Bill White Exonerates Bernie O'Hare

On Sunday, Bill White started his annual Hall of Shame series.  Although, he claims it is a hall of fame,  we all know better.  As usual in Part 1,  he lists all the previous people that he has ridiculed over the years. Previous winner Bernie O'Hare has been flattering to Bill recently.  In one blog post he identifies White as a winner in a state journalism award ceremony.  In another post, he pictures White at a public meeting.  In White's column, both print and web versions, O'Hare's name doesn't appear with all the other previous honorees. In a follow up blog piece on the history of his Hall of Shame, he again fails to correct the O'Hare oversight. With two columns, we must assume that it was an intentional omission.

O'Hare received an award for his writing in the Bethlehem Press from the same outfit that awarded White. Perhaps White doesn't want to diminish his award by identifying a fellow winner with his booby prize contest. Regardless, congratulations to O'Hare, for being the first person to escape from the annual shaming.

ADDENDUM: Bernie O'Hare took this post as an attack upon both himself and Bill White.  You can read his reaction here.  He finds me jealous, mean spirited, and petty. 

UPDATE: I placed the following comment on O'Hare's blog post, he subsequently deleted it;
 bernie, last time i commented on one of your blog posts you deleted it, hopefully you will allow this one to stand. the difference between you and me is your concept of loyalty. i don't factor loyalty or friendship into blogging; i simply write the truth, as i see it. last year when you mentioned a small monetary contribution to morganelli as a disclaimer, i commented that you made an "understatement". you took my observation as a personal insult, and violation of our friendship. i simply thought a $25 dollar contribution was nothing compared to all the favorable things that you wrote about him over the years. likewise, yesterday i pointed out that i believe that bill white was extending you a courtesy by not including you in his recap list. again, you took it as an insult. IMO, the only ad hominem attack was your reply.

Brouhaha In The Political Blogosphere

As I have written previously, besides wanting to see Pawlowski replaced, I will be making no recommendation in the mayoral race.  Although, it was my intention to reprint my neutrality before the election, circumstances accelerate my schedule.  Over the weekend candidate Sam Bennett linked to my previous post about Bill White and Pawlowski on a facebook page.  Fellow blogger Chris Casey then chimed in that Pawlowski was instrumental in the NIZ, and went on to write about Bennett;  The only reason you are running for mayor is your ego. You have no skills or experience whatsoever that would qualify you to handle the debacle that is Allentown at this level.......

Casey has been active in the Democratic politics, and ran himself for office in the past.  He openly admits to having done oppositional research, including some assignments for previous local elections. Because I find Bennett's qualifications on par with her opponents,  I cannot help but think that Casey's comment was politically motivated.  If his motivation indeed was to help another candidate,  it's no crime;  It's called politics.

It is my hope that Casey takes this post as the political observation that it is, as opposed to a personal insult. I also commented on Bennett's Facebook post, but only reaffirming Pawlowski's incidental involvement in the NIZ.  I feel compelled to set the record straight on links concerning my blog posts.

Slaughter Of The Innocents

Much of the dogma, liturgy and shrines of the Coptic Church deal with the Holy Family's stay in Egypt, when they fled the Slaughter of the Innocents. With of the fall of various despots in the middle east, the iron fists which protected religious minorities are no longer there. Particularly affected, are the ancient Coptic Christians of Egypt. Saint Mena Coptic Orthodox Church dates back to the 6th century, and was rebuilt in 725 AD. It was put to the torch by a mob on Saturday, while the army stood by.
reprinted from May 2011,  April 2013

UPDATE:  The Coptic Christians have suffered yet another attack yesterday in Egypt.

The Coptic Church Of Alexandria

The Church and Theology School in Alexandria was established by the Apostle Mark in 60AD. Most of the early converts were common Egyptians who spoke Coptic. Although Christians became the majority before the Arab invasion in 636, by the 12th century they were the minority. The concept of monasteries in Christianity was started by the Coptics in the deserts of Egypt. Currently, the Coptics are threatened by transitions in Egypt, let us pray for their safety.

photograph of St. Marks Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt.

reprinted from December 2016

Bill White's Elephant

In Bill White's recent column on the upcoming Democratic primary, he fails to mention the elephant in the news room.  He gives Pawlowski some of the credit for the redevelopment of downtown, but doesn't specifically mention the NIZ and J.B. Reilly.  This is a real omission,  because Reilly now literally owns the Morning Call building, and most of the developable real estate in the NIZ.  I see no relationship to the NIZ by Pawlowski.  It was created by Pat Browne.  I would bet that J.B. knew about the proposal long before Pawlowski.  Although, it occurred on Pawlowski's watch, and they allowed him to cut a few ribbons,  he was not involved in its inception or implementation.  As proof of his irrelevance to the NIZ,  not one of the FBI's accusations against the Pawlowski administration involve any NIZ projects.

I do not believe that Reilly owning the newspaper building in itself negates the paper's ability to deliver NIZ news. Another article on the NIZ in Thursday's paper spells out how Reilly received the overwhelming majority of the program's tax benefit toward his debt service.  However,  considering White's continuous defense of all things NIZ, a fuller disclosure was in order.

Allentown Cheerleading

There's a young Allentown cheerleader I sparred with several times on facebook. Yesterday, he found and posted a list which rated Allentown as one of the top five midsize cities in the northeast to visit. How silly is that? I drive all around Allentown, including Hamilton Street, several times a week. Can you imagine how disappointing it would be to actually take a vocation to Allentown based on that article? The list was created by some travel outfit called RewardExpert.

Now, I understand how such a list gets created. Some young person gets an assignment, and bases the article on other articles that he has read,  without ever visiting the town himself.  But how does the cheerleader, who actually lives here, take pride in such nonsense? Now, that's not to say that Allentown isn't improving, but to be a vocation destination?

Gethsemane 1934

Maria Magdalene (Mary Magdalene) is the Russian Orthodox Church located on the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.
The church is dedicated to Miryam of Migdal, a follower of Jesus. Maria Magdalene was the first to see Christ after he was resurrected, and was a crucial and important disciple of Jesus, and seemingly his primary female associate, along with Mary of Bethany, whom some believe to have been the same woman.
The church was built in 1886 by Tzar Alexander III as a commemoration for his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, in the traditional tented roof Russian style, including seven onion shaped golden domes. Photograph dates from 1934

reprinted from April 2015