Ok Ok ... OZZIE Quinn just questioned the Dog Park ... so I guess I'm wrong about the fact that nobody objects to this Dog Park ...

But don't you find it sad that she would be more concerned about Dogs have a play area ... rather than handicapped citizens having a place that was built for them to enjoy the wonderful views at Nay Aug Park ... I just think that is the saddest thing.

Dogs I would imagine don't really care if they have a park ... they will play in the yard ... they will play in a field ... and unlike people they don't seem to be as social as human beings ... sure they are wonderful little creatures who love us unconditionally ... but do they really care if they go off and have a place to socialize with other dogs ... most dogs are territorial and don't seem to like it much when another dog comes into contact with their human ... and yes I do mean to state that they own us ... every dog I have ever had owned me ... spoiled rotten ... I do love dogs ... I am not opposed to any dog or breed of dog ... just to be clear.

So in the end I think that the money on the tree house was well spent ... and the money on the dog park ... not so much ... but still I am not opposed to it as some citizens think it is important ... and it is the way that they would like to have theri tax dollars spent ... don't the Handicapped citizens deserve this same respect ... just a thought that occurred to me as I read that tree hous thread at DD.

-- Edited by LusOnlyVoice at 14:46, 2007-06-28

well talk about cronism ... wouldn't this be CRONISM on the Part of the DD poster to not take issue with the Dog park ... but to be up in arms over a tree house for the handicapped citizens ... and you know what ... if it were anyone other than the Mayor ... or Judy, Sherri, and Bob McGoff who wanted this ... say if it were Jan ... they would be singing the praises of the tree house ... don't you think?

Ya' know...the a-holes ramble on about the condition of the Davis Trail. They forget - we resurrected an existing trail to build that. Not an easy task. We had to follow the old path and plan for runoff and drainage with little funding and primitive understanding of topography.

That said - I think they did OK.

Everyone I know who uses the trail on a regular basis appreciates that.

Half full or half empty? I say half full. We now have access to a special area that was legally and physically off limits to most people.

Funny thing is no one there ever presents a positive alternative - everyone plays Monday morning quarterback. That's the easiest thing in the world to do. Comdemn, attack, criticise. Offer nothing.

So other than give raises to the unions and not improve the parks, what would anyone at dd.com do?

(crickets chirping)

They wouldn't do a damn thing Art ... not a Damn thing. Well Ok ... maybe they would fix potholes but that's about it!

(continued)

The next morning Tuesday, May 7 Philadelphians awoke to an uneasy calm. The Native American newspaper appeared with its front page banded in black for mourning. The guns were quiet, but on street corners around the city the usual commerce was punctuated by spontaneous anti-Catholic harangues.

Bishop Kenrick issued a formal statement condemning Catholic participation in the turmoil and had copies posted in all districts. Within hours the nativists had removed these notices and folded them into paper hats.

Nativist leader Thomas Newbold announced a meeting to be held downtown that afternoon at 3 o'clock in Independence Square, a location that still symbolizes Philadelphia's role in the American Revolution.

There the protesters passed voice-vote resolutions asserting their right to gather peaceably and charging the Catholics with attempting to drive the Bible out of the schools. Despite the pleadings of several leaders, the group elected to march once again into Kensington.

The Irish neighborhood was located about a mile and a half north of Independence Square. Along the way, the marchers shouted nativist slogans and waved a tattered American flag that they said had been trampled by Irishmen.

With minimal warning, Kensington residents prepared to defend their homes and themselves. A distant roar and the shattering of windows announced the approaching mob.

No sooner had the market area begun to fill with nativists than a shot rang out from a house across the street, instantly killing one marcher. The crowd's attempt to charge the house was halted by a volley of gunfire from rooftops and windows.

In sporadic confrontations over the next hour, three more marchers died.

Still refusing to disband and flee, the nativists sent a small party to torch a building in which several snipers were hiding. The fire quickly consumed that structure and spread along the block.

Within minutes, nearly 30 buildings were in flames, including Nanny Goat Market. As soon as the Hibernia and Carroll fire brigades arrived on the scene, the rioters attacked them. Two engines and four carriages were destroyed.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Cadwalader, commander of the Pennsylvania militia, had had his men on alert since the day before. At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, at the height of the market fire, Sheriff McMichael called for Cadwalader to station his troops on the outskirts of Kensington. Around midnight, the order came to occupy the ravaged district. The soldiers succeeded in intimidating the mob without further violence by setting up loaded cannons in the streets. Under military escort, the fire companies hosed down the smoldering ruins.

By Wednesday morning, only three men all Irish had been arrested for their role in the disturbance. Following his arraignment for murder, John Taggert was escorted by several deputies to Northern Liberties Jail, thought to be a safe distance from Kensington. Along the way, a band of nativists seized Taggert, brutally beat him and got his neck in a noose before the deputies returned with enough help to save him.

Early in the afternoon, nativists began making their way back toward Kensington. The smell of smoke still hung in the air. Here and there, speakers railed against the Pope and demanded vengeance for the deaths of their comrades.

Anticipating a replay of the night before, Irish Protestant and nativist residents of the district hung American flags and signs reading "Native American" in their windows. Some simply tacked up copies of the newspaper by that name. Each display drew a cheer from the passing throng.

Militia units patrolling the area were unable to quell the unrest. As momentum gathered, marchers forcibly entered Irish homes to search for weapons. New fires, deliberately set, destroyed or damaged several more blocks by late afternoon. Emboldened by these exploits, the nativists broadened their aim and struck out toward downtown Philadelphia.

Mayor John Morin Scott, summoned from his daughter's birthday party, met the mob as it reached St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church, at the corner of Fourth and Vine. The mayor spoke from the church steps, calling for reason and calm and denying a rumor that the building contained stored weapons. With this he explained that he himself was carrying the key.

Suddenly, a hurled stone hit the mayor in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. Police guards hurriedly bundled him away. The rioters, now confident that the church was undefended, lifted two boys over the fence to begin the destruction. The youngsters broke in through a window and set fire to curtains and furnishings.

According to plan, someone ruptured the building's gas line, and the leak ignited just as the intruders escaped. Again, the crowd blocked firefighters' access to the blaze.

Similar assaults that afternoon destroyed St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, from which the priest barely escaped, and the Female Seminary that had been spared two days earlier.

The mob roared as the burning steeples toppled. The fires produced columns of smoke that were visible for miles. As the flames diminished, the fury of the nativists also seemed to subside. In a final flare-up, a remnant of the mob ransacked the home of Alderman Hugh Clark.

The streets were empty before sundown.

In crowded and barricaded rooms in Kensington, many Irish Catholic families made plans to leave Philadelphia. Others argued that only by standing their ground could they ever make a home in America.

On Thursday morning, May 9, Mayor Scott convened a meeting in Independence Square to begin the process of restoring the public peace. In the three days of upheaval, 20 people had been killed, scores more injured and two Catholic churches and more than 50 Irish homes destroyed.

By acclamation, those present many of whom had participated in the rioting agreed to the appointment of special police units to patrol each neighborhood.

Even the editors of the Native American voiced shock and regret: "No terms that we can use are able to express the deep reprobation that we feel for this iniquitous proceeding; this wanton and uncalled-for desecration of the Christian altar."

Despite the general contrition and heightened security, isolated groups and individuals continued the campaign of anti-Catholic vandalism. Bishop Kenrick cancelled Sunday Mass throughout Philadelphia to avoid further confrontation.

When posters boldly printed with the words "Fortunio and his Seven Gifted Servants" began appearing around the city, a rumor circulated that the strange slogan was a secret message from the Pope ordering Catholics to take up arms. The rumor died when a businessman revealed that the signs advertised a play coming soon to a local theatre.

The nativist/Irish conflict erupted again in Philadelphia later that summer. Organizers of the city's annual Independence Day celebration staged a procession honoring the widows and orphans of nativists who had died in the riots.

The display rekindled bitter memories, and soon new suspicions arose that the Catholics were planning an uprising in the suburb of Southwark. Again the militia was called in, and the fighting that broke out was as fierce as that in Kensington. This time, the death toll reached 13.

Several months after these episodes, Philadelphia County complied with state law by repaying Catholics for damages incurred to their property in the mob violence.

The riots of 1844 damaged the public image of the nativist movement, which would later seek new legitimacy in the political system.

The establishment of a separate Catholic school system in Philadelphia solved the Bible problem but did little to heal the rift between the two communities. That process would take place some years later as nativists and Irish immigrants and soldiers of all stripes joined forces to preserve the federal union.

Oh my God ... I didn't ever think of it that way ...

Lighten up, Francis.

If there's any hypocrisy from me here I'd like to know what it is. I'm the same surly bastard I was over there. Prior to getting banned repeatedly of course.

My message is simple: Joe's message sucks.

Jimbu I can understand given that you believed the story Joey told about the ramp, why this post might seem callous. We have, however for sometime, harbored deep doubts about the truthfulness of the story. Now before you get mad at least hear us out on why we dont believe it.

Knowing Joey, as you do, does his taking no for an answer sound even remotely like him? He is a carpenter, he could easily have gone ahead, built the ramp, and told the city "sue me" if you dont like it! Seriously Jimbu, can you even imagine any court not siding with him on this? He goes to court over every little thing and hasn't been too successful, but this one would have been a slam dunk! The court of public opinion would have been with him, also! Not to mention the ADA, The Center for Independent Living, the local Veteran groups. Instead he puts his tail between his legs and doesn't build the ramp? I am sorry. I simply dont believe we have heard the whole story. This sounds nothing like the tough guy he claims to be now and has claimed to be in the past. Please just think about it. Give a long, hard, thinking...then see if you can see why we are skeptical. ok?

-- Edited by IHavehadenoughofhaters at 15:24, 2007-06-29

jimbu15 wrote:

---

I am just thankful to you Lus, and Joe Pilchesky, for providing a place for "Joe Average", Blue Collar Nobodies" like myself a chance to speak our minds, and vent our opinions, without fear of reprimand from "the powers that be."

---

Until you post something that the "powers that be" disagree with, in which case you find yourself banned.

Whatever. For as many of you as there are who agree with and root for the guy, there are just as many of us who can't wait for the self serving assmunch to get his comeuppance. And for as many of us as there are combined, there are probably 100x as many in the area who have no idea that the guy even exists. That says a lot about the (lack of) impact he's having in the area. More than either of these message boards can say.

-- Edited by Paul at 16:20, 2007-06-29

Very well put Jimbu :)

I am still curious though as to what your take is on my observations. Does the story as Joey stated it sound at all like he normally acts? Why would he take no for an answer in this case and no other. Probably as you are relatively new here, you may not know that I also have a family member who usesa ramp. Wheelchair bound for life, due to an accident. I am simply basing my questions on my own experiences which were... we ordered one, they came, they installed (took about 45min as it was partially assembled already), they left. We never gave asking for permission a thought, never crossed our minds. It's been over two years and not a word was ever said by anyone to us ever. (and no I am not anyone important ) So what was the big bruhahaha about this ramp? Jimbu don't you think that maybe ..just maybe... there maybe more to the story? I am only asking you to think about what I have said and ask yourself the same questions I posed to you in my first post and now in this one.
Let me know. :)

Sorry, a couple of things I forgot.

Paul...You say Joe, and us bigmouths "accross the hall" have had little if no impact? Why don't you ask the esteemed Mr. Belardi how he feels about that? I did. I think he may beg to differ with you. Refresh my memory, how long did he hold that seat before the "information express" started flowing? Alot more people are reading and participating than you think.

Art...As I said, I've had a few face to faceconversations with Joe, have you? The man was sincere and gave me his word...that's good enough for me. As I have said, there is much more to anyone than what they post on a message board. Art, my first impressions of you are not important, to me, or anyone else, like I said, I don't know you, maybe if I'm ever fortunate enough to ever sit down and have a cup of coffee with you or anyone else, and maybe a real conversation, than maybe, I could base a real impression as to what y'all are all about, and it may be totally different than what I think now. I don't now, or never will put a 100% stock solely on what one posts on the internet...Jimbu15.