I ain't sayin, I'm just sayin...

• Beautiful day in Pittsburgh. Temp in the 80's, sunny and I can't put it better than this. (OFTOT)
• Big day for the good guys Thursday in Carnegie.(PG).
• Also, a PAT charter to District Court- PRICELESS (KDKA). Seriously, 1/4 to 1/3 of all crime calls in the borough to one apartment complex? WTF?? Must be alot of money to be made in government subsidies to bid over $700k in foreclosure for this mess. Your tax dollars at work.
• So, a "disoriented" and "mentally challenged" man forces his way onto a charter flight (ABC.com) in Jamaica. The flight is headed back to Canada with a scheduled stop in Cuba. The man is armed and decides to HIJACK THE FLIGHT TO CUBA. You say mentally challenged, I say it's good to see Jamaican agriculture is as good as I remember from high school.
• Despite a great effort from the bullpen, the Bucs lost to the Padres 4-3 in 11 innings last night. The loss makes them tied for 2nd in the division at 9-7. To the Art Teacher in the Pontiac Vibe: that's 9 wins down and 63 to go.
• With Sony moving forward with plans to close their plant in New Stanton, I think they've found the answer to their problems:

To my Daughter on her Birthday

Sometimes it seems that life really does suck. Believe me, it seems that way when you become ancient like me, too. But please remember that even in the midst of all the suckitude, you are indeed loved. There is a lot going on in your life right now and it sure can be confusing. You’re probably hearing an awful lot of things from an awful lot of people. The problem is, most everything is completely different from everything else, so what’s the truth? I wish I could make it clearer. Remember, everyone has their own point of view and their own version of the truth. The secret is to look down the middle of the stories to find the truth. One day, when you’re older, I hope I can help clear up the confusion. I know for a fact you don’t want to hear that because I wouldn’t want to hear it either. I guess that’s just another example of how much alike we are. And, that’s probably a lot of our problem, being too much alike. The one thing that is sure is this- you are my daughter and you are special. That’s a very small and exclusive club. Always know that I am always here for you, always watching over and only a phone call away. And, hopefully, someday we can be in the same room together and maybe even exchange hugs when we pass on the street. I certainly am looking forward to that day. Happy Birthday. Love and misses from the bottom of my heart, Dad

Coming Soon... Meet Fredo

Pirates Drop Two

Home Teams go 1-1, US Navy wins in Extra Innings

Despite making their first triple play in 6 seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon 2-o. (It appears that the headline writer and proofreader on the link must be Bucco fans). After a remarkably unremarkable performance, the Pirates are now 3-4 0n the young season. Perhaps they should have taken it easy yesterday and saved a few runs for today. On a bright note, it's good to see that the brothers LaRoche are in fine season-opening form having gone a combined 3-36 at the plate so far.

In the other showdown, US Navy snipers shot and killed 3 of the 4 pirates holding the captain of an American cargo ship hostage off the coast of Somalia. While this a big win for the American team, there were a few glaring weaknesses in their gameplan:

1. This part of the world is notorius for piracy. Why wasn't the ship or its crew armed?
2. The lifeboat carrying the captain and 4 pirates was "shadowed" for days by US warships and helicopters. Why wasn't the Navy allowed to use its training and take back the ship earlier?
3. Hundreds of sailors and billions of dollars in naval hardware within eyeshot of a lifeboat and they have to wait around while FBI negotiators try to talk to Somalian pirates. World renowned naval powers France and India deal with pirates and our government sends in Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. While I am a big fan of both, sometimes I'd prefer Kiefer Sutherland.

Hopefully, before this happens again (and it's highly likely it will) I hope someone in Washington reads up on 1801 Tripoli.

First, in the interest of full disclosure:

I am a white male, 45-50 yrs old, registered Republican. I am pro-gun (though I have yet to be convinced why "assault weapons" and body armor should be available to the public), pro- law & order, pro- ends justify the means when it comes to our national security. I listen to "conservative" talk radio and watch Fox News but I haven't seen any black helicopters and I can't seem to find any "FEMA Camps" on Google Maps. In short, I firmly believe in taking personal responsibility for ones actions.

That being said: in the matter of Richard Poplawski....

• No matter what what any jury rules, this guy is not mentally imcompetent. He's just another wannabe street thug looking to add to his street cred on the block. From the Trib-

"In the final hours before police say he killed three police officers, Richard Poplawski sat around a neighborhood garage with some of the "Stanton Heights guys," talking about the Penguins' playoffs chances and his conspiracy theories of how the government was going to collapse, friends said Wednesday. "Pop," as the boys call him, had a .380-caliber pistol strapped to his waist, as always, and his two pit bull puppies tied to his belt" and "About 10 people were there, the friends said, describing a crowd of mostly teenage boys, some in high school. Nothing indicated Poplawski seemed bent on turning an arsenal of weapons against the police or anyone else, they said." And how about "He was a cool dude," said Kyle Lentz, 18, who said he was with Poplawski until 3:30 a.m. Saturday. "He was 'chill.'"

• If he heard any "voices" they belonged not to Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly or that ilk but probably to Edward Perkovic, his "lifelong best friend" (Dennis Roddy, PG):

"He was really into politics and really into the First and Second amendment. One thing he feared was he feared the gun ban because he thought that was going to take away peoples' right to defend themselves. He never spoke of going out to murder or to kill," said Edward Perkovic, who described himself as Mr. Poplawski's lifelong best friend. Mr. Poplawski's view of guns and personal freedom took a turn toward the fringes of American politics. With Mr. Perkovic, he appeared to share a belief that the government was controlled from unseen forces, that troops were being shipped home from the Mideast to police the citizenry here, and that Jews secretly ran the country. "We recently discovered that 30 states had declared sovereignty," said Mr. Perkovic, who lives in Lawrenceville. "One of his concerns was why were these major events in America not being reported to the public."

Seems to me he was johnny on-the-spot for the media during the assault and subsequent interviews. Coincidence?

• This just in- HE WAS NOT A MARINE as some have called him. You are not a member of the Armed Forces until you pass basic training. Calling him a Marine is an insult to all of our brave men in uniform.
• If anyone in this whole mess is crazy, the family is a good place to start. From the PG-

Grandma- "Your Pittsburgh Police officers stole my whole wallet," Ms. Scott shouted at officers and detectives after they retrieved her purse. "It had $3,020 cash, and it had all the checks that need to be cashed. "The whole wallet is gone. My driver's license. My credit cards. They took my whole wallet."

Great Aunt Debbie- "Later, her sister, Debbie Devine, who is Mr. Poplawski's great aunt, said family members believe that police beat Mr. Poplawski after he was taken into custody. "They beat him, and they cut his face," Ms. Devine said. "We haven't been able to see him or talk to him or nothing." She did not explain how family members were able to find out what had happened to Mr. Poplawski after he had been taken into custody." If the picture above shows the results of a beating taken after killing 3 policemen, only one word comes to mind- REMARKABLE F*NG RESTRAINT

Mom and Granny- "But she went on to say that Margaret Poplawski would often fight with Ms. Scott. Sometimes, the arguments were so bad that Ms. Poplawski would throw things out of the house, including a television and chair."

The bottom line is this- 3 brave men lost their lives and 2 others were injured because this coward didn't finish reading "Martyrdom for Dummies" before he decided not to just shut up and clean up the puppy piss. If he had, he surely would have read the part that says "when you're all done, coward, be sure to blow your own head off." Instead, he takes a couple of bullets and decides it would be better to give up and write a book. But, in the words of Alanis Morrisette, "Isn't it Ironic"?-

One minute your killing the agents of the government and the next your depending on them for food, shelter and protection just like any other bottom-feeding , lowlife criminal.

Burn.In.Hell.