kdka.com - Millvale Flood Victims Voice Frustrations In Ross

kdka.com - Millvale Flood Victims Voice Frustrations In Ross: Millvale Flood Victims Voice Frustrations In Ross (KDKA) ROSS TOWNSHIP Flood victims from Millvale gave officials in Ross Township an earful Monday. They believe development in communities upstream of Girty�s Run is responsible for causing the devastion to their homes and businesses. According to residents, more development means more trees are cut down, which in turn causes more runoff. Therefore, when it rains, towns downstream, such as Millvale, become flooded.

Yep. Sprawl in suburban areas hurts the urban areas in many ways.

Solid Letters to the Editor about Ron Paul

The GOP, McNickle & Paul get two letters in today's Trib:

Dan Sullivan wrote one:
The GOP, McNickle & Paul II - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Colin McNickle called Congressman Ron Paul "a flop on defense, hardly a niggling thing if you swear fealty to the Constitution." Did McNickle "read" the Constitution?

Article 1, section 8, allows only Congress to declare war and limits appropriations for an army to two years, because Americans rightly feared standing armies.

Jefferson wrote, "I am ... not for a standing army in time of peace, which may overawe the public sentiment; nor for a navy, which, by its own expenses and the eternal wars in which it will implicate us, will grind us with public burthens, & sink us under them. I am for free commerce with all nations; political connection with none; & little or no diplomatic establishment. And I am not for linking ourselves by new treaties with the quarrels of Europe."

Mark Twain predicted that militarism would destroy us:

"Lust of conquest had long ago done its work; trampling upon the helpless abroad had taught her, by a natural process, to endure with apathy the like at home; multitudes who had applauded the crushing of other people's liberties, lived to suffer for their mistake in their own persons."

And now, here we are.

---

The second letter:

Colin McNickle stated in his column "Speaking truth to mockery" (Aug. 26 and PghTrib.com) that it is not yet time to stick the fork in the Republican Party.

Mr. McNickle, read my lips: "The fork is in!"

Conservative Republicans are a fiscal disaster. These conservatives are for big-government solutions just like the liberals.

The Republicans borrow and the Democrats tax. Democrats want costly wars on poverty just like the Republicans with their stupid war on drugs along with the billions of dollars they burn in the Middle East.

From the average citizen's viewpoint, we pay for this folly. Thus, the majority of eligible voters refuse to vote. Those who do show up in 2008 will take the Republicans down because they had complete control of the government and failed.

The only hope for the Republicans would be to nominate Dr. Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, because he always opposed the occupation of Iraq and all this global police work so popular with the neocons. He would end our interventionist foreign policy and save the taxpayer a lot of money.

Paul is not "a flop on defense," As McNickle said. He wants to defend America, not a global empire. I ask Mr. McNickle -- before he takes any more potshots at Ron Paul -- to read the U.S. Constitution and please explain to his readers how it guarantees defending a global empire.

Ron Rosenberger, Shaler

Metroblogging Pittsburgh: DeSantis "Policy Team"

Metroblogging Pittsburgh: DeSantis "Policy Team" DeSantis 'Policy Team'

Deadline doesn't bother Ravenstahl

He is at odds with the truth. The resignations are at his desk but not formally accepted. Jeepers.

Deadline doesn't bother Ravenstahl - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Ravenstahl said he hasn't 'formally accepted' the directors' resignation letters, but he has kept them in his desk. He said he expects to accept some of the letters after his staff completes a national search for potential replacements.

Rights are rights -- always on -- never off. Any shutdown of rights is wrong. Your rights and mine are linked and the same.

The issue of gun rights are such that, as a topic, it does NOT really knock my socks off with excitement. But, as a principle, it is something to pay close attention to. Rights are rights and can't be messed with. It is wrong to start short-changing rights.

I hate the direction that the state is taking with this move. Now the state wants to suspend rights for four days. Later it could be for four months or four years.

Pennsylvania Bureaucrats to Suspend Gun Purchases

Individual rights downgraded by computer database upgrade

Press Release from the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania on August 27, 2007.

Harrisburg, PA - The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) strongly objects to a state plan to suspend self-defense rights for gun purchasers over the upcoming Labor Day weekend. The Pennsylvania State Police will be upgrading their computer database used for criminal background checks. During that time, estimated to be four days, they will not be able to perform criminal background checks, so gun purchases and gun changes of ownership will be suspended.

Michael Robertson, LPPa Chair, observed, "Inherent and indefeasible rights are not subject to suspension. The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State needs to be upgraded. The utter disregard of the Pennsylvania constitution should concern all Pennsylvanians, gun owners and non gun owners alike."

Official state bureaucrats have taken the defensive position that this outage is nothing to be concerned about and that only a few gun dealers and state lawmakers have complained. The reality is that this is a precedent where individual freedom has been sacrificed for the mere administrative convenience of state bureaucrats. The primary function of government is to protect our rights - not to disregard them at a whim so bureaucrats can function easier.

LPPa spokesman, Mark Crowley, added, "Ignore for the moment, the outrageous premise of suspending a constitutional right to simplify a bureaucratic chore. Credit cards issued from hundreds of banks will perform millions of transactions each and every day. But Pennsylvania will not be able to process about 4,000 gun purchases over four days? And this same government wants a greater role in dictating our health care, educating our children and spending our taxes."

The debasement of any individual right because of an administrative chore is a dangerous power to give any government because government incompetence becomes a justification for expanding that power. The LPPa urges Pennsylvanians to contact their state representatives and to strongly object that an individual right has been downgraded below the status of a computer database upgrade.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in both Pennsylvania and the United States. Nationwide there are over 200,000 registered Libertarians with organizations in all 50 states. Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices throughout the nation. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, 3915 Union Deposit Road #223, Harrisburg, PA 17109. Call 1-800-R-RIGHTS. Email: info@lppa.org.

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

Swimming Programs suffer with reduced staffing

Swimming Programs The following six Citiparks pools will remain open through Labor Day (Monday, September 3, 2007)

Today, the swim pool at Highland Park isn't going to open until 3:30 pm.

Sandcastle is closed today too.

5 local swimmers qualify for Olympic trials

5 local swimmers qualify for Olympic trials 5 local swimmers qualify for Olympic trials Two Dietrichs among those with Beijing in their sights for 2008

Swimming is different from most of the ball sports, of course. However, people are smart. Many people know enough about swimming to respect it. It isn't right to say, "People don't know anything behind the scenes or how it goes."

Certain people might not -- like athletic directors and school superintendents -- should there be an axe to grind. But even those people are able to be educated.

The priorities of a swimmer are different. They take years to be established. But still -- people and the community can have a sense of wisdom that can't be denied.

Great article otherwise. Great swimmers. Great sport. It is wonderful to see the kids and teams reach for the stars.

kdka.com - Search Underway For Mt. Oliver Shooting Suspect

Not good. Very bad.

kdka.com - Search Underway For Mt. Oliver Shooting Suspect A search is underway for the gunman who killed a deli clerk during an attempted robbery in Mt. Oliver. Police say around 9 a.m., a customer walked into the A & E Deli Food Mart on Brownsville Road and found 28-year-old Jamal Muzaffar on the floor.

Bloggers target public officials in Philly - Tango goes beyond two

Some mainstream media (MSM) coverage about the mixing of bloggers and politics in the other half of PA.

metro You don’t have to travel too far across the Internet to find politicians being criticized, but Pennsylvania state Rep. Mark B. Cohen says a local blogger has gone too far.

Cohen — a regular on local messageboard Phillyblog.com — has been a topic of recent posts on Philadelphia Will Do, a blog hosted by local newspaper Philadelphia Weekly. The blog’s editor, Dan McQuade, has written several humorous articles about Cohen’s posts to Phillyblog.com.

Cohen, however, isn’t laughing. He’s posted comments in response to McQuade’s writings on Will Do, claiming to be the victim of malice and libel, legal terms for the willful destruction of an individual’s reputation often accompanied by a lawsuit. Other users of the site have responded to Cohen’s allegations with lewd, political and downright bizarre comments of their own.

iPhone bill is as thick as a novel - Telegraph

Justine is getting coverage from the UK now.

iPhone bill is as thick as a novel - Telegraph

As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes - New York Times

As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes - New York Times Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause of death, the Ministry of Health says. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

An interesting article.

However, this line is total hogwash: This scarcity has not yet created a culture of conservation. Hogwash.

The China culture, through and through, is all about conservation. They waste nothing. They conserve in almost every manner.

This is a big concept quagmire that needs to unravel to be understood. Conservation to the citizen in the US is unlike that of conservation to the billions in China.

Another statement in the article that is a huge assumption that does NOT fit with reality: China cannot go green ... without political change. That's crap NY Times reporting.

What is 'political change?' Is that like switching the house from R to D? Is it a change in the five year plan where natural resources and environment are mentioned 200 times rather than 80, in a 'state of the union?'

Furthermore, lots of China had alredy gone green. Much of China was always 'green.'

For example, billions buy fresh fruits and vegies, locally. That's all they do. That's green as it gets. Americans don't do that. They do.

Ron Paul Wins Straw Poll in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)

Reported by: Tom Kawczynski

Today, I attended the Republican Committee of Allegheny County’s (Pittsburgh, PA) Annual Summer Picnic. The admission cost including lunch was $10 per person and $20 per family. Upon arriving at the event, I learned that a straw poll was being held there that was administered by the Plum Borough Republican Committee.

We had a booth there being manned by myself and another member of the Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group, and upon learning this, we made the call so that others of our group would attend and be able to participate in the event. We came to talk to Republicans and to spread our desire to work to promote the Constitution and received a friendly response from the many people who were there today.

As Andy and I talked to the Republicans gathered about our shared message of small government and fiscal responsibility, a number of our members showed up and we began making an impact upon the poll. Not knowing about this event ahead of time, we were able to mobilize, and by the time the event concluded, here was the final tally out of 62 votes cast:

FINAL RESULTS

Ron Paul – 28 votes (45.2%)
Rudy Giuliani – 9 votes (14.6%)
Mitt Romney – 9 votes (14.6%)
Fred Thompson – 8 votes (12.9%)
Mike Huckabee – 2 votes (3.2%)
Undecided – 2 votes (3.2%)
Sam Brownback – 1 vote (1.6%)
Duncan Hunter – 1 vote (1.6%)
John McCain – 1 vote (1.6%)
Colin Powell (write-in) – 1 vote (1.6%)
Newt Gingrich – 0 votes
Tom Tancredo – 0 votes

We were very pleased by the fact that we were able to mobilize our members, and to show the organizational strength of Ron Paul in Pennsylvania. The list of victories continues to grow, and we know we are doing our part to spread the word. Believe me, people are beginning to notice as I saw firsthand and this is making a huge impact.

Who are the terroist now? Did you hear about the threat at the Ikea with the drinkers with a running problem?

These guys and gals run around and mark the course with a sprinkle of flower. They are called 'hashers'. They drink after the run -- if not while they run. Known as drinkers with a running problem, they are fun, fit, social, and like a challenge.

So they sprinkle some flower and a big meltdown from the authorities unfolds.

The terror makers are the public officials -- the police czars. Who pushed the panic button? It wasn't the runners. The button isn't found in some harmless flour that washes away by the wind or at the worst, with the next dew the following morning.

Meanwhile, in the Sunday paper's lead story, we learn all about how to learn how to live with disease -- type 2 diabetes. A side-bar (article, not drinking stop) covers the rebound of health from an ex-300 pound politician.

Health and wellness matters to me and to our society. We need to run. We need to be fit. We need to avoid disease such as type 2 diabetes -- a sickness that is preventable.

Furthermore, we need to not go into a tizzy when the hashers wing by to mark a route on the sidewalk with a touch of white powder.

FOXNews.com - Race Planners Charged for Causing Bioterror Scare at Connecticut IKEA - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News Race Planners Charged for Causing Bioterror Scare at Connecticut IKEA Saturday, August 25, 2007

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Two people who sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare and now face a felony charge.

The sprinkled powder forced hundreds to evacuate an IKEA furniture store Thursday.

New Haven ophthalmologist Daniel Salchow, 36, and his sister, Dorothee, 31, who is visiting from Hamburg, Germany, were both charged with first-degree breach of peace, a felony.

The siblings set off the scare while organizing a run for a local chapter of the Hash House Harriers, a worldwide group that bills itself as a "drinking club with a running problem."

"Hares" are given the task of marking a trail to direct runners, throwing in some dead ends and forks as challenges. On Thursday, the Salchows decided to route runners through the massive IKEA parking lot.

Police fielded a call just before 5 p.m. that someone was sprinkling powder on the ground. The store was evacuated and remained closed the rest of the night. The incident prompted a massive response from police in New Haven and surrounding towns.

Daniel Salchow biked back to IKEA when he heard there was a problem and told officers the powder was just harmless flour, which he said he and his sister have sprinkled everywhere from New York to California without incident.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I ever anticipate anything like that," he said.

Mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said the city plans to seek restitution from the Salchows, who are due in court Sept. 14.

"You see powder connected by arrows and chalk, you never know," she said. "It could be a terrorist, it could be something more serious. We're thankful it wasn't, but there were a lot of resources that went into figuring that out."

The charges need to be dropped. Fellony. The charges should go to the ones who pushed the alarm without thinking. The runners should get medals for advancing fitness, fighting for wellness, and helping local brewers.

If I'm elected City Controller -- I'll bring these folks to town and buy them entry into the Pittsburgh Marathon. But, they'll have to buy their own beer.

'It's scary and a big change': "'It's scary and a big change' Learning to live with the disease"

A big change -- is that a PUN? B-I-G, as in H-U-G-E, as in too heavy.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars - headed to a GOP picnic with this fact

If you have not figured this out yet, I like Ron Paul for president in 2008. Dr. Paul is a Republican. So, I am going to drop in to visit with some people at a GOP picnic today. (See my Google Calendar for insights).

Dispatches from the Culture Wars Giuliani at Ground Zero, Take Two Category: Salon.com decided to find out exactly how much time Rudy Giuliani actually spent at Ground Zero and do some comparing. Here's what they found: On Friday, a New York Times story examined Rudy Giuliani's schedule in the months after 9/11 to verify his controversial claim that, like rescue workers, he'd spent long hours at ground zero, and so was 'in that sense ... one of them.'

In fact, the Times found, he only spent 29 hours at the terror site between Sept. 17 and Dec. 16...

By our count, Giuliani spent about 58 hours at Yankees games or flying to them in the 40 days between Sept. 25 and Nov. 4, roughly twice as long as he spent at ground zero in the 90 days between Sept. 17 and Dec. 16. By his own standard, Giuliani was one of the Yankees more than he was one of the rescue workers.

I used to be a Republican. I joined that party to work hard to make sure Tom Murphy would leave office. I ran for Mayor in 2001 because I hated with the D party leaders were doing to Pittsburgh.

I left the R party the day I saw that some suburban Republicans, headed by Mike Turzi, R, of the PA House, had a plan for Pittsburgh's future. Their plan was NEVER discussed with me or any city Republicans. They wrote up a 16 page document and didn't share it with us at all. And, I had been calling upon them for discussions for months, repeatedly. I determined that they were no friends of mine -- nor the city.

I'll return to the Republican party ranks after the election, about November 7, 2007. I'll want to give my vote to Ron Paul in the GOP Primary in 2008. Then again, I expect to switch back to my Libertarian party registration after that deed is done.

I made a decision in 2007 to NOT run against any Republican in the races I am engaged. There is no Republican running for Controller. There is no Republican running for Pittsburgh City Council, district 3.

I did NOT want to run in the race for mayor in 2007 -- after it was known that Mark DeSantis, R, would be a real candidate. I'm happy to let DeSantis run -- without me to contend with.

Report: Penguins And Sabres To Play Outdoor Game - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

This trend to turn back the clock is a splendid movement within sports.

A hockey game is slated for the outdoors on New Year's Day in Buffalo, NY, at a NFL stadium, home of the Bills.

Report: Penguins And Sabres To Play Outdoor Game - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh Penguins And Sabres To Play Outdoor Game

An outdoor game could be played in Pittsburgh. Wouldn't that be great. They could set up a hockey rink at Heinz Field or PNC Park. But I've got a better venue for such a game -- and I don't mean on the frozen Allegheny River near the Convention Center.

The Penguins could play an outdoor game, under the stars, in the Civic Arena. Retract the roof! Fix it. Have fireworks -- BEFORE the the game.

The Pirates have fireworks following the games in the summer. But the Pens, in the winter months, could have fireworks before the game. Or better, at the break following the first period.

With the roof open, people in their seats would be able to see the fireworks without a problem.

The problem is, the Pens and the city didn't take care of the classic gem of a facility, the Civic Arena.

For the amount of money it would take to set up the ice in the outdoor stadium, and then repair the turf again after the rink departs, the roof could be made to retract again.

It was great being in the Civic Arena for an event and having the roof open. It was great. They'd push one button and about two-minutes later, the dome is folded back within itself with only a small slice of the pie still in place.

Just a year ago or so I was making noise that the Penguins should build the new arena out by the airport, near the fans, away from the city and the new residents. Then the Civic Arena could be saved, and fixed, and used for civic events.

They could even hold one, or a few games each year at the old venue -- under the stars -- for turn-back-the-clock night. Triple the ticket prices for those nights, if necessary.

The region does not 'progress' when it churns. To advance the region means it must grow.

Do the math: +1 -1 = 1 in the end. That's one new arena with a subtraction of one old arena giving the region one arena.

I'd rather see one new arena built and one old arena retained so at the end of the cycle there are two arenas, not just one.

The same happened with the stadiums. Think about it. We lost Three Rivers Stadium and the debt didn't go away, just the asset. And we lost Pitt Stadium. Those two venues were replaced with Heinz Field and PNC Park.

We should have kept Pitt Stadium, kept 3RS and build a new baseball only park -- something like Forbes Field! (giggle)

We could play outdoor hockey at Pitt Stadium. Then Pitt's Hockey Teams (both men and women) could have home-ice venue. Oh well.

And to refresh everyone's memory, to round out the discussion with talk of 'roundball' -- The Pete, Pitt's new basketball venue, the one with the new roof and mega cost overruns, should have been built in Hazelwood, near the Parkway East, Panther Hollow and graduate student housing at Pitt's River Campus.

My plans are viable, sustainable and much better for the region.

If I was the controller and with a staff and elected position, I'd be able to issue the reports with the finance data to make sure we had more accountable leadership and directions for the region. I'd be happy to stand up to the Rooney family, the professional teams, the stadium authority, and other special interests.

The oldest arena in the NHL, the Civic Arena, now called the Mellon Arena, is a liability, so they said. Ha, ha, ha. The joke is on them. Now the NHL has learned that the game could be played outdoors. New will be a liability in the future.

The Pens will get a new venue and wish they had an old one.

The Pirates built a new stadium that was made to feel like an old, classic stadium.

First Fruits: Fifth/Forbes corridor shows signs of progress at last

First Fruits: Fifth/Forbes corridor shows signs of progress at last The anchor for the $32 million Market Square Place project will be the Downtown YMCA, which will move from its current location on the Boulevard of the Allies. Millcraft also is planning 46 upper-floor apartments priced to attract residents earning $40,000 to $50,000 a year.

This is churn for the YMCA and YWCA. It is a net loss of space.

Aaron Russo - DEAD. He died yesterday

Ouch.

Aaron Russo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Aaron Russo (February 14, 1943 – August 24, 2007) was an American entertainment businessman, film maker, and libertarian political activist.

At Pittsburgh's BootCamp in the spring, I provided a DVD handout to people who wanted it. The DVD Handout was of Aaron's film, Freedom to Fascism.

He was way to young to die.

Do you remember the movie, The Rose, with Bette Midler?

YouTube debate among presidents has been saved. What about local debates?

The online world wears a big smile with the saving of the Presidential YouTube debate among Republicans.

We won the first battle. Because of online grassroots activists like us, we saved the Republican YouTube debate.

Now we as Republicans need to actually WIN the debate by the encouraging everyone to submit their questions, online and off. Please ask the candidates your question at:

http://www.savethedebate.com/submit.php?s=stf

And sign up to be a Video Volunteer to collect questions in your community at:

http://www.savethedebate.com/VideoVolunteer?s=stf

I can help you get your question put in to the candidates -- or put into the mix to be picked by organizers before being shown to the candidates.

But frankly, I'm a little worried about the local debate scene. When Roddey and Onorato were in a race, they gathered hundreds of times. When Murphy and O'Connor were in races, they were on TV dozens of times -- in debates and with extended interviews.

The debates must be booked NOW. They are not going to materialize, I fear.

And the next question comes, debate inclusion.

Closed for the summer

What's up with the City's outdoor swim pool at Ormsby? Yesterday was the hottest day of the summer and the pool is empty. No water?

In other open and closed news:

Kennywood will open at 5pm on Friday, August 31, but will be closed from August 27 through 30.

Kennywood will have regular park operating hours over Labor Day Weekend, as well as our September Bonus Weekends on the 8, 9, 15, and 16.

CQ Today - Hill Computers Used for Thousands of Wikipedia Edits

CQ Today - Hill Computers Used for Thousands of Wikipedia Edits Political spats, petty vandalism, cleft chins and Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s (fictional) death by shark attack — Wikipedia users on House computers clearly have a lot of time on their hands.

A new online tool has made it possible to see a full archive of edits to the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, organized by the computer network from which they originated. The list of categories includes major corporations, media outlets, and, of course, Congress.

I've been watching this for some time.