Dear Bloggers,
We are planning an upcoming Call-in program featuring political bloggers and will let you know when it happens.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Brian Lockman
President and CEO
Pennsylvania Cable Network
401 Fallowfield Road
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phone: (717) 730-6000
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e-mail: brianlockman - at - pcntv.com
Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/19/2006 | Casey, opponents will debate tonight Debate coordinator G. Terry Madonna of Franklin & Marshall College, which is hosting the debate, said he supported the rule restricting the use of debate footage. Madonna said the college proposed a list of rules for the debate and agreed to the Casey campaign's suggestion to restrict use of debate footage.
'We didn't want this forum in an academic environment to be used by the campaigns,' Madonna said. 'We are not in the business of helping people win or lose elections.'
The 90-minute debate at Franklin & Marshall College will be shown live on PCN at 7 p.m. Madonna said C-Span might run it tomorrow.
Pens closer to new arena - PittsburghLIVE.com That was good enough for Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato to “declare victory” on the arena issue, which he said is now “off the table.”Let it be known, we have a done deal. We have a new arena. Dan Onorato said so. Bob O'Connor said so. And, this confidence comes from the clear words of Ed Rendell.
“I think it’s a done deal,” Onorato said. “No matter who wins this you have the arrangement now to build an arena with gaming money. And that’s where you want to be.”
Mayor Bob O’Connor said, “We have solved the Penguins issue.”
Still, the team has not committed to staying in Pittsburgh under the backup plan. It does not know enough about the proposal, said President Ken Sawyer.
AP Wire | 04/18/2006 | Casino groups pitch plans for Pittsburgh 'We now have the opportunity to demolish an arena and rebuild a community,' said The Rev. James Simms, chairman of the board of advisers for Pittsburgh First, a coalition formed in large part by the Penguins, Isle of Capri and Hill District community groups.If you want to build, you build. If you want to tear down, you tear down.
A man, a plan, the Web: Bartering for a house 'If you say you're going to do something and you start to do it, and people enjoy it or respect it or are entertained by it, people will step up and help you.'
Froth Slosh B'Gosh Now how much will you pay?
Joe Sobran, the Reactionary Utopian
Bush's Latest Idea
In the 1979 movie 'The In-Laws', Peter Falk plays a dotty former CIA man who awes his sidekick, Alan Arkin, a timid dentist whose daughter is married to Falk's son. "Were you involved in the Bay of Pigs operation?"? asks the fascinated Arkin. Falk replies
proudly, "Involved in it? It was my idea."?
"Success has a hundred fathers,"? John Kennedy quipped; "failure is an orphan."? True, as a rule; but the Iraq war has a hundred fathers who still think
it's a success, President Bush chief among them. It was his idea!
Now, heaven help us, he has another idea: Let's extend the war to Iran. No, he doesn't want to send U.S. troops into Iran; even he isn't quite that goofy.
But Bush and his sidekicks keep talking about the threat from Iran the way they used to talk about the threat from Iraq. Something's up. I look for air strikes on Iran soon, maybe just a good night's bombing, as proposed by Edward G. Luttwak in the Wall
Street Journal recently. You know, another preemptive strike. Unannounced, but not unexpected. A predictable sneak attack.
History repeats itself as farce, Karl Marx observed. That would be a good epitaph for this administration. As a connoisseur of political farce, I'm anticipating an inept sneak attack, a combination of Pearl Harbor and the Bay of Pigs.
Then what? As the Iranian people rally behind their government, the whole Muslim world and everyone else rally against the United States, the world oil market goes berserk, and Americans start riding horses to work, Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld will claim another success, complaining that the media are showing only the downside of the operation.
According to Bush's interpretation of the Constitution, the president, in time of war, is empowered to do whatever he's in the mood to do. And Bush is now in the mood to teach the Iranians a lesson they won't forget, no matter what the cost.
A quick air strike wouldn't require a congressional resolution and wouldn't give the opposition time to organize. At this point, Bush must turn every faux pas into a fait accompli, as our French friends --? well, former friends --? might say.
Meanwhile, Bush's hairy-chested neocon friends are coping with cowardice on the home front. They question the manliness of liberals and Democrats, except for Hillary Clinton, and I myself have felt the sting of their lash.
Here I must mention the most familiar, yet most baffling, argument for war. It runs roughly like this: "Our brave men and women are dying in [fill in name of relevant country] to protect the very freedoms you yellow-bellied peaceniks abuse."
On this view, we owe all our freedoms to wars, and all our wars are wars for freedom. Is that so? Well, which wars gave us freedom of speech, trial by jury, property rights, the right to remain silent, and the right to abortion? Are these the rights our enemies were trying to take away? And just how did, say, Kaiser Wilhelm II or Manuel Noriega plan to achieve that?
Obviously, as many libertarians have pointed out, it's precisely during wartime that government grows and our rights shrink. Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George W. Bush should have taught us this by now.
This isn't the only country that believes freedom depends on war. Unless Brittania rules the waves, says the old anthem, Britons may all wind up as slaves. Well, Brittania no longer rules the waves, and Britons, happily, aren't slaves, but they're still singing that anthem.
Faith in war is the closest thing America has to a national religion. It is closely allied to our faith in Great Presidents. As for those who didn't trust our Great Presidents, such as copperheads and isolationists, their name is mud.
So trying to talk Americans out of going to war is a fool's errand, like trying to persuade Yosemite Sam to hold his fire for just a minute. If you get any reply at all, it will be a truism: "The only thing these varmints understand is hot lead."?
As the old rabbis used to ask, "Have your ears heard what your lips have just uttered?"? It's no use trying to make people listen to you when they won't even listen to themselves.
Joe Sobran
It may be a while before Pennsylvania residents see any of the alleged tax savings that will come, theoretically, from the revenue generated by slot machines. During the interim (which may last a few decades) I have an idea that our government leaders should consider.Click the comments to get contact info.
It seems like one obstacle to the more-gambling-less-taxes payoff is that we can’t fill all the openings on the PA Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board because it’s virtually impossible to find anyone in the state who favors gaming but isn’t somehow connected to the mob. And even after someone is appointed it seems that they either decide to retire after a month or two or they have to go to court for a murder rap.
I suggest we sidestep this obstacle by threatening to offer PA Gaming positions to legitimate business people who would probably pay good money not to be considered. For example, suppose it was leaked to the media that Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was being considered for a position on the PA Gaming Control Board. I’d bet good money that Mr. Gates would pay good money just to have his name taken off the list. Maybe he’d even pay a little extra to have the board send out a press release stating that Gates had never been a contender, that the media was simply wrong. That might be good for a couple million bucks — and it’d probably arrive a lot faster than the jackpot the pro-gaming utopians keep telling us about.
Using the same ruse, we could probably get big money from the Vatican by offering gaming positions to high-profile church leaders. What the heck, maybe we even float the possibility of a powerful role in PA Gaming for the Pope — that should pull in some wealth for the Commonwealth, and perhaps even some nice artwork, which can be hung in our casinos. If they ever get built.
Then we can move on to international leaders. I’m sure Saddam Hussein wouldn’t want his name tarnished any further by being appointed to the PA Gaming Control Board — he’s probably got some cash hidden somewhere that he’d send to Pennsylvania to prevent us sullying his reputation.
I believe there’s an almost endless list of folks who would pay big bucks to avoid being associated with PA Gaming. I feel this has at least as good a chance to lead to lower taxes as legalized gambling. I hope our leaders give it a try.
PCN - Pennsylvania Cable Network Wed, 4-19, 8:00 PM Slots Community Impact - Pittsburgh, PA Gaming Control BoardI can't tell how late this TV coverage will run? Day one of a parade of people to speak unfolded today.
I am pleased to invite you to become part of my independent campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania.
MY RECORD
As you may be aware, the state legislature voted itself an unannounced pay raise on July 7, 2005 - ranging from 16 percent to a whopping 54 percent - violating our state Constitution. This increase was quickly signed into law by our current Governor.
I don't know anyone who deserves a raise that large - especially this state legislature - and I certainly can’t recall any working Pennsylvanian who’s received an increase of that proportion. Pennsylvania suffers from too many problems - heavy tax burdens, lack of economic opportunity and unresponsive government at all levels. These things must change - Pennsylvania deserves better.
In response to the pay grab, I founded an organization named PACleanSweep. We were instrumental in defeating Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro in November, 2005, pressuring the legislature to repeal the pay raise, and we have recruited more than 100 candidates for state legislature. PACleanSweep candidates pledge integrity, honesty and adherence to the Constitution of Pennsylvania, so our citizens will be protected from further legislative shenanigans.
MY REASONS FOR RUNNING
PACleanSweep has accomplished much in its short existence. However, there is so much more work to do. Along with a new legislature, we need a new, independent governor - one who will not be swayed by the establishment which has led our Commonwealth down the wrong path.
We need someone who will say "NO!" to backroom-brokered pay raises and other quickie legislation. Someone whose first priority as governor will be the problems of Pennsylvanians like you. And finally, someone who gives the taxpayers and voters of Pennsylvania a voice in their government - both in its day-to-day affairs and its long term planning.
MY PLEDGE TO YOU
The political system in Pennsylvania is broken. In order to meet the needs of ordinary voters and working taxpayers, I pledge to do the following:
• veto any proposed legislation which has only been seen by back room dealmakers and not subjected to public scrutiny;
• veto all unconstitutional legislation, including middle-of-the-night pay raises, legislative perks and entitlements;
• reduce the size and cost of state government by exposing wasteful spending on items such as expensive meals, golden junkets and other expenditures which add little value to the legitimate functions of government;
• direct the Attorney General to investigate any and all abuses of taxpayer-funded resources and abuse of authority, even if it means investigating the actions of other elected officials;
• use the Governor's office as a bully pulpit to create a level playing field for all voters, creating a fair system for hearing and considering methods of reforming and operating state government.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
I will be running without the support of an established party apparatus. Because of this, I will need the assistance of independent Pennsylvania Patriots like you. I am required to obtain 67,070 signatures in order to get my name on the ballot in November. My committee and I have determined that we will need at least 100,000 signatures in order to adequately resist a court challenge.
We estimate this effort will cost at least $200,000. This means that every $500.00 you contribute to my campaign will result in 250 petition signatures to get me on the ballot and get your government back.
• Please give what you can - and of course, please feel free to give more than once. To give online, visit http://russdiamond.org/contribute.html.
• If you would like to sign my petition - or better yet, help us gather signatures - please visit http://russdiamond.org/petition.html. There, you will find all the information you need to help me get on the ballot.
• Please spread the word about my candidacy, and wherever possible, support PACleanSweep candidates.
This is an exciting and historic time for Pennsylvania - the eyes of the nation are upon us. I hope you will join me on this mission to restore honor, dignity and integrity to Harrisburg.
Sincerely,
Russ Diamond
Independent Candidate for Governor
Paid for by RUSSDIAMOND.ORG
Barbara J. Baur, Treasurer
City considers local race - Pittsburgh - MSNBC.com O'Connor said this week he wants to bring a big-league racing event to Pittsburgh, such as an open-wheel grand prix race.If you want to dream that vision things -- then talk about 5 year olds, talk about 10 year olds, talk about 15 year olds and if you must, talk about 20 year olds.
Impact Lab - Amazing 3D Sidewalk Art Photos These unbelievable photos are chalk drawings done by Julian Beever. Beever uses his drawings to create an amazing 3D illusion.Click the link about to check out these images -- for fun. They are 3D.
Artists at work on a sidewalk in front of a Lotus garden.
Editorial: Altmire in the 4th / This Democrat would give Hart a real fight Mr. Altmire has a different view and would expand health coverage with a more incremental approach. He'd push for legislation to allow all Americans to buy insurance through Medicare, which has low administrative costs. He'd seek to cut medical costs by reimbursing doctors and hospitals based on quality, not quantity, of care. And he'd place all privately insured people in the same community-rated pool and make it difficult for insurance companies to raise their premiums.
Bon Jovi to headline concert at Heinz Field Steelers World Championship Celebration Concert.Perhaps we'll not need to be in such a rush to get all the redding up done by this summer's All Star Game -- as we'll have a fall-back -- the Steelers concert with Mon Jedi. :)
2nd casino bidder pledges arena, Hill District funds
2nd casino bidder pledges arena, Hill District funds
Taps Bettis to head consortium of business, civic leaders
Monday, April 17, 2006
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Detroit businessman competing for the Pittsburgh slot machine license is expected to unveil plans for a $350 million redevelopment of the Hill District as part of his bid at a press conference this afternoon.
Don Barden, who heads up PITG Gaming LLC, also is expected to pledge $7.5 million a year toward a new arena. The amount is what Gov. Ed Rendell had requested of slots applicants in his Plan B funding package for an arena.
He has picked another person who hails from Detroit, Steelers star Jerome Bettis, to lead a consortium of business and civic leaders that would oversee the Hill development.
PennLive.com: NewsFlash - Lawmaker: Let $13,000 surcharge on new homes pay for schools Lawmaker: Let $13,000 surcharge on new homes pay for schoolsI don't endorse the idea, but I'd love to speak at the hearing and get to know more of the details and reactions from others.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state lawmaker wants to tack a $13,000 fee onto new homes in some high-growth areas to help fund public schools.
The goal is to spread growth more evenly across the state and encourage the renewal of homes in older town centers, said Rep. Stephen Maitland, who introduced a bill proposing the surcharge this month.
The bill would let municipalities in six midstate counties impose the fee.
'Somebody builds 100 houses down the road, and my grandmother's taxes go up. It's not fair,' said Maitland, R-Adams. 'Here's a way to get cash in hand so if you have to build a new school, you're not automatically raising taxes on current residents.'
But real estate agents and builders say the fee would stifle growth in the state's relatively few boom areas.
Residents 'should be happy that they have something happening in their economy,' said Brad Elliott, president of the Pennsylvania Builders Association.
The average cost of a new home in the midstate area is about $276,000, according to Coldwell Banker.
The bill would apply to Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties but not to slower-growing Dauphin and Perry counties. The fee for a multifamily unit would be $15,500 or higher.
The bill would exempt farm and government construction and let officials waive fees for low-income housing and other projects deemed in the public interest.
Hearings could be held this summer.
Swann's hour of crisis - PittsburghLIVE.com Yet it appears no one around him is thinking inside or outside the box.Harsh. Not thinking inside or outside the box. Wow.
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