Spirit of America - How baseball helped children and saved lives in Afghanistan

I generally stay to local issues on this blog. But, here goes a sports and international story about volunteerism, coaching and kids. Nice read. Spirit of America

Meanwhile at home, our kids now without the coordinators who had been part of the BIG League office. They were layedoff, some in past years, two more this month. Pittsburgh's volunteers are needed to fill roles of coordinators and coaches. And, our kids need some attention too.

Peace. It's hard work and brings a lot of fun to everyone.

Show Me The Way

Confessions Of A Political Junkie: Show Me The Way All campaigns are exercises in investments. The greater the risk, the greater the reward – if successful. The greater the risk, the greater the disaster – if unsuccessful. Likewise with little risk there is little reward or disaster. Unfortunately, too many campaigns have no idea where they are positioned to know if they should take a big risk or a little risk and, if so, in which direction that risk should be targeted to get to victory.

Humm.... This fellow has a lot of good advice on his blog.

I have a good understanding of where I'm at on the map. I'm aware of the travels yet to come. I'm not adverse to taking risks. I can go out on a limb. Being a risk taker, and being calculated, is one of the only themes found in the study of successful people.

The risk element, however, plays greatly to my friends and neighbors in the city's Republican party. To do nothing in one slot on the total ballot (i.e., Mayor's race), can be the safe and prudent option. Efforts to run a candidate for mayor can backfire. The best option, still with a great, great upside, is to support these efforts, here.

Meanwhile, running for other seats is with more purpose and devotion.

KQVs AM show has some nice interviews

My AM Radio dail has been set to KQV, and I've been impressed in the past weeks. They are doing a nice job with extended interviews.

Joan from Penn Future was on to speak of the pie in the sky building of the Mon Valley Toll Road. She hit all the big points well.

Seems Paul O'n, formerly of Alcoa and Bush cabnet, is now an ex- with UPMC's board. That board is H - U - G - E. Not sure why he'd pull off there. Humm.

The KQV editorial on the city's finances made it to the air too, it seems, after three others were yanked due to changes in the conditions in the landscape. Too many cooks can spoil the broth was a theme. Beyond a recap, the only other solid statement, "Sometimes even a blind pig can find an acorn."

Finally, like the radio ads of Trizilla, a sports and fitness store run by another former Fox Chapel swim coach. I'll need to look to see if he has an affiliate program and does web banner ads. Or, just need to plug Dicks some more.

Perhaps you'd better be older than 42 to represent the 42nd?

Senate seat draws interest - PittsburghLIVE.com: "The 42nd Senatorial District includes city neighborhoods in the south and west portions of Pittsburgh, plus Baldwin, Kennedy, Neville, Robinson, Scott and Stowe townships; and Bellevue, Brentwood, Carnegie, Castle Shannon, Coraopolis, Crafton, Dormont, Green Tree, Heidelberg, Ingram, McKees Rocks, Pennsbury Village, Rosslyn Farms and Thornburg boroughs. "

Row Office Reform tidbits

One idea: Make the recorder of deeds a function of a new office on assessments. That County Assessor could and perhaps should be an elected official. Property assessments have been such a tooth ache around here. Putting it as a political office, with accountability to the voters might be a viable solution. So, that is an increase in Row Offices.

The Prothonatary, Clerk of the Courts, and Register of Wills, (that's three current row offices) should be servants to the courts, not the County Executive. The PA Governor does not appoint the positions for similar state positions. Rather, the court officials do.

Perhaps a court challenge will come in the weeks and months in the future from, none other than the court leadership. The judges are not going to like the fact that the leaders of those possitions are assigned by the county executive.

Now looking for signatures to call a public hearing

A petition is being circulated that calls for a public hearing before city council on the matter of the campiagn finance reform bill just introduced yesterday. We have until Friday to get the necessary signatures from voters in the city.

Furthermore, we'll need to huddle a bit to organize the points for and against the bill.

I'll try to get golden master copies of the petition online soon (by midnight at the latest) so you can print, sign and forward back to me or directly to the city clerk's office.

The bill itself has been put into a PDF and linked to from another blog entry here. Reactions welcomed in comments here too.

Jobs: Web Marketing Manager - for Gr. Pgh Convention & Visitors

Idealist.org: Web Marketing Manager

See comments for other interesting job postings this week including:

1. Bloomfield Garfield Corporation for a YouthLinks position.

2. East End Neighborhood Employment Center for Executive Director.

3. Stonewall Dems for DC political director.

Christmas strings concerts

My boys are playing their violins with the Pittsburgh Music Acadmey at PPG Wintergarden at 5: pm on Saturday, Dec. 11.

Plus, you can catch them at 2 pm on December 19 at the Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie.

Ho, ho, ho. Tickets are $0.

I'm not sure when the school concert is, exactly. Their holiday play was scratched as the teacher had a bad fall and messed her ankle. Get well soon! My older boy had a speaking part, 4-lines, and was to play the Mayor.

Row office reform

I talked with Wayne Fontana of County Council on the phone. He worked a lot on the row-office reform measures and process. It seems the idea of 10-ballot questions, one for each elected office, was talked about. Wayne, perhaps being nice to me, said he like that idea and pushed for it himself.

By the way, Wayne and I are both expected to be on the campaign trails seeking the PA Senate seat in the 42nd District. Disclosure ends.

But, the Republicans didn't like the 10-votes idea. Nor did the Dems. Wayne didn't have a lot of support.

The fear was that the public would be so mad that they'd transition all 10 from elected office status.

How about this as a wrinkle for the veto's counter measure. The election is May 2005. Any given office transitions from elected to appointed could occur January 1, 2006. But, if the case of more than five (50%) transitions are voted upon, the remaining ones (6, 7, 8, 9, 10?) are to terminate Jan 1, 2007.

The offices that are mandated with a higher percentage of voters for closing close first. The offices that are less strongly in favor of an appointed leader transfer in 2007, if that is the will of the appointed leader of that office. Sooner would be permitted.

Bill's bill about too many bills. Pay to play -- nickle bets

Newly introduced campaign reform bill in a PDF with notes from me.

Hot off the presses. Some new rules are coming in time for the 2005 mayor's race, if Bill Peduto has his way. Bill is being talked about as a candidate. So, he is going to change the laws in serious ways now? Are you nuts? Let's change the goal post in the first quarter of the game.

I think I'll try to peg this the JIM THORPE rule. Thorpe was an Olympian. Great athlete. Poor background. Won medals. Lost medals because he broke the amateur athlete code and got some cash to play baseball. Those rule at that time were part of the sporting landscape to favor the rich. The poor kids, like today, can't travel to tournaments to compete without some cash to get there. But the rich could.

We do need to put these concepts onto the table and talk about them. There is a lot of "Pay To Play" in the city's fabric. However, this law is not yet ready for prime time. There should be a public hearing put on the law as soon as possible, for starters.

Trend: Too late. This should have surfaced six months ago.

If this isn't the JIM THORPE law, perhaps it will be the Earl Jones law. Earl has a wealthy nephew who could bankroll the mayor's race for Earl. Are the Democrats afraid of that?

Another kicker was today's city council action. A contract was awarded to a firm, Mockenhaupt Benefits Group that finances some of the benefits package of city workers. It is some finance deal that the administration wants to put into place. Deal like this happen all the time. But, two on council, Luke and Jim, voted no. They both, and Gene might have been absent but raised some questions last week, wanted to see a contract of that value be put out to bid -- or at least to a RFP process (Request for Proposals). But no. The mayor of the city wants to spend the money is a fashion as he sees fit -- without a bid. And, Bill Peduto is fine with that. I'm not.

Bid all the contracts.

New campaign reforms would not be needed if everything in the city was done on the up and up. The proposed law states that any person who makes a maximum contribution during an election cycle may not be awarded a contract relating to City affairs, without going through a competitive bidding process. Jeepers. Have all the awarded contracts be done with a competitive bid.

Furthermore, who is to say what's what. Who works at the benefits group, or owns it, or manages it, or rents space to it --- whatever --- who is giving to various campaigns. As it is today, no corporate donations can be made to campaigns. So, Mockenhaupt Benefits Group isn't going to show up in the campaign finance reports.

There are many better things to do than this law. How about, for starters, we give each candidate for office 10 hours on the government station as soon as they are on the ballot. Let's let all the candidates make their case. Rather, we get flashing photo billboards of all the members in office now for free for four years at a time.

RCAC.net team nets Monica for political director

See the comments for a mention from Bob G, the GOP Chair. Lots of strong females are in the upper ranks of the county's GOP team.

Do more with Les

It's a good campaign slogan: Do More with Les. That's Les Ludwig.

Today Mr. Ludwig tossed his hat, officially, into the Democratic Mayor's race primary. He talked about the lack of leadership in the city council chambers, in the administration AND with the unions.

Doubt you'll see much in the newspaper or on the radio. His arrival into the race is going to make it rocky for Bob O'Connor. There is some history between the two. Bob O'Connor, as his city councilman, didn't help in a home-care operation.

Les has dug on a few different issues. I've posted his comments on the issues to the internet at my sites.

PG: The people lose / Needed repairs come to nothing

EditorialThe legislation that brought casino gambling to Pennsylvania was flawed in various ways, but the most flagrant irritant to many ordinary people was the provision allowing public officials to have up to a 1 percent stake in gambling entities. A public outcry went up to fix this open invitation to a conflict of interest, and lawmakers hurried to oblige.

That effort has come to nothing... When Republican Sen. John Pippy of Moon introduced Senate Bill 1209 in August, it was a simple affair dealing with the 1 percent problem. When it reached the governor's desk last month, it was anything but simple. The bill was loaded with amendments and Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it....

This was a collective failure of the executive and legislative branches, Democrats and Republicans. Many Pennsylvanians wanted something done and what they got was a parody of casino life: a lot of action and no final payout. Shamefully, it is another thing that the politicians did without getting right. It's a piece of unfinished business that must be revived next year."

This goes to the trends of doing too little, doing it too late, and one-step better than the worst possible. We need higher standards. Perhaps our expectations need to be raised? When you aim low, it is hard to miss.

10-4 vote for 10-4 question on row office reform

Passed council, 10-4 for 10-4.: "'I think this is a historic moment to reform and reorganize county government,' Rich Fitzgerald said after the meeting."

Everything is so dramatic and so historic. Give us a break.

And, to say it is only 'fair' to let the officials serve out their terms is NOT fair to the will of the people. Fair for row offices. The fair thing to do is put each office before the voters and have it stand on its own.

Give us 10 ballot questions, one for each office. Then let's see how the campaign works.

Dan could veto their plan and get the necessary signatures to put his 10-2 plan onto the ballot. Or, Dan could counter with a 10 office 10 vote plan. Thankfully, there is still a little time.

Anyone else what to offer a ballot question for discussion? This is the time to toss it out into the marketplace of ideas for review.

Place those orders to getting ready for Christmas?

In the next days I've got to come to grips with our final purchase for our kids. Do they do Linux at the North Polo or do we have to get an elf from Round Rock, TX? My kids don't read my blog, as they are generally into Backyard Baseball. But, if you have had any good values let me know in the comments. Thanks in advance.

Christmas Party -- RSVP form

Thanks for the RSVP. Idealist.org: Christmas Party, slated for 7:30 pm on Wednesday, December 15 on the South Side.

You can use this page to invite up to six others as well. Thanks!

Sunday's Libertarian Party, Dec. 12, 7 pm - Monroeville

I'll be there. Hope you can consider it and attend as well. To RSVP, send me an email or put it into the comments.

Sunday, Dec 12th 7 PM. Annual Libertarian Party of Pgh (Allegheny County) Holiday Party at John Harvard's on Business route 22 in Monroeville. This is next to Penn Center and across the street from the Cinnemette East. Everyone on this list is invited. We have to plan the details in the next few days, gather RSVPs and send out additional invitations. Admission will be free. There will be separate checks.

We will probably have a 50/50 raffle to get funds for the party. Anyone can join the LPPgh for an additional year for the reduced rate of $20 at the holiday party. We should hold a short meeting, ratify the chapter election results, possibly nominate someone to run for Jack Wagner's vacated state senate seat, then adjoun. There is no out of town speaker this year, but potential candidates may wish to speak.

We should also take a few minutes to recap 2004 and lay out a general plan for 2005. John Harvard's is a brew pub that makes about 20 varieties of beer. Their food is British/American and includes entrees like chicken pot pie, shrimp scampi, blackened chicken something or other, Oriental chicken salad, grilled salmon,
etc.

Replacement sought for Wagner's state Senate seat

Replacement sought for Wagner's state Senate seatThough no date has been chosen for the special election, the election will probably be in the spring, and could coincide with the spring primary."

To date, the only Republican to publicly express interest in running for Wagner's Senate seat is David Jason, a Scott Township commissioner.

(Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 1-717-787-2141.)

My adivce is headed to Harrisburg in a letter soon. I'm asking that the special election for this open seat be held on May 17, 2005. That special election can occur at the same time as the primary election day so as to save money. The costs of a special election for a Senate seat are too steep to hold on its own day.

I was at an organizational meeting this weekend with some former DEAN supporters from throughout the county. They started to talk about the open PA Senate seat and the need to get good candidates. I spoke up and said, "I resemble that remark." Later I had the floor for a three minute update and invited them to the wiki, Platform.For-Pgh.Org.

Row office reform solution -- unbundle and take on a case by case vote.

I wrote to Erik Selby, Program Manager, KQV, and asked if I might provide an audio editorial.

Row office reform is a big topic in 2005. Our county's chief executive has a plan to reduce the elected offices from ten to two. Others on council and in our political system have different plans, be it 6 or 5 or otherwise.

Rather than a bundled package, I'd love to see the voters of the county deal with each office on a case by case basis. Rather than one question for the voters with an outcome of for example, 10-2, take it or leave it.

Let's think again. Let's ask ten questions.

Should the county charter be changed so as to keep and elected position of:

Treasurer: vote "YES" or "NO."

District Attorney: vote "YES" or "NO."

Sheriff: vote "YES" or "NO."

(and so on)

Listing all the office postions could be squeezed into the radio's message.

The voters are smart enough to take this apart on a case by case basis. The vote would allow each office to campaign or not for their role within the new structure.

When there is a bundled deal, this gives cover. The process should be open, honest and clear for all to see.

As voters are not aware of the issue, they'd be encouraged to not vote and leave the decision to those who have strong opinions on the matter. But, in the course of the campiagns, good news outlets would rise to the call for more voter eduction, also on a case by case basis. This educational exposure would make the county stronger and serve as a civics primer to many.

Western Pennsylvania lags in terms of our use of democracy. Let's provide more power to the people. Our use of referendums and ballot questions is horrid. We should enliven this process as a tool of democracy. Self-reliance is in short supply and greatly needed before we can solve the various crises we face.

###

Of course, I'd re-write for length before going to the studio.

What to do with three Apple Laser Printers?

I've got three broken Apple laser printers. Two are LaserWriters II and one is a LaserWriter Pro (600?). There was a time when these cost thousands. All have had heavy use and served me well. Is there a repair guy out there? Is a rehab even possible? Anyone want them for parts? The Apple stores don't deal with them.

Thanks for your advice and tips, Mark at Rauterkus dot com -- or in the comments.