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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Monday, September 15, 2014

Lehigh Valley Without Love?

George Wacker drinking vegan beer.
One thing missing from George Wacker's Linked-In resume is his entertaining blog, Lehigh Valley With Love. Perhaps he thinks the stuffed shirts and suits who read the crap people post about themselves at Linked-In, would be turned off. Fuck 'em. I enjoy Wacker's wackiness, But since becoming Communications Manager at Discover Lehigh Valley, he's pretty much toned things down at his irreverent blog. He steers clear of pretty anything beyond snarking the subjects of local stories, especially when they involve dumb criminals. There is one exception. He's willing to risk his corporate career over Vegan Treats. It's him or them.

Located near Liberty High School between Linden Street and Easton Avenue, it's a great bakery and custard shop for vegans or people with different food allergies. Their deserts and soft ice cream taste just as good or better than anything you'll find in other bakeries. But Wacker hates the place. Maybe it's because there's no booze.

His latest hit piece questions whether Vegan Treats is really vegan. Someone spotted a Chex brand cereal box inside the store. What's worse, the sprinkles used on deserts are made out of shellac, which Wacker claims is "SUPER not vegan."

You know that glaze you see on donuts? Raisenettes? It comes straight out of the ass of a insect. It's called shellac.

Holy shellac!

So when that candy bar you're gobbling tastes like shit, that might be because it is. But for most, once you've had shellac, you won't go back.

Some of the vegans are going nutz over this, and Vegan Treats has decided to pull its sprinkles and Chex Mix until it learns whether zillions of innocent insects have been killed as a result of our corporate greed for their assholes.

"Maybe they just died of old age<" suggests fellow blogger independent state house candidate Michael Molovinsky.

That's Michael, who always looks for a way to make lemonade out of lemons instead of talking shit, even insect shit.

Geprge Wacker, on the other hand, needs to lighten up on Vegan Treats. George, do you see me going after unethical businesses or politicians? You should try to be nice like Molovinsky and me. Your salary is indirectly coming from the Lehigh Valley Partnership, and those bastards want us all to choke on shellac.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

How this double-DUI douchebag who was fired from the Express Times has a job promoting anything is really unbelievable, let alone having him on camera drinking. Not only that, but he openly tweets and write on his blog shaming valley residents during what are clearly work hours and is somehow getting paid at the time from Discover Lehigh Valley? Something there doesn't add up. He also shits on great local businesses like Vegan Treats, which is a tourist destination, while working for the LV's tourism bureau?

That doesn't even touch on the fact that he openly bashed a gay bar that was opening last year (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bNQcWhkJZ7EJ:https://www.facebook.com/LehighValleyWithLove/posts/10151461136209701+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a) and after a local blogger (http://viewbeyondbethlehem.blogspot.com/2013/03/part-two-gay-jokes-are-funny.html) shamed him and people complained to his boss that the post mysteriously disappeared from his website.

He doesn't seem like someone that should be in his position, and based on his past history, it's a shock he was even hired. Given the Vegan Treats incident and last year's incident with the gay bar bashing, he should be fired immediately.

Bernie O'Hare said...

George is irreverent, not a gay basher or vegan hater. He writes a blog he intends to be taken lightly. He's actually a much nicer person than I. Like any person who is trying to be funny, he sometimes goes too far. I think that was Donald's point when he complained about the gay jokes. As for Vegan treats, this is one matter he is taking far too seriously. Aside from vegans, who really gives a shit about the sprinkles being made up of insect shit? This post was intended to be a light one, too. i have no desire to bash George or Vegan Treats. I like them both, though I like Vegan Treats more.

Are you suggesting that a two-time drunk driver, assuming the truth of your allegation, is unfit for employment? A tad harsh, wouldn't you say?

monkey momma said...

Wacker's blog is brilliant. He is a great writer who cuts straight into the heart of a story and mines it for everything it's worth. He can be very offensive, but he's an equal opportunity offender. No one is safe.

In the case of Vegan Treats, the owner put herself out there on social media, blasting Billy's Downtown Diner for it's "veganesque" omelet. I wouldn't say she had it coming, but she certainly participated in creating the drama that subsequently unfolded.

At any rate, I really love Wacker's blog. I think it's probably not the best thing for his career, however, and he's getting older and more mature, and thus less likely to want to throw the shit around that his younger self enjoyed throwing. Given his undeniable talent in writing, he should be growing and changing his style. If he plays his cards right, he will find an audience well beyond the Lehigh Valley.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Monkey Momma, George is a brilliant writer, I agree.

Anonymous said...

Not saying he's unemployable, but is that really the person that you want on camera pounding beers and promoting the Brew Works? And you can check the court dockets for yourself, I know you know how.

The point is, he's making money (by advertising on his blog) by bashing local businesses while simultaneously working as a tourism professional. That's a huge conflict of interest.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I can and did check Northampton County's court dockets. All I saw were traffic offenses.

Bernie O'Hare said...

That's Lehigh County. Did not look there. Looks like one that resulted in ARD and a first offense DUI. So your statement is accurate. I don't think these offenses make him unemployable, given his obvious talent. As for business bashing, I'd agree his current employment should prevent him from saying anything negative about a local business. You're right.

Anonymous said...

He's acting and drinking like many local politicians, getting paid by taxpayers and getting arrested for multiple DUI's.

Bernie (OH), Boscola, Browne, Brennan & now (then) Wacker.

I need to buy a vowel, any Italians to add to the list?

Bernie O'Hare said...

I've never been charged with a DUI, though i should have been.

Anonymous said...

Say you did to stay in such great company!

Bernie O'Hare said...

I would prefer that company any day of the week to that of an anonymous troll unwilling to sign his name and who himself has a DUI.

Anonymous said...

VT pointed out that Billy's omelette name was absurd.

Wacker seems to have taken offense to this and has made it his mission to get payback.

Some people just can't fathom a vegan or vegetarian and are offended by them much like people are offended by the mere existence of an atheist. They don't care what you do until you verbalize it - then they attack you.

monkey momma said...

VT did not simply state that Billy's omelette's name was absurd.

She asked vegans to boycott the restaurant and to call and complain relentlessly. She posted this on social media publicly. It was a mean spirited swipe at a competitor over what? A name like "veganesque"???

I mean, it was ridiculous. The kind of thing that gets vegans named militant. And her subsequent participation in this conversation was similarly bitchy and not very kind. The whole thing is stupid, because it's obviously not hurting Billy's business AND the omelette is obviously NOT vegan. What vegan thinks the "veganesque" omelette (IN QUOTES) is vegan??? What's absurd is telling people to boycott a business and to harass them with relentless phone calls because you don't get a joke. And you don't understand what "esque" means on the end of a word.

This is exactly the type of story LVWL will latch onto with glee. I don't see how Wacker could possibly stay away from it. It's priceless. And the best part is, the omelette remains unchanged on the menu. It is delicious, too.

Anonymous said...

She asked vegans to boycott the restaurant and to call and complain relentlessly. She posted this on social media publicly. It was a mean spirited swipe at a competitor over what? A name like "veganesque"???

She didn't tell anyone to boycott. She didn't tell anyone to complain relentlessly. And Billy's is not a competitor. She has no competitor that's why she doesn't care. I'm glad you like the vegetarian omelette.

Anonymous said...

The Stersic guy that runs the tourism sham is just another publically funded job for a lifer. He is another one of the "growth club" guys who is like flycrap and shows up everywhere but in an office working. He gets all the freebies like the others do. It is no surprise a guy like the above got this job,. Someone made a call and said give him a job. He got a job.

that is the new Lehigh Valley. There is a crowd that takes care of one another. Most of the time we pay for it.

You are welcome!

monkey momma said...

In October of 2013, she posted on her Vegan Treats Facebook page the phone number for Billy's and asked people to call them to ask that the Veganesque omelet be removed from the menu. (She since removed that post.)

It's a free country - she can post whatever she wants! But it was a bitch move that caught the eye of Wacker, and I don't see how he could resist taking this story and running.

Anyways, I'm sure she's just young and passionate. She'll learn you can catch more flies with honey. (Organic honey, I'm sure.) That's something I am not doing well today, and I am also being bitchy by pointing out her flaws. Hypocrisy in action. I don't wish her any harm and I hope she continues to learn and grow. She has a great product, and I just don't see why she has to bash other businesses to promote it.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe she is that young.

She was correct to point out the stupid omelette name but wrong to encourage people to call. (She did say to politely call, by the way.) I think people that wanted to call or say something would do so without being prompted.

Pipeline Guy said...

I recall the VT lady also pretty much harassed the owner of the Horns restaurant into removing some kind of stuffed animal head from a wall in his restaurant. I believe George covered that story as well.

I don't know how George has been able to advance his career given some of the material contained in that popular blog (though he used to hide his identity a bit better, and some employers google the heck out of applicants) but I enjoy reading it, so I hope he continues with it.

Anonymous said...

Can you get a RTK on Wacker's entertainment spending?

After all it is tax dollars funding the organization.

Anonymous said...

She absolutely did all of those things. She posted the menu, and encouraged her patrons to call and complain. And she most certainly used the word boycott.