Blogger's Note: Opinions Online is a regular Saturday feature. If you'd like to express your opinion on any topic, click on the Opinions Online button on my left sidebar. You can also call 385-325-2564. In addition to these submissions, I sometimes highlight comments from throughout the week and re-publish them here. Please keep your comments brief, if possible.
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Trump is a snake oil salesman.
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NO EXCUSE FOR SVSD TAX INCREASE
There is no justification for raising Saucon Valley School District taxes. The answer to $3mil over budget problem is right there in the (4/27) Morning Call article. Take the $3mil out of the surplus fund of $14.4mil! Duh? That's what the surplus is for! Only use this surplus fund to prevent any future tax increases, giving the surplus back to the taxpayer from whom it was wrung by over taxation!
Raising taxes and compensations of teachers, administration and all personnel should have been a thing of the past since 2008. The average income of taxpayers is significantly less than the incomes of the teachers and administrators which they finance. An educated person would have known that after 2008 America would never be the America of post WWII again, that the wealth of the vast majority of our citizens would steadily decline for decades.
The long term answer to SVSD's over budget problem is to cut! The only way that will ever get done at SVSD, or any school, is to have external control over the budget by a taxpayer governing body which will make the necessary hard cuts needed year after year.
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Transgender Potties: So now the Obama regime says its perfectly fine to decide what gender you are, notwithstanding the genitals you were born with.
OK fine.
so as a born male, but as I consider myself female, it is perfectly fine to go to the Department of Commerce and apply for grants that are available for Women-controlled businesses and other benefits that I can apply for as a woman, since I consider myself one.
And if I don't get them because the Commerce Department says I'm male, I'm suing for discrimination. because the Department of Justice says I can be any sex I want to be.
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Your post this looks like you opened the sewers of Allentown.
I know you are not a trump person, but fed ed would have fit well the shakers in Washington.
I am glad I am on the down side of my life.
G. John Bryant, Jr.
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If I were applying for a job that requires a drivers license, should the potential employer obtain one for me? If the state of Pennsylvania passes laws that require certain checks if in the presence of children, shouldn't the individual pay for these out of pocket? All teachers were required to obtain at their own cost yet Bethlehem Township PA in shelling out the cost for their staffers. Why is that? Our so called government leaders need to stop spending tax dollars on themselves immediately!
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Local Speed Limits: "You may want to ask why speed limits are NOT being set to the 85th percentile free-flowing traffic speed. If they were, there would be no "speeders" and the roads would be safer.
If this makes sense, check out the National Motorists Association for good info."
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Bethlehem Tp Police State?: "With a budget of $5.3 Million, is/has Bethlehem Twp PA police department become a police state? That does not include the many state and federal grants available for them to obtain more tools/toys."
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Former NorCo Exec John Stoffa proposes a reform: "John Stoffa writes...an additional government reform I would suggest is a 6 year term from the President on down. An incumbent would have to be out of office for a two year period to be eligible to run again. Voting would occur in two year cycles. This would end career politicians and make it more difficult to co-opt or corrupt the system. This 6 year term would apply at all levels of government."
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Saturday, May 14, 2016
48 comments:
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.
Allentowns sewer comment is a very intresting theory, the vermine and other pearasiptic parasites have flooded the public sector as well as overflowing in many private sectors witin the city limits?!($ This is all with the help and guidence as well as protection from palumpas boys in blue for palumpas vermine slulordian campaign donors to allow and incubate the illbehaviors of inhabitants and cover for cover criminality ommited by verminious co-consperitors in the insurance realestate flippflopp for said banking institutions that help in the henious crime against god fearing inhabatants of areas that have administrational designs designated for areas within the original circus location?!
ReplyDeleteWe all knew the shim shitstew would brew again and again on bernie's opinions in this nue nue nue yet same old false sack o political blue juice fermenting in the pressure cooker obout to flipp its powdered wig lid?!
Re:publican redd
Have there been problems with the Bethlehem Twp PD?
ReplyDeleteInside your neighborhood middle school, a 13 year old boy enters the girls lavatory while two 9 year old females are already inside utilizing the facilities. Screams are heard.
ReplyDeleteNot likely a teacher will be nearby in the hallway. Most teachers will be in their classrooms with 30 other kids. But let's assume there IS a teacher nearby.
If so, the teacher shouts "HEY, you can't go in there!" More screaming inside. The 13 year old responds "Yes I can and you can't stop me." Stating further, he'll tell his mom the teacher hurt his feelings. Besides, the staff person can't grasp his arm to prevent his passage inside, anyway. Such a move has been outlawed years ago.
Thoughts inside teacher's head . . .
(The kid is probably right. Who needs this nonsense? I have enough on my plate already. Good luck, girls)
Fred Windish
Wow, 9 year old middle school students. Must be from liberal democrat households.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, those kids are all about 1000 times more likely to be raped by the local priest, minister or rabbi than they are by a transgender person, but the irrational paranoid fear mongers are fine with that. Maybe being raped is a much needed rite of passage for them in their eyes. They certainly make no effort to deal with the real predators, just the imaginary ones.
Transgender folks are mentally deranged but rarely violent. I would not worry about them assaulting someone in a rest room. It is far more likely that they would be ridiculed or beat up. Our society has reached a new low when we are more concerned with the rights of transgender lunatics than unborn children.
ReplyDeleteOr even for that matter any children, because most administration ally just look at them and they are faceless which is a current cause of soullessness and than there is but a number tagged to them for some sick twisted insurable peril collectable from the federal government that is all just part of the densely populated areas pompuss personal pet projects that is increasingly bankrupting the nation as a whole, starting with morally bankrupt children that are now becoming adults!?
Delete8:38-
ReplyDeleteA discussion of this "edict" is VERY necessary. Thank you for participating. First of all, it is possible for 9 year old girls to be inside a middle school. Schools are neighborhood centers with health/dental clinics, daycare, special needs children of all ages, auditorium programs, and come in with parents for many reasons.
The issue is this . . . how is such a change monitored, and by who?
It really can't be monitored and there WILL be unfortunate incidents. No one can KNOW who deserves this special privilege. The transgendered won't be wearing a badge, and in my example, won't be required to wear a dress. Maybe the teachers should carry around a list of such identifiers? Perhaps the individual is new to the building.
Fred Windish
The problem with the bathroom battle is not transgender individuals. The problem is perverted heterosexual males. Don't transgenders share a common concern for protecting society from perverted hetero males? How about: don't ask, don't-tell, and (for God's sake) don't show!?
ReplyDeleteIt is possible for a 9 year old to be on the campus of a Middle School, but those clinics, etc. that you speak of are isolated from the actual school and a 13 year old student would not be in the same area unattended. All the community based school campus clinics I've been at had single use mixed gender bathrooms with locks on the doors, but I haven't seen them all and you may be right. As you note, they come in with their parents and I'm guessing those parents are nearby when they use the restroom, at least they should be. In any event, I don't see the scenario you describe as realistic.
ReplyDeleteNo, the transgendered are not required to be marked like Jews at Auschwitz, so sorry for the inconvenience. The fact that you are concerned about a demographic group well known for NOT being violent or indecent, while dismissing the obviously huge threat that catholic men present to our children makes you look more driven by agenda than concern.
This is no edict, and it really isn't worthy of serious discussion, it's hatred and intolerance disguised as 'caring about the children', and coming from North Carolina, a state whose education and child services record is an embarrassment to the entire country, it would be ironic if it was not so sad.
Interesting that NC has taken a stance consistent with ISIL, Boko Haram and the Taliban, isn't it?
Schools are actually no longer neighborhood centers, thanks to heavy security measures. You cannot enter my child's school (or any school in the Parkland School District) unless you are buzzed in through a locked door that is monitored by cameras. You cannot enter the school beyond the front office unless you have an appointment. So, the idea of a random 9 year olds wandering the halls of a middle school where 13 year old transgender rapists roam is a completely insane scenario for a wide variety of reasons.
ReplyDeleteI have a newsflash for ya: TRANSGENDER PEOPLE EXIST. THEY'RE ALREADY HERE. There's not many of them, but they exist. And there is nothing to be afraid of. They're not contagious. We're not talking about having urinals installed next to the sink in the girl's room. We're talking about letting people use the freaking bathroom. It's private. Assault anywhere is already illegal. Seems to me that the ASD school district had a rape/assault problem, and it has nothing to do with transgenders and did not occur in the girls' room. You are inventing scenarios that have nothing to do with transgenders.
Schools can be dangerous places, but it's not the transgender population that is the problem. How about we deal with actual criminals and not worry about the few people - the very few people - who are genuinely afraid or uncomfortable in their "biologically" assigned restroom?
And, Fred, to insinuate that a teacher would walk past the sounds of children screaming because they're too busy to deal with it...well...that is utterly offensive and ridiculous. Maybe that's what you would have done, but please don't imply that your own unreasonable fear and extreme malaise resides in the heart of all other teachers.
Transgender bathroom use. A male identifying as female has little sexual interest in females. Before this nonsense began no one ever questioned whether a lesbian gal in female bathroom was a problem. Same goes with the guys. What's a bathroom monitor expected to do? Pull down everyone's pants for inspection before their allowed in? Still doesn't solve the gay issue does it? How do you check for that! There's no law which forbids a third kind. No doubt this has been going on ever since indoor plumbing. Why the fuss now?
ReplyDeleteIf Bethlehem Township were to eliminate their police force, what would it cost to have protection from Colonial Regional?
ReplyDelete@8:01: the department is costing the township taxpayers too much money, that's the problem!
People hate what they fear, and they fear what they don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI notice that the haters have a tendency to grossly over exaggerate the dangers of things they don't like while minimizing the dangers of the things they do like.
They fear Muslims, who present a very small threat, and ignore the much larger threat the right wing militia types present to the American public.
Illegal immigrants are very, very bad, but watching millions of dollars worth of crops rot in the field because there is no one to pick them, well, that's okay.
Transgenders using bathrooms= HUGE concern, even though there is no evidence to support that, but sex abuse in the church= nothing to see here, lets ignore it.
They make no sense, the FOX paranoia and fear mongering agenda has taken hold of their brains.
Buy Rosland Gold and hush already.
The problem that people have is not with genuine transgender people using the bathroom of the sex that they identify with, it is that any predator can say that he is transgender, and then no one could keep him out.
ReplyDelete9:24-
ReplyDeleteI base my observations of human behavior (particularly within urban middle schools) based on my 33 year ASD career as teacher.
This is NOT an issue of mistrust for transgenders. This is an example of our government getting involved in matters it has no business. Creating problems that didn't exist, so that only government can fix them. Wading into places that create disruption, and usually a need for more taxpayer dollars.
By the way, middle school girls scream whenever, wherever, and for as long as they can. Doesn't take much to set it off, and it's fun! I am quite comfortable in how I handled such matters.
Fred Windish
In a perfect world, common sense, decency and morality would win the day, but unfortunately, these red states of the 'Bible Belt' are severely lacking in these realms. If not for federal intervention and civil rights laws, there would be lynchings on an almost daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI'll remind you that it took until the 1970's to make spousal rape illegal in this country, decades after most of the rest of the Western World, and it was the red states who were the holdouts, and there are still 8 states where it's not a REAL crime. I'll let you guess what 'color' those states are. Virgina has a legislation proposal pending right now which would make rapin the wifey legal again.
Then we have reproductive rights, which aren't an issue in the blue states, but for some reason (conservatives hate women) those red states struggle to do the right thing. Interesting that these same states lead the nation in teen pregnancies and SSI, isn't it?
So, no, unfortunately the federal government has to intervene and tend to the children of the red states who have no morals or decency of their own and need a firm hand from time to time. It is very sad, and we would certainly be well served by building that 'wall' ASAP, but right on the Mason Dixon, with extra security and a double wall around the global asylum known as Texas.
Got to keep the crazies out.
Personally, I believe all the brouhaha over transgender is heavily driven on both the left and the right as just the latest cultural war election year wedge issue. Both sides are now making it a high profile issue to appeal to segments of their respective bases, hoping it ripples out a little to get a few more out to vote for “their side”, which may be important in a potentially close year, including down-ballot. I do not doubt that it’s a genuine issue for some folks, but it is being manipulated for political purposes. Likewise, all the focus on predators in the bathrooms is just an emotional red herring, like rape is in any abortion debate (only 1% due to rape).
ReplyDeleteSo I pose a twist the issue: what is different about trans-sexual identity versus any other self-identity? Can one be “trans” whatever? And if not, what is the difference, without contradicting the argument for transgender? Or, is there a slippery slope too far? Are there any “lines not to be crossed?” For example, why was there no outcry from the Justice Department for former NAACP chapter President Rachel Dolezal last year? "I acknowledge that I was biologically born white to white parents, but I identify as black". One colleague “expressed her belief that Dolezal perceived herself as black internally, and that ‘she was only trying to match how she felt on the inside with her outside.’” One psychologist stated: "Because of a familiarity with black culture, she [may] regard herself as 'transracial'”. Another psychologist “said ‘Rachel Dolezal is black because she identifies as black. Her identity was authentic, as far as I could tell.’” Substitute “gender” for “race”, and one has to ask, why was the Obama Justice Department not taking up her cause?
I ask not just as an academic question, but there are ultimate real legal ramifications if “self identity” is allowed to be divorced from biological realities, and carried out to their logical conclusion. Scholarships, athletics, Affirmative Action, EEOC/work place, criminal investigations using DNA evidence, etc, just to name a few.
I think Obama has finally jumped the shark with this open bathroom, open locker room, open everything dictate.
ReplyDeleteRemember, if you support Hillary Clinton, you're supporting this nonsense
@8:01 & 9:51,
ReplyDeleteDo you think Colonial Regional wouldn't have to expand? Generally, there are at least 4 officers on duty in BT at any time, protecting 16 square miles, mostly commercial and residential. Colonial bases the costs each municipality pays upon population and number of incidents. BT has a population of around 20,000. It is the largest municipality outside of Bethlehem or Easton. There would be no savings, and you would get a police department that is headquartered out of town.
@8:01,
ReplyDeleteNazareth needs Colonial Regional more than Bethlehem Township.
So what are the budgets of surrounding police departments that have comparable area, population, calls for service, crime rate, etc... I'd like to know if I'm getting my money's worth.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think regional police will deliver better police services, it obviously costs more than $0, which is what residents in places like West Easton or Upper Mount Bethel pay. The primary function of government should be to provide for the personal security of its residents. A government that does not do that should not be allowed to exist.
ReplyDeleteI see no reason why BT needs to go regional at this point. But eventually, I'd like to see a county-wide police department under the control of the Sheriff. Appointments of the Sheriff should come from a committee consisting of the Exec and Chiefs of Police, and should e for five or ten years, like the FBI Director. That takes politics out. I would remove the courts from the selection process because they would have to hear cases presented by a department whose boss they picked, creating a conflict. None of this could happen until the state legislature enacts laws that give deputy sheriffs the same powers as police officers. The state police oppose this bc they like the OT.
Once this happens, and it won't be in my lifetime, the overall cost of police coverage will go down and the quality will go up.
"I base my observations of human behavior (particularly within urban middle schools) based on my 33 year ASD career as teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis is NOT an issue of mistrust for transgenders. This is an example of our government getting involved in matters it has no business. Creating problems that didn't exist, so that only government can fix them. Wading into places that create disruption, and usually a need for more taxpayer dollars.
By the way, middle school girls scream whenever, wherever, and for as long as they can. Doesn't take much to set it off, and it's fun! I am quite comfortable in how I handled such matters."
I am more left-leaning than Fred, but think he hit this on the head.
@3:10,
ReplyDeleteThere are no other municipalities in the LV that compare in size & population density. You would have to go outside the LV to find one. You are then subject to regional differences in cost of living.
It's like going to Puerto Rico, watch out for the chicks with dicks!
ReplyDeleteFred has described an aspect of the "Hegelian Dialectic" to a tee.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Left and right is another aspect.
I am so conservative on some issues I make Ronald Reagan look like a new dealer, but then, I am so liberal on other issues I make Jesse Jackson look like Ronald Reagan.
I don't lean at all, I am not Brand loyal and I am usually hated by everyone with an agenda. And this non-issue is all about an agenda.
The OP of the "Transgender Potties" post is pettifogging to the max.
ReplyDeleteColonial Regional serves a population of approx 19,450, with 25 officers, and a budget of approx $3.2 million.
ReplyDeleteBethlehem Township serves a population of approx 23,725, with 35 or 36 officers, and a budget of (using your figure) $5.3 million.
City of Easton serves a population of approx 27,030, with 63 officers, and a budget of approx $10.5 million.
Looking at the above, BT is within range: as population and personnel increase, so do budgets. However, that alone is far from a remotely complete picture. Easton's population, institutional, and business demographics create crime types/rates that will be different than Colonial's Bath, LN, and Hanover Twps service area. Bethlehem Twp, with an increasingly diverse/semi-transient population; with its location off/near Routes 22, 33, and 78; multiple shopping locations; business/office parks; location between Easton and Bethlehem (with casino); expanding NCC, 3 high schools plus BAVTS; and with still unfinished development potential along the Rte 33 corridor with access at Wm Penn and Freemansburg Ave.... whoever thinks it is wise to dissolve and join Colonial is, to be blunt, crazy. Besides, what would such a move do to Colonial's budget? And with BT's population being 2 to 9 times the other served municipalities, BT would be paying a lot more than you are probably envisioning. Budget time always brings valid questions about this, or that, budget item. However, in the totality we are very fortunate to have such a great department.
If you are concerned about the police budget, be thankful you are still blessed with two Volunteer Fire Companies, with their own paid EMTs. When the day comes when the Twp needs its own municipal department, your minimalist-government heart will need its EMS service.
I don't think discussing the first lady with the first penis is pettifogging.
ReplyDeleteNorthampton county HR director Amy trapp needs to go and her boyfriend Mike. Currently Northampton County HR director has an individual from the prison suspended since December 2015. In which Mrs trapp has violated state and federal law with respect of due process of law. Where did they get these two flunkies. Northampton County could do better, Mrs trapp is going to cost the county silly money as result of her ego and incompetence.
ReplyDeleteSounds to me that someone is finally cleaning out the mess. There are no due process violations, but there are some bad people who work at the jail. Can you explain how one inmate recently became pregnant? Was it another Immaculate Conception? Whether it is the lowest officer or the highest administrator, all the dirt needs to go.
ReplyDeleteOvem Lupo Commitere said
ReplyDelete"So I pose a twist the issue: what is different about trans-sexual identity versus any other self-identity?"
One is biological, the other is cultural.
Every human being starts out female, that is why men have nipples, 7weeks in the y chromosome kicks in and begins to change the female mainframe to male. Many variables can occur with such biology. This explains the variables in sexual preference and identity.
Someone that grows up in a particular culture may maintain that identity even though they may move or be moved to another culture. This is particularly evident in homogenous cultures. In a culture, like the USA, where many cultures converge and live together cultural identity may be seen as more of a choice unlike biological identity which is baked into the cake, fruit or otherwise.
Hope this straightens your twist.
It is a silly issue being pushed by extremes. Unfortunately, the federal government just had to inject itself. Crazy moves like these are why Donald Trump will be the next President.
ReplyDeleteI just deleted a comment attacking all Muslims. I am not going to allow that hatred here.
ReplyDeleteSo from now on we should all change our sex, color, race, and any other personal data on drivers licenses, any government questionnaire, or application, just to f..k with them. they have stated we are whatever we feel we are at the time. Is it possible for a trans to in the future not to be trans? I think maybe Obama is trying to copy Trump to get news coverage. Maybe he is starting to feel irrelevant. Maybe he should go as far as to declare he really is a girl at heart, I am sure he would then become a worldwide sensation.
ReplyDeleteI’m dying to hear what Hillary’s view is on Obama's bathroom directive with public schools, should any reporter dare ask her.
ReplyDeleteAlthough maybe they’re too busy asking her about the Clinton Foundation corruption or Benghazi or her emails on a private server.
In any event the Obama’s daughters attend private school not covered by the directive and Chelsea Clinton did as well.
In other words, the ruling Democratic class will not be affected by this nonsense.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that the Democrats are more worried about the bathroom you go into than having decent jobs for Americans.
ReplyDeleteSegregation and discrimination have their place in the natural order. Contagious animals and dangerous psychotic humans are routinely segregated from their respective herds. Every person discriminates when selecting the food they eat, or the person's with whom they associate. These things exist because they are instinctual survival mechanisms.
ReplyDeleteAt some point the mass reality of humans must absorb the necessity of segregation regarding the marginally insane attaining position of power within the governing apparatus.
The power of the state granting the access of mentally defective persons, some of whom may be dangerous serial predators, access to a larger potential pool of victims is an abomination that is on level with anything the southern Democrats did to the Blacks after they lost the civil war.
This is not a civil rights issue, it is an issue of an insane President demonstrating willingness to use raw power to force his insanity on an unknowing population.
One could almost feel sympathy for the future victims... almost.
"Democracy is the theory that common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
- Mencken -
I think that if the New York Times is going to write a hit piece about Donald Trump and women, they really need to also write one about Bill Clinton and his association with registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
ReplyDeleteThe list of Epstein friends and associates who flew on his orgy plane - dubbed "The Lolita Express" - reads like a who's who in business, the arts, and politics. Flight logs obtained by Fox News show that the ex-president traveled with Epstein on 26 occasions. The flights were notorious for the sex orgies that took place with girls as young as 12.
As long is Bill is campaigning for Hillary, this issue is fair game for both of them. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the rest of the media to jump on this. It may be that Clinton's sexual peccadilloes might actually matter this time around, which means the truth must be covered up at all costs.
Bernie
ReplyDeleteThere's a local Federal-level politician running campaign ads now almost every night, seven months before the election. By November, he'll be lucky to have a single vote. Losing by irritation.
The female inmate who is pregnant, check Mr. Keen cronies
ReplyDeleteHillary Has a Bigger Problem With Men Than Trump Has With Women
ReplyDeleteHillary's problem is REAL, not a fictitious media creation.
Hillary is repulsive to men.
And she's not going to change that.
Although to be fair, Hillary is repulsive to everyone.
THE pregnant inmate has nothing to do with any co at the prison. Try another inmate Bernie. Don't let trapp and keen BS you and shift their incompetence to the Co'S
ReplyDeleteI have not heard this rumor from Trapp or Keen, but thanks for confirming it. I had not heard that a CO was suspected, either, but someone else.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI missed the offensive comment at 7:43, and have deleted both it and your reply.
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment, there are some bad apples in the Jail. I use to work there and the BS that goes one is amazing. My department there is a supervisor lets call him john wayne. He constantly gave his fav female employee ( who is currently suspended ) vacation time when she didn't have vacation time. Mr. Keen and Trapp should look into this behavior.