No Real Nazis In Charlottesville

My post on Trump and the Jews received numerous back channel complaints from my fellow tribe members.  How could I possibly defend Trump from not speaking out more forcibly against Nazis?

When children came dressed to your door as super heroes on Halloween, did you think that it was really Superman and Batman?  The real Nazis took our relatives away in the middle of the night and put them in concentration camps, before gassing them.  What you saw in Charlottesville was real anti-semitism,  but not real Nazis.  I understand the concept of being vigilant, but don't trivialize the Holocaust because of your hate against Trump.  American Nazi are not new.  They were already marching against the Jews in Skokie 39 years ago.

While I'm airing complaints against this blog,  here's a different one from a black reader about the Ambush At 9th & Chew  post.

  Gangsters?? who the hell you calling gangsters??? Did they kill that women like racists in Virginia???? Its funny how you hypocrites will praise white drug dealers, and save white addicts. smh....freedom of speech is for cowards too!!!The real gangsters are in the White House. Why don't you write for Breitbart Mr M. they would love you there.  

It wasn't the racists in Virginia in Halloween costumes who killed the woman, it was a lone nut from Ohio, who was probably a week away from killing someone back home.

I don't believe that those swastika armbands in Charlottesville are a threat against me, but I do speak out in person against anti-semitic statements said in my presence.  I don't believe that Confederate statues are a threat against blacks, but I would be concerned about kids formulating gangs at 9th and Chew.

Trump And The Jews

The Jewish reaction to Trump's statements about Charlottesville can be viewed within the larger political arena;  The overwhelming majority of Jews are Democrats, and voted for Hillary Clinton.  They join those who haven't gotten over the election last November, and bash Trump as the numerous opportunities arise.  That said, people marching with torches shouting Jews Will Not Replace Us leaves quite a jarring impression.

As a political conservative of the Jewish faith, I have no delusions about anti-semitism. I think that it is everywhere, just under the surface. I think that many non-Jews share the misconception that there is some secretive Jewish network,  helping Jews succeed at the expense of everyone else.  If such a network exists,  they must have misplaced my address.  These misconceptions have existed for almost two thousand years,  and I choose not to blame Trump for them.

Trump's presidency has been a series of poorly worded sound bites.  His background in commercial real estate development didn't require political correctness.  He was suggesting that everybody who was protesting against removing a statue of Robert E. Lee wasn't evil,  and that not everyone favoring its removal was pure in their intent.  He was not defending Neo-Nazis, or their  hatred of Jews and blacks. In our current era nothing elicits more reaction than an accusation of racism.  Even Mitt Romney joined the drum-beaters this weekend.  I didn't realize that he was interested in 2020.

 Most of those criticizing Trump for not providing moral clarity last week would not be satisfied regardless of what he had said, or didn't say.

O'Connell's Back Door

Allentown City Council will hire an attorney and attempt to have Pawlowski removed as mayor.  What this effort indicates to me, this late in the game,  is that Ray O'Connell shares the belief that election night will go to Pawlowski.  Considering that most pundits feel that O'Connell's entrance into the race as a write-in is a boost to Pawlowski's chances,  I might question O'Connell's write in effort.

The City Charter,  short of conviction, leaves the mayor in office.  The best way to get him out is at the polls.  The best chance of an opponent winning is a two-way race.  O'Connell could withdraw his write-in campaign, and support Hyman.

The above two paragraphs are my gut reaction as a local political analyst to the city council vote to hire an attorney.  That said,  as a former third person myself on the ballot, and as an admirer of Ray O'Connell,  best wishes in his pursuit.

Jaindl Up The Creek

It's not actually a creek, but the Lehigh River.  It's not actually Jaindl up the creek, but Allentonians who care about history.  Talen Energy has announced that it will relocate from the PPL Plaza down Hamilton Street to Reilly's new Tower 6.  Jaindl was hoping to land Talen as his anchor tenant for his  project at the riverfront,  which also has NIZ designation.

Students of this blog may remember that I complained about the last spur route being removed from the riverfront,  to accommodate Jaindl's project.  Although,  they tried to spin the track removal with the Rail To Trail annoucement,  it was a historic loss for Allentown. The spur was part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Old Main, with the last distributor in Allentown using rail service.

This town, and especially Pawlowski, has no knowledge or sense of local history.  The boards, authorities and commissions in Allentown, which are composed mostly of Pawlowski appointees, also have no sense of history.  Further adding to this problem, is the significant number of new residents in the area.  Whether they are the entitlement folks from the big cities, or the new middle class suburbanites, local history is of little concern to them.  Never the less,  local history will continue to be a major theme of this blog.

Photo shows the former last spur line in Allentown, which was probably removed for naught.

The Saga Of Cedarbrook

I snickered when I learned that the Lehigh County Commissioners last week were getting ready to decide the fate of Cedarbrook Nursing Home. They already decided in 2011, when they started postponing any decision. Now, six years later, they have decided? The decision back then in 2011 was rather than say no to the county elders, and suffer the political consequences, they could keep postponing their decision with more and more studies. Along these many years I credit myself and Tom Mueller for speaking out against the charade.

By now Cedarbrook could have been renovated and turned profitable. Recently, at least one former commissioner took umbrage at me for pointing out the folly of another board. Over the years from attending meetings and advocating for one issue or another, I have become friendly with many of our commissioners. However, for me not to speak out against their collective shortcomings because of friendship or courtesy would negate both my activism and this blog. I choose to put these missions first, whether it be the parks or the elderly.

photocredit: K Mary Hess

Ambush At 9th & Chew

A former neighborhood leader was ambushed at 9th & Chew Streets last week.  Youths with their faces covered by bandanas circled her car in ATV vehicles,  causing both damage and fright.   Although Pawlowski is featuring the new buildings in his campaign material,  I suspect that the ambush will not be mentioned. Neither will be the recent shootings, stabbings, home invasions and homicides.

In 2005, I predicted our current state of crime. As a independent candidate for mayor, and an inter-city property manager, I was well aware of the changes moving into Allentown.  Although my views were marginalized by The Morning Call at the time, those chickens have come home to roost.  Allentown has reached a critical mass of the hardcore under Pawlowski's tenure. Hideous crimes are a daily occurrence. The NIZ district will be full of new Reilly owned buildings, but there will be no revitalization. No yuppie with more than three brain cells will want to live downtown among the gangsters.


The screen shot shown above is from John Ford's 1939 epic, Stagecoach.  The movie was filmed in Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation.   That movie, and subsequent ones featuring the valley, made it a destination. 

Stoking The Fire

What occurred in Virginia over the weekend is certainly a tragedy. I don't watch cable news as most people do, my television viewing is very restricted. From the headlines; Three Killed By Supremacist March. Only later did I learn that one pedestrian was killed by the car ramming, and two policemen died when their helicopter crashed.

The march started as a protest to removing the statue of Robert E. Lee. It was originally conceived by the University Of Virginia itself, as a Day Of Reflective Conversation. The white national group's participation was defended by the American Civil Liberties Union.  No less of an informed American than Condoleezza Rice has spoken out previously against revising Confederate history. History is something you add to, not take away from.  The march also did attract neo-nazi's and the KKK. These subgroups are opportunists.

The person who weaponized the car is supposedly a Trump supporter. Juxtaposition Trump's weak comments with that person's background, and you have a media storm which will last indefinitely.  The media pundits are holding Trump responsible for the death.  Nobody of course would attribute any blame to Cornel West, the Princeton/Harvard professor who encouraged the counter demonstration.

ADDENDUM:  On August 16 I received the following note by email from a local reader/college professor.  Although, I don't find his sources any more substantial than mine,  I present his objection to above post.

The march/protest to removing statue was, of course, *not* originally conceived by the University—a day of reflective conversation was. Unite the Right organized the actual protest, which — obviously no one disputes this, including the groups themselves—is a coalition of neo-nazi, white supramicists, and the KKK. It is flat-out inaccurate to say “The march also did attract new-nazi’s and the KKK.” It was organized by them. A correction is called for, in my opinion. The stakes are obviously high on this.

Simmons Is Better Than This

I support the 2nd Amendment and own a gun. That said, I do not belong to the NRA;  I cannot  respect a group which tells its members for whom to vote.

I was disappointed to see Justin Simmons pander to gun owners with a concealed carry seminar.  Here again,  I'm not against the right to carry, just against politicians who play on it, one way or another,  These seminars are straight from Julie Harhart's old playbook, who was a Representative for eleven terms.  I could accept Simmons reneging on his term limit pledge, but he should be above  parlor tricks like this seminar.