AntiRust puts the Pens and its owner in perspective

AntiRust Given wealth of a reported $2.6 billion, Ron Burkle could have built five $300 million arenas in Pittsburgh.

And still had a billion dollars left over.

Oh, and an extra hundred million dollars for tips.

Thank god we are giving him $15 million a year for the next 30 years.

Congrats, Pens fans.

Thanks, Ron.

I'm not driven by envy. But I agree with the last word of the post, "Balls." Let's say 'Balls Squared!" -- or -- We got pucked.

Pandora, Internet Radio meets Senator Specter

Pandora is an amazing service. Wow. Now this red tape headache.

Hi, it's Tim from Pandora,

I'm writing today to ask for your help. We've had a disastrous turn of events recently for internet radio: Following an intensive lobbying effort on the part of the RIAA, an arbitration committee in Washington DC has just dramatically increased the fees internet radio sites must pay to the record labels - tripling fees and adding enormous retroactive payments! Left unchanged by Congress, this will kill all internet radio sites, including Pandora.

Tomorrow afternoon there is an important U.S. Senate hearing on the future of internet radio. Senator Alren Specter from your state is part of the hearing. I hope you'll take a minute today to call his office to voice your objection to this ruling.

Senator Alren Specter's phone number: (202)224-4254

If you decide to call, please be sure to tell them your name and home town, and mention Senator Alren Specter's name. We encourage you to tell them how much you enjoy listening to internet radio and that, left unchanged, the fees passed by the Copyright Royalty Board will kill internet radio. Please ask them to act to reverse this decision.

Remarkably, this rate applies only to internet radio, exempting both broadcast radio and satellite radio. It is a pure and simple reflection of the difference in lobbying power of each industry. It is not only unfair and without legal rationale, but will completely wipe out internet radio.

I hope you'll take just a few minutes to call - it will make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners are by far our biggest and most influential ally.

As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.

-Tim Westergren (Pandora founder)

Check out the Pandora Podcasts too.

DFA Night School Anyone Can Run

Night School is free

Have you ever thought about running for office? Are you looking for someone to run in your area? Launching your own campaign can seem daunting, yet getting people like you elected is vital to building the progressive movement. Tomorrow night DFA Night School will help prepare you to make the leap and run for elected office.

Anyone Can Run
Tuesday March 20th - 8:30pm Eastern Time
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=18356

Join DFA-List state Representatives Elesha Gayman (IA-84), Ty Harrell (NC-41) and Maria Chappelle-Nadal (MO-72) as well as Select Board member Irene Wrenner (Essex, VT) as they share their experiences as first time candidates. Learn how to tell your story, get to know your district, and build the coalitions you'll need to win.

Over the last two weeks, 1,507 people have joined together on nationwide conference calls to discuss how we can sustain our progressive presence after our victories last November. The conference call and web presentation are free which makes participating from home easy.

RSVP today: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=18356

The truth is anyone can run for office. You can run. I can run. And with DFA Night School and the support of DFA members across the country -- you can win!

Arshad Hasan
DFA Training Director

Police arrest 21 during melee; gunfire heard in crowd at High School Game in NYC

ESPN.com - Police arrest 21 during melee; gunfire heard in crowdAssociated Press

NEW YORK -- Teenagers brawled in the stands at a high school basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night before police cracked down on the melee, which spilled into the streets.

Gunfire was heard as the crowd went from the arena to Times Square, police said. No injuries were reported. Twenty-one people, mostly teenagers, were arrested, police said. Some were charged with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest and one was arrested on a riot charge.

Sad.

There is a scene in the movie, "Pride" where there is a fight.

Furthermore, I've been shouting that we should keep the Civic Arena for activities, such as scholatic sporting events. Perhaps the comment should be twisted to mean that that the high schoolers should play in a venue where there are less fears of messing up the leather seats of the new Pens arena.

Interesting comments in the thread on the site at ESPN too.

smart USA - short videos that are almost as cute as the car

Cool videos.

smart USA - short videos that are almost as cute as the car Starring smart

Bradish Street's Big Dig begins

From planning-urban

Last week we had a fire in this neighborhood. This week, cars are being towed and the big dig of Bradish Street is about to being.

We live in a mixed residential neighborhood. Some are residents, some are small businesses. The catering place in mid block is getting a new water line, it seems.

You're out of luck had you parked your car on the street and didn't notice the signs that went up yesterday afternoon.

Passing out newsletters on sidewalks, even around PNC Park and Convention Center, is FREE SPEECH and must be protected

The "no sweatshop efforts" matched with the city's fumbles, yet alone that of goons at PNC PARK and the Convention Center, are getting set for yet another show down. A federal court case is moving to trial, thanks to the ACLU.

Free speech matters.

Folks should be able to pass out information on the sidewalks around the stadiums and convention center.

From markets

This is a mini-book store on the sidewalk in the streets of China. Should the authorities come by, pop the lid on the container and wait for them to pass.

I'd love to have a translation of the books in this stack, to anyone who can read Chineese. Thanks. Just leave them in the comments part of this blog posting.

BootCamp PGH - I'm into this. You should be too. Save the date already.

Hope to see you there.

BootCamp PGH - Home Welcome to BootCamp PGH!
BootCamp PGH is a free one-day, immersive 'entry level' version of PodCamp. It is designed to educate students, small businesses and corporate communications professionals on the power and possibilities of new media.

WHEN: Saturday, April 21, from 9 AM to 4 PM

WHERE: The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Boulevard of the Allies, 15219

WHO: New media experts, aspiring new media creators, communications and PR personnel, and you!

HOW MUCH: Free!

Campaign Laws head to Supreme Court and Libertarians engage

An attorney in Washington state posted materials that form the bulk of the posting below. Attribution in the comments.

The US Supreme Court accepted review of two cases of major significance to the Libertarian Party. One case is from New York and the other is from Washington State. Pundits are discussing these cases together because they appear as "bookends" to the fundamental issue of the relationship between the political parties and the states.

In the New York case the parties were virtual gatekeepers to who could appear on the general election ballot. In the Washington case the parties were excluded from the process, except to the extent their endorsements might mean something.

At stake are rights of political parties, of candidates and of voters. How does the concept of partisanship impact those respective rights?

Political parties want the right to decide not only who participates in their nomination processes, but also which candidates are entitled to claim affiliation with the party. Candidates want easy access to the ballot and the right to claim affiliation with any political party they choose. Voters want meaningful choices on the ballot that are not controlled by party bosses.

Wrapped up in these various claims are core constitutional principles of free speech, free association, due process and equal protection.

But what if the associational rights of political parties are at odds with the ballot access rights of candidates? New York State Board of Elections, v. Lopez-Torres, #06-766 is, in essence, a ballot access case in which Lopez-Torres convinced both the lower courts that the Republican Party had too much control over who could appear on the ballot. Link to the Second Circuit opinion in PDF.

Or, what if the associational rights of political parties are at odds with the free speech rights a candidate to declare his/her "preference" for a political party even if the party does not support the candidate? Washington v Washington State Republican Party, #06-713 involves Washington's attempt to replace Washington's "blanket primary" with a "top-two primary" that allowed any candidate to list a party "preference" on the ballot of what was otherwise a non-partisan primary. Link to the Ninth Circuit decision on that case.

And what if the associational rights of the political parties operate to limit the choices to the voters only to those "annointed" by the parties? At what point does a state have a "sufficiently weighty" interest in limiting the exclusionary rights of the political parties to ensure that the voters have a wide range of meaningful choices on the ballot? How does the state satisfy that interest without running the risk of overcrowding the ballot?

On a related matter, it is clear that a state can require political parties to settle their internal differences prior to the general election, by nominating conventions, caucuses or primaries. But can a state force any particular candidate selection format on the parties? Even more fundamentally, isn't ANY pre-election winnowing process for candidates an unauthorized "qualification" for federal office, upon the same rationale term-limit legislation was ruled to be unconstitutional 10 years ago?

So far, these issues are being discussed by the Ds and Rs, and within the academic election law community. Now it is starting to perk with the libertarian press and blogosphere.

It is certainly necessary to debate Iraq or health care from a libertarian perspective. But what does that mean if the the very identity and purpose of all political parties, including that of the Libertarian Party, is at risk?

true colors giggle

From another blog.

ONCE MORE UNTO THE ARENA DEAL, FRIENDS: "Though the letter goes on for eight more sentences, Mr. Spagnolla never actually tells us what those true colors are. Which is kind of disappointing. But if I had to guess, I'd say that Ed Rendell's -- he is, after all, the former Mayor of Philadelphia and an avowed Eagles fan -- true colors are green and white. If his public persona and his public speaking ability are an indication, Dan Onorato's true colors are probably beige. Or maybe puce. And, no matter how much he tries to convince us that they're black and gold, we all know that Luke Ravenstahl's true colors are blank slate and baby blue."

The new arena talk isn't over yet. No way. It needs to be built. The costs need to be covered.

Heck, Three Rivers Stadium isn't over yet. They still have a Stadium Authority. We owed $30-million when it went away. We are now going to pay, what $4-million, for an outdoor, glass covered concert venue to be owned by the Steelers. Eeeks. These deals never are over and done with.

Rep. Ron Paul: Running to Win in 2008

Rep. Ron Paul: Running to Win in 2008 Dr. Ron Paul, Congressman from Texas, has been a fervent advocate of limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He's now considering taking his no-nonsense show on the road in an under-the-radar run for the White House.

Paul is an absolute original -- never voting for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. It's an iron rule that sometimes annoys his Republican colleagues.

A medical doctor by training and certification, Paul is nothing if not a thinking man. When he voted against authorizing military force against Iraq, his rationale read like a lawyer's analysis:

'This resolution is not a declaration of war, however, and that is an important point: This resolution transfers the constitutionally-mandated congressional authority to declare wars to the executive branch. This resolution tells the president that he alone has the authority to determine when, where, why, and how war will be declared. It merely asks the president to pay us a courtesy call a couple of days after the bombing starts to let us know what is going on. This is exactly what our Founding Fathers cautioned against when crafting our form of government...'

Join us at TalkShoe for Micro Credit Efforts

First 24 hour LIVE Talkathon for Kiva International

Description: March 18th starting at noon EDT, tell the world about KIVA.ORG and microlending! Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing w... moreDescription: March 18th starting at noon EDT, tell the world about KIVA.ORG and microlending! Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. lessPhone Number: (724) 444-7444
Talkcast ID: 14678

Link

Kiva efforts are rocking today

No trouble for Buchanan to stay in line

No trouble for Buchanan to stay in line Political prosecutions
Aside from those high-profile cases, Ms. Buchanan has put a special emphasis on public corruption during her tenure.

Tube City Almanac: March of the Penguins

Tube City Almanac: March of the Penguins I'm sure glad that this arena is being built at no expense to the taxpayers. Well, except for:

* $10.5 million in cash the state is paying the Penguins 'in recognition of delays the team suffered while it was negotiating for a new arena,' and,

* $7.5 million for the next 30 years that the state will contribute from its economic development fund, and of course, the

* $290 million bond issue that's being underwritten by the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Other than that, yes, there's no taxpayer money involved!

. . .

Auditing Dep’t.: If you live in the country, where you rely on the state police, you may be interested to know that $7.5 million per year would pay the salaries (not including benefits) of 150 new troopers.

If you live in the city, where you or your neighbors rely on public transportation, $7.5 million per year would make up more than 10 percent of Port Authority's projected budget shortfall.

You may say that the $7.5 million is coming from gambling revenues, so it isn't really tax money. But I thought that we legalized slot machines to reduce property taxes in the state. Did I miss the part where it said, 'reduce property taxes, or maybe build an ice rink for Canadian and Russian millionaires'?

Rendell's bungling nearly iced deal for new arena

O-R OnlineKeeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh should have been a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, the city officials negotiating with Mario Lemieux's group - in particular Gov. Ed Rendell - have no brains. Or, at least, they did not understand how important it was to reach an agreement.

Some Question Tactics Of U.S. Attorney Buchanan

kdka.com - Some Question Tactics Of U.S. Attorney Buchanan County Democratic Chairman Jim Burn says he's suspected partisanship all along.

'Her record speaks for itself,' said Burn. 'I've seen a long line of Democrats and mistakes aren't made based on party affiliation but I haven't seen anybody from the other side going though that system.'

Duhh.

Jeff Habay and Robert Glancey are GOPers who have been in hot water. For Glancey, it is going to get worse before it gets better. Then there is Michael Diven.

Pile on. So what. Real problems exist within both of those camps. They even have issues within the camps with provisional ballots and in-fighting to knock each other off of the ballots. Ballot access is a major issue and mega big deal.

From texture - misc.

I want to see public trust in all offices restored. We've got a long, long way to go for that to begin to happen. Trust will increase among the people as a direct reflection of their might at the ballot box.

Who is going to be the hero: Showing up six times without blowing up.

The brief video clip above, (a segment of Heavy Or Not), drives home a point that has surfaced a number of times in the recent weeks.

My statement at city council on March 13 hit against a member of city council who didn't show up for a debate. Meanwhile, ballot challenge matters from a number of candidates are headed to the judge because certain paperwork didn't show up.

I love to point being made that one doesn't need to blow up. Just show up. That's a big theme of mine. At all cost, avoid burnout. Stand for office. Do what you can. Show up.

My intention is to stand for office in 2007, six times. I intend to show up on the ballot. Statements need to be made. And, my stance needs support from others, behind and most of all, beside.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, with the force, needs to show up to debate.

State bread & circuses - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Blistering and beautiful letter to the editor:

State bread & circuses - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review On the same day that our elected leaders were patting themselves on the back about their deal to keep the Penguins in town, the state issued a report that the Pittsburgh region lost 27,900 (seasonal and weather-related) jobs in the month of January alone.

Mr. Ravenstahl, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Rendell have applied yet another Band-Aid to the much larger problem. They have made sure that they will not be the elected officials under which the area lost one of its precious sports teams...

Unfortunately, it is clear that they have no idea how to address these issues. As such, I suspect that our elected officials and their governments will continue to provide the citizenry with more circuses.

Onorato Provides Insight on Arena Deal

Last Sunday morning we were glued to the boob tube with coverage of Luke and his wife. This week Onorato gets a fist full of free tv exposure and props from Jon Delano.

It is one thing to get free exposure, but another to get that at a cost of $5-million a year for 30 years. Plus, there is the knocking down 12 other buildings. Plus, the loss of land that can be taxed.

kdka.com - Onorato Provides Insight Into Arena DealTo see more of Jon Delano's interview with Dan Onorato, watch the Sunday Business Page this Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KDKA-TV.

When is Onorato going to go to China? What are the dates of that travel? I was thinking about doing a daily podcast / video show to join with those travels.

Now to watch the infomercial, err... show.

Hat tip to Jon, however, for doing a sit-down with Rich Swartz, a competitor to Onorato for the D primary, and a target of the Onorato cronie lawyers.

If I see Onorato, I'd be quick to ask him to call of the lawyers and allow the voters of the County to decide who should be the ACE. Is Onorato, a powerhouse, with $1.5 million in his Political Action Committee, scared of the people's vote?