Councilman questions money for golf instead of city pools - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Councilman questions money for golf instead of city pools - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'Schenley Park gets RAD funds, and they want capital funds on top of that?' Motznik said, referring to Allegheny Regional Asset District money, which comes from sales tax in the county.

The capital fund 'money could be used for other improvements, like paving and wall and step repair.'

Revolutionary ideas deep inside China - Tuesday August 7, 2007 11:55AM

SI.com - Olympics - S.L. Price: Revolutionary ideas deep inside China - Tuesday August 7, 2007 11:55AM She's right in identifying you, at least. You are distinctly foreign and, notebook in hand and photographer by your side, obviously media, but what she hasn't picked up on is this: Here in China you feel about as threatening as an infant. A first-time visitor from the U.S., you don't know the language or mores; you can't even begin to have a feel for subtleties three millennia in the making. You may as well be deaf, dumb and blind for all the good your senses have done you these past two weeks as you've tried to take the measure of a burgeoning nation preparing to stage the costliest, most anticipated, most transformative athletic event in history.

Lackawanna County Democratic lawmaker looks at run for governor - NewsFlash - PennLive.com

Lackawanna County Democratic lawmaker looks at run for governor - NewsFlash - PennLive.com State Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow has formed an exploratory committee to prepare to run for governor, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Kayaking to work offers ad agency employees exercise and serenity

Kayaking to work offers ad agency employees exercise and serenity Mr. Lepley and his boss, Mr. Bronaugh, 'made serious mistakes when they bought their houses. They could have moved to Millvale.'

Mayoral debate may include minority parties

I got some ink in today's (Aug 7, 2007) Post-Gazette.

The debate on debates lingers as a topic of discussion. On inclusion and diversity, there should be no debate. If you are on the ballot, you should included. That has always been my view.

If you are on the ballot, you have a chance to win. If the big party candidates speak or act foolishly, they will loose.

When all the choices are present on the debate stage, the heavy-weight candidates are more inclined to behave throughout the campaign.

Mayoral debate may include minority parties The conventional wisdom holds that a crowded stage favors the incumbent by drawing attention from the challenger. That's not necessarily true, said Mr. Rauterkus, a South Side swim coach who is also running for city controller and councilman.

A regular attendee at council meetings, he argues that he'll be better able to parry Mr. Ravenstahl on neighborhood issues.

'I think DeSantis and the Libertarians and the Socialist Workers Party can take down Luke Ravenstahl,' he said. 'I don't think DeSantis can do it himself.'

The real debate on the debates should not be confined to the thinking that there is only one hour of time. That's wrong. There are 90 days until the election.

If there is only one hour of time to stage debates among the candidates, Pittsburgh can't win.

Furthermore, I think we need debates among the city controller candidates too.

Some other mentions and quotes I shared in yesterday's interview with Rich Lord of the Post-Gazette that did NOT get into the article include:

- "Q: Who is to blame for debates without all the candidates?" My reply: Everyone needs to share the blame. The voters need to demand inclusion and diversity. The other candidates need to make a stand and not appear crooked by playing the part of a cronie. The station managers need to understand that democracy is not like a boxing match with only two opponents. Democracy is messy.

- "Q: Has this happened before?" Yes.

The Jewish Federation is the worst. Once that organization hosted a debate within the Jewish Community Center and excluded an active member of the Jewish Community Center. That debate was NOT on television. I spoke with strong words of protest.

I marched with LeRoy Hodge at WPXI's studios in the past.

Bob O'Connor could have been mayor in 2001, but he went onto the debate stage with Tom Murphy without the others on the ballot. Murphy was better in a side-by-side 'slow dance' and was able to zing O'Connor on his ability to 'go to Harrisburg' to bring back a bailout because O'Connor could not remember the names of the state house and state senate leaders. That 'Duhh' was a show stopper for Bob.

Then I shared the story of the AARP exclusion.

GOP Hopefuls Generally Agree on Iraq -- GOPUSA

GOP Hopefuls Generally Agree on Iraq -- GOPUSA But former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said, ''Any candidate that's pro-choice is going to have a difficulty with the party faithful. ... The Republican Party is a party of pro-life.''

A community wrestles with the issues of public housing and crime

A community wrestles with the issues of public housing and crime The usual handful of community activists has swollen to dozens, catalyzed by the Pittsburgh Housing Authority's interest in buying 10 homes, scattered through the neighborhood, for low-income clients. At a large and uproarious meeting with authority officials recently, more than 75 people turned out to protest.

Italian club fires swimmer - Manaudou -

SI.com - More Sports - Italian club fires swimmer�Manaudou - Monday August 6, 2007 7:57PM Olympic gold medal swimmer Laure Manaudou was fired by her Italian club on Monday because of her behavior at a meet in Paris.

LaPresse club did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the decision, but the ANSA news agency said Manaudou does not get along with her trainer, Paolo Penso.

Early Returns leaks the call from the League of Women Voters to include all candidates

Teaser from Early Returns about debate inclusion.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns Yesterday Arlene Levy, vice president of voter services for the League, wrote to KDKA and Point Park officials noting the likely presence of Mr. Rauterkus and Mr. Scott on the ballot. 'Could we, also, extend an invitation to them to participate in our candidates forum?' she asked.

So far, neither major-party campaign is objecting to an inclusive debate, though Mr. DeSantis' reaction is a little cooler than Mr. Ravenstahl's. KDKA says it hasn't decided whom to include.

The conventional wisdom is that putting more candidates on the stage would benefit Mr. Ravenstahl, since it would reduce the amount of airtime Mr. DeSantis would get. Mr. Rauterkus, of course, argues otherwise. More in tomorrow's P-G.

Call to action for the Elect.Rauterkus.com campaigns

How many debates should be held for the Pittsburgh Mayor's Race

LiveContent + Creative Commons with Red Hat gets LiveCDs and LiveDistro

LiveContent - CcWiki LiveContent is an umbrella idea which aims to connect and expand Creative Commons and open source communities. LiveContent works to identify creators and content providers working to share their creations more easily with others. LiveContent works to support developers and others who build better technology to distribute these works. LiveContent is up-to-the-minute creativity, 'alive' by being licensed Creative Commons, which allows others to better interact with the content.

LiveContent can be delivered in a variety of ways. The first incarnation of LiveContent will deliver content as a LiveCD. LiveCDs are equivalent to what is called a LiveDistro. LiveCDs have traditionally been a vehicle to test an operating system or applications live. Operating systems and/or applications are directly booted from a CD or other type of media without needing to install the actual software on a machine. LiveContent aims to add value to LiveDistros by providing dynamically-generated content within the distribution.

Getting Around: Naysayer state rep may be good choice for Port Authority board

Democrat wants to limit freedoms of young people.

Getting Around: Naysayer state rep may be good choice for Port Authority board A 16- or 17-year-old with his or her own wheels or access to a family car will no longer to be able to have more than one teen friend as a passenger at any time if the Legislature passes a bill proposed by state Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Beechview.

Here are two bad ideas. First, it is a bad idea to create a new law. Second, it is also a bad idea to let your kid ride with a new driver. Everyone can't be trusted behind the wheel. Few youths are going to be trusted to drive my kids around.

Some kids need to drive. Some kids need to catch a ride. For many, it works.

When a young person needs to give a couple of friends a lift -- and they see a police car -- then what. Does a high speed chase unfold to evade the police until one of the kids can jump out of a moving car?

Western Pennsylvania has had plenty of deadly car crashes. They are sad. Often, they could be prevented if speeding was eliminated.

Here in the city, the trend has been to eliminate all buses for the high school students.

In the burbs, there are few buses.

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.