Pin headed approaches to leadership from politician elsewhere on real democracy

This was sent in as a Letter to the editor with the Baltimore Sun:

Does Mayor O’Malley really favor democracy? Are ballot access barriers a good thing?

Around 1 pm on Saturday May 6 2006, I was volunteering at the Libertarian Booth at the Towson Town Festival. The Libertarian Party is the 3rd largest party in the U.S. and has been operating for over 30 years. Like all states, Maryland’s electoral system is controlled by the Democrats and Republicans, so that to have candidates on the ballot, the Libertarian Party must turn in 10,000 valid signatures every 2 years to stay on the ballot. This repeated effort of course saps strength from other projects we might undertake, but of course that is what many career politicians want.

In any event, Mayor Martin O'Malley was walking past the Libertarian booth, and I asked him to sign the petition, making it clear that signing does not mean he endorses the party nor is he obligated to vote for any libertarian. He said he is ‘with another party’ and could not do that. [Two of his entourage took the same position, but two others signed.] As he briskly walked away, I asked if he was afraid of competitive ideas or and felt democracy had its limits. He shouted back that if Erhlich signed he would sign – to which I inquired if he only does what Erhlich does.

Does the mayor’s face to face response reflect the type of person we should have in Annapolis? In city hall? In a homeowner’s association?

When the public's ability to have alternate candidates available to them is limited by games like ballot access, should politicians be forced to simplify the system and give up their personal fiefdoms?

Steven Sass

p.s. I have since been told that Governor Robert L. Ehrlich DID in fact sign our petition when we last encountered him – about 4 years ago, AND at that time we actually had a candidate, Spear Lancaster, ON THE BALLOT, running against Mr. Ehrlich

The Code Breakers - FOSS - and story from an online post

The post that follows in the 'comments' section, click to read, is about a new documentary from BBC about Free and Open Source Software, FOSS. I hope to see it.

Blog Burst and coverage in newspapers

P-G coverage of a blogging trend.

Tech Briefly: 5/6/06 The Web sites of dozens of newspapers are starting to feature outside blog postings on travel, health and other topics in a further blurring of the line separating traditional and new media.

The travel section of the San Francisco Chronicle's site, for instance, had a box in the middle Wednesday with such posts as 'The Intricate Architecture of Barcelona' from the RealTravel blog.

The posts supplement the Web journals, or blogs, maintained by the newspapers' staffs and come from Pluck Corp.'s new BlogBurst service, which collects postings from about 1,000 blogs and distributes them to newspapers, mostly for online use.

Ride of Silence - might get started in Pittsburgh

Back wheel of my 3 wheeled bike.

::Ride of Silence:: Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20 kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

Why does this site exist?

To HONOR those who have been injured or killed

To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here

To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD

THE RIDE OF SILENCE WILL NOT BE QUIET
On May 17 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed.

The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is being held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

I think it would be great to have a local silent ride. I hope a lead organizer goes for it. The weather is going to be perfect for a bike ride on the 17th.

Can a few "local connections" be made in terms of fallen ones -- injured or hurt -- on our roads on bikes?

Shame on Preston, the Paygrabber. Vote for Gainey

24th district challengers hope for clean sweep of incumbent - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Preston, 58, of East Liberty, voted for the pay raise July 7 and accepted the money early as unvouchered expenses. The General Assembly voted to repeal the pay raise in November, but Preston acknowledged he has not returned the money he collected.

With role models like this, it is no wonder we get others who spend public money in private ways.

Fort Pitt Museum strategic planning

The Fort Pitt Museum (a state museum) is engaged in a strategic planning exercise in which it is gathering information about the museum and its environment, how it is perceived, and how it can do a better job serving the community. The Museum wishes to convene a one-hour "focus group" composed mainly of 5 to 10 downtown residents and others who might be considered among its "neighbors."

This meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, May 11.

Individuals who are interested in volunteering should send an email to donnneal -at- yahoo -dot- com as soon as possible but no later than Wednesday, May 10.

Feeding fish.

5th and Forbes and a modern folk tale from fellow blogger

Nice modern folk tale.

The Three Rivers Post & Standard - 5th and Forbes Redux Imagine that you as an individual didn’t want to invest in these schemes, but you had to. You see, you all live in the same apartment building. Everyone in the apartment building got together and decided through a democratic vote that each resident should invest a percentage of their income into more of these programs. No matter how hard you tried to explain to people that doing so was a bad idea, they didn’t seem to listen.

The lessons is.... people don't want to subsidize PNC nor other downtown developments.
Downtown living won't get this grand in Pittsburgh, but it should.

PNC subsidy OK'd

PNC subsidy OK'd: "Proposed subsidies for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower on Fifth Avenue won Pittsburgh City Council's initial OK yesterday.

The vote was 7-1 to join with Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Public Schools in using future tax dollars to finance $18 million in aid. Councilman William Peduto voted no.

In addition, $30 million in state aid is going to the $169.5 million office, hotel and condominium development.

Mr. Peduto argued that PNC, which made $1.3 billion in profits last year, did not need the help. Other council members countered that the project would add $1.1 million a year in new city, school and county property taxes, even after $1.7 million a year is diverted to pay off the subsidy.

Council's final vote is set for Tuesday. Construction would be done in late 2008."

Froth Slosh B'Gosh calls for a picnic for Chuck for Senate

Sunday!

Froth Slosh B'Gosh Let's have a picnic! Chuck will be there, we'll have live music, food, good friends. Bring everyone you know to meet the next Senator from Pennsylvania. Bring the kids and let's have some fun!

Mike Stout will play and sing for us. We'll have food - hoagies and soft drinks are covered - everyone else please something picnicky - chips, juice, cookies, whatever. I don't know if there are grilling facilities there.

We'll have a 50/50 raffle! 50 cents of every dollar goes to Chuck's campaign. The lucky winner walks home with half the loot!

The yard signs are here! Come to the picnic to get some to take home!

RIVERVIEW PARK - VALLEY REFUGE SHELTER - SUNDAY, MAY 7th 2 - 6 PM

I might try to attend.

Newest member of our family: Sarah. Stay tuned for "Revenge of the Cat Blogging!

Kitten....

Grant, my second son, got a kitten! He picked it up with my wife from the new and beautiful Animal Shelter. She is named Sarah and is doing very well. Very social. Bunking down with Grant, 8.

So far so good.

Our other cat, Cigi, almost 19 (human years), is still doing her hissing. But by the second day they have turned more to walk-by hisses.

Dad and boys.

Last Summer, Erik and I did the 140 mile round trip, two day event called, "That Dam Ride." This summer, I've got to get back in shape. The ride is in September. Running mates, care to join us?

Last summer's memory.

Frankel and Frankel

STAND UP and STAND OUT! (Or, how to make your elected representatives actually LISTEN to you)

Monday, May 8, 2006, at 7 pm at Squirrel Hill Library

Representative Dan Frankel, PA House of Representatives - Allegheny County, and Larry Frankel, Legislative Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania.

* Find out how to make your letter/email/phone call Stand Out and Really Matter to your elected officials

* Learn more about current legislative issues: the PA Marriage Protection Amendment, the PA CARE Act Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies), NSA Spying, Immigration, and what your representatives Need To Hear

* Find out what you can do to Make a Difference, even if you live in an area where your elected official already supports your position

* Discover effective tips for writing Letters To The Editor that will increase the chances of getting them published

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please visit www.aclupa.org.

Property Tax Relief -- another joker in the cards

Property tax relief bill stalls - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review However, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, termed the legislation 'an illusion of property tax reform.' And Rep. Michael Diven, R-Brookline, called the bill 'three-card monte.'

Diven is using those academic terms again. What the heck is 'Three Card Monte?'

List: of 1,000 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com

The Complete List: 1,000 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com 968 Fox Chapel Pittsburgh Pa. 1.175 10.0 23.1

So, Pennyslvania gets 1 in the top 396. Two in the top 400.

The Foxes, USC, and Mt. Lebo all squeek into the top 1,000 on the last page.

What do you make of this?

USOC makes domestic travel plans for bid coordination for 2016

SI.com - Olympics - USOC makes travel plans to potential Olympic cities - Wednesday May 3, 2006 2:19PM U.S. Olympic Committee representatives will visit Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco over the next two weeks to begin scouting out cities for a possible bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Chicago skyline -- from a Navy Pier perspective. (Click image for larger view. My photos are all put into the public domain.)

Windy City -- one of my former hometowns.

My wife is on TV tonight - PCNC's Night Talk

Ann Devlin and Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., to talk about hearing health -- TONIGHT!
From a past show.

Get to high ground!

Tsunami warnings issued for Fiji and New Zealand after earthquake measuring a magnitude of about 8.0 shakes southern Pacific Ocean.

Good HEALTH to another blogger.

Don't eat too much fiber.

Chloe Rules! - Zap! Thud! � Nuclear Stress Test Results: Good News, More or Less Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to go grocery shopping at Office Max for some cardboard for dinner….