Black and Gold Money won't make you happy; emulate The Chief and keep the Pens in Pittsburgh
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
I hope somebody reading this is close enough to Mario Lemieux to call it to his attention.
Mario, I've known you since your rookie season and have always found you a fine fellow, so I'm going to ask a lot of you. In these cynical times when the bottom line so often rules, it's perhaps silly to ask, but consider emulating The Chief -- the late Art Rooney Sr
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Black and Gold pleads for Pittsburgh decision
Carbolic Smoke Ball - taking the fall for the hole in the Convention Center
Carbolic Smoke Ball Onorato consoled concerned citizens with promises that someone would be fired.
'I assure you, someone will take the fall for this,' Onorato said. 'And I can further assure you, that person will be one of Luke's enemies.' He then turned to Ravenstahl for a high five, chest bump and air guitar.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Eric Heyl's Blog Kick's Bootie
Eric Heyl's Blog - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review To summarize: We have a councilman launching a blog to defend the mayor -- who doesn't have a blog -- against attacks that surfaced in a talk show host's blog in a conspiracy allegedly involving another councilman who brings not a blog but a private MySpace profile to the table.Someone's posted on YouTube already.
That, apparently, is what passes for discourse in the mayor's race -- at least until someone posts something on YouTube.
Hometown Heros
What Happened to Yesterday's Hometown Heroes?
by Lee Wishing
Each morning my local county newspaper shows up late. Speaking with the delivery man and calling the office hasn't changed things. So, rather than canceling the 20,089 daily circulation paper I continue reading the local news with my coffee ... a day late. And I love to read it cover-to-cover. Yet, lately I'm finding I'm growing frustrated with the content. I see some of our older hometown heroes growing weak. But, not our kids.
It's Saturday, and as I read Friday's sports on page B-1, I see three brawny boys wearing "Reynolds Wrestling 600 Wins" t-shirts hoisting the western Pennsylvania District 10 AA Dual Meet Championship trophy over their heads. Reynolds is a local perennial small school wrestling powerhouse. Above them are pictures of 112-pound and 140-pound boys locked in mortal holds.
On page B-3 there are four similar pictures: one shows 125-pound Reynolds Raider Robbie Miller turning Greenville's Doug Richmond on his back with the referee lying next to the boys waiting to call the pin. Richmond must have bloodied Miller's nose earlier in the match because Miller has cotton in his nose. And Richmond isn't giving up even though he's on his back. His back is bridged and he's jamming his palm under Miller's chin. Hometown heroes, these boys. Great stuff!
And then I turn back to page B-1 to read a story about the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another hometown hero, Mario Lemieux, and his Penguin co-owner partners are wrestling with Pennsylvania's governor, Pittsburgh's mayor and Allegheny County's executive to get a new arena for their team. The paper reports that Lemieux and company leave the negotiations-they walk off the mat-because they don't want to share parking and other revenues.
But wait, my instincts tell me there's something wrong with this picture. Why are Lemieux and friends wrestling with the referees? Why are they turning to government for a $290 million deal? Aren't the governor and his team elected to create and enforce laws rather than wrestle with businesses over how much money to grant them? And what's happened to Lemieux? I don't ever remember a champion asking a referee to hand him a win or a Stanley Cup, let alone huge financial favors.
Hmmm...even though he was on his back with the referee lying just inches away, Greenville's Doug Richmond wasn't asking the referee for help. He was fighting for the win.
And then I turn to the business page on B-5 to read a story titled "Dairy Queen Gets Grant to Upgrade Equipment." Once again Pennsylvania's governor is featured. This time his office announces that the governor is giving a local DQ franchise $7,500 to install high-efficiency refrigeration equipment. The story notes that the governor has handed out $2.8 million in similar equipment grants to other small businesses since July 2004.
What is going on with America's business owners? Are they starting out tough as youngsters but growing up soft-turning to government to solve their problems with money that doesn't belong to them? And how do they learn to become weak? Do they read about hometown heroes gone soft in America's sports and business pages? There's a lot of talk today about athletes having a responsibility to be role models. What's happened to Lemieux and Pittsburgh's young mayor? The mayor was a college football player not too long ago. Are these men role models for future business owners?
I've got to shake off this mental softness that's seeping into my mind. Back to page B-3 for me. I'm cheering on young Robbie Miller and Doug Richmond. Grow up strong guys. If you go into business, remember your picture on page B-3. Frame it. Hang it in your bedrooms. Hang it in your dorm rooms. Hang it in your offices. Remember, the referee is just a referee. Don't ask him for help. Even though I'm reading about you a day late, you guys are my hometown heroes today.
Lee Wishing, an adjunct scholar with the Commonwealth Foundation (www.CommonwealthFoundation.org), is the administrative director of The Center for Vision & Values (www.visandvals.org) at Grove City College.
Permission to reprint is hereby granted provided the author and affiliation are cited.
Commonwealth Foundation | 225 State Street, Ste. 302 | Harrisburg | PA | 17101
Teacher Accused of Using Pirated Software in Classroom
Net-Gold : Message: Teacher Accused of Using Pirated Software in Classroom Former Soviet Leader Wants Microsoft to Withdraw ComplaintAnother great example why we should all use open source software.
Russian Teacher Faces Detention in Siberian Prison Camp
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Monday asked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to intercede on behalf of a Russian teacher accused of using pirated software in his classroom.
In an open letter, Nobel Peace Prize winner Gorbachev said the teacher, Alexander Ponosov, from a remote village in the Urals, should be shown mercy because he did not know he was committing a crime.
'A teacher, who has dedicated his life to the education of children and who receives a modest salary that does not bear comparison with the salaries of even regular staff in your company, is threatened with detention in Siberian prison camps,' read the letter, posted on the Internet site of Gorbachev's charitable foundation"
Happy Waitangi Day
This is a national holiday.
Waitangi Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWhere we'll be in May 2007.
Value Networks Clusters
Value Networks Clusters Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything luncheon on 27 Feb 2007 in San Jose, California, USA.There might be a distant visitor element. I'll try to participate from Pittsburgh.
Wiki's are great.
Rental inspection touted as a key to blight control in city
Nanny state legislation is in the pipeline.
Furthermore, as a renter and resident, I don't want to have an inspector walking into my home. Privacy becomes a serious concern.
A building inspector might think my computer has an electrical short and seize it. Meanwhile, this computer is sending figurative darts into the heart of nanny state politicians like Len Boadack or tux buying Dan Deasy.
The state should not have invitations into anyone's home. Places should be off limits for government workers, without probable cause. Assessors shouldn't enter into homes either, and they don't.
If my downstairs neighbor has dripping water into his ceiling, then probable cause is present. But a standing invite on a regular basis sends red flags of worry.
Before I posted about the city's complete lack of responsibility for property that the city owns. After the city gets better control on its properties and once the residents are sure that public properties are kept in good condition -- then let's talk.
The city owns more than 10,000 household properties throughout the city. The city of Pittsburgh is, by far, the worst landlord east of the Mississippi.
The new law is to make big government bigger. New inspectors are going to be hired. New payoffs get to be made.
The $1,000 per month fine for each unit is going to mean that hundreds of apartment buildings are going to be put up for sale when leases expire. This will make more empty buildings and additional blight.
Landlords should get billed for repeat inspections. However, the bill should be paid to the tennant and not to the city. The city wants to punish the landlords and that screws the tennant. That isn't the city's money. Damages should be paid to the ones that suffer, the tennant.
Another problem is the chilling effect with police calls. Pittsburgh faces a serious problem in that the citizens don't want to work with the police. The witness protection program leaves many out in the cold. Crowds of people won't identify shooters. The engagement among citizens and police is frail -- to sugar-coat the stituation. Now, with this new bill, a couple calls to the police is going to get you a bill. A charge.
What about someone with a protection from abuse order and a leaking sink.
We need to do everything we can to make the police accessible to those in need. A family on the run might need a safe place to sleeep even if the bathroom floor lacks that glow of see-yourself-shine. More hoops for landlords to jump through to make a rental just cripples freedom of those who need it the most.
Here is a better solution. Pitt, Duquesne and the other colleges should begin to worry and make proactive measures to protect its students. Who is the Pitt employed, off-campus, student housing coordinator and handy man resource?
Pitt should worry about its people.
Pitt's inaction has skunked up Oakland.
Pitt should be pulled into the middle of this problem, not Grant Street.
After the city gets its act in order, and after the universities get their acts in order with great housing options for its students, then let's talk about Section 8 housing -- then we might call upon landlords for a public hearing.
I look forward to this bill's public hearing being scheduled shortly.
By the way, send a building inspector to the Convention Center. I hear they have a hole in the floor.
Rental inspection touted as a key to blight control in city City Council members yesterday proposed regular inspections of all apartments and rental houses in the city.Putting new fees and new burdens onto those that invest in the city is a sure way to curb those investments. When the punishments come, along with the red tape, the investment money will flow elsewhere.
Furthermore, as a renter and resident, I don't want to have an inspector walking into my home. Privacy becomes a serious concern.
A building inspector might think my computer has an electrical short and seize it. Meanwhile, this computer is sending figurative darts into the heart of nanny state politicians like Len Boadack or tux buying Dan Deasy.
The state should not have invitations into anyone's home. Places should be off limits for government workers, without probable cause. Assessors shouldn't enter into homes either, and they don't.
If my downstairs neighbor has dripping water into his ceiling, then probable cause is present. But a standing invite on a regular basis sends red flags of worry.
Before I posted about the city's complete lack of responsibility for property that the city owns. After the city gets better control on its properties and once the residents are sure that public properties are kept in good condition -- then let's talk.
The city owns more than 10,000 household properties throughout the city. The city of Pittsburgh is, by far, the worst landlord east of the Mississippi.
 |
| City owned building, vacant, blight issued. Clean up your own house first. Album: playground - usa |
The new law is to make big government bigger. New inspectors are going to be hired. New payoffs get to be made.
The $1,000 per month fine for each unit is going to mean that hundreds of apartment buildings are going to be put up for sale when leases expire. This will make more empty buildings and additional blight.
Landlords should get billed for repeat inspections. However, the bill should be paid to the tennant and not to the city. The city wants to punish the landlords and that screws the tennant. That isn't the city's money. Damages should be paid to the ones that suffer, the tennant.
Another problem is the chilling effect with police calls. Pittsburgh faces a serious problem in that the citizens don't want to work with the police. The witness protection program leaves many out in the cold. Crowds of people won't identify shooters. The engagement among citizens and police is frail -- to sugar-coat the stituation. Now, with this new bill, a couple calls to the police is going to get you a bill. A charge.
What about someone with a protection from abuse order and a leaking sink.
We need to do everything we can to make the police accessible to those in need. A family on the run might need a safe place to sleeep even if the bathroom floor lacks that glow of see-yourself-shine. More hoops for landlords to jump through to make a rental just cripples freedom of those who need it the most.
Here is a better solution. Pitt, Duquesne and the other colleges should begin to worry and make proactive measures to protect its students. Who is the Pitt employed, off-campus, student housing coordinator and handy man resource?
Pitt should worry about its people.
Pitt's inaction has skunked up Oakland.
Pitt should be pulled into the middle of this problem, not Grant Street.
After the city gets its act in order, and after the universities get their acts in order with great housing options for its students, then let's talk about Section 8 housing -- then we might call upon landlords for a public hearing.
I look forward to this bill's public hearing being scheduled shortly.
By the way, send a building inspector to the Convention Center. I hear they have a hole in the floor.
 |
| From Convention Ce... |
Teacher. Wordsmith. Madman. -- rips letter to editor from Tim Stevenson
Some great blogging is showing up in the neighborhood.
Teacher. Wordsmith. Madman. TURNING YET ANOTHER PAGE
Monday, February 05, 2007
New blog: Campaign 2008
Here is a guy after my own heart. He is long winded too! And, he hits upon the P-G as well.
Campaign2008 In terms of our PA state legislators, they regularly bend or break the law. One former legislative power, Sen. Frank Gigliotti, was once asked if the main point of electoral politics was not to 'serve the public interest.' His famous response, recorded on tape, was, 'F--k the public.' There's evidence he was not alone in that view.
Compare and Contrast Health Care Plans
Here is another plan: Don't get sick. (Just joking.)A chart has been made that shows, in yes-or-no replies, the two major health care options now being floated in Pennsylvania. One is from Governor Ed Rendell. The other is called FAMILY & BUSINESS HEALTH CARE SECURITY ACT OF 2007.
Thanks to Molly Rush for sending along the chart. People in Pittsburgh have been working on the later plan for a couple of years.
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ddznxj6h_25d6sc6xGet the details in the link above, a published Google Document.
Lanz Children Fund
Mom's gone. Kids are young. Here is how to give.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/10912186/detail.html
If you are local, please feel free to either send a donation to the address below, or go to your local PNC branch office. You will only need to know the name on the account to make a deposit. They will not give you the account number, but will find it by the name.
Donations can be sent to the following address:
Lanz Children Fund
c/o PNC Bank
US Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Please, whether you send money or go to a branch office to make a donation, make sure you have the name on the account being "Lanz Children Fund", as that is the only way to make sure the money goes to the correct account. If you send a check, maybe just include a note that the check is a deposit to the "Lanz Children Fund".
National ID Card opposition from Libertarians
Opposition grows to the REAL ID driver’s licenseLibertarian Party of Pennsylvania - For Immediate Release - February 5, 2007Harrisburg, PA - The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) applauds Maine's state legislature for its overwhelming rejection of the REAL ID. Their legislature cited the grave threat to individual liberty, the increased risk of identity theft and the enormous cost of this unfunded mandate. Eleven other states are considering similar bills. The LPPa urges Pennsylvania's legislature to do the same.
For more information contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) or Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org
The REAL ID, passed by Congress in 2005 as an amendment to an appropriations bill, forces the states to standardize their driver licenses converting them into "smart cards" capable of linking to government and private databases. In theory, this connectivity permits a drivers license card to also function as: credit, debit, and banking cards; health, life, auto and property insurance cards; membership, admission and rental cards for private uses; and other applications still being devised.
The danger is that a distant computer or bureaucrat can disable the ID portion of your card and none of the functions will work. LPPa Media Relations Chair, Doug Leard, explained, "When the NICS [National InstaCheck System] system crashed, no one could be validated for a gun purchase. A computer error suspended the Second Amendment for gun purchasers. With the REAL ID system, a computer problem or government bureaucrat’s decision can shut down the day to day lives for millions of people. The Bill of Rights becomes just a list of suspendable privileges at the mercy of computer reliability and government bureaucrats."
The $12 billion dollar estimated cost of the REAL ID unfunded mandate will be passed to the states and then to the taxpayers via increased Department of Motor Vehicle fees, tolls and/or taxes.
Michael Robertson, LPPa Chair, added, "We urge the Pennsylvania legislature to adopt a resolution declining to comply with the REAL ID provisions and to call upon the Congress to repeal this mandate. The mandated concentration of personal information in the hands of a few poses a grave threat to individual liberty and should be viewed as unacceptable in any free society. Pennsylvanians should contact their state and federal elected officials with this message."
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, 3915 Union Deposit Road #223, Harrisburg, PA 17109
www.lppa.org, 1-800-R-RIGHTS, info@lppa.org
More.
Kansas City Star | 02/05/2007 | States rally against a national license States rally against a national license - Legislatures resist a federal effort that would standardize the driver’s ID and link databases.
WASHINGTON | A revolt against a national driver’s license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.
China's Internet powerhouse crushes opposition, worrying government - International Herald Tribune
China's Internet powerhouse crushes opposition, worrying government - International Herald Tribune China's Internet powerhouse crushes opposition, worrying governmenthttp://qq.com
For three mayoral candidates in Phila., no B.A.
Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/04/2007 | For three mayoral candidates in Phila., no B.A. is no big deal 'Quite frankly, I can't remember a mayor of a big city who wasn't a college graduate, and I think I would,' said David Bositis, an expert in urban and minority politics at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, when asked whether he could. 'It sounds like a question from the 1950s.'Bob O'Connor didn't have a degree, did he?
Campaign funds buy many things for politicians
Campaign funds buy many things for politicians 'In our opinion, that's flat-out wrong,' said Mr. Kauffman. 'I don't think that has anything to do with influencing the outcome of an election.'Flat-out wrong.
Shame on them all.
Speaking of suits, I've been waiting for the opportunity to reveal these photos of when we got suits in Hong Kong. They were not paid for by campiagn donations.
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| From markets |
Counting the beans & counting on pots of gold - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Political story pointer.
Of interest is the mention of the kid's story, Jack and the Beanstalk. I like parables.
The main character in that story made a bad decision and traded, (gambler), his precious asset (cow) for some magic beans. He was tricked.
Sounds like selling off the water authority for cash to help build a stadium to watch 'roid enhanced ball players (S.F. Giants).
But Jack in the fairy tale doesn't really count the beans. He chucks the investment out the window. A real controller might be a bit more tight fisted.
Stealing happens in the story with poor Jack going elsewhere, perhaps suburbia, to rip off the slumbering, and wealthy.
Bandit Jack returns to his senior citizen home after burning the bridge to prospertity with a bag of gold, magic hen and golden harp. Mistick says that those are the kinds of things that it will take to save Pittsburgh.
Humm...
Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum. Watch for would-be controllers on the run.
The story doesn't work for me. I'm not interested in promoting politicians who have a history of making bad decisions and think that they have to rip off others to get ahead. By that standard, Doug Shields and Mike Dawida are OUT.
As for Lamb, Pokora and Macklin -- well -- I've yet to see ANYTHING from them.
Perhaps the watch-dog media types in Pittsburgh can spin another yarn of another fairy tail soon. Weave the names of candidates into a saga of psuedo-news based on hype and smoke. Replay to the voters how the building blocks of democracy come from the bedrock found in the book of Mistick.
Joe, the golden harp might be out of tune.
Counting the beans & counting on pots of gold - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Counting the beans by Joe Sabino MistickJoe wrote of a slugfest of blog attacks, but neither Ravenstahl nor Peduto have opened any blogs. Go figure.
Of interest is the mention of the kid's story, Jack and the Beanstalk. I like parables.
The main character in that story made a bad decision and traded, (gambler), his precious asset (cow) for some magic beans. He was tricked.
Sounds like selling off the water authority for cash to help build a stadium to watch 'roid enhanced ball players (S.F. Giants).
But Jack in the fairy tale doesn't really count the beans. He chucks the investment out the window. A real controller might be a bit more tight fisted.
Stealing happens in the story with poor Jack going elsewhere, perhaps suburbia, to rip off the slumbering, and wealthy.
Bandit Jack returns to his senior citizen home after burning the bridge to prospertity with a bag of gold, magic hen and golden harp. Mistick says that those are the kinds of things that it will take to save Pittsburgh.
Humm...
Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum. Watch for would-be controllers on the run.
The story doesn't work for me. I'm not interested in promoting politicians who have a history of making bad decisions and think that they have to rip off others to get ahead. By that standard, Doug Shields and Mike Dawida are OUT.
As for Lamb, Pokora and Macklin -- well -- I've yet to see ANYTHING from them.
Perhaps the watch-dog media types in Pittsburgh can spin another yarn of another fairy tail soon. Weave the names of candidates into a saga of psuedo-news based on hype and smoke. Replay to the voters how the building blocks of democracy come from the bedrock found in the book of Mistick.
Joe, the golden harp might be out of tune.
OpenOffice.org is blistering ahead elsewhere -- what about in Pittsburgh?
If I was mayor or county executive, we'd be hosting a big open source software pow-wow such as this. And, we'd do it often. All the 'running mates' and everyone in the region should be using OpenOffice.org. Go get it. Put it on your computer. Give it a whirl. 
The official international OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon) brings together people who are interested in the development, promotion, and use of OpenOffice.org.
Last year, members of the OpenOffice.org community gathered at the official international OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon) in Lyon, France for a superb conference hosted by the local OpenOffice.org community.
This year's proposals reflect the growing importance of OpenOffice.org in the Asia Pacific area as well as Europe, with strong proposals from:
* Barcelona (Spain)
* Beijing (China)
* Dehradun (India)
Members of the OpenOffice.org community are invited to go to the following web page to submit a vote for their preferred location:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2007/proposal.html
Voting will be open from 5th February - 18th February inclusive. Just two weeks - so please vote early.
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