I agree that it is desired for those who are making laws and spending public money to act in competent, legal ways.
If the legal advice provided from the city's law department is suspect -- then -- we are at a cross-roads.
Here is where we (perhaps) split on our decision tree (s).
First, I feel that smart people can act in competent and legal ways without the advice of lawyers.
Second, when poor performance comes from the law department -- what outcomes should occur (next). Hire or Fire? Add or Subtract? Expand Staffing/Costs or Contract?
I understand a fact of life: The next move is NEVER the last move. So, my solution: NUKE the Law Dept's budget, (for instance) is NOT the LONG TERM -- forever -- solution.
So, back to the front of the circle. Yeah, the city needs a law department. But, not this law department. And, not two or three sources of legal advice at the same time, either.
So, who is smart enough to see what's what?
The mayor?
What council member?
What next step legislation?
Should D.Haris or J.Motznik invite Mr. Specter to the table again, (set a snare), one could object.
Heads should roll.
Self inflicted cuts would work for the people of city. If not, those who we hire (elect) to do the job of controlling the purse strings can be replaced.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Greek organizers kindle backup Oly torch - Sunday March 23, 2008 12:52PM
Let's talk about 'focus.'
They try to use a lense to focus the rays of the sun to light the Olympic torch -- and it was hidden behind the clouds.
Others want to use the torch lighting as a way to focus on other parts of the world -- today.
Go to the sun gods and antiquity -- but only admit those who are under 40.
Furthermore, the monks of Tibet, call for a peaceful protest. How else would they conduct themselves. Seems that the Olympics in ancient Greece, unfolded during a 'sacred truce.'
Go figure.
Where to begin?????
They try to use a lense to focus the rays of the sun to light the Olympic torch -- and it was hidden behind the clouds.
Others want to use the torch lighting as a way to focus on other parts of the world -- today.
SI.com - Olympics - Greek organizers kindle backup Oly torch - Sunday March 23, 2008 12:52PM: "'The image is very important,' Greek IOC vice president Lambis Nikolaou said. 'The younger the girls, the prettier they are.'"The irony....
Go to the sun gods and antiquity -- but only admit those who are under 40.
Furthermore, the monks of Tibet, call for a peaceful protest. How else would they conduct themselves. Seems that the Olympics in ancient Greece, unfolded during a 'sacred truce.'
Go figure.
Where to begin?????
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Butterfly winner Cavic suspended for remainder of Euro meet - for a political t-shirt
ESPN - Butterfly winner Cavic suspended for remainder of Euro meet - Swimming: "A Serb swimmer was suspended Friday for the remainder of the European swimming championships for wearing a T-shirt proclaiming 'Kosovo is Serbia' at a medal presentation ceremony.
Blair's goal is to be a hometown hero
Blair's goal is to be a hometown hero: "It's that the kid is proud of where he comes from.It sucks that Schenley High School is NEVER going to be anything like it was when Blair was a student there.
He talks up Pittsburgh every chance he gets. He talks up The Hill District. He talks up Schenley High School.
Overlords are expensive and have attorneys
The city's law department is not worth a wooden nickel. City council should lean upon the OVERLORDS for NECESSARY legal advice.
In a longer blog thread at the BurghReport I posted:
This discussion on the different branches of government -- admin vs. council -- seems to ignore the HUGE elements that don't fit within the city charter nor tradition: OVERLORDS.
Pgh has Act 47 and ICA teams. Double trouble. New to the landscape when talking tradition.
The killer talk that came this week was about 'PARTNERSHIPS.' The city admin acts as 'partners' with the OVERLORDS, so we heard from Mr. Specter.
Well, I don't want to see the OVERLORDS in "partnership" with the city's administrators. The OVERLORDS are here to insure that the city's elected leaders TERMINATE their overspending ways of the past.
The ONLY partnership from the OVERLORDS should land on the side of being prudent with finances.
Mr. Specter: Don't 'hijack' the state OVERLORDs and try to sell them as partners in a power struggle.
In a longer blog thread at the BurghReport I posted:
This discussion on the different branches of government -- admin vs. council -- seems to ignore the HUGE elements that don't fit within the city charter nor tradition: OVERLORDS.
Pgh has Act 47 and ICA teams. Double trouble. New to the landscape when talking tradition.
The killer talk that came this week was about 'PARTNERSHIPS.' The city admin acts as 'partners' with the OVERLORDS, so we heard from Mr. Specter.
Well, I don't want to see the OVERLORDS in "partnership" with the city's administrators. The OVERLORDS are here to insure that the city's elected leaders TERMINATE their overspending ways of the past.
The ONLY partnership from the OVERLORDS should land on the side of being prudent with finances.
Mr. Specter: Don't 'hijack' the state OVERLORDs and try to sell them as partners in a power struggle.
SEA pays $5.5 million for synagogue's Hill property - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Well, eminent domain was NOT used, thankfully.
SEA pays $5.5 million for synagogue's Hill property - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The only synagogue serving Downtown will move for the second time in 50 years, to accommodate a new hockey arena in Pittsburgh.
The city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority voted Thursday to pay $5.5 million to buy and relocate the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Synagogue, the last of 13 buildings the authority needed to acquire before building a $290 million arena to be used by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Walking Pittsburgh proves the point of the tail chasing
Walking Bluff � Walking Pittsburgh... guys in kilts passed us by, and then we turned left onto Boyd Street. We turned left on Forbes and passed some drunken Duquesne Students, then ran into city councilman Bruce Kraus, who was on his way back to the Southside to tackle constituent complaints about rowdy revelers on the other side of the river.Kraus is in the wrong job. His job isn't to tackle rowdy revelers. And, he isn't doing a good job of it anyway.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates ponder current events
Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates ponder current events: "How far will Pitt (mens hoops) advance in the NCAA brackets?"
Pitt looked great, again, today in Denver.
Log into the poll at the top left of the blog to tell where you think Pitt ends its season.
Pitt looked great, again, today in Denver.
Log into the poll at the top left of the blog to tell where you think Pitt ends its season.
Clayton Contract Continues... but ...
Ira Weiss, PPS Solicitor, says he would NOT want to discuss that matter in a public forum.
We've got 250 kids at Clayton and the district is paying for 450.
Say what????
Good Job Theresa Colaizzi.
We've got 250 kids at Clayton and the district is paying for 450.
Say what????
Good Job Theresa Colaizzi.
Two board members deride city schools' proposed code of conduct
Two board members deride city schools' proposed code of conduct: "The Pittsburgh school board is considering a code of conduct that supporters described as a move toward better government and critics called an effort to curb criticism of Superintendent Mark Roosevelt.There is NOTHING that should be in the zone of "confidentiality of privileged information" with a school board member -- other than that of a specific student. And, the board should NOT be dealing with specific students, unless that student is the son or daughter of that board member. Then the board member is a "parent" and not really operating as an elected official as a steward of a public institution.
Privileged information does exits in other very small corners of the duties of board members. There are employee matters and land deals where it would make sense to NOT blab. But, these are tiny elements of the jobs.
They want to make more and more be called privileged. Then they can call for 'marshall law' and make a smack-down to those who object with their voices.
Schools have been closed and then re-opened. Fine. Likewise, tests have been failed and then taken later and passed.
You can't get to third grade and forget everything that happened in first grade. What is past is past. But, it is still something that can be talked about.
Where is that "proposed" code? Can it be sent to me via email or else posted in this thread?
Posting from another blog thread -- I think:
I'm going to pick on Bram again. He wrote, obviously you've (city council critters) got to do both. The the overall city stuff and the neighborhood stuff are both important.
WRONG Bram. Neighborhood stuff is NOT the job of council members. That is the micro-management stuff that council should NOT be doing. That is the political plowing.
In the past, the city and council got turned on its head by the likes of Tom Murphy and Tom Cox. That (past) administration did NOTHING for neighborhoods. So, the members of council had to do the over reaching.
Those ills got the city into trouble. The Neighborhood Needs money $1M to each council member/district was the last big blunder that finally put the city into its OVERLORD status.
As council does neighborhood stuff -- then they are inefficient. Lapses in accountability are easier to make as a legislative body does administration's work. They have made purpose fuzzy -- and accountability shrinks.
Lapses in legality should not be tolerated by voters. Pittsburgh should NOT elect anyone who can't write legislation and understand what's what in those realms.
Even in this present mess and folly -- it boils down to members on city council turning over the crafting of legislation to the wish/whim/work of the Director of the Law Department. The city's attorney should NOT be crafting the city's laws. Shame for council for going down that road. Now council is heartbroken because the lawyer changed his tune.
Who is the piper and who is doing the dance? (council chases its tail, again)
Council members and staffers need to have their noses personally stuffed in legal books for days at a time, trying to fix the problem.
The rub comes in that the brains behind those noses are not of the capacity to understand what's in the history, present and future so as to navigate the city's legislative positions.
Bram says, "Free Council! Let 'em hire a lawyer!" I say, "Lawyers are not free. Council members should be able to write their own ordinances on their own. The boss of the city's law department should not hamstring council. Council's folly makes it easy for them to be snared. If council can't can't write legislation then council members should QUIT.
WRONG Bram. Neighborhood stuff is NOT the job of council members. That is the micro-management stuff that council should NOT be doing. That is the political plowing.
In the past, the city and council got turned on its head by the likes of Tom Murphy and Tom Cox. That (past) administration did NOTHING for neighborhoods. So, the members of council had to do the over reaching.
Those ills got the city into trouble. The Neighborhood Needs money $1M to each council member/district was the last big blunder that finally put the city into its OVERLORD status.
As council does neighborhood stuff -- then they are inefficient. Lapses in accountability are easier to make as a legislative body does administration's work. They have made purpose fuzzy -- and accountability shrinks.
Lapses in legality should not be tolerated by voters. Pittsburgh should NOT elect anyone who can't write legislation and understand what's what in those realms.
Even in this present mess and folly -- it boils down to members on city council turning over the crafting of legislation to the wish/whim/work of the Director of the Law Department. The city's attorney should NOT be crafting the city's laws. Shame for council for going down that road. Now council is heartbroken because the lawyer changed his tune.
Who is the piper and who is doing the dance? (council chases its tail, again)
Council members and staffers need to have their noses personally stuffed in legal books for days at a time, trying to fix the problem.
The rub comes in that the brains behind those noses are not of the capacity to understand what's in the history, present and future so as to navigate the city's legislative positions.
Bram says, "Free Council! Let 'em hire a lawyer!" I say, "Lawyers are not free. Council members should be able to write their own ordinances on their own. The boss of the city's law department should not hamstring council. Council's folly makes it easy for them to be snared. If council can't can't write legislation then council members should QUIT.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Blogdigger Acquired by Odeo - ReadWriteWeb
Exclusive: Blogdigger Acquired by Odeo - ReadWriteWeb Blog search engine Blogdigger will be announcing shortly that it has been acquired by SonicMountain, parent company of Odeo - the podcast network that is currently being rebuilt as a full-fledged platform for digital media. Blogdigger's aggregation and media search technology is being integrated into the new Odeo, and Blogdigger founder and CEO Greg Gershman is joining Odeo full time as its Vice President of Search and Engineering.
Speaking of Rutgers, again. I wonder if RMU's Women Hoops team has this on the board for motivation?
Go RMU. Shock the shock jocks and the women's brackets with a speechless win over Rutgers!
Advice: When they run -- you gotta run with em -- if not ahead of them at most instances!
Newsmax.com - Obama Defends Rev. Wright, Blasts Imus: "It took Barack Obama more than a year to repudiate his former pastor's racially charged anti-American tirades, but when it came to denouncing Don Imus for his racial slurs against the Rutgers girls basketball team, it took Obama only a week to demand the shock jock be fired, Fox News notes.Really, I have little to say about Obama and Hillary. I just thought I'd send out a go, team, go cheer to the locals as they play the underdog's role and head to the 'big dance.'
In a major speech Tuesday, Obama condemned the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's shocking verbal assaults against the U.S. dating back to 2001.
But in April of last year, Obama was quick to demand Imus' ouster for making a racially insensitive remark.
�There�s nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude,� Obama told ABC News in an April 11 interview demanding Imus' resignation.
Advice: When they run -- you gotta run with em -- if not ahead of them at most instances!
So, -- it is time to chase your tail. Do it with a blue ribbon pointer!
Journal-Pilot Online Kraus wins two pointing titles:)
Dear Friends of Democracy Rising PA,
Top Line
VotePA, www.votePA.us , has issued an important alert. If you registered to vote online this year, your registration may not be valid. The only way to guarantee that you can vote on April 22 is to check with your county voter registration office. That office must have a signed, paper copy of your registration form by the close of business next Monday, March 24.
You can download a registration form from the state web site ( CLICK HERE ), but you must get the signed form to your county voter registration office by Monday's deadline.
More of the Story
A security flaw with the online registration form made it possible to change the names on registration forms that voters already filed. The state Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation has disabled the page where the form was located.
It is entirely possible that the problem was discovered before any harm occurred. But it's also possible that your registration was changed. We don't know. So check with your county voter registration office.
But this isn't the only problem. According to a report in the Allentown Morning Call, some voters believe that filling out the online form is enough to register. But it's not. To register, voters must also print the completed form and mail it, or take it, to their voter registration office. CLICK HERE for the full story by reporter Scott Kraus.
VotePA's Marybeth Kuznik says that when you are registered correctly, you receive a registration card with your party and precinct on it within a few days. If you registered some time ago and have not received your registration card, check with your county voter registration office.
Bottom Line
Make sure you are properly registered to vote by close of business next Monday.
Also, make sure you know where your polling place is. Sometimes they change.
And please forward this alert to others. If you have trouble forwarding, please copy and paste the text into an email.
Thanks. Keep up the good work. And remember: Only you can keep democracy rising!
Signs of time: Digital ad fight spreads across city
This is a good reason to NOT try to impose a moratorium. Dumb non solutions can backfire.
Kraus is counter productive.
Kraus needs a speech coach. Or, he needs to speak only about his feelings and nothing else.
Kraus wants a cooling off. He should bit his lip and say little to nothing.
People on council don't get to 'cool off the marketplace.' To govern isn't to tell those in the private sector what to do. Kraus wanted Lamar to remove its permit -- as part of a 'will of council' statement that he didn't have the moxie to bring to a vote.
I fear to ask what it is that Kraus is trying to 'accomplish.'
There is a hearing tomorrow. Watch the Pitt game instead. The fast breaks will be quicker there. Some seeding.
Signs of time: Digital ad fight spreads across city: "Lamar Advertising submitted applications to transform many of its signs, including 10 Downtown, from vinyl to light emitting diode technology late Monday, just in time to beat a moratorium Pittsburgh City Council imposed yesterday.I'll blame Bruce Kraus for this.
Kraus is counter productive.
Kraus needs a speech coach. Or, he needs to speak only about his feelings and nothing else.
Kraus wants a cooling off. He should bit his lip and say little to nothing.
People on council don't get to 'cool off the marketplace.' To govern isn't to tell those in the private sector what to do. Kraus wanted Lamar to remove its permit -- as part of a 'will of council' statement that he didn't have the moxie to bring to a vote.
I fear to ask what it is that Kraus is trying to 'accomplish.'
There is a hearing tomorrow. Watch the Pitt game instead. The fast breaks will be quicker there. Some seeding.
Amid heated debate, council supports take-home car limits
Great recap article. Must read.
Heads need to roll. His should be soon.
Amid heated debate, council supports take-home car limits: "Amid heated debate, council supports take-home car limits"The city's attorney, Specter, needs to quit, retire, or else be fired.
Heads need to roll. His should be soon.
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