Freedom isn't free. Happy Constitution Day

This looks like a nice event, a celebration of the US Constitution at IUP.

IUP Constitution Celebration, Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, today at 11 am. This celebration of the U.S Constitution features student groups playing a game of "Constitutional Jeopardy" and members of the IUP faculty reading of various passages from the Constitution. Guests will receive pocket-sized copies of the Constitution and refreshments. This is part of the university's week-long celebration of Constitution Day.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh the same day brings little or nothing on the Constitution, (sorta like Free Software Day). However, tours are being offered today.

Old Allegheny County Jail Tours are slated at the Allegheny County Jail/Family Court on September 17 at 11:30 am. Explore the former jail with this free self-guided tour. A docent from Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation will be on hand to provide information. Reservations are appreciated by calling (412) 471-5808, ext. 527.

Notice the contrast. The rest of the nation is doing an embrace of freedom, rights, liberties while Pittsburgh is about jails, bars, punishment and stone buildings with walls of a fortress.

History is important. I love to know about the past. The 'throw-back threads' of the Steelers are nice -- for a game. But the Steelers stunk back in the day. Likewise, the struggle for justice and individual liberties throughout history has been stormy.

Constitution Day and Jury Rights Day 2007 from the Libertarian Party

For more information contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) or Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org

Harrisburg - Today marks the 220th anniversary of the signing of our United States Constitution. To celebrate and show support for the principles contained in this historic document, LPPa members will participate in a Constitution Day Rally at 6 p.m. today on the State Capitol Steps.

Sponsored by S.T.O.M.P. (Stop Taking our Money and Property), the event features a variety of speakers addressing the essential duty of defending our Constitution and the principles within it.

LPPa Cumberland County representative, Barry Dively, remarked "Constitution Day is celebrated by all US citizens to recognize a document and contract with our government that we have inalienable rights - rights granted to us as our birthright, of life, liberty and property."

Constitution Day comes after recognition of another fundamental freedom celebrated on September 8th, Jury Rights Day. On this day, we acknowledged the largely ignored power of jurors to protect citizens from over-reaching government through jury nullification.

A Pittsburgh-based LPPa spokesman, Tim Crowley, explained that "Juries are empowered to consider matters of fact as they pertain to guilt or innocence, but they also are empowered to consider the morality of the law in question. That's the purpose of jury nullification."

It's not surprising that these two days of commemoration are related by more than a common month. As Thomas Jefferson said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution."

Constitution Day Rally info: stoptakingourmoneyproperty@yahoo.com.
Jury nullification info: www.fija.org (Fully Informed Jury Association).

News of the "state of the art" YMCA within the new Civic Arena is in demand

Yes.

From swim-WV-Kenyon

Ons day, construction at the edge of downtown might look like this.

Millions up for grabs in Scaife divorce fight

Woops.

Millions up for grabs in Scaife divorce fight The case file, though ostensibly sealed by the court, was readily available online from the Web site housing Allegheny County court records over a period of several days at the end of last month.

Thanks Judge Alan Hertzberg.

This is funny reading in the Sunday P-G.

How come none of the bloggers got this link and posted about it -- or -- did I miss it?

Perhaps everyone was too busy tailing Rev. Johnny Monroe's bus around town, to the tune of more than $500,000 per year. Wonder how many bus routes -- err -- bus companies the divorce is going to net?

Pitt's Levance Fields tasered outside of nightclub

Pitt's Levance Fields tasered outside of nightclub tasered outside of nightclub

In basketball, players get five fouls. In life, there are times when you don't get five. Sounds like a time out was needed to reverse momentum.

In cases like this, as in the other incident a couple of weeks ago with the basketball player from Duquesne who was sent packing for home, I really want to have great confidence in the Citizens Police Review Board.

I have confidence in the Board -- but -- not so much in that what the board uncovers and suggests is implemented.

Free Food. Who doesn't love that.

THE PHANTOM FRIGHT NIGHT FREE FOOD FRENZY RETURNS WITH A VENGEANCE ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2007

Greetings, Ghoul Seekers. The Phantom has lost his freakishly fool head again this year!

The Phantom's Free Food Frenzy creeps up on Saturday, September 22, 2007, from 7-11 p.m.

Pay regular admission or use a Phantom Fright Nights ticket from Giant Eagle and enjoy FREE FOOD including Potato Patch Fries, burgers, funnel cakes, Pepsi soft drink products, and MORE- all FREE!

We also invite our Free Food Frenzy guests to bring a canned food donation for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, who will be collecting donations at our front gate that evening.

Sorry, tickets marked TRADE are not valid on September 22, 2007. Kennywood regular season tickets are also not valid. Some other restrictions apply. Not recommended for children under 13.

More details at kennywood.com.

From Grant

Snapshots from Camp Wellstone, a 3-day experience for candidates and organizers

wellstone

From 8:30 am to 4:30 Sept. 20 at D.U. - Freedom from (or for) Religion

Send an email to:

FaithAndPolitics@duq.edu

Understanding the Separation of Church and State Symposium.

http://www.FaithAndPolitics.duq.edu

Click for a larger view.

Exotic hires need time to get bearings - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Eric puts a good twist on the hires of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl after an exhaustive national -- if not global -- job search for key positions to move our city forward.

Exotic hires need time to get bearings - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review He promised a nationwide search, and he hasn't disappointed.

With this type of thinking taking root, I wonder if the Pittsburgh Steelers would risk going all the way to Penn State to seek new talent on NFL draft day.

Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance (Carlisle, PA) - Meetup.com

Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance (Carlisle, PA) - Meetup.com: "Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance"

Feel free to sign up.

Funds will help with Dormont pool maintenance - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This is why we need to take apart the RAD Tax. A more regional approach to recreation is needed. Dormont needs a swim pool. Mt. Lebo needs a swim pool. Carnegie needs a swim pool. But never, in today's landscape, is the total view considered nor understood. People from the Mt. Lebo and Carneigie use the Dormont Pool.

Funds will help with Dormont pool maintenance - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Dormont officials will use $75,000 from Allegheny County to help with needed repairs at the borough's swimming pool.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato presented the borough with a check Saturday during the Potomac Avenue Street Fair & Blues Festival.

The latest funding brings the total in state and county grants and donations to help maintain the 87-year-old landmark to $650,000, said John Maggio, president of Friends of the Dormont Pool. The group has raised $60,000.

Officials hope to raise $1 million to sustain operations at the 60,000-square-foot pool.

This check giving opportunity is nothing but PORK from Onorato. He uses the money as if it is 'walking around money' -- WAM. Same too with the money from the state.

I want parks people to have a better say as to where good investments should be made.

The concept of a the regional Pittsburgh Park District, an effort I championed years ago, is still practical and visionary.

MN on my mind. I would NEVER want to get Steven Clift mad. He's a fountain says this fixture

Post: The Anti-Democratic Debate - Yahoo and partners run 17th online candidate debate

OK, I'm ticked.

Back in 1994 Scott Aikens and I put together the world's first online candidate debate as part of Minnesota E-Democracy. It was a state level debate. Today, E-Democracy.Org has a resource center on e-debates here: http://pages.e-democracy.org/E-Debates

In 2000, I worked on the general election Web White & Blue Presidential Rolling Cyber Debate in which Yahoo! was a partner. The Democracy Network of the Center for Governmental Studies in 1996 something they called a digital debate as well.

Then today, a reputable source like the BBC says the Yahoo Democratic Candidate Mashup - http://debates.news.yahoo.com - is the "first online-only debate." And Google news is compiling similar stories filled with this misinformation.

This may be the first online-only Presidential primary debate with video.

Politics Online keeps a nice list of online political firsts. If you search Yahoo for the phrase "first online debate" leading off their debate site, you get a link to our 1996 e-debate in the top ten.

The other day I blogged my detailed proposal for all to steal on how a good online debate should be designed. It builds off the Minnesota Gubernatorial E-Debate in 2006.

I do hope this Yahoo!/Huffington Post/Slate online debate goes well. We need more online efforts which force substantive interchange among candidates that also bring out the voices of citizens. If this was really a "debate" I would expect to see round one video responses followed by a second round where candidates choose who to respond to in detail (video, text, etc.). The Internet is the perfect medium for in-depth rebuttals with supporting links. That is why the E-Democracy.Org format requires rebuttals from candidates on a select number of major themes.

Online news expert Jeff Jarvis has blogged a couple zingers titled Poor Yahoo and The Yahoo Presidential Mushup. Other bloggers are weighing in as well.

What I like about this candidate "conversation" - the viewer can decide which candidates to view on specific issues and on the Yahoo site they are encouraging people to discuss the debate on their message boards.

What I don't like - questions don't appear to come from Internet users, the official discussion is in a walled garden that prohibits outside linking rather than encouraging, then aggregating a web 2.0 style voter conversation across the web (see my detailed proposal - PDF).

In the general election, there can be no exclusive online presidential debate BUT if we all work together we can create a web 2.0-savvy/fully syndicated/creative commons/open source style e-debate that is fundamentally interactive and inspirational to voters and unavoidable by the major candidates.

Steven Clift, DoWire.Org

P.S. I should note that when this press release came out last winter I blogged about this and I sent an e-mail to the contacts on the press release correcting the record and offering to share advice. I also e-mailed Charlie Rose who repeats the false "we're first" claim in their introduction video. Overstating their originality once, no big deal. But again and again. Come on folks - you all look smart enough to check your facts.

*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://DoWire.Org ***

Housing Authority gets tough

Housing Authority gets tough Housing Authority gets tough Says eviction after rent is month late is bid to oust troublemakers Saturday, September 15, 2007 By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Felicia Frazier said she paid her rent. Frank O'Leary, the manager of the St. Clair Village public housing community where she lives, said she may have paid, but a month late.

District Judge Gene Ricciardi sat in his courtroom Wednesday, listening to their dueling accounts, and concluded that Ms. Frazier overpaid by $9 -- but since it came in 32 days late, she owed court costs of $119.

Zero tolerance policy BS surfaces again.

Life isn't binary.

People are not, sorry for the pun, "Black -- or -- White." Most people are some shade between.

What happens when you have round pegs and square holes? The zero tolerance policy is for brain dead leadership.

However, when looking at the numbers in the article, this might be more sizzle than steak. Evictions have declined.

This story seems to be about Goldilocks. It was too cold. Then it was too hot. Can the pressure be 'just right?' And, getting it right is going to be hard, day-in-day-out work. It is about meetings, follow-up, and community understandings.

Reactions welcomed.

What's going on Matt?

Pittsburgh has been called a breeding ground for trouble. Ouch.

Off The Record VII: Blogged to Death :: Byham Theater, Pittsburgh

What are the chances that this blog, Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates, is mentioned within the dialog this night?

Off The Record VII: Blogged to Death :: Byham Theater, Pittsburgh Presented by: Trust Guest Attraction Venue: Byham Theater Thursday, September 27, 2007, 8:00 PM Tickets: $60, $40, $20.

Journalists and performers satirize Pittsburgh news and newsmakers in comedy and song, with rebuttals from some satirized, to raise funds for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank.

I'm looking for some volunteers to do a literature drop at this event this night -- on the sidewalks. If you are going to go and can spare a few minutes, let me know. If you don't want to go, but can spare some time there, let me know.

Happy Software Freedom Day Today

Hope you have enjoyed a GREAT day as it is Software Freedom Day.

We need more open source models within our governmental solutions. If elected, we'll celebrate this day to a higher degree. Plus, I'll do everything possible to leverage open source and free software in all public and governmental efforts. For example, the security cameras that the mayor wants to put all around town should be 'open sourced.' Furthermore, the voting machines should be open source.

To celebrate the day, or the week, or the new era, go get and install and use OpenOffice.org, a replacement to Microsoft Office.



Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) can run on top of Windows providing extra user choice. The Firefox web browser and Open Office suite are popular examples. Firefox has over a quarter of the desktop browser market alone, to which other browsers such as Apple's add to make big competition for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. But the playing field is not level, hence the need for Software Freedom Day, user support, and publicity.

"The main issue is standards," says Richard Tindall, Software Freedom Day's Christchurch team leader. "Monopoly tactics in the PC software market undermine user choice by breaking standards," he says. "The end result is information blockage through proprietary formats and vendor lock-in." Working around these obstacles requires assistance, for less technical users. That kind of work is done on Software Freedom Day.

"But the situation is improving," says Tindall. He cites the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations of March 2007. These require crown and public agency adherence to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiatives, from 1 January 2008. "The FOSS user community is eager for inclusion via information presentation standards and browser compatibility," Tindall says.

A good example of the service neglect FOSS users suffer is to be found locally, at Environment Canterbury (Ecan). Ecan's online Metro Real Time Bus Info is not readable without MS Explorer. This means bus stop numbers cannot be extracted and therefore the bus locations can remain hidden to FOSS users, without their going to view the stops.

From signs

"Shutting out such a big proportion of potential bus use is no help to the environment," says Tindall. "The problem is sourced to Adobe not sticking to its own standard, for Scalable Vector Graphics" (SVG). "Adobe is discontinuing SVG support from 1 January 2008 too, coincidentally. So Ecan has a major upgrade of its web service ahead. We do recommend Ecan explore standards compliant software, and they could start by accepting this invitation to visit Software Freedom Day this weekend," Tindall concludes.

October 14th is World Standards Day, and New Zealand participation in that too is expected. Pittsburgh should be a leader in hosting efforts that call attention to World Standards Day too!

The American Entrepreneur - Newsletter Articles - AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL PEDUTO

My rant, blog posting and open letter to Bill Peduto that sprouted from last Saturday's AM radio talk show with Ron Morris was re-published within the TAE newsletter.

The American Entrepreneur - Newsletter Articles - AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL PEDUTO: "AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL PEDUTO When I was on the September 8 edition of TAE, Ron asked me, on the air, if I knew who was behind (supporting) Mark DeSantis? I said, 'Mr. Roddey.' He said, 'Bill Peduto.' Humm... 'If Bill Peduto is behind or supporting Mark DeSantis in the race for mayor in November 6, 2007, then it must be below the radar.'"

You can also read it on my blog:

http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2007/09/open-letter-to-bill-peduto-as-result-of.html

Camp Wellstone -- high quality campaign info

A three day camp for candidates and workers in the realm of politics kicked off this afternoon and evening at the D.U. campus. Folks from all around the nation are in Pittsburgh to learn about the Wellstone way of political action and organization.

I'm loving it.

Local participants include: Pat Clark, Tonya Payne, Tonya's sister, some Payne office and campaign crew, some Acorn folks, and David Tessitor. Others are from throughout the state: Erie, Harrisburg, Scranton and Philly.

People are here from Texas, Virginia, Maine, West Virginia, DC, Ohio, New Mexico, Minnestota (of course) and Indiana. I'm just going off the top of my head based on some of the people I've been able to chat with.

Stump speeches come into focus in the morning sessions.

This is a 'progressive' school and 'progressive approach.' I'll blog more with details and highlights as time allows -- and I don't expect it to be so generous.

Last night: ACLU docket review. Today starts the 3 day campaign course

Last night I attended a wonderful small group meeting in Shandyside to get an update from local ACLU leaders. The docket there has many interesting cases. Plus, I was able to stretch the conversation to cover the new push for cameras. Cameras to fight crime is sure to be a hot issue in Pittsburgh.

The same event happens next week at my church, Sunnyhill.org, in Mt. Lebo. See the Google calendar.

I encourage the ACLU to host more town-hall meetings. And, I'd love those meetings to happen on TalkShoe.com.

Today starts a three day campaign course at Duquesne University. This should be fun. Thanks Paul Wellstone. I'll blog about this experience as I'm able.

Dave Schuilenburg For Council - New Blog opened today for Leadership and True Change

New blog opens today: Dave 4 Council -- Dave Schuilenburg -- candidate for city council district 1.

Dave Schuilenburg For Council - New Leadership For True Change! Your tax dollars hard at work! Friday, September 14th, 2007.

It just opened. Help him whip it into shape fellow bloggers and political thinkers!

Pick one for a road trip

Baku, Azerbaijan;
Chicago, US;
Doha, Qatar;
Madrid, Spain;
Prague, Czech Republic;
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
Tokyo, Japan

Those are the cities that have put into the IOC to host the Olympic Games in 2016.

I've been to Japan, for a few hours. Nagano was more than okay as a host city, but recent. We nixed a trip to Brazil for next month. The airport scene there isn't good. But, there is some hope that the runways will be in order in a couple of years. We went to Prague -- a city that should be spelled Praha, as it is really called. Praha has a wonderful velvet revolution story to tell the world. And, for many periods it was a battle ground of civilizations. Qatar is not with much interest to me, except I think CMU has a branch campus there, right? Chicago is always a great place for a road trip. I met my wife when we both lived there. But the debt with the Olympics is too much for any American city to bear, sadly. So, I'm torn about that vote. Baku?

Where would your vote go for an Olympic road trip, and why?

I'm still on the fence, (photo above).

Special Headstone Placed On Late Mayor's Grave

kdka.com - Special Headstone Placed On Late Mayor's Grave: While their grief is private, the O'Connors say the gravesite has now become a public memorial.