Local Government TV

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Remember The Muhlenberg Five

While a bunch of political wannabes scurry around Muhlenberg College, very impressed with themselves and lauding a decision to toss a political foe off campus, I am reminded of a different time when young people realized that free speech is a little more important than some goofy primary endorsement. Rather than acting as field directors for some Chicago pol, this group aimed a little higher.

Don Miles, who sometimes does us all the honor of posting his thoughts here, is the attorney who represented the Muhlenberg Five, arrested for the dastardly crime of distributing anti-war literature on Muhlenberg's campus. A young assistant DA named Richard Orloski wanted to drop the charges, but Lehigh County judges refused.

After years of litigation that eventually ended up in the state supreme court, the First Amendment was vindicated against a college and community that thought it could step all over people who got in their way. As Miles sadly notes, "Some things never change ..."

A good friend has a Bethlehem Globe-Times news clipping and posted a link yesterday, and I thought I'd load it here. Perhaps the Muhlenberg College Democrats should read it. Sometimes the past is worth remembering.

17 comments:

  1. Bernnie check out the fundraiser for your pal Schlosberg. Big $$$ event. Jen Mann a host. Sweyer also a host. Elemr Gates all the Pawlowski crowd.

    What a crook this kid is already in the pocket of Team Pawlowski. So much for Allentown.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting, Bernie's Anon hatchet buddies are up early again today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I spent six hours collecting signatures on Hamilton Street and surrounding areas yesterday.

    In the process I had many conversations with business owners and down town residents.

    Many, many empty apartments, out of town business owners, vacant store fronts and little traffic on the streets.

    General state of grime and dirt as well.

    Most businesses I went in to visit had few customers in the morning.

    All of this was in stark contrast to the Allentown I knew not that long ago when I worked in Center City.

    People sleeping in the DD at the Allentown Transportation Center.

    For the most part was snubbed and treated with arrogance by many of the PennDot, PPL and County Workers I approached. Most claimed not to be from Allentown.

    Not only is the community made up of residents, businesses and buildings but people as well.

    It is evident there are a number of different worlds in downtown Allentown.

    At least for me yesterday was a day of many lessons.

    Apparent that the current administration prefers the isolated opulence of an undergraduate campus in the West End from which to cull their political cronies.

    Oh well so much for Allentown and the realities of life there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anon 2:46, I will check it out. If this is true, it is disturbing. Mann employee Schweyer is clearly a Pawlwoski sychophant and has clearly demonstrated in his short stint on council that he detests A-town's low-income residents. Elmer Gates is part of the Lehigh Valley partnership, and unelected group of aristocrats who buy politicians. When I speak to Schlossberg, I'll ask him why a city council candidate needs to do this sort of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If Schlossberg has an ounce of Common Sense, he will run as far away fom you as he can. I can see your hatchet shining behind your back. You know he worked for Jen Mann. You are only setting the stage so you can pretend to be impartial and shocked. You're so full of shit.
    Yes, I work for the County, and no, I'm not going to tell you who I am.
    MS also worked for Donny C. How you going to justify that?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Apparently, he does not. I've already had lunch w/ him about a year ago and he has already agreed to an interview about his council race. I realize wou would like to see nothing but pictures of daisies and butterflies, but the pay to play suggestion is a good one.

    Where you work, incidentally, is irrelevant. The truth is you are using anonymity as a shield behind which you spew venom. You make yourself & King Edwin look far worse than I can ever do on my own, so thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Mann employee Schweyer is clearly a Pawlwoski sychophant and has clearly demonstrated in his short stint on council that he detests A-town's low-income residents."

    You show how little you know. Schweyer and Pawlowski can't stand each other. If you get either of them in a conversation that is off the record, they will rip into each other. But Pawlowski knows he can't piss off Schweyer b/c he works for Jennifer Mann and Schweyer knows he can't piss of Pawlowski b/c he would make it impossible to get anything moving on council.

    Don't delude yourself into thinking these two are in the same nest. Couldn't be further from the truth. The only think they have in common is that they want to squash people who think they are in bed together.

    Want to watch something interesting: follow most of the votes on council. Schweyer, D'Amore and Donovan have a good working relationship and are constantly struggling with an administration that sets up road blocks left and right. The other 4 are all over the place and can't work with anybody else.

    If you want to really throw allentown upside down, throw O'Connel and Schlossberg on council to work with D'Amore, Schweyer and Donovan to create a veto-proof majority that could withstand pawlowski's non-sense. With Ed's re-election likely, that is the only thing that is going to start changing how allentown function.

    Take it from a friend Bernie. Schweyer could be Ed Pawlowski's ultimate undoing after 2010. Just sit back and watch.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "You show how little you know. Schweyer and Pawlowski can't stand each other."

    I am willing and hopeful I will be proved wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  9. “If you want to really throw allentown upside down, throw O'Connel and Schlossberg on council to work with D'Amore, Schweyer and Donovan to create a veto-proof majority that could withstand pawlowski's non-sense. With Ed's re-election likely, that is the only thing that is going to start changing how allentown function.”

    Oh please, how gullible are we supposed to be to think that different liberals would bring about a different result? So, clashing personalities are Allentown’s only hope? I’m not optimistic and I think it is fair to write that no one else should be. In the end it will just take them longer to agree on how much more money to borrow.

    Scott Armstrong

    ReplyDelete
  10. Scott Armstrong is generally just another Republican right wingnut looking for a Democrat to bash but in this case I agree. He is an R zealot as there are D zealots, fortunately they donot make up the majority.

    Sorry for the rant, but he is correct this time. Check out the list Bernnie. I know Mikey is all smiles and nice but he is all Schweyer and King Ed. These guys are not going to admit it. You jump on people by who they are associated with, check it out. Don C. is on the list and I know you love him, but then Mike helped him get elected and is working on the Gov. thing.
    It seems the entire Chamber is a sponser. As a businessperson this is what I was upset about some time back with Iannelli hawking more pols out of his organization. I am hoping it stops. Problem is the Partnership is a big player in the Chamber and this is a way to get the 'right' people into elected positions.

    Already the disinformation is flying in on how he and Schweyer will take on Ed., right just like Jenn Mann does in helping the Downtown, HAHAHA.

    Come on guys, you will probably pull it off but don't polish a turd and call it a steak sandwich.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anon 8:09,

    I've seen Schweyer twice on city council. The two times I saw him in action he was a Pawlowski puppet. He's the dude who screws the little guy with yard sale permits. He's the guy who claimed it was just wonderful that a long-time restauranteur was being chucked from the municipal golf course. My conclusion right now is that he is a Pawlowski sycophant who has no regard for A-town's low-income residents.

    But to be fair, I have not seen enough of him. I would really need to go to a few more meetings before reaching a conclusion.

    ReplyDelete
  12. If a belief in small government makes me a “right wing nut” then that speaks of your extremism not mine. I could respond that those who slander others without the courage to use their names are cowards. Now that statement, unlike yours seems to have some merit.

    Scott Armstrong

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Scott, people post anon. get over it. your theme of bashing anon. comments is getting as old as your predictable spins.
    signed, an anon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What is old and predictable is cowardice, your cowardice and the cowardice of all who hide behind "anonymous" to slander.

    Scott Armstrong

    ReplyDelete
  15. "But to be fair, I have not seen enough of him. I would really need to go to a few more meetings before reaching a conclusion."

    O'Hare, you are such a flaming asshole. Oopsie. Anonymous personal attack? Or qualified opinion? Hmm.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I thoroughly believe in small and limited government. So did the founding fathers.

    ReplyDelete
  17. executive order #19...No more talk radio,too much R talk. #20, No more NASCAR, too big of a carbon footprint, #21...No more hospitals, Barack will tell you when you are sick or not, #22 No more guns.. someone may shoot Barack, #23.. No more America..Nancy needs the military to serve and protect only her, #24.. Harry Reid it to busy sucking up to worry about you peeons that have to pay back americas $$40,000 per man, woman, and child debt that they created. Need me to go on? Our government has bankrupt the country and now in the past few months they have added another $4 trillion to YOUR debt. Yet they want to still increase govt. OY VEH!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.