Welcome to the THIRD most influential political blog in Pennsylvania

I had been ranked as high as seventh. In the last period, the ranking here was eveventh. Falling out of the top 10 isn't so fun. But now -- the blog has hit its highest ever with influence.

Mike Tomlin is going to be seeking "running mate status."

That McBeam mascot is now considering a name change, as I have suggested in the past, to "McPipe." Then he'll rush to help fix water main breaks around the region. He's made an inquiry to find out when the plumbers union is starting its next round with apprentice training.

Bram of PghComment is even leaving me Comets in my front yard and posting his full agreement that getting the "L" candidate (Tony Oliva) and "S" candidate onto the ballot for Mayor, and onto the debate stage, is going to help advance the cause for making this a better region.

What's next -- a snowball effect in October?

Perhaps I'll get a cameo role in the Food Bank benefit on Thursday at the gig called "Blogged to Death?" In not, jelly rolls will do.

Stay tuned....

Ballot Access News

I'm on the ballot, twice. But, it isn't easy to get there, sadly. One of our most pressing needs in our political landscape is ballot access for citizen candidates. It is hard to get onto the ballot. Then after people get on the ballot, there is an endless looking over of the shoulder to make sure that jobs and contracts are not being challenged by those with power being challenged.

Pennsylvanians, others will rally outside U.S. Supreme Court on decision day Ballot Access News

On September 24 (Monday), the U.S. Supreme Court will hold an internal, private conference, to decide which cases to accept. On the agenda is consideration of the Pennsylvania ballot access case, Rogers v Cortes, 06-1721. The Court probably won?t announce what it has decided until a week later, October 1, the first day of the new term.

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition will hold a rally on the Maryland Avenue side of the U.S. Supreme Court on September 24. The hope is that members of the Court will notice the rally. Speaking will be Bill Redpath, national chair of the Libertarian Party; Brent McMillan, national political director of the Green Party; any many Pennsylvania activists. A documentary film-maker is planning to film the rally.

Interesting about FACISM

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

More Mark and Less Party -- More Marks & More Opposition

JSM ponders:

As Republican Mark DeSantis presses on in his race against incumbent Democrat mayor Luke Ravenstahl, he must be more DeSantis and less Republican. Since just the thought of voting for a Republican for mayor is anathema to many local Democrats, DeSantis would have been better positioned as an independent.

In some areas, party affiliation means little more than embracing a party of convenience. Often, success comes as a result of merely running as a Republican and not being a Republican. It is a critical distinction when Democrat support is essential to victory.

I've asked DeSantis to come clean on his R-ness. What kind of "R" is he, we all want to know.

I agree in large part. Some will NEVER vote for a "R" in these parts in these times. And, for good reason.

Did you notice in the two part article on the front of today's Tribune Review (great articles by David Brown) that a box that pointed out the other two on the ballot -- Tony Oliva, Liberatrian and the Socialist meatpacker -- was placed within the text of the article on Luke. That placement is so much as to say that they'll both be taking a bit out of Luke's territory.

I was very, very impressed with the Trib and the photo selections of both Luke and Mark. The photos were very well balanced. Both even had a US flag showing the background.

Way to go Dave Brown and Trib! Way to go.

I do think that Luke's vote total will be less because of the other two challengers, the L and the S. Some will want to vote and will NEVER vote for DeSantis. They can land in the L or S column. That takes away votes from Luke. Luke has not earned everyone's vote, that is for sure.

Best of the Blogs -- shows a snip from this blog in Sunday's Trib

A snip of a recent blog post concerning security cameras got into print in the Sunday paper in the Tribune-Review today.

Pittsburgh Council OKs surveillance cameras around city: I'm in favor of all the cameras being pointed at the public officials, the public treasury and the authorities. Why can't we listen in or watch the meetings of the PAT Board? Why are the Ethics Hearing Board meetings not put on the Internet or cable TV? Until we have complete access to open records and open meetings with cameras and technology -- we should not talk about pointing cameras anywhere else.
Mark Rauterkus
From Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates Ponder Current Events

Also featured in today's roundup is J.E., fellow Libertarian.

Ravenstahl Kick Off on Monday. Thursday at 3:30 is my kick off. I've got a double header.

Luke is going to officially kick off his campaign on Monday.

I'm going to officially kick off my campaign on Thursday at 3:30 pm at Carol's Restaurant at 410 S. Main Street in the West End.

Incumbent Ravenstahl's backers tout progress made - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The test will ratchet up a notch Monday, when Ravenstahl officially kicks off his general election bid to win the two years remaining on the unexpired term of the late Bob O'Connor.

How does a former place kicker make a kick off? Is Ravenstahl kick-off a PUN?

With my kick off the same week, but a few days later than his, at least I won't be charged with a 'false start.'

Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things: Books: Richard Wiseman

Amazon.com: Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things: Books: Richard Wiseman Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things (Hardcover)

Russian OS to be installed in every school

CNews: Russian OS to be installed in every school: "Experts and market participants believe the terms stated by the Ministry of Communication are quite real. “Software distributives, developed on the basis of Linux and tested within 2007-2008 might actually be installed in schools by 2009 end”, "

So, throughout every school in Russia, they are trashing Microsoft Windows. Bang. Gone. Nuked.

In comes open source software with a Linux kernel.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is thinking about opening a new science and technology school and there wasn't a peep about open source software in the presentation. Nothing about software engineering.

The proposed Science and Technology Public High School should be devoted to the deployment of free and open source software and nothing else.

This policy will get people excited and engaged.

This policy will educate students for the future.

This policy is what Pittsburgh needs.

[412] Ethics, Schools, my P-G editorial board meeting, and a standing date to start "33 plan" (Thursday at 3:30 pm)

I sent out an email blast on Saturday afternoon. This took some time to compose, and it is longer than usual.

[412] Ethics, Schools, my P-G editorial board meeting, and a standing date to start "33 plan" (Thursday at 3:30 pm)

If you don't get my email blasts, sign up at http://Rauterkus.com/mailman/listinfo/412-public-campaign.
Also, check your spam filter as the message might be sitting there.

One goal of the campaign is to double the size of this 412-public email outreach. So, if there are others that you think might enjoy reading these messages, invite them or let me know.

Open tread follows with replies and talkback loops.

Ron Paul’s Internet Blitz Continues: Campaign to Stream Live Video of Chicago Rally Saturday

Ron Paul’s Internet Blitz Continues: Campaign to Stream Live Video of Chicago Rally Saturday: "Presidential candidate Ron Paul will stream video on his website of a rally in Chicago this Saturday 3 PM CT. The campaign is expecting there to be a large crowd for the event.

Paul’s campaign has been doing an end around of traditional media by posting video of events on their website. This time the video will be live and has the potential to start a new trend in presidential campaigning.

Paul wrote on his website Thursday, ‘The world's elites are busy forming a North American Union. If they succeed, as they did in forming the European Union, the good ol’ USA will only be a memory. We cannot let that happen.’"

Giuliani Is Everyone's Worst Nightmare by Chuck Baldwin

By Chuck Baldwin, (archive)

Former New York City Mayor and Republican Presidential contender Rudy Giuliani said this week that he was "liberals' worst nightmare." However, the truth is, Rudy Giuliani is everyone's worst nightmare.

That Rudy Giuliani is currently trying to cast himself as a conservative is beyond laughable--it is hilarious. This is a man who is unabashedly pro-abortion. He has been seen walking down Fifth Avenue with thousands of homosexuals demanding "gay rights." He himself is a cross-dresser. He has had numerous marriages and only God knows how many sexual affairs. He has been one of the country's most radical proponents of gun control. He made New York a sanctuary city for illegal aliens and is a strong proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens. As a prosecutor, his abuse of power and disregard for law are legendary.
(See http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts208.html )

In addition, Rudy Giuliani is a senior partner in the law firm that "represents CITGO, the oil company controlled by Venezuela's anti-American and terrorist-supporting ruler Hugo Chavez." Giuliani's law firm also acts "as the exclusive legal counsel for Cintra, the Spanish firm that has been granted the right to operate a toll road in the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) project."

(Please read Cliff Kincaid's entire column for more on Giuliani's shady and untoward activities at http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff149.htm )

Yes, my friends, the umbilical cord connecting the SPP, NAFTA Superhighway and burgeoning North American Union is also connected to Rudy Giuliani.

Yet, Rudy Giuliani wants people to believe that he is "liberals' worst nightmare"? Who is he kidding? Giuliani is a liberal. Actually, Rudy Giuliani is worse than a liberal. He is a liberal that likes to hurt people. I tell you the truth, Rudy Giuliani scares me far more than Hillary Clinton does. Far more. I'll say it right here: if the 2008 Presidential election comes down to Hillary vs. Giuliani, Hillary is the "lesser of two evils." That's how bad Giuliani is.

Any Christian who would vote for Rudy Giuliani needs to check out his or her salvation. And before a conservative could vote for Giuliani, he would have to surrender every conviction and principle he ever held.

As for the Republican Party, if it nominates Rudy Giuliani as its Presidential candidate next year, conservatism will be forever vanquished from the Party. George W. Bush has already just about destroyed conservatism within the GOP. A Giuliani nomination would finish the job.

Rudy Giuliani likes to paint himself as being tough on terrorism. The truth is, Rudy Giuliani is a warmonger. A Giuliani Presidency would mean an expansion of military interventionism and preemptive war like you can't imagine. One can call me what one wants, but I am warning the American people, just as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller tried to warn the German people about Hitler: Rudy Giuliani is a monster. Anyone who is paying attention knows this is true.

For example, just two days ago, Giuliani urged expanding NATO to include Australia, India, Israel, Japan, and Singapore, along with "a whole group of others that we could put on that list." As originally designed, NATO's purpose was to counterbalance the former Soviet Union's influence in Europe. However, Giuliani wants to expand NATO into a "global body." He also said he wants to "redouble" the war in Afghanistan. He further said the U.S. should consider the possibility of a "large war with a nation state." So, could Giuliani be planning a preemptive "large war" with other countries? One can only wonder.

Furthermore, if anyone thinks that George W. Bush is obsessed with domestic spying and surveillance, just wait until Giuliani becomes President. You can count on him pressing his anti-Fourth Amendment and anti-Second Amendment agendas to the nth degree through all sorts of executive orders and signing statements.

You can also expect amnesty for illegal aliens to be quickly achieved under a Giuliani administration, along with the completion of the North American Union and NAFTA Superhighway. Of course, this will also be the case if Hillary is elected President, except that if Hillary is leading the charge, many will oppose it; whereas if Giuliani leads the charge, they won't.

This brings up the other thing that makes a Giuliani Presidency so dangerous: the total lack of resistance that rank-and-file conservatives (including Christians) have demonstrated when Republicans control the White House. Absent resistance from his own
party and from grassroots conservatives, a Giuliani administration would be left free to perpetrate radical fascist and imperialistic policies completely unfettered.

Everything about Rudy Giuliani smacks of fraud, indecency, greed, and power-lust. Even the wave of 9/11, which Giuliani is riding to the Presidential election, is fraught with duplicity. In fact, New York City firefighters are so fearful their former mayor might succeed in his quest to become President that they came out against his candidacy in a dramatic video. I urge all my readers to watch this moving video presentation. See it at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3367581&page=1

Yes, Rudy Giuliani is a nightmare all right. But not just for liberals. He is a nightmare for conservatives, Christians, independents, constitutionalists, and for people the world over. Furthermore, Rudy Giuliani is a threat to freedom, constitutional government, the rule of law, traditional morality, and to national sovereignty and independence. As I said, Rudy Giuliani is everyone's worst nightmare.

The Newshoggers: Counting straight tickets in Pittsburgh

More magical math.

The Newshoggers: Counting straight tickets in Pittsburgh

KDKA's Marty Giffin on a rant about traffic

For good reason, Marty is ranting about traffic. An accident crushed the morning rush and he was late for his show. Plus, the outbound Ft. Pitt Tunnel is going to close for a few hours this afternoon.

My email to him:

I've got a plan.

1. Bike
2. Bike paths / bike lanes (been to Chengdu and Christchurch)
3. Live in the city
4. Pedestrian bridges
5. Tax Land, not buildings

And, I did have the courage to stand up and scream to fight the tunnel
for light rail to the North Side. I wasn't digging it!

My lone wolfs barks continue!

In other news, I'm going to file complaints to the Ethics Hearing Board. And, the target of the first complaint is the Ethics Hearing Board and its confidentiality clause for whistle blowers. (no joke)

In other news, what about the petition for county council to stop the new tax for pouring tax? Are you in?

Teacher. Wordsmith. Madman. Dan can't add or speak

Teacher. Wordsmith. Madman. DAN CAN'T ADD or speak.

After Governor Ed Rendell announced this morning that the Penguins had signed a lease to stay in Pittsburgh through June of 2040, County Commissioner Dan Onorato told reporters:

If there was any doubts, they're here now for twenty-five years.

First of all, Dan, that should be were. If there were any doubts.

Second, and perhaps more importantly: this is 2007. The Penguins' lease runs through 2040. That means -- you know, in case there was any doubts -- that they're here now for thirty-three years.

You can see why people are already touting him for a run at the governor's mansion. With arithmetic and oratorical skills like those, he's ready for the White House.

College Swimming: Editor Calls for the Head of Syracuse AD

CollegeSwimming.com::CSCAA's Whitten Calls for Head of Syracuse AD The Executive Director of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) called for the resignation of Syracuse University Athletics Director, Dr. Daryl Gross today.

Great quote: "The arrogance of this man knows no bounds."

Dunk em Phil. Go, man, go!

Circuit City shopper, city of Brooklyn resolve dispute over arrest - cleveland.com

Have you been following this story? It has been on the tip of my podcast for a while.

Circuit City shopper, city of Brooklyn resolve dispute over arrest - cleveland.comBrooklyn - The city prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official police business against Circuit City shopper Michael Righi.

And Righi agreed that a police officer did nothing wrong in arresting him after he refused to show his driver's license outside the store Sept. 1.

The agreement Wednesday brought to a close the case of the Pittsburgh man, who refused to produce a receipt to a store employee after leaving the store.

Visited his blog and got this story, about PPG. Seeing how cameras are again a hot topic, I post a snip of it here, today:

www. Michael Righi .com - Blog Archive - PPG: Photography Not Allowed: "I then proceeded to Third Avenue which runs between a few of the buildings. Here I took notice of two security guards relaxing outside a parking garage. Standing on the street about twenty feet away, I took two pictures of the towers around us before one of them shouted, “No pictures of the buildings!”

I could not believe it. Not that I don’t believe everything I read on the Internet (of course I do), but some things are just too stupid to believe if you don’t witness them for yourself. I mean, there I was standing on a public street taking pictures of a building in plain view from anywhere in town, and I was being told that this building was off-limits to photography. I wasn’t peeking through windows on a ladder, and I wasn’t crawling through the building’s ventilation system with a hidden camera in my shoe."

Steel City ladies love the grid iron - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Steel City ladies love the grid iron - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "But female fans have their own way of watching the game. On The Burgh Blog, an online diary of sorts where an anonymous 'PittGirl' jots down her observations of her favorite city, anything with the words 'Big Ben' or 'Troy's Hair' is sure to get a big response.

'On my blog, the women tend to be more vocal when it comes to Steelers posts, I think possibly because I'm not writing about the 'spread' or the '3/4 versus 4/3' or other such 'huh?' topics,' PittGirl wrote in an e-mail. 'I'm writing about the players, the plays, the goof ups, the sights, the emotions of it all ... Sure there are plenty of female Steelers fans that could hold an intelligent conversation about the 'sweep,' but for a lot of women it's just a love of the game, a love of the rich and storied past, and a love for the honorable men that play it here in the Burgh.'

That love for the game is almost as hot as Steely McBeam's bushy eyebrows."

Steely McBeam should be re-named to Leaky McPipe and made to work to fix water main breaks.

So much for 'mainstream' and 'manstream'.

Nice to see a blog get good mentions in the MSM (mainstream media).

DeSantis Lays Out 5 Point Anti-Crime Plan

GOP Candidate for Mayor, Mark DeSantis kicked off a conversation on crime. Let's sustain the chatter.

kdka.com - DeSantis Lays Out 5 Point Anti-Crime Plan

My comment to the PghComment: (PghComet.Blogspot.com)

The cameras are bad, unless, they are pointed first at all the politicians and the public treasury.

Next, all the cameras should be open source and put into the public domain. The content should flow to the net so anyone, anywhere, can witness what happens with these cameras.

Otherwise, I don't want cameras.

PEN DOT has cameras. I can see what traffic is like on the Parkway East. That's okay.

Open source cameras after we put cameras in the citizen police review board meetings, the authority board meetings, the public safety meetings (yes, they do occur), and the bank accounts -- via transparent trust funds.

Bram's post:

The Pittsburgh Comet: The DeSantis Anti-Crime Plan at a Glance

WTAE headline, DeSantis says he'd be tough on crime. That type of talk makes me wonder and be glad I'm running for city controller.

Memo to DeSantis: The Allegheny County's jail is full to capacity. Some good police work happens and the bad guys are back out on the street in a week's time, only to get into trouble again and caught again.

Pittsburgh Mayoral Candidate DeSantis Outlines Public Safety Plan - News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

City takes 'unfortunate' stance on police PFAs

City takes 'unfortunate' stance on police PFAsPFAs are a civil matter, ...

Another Ron Paul endorsement

See the comments.