tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88452408453257022642011-11-03T00:57:10.595-04:00A Chronicle of Absurdities as Seen from the Banks of Our Three RiversRichmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.comBlogger1461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-3594998316121859602007-05-14T08:58:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:37.074-05:00

A Merger Within the BurghosphereWhen I first started The People's Republic, there were a lot of things that I didn't realize, and a few things that I never even imagined were possible. I never realized (although I certainly suspected) just how messed-up Pittsburgh's political scene could be. But I certainly never imagined that it could actually get so bad that we would end up with uncontested

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-45840056645515422352007-05-10T13:26:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:37.286-05:00

The People's Republic of Pittsburgh regrets to announce that the Admiral is currently underway conducting a yet another round of exercises to prepare for a future deployment. He also feels compelled to spend some time with his maternal parent on this Mother's Day Weekend. The Admiral anticipates his return to homeport in a few days' time. During this interval, new commentary may or may not

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-21764703740740343642007-05-10T13:01:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:37.468-05:00

Somebody has a sense of humor. Earlier this week, I did a quick post (as did PittGirl over at The Burgh Blog) concerning the fact that a cyber-squatter had registered the address www.lukeravenstahl.com, and was operating it as a porn portal. Someone with a keen gift for irony has apparently taken action to fix this situation, and the site no longer operates as a pornographic link fest. Instead,

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-8536225629829496052007-05-09T16:49:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:37.652-05:00

The Post-Gazette's Rich Lord is reporting on an ever-lengthening list of ethical problems inside the re-election campaign for Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jeff Koch. At this stage, it might actually be more efficient to ask for a list of the election laws that Mr. Koch isn't suspected of breaking so far. The latest accusations include campaign phone calls being made by city employees from Mr.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-55276556247208363852007-05-09T11:58:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:37.876-05:00

In an op-ed piece that appears in today's Post-Gazette, Allegheny County Democratic Committee (ACDC) chairman Jim Burn tries to argue that there is no longer a Democratic political machine here in Pittsburgh. He describes some of his efforts over the past 10 months to give his committee members "... the tools, training and technology to better engage voters on the issues and to become more

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-35468292646505178102007-05-09T08:43:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:38.092-05:00

This story is all over the place. I'm not sure, in the grand scheme of things, just how important it really is. But it involves clear political misconduct and taxpayer-financed campaigning by city employees, so we can only be talking about Pittsburgh city government. And since the constant missteps of Pittsburgh's city government can only be foiled by the harsh spotlight of public attention, they

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-35587308265902259202007-05-09T03:47:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:38.196-05:00

The Post-Gazette's Early Returns blog is reporting that a cyber-squatting firm has registered a web address using the name of Pittsburgh's interim mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, and is currently operating it as a porn portal. As "one of America's great newspapers", the Post-Gazette has a certain degree journalistic integrity. It also takes a sensible approach to the sensibilities of its ever-graying

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-21802151933074795912007-05-07T04:40:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:38.315-05:00

Just over one week ago, Pittsburgh's interim mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, finally took some long-overdue steps to establish an administration that is truly his own. Ever since last September, when he was elevated to his post by the death of the previous mayor, Bob O'Connor, Interim Mayor Ravenstahl had retained the bulk of Mr. O'Connor's appointees in his office. For a brief period of time, this idea

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-37683807704669902342007-05-03T15:41:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:38.565-05:00

There is a heck of a lot for me to catch up on. I haven't even begun to really examine all of the implications of the mini-massacre that took place in Interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office last week, but there seems to be no end to the blog posts that are buried in that event. A fantastic sampling of the available topics so far can be found over at the Burgh Report, starting when the story first

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-4878435926497676242007-05-03T09:56:00.000-04:002007-05-03T10:06:14.316-04:00

No, really; I am still alive. I won't go into everything that has been keeping me away from the burghosphere over the past few weeks. It started out as an innocent trip out of town for a few days, then grew longer as I spent more time outdoors hiking with my children. Then it progressed into a mountain of work for my employer. I have also been quite busy applying for and negotiating about a

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-54250256400638607212007-04-17T00:33:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:38.804-05:00

As the grandson of a former Virginia Tech faculty member -- and the son, brother, and brother-in-law of Virginia Tech alumni -- I am deeply shocked by the shooting rampage there. I spent a good portion of my childhood on that campus, and my family continues to return to it on a regular basis. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by this tragedy.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-109201805516298622007-04-16T23:41:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.021-05:00

Late last week, a small number of articles appeared in both the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review concerning the police secondary employment. As discussed in an earlier post at the beginning of the month, Pittsburgh's interim mayor has finally decided to institute a cost-recovery fee whenever city police officers whore hire themselves out to perform security functions for private employers.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-28385568286513772352007-04-14T18:45:00.000-04:002007-04-14T18:58:46.364-04:00

It sucks to get old, to get trapped in work and family and... well, life... so that I end up missing the news that -- years ago when I had no cares -- would have been at the foremost reaches of my mind to the last month. But bettter late than never, I guess.Rush has a new album, titled "Snakes and Arrows", coming out on the 1st of May! They've already released "A Far Cry", a single from the new

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-4551937708960410992007-04-13T20:45:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.197-05:00

In a move that was in no way surprising, Pittsburgh City Councilmember and former mayoral candidate Bill Peduto has hammered the final nail into the coffin of this year's mayoral election. The Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review are both reporting that Mr. Peduto, who pulled out of the Democratic primary late last month, has finally decided not to run as an independent candidate in November. The

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-707478731992796752007-04-12T20:56:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.284-05:00

With her Federal lawsuit against the interim mayor and the police chief now settled out-of-court, Police Commander Catherine McNeilly has come out swinging, and swinging hard. In the settlement, she was personally awarded the sum of $85,000. Ms. McNeilly has now, according to a report which aired this evening on WTAE, spent $4,000 of that money to purchase space in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-6539491923463052952007-04-12T11:31:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.344-05:00

Today's editorials in Post-Gazette illustrate much of what is genuinely bad about local Pittsburgh politics. In one case, the newspaper's editorial board comes down, far more solidly than I had anticipated, on the correct side of the issue. In another, they tacitly endorse -- almost without even realizing that they are doing so -- one of the primary reasons why our city and region continue to

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-23418120820487477662007-04-11T18:43:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.472-05:00

The Post-Gazette has been very busy today, constantly expanding their coverage Pittsburgh City Councilmember Twanda Carlisle's indictment on a number of criminal charges. They have posted a PDF file of the original criminal complaint, which details all of the offenses that Ms. Carlisle is charged with. The final tally looks like three charges of theft by deception, another three charges for

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-88278577646669486652007-04-11T07:16:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.588-05:00

The Tribune-Review is reporting that Pittsburgh City Councilmember Twanda Carlisle will be arraigned this morning in District Court. She is facing charges of theft and criminal conspiracy. At the moment, there are no specific details about the criminal offenses that Ms. Carlisle is alleged to have committed. District Attorney Stephen Zappala is not commenting, but his office has been

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-69290548059857811822007-04-10T23:14:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:39.814-05:00

Over the Easter weekend, my household received yet another mailing from the City of Pittsburgh. This time, we were treated to an invitation to the grand re-opening of the new " sportsplex" at the Schenley Park oval. As you might expect, it announced it very large letters that our invitation was from none other than "Mayor Luke Ravenstahl" himself (so nice of him to think of me). But what truly

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-90965588594363067372007-04-10T16:57:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.011-05:00

Over on the other side of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania's largest city is in the midst of a bloody wave of violent crime. So far this year, more than 100 people have been murdered within the city limits of Philadelphia, and more than 400 have been shot. To put that into perspective, Philadelphia has had more murders thus far in 2007 than all five boroughs of New York City, despite the fact that

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-25261250190083898022007-04-10T16:36:00.000-04:002007-04-10T16:53:00.200-04:00

The People's Republic of Pittsburgh would like to apologize for the lack of posts in the last week or so. Any readers who have the privilege of singing for a church choir probably understand why last week was just a tiny bit busy for the Admiral, who is only just now getting his voice back and his body readjusted to a more normal schedule.With Holy Week now behind us, things are turning a bit

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-69485520599780437912007-04-04T09:20:00.000-04:002007-04-04T09:34:04.145-04:00

A few years ago, I had a very pleasant afternoon conversation with a former co-worker (and occasional babysitter for my children). I hadn't seen her for a while, and we shared stories of what we had been up to and what we had planned for the future. It was delightful to catch up with her once again. She was by far one of the nicest people I ever worked with, and her research was simply

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-68147140258651441312007-04-04T07:37:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.069-05:00

It's been a very long and busy week out in the Pennsylvania Operating Area. Endless man overboard drills, simulated boardings and searches of merchant vessels, deceptive lighting competitions, main space fire drills, formation steaming, DIVTACs, flight operations, and a constant stream engineering casualty exercises (BECCEs) kept us up through all hours of the night. The battle group finally

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-91831912756229798832007-03-24T06:20:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.078-05:00

The People's Republic of Pittsburgh regrets to announce that the Admiral is currently underway conducting a FLEETEX in preparation for a future deployment. There are hydrographic surveys to be done, enemy defenses to be probed, and new liberty ports to be explored. All units from the regular battle group, combined with vessels of intense historical value and selected ships from foreign navies,

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-87032259291741679042007-03-23T11:25:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.238-05:00

In the past few days, I have encountered a few viewpoints that have forced me to reexamine the events of the past month or so. The first was an excellent post over at Pittsburgh Comet, which examines the stated reasons behind Pittsburgh City Councilmember Bill Peduto's decision to pull out of the Democratic primary. The second was an email that I received from a loyal reader, which challenged a

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-74681875944792369712007-03-22T02:53:00.000-04:002007-03-22T08:40:36.877-04:00

City Councilmember Bill Peduto has pulled out of the mayoral race, and democracy is effectively dead in Pittsburgh. In retrospect, we all would have been far better off if we had just let Yarone Zober have his way. If we had permitted him to bully the city into granting Luke Ravenstahl the entire remainder of Bob O'Connor's term, we simply could have skipped the disgusting fiasco that is the 2007

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-23888771861053243552007-03-21T17:08:00.000-04:002007-03-21T17:11:34.064-04:00

Somehow, the Peduto campaign got ahold of my email address -- my real-life one, and not the one that I use for The People's Republic. I never figured out how they got it, but I guess it doesn't matter much anymore. Since they took the time to send it to me, however, I thought I might as well share this one with all of you.Dear Friends, Pittsburgh deserves a political campaign based on ideas to

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-72376936032512161862007-03-21T15:20:00.000-04:002007-03-22T08:32:45.266-04:00

The full text of City Councilmember Bill Peduto's announcement, withdrawing from the May Democratic mayoral primary, is available over at The Burgh Report. Mr. Peduto didn't say a word about what the future may bring from him. On one hand, he was careful to mention only the May primary when he said he was withdrawing. He also returned to the topic of Pittsburgh's much-needed reforms over and over

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-79461762005084226172007-03-21T14:40:00.000-04:002007-03-21T14:41:17.937-04:00

The Post-Gazette's Rich Lord is reporting that City Councilmember Bill "Cojònes" Peduto is withdrawing from the May 15th Democratic primary. I can only assume that he is not completely giving up on his dream of becoming Pittsburgh's mayor. Does this mean that he might have actually decided, as I recommend in a few previous posts, to run as an Independent in the November general election? I

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-3948978645211959182007-03-20T20:09:00.000-04:002007-03-20T21:43:04.963-04:00

Wow. Only 12 or so hours after this morning's Tribune-Review story hit the streets, somebody had already posted this one on YouTube. It has no music. It has no sound of any kind. The final bit of text fades out before most people will be able to read all of it. But it still gets an important point across.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-56063763541863226922007-03-20T15:20:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.430-05:00

For months, many members of the burghosphere have been noting that the mainstream media wasn't giving the administration of Pittsburgh Interim Mayor Luke "The Debate Chicken" Ravenstahl a hard enough look. They seemed to be ignoring all of the obvious problems. They seemed to be rolling over and accepting all the lies. But today, at least some of them seem to be really pissed off at our young

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-34727759058959165842007-03-20T12:15:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.443-05:00

Some of you probably think that I'm happy about this. Or that I'm rejoicing in the opportunity to stick it to Pittsburgh Interim Mayor Luke "The Debate Chicken" Ravenstahl for yet another minor scandal. Or that I am so desperate about his prospects in the upcoming Democratic primary election that I'm willing to exploit this latest situation for all it's worth. But to be completely honest with

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-29135395381233503752007-03-19T17:56:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:40.871-05:00

Pittsburgh's interim mayor, Luke "The Debate Chicken" Ravenstahl, has now spent exactly four straight weeks cowering in fear and attempting to evade any and all debates with his opponent in the May Democratic primary, City Councilmember Bill "Cojònes" Peduto. The challenge was issued by Mr. Peduto on Monday, 19th February 2007. It has yet to be responded to in any substantive fashion by either

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-55516159973057007022007-03-19T07:34:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:41.069-05:00

The longer this goes on, the more it looks like the Pittsburgh Promise is suffering the fate of most promises made by Interim Mayor Luke "The Debate Chicken" Ravenstahl. Announced with great fanfare in mid-December 2006 amid an avalanche of generalities and an all-too-typical dearth of specifics, the Pittsburgh Promise now seems to be withering from neglect. The program is woefully underfunded,

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-6350848087994274592007-03-16T19:56:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:41.426-05:00

This cartoon comes courtesy of a post on the McKeesport-based blog, The Tube City Almanc. The full post is well worth a good read. Among my favorite passages:I understand Ravenstahl's desire to invoke stability and continuity of leadership, but it's as if LBJ had run for election in 1964 by riding around Dealey Plaza in a Lincoln convertible. (I suppose it could be worse. We're lucky Ravenstahl

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-5517924663955932612007-03-16T14:33:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:41.577-05:00

It doesn't matter who took the photograph. For the moment, we can even ignore the question of who paid for it. It doesn't matter if it was donated, or to whom that donation was made. The big deal here, and I don't know how many times we will have to say this until the issue becomes clear in everybody's heads, is that the same image has been used as the visual centerpiece of both any number of

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-73621057572409841322007-03-16T14:17:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.063-05:00

If you thought that the long-promised settlement in the federal lawsuit of Police Commander Catherine McNeilly v. The City of Pittsubrgh was going to spice up this year's primary election race, you had better think again. Even though it would appear that certain key portions of the settlement have been agreed to by both sides, final negotiations about other critical aspects are being delayed

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-87947780474458182552007-03-15T14:57:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.321-05:00

On issue after issue, the administration of Pittsburgh Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl -- as in Raven-stall -- has fallen behind. It's difficult to even keep up with all of the things that they have yet to take care of, have simply never responded to, or have failed to deliver after having promised to do so. Perhaps they simply are overwhelmed by the burden of governing our city, and

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-47069166776004016222007-03-15T10:15:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.489-05:00

Yesterday, the election campaign of Pittsburgh Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl responded to the burghosphere with a completely meaningless gesture. In the past few days, a number of local political blogs have been discussing the campaign's flagrant misuse of public property to promote itself. A number of photographs and other images, produced at public expense and used in official city

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-15028002683542314422007-03-13T18:38:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.647-05:00

Once again, as he has done on a number of previous occasions, Pittsburgh's interim mayor, Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl, is using our tax dollars for his own political campaiging. As discussed over in the Post-Gazette's Early Returns blog, city mailboxes are again being carpet-bombed with another round of 311 telephone response line advertisements, all prominently featuring the interim mayor's name

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-77545236672175022162007-03-13T08:02:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.675-05:00

Twelve days ago, on Thursday, 1st March 2007, Pittsburgh Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl held a meeting at the now-closed Reizenstein Middle School in East Liberty. At this meeting, Master Ravesntahl hauled a bunch of "pleased-as-punch" neighborhood leaders in front of the press to extol the unlimited virtues of his property tax abatement plan. His rival for the Democratic mayoral

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-10947632612765080332007-03-12T08:04:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:42.833-05:00

Break out the chicken suit. As of today, it has officially been three weeks since Pittsburgh mayoral candidate and City Councilmember Bill "Cojònes" Peduto challenged the incumbent, Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl, to a series of eight televised debates. Initially, Master Ravenstahl replied that he would be happy to engage in these debates, but -- what a surprise -- refused to provide

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-53727971731380666832007-03-11T23:12:00.000-04:002008-12-10T15:49:43.069-05:00

Every time that I'm convinced that the police secondary employment and cost recovery story has gone away, it keeps popping back up. There continues to be a certain amount of public attention on this issue, which more or less began right here in the burghosphere, and the press continues examine it. It may not be the leading story in any paper or on any news broadcast, but it certainly seems to be

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-82889923621941680162007-03-08T22:51:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:43.257-05:00

KDKA's Jon Delano sat down with former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy to talk about the city's crisis du jour. And Mr. Murphy -- never one to hold back, even when he probably should -- had quite a bit to say about Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, and current Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl. The former mayor made it clear that the current political

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-51172772322060230142007-03-08T08:28:00.000-05:002007-03-09T13:08:32.553-05:00

The best thing about modern political campaigns is that they won't be decided by thirty-second television ads. Instead, we are gradually shifting to thirty-six-second You Tube videos like this one. Ah, the fresh winds of change! Still, this spot seems fairly well done. With the obvious exception of some cringe-worthy grammatical and spelling errors (e.g., "bigs shoes to fill", late Mayor Bob

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-87616400316602915942007-03-07T21:35:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:43.310-05:00

Let me lead off with an apology for getting to this one so late tonight. It's bloody hard to keep up with blogging when the schools close over one or two lousy flakes of snow. I've been putting up with whiny crap from my offspring all day, and it's put me way behind on everything from work to cello practice to (obviously) blogging. In fact, I don't have an enormous amount of time to devote to the

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-79320418385458263432007-03-06T17:43:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.517-05:00

From a rather industrious reader comes a number of tounge-in-cheek suggestions for new campaign buttons, all of which are in "support" of our incumbent Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl, and all of which build on Master Ravenstahl's current "I Like Luke" slogan. First, since it seems likely that Master Ravenstahl's high school history classes never quite made it into the mid-1950s before

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-10736677978944085162007-03-05T15:31:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.531-05:00

Yinz overwhelmingly voted for the former mayor of Philadelphia to continue as the Governor of Pennsylvania, passing on the chance to elect someone from around here. Yinz aren't even fielding a challenger of any kind to our incumbent County Executive. Yinz gave the sitting mayor a landslide endorsement victory over the weekend. And then, when the news breaks that the Penguins -- who have suffered

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-85248478100650097602007-03-05T06:45:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.625-05:00

I have never, ever done one single thing in my life because any political party told me that I should. I don't own a gun because the Republicans told me to do so. I don't limit my automobile use because the Democrats told me to do so. And if I don't listen to political masters on even minor issues like these, there is no way in hell that I would ever allow any political party to make an important

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-66000814281417542422007-03-02T17:59:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.633-05:00

The People's Republic of Pittsburgh regrets to announce that the Admiral and his battle group will be earning some much needed sea pay for the next few days. Firefighting and damage control skills are getting rusty, and the junior officers need some experience with shiphandling and formation steaming. The battle group commander may be checking in from time to time through satellite uplink, and

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-45514252194198510142007-03-01T22:09:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.643-05:00

My brother-in-blogging over at The Burgh Report has done an outstanding job tracking down a final and critically important detail in the story about police secondary employment. In many of my own posts on this topic, I have frequently made reference to the cost recovery policies of the Allegheny County Police and the Port Authority Police. But I never took things to the next level and examined

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-71344250132758368302007-03-01T16:27:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.653-05:00

Over at the Post-Gazette's Early Returns, the authors have come up with their list of the Top 10 Reasons why police secondary employment has become, in their own words, "the campaign issue of the week". It's an interesting question, and they list a number of reasons that I can easily agree with. All of the items on their list are clearly key reasons why this story is coming to prominence at this

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-90324585783846576862007-03-01T09:37:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.857-05:00

Throughout all of the various news stories, posts, and comments about police secondary employment, there have been a huge number of cost and revenue estimates thrown around. The amount of money that the city might be able to collect through a cost recovery arrangement has varied widely, from the low $200,000s to well over $1 million. Former Police Chief Robert McNeilly has been reported as

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-62113350520026254452007-03-01T07:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.970-05:00

Pittsburgh City Councilmember and mayoral candidate William Peduto not only understands the problem, but he's got the testicular fortitude required to do something about it. The same cannot be said for his opponent in this election, incumbent Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl. Yesterday, Mr. Peduto not only demanded that the Ravenstahl administration reinstate the city's cost recovery

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-46588040423237276542007-02-28T01:01:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.979-05:00

The long-rumored settlement between the City of Pittsburgh and Deven Werling is just about complete. And it's going to cost us at least $200,000. As the Post-Gazette's Rich Lord is reporting this morning, the city has agreed to settle the legal case which formed the centerpiece of Part I in my recent series of posts concerning the Pittsburgh Police Department's secondary employment policies. We

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-44446758872884320812007-02-28T00:07:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:44.992-05:00

Here's a bit of good news. The campaign of City Councilmember Bill Peduto, who is challenging incumbent Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl for the Democratic mayoral nomination, may finally be exhibiting some huevos. They are actually doing something to stand up to Master Ravenstahl's continuing and fearful refusals to meet Mr. Peduto in a televised debate. According to a new post over at

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-41411819317055689002007-02-27T21:52:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:45.197-05:00

The most recent post on the Post-Gazette's Early Returns blog contains a link to what many hold to be the only example of a local blog that largely backs incumbent Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl. Their nod goes to Pittsburgh Jack's Place, which has appeared on my blog roll for quite some time now. The degree to which Pittsburgh Jack truly supports Master Ravenstahl, especially now,

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-72069919980818378552007-02-26T15:53:00.000-05:002007-02-26T19:19:50.919-05:00

If I ever put up a string of press quotations about The People's Republic -- such as those which appear in the sidebar of the Carbolic Smoke Ball -- I'll make sure to lead them off with:"... informative and speculation-laced...",courtesy of the today's post on the Post-Gazette's "Early Returns" blog. And if anyone happens to know of a "rabidly pro-Ravenstahl blog", I would also love to know about

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-15379152972483714642007-02-26T11:13:00.001-05:002008-12-10T15:49:45.383-05:00

I forgot to mention it yesterday, and indeed most people probably didn't even notice it tucked away at the bottom of the page, but this Sunday's Post-Gazette did include something akin to a mini-editorial on the police secondary employment story. There was, as usual, no mention of the role that The People's Republic has played in pushing this issue forward. But for one reason or another, I'm

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-33706897046144738762007-02-25T19:11:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:45.582-05:00

In this Sunday's paper, Tribune-Review columnist Joseph Sabino Mistick provides some early analysis of the race for Pittsburgh's Democratic mayoral nomination. In a move certain to please geeks like me, he even invokes the special qualities of one of the most beloved Star Trek characters, Mr. Spock. He looks at the two competitors in the race -- incumbent Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-66550821375786726352007-02-24T11:40:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:45.649-05:00

During the early portion of this past week, Pittsburgh City Councilmember and mayoral candidate William Peduto issued a challenge to incumbent Interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Mr. Peduto publicly called for a series of at least eight televised debates with Master Ravenstahl, to be held during the run-up to the May 15th Democratic primary election. Yesterday, KDKA television reported, in a story

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-52453526036206000182007-02-23T09:38:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:45.842-05:00

In my opinion, being willing to admit my mistakes is a key part of writing these articles for the rest of the world to read. I take the trouble to put put these posts out into the public domain, and thus I owe to to my readers -- especially the ones who disagree with me -- to set the record straight when I have gotten the facts wrong. Back in Part III in my series about police secondary

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-35438427644803047612007-02-23T02:21:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:46.134-05:00

As predicted, questions about the Pittsburgh Police Department's secondary employment policy are still being asked. One day after the Post-Gazette had their turn with the story, the Tribune-Review's Jeremy Boren is taking the administration of Interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to task for it's decision to eliminate the city's cost recovery plan late last year. Mr. Boren seems to have obtained some of

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-57642806300051392862007-02-22T10:58:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:46.155-05:00

Questions are getting asked. And that's the important thing. Panic... well, not panic, really, but certainly a fair bit of concern is beginning to set in within the upper reaches of city government. That's the interesting thing. The cost recovery program has been hauled out of the morgue and hooked up to a respirator. It may or may not be brought back to life, but there is at least a concerted

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-36632803108979102172007-02-21T16:49:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:46.365-05:00

So I was reading this little article from the Post-Gazette. It describes the dogged efforts of a local woman to rid the state of electronic voting machines, and also that way that more state and local governments are leaning toward optically-scanned paper voting systems. And that's cool. I can vote on anything that you throw in front of me. Granted, I'm not going to enjoy having SAT flashbacks

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-39927364657830993212007-02-20T22:36:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:46.609-05:00

As reported tonight on KDKA, the settlement talks between the City of Pittsburgh, Interim Mayor Luke "Flip Flop" Ravenstahl, and Police Commander Catherine McNeilly are proceeding along at a steady pace. Today, the parties met behind closed doors with the Federal judge who is hearing the case. KDKA political reporter Jon Delano states that the case is getting ever closer to a settlement. The

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-38198307319464646802007-02-20T15:23:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:46.804-05:00

From the always-hysterical Carbolic Smoke Ball comes a preview of the latest taxpayer-financed Ravenstahl billboard:

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-76551341386565964522007-02-20T07:34:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.052-05:00

Last Thursday, the Post-Gazette's Brian O'Neil -- whose perspectives are usually warmly welcomed, at least in my home -- wrote a column which has received a rather chilly reception. His effort, titled "2 Pittsburgh Mayoral Candidates in Search of a Difference", examines the two men -- Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl and City Councilmember William Peduto -- who are competing for the

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-84170112179451996312007-02-17T14:29:00.000-05:002007-02-17T16:59:05.804-05:00

An anonymous reader of The People's Republic has left a brief -- but very important, interesting, and illuminating -- remark for the rest of us to enjoy. Responding to the final chapter of my three-part series about the Pittsburgh Police Department's secondary employment policies, the commenter noted the following:I thoroughly enjoyed the series and emailed several friends to read it too.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-4052108322986589952007-02-17T09:55:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.314-05:00

Admittedly, it snowed a few inches this week. And it was cold. And the schools had to be closed for a few days. But really, as winter storms go, this one wasn't the end of the world. We didn't get hit nearly as hard as the eastern end of the state, and we've certainly had far worse snowfalls during my time here in Pittsburgh. I was able to clear my driveway and sidewalks without enlisting the aid

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-19038365425791276562007-02-16T10:48:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.432-05:00

I honestly couldn't make up stories as laugh-out-loud hilarious as this one, even if I was writing for the Carbolic Smoke Ball. It seems that Pennsylvania House of Representative Majority Leader Bill DeWeese had decided, in the interests of fiscal restraint, that he will cut back on his personal spending a bit. He will no longer rely on a private (but taxpayer-financed) chauffeur to drive him

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-56455358278456744992007-02-14T22:30:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.472-05:00

Yes, I am perfectly well aware that the whole thing was way too long. Yes, I do realize that blogs attract an audience that wants immediate gratification. Yes, I understand that the blog format works best when the posts are both short and frequent. With all that in mind, it was perhaps a mistake on my part to undertake an examination of a topic as complex as the police secondary employment story.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-12773704465576515202007-02-13T10:52:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.489-05:00

Note: Part I of this series, which describes the problems and the costs of secondary employment, can be found here. Part II, which traces the first year of an effort by the city to recover these costs, can be found here. PART III: THE CAPITULATIONWhen Luke Ravenstahl took the oath of office as the (Interim) Mayor of Pittsburgh on the evening of Friday, 01 September 2006, there can be no doubt

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-21696701029806787642007-02-12T00:42:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.520-05:00

Note: Part I of this series, which describes the problems and the costs of secondary employment, can be found here. PART II: THE SOLUTIONBy the time December 2005 rolled around, Robert McNeilly knew that he was about to lose his job. Mr. McNeilly had been Pittsburgh's Chief of Police for nearly a decade, but the political winds had finally changed. His old patron, Mayor Tom Murphy, had decided

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-43932458780370792352007-02-11T11:04:00.001-05:002010-04-14T05:59:04.591-04:00

PART I: THE PROBLEMIt was well into the early morning hours of Saturday, 29 August 2004, and Deven Werling was jonesing for a hot dog. Mr. Werling, along with two friends, was having far-past-midnight snack at the "O" in Oakland when a fight broke out just outside the restaurant's doors. Neither Mr. Werling nor his friends were involved in the fight, but as people often do, they probably sat back

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-22243681845714827722007-02-08T11:59:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:47.769-05:00

I can't even write about what this "father" did to his child. You can go read it yourself, but you may want to wait until you have an empty stomach. I'll grant that he hasn't been convicted. I'll grant that he's innocent until proven guilty. And I will confess that I have a rather strong aversion to capital punishment in almost any instance. But I wouldn't support eradicating the death

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-28798681296252926862007-02-07T07:32:00.001-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.061-05:00

A few years ago, my wife and I were listening to a broadcast of This American Life on WDUQ. I can't remember the topic of the program that day, but I do remember a very funny interview with a young Canadian man. He pointed out that Canadians generally suffer from a sort of national inferiority complex; and they feel the need to compensate for these feelings by pointing out Canadian connections

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-46080160064732207482007-02-06T09:22:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.174-05:00

I am still working on my post concerning the City of Pittsburgh's now-defunct system to recover its costs when police officers perform off-duty work for private employers. I have received a wealth of information from concerned readers, both in the comments to my original post and privately via email.The story is clearly an interesting one, and it highlights what appears to be Interim Mayor Luke "

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-78015950498596631772007-02-05T17:40:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.304-05:00

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell wants even more of your money. He feels that the Commonwealth is getting into ever-deepening financial trouble, and has decided that a tax increase will be necessary to get us out of it. And his proposed vehicle for bringing in more tax revenue, as reported in the Post-Gazette this morning, is to raise the statewide sales tax by one full percentage point. Most

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-82565163818075865902007-02-04T22:39:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.458-05:00

As the Post-Gazette and all other local media outlets are reporting this evening, searchers have found the body of the 23-month-old toddler who disappeared from her Braddock home early on Saturday morning. It's still way to early to know how this tragedy occurred, but the story has been on my mind all weekend. What a horrible thing to happen to a little girl; as a parent, it hits me especially

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-41217261079220215102007-02-04T22:38:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.475-05:00

A few weeks ago, when the Heinz Field handcuffing of Interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was still fresh, new, and interesting -- and admittedly, it's beginning to lose all three of these qualities -- a few readers left some very interesting comments both here and on other local political blogs. To those of you who left those comments, I want you to know that I really haven't been ignoring you. But the

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-61937166561510473932007-02-03T08:39:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.491-05:00

Congratulations to Patrick Sheridan of Harmar for a simply excellent letter (you'll have to scroll way down to see it, under the title "Mayor's Immaturity") to the Post-Gazette this morning. Mr. Sheridan does an outstanding job stating, with admirable succinctness, precisely what was wrong with the Post-Gazette's January 20th editorial concerning Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl's 2005

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-79882782253566359312007-02-02T21:50:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.628-05:00

The People's Republic will likely never become the newsmaker that is The Burgh Report, with its impressive ability to bring up important topics weeks (or even months) before they appear in the mainstream press. Radio and television appearances such as those bestowed upon my more accomplished colleagues at 2 Political Junkies are exceedingly unlikely for an anonymous blogger like myself. And

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-6573907788364493542007-02-02T00:07:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.736-05:00

Author J. K. Rowling has announced that the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", will be released at midnight on Saturday, 21st July 2007. Those of you who have children will understand why I will doubtless be standing in line, probably at the Squirrel Hill Barnes and Noble, at that exact time. Those of you who have read these books yourself

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-50973587901882291932007-02-01T17:25:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.747-05:00

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has, according to a story in the Post-Gazette, released their written decision awarding Pittsburgh's sole slots casino license to PITG gaming. Officially, the release of this document starts a 30-day clock in which the two losing applicants, Isle of Capri and Forest City, can file an appeal of the decision. But it seems rather unlikely that either one

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-74389095869783190822007-02-01T13:30:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:48.938-05:00

The political laugh-track that is Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jim Motznik seems to be stuck on a continuous loop. According to a report on WTAE, Mr. Motznik is now saying that the resurrected archive version of his now-defunct blog, "Jim Motznik Strikes Speaks Out", has been put in place by an unknown 1337 h4x0r (elite hacker):Pittsburgh's battle of the blogs is still raging -- even though City

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-54614718392686914612007-02-01T13:15:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.040-05:00

Back in my Navy days, my ship, like nearly all naval craft, was equipped with something called chaff. Chaff, at least the shipboard variant, is basically a rather low-tech rocket (click on the picture for a larger view) stuffed with strips of aluminum, mylar, or some other lightweight material which reflects radar waves. If a radar-guided missile was inbound, these rockets would be launched

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-20790823365566651242007-01-31T14:33:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.055-05:00

I have the sad duty to report that Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jim Motznik's blog, Jim Motznik Speaks Out, was deleted at some point this morning. I'm sure that all of you join with me in mourning its passing. In its very brief and frankly rather ineffective life, it gave so much to all of us. I for one will never look at a pair of sewer boots quite the same way again. I had, with so very

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-38652141478948880262007-01-31T11:49:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.165-05:00

Courtesy of the fantasic funny Carbolic Smoke Ball, I bring you a link to Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jim Motznik's new blog. The burghosphere is simply at no loss for humor today.

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-45322211356495528592007-01-31T09:15:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.180-05:00

For you folks joining us for the first time here in the burghosphere, allow me to extend a warm welcome to you. Thanks to countless mentions of a number of Pittsburgh blogs in the mainstream press, our little corner of the internet is seeing a new wave of visitors peeking their heads in to see what all of the fuss is about. You probably haven't come to the People's Republic directly. Instead,

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-58427957934198525892007-01-30T18:29:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.204-05:00

According to the Tribune-Review, Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl has asked his friend and designated attack dog, City Councilmember Jim Motznik, to cease blogging, at least about any topics that concern our Interim Mayor. What a shame. And just when the whole thing was just starting to get interesting. As the Tribune-Review article tells the story:Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-37746039771536158682007-01-30T08:21:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.226-05:00

Wow. There are just so many things to report at the moment, all of them stemming from the inital post on Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jim Motznik's new blog, "Jim Motznik Speaks Out". The Post-Gazette did a brief story about Mr. Motznik's blog yesterday, and then followed up with a more full-bodied article in today's print edition. And now, after hours of silence (which is like 6 days in blog

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-38668723664787780472007-01-29T22:57:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.234-05:00

It seems a bit tardy of me to post this now. But since every other political blogger in the city is baking pies and dropping off casserole dishes to welcome Pittsburgh City Councilmember Jim Motznik's new blog, Jim Motznik Speaks Out, to the local blogosphere, I guess I should extend a welcome of my own. It's really is nice to see a city official take to the internet and post their own

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-14862863886561924372007-01-28T12:28:00.000-05:002007-02-17T11:08:40.370-05:00

I had intended to post a new comment within my previous post, in which I discussed my reaction to Post-Gazette Associate Editor Tony Norman’s most recent column. I wanted to respond to the comments that some people (along with Matt H) had left there. But my response to these comments got to be so long that I thought that it had really become a post in and of itself. So I am posting my response

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-71987212727276856322007-01-26T19:50:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.637-05:00

Today's Post-Gazette contains a column by Tony Norman that, at first glance, contains nothing of any real interest. Mr. Norman, who is – and this is of key importance – one of the paper's Associate Editors and a member of its editorial board, focuses today on a seemingly minor little controversy out of the world of show business. It all centers on a rather ugly confrontation which occurred on the

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-31436614364313979762007-01-25T06:30:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.647-05:00

Whether you are a hockey fan or not, you've got to admit that it's been one hell of a tough ride for Penguins supporters over the past month or so. One day is bleak, the next looks rosy, and nobody at all -- including those directly involved with arena negotiations -- seems to have any idea of where this will all lead. On any given day, the Penguins are staying here in Pittsburgh, or headed for

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-31681332404031102082007-01-25T05:33:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.664-05:00

I could post something long and detailed about Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl's decision to appoint Michael Huss as Pittsburgh's next Director of Public Safety. I could point out that he was advised to do exactly that by Councilmember William Peduto back in early October. I could use this as an excellent opportunity to rehash all of the Interim Mayor's colossal mistakes concerning

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-42873197851562315482007-01-22T23:06:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:49.838-05:00

Today has been designated, due to it's historical significance, "Blog For Choice Day". A few local bloggers, such as 2 Political Junkies and Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents have already made their posts in support of reproductive choice. I might as well throw my hat into the ring as well. But I doubt that there is anyone on either side of the debate who is likely to be very happy with what I

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-54843340818795616132007-01-20T09:21:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:50.004-05:00

Despite hordes of developments in the Ravenstahl arrest story (which some have taken to calling "Taking-One-For-Team-Gate"), I didn't post anything new yesterday. This was largely intentional on my part. My previous post, which pointed out that Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl lied to reporters about the incident, remained at the peak of it's relevance. It covered most of everything that

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8845240845325702264.post-78608731920728813932007-01-18T19:33:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:49:50.028-05:00

If you read the last line of the Tribune-Review article concerning Interim Mayor Luke "Handcuffs" Ravenstahl's admissions concerning his 2005 arrest by city police, you will see that he is also admitting to something else. As the article, written by the Trib's Jeremy Boren, states:The mayor said he was asked months ago about the incident and Regan’s alleged involvement. He said he denied the

Richmond K. Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352144240244956283noreply@blogger.com25