OMG: Hannah Montana! ... HERE...

Series of made-for-DVD movies to be shot in Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Business Times: ... will star Emily Osment, co-star of the hit Disney Channel television series 'Hannah Montana.'

Do we still close roads, reserve street parking, and alter the bouncers on East Carson Street for film crews and movie stars if they are only working on flicks that are slated for a DVD release?

Let's not roll out the red carpet today, as it is raining. But we are in for something as it took a year of negotiatins for the one crew. It is bad when film crew talks with a city take longer than the creative work to author, direct, shoot and produce.

The broad range of financial support for Dept of Community and Economic Development means what, exactly?

Next months movie title, "Smart People" has its first casting call slated, TBA, in City Council Chambers. Keep watching this blog for details.

Joe Jencks on the Charts!

From Joe Jencks ho...

Joe played a concert for us on the South Side early in the year. His newest CD "Rise As One" charted at #24 on the Folk Music Charts in the US for the month of September! This marks the first time he hit the charts.

"Rise As One" is a live concert CD, celebrating the music of the labor movement in the US, and featuring traditional, modern and original music about workplace dignity. Visit www.joejencks.com for more info.

GrassrootsPA puts up telling quote of GOP Leader on behavior of Rs in leadership

Duhh....

GrassrootsPA � The Online Home For Pennsylvania’s Conservative MovementPA's GOP Chairman said, "We have a platform, but our guys didn’t read it. They lost their way,” Gleason said as he mentioned the pay raise, state budgets, approval of slot machine gambling, expansion of government and this year’s vote to raise the minimum wage as a few examples.

MP-N: Congressional Elections

Hi All,

I'm in Pennsylvania. I don't think Rick Santorum is going to win his re-election. The Dem in the race, Bob Casey Jr. is a real dolt who is a lazy worker, without much personality nor smarts -- but he'll win because there are no other options and Rick has worn out his welcome.

So, the notion that a vote for one person is also a mandate for something else needs to be put in the trash, where it belongs.

The post said, a vote for the R candidate in MN is really a post for Santorum to be a leader in the US Senate. I don't agree.

Politics is complicated. But, voting is simple.

A vote for a person on the ballot is a vote for the person on the ballot, at that time, for that post -- and NOTHING, or little else. That's the beauty of democracy. Politics is complicated. But voting is simple. And, we should keep it that way. All the other hang-ups and reading between the lines is not what really matters.

If you want to worry about the leadership of a legislative body, and that is a decent worry to ponder, then there are better things to do.

First, ask the candidate in your district if he or she will state support for or against those in leadership positions. For example, a guy running for state house can say that he will NOT vote for so and so as the speaker of the house. He'd vote for another person in the same party, I imagine. But those can be strong statements. And, we should ask those questions more and more of candidates.

Second, figure out where the tight elections are unfolding if the leadership of a body might tip -- and back those candidates in those locations with your funds and efforts accordingly. Those battleground districts and associated campaigns are ripe for influence from other quarters.

So, if you want Santorum out of the US Senate -- send money to Bob Casey. And, if you want to buffer his hope for Senate leadership, speak to Rs in campaigns in the US Senate and get a pledge that they'll NOT back Rick Santorum for leadership whatever.

It is interesting to see if these candidates choose to break ranks with expected leadership, or not.

Bob Casey to Paris Hilton: Watch your purse.

Bob Casey's remarks in the radio debate on Monday about more taxes for Paris Hilton was goofy. To make a point of Santorum being 'out of touch' and then to use the lines that Casey uses is ironic. Casey isn't the guy to hit a homerun against Santorum for being out of touch.

On KDKA Radio show following the debate, show host, Marty Griffin, was hitting in a negative way upon the mention of Bono. Senator Santorum mentioned Bono and Marty Griffin tried to dig for some humor in that and it backfired. Bono isn't a rock star that takes community involvement as a joke! The Bono mention in the debate was in a friendly, respectful way.

My unanswered question is, 'Do we all work hard?'

Then how can it be a 'do nothing Congress' and then they all work hard? The double talk from Casey is without logic.

Casey says to Santorum, "I don't know what you are talking about." (Not good Bob.)

Neither of those guys are going to get my vote. However, I give a big LOSS for today's radio debate to Bob Casey.

Veteran pols among hopefuls - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Told ya. Weeks ago I said that Jack Wagner would need to be in the list of potential candidates who are interested in running for mayor of Pittsburgh.

Veteran pols among hopefuls - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review He could face his most formidable challenge in the Democratic primary from state Auditor General Jack Wagner, who according to spokesman Steve Halvonik is considering a run. Wagner believes O'Connor was shepherding Pittsburgh toward financial recovery.

Posting to MN

Subject: Re: MP-N: Iraq .....and other things.

Hi All,

R. R. H. wants to arm the world, as we are armed, sorta. He said that is the only way to go.

Well, I think we can be more creative and come up with other pathways. For instance, consider the last time the USA nuked Canada. That would be crazy, right. There are many levels as to reasons why there isn't fear or threats of war and nukes between US and Canada.

Meanwhile, there was a time, not too long ago, when the situation between the US and Cuba was such that nukes were feared. They blinked. A disaster was dodged and a long period of US and Cuba isolation was a result. The Soviet friendship and subsidization for Cuba also went to nothing.

Interesting, today, many in Canada vacation in Cuba (interesting side note).

The roots to the solutions, I feel, are within the expression:

YOU DO NOT Generally BOMB YOUR CUSTOMERS.

When we have a free market approach, with free trade and free travel -- then -- more peace and prosperity occurs and fears, uncertainty, doubt and war becomes diminished.

Furthermore, the trade needs to be free, organic and citizen driven -- not from the state. We need to turn away from the "mega deals" and "government deals" within business realms such as is the case with OPEC, Haliburton, and reconstruction of infrastructure after bombs turned back the clock to stone age survivals.

So, the slogan and truth found within not bombing customers might not hold when it comes to bombing suppliers.

We need more and closer trading partners. But, let's not fool ourselves with a hope to have them work in sweatshops to meet the demands and hungers of our consumerism.

eVote Blog, call to Tuesday's County Council Meeting on Voting & Paper Ballots

eVote BlogASK COUNTY COUNCIL FOR PAPER BALLOTS FOR NOVEMBER

What are you doing Tuesday evening? Or, can you pen a letter and make a few phone calls for democracy?

Swim Coach gets hired for another gig

Tom Burchill formerly of Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club (Pittsburgh, PA) and Carmel Swim Club (Carmel, IN) has taken a position with Lancaster Aquatic Club, Lancaster, PA.

Too often, in Western PA, as well as other parts of the nation, we "EAT OUR YOUNG." Tom did a wonderful job as a swim coach, locally. He built up the program. He is a dynamic young coach. He moved out of state. His career hit a bump in the road. But now he's back in PA with a new team.

Good for Tom. Good for those in Lancaster and even throughout PA. I'm glad he is back home, sorta.

But I worry about the ways we treat our young coaches. We have problems in these areas and our systems are frail.

In other coaching news, not at all associated with anything -- the outcome of the bean-ball coach is now known. The judge ordered him to jail for one to six years. This is the guy who lost grips with what sports is all about and instructed a kid to hurt another, on his same team, before a baseball game. What a mess that was. The coach goes to jail to think about that for some time. As he was being escorted away, as show on TV, he still had this 'clueless attitude.'

Furthermore, a swimmer and son of fellow coach is now in a cast. He hurt his hand while playing goal in practice with the high school soccer team. Ouch. The Carlynton HS boys team is #1 seed in the WPIAL class AA. You can play soccer with your arm in a cast in high school. We'll see how the swim season goes, in a few weeks to come.

KnoxNews, injured paper gives interview and Reporter gets Pass NUKED by AD

KnoxNews: Today's Editorial ... the UT Athletic Department suspended the credentials of one of our sports writers, Dave Hooker, for not getting approval in advance for a player interview. Hooker worked through a source within the athletic department to arrange an exclusive talk with Inky Johnson, the popular cornerback who was badly hurt in the Air Force game.

That was a technical violation of the rules that the Sports Information Office issues in exchange for letting journalists have the access they need to conduct interviews and take photographs.

Other reporters covering the Vols have broken that rule in the past. But the Athletic Department decided to come down hard on Hooker.

Initially, the department contended that he had 'ambushed' the injured player on campus, in effect invading his privacy during recuperation. But Hooker has since provided UT with a tape recording of the interview, which clearly shows it was done by telephone and with Johnson's complete cooperation.

Mike Hamilton, UT's athletic director, says he just wants to look out for the 18- to 22-year-old student athletes who aren't professionals and shouldn't be overwhelmed by media attention. We'll grant there is validity to that concern. We don't want to treat these young men and women disrespectfully either, and Hooker didn't in the case of Johnson.

Unfortunately, it seems that some in the Athletic Department have another motivation as well - tightening control of news about the Vols and punishing the News Sentinel for some of its coverage.

So, how is the guy with the long hair doing? Well, he's a pro athlete.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court denies political choice

From hex

Pennsylvania Libertarian Party condemns decision to ban Senate candidate

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Libertarian Party today condemned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to remove Carl Romanelli, the Green Party U.S. Senate candidate, from the state ballot.

This year, Democrat and Republican candidates for statewide office needed only 2,000 signatures to get on the Primary election ballot and the winners required no additional signatures to be listed on the General Election ballot. In contrast, all other parties and independents needed 67,070 valid signatures to attain the same end.

Although the Green Party submitted 95,000 signatures, the Democrats challenged and convinced the courts that thousands of signatures were invalid, leaving the party 8931 short of the required total. Pennsylvania’s signature requirements are extremely strict. Signatures are rejected for technicalities such as forgetting to enter the date or entering information in the wrong box. In addition, the courts have redefined “qualified electors” from its statutory definition of Pennsylvania citizens over 18 to registered voters.

Supreme Court Justice Thomas Saylor dissented from the majority opinion because of this redefinition. “I maintain my belief that, under the material provisions of the Election Code, citizens need not be registered voters to validly sign nomination papers on behalf of an independent political body candidate. Since I do not believe that Appellant should be denied ballot access based on the Commonwealth Court’s existing assessment, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s present percuriamruling.”

To further discourage future efforts by independents and third parties to undergo the Herculean effort to offer Pennsylvanians additional choices on the ballot, the court ordered Mr. Romanelli to pay $89,000 in court costs and all the Democratic Party’s legal bills, which are expected to approach $1 million.

Tom Martin Libertarian Party State Senate candidate for the 34th District in Centre County (http://members.aol.com/martin4senate/) noted “The two old parties have further strengthened their monopoly on who can run for office. The great economist Adam Smith had important points about monopoly: One: They are the great enemy of good management and Two: Monopolies need government support to last. What better proof of both of these observations then the political parties using government support to protect themselves from the voters.”

Mr. Martin also failed to meet the draconian signature requirements in his efforts to run as the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate. He is now running as a write-in candidate.

With this year’s 67,070 signature requirement, Pennsylvania is the second worst state in the nation for ballot access. The Ballot Access Coalition has been pursuing a legislative remedy to this problem. The Voters' Choice Act (http://www.paballotaccess.org/voters_choice_act.html) is based on Delaware's reasonable ballot access law. Unfortunately, the VCA is locked in our legislature's State Government committee.

Ken Krawchuk, the Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania Governor in 1998 and 2002, was outraged by the news. "This decision is the death knell for third parties in Pennsylvania. Who will undertake running for political office with the threat of a million dollar fine? Certainly not me! Unless we can convince the legislature to pass our Voters' Choice Act, this contemptible decision could drive me into political retirement. But I will still campaign full force against oath breaking judges who have made a mockery of our electoral process.

Press release from Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, 3915 Union Deposit Road #223, Harrisburg, PA 17109, 1-800-774-4487, www.lppa.org from, Chuck Moulton, Chair, Doug Leard, Media Relations

'Man of the Year' tanks in a landslide - 10/13/06 - The Detroit News Online

We watched the debate between Rick Santorum and Bob Casey -- and thought that was bad. My kids were into the debate, watching those jokers.

'Man of the Year' tanks in a landslide - 10/13/06 - The Detroit News Online

'Man of the Year' GRADE: D

Rated PG-13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug-related material and brief violence
Running time: 115 minutes

'Man of the Year' is a well-intentioned mess, a dated, yuk-it-up sloppy civics lesson with such a lack of conviction that it backs away from the very questions it poses, which is really too bad, because this movie should have afforded Robin Williams his best role in years.

Wonder what the reviewer / critic would have said about the tv debate last night.

Friday the 13th.

Feeling Lucky? Feeling Unfortunate?

How about the feeling of 'freeze out' or being 'left in the cold?'

Bookstore workshops on South Side

Dr. SALLY G. HOYLE discusses and signs her book, Same Homework, New Plan, on Tuesday, October 17th at 7:00 pm at the Joseph Beth Bookstore on the South Side (SS Works).

Take back your family's evenings and weekends! Clinical Psychologist Dr. Sally Hoyle offers easy-to-follow steps that busy parents can readily implement to decrease homework meltdowns and help kids achieve their academic potential. Written for parents of kids ages 7 to 16, Same Homework, New Plan shows parents the techniques they need to win the homework war.

101 Ways to Become the Perfect College Applicant
is the workshop and book for 2 pm on Sunday, October 22. No matter where you are in your high school career, 101 Ways will provide you with tips and activities to make you a solid college applicant with a stellar transcript, a winning essay, and great recommendations, not to mention great test scores and a strong overall application package! Get the answers to your questions. Application Anxiety? Not a chance. Kaplan's got you covered.

Somehow, it’s supposed to be our fault when they refuse to give fair and equal coverage to all candidates on the ballot

Got a great email from another Libertarian in a campaign, Barry Hess, of Arizona. He's hacked off, as I have been for years, about the piss-poor media coverage and how they've grown fond pulling the wool over the eyes of the consumers and voters. (Blogmaster edited the text, slightly.)

Dear Friends of Liberty,

All over the United States, Libertarians who conquered whatever ballot access hurdles they made third parties face, are now finding that they still have only a third-class status, with that status enforced by one group: the Media.

In Texas, James Werner, LP candidate for Governor, was denied access into a debate organized by Belo Corp. They allowed four people, including gadfly Kinky Friedman, to debate, so the old argument that "Three's a crowd" couldn't be used this time. He's now moving forward on a lawsuit.

Also in Texas, Bob Smither is running against a Democrat and a write-in Republican in Tom DeLay's former Congressional district. He's the only candidate on both the Special and General elections ballots. According to both MSNBC and the New York Times, Smither doesn't even exist, but the write-in sure does. Luckily, the locals do know he exists, because he's walking the district, working hard, and quickly gaining steam in that race.

In Washington State, Bruce Guthrie, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, mortgaged himself to the hilt to the tune of more than $1 million for his campaign to meet debate requirements, and while the Media sponsors did finally agree to let him debate, it was touch and go there for a while, they still wanted to deny him equal access. It took $1 million on the table to even raise the question of having a fair debate.

In Ohio, Gubernatorial candidate Bill Peirce's campaign staff, in response to the Media locking him out of the debates, has resorted to wearing chicken suits in order to get any sort of press attention at all.

In Connecticut, Phil Maymin, candidate for the 4th District's congressional seat, had a stellar showing in a three-way debate, but pollsters won't include his name in their polls since he's gotten very little media play. The Media ignores him, since they, in turn, claim that they have no polling data supporting him.

This trend continues all over the country, in almost every race where we have a stake. This isn't new, of course. In 2004, my friend, Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Presidential Nominee/Candidate (on the ballot in all states), partnered with Green Party Nominee, David Cobb. They got arrested the night of the second debate between Bush and Kerry, right in front of the debate hall in St. Louis. Still, none of the major media even covered the story. A search on CNN.com that same night found zero articles on "Badnarik", because they had never covered him or his campaign.

In Arizona, I'm (Barry Hess) in the debates, and I'm holding my own. Some say I've won both debates so far. It has become clear that my true opponent in this race is neither Janet (D) nor Len (R). It's the second hand reporting and coverage of the debates, primarily by the newspaper of record, the Arizona Republic, that distorts our message, and attempts to marginalize any prospect of 3rd party gains. But most importantly, poor coverage violates the inherent right of the voters to judge for themselves by having all of the facts to consider.

The AZ Republic wrote, "Don't blame yourself if you haven't heard of Hess or much about his politics." Somehow, it’s supposed to be our fault when they refuse to give fair and equal coverage to all candidates on the ballot. You see, since Libertarians stand on principles, and refuse to take so-called “clean” election funding (which is out of the pockets of taxpayers), we are not “legitimate” candidates, running "real" campaigns. Never mind that they ignore all of our outreach events (or report them as only taking place at "gun shows"). Never mind that they ignore endorsements, fund-raisers, press releases, and all of the other tools that we use, the same as the other candidates. Somehow we just aren't campaigning 'hard enough' for them to take notice.

The actions of the AZ Republic, a big corporate media player, owned by Gannett, are unconscionable.

Other Libertarian candidates across the state are also suffering at the hands of the Republic, including Richard Mack, who is the only anti-war candidate in that race for Senate. The same 'skewing' happened with some of the Republican Gubernatorial candidates in their primary. Some of those candidates are now openly endorsing me over the Republican who won the primary, and they are joining our complaint about media bias on the record, and on streaming video for all to see.

I'm tired of it, I'm sick of it, and I'm fighting back. Effective immediately, our campaign will be attacking public enemy #1, the true opponent of 'clean elections' and an informed electorate, the Arizona Republic and their biases in reporting the facts.

Today marks the start of a new Hess For Governor campaign fund raising effort to raise at least $25,000 to purchase radio and print ads specifically attacking the blatant and shameless media bias of the AZ Republic, Arizona’s "newspaper of record".

Proceeds from this fund raising drive will be used to purchase spots in reputable media sources that have fulfilled their civic and moral duty to completely, accurately, and fairly report on the race for Governor of Arizona. These funds will not be used to attack the position or programs of Governor Janet Napolitano (D) or Challenger Len Munsil (R). The ads will specifically target the media bias of the Arizona Republic, and how it has abused the right of the public to have all of the facts about all of the candidates; not just those that support the Republic's own editorial biases and its desire to steer government policy and public opinion.

Now is the time to step up to the plate. We need to send a strong message to Big Media that we aren't afraid to go after them directly, and no longer play along, just waiting for them to throw us a bone once in a while.

On Nov 7th, every voter in Arizona will have three choices for Governor, not two.
Our goal: We will make sure they know which reporters can count to 3, and who just stops at 2.

(Sometimes, they'll count to 2.1, or 2.5, and then tell us we're lucky they even
mentioned us)

If you want to know what sort of radio and print ads we'll run, it'll be that simple a message:

We trust the voters to count to 3, but the Arizona Republic stops at 2. Wonder why?

If you are not convinced, go to the website and watch the two debates so far, and then compare what you see in the debates to the reporting the AZ Republic and others have done about it. Then please donate so we can go on the offensive against the real enemy of Libertarians and Democracy: Media Bias.

Help us send a strong message to the Media giants that "We're mad as hell. We're not going to take it anymore!" Donate. Even a small donation will go a long way in paying for print and radio ads. If you'd like to donate matching funds, please let us know. We know that the community can generate major funds when the cause is a good one.

As always, I remain at your service--

Barry Hess, Vice Chair of the Arizona Libertarian Party, and Candidate for Governor in Arizona

Millcraft may get $11M in funding - Pittsburgh Business Times:

Millcraft may get $11M in funding - Pittsburgh Business Times:

This is bad government.

Bob O'Connor said that the project wouldreceive no public subsidy. So then Fast Eddie, Gov. Ed Rendell, says otherwise. Bang, we're out $11-million!

And, the $11-million is only the start.

I don't have a favorable look upon future state investment for our downtown. I hate it because that means the free market is going to get put into the back seat and nothing else is going to happen, unless it comes with state money.

The price of downtown property just went up with bone headed statements like this. The people who are sitting on property just to speculate on them now don't need to sell them. They can wait it out and make a killing once the state enters the scene with a big old check.

Meanwhile, downtown slids deeper and deeper into its funk. Meanwhile, worthy projects elsewhere don't get attention.

Downtown is an anchor, a weight, a drag on the entire region. And this money means that the weight just got a lot bigger. The burden for picking our selves up with self reliance just exited the scene, if Ed Rendell keeps his job.

Ed wants to be important. I want the marketplace to be more important.

The state should see to it that there is a reliable funding stream for mass transit, not a bailout for some downtown building speculator.

Millcraft just arrived on the scene. Millcraft gets the upside from government money. Meanwhile the bill goes to the taxpayers. Meanwhile, the downward spiral that is downtown won't change.

With Bob O'Connor's approach, we had hope. He said no to eminent domain. Bob O'Connor said we'd take the fix up in baby steps without big development dollars flowing there from public sources. Bob's approach had merit and was a big change from the boneheaded deals of Tom Murphy.

Now Ed Rendell comes along and screws it all up.

Yes, downtown is important. But, it is important enough to leave government the hell out of the way.

When Millcraft gets this state money, it means that there will not be more oganic re-development with housing because property owners will sqat longer on low performing assets, waiting a generation or more for the big-fat government check.

Furthermore, we should never be in a conversation that talks about subsidized housing for rich people.

It would be better to take that $11-million and make a fix-up program for home-owners with low interest loans to get new roofs, sidwalks, porches, furnances, and such.

Spread the money around so no one person gets access to more than a $5,000 loan -- that gets paid back. That is what the URA used to do all the time. Then the purpose of the URA and government changed, for the worse, to become some mega developer for projects that always seem to fail.

Here is another idea: Take the $11-million and use it to cover this year's cash shortage associated with the new Convention Center. The Convention Center has a huge operational cost that is not being covered. The Convention Center has a bit of debt for the building of that 'white elephant' structure. The Convention Center's needs are now spilling over to gobble up $2-million from the RAD Funds. The RAD funds go to pay for Regional Assets, such as library costs.

The $11-million is nothing but the rich getting richer. And, the overall project will suffer. And, we've already given some serious money and benefits to the developer with cheap sales prices.

Plus, it is not as if this area has been neglected. The Lazarus and Lord & Taylor and numerous parking garages have been funded with serious investments. Now we're tossing good money after bad deals of the past. But the city and state will get the same failed outcomes.

The poison was about to come out of the system -- and leave it to Rendell to really screw it up.

I am firmly convinced that the state investment in this project is going to make for critical injury to Pittsburgh and the state. Investing this type of money in this type of project is a boneheaded deal.

To heal the city and the region, we must "Lay The Shovel Down." We must "Think Again."

And, what really hurts, is that Bob O'Connor had gotten that message. Bob wasn't going to cook up a deal with these types of funds to cause such harm to us all.

I have no confidence in the sitting governor nor in Millcrafts ability to own all of downtown. Nor do I want that to occur.


High rise living in the city should not come with public money.

WPXI.com - News - Injury On Rugby Field Leads To McCandless Teen's Death

WPXI.com - News - Injury On Rugby Field Leads To McCandless Teen's Death Victim Suffered Concussion 1 Week Ago

Ouch. This is too much.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

Save the date. Do you think the PA House will give us any gambling reform by then?

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Category 2 – Pittsburgh

Monday, November 20 – beginning at 9:00 a.m.

• Station Square Gaming, LP
• Isle of Capri

Tuesday, November 21 – beginning at 9:00 a.m.

• PITG Gaming, LLC

State gives $25 million for Point State Park work

State gives $25 million for Point State Park work

Sigh.

I love parks. I've done a lot of study of urban parks. I'm making some educational videos on parks now, even.

Today I couldn't bring myself to going to this event. I felt that I might have needed to have cooled off with either a swim in the fountain or a jump into the river.

Point State Park was closed for the September Great Race -- because of a facelift. That already started.

This is a joke. The money won't come as we don't need to pave the sidewalks in gold, just to make it a 'golden triangle.'

The new park next to the new underwater tunnel next to the the new T-stop (subway) with a glass roof....

"Lay the Shovel Down."

Their crap isn't going to help our quality of life in the city.