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.
So is your boudy Callahan and your other mancrusehes. Do you have a point, or just more of your misleading hate.
ReplyDelete"SIX SHOOT IN BETHLEHEM-EM
SIX SHOT IN BETHLEHEM-EM"
Yeah, I have a point. It's obscene that King Edwin would ask people to give him 2,500 when 23.9% of his City is at or under the poverty level. Are you his sugar plum?
ReplyDeleteAs for my other so-called mancrushes, no question Callahan is a good fundraiser, but Pawlowski has perfected it to a science. Charlie Dent would be in jail if he took $10,000 from JB Reilly. Most of Angle's donations are small amounts, and Stoffa funded his own campaign, refusing to take a dime from anyone.
But bc 6 people (2 from Allentown and 4 from Easton) were shot in Bethlehem, we should blame Callahan. Alrighty then.
John Stoffa accepted a $4000 check form Jack Bradt former Republican Party Chair. How do you think those unskilled Repulbicans like Marcus got his job.
ReplyDeleteThat's kooky. Under this reasoning, it necessarily follows that if any Democrat gives $4,000 to a candidate, and that candidate thereafter appoints a Democrat to a position, it must be because of that contribution. It's ridiculous on its face. Under your reasoning, virtually every officeholder appointed by Reibman owes his job to $4,000 contributors. You've been making this same argument since 2006, Glenn. It is just as goofy now as it was when you lost. Now go back to sleep, and maybe you can stay awake at work tomorrow,
ReplyDeleteYour attacks on Glenn Reibman are clear. You really know damn well Mr. Reibman wouldn't dirty himself on your blog. You also are well aware that both Mr.Reibman and Lamont McClure are running against your boy Callaha,n for County Executive. KLook for Callahan to come in third.
ReplyDeleteThis is out there and on Facebook. You know it and are pretending to be in the dark as you bash Mr. McClure and Mr. Reibman.
Just as you know the only reason a bitter prtisan pol, such as the old party chair would give money to the other party candidate, is if he gets something out of it. He did and you know it.
Grace is not something store bought.
ReplyDeleteat least there will be somebody in the Sangria that night.
ReplyDeleteScott Armstrong
More like a lump of coal for Allentown taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteLet's see.....we have the sugar cane level of giving, the gingerbread level of giving, and the sugar plum level of giving to Ed's campaign. He forgot one more level........."The all day sucker"
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think 2:40 really is Reibman. After all, Reibman does have narcolepsy. And this 2-3 AM poster is a bitter hater who directs most of his venom at Stoffa.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be a King, but it's even better to be a Brooks Brother.
ReplyDeleteWE don't give to politicians like Pawlowski ...
... politicians like Pawlowski give gifts (like a $ 177.0 million hockey rink) to cool guys like US!
Hokie Joe,
ReplyDeleteBest comment of the week.
You are a hater that posts all day long, and directs his venom at McClure and Reibman. Scares the beejessus out of you to know they are runnning.
ReplyDeleteYour glory days at the courthouse are coming to an end. You rboy Callahan doesn't have a chance.
"Now go back to sleep, and maybe you can stay awake at work tomorrow,"
ReplyDeleteThat's just funny. I love this blog. Thanks, Bernie.
Reibman was asleep at the wheel ... and in the office ... and on the bridge ... and on the can ... and while he should have been smelling the coffee. His own party tossed him. That's an achievement.
ReplyDeleteHey /---- youse gotta pay to play!
ReplyDeleteKing palumpa took a five hundred dollar campaign donation and no permit pulled basement remodel to have his underlings look the other way at murders¿
ReplyDeleteLove that Mr. Reibman is running and love that it is driving O'Hare and his teabgger friends crazy. They are left to making fun of an illness. I guess it would be better off if he was a drunk.
ReplyDeleteCallahan would do better to change his registration to Republican becasue the county Dem's don't want another Stoffa. He will swamp Callahan at the polls.
No more baths in the courthouse restrooms, Bernie.
How many times has Glenn fallen asleep on the county can? Yep, it will be great to see him back in there. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to more bribery and 70% tax hikes. Just what we need.
ReplyDeleteCallahan makes Reibman look like a Saint. Cry yourself to sleep Bernie.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Callahan's right hand man, Michael Solomon, engaged in bribery. No, wait that was Reibman.
ReplyDeleteBut Callahan raised taxes 70% in Bethlehem. No wait, that was Reibman, too.
But Callahan deleted the reserves. No wait, that was Reibman, too. But Callahan blew $111 million in taxpayer money on projects the County did not need. Oh wait, that was Reibman.
Yeah, he'll be a real formidable candidate.
Callanan is Phil Mittman II .
ReplyDeleteCan I get in for free?
ReplyDeleteBob Cratchit
Callahan has run the city dry dispite the casino fees.
ReplyDeleteCallahan wouldn't have the redevelopment without the county bond issue.
The more you campaign for him, the more encouraged his opponents are.
Casino fee - $9.3 million.
ReplyDeletePension payment (set up long before he was mayor) - $11.1 million.
That's where the casino host fee is going, as I pointed out in a post two weeks ago.
Now we have someone who is trying to think outside the box, like Callahan, against the man who gave us: (1) bribery; (2) 70% tax hike; (3) $25 MM swaption; and (4) 11 unions.
Need I say more?
You can say Callahan is Phil Mittman II.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait. You already said that.
He said a lot more in 2010 when Johynny Casino ran against Charlie Dent. Of course after Bernie's meeting with his Callahan clan buddy, all of a suddent the mayor who has done nothing different since 2010, is now a gereat man.
ReplyDeleteIt would be unbelievable if it wasn't true.
Like I have said before, I oposed Callahan when he ran against Dent for numerous reasons. His DC handlers refused to let him talk to me. He dodged issues. Bethlehem finances were in the shitter.
ReplyDeleteBut Callahan now is leading from the front. He has made great changes in Bethlehem finances so that it finished last year with a cash balance of $200,000, a first in nearly 30 years. And he is now accessible. He has had some very innovative ideas in this year's budget that display he is thinking outside the box.
When Callahan acts in a way I can't support, I'll call him on it, just as I do to anyone. When he acts in an innovative way and practices good government, he deserves credit for that, too.
Funny how that happened just as he decided to run for County Executive and right after you met with one of his top operatives.
ReplyDeleteCoincidence is a funny thing.
Funny how you have no idea what you are talking about. You believe your own lies.
ReplyDeleteEven former mayor Cunningham said that if the casino fees had been managed correctly there would be no need for a tax increase.
ReplyDeleteCallahan through poor management let the pension get away from him and has been practicing poor leadership for years.
Unfortunatley as he gets ready to bolt for Northampton County, the residents of Bethlehem have to clean up the mess he and his henchmen are leaving.
Former Mayor Cunningham had no idea that his City was going to see a spiraling pension cost. Nobody saw that until 2006-2007. If you saw it, where were you then?
ReplyDeleteWahhh. Don't blame Johnnny Casino for not doing the job he was elected to do. That is the same whine you have made for Stoffa's horrible tenure.
ReplyDeleteWant some cheese with that whine?
Glenn, you woke up! See 'ya again at 2 AM
ReplyDeleteBernie:
ReplyDelete"As for my other so-called mancrushes, no question Callahan is a good fundraiser, but Pawlowski has perfected it to a science. Charlie Dent would be in jail if he took $10,000 from JB Reilly. Most of Angle's donations are small amounts, and Stoffa funded his own campaign, refusing to take a dime from anyone."
JB Reilly contributed over $25,000 to Dent's campaign since 2008. You're an idiot.
As for your boy Callahan, he raised $2.4M to run against Dent and was beaten handily. By the way, the maximum contribution under FEC rules for that cycle was $4,800 ($2,400 primary; $2,400 general). Callahan had how many max out donors? Oh right..it's OK for John Callahan to ask people from out of state (NY, CA, DC, etc.) for $4,800, as well as just about everyone who does business with Bethlehem for $4,800 for his miserable run for Congress, but Ed Pawlowski can't ask the same for his mayoral re-elect?
Tell me, why shouldn't politicians raise money?
Let me answer that for you: ONLY politicians who Bernie likes should be allowed to raise money.
Do us all a favor and learn to fact-check.
Why don't you do us all a favor and be honest. Yes, JB Reilly has given gobs of money to Dent, but not all at once. he is LIMITED by federal law, something that does not apply to Pawlowski. And in races where $2 million is needed, $25k is chump change. In local races, involving our boy Pawlowski, this is obscene.
ReplyDeleteI don't see your point, Bernie. Plenty of candidates have been elected to Congress without spending $2.5M+, as Callahan did when he was crushed by Dent. Even this past cycle, Missa Eaton (CD-3), who raised less than $250k all cycle, was closer to victory than Kathy Boockvar and her millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
ReplyDeleteAs far as PA election rules go, I'm all for limits. However, they don't exist, so again, what's your point? You've admitted that Pawlowski, like every other state and local politician (except candidates in Philadelphia County) is allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of money from non-corporate donors. Unless there is some strange provision in the law that I am unaware of, this rule applies equally for Democrats and Republicans. It applies to Callahan. It applies to Pawlowski. It applies to just about everyone (minus the Philadelphia candidates) in state/local PA Politics.
And don't go thinking that John Callahan doesn't have donors who have ponied up $10k, $20k or more for his Mayoral election. He does. So if Pawlowski shouldn't be allowed to take money from JB Reilly, why is it OK for Callahan to take "obscene" money from Petrucci, Majestic, and others?
Is it OK for Luke Ravenstahl to raise $1.5M+, $25k at a time, for re-election in Pittsburgh -- a city with only 307,000 residents (only 2.5 times as many as Allentown's 119,000)? Because if that is acceptable, then you should have no problem with Pawlowski raising $600k+ for his re-elect (which is proportional to the relative populations). Also, just so we're clear here, Pittsburgh's poverty rate is well north of 22% (and Allentown's, I believe you quoted, is around 23%?).
At the end of the day Bernie, you're wrong. Admit it. Pawlowski, in this case, has done nothing wrong. Politicians are allowed to raise money as long as it is done in a manner consistent with all applicable state and local campaign finance laws. Show me how Pawlowski violated any laws, and I'll give up right now.
At the end of the day, it costs $2 million plus to run for Congrtess in Pa. Fr a local public official to compare himself to a congressional candidate is just nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAnd Luke Ravensthall is obscene, too. I certainly do not mean to defend, but condemn him. It's outrageous and should leave all of us with a bad taste in our mouths.
Bernie:
ReplyDeleteLet us accept your premise that it takes $2M+ to run for Congress in PA.
The average Congressional District has about 700,000 voters in it.
That means that, by your estimation, Pawlowski should be permitted to raise just about $350,000 for his re-elect. But wait! Members of Congress are elected every two years, so over the same term as a municipal official, they raise nearly $4M (including leadership PAC funds).
That means that Pawlowski should be permitted to raise about $700,000 over four years.
Sound right?
Still nothing, Bernie? Still trying to crunch those numbers in such a way that you can justify your ridiculous assertion that every politician you like should be permitted to raise (and spend) whatever amount of money they want, while those you loathe should be prohibited from doing the same?
ReplyDeleteThere is no logical argument you can make as to why one politician shouldn't be allowed to raise money while others do.
So let me ask this question, very simply:
Has Ed Pawlowski, by taking money from JB Reilly, broken any laws?
He has repeatedly violated campaign finance laws. I can think of three separate instances of him having done so. So the answer is yes. I have blogged about each instance.
ReplyDeleteYet when John Callahan's Congressional campaign has over $200k unaccounted for, where is your outrage? When John Callahan used his Mayoral funds (unlimited, remember?) to fund his self & opposition research for his Congressional race, that was OK?
ReplyDeleteSelective prosecution gets you nowhere. And try reading the question: Did Ed Pawlowski violate any campaign finance laws by taking money from JB Reilly? The answer is no.
"Yet when John Callahan's Congressional campaign has over $200k unaccounted for, where is your outrage? When John Callahan used his Mayoral funds (unlimited, remember?) to fund his self & opposition research for his Congressional race, that was OK? "
ReplyDeleteIt was there and I blogged about it. But Pawlwoski, unlike Callahan or most normal politicians, has actually violated Pa. campaign finance laws on three separate occasions. I know bc I am the one who caught each violation.
They all play games, which is what makes this blog such fun. But nobody thumbs his nose at the law like Pawlowski. Nobody abuses the system as much as he. That's just the way it is.