Pittsburgh doesn't need a 'populist' mayor - PittsburghLIVE.com

Pittsburgh doesn't need a 'populist' mayor - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Let's elect a 'populist,' by jove!

Not so fast. For we must first take stock of what a 'populist' really is."

On many fronts, I'm a populist. My platform logo, "We, the people" is textbook along these lines.

But, as Colin McN knows, we don't need a lover boy. At another site, there is an expression, "Everyone loves Bill." Right. I don't. And, its a darn good thing I don't love him. But that handle is going to be foreign to the descriptions of myself.

We need and I deliver what is generally called, "Tough love." Perhaps this is my coaching background. Perhaps it is my binary computer background. Perhaps it is my parenting background. Perhaps it is my holistic approach.

I've picked fights with the Trib. When the Pgh Biz Times got it wrong, I visited their office. The later fixed their untruths by zapping history re-writes from the web site. The former still is AWOL. Same too for others in the public light. I give props and give jabs as a loyal, civil player should. You'll get praise and critique from me, honestly. And, we all learn to build respect and live for another day.

... conservatives and libertarians want the government to leave Mr. and Mrs. Public alone. ... Modern-day liberals, socialists, progressives -- "new populists" -- want government to "save" them. My stance is as a Libertarian -- wanting government to leave us alone.

As in a person with a good, if not self-deprecating, personality and good social skills who understands we all have a stake in the future of the city -- sure. But we certainly cannot afford a "populist" in the historical sense. The public molestation in the name of the "public good" has gone on long enough. Many wounds remain open. The scars are deep. The carnage is widespread. The pockets remain turned out; the purse, pilfered.

Thus, we don't need a new mayor who has a degree in "urban design studies," "government dynamics," "progressive public policy" or some other fancy-schmancy elitist degree who thinks he can circumvent the fundamental laws of economics.

Amen Brother Colin!

The line, "PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS" --- like music. Said it often myself.

Homespun Bloggers Question, family vacations

What was your favorite family vacation (when you were a kid), and why? If you have children, have you taken your kids on that same vacation? If so, what did they think of it?

Our best trips were with cousins. As a family we had a drive from Pittsburgh to New York for a wedding of an older cousin. The NY clan moved out of our home town. They talked funny. Yet we all were family.

Another time was to the N.J. beach and a stay for a week at a campground, again with pseudo-cousins. Our family went with another family, and we called their dad Uncle Jack.

We didn't get out much. Hardly at all when contrasted to the travels of my family with our kids. As I type, my wife is in DC for her professional board meeting. We'll be back there in the spring for nearly a week, staying in a suite. My kids have been to China, Canada, Wyoming, California, Maine -- all in the same year. I took my first airplane trip after I graduated from high school.