Can you take Scott Armstrong twice in one week? Are you sure? Before you read any further, please make sure you've taken all your pills. Today is Thursday, so don't take Friday's pills.Are you sitting down? OK, here's Scott's latest ditty, which is cross-published at Allentown Commentator.
When I was a child there was a popular TV show called "The Outer Limits." It was a serial that explored the unusual, the weird and the paranormal. Upon hearing Mayor Ed Pawlowski's announcement that he has changed the city motto to "City Without Limits," the memory of this long forgotten program instantly came back to mind. The truth is that I and many other residents no doubt feel like we are part of that old program, trapped in a scenario that involves strange nincompoops ruining our city while enjoying the almost robotic support of many of our neighbors. How frightening is this?
Of course, the sane Allentonians can't hope to wake up from this nightmare. The ruination of Allentown isn't a bad dream; it is what we live with everyday and the reality of four more years of Pawlowski and company control is a more frightening prospect than any scenario from that old TV show. Strange, isn't it, a once normal everyday American city becomes almost overnight a place of almost total absurdity where nothing is as it, was, or as it should be while at the same time a voice is telling us , "there is nothing wrong with your city; do not attempt to make any adjustments; we will control this city; sit back, relax, you are experiencing the Outer Limits."
21 comments:
Maybe Scott is too young to remember or maybe he didn't grow up in Allentown, but what happened was that a handful of Puerto Rican families moved into town and there was an exodus of Biblical proportions known as "white flight," many many many of whom were REpublicans and more worried about housing values than sticking by their communities. Republicans will always sell their grandmothers for a nickel so they'll stick their community for less. If you want to see a community that didn't abandon its city and stuck together, go across the river to Bethlehem.
12:08 is right.
I was not born in the LV (hence I am a furriner) - but I watched what happened over the last 40 years. - The racists abandoned the city because some folks with darker skin moved in - the tax base disappeared - and now the closet racists blame the hispanic and black residents. Typical.
Allentown is doomed - and it was the whites that did the damage. Read David 1206's comments over at the Call comments boards for an example of the sick, twisted minds in the Valley. He hasn't even figured out that most Hispanics aren't from Puerto Rico (and they're US citizens, doncha know.
By 2015, 60% of the citizenry in the US under 16 will be non-white. Change is coming and there is nothing the racists can do about it. By 2050, whites will be the minority in this country.
You're wrong about this one. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Repeating the old, "Allentown stinks" mantra is so yesterday. It's what old, bitter white people who deserted the city and now live on a cul-de-sac in the sububurbs where they drink too much do. Meanwhile, there is a distinct movement of young, happening, creative, ethnically diverse dynamos who are the pulse of this dynamic place -- and who have rolled up their sleeves to contribute the life in this city.
If you don't know about what's going on, then you don't know what's going ON.
All cities have their problems. When NYC launched it's I LOVE NY campaign it was right after it almost went bankrupt. The Dog Day Afternoon/Serpico years.
Heck, even Emmaus with its grisly murders a few years back ain't Mayberry anymore.
Allentown is has some incredible people doing a terrific job. Didn't your mother teach you if you can't say something nice about someone don't say anything at all?
anons 12:08, 12:40 3:09, few citizens have "rolled up their sleeves" as much as scott armstrong. he literally picked up the litter in the west park neighborhood for over a decade. at pawlowski's pep rally, the mayor asked people like yourself to be cheerleaders. what you seem to all have in common, is anonymously implying that those who speak out must be neocon racists.
The new city slogan should read 'City Without Campaign Contribution Limits.'
Anons 12:08, 12:40 & 3:09 -
Wow, ignoring the facts and playing the race card - how original.
I guess you've run out of pages in the progressive playbook.
Mike,
Thanks for the kinds words. I would add that everyone suffers from the ineptitude of the current administration. My Latino friends want nothing more than to move out of the high crime areas of the city. Don’t African American parents worry about the dismal state of the city’s schools?
I wasn’t born here, we moved into the valley in the 80’s for reasons related to employment. We chose to live in Allentown because we wanted the diversity and the green economy of city life. We love our neighborhood and our house, however in light of everything we are making no long term plans to stay.
Scott Armstrong
Call: Thurs. Jan 21.
Robbers tie up man in west Allentown home
A man was tied up by two armed men who then went through the man's home taking laptops and a gun in an apparent home-invasion robbery last night in west Allentown, police said.
Here's a great one: The Pawlowski cheerleader from Spark who coined the phrase "A City Without Limits" just had an armed home invasion 2 blocks from his house on Tuesday, in which APD had to warn area residents to keep their doors locked. My suggestion for a new city slogan: "Allentown: A City with locked doors"
"The new city slogan should read 'City Without Campaign Contribution Limits.'"
Good one.
At least 3 Lehigh Students were robbed within a block of campus within the last two weeks, so whats your point? Is that city now some crumbling memory?
Things happen. At the end of the day Allentown, different areas to different degrees, is still a really great place to live.
"Meanwhile, there is a distinct movement of young, happening, creative, ethnically diverse dynamos who are the pulse of this dynamic place -- and who have rolled up their sleeves to contribute the life in this city."
I have to agree with this, there are many of us attempting to make a change in A-town, and while Scott Armstrong and M. Molovinsky have done and continue to do what they feel is right for the city, (whether it is picking up trash or publicly documenting the failures of the leading administration) it will take a new generation of movers and shakers to bring A-town back to its glory. It's NOT MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, but it is going to take more than words and slogans. Let's MAKE IT HAPPPEN, SHALL WE.....
Alfonso Todd
www.5minutes2shine.blogspot.com
What happens to minorities who achieve and amass sufficient capital to relocate from the Allentown's of the area, if they wish?
Do they?
I think the flight issue is more about safety and economics than it is about race. I have minority neighbors in my suburban municipality. We share a common bond in that none of us feel any desire to move to Allentown.
Alfonso,
While I respect your optimism life has taught me that the world is what it is rather than what we want it to be and sometimes “will” is not enough to make positive change. The only change that will have a chance to succeed is what is approved by city hall. Run afoul of their desires and see what happens.
Scott Armstrong
My grandparents raised 8 kids in a row home on the westside of Allentown, and lived there for over fifty years. Things I can remember: Neighbors sitting out on the porch on summer nights. People sweeping and washing their sidewalks. My grandparents telling us kids to keep it down because we would disturb the neighbors. Being told to go outside to play because it was too nice to be inside. Supper was at suppertime, and it was only served then. You were expected to be there. People saying hello as they walked past the house. Pennsylvania Dutch was spoken in the house, but English was spoken, and they didn't expect special treatment. If someone was not good with the language, they would help them learn, not laugh at their mistakes. My grandfather put food on the table, drove an ash truck picking up ashes from the coal stoves in the city, and had pride in his work, no matter what anyone thought about his job. His kids ate first, and he ate last. Like most, they paid cash. If they didn't have cash, he did without. They didn't have much in terms of money, but they had family, and that was their fortune. They would often walk. My aunts and uncles, and my mom were expected to help with the family chores. If they stepped out of line, I'm told that they were made to go out back and bring back a switch! There was a picture of JFK on the living room wall. They didn't always vote, but didn't let politics consume them. They were too busy getting along with life. They took time to enjoy each other's company. If they had a couple of potatoes, they could make a meal somehow. They drank water from the tap, knowing it was water, and nothing else. And they would wash from the basin. When I was 16, I worked with my grandfather at his last job at the Allentown Fairgrounds. He was 75. He worked harder at his job than many I know today. Never late,never a complaint. A job was a blessing, not a right. And a paycheck was something you earned, not given. It was people like my grandparents who made their home a great place to live. They didn't need a city slogan to make it great, or better. Somehow, no matter where we live, I think we have gotten away from some of these basic things.
Look at all the hatred directed at white people!
The Progressive Playbook is built on playing the race card.
And the sheeple always fall for it.
Very sad, how some people are constantly suckered for their support.
Hope and Change?
I've lived here just over ten years and I can understand the "white flight" quite well. When you are told as I was that your rights under the law are less than someone else's because you do not belong to a certain "group" there are few options left but to flee. Some might call what this city's administration does reverse racism. I just call it racism.
I also consider it racist when people treat others, when they do something wrong or break the law, as if they were mentally challenged children just because they are of a different race.
This only attracts and enables the type of individuals who will take full advantage of a city with no limits.
I may flee but I will do so on my own terms and not be pushed out as my friends have been.
I guess I should mention that I have Latino relatives whom I love very much and have had good friends of all races but I shouldn't have to.
The law is the law and should be applied equally to all but in Allentown if you are not part of a certain "group" you are a second class citizen and that's a fact.
"The only change that will have a chance to succeed is what is approved by city hall. Run afoul of their desires and see what happens."
Scott, I understand your thoughts and you have a reason to feel them as many of the older and original Allentownians do after seeing their beloved city fall from grace.
I believe you put too much faith in City Hall. I'm from a generation that states if you want something done right, then do it yourself. If I had waited on City Hall or asked them to do every event I have done for the communities in A-town over the past years, NOTHING would have been accomplished. Too much political involvement and not enough community action.
Scott,I had run afoul of their desires a LONG time ago. (smile) THAT is why I keep doing what I do in the communities to hopefully show them that the people in Allentown must be INCLUDED in their plans if they plan to move ahead. It's easy to blame a "type" of people for the city's downfall and then give nickels and dimes to favored community groups and HOPE they change their neighborhoods with short-lived or inconsistent programs.
The people want and have to be included in the re-development of A-town or NOTHING will happen.
Did you know that there are many businesses on Hamilton and 7th Street who STILL don't know about the new logo and are upset that no one included them in the plans?
As one business owner stated, " We can vote on a mascot for the Steelpigs at Coca Cola Park but we can't have input for a logo that will represent us for years to come?"
PRECISELY...
Alfonso
ALFONSO TODD & ASSOCIATES
Alfonso,
I put no faith in the(or any) administration. I am a conservative, I believe in small government and in the power of the people to manage their own affairs. However the administration of municipalities is up to those we(they) elect. When residents choose to elect and re-elect people for the wrong reasons and gross mismanagement is allowed to occur for consecutive years the results will of course negatively effect the quality of life of the municipalities residents. The sort of ineptitude and corruption on the scale such as is occurring in this city outweighs any singular positive actions of individuals. I for one will not subject myself forever to the governance of the incompetent and corrupt. It is unreasonable to expect any sane person to stay in such an environment.
Scott Armstrong
Here's what I have to say about people who live in the city of Allentown and leave, then complain about it...they are cowards, plain and simple.
If you dislike what is being done by the administration, why not stay and run for council or Mayor? If that's not your cup of tea, volunteer or chair a committee. Sit on a commission. There are a thousand ways to contribute to forwarding the policies you believe in.
Running away is not the answer.
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