Democracy Has Prevailed.

April 11, 2008

Congratulations (again) to Bram

He got a mention in Tony Norman's column today:

Alas, Ms. Sirk was more than forthcoming about the gifts in a blog she kept before she joined the mayor's office. That's how blogger Bram Reichbaum of The Pittsburgh Comet found out about it.

When Bram started asking questions about the entries, Mr. Ford turned to our colleagues at the Tribune-Review to set the record straight. He was afraid that bloggers, left to their own clever devices, would distort the truth.

As opposed to members of the Ravenstahl administration distorting the truth.

Congratulations, Bram!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

John K. says: Ah, another corrupt Democrat in this area outed. The SW PA area is rife with them.

Anonymous said...

"[Mr. Ravenstahl's] youthful good looks have helped make him a sort of crossover celebrity -- the Britney Spears of Pittsburgh, his spokeswoman [Ms. Sirk] says -- who faces incessant demands for interviews and appearances unprecedented for a Steel City mayor." Tony Norman writes.
So, we elected youth, good looks charming smile, but where's the Beef? I hope this isn't a forshadowing of what to expect from an overwhelmingly popular Obama presidency. He does make a lot of women swoon and a lot of young men have hope that he can push the old farts out.

Anonymous said...

On a morning during which I learned that my president and vice president authorized torture while occupying (and defacing) their White House offices, a wingnut thinks the local billboard story warrants a partisan swipe at Democrats?

Nice.

(P.S. -- I hear the guy who provided the unreported "gifts" to a public official who later gave a no-bid, against-the-rules, long-term, below-market concession on public property to the benefactor is . . . no kidding . . . an elected Republican official in the suburbs. Which makes this a bipartisan tango. Your streak -- which makes the Pirates look like a dynasty -- is alive, John K.)

Regarding the second post, I gather that the author lacks the experience necessary to understand what it means to have been editor of the Harvard Law Review, constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, state legislator, community organizer, and United States Senator. Perhaps that would explain the belief that it is appropriate and worthwhile to slam Sen. Obama on behalf of Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain.

What to expect from an Obama presidency? An end to the madness in Iraq, for starters. An antidote for a failed presidency that has gravely damaged our country, too. Sounds great to me.

Bram Reichbaum said...

Thanks, Dayvoe and Maria. Yes, when I checked the P-G website after midnight, that was really the cherry on the sunday.

The question is how do I follow this up? Especially with AS no longer on the scene?

Anonymous said...

infinonymous remarked"Regarding the second post, I gather that the author lacks the experience necessary to understand what it means to have been editor of the Harvard Law Review, constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, state legislator, community organizer, and United States Senator."

Oh I do know that all right, but I'm also aware of his poor voting record and his fence-sitting (can't get in trouble doing nothing.) He gets where he gets with some brain, good looks and a lot of menuvering by more experienced people who want a figure-head. He'll be a puppet, like Bush, and we better hope the real decision makers are like the Rev. Wright.

Anonymous said...

"...how do I follow this up? Especially with AS no longer on the scene?"

Not to worry kid, JV (Vlasach) & JE (Edelstein) are still on the scene, as are many others, albeit some of these initials we have yet to ferret out & plumb for their messes.

Also, as others have mentioned, there's still the delightful connect-the-dots game to be played, Ravenstahl, Zober, Ferlo, Motznik, Payne, Ceoffe, Reidbord, Lamar, etc.

And the beat goes on.

Anonymous said...

"We've seen what happens when CEOs are paid for doing a job no matter how bad a job they're doing," Mr. Obama of Illinois said. "We can't afford to postpone reform any longer."
Talking about reform..... wonder if that should apply to bad preachers being rewarded by really big houses?
favors here and there, a little TV for Christmas gets a new billboard, a big home for retireing preachers gets a lot of votes.

Anonymous said...

John K. says: Yep! A swipe at the local Democrats is exactly what is deserved. Does torture affect me? No! But a corrupt local bunch of Democrats does cost me money. So step up Democrats. Take pleasure in the fact that the Democrats have managed this area for 72 years. Enjoy a City run by and for Democrats in receivership. You folks should be taking pride in all these Ravenstahl people and how they do business. After all, they are voting for Hillary Clinton. Step up here Jim Burns and take some pride in your local party. LOL

Anonymous said...

John K. says: Torture? I'll show you torture. Look at my peenie! Lookie! Lookie!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The Illinois system is bizarre. Present votes are the equivalent on "no" votes in the Illinois Senate.

And may I point out that President Lincoln had two years in Congress and eight in the Illinois State House before he was elected President? The greatest of all time. If experience counted for much, then Cheney and Rumsfeld would be the best ever!

Anonymous said...

Menuvering?

Sen. Obama worked as in a diner? Who knew?

Makes me respect him even more.

Anonymous said...

Torture does affect you, John.

Not in any way you could comprehend, of course.

Anonymous said...

John K. says: Will someone tell me how torture affects me. It does have a positive affect. It has prevented attacks on US soil since 9-11. Perhaps that is what irritates the left the most. Hey speaking of The Mayor, he had an honest press secretary, D. Skrinjar, but he fired him because he wouldn't lie for Ravenstahl. Step up here Jim Burns, take pride in what your Democratic leadership has accomplished. Remember it is all the fault of 4 years of Jim Roddey and of course Bush/Cheney/Rumsfield/Rice et al LOL LOL

Anonymous said...

John K. says: Can somebody tell me why your not looking at my pee pee? Lookie! Lookie!

Anonymous said...

Dick Skrinjar "honest"? Yeah, he was very honest in his broadcasts from Bob O'Connor's deathbed. One man's vegetable is another's homerun hitter...

Anonymous said...

D Skinjar in that moment decided to do best by the O family and not the city. was that wrong? yes.

was it immoral - maybe not.

it may have been the best thing for the family to come to grips with it before it the city did.

does that may skinjar dishonest? conflicted and then blatently dishonest yes. since he was working for the city - his obligation should have been to the residents first.

he clearly decided the family needs came first before the residents. what do you think?

Bram Reichbaum said...

Anonymous 12:01 PM, that strikes me as a pretty thorough and reasonable analysis.

It does not necessarily excuse everything else that might have went on during that tumultuous period, but it gives pause to those who would embark on pogroms at this point.

Anonymous said...

"he clearly decided the family needs came first before the residents. what do you think?"

What difference does it make? Bob was sick, very sick. He got sick and went downhill pretty fast. Did it matter that Dick maybe painted a better picture than what really was going on? No it doesn't. Everyone knew that the diagnosis wasn't good and there was a good chance that Bob wouldn't have lived more than a few years after the treatment. In the end it didn't matter because Bob died. Bob was taken away from all of us way too soon. We can't change what DS said. Dick did the right thing.

Anonymous said...

I really want to see John K"s Dick. It must surpass any I've ever seen. Two to be exact, my husbands and my sons. But lets talk politics, you guys have to admit if we don't step up to the plate, the rest of the world (Afghanstan, Irque, Isreal and other Eastern countries )will continue to kill and kill and kill! We sure don't want them to come here and start bombing our malls and theme parks. We gotta get this war done and save ourselves from the visual immages of kids with their legs and faces blown off by relegious zealots. We don't want to see people in the streets ,buying groceries, blown apart by nutty suicide bombers. As long as we keep worrying, and insisting our elected officials keep me in affordable gas, our cell phones allowing us to watch the latest video of cheerleaders breaking the jaw of one that's prettier. let us keep buying our 5dollar lattes and buying something sexy from Victoria secret, so we can show our boobs and twats, well "let them eat cake!" If the spelling bee champ wants to make fun of my errors, I say, go to any one of these countries and see the condition of their children, come back to your local supermarket and watch our kids , dressed like prostitutes, clime out of 40 thousand dollar vans, set up a table to sell candy to raise money for their cheer=leading composition trip to Disneyland, compare that to a kid in INDIA, 2 YEARS OLD, RUNNING INTO TRAFFIC, SNOTTY NOSE, NO PANTS, SHIT RUNNING DOWN HIS LEG, BEGGING FOR MONEY, gIVE HIM A QUARTER AND HE THINKS YOUR A GOD. nOW CORRECT MY SPELLING.