Wish I could have said it as well

My feelings, encapsulated in a blog post.

G 20 Journal

The nice thing about having my own blog is I can plug other blogs that are mine.  Living near a pretty large number of protests is going to be interesting, and the history major in me wants to record it.  If anyone is particularly interested, check out my daily journal-blog about the G20.  In all honesty, I hope it's boring, but we'll see. 

G20 in the East End

Quick Hits

I'm really not feeling all that ambitious today so here's some good stuff from over the weekend that is worth reading without my "expert analysis".

Politics and Place had a great response to the article in Sunday's Post Gazette. Paz highlights why although Concept 3 for the TDP is a great idea, it's not a great idea for Pittsburgh. Go Concept 2!!!!!!

Cap'n Transit has a post here that fits in well with the hot button issue of labor costs. Brings up some good points, but I think the Cap'n may be a little too liberal with the phrase "living wage".

A hilarious (and brilliant*) non-transit post here and here from the Angry Drunk Bureaucrat.


*To the numerous Federal Intelligence Agencies that no doubt read my blog daily, I just think it's funny, nothing more.

Raise the Roof Pittsburgh!

I realize this is totally non-transit, but I am happy any time Pittsburgh gets good PR. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't ask for a lot more than this (other than a Stanley Cup).

The G20 conference will be held in Pittsburgh on September 24-25. This will be a great opportunity to showcase our awesome city and our significant efforts to become a leader in green (They better get moving on those LED streetlights!)

I'm not entirely convinced that our "success" as of late has been somewhat overstated because of the good PR we've received, but hey, who am I to turn it down? The short term benefits to our economy and the long term benefits to our reputation could be great (as long as the city doesn't collapse into a fiery heap because of angry protesters....that would suck)

A quick political Detour

I know I said yesterday (and I still maintain) that this blog does not discuss politics except for where politics intersect with transit/transportation, however I have to continue on my detour because of my genuine concern for this amazing city.

I'm obviously not happy about the outcome of the primary yesterday, but there's not a whole lot I can say other than: I hope a worthy challenger presents themselves before November or I hope our incumbent mayor shows us much more than what he has up to this point. However, that is not the point of this post.

What concerns me in this instance is involvement. Everyone knows we love our sports teams here in Pittsburgh (myself included). Just how much we love sports hit me today while I was surfing Post Gazette.com, and found under their "most e-mailed stories" that the number one story was not related to the election. In fact, the #1 story had something to do with the fact that James Harrison is afraid to fly. That whole election thing didn't even make it into the most e-mailed stories for today, period.

Is Pittsburgh sports REALLY that important, or do Pittsburghers REALLY not care about politics? I'm afraid it's a little of both. I'd be frightened to know the results if a poll was taken to see how many voters were swayed in favor of Mr. Ravenstahl because of his January "name change".

Turnout was low throughout the county at roughly 21%, and the unofficial vote count for the mayoral primary in Pittsburgh was roughly 45,000 or 13% of 334,000 residents (using 2000 census statistics). I understand that Pennsylvania voting laws don't help the situation, but if a republican or independant could vote in a democratic primary, would the outcome have been all that different?

I am surprised and saddened that a citizenry that is so fiercely loyal to this city is so apathetic to influencing the mechanisms for change. What can be done to change that? Are people disillusioned, or do they just not care? I sincerely hope it's not the latter.

Take a Moment

There's a lot that people don't like about law enforcement, from the policies the enforce, to rights violations. Those can sometimes be valid points. However, just for one day, put that aside, and take a moment to honor the men who died. For all that is wrong with law enforcement, these Pittsburgh Police Officers exemplified what law enforcement agencies try to be. They died, doing their job, doing what they thought was right, protecting public safety from a right wing racist nut.

Remember that today.

One reason I have fallen in love with this city and am now so proud to say I AM FROM PITTSBURGH, is because of the sense of community. The fact that we come together when the chips are down, better than any other city or place that I have ever lived in my entire life. Let's not disappoint today Pittsburgh!