Drink this and choke on Onorato's brew

Tuesday takes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Onorato's stealth tax: Governor-in-training Dan Onorato, Allegheny County's chief executive, lost an incredible amount of goodwill by secretly lobbying state legislators for a 10 percent tax on all alcoholic drinks to help fund mass transit. It's one thing (bad) to publicly propose new taxation; it's quite another thing (one might say chicken-livered) to do so on the sly.

Another MSM interview -- or two -- about Ron Paul

Wars Costing USA $12 Billion a Month

This must be what a surge looks like.

My Way News - Report: Wars Costing $12 Billion a Month WASHINGTON (AP) - The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war in Iraq and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, congressional analysts say.

All told, Congress has appropriated $610 billion in war-related money since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror assaults, roughly the same as the war in Vietnam. Iraq alone has cost $450 billion.

The figures come from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which provides research and analysis to lawmakers.

PA House Bill about School Funding and Pittsburgh specific elements

(see comments for an update)


www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm

Check out House Bill (HB) 842 which is the state's bill to enact all education funding --including everything else they put in here. Take a look at the parts about Pittsburgh. Lots of Duquesne School District things there.

For Pittsburgh Public Schools specifically:

P. 12, Lines 1-15 Pittsburgh is the only district in the state classified as a Commonwealth Partnership School district. This new language gives the board the right to negate contracts -- but not teacher contracts.

P. 12-13 Gives Pittsburgh Supt. Power to dismiss employees. Can you say Lynn S.?

Insights and reactions welcomed.

Thanks for the pointer to Theresa Smith.

Costa To Run For Mayor? Why?

Guy Costa, the city's current Public Works chief, had to submit his letter of resignation to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl just like most of the others in charge of our underwhelming public servies.

Now the Tribune Review reports that he is contemplating a run for Ravenstahl's seat the next time up.

The T-R says that friends are urging him to run because of a perceived disrespect. Remember, Pittsburgh's side streets are totally and completely untouched with salt or snow plows during the winter months. In fact, I have no idea how my neighbors who live on a steep incline, get to work or anywhere else for that matter when it snows.

We're on our own out there folks, and Mr. Coast-a sometimes gets standing ovations from him friends on City Council.

There isn't a Costa in the entire city who isn't on the taxpayer's dime. Paul is a quiet state Representative, brother Jay is even more quiet in the state Senate. I think former city police chief Dom is a brother. Dom even had a few feelers out for Mayor this past time around.

They are all entitled to huge pensions. Don't get me wrong, all of these guys appear to be nice people. None are evil, and in Guy's case, he's in a no-win situation. If Public Works were excellent, it would be expensive. If it were deplorable...which at times it had been during the Mayor Murphy administration...suburbanites wouldn't be able to make it downtown. Don't think for a second that's NOT who most on Grant Street worry about. That's where the real money lies.

Why wouldn't Mr. Costa just get a private-industry gig. He undoubtedly would have friends that could help him land a job perhaps as cushy as the one he currently maintains.

Here's an interesting idea: could the Costa clan empower the Special Interest sector to vote for Republican Mark DeSantis? This is a union town, so they say. Hence the massive exodus to the suburbs and neighboring counties. Could the Special Interests vote in DeSantis, thus setting up a Costa-to-the-rescue union-estatic revolt in a few years?

With news that Costa is thinking of a run makes a Bill Peduto return unlikely. Peduto doesn't pander to the Special Interests that have a bloated influence on this town. That's why Peduto bailed this election cycle: reform is a dirty word to those pining for budget-breaking pension packages.

Ravenstahl played the game, but we are now been innundated with stories that showcase the Mayor's youth, inexperience, and some-say lack of decorum. He too is not a bad guy, but he was also a compromise city council president who was never expected to raise to the top of the city's food chain.

Pittsburgh is still desperate for a great new leader. That sound you hear is not the cavalry. They aren't on their way.

There are SEVEN notes in a musical scale. Seven, Seven, ohh Seven.

Chandler style poetry for 7-7-7 from Kansas City:

Hey everybody – it is that time of the year again.

Happy Seven-Seven-Seven!

Sorry to break my pledge of only bothering you once a month.

But since 01-01-01 I have written something for the date and this year should be no exception –

I warn you that on the 8th of August I will do it again.

So this little missive is brought to you by the number Seven.

For the past Seven hours I have been on I-70 doing 70 miles an hour.

Why was 6 afraid?

Because Seven ate 9

God created the world in 6 days and on the Seventh he rested.

Seven is the 4th prime number – and the first number to have two syllables – unless you count zero – and well… you don’t count with zero – which makes zero – if you believe in a circular universe - the highest number doesn’t’ it?

But I digress. There are Seven days in a week

The seven seas and the Seven Continents

The seven wonders of the world

There are seven holes in you face - and seven deadly sins.

Chastity, Moderation, Liberality, Charity, Meekness, Zeal, and Humility, and the seven virtues: sloth, letchery, gluttony, pride, envy, wrath and

In Proverbs 6:16 – 19, it is stated that "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:"

There was The Seven Year Itch, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, “Seven Plus Seven Is,” SeSevenen, seven swans a-swimming, 00Seven, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Seven come eleven.

Seven Eleven, A touchdown and an extra point, Lucky seven, Michael Vick, The atomic number of nitrogen – which I think Michel Vick inhales a little too much of lately.

The Seven ages of man

The Seven colors in the rainbow

The Seven cities of Gold

Seven UP

Diet Seven-UP

Seven hills of Rome

Seven Liberal Arts

Seven Sages

Seven emperors Julius Caesar, Augustus, Galba, Hadrian, Nerva, Sallust, Vespasian

A Sabbatical comes every Seven years - A jubilee Seven xSeven years – 49.

David is The Seventh son of Jessie

And Jesus in SevenSeventh in a direct line to David.

Seven blessings made beneath chuppah

The Seven cul-de-sacs of hell, or The Seven terraces of mt purgatory – depending on which book you read.

The Seven heavans of Islam – Seventh heavan

Jesus says to Peter to forgive seventy times seven times.

The Seven joys of the blessed Mother Mary

And of course, The Seven sorrows of the blessed Mother Mary

There are Seven palms in a cubit

The Buddah took Seven steps at birth

The Seven Hindu Sages

The Seven islands of Atlantis

The Seven notes in a scale

The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Samuri

The Magnificant Seven

The Seventh Son

The Seventh Inning Stretch

Flight SevenSeven was used to attack the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001 – which ummm – has 5 sides, a top and a bottom – OH My GOD! That’s Seven that proves it – there is a conspiracy.

I am sure at least seven of you will writ me back and tell me much better ones than those.

Seven more of you will unsubscribe to this news letter – because # Seven is so lame.

I have Seven dollars in my pocket.

Drop by my website and review the archives if ya wanna read 01-01-01 thru 06-06-06

See ya later,

chandler

So much for brevity and the soul of wit.

Ron Paul in Iowa - video

Crap politics, as usual, "Mayor’s neighborhood forums" see on other site

- � mayor’s neighborhood forums Join Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for a Mayor’s Neighborhood Forum - the first in a series of ten community conversations throughout Pittsburgh neighborhoods. The Mayor will report back to the North Side Community on initiatives such as his Neighborhoods First Agenda and solicit input on the state and future of the community.

Thursday, July 19th
6:30 -7:30 pm
Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall at The Priory

This is junk. This should not happen in an election season.

The Burgh Report: Excellent Post by Mark Rauterkus

The Burgh Report: Excellent Post by Mark Rauterkus ... I really couldn't understand precisely what he was trying to do ...

Motivations are hard to understand. The easy questions in life are "who" and "when" and perhaps, "what."

The questions and insights of "how" and "why" are for the most advanced.

From time to time, I understand that I'm guilty of speaking over the heads of most of the folks in the audience. I aim to deliver content that goes beyond the basics.

I really confound my out of region friends and family. They don't know what's what in Pittsburgh. They don't live our Pittsburgh life. Our shared experiences of being in the Burgh -- is understood by a vast majority of my neighbors. So, lots of readers here, and lots of people who know me, my family, my passions, my work in other sectors are just "deer in the headlights" when it comes to a topical shift about Pittsburgh's political landscape. They zone out because they don't live in our 'twilight zone.'

Case in point, lots of the folks in suburban Pittsburgh felt good about Tom Murphy. Murphy gave them the Convention Center, PNC Park, Heinz Field, Lord & Taylor and an evacuation plan from the tallest downtown buildings in the wake of 9-11 fire-drills. My disdain for Tom Murphy and the logic of my objections to his leadership was lost on everyone 30-miles away from The Point -- and nearly everyone within 10-miles of The Point.

Case in point 2, few in the local media have a handle about what I'm about. Nearly none in the media have ever generate professional expressions that bolster and inter-twine with my positions and issues. There has always been a 'missing link' of sorts between myself and the MSM (mainstream media).

I've never been in the 40-under-40 crowd. I'm not going to show up on the Sunday Business Page shows. These are givens that are fine with me. But the point to make is that my mo-jo isn't defined by others. There isn't a focused, feature piece that connects the dots for John-Q-Public.

Complicated. Self-made. Multi-media, multi-dimensional, blah-blah-blah.

I'm a Libertarian too! I'm free. I'm stressing liberties. A framework for freedom isn't something that can fit in a downtown retail outlet with a tax-break. Home Depot, on the other hand, is something that you can drive to in East Liberty under a big orange logo that employs guys in bibs, each with a W2 on file, selling bricks and mortar. Go figure.

Finally, for now, I'm a coach. I love to push, pull, drag, trick, and cheer so that others get out of their "comfort zones." Education, like democracy, is messy. Community conversations are wild.

That's why. To kick up some dust.

I understand that my city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2007, is still not a place where my children and their peers will want to reside. I understand that what we got here today is lacking. The opportunities are better elsewhere. There are too many hurdles to both prosperity and freedom in our region. I want my kids and their friends and classmates to thrive. I want what is best for future generations.

Politically, Pittsburgh is nearly a wasteland. The weirdness that resonates from within our public sector crumbles all sorta of other aspects of our lives. Our community lives are with big weaknesses. We are all poorer and less able to live up to our potential because of those nagging problems.

I'm fed up and I'm NOT going to flee. I'll stay put and fight with issues, ideas, concepts and votes -- from time to time. With us thinking again, perhaps some physical violence will be kept at bay.

I understand that I'm fortunate in this period in my life. The flexibility that I have isn't by chance. But, it does summon a sense of duty and purpose to what I do. I do what I do in large part because I am able and others are not.

Thanks for asking. Hope to see you around town soon. I'm sorry if we haven't met yet. Cheers.

Transforming Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania

More reading from Mark F. -- from the past.

Transforming Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania: "Hold That Thought - Pittsburgh Quarterly Magazine"

Trivia time: My middle initial is "F" too.

Trivia time quiz: What's Mark F. DeSantis birthday?

Local scholarship fund with swimming, cancer, travel, and hope all mixed together

Home The Marissa Boyan Scholarship Fund is a 501 (c)3, non-profit corporation.

Here is where the Pittsburgh Bloggers should lend some attention, good will, and financial assistance.

Scholars: Divide Iraq Into 3 Regions

Scholars: Divide Iraq Into 3 Regions: With President Bush's war strategy clouded by limited results and mounting casualties, two scholars are proposing a partition plan that would divide Iraq into three main regions.

The authors, Edward P. Joseph of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are hoping to draw the attention of Bush administration policymakers.

They are circulating their suggestions within the Bush administration.

I always felt that this was a good idea and the way to go. But, it isn't my business to tell them how to behave and how to manage their own affairs. The trend is to break up big countries. Look at the USSR and Texas. Plus, there is a move to more regional unions too, i.e., E.U. The nation-state of Iraq isn't worth saving when there is so much bad blood. And, we've been in their civil war, anyway. They can decide.

I got upset when I heard US brass saying that we must keep Iraq as one nation, years ago. Think again.

IOC approves Youth Olympics; first set for 2010 - Thursday July 5, 2007 4:52PM

SI.com - More Sports - IOC approves Youth Olympics; first set for 2010 - Olympic leaders voted Thursday to create a Youth Olympics meant to drag kids from computer screens and onto the playing fields. The first is planned for 2010 for 3,500 athletes, ages 14-18.

It would be the first major international sports festival created by the International Olympic Committee since the advent of the Winter Games in 1924. The program was approved unanimously by a show of hands.

Democracy Now! | We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger

Democracy Now! | We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger: "We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger"

iPhone Supply Already Dried Up - Switched. Gadgets. Tech. Digital Stuff for the Rest of Us.

iPhone Supply Already Dried Up - Switched. Gadgets. Tech. Digital Stuff for the Rest of Us.: "According to Apple's own retail locater, the world iPhone supply has been suckled dry everywhere except Tigard, Oregon and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

My wife and I both got a new phones this week too. But, neither of us went with the iPhone.

As an extra feature of the iPhone for the Pittsburgh market, Steve Jobs and Apple's marketing department should have contracted with iJustine. She could have hand deliver the phones to any willing buyer. And, she could still do so, perhaps, if asked.

More pointers:
Red light district: Apple Stores out of iPhone stock

tuaw.com - Santa Monica,CA,USA
Apple's iPhone retail availability page is showing a nearly clean sweep of sold-out stores, with only stores in Pittsburgh, PA and Portland, OR lighting up ...

European wireless carriers camping in lines outside Apple offices
SiliconValley.com - San Jose,CA,USA
MacRumors reports that, according to Apple's online iPhone availability tool, the only Apple stores that still have units in stock are in Pittsburgh, Pa., ...

Advance article for A.E. about Mark DeSantis -- from Mark Rauterkus

I posted an article via The American Entrepreneur newsletter in advance of the Mark DeSantis interview slated for Saturday.

The American Entrepreneur - Newsletter Articles A business person, Mark DeSantis, is gearing up his political campaign against Luke Ravenstahl. A number of common threads appear beyond our first names, ambitions, age-group (DeSantis is 47, I'm 48), home towns, party politics and entrepreneur's spirit.

Here is the entire article on my blog too.

---

Mark Rauterkus pondering Mark DeSantis and the 2007 general election campaigns

(Rauterkus is a candidate for city council, an advocate for Ron Paul in the 2008 Presidental campaign, and a free-wheeling blogger.)

A business person, Mark DeSantis, is gearing up his political campaign against Luke Ravenstahl. A number of common threads appear beyond our first names, ambitions, age-group (DeSantis is 47, I'm 48), home towns, party politics and entrepreneur's spirit.

Both of us jumped into the political fray to run for mayor of Pittsburgh under the GOP banner. My run in 2001 hatched from frustration too. Both of us are upset with the leadership from Grant Street.

Candidate DeSantis and I talked before his official kick off. My insights and tactical bits of wisdom, coupled with some action points, were delivered in person. Now is the time for public noise.

This year's race for mayor is going to be a two-way ordeal. I pondered the possibilities of running for mayor and county executive, in the same same election, as a Libertarian. Rather, my Elect.Rauterkus.com efforts for the next months are going to focus as a candidate, again, for Pittsburgh's city council, district 3.

We all have roles to play.

Mark DeSantis has two jobs. He needs to expose himself, first. Second, DeSantis needs to reveal a plan and process that gives voters confidence that he'd make a good mayor for the next two years. That's it for him.

Mark DeSantis is slated to be a guest with Ron Morris. I'll tune in and be sure to download the podcast. Furthermore, I'll attempt to reconstruct the issues and ideas DeSantis delivers. When DeSantis is a guest on shows, he is able to expose himself.

DeSantis needs to be everywhere. He needs to meet and greet on the buses, outside Giant Eagle, in the Strip District, at the bars on the South Side, and at little league games. DeSantis needs to be at churches, temples and fire halls. He'll have to invest in door-to-door, telephone, the works. People's comfort in Mark DeSantis has to skyrocket.

Second, DeSantis needs to perform and execute in the creative realm. He has to deliver a vision that makes sense and earns trust and support.

The rest, and there is plenty more that is yet unsaid, is beyond the control of Mark DeSantis within this election cycle. All of the remaining matters still unresolved are up to us. Voters, citizens, business people, fellow politicians, and of-course, the media have much more to do.

Mark DeSantis has two tasks. We, the people, have countless matters to attend to.

This campaign is about DeSantis and Ravenstahl, however, the city and region is about us all. Everyone has roles to play. Without real civic engagement in this election, the city is toast.

Hopefully, DeSantis can stick to his tasks. Meanwhile, everyone else enlivens and pulls Pittsburgh into the future with a sense of long-term hope. I think that the real burden of the 2007 mayor's race isn't upon the backs of either DeSantis nor Ravenstahl. Rather, it is with the leaders of all sectors throughout the region.

Mark DeSantis could be the next mayor of Pittsburgh. Anything is possible. However, that milestone isn't the real goal we are called to accomplish this fall.

As listeners, here are a few of our duties:

1. Luke Ravenstahl needs to be discredited. Mark DeSantis can't do much of that.

2. Eduction and experience needs to be valued. DeSantis has it. Luke doesn't. We need to point that out.

3. One party domination needs to be terminated for the city. Opposition matters. Opposition comes in many shapes and sizes against oppressors.

4. The stage must be set for the showdown between DeSantis and Ravenstahl. Real audience hunger for repeated skirmishes must be vocalized. Daily events must be organized, promoted and flung.

5. Hard questions, follow-up, and pushing for depth and scope needs to occur. We can't settle for the same answers time and again. When Michael Lamb ran for mayor two years ago, he told of the selling of dog licenses by both the city and county. I heard Lamb's dog licenses script a hundred times. Yikes. Sustain the conversations.

6. Buzz about Pittsburgh needs to resonate. Dividing the city is fine -- if passion builds. Bring it on. Create moments of political boldness that take people out of their comfort zones.

7. Expect flaws. Deal with them. Don't let a few pimples derail DeSantis nor the efforts of restoring hope in the city. For example, I love Ron Paul as a 2008 presidential candidate. Of course, I don't agree with everything he says. But his platform is wonderful and I want you all to know about RonPaul2008.com.

8. Teamwork, above all else is mandatory. Without teamwork, the downward spiral continues and Pittsburgh will become a ghost town of one-party jerks who are clueless in matters of liberty and wealth creation. Candidates need teams. Teams need to interact. Leagues and legions need to get orders, make maneuvers and skirmish. All team efforts start with recruitment. Find out now, who is in and who is out.

9. Everything in life is about either protecting equity or else building equity. Pittsburgh in 2007 has little to protect. The capital budget of the city has been at ZERO for years. Now we must do something, grow, be aggressive, conduct outreach. Pittsburgh is at the brink. We have to swim upstream with all our might. Shift to overdrive.

It is his campaign, but it is our city.

This Week on The American Entreprenuer, radio show, podcast, on Saturday -- AM 1360.

This week, Ron Morris and The American Entrepreneur will feature the
following guests and topics:

Mark Desantis, who will be the Republican challenger to incumbent Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in this November's Mayoral election for the city of Pittsburgh, will join Ron in studio to discuss his campaign, and the ideas he'll bring to the city's business community.

Ron has podcasts of past shows at TalkShoe.com. If you look there you'll find a prior interview with Luke Ravenstahl. Later in his rants, he mentions the interview.

Channel crossing a tribute to friend

Channel crossing a tribute to friend Channel crossing a tribute to friend

Brent McAuliffe, right, will try to become the first Pennsylvanian to swim across the England Channel in mid-July. He is doing it to raise funds for Marissa Boyan, left, who has been battling a brain tumor for seven years.

Pittsburgh - On Your Mark … - Mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis prepares to run a race no one thinks a Republican can win - Main Feature - Main Feature

Pittsburgh - On Your Mark … - Mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis prepares to run a race no one thinks a Republican can win - Main Feature - Main Feature - Pittsburgh City Paper On Your Mark -- Mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis prepares to run a race no one thinks a Republican can win"

On Your Mark is the title of my podcast, by the way.

Funny how DeSantis jumped into the campaign on June 26, yet the write in election was May 15. Then go ahead and talk about 'standing still.'

He does sway when he speaks when standing. That's something that a few Toastmasters sessions would help to fix.

There it is -- the 'sacrificial lamb' -- label. Give it a rest. Time to eat gyros again.

The moral obligation to pin upon Luke for the next five years is three years too long. The next election will be in two years. This November we elect a mayor for a short term, a two-year term. It would be good to know what the hell you're running for.

I'm not sure if DeSantis is a "political outsider" or not. Good research in the article. Well done C.D.