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Throw all the
bums out
I had to laugh when I read the last paragraph of state House Speaker John Perzel’s commentary on school reform (For the kids’ sake, let reform take hold, July 20 edition.)
He’s urging openness by the school district. Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black? Isn’t he the one who rammed through the legislative pay raise in the middle of the night without the public knowing anything about it?
Any reform that is going to happen will have to be done by outsiders with no political connections to the city administration or state legislature. Both bodies are rife with corruption, awarding contacts and jobs to their political cronies and campaign contributors, who take the money and run.
It’s time to clean up the messes made by both groups by voting all the incumbents out of office. Maybe then we’ll get people with new ideas who are really interested in working for the good of the people who elected them. Until then, it’s all downhill with the same old "do nothing" political windbags!
P.S., John, your image consultant isn’t doing such a hot job. You should demand our money back!
Ellen McGlinchey
Modena Park
No worries
for the mayor
Isn’t it wonderful how John Street is so concerned about the budget in Philadelphia that he is going to appeal the raise the firemen were awarded?
I wonder if he’ll still be this concerned when it’s time for him to collect his half-million dollar payoff from the city when his term runs out in two years. If he did, he’d still have his $10,000 a month pension to fall back on. I kind of doubt it, though.
Rus Slawter
Bustleton
From Mayfair to Souderton,
with no regrets
This is in response to Lori Miller’s letter to the editor (It’s better to stay and fight, July 20 edition):
Lori, who is running from Philadelphia? I looked for an exodus to freedom, and I found it. My family and I deserved better, and it was not found in ‘Philthadelphia!’
Why the hell should I try to raise a family in a community that does not care about its own people? It is not 1959 anymore. Look around, Lori!
And grab the money? That’s all of the homeowners who are selling their homes. Yes, some are greedy, but for the most part many just want to be compensated for the money that they invested in their own home.
I loved my "for sale" sign! Know why? Because it meant that I would no longer have to witness crime or call the police about a crime every day, not having to wait to have the police respond.
Ninety percent of the time, the police never came anyway! Teens beating each other up, dropping the "F bomb" with no cares, within earshot of toddlers, discarding trash where small children play, smoking God knows what and getting drunk, screaming at 3 a.m., waking up my babies!
A great place to raise a family? Don’t think so! And Lori, the grass is greener on the other side, because I AM THERE!
I am a former resident of the Mayfair section, 23 days gone, and LOVING every moment!!
Rita Horner
Souderton, Pa.
Making a rap
against Will Smith
I’d like to know when black people are going to start to understand when they are being exploited.
I had to laugh out loud when I saw the news about Will Smith coming to Philadelphia to protest violence.
The creep made millions promoting violence. Seems like only yesterday that I had to follow SEPTA buses around the city with life-sized posters of Smith with two assault type guns promoting one of his very low IQ and excessively violent movies.
Even the comedy show where he arrives in California shows the reason to be a pack of goons giving him a beating in Philadelphia. It’s the mainstream of black comedy and movies. Gotta get something in about how tough the hood is; or reference a drive-by shooting in some way; or glorify the drug dealer.
Wake up and smell the gunpowder, folks. Why didn’t you invite another one of your heroes, O.J. Simpson, to be the keynote speaker? Smith, the hypocrite, should have been laughed out of town.
John J. Furlong
Trevose
Change should always
be good at the bank
Well, according to the newspaper press coverage, they welcomed the new Republic First Bank to Mayfair. That’s fine. But the reason I am writing is because of a little point of view I feel the public should know. I went in there the other day to make change for a $20 bill. The first thing the teller asked me was, "Do I have an account with them?"
I told her no. She said after Sept. 1, they will not make change unless I did have an account. She said something like they did not want to change too many large bills. Since when is $20 a large bill? What’s next — not accepting pennies? I do not view this matter as being friendly or convenient.
There are too many banks in the area already that CAN change money. It is U.S. currency, for crying out loud!!
Ray Kerstetter
Mayfair
Geno’s sign is not
very welcoming
Regarding the sign at Geno’s Steaks, I wanted to weigh in on this subject but was away visiting relatives and friends in Italy until recently. My family has been in the retail Italian import business for 100 years in Ohio. Here goes:
The "When ordering, speak English" sign at Geno’s is out of place with my Italian (Abruzzese) heritage and what I know about doing retail business in Italy. To boot, the sign also doesn’t make any sense for Philadelphia.
No Italian businessman in retail in Italy is going to insult potential customers over language by posting a sign commanding them to speak Italian. In fact, retail shops there have signs telling passers-by they will serve you in a number of languages. Italy is one of the world’s prime tourist destinations, so this policy makes sense. Philadelphia is a tourist center, too. Let’s be more polite and do business better.
When my grandparents came to the U.S., they received a lot of mistreatment because of their poor English skills and their foreign first and last names. Geno’s sign, in 1900, could well have targeted Italians without even mentioning them. The sign can be interpreted as Geno’s fearful reaction to the Mexicans, Vietnamese and Cambodians who are making the Italian Market area their home. Hmmm, 100 years ago in America, Italians had to put up with the same bigotry. A little more solidarity and empathy, please.
Lastly, if you’re going to order a cheesesteak at Geno’s, what language are you going to use at the counter? The cheesesteak is a Philly invention. There’s no translation. So you’re going to say, "cheesesteak," but with your own twang. Brother Italian-Americans at Geno’s, get back to your Italian values, use some common sense, and change that sign so it says "Welcome to Geno’s!" in at least four languages." Capito?
Ben Lariccia
Burholme
The accent on English
is a sign of bigotry
In answer to Judy Brock’s letter (She’s proud to be an American in one nation under English, July 20 edition): America has always been a melting pot of cultures. Who ever said that we should all speak English? Didn’t we declare independence from the English 230 years ago? Aren’t we speaking the language of our enemy? I know they treated my people, the Irish, horribly and occupy it still, even today in 2006.
Judy, try to avoid flying into cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, El Paso, San Diego or Sacramento. Maybe we should get rid of French-sounding names like Lafayette, St. Louis, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Let’s toss out the Native American names like Allegheny, Schuylkill, Sioux Falls and Broken Arrow because we were here second, and we want the Native Americans to speak English.
Closed-minded arrogant bigots make it bad for everyone else. Give up your prejudices and lift a heavy weight off your shoulders. I’m praying you will.
Kevin P. Kenna
Holmesburg
Let’s protect our
own people first
In recent newspaper articles, Gov. Rendell criticized the newly approved Illegal Immigration Relief Ordinance of Hazleton, Pa., as the "mean spirited" work of politicians who "feed off hate and divisiveness." He said, "A lot of this is being pushed by politicians who absolutely want to keep your eyes away from real stuff."
The ordinance to which Gov. Rendell refers would suspend a business license for five years of a business that knowingly hires an illegal alien. It would adopt a tenant/landlord ordinance that would require tenants to obtain occupancy permits and prove that they are legal residents. Except for electronic and telecommunications, city business must be conducted in English.
It is Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta’s desire to protect the legal residents of Hazleton. He expects this ordinance to curb crime, school crowding, hospital costs and demands on city services. Is it mean-spirited or hateful to protect your legitimate taxpaying community? One might ask, who is trying to keep your eyes away from the real stuff?
Margaret W. Adelsberger
Willow Grove
Here’s a right hook
to the left wing
Now that President Bush vetoed the funding for stem cell research, I am getting ready for the left to start with their rhetoric about how Bush does not care for babies with problems, Alzheimer’s patients, people with Parkinson’s disease and whatever else they think stem cells will cure.
The left does not believe that anybody has a right to a different opinion than them. The same with pro-abortion advocates. They do not believe that anybody is permitted to have a different view. I have no idea where science is on the stem cell issue, but I have not heard that they believe that it is a panacea. It could be that it is fostering a lot of false hope.
Bush stated even before the vote that he would veto it. He said what he was going to do and he did it. I fully respect differing viewpoints, but if mine are different than yours, I would like the same respect. I’m not automatically wrong just because I disagree.
Tom Finnegan
Somerton
Readers blast Rev. Griffin’s
column on the Middle East
This is in response to the Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin’s Speaking of Religion column in the July 20 edition.
He claims that Israel retaliated in an inexcusable way. I want to know how America would react if our borders were invaded by terrorists and some of our military were kidnapped.
Rev. Dr. Griffin doesn’t mention that soldiers were also killed and that Israel is being bombed constantly, and Israelis are being killed. Israel left Lebanon six years ago and the Gaza Strip almost a year ago. Why should they turn a blind eye to the terrorism they experience every day?
Hamas and Hezbollah claim that Israel has 9,000 of their people in their prisons, mostly women and children. First of all, I doubt there are 9,000 prisoners in their jails, and Israel didn’t cross another country’s borders and kidnap these terrorists. The terrorists came into Israel with bombs strapped to their bodies to kill Israelis. Thankfully, they were captured first, but many have gotten through to do their dirty deed.
What I can’t understand is how a woman can carry a child in her womb for nine months and watch him or her grow up and then rejoice when they become suicide bombers. If this was such a great thing in the name of Allah, why don’t their leaders do this instead of sending women and children, especially when one child was mentally challenged?
Israel and its people have been fighting for their lives for more than 60 years. All they want to do is live in peace. What does the Rev. Dr. Griffin think of that?
He also talks about the innocents in Gaza and Lebanon. Yes, there are some innocents, but most rejoiced when Israelis were killed. They were the same people who rejoiced on 9/11 when America was hit and Americans were killed.
I don’t remember who said this, but the quote says it all:
"If the Islamo Nazi Fascists would disarm, there would be no peace in the Middle East. If Israel disarmed, they would experience another holocaust.
Isa Resnick
Pennypack
• • •
Answering the article by the eminent Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin:
The struggle of 5 million Israelis to survive against 1.5 billion Moslems who wish to destroy them is not a pingpong game.
"Retaliatory violence is to be proportional to the harm suffered," he writes. Proportional?
Is a whole football team set up against one vulnerable player proportional?
How about five wars that, by the grace of God, Israel was able to survive? Would it matter if in the next war Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, would not survive? It matters indeed to the majority of Christians in the USA.
Also, the novel idea "let us work for peace" did not work in that part of the world, even after great efforts to make a two-state peaceful solution with the Palestinians by Israel and the USA.
Lebanon is a base for destructive forces (Hezbollah) who attack and threaten to destroy Israel. A government which is compliant with, and harboring this terrorist army, is guilty by association. Unfortunately, undesirable collateral damage is a consequence.
Dealing with Muslim extremists is not the same as preaching to a civilized American congregation.
Their Mullahs consider all of us infidels and take a page out of 12th century idealism by again professing the will to destroy us all.
Sorry, well-wishing dreams are not always compatible with reality.
Norman Kushner
Mayfair
Pondering life
after Franklin Mills
Having read your editorial about Franklin Mills mall’s potential sale, my first thought was, "I hope they do get rid of it." My feeling on this is not ingrained Philadelphia negativity, but rather, the realization that something so much better could be created on the site of the mall.
The issue of consistent, centralized, and innovative city planning promises to be a hot issue in the upcoming mayoral race in Philadelphia. The redevelopment of a site such as the Franklin Mills property presents the chance for Northeast Philadelphia to gain a new, strong community that could be something not before seen in the city.
For example, if the mall’s site were cleared, the property could be turned into a mixed-use site. The plan could include a variety of housing options, as well as space for shops and offices and entertainment venues. Much of this could be integrated with the SEPTA bus system in a way much more efficient than the manner in which Franklin Mills mall accommodates transit.
Think of a modern version of a walkable community with an active street life. This could be a development that sets a trend of not only Northeast Philadelphia, but the hodge-podge of planning in nearby Bucks County communities.
Shopping malls are proving to be generational, that is, they are rarely built in the fashion of Franklin Mills, or Neshaminy Mall, for example. Today, new developments are usually outdoor, and in some cases, provide a car-free environment that resembles street frontages in an older, downtown-style business district.
The plan for Franklin Mills should go further by making a community interwoven with Northeast Philadelphia, free of acres of banal parking lots, and heavy on providing convenience for those that won’t or cannot drive there.
Until the Philadelphia zoning code is revised, this idea may not work. And I fully expect many who read this to be skeptical of it. However, Franklin Mills is past its prime, and malls rarely rebound without a major overhaul.
We can expect Franklin Mills to change a great deal, if not disappear entirely. Yes, it creates tax money, yes it provides jobs — but so too can a mixed-use development that ultimately is more compatible with human scale, and the environment. Philadelphia communities deserve nothing less.
Ryan Caviglia
Overbrook
Is the Northeast
going ghetto?
After reading Loretta Sharkey’s letter to the editor in the July 13 issue (She’s fed up in Wissinoming), I felt like she was describing my street in Tacony. The eyesores are just the tip of the iceberg here, though. The safety of the neighborhood is becoming questionable. I don’t even feel at ease taking my pre-schooler for walks around the neighborhood, as there are so many vicious pit bulls in the back driveways and countless drug dealers living and dealing on our streets.
The problem here is the disproportionate number of Section 8 homes in the area. These people come to what was once a working-class neighborhood (it isn’t any more, as evidenced by the streets packed with cars at all hours of the day) and they destroy it.
We paid good money for our home and are forced to live with people who pay nothing to live in the same neighborhood. They’re living the American dream on the taxpayer’s dollar and they are making Tacony, Mayfair and Wissinoming into the unsafe, drug-infested ghettos they came from.
People are afraid to speak up for fear of being labeled a racist, but if you take off the rose-colored glasses, you will see that it’s realism. It’s not a color issue, it’s a class issue. These people come into our neighborhoods and act like they own the streets. More than once, I was unable to enter the back driveway to my home due to some inconsiderate moron illegally parking a car in the middle of the public driveway!
What do you get when you put people who don’t work and have no respect for others in these Northeast neighborhoods? You get an extension of the ghetto.
Lisa Mikula
Tacony
They’re looking for a few
good men in Holmesburg
In May, the Men of the Holmesburg community came together to brainstorm on ways we could have a positive impact on the community. This initiative was led by both the men of Holmesburg Baptist Church and Mount Zion Baptist Church with the support of state Rep. Mike McGeehan.
We also enlisted any man who had a desire to be a positive impact on the community who lived or cared about the Holmesburg community. Through prayer and dedicated men, the creation of the Mighty Men of Holmesburg has born. Our purpose is to create a safe, loving environment for the residents of Holmesburg by creating activities and programs that will enhance a positive behavior.
We want to bring unity within the neighborhood between all ages and all races of people. We want to do everything in our power to stop the violence and celebrate the great diversity and history of this great Holmesburg community. We take pride in this community and we want everyone to respect each other.
We have taken walks in the community introducing ourselves. We cleaned a neighbor’s yard on Erdrick Street that was in bad shape. We had a prayer meeting and cookout at Holmesburg Baptist Church for the neighborhood. We will have two community walks in the coming weeks — this Friday at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 11 a.m.
We will survey neighbors in the community on their concerns. After these walks we will meet and work with the Holmesburg Civic Association, local police, community members and politicians to ensure a safe and loving environment.
We believe it is important for men to take an active role in creating a positive, safe community for all people. We love the Holmesburg community and we want the best for every neighbor.
If there are any men who are interested in working with the Mighty Men of Holmesburg, please contact the Rev. Scott Dorsey or the Rev. Edward Johnson at 215-624-8869.
The Rev. Scott Dorsey
Mount Zion Baptist Church
Where’s the free stuff
for the Northeast seniors?
On the news the other evening, they were talking about vouchers being distributed for free fruit and vegetables for senior citizens.
Two weeks before, they were talking about all the free fans that were being distributed to seniors to assist them in the heat wave. Where do OUR seniors line up? Nowhere!
Once again, all the freebies were given out in North Philly. I am absolutely furious! I have senior citizen neighbors who, despite the fact they have an air conditioner in the window, cannot afford to run it and will sit in the heat. I have given them extra fans that I have because I worry about their well-being.
Many of our Northeast seniors are struggling to make ends meet, so why are they being denied these benefits? I’m assuming one of the reasons is because they live among the "rich" people in the Northeast, so the assumption is made they don’t need it.
I am asking, on behalf of many of the senior citizens who live in our area — won’t someone in city or state government help them to receive what they need just as much as the North Philly senior citizen?
Joanne M. Squires
Mayfair
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