Pitt football is moving beyond MAC opponents for non-conference games -- yes!

PittsburghPanthers.com - Football Stories The University of Pittsburgh will add five high-caliber opponents to its non-conference football schedule in the coming decade.

Pitt athletic director Jeff Long announced today future non-conference games with Iowa, Miami (Fla.), NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

This year Pitt is to travel to Ohio University in Athens to play a Friday night game in September. I'm an OU grad. I love Athens and my time there was great. But, I'm not planning on going. But the big news is how Pitt is choosing to play Va Tech in the future, and sidestep the likes of the OU Bobcats and Furman.

It is a good move to see Pitt's football schedule filled with more worthy, traditional powers.

The other point of interest is how IOWA is going to show up. Visually, when Pitt takes the field against the Hawkeyes, there will be many in the Burgh and western PA who won't know who to cheer for at first glance. The TV highlights most of all will look like Pitt is playing against the Steelers.

IOWA's colors are black and gold and the uniforms greatly resemble the outfits of the South Side Sabres. (giggle)

ACLU and Patriot Act call

Decisive House and Senate votes on the future of the Patriot Act are right around the corner. For nearly four years now, our government has claimed the kind of unchecked power and lack of due process that challenge our most fundamental principles of freedom and democracy.

While the Bush Administration and some leaders in Congress want to make every one of those powers permanent (and even expand the Patriot Act's assault on fundamental freedoms) there is good news: Democratic and Republican members of Congress, and liberal and conservative opinion leaders, are speaking out against the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act.

Join the ACLU and Working Assets to make your voice heard. Tell Congress that the Patriot Act should not be made permanent, let alone expanded:
http://action.aclu.org/Petition3

JP's blog: The Conversation covers the passing of a RUNNING MATE: What was he doing with Perot?

The Conversation: What was he doing with Perot?: "What was he doing with Perot?
I am embarrased to admit that until he died, I knew Admiral James Stockdale ....

Great feats and good posting, well worth the read.

Bigger Budget and Bigger Pay for Harrisburg's Politicians

The state house and state senate put in a late budget and is about to get some pay raises. The pay increases are going to state lawmakers, judges, and top honchos within the executive-branch.

The 2005-06 budget of $24.27 billion represents a 6.1% increase in spending over this year's budget of $22.87 billion. This marks an 18% increase in spending for PA since Gov. Rendell took office in 2003.

The pay increase for lawmakers increases base pay 16% from $69,647 to $81,050. Committee chairmen pay increased by 28% to $89,155, and committee vice-chairmen pay increased by 22% to $85,103. Majority and minority leaders' pay increased 24% from $100,911 to $124,788. Pay for the Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tempore increased 34% from $108,724 to $145,553.

The pay rates, since the time of Gov Ridge, were hooked to the rate of inflation in Phili. This pay hike goes above and beyond that one that was to last deep into the future.

The PA House and Senate members' I ran against, Diven, R, and Fontana, D, both voted for the tardy budget and voted against the pay raise.

Aug 20 date from Herb. Healthcare discussions slated.

Herb sent out an email:

In Chester County (population 500,000), at least two head trauma patients have died during the one-hour ride to Lancaster General Hospital. Why? Because there are no full time neurosurgeons and no trauma center left in Chester County.

In Titusville, just north of here, the last orthopedic surgeon left earlier this year. Across the state, OB/GYN’s have dropped obstetrics from their practice.

And at present, only 4% of the doctors in Pennsylvania are under the age of 35.

What’s going on? The answer is that the high costs of medical malpractice insurance (and also the high probability of being sued) are driving physicians out of the state or into early retirement.

In 2003, though, the state legislature passed a reform bill which has had a positive effect. The 1,815 medical malpractice suits filed in 2004 were a 34% drop from the 2,751 average of the years 2000 to 2002.

The state representative who spearheaded that bill, Mike Turzai introduced another malpractice reform bill in June of this year and is coming to the Rogues breakfast on Saturday, August 20 to tell us about it. And to tell us how we may be able to help get it passed.

When: 9 AM, Saturday, August 20, 2005
Where: The Holiday Inn on Fort Couch Road in Bethel Park
Cost: $13.00

Please RSVP by Friday, Aug 19 to 412 279.1222 or email Herb so that I can get a count for the Holiday Inn. You may still attend (PLEASE) even if you don't RSVP.

Please pass the word to people you know and invite them to join us this Saturday. This should be an informative session.

Brewski Laverne and Shirley style: PabstCity funding clears key hurdle. Meanwhile Iron City web site still drunk on saving city.

JS Online: PabstCity funding clears key hurdle The proposed PabstCity entertainment and retail development should get $41 million in city financial assistance, based on a recommendation Tuesday by a Milwaukee Common Council committee.

Perhaps Iron City could be saved if we turned the brewery into loft apartments and did a "metro-pole" disco downstairs.

Well, we tried that with the Duke Brewery and have the Brew House artists' lofts on the South Side. That's the building complex near the South Side Hospital and the one with the big clock. And, it isn't so "upscale." But, it happened without the $41-million in public money.

What's up with Iron City anyway? Did the water bill issue get resolved?

The iron-clad irony of the I.C. Brewery saga was the opening, about a year ago, of the Save Our City web site, with its distinctive oval label. As is the case with most beers -- the head was mostly foam. The chuckle of a company doing a web site to save the city while the company was going under and beholden to the grip of the Water And Sewer Authority was intoxicating.

Don't drink and drive nor blog.

It's time to pull plug on monorail

Here are a few great examples of how NOT to do it right. But, as is the case in most ventures in life, there is never a shortage of scripts for failures. And, what plays well in one area may not work in another.

It's time to pull plug on monorail My sense is that the Seattle Monorail Project has entered a lengthy, costly death spiral.

It's time to show mercy on Seattle's squeezed middle-class taxpayers. Let's pull the plug on this exercise of duplicity and waste.

The agency has managed already to pile up a $100 million debt, with what to show for it? It is chugging along at $4 million a month. Interesting to see will be cost figures on the spasm of advertising churned out to defend the discredited financing plan.

In Pittsburgh, at least, we've not spent too much money on Maglev. Sending Brenda to a German vacation or taking some photos while we're in China is not a big deal.

But, we've already spent a lot of money on the plan for the tunnels under the river to the ball parks on the lower North Side.

This is when it takes courage to pull the plug. After spending a good bit of money, it is harder to stop. But, it makes sense to do so from time to time. Don't toss good money after bad. All the spending in the world might not save some projects and turn them into prudent projects that are community centered and sustainable.

Even the convention center enters this type of thinking. Great building, but great burden with overhead and upkeep. Its costs to operate are high, year in and year out. So, we should consider a cut to those losses. I don't mean we should tear it down. Rather, we should sell it off.

Turn the convention center into the slots parlor. Then let the operators of the slots parlor also be private venture for the stadium and exibition authority. They'd run the convention center without any public money. They'd buy it from us.

Then if they want to build another slots hall -- fine. Do it while they operate the one in the Convention Center and then they'll be able to turn the Convention Center into something else -- on their own.

The city and county don't need to be in the big gambling business of being a conention center operator. But, we've got it now. And, we can get out of it soon, with the slots license.

As a zoning move, we could zone the convention center as a facility that is okay for slots. Then the ball is rolling in our favor.

Not Sore Loser. Rather Sore Victor. To the victor goes the spoils.

I'd rather not say anything here and now as I don't want to get "paved over" nor "railroaded" nor "9-to-5-ed" (whatever that might mean).

I did see Diven driving to town yesterday in his big black SUV. I guess he had a court date. Did he miss the budget session in Harrisburg for this?

Libel lawsuit has undercurrent of South Hills political battle Libel lawsuit has undercurrent of South Hills political battle

Wednesday, July 06, 2005
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A long-running battle for political dominance in the city's southern wards went litigious yesterday, as a city councilman sued a foe backed by a rival group.

Going to the Games and checking out Big Ben

Big Ben will look great decked out in Olympic rings. Not #6. London in 2012.

I see London. I see France. I see Kennywood is expanding too. What's up with that?

Trivia: Kennywood has a mono-rail that it purchased a few years ago. Presently, that eqipment is in storage. For Brenda's sake, it isn't a 'high speed' ride.

High Speed Train to Harrisburg in one hour, so wants Brenda. Think Again!

KQV did an interview with County Councilwoman, Brenda Fraiser who is back from a seminar about high-speed trains in Germany. She'd like to go from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg in one hour.

OMG.

We took a ride on Maglev in China. Stay tuned....

One slight peek at the difference between the China and PA high-speed train experiments -- people. They've got millions of people all around there, yet that train was still mostly empty.

Another org outraged by PA Budget -- Club for Growth

FOR July 5, 2005 from: Kathryn English, 717.541.5000

Pennsylvania Club for Growth Challenges GOP Leaders to "just say NO"
What happened to the Pro-Growth Agenda for PA

HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Club for Growth challenges all General Assembly members to say NO, not only to the $24 billion proposed budget but NO to their own 14% pay increase.

The PA Club and its members are somewhat confused by the recent embrace of lower taxes and limited government by the General Assembly GOP leadership, yet with a 110 to 93 republican majority it is rumored that not only will Governor Rendell get his $23.8 billion budget passed but it will be increased to approximately $24 billion, an estimated 4.8% increase will be approved in the late evening tonight. It was this same leadership in 2004 that not only passed a budget that was more than double the rate of inflation, but even upped Gov. Rendell’s spending plan by $160 million more.

PA Club for Growth Executive Director Kathryn English is questioning, “what happened to House Bill 1663 sponsored by Rep. Feese and co-sponsored by 81 Pennsylvania Representatives, including 5 of the 7 House Majority leaders?" House bill 1663 would constitutionally limit annual increases in state spending to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index, this year limiting spending to 2.8%. "Although not ideal this is far better than the approximately 4.9% proposed increase" stated English.

To add insult to injury for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania, the General Assembly is considering voting themselves a $10,000 or 14% increase to increase base salary to $79,647. In January, legislators already received an automatic annual cost-of-living increase of $3,700 – more than 5%. In addition to their salaries, most state lawmakers receive $128 a day in expense money when they are in Harrisburg and each member may charge up to nearly $8,000 a year for auto expense.

"What happened to Senator Brightbill’s “Taxpayer Fairness Act," introduced this spring with the co-sponsorship of 28 of Pennsylvania’s 50 Senators,” questioned English, and added “if 28 of the 50 Senators sponsored legislation that allowed for only a 2.7% increase in budget, how did the Senate pass an approximately 4.9% budget increase?”

"While we hope this package of bills represented a true change of heart on the part of GOP leadership, the Senates (30 Republicans – 20 Democrats) approval of Governor Rendell's proposed budget and the expected House passage is in a conflict with the previous proposed legislation. English added, "We'll be watching to see how the sponsors and co-sponsors of House Bill 1663 vote, not only on the proposed budget, but their own pay increase."

The Pennsylvania Club for Growth, which supports strong fiscal conservatives who run for the state legislature, will continue to work with lawmakers to move forward a pro-growth agenda that includes tax cuts and other smaller government issues. "Our goal is to either reform or remove RINOs (Republicans In Name Only)," said English. "If the GOP leadership — with huge margins in both houses of the legislature — doesn't start giving more than lip-service to fiscal conservativism, they can expect the Club and its members to start working toward their early retirement."

The Pennsylvania Club for Growth is a group of citizens dedicated to expanding the prosperity of working families through the Reagan Doctrine of lower taxes, smaller government and strong free enterprise. As the Pennsylvania chapter for a rapidly growing national organization, we are committed to seeing that Pennsylvanians regain their voice in Pennsylvania politics. For far too long, elected officials who claim to be fiscal conservatives have cast aside their beliefs to partake in a bloated government that insists on taking more and more from families trying to achieve the American Dream. To that end, the Pennsylvania Club for Growth is committed to supporting and electing men and women who are advocates of the Reagan Doctrine. For more information, log on to www.paclubforgrowth.org.

Commonwealth Foundation chimes in on PA budget mess

Solid data follows with blogmaster's highlights. Neither Fontana nor Diven were a part of the prior efforts to keep the budget in check. We'll be watching what happens.

NEWS RELEASE on 07.05.05

Public Service vs. Lip Service
Tonight's Budget Vote Will Reveal Members' Commitment to PA Taxpayers

Harrisburg, PA - As Pennsylvania lawmakers enter the final hours of the budget process, the Commonwealth Foundation reminded the 28 Senators who sponsored Senate Bill 4 and the 81 Representatives who sponsored House Bill 1663 that their budget vote tonight will reveal the true level of commitment to fiscal restraint.

Gov. Ed Rendell proposed a FY 2005-06 budget of $23.845 billion -- a 4.2 percent increase in spending over last year's budget of $22.876 billion. But if House Bill 1663, sponsored by House Appropriations Chairman Brett Feese, or Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chip Brightbill, were law today, the increase in state government spending would be limited to 2.8 or 2.7 percent, respectively.

According to calculations by the Commonwealth Foundation, if Rep. Feese's spending limitation were applied to the FY 2005-06 budget, Pennsylvania taxpayers would see a budget of $23.527 billion -- or $318 million smaller than the governor's proposal. And if Sen. Brightbill's spending limit was in effect, the burden to Pennsylvania taxpayers would be more than $351 million less than under the governor's proposal-a total spending plan of $23.494 billion.

Senator Brightbill's "Taxpayer Fairness Act" would limit state spending growth to the lower of either a) the average rate of change of inflation plus state population growth for the three preceding years or b) the average rate of change in state personal income for the three preceding years.

(See comments of this blog entry to view the listing of names of the 28 PA Senators and various PA Reps who had signed onto those prior acts to keep down the budget's growth.)

"Tonight's vote on the budget will reveal if Pennsylvanians are getting public service or just good old lip service from these elected officials," said Commonwealth Foundation President Matthew J. Brouillette. "And we look forward to praising those who put taxpayers' interests ahead of special interests."
The Commonwealth Foundation is an independent, non-profit public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg.

T.J. Think Tank hits on stem cell research

From the slated speaker, Greg Yoest:

Tomorrow night, Wed., July 6th, I'll be giving a talk at a local North Hills politics-and-public-affairs monthly dinner and discussion group called the Thomas Jefferson Think Tank. The talk's called "Stem Cell Research: The Science, The Ethics, and the Politics."

It's pretty much what the title says it is, a 45-60 minute talk about stem cell research and several of its different angles, followed by as long of a formal and
informal Q & A period that the restaurant allows us to have (usually up until 9pm in their meeting room, then 10pm? 11pm? midnight? at their bar, if anyone wants
to stay that long!).

The talk begins around 7:15-7:30, and many people attend just for the talk--if you want to have dinner, try to get there early (6pm? 6:30pm? not much later than 7pm) so as not to overload their kitchen. (try to rsvp, as late as late afternoon tomorrow, if you're attending so we don't get SUPER-swamped!) Super-informal but we will try to stick to this stem-cell research topic and not veer off onto a tangent like taxpayer-funded sports stadiums :-)

Who? What? Where? When? How? WhoKilledKennedy? etc:

Where: Silvioni's Restaurant, 2125 Babcock Blvd. in the lower North Hills, just off of McKnight Road near where it connects w/ I-279-N just outside of the city. (Immediately next to Evergreen Fire Hall, near the Thompson Run/Monte Cello's intersection, 2 places up from Best Feeds Garden Center; many of you remember
that neck of the woods well!) Or call the restaurant (412-821-9895), or MapQuest 2125 Babcock Blvd Pgh PA for better directions.

When: Wed., July 6th, speech ~ 7:20pm (tomorrow night!!!---sorry for the late notice but there's a core group of regulars who attend every month and I'm just informing you all fyi in case you're REALLY interested in this topic; if nothing else this e-mail'll re-connect me to all yinz getting it, maybe more the reason I'm sending it along than anything else! I'll be videotaping it and I can make copies if you're
REALLY interested in this topic!!!!!)

What: a talk on "Stem Cell Research: The Science, The Ethics, and the Politics" geared towards a generally-literate and interested audience..sort of what like Carl Sagan did for astronomy in the late 1970s!!!!!!

Who: I'll be the (main) speaker and discussion leader; anyone who wants to attend is welcome!!!!

Why: gotta eat dinner somewhere!!!!

How: verbal, spoken-word speech, with some visuals thrown in for good measure :)

All F.Y.I and if I don't see yinz in person soon I surely will by long-overdue e-mails!!!!!!

Sincerely, Greg Yoest

Sorry, I'll be at a swim meet. :(

Crafton Crocs and a biathlon

July 4th, we did a run and swim biathlon. This was in the parking lot as you can notice the caution tape. 

Classic watchdog line in PG about city government

Deep within an article by new PG jouralist, Rich Lord, concerning the City's (mostly Mayor Murphy) effort to privatize the garage that fixes and maintains the trucks and autos of the city one reads this classic line:

The city seems on track to save less than it bargained for.

Excellent summary. Nuff said.

The garage saga seems to be another deal from Mayor Murphy's Administration (and City Council) that won't add up to what was promised. Broken promises. False hopes. Changes that come with pain, but changes that do not impact the bottom-line. The city's position is worse than before.

That bad news has an upside however. This time it isn't the message, it is the messenger. That article, rather long and insightful, was printed in the PG. And, it ran in July, printed before the year-end. The garage is a 'done deal.' But, the article provided 'follow-up coverage' on a newer program. The coverage was on a 'work in progress.' The article delivers real-time news reporting on a technical matter beyond a knife fight or a job promotion at a real estate office in the metro area.

I am more than pleased to see Rich Lord as part of the Post-Gazette's staff. We've got a watchdog at the big city daily, finally.

Articles such as this would never have happened in the Post-Gazette three, five, seven years ago, in terms of city government.

By the way, it seems to me that the two oversight boards are not making any noise. The I.C.A. is going to cost the city's budget $2-million. However, the ICA hasn't held a meeting in a month. The next meeting hasn't even been scheduled, to my knowledge.

The Act 47 Team came to town to watch out and restrict the over-spending by those on Grant Sreet. Are they really watching? Do they really care? They've been here more than a year and their programs have taken root in some quarters. Where is the windfall from those efforts? I hope that the Act 47 team delivers some value on the long list of items still lingering on their to-do list. But I won't be holding my breath.

Pittsburgh is in a sad position when watchdogs are necessary for one's who are on duty to provide oversight. Thankfully, with Rich Lord's arrival at the PG, a spark of a bark has been awakened. This is a great trend that needs to continue and snowball.

Privatized fleet maintenance saving city less than expected Privatized fleet maintenance saving city less than expected
Monday, July 04, 2005, By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This type of journalism might lead to increased public pressure, accountability, and even controllers who have a grip of control and overlords with the vision for oversight.

Sticking with China: Local firms -- shrugging off criticism of China's currency, acquisition moves -- press on with plans to expand in world's most po

Lead story in the PG's Sunday Business section on China.

Sticking with China: Local firms -- shrugging off criticism of China's currency, acquisition moves -- press on with plans to expand in world's most populous country Sticking with China: Local firms -- shrugging off criticism of China's currency, acquisition moves -- press on with plans to expand in world's most populous country

Sunday, July 03, 2005
By Jim McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While the takeover bids by Chinese companies for Unocal Corp. and Maytag are grabbing headlines and roiling public opinion, Bayer, Alcoa and other companies with ties to Pittsburgh are quietly marching forward with large projects in China.

The other story is of interest too.

Critics say China's currency policy gives it unfair advantage: "Critics say China's currency policy gives it unfair advantage

Sunday, July 03, 2005
By Jim McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From Dave Frengel's perspective, there's not a lot of good to say about China these days.

The government affairs director for Penn United Technology, a tool, die and spare parts manufacturer in Cranberry, says he's all for global trade but believes China is being given too much of a free hand.

Let's talk about some miss-information a bit. The Yuan, the casual name for China's currency (RMB is its more formal name), has a rate of exchange that is hooked directly to the U.S.A.'s Dollar. The excange rate for the YUAN and Dollar is always at 8.1. They don't change. That's the policy set up by those in power now in Beijing.

There is nothing unfair about that policy. Zippo. What's unfair is all the crying that it's unfair. The Beijing policy means that the American politicians can't pull a fast-one on the world and deflate the value of the dollar -- or increase its value. The magic of the economic wizards -- or at least the wizards like to think of themselves as such -- is only a wish that can't be obtained nor controlled via DC's power brokers.

There is no 60% tax on US exports to China unless one thinks that there is a 100% tax on US goods to Japan because its dollar exchange is more like 1 to 100 (close enough for this blog) and not 1 to 8.1. It's just math. The US Dollar to Thai currency is 1 to 40 (or so).

That's taxing on small minds. It's called math. But, it isn't a "tax." It's called an exchange rate. Remember the lesson apples to apples and not to oranges.

I don't think it is wise for US Senators to force CHINA to revalue China's currency.

Funny then how the PG paper talks about Greenspan's meeting. The PG news is more than a month old. It is stale. China's policy was pondered. They did a double-clutch. They were going to set up a new export tax in China, but it was pulled a couple of days later and was never put into effect.

The PG must have run an old AP story. It is bad news.

Bristle onward Frengel, you protectionist who knows what is careless and reckless. Yeah right.

Wikimania - perhaps we could organize a Pittsburgh huddle as theirs concludes or is in progress?

Main Page - Wikimania: "Wikimania 2005: The First International Wikimedia Conference will be held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 4 August 2005 to 8 August 2005.

I'm not going to Germany, but I'd like to if I could. No money. No time. No driving need to be away from the homefront. And, what I'd really love to see and explore is a way to get some Pittsburgh folks to gather to talk about WIKI matters. Perhaps we could use this meeting in Germany as a good excuse to hold a MEET-UP like huddle in Pittsburgh in early August too.
I'm going to spend a good amount of time in July on the Platform.For-Pgh.org wiki.

UnSpace provided to great blog posts -- so far on the Tour de France. Keep it flowing please.

UnSpace Blog Archive Tour de France Stage 1 Results David Zabriskie (26 y/o, CSC) took the maillot jaune (Yellow Jersey) for the first stage with an amazing 20:51 with Lance Armstrong (33 y/o, Discovery) finishing 2 seconds and Alexandre Vinokourov (31 y/o, T-Mobile) a relatively distant third at 53 sec. George Hincapie (32y/o, Discovery) took 4th at 57.

I'd love to follow the race through the blog posts of others.

Re-banged: New bicycle saga for a first-time rider

Grant, now 7, our 2nd boy, now rides a bicycle. This is a monumental advancement! He is so proud. We are all thrilled.

The training wheels were taken off of Grant's bike a few days ago. Now the only thing comming off is skin.

To re-bang, or spelled without the hypen, rebang is to fall and re-injure the same spot on one's body. Grant has been re-banging his elbows the most.

Today, for the first time, Grant and I rode along the bike-path next to the Mon on the South Side to Station Square. He fell four times. He had a blast.

Today Erik, 10, went white-water rafting on the Yough with a friend's family. That was his first on that river, riding cat 1 and 2 water. He's back with any bruises. My wife wasn't too relaxed throughout the day.

We love the water and have done some canoe trips on the New River in Virginia and even got to raft in a tame (tourist-type) Snake River in Wyoming.

One day, so goes my dream, we'll buy our own kayaks and spend lots of time on the rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans and pools as we grow up -- for fitness, fun and education. For now -- let's be happy with the bike time and occasional river voyage.

Eminent Domain -- once a buzz, now a swarm -- potential stingers

In 2001, as a candidate for Mayor as a 'free market republican' in a contested primary, my pledge was to work against any and all forces of eminent domain. Back then I had thought we had gone overboard. Perhaps that whine came before its time!

The flap over Eminent Domain is now more than ever.

In 2005's race, I stood against eminent domain in my platform. It went to the matter of our willingness to over litigate and reach solutions that are not 'ideal.'

As we know, in 2001 and in 2005, I didn't "win" at the ballot box. However, some points were scored in the discussion. And, opportunities exist to make eminent domain a more pressing issue for all politicians and all races for the years to come.

The PG's Sunday paper had two more letters to the editor. The author of the first letter, Scott B, came to Pittsburgh a number of times in the past to help the locals fight eminent domain. He has some family in the area. I had the good pleasure of meeting him and assisting then (a bit) with those efforts. The second letter comes from fellow leader of the Libertarian Party in Allegheny County.

Be very afraid of this decision on eminent domain

Your editorial "Eminent Sense" (June 28) defending the U.S. Supreme Court's appalling eminent domain decision was entirely inaccurate. You sought to reassure Pittsburghers that they had little to fear from the court's ruling. Nonsense.

People in Western Pennsylvania should be deeply concerned about the court's ruling and should work to change the law in Pennsylvania. As Justice Sandra Day O'Connor powerfully wrote in her dissenting opinion: Under the court's 5-4 decision, "nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."

But an amazing thing has happened in the wake of this decision. One would be hard-pressed to think of a recent Supreme Court decision that has generated such uniform and widespread outrage across the country and across the political spectrum. Americans are virtually united in opposition to it. The homeowners in New London, Conn. have been overwhelmed with phone calls, letters, and e-mails of support. Messages of opposition have filled newspaper letters-to-the editor pages nationwide, including those of the Post-Gazette. Online polls on national Web sites show upwards of 96 percent opposed to the Supreme Court's decision. Clearly, Americans understand how threatening the court's decision is for ordinary home and small business owners.

Now is the time to take this genuine grass-roots anger and energy and transform it into productive activism to change the law in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. For citizens interested in learning how, please go to the Web site of the Castle Coalition (www.castlecoalition.org).

SCOTT BULLOCK, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice, Washington, D.C.

Editor's note: The Institute for Justice represented the business owners challenging the potential use of eminent domain in proposed development in Downtown Pittsburgh in 2000.

---

No friend

I was quite disappointed to read your June 28 editorial ("Eminent Sense") supporting the Supreme Court's Kelo decision concerning the use of eminent domain.

To support the authority of "Big Brother" to take the little guy's home away from him when some vague and unproven central plan is proposed implies your support for sacrificing the individual for the collective good -- or, at least, the good of the government itself and the powerful who are politically connected to it.

And I thought the PG was a friend of the average working person.

JERRY GLOEKLER, Bellevue

---

Andrew's a short article about Kelo on Freedom's Gate, comes from another area Libertarian. He's already had LTEs published in both the Trib and the P-G. See the
links from his blog.