Five City Councilors Shirk Responsibilities and Rubber Stamp Mayor/Lamar

(Click graphic to view larger image)
Looks like I picked a bad day to watch the live Sotomayor hearings instead of the live City Council meeting.

[sigh]

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to deny the public the right to hear from nominees to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Historic Review Commission and the Shade Tree Commission.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to deny the nominees the right to appear before the public.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to themselves forgo interviewing twelve nominees for these boards.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that "the mayor appoints and we approve."

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that if nominees already have enough votes to pass, there simply is no need for any real discussion or review.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that their function was to serve as a rubber stamp for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Lamar Advertising.

FOR SHAME

For those who haven't been paying attention: Lil Mayor Luke has lots of friends who give him lots of money -- Lamar Advertising being one of them. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Amid a reshuffling of city boards and commissions this week, the Ravenstahl administration dismissed the author of a Zoning Board opinion that blocked a controversial electronic billboard proposed for the city's Grant Street Transportation Center with the support of the administration.

Alice Mitinger, a lawyer with expertise in zoning issues who had been appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment by the late Mayor Bob O'Connor, was informed by the administration this week that she would not be named to another term. Ms. Mitinger wrote an opinion supporting a 2008 ruling, which was upheld yesterday, that denied a permit for Lamar Advertising to erect an electronic billboard on the transportation center.

The administration also chose not to reappoint David Toal, another board member, who had recused himself from the Lamar case because his firm had represented it on unrelated issues. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl did reappoint the third member of the board, Wrenna Watson, who wrote a dissenting opinion in support of the Lamar application.

This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the Lamar controversy which included free billboards for Lukey's election the Ravenstahl Redd Up campaign, major conflicts of interest, threats to Councilors' jobs, civil lawsuits against Councilors from Lamar, etc.

So while Council had voted unanimously on June 29th to interview each of the 21 nominees on the list that the mayor had sent over on June 22nd and had already interviewed nine of them, lame duck Councilor Jim Motznik introduced an amendment to the already partially enacted 6/29 bill to stop the interview process and simply vote up/down on the remaining twelve candidates.

It was clear during the hours of discussion that the minority of Council felt that the main purpose of the amendment was to deny the asking of tough questions of Wrenna Watson who was up for reappointment to the Zoning Board.

Motznik's amendment by substitution to stop the interview process passed by 5 to 4.

Motznik's twelve bills to rubber stamp the approval of the twelve remaining nominees passed by 5 to 4.

Oh yeah. It became apparent during the meeting that the Rubber Stamp Five didn't even know enough about one of the nominees to be able to attempt to pronounce his last name.

[sigh]

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Statement by Franco "Dok" Harris about the Mayor’s "Closed-Door Appointment Processes":

As other local and state governments, throughout this great country embrace fair and open processes as well as clarity in all government dealings, the current Mayoral administration stands out by championing an opaque, “back-room deal” system of government. The Mayor has consistently shown questionable judgment when the people of Pittsburgh are not looking; I encourage him to try to win back the public trust by reversing this dangerous course of action and filling the positions in a clear, open, and transparent manner. The residents of this city deserve to see how their government’s decisions impact their daily lives. As Mayor, I am committed to establishing good government processes and ensuring that every Pittsburgher has the opportunity to be involved in the leadership of our great city.

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Can Someone Say Karma?

From the AP (via Philly.com):

The Department of Justice has launched an inquiry into comments made by Pittsburgh's U.S. attorney when she announced she was dropping charges against a renowned pathologist, ending a contentious years-long legal battle.

Mary Beth Buchanan said at the time that she still believed pathologist Cyril Wecht had committed a crime. He had been accused of using his public office , Allegheny County medical examiner , to benefit his multimillion dollar private practice.

Dick Thornburgh , a former U.S. attorney general who was part of the pathologist's defense team , lodged a complaint with the department after the June 2 news conference, saying U.S. attorney Mary Beth Buchanan's comments were "completely improper, violate all notions of prosecutorial ethics and decency, and warrant remedial action by the Department of Justice."

But then we all knew that.

Sotomayor declares Roe V. Wade is "settled law" and affirms right to privacy

She also said Planned Parenthood V. Casey is settled law.

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So What WAS Cheney's Secret Program?

It might not be al-Qaeda assassinations. Why not?

From TPMMuckraker:

Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief, told TPMmuckraker that because we've been in a state of war against al Qaeda since just after September 11, there would have been no need for a secret CIA program that received special legal authorization.

Since the war on terror began, said Cannistraro, the CIA has routinely conducted operations targeting top Qaeda leaders. "The CIA runs drones and targets al Qaeda safe houses all the time," said Cannistraro, explaining that there's no important difference between those kinds of attacks and "assassinations" with a gun or a knife.

Makes sense. But then there is this from the Guardian in the UK:

Dick Cheney, the former vice president, ordered a highly classified CIA operation hidden from Congress because it pushed the limits of legality by planning to assassinate al-Qaida operatives in friendly countries without the knowledge of their governments, according to former intelligence officials.

Former counter-terrorism officials who retain close links to the intelligence community say that the hidden operation involved plans by the CIA and the military to launch operations, similar to those by Israel's Mossad intelligence service, to hunt down and kill al-Qaida activists abroad without informing the governments concerned, even though some were regarded as friendly if unreliable.

So it's not necessarily assassinations, but secret assassinations in friendly countries. As TPM quotes, this is something Seymore Hersh wrote about something like this a while ago:

Under Rumsfeld's new approach, I was told, U.S. military operatives would be permitted to pose abroad as corrupt foreign businessmen seeking to buy contraband items that could be used in nuclear-weapons systems. In some cases, according to the Pentagon advisers, local citizens could be recruited and asked to join up with guerrillas or terrorists. This could potentially involve organizing and carrying out combat operations, or even terrorist activities. Some operations will likely take place in nations in which there is an American diplomatic mission, with an Ambassador and a C.I.A. station chief, the Pentagon consultant said. The Ambassador and the station chief would not necessarily have a need to know, under the Pentagon's current interpretation of its reporting requirement.

TPM goes on with this nasty bit:

But Cannistraro cautioned that that DOD program has nothing to do with the secret, unidentified CIA program which Cheney is said to have hid from Congress, and which CIA director Leon Panetta ended last month.

As for what the program did involve, Cannistraro suggested that it involved Americans as targets, and that it went beyond surveillance, but declined to elaborate. He added that, though Cheney may have directly ordered the CIA to keep Congress in the dark, the veep wasn't acting alone. "The approval was from the president," said Cannistraro.

This seems to be backed up by something Karen Tumulty reports in Time. She quotes her colleague Bobby Ghoush:

Speculation abounds about the nature of the secret program Dick Cheney asked the CIA to keep from the Congressional oversight committees. The most sensational reports suggest it was plan to find and kill top Al Qaeda leaders – like the covert Israeli campaign to take out the perpetrators of the Munich killings.

But two former ranking CIA officials have told TIME that there's another equally plausible possibility: The program could have required the Agency to spy on Americans. Domestic surveillance is outside the CIA's purview -– it's usually the FBI's job – and it's easy to see why Cheney would have wanted to keep it from Congress.

Both officials say they were never told what was in the program, and that they're only making calculated guesses. But their theory gibes with other reports, quoting ex-CIA officials, that say the program had to do with intelligence collection, not assassinations.

There's not enough information right now for this to be anything other than speculation but the fact that it made it this far says something.

Of course the wingnuts are still screaming about birth certificates.

That was quick! Orie will not run for US Senate.

It seems like only yesterday -- OK, last Thursday -- when Jane Orie, the Pennsylvania Senate’s majority whip, said that she was thinking about a run for US Senate but she's already dropped out of consideration.

From PoliticsPA:

As this is my first time being in the budget negotiations, I must respect and fulfill my responsibilities to my constituents, the citizens of Pennsylvania and my caucus, who is standing solidly against new taxes. I must put any personal ambitions aside and focus on the crucial task at hand.

Her full statement here (.pdf file).
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Sotomayor Hearings

As the Senate hearing for Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination starts, here's a reminder of the vitriolic pre-spin she's received from the wingnuts:


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A Follow Up

There's more to this story about that new governmental report about Bush's surveillance activities. I started here and, as promised, here's more.

The New York Times reports:

While the Bush administration had defended its program of wiretapping without warrants as a vital tool that saved lives, a new government review released Friday said the program’s effectiveness in fighting terrorism was unclear.

And:

Most intelligence officials interviewed “had difficulty citing specific instances” when the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program contributed to successes against terrorists, the report said.

But weren't we told that it was necessary because it saved lives?? Yes we were:

The findings raise questions about assertions from Mr. Bush and his most senior advisers that the warrantless wiretapping program was essential in stopping terrorist attacks. In January 2006, for example, Mr. Bush said the surveillance program “helped prevent attacks and save American lives.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney has made the same point, most recently in his public defense of the administration’s campaign against terrorism.

So now we know that was a load of crap a lie, too.

More lies from the Bush administration. Wasn't it a great 8 years? I mean it's all justified by the "fact" that they "kept us safe" for 7 and a half of them.

Jack Kelly Sunday

Wait for it, Jack Kelly fans, wait for it...

In this week's column, Jack Kelly defends Sarah Palin's decision to quit her job (abandon her gubernatorial post, desert her beloved Alaska...whatever) and he does this with a bit of word-play that stretches and twists her decision to quit into something it almost completely wasn't. Take a look:

What do Janet Napolitano, Kathleen Sebelius and Jon Huntsman have in common? All were governors who resigned this year to pursue other opportunities, and did so without a peep of criticism from journalists or their fellow pols for "quitting" on the peoples of Arizona, Kansas and Utah, respectively. [emphasis added]

He expands a paragraph later:

Ms. Napolitano, Ms. Sebelius and Mr. Huntsman weren't criticized for resigning to pursue other opportunities because the other opportunities they're pursuing are in government -- as secretary of homeland security, secretary of health and human services, and ambassador to China, respectively. [again, emphasis added]

Well, not exactly. Napolitano, Sebelius and Huntsman weren't actually leaving to pursue those "other opportunities," they were offered those "opportunities" - which were, of course, real-life pre-existing positions in the Obama administration. Had they not been offered those positions, they'd still be sitting in their respective Governor's mansions, presumably.

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, quit without having a position to move into. Unless we believe her former future son-in-law, Levi Johnston, who says it was all about money. (For the record, the Palins have denied that allegation.)

That's still a big difference there, don't you think? Jack Kelly doesn't want you to think so. That's why he spun it the way he spun it.

He justifies his argument by relying on a recent National Review Online column by Angelo Codevilla. It's the one that starts with this:

Far be it from me to suggest that Sarah Palin should be or is likely to be our next president. She has not shown the excellence of cognition or of judgment that would recommend her ahead of other possible candidates, nor does her path to the presidency look easy.

One wonders how Jack Kelly got past the first paragraph. In any event, Codevilla sets up a different and rather arbitrary political polarity; A "Court" party vs a "Country" party. And Jack utilizes them to explain to us, his lowly readers, why Sarah Palin's just so yoobetcha excellent. Codevilla defines the members of the "Court" party as:

...made up of the well-connected, the people who feel represented by mainstream politicians who argue over how many trillions should be spent on reforming American society, who see themselves as potters of the great American clay.

The "Country" party are made up, he says, of those tired of being treated as clay.

And describes what the Court party accomplished:

America’s “Best And Brightest” — the media’s haughty personages, the college towns’ privileged residents, affimative action’s beneficiaries, the “mainstream” politicians who supported billions for bailouts and “stimuli,” the upscale folks who look down on the rest of us and upon themselves as saviors of the planet — these are the people who made Palin into a political force by making her a symbol of everything they are not. They did this despite her lack of brilliance when it came to communicating her ideas on the issues.

Isn't it neat how he slips "affirmative action beneficiaries" in to the list of "Best and Brightest"? How "affirmative action beneficiaries" are like the "upscale folks" who look down on the poor poor marginalized group Codevilla is defending? You know - the folks reading the National Review Online. Poor poor marginalized NRO readers unite! Sarah Palin is now free to save you!

By the way, Codevilla got a BA from Rutgers, an MA from Notre Dame, and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University.

Anyway, back to Jack, kind of. An important support of Jack's column can be found in the other conservative column he quotes. This one from Jim Prevor at the Weekly Standard. Here's what Jack writes:

"In that phrase, 'just being a private citizen,' Sen. Grassley encapsulates both why Sarah Palin is so phenomenally appealing to the Republican base and how divorced the national Republican apparatus is from the core values of party members," wrote Jim Prevor in the Weekly Standard. "This massive base thinks that by paying the taxes and doing the work, starting the businesses and rearing the children, caring for the parents and fighting the wars, they are doing the crucial stuff that sustains our country."

So we're heaped, laffably again, into a Republican base feeding on its own. The column is really, in part at least, about the Republican members of the "Court" party who aren't supporting Jack's favorite candidate, Sarah Barracuda.

Something's Happening...

Amid the delicate waltz of policy and politics and the law, there's this from Newsweek:

[Attorney General Eric] Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in a matter of weeks, say these sources, who decline to be identified discussing a sensitive law-enforcement matter.

Whatever happens there was torture and torture is against the law and the law demands an investigation. Let's see if something comes of this.

More on Bush's Criminal Behavior

From the AP via Talkingpoints memo:

The Bush administration authorized secret surveillance activities that still have not been made public, according to a new government report that questions the legal basis for the unprecedented anti-terrorism program.

And:

The report describes the program as unprecedented and raises questions about the legal grounding used for its creation. It also says the intelligence agencies' continued retention and use of the information collected under the program should be carefully monitored.

Many senior intelligence officials believe the program filled a gap in intelligence. Others, including FBI, CIA and National Counterterrorism Center analysts, said intelligence gathered by traditional means was often more specific and timely, according to the report. [emphasis added]

Here's the report, if you wanted to follow along.

The report brings up this enticing little tidbit:

The IG report said an unnamed White House official inserted a paragraph into the first threat assessment prepared by the CIA after the Sept. 11 attacks, which was used to justify the extraordinary intelligence measures.

The paragraph said that the "individuals and organizations involved in global terrorism possessed the capability and intention to undertake further terrorist attacks within the United States," according to the report. It also said that the president should authorize the NSA to conduct the surveillance activities.

Here's the text from the report (page 7-8):

The CIA initially prepared the threat assessment memoranda that were used to support the Presidential Authorization and periodic reauthorizations of the PSP. The memoranda documented intelligence assessments of the terrorist threats to the United States and to U.S. interests abroad from al-Qa'ida and affiliated terrorist organizations. These assessments were prepared approximately every 45 days to correspond with the President's Authorizations of the PSP.

The Director of Central Intelligence's (DCI) Chief of Staff was the initial focal point for preparing the threat assessment memoranda. According to the former DCI Chief of Staff, he directed CIA terrorism analysts to prepare objective appraisals of the current terrorist threat, focusing primarily on threats to the U.S. homeland, and to document those appraisals in a memorandum. Initially, the analysts who prepared the threat assessments were not read into the PSP and did not know how the threat assessments would be used. CIA's terrorism analysts drew upon all sources of intelligence in preparing these threat assessments.

After the terrorism analysts completed their portion of the memoranda, the DCI Chief of Staff added a paragraph at the end of the memoranda stating that the individuals and organizations involved in global terrorism (and discussed in the memoranda) possessed the capability and intention to" undertake further terrorist attacks within the United States. The DCI Chief of Staff recalled that the paragraph was provided to him initially by a senior White House official. The paragraph included the DCI's recommendation to the President that he authorize the NSA to conduct surveillance activities under the PSP.

Let me see if I can hash this out. The CIA threat assessments were used to support the Presidential Authorizations. But to the FIRST threat assessment, the White House added text stating that the terrorists possessed the capability to undertake further terrorist attacks in the US.

I have a question: If that text (or something like it) was already in the assessment, then why was it necessary to add? It follows that if it was added, then it must not have been in the original. And the text came from the White House.

And so the White House doctored-CIA authored threat assessment was then used to justify the White House's authorization to extend the surveillance.

More later...

PA State Senator Jane Orie Considers Challenging Pat Toomey in US Senate Primary

PoliticsPA reports that sources have told them that PA Senate’s majority whip Jane Orie has been meeting with Republican leaders and the NRSC in Washington about a possible run for the US Senate.

According to PoliticsPA:

[M]any Republican leaders have continued to worry privately about Toomey’s electability statewide, fearing he is too conservative for a state that gave Barack Obama a 10-point victory over John McCain last year.

Ummm, huh? I never really thought of Orie as being anything less than strongly conservative.


This is a person, after all, who believes:

Abortions should always be illegal, while schools should teach abstinence-only sex education, while being against expanding state funding for pre-natal and infant care programs available in the state, including immunizations. (Love the fetus - Hate the child!)

No to same-sex marriage and that sexual orientation should not be added to the state's anti-discrimination laws. (Well, it is pretty obvious that no self-respecting gay stylist has ever been within a mile of that hair, that eyeliner or those nails.)

Minimum wage should not be increased, welfare aid should be greatly reduced, and does not favor increasing state funding for programs to re-train unemployed workers. (Bootstraps!)

Maintaining minimum environmental quality as mandated by current federal regulations is unnecessary. (Seriously, WTF?)

Implementing chain gangs, expanding the death penalty, prosecuting more juveniles as adults, and advocating the use of prison labor for private industry are all good things. (If this run doesn't work out for her, she might want to consider holding office in China...)

For a conservative, what's not to love?

Of course what sort of liberal blog would we be without reminding our readers of the last time we posted on Orie:

PA Sen. Jane Orie aide Alan David Berlin jailed for soliciting furry sex with teen boy



(Actual photo from her web site which she posed for after the furry thing. LOL)
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Pittsburgh City Council Looks to Technology to Expand Democracy

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto will hold a press conference today at 1:00 PM in the City Council Conference Room prior to a special session of Council. The purpose of the session is to "look at the use of new media and technology in the advancement of democracy."

We're talking things like: local government iPhone applications, live-streaming of meetings, instantaneous feedback from constituents, and deliberative polling.

Also participating today will be:

Dr. Priya Narasimhan- CMU, creator of YinzCam technology

Paul Fireman – Vivo

Brad Winney - Panopto, Inc.

Jay Resio – MyGov365
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Brian Kilmeade Is An Idiot

Here's why.

As every story I've read hat tips Gawker, I'll have to assume they have the original story. Here's what they say:

To stave off dementia! Yes, today the befuddled screech owls on Fox & Friends were discussing a study that states that those that stay married fend off Alzheimer's and dementia better than lonely divorcees. Brian Kilmeade took issue with this.

He didn't trust the study because it was done in Finland and Sweden and the Finns and the Swedes stay "pure" by only marrying each other. Whereas in America, everyone marries everyone (so long as they're white and their partner is white. Oh, and straight!) So therefore the study doesn't mean anything.

Suddenly the clouds parted and a thin ray of sunshine shone down on the pesky corn nut that is Gretchen Carlson—descendant of some Nordic "species", for sure—and she ably, if simply, mocked crazy dumb Kilmeade for being crazy and dumb and possibly suffering from dementia.

Mediamatters has a transcript:

KILMEADE: Different. Leave it to the Finns and Swedes to some up with something. They literally --

CARLSON: Don't look at me, pal.

KILMEADE: Because that's a -- we are -- we're -- we're a -- we're -- we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and other --

CARLSON: Are you sure they're not suffering from some of the --

KILMEADE: I mean, the Swedes --

CARLSON: -- causes of dementia right now?

BRIGGS: What are you getting at?

KILMEADE: See, the problem is, the Swedes have pure genes.

BRIGGS: OK.

KILMEADE: Because they marry other Swedes. Because that's the rule. Finland -- Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society. In America, we marry everybody.

BRIGGS: OK.

KILMEADE: So, we'll marry Italians and Irish.

BRIGGS: So, this study does not apply?

KILMEADE: Does not apply to us.

BRIGGS: Huh. You are a scientist.

CARLSON: Amazing deduction, Kilmeade.

So America isn't a "pure society" according to Fox "News" personality Brian Kilmeade because "we marry everybody"? Wonkette has a different take:

Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade made a terrible buffoon of himself on the television this morning! You know why the Olds get Dementia and Alzheimer’s, in America? This is why: “We are — we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and other … See, the problem is the Swedes have pure genes. Because they marry other Swedes …. Fins marry other Fins, so they have a pure society.” Meaning: Ronald Reagan was a mulatto.

So maybe he was just commenting on Alzheimers. In either case, what a frickin idiot.

Watch it yourself:


It's also pretty obvious that someone on the set also feels Kilmeade is an idiot - listen carefully and you'll hear someone whistling. What are they whistling? It's a famous tune from The Wizard of Oz. In case you can't recognise the tune, here are the lyrics. They're fitting, doncha think?

I could wile away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain [emphasis added]

So there's at least one person over there at Fox "News" who agrees. Brian Kilmeade is a frickin idiot.

UPDATE: Even without all the charming racism of Kilmeade's ignorance, it's surprising he'd have any problem with the study. According to the BBC:

Being single when you reach middle age could mean more than having the house to yourself - it could increase your risk of dementia.

Swedish research, presented at a US conference, found that marriage or having a partner halved the risk of developing dementia.

Scientists believe social interaction between couples may ward off illness.

The Alzheimer's Research Trust said the results were worrying, given the high divorce rates in the UK.

You'd think the "family values" crowd over at Fox "News" would be pushing this story. Stay married! If you're divorced, get remarried! You'll save yourself from Alzheimers!

Again all it shows is that Brian Kilmeade is a frickin idiot.

Public Option Now! Health Care Rallies in Pittsburgh

UPDATE: For the Casey rally (via press release):

Local elected official, City Councilman Bill Peduto, will speak briefly at the rally, as will students, business owners and individuals involved in the healthcare industry.

At the end of the rally, the group will deliver petitions from MoveOn members statewide in support of a strong public health insurance option. The petition text—a quote from President Obama -- reads:

“I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.”

MoveOn.org is urging all to contact their US Senators to support a Public Option for health care.

There will be two rallies tomorrow; one targeting Sen. Bob Casey and the other Sen. Arlen Specter.

Public Option Now! Health Care Rally
Sen. Arlen Specter's District Office
Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1450
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Thursday, July 09th, 10:00 AM
RSVP here.

Public Option Now! Health Care Rally
Sen. Robert Casey's District Office
Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2490
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Thursday, July 09th, 12:00 PM
RSVP here.
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It's Official. SENATOR Al Franken

It's about time.

By my count that's 58 Democrats and 2 Independents - both of whom say they'll caucus with the Democrats. I am confident about Saunders of Vt but Lieberman of Ct is an ass.

On the other hand, that leaves only 40 (count 'em 40) Republicans in the Senate.

Poor GOP. Poor poor GOP.

Palin and the Media

Just a reminder that while soon-to-be-ex Gov. Sarah "Quitter" Palin is now threatening to sue anyone in the media -- including bloggers -- who dare to criticize her, she hasn't always had much empathy towards those who were on the receiving end of hits from the MSM.

Palin calling Hillary Clinton a whiner:


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Lynn Cullen: Back Again!

We get near daily hits from folks searching for info on where they can listen to Lynn Cullen.

Well, she's back -- not on the airwaves -- but live streaming audio courtesy of the Pittsburgh City Paper.

It will be a one hour, weekday show at 10:00 AM starting on August 18th. The shows will be archived and downloadable.

From the CP press release:

In partnership with Pittsburgh City Paper, local broadcasting legend Lynn Cullen will re-launch her talk show later this summer. And this time, she won’t be restricted by signal strength, broadcast schedules, or even the FCC.

[snip]

“I’ll be interviewing newsmakers and troublemakers. I’ll be providing an antidote to the incessant whining of radio’s doomsayers and fearmongers,” Cullen says. “I’m glad to be free of the constraints of commercial radio — and this beats screaming into a megaphone on Forbes and Murray.”

City Paper’s online audience has grown by 25 percent in the past year, thanks in part to a recent redesign and additional features. “Our Web site has experience exceptional growth over the past year,” publisher Michael Frischling says. “We believe Lynn’s show will be a key element in continuing this dynamic trend.”

“We’re excited to be able to restore Lynn to her audience — and to her rightful place at the cutting edge of local media,” says Chris Potter, City Paper editor. “Now, thanks to the magic of the Internet, she’ll be able to aggravate right-wingers all over the world, at any time of day or night.”

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More than $1.4 million a day

What is: How much is the health-care industry spending “in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues” on health care legislation?
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"Real Americans"

On yesterday's Morning Joe Brewed by Starbucks, Mika Brzezinski explained how soon-to-be-former Gov. Sarah Palin connected with "real Americans."

[P]eople were coming to those rallies because they agreed with her. Look at the polls out there. Look where people stand on life. Look where real Americans think and you will find that in the, you know -- God, I hate to say it -- but in the cites where there's a little more liberal elite populations you're not going to find what is representative of America.

First Mika, urban America is not just real America, it is the vast majority of America as far as where Americans actually live (from the 2000 Census):

U.S. Population Living in Urban vs. Rural Areas
Population living in Urban Areas: 79.219%
Population living in Rural Areas: 20.781

Urbanized Areas over 200,000 population = 58.274%

Second Mika, that Gallup poll that made the news back in May which supposedly showed more people are now anti abortion than pro choice had respondents identifying as Republicans by 32% and as Democrats by 32%. However nationwide, less than a quarter of the population actually identifiy themselves as Republicans while 35% identify as Democrats (this means the Gallup poll was crap as it was unrepresentative of the population).


(from FiveThirtyEight)
Third Mika, obviously enough "real" Americans did not connect with Palin's views:



Adjusted to reflect population:

So naner, naner, naner!
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The Trib vs The P-G

Yesterday, Richard Mellon Scaife's editorial board at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review got whipped themselves into a lather over something Dennis Roddy wrote at the P-G.

But curiously, they didn't mention Roddy by name. Nor did they ever actually get around to say that anything Roddy wrote was, you know, wrong.

AND they left out a big big BIG part of the story - and a hat tip to "Referee" over at the voyforum for pointing it out.

First Roddy:

A committee organized to welcome the world to Pittsburgh for the September G-20 economic summit has received a donation from a foundation that has, in the past, given millions of dollars to anti-immigration organizations including two listed as hate groups.

The Colcom Foundation, founded by Cordelia Scaife May, a now-deceased heir to the Mellon fortune, has been one of the major contributors to a web of groups founded by John Tanton, a Petoskey, Mich., ophthalmologist who has long been at the forefront of efforts to restrict immigration into the United States.

During Ms. May's lifetime, the foundation also underwrote the work of Samuel Francis, a self-described "white nationalist" who edited a newsletter for the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that has advocated racial separation. Mr. Francis also was a regular speaker at conferences sponsored by American Renaissance, an annual gathering of academics who theorize on racially based differences in intelligence, contending that black people have lower intelligence than whites and Asians.

And so on. And now the Trib. After calling the piece "reprehensible" they explain themselves:

The Group of 20 economics summit is coming to Pittsburgh in late September. Although many of the costs associated with this event will be covered by the federal government — much of the necessarily large security apparatus topping the list — a city in state receivership requires private-sector aid to help it put on its best face.

Many private organizations, freely fulfilling what they feel is their civic duty, have stepped up to the plate. Among them is the Colcom Foundation, founded by Cordelia Scaife May, the late sister of this newspaper's owner.

Yet, hell-bent on letting no good deed go unpunished (if not to shamelessly smear the name of a dead woman), the Post-Gazette has published a screed in which it went out of its way to try to discredit Colcom's support of the community's G-20 preparations.

Before looking at the next paragraph, let's all remember that it was Dennis Roddy who did all that delicious reporting on Richard Mellon Scaife's divorce. Keeping that in mind, here's the Trib's next paragraph:

The apparent motivation for this smear is Colcom's past philanthropy to causes with which P-G co-publisher and editor-in-chief John Robinson Block personally disagrees.

Of course it's just not possible for Scaife, who once a long long long time ago lashed out at a reporter when she asked about his rightwing political donations by calling her a "communist cunt," to be annoyed at Dennis Roddy for writing about his divorce. Nope, not possible.

And what of this Sam Francis person? Over at the voyforum, a poster using the pseudonym "referee" sheds some light on Mr Francis. USUALLY I wouldn't give much credence to someone posting under a pseudonym (even though I used to blog under a pseudonym myself), but when the info in that post actually checks out...

The poster pointed out that Sam Francis' column used to be published by The Tribune Review. Turns out that's true. His column got dropped when he wrote a column about the Nicolette Sheridan/Tyrell Owens Monday Night Football ad.

Curious what the Trib leaves out, isn't it?