Blog Fest III coverage

My only quibble with the article and photo rests in perception of civility among the blog readers and comments at "political blogs."

My impression is that the folks in the real world as well as those online have been respectful on all most all instances.

City's bloggers actually get together face-to-face: Many of the roughly 30 bloggers at Thursday's 'Blogfest' at Finnigan's Wake bar said they have steered clear of politics lately -- writing about it often provokes a burst of brutally negative responses from one side or another, which are no fun to get.

'I never write about politics -- the conflict gets a little too hot,' said Robert, who did not want his last name used. Rather, on his new blog 'Gclectic,' he writes a lot about engineering and geek culture.

Central Park Bench: Skateboard park petition

Don't do it!

Central Park Bench: Skateboard park petition: "Skateboard park petition

Don't.

There are a few other, much, much better ideas. I'd strongly suggest you DON'T do the skateboard park. Give me a call or email -- and I'll be happy to explain, in person, in detail.

I was at the opening of the skateboard park in Pittsburgh at McKinley -- just behind the Liberty Tubes. On opening day THREE kids went to the E.R. THREE on the first day.

Ranting on Republicans. Wanting urban votes for suburban candidates with D history. No thanks.

Letter sent to a Trib reporter and CCed as a LTE:

RE: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_363299.html

Harrisburg Republicans have serious problems. Money flows to NEW Republicans. They don't do anything to grow their own.

Hence, W.PA witnesses money to the former Dem to defeatt Alan K. and money to the turncoat Dem, Michael Diven, to loose to Wayne Fontana in MY State Senate special election.

I was in the Diven, Fontana race. That fact was failed to be printed in your article. Both the D and R out-spent me about 500 to one. Yet Diven only out-voted me five to one.

It would be best if you mentioned my name as part of the race on May 17, 2005. As a Libertarian, I got 2,542 votes from a base of 250 registered Ls on a PRIMARY election day. Those great numbers, and more than 7% in a three way race, can't be ignored.

I'll be back.

Would you like me to mail you a copy of my campaign audio CD?

Thanks for the article and for telling the whole story. Not a single Libertarian voted for the outlandish pay raise. I would HAVE not only voted with the people, but would have been objecting in the open all along.

KDKA: Pittsburgh Task Force Not Firm on Slots Money for Arena

Does anyone care to inform KDKA TV that Tom Murphy is NOT one of the two most powerful politicians in Pittsburgh. Mayor Murphy is a lame duck who was a marathon runner and he couldn't even keep the Pittsburgh Marathon alive.

If Murphy wants money from slots to go to the new hockey arena, then that is good enough reason to object to the concept.

KDKA: Pittsburgh Task Force Not Firm on Slots Money for Arena The two most powerful politicians in Pittsburgh agree that some revenue from a slot machine parlor to be located in the city should be used to build a new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But the task force charged with studying the idea says there's no consensus on how the money should be used.

Mayor Tom Murphy and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato are both pushing the new arena proposal.

But the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force, which is studying the impact of the standalone slots parlor to be built in the city, says there are too many options on how to use the city's share of those revenues to commit to arena funding.

The group is supposed to issue its recommendations on the project -- and how to use the local revenues -- by November.

The standalone slots parlor should NOT be built in the city. Rather we should have the new parlor operators purchase the Pittsburgh Convention Center. Then the slots income could begin in earnest at the close of the 2006 MLB (Major League Baseball) All-Star Game.

It makes no sense to wait while a new casino is built. We have a suitable building that is sitting empty that can be a great site for the casino in the short-and-long term.

County Council Candidate website: Jim Burn, D

Link, not an endorsement, follows. Jim Burn I am running for Allegheny County Council in District Three because I see many issues that are similar to what we have been facing in Millvale, where I have been Mayor for the past 12 years.
I don't see much if anything at all in terms of a "platform" at the nice looking site.

Final Three Shows for the band: The 3 of Us

These folks sing, "A Nation of Burgers and Fries." They have a few recorded CDs and are a PA band. Figures that one is going to move out of state. Bitter ending.

Their one tune was on my campaign CD. They play folk -- and make great music with a mix of voices. Grassroots and great.

We hope that you'll be able to join 'The 3 of Us' as we finish another chapter in our musical journeys. Jeff will be moving out of state at the end of August, and we have decided to retire "The 3 of Us"; but take with many fond memories from the last decade +. We have dedicated nearly 1/3 of our lives to meeting great people and hopefully spreading some good music and goodwill along the way. We have, appropriately enough, 3 more appearances where you can catch us in the next week:

Sunday, August 14th - The Wolf's Den Restaurant Patio - Knox, PA - 4:00 - 7:00 - 814-797-1105 - www.wolfsden.com - This is an Open Mic, so if you're one of the marvelous musicians that we've met along our journeys we encourage you to bring your instruments and help us entertain.

Friday, August 19th - The Franklin Club Car Cruise - Franklin, PA - 8:00 - 11:00 PM

Sunday, August 21st (OUR FINAL SHOW!!!) - The Wolf's Den Restaurant Patio - Knox, PA - 4:00 - 7:00 - 814-797-1105 - www.wolfsden.com

We hope that you'll make room on your schedule to come out and say hi. As a special parting gift, we're offering all 'The 3 of Us' merchandise for only $5!!!!! Better in your hands than gathering dust in our garages, so if you've been hoping to pick up a copy of Allegheny Hideaway or Sketches, this is a great opportunity.

Just some fun facts about the year we were formed:

Bill Clinton was less than 1/2 way through his first term;

The top grossing movie of 1994: Forrest Gump;

Top Pop / Rock Single of 1994: Ace of Base - The Sign (boy, we bucked that trend);

In 1994 Gas cost $1.09 / gallon;

Top news stories of 1994: The "Republican Revolution"; O.J. Simpson; The Major League Baseball Strike cancels the World Series; Susan Smith; Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan; South African elections; John & Lorena Bobbit; and the death of Jackie O'.

What a long strange trip it's been. Hope to see you this week.

Jerry, Jeff, & Jenny

It is hard to say if I'll catch one of the final shows. But, I'll try. And, you should too if you can. I'm sure sad that they're going to split.

Reunion tours can be fun too!

Blog Fest was well attended -- even by the PG

Another nice party from those instigators at www.PghBloggers.org was held.

I was the one with the tye-die t-shirt and kids in tow who seemed as if he just arrived from spending the day at the outdoor swimming pool.

Tim McN and a PG photographer was present. We didn't get our photo taken.

---

John of Drinking Liberally was there too. That event was a bit later, but at the same venue.

---

In other blog and wiki stories these hours, this is of interest and makes for a good reason to attend those types of gatherings.

Posted by Steve Outing: Mainstream Press Messes Up Wikipedia Story

This is an item about a story that I got wrong -- and so did many blogs, and mainstream media on at least four continents. And for those people distrustful of what they read in mainstream media (not to mention, blogs), it will probably encourage that viewpoint.

Here's the story: On Monday, the wire service Reuters carried this story
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050805/wl_nm/media_wikipedia_dc) about comments that Wikimedia president Jimmy Wales made to a German newspaper. In it, Wales supposedly said that the Wikipedia open-access Web encyclopedia ould impose stricter editorial rules to prevent vandalism. The Wales quote from ueddeutsche Zeitung read: "There may soon be so-called stable contents. In this case, we'd freeze the pages whose quality is undisputed." Reuters repeated that.

The story spread worldwide. Bloggers wrote about it (including me http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=86822). Lots of mainstream news outlets carried it, citing the German paper's report.

But there's a problem: Wales didn't say that. He told me in an e-mail exchange and a phone call this morning: "The interesting thing is that the media simply made up the story about us permanently locking some pages. It's just not true. ... There is absolutely no truth at all to the story. None, zero. It is a complete and total fabrication from start to finish."

Wales says the problem appears to be in the translation. He was in Germany recently and was interviewed by dozens of reporters, including from the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. He thinks the SZ reporter may have misinterpreted his comments. Then Reuters apparently translated his comments in German back to English, and his meaning got turned into something he didn't say.

(Here's what he did say, as relayed by Wales on Slashdot.org (http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=13256889&sid=158204&tid=187)
: "I spoke to one journalist about our longstanding discussions of how to create a 'stable version' or 'Wikipedia 1.0.' This would not involve substantial changes to how we do our usual work, but rather a new process for identifying our best work." In other words, no announcement -- just a mention of longstanding internal discussions.)

Meanwhile, bloggers and mainstream news organizations trusted the Reuters report (and thus SZ's) enough to write it up on their own without contacting Wales to confirm that it was accurate. The faulty news spread quickly around the world.

Obviously, this is a rather sad indictment of media practices. An inaccurate report can quickly circle the world. It's not just a case where blogs pick up bad items and the blogosphere amplifies them; the same thing can happen with mainstream news outlets.

And here's yet another angle to the story that's unflattering to mainstream media. Wales says: "The story seems to have legs, even though we've contacted Reuters and every other outlet to try to get a correction, no one seems to care at all. ... No response. We're important enough to write about, but not important enough for them to listen to at all." ... Well, here's at least one correction. Mea culpa.

It stinks to get the news wrong at the first blush. It stinks much worse to not correct the errors when given the opportunity for a second take.

The FREEDOM march in DC needs a registration? Well, 254 comments flew up on that guys blog.

EschatonFREEDOM!

The Carpetbagger Report makes the obvious point that it's a bit odd that one has to register - name/telephone number/address - to participate in a 'freedom walk' along public streets between public monuments.

Odd concept of freedom.
-Atrios 9:52 AM
Comments (254) Trackback (0)

High Schoolers Want More Demanding Work

High School kids are not asking for more lock-downs at bed-times. (See the story in the next posting). I think kids thrive and welcome opportunities to face challenges. Every kid can't be pushed in every setting. But too often we push nobody in any setting.

By Monisha Bansal

(CNSNews.com) -- American high school students generally want more difficult coursework, but are willing to cheat in order to handle the pressure that accompanies the more challenging work, according to the Horatio Alger Association, which released a report Tuesday on the "State of Our Nation's Youth."

"The state of America's youth provides invaluable insight into the attitudes, perspectives, and goals of America's young people," said Anthony Hutcherson, communications specialist for the Horatio Alger Association.

"There is no sense that the status quo is acceptable. What students are saying is that we want to raise the bar. We want to do things differently," said Peter D. Hart, president of the firm that conducted the survey.

Eighty-eight percent of students aged 13 to 19 said schools weren't doing enough, and that they would work harder if expectations were higher, the survey results demonstrated. They called for more real-world learning opportunities, earlier advice about careers and more opportunities for advanced placement courses.

"Four years after No Child Left Behind (Bush education initiative), there is no difference in how students rate their own schools. It's acceptable, but not impressive," said Hart.

The survey also revealed a high level of dishonesty among today's American teenaged students. Half of them admitted to cheating and 97 percent said they knew students who had cheated.

"In a world where all institutions from athletes to business corporations to the media are not playing by the rules, you can hardly be shocked that students say that they are cheating," said Hart.

Nitika Sethi, a high school junior from Vienna, Va., explained that "there is a drive to get the grade and students are willing to go to new limits to get a certain percentage at the end of the marking period."

The survey reported that 80 percent of students considered pressure over grades a problem. Combined with the many other issues potentially producing anxiety for teens, like the threat of terrorism, Hart concluded that high school students are facing a "more serious world than ever before.

High Schoolers Cheat, But Want More Demanding Work -- GOPUSA

Group wants curfew center opened again - No need if they just reopened CHAUNCY'S

Better than a cerfew center -- just re-open the Station Square nightspot formerly known as CHAUNCY'S.

Group wants curfew center opened again - PittsburghLIVE.com

Street-savvy youngsters in Pittsburgh know the police can't touch them for breaking curfew, but their late-night carousing has at least one neighborhood group calling for changes.

Chauncy's was famous for drinks, thugs, gun violations, high-life and bitter-sweet endings in the parking lots. The nightclub resided in a commercial district -- away from homes, sleeping kids and easy for police to buzz with "raids."

Once the casino opens, we might have a suitable replacement as well. Perhaps we can get the casino's bar to call itself CHAUCY'S and then we'd have a real magnet for maggots. The upside is that the police don't have to babysit at a curfew center.

I'm one who would rather not build a new jail but provide better things for people to do instead -- like recreation. Let's start a dozen water polo teams around town.

Rep's "Charity" Dig Just Plain Wrong

There's an taped radio interview of Jess Stairs, R-Mt. Pleasant, complaining that his constituents are upset that he was going earmark his enormous pay raise to charitable organizations.

Is Mr. Stairs oblivious to reality or just THAT STUPID.

If he receives an additional $11,000 in his paycheck and Mr. Stairs donates some, or all, of that to charities...HE STILL GETS A TAX BREAK! And it's also been reported that the $11,000 would also be put toward his pension fund.

He gives nothing up by giving it away. Sure, his favorite pork "pet projects" get funded, and he gets patted on the back by all of the machine politicians that keep him in power. D or R, the pay grab was wrong.

Guys like Harry Readshaw, D-Carrick, did the right thing. Told everyone from day one that he wasn't going to accept the greedy pay raise. Mr. Readshaw, in a career before politics, was a full-time funeral director. Heck, sometimes you call the Readshaw Funeral Home on a Saturday and Harry might answer the phone!

Mr. Readshaw is the rare Pennsylvania public servant. He probably took a pay cut to have the distinction of driving four hours to Harrisburg. The best thing ever in Mr. Readshaw's political career was when he lost his bid for City Council more than a decade ago. He's done a much better job in our state's Capital.

Guys just like Stairs and state Senator Sean Logan--who was going to take the pay raise before radio's Fred Honsberger said that he might run for the seat himself--are not worthy of our trust when it comes to personal gain. Some of the guys are more honest: "I work 24/7 and deserve every cent I get," says the elected leader least qualified to lead.

True leaders say this pay grab is wrong. I don't want any part of it. "My constituents, many of whom are far more educated than I, don't make nearly $69,000, let alone $80,000 annually," is the right thing to say.

Too bad we don't have more more "leaders" who know how to lead.

'Open government' referendum for Pittsburgh fails to get on November ballot

The PG gave a good amount of ink to a proposition that didn't get onto the ballot. Sadly, the effort didn't get enough signatures. The bar is high in terms of the total numbers needed to get onto the ballot. But, such is life.

So, the amendment is off -- but -- David T is on. Things would have been much better to get both onto the ballot. There is a bit of zip when there are multiple areas of concern rather than a lone-wolf effort.

However, getting the 4,000 signatures will help with voters when it comes to pulling a lever on election day. It gave a bit of a kick-start to the outreach of the campaign.

'Open government' referendum for Pittsburgh fails to get on November ballot: "Open government' referendum for Pittsburgh fails to get on November ballot

Pittsburghers won't have a chance to vote for an 'open government' referendum on Nov. 8, but they will be able to vote for the referendum's creator -- longtime activist and Squirrel Hill resident David Tessitor.

Tessitor, former head of Pittsburghers for Open Government, is running for mayor as an independent candidate.

He met a deadline yesterday to file more than 1,000 signatures with the Allegheny County Elections Division, and he joins two third-party mayoral hopefuls, Titus North of the Green Party and Jay Ressler of the Socialist Workers Party.

Joe Weinroth is the Republican nominee for mayor and Bob O'Connor is the Democratic nominee.

The referendum needed 8,493 signatures to get on the November ballot, and a group of 100 volunteers managed to collect about half that number over the last seven weeks, Tessitor said.

If approved by voters, the referendum would have amended the city charter to require that all public documents and video of public meetings be made available on the city's Web site.

It also would have created a citizen advisory panel, open to any city resident, property owner, taxpayer or business owner. The panel would give residents more opportunities to voice their concerns to the mayor and City Council.

'It's designed to open government communication in two directions,' Tessitor said.

He said Pittsburghers for Open Government will conduct a new signature campaign either during the winter or next summer.

Now the pressure is on Weinroth to not finish the election in third, fourth or fifth place.

If the Green Party and Socialist Party candidates are any good at all, and if they would choose to work together by showing up at the same events and on the same blocks to door-knock -- then they might be able to beat the Republican candidate. But, that would be asking a lot.

The Socialist Party has a history of running candidates for Mayor as a party awakening effort. They buzz about themselves and have more meaningful meetings.

The Green Party in the area has a long, long way to go to get on its feet so as to have some strength in issues as well as candidates. I am hopeful that they will now have something to brag about and build up the organization. The Greens in other parts of the country are much stronger than what we have in Pittsburgh. But, Pittsburgh should be a hot-bed for Green-party activity. People often put a high value on being "sustainable" and on being "friendly to the environment." But, the transition to Green Party Politics is not generally made in the minds of many locals.

BlogPac.org :: Pennsylvania = a blog aggregator

Seems that the PghBloggers.org site has had some reorganization. The summit is on Thursday. I'll try to attend and get the keen, in-person insights.

Another lineup of blogs in politics is blogpac.org/section/pennsylvania/

BlogPac.org :: Pennsylvania Writing a blog post is not enough. Reading a blog post is not enough. Commenting on a blog is not enough. The next step requires doing something.

BlogPac.org is that next step -- a group of bloggers not content to simply write words or read them, but eager to take action on the pressing issues of our day.

BlogPac is waging politics online.

Declaration of Action - another site dedicated to kicking out the bumbs in Harrisburg

Declaration of ActionThis is our house.
Something's wrong.
We need to fix it.

GOP wants urban voters

GOP wants urban voters - PittsburghLIVE.com

Republican leaders on Thursday used Pittsburgh -- a city controlled by Democratic elected officials for seven decades -- as an example of where the GOP hopes to expand its membership with minorities and inner-city voters who traditionally align more with Democrats.

Despite what Jo Ann Davidson says, the GOP gave up on the urban center. It might like to troll for votes from time to time -- to perk up the hopes of the likes of Rick Santorum. However, the GOP does not want to do anything with candidates, backing, support, insights, teamwork nor real interactions among citizens.

'We believe there are many people that populate these urban cities that are Republican-leaning,' said Republican National Committee Co-Chairwoman Jo Ann Davidson. 'We're not giving up on the urban centers.'

Theme was: "Give Us A Chance, We'll Give You A Choice: Strengthening Lincoln's Legacy."

Should be: Get out of our way, otherwise, we'll take our toys and turn our backs: Strengthening the Top Down Attitudes of History.

The GOP is doing "outreach." Great concept. But, GOP outreach is not about locking arms. The GOP need is less to do with a broad GOP party base and more about getting a broad vision of the GOP's party leadership. The GOP needs more urban leaders. Today's GOP wants urban voters for suburban GOP candidates.

The best way for the GOP to attract more Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other groups is to recruit and support candidates for local office races from those populations. Associate with the grassroots players. Support them in running for local office.

Another way to grow the party is to have some standards of principle. Don't pimp yesterday's Democrats as the next great hope for leading Republicans. The Harrisburg City Councilman Otto Banks, a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party early this year. Banks, who is seeking re-election in November as a Republican, said he spoke in the session about how he became attracted to the GOP because the party offers blacks "a choice to become captains of our own ship, so to speak."

WRONG. The Diven story comes to life again. I talked to many Republicans who were not impressed with the new Republicans who left the Dem ranks in name only.

The best example of Republican outreach as talked about in the article is a poor pitty.

Urban voters and urban citizens and urban leaders who want a real alternative to the Democrats should come be a part of the Libertarian party. I tried for a number of years as an Urban Republican. I walked miles in those GOP shoes -- and the fit wasn't there for me.

Our Media Rocks

Ourmedia.org promises to be the world's largest repository of grassroots media.

Wow. This is great stuff.

I've been using these tools more and more -- and using my own website less and less. I've got so many images and video clips that need to be organized. Perhaps this is the ticket to getting our digital dust in order.

My username is "Rauterkus." No data there yet. Stay tuned....

Athens Games to cost $16 billion - up by 18 percent

SI.com - More Sports - Sticker shock: Athens Games to cost $16 billion - Tuesday August 9, 2005 4:55PM The cost of the Athens Olympics is expected to rise to $16 billion, 18 percent higher that previously estimated.

By the way, how much did the US Senior Games cost the city?

What about the cost of the Bassmasters?

Sure, there are city costs, and there are all costs from every agency combined.

Just wondering.

AOL Founder's Latest Lifestyle Choice

I should have stayed in publishing with those numbers being tossed around. I do want to point out that I did waste a number of months meeting and dancing with AOL folks in the days of its AOL Greenhouse. I was seeking funding for my company. But, my ideas were too big for them. (see the posting below)

AOL Founder's Latest Lifestyle Choice: "AOL Founder's Latest Lifestyle Choice
Case Invests $20 Million in Firm That Markets Healthful Living
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 9, 2005; Page D01
America Online Inc. founder Steve Case is investing $20 million in a producer and distributor of yoga and Pilates videos, part of his ongoing bet that activities once associated with a new-age lifestyle are going mainstream.
Case is going into business with Jirka Rysavy, chief executive of Gaiam Inc., who lives in a cabin outside Boulder, Colo., with no running water and an outhouse for a master bath. Rysavy said he and Case had 'an alignment in mission.'

An article in the LA Times talked about a guy -- perhaps it was Rysavy??? -- who was in deep do-do with the FDA because of his "healing labels."

Limitations

The story below come from Dr. Robert Schuller via a friend. Given Pittsburgh's recent fishing frenzy, it fits.

A tourist walked down a pier and watched a fisherman pull in a large fish, measure it, and throw it back. He caught a second fish, smaller this time, measured it, and put it in his bucket. Oddly, all the large fish that he caught that measured ten inches or more he discarded. All fish smaller than ten inches he kept. Puzzled, the curious onlooker questioned, "Pardon me, but why do you keep the little ones and throw the big ones away?" The old fellow looked up and without blinking an eye said, "Why, because my frying pan measures only ten inches across!"

Foolish? Of course. But no more so than when you throw away the biggest ideas and the most beautiful dreams that come into your mind simply because your experience is too limited, your self-confidence too undeveloped to enable you to grab hold of the big opportunities God sends your way!

Start growing now. Think big. Big things happen to big-thinking people. Nothing big happens to little-thinking people.

Call for papers for online event that seems interesting

Attend an exciting conference as a speaker. The invite to submit a proposal to a unique event from November 18-20, 2005: "The Webheads in Action Online Convergence: Bridges in Cyberspace".

Call for Papers are due September 15, 2005, via online at http://users.prof2000.pt/wia/oc.

Conference organizers: Webheads in Action Community of Practice.

Webheads is a world-wide, cross-cultural, and vibrant online-community of educators with an open enrollment. It was created in 1997-8 by Vance Stevens, in Abu Dhabi, Maggi Doty in Germany, and Michael Coghlan, in Australia, for ESL learners and facilitators as a student-teacher community. It has expanded to encompass a myriad of educators involved in e-learning in TESOL EVOnline (Electronic Village) and other language or cultural-based curricula.

Webheads meet online regularly to explore the latest synchronous and non-synchronous communications technologies, including video and voice, to adapt and demonstrate new innovative ideas for e-learning and classroom curriculum. These educators also display a deep warmth and dedication to helping others. They are evolutionary and enterprising scholars who are harmonious and know how to have a lot of fun. (About the convergence:

The conference is free of charge, and participation is open to all. Registration is via our conference Moodle: http://www.opensource.idv.tw/moodle/ . The conference will be held via whatever medium the presenter wishes to use (our hosts are contributing voice enabled online spaces to this event). Events can be synchronous or asynchronous. The more developed of the presentation writeups will be encouraged to join us in publishing a proceeds.

Proposals can be for events in just about any duration or format that can be mounted in the form of a presentation or collaborative event online. Interaction can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous presentations can be held in one of our voice-enabled presentation portals, or given as a webcast, or presented as streamed audio and/or video either as a presentation or panel discussion.

Asynchronous events might include bulletin board discussions, online poster sessions, perhaps integrated with a content management system, or whatever the presenter imagines might be effective. The topics can be pedagogical or technical, and can range from reports of research or practical work with students over the Internet, to descriptions or explorations of how interaction takes place over the Internet (technically or socially; e.g., how communities form to effect this interaction).