The Resignation Of James Mattis

Jim Mattis was a hybrid general...part Mad Dog, part intellectual. Between his military retirement  and his appointment as Defense Secretary,  he was the Annenberg Fellow at the Sanford's Hoover think tank. He was equally at home reading Paul Linebarger's classic 1948 Psychological Warfare, or sleeping in a foxhole in Afghanistan.  As Commander of the Joint Forces, and then NATO,  his commitment to allies was bedrock.  When Donald Trump announced our withdrawal from Syria,  Mattis could no longer in good conscience serve as our 26th Secretary of Defense.

That decision by Trump also cost us the service of Brett McGurk, who was the leading envoy in the war against ISIS.  It is my hope that John Bolton remains as National Security Advisor, and that Mike Pompeo stays on as Secretary of State.  The country needs Trump receiving good advice, even if he fails to listen.


Mattis arriving in Afghanistan in 2001 to take command

A Family Story

This post is unusually personal for this blog.  My grandfather came to Allentown from Russian Lithuania  in 1891.  In the next few years he was joined by his parents, and five siblings.   The family settled on 2nd Street, along with many other Jewish immigrants of that period.  He worked in various jobs, including a cigar factory, until he could establish himself as a butcher, as in the old country.  Because we were here for over a hundred years,  I consider myself somewhat of a local historian.

As a boy growing up in Little Lehigh Manor, on the ridge above Lehigh Parkway, I explored the WPA structures when they were still comparatively new.  Because of that background, I was able to uncover the Boat Landing, and advocate for our  traditional park system.  One of my father's uncles worked for the park system, caring for Lehigh Parkway.

What brought me to this post is my great grandmother's tombstone in Fountain Hill, which I recently visited.  She is buried in an old Jewish cemetery that is no longer in use. Although, her tombstone is very old, it replaced an even older one , that then laid behind the former Wentz's tombstone factory at 20th and Hamilton, for many decades.  I am the last Molovinsky in Allentown.

photo taken behind Wentz's before recent demolition of that facility.

reprinted from December of 2016

Leaving Syria

The Kurds are a stateless ethnic minority that live in parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. They had provided the only security afforded to Christians and other minorities in Iraq.  They have been on the front line fighting against our common enemies in both Iraq and Syria. 

Kurdish forces in Syria are considered a nationalistic threat by Turkey, which has announced intentions to attack them. Donald Trump's announcement to withdraw ground forces from Syria seems to clear the way for such actions.

The Kurds once again will be left to their own devices for survival. If we have returned any favor for their help against Isis, it is not apparent.

Likewise, Israel will be defending against Iran in Syria by itself. With John Bolton being part of the administration, I had hopes for more engaged resolve.

ADDENDUM:  Removing ground troops from Syria will not be unwelcome by most of Allentown's Syrian American population.  Assad's father provided protection to the Christian minority,  which comprised a wave of immigrants to Allentown's 6th Ward in the early part of last century.

pictured above Kurdish female fighters

Grassroots Politics In Allentown

If you're a student of grassroots politics in Allentown, chances are that you know Robert Trotner. This political and community activist has been encouraging political newcomers for a number of years, through both an internet radio show and coffee house gatherings. His recent meetings at the Coffee House Without Limits has attracted new candidates for mayor, city council and the school board. While their names are mostly new to the general public, all of them are involved in the process already, attending meetings and studying Allentown's problems.

I have been a supporter of local outsider politics for decades. These are the people you see at the meetings, week after week. They are the ones that fight the battle for everyone else.  They are the ones who speak out for the many who remain silent.  While a few get elected and become mainstream, most remain unelected, and unrecognized for their commitment.  Reporting their accomplishments has always been an honor for this blog.

Shown sitting with Trotner is City Council candidate Jessica Lee Ortiz and School Board candidate Phoebe Harris.

reprinted from February of 2017

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 19, 2018: Robert Trotner has been taking quite a beating over at Bernie O'Hare's blog.  The assault was started by O'Hare in a comment section, and his anonymous commenters joined in, kicking Robert while he's down. Among other things, O'Hare wrote... "He has done nothing for the cause of good government"  Among the many of us who might disagree with that assessment is Phoebe Harris, who is now president of the Allentown Dems.  Robert provided numerous venues for her and others interested in participating in Allentown government.  The old saying about no good deed goes unpunished certainly applies to Robert.  I hope that the beatings over at O'Hare's does not discourage Trotner, and others, from their grassroots activities.

As On Allentown Turns

Over the weekend I was sparring on facebook with a NIZ cheerleader who contended that he did all his shopping in center city, patronizing the local businesses. I know what businesses are there, knew his assertion was nonsense, and told him so. Another antagonist popped up and commented, the writer if you read any of his blog truly hates Allentown he never has anything nice to say about it. Although,  that also isn't true, let me reply. I bill molovinsky on allentown as the junction of local history and politics. The historical posts don't have an attitude, and the politics for the last decade are nothing to brag about. Needless to say, if I hated Allentown, I would have moved out of the area long ago. I would not have run for local office, nor would I write about it almost daily. That said, those looking for only nice sentiments should buy greeting cards, not read blogs. If you insist on rose colored glasses, stick with just reading the Morning Call.  If you want to read how some politicians can walk on water, while others are deemed snakes in the grass,  there's another local blog which is better suited to you.

Although, I can be as delusional about my life as the next person,  I try and keep this blog in check with reality.  Likewise,  by not allowing anonymous comments, I try to enhance the blog's accountability.

My post yesterday about O'Connell's budget found very few in agreement.  Although my statement about a profile in courage especially rubbed some the wrong way,  not too many politicians would be willing to face the voter's wrath to maintain the current level of city service. Because of my restricted comment policy, many people wrongly equate a lower number of comments with lower readership. I've been told by numerous elected officials that they read the blog, while they don't find it complimentary, they find it fair... for me that is feedback enough.

photocredit: The Morning Call

O'Connell Goes To the Mat

On Saturday night, while most of us were sleeping, Ray O'Connell was going to the mat with Allentown City Council. Ray implemented his proposed budget by vetoing council's reduced alternative version, leaving council no time to enact an override.

Frankly, I was somewhat surprised when I learned the news early Sunday morning. I expected that O'Connell would allow council to prevail, providing everybody a little political cover. After the vote O'Connell told the Morning Call's Emily Opilo...

“I feel in my heart and in my head that what I did was financially responsible for the city of Allentown and its residents,” he said. “If this comes back to bite me and I don’t get re-elected, so be it. I will fight for the residents of Allentown.”

In reality, the alternative budgets treated the taxpayers about the same. O'Connell's budget will increase taxes 27%, while council's version shaved that down to 22%.

If O'Connell survives the next Democratic primary his action Saturday night was a profile in courage. You can bet on the fact that his tax increase will be his opponents' campaign theme.

Morning Call file photo


ADDENDUM: Only after I publish a blog post, do I scout around the main and alternative media to see how others may have treated the same topic. O'Connell's budget certainly will be ammunition for his opponents, and those already supporting them. I do not believe that the budget system or charter needs fixing. That charge is always levied when people are unhappy with a result. On the contrary, a budget going down to the wire, or any decision using every charter redress, demonstrates that the system is working.

The Misconception Of Hamilton Street

There's not many mid size cities that can boast having two national chain stores within one center city block, Allentown could. Not too many cities could say that one of those stores was one of the biggest producers in a chain of over 7000 stores, Allentown could. There's not many cities that are ignorant enough to tear down their most successful block, a virtual tax machine, Allentown is. This horrible mistake took a combination of political arrogance and public misconception. The arrogance is well known, so let me concentrate on the misconception. The perception was a few undesirable people, buying cheap things. The reality is Family Dollar sells the same merchandise in their suburban and rural stores. Rite Aid fills the same prescriptions and sells their standard merchandise. The new upscale stores, visioned for the arena front, will never produce the sales tax produced by Family Dollar and Rite Aid. The arena will never have that amount of employees, nor produce that much earned income.* The traffic congestion and lack of parking for arena events will destroy the new restaurants. Welcome to the white elephant, welcome to the ghost town.
Shown above and below is the early morning delivery to Family Dollar, every week of the year.
*sales tax and earned income currently going to city and state will now go to debt service for arena
reprinted from December 5, 2011

ADDENDUM: While The Morning Call promotes Allentown's new NIZ zone, only this blogger documented the reality of the former Hamilton Street. While the Moravian Book Store could have been restocked from a small hand basket once a month, the previous Family Dollar Store needed a full tractor trailer every Sunday.  Retail is virtually destroyed on Hamilton Street. Over seven years later, and the Morning Call is still deceiving about Hamilton Street, and this blog is still delivering the truth.

Fisherman Robbed By Fit Man At Jordan Park

While Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director brag about catalog equipment which won't last 3 years, a fisherman was thrown to the ground and robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning in Jordan Park. While the Allentown Police are too short manned to properly patrol our existing parks, Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director are seeking a grant to develop another park, at the former incinerator plant near Basin Street. Who is going to maintain an additional park after the grant runs out in year one? Who is going to provide safety at such an out of the way place? It's time for our park director, Linday Taylor, to seek the counsel of people familiar with Allentown and the parks. For her information, that would not include Ed Pawlowski.

I'm sure that Ms. Taylor saw a recent letter to the paper criticizing the grow zones along our park creeks.  She should realize that the next mayor will most likely have more familiarity with the traditional park system, which does not include weed zones, that block both access and view of the streams.  Allentown parks were created along the streams to add to the park experience, not to be a science experiment for the Wildlands Conservancy.  Although the mayor may praise the new park signs, even they are symbolic of the new superficiality,  which is not appreciated by most Allentonians.  Ms. Taylor would do well to realize that soon  there will be a new mayor, with an appreciation of Allentown's iconic park system.  By that criterion, there will be a lot to mow and repair.

reprinted from June of 2016

ADDENDUM: Since publishing this piece in 2016,  both  Ed Pawlowski and Lindsay Taylor are gone.  While park icons were left to crumble,  we purchased and installed the outdoor prison yard exercise equipment shown above.  Although, it makes the released gang members feel at home in Allentown,  it wasted our scarce park dollars.