Former Port Authority head sues over pension reduction

I don't normally do awards such as 'jerk of the day,' nor 'jackass of the month' nor worse. But, if I did, this guy would be nominated.

Former Port Authority head sues over pension reductionThe former CEO of Port Authority of Allegheny County has filed a federal lawsuit against his old employer and its board of directors, claiming that it illegally reduced his monthly pension by more than $3,000.

Paul Skoutelas, along with his wife, Denise, filed the civil complaint late last week in U.S. District Court. It includes claims for breach of contract, denial of property without due process and impairment of contractual rights and obligations.

Pig.

High-tech solution - Olympic Games begin in China in one year

From china - foods

SI.com - More Sports - High-tech solution - Monday August 6, 2007 2:15PM Embarrassed by recent scandals over the safety of Chinese food products, organizing officials for next year's Beijing Olympics spelled out high-tech plans Monday to make sure healthy food is delivered to the 10,500 athletes who will reside in the Olympic Village.

The move comes just two days before Beijing marks the one-year-away date for the start of the 2008 Summer Games, highlighted by a gigantic stage show in Tiananmen Square.

From china - foods

Keyes supporters plan presence at Iowa Straw Poll :: AlanKeyes.com

Two more may still join the race for US President on the Republican side.

Keyes supporters plan presence at Iowa Straw Poll : AlanKeyes.com Supporters of Alan Keyes plan to attend the Iowa Straw Poll Aug. 11, to get Keyes' name before the public as a possible Republican presidential candidate.

'We Need Alan Keyes for President,' an organization of grassroots volunteers conducting a petition drive to draft Keyes, will hand out literature, donation forms, and sign-up sheets and show video clips of the former Reagan administration diplomat.

Keyes — who in 2000 drew 14 percent in the Iowa Caucus and averaged 16 percent in his best ten states during the presidential primaries — says he is open to the possibility of running, if enough support exists at the grassroots for his candidacy.

Keyes supporters plan presence at Iowa Straw Poll :: AlanKeyes.com

Two more may still join the race for US President on the Republican side.

Keyes supporters plan presence at Iowa Straw Poll : AlanKeyes.com Supporters of Alan Keyes plan to attend the Iowa Straw Poll Aug. 11, to get Keyes' name before the public as a possible Republican presidential candidate.

'We Need Alan Keyes for President,' an organization of grassroots volunteers conducting a petition drive to draft Keyes, will hand out literature, donation forms, and sign-up sheets and show video clips of the former Reagan administration diplomat.

Keyes — who in 2000 drew 14 percent in the Iowa Caucus and averaged 16 percent in his best ten states during the presidential primaries — says he is open to the possibility of running, if enough support exists at the grassroots for his candidacy.

Wikimedia Pennsylvania

More running mates!

Wikimedia Pennsylvania Wikimedia Pennsylvania

The golden age for local bloggers has come and gone. Same too of the 'cranky age.' But, perhaps the golden age of the local wiki is still to come.

US lawmaker defends Mecca bombing comments

US lawmaker defends Mecca bombing comments Fiery Republican presidential long-shot Tom Tancredo Sunday defended his suggestion that America should threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in order to deter a nuclear attack on US soil.

Another one bites the dust.

Tom Tancredo is toast. He went from fiery to fried.

When the US State Department starts to campaign against the candidate, things are looking bleek.

What is more bleek, is the statement. Bombing holy sites is "absolutely crazy."

That $360 million: Legislative illusions - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

It is not too early for YOU to start thinking about running for state rep or state senate in 2008. The attitude of 'throw the bumbs out' is still alive and well, as these moves are still happening.

That $360 million: Legislative illusions - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "That $360 million: Legislative illusions"

...

The Associated Press made repeated requests for an accounting to the Democrat and Republican caucuses in each chamber. But the AP was stonewalled or given the incredible excuse that a breakdown could not be separated from the $27.5 billion in state spending signed into law last month by Gov. Ed Rendell.

The final round of budget negotiations was done behind closed doors with no hearings or public debate. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, and Majority Whip Jane Orie, R-McCandless, say the $360 million is not spent frivolously or secretly because anyone can review the budget's line items to see the allocations.

True, but there's no indication who put that money in the budget. And since there are many vague categories, there's no indication how some of the $360 million will be handed out.

Fortunately, the public has one trick up its sleeve. By casting enough ballots, legislators' careers can vanish. And that would be no illusion.

If you want to run for state house in 2008, or even if you are considering it, it would be an honor to have your help in the weeks to come as a campaign helper in the races I'm working on in 2007.

Out at home plate? - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Out at home plate? - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'The kid woke up on third base and thought he'd hit a triple.'

Interesting observation.

I'm a sports person. I'm not okay with that observation.

Life isn't a 'game.' And, if you want to contrast life and being 'mayor of Pittsburgh' with Luke's career, you'd be hard pressed to say that he 'just woke up.' Plus, no games last for years? Seasons come and go.

Readers, Running Mates -- give that 'straw poll' a whirl

Click and place a vote in the Presidential Straw Poll. See the banner above. Interact with it. Click there. Sound off. Check the results.

It is a nice web widget. Have a go.

Hi Swimmers, Parents and Friends,

Coach Mike and I have talked, and I am NOT going to continue as an assistant coach at Carlynton Swim Club for the pending winter season.

My sons, Erik and Grant, are expected to continue swimming with the team.

Thanks for listening and all your efforts.

The Post Gazette reports in an article on Friday, Aug 3, 2007, with the headline, City residents file to get on ballot as deadline passes, that "Libertarian Mark Rauterkus of the South Side has filed ballot petitions to run for mayor of P ittsburgh, city controller and city councilman representing District 3."

So, I've got some other important jobs and duties for in the immediate future. On November 6, 2007, election day, I am expected to be in a role that is much like a swimmer who competes in multiple events at one swim meet. In my community efforts I always raise issues about improving recreation opportunities and conditions for our younger generations.

Finally, the water polo clinics have been fun. More players (boys, girls, all ages) are welcome. Just $5 per week. We are playing weekdays from 9:30 to 11:30 at the Crafton pool to August 17.

Mark Rautekus

---

Letter I wrote that was posted to the Carlynton Swim Club email list via C.M., the club president.

Citiparks Swim Meet at Highland Park Pool

Erik and Grant and a few hundred other kids were part of Citiparks' Summer Swimming Championships today. We got to the pool for 8 am warm-up. My crew left after event 53 at 4 pm. More races were still being staged. The one session, age group (10-under, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18) meet might have concluded at 4:30-ish.

From ormsby-serpents

Wow. It was hot. My eyes needed to be closed for a few hours in the early evening. They are crisp. We all were out in the sun too, too long.

This was a one-session meet.

Erik won all of his individual events, 50 fly, 200 IM and 50 breast. Grant got 3rd in the 50 fly and won the 50 free and 200 IM. Erik's relay got second.

ormsby-serpents

Ormsby (our neighborhood pool) also known as the South Side Serpents, got 8th out of 15.

Are you ready for some football?

The Steelers play football on Sunday -- in 24 hours.

Ron Paul: a Liberal Viewpoint | Ron Paul 2008 Revolution - Ron Paul for President - Daily Paul

Ron Paul: a Liberal Viewpoint | Ron Paul 2008 Revolution - Ron Paul for President - Daily Paul I am a liberal. I believe in whatever social or political solution best serves the common good, even if it means raising taxes and expanding the government. As a tree-hugger, I haven't owned a car since 1994 - I've commuted to work on foot for over a decade. Dennis Kucinich is by far my favorite living Democrat. Hell, prove to me a nation can best achieve prosperity, peace, stability, and freedom within a Communist framework and you can call me Comrade.

But I will be hanging up my Green Party affiliation in the near future in order to register as a Republican, to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. Here's why:

Ron Paul's speech and rally was G-R-E-A-T.

RonPaul

Erik, my son, 12 years old, and I went to the Ron Paul event tonight. Grant has a fever, so he and Catherine had to miss out.

It was great. We were able to get seats in the sixth row. Some photos are in this Picasa album. I'm sure that a lot of YouTube stuff will come out shortly. The one guy working to establish Ron Paul chapters on college campus locations was streaming right off of his ball cap camera.

White Paper Pundit - White Paper Explores Role of Podcasting in Higher Education

White Paper Pundit - White Paper Explores Role of Podcasting in Higher Education Blogsite “Hey Jude” along with Carnegia Mellon University has released a white paper entitled Podcasting: A Teaching with Technology White Paper

The white paper does a very good job educating the reader about podcasting and its advantages. It’s also packaged very well, and does an admirable job explaining and illustrating the process of creating digital files and distributing them via an RSS feed.

If you are an educator, you owe it to yourself, your students and your institutions to attend Pittsburgh's PodCamp this August at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns Dr. No comes to town

Ron Paul returns to his roots

Early returns talks about 2008 candidates. However, talking about 2007's candidates is still not 'early returns' worthy I guess.

Plus, a mention of nearly 1,000 people to attending tonight's event is about 800 more than I'd ever expect. So, it seems that some P-G over-hype can be leveraged as buzz-kill.

Time will tell.

The Blog of Burgher Jon: Friday Sour Kraut

The Blog of Burgher Jon: Friday Sour Kraut It appears that there are some 100% viable and extremely likely to get elected candidates that finally made up their mind and decided to jump in to various political races in Pittsburgh. I'm all for having fringe candidates in the election, if for no other reason then to spice up the debate and get new issues in. If Mark Rauterkus wins all of the elections for which he is running he can combine their powers and form Captain Planet!

Provided an interview today to WDUQ

The news reporters at WDUQ called and I gave them a phone interview about our races for public office. Some of my statements follow:

I am a placeholder.

We crossed an important hurdle in getting on the ballot this week.

The race for mayor will not be a two way race.

We will continue to use the internet to our advantage. We use the internet now and post thoughts there daily. We can be open with our issues and build trust and respect, as I've been doing for the past years.

We will get out into the community to meet and greet and speak at any community meeting that will invite us.

Our efforts to get onto the ballot for some of the county races such as County Executive, Treasurer, District Attorney, Sheriff and county council at large were set aside in the spring when the we, Libertarians, didn't muster enough candidates nor supporters to gather the thousands of necessary signatures from throughout the county to get onto the ballot.

In the race for city council district 3 I bring new dimensions to city council. They need to hear a libertarian approach at the table in our discussions in city hall. All the members of city council are Democrats. Putting one member onto council from another party is going to be healthy. Furthermore, I have experiences and perspectives as a swim coach. I want to work to overhaul and support the Citiparks programs. I care about the youngsters and our parks. Those on Grant Street, even those with the county parks and rec department, make the issues with our youth a low priority. Not me.

When we hear talk about parks locally it has been about the killing of geese. We can do better than that. It is no wonder we have a brain and talent drain. We need to challenge our youth. Then we'll have more young people who choose to stay in the region.

Dems of stature don't stray - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Political brain writes letter to editor in the Trib.

Dems of stature don't stray - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "Rich Tenney, Oakland

Nice letter Rich.

Opposition Research

The parties rarely talk openly about opposition research, but times are changing, writes Roger Simon at the Politico. At a session at YearlyKos, the Democratic National Committee was "only too happy to pull back the curtain a little and tell these activists how they intended to help destroy the Republicans next year." The oppo centered on the big four Republican candidates -- Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Fred Thompson. The DNC'ers even gave a sneak-peek at the Democratic talking points for the GOP (Thompson: "He passed only five bills in the Senate while he was there and four were ceremonial. His non-campaign/campaign so far has been a 'train wreck'").

Wonder if there is any opposition research for Dr. Ron Paul?

I agree, it will be easy for the Dems to trip up Rudy, Mitt, John and Fred. I don't think any of those guys are well suited for a victory in November of 2008. None of them will get to the White House.