A Better Mission For USS Gerald R. Ford

I would suppose that the infirmary on the aircraft carrier must almost be a small hospital. Rather than continue using that carrier task force to attack suspected drug smugglers, they should be diverted to provide aid to the devastation in Jamaica. News reports indicate that the smaller hospitals in the western part of the island have been destroyed.

Restoring electric and other infrastructure on Jamaica will be a monumental task. Although disaster aid is not a normal mission of the US Navy, neither is attacking civilian boats. 

Trump is a showman. Let him redirect his show to where it is most needed. Maybe it will even help with his quest for medals and ribbons.

I'm not here to be polite or popular

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 17, 2025:Conservatives, either independent or feeling distance from current Republican marching orders, are welcome to comment on this weekday blog.

Sidewalks To Nowhere For Nobody

To enter Rt. 309 from Tilghman Street, you needed to be able to turn your head like an owl. For the last decade I had to stop on the entrance ramp well before the actual stop sign, and wait until I could see nothing coming, and then gun it. I was glad to hear that PennDot was going to improve the entrance, but didn't know about the improvements to Tilghman Street. 

The Morning Call reports that these improvements have practically put the Tilghman Street merchants out of business...From driving by, I don't question that claim. The real kicker is that they're building sidewalks along Tilghman. Who do they think is going to be walking there and why? 

Truth be told, the bureaucracies don't think, they just blindly follow guidelines. Improving the button hook entrances to 309 was long overdue. Adding curbing and sidewalks to that section of Tilghman Street was superfluous. Hurting the merchants so badly was totally unnecessary.

I'm not here to be polite or popular

postcard of former Tilghman Street icon, before curbs and sidewalks

How You Were Cheated

At the end of 2000, despite the majority of neighbors in opposition, The West Park Historic District was enacted. The City Administration, City Council and The Morning Call all cooperated in ignoring the true sentiments of the property owners and the State guidelines to implement what they felt was the public good. The presented documents were mailed to the opposers in a final report, return address: How You Were Cheated. My intention is to show how we must guard and fight against this sort of assumption by our elected leaders. I mean no offense to my friends who were on the other side of this issue.
click on documents to enlarge

above reprinted from February 5, 2008 

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 28, 2025:The three Allentown historic districts have just been surveyed and digitalized. It is not the intention of this post to delegitimize the West Park District. Over twenty-five years have passed since the above cheating took place, many owners have come and gone. The message, however, is that historic districts, and even history, isn't always what you read. 

I'm not here to be polite or popular

War In The Caribbean

As the USS Gerald Ford and its support ships position off Central and South America, Trump claims he fighting a drug war. In reality, he may well be waging regime change in Venezuela under a false flag. Never known as a moral giant, he's depreciating the Navy, especially those following the orders to blow up civilian boats. 

Although I won't mention the Captain's name, I can assume after reading his previous commands and missions,  he's not sailing to this assignment with the same pride. Of course, previously, he did not receive his orders from a former Fox News host.

My dwindling readership will take heart that my stats keep going down. It is a small price to pay for some integrity, which is more than we're getting from our local representatives in Washington. Trump, still mad about the Reagan tape on tariffs, has imposed another 10% on Canada. Not a peep from Mackenzie and McCormick. Meanwhile, both Hess Brothers and Horlacher are threatening to cancel their ads on this blog. I refuse to ask for donations, as is the fashion with other digital sites.

I'm not here to be polite or popular

Crassness In The White House

The only word I can think of to describe the demolition of the East Wing at the White House is crass. What Trump has done to the Oval Office was bad enough. I haven't seen that much gold gild and bad taste since Zsa Zsa Gabor. 

I have been receiving comments that I have TDS. I don't agree with that diagnosis. Although I didn't vote for the top of the ticket in 2024, I expected Trump to be no worse than in his first term. Trump never knew anything about history. While the gild will be able to be removed by the next president, who knows what a monstrosity the new ballroom will be?

Eventually, and hopefully sooner than later, he will push enough buttons to wake up the other branches of government, to assert themselves against his breaches of convention. Those breaches extend far beyond bad taste, into questionable uses of our military and law enforcement, both in the Caribbean and in our cities.

I'm not here to be polite or popular

MAGA Man Arrested

A MAGA man was arrested at the Wilkes-Barre No Kings Rally for brandishing a handgun at protesters. MAGA man spent the night in jail. On my post about the rally in Allentown, I referred to hundreds of protesters. I knew from the media coverage that there were thousands, but thought I could spare the dialogue a number counting debate. Regardless, someone sent in multiple comments that there should be permits, and that Cedar Crest Blvd. is too dangerous of a location. I suspect that for a pro Trump rally, they would find it to be safe enough.

I expect today to receive comments that my MAGA Man characterization is derogatory. Truth be told, I find current administration supporters to be in one of two camps. Either they are a MAGA Trump cultist, or a partisan, happy that they are in charge. I'm afraid for the Republicans that the cultists didn't vote before, and won't again. They voted for Trump, not the party.

I'm getting more and more comments about commenting. Either I don't print enough and I'm censoring, or I'm not enforcing previously stated comment guidelines. I confess to having an inconsistent policy, and being affected by the amount of sugar in my breakfast that morning.

I'm not here to be polite or popular