McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/04/2008 | Federal deficits soaring higher, menacing the future

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/04/2008 | Federal deficits soaring higher, menacing the future President Bush took office in 2001 with a budget surplus, but his final budget proposal envisions federal deficits of more than $400 billion a year for the next two years. As big as those numbers are, experts think that the administration is lowballing the deficits, and they put little stock in Bush's vow to balance the budget by 2012.

'I think the promise that it will be balanced by 2012 is ridiculous,' said Chris Edwards, the director of tax policy for the Cato Institute, a libertarian policy research group.

Plenty of ugly local news

The front page of the Trib newspaper tells of two Dem politicians who are going to be doing time. Twanda, formerly of Pittsburgh city council, gets 1-2 years. Frank, formerly of the PA House, gets 6-months of house arrest.

But there is much more beyond those bimbos. This story of a New Year's Day fight among teens is hard to understand.

Witness tells of street fight that led to deathWitness tells of street fight that led to death

It is real. It is real bad.

Bogus Allegations Made Against Ex-Penn Hills Football Coach and AD @ junk mail

Mary Robb Jackson gives an interview. The story rehashes his "firing." Well, the job was just re-opened.

kdka.com - New Allegations Made Against Ex-Penn Hills Coach Gordon says he plans to apply for his old job.

Recruiting letters are mostly junk mail. Even the swim team was mentioned, in that there were letters found for swimmers.

These letters were from the past. Neil Gordon has not been the Athletic Director for more than a year. It seems to me that the old Athletic Director might want to take an inventory of the areas in the school. It shows that the new guy has made a serious fumble, more than Gordon.

If the mail was found in the basement of a postal worker -- then we have problems.

If the mail was being taken from student athletes who are in high school now -- and not delivered to them by design -- then we have problems.

If the mail was screened by the coach and INTENTIONALLY destroyed by the coach or AD -- then we have problems.

If the coach or AD contacted certain universities and told them to never recruit any Penn Hills student -- then we have problems.

Here, there are no problems. That story tells nothing.

If there is more to the story than is contained within the reporting of the story -- tell me. Post in the comments.

---

P-G reports: Superintendent meets players

Patricia Gennari, superintendent of Penn Hills schools, met Thursday with the school's football players to get their feelings on the coaching situation.

A few weeks ago, the Penn Hills school board decided to open coach Neil Gordon's position, despite his successful record of 156-74-2 in 21 seasons. The board directed Gennari to inform Gordon of its decision.

The mother of starting quarterback Tom Fulton said Penn Hills' players were instructed not to talk to the media about their meeting with Gennari.

Some Penn Hills residents are upset at the board's decision and want to be heard at a meeting. The school board has a public meeting at 7, and the football coaching situation is on the agenda.

Gordon said yesterday he has reapplied for the job, and Penn Hills also is accepting applications from other individuals.

---

Update from Feb 6, 2008:

kdka.com - Coach Situation Divides Penn Hills Community 'And yes there was a box of letters in the athletic office, but the players knew that there was a box and it was their responsibility to come down and get them themselves,' Bob Struss, a student, said.

Learn Well Graphics - colab art and history

Learn Well Graphics: "Learn Well Graphics Creates User-Friendly Learning Programs That Help Students Read Better While Learning About History And Financial Literacy"

Dipdive.com song, for the D Senator challenging in four-four time

I've given a lot of focus to Ron Paul, of course. Here is a mention of the D side, headed into Super Bowl Tuesday.

Dipdive.com: "The Yes We Can Song
by will.i.am"

The YouTube URL:



Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates v2: "What does this say?"

This does NOT look like the South Side -- but then again -- it does

Come Live Over Here:



Super Bowl TV ad from Pepsi.

Internet problems continue

WiFi in Pittsburgh isn't the only service on the fritz.

Internet problems continue with fourth cable break - Technology - ArabianBusiness.com Internet problems continue with fourth cable break

Revealed: British plan to build training camp for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan - Asia, World - Independent.co.uk

Hate them one year. Then love them the next.

Revealed: British plan to build training camp for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan - Asia, World - Independent.co.uk: "Britain planned to build a Taliban training camp for 2,000 fighters in southern Afghanistan, as part of a top-secret deal to make them swap sides, intelligence sources in Kabul have revealed. The plans were discovered on a memory stick seized by Afghan secret police in December.

Give them guns and teach them to shoot one year. Then blow them apart the next year.

To many politicians want to churn. Friends to enemies. Land to buildings to land again.

Height dispute stalls condo plan on South Side

Thursday's neighborhood meeting.

Height dispute stalls condo plan on South Side: "public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the South Side Market House, 12th and Bingham streets.

Two more days to RSVP to this event: The Allegheny Institute Welcomes Mayor John O. Norquist

On February 13th the Allegheny Institute welcomes Mayor John O. Norquist, a leader in national discussions of vouchers in education. Mayor Norquist’s talk is entitled “Improving Pittsburgh Public Schools: Are Vouchers an Answer?”

Mayor Norquist won four terms as Milwaukee’s mayor and compiled an impressive record of streamlining city government, improving public safety, and spurring job growth. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment is overseeing the implementation of school choice for Milwaukee’s students. Milwaukee’s voucher system began in 1991 with only 1,500 students and has grown to benefit nearly 12,000 students annually.

Norquist’s strong advocacy of school choice has made him a nationally recognized and sought after expert in the school choice movement. We hope you will make plans to attend this important presentation.

The lecture will take place at the Doubletree Hotel—Pittsburgh City Center, which is located at One Bigelow Square. The lecture will begin at 7:00 PM. We ask that you make reservations at your earliest convenience.

Admission is free but tickets will be required to attend. Please call 412-440-0079 by February 6th to reserve your seat.

Racial Equity Monitoring Project needs volunteers

The Racial Equity Monitoring Project needs volunteers to monitor official meetings and hearings whose stated purpose is to provide equal opportunity and treatment for. Due to the high rate of regional disparities for African Americans, this will be the primary focus population.

WHY?

We deploy citizens to bring the processes of official agencies, offices, and bodies back to the community in order to ensure that meetings, policies, agencies and events designed to provide equal opportunity serve their established purpose. WHERE? REMP monitors public agencies including those related to employment, health, criminal justice, education, elections, economic development, construction and trades, and any agency that affects quality of life for the citizens of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

WHO? YOU!

You don’t need to be an expert, just be willing to devote a few hours to helping ensure transparency and opportunity. We will provide you with training and supplies.

HOW? To get involved, contact Project Coordinator:

Celeste Taylor at talyor.celeste@gmail.com or 412-670-0937

The Racial Equity and Monitoring Project is an initiative of the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) has received funding from a Heinz Endowment seed grant.

Then you win. Sorry, this isn't a post about the Super Bowl and the MVP brothers

A group of people are working on a new title called with the working title of, "Then You Win." It is a documentary film project about non-violence movements in India. The aim is a release with the rights to copy, modify and distribute under Creative Commons license. To get them over the goal line -- now is the time for everybody’s help.

http://thenyouwin.yooook.org

First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win.

Mahatma Gandhi.

Chad's rant included some sideline cheers about schools

Chad made a rant and hits everything under the sun -- including schools.

Opinion 250: The view from on high: "We're leaving more children behind than we (or they) can possibly count? Close a couple more schools, tinker with the curriculum, reassign some teachers and make noise about trying to save Schenley High School to shut some people up.

We can barely keep up with our medical premiums and co-pays? Put your initials and your helipad atop the USX Tower, your phony Minutes on TV and your auditors on the trail of even more claims to deny. Instead of good schools and affordable health care, give the kids a couple of bucks for college, so long as you don't get double-dipped and other people pony up, too.

I love the self-reliance theme.

OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues

OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues: "Candidates"

MTV looking for activists - News

Sound check.... 1, 2, 3. Check, 1, 2, 3...

MTV looking for activists - News: "The popular MTV show has returned to Pittsburgh looking for 'activist types,' rather than the usual fun-loving characters, for its 21st season."

Why Ron Paul Doesn't Matter

The Republican candidacy for President of the United States has been a "different" type of process in 2008. It wasn't that long ago that we heard that the race to supplant President George W. Bush started too soon.

Now it's almost over.

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Ron Paul could raise untold millions in contributions and still mean absolutely nothing to the national election.

Last summer, Paul had his apex of importance. His fundraising outled John McCain's. He was roundly cheered on the Bill Maher "Love equals liberalism, no tolerance for conservatives" HBO program.

Ron Paul owns the "outsider" vote. Conservatives consider Paul a crackpot. Not quite the Dennis Kucinich crackpot, but an unviable candidate nonetheless.

And moderate Republicans have embraced John McCain. What's interesting is that some Conservative pundits would rather vote for Barack Obama before they'd vote for McCain.

Lost in the political pantheon is Mike Huckabee, who a mere month ago was considered the front runner. Conservatives, who have not had the luxury of a conservative candidate they could truly embrace, have begun to rally behind Mitt Romney; however, McCain is largely considered a lovable scamp by others like Rudy Guiliani (who inexplicably operated a non-existent campaign) and Arnold Schwazzeneger (who quietly championed amending the U.S. Constitution to allow a Terminator in the White House...or so the urban myth goes).

As the field of Republican candidates continues to dwindle, Romney is getting the true Conservative vote. Super Tuesday will determine whether or not Conservatives are disenfranchised enough to avoid the election altogether.

Paul is about a year older than McCain. That's something the Conservative base can't grab ahold of anytime soon. Paul is not a commanding figure. As argued previously, Paul does not exhibit a religious...read Christian...backbone. His biography is a nothing but a blueprint for a spiritual carpetbagger. Without those who take religion seriously, Paul doesn't come close to registering.

Paul's supporters are not Republicans. They are on the fringe. In many ways, they are the "anti-war," "marijuana" vote. They complain that Paul doesn't get coverage from mainstream media. He has done nothing to earn the coverage. He has not boasted a swell of support from voters.

Paul's "run away" from Iraq philosophy also doesn't resonate with conservative voters, and only mildly with moderate Republicans. "Cut and Run" is the John Murtha/Nancy Pelosi plan of no-attack. It is not conducive with Republicans, most of whom won't abandon our fighting men and women, here or overseas. That may be Ron Paul's biggest philosophical anchor in the Republican party. Had Paul stood up in the War on Terror, he might have recorded some conservative support.

In the election of 2008, Ron Paul should have made a difference. He hasn't and he won't. That's quite the mystery.

Sports and Exhibition Authority Reviews Recent Case of a Pirate's Sweatshop Monitor Detained in Bangladesh and Race Discrimination at New Era Cap

Original Posting from Feb 1 at 3 pm. Updated below:

Different worlds merge on Monday, from baseball to The Hill to Bangladesh and snuffing out a whistleblower. We are all connected in our big blue planet.

February 1, 2008

Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance, Contact Kenneth Miller

412-241-1339

The Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) investigator in Bangladesh has been illegally detained, effectively disappeared. A description of events, confirmed by the US Embassy in Bangladesh:

Mehedi Hasan, a Bangladeshi national and a labor rights investigator for the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), was detained on January 24, in Dhaka, by the Bangladesh intelligence service and is being held for interrogation. The WRC, based in Washington, D.C., monitors labor practices at apparel factories on behalf of universities and government entities in the United States; it is clear that Mr. Hasan's arrest is related to the labor rights monitoring work he has performed on the WRC's behalf. It appears that the government plans to bring a number of bogus criminal charges against Mr. Hasan. Labor rights advocates in Bangladesh are very concerned that he will be physically mistreated while in custody.

In a letter of July 6, 2006 Ethan G Orlinsky of Major League Baseball wrote,

It appears that virtually all of MLBP headwear and apparel licensees authorized to distribute apparel in the United States are members of groups such as the Workers Rights Consortium…

Major League Baseball is NOT cooperating with the WRC. If they were, they would be requiring licensees to report the location of all factories and be actively supporting monitors like Mr. Hasan.

Companies like New Era, American Needle and Nike produce Pirates apparel in Bangladesh in the area where Mr. Hason is working. In some cases, Pirates apparel and university apparel is manufactured in the same factories.

In an earlier letter to the Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance (PASCA) on April 2, 2006 Mr. Orlinsky brags about New Era baseball caps and Majestic baseball jerseys being manufactured in the United States. Unfortunately, many of the US factories are sweatshops as well. On Martin Luther King Day of this year, New Era workers at the plant in Mobile, Alabama protested a pattern and practice of race discrimination and a wave of illegal firings. Alongside them marched the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and United Students Against Sweatshops. New Era Cap has rejected the investigative efforts of the WRC.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, whose logo and apparel represent the City of Pittsburgh and who participate in Major League Baseball Properties Revenue Sharing Agreement, can have an appropriate impact by speaking out at this time. PASCA urges Frank Coonelly to represent Pittsburgh effectively:

Issue a statement expressing concern for Mehedi Hasan and demanding his immediate release. Assure WRC monitors access to factories sewing Pirates apparel.

Frank Coonelly should go to Mobile, Alabama himself and meet with the New Era workers. Deliver solidarity, as Roberto Clemente would do. Talk to the workers and demand that New Era's disclose the names and locations of ALL it's factories, and those of its subcontractors, sewing Pirates apparel.

Members of PASCA are hopeful that Frank Coonelly's tenure with the Pirates will be more productive for workers sewing Pirates apparel than was Kevin McClatchy's. PASCA is not asking him to collaborate with an already negligent Commissioners Office, but to take a stand for workers rights that will make Pittsburgh proud.

In a letter to participants at the 10th Annual Summit Against Racism, Dennis Brutus said, "The Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance is asking for a Civil Rights Bridge…the Pirates use Pittsburgh as a platform to represent themselves. That representation is not sincere without accepting a responsibility, an obligation, to reflect our values."

Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA) should use the anti sweatshop standards encoded in the City and County anti sweatshop ordinances. It should rely on the All-Star 2006 Anti Sweatshop Proclamation signed by then City Council President Luke Ravenstahl. The Sports and Exhibition Authority has a mandate, and precedence, to address these worker rights violations at its meeting on Monday.

The SEA Board will meet Monday February 4 at 1:30 on the 3rd floor of the David L Lawrence Convention Center. Call the SEA on Monday morning to confirm that no changes to the schedule have been made. 412-393-0200

The Chair of the SEA (joint appointment) is John Chalovich. Luke Ravenstahl's appointees are Jeff Koch, Tony Ross and State Senator Wayne Fontana. Dan Onorato's appoints are Rev. William Curtis, Dr. Edie Shapira and State Senator Sean Logan.  

Members of the One Hill Coalition will be at the meeting to discuss the role they would like the Board to play in their negotiations with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Volunteers from the Black Political Empowerment Project's Racial Equity Monitoring Project will also attend.

www.iww.org and www.sweatfree.org/baseball

Update on Feb 3, 2008:

Dear Colleagues,

I am very happy to report that Mehedi Hasan was released on Sunday afternoon, Dhaka time. We have confirmed it directly with Mehedi himself. We also understand that the pending charges against him have been dropped; this is what the police have told Mehedi’s lawyer. Documents confirming this have not yet been received, however. We hope to know more soon about the government’s official position on the case and their intentions going forward. As you know, we have also been very concerned about how Mehedi was being treated in custody; we are awaiting information on this question.

We want to thank all of you for your efforts on this. Unquestionably, it was the pressure from foreign governments, buyers, and NGOS both in Bangladesh and around the world that secured Mehedi’s release. Your help is deeply appreciated.

As we know you are all aware, there are other labor rights advocates and worker leaders in Bangladesh who have been arrested and/or are facing unfair charges similar to those to which Mehedi was to be subjected. Police and judicial procedures under the state of emergency raise grave doubts about whether any of these cases will be adjudicated justly. There is also the ongoing problem of the government’s broader effort to repress labor rights advocacy and the exercise of associational rights by Bangadeshi workers. It is our hope that the energy mobilized on Mehedi’s behalf, which has been so effective in securing his release, can be maintained and directed toward the broader goal of protecting labor rights advocates and worker representatives throughout Bangladesh. We look forward to working with you toward that goal.

Please contact us if you have questions about this update. We will provide more information about the status of Mehedi’s case as we receive it.

Thank you again for your timely and effective action.

Best,

Scott Nova
Jeremy Blasi

Some Bush budget details begin to leak. They don't look good for local economic drivers -- UPMC.

The AP has a good news article on the budget summary. Some of this is yet to hit. It is due on Monday.

Look at what GWB wants the US to spend on: India and China.

Plus, there are some big hits that might play out in Pittsburgh, with UPMC and the mega funding from medical grants.

News from The Associated Press: "Funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the subject of an intense battle with Democrats last year, would increase by almost $20 billion over the next five years. An additional $6 billion is requested to finish a massive project to protect New Orleans from flooding. And the Food and Drug Administration would get a larger-than-average budget increase to send FDA staff overseas to inspect food and drugs imported into the United States.

Bush also backs $2 billion over three years to help get cleaner and more efficient energy technology to big polluters like India and China.

You don't have to read between the lines to know who this could impact. ... The Bush budget would eliminate a $302 million program that gives grants to children's hospitals to subsidize medical education.

Onorato's plans to privatize part of county's parks does NOT wash well with me

Most of all, I have no faith in Dan Onorato.

Onorato discusses plans to privatize part of county's parks
By Allison M. Heinrichs TRIBUNE-REVIEW

About 150 people gathered at Boyce Park this morning to discuss plans with Allegheny County officials to privatize part of all nine county parks. Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said he plans to put out for bids operation of ski slopes, golf courses, wave pools, horse stables and other amenities in the county's 12,000 acres of parks.

"There's no reason we shouldn't be making money on these facilities," said Onorato, who spoke at a town hall meeting in the Boyce Park ski lodge. "We need to think outside the box."

Onorato said the parks are 20 years behind on maintenance. He said he has set aside $10 million to match dollar-for-dollar any private money raised for park improvements in the next year.

For more information visit www.alleghenycounty.us and click on the Parks Action Plan.

Allison M. Heinrichs can be reached at aheinrichs@tribweb.com or 412-380-5607.

Here we go again. It wasn't too long ago when I railed against the 'thinking outside the box' plan of the PDP (Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership) in its efforts, along with Bob O'Connor originally, then Luke Ravenstahl, to put up WiFi in certain areas of downtown. Everyone else, mostly, thought that this was a great thing. Mindless boosterism can't be healthy either.

One can go 'outside the box' and be 'dead wrong.' After death, they put people in the box. Frankly, our region is dying -- because we are too often outside the box in a sense of doing what should NOT be done and failing to do what needs to be done.

Parks maintenance is 20 years behind the times -- so says Onorato. Well, Dan, that means as Allegheny County Executive -- you have been a total failure for the past five years. And, as county controller before that, you were a failure as well.

I agree that the parks are down and out in their conditions today because of neglect. Dan Onorato is to blame, mostly. Same too for the others on the Allegheny County Council.

Even when Onorato was on city council back in the late 1990s, Onorato did NOTHING for our parks.

They never give enough attention, effort and support to parks programs. And Jim Roddey thinks Onorato has been doing a wonderful job. Jim Roddey's big upgrade to the parks system was the addition of a jersey barrier at South Park in the wake of a senior driver who smashed up some pedestrians walking along the side of a road.

Well, at least we are not talking about Onorato's killing of the Geese.

The last time there was a 'parks master plan' with city government (not county), I went to a number of meetings. At the final meeting I made one very important suggestion. I suggested that the name of the final document be changed. They did not deliver a 'Master Plan' as titles and advertised. Rather, so as to stop fooling ourselves, the document should have been called a 'Parks Lesser Plan'.

Those were the days before there was much blogging.

We had a park facility very near to our house that was handed over in an effort of privatize its operations. The private owners invested in the physical building. They had a great partner too, as well as a boom market where the activities were wildly popular. Furthermore, there was a city-wide exclusive woven into the deal.

The city gave a 99-year lease to a guy name Paul S to operate its lone, indoor ice rink that is located in a large city owned park that is just behind South Side Hospital. A roof was constructed over the once outdoor ice rink and the Pittsburgh Penguins were tenants. They held their practices as the rink. Once, when the NHL held an All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, most of the NHL All-Stars went there for a practice too.

Today, that park and its rink is closed. It has been closed for years.

Dan Onorato could have -- and should have -- stepped up to the task of getting the County Parks to work a deal so as to 're-privatize that rink and its operation.'

Hell, Dan and Luke can't even come up with a Community Benefit Agreement for the NEW Penguins Arena so it blends well with the hopes of the city residents.

When the ice rink on the South Side started to 'skate on thin ice' -- and look weak around the edges, I made a few calls. I pushed our city council member, Gene Ricciardi, then chair of the Citiparks Committee, to investigate the situations. The lease called for a certain number of hours of public access to the facilities. That had been broken. The lease called for local hockey teams to have access to the rink for both games and practices. That was fleeting. They started to turn the rink into a place for concerts.

I asked for some city oversight. This was city property. There was a lease. Terms were not being upheld. And those in city government did NOTHING. They turned a blind eye on the folly that would happen. Who else remembers seeing the Zamboni driving down East Carson Street one night?

The city and county offer nothing in terms of management in this realm.

This is so frustrating.

To this day, the ice rink on the South Side sits vacant. And, every other month, I get phone calls -- yes, they call me -- from around the nation asking about the rink. Most recently, in December, a group from Florida wanted to send in a letter of understanding to the city to get the operation back on-track with that ice rink. I told them, 'good luck, and don't hold your breath.'

They are clueless.

Here is what I'd do. Call for a global discussion about the parks. Put everything on the table. Hell, I'll be happy to debate Onorato and Ravenstahl in five different parks in five different night to start off the discussions. The best outcome will include citizen engagement. And in short order, we should rip the ownership of the parks out of the grasp of those who work on Grant Street. We should wrestle the park's control and ownership away from Onorato and the rest of them by forming a NEW, consolidated, governmental entity -- the REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.

I want elections, open meetings, Sunshine laws and public process for these public spaces with PARK TRUSTEES making all the decisions.

The state of Illinois, Barack's home state, has this model of government with PARK DISTRICTS. That is a good model and one that needs to be understood here.

The we take the RAD TAX and re-do it with an eye to the new Regional Park District. Two or three years later, we take ownership of the Stadium and Exibition Authority too. That should operate, as well as the stadiums -- under the umbrella of the Park District.

If Onorato really wants to promote "private ownership" of parts of these parks, then he should insist that the Pittsburgh Penguins own the new hockey arena. The Penguins are only going to lease the new building. Yet, the Penguins are going to call the shots. Everything in their world is upside down.

Onorato should sell Heinz Field, PNC Park and the new arena NOW -- before he sells off parts of Boyce Park, North Park, South Park, Settler's Cabin and Deer Lakes Park, etc.

Thomas Jefferson Think Tank gig -- Melissa Hart

FWIW.

Come Meet and Listen to Melissa Hart

Last month, we began our series that addresses the question of the proper role of government in the 21st century. Is it the same as our Founding Fathers envisioned and if not, how and why?

We began to outline a view of the role of government as described in the Federal and State constitutions. The comments, questions, and suggestions came fast and furious for the whole evening. This month’s should be no different because….

This month, former Congresswoman (and current Congressional candidate) Melissa Hart will join us to give her views on the proper role of the federal government. Perhaps we will gain some insights from her time in Congress on how others (from both sides of the aisle) view the subject. This is your chance to hear how government works from someone who’s been there, and plans to be again.

So please join us for what promises to be an informative and enjoyable evening with Melissa Hart.

Come early to enjoy the food, drink, and bring a friend. We will see you Wednesday, February 6, 2008 located at Silvioni’s, 2125 Babcock Boulevard. Dinner will be served until 7:00 pm. The meeting will start at approximately 7:15 pm.

A mention here does NOT imply an endorsement. For additional insights on various events and dates in the region, be sure to check out my public google calendar.