Philly's time to shine

[Irish George]

Besides wondering what the hell Aretha was trying to sing, and Francis looking like he wanted to hear "Think" or "Respect," Philly looked great on TV last night and today's events for the Pope's visit are shaping up as being flatout amazing.

Dont care what religion you are or non-religious leanings you may have, you have to be moved by this guy and his humanity.

[Diggle]

The city and Homeland Security really fucked the small businesses and restaurants with the scare tactics and the way this whole thing was handled though. By all accounts, center city was a ghost town.

[Irish George]

Definitely overkill...and not just Philly

they shut down the Ben Franklin Bridge and made everyone walk over. But first, Camden said, you cant park here, either. So you had a clusterbomb of people trying to drop folks off for their 4-mile hike. My friend who works at Drexel got Friday and Monday off. Too much.

that said, its still a great moment for Philly

[rothdawg]

I'm far from a good Catholic, but I've definitely been moved. I saw a story on the news the other day about a Synagogue opening themselves up this weekend for a Catholic Church in Kentucky that had nowhere to stay. It's great to hear that kind of stuff; silos being broken down, ect. The Church still has a ways to go, but he's definitely making the world a better place.

As far as security goes, I agree it was an overkill and disorganized, but this guy is the most targeted man in the world, right out there in the open.

[nor'easter]

Agree but.....

God forbid anything would happen to Pope Francis in Philadelphia.
Haters throw the snowballs at Santa BS back in the city's face decades later.
Can you imagine the eternal scorn if something were to happen?

IMO, better to be safe than sorry.

[Irish George]

that's exactly correct

I'm far from a good Catholic, but I've definitely been moved. I saw a story on the news the other day about a Synagogue opening themselves up this weekend for a Catholic Church in Kentucky that had nowhere to stay. It's great to hear that kind of stuff; silos being broken down, ect. The Church still has a ways to go, but he's definitely making the world a better place.

As far as security goes, I agree it was an overkill and disorganized, but this guy is the most targeted man in the world, right out there in the open.

better to have businesses and individuals put out than to have something happen and second guessing afterward as to why something WASNT done.

[CCPete]

Last night was like no other night. Philly should be proud.

There is something about this Pope that moves people. He moved Boehner to Bolt the Congress. A living saint.

The Philly Orchestra, Bocelli, the boy from the Keystone Choir were ....all magnificent and inspiring.

Aretha ruined two of my favorite sings.

The reason restaurants took a hit is that there was a mass exodus from Philly by those people who support them. The Pilgrims were never going to go to these restaurants to begin with. Security or no security. I'm in Avalon and it's much more crowded than it normally is at the end of Sept. Plenty of Pope Parties and the bars are full.