Lehigh Valley's Winters Of Discontent

We are clearly in another winter of discontent. Some winters we have a lot of snow, some a lot of cold, this winter we seem to be having both. I clearly remember the winters of 1983 and 1994. As a property manager, I would drive the alleys of Allentown, between one sidewalk to clear, and another, in an never ending cycle. My station wagon, loaded with shovels, ice breakers and salt, would steer itself in the ice ruts, as if on a children's amusement ride at Dorney Park. Let's hope for a warmer tomorrow.

Center City Allentown 1983

The Incredible Shrinking President

I believe that Obama was incredibly small about Netanyahu's speech. Although I understand that Obama would have preferred Netanyahu to stay home, once the speech was arranged, a bigger president would have invited the prime minister to visit the White House while in Washington. Instead, we saw accusations about a violation of the Logan Act, and statements about disrespect. For Netanyahu, this wasn't about lyrics to a Aretha Franklin Song, but survival for his country. For Joe Biden to hide, and congressmen to boycott, was just juvenile pouting. There were indeed many aspects to this situation, for both Netanyahu and Congress. But, at the very least, a well informed person offered to brief them on a major issue of our time.

A Spokesman For Israel

In my post yesterday I engaged a gentleman critical of Israel and its leadership. In the comment section he accused Israel of nazi like behavior, for a unproven  allegation that some Ethiopian women where injected with the three month contraceptive Depo-Provera, while staying in a transition camp in Ethiopia awaiting transfer to Israel decades ago. If some women were given a temporary contraceptive without their full understanding, it's certainly not of no consequence. However, to compare that alleged occurrence to torturous medical experiments by Dr. Mengele in the concentration camps takes a jaded eye toward Israel and its people. Critics of Israel take delight in accusing Israel of nazi behavior.

Although I write about Israel here on my blog, I'm not qualified in anyway to be a spokesman for that country. However, today at 11:00 a.m. on C-Span, you can hear a qualified spokesman. Prime Minister Netanyahu will be speaking on what he believes is a matter of Israel's very survival.

Netanyahu's Speech And The Black Caucus

My associate over at The African American Clarion Call is not happy about Netanyahu's upcoming address to Congress, he finds it disrespectful to Obama. He resents the Democrats who are not boycotting the speech, and specifically any that belong to the Black Caucus. He has particular scorn for a group of African American Pastors who have urged the caucus members to attend. He writes, This is not just embarrassing for Obama, but for the entire country that a foreign leader, particularly one like Netanyahu, can hold that sort of sway over our elected officials. It's like Netanyahu is the president rather than Obama. It's certainly the case that the congress fears Netanyahu more than the Obama. Basically, the Israeli lobby has purchased the entire congress. In regard to the pastors, he goes on to say, Just goes to show that everyone can be bought.

I  totally disagree with the writer about  the appropriateness of Netanyahu's speech, and who should attend. However,  this post is not about that disagreement, but about an engrained stereotype about the Jews and Israel. The writer assumes that anybody who supports Netanyahu's right to speak must have been bought and paid for by the Jews.  Fortunately for Israel, not everybody shares that prejudice.

Stand Up To Iran

Stealing Businesses Is Now Our Industry

When I was a kid growing up in the 1950's, I couldn't begin to tell you everything that was manufactured in Allentown. If it was telephones at Western Electric, toasters at General Electric, or thousands of shirts and pants at dozens of textile mills, Allentown produced product. We now call distributing all the products Made In China an industry. Commercial Development in 2015 is reduced to stealing existing businesses from another state, or even a neighboring town. We pay people to direct Development Authorities, which orchestrate these musical chair jobs. The tax incentives given to facilitate the musical chairs do nothing for the residents but increase their tax burden. Although having no new product, these Authorities and incentives have become an industry in themselves. They have become the talking points for our politicians. Maybe not as a region or a state, but as a country, we would be much better off producing more, and playing musical chairs less.

photo shows toaster ovens being manufactured on S. 12th St. in Allentown

Allentown City Hall For Sale

I should clarify that I'm not talking about Allentown's current City Hall, some people think that it already has been bought and sold. I'm talking about the canopy over the main  entrance on Linden Street, and the  CITY HALL sign,  shown in the photograph above. Stored all this time, these Allentown artifacts are now available for the first time in over half a century. Send serious inquires as a confidential comment to this post.

Click on photograph to enlarge image.