Pitt News - O'Conner enters third race for mayor

The Pitt News - O'Conner enters third race for mayor: "We're headed in the wrong direction," O'Connor said, citing the city's precarious financial situation and untended relationships with county and state government. "We need to put Pittsburgh on the right track."

The right track. What is the right track, Bob?

Four years ago, as Bob and I were on the campaign trails, I had the opportunity to hear Bob speak often. Perhaps more than 100 times. And, I've watched Bob operate as a member of City Council as well. I have a good memory. I observe like a lifeguard should.

My suggestion four years ago to Tom Murphy, one of Bob's opponents, was to brand the expression: "When you don't know where you want to go, any road will take you there."

Pittsburgh needs to be put onto the right track. No doubt. But, what track should we pick? Why? How do we get there?

The quality of our directions is what is needed. We can't say, any longer, go to where the Roy Rodgers was, turn left. Then turn at the bend where the Isley's was, and go past the former factory site, blah, blah, blah.

We need a compass that isn't mired in mud. We need roads that are not with ruts and potholes. We need maps -- with fresh concepts and excellent leadership that know and understand the region.

Time will tell if Bob's campaign is but another re-tred or not.

Meet: Katrina Brabham, Campaign Manager

Katrina comes to us from the San Francisco Bay Area by way of New York City and Washington, DC. A graduate of Columbia College, she lived in the Bay Area for 11 years where she worked primarily in the biotech industry. Katrina moved to Pittsburgh in 1998 with the hopes of working in the nascent tissue engineering industry. Currently, she works in a local company's R&D facility as a laboratory technician. She is also working towards a B.S. in Chemistry, Bioscience Option, at the University of Pittsburgh with the hopes of graduating in December 2006. Her ambitions include an eventual Masters Degree in Bioengineering.

Katrina's Pittsburgh home has always been on the North Side. First, she resided in the Mexican War Streets and now lives in Observatory Hill. Her home is in the city but not within the borders of the PA Senate 42nd District.

In the past two years, Katrina has become more and more politically and socially active. She is a member of the Urban League Young Professionals, the Green Party, and Observatory Hill, Inc. Last year she worked on the the campaign of a Green Party member in the General Assembly, District 21 election.

Call for new business network by Herb for GOPers

Herb and Ron are putting out a call for a new business network. See the comments for details.

Libertarians gather for the monthly meeting this week. Join us if you wish.

The February meeting of the Libertarian Party of Allegheny County is starts at 7 pm on this coming Wednesday, February 16, at Ritters Diner on Baum Blvd.

All are welcome to attend.

Wiki coverage. We do this at Platform.For-Pgh.org

New tools ease collaboration and publishing online The idea is to make it easy to quickly post and remove stuff from digital bulletin boards where the online communities of the future will gather to catch up and trade ideas, images and work.

'We're turning the Web into a conversation,' said Glenn Reid, chief executive and founder of Five Across Inc.

Link goes to a nice article. But, that isn't new, really.

Blogs can get you fired ... she started a 'Bloggers Rights Movement,' calling on other bloggers to sign a petition demanding that companies let employees know their blog policies."

Meanwhile, the backlash is nasy for some who are not insulated.

What I'm doing, running for public office, isn't for everyone. I realize that I'm one of the very few who are fortunate enough to have the built-in protections with job safety. I'm not an island. But, I don't have a the normal sets of worries that 98% of the rest of the population.

I'm thrilled to study, endorse and greatly extend sensible bills of rights for bloggers and whistleblowers.

As we clean house and put fresh insights into office, piles of dirt are going to surface. Everything won't be fixed with one victory on the polls on election day. In time, as others see that we are strongly committed to open, direct, accountable, responsible, problem solving -- a flood discussions will emerge.

Server Re-tooling and upgrades

The servers we deploy within our efforts are being upgraded. More capacity, more utility, more focus. Hence, some of the pages won't be accessible for a few days, perhaps.

Thanks for your understanding.

It is okay to email me at: Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com.
Call: 412 298 3432.

Parties set to make picks for Wagner's Senate seat

Today's ink in the Post-Gazette:

Parties set to make picks for Wagner's Senate seat: "Besides the Democratic and Republican candidates, there will be a third hopeful in the race -- Libertarian Party candidate Mark Rauterkus, a South Side community activitist.

This is a solid article on the race as it looks today.

Yesterday I went to the Election Department and obtained the list of all the county's committee members for both of the old-parties. The list is a little old in that the open spaces can be filled with appointments. Those appointments are not always reported with frequency to the Election Department.

I could fax a copy of the public list to anyone who might be interested.

These lists should be open and revealed to the public, in my opinion. I like open and transparent representation. Both of the old parties try to guard their lists to a degree. Prove me wrong if you can. I'd be happy if it were not so.

Some stonewalling treatment would be expected if you tried to seek the list yourself.

Zappala must be busy.

Zappala probing payment to Wecht Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has launched a criminal investigation of county Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht for possible violations of state and federal law.
...
the DA's investigation is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Claus, who oversees the office's public corruption section. He also is in charge of an inquiry into whether Mayor Tom Murphy and city firefighters union President Joseph King broke state law in connection with the 2001 mayoral primary.

I can't begin to figure out what's up with all of these cases. I dare not go there but only to say that, at times, it takes a new broom to sweep clean. We need to clean house. We need to pull ourselves up and out of the mud, the court cases and corruption.

Part of the Platform.For-Pgh.org looks at the trend to run quickly and often to court. If elected, I'll try to raise our margin of litigation.

Song: Don't Put Me In a box by Johnsmith

I grew up in a big clan, small town in the heartland.
Was the third of ten kids, good Irish Catholic.
We went to school down at ol' St Joe's, we had catechism with the nums in the robes.
They took their chalk and drew our souls, boxes full of sins on the big blackboard.

Chorus:
Sometimes, some people try so hard.
To put us in a box, and tell us that's who we are.
Well I'm not, no no I'm not.
I am more than what they see. I am one more mystery.
Oh please, don't put me in a box.

I'm a whole lot more than these arms and legs, hands or feet or whiskered face.
A while lot more than my family tree, or where I'm from or the friends I keep.
I went down to the bank to ge me a loan. The man at the desk said to fill out the form.
Your name, your age, your job, your pay, your whole life story on one small page.

Chorus.

Bridge:
Will I dreamt myself a dream last night. I dreamt the gates of heaven were open wide.
Ol' St. Peter was holdin' a sign. He said there aint no boxes allowed inside.
So when I got up, I got to thinkin'. Maybe ol' St. Peter, he wasn't kidin'. Maybe it's time I lit a match. Burn my boxes, and never look back.

Sometimes, some of us try so hard, to hold onto our boxes that tell us that's who we are.
Well I'm not, no, no, I'm not.
I am more than what they see. I am one big mystery.
Oh please, please, don't put me in a box.

Don't put me in a white box.
Don't put me in a black box.
Don't put me in a straight box.
Dont' put me in some gay box.
Don't put me in a rich box, poor box, young box, old box.
Smart box, stupid box, left box, right box.
Red, white, and blue box.
Please don't put me in a box.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple: A Local Rant

This comes from another site. Talks about the battles among Ds and Rs.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple: A Local Rant: "One more reason why I hate republicans is because they buy democrats.

IT spending on the increase among Fed budgets -- especially for VA efforts

Government spending on technology efforts allow for better services and efficient operations.

Bush wants 7 percent IT increase President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal 2006 calls for a 7 percent increase in information technology spending governmentwide to $65.1 billion, including significant increases for the Homeland Security Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The proposal, to be sent to Capitol Hill Feb. 7, represents a modest 4.9 percent increase for the Defense Department and a 9 percent increase for civilian agencies. Overall, it seeks a 7.1 percent, or $4.3 billion, for IT governmentwide.

Budget documents obtained by Federal Computer Week include proposed IT cuts for other agencies. Among the losers are the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management and NASA.

But the biggest winners in the proposal, which is expected to be altered significantly before it becomes law, are DHS, which would get a 24.7 percent increase; the VA, which would get a 29.2 percent increase; the Justice Department, which would get a 20.2 percent increase; and the National Science Foundation, which would get a 25.6 percent increase.

Wired: ponderings about new music with technology changing the landscape

Music matters for me for three different reasons. First, I enjoy and support it as a consumer, audience member, and fan. Second, the digial landscape is important as we build the campaign. We'll inject music and have done so already. Third comes the challenge of being one who governs. The lawmaker in me is going to be able to put my insights into action in the state house and among other law-making bodies.

Wired 13.02: VIEW Record labels are threatened by technologies that give fans access to music in ways no one ever planned. They plead with Congress for more laws to control the fans. Activist organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge (on whose boards this columnist sits) are fighting back. They (we) demand an end to the war, and the attack on innovation that it represents.

I am a friend of the open-source ways. And, I'm much more than a friend of those styles when I'm elected. We need to look out for the public domain. We can't just cave to the corporate lawyers.

These issues are in quick evolution in education, publishing, industry and the global culture. We need to have an understanding of the various forms and a strong sense of responsibility to the public at large.

Re-Wiring the Future of Community Organizing

Interestng article for civic folks and the internet. Rosen, a Pittsburgh guy, gets nice ink for his work in the early cycles with Howard Dean.

DDN Articles - Re-Wiring the Future of Community Organizing

One of the saddest bit of internet news came last weekend when it was announced that D-Net was dead. That was a project of the League of Women Voters.

New thorn in the side of the NO-We-HAV efforts in west end.

See the comments to see Paul Senter's latest email. The refunds due some months ago have not yet materialized.

Get out of town. Downtown roadblocks = URA and Tom Murphy

Heavy handed Grant Street actions are going to kills this region. The recovery and healing can't occur while those folks are in charge.

Broker: City is blocking Lazarus-Macy's deal A local broker for a New York City developer who once had an agreement to buy the vacant Lazarus-Macy's building Downtown claims the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority and mayor's office have been trying to scuttle a sale ...

City Paper Letter:

pghcitypaper.com

Our leadership doesn’t “suck,” but rather needs to become a more vigorous competition of ideas and direction for our city.

Well said John Fetterman of Braddock.

Mayor Tom Murphy and Michael Diven have been holding hands for a decade

It is my strong belief that Michael Diven is much like Tom Murphy. I've been fighting the good fight against Tom Murphy at every turn for the past seven or eight years. I'm not excited to see Diven rise in stature in the public realm. Diven and Murphy are close buddies. Their policies have hurt our region in a number of ways.

City Council to ask PennDOT to fix I-376 'bathtub' - PittsburghLIVE.com State Rep. Michael Diven, D-Brookline, was appointed by Mayor Tom Murphy to a seat on the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority. His term will expire Dec. 31, 2009.

PG letter to editor about the defection of Diven

Letters to the editor: 2/10/05: "We are Democrats

With Michael Diven's recent move to the Republican Party, he has in effect decided for me and thousands of other devoted Democrats who voted him into office that our vote should have instead gone to boost the Republican majority in the Pennsylvania House and Senate ('Brookline Democrat Diven Switches to GOP,' Jan. 30). What? As once said by Helen Keller: 'Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.' But in voting for Michael Diven, I in fact voted for both Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and now see that I did in fact choose a real and avowed autocrat.

Apparently it does not matter to Michael Diven that we who elected him are loyal Democrats, committed to the ideals for which the party stands, and that to us, the designation of 'Democrat' is far more than a name. Mr. Diven is an ingrate to believe himself to be bigger than the vote of the little folk who elected him. He is a fool to believe himself above the values for which the Democratic Party stands, and for which I faithfully place my vote.

He has no concept that he was elected to a public service position and has showed his complete disregard for the will of the voters.

When my street is not paved in the summer or cleaned in the winter, when our local businesses and schools are shutting down, when my neighborhood is overrun with crime, when I cannot afford my public transportation or when I cannot sell my house because my property value is decreasing, I am certain that the Republican majority will stand up and fight for me, since the avowed autocrat-elect, Michael 'Tweedledee-Tweedledum' Diven, upon his personal volition, has decided that I and my fellow lifelong Democrats would be better served by Republicans.

KAREN WAIGHT
Democratic Committeewoman
22nd Legislative District
Beechview

Meet Wilburn Hayden, Ph.D., Director for Social Policy and Research

As a member of Elect.Rauterkus.com commitee in the role of Director for Social Policy and Research, Wilburn Hayden, Ph.D., bring many skills and experiences to the campaign.

Home owner: 91 South 24th Street (South Side) – Not in 42nd District.

Wilburn is an experienced social worker educator. He is a Full Professor and Director of the Masters of Social Work Program at California University of Pennsylvania.

He has been active in mostly Democratic political campaigns and politics for more than thirty years in North Carolina, Ontario, Canada, and Pennsylvania. Wilburn currently chairs Pennsylvania's social workers political action committee. Wilburn has had major responsibilities in more than 10 political campaigns.

Calliope Legends Concert, 8 pm on February 19, 2005

From Wilburn: This is NOT an event associated with Elect.Rauterkus.com.

An Evening with Kreg Viesselman: Rusty voice of a classic singer/songwriter/straggle hell-bent on raking the dregs with his six string while showering souls with humorous and humane lyrics; Heart wrenching, warm, poignant…yet laced with acrid wit…the road-worn voice and country blues-steeped guitar of Kreg Viesselman echo the long gone tradition of the rambling singer/songwriter. This guy is good… he's writing some great stuff! ”-Taj Mahal. It's no surprise that Kreg's songwriting is fetching such praise, as his wanderlust has taken him from the small Midwestern town in which he was born and placed him beside some of the most bizarre and intriguing characters in America.

www.kregviesselman.com

8 pm on Feb. 19, First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Avenue, Shadyside (at the intersection of Morewood & Ellsworth Avenues). Admission for the Evening is $15.00 at the Door. Students $5.00.

Please pass this on to others interested in acoustic music and folk singer\songwriters.

Calliope still has tickets for Feb. 12 8:00 PM - Alvin Youngblood Hart; Brad Yoder – opening artist Tickets: 412-394-3353 or www.proartstickets.org. Alvin Youngblood Hart … a 2003 Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy Award nominee
www.mojomusic.com/alvin