To the Editor,
While it is most important for a Presidential candidate to show some sort of Foreign relations experience. A one week travel to the middle east and Europe will hardly give credibility to Romneys Campaign . It will look as silly as Sarah Palin 'attempts . Especially in the Middle east. It is vain to imagine the American Jews are naive to believe the Romney is more supportive of Israel than Barrack Obama. Obama may have made a few missteps in dealing with Israel but the Jewish people know he is 100 percent in support of Israel.
The Republicans are attempting their usual scare tactics and Obama attempts to fulfill some campaign promises by reducing spending on the military and bringing our troops home, The Republicans want to beef up spending and expect the U.S to go to Syria, maybe start world war 3. Get involved with Iran and throw the major powers into a war where there will be no return.
Israel and the United States stand together. Peace needs to be the number 1 objective since most Jewish Americans and Israelis including Arab -Israeli citizens want and yearn for peace.The problem in Israel which affects the United States in time of war is the ever growing Ultra Orthodox Jewish community. They are a quickly growing minority in Israel. They currently enjoy exemption from the Israeli Military, creating animosity among the secular community.All Men and woman are required to serve. Gays in the military have been serving openly for years before the United States followed the lead.
At what point will Netanyahu have to make huge changes in Israeli's exemption process. As a Jew I do not believe the Ultra Orthodox deserve any special treatment. Israel needs all of the country to support them in times of war. In an attempt to make peace it is the Orthodox Jews that continue to build housing to instigate problems with the Palestinians. They are all in it together. Peace is the only way. When Mitt Romney says everything Netanyahu wants to hear. Beware, He is offering our friends , sons and daughters , fathers and mothers to go to war which should remind all that while thousands of young men gave their lives and suffered Mental health issues during Viet Nam, Mitt Romney supported the war but spent his time ringing doorbells in France on his Morman Missionary service.
Sincerely,
Steven Auerbach
The City Of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has so much potential. With the right leadership, an individual with vision, charisma and the ability to excite developers, Bridgeport has the ability to outshine its major competitors Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. All three urban centers are located in Fairfield county, the wealthiest county in the United States. I believe Mary Jane Foster is that individual that can bring Bridgeport into a new era.
During the best of times, while Norwalk and Stamford have been focused on economic development, Bridgeport was content to be the dumping ground of all social ills, leaving the burden of support on the taxpayers of the city while businesses were quick to relocate. While Stamford proceeds full speed ahead with its Harborpointe development (ironically a name once used by Bridgeport’s project now known as Steelepointe), Bridgeport still has dreams of getting that first shovel in the ground to start the touted 1 billion dollar project, Steelepointe.
Mayor Finch, in a recent Connecticut post article had given himself a grade of A for his performance on economic development in the city. I would not agree.
For the past 4 years Mayor Finch had the perfect opportunity to market Bridgeport to nearly 500,000 vehicles passing on I95 weekly. A simple Billboard on the vacant Steelepointe site touting the future of the city starts here .People would be a buzz with excitment. Maybe plant a few thousand flowering bulbs, after all we are the Park City.The sad reality is that even with a highly paid Development Director, Donald Eversley, The basic marketing skills were never applied and Bridgeport missed an opportunity that can never be regained after 4 years.
While time moves on as it stops for no one, Bridgeport still hopes to become a major destination. Mayors and business leadership continue to pat themselves on the back as though the project, expected to take 20 years to complete, has already been started. The rumor of a big box retailer eg. Walmart on the waterfront property is painful to imagine. Creating nothing more than minimum wage jobs not to mention all the families that had to be relocated. Is this the best Bridgeport can do. Not even a quality Supermarket can be attracted to that neighborhood?
Perhaps the most important element in making Bridgeport’s dream of Steelepointe a reality is an improvement of colossal proportions to the education in the Bridgeport Public Schools. Improved schools will be an incentive for young families to move here. Now it just becomes another burden on the overtaxed resident to send their children to a private school to get the education that they need to succeed in life.So now we have a high priced Superintendent of Bridgeport schools relying on a state appointed school board.
The arts and entertainment are yet another key component to attract developers. The long vacant Poli Majestic theaters in the downtown area remain a constant memory to what Bridgeport’s glorious past used to be. In the past 40 years there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on study after study to see if it was viable to rehabilitate the theaters. So there they stand vacant, dark and dilapidated as one enters a downtown that has been seeing an upswing in development (most notable being the Bijou Square Project). Developer Phil Kuchma has done a great job in creating an arts theater that outshines most theaters from New York To Hartford . Mayor Finch may want to take credit for helping this project along but truth be told, Phil Kuchma does an excellent job marketing his projects and he would have been able to secure the funds without the City's help.
Finally, one must remain optimistic in the future of Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut and the wealthiest county in the United States. The question is who will lead us into the future, reduce the taxes and create a quality of life for the working middle class and create the incentive to want to live here, work here and play here.I believe Mary -Jane Foster is that individual. She is thoughtful, charismatic,determined and honest. This September 27th we have a choice.