Kerry may have to ketchup - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review One possible Republican challenger to Kerry is Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who suggested on a radio show several months ago that he might be interested in running.Play ball.
Schilling hasn't completely ruled out the idea, but since has said his current plans are to return to baseball in 2008, which obviously would kill any Senate bid.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Kerry may have to play ball with the guy with red on his white sox under his red one
And one more 'thing' about debates that needs to be aired. This is OUR city.
Good for them.
This is a public election with a public process and public candidates and some in Pittsburgh figure that they should hold meetings to talk in very broad ways without the public. Go figure.
I don't think it is wise to hold closed-door debates.
Sure, hold meetings and limit the number of people who can attend. Have a lottery and allow a limited number of people, even if it is a dozen. Or, allow each member of the association be able to bring one or two friends.
I don't want a bunch of folks to go into the HYP Club, the PAA nor the Duquesne Club and have a meeting that excludes others and have a debate.
Even when the P-G has its "endorsement meeting" and the results are put into the newspaper, I like to -- from time to time -- drop in and witness the conversations. The P-G doesn't have room to accept even five extra visitors. But, the P-G does grant access if possible.
So, my advice to the Pgh Civic Design Coalition, a good group, is to make that invite to the architects, planners, civic leaders and a limited number of city voters on a RSVP basis.
Furthermore, it is great that WDUQ is going to air the debate. Well done on that front too.
Another weird thing that occurs from time to time at debates is the exclusion of the candidates who are speaking. I always rant about debates that exclude candidates that are on the ballot as I feel that should never occur. However, some event organizers will have a debate of sorts (more like a forum) and insist that the candidates go into what amounts to a 'sound proof room' while the other candidate(s) speak.
This has happened to me twice -- against my strong objections. PUMP and some others did it ONCE way back in 2001 in an event hosted at the downtown library auditorium. In 2006 the same type of goofy format was used in an event held at Club Cafe hosted by some 'friends of Bill' (i.e., Peduto-heads).
The floor is given to "candidate A" while "candidate B" is not allowed to be present nor listen.
Being mayor and being an elected member of city council is not about being 'secret.' It is a public job and, like most of life, it is an 'open book test.'
Furthermore, if you want honest answers from the candidates, make certain that the opposition candidate is present. It helps if video cameras and audio are recording too.
It was in this closed, private setting that Bruce Kraus opened up his heart and told the progressive audience that he is gay -- so we came to understand. In turn, Bruce got the 'endorsement' from that group. That 'news' leaked beyond the walls of that meeting over the weeks to follow but didn't really hit the spotlight until his next election, a year later.
I'm not interested is events where being hoodwinked is more possible -- yet alone probable. When candidates say one thing to one group and then another thing along an opposite theme to another group -- I worry. That's double talk. It happens with neighborhood groups. Say something to folks on the South Side Flats and say something else to folks in Allentown. Say something to a veterans group and something else to peace protesters. Say something to union workers and something else to business groups.
Of course this happens all the time. But it will happen less and less as meetings with public candidates are open to the public. And, turn on those cameras too.
The final ironic spike in the news of this debate is that the gathering is going to be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- a public building of grand scale, costs and debt. The debt is resting on the backs of the public. However, the public isn't able to attend. I think a couple extra rows of seats can be made available for those Jane and John Q. Public.
Update on July 18, 2007:
Coalition to hold forum for mayoral candidates and will not be open to the general public.Bad for us.
This is a public election with a public process and public candidates and some in Pittsburgh figure that they should hold meetings to talk in very broad ways without the public. Go figure.
I don't think it is wise to hold closed-door debates.
Sure, hold meetings and limit the number of people who can attend. Have a lottery and allow a limited number of people, even if it is a dozen. Or, allow each member of the association be able to bring one or two friends.
I don't want a bunch of folks to go into the HYP Club, the PAA nor the Duquesne Club and have a meeting that excludes others and have a debate.
Even when the P-G has its "endorsement meeting" and the results are put into the newspaper, I like to -- from time to time -- drop in and witness the conversations. The P-G doesn't have room to accept even five extra visitors. But, the P-G does grant access if possible.
So, my advice to the Pgh Civic Design Coalition, a good group, is to make that invite to the architects, planners, civic leaders and a limited number of city voters on a RSVP basis.
Furthermore, it is great that WDUQ is going to air the debate. Well done on that front too.
Another weird thing that occurs from time to time at debates is the exclusion of the candidates who are speaking. I always rant about debates that exclude candidates that are on the ballot as I feel that should never occur. However, some event organizers will have a debate of sorts (more like a forum) and insist that the candidates go into what amounts to a 'sound proof room' while the other candidate(s) speak.
This has happened to me twice -- against my strong objections. PUMP and some others did it ONCE way back in 2001 in an event hosted at the downtown library auditorium. In 2006 the same type of goofy format was used in an event held at Club Cafe hosted by some 'friends of Bill' (i.e., Peduto-heads).
The floor is given to "candidate A" while "candidate B" is not allowed to be present nor listen.
Being mayor and being an elected member of city council is not about being 'secret.' It is a public job and, like most of life, it is an 'open book test.'
Furthermore, if you want honest answers from the candidates, make certain that the opposition candidate is present. It helps if video cameras and audio are recording too.
It was in this closed, private setting that Bruce Kraus opened up his heart and told the progressive audience that he is gay -- so we came to understand. In turn, Bruce got the 'endorsement' from that group. That 'news' leaked beyond the walls of that meeting over the weeks to follow but didn't really hit the spotlight until his next election, a year later.
I'm not interested is events where being hoodwinked is more possible -- yet alone probable. When candidates say one thing to one group and then another thing along an opposite theme to another group -- I worry. That's double talk. It happens with neighborhood groups. Say something to folks on the South Side Flats and say something else to folks in Allentown. Say something to a veterans group and something else to peace protesters. Say something to union workers and something else to business groups.
Of course this happens all the time. But it will happen less and less as meetings with public candidates are open to the public. And, turn on those cameras too.
The final ironic spike in the news of this debate is that the gathering is going to be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- a public building of grand scale, costs and debt. The debt is resting on the backs of the public. However, the public isn't able to attend. I think a couple extra rows of seats can be made available for those Jane and John Q. Public.
Update on July 18, 2007:
Pittsburgh Pist-Gazette: Get Them While They're Hot: Judith said attendance is by “invitation only” because the coalition wants to make sure they do not exceed room capacity and have adequate refreshments for the crowd, etc. She did add, however, that anyone interested in the issues of civic design can request an invitation by forwarding her their mailing address. Judith can be contacted at:
Judith A. Kelly, Judith Kelly Associates, LLC, Chamber of Commerce Building
jak@judith-kelly.com
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Put the Ethics Hearing Board meetings on TV
The ethics hearing board has meetings. That's news.
I want those meetings on TV. I'm greedy.
Not commercial TV. Put them onto the city's cable station -- that is to cover government meetings.
If I was on city council or mayor, I'd be certain to have those meetings put on the cable and the internet.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Center For Progressive Leadership - Leadership Programs
Center For Progressive Leadership - Leadership ProgramsHelp us identify and recruit the next generation of progressive leaders by nominating an exciting potential leader for one of CPL's leadership programs.
130 comments later, "No Matter What" -- a campaign for the status quo
I posted on another blog something that needs to be repeated:
The best reason was JUST IDENTIFIED by Char. I think it could be deployed by Luke as a campaign message:
Luke Ravenstahl: "No Matter What."
Others want to deploy fear, uncertainty, doubt, taxes, and failed logic --- not me.
Envy is an emotion that occurs when a the city's politicians lack another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it... Look up the wikipedia definition and wear ENVY, if you wish.
The way to straighten a world that is upside-down is to do what I am saying. Stop the spreading of what is upside down. Do not tax UPMC, (nor oil companies). Rather, prevent future net land expansion by all non-profits here. Then as conditions (inventory) are understood, begin to contract the holdings of nonprofit land with a reduction of city-owned property.
The city is in a very bad state because it has NOT been honest with itself. The "no matter what attitudes" have prevailed.
Let's work to end the upside-down folly with logic on our side.
The best reason was JUST IDENTIFIED by Char. I think it could be deployed by Luke as a campaign message:
Luke Ravenstahl: "No Matter What."
Others want to deploy fear, uncertainty, doubt, taxes, and failed logic --- not me.
Envy is an emotion that occurs when a the city's politicians lack another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it... Look up the wikipedia definition and wear ENVY, if you wish.
The way to straighten a world that is upside-down is to do what I am saying. Stop the spreading of what is upside down. Do not tax UPMC, (nor oil companies). Rather, prevent future net land expansion by all non-profits here. Then as conditions (inventory) are understood, begin to contract the holdings of nonprofit land with a reduction of city-owned property.
The city is in a very bad state because it has NOT been honest with itself. The "no matter what attitudes" have prevailed.
Let's work to end the upside-down folly with logic on our side.
McCain's "Straight Talk Express" Hits the Ditch
Sounds like a local story of a city council aid who calls locals from a city phone.
McCain's "Straight Talk Express" Hits the Ditch ... John McCain, in the Senate Republican cloakroom, making a conference call to 'his top fund-raisers to urge them to keep up the fight.This is piling on as another bites the dust.
'The call, however, may only have exacerbated an already tough week for Mr. McCain. Senate ethics rules expressly forbid lawmakers to engage in campaign activities inside Senate facilities. If Mr. McCain solicited campaign contributions on a call from government property, that would be a violation of federal criminal law as well.'
...
We have long regarded Senator McCain as a hypocritical opportunist, lacking both the political integrity and emotional temperament to be President.
Free the iPhone : Support wireless freedom!
Free the iPhone : Support wireless freedom! Apple touts the iPhone as the “Internet in your pocket” — but it’s not.
Weed Killers thoughtout town by private contractors
Carl S called me after I put my cell phone number within a blog posting elsewhere to raise concerns about some actions he has witnessed within the community. The 3-1-1 number may work, as it should, for some instances, but calling me (412 298 3432) gets you a blog posting too.
A private contractor working for who-knows who is spraying some wicked weed killer all around town. This goes under billboards, next to roads, along sidewalks, so he says.
The root chemical is much like "agent orange." It is toxic as can be with 98 percent as an inert agent, i.e., kerosene. Look up 'herbicides' on Google, or at Wikipedia.org/Herbicide. Skin rashes and other side effects are unleashed with the spread of these poisons.
Is this just happening in the western parts of the city and county? It occurs in Crafton too.
Furthermore, plenty of folks are up in arms at a recent meeting or two in the west neighborhoods. A bunch of folks clashed against the Housing Authority. If police had not been at the meeting, Carl could have seen someone
getting hung -- literally.
The city got a grant of some sort from HUD and is in the process of buying 30 houses in certain neighborhoods in that part of town. (Sheraden, I think.) These are then going to be 'given' to folks who had been flooded out ofBroadhead Manor a few years ago.
Some lawyer (it seemed) young woman from the Housing Authority started the meeting at the podium and got blasted by follow-up questions from those in the audience. It got nasty from there. Others had to step in to field a long list of concerns.
Carl stresses that this isn't an issue of race at all. Folks in the audience are both black and white.
Stay tuned. There will be a Zone 3 public safety meeting, again, on Wednesday night. I'd love to get his reactions on a podcast in the future.
A private contractor working for who-knows who is spraying some wicked weed killer all around town. This goes under billboards, next to roads, along sidewalks, so he says.
The root chemical is much like "agent orange." It is toxic as can be with 98 percent as an inert agent, i.e., kerosene. Look up 'herbicides' on Google, or at Wikipedia.org/Herbicide. Skin rashes and other side effects are unleashed with the spread of these poisons.
Is this just happening in the western parts of the city and county? It occurs in Crafton too.
Furthermore, plenty of folks are up in arms at a recent meeting or two in the west neighborhoods. A bunch of folks clashed against the Housing Authority. If police had not been at the meeting, Carl could have seen someone
getting hung -- literally.
The city got a grant of some sort from HUD and is in the process of buying 30 houses in certain neighborhoods in that part of town. (Sheraden, I think.) These are then going to be 'given' to folks who had been flooded out ofBroadhead Manor a few years ago.
Some lawyer (it seemed) young woman from the Housing Authority started the meeting at the podium and got blasted by follow-up questions from those in the audience. It got nasty from there. Others had to step in to field a long list of concerns.
Carl stresses that this isn't an issue of race at all. Folks in the audience are both black and white.
Stay tuned. There will be a Zone 3 public safety meeting, again, on Wednesday night. I'd love to get his reactions on a podcast in the future.
Raising Money Online and quote: They seem to be the laggards.
Democrats Lead in Raising Money Online - New York Times: "One surprising development has been the online strength of a Republican long shot, Representative Ron Paul of Texas, who has garnered fierce devotion online and been able to sustain his campaign in large part from Internet donations.Rudy, pull the plug.
Potentially troublesome for Republicans, however, Mr. Giuliani, the current party front-runner in national polls, has done the least of all of the major candidates online, raising an anemic $1.3 million.
“The Giuliani campaign to me is the mystery,” said Michael Cornfield, adjunct professor of political management at George Washington University, who specializes in online political campaigning. “They seem to be the laggards.”
Reverse 9-1-1 makes the news today after being blogged about yesterday
At another blog, in the comments area, we talked a bit about 3-1-1 and REVERSE 9-1-1 yesterday. Today, the Trib has an article about Reverse 9-1-1.
The new blog: and its 3-1-1 post.
The comments.
Trib coverage of Reverse 9-1-1 headed to I.U.P.
Trib and 3-1-1. A quick call to Pittsburgh city hall can solve nagging issues - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Platform.For-Pgh.org and 9-1-1.
The new blog: and its 3-1-1 post.
The comments.
Trib coverage of Reverse 9-1-1 headed to I.U.P.
Trib and 3-1-1. A quick call to Pittsburgh city hall can solve nagging issues - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Platform.For-Pgh.org and 9-1-1.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Build up -- not out. To UPMC and my blogging comments
I've been on the various blogs today spreading some love. You can use the COComment feature of this blog to view some rather long back and forth comments from other blogs. Go to the left of this page and scroll down to the blue box to explore.
Ron Paul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I'm loving this guy more and more each day. He was a swimmer in college.
Ron Paul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Paul paid for his first year at Gettysburg College with saved newspaper-delivery and lawn-mowing money. Paul delivered mail and laundry on the side while in Gettysburg; for one year, he managed the college coffee shop. He gave up track after a knee injury, but joined the college swimming team instead after taking it up as therapy. He had been offered a full scholarship to run for the track team but declined it, worried that he wouldn't regain his previous speed. Paul was inducted into Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity,[5] and he served as steward and house manager of the fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957.Give it a read.
Duck, duck, goose. Dan is on the job now.
The parks are always an after thought with Dan Onorato and the rest of the crew on Grant Street. That's a shame.
Perhaps we can host a dragon boat race there and take care of some of the problems the way they do it in China.
http://kdka.com/video/?id=29783@kdka.dayport.comThis makes another reason why the region needs a Pittsburgh Park District. Folks who care about the parks should be in charge of the parks -- in democratic, open, honest ways.
Perhaps we can host a dragon boat race there and take care of some of the problems the way they do it in China.
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| From china - foods |
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| From NZ birds |
Budget Impasse Wreaks Havoc In Pa. - Politics News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
I was on WTAE TV 4 News the other day. It was just before the state had its mini-shut down. I gave a few comments to the TV Reporter about the state plan that shut the state parks.
I can't find it online. But it aired as a couple have told me they saw the news.
I can't find it online. But it aired as a couple have told me they saw the news.
Budget Impasse Wreaks Havoc In Pa. - Politics News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh Budget Impasse Wreaks Havoc In Pa.Pointers welcomed.
NCAA Penalizes 75 Schools - meanwhile the swimmers got crushed at Ohio Univ.
Talking NCAA sports and academic progress.
But there is more. The guys on the squad were able to transfer to other NCAA schools. However, the NCAA rules of making annual academic progress were hard, if not impossible, for some of the student athletes because Ohio University is on an academic calendar that has QUARTERS and most other universities have SEMESTERS. The quarter hours don't always transfer into another system so as to meet the 'academic benchmarks' that the NCAA rules require. More dumb rules.
So, lots of the swimmers lost their team to no fault of their own. And, when forced to transfer to another school to continue to study and swim -- they lost a year of eligibility and opportunity.
Any athlete that is in a program that gets cut (because of Title IX) should be able to be eligible for a transfer for the next season without hardship on the athlete. The athlete should be given a free pass to play anywhere that will have him or her -- for the next year -- without worry about grades and academic progress.
TEXAS SWIMMING: NCAA Penalizes 75 Schools 112 teams at 75 colleges failed to meet the Academic Progress Rate requirements.The Ohio University Men's Swim Team was cut. They swam this year. The team won't be around next year. This is still a bad decision and makes me sad.
81 of those 112 teams face scholarship cuts.
49 teams have received warning letters for failure to meet academic standards for three (3) consecutive years.
44% of men's basketball teams face sanctions next year.
40% of football teams face sanctions next year.
35% of baseball teams face sanctions next year.
67% of the teams facing penalties are men's basketball, football, or baseball teams.
Ready for the swimming numbers? Only one school in the country (Florida A&M) was cited for poor academic performance in swimming.
So here it is in a nutshell:
We pump all kinds of money into football, basketball, and baseball only to see these sports at the top of the 'Dumbass' category.
We cut sports like swimming that rarely get into academic trouble. We are near the top in academics but are told we shouldn't exist.
What a screwed up world it's become....
But there is more. The guys on the squad were able to transfer to other NCAA schools. However, the NCAA rules of making annual academic progress were hard, if not impossible, for some of the student athletes because Ohio University is on an academic calendar that has QUARTERS and most other universities have SEMESTERS. The quarter hours don't always transfer into another system so as to meet the 'academic benchmarks' that the NCAA rules require. More dumb rules.
So, lots of the swimmers lost their team to no fault of their own. And, when forced to transfer to another school to continue to study and swim -- they lost a year of eligibility and opportunity.
Any athlete that is in a program that gets cut (because of Title IX) should be able to be eligible for a transfer for the next season without hardship on the athlete. The athlete should be given a free pass to play anywhere that will have him or her -- for the next year -- without worry about grades and academic progress.
Everyone out of the pool -- and unplug that iPod
Our swim practice yesterday had a thundering exit. We hear thunder, the kids get out of the pool. One of our meets was knocked off its schedule too -- to re-play on Monday. Expect another storm Monday night as Crafton visits Green Tree then.
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| From signs |
Experts warn of lightning-strike injuries with iPods
Lightning traveled through a man's iPod causing burns on his chest and neck
Colorado teen struck while listening to a music player
Eardrum ruptures are the most common ear injury in lightning-strike victims
(AP) -- Listen to an iPod during a storm and you may get more than electrifying tunes.
A Canadian jogger suffered wishbone-shaped chest and neck burns, ruptured eardrums and a broken jaw when lightning traveled through his music player's wires.
Last summer, a Colorado teen ended up with similar injuries when lightning struck nearby as he was listening to his iPod while mowing the lawn.
Emergency physicians report treating other patients with burns from freak accidents while using personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman players and laptop computers outdoors during storms.
Michael Utley, a former stockbroker from West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, who survived being struck by lightning while golfing, has tracked 13 cases since 2004 of people hit while talking on cell phones. They are described on his Web site, www.struckbylightning.org.
Contrary to some urban legends and media reports, electronic devices don't attract lightning the way a tall tree or a lightning rod does.
"It's going to hit where it's going to hit, but once it contacts metal, the metal conducts the electricity," said Dr. Mary Ann Cooper of the American College of Emergency Physicians and an ER doctor at University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago.
When lightning jumps from a nearby object to a person, it often flashes over the skin. But metal in electronic devices -- or metal jewelry or coins in a pocket -- can cause contact burns and exacerbate the damage.
A spokeswoman for Apple Inc., the maker of iPods, declined to comment. Packaging for iPods and some other music players do include warnings against using them in the rain.
Lightning strikes can occur even if a storm is many miles away, so lightning safety experts have been pushing the slogan "When thunder roars, go indoors," said Cooper.
Jason Bunch, 18, says it wasn't even raining last July, but there was a storm off in the distance. Lightning struck a nearby tree, shot off and hit him.
Bunch, who was listening to Metallica while mowing the grass at his home in Castle Rock, Colorado, still has mild hearing damage in both ears, despite two reconstructive surgeries to repair ruptured eardrums. He had burns from the earphone wires on the sides of his face, a nasty burn on his hip where the iPod had been in a pocket and "a bad line up the side of my body," even though the iPod cord was outside his shirt.
"It was a real miracle" he survived, said his mother, Kelly Risheill.
The Canadian jogger suffered worse injuries, according to a report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
The man, a 39-year-old dentist from the Vancouver area, was listening to an iPod while jogging in a thunderstorm when, according to witnesses, lightning hit a tree a couple of feet away and jumped to his body. The strike threw the man about eight feet and caused second-degree burns on his chest and left leg.
The electric current left red burn lines running from where the iPod had been strapped to his chest up the sides of his neck. It ruptured both ear drums, dislocated tiny ear bones that transmit sound waves, and broke the man's jaw in four places, said Dr. Eric Heffernan, an imaging specialist at Vancouver General Hospital.
The injury happened two summers ago and despite treatment, the man still has less than 50 percent of normal hearing on each side, must wear hearing aids and can't hear high-pitched sounds.
"He's a part-time musician, so that's kind of messed up his hobby as well," Heffernan said. Like the Colorado teen, the Canadian patient, who declined to be interviewed or identified, has no memory of the lightning strike.
In another case a few years ago, electric current from a lightning strike ran through a man's pager, burning both him and his girlfriend who was leaning against him, said Dr. Vince Mosesso, an emergency doctor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Eardrum ruptures are considered the most common ear injury in lightning-strike victims, occurring in 5 percent to 50 percent of patients, according to various estimates -- whether or not an electronic device is involved. A broken jaw is rare, doctors say.
Ron Morris' newsletter covers Russ Diamond on the need for constituional convention
Ron Morris' - The American Entrepreneur FREE Newsletter: "WHY WE NEED A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION"I'm not sure we need a constitutional convention. But, since Russ is talking, I'll tune in.
Should a convention occur -- count me in. I'd love to be a player at those meetings.
Watchdog's remark sends Rendell on a tear
pacleansweep : Message: Watchdog�s remark sends Rendell on a tearSpeaking of good food and bad, taste this blowback.
'Eric Epstein,' boiled Rendell, 'is about as mentally stable as that guy who ate all those people.'
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