there was some buzz about how acrimonious the show was. I also saw some recent comment about how Siegel washed the studio up with MacLean. As a local political blogger I felt compelled to watch it, although it was more painful than I feared. It wasn't MacLean beat up, but rather Siegel beating himself up, with canned platitudes.

Siegel thinks that he can beat MacLean by attaching him to Trump and MAGA. Although he did mention federal budget cuts that could challenge the county, his persistence with that line became quickly tiring. Siegel is a smooth talker, but too smooth, sounding like a door to door encyclopedia salesman.

In reality, the reports you hear about this debate are more relevant than the debate itself. No offense to Tony, but only about a dozen people ever watch the show.

Democrats Rally at Cedar Park

The new pavilion at Cedar Park had a full house for the Lehigh County Democratic Committee picnic. I understand their enthusiasm, with the Trump administration being so divisive. While Trump certainly did seal the border, the deportation portion is over the top to all but the diehard partisans.

Although the midterm is over a year away, the Mackenzie postcards have already started arriving. The Democrats don't yet even have a name to push, but their mailers are also already flowing.

If money doesn't sway too much, the County Executive seat is in play come this November. While Siegel's war-chest is huge, the Board of Commissioners is so far left, suburban voters may push back toward the center with MacLean.

photocredit:Mike Schlossberg