Coptic Orthodox 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,  many Christians are threatened by transitions in the Arab world, let us pray for their safety.

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



reprinted from December 2014

The Entitlement People vs. The Silent Majority

The title for this post is derived from a comment submitted to a prior post.  The commenter was hoping that the silent majority comes out  from the shadows and votes for Trump, to begin to change the status quo.  As an advocate for decades on local issues,  I think that, unfortunately, the key word is silent,  and if so,  it doesn't matter if they are a majority or not.  Now, I will say this;  I believe that Trump has motivated a previous uninvolved citizen,  and I believe that such people will come out and vote for him.  The question is how big is that constituency?  The Democrats do have an organized ground game.  I think it's fair to say that the Trump camp is completely unorganized at getting out the vote.  He is depending on individual volition,  which doesn't have a strong track record when it comes to voting.

We are in an era where political fortune is determined by the entertainment industry.  The liberals are willing to have their opinions shaped by the writers for  Jon Stewart and SNL.  Likewise, the conservatives look for guidance from Rush Limbaugh and other talk show disc jockeys.

I'm blessed by not being politically invested in this presidential election.  When I go to breakfast the morning after, on November 9th,  I will be equally entertained by both the happy camp winners, and the despondent losers.

2016, The Voting Against Election

In 2016, so many voters are going to the poll to vote against one candidate or another. Rather than who is more popular, it may come down to who is more disliked. Below are two local comments expressing that sentiment.

Flawed vehicle we are forced to own
That is for your average conservative an apt description of this year’s presidential race. Trump is not a conservative; he is not even a real Republican. He has no ideology as far as anyone can tell; he is, however, the candidate who became the nominee of the Republican Party. He is the only option conservatives have. We have to support him in order to arrest the country’s dramatic move to the left of the newly radicalized Democratic Party. Hillary has taken up the hammer and sickle from the term limited Obama and has vowed to preserve and extend the power of central authority. The pipe dream of a caretaker government, with open borders, free college education, single payer health care, a government controlled economy, and extensions of every sort of government assistance are being sold as a can do to a deluded nation that has apparently forgotten or was never taught that, historically, socialism provides us no record of long term success. To stop this march towards madness, bankruptcy, calamity, and destruction conservatives are forced to root for an inarticulate boob in the debates and pray this enigma of a man manages somehow to pull out a victory in November. To make matters worse, he is not only running against the Democratic Party but many of the nation’s moneyed interests (corporations, Wall Street, big labor) and last but not least, the media. Even with this massive assembly of power arrayed against him, he has managed to catch up to the power elite’s candidate/Hillary in the polls. It is nothing short of a miracle. None of this makes it any easier for those such as me who wonder who and what he is. His inability to articulate any cogent message is painful. His demeanor is an insult to comportment. He is unfortunately the champion that has been forced upon us. All we know is he is not Hillary, the candidate of absolute corruption that we detest and fear. We must support him because the alternative is just too terrible.
                                                  Scott Armstrong, Allentown

Considering the recent reports on her many and varied health issues, I thought she'd have to be carried off the stage, but she held up pretty well. It was I who nearly fell off my chair when I heard her strongly imply that there were "moral" differences between her and Mr. Trump that make her clearly the better candidate. Since when is morality a strong point in the Clinton household? A lawyer fired for being a sneak, a first lady who muscled her way into the health insurance issues with a plan developed by nitwits, a Secretary of State who failed even to understand her responsibility to maintain confidentiality and security,and then quit the job, and a husband who's been off the track for their entire marriage but apparently still has political capitol she can spend on herself. This is a perennial candidate, who's strongest trait is hubris, not morality. As potentially the first woman president, she's a well-poisoner at best and a toxic dump at least. With Trump, there is immaturity and arrogance and vindictiveness, but I do believe he will listen to the people and have hope that he will make a few needed changes to immigration, national security and trade and debt, and maybe even keep us out of war. Like Obama, Hillary is neither listening nor talking to me.
                                                Christine Sforza, Whitehall

ADDENDUM:  

Michael, just read the comments of your viewers urging voters for Trump. I think September was Trump's high water mark. His obvious incompetence for the White House is now penetrating subliminally to rational Republicans. Enough of them are going to either not vote for President, or will even vote for Hillary, making up for the drop off in the black vote, that Hillary couldn't mobilize. You think Ford & Bush 41 & Bush 43 have been wiped out of the collective Republican memory? So that the only Republican President in modern history was St. Ronnie? Guess again. Trump will be like those "forgotten" Egyptian Pharaohs that successors kept defacing by chiseling their names off of the monuments. Never.To. Be. Mentioned. Again. He & Ailes will start Trump TV; and, of course, in perfect irony, it will not take audience share away from NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, or MSNBC, but, will fragment a chunk away from Fox! There, folks will hear how Trump actually won the 2016 election, but, was robbed...it was rigged. And how climate change is a hoax, black families were more stable under slavery, the earth is flat, the moon landing was a hoax, evolution is just a theory, creationism real, Jesus is coming back soon, the Holocaust never happened, and smoking does not cause cancer. The commercials will be never ending and continue to fleece the viewers like Fox and talk radio does now ........selling gold, reverse mortgages, meteorite insurance, "male enhancement" potions/devices, survival seeds and Depends....... targeting white non college & senior citizens to purchase Life Alert systems, stool softeners, and cheap flooring. And now, they will get pitched Trump shirts/ties/dresses etc., all made in China & Mexico. Gotta move product, you know.
                                               Hillary Supporter, South Florida

The Transfiguration of Ed Pawlowski

I've written before how Pawlowski is trying to re-image himself. On his facebook page he can be seen cultivating the little people,  who will be important supporters, if he can beat the coming criminal storm.
He is also trying to tidy up and explain away some dirty deals that may or may not factor into the investigation of his administration.

One of those shenanigans factored into the recent announcement of unlimited bicycling in Trexler Park.   Pawlowski purchased two distressed real estate parcels from Abe Atiyeh, at a 400% gain for the developer.

The Park Department will shortly announce an ambitious bicycle trail,  extending from the useless Basin Street parcel purchased from Atiyeh,  through Atiyeh's distressed former fertilizer plant parcel, all the way to Trexler Park.  The spandex yuppies will applaud, and Pawlowski will have transformed a sleazy deal into an accomplishment.

As a defender of the traditional park system,  I am particularly appalled at this scheme.  Precious resources will be alloted to construct this path,  while the irreplaceable WPA structures crumble away.  We are in the process of losing the iconic double stairway in Lehigh Parkway.  The landings are breaking up,  allowing rushing water from the roadway to steep through the steps below.

There is no less than three parties who must stand silently by to enable such misappropriation.  That would be the Park Director, the Trexler Trust and City Council.

photocredit: molovinsky

The Dinosaurs Of Sumner Avenue

Up to the early 1950's, Allentown was heated by coal, and much of it came from Sumner Avenue. Sumner was a unique street, because it was served by the West End Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The spur route ran along Sumner, until it crossed Tilghman at 17th Street, and then looped back East along Liberty Street, ending at 12th. Coal trucks would elevate up, and the coal would be pushed down chutes into the basement coal bins, usually under the front porches of the row houses. Several times a day coal would need to be shoveled into the boiler or furnace. By the early 1970's, although most of the coal yards were closed for over a decade, the machines of that industry still stood on Sumner Avenue. Eventually, they took a short trip to one of the scrap yards, which are still on the avenue, but not before I photographed them.

reprinted from 2016

Trump Wins Debate

Recently, I did a post on the liberal hysteria about Donald Trump.  I put the piece on social media, and the group went crazy.  Rather than discuss the media phenomena to which I was referring,  they went right after Trump, as on cue.  I believe that this hysteria is fueled by their perception that indeed Trump may win the White House.  In another recent post,  I questioned the validity of the local college poll, which had Mrs. Clinton ahead by 9 points.  One week later, they report that the lead has shrunk to 3 points.  I believe that one week later, they realized what fools they had made of themselves, and decided to be more honest in their new tally.

We then learned that Mrs. Clinton will be prepared for the debate.  Two months ago, they considered the debate a joke,  after all, Clinton went to law school, was a senator and Secretary of State. Then, we learn that she will be prepared.  In other words,  they lowered the expectations about her performance.

Last night, after the 90 minute rumble, the pundits agreed in unison that Hillary had won. They found her more presidential, and felt that Trump went down too many rabbit holes.  They are wrong. Who won is who moves up and down in the polls. I believe that the upward move will be by Trump.  The public is not satisfied with the status quo, and has lost faith in damn statistics.  The case to be made was for change,  and Hillary failed to convince that she could bring any.

Pawlowski Puts Facts On The Ground

Pawlowski went ahead and had his nominee for Community Development Director start work, although the majority of Council indicated that they wouldn't approve him.  Meanwhile, back at the council chambers, council said that they couldn't fit the vote in until mid October.   Will they have the fortitude to send someone packing after he has already been working almost a month?

To me, the delay of the vote already indicates acceptance by council.  I have often seen things put on the schedule at the last moment to accommodate one agenda or person.  Another irony of this situation is that the administration is justifying the pre-approval hiring based on an opinion from a previous solictor, who of course served at Pawlowski's pleasure.  Council voted for no confidence in Pawlowski,  and I have little confidence that council will assert itself in this matter.

Trump In The White House

I'm so amused at the liberals and their fear of Trump. They actually equate a victory by him with the end of the Earth. Let me assure them that we will all still be here for the 2020 election, when they can again let their hysteria go wild.

It would be incorrect to interpret this post as pro-Trump, rather I remain amazed at the hostility towards him by the Clinton supporters.  I see otherwise rational people pulling their hair out about his candidacy.

It is my intention to vote for Mr. Johnson.  However, I will remain in the United States after whoever wins.