Mildred and Milton are upset. They lived and worked their entire lives in Allentown. They both started working in sewing factories after high school and spend their working lives there. During the late 60's they owned their only car, and always lived in apartments. They never sought any help from the government, their culture taught them to make it do, use it up, wear it out and do without. When they heard about these new public housing apartments overlooking the Lehigh, they thought that would be a nice reward for a life of hard work. They were told it would take years,years they don't have, to get on the list. It's hard for them to understand how brand newcomers to the area, who don't speak English, go to the head of the line. They don't know about the poverty pimps, the social organizations, funded by grants; The professional advocates who know what buttons to push, who make a career out of political correctness. Maybe we need a Pennsylvania Dutch American Organization.
reprinted from 2007 and 2010
ADDENDUM: Needless to say ,the previous times I published this piece some readers were offended by its bluntness. Here we are in 2017, and Mayor Pawlowski isn't even seeking Mildred and Milton's vote.
And by 2027, Pawlowski, the Pennsylvania Dutch and the common man will all be gone from the City of Allentown and it will fall into more decay, impoverishment, and a city of entitlements and welfare. What a future!
ReplyDeletemaybe one of the 5 or 6 independent candidates for mayor can save it....
ReplyDeleteplease note dark humor
"They don't know about the poverty pimps, the social organizations, funded by grants; The professional advocates who know what buttons to push, who make a career out of political correctness."
ReplyDeleteAnd just now the Allentown Housing Authority union workers are on strike. The Poverty Pimps are running out of money to simply hand out to people now. They spent $45 million on Cumberland Gardens' "renovation" of 200 units. That is $225,000 to renovate each unit.
The Poverty Pimps sure did pimp that project.
How many other City projects have been pimped like this?
Screw the damned Pennsylvania Dutch and their historical culture. Do you know who they are related to? Some very bad people, let me assure you, Mr. Molovinsky. Technically, I probably do not qualify as a "Dutchman", just for the record, but I definitely know what I'm talking about here. You see, this hard-to-pronounce name I've always carried around, it's not an accident. Talk to my mother, she could explain what the hell she was thinking so much better than I ever could. Bottom line here, I got relatives back in the 'Old Country' and some of the older ones may or may not have lived through some very turbulent times - they may or may not be associated with, by choice or otherwise, some very, very bad people. I think I was the ripe old age of five when my Mom first introduced me to the concept of "Collective Guilt" --- and I was immediately taught that simply running away from the subject and just hiding out in a South American country with a sympathetic strongman will never suffice. At any rate, the point here is that even if I can't qualify as a Pennsylvania Dutchman proper, I still have the exact same ancestral relatives as they do. Und muessen wir uns schuldig bekennen! ... Meanwhile, Allentown's most rapidly growing post-modern demographic are so much more deserving of the American Dream than those damned Pennsylvania Dutchmen could ever hope to be. If only because these courageous pioneers come from lands that an empirical United States flat out stole from other unfortunate countries such as Spain and Mexico. President Trump's predecessor, the gentleman who shall not be named by me here at this blog, even went to Cairo once and gave a great speech to confirm for the whole entire world that the United States, itself, also has a very, very guilty past that it must also account for.
ReplyDeleteMildred and Milton need to learn how to keep their mouths shut tightly and stay out of the way of the Great Transformation pronto. If they wish to do what they can to help make things right, I recommend that they pull the straight Democrat Party lever. I highly doubt that Mayor Pawlowski and the All-Star City Council of Rubberstamp Apparatchiks would object --- they never have in the past so why should they start now?
ROLF OELER
ROLF OELER
Democrats generally win elections by addition building......in a two party contest.....assembling core interest groups voting to achieve 51% of the vote.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans generally win elections by subtraction building......reducing the over all vote total, curbing by whatever means possible.....limited voting days, restrictive ID
demands, limited polling stations, etc., etc., to turn out 51% of the vote.
The Mayor is simply identifying the easiest way for him, in apparently a three "party" contest in November, to reach 51% of the vote. There is nothing sneaky about this....everyone from Mr. MM to Mr. Armstrong has commented on how transparent the strategy is, and how likely it is to succeed.
If it is true(?) that Milton & Mildred still comprise the potential single largest electorate bloc, and said electorate essentially is monolithic in preference, then all the "Dutchman" have to do is actually show up and vote to prevail. If the "Dutchman" don't show up then they won't rule.
Whatever his faults, it can't be said the Mayor doesn't know how to count to 51%.